Cutting over the end of the Ming Dynasty: a dog-leg knife at the beginning

Chapter 940
Yang Menglong talked with Birol for a long time, and a fierce argument broke out at one point, and it didn't end until late at night.Birol left the camp of the Heluo New Army with a satisfied smile. His goal had been achieved. Yang Menglong agreed to his conditions, releasing all the captured Spanish soldiers, and promised not to touch the Spanish troops in Asia. The colony even promised that he would do Spain a favor after the domestic situation stabilized, and severely teach those pirates who repeatedly embarrassed Spain, and the price Spain paid for this was just a piece of worthless land!

Yes, it is really a piece of land of little value.That land did not have much population for the Spaniards to enslave, and it did not have rich gold or silver mines. Although the land was very vast and fertile, it was not suitable for the Spaniards who were short of human resources and the entire country was showing a trend of decline. What's the point?Not as useful as a silver mine in Africa!It's a good deal to exchange a piece of worthless land for thousands of soldiers and the tiger's promise not to infringe on Spain's interests in Asia!There's no better deal than this!
——From the fifteenth century to the seventeenth century, the central policy of the European colonists was to plunder gold, silver, spices, and slaves. As for the development of those occupied lands, they never even thought about it.In fact, they don't have the ability to develop the vast lands of America, Asia, and Africa. Europe's population is still too small, and its industrial strength is still too weak. There is no population and strong industrial strength to support it. How can we talk about development?They are very satisfied if they can snatch some gold, silver and spices, and catch some slaves to come back to do hard labor.It wasn't until the first industrial revolution that Europe's population and industrial strength grew rapidly, and the precious metals in the colonies were basically plundered, and Europe began to seriously develop colonies, mainly developing America and Asia.A large number of African black slaves were transported across the ocean to the colonies to engage in hard work such as logging, farming, road construction, and weaving. Thanks to their efforts, large areas of sugarcane plantations, cotton fields, wheat fields, and corn fields were like magic carpets in the past. The uninhabited wasteland was spread out, and a large number of buried resources were excavated. The power of Europe grew geometrically as if it had been plugged in. For the first time in thousands of years, it completely overwhelmed Asia and became the master of the world. , has achieved the immortal glory of Europa for two centuries. It was not until 1914 when it was torn apart by itself that the dazzling halo over Europe's head fell.However, it is still very early from the first industrial revolution, and land is still useless to Europeans, so the Spaniards gave it extra readily.

It’s just that Birol would never have dreamed that although his actions brought a lot of benefits to the Spaniards, they ruined Europe’s only chance to become the world’s dominator in thousands of years. Angrily cursing this seemingly shrewd fool, cursing the Spanish king who agreed to this extremely confused plan.

After sending Birol away, Yang Menglong was already a little tired, but after putting away the agreement he signed with Birol, he still washed his face with hot water, then called Zaghi Chongweng, and said, "Go and invite His Royal Highness, come here, I want to talk to him."

Zhu Cihong had arrived at the Heluo New Army camp a few days ago, and stayed in his tent the whole time, not going anywhere.On the spur of the moment, Chongzhen buried 30 troops, and even ruined Daming Jiangshan. He was deeply shocked by the bad news. He felt ashamed to face these soldiers who defended this land with their flesh and blood.Unlike Chongzhen who is self-willed, even if he knows that he is wrong, he can confidently write off his mistakes. He is deeply influenced by Yang Menglong. It's not a manly thing to blame someone else for his mistakes!It was precisely because of this that he became more and more depressed.He has been in the civil society for two or three years. He has seen the efforts of Heluo Xinjun and Tianxiong Army, and he can also see clearly the changes brought about by their efforts. Such a good situation makes Dad He was buried with one hand, and he felt ashamed to face others!Knowing that Yang Menglong wanted to see him, the little guy's first reaction was to refuse, but An Ning dragged him over in the end.

Yang Menglong was a little funny when he saw these two little ones chattering: "Which one are you singing?"

An Ning pointed to Zhu Cihong and said, "He refused to come, so I had to drag him here!"

Yang Menglong said: "You... When will you learn to be more polite to the prince."

An Ning made a face and shouted at Zhu Cixiang: "My brother asked me to be polite to you!"

Zhu Cihong trembled, and hurriedly said: "No, no! I think it's better as it is now, more comfortable!"

An Ning smiled and said to Yang Menglong: "Brother, you saw it too, right? He said no!"

Yang Menglong flicked her forehead hard, causing her to scream: "Don't play tricks here, I have something to talk to the prince, you go out first."

An Ning pursed her lips and said, "Okay, just go out...but you can't bully him!"

Yang Menglong said: "It seems that you have been bullying him all this time, right?"

An Ning blushed and ran out.Indeed, she has always been the big sister, bullying Zhu Cihong, and pulling her ears with her head is commonplace.But if others dare to bully her, she will not do it. According to her theory, Zhu Cihong is similar to her younger brother. Since he is her younger brother, only she can bully him. If others dare to bully him, she will not do it!In fact, she is the same for Li Dingguo. When Li Dingguo first arrived in Nanyang, she also devoted herself to defending Li Dingguo. She didn't know that this little brother, who was not a few years older than her, was a young man with outstanding martial arts skills and killing people like hemp. general.This girl's desire to protect is really extraordinary!
Yang Menglong sat cross-legged on the ground and pointed to the opposite side of him. Zhu Cixi also sat cross-legged.That familiar feeling has returned. In the past two or three years, every time when Yang Menglong asked for advice on some questions that he couldn't figure out, Yang Menglong would sit on the floor and analyze and answer for him in detail, and even talked to him. He was blushing.He looked at Yang Menglong and found that Yang Menglong's complexion was still very poor and he was very thin. Thinking that Yang Menglong had been suffering from injuries in the past few months and had to run around for the Ming Dynasty without stopping, he couldn't help but feel a sore nose. He asked in a choked voice: "Teacher, are you... are you feeling better?"

Yang Menglong said: "That's it, it won't get better... What about you? I have never suffered such hardship or suffered such a blow. I'm afraid this period of time will be difficult, right?"

Zhu Cihong lowered his head, tears welling in his eyes.

Yang Menglong said: "The capital was breached... no, it wasn't breached, and there was no resistance at all. Chao Zhongwen Wu went out of the city ten miles to meet him. Now the Qing army is going south in two ways, all the way to Shimen and Hengshui. Sweeping across Shandong all the way, going straight to Nanjing, do you know this?"

Zhu Cihong said in a low voice: "I have told me all about these peaces. The 30 Northern Expeditionary Army lost all their lives and injuries, Jiannu swept across the capital and replaced the Ming Dynasty, I know all about it..." The more he spoke, the lower his voice became, his shoulders shrugged violently Then, suddenly his mouth was flattened, and with a wow sound, tears spewed out, Hao Tao burst into tears, pouring out all the hesitation, fear, and depression these days, crying and hissing: "How could this happen, Teacher? In autumn, our army was still victorious. The situation in Ming Dynasty was getting better and better. Why did everything change suddenly? You were assassinated, and your father insisted on launching the Northern Expedition to kill 30 troops. Uncle Lu was killed. Squeeze out, establish slaves and enter the customs, the Northwest Frontier Army surrendered without a fight and gave way to the defense line, the civil and military rebellion of the Manchu Dynasty handed over the country to others... Oh my god, what happened? Why did it happen? Why did it happen! " He cried hoarsely and roared hoarsely, making people's noses sore.

Yang Menglong sighed deeply, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "Cry, cry as much as you want, cry when you feel bad, it will feel better when you cry..."

Zhu Cihong cried even more fiercely, as if she wanted to shed all the tears of a lifetime at once.

I don't know how long I cried, but the little thing finally got tired of crying and stopped.

Yang Menglong handed him a cup of tea for him to drink a couple of sips, and only after he calmed down did he ask, "You blame me for not sending troops early, to keep the capital?"

Zhu Cixi shook his head.

Yang Menglong was a little surprised: "You really don't complain?"

Zhu Cixiang said: "Brother Dingguo and Uncle Tang Wang have analyzed it for me and believe that now it is freezing cold and the canal is frozen, which is definitely not a good time for a war. In addition, people's hearts are floating, and the officials in various states and counties have evil intentions. The logistics of the Heluo New Army The supply is difficult to guarantee. If you force your way north, it will be easy for the slaves to take advantage of it, and the consequences will be unpredictable..."

Yang Menglong frowned and said, "To be honest, don't fool me with these nonsense."

Zhu Cixiang was stunned for a moment and said in a low voice: "I really don't blame the teacher, you have your difficulties too. It's not that you deliberately wanted to sit back and watch, it's that the New Army officers were cold-blooded and unwilling to go north again...Actually, I, I I can also understand their mood. 10,000+ troops drank blood and chewed grass roots at the border. They used blood clothes as armor and flesh and blood as shields. They fought every day. They finally managed to get the initiative to the Ming Dynasty. However, my father's impulsive Northern Expedition ended the war. Most of the capable troops were destroyed, and the entire initiative was given to Jiannu. There were still so many ministers in the court who were colluding with Jiannu. If I were a soldier of the New Army, I would not be willing to go north to work for this country. Damn...Da Ming is really at his wits end!"

Yang Menglong sighed heavily, and said: "Yes, I am exhausted... I used to think that as long as I could defeat the Jiannu and Mongol Tartars and eliminate the refugees, I would be able to save this country and drag it from the edge of the cliff. Come back, I, Su Yihou, all firmly believe in this, all the new army firmly believe in this, we have been working hard for this. However, until now I have discovered that the most terrible enemy of this country is not Jiannu, let alone Refugees, but those high-ranking civil and military ministers in the center, as well as corrupt scholars and gentry all over the country! No matter how hard we try, no matter how much advantage we gain on the battlefield, they can always easily erase all this and push the whole country to the cliff Pry! When countless people are looking forward to changing masters in order to obtain greater benefits, this country is really exhausted, and there is nothing I can do, really nothing can be done!" At this point, he shook his head weakly, lowered his Said in a loud voice: "This country has really reached the point where everything starts from scratch."

Zhu Cixiang was shocked: "Start from the beginning!?"

Yang Menglong said: "Yes, start from the beginning, smash all the pots and pans, send all those indifferent rentiers to hell, smash the old order that has been passed down for more than 2000 years, and start from scratch." Said. When he got here, he looked at Zhu Cihong and said, "Now that the capital has been destroyed, the life and death of the emperor is uncertain, slaves are rampant, and people are in panic. The country cannot live without a king. You are a prince, and it's time to ascend the throne."

Zhu Cixiang shouted in disbelief: "Me?"

Yang Menglong said: "Aside from you, who else is qualified to be on the throne?"

Zhu Cilang remained silent.It is the dream of every prince to ascend the throne and proclaim himself emperor, and they will do whatever they can to do it. Family, brothers, parents, all are bullshit in front of the supreme power!He had fantasized more than once about what he would look like after he ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor, but now that the opportunity was before him, he was at a loss.

Yang Menglong patted him on the shoulder and said: "I don't want to hide it from you. You will never have an easy life when you become emperor now. Jiannu, rebels, Tartars, renounced civil servants and gentry... They can all call you dead without burial. However, in the face of absolute force, these are paper tigers. Once the time comes, we can tear them to pieces. But your real challenge is to defeat these enemies. If you want to keep the country long-term, you must To liquidate them is not a group of people, but a whole class. You have to lift this class off the altar and make it up again, so that they can't stand up! You have to kill many people, and countless people will die because of You have lost your wife and children, your family is broken, and many of them may be innocent. Countless people will curse you behind your back, and even want to murder you, but you must do this, this is the way you will go in the future!"

Zhu Cihong's face gradually turned pale, and she blurted out, "Do you want to do this even if countless innocent people are implicated?"

Yang Menglong said: "Yes, you have to do this even if you kill countless people, otherwise 200 years later, your descendants will have to face the situation you are facing now, and they may not have such good luck by then. "

Zhu Cilang murmured: "There are countless punishment companies, suppressing the gentry and the gentry class... This... This is what the tyrant did! No, no cruel tyrant would dare to do this!"

Yang Menglong said: "Yes, the consequence of doing this is that you will become a tyrant, a tyrant who is more brutal than the Qin Emperor, and you will have to face the curse and hatred of the world in your later life. Your Royal Highness, this is your enthronement. Are you willing to pay the price you have to pay?"

Zhu Cihong was completely dumbfounded, and asked blankly: "Is this the weight of the nine tripods?"

Yang Menglong said in a single word: "Yes, if you want to win the Central Plains, you must first inherit the weight of the country. The road to the king has never been a smooth road covered with flowers! Cihong, tell me, can you take on such an important task? You Are you willing to endure everything I have said for this beautiful country?"

Zhu Cixi bit his lip so hard that it bled.He was silent for a long time, his chest heaving rapidly, his expression struggling, unable to make a decision for a long time.Yang Menglong is still the same Yang Menglong. Even if it is a major matter involving the highest power, he will explain everything clearly, the pros and cons, and finally let him make a choice.Yang Menglong's meaning is obvious: if he thinks he can shoulder this heavy burden and bear all this pain, the New Army will support him unconditionally; if he thinks he can't, then the New Army can only replace him with someone who is brave enough to do the job. In short, it is impossible to imagine that Chongzhen would have pushed the entire country to the brink of destruction and then completely shied away the responsibility!
Nod, or shake your head?
Difficult to decide.

(End of this chapter)