prosperous age

"General Liaodong, it's Yang Zhao now."

Wei Guangde asked hesitantly.

"Ah."

Zhang Juzheng agreed softly.

"If I Dahan is really interested in Liaodong, this Yang Zhao may not be qualified for the post of commander-in-chief."

Wei Guangde said leisurely.

"why?"

Zhang Juzheng asked with some doubts.

"Although Yang Zhao has been in the border town for many years, he can be regarded as an experienced veteran, but he is a little eager for quick success and quick gains, and he can't hold back."

Wei Guangde replied, and then said in a low voice: "Of course, I only heard people say that, as a general, I'm still a little bit short."

Zhang Juzheng lowered his head in thought, but did not answer Wei Guangde's words.

"I'm talking about this because I just heard the news from you. When he wanted to be promoted to the position of chief military officer, there was controversy in the court. Many people opposed it. I'm worried that he was eager to show his merits, and in the end it would be self-defeating. "

This is also Wei Guangde's kind reminder to Zhang Juzheng that Yang Zhao was able to take office, and he contributed a lot to it.

However, some people Wei Guangde arranged on the Nine Sides also reported to him the situation of the frontier generals they found out all the time.

Whether it is Dong Yiyuan or Ma Fang, the evaluation of Yang Zhao is that he is brave and foolish, and his behavior is a little rough.

Such a person is the best for a general, and a little dangerous for a handsome.

"Are you worried that the Tartars will invade Liaodong this time, and he will do something reckless?"

Zhang Juzheng understood Wei Guangde's reminder and answered in a low voice.

But before Wei Guangde could answer, King Yu over there asked, "What are you two talking about?"

Wei Guangde and Zhang Juzheng turned their heads, just in time to see King Yu and Yin Shizhen looking at them curiously.

"It's nothing, Shandai and I are talking about An Dahan sending troops to Liaodong."

Zhang Juzheng explained, but he didn't say that Wei Guangde pointed out Yang Zhao's problems, after all, he was from his side.

Looking at it now, the generals that Wei Guangde pushed hard, whether it was Ma Fang or Yu Dayou, were all capable generals on their own, but Yang Zhao, whom he was optimistic about, was considered by Wei Guangde to be incompetent for the position, so he naturally couldn't say it out loud.

Wei Guangde didn't speak loudly before, so he naturally thought of this, so naturally he couldn't expose his shortcomings.

"Shan Loan, if you have any opinion, speak out loudly, and let us hear it."

King Yu said loudly now.

"Your Highness, I'm not asking Brother Uncle for some details."

Wei Guangde pretended to be embarrassed and said: "Our palace has not received any news about what my uncle said earlier. I think the inside of the Ministry of War is also tightly sealed. I am afraid that if it spreads, it will cause turmoil in the capital."

"Makes sense."

Yu Wang nodded and said.

"Governor Yang thinks that I Da Khan intends to attack Liaodong, but Yang Shangshu thinks it is a trick of suspicious soldiers, so which side do you take?"

Yin Shizhen asked now.

Wei Guangde recalled the topography of the Liaodong area, and for some reason, he thought of the fact that the Shandong and Caoyun gang wanted to stop the Liaodong shipping, and he couldn't help feeling a little moved.

However, he remained silent for a moment, and after thinking about the relationship between the two, he said: "Governor Yang is worried, and I think the main concern is the safety of the Liaoxi Corridor.

If I stood in the position of Altan Khan, if I had the heart to plan Liaodong, then I would definitely try to threaten Guangning and Jinzhou and cut off the Liaoxi Corridor.

As long as the Liaoxi Corridor can be cut, Liaodong will not be able to get support from the imperial court on land, and will become a trapped beast, and more than [-] Liaodong soldiers will be reduced to lambs waiting to be slaughtered.

Send troops to harass Liaodong, and the fragile agriculture in Liaodong can trap them to death, and now some people in the court advocate abandoning the strategy of shipping to Liaodong.

At that time, without food and grass support, the Liaodong soldiers themselves will collapse, and there is no need to fight at all. "

Wei Guangde's words were somewhat exaggerated. In fact, the war between the Ming Dynasty and the Mongols in Liaodong was considered offensive and defensive, but the initiative on the battlefield was in the hands of the Mongols.

Moreover, over the years, officials of the Ming Dynasty have also changed their colors because of what happened in the 29th year of Jiajing.

They have already planted in their hearts the impression that the Ming army still cannot defeat the Mongols.

Although Ma Fang and other generals were able to defeat the attack of the Alda cavalry, they only kept people out of the city wall.

If they can't fight, they can withdraw temporarily, without hurting their muscles or bones.

After he has recovered, he will find a place to fight again someday.

In short, now Da Ming is struggling to deal with the attacks of the northern grasslands, but has no effective means of restraint.

"Stop Liaodong Shipping?"

King Yu hadn't heard the news yet, and today he was a little surprised. First, he learned the reason for the two Yang's disagreements from Zhang Juzheng, and now he heard Wei Guangde say that someone wanted to stop the Liaodong shipping. He didn't know what to do for a while.

"Your Highness, some officials at the bottom of the imperial court are indeed discussing this matter."

Yin Shizhen on the side saw Yu Wang's appearance and hurriedly opened his mouth to explain.

"Sea transportation cannot stop."

However, King Yu didn't care that Yin Shizhen was talking about low-level officials of the imperial court, but grasped Wei Guangde's main concern, which was the fragility of the Liaoxi Corridor.

The Liaodong area under the control of the Ming Dynasty is actually divided into two parts: Liaodong and Liaoxi.

Liaodong, simply put, is the area east of the Liaohe River. This piece of land has a huge area, connecting North Korea to the east, Kaiyuan and Tieling to the north, Shenyang and Liaoyang to the west, and the sea to the south.

Western Liaoning refers to a narrow strip extending from Shanhaiguan to Guangning along the coastline of the Bohai Sea. This is also the only land passage from the inland of the Ming Dynasty to Liaodong, and its strategic location is very important.

In fact, the wars in Liaodong at the end of Ming Dynasty were mainly wars that broke out among the towns in the Liaoxi Corridor.

Daming's ability to defend the Liaoxi Corridor will not only ensure the safety of the north of the capital, but also have the opportunity to regain the Liaodong area.

The terrain along the entire Liaoxi Corridor is complex, and it is also extremely vulnerable to damage by the Mongols.

Thirty-eight years before Jiajing, all the materials transported by the imperial court to Liaodong were transported to Liaodong through the Liaoxi Corridor. However, after a rare natural disaster in Liaodong, the sea transportation had to be restarted, and a large amount of food and other materials were transported to Liaodong.

Wei Guangde's words made King Yu suddenly understand that Jia Yingchun's proposal to restart shipping to Liao Dynasty was not only related to the economy, but also related to the military.

I think that in the future, once a war breaks out in Liaodong and the land passage is blocked or becomes no longer safe, the sea transportation from Shandong to Liaodong will play a huge role.

"The matter of shipping, there should be no changes in the short term. Let's talk about the differences between the two Lord Yang first."

Zhang Juzheng saw King Yu's statement, afraid that the topic would be diverted in a while, so he hurriedly said to Wei Guangde.

"Actually, there is nothing to say. Yang Shangshu is naturally more concerned about the safety of the capital. According to Governor Yang's intention, Jizhen soldiers and horses will enter the Liaoxi Corridor eastward. This will not only ensure the safety of Liaoxi, but also attack Alda from behind at critical moments to attack Liaodong. of people.

However, the eastward movement of Jizhen's troops will inevitably reduce the strength of the capital's northern defense line. If our troops take advantage of the situation and break through the side wall again, Jizhen's army will not be able to return to reinforcements in a short period of time, and it will inevitably be another battle."

Wei Guangde didn't continue to speak, but everyone in the room understood what to say next.

Of course, the cavalry of the Anda tribe came to the city of Beijing again, and the Emperor Jiajing once again issued an edict to King Qin to rescue him.

That incident was actually a thorn in Emperor Jiajing's heart, and it was also an official taboo.

"Yang Shangshu seeks stability, but Governor Yang does"

Yin Shizhen didn't continue, but shook his head.

"You occupy Yang Shangshu's side?"

Zhang Juzheng asked suddenly.

Wei Guangde glanced at Zhang Juzheng upon hearing this, and then nodded.

To be honest, as far as he knows the situation in Liaodong now, the value of that place is really not great.

The current Northeast is not the granary of later generations. The black land in Northeast China has not yet been developed. Rice, soybeans and corn are not the main crops of farmers in this era. Even the farmers in Liaodong think that they cannot grow the traditional East China. Winter wheat, but spring wheat and sorghum-like foods that are hard to swallow.

As for things of infinite value in the eyes of later generations, the countless underground mineral resources and fertile black land, the Ming Dynasty, which was an agricultural civilization during this period, did not realize it, let alone the Mongols who only knew how to herd sheep and horses.

Understanding people's views in reality doesn't mean that Wei Guangde doesn't know the value of the Northeast, and there are even more vast places to go north, but the reality of Ming Dynasty really can't covet it there.

At least, before the real settlement of the Mongolian tribes, Daming has no way to expand northward. No matter how much money and cotton armor are given, others may not go.

Both the Daning Dusi and the Nuergan Dusi were abolished successively, and the power of the Ming Dynasty in the north began to withdraw.

So, Wei Guangde doesn't think that Daming and Altan Khan will break out a war in Liaodong, vying for control of this area.

Correspondingly, if a war really breaks out there, the Ming army can continue to increase troops along the Liaoxi Corridor and sea transportation to Liaodong, and fight a tug-of-war with Altan Khan.

If this opportunity can be used to seriously weaken the strength of Alda's Ministry, Jiubian Junzhen can definitely launch a Northern Expedition. Even if it can't completely solve the threat of the Northern Expedition Mongols, it will be enough to make them dare not look south for decades.

Based on Wei Guangde's judgment, Al Da Khan probably wouldn't bet on Liaodong. Perhaps Yang Bo was right. Perhaps Al Da Khan's purpose was to lure Jizhen's army to move eastward and provide them with another chance to raid the capital.

"The war should not break out in the short term, and the result will be known when Yang Shangshu returns to Beijing."

Wei Guangde spoke.

By this time, King Yu had forgotten the reason why he called Wei Guangde and Zhang Juzheng to the palace.

Perhaps, in their view, the safety of the capital or the north is more important than that of Jiangnan.

No matter how you look at it, it is impossible for the harassment of thousands of Japanese pirates to be more harmful than the Mongolian Tartars who have hundreds of thousands of people who control strings.

In the following time, King Yu kept inquiring about the situation of the officials who opposed the shipping of Jiliao, wanting to know the reason.

Officials of the imperial court will not object to this matter for no reason.

That being the case, it is of course necessary to break through the casserole and find out the ins and outs in order to have a clear understanding of the shipping issue and make a choice.

Naturally, with the presence of Yin Shizhen, King Yu knew that all the officials of the Shandong government and the entire water transportation system were opposed to shipping.

Next, Wei Guangde and Zhang Juzheng explained in detail why they opposed shipping.

The Shandong government just wants to reduce trouble for itself, and the water transport is to reduce competitors and intend to eliminate the budding of the enemy.

"Listen to what you said, the water transport is related to the safety of the world. If the water ships are changed to sea ships, the livelihood of the people along the river will really become a big trouble."

After Wei Guangde explained the negative impact on the people along the river after sea transportation replaced water transportation, King Yu was also silent.

He is not stupid, with the explanations of people like Gao Gong and Chen Yiqin, he naturally knows that the matter is of great importance.

At the beginning, under the guidance of Wei Guangde, especially after several years of shipping to Jiliao, it was obvious that the safety of sea-going ships was still very high. people die.

The businessmen in Liaodong are not fools. Shipping is really so dangerous. Will they actively develop shipping?
They will lose all their underpants.

Although shipping is economical and saves time, there are also hazards, and it is still a major issue related to the community.

"They are worried that more officials of the imperial court will see the matter of the Liao ship shipping, so they will choose to support shipping instead of water transport, which will affect their interests. It is really not good for more than [-] Cao troops and hundreds of thousands of people's livelihood. trade-off."

King Yu finally had to sigh.

This force is incredible, tens of thousands of people.

Even if more than [-] Cao troops were changed to sailing ships, what would the people do?
"Actually, even if sea transportation will eventually replace water transportation, it will not be accomplished overnight. It will never be possible in ten or twenty years."

Of course Wei Guangde didn't want to give King Yu the impression that he couldn't leave Water Transport, so he spoke.

You know, although water transport can feed countless people, the entire water transport system is a huge, blood-sucking leech. Rather than saying that he is maintaining the stability of the empire, it is better to say that he is absorbing nutrients from Ming Dynasty to nourish those bureaucrats. It is the vitality of Daming's development.

"Having said that, after all, many people's livelihoods will be affected."

In King Yu's view, as a royal family, he naturally cannot disregard the life and death of his subjects.

Even if Wei Guangde said that no matter how much the advantage of sea transportation is, it cannot offset the lives and deaths of the people.

In fact, if he had to make a choice, he would rather keep the current state and let those people continue to attach themselves to the Grand Canal to suck blood and make money, at least the people can still live because of it.

"Your Highness, you are actually worrying too much."

Seeing the change in King Yu's face, Wei Guangde naturally knew that this would not work, so he continued: "As the saying goes, people go to high places, and water flows to low places.

The people along the river did not rely on the Grand Canal for a living at the beginning, but gradually developed from generation to generation.

The Grand Canal used to connect the north and the south, but after all, it could not meet the transportation needs of the north and the south of my Ming Dynasty. Every year, countless ships were congested at the gates and could not move.

If things go on like this, the goods from the north and the south of my Ming Dynasty will not be transported in time, and the livelihood of more people will be affected.

Moreover, I think that the development of sea transportation does not mean that the imperial court should stop water transportation, but that merchants should develop coastal ports for their own use.

As for the original people along the river, they may continue to make a living on the Cao River, or they can go to those ports to make a living.

In fact, what the imperial court has to do is to allocate a part of the grain to go by sea, and gradually adjust the proportion of water and sea transportation year by year.

Even the imperial court could issue a decree to allow only grain transportation by sea, and leave the canals for civilian ships, which is also a good governance that benefits the people. "

"what?"

King Yu didn't express his opinion, but Zhang Juzheng on the side became interested.