The vision of the red building is farther

Leaving aside the matter of the border for the time being, just the news of the victory of the army is enough for the court to rejoice. In the past, those officials who always advised Zheng Hedi to stop fighting and turn to martial arts turned to congratulate Zheng Hedi for his indomitable achievements. I paid homage to Ming Zhijun, and the rumors and gossip about the Ministry of War and Jia Zhen and other officials who fought the battle suddenly disappeared.

Although the army returned victorious, it did not mean that Jia Zhen and others were relaxed.For example, the following matters such as rewards and pensions for the soldiers who died in battle are enough to keep the Ministry of Households and the Ministry of Officials busy.More importantly, Emperor Zhenghe suddenly had an idea that he wanted to include those grasslands in his territory, instead of letting them be there to usher in the next batch of nomads.

Since Emperor Zhenghe had this idea, he simply called the six ministers together with Han Chang and other confidants to the imperial study.Everyone started to think about it as soon as they heard it.Li An, Shangshu of the Ministry of War, took the lead and said: "My lord, forgive me for my words. I think it is inappropriate. First of all, the grassland is vast. It will be a big trouble if we arrange to garrison troops. What's more, if we go to the grassland, there will be no danger." It can be defended. Furthermore, it is a matter of climate, especially in the area of ​​the Ural Mountains, where the winter is extremely cold and there are almost no people there. If the soldiers are not careful, they may freeze to death."

Hubu Shangshu pondered in his heart for a long time before he opened his mouth and said: "My lord, I agree with the proposal of the Ministry of War Shangshu. First of all, although these grasslands can be used for animal husbandry, cattle and sheep, and even the land in the northeast area can be used as arable land. But these can’t increase tax revenue in the short term. On the contrary, we need to invest a lot of money if we want to immigrate and cultivate. Secondly, as the Secretary of the Ministry of War said, if the border guards increase, then relatively speaking, the financial expenditure of the imperial court will also increase. Also Yes, for long-term consideration, the construction of Xiongguan frontier is indispensable, which is a huge expenditure. At present, although our government's financial revenue is good, it is difficult to support such consumption. After all, we still have to invest in the navy. Weapons, people's livelihood and other things."

The Minister of the Ministry of War and the Minister of the Ministry of Hubu opposed the proposal of Emperor Zhenghe, but did not make Emperor Zhenghe angry, because the starting point of the Minister of Military Affairs and the Minister of the Ministry of Hubu was not to oppose their own proposals, but to raise operational issues. These problems also troubled After a long time with Zheng and Di, he signaled the others to continue.

Liu Hongfei, Shangshu of the Ministry of Rites, continued: "I think the idea of ​​the Holy One is indeed very good, but as the two adults said just now, not counting immigrants for reclamation, if we want to build a frontier fortress city, then it will not only be spent on money, I am afraid it will increase Corvée. Although we have won this battle right now, we still need to prepare for other wars in the future. The strength of the people is limited, so we must not exhaust the resources.”

Jia Zhen said: "I think that there is no need to worry about corvee. We can recruit prisoners without paying them too much. In addition to the necessary three meals a day, prisoners who perform well can have their sentences reduced. For example, the death penalty can be changed. For life, the specific judgment and measurement must of course be drawn up by the Secretary of the Ministry of Criminal Justice. Of course, in order to prevent those prisoners from being raped, the supervisor can choose someone from the army to patrol the border and supervise the completion of the frontier fortifications. It’s not that I’m worried that Buddhism is too prosperous and there are too many monks. Instead of letting those monks use incense money to rebuild temples, it’s better to recruit them to build fortifications. You can follow this example." Although Emperor Zhenghe greatly reduced the two religions of Taoism and Buddhism, and even abolished their privileges, the results have not yet been achieved in the short term.

The Shangshu of the Ministry of Industry said: "What you are worried about is the problem of money and food. If you don't mention anything else, the construction of the frontier fortress will not be completed in decades. It will cost countless money. If you don't mention anything else I’m afraid it will cost a lot of bricks and tiles.” The Minister of the Ministry of Industry couldn’t be more clear about these things, and quickly gave a rough estimate.

Han Chang suddenly said: "What the adults said is very reasonable. I think it is unnecessary to immigrate to the frontier. The grassland area is good for animal husbandry, but there is very little land for reclamation. It is better to encourage the local people To develop animal husbandry, our dynasty mainly collects taxes on food and money. For these frontier residents who raise animals, it is better to change them to cattle and sheep. In the first few years, they can be encouraged to develop animal husbandry with food and reduced corvee. This time, although the finances There are expenditures, but there is still a surplus. As for the construction of frontier cities, I think we can first delineate a few places to build frontier fortresses, so that the soldiers can rely on the frontier fortresses, and the remaining fortifications will be left until later, even for several years. Ten years later, it is also possible, and it is also a good training for the army, especially the cavalry."

As the saying goes that Hulu has no luck for a hundred years, it is a matter of long-term vision.The construction of the frontier fortress was difficult to complete overnight. Even Qin Shihuang exhausted all the resources of the people and could not complete such a huge project. The construction of the Great Wall by Qin and the digging of canals in Sui Dynasty were all long-term moves, but they failed in seeking speed.

"I think this is a bad move. Because of the climate and other issues, the farther you go to the north, the less people there are. Although there is Russia in the north, they are not afraid of it. With their ability, they can't touch this place. Let's take it easy." Li said. The county king said.

"Manpower is second, and the key lies in silver." The Minister of the Household Department calculated carefully, and even with such a reduction, the amount of money that can be extracted is very small, which can reach the required ten to five or six. The preliminary work is enough. , but the ending part is still lacking.

At this time, Jia Zhen kept circling an idea in her mind-beggars for neighbors, and beggars for neighbors is not advocated by the ancient law, because as the Great Central Dynasty bordering many countries, if beggars for neighbors, on the contrary, it will make other surrounding countries feel dissatisfied. Disturbing borders, interrupting national plans.In addition, although Tibet, Xinjiang and other places surrendered to the central government, due to the large number of ethnic groups, there are local leaders in the local area, and turmoil occurs from time to time.In the past few years, due to the substantial increase in the strength of the army, it has become much more peaceful, and even those who rebelled have been suppressed, making government orders clear and weakening the real power of local leaders and chieftains.

However, beggar-thy-neighbor is not unfeasible. If the neighbor is thousands of miles away from Dayang Dynasty, there will be no problem at all.For example, the United Kingdom is an island country, and the sea power thinking was initiated by it.As an island country, it is still possible to be marginalized in today's developed shipping industry. If you have to choose one to start with, it is better to choose the United Kingdom.

"Your Majesty, I have a solution. As your lords have said, we cannot adopt the method of increasing corvees and taxes. This will only exhaust the resources. Therefore, the only way is not to get silver from the people internally, but externally. There are two ways, one is war and the other is trade. War is currently not feasible for us, but it will increase our financial burden, so the only way is trade." Jia Zhen said.

"Continue." Emperor Zhenghe frowned slightly, motioning Jia Zhen to continue.

"Your Majesty, according to the news we have received, Portugal and Spain currently have the upper hand, and Europa (Europe) is still in the process of integration and development. There is only one country that stays out and has sufficient capital and strength, and that is England. Queen Elizabeth I is also carrying out reforms, adopting various means to accumulate wealth, including unequal trade plunder, and even selling black slaves." Jia Zhen paused for a moment, and the news has since been sent by the government and the emperor to release the constraints of businessmen. It was passed on continuously.

"You mean to imitate England." Zheng Hedi squinted his eyes and rejected this proposal in his heart. Although he started to focus on the navy again and vigorously develop it, the current level can only guarantee undefeated coastal wars and protect the country. It's just a merchant ship. It costs too much to get involved in North Africa and other places, not to mention the preparations for war with England.

"Of course not. England has their geographical, economic and political backing for such an approach. But we can target England. It is said that England has shifted its target from North Africa and other places to India and us." Jia Zhen calculated After a while, in about seven or eight years, the East India Company will be established.

"Catch the thief first and catch the king first. Since England has plundered wealth from other countries and started to covet us, why don't we preemptively solve our urgent needs and break the process of England's integration and development." Jia Zhen narrowed her eyes. , a sneer curled up at the corner of his mouth.

"Opium." Jia Zhen smiled and continued.As soon as the word opium was uttered, all eyes were on Jia Zhen. As an important minister, everyone was no stranger to opium. On the borders with Burma and other places, and even in the area of ​​Yunnan and Guizhou, opium is definitely famous. Color-changing things, especially after business was encouraged, the economy did prosper, but many bad things also began to prevail, such as opium/chips, poppy/poppy shells.The imperial court has issued several prohibitions for this purpose, and even found people selling opium/poppy and opium in the area, and imposed the death penalty.

"Is this too much and against morality?" Minister of the Ministry of Punishment hesitated for a moment and said.Jia Zhen's method is indeed very good, but it really violates what a big country, Shangguo, did.

"Is the Minister of Criminal Affairs worried about England's retaliation, or is he worried that other countries will follow suit?" Jia Zhen immediately understood what the Minister of Criminal Justice meant.The tributary policy reformed by Zheng Hedi before was actually an Anbian policy in essence—after all, problems that can be solved with money are not problems. Using the money rewarded by the tributary to help those small countries maintain their own stability is also a guarantee in disguise. The stability of the North Korean border, it is a pity not to mention that there will be a white-eyed wolf like Japan in the future. It is said that when the new/China/country was struggling to establish and develop, India coveted Tibet. In order to maintain sovereignty and territory, China/China is extremely We won the war against India under difficult circumstances. Even Vietnam (known as Annan in ancient times), a small country, and even a small country that voluntarily requested to be merged into the territory in ancient times, dared to attack China's border until China completely interrupted the country's fortune. , Still harassing China from time to time in the South China Sea.