Save the Bachelor of Heaven

Lu Xun said it well, "Chinese people always like to compromise. For example, if you say that this room is too dark and a window must be opened here, people will definitely not allow it. But if you advocate removing the roof, they will Come to reconcile and be willing to open the window.”

Although the one-whip method is good governance, Xiang Nan's current prestige is simply not enough to promote it throughout the world. It would have been a huge effort to try it out in Qilu and Zhili.

Furthermore, it would take ten or eight years to achieve effective results with one whipping method.

 Historically, the Ming Dynasty implemented a whipping method, which took fifty years from the ninth year of Jiajing to the ninth year of Wanli.

In the Qing Dynasty, it took more than 20 years from the end of Kangxi to the beginning of Qianlong to fully promote the system of gentry and gentry working together as errands and paying grain.

 That's why he built the plank road openly and visited Chen Cang secretly. While all the officials' attention was focused on a whipping method, the mutual market was opened here.

Because once the mutual market is opened, the tax revenue can be collected immediately. This is an immediate effect and can solve the urgent need.

 …

 At the turn of the new year, Qiu Moyan was happy.

 This made both Xiang Nan and her very happy.

 The pregnancy lasted for ten months and once she gave birth, Qiu Moyan finally gave birth to a Lin'er.

Xiang Nan named him Zhu Jianji, which means "helping the world and the common people".

 …

 In this year, the steel plant in Xiangnan was officially built, and then began to smelt steel.

 In this year, Xiang Nan also used the money earned by Tiangongfang to build a small hydropower station deep in the Taihang Mountains.

 The construction of small hydropower stations is not difficult, and the technology of hydropower generation is also very simple, so it does not take too long to build a hydropower station.

 The reason why Xiang Nan built the hydropower station was to build an arsenal in the mountains.

 The production of artillery and spears requires lathes, milling machines, grinders, planers and other mechanical equipment. Instead of relying on manpower or steam engines to drive them, it is better to use electricity to drive them. Firstly, incoming calls are more reliable, and secondly, they are more efficient.

 Constructing arsenals in deep mountains can also be better kept secret.

 …

At the end of the third year of Tianshun's reign, Xiang Nan reformed the Beijing camp, selected smart and capable soldiers, formed a new army, equipped with brand-new firearms, and practiced day and night.

 The ministers had nothing to say about this. Firstly, there were not many civil servants who knew military affairs. Secondly, the capital camp had already been reorganized once during the Jingtai period.

Now that Xiang Nan has made another change, in the eyes of the courtiers, they still think that he wants to take over the military power. This was not unexpected for the emperor.

 As for equipping the Ming army with new firearms, it did not attract much attention.

 Because the equipment of the Ming army has always been relatively advanced.

For example, the Ming Dynasty’s army was equipped with a large number of matchlocks, magical arrows, thunder blunderbuss, etc., as well as artillery, powerful crossbows, mines, etc. In terms of technological advancement, it was leading in the world.

But the main reason why it was still invaded by Japanese pirates, Mongolians and even the Manchus was the incompetence of the imperial court and the corruption of officials, which led to an empty national treasury, a serious lack of pay for the soldiers, and no one willing to fight for the imperial court.

 So when the Hou Jin Dynasty rose, a large number of Ming troops surrendered and defected before the battle. Otherwise, with the national power of Houjin at that time, it would be impossible to conquer the world.

 …

In the autumn of the fourth year of Tianshun, the chieftains in Hunan and Hubei rebelled because of the imperial court's implementation of the reform of native land and return to local rule.

They openly tortured and killed officials sent by the imperial court, and led the Turkish army to attack cities and seize territory, burning, killing and looting, causing great damage in Hunan and Hubei.

After Xiang Nan learned of this, he summoned the courtiers and announced that he would lead the expedition in person. This suddenly frightened the courtiers.

The last time the emperor personally led a military expedition, half a million soldiers and civilians of the Ming Dynasty were killed, and the country was almost destroyed.

This time they went on a personal expedition, and although they only defeated a small chieftain, they were still afraid that he would capsize in the ditch. When the time comes, won't it mean that the country will be in turmoil again?

 Therefore, they firmly disapproved of Xiang Nan's expedition.

When Xiang Nan saw this, he didn't force it. Instead, he asked for the next best thing and asked to send the new army he formed to fight.

Seeing that the emperor did not force the war, the ministers breathed a sigh of relief and were less opposed to his request.

 As a result, the new army formed by Xiang Nan made its debut.

 The general Su Hucheng who led the army was appointed by Xiang Nan, but in fact he was not a military general, but a civilian official, and he had not even fought in a war before.

 But Xiang Nan thought he could win the battle.

 This is an ability he inherited from Qianlong.

Qianlong is known as the perfect martial artist. Although it is an exaggeration, he did have great military achievements in his life, and many generals were promoted by him personally and made great achievements.

For example, Agui, Fu Heng, Zhaohui, Fukang'an, Altai, Hailancha, etc. are all famous generals of the generation. At the beginning, these generals were not even from the military, but were serious civil servants, but they were still able to win battles after leading troops.

One of them, General Zhaohui, fought against Jungar with a force of two to three thousand troops and defeated tens of thousands of enemy troops many times, which was quite impressive.

In order to ensure the smooth march of the army, Xiang Nan specially sent a number of officials to form a supervision group to supervise the logistical supplement of the army in various places. Anyone who dared to perform perfunctory tasks, fail to provide adequate support, and delay the war opportunity would be killed first and reported later.

 Because Xiang Nan knows that the key to war is logistics.

 Once the logistics are cut off, no matter how capable the army is, it can only be called a piece of fish to be slaughtered. Just like the Tumubao Incident back then, the retreat was cut off first, leading to great chaos in the military morale.

 So this time, Xiang Nan will never allow him to make the same mistake again.

 …

In the winter of the fourth year of Tianshun, the new army set off to Hunan and Hubei to fight.

On the occasion of the Spring Festival, Xiang Nan had no intention of celebrating. Instead, he sat quietly in the Ancestral Temple and prayed for the soldiers on the expedition.

In the spring of the fifth year of Tianshun, the new army and the Turkish army clashed for the first time.

 A great victory in the first battle. The spears, cannons, mortars, grenades, etc. used by the new army caused great damage to the Turkish army.

 In the first battle, more than 300 Turkish troops were killed and more than 500 were captured, while only four or five new troops were killed or injured.

 After that, according to the strategic plan formulated by Xiang Nan, the Ming army adopted the strategy of encirclement on three sides and advancing step by step.

Because Hunan and Hubei are mountainous, which is very conducive to the Turkish army's guerrilla operations. If you rush forward greedily and go deep alone, it will be easy to fall into a trap and lead to the annihilation of the entire army.

Therefore, Xiang Nan asked the Ming army to build a bunker every time they captured a hilltop as a defensive fortification. They pushed forward step by step, making the Turkish army's range of activities smaller and smaller, and finally blocked them in the stronghold. Wipe them all out in one fell swoop.

And the general Su Hucheng appointed by Xiang Nan was indeed capable of leading troops. He is not only brave and good at fighting, but also has decisive command, and he has both inherited and carried forward Xiang Nan's strategic deployment.

He not only pressed the Turkish army step by step, but also instigated internal fighting among the chieftains. He used high-ranking officials and generous salaries and gold and silver treasures to lure a group of chieftains to surrender, and then used their troops to fight.

 After nearly a year of hard work, all the rebellious chieftains in Hunan and Hubei were wiped out. Not only did they completely eradicate the local chieftain forces, but they also captured hundreds of thousands of barbarians.