Chongzhen Chat Group

"Everyone knows that before Jianlu was destroyed, he planted a lot of grain in the northern part of Liaodong, and the harvest was good." Emperor Chongzhen explained to them, "Liaodong has a vast land and a large area of ​​arable land. One season of planting every year is There is no problem at all. Especially the improved crops in the Hetao, including potatoes, corns, sweet potatoes, etc., I believe the yields will be huge. This is one of them!"

There are many rivers in Liaodong. The land on both sides of the rivers is relatively fertile and irrigation is convenient. During the Jianlu era, most of the Han people who were good at farming were killed, otherwise they would not have almost starved to death. Of course, this is also related to the Ming Dynasty's use of breakthrough warfare.

All the ministers below said nothing. They could understand the matter of food. But now there are already supplies of food from the Hetao Plain, and from Nanyang, ships of food are transported to the capital by sea. In the north of the Ming Dynasty, food can actually be made do. If it's just food, it's not enough to build a railway, right?

Obviously, Emperor Chongzhen did not finish his words and continued to explain to them: "Also, Liaodong has huge amounts of iron, coal and other mines, as well as oil. If our Ming Dynasty wants to become stronger, these resources are indispensable. "

Hearing this, the ministers below were really surprised. Bi Ziyan, the Minister of Household Affairs, was the first to report, "Your Majesty, there is a huge amount of iron ore in Liaodong? I have never heard of it."

"Yes, Your Majesty, is this news true?" Shen Yongmao, Minister of War, also followed suit and said, "I have never heard of Jianlu being able to produce its own iron armor before!"

Although the other courtiers didn't say anything, they had never heard of it. They all looked at Emperor Chongzhen in the eyes, a little doubtful of the accuracy of the emperor's news.

Emperor Chongzhen smiled after hearing this and said: "My source of information is of course absolutely true. The iron mine is near Anshan Posthouse. As for the oil field, it is farther away."

In the southwest of Ming Dynasty, oil wells were discovered. In this era, well salt technology has been perfected, and the technology of extracting well salt is used to collect natural gas or oil wells. During the Zhengde period, there were records.

Hearing the emperor's swearing and extremely confident appearance, most of the courtiers believed it, because Emperor Chongzhen had never deceived them.

However, building railways is, after all, a very labor-intensive matter. Even if Liaodong has these things, it is hard to say whether they are worth it or not.

As far as the current situation of the Ming Dynasty is concerned, the iron ore in the capital is not exhausted, and even if there is a huge amount of iron ore in Liaodong, it is not attractive enough. For a while, the ministers were divided into two groups. Some thought it was possible to build a railway to Liaodong, while others felt that it was not necessary for the time being and could build other ones first.

Emperor Chongzhen listened to the arguments of these ministers for a while, and finally said to them: "You should know that our Ming Dynasty will definitely send troops to the Japanese country. Now the army is going to Korea, and it consumes too much on the way. If there is a train running day and night, Stop transporting troops, food, and supplies, and it will be much easier to assemble the army. It will also be easier for the Ming Dynasty to control the Japanese country in the future!"

These ministers in the Wenhua Palace are all the highest-ranking officials of the Ming Dynasty. Emperor Chongzhen naturally did not hide it from them. It was a certainty to occupy the Japanese country and enfeoff the vassal kings.

When they heard that the emperor had such a purpose in building a railway to Liaodong, most of the officials agreed. However, a very small number of ministers did not speak. They just kept silent when they saw that other colleagues agreed.

Emperor Chongzhen looked at them, suddenly asked his chamberlain to hang up the world map, walked down in person, and then said to these ministers: "My dear friends, I have also set my sights on this place. Is there any royal land in the world? I want it here too!" "

Upon hearing this, all the courtiers were shocked. They looked at the map and couldn't get back to their senses.

After a while, Wen Tiren said: "Your Majesty, this... this place is far away from thousands of rivers and mountains. It is too far away from our Ming Dynasty. How can we get there?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, even if the vassal kings are divided, there are not so many vassal kings to entrust them to!" Sun Chengzong, the second assistant, also followed suit.

Other ministers also wanted to follow suit, but Emperor Chongzhen waved his hand to stop them, and then patted the North and South America with his hand and said: "Do you know, sir? This place is bigger than our entire Ming Dynasty, with rich products and fertile land. But, here There are only savages living in this land. Those Western Yi have discovered this place, sent people to kill the savages, enslave the savages, and take it as their own. But now, their number is not large. They are mainly concentrated here, here , and places like this!”

"Dear dear friends, do you know that their fleets plunder supplies from here and transport shiploads of gold, silver and jewels back! That fleet is endless." Emperor Chongzhen began to brag and bully him. The ministers were ignorant, "because there are mountains of gold and silver here, as well as various precious products and so on."

After hearing this, Wen Tiren hesitated for a moment and then said to Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, our Ming Dynasty only occupied Nanyang, as well as the Mongolian grasslands in the north, Liaodong, Korea, and even the Japanese country in the future. So many places are enough. We are busy in the Ming Dynasty, and these places are all well-established. I think it is better to operate these places first."

"Your Majesty, I second the proposal!" Auxiliary Minister Zhang Zhifa followed, "Your Majesty has said that those places are still full of barbarians. Even if I, the Ming Dynasty, occupy them, I will still have to spend 120% of my energy to run them. Therefore, I think that the Chief Assistant What you say makes sense!”

After he finished speaking, other ministers also spoke. Most of them thought that it was not worth all the hardships for Ming Dynasty to go there.

There are two main problems. One is that it is too far away from Ming Dynasty and separated by such a big ocean. This is a big problem. Second, although there are mountains of gold and silver there, they are still uncivilized lands. If the Ming Dynasty were to occupy them, it would be a bit unworthy of the investment of manpower and material resources.

Emperor Chongzhen didn't take it seriously after hearing this. That's how he is. Before making a decision, he can let his ministers speak and raise objections. However, once a decision is made, these ministers must implement it seriously.

After listening to the speeches of these ministers, he found that even though these ministers were already the smartest and most knowledgeable people in the Ming Dynasty, they were still unable to view issues from a global perspective due to the limitations of the times.

When Emperor Chongzhen thought of this, he said to his ministers: "My dear friends, think about it, if the good things in this land are always taken away by the Xiyi, and they have huge wealth to rely on, will the Xiyi Will it become more powerful? You should all have seen their strong ships and cannons. If I don't work hard to improve the Ming Dynasty's ship cannons and the like in the past few years..."

At this point, he pondered for a while and then continued: "Take the time when I first ascended the throne as an example. If my Ming Dynasty had been like that, even if the Jianlu were finally destroyed, if things continued like this, the Western Yi would have been transported from overseas. Wealth and various materials have returned to the country, and they are getting stronger and stronger. Will one day in the future, their strength will exceed that of the Ming Dynasty?"

Hearing this, all the courtiers could not help but be stunned. They had never thought of this angle proposed by Emperor Chongzhen.

"Your Majesty, I think this is possible!" Sun Chuanting, the new Minister of Civil Affairs, said expressionlessly even in the Wenhua Hall, "When I first went to the south to take up the post of governor of Fujian, I had a headache with the Hongyi fleet. They Their artillery is more powerful than our Ming Dynasty, and their warships are faster than our Ming Dynasty's warships. If it weren't for the fact that they are far away from their mother country and have fewer warships, I really don't know how to deal with it! If according to that As the deduction continues, Wei Chen believes that the Western Yi are likely to defeat our Ming Dynasty Navy and invade our Ming Dynasty coastal areas, causing more harm than the Japanese nation back then!"

Sun Chuanting said this with authority. When he said this, everyone else couldn't help but think seriously: If His Majesty didn't suddenly work hard and show his magical performance as if he had changed into a different person, what would happen to the Ming Dynasty today? What will happen to the Ming Dynasty in the future?

They were still thinking about this issue, but Emperor Chongzhen was already saying: "Today's Europe, where the Western Barbarians are located, is just like the Warring States Period in ancient times. Countries are in dispute and vigorously developing their armaments. You must know that in In the past, the Western Yi were far less powerful than our Central Plains, and the Mongols had conquered them. However, today they are constantly fighting, but they are able to plunder enough supplies from foreign countries for their own use. As you can imagine, their army , will be the warriors of hundreds of battles, and their armaments will grow stronger in the constant competition. Do you think that if this development continues in the future, will the gap between our Ming Dynasty and the Western Yi become wider and wider?"

At this point, Emperor Chongzhen suddenly slapped the North and South America on the map with his hand, and said more seriously: "Therefore, I want to send troops to compete with the Western Yi for this territory. First, I want to cut off the source of the Western Yi's supplies and make this place The wealth is used by our Ming Dynasty. One decrease and one increase make our Ming Dynasty’s national power still number one in the world; this is one of them!”

"Secondly, there are no enemies around the Ming Dynasty. Although peace and prosperity are good, they can wear down the will, especially the army. An army that has not fought for a long time will become a flock of sheep even if it is a tiger and wolf army! The army is for fighting. Yes. This place is where I plan to train the Ming army!"

These senior officials of the Ming Dynasty in the Wenhua Hall, thinking along Emperor Chongzhen's train of thought, couldn't help but nod. This is nothing more than being prepared for danger in times of peace!

"Your Majesty is so far-sighted that the slaves are so impressed with it!" Cao Huachun was the first to go out and say, "Having your Majesty in our Ming Dynasty is a blessing to the people of the Ming Dynasty!"

"What your Majesty said is absolutely true!" Sun Chengzong, the second assistant, also followed suit. "If the army has no battles to fight, it will not only waste its combat power, but also cause various other problems. I agree that the army must continue to fight through battles." Practice!”

Sun Chengzong is one of the officials who has led troops in the Wenhua Palace for the longest time. What he said is as authoritative as Sun Chuanting said about the Western Yi.

Shen Yongmao, Minister of the Ministry of War, immediately followed suit. Only when there was a battle to fight did he agree with his interests. Otherwise, who would pay attention to the Ministry of War?

The same goes for the Minister of Industry. Only when there is a war will there be a large demand for military industry, which will also benefit the Ministry of Industry.

…

Only Bi Ziyan, the Minister of Household Affairs, was a little hesitant and reported to Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, if there is a war, I am afraid that military expenditures will be very high, and the Ming Dynasty..."

After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen's smile returned to his face and he said: "Don't worry, sir. The army has conquered a lot of land and can be rewarded. In addition, the wealth captured from the Western Yi can also pay for some military expenses. And By fighting far away from homeland, the war will not reach Ming Dynasty, and Ming Dynasty will not suffer military disasters. The expedition to America will not impose much burden on Ming Dynasty. I will control this situation well. Of course, I have another thing to announce. !”

After hearing this, the courtiers in the Wenhua Palace became quiet again and looked at the emperor, wondering what he was about to announce.

They heard Emperor Chongzhen say to them: "The previous reform of the guard system has been promoted nationwide. But I have thought about it for a long time. Based on what I just said, I have decided to further reform the military system!"

Military reform is a major event. Therefore, after hearing this, these ministers couldn't help but concentrate.

"In the past, there were millions of frontier troops on the nine frontiers, but now there is no war in the north. Although reforms have been started before, it is not enough." When Emperor Chongzhen said this, his voice raised one point, "Tsarist Russia killed me, the Ming Dynasty Oirat Common people, when our Ming Dynasty is ready, we must fight this war in the far west. Therefore, from the millions of frontier troops in the nine-border town, I decided to select elite troops for the battlefield. The old and the weak They were eliminated as civilians, and the rest of the army was converted into engineering troops, that is, the army that built railways. They built three railways in Liaodong and the naturalized Tianshan Mountains respectively. In this way, the impact of railway construction on people's livelihood was reduced. Of course, the contribution of road construction is based on Half of the military merit is calculated. When these troops become disabled or old, they can be transferred to the Ministry of Communications. "

In the south, there were still prisoners who could be used to build roads, but there were not many of them. In addition, Ming Dynasty could also use labor force to recruit Ming Dynasty people to build roads. But the people of the Ming Dynasty wanted to produce or do business to create wealth for the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, manpower is actually limited.

If the idle troops are used to build roads, just like fighting a war, they can still get half of the military merits and not be idle. This is also a way out. The ministers in the Wenhua Hall heard this without any objection.

Wen Tiren even thought that Emperor Chongzhen had previously conferred the title of Nanyang Bo on Zheng Zhilong to stimulate the generals, probably for the sake of the subsequent series of arrangements.

In this way, those in the army who are eager for military merit can go to fight in distant places, and those who are inferior can go to build roads, which will also count as half of the military merit. With the temptation of knighthood and the excitement of military success, I am not afraid that those warriors will not work hard!

He was thinking that Emperor Chongzhen on the throne was sizing them up, and decided to announce further military system reforms at the same time.

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