Rule the Ming Dynasty Alone

The Liyugukou that appeared in front of everyone was no longer a dilapidated wooden fence village, but a majestic square city made of blue bricks.

The summer wind was blowing from east to west, and the dragon flag at the top of the city was fluttering in the wind. Several soldiers in armor were standing under the flag, and beside them were dark pipes.

"When did a city of bricks pop up here?"

The several leaders who followed Tuoyuanbao were also stunned. They looked extremely shocked when they saw the blue brick square city in front of them, and they asked doubtfully after a long time.

Things are so weird. This Carp Valley originally belonged to their territory, and was even considered an important outpost of their Jianzhou Jurchen.

Although it is reasonable to be occupied by the Ming army, it makes people wonder why a city has been erected in just a few months.

It's just that this matter is destined to have no answer. After all, based on their construction capabilities, this kind of thing is simply a miracle.

Tuo Yuanbao slowly reacted, but shook his head slightly bitterly.

Although he accepted the strategic plan of taking a detour to attack Carp Valley, his father probably never imagined that a brick city had been built here, and it seemed that the Ming army was guarding it.

Fortunately, the number of people they led this time was as high as 10,000, but they might not be able to capture this square city made of green bricks.

The capital is still bustling in August, but the weather has slowly turned cooler.

As the Autumn Palace is approaching, the capital's attention to the Jianzhou War has obviously weakened, and it has begun to speculate on who will win the title of Jieyuan in this year's Autumn Palace.

Preparing for exams has become the most important thing for candidates nowadays.

Although the capital downplayed its concern about the Jianzhou war, many candidates did not dare to take it lightly.

As Jianzhou has been frequently mentioned in recent issues of "Ming", as well as the Jianzhou Jiyou project launched by the imperial court, everyone knows that this year's autumn Wei issue is probably inseparable from Jianzhou.

Like last year's Shuntian Qiuwei, the examiner Song Cheng of Shuntian Prefecture cleverly borrowed "Liu Chun hid the pictures to stop the Han from violating Vietnam" to allude to Liu Daxia's behavior of hiding Annan files.

Just like this, all the candidates are trying to find out the latest progress of the Jianzhou War, but they want to conduct precise escort. However, except for Wang Yue who was still encamped in Binjiang, no news of the war came back.

Xiyuan, Yangxin Hall.

Zhu Youtang, who was wearing a dragon robe, was sitting upright in front of the case. He looked more mature and was handling the affairs of the two capitals and thirteen provinces conscientiously.

Although the battle for Jianzhou was very important, if you want to manage the country well, you cannot just focus on Jianzhou, but must take charge of the overall situation.

The most gratifying thing is that the Governor of Huguang, Liu Zhong, is still conscientiously continuing to clear the land.

Although the progress of this hands-on mode of clearing the husband is slow, it can make all the hidden fields invisible, and it also reveals that many officials and gentry still have a lucky mentality.

Perhaps, there really are no shortcuts in this world!

Only Liu Zhong's hands-on model of clearing the land can truly understand the real land acres of the Ming Dynasty. It is the best way to solve the problem of hidden land, and it is also a sharp weapon against unscrupulous gentry.

"I heard that you had a heat stroke, and I felt very uneasy, so I sent an imperial doctor to treat you! You are my rib minister, and you should take good care of your body, so that you can help me create a prosperous age!" Zhu Youtang will personally write when facing loyal ministers. He wrote back and gave Liu Zhong serious advice.

Although I haven't seen it with my own eyes, I don't want to stay outdoors for even a quarter of an hour this summer. This sultry weather is simply fatal.

However, Liu Zhong always adheres to the principle of personal measurement regardless of rain or shine. This summer's progress has not been slowed down by the scorching heat.

The information Zhu Youtang received from Huguang also confirmed that Liu Zhong did not commit fraud and had always performed his duties as abbot in a down-to-earth manner, so he had chosen a good minister.

Now the concern about Liu Zhong's health is not only to win over people's hearts, but also to come from the heart.

Thanks to Liu Zhong's example, many officials and gentry in various places now no longer dare to hide the acres of land, and many county magistrates even followed Liu Zhong's example and went to the fields to measure in person.

It was the spontaneous registration of this group of local officials and gentry, coupled with the spontaneous inspection of land acres by local officials, that led to the registration of a large number of hidden fields.

The same is true. This year's grain tax has exceeded the 40 million stone mark, which is more than double the original historical amount.

There is nothing wrong with the idea of ​​light taxation advocated by Confucianism, but if an agricultural society wants to successfully transform, it needs the guidance of state capital. Now that Ming Dynasty wants to take this step, it cannot do without the support of grain taxes.

If the Ming Dynasty's plan to clear the land goes smoothly, the Ming Dynasty's finances will definitely become richer and richer, which will be far more than the gains from rectifying the salt policy.

In terms of merit alone, Liu Zhong is much worse than Wang Yue now, but his achievements in the future may be better than those of Wang Yue.

"Your Majesty, the officials from the Ministry of Industry have arrived and are waiting in the imperial study!" Liu Jin walked in from the outside and reported respectfully.

After Zhu Youtang finished processing the memorial, he usually wrote a reply to the feudal official. He just finished the reply to Xu Shiying, the governor of the East China Sea, and put down the brush in his hand.

"Your Majesty, please pay your respects!" Jia Jun, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, led several key officials of the Ministry of Industry to wait here. When they saw Zhu Youtang coming in, they immediately greeted him.

Zhu Youtang didn't pay attention to these false etiquettes, so he got straight to the point: "How is the progress of Jianzhou's fortifications?"

After all, respect and inferiority are engraved in everyone's bones. The officials from the Ministry of Industry present turned to look at Jia Jun.

Jia Jun is a tall little old man with a gray beard, but his eyes are bright and full of wisdom.

Jia Jun specializes in engineering. Due to his outstanding talent and performance in engineering, Jia Jun became the first person to be appointed minister since the Ming Dynasty.

Facing Zhu Youtang's inquiry, Jia Jun pointed to the sand table seriously and said: "Your Majesty, this is the latest construction progress of our Ministry of Works. Please take a look!"

The Ministry of Industry has jurisdiction over millions of craftsmen, many of whom are skilled craftsmen.

After the sand table in Jianzhou was shrunk, they moved it directly here. Five cities have stood on the east side of the sand table, four of which have been completed.

Seeing that the progress was much faster than expected, Zhu Youtang couldn't help but nodded with satisfaction, then pointed to a rift valley and asked seriously: "Is this the Carp Valley?"

"Your Majesty is wise, this time is Carp Valley! According to your Majesty's instructions, one hundred thousand craftsmen have entered Jianzhou to build the city. Now the city of Jianzhou covers an area of ​​one square kilometer!" Jia Jun kept bending his waist. But he said it with a bit of pride.

The war in Jianzhou is a matter of the Ministry of War. Now the most important task of their Ministry of Industry is to build a city in Jianzhou, so that the new cities built are scattered in Jianzhou like spider webs, forming a criss-crossing trend.

This has been the case since ancient times. If there is no city, it may be land that can be abandoned at any time. But once a city is built, the city is often there and the people are there.

If the Eastern Expeditionary Army was recovering territory, then the Ministry of Industry was now incorporating the recovered Jianzhou territory into the territory of the Ming Dynasty through city building.

Zhu Youtang saw that things were developing in a good direction, so he reached out and picked up a square city mold from the sand table: "Are they all using cement now?"

The main adhesive used in this era was the glutinous rice method. Just by hearing the name, you can tell that it was very expensive and a waste of food. Just like fishing line, suitable materials are always hard to find.

In view of this, Zhu Youtang provided the cement formula.

After many attempts, the Ministry of Engineering finally obtained a rough version of cement by simply firing limestone.

Naturally, the performance of this rough version of cement cannot be compared with that of later generations of cement, and the effect is not even as good as the current glutinous rice method. However, the advantage is that the cost of cement is very low.

The most important thing is that as long as limestone mines are found, the materials can be obtained locally, thus greatly reducing the cost of transporting glutinous rice from Beijing to Jianzhou.

"There are quite a lot of limestone mines in Jianzhou, and Ye Bushou had figured out the terrain long ago, so the five cities being built now are all made of cement!" Jia Jun, Minister of Industry,'s eyes shone brightly, and he looked proud. respond.

Zhu Youtang looked at the square city mold in his hand and found that this small mold was also made of cement, so he asked curiously: "How much does a city cost now?"

"Your Majesty, since we are building outside the Great Wall and issuing food stamps and cloth stamps to craftsmen and workers, the cost of building a city has reached 50,000 taels!" Jia Jun, the Minister of Industry, swallowed his saliva and looked cautious.

The Ming Dynasty had a complete corvee system. If this kind of city building was done domestically, 20,000 taels of silver would usually be enough to build a brick city.

It's just that the current situation is quite special. Even with cement, a high-quality and cheap adhesive, both craftsmen and refugees need to pay wages.

Just like this, the cost of building a state and city this time was quite high, but it brought a certain burden to the Ming Dynasty's finances.

Zhu Youtang frowned slightly and sighed helplessly.

He knew that if he didn't choose to squeeze his compatriots, this would be a normal cost, but he had to do it. In fact, building the city was of great significance, but it was helpful for the Ming Dynasty to continue to control Jianzhou.

Like the Liaoxi Corridor, this was already a territory outside Shanhaiguan, but because of the existence of Ningyuan City and Jinzhou City, the Ming Dynasty continued to control it.

As long as we can now build a city in Jianzhou and rely on the powerful military power of the Ming Dynasty, it will be a matter of course to drive away or annihilate the small Jianzhou Jurchens.

Zhu Youtang knew that only by giving can you get rewards, so he seriously warned: "Jianzhou is the granary of the northeast of the Ming Dynasty. For the great cause of China, we must tighten our pants and complete the construction of the Jianzhou city network." After a pause, He also emphasized seriously: "I will not be stingy with my investment, but all ministers must make a good budget and strive to spend all the money wisely! If things come true, you will all be rewarded, but if you want to seek personal gain from it, then don't do it." No wonder I’m so ungrateful!”

"I will obey your Majesty's teachings!" Jia Jun, Minister of Industry, and other officials knew that this was Zhu Youtang's bottom line, and had no desire to be greedy, so they expressed their stance seriously.

In the past, there might have been thoughts of seeking personal gain, but the current emperor is wise and powerful, and the Metropolitan Procuratorate is even more eyeing, so they are all willing to contribute to the dynasty.

Unconsciously, although the number of civil servants who died in the Hongzhi Dynasty was second only to that of the Hongwu Dynasty, more and more civil servants were willing to obey Zhu Youtang's orders.

Due to the unity of the monarch and his ministers, and the Ming Dynasty's financial prosperity, cities sprung up in Jianzhou like bamboo shoots after rain.

Of course, there is no need to talk about Shanhaiguan, but the Guanning-Jin Corridor has already taken shape. On this basis, it is quietly extending to the entire Jianzhou.

In time, as long as every corner of Jianzhou is touched, the fertile land of Jianzhou will be officially included in the territory of Ming Dynasty.

As for the plan of Northeast Granary, it is not just a slogan. More and more disaster victims from Henan have arrived in Jianzhou, and they have actively participated in the work of repairing the city, so that this plan is also carried out in an orderly manner.

Many people actually understand one thing wrong! This Ming Dynasty's expedition was not just to defeat the Jurchens in Jianzhou, but to capture the entire territory of Jianzhou.

In order to achieve this strategic goal, steady progress is the best approach.

Wang Yue was not in a hurry to wipe out the main force of the Jianzhou Jurchens. On the one hand, there was no need to take risks easily, and on the other hand, the Ming Dynasty had been silently "recovering" Jianzhou.

Boom!

With the sound of a cannon, a lead bullet weighing as much as ten kilograms shot out from the muzzle, carrying a sharp sound of breaking through the air.

After years of secret development, Ming Dynasty not only worked hard on firearms, but also its artillery has been continuously improved. Now the range of heavy artillery has reached one mile.

Click!

The trunk of a pitch pine tree was hit by a lead bullet. The trunk broke immediately and then collapsed to the ground.

puff!

A Mongolian cavalryman faced an oncoming lead bullet with a shocked expression on his face. Then his whole body was hit by the lead bullet, and the sound of broken bones came from his body.

ah……

Although a Mongolian cavalry escaped by chance, his mount was beaten to pieces, causing his whole body to fall heavily to the ground and break his bones.

how so?

Tuo Yuanbao was leading his men to prepare to seize the Ming Dynasty City. However, facing the cannonballs flying from the top of the Ming Dynasty city, especially the chaos of his military formation, he suddenly became confused.

Although the Ming Dynasty was extremely powerful, its own corruption was also obvious.

But I don't know when it started. The Ming Dynasty seemed to be completely transformed. Not only were military disciplines stricter, but now shocking things were happening one after another.

"Kill!"

Just when the Jurchen army led by Tuoyuan Bao was in chaos, the city gate was suddenly opened, and a well-trained heavy cavalry came out of the city directly.

"Re-riding? How is this possible?"

"It's over, this is Ming Dynasty's Aegis Camp!"

"Why is Camp SHIELD here? Do they know we can't make a sneak attack?"

…

Facing the sudden appearance of the SHIELD battalion, the leaders who followed Tuo Yuanbao were dumbfounded and immediately smelled a conspiracy.

Among the cavalry, heavy cavalry is undoubtedly invincible.

It's just that the cost of heavy riding is too high. Not only does it require a lot of resources to build, but its daily maintenance is also very expensive.

According to the intelligence they originally collected, the SHIELD battalion did not follow the Eastern Expedition this time because the weather in Jianzhou was too hot.

But they didn't know whether it was because of Wang Yue's delaying tactics until the end of summer, or whether the SHIELD camp had been hiding here waiting for them, but now it was giving them a head-on attack.

"kill!"

Tie Xiang Shan took the lead and led the 5,000 Aegis battalion to charge out, stabbing the already chaotic Jianzhou Jurchen army like sharp arrows.