Brother Zhu Youxiao

Chapter 225 Chapter [-]
"Ugh..."

"Bang bang bang-"

In November, accompanied by the sound of horns and blunderbusses, outside the Great Wall of Kaiyuan in Liaodong, four hundred miles to the north, the iron cavalry of the Ming army, holding blunderbusses as fast as the wind, was facing the fortress of the Jin army at the foot of Mount Nuer. The Golden Army sentry cavalry shot and killed.

At the head of the Tunpu city, a Zhenghongqi Niulu clenched his fists, but he dared not let anyone open the gate of the Tunpu city.

Since the Battle of Restoring the Liao Dynasty was completely over, the cavalry of the Ming army sent sentries to the north and made surprise attacks everywhere.

Meng Kelu watched his subordinates being shot and killed by the Ming army outside the city, and his heart felt like a knife, but there was nothing he could do.

"Er Zhen, let's take people out for a wave, they only have a general banner with more than [-] people!"

The general next to him couldn't help but want Meng Kelu to speak, but Meng Kelu shook his head and said:

"Are you sure they only have one general banner? If the city gate is opened, there will be an equal number of enemies and us, and it will be very difficult to withdraw."

As soon as Meng Kelu opened his mouth, everyone shut up, because they all heard from the other population of the two red flags who participated in the first battle of the Liao Dynasty, how powerful the cavalry of the Ming army was, so even if they couldn't bear it, they still had to recognize the reality .

"From the sentry fort outside the Great Wall of the Ming army to here, it is only about three hundred miles away. It seems that the round-trip ability of the cavalry of the Ming army is as expected by the Great Khan. The round-trip cannot exceed six hundred miles..."

Meng Kelu analyzed the distance that the Ming army cavalry had penetrated into northern Xinjiang in the past few months. It seemed that Nurhan Mountain Fort was the maximum distance they had penetrated, because he had not heard the news that the Ming army cavalry had appeared further north.

"Without auxiliary soldiers, traveling six hundred miles..."

Meng Kelu's heart sank, and at this time the harvest of the Ming army outside the city was completely over. Twelve Golden Army sentry cavalry had their heads cut off, their bodies were piled on the ground, and the horses were taken away by the Ming army.

Such a scene happened outside the Great Wall on any fort near the Houjin forces, but the Jin army could only passively defend against it.

The death of [-] horse infantry greatly affected the mobility of the Jin army.

In terms of mobility, the Ming army is far ahead of them. Their only advantage is that they are far enough away from the Ming army.

"Today's beheading is not bad, level [-]. If it goes on like this for a long time, it is estimated that it will really do what His Highness said, dragging Jianlu into small-scale guerrilla warfare, so that they can no longer skillfully operate large-scale mobile warfare."

When Niu Lu of the Jin Army's stone forts was still troubled by the harassment of the Ming Army's cavalry, Yuan Yingtai, who worked in the Shenyang General Manager Lue's Mansion, happily reported the results of the battle.

Opposite him, Xiong Tingbi was watching a volume of battle reports, and said at the same time:

"The Liao pay has been canceled in the pass. Hearing that the land tax has been cancelled, the people all over the world are rejoicing. I only saw such a grand event when I was young."

"Did Your Highness go hunting in Daning again?" Yuan Yingtai asked while tidying up, and Xiong Tingbi nodded slightly:
"In one month, His Highness will be fourteen years old. At this age, it is not surprising that he can open a five-strength bow and likes hunting."

The two were discussing Zhu Youjian's fun in Liaodong in his spare time, but they still talked about the business.

"His Royal Highness did not enter the customs and returned to the capital, but escaped some disasters."

Yuan Yingtai frowned tightly, holding a document in his hand and said:

"This is the mansion newspaper in the capital. The Jingcha, which has been suspended for four years, is about to start again, but this time it is organized by Cui Chengxiu, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, Li Kuilong, and Cao Qincheng."

"Aren't these guys all defected to Wei Zhongxian's eunuch?" Xiong Tingbi walked over with a frown, picked up the mansion newspaper and read it.

Seeing this, Yuan Yingtai explained: "I heard that Wansui stopped court for a month on the grounds of suffering from the wind and cold. I don't know whether the Jingcha this time was ordered by Wansui, or whether Wei Zhongxian was deceiving."

"It shouldn't be so, it probably means long live." Xiong Tingbi closed the mansion newspaper and continued to explain:

"After all, His Highness is still in Shenyang. If Wei Zhongxian deceives others, with His Highness' strength, it is more than enough to take care of a house slave."

"That being said, judging by the posture, I don't know how strong this Beijing inspection will be..." Yuan Yingtai was still a little worried.

"Why do you think so much? I guess you and I have long been considered rebellious by those people. But if they are all deposed, you and I will be more relaxed." Xiong Tingbi is quite open-minded, but it is not surprising.

In terms of origin, Xiong Tingbi himself was a cowherd boy from a poor family who helped the landlords in the countryside herd cattle since he was a child. Fortunately, he was lucky enough to catch up with Zhang Juzheng in those years when he was in power, so he was able to study in official school.

This is also the reason why he and most of the Chu Party did not deal with each other. After all, they came from different backgrounds.

In his view, when Yao Zongwen and his group impeached him, Guan Yingzhen and others didn't even say a word. In fact, it was Guan Yingzhen who betrayed him, not him who betrayed the Chu Party.

This kind of party that can't protect its own people should be disbanded as soon as possible.

Xiong Tingbi didn't think that there was something wrong with his personality. After all, as far as the group of stinky fish and rotten shrimps within the Chu Party were concerned, if he became the leader of the party, he would definitely trample the three parties of Zhejiang, Xuan, and Kun under his feet.

Arrogant and contemptuous, this is Xiong Tingbi's character.

"Sorry..."

Just as the two were chatting, the sound of war horse Xilulu sounded in the Jinglue mansion. It didn't take much thinking to know that Zhu Youjian was the only one who dared to ride a horse in the Jinglue mansion.

Just as the two got up to welcome them, they saw Zhu Youjian leading someone in from outside the meeting hall.

Walking into the meeting hall, he picked up the teapot and teacup, filled it with tea, and drank it all in one gulp.

"Your Highness..." Xiong Tingbi and Yuan Yingtai bowed to each other, while Zhu Youjian wiped his mouth with his armguard and said:

"Why, seeing you like this, what happened?"

"The Beijing inspection is about to start in the capital, but this time..." Yuan Yingtai was about to tell the whole story, but Zhu Youjian raised his hand and said:

"Don't worry about the affairs of the capital, you just need to take care of Liaodong and Jingcheng. Has You Shigong arrived in Jingcheng yet?"

"Arrived, arrived six days ago. Three battalions of infantry, two battalions of cavalry, and four hundred five-jin General Yanshan cannons were stationed in Jingcheng."

Xiong Tingbi reported back, and at the same time said to Zhu Youjian:
"Some stone fortresses outside the Great Wall have also been restored, defending against the enemy hundreds of miles north of the Great Wall."

"Well, in this way, Liaodong can give birth safely." Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Zhu Youjian nodded in satisfaction, and the two Jin Yiwei behind him also helped him pat the snowflakes on his body.

After everything was done, Zhu Youjian took the main seat, motioned for Xiong Tingbi to sit down and said:

"A few days ago, I asked Lu Wenzhao and Man Gui to go to Tuman and Karaqin. In the future, there must be twelve battalions of iron cavalry with one man and three horses in Liaodong. The matter of war horses will be handled by the Imperial Horse Supervisory Committee. You continue to build Just drag the captives into small-scale guerrilla warfare."

"Beizhen Fusi has received a lot of news. The old slave reclaimed the land at any cost, and used troops against the Beishan Jurchen."

"I'm counting the time. From the beginning of spring, Huang Taiji will lead the troops to unite with the Horqin Department, and use troops against Hutudun or Waikalkha."

Zhu Youjian explained his own analysis and some preparations for Liaodong Cavalry to become more elite. These preparations greatly inspired Xiong Tingbi and Yuan Yingtai.

Twelve battalions, one person and three horses, it can be said that counting the original more than [-] army horses, Zhu Youjian is planning to allocate [-] army horses to Liaodong one after another.

If the combat power of these twelve battalions is formed, then in the future, Liaodong alone will be enough to sweep the North.

However, the training of cavalry is not that simple. In addition, the Yumajian has to supply straight soldiers and horses. It is estimated that it will take two or three years for the twelve battalions to form combat effectiveness.

"The silver rewards for Liaodong officers and soldiers will probably arrive in a few days by escort. Counting the time, it's almost time for me to return to the pass."

Zhu Youjian suddenly said that he was going back to the pass, which made Xiong Tingbi and Yuan Yingtai speak quickly:

"Your Highness, the current disputes in the pass, the Jingcha has not yet ended, it is not a good time to return to the pass at this time, besides, Wansui once said that you don't have to go back for the time being."

"Of course I know..." Zhu Youjian said with a chuckle:
"But there are a lot of things I need to do in the pass. There are [-] soldiers and two soldiers in Liaodong. I am completely relieved, but the pass is not enough."

"The abolition of the Beijing camp and the guards, and the renovation of the Taipu Temple, these things need me to do one by one."

Zhu Youjian explained why he wanted to go back at this time. He naturally knew that it was not a good time to go back, but he had nothing to do.

This is mainly because natural disasters and man-made disasters attracted him more attention than Jianlu.

The severe drought in Xiaobinghe is his first opponent. It is impossible for him to hide in Liaodong until next summer and wait for the end of the Beijing inspection before going back.

What's more, the distance from Shenyang to the capital is more than [-] li, which is too long. If something happens, he can't react.

In comparison, returning to the Yanshan camp is what he should do now. Besides, the northern soldiers and horses will soon be his people, so what is he afraid of?
As for the mouths of those civilian keyboard warriors, at most he felt a little noisy.

He really wanted to take a closer look at what kind of sparks would be created when most civil servants who only knew how to play tricks met Wei Zhongxian who only knew how to use torture.

"Okay, I'm leaving tomorrow, and Liaodong depends entirely on the two of you."

Zhu Youjian said it very easily, including Xiong Tingbi and others. This is mainly because Jianlu has been beaten and disabled.

According to the harassment of the Ming army, it is estimated that Jianlu will lose hundreds of soldiers every year.

Under such a stalemate, Jianlu was either dragged to death, or he was waiting for Zhu Youjian to lead his troops to sweep the north and wipe them out in one fell swoop.

Now the Ming army is only short of money, food and population from destroying Jianlu.

Liaodong could not be self-sufficient, so the Ming army had to carry out the Northern Expedition while feeding millions of victims.

The Northern Expedition was at least [-] miles from south to north. With such a distance, even if the Imperial Horse Supervisor did not pay the army, and directly stud the family, it would be able to fight for half a year at most.

The size of the [-] expeditionary army, with a distance of [-] miles, requires at least [-] million civilians to transport the luggage and [-] auxiliary soldiers to protect the luggage line.

At least three million stone grains will be eaten this month. Is this just people, and what about the livestock that transport gunpowder and ordnance?

There are only a handful of battles that have traveled more than a thousand miles between ancient and modern times. For example, the famous one in the Ming Dynasty was the Battle of Yuerhai.

This battle of [-] Ming troops against [-] Northern Yuan elites was also the result of Zhu Yuanzhang's three years of preparation, and the financial situation of the Hongwu Dynasty was much better than that of the current Ming Dynasty.

If Zhu Youjian didn't need to pay the army, then he could lead [-] cavalry out of the fortress, cooperate with thousands of five-jin cannons, and wipe out Jianlu in one fell swoop.

But the problem is, there are still a group of laggards behind him.

In Lan Yu's first battle with Yu'erhai, Zhu Yuanzhang tidied up his rear area obediently.

But Zhu Youjian and Zhu Youxiao, to be honest, Zhu Youxiao is at most on par with civil servants, because he still lacks the Imperial College in Zhu Yuanzhang's hands.

If Zhu Youjian hadn't made preparations long ago and stocked up enough food in Liaodong, and Zhu Youxiao had intercepted the gunpowder from the armor factory that the civil servants wanted to transport away, then maybe the original victory of Liaodong would have become a restoration of Liaodong. Liao won miserably.

Before there is no one of his own, Zhu Youjian will not rest assured of Beizheng.

This is why he immediately took in Gu Bingqian after the end of the first battle of the Liao Dynasty.

The eunuchs in Wei Zhongxian's hands are always a scapegoat, as long as the goal is achieved, they can all be suppressed, but Gu Bingqian can't.

In other words, Gu Bingqian was the one who stood up and ended the struggle between the eunuch party and the Qi, Chu, Zhejiang, Xuankun, and Donglin parties.

It's just that there can't be too many people who finish the work, because if there are too many, it will affect the future Yanshan students and Zhu Youjian's reform.

And if there are too many people, they will attract the attention of all parties just like eunuchs.

As far as the current situation is concerned, the number of hundreds of Beijing officials and hundreds of foreign officials is enough.

What Zhu Youjian wanted was their qualifications, obedience, and age. As for the people who did the work, they were still Yanshan students.

As long as the first batch of Yanshan students who entered the official ranks had passed their age, Gu Bingqian and his group could be replaced.

Well, if the wood is rotten, just replace it with a new batch...

With this thought in mind, Zhu Youjian turned and left the Jinglue Mansion, while Xiong Tingbi and Yuan Yingtai bowed to each other and glanced at each other.

It's just that they didn't say anything after all, they just bowed their heads and returned to their positions, continuing to deal with the military and political affairs of Liaodong.

It was only after Zhu Youjian left far enough that he asked Jin Yiwei Qianhu next to him about some things he cared about.

"How many people have been relocated from the Ryukyu Mansion right now?"

"Returning to Your Highness, it seems that there are more than [-] households, nearly two million people."

Jin Yiwei Qianhu who was next to him immediately reported back, but Zhu Youjian frowned and said:

"Why are there so many people?"

He was happy that so many people in Ryukyu Prefecture had migrated, but he was more concerned about the reasons behind it.

Regarding this question, Jin Yiwei Qianhu replied respectfully:
"This year, some places in Fujian and Guangdong suffered from drought, which caused the price of food to rise to [-] Wen a stone."

"Many people who couldn't survive went directly to the port to relocate with their families when they heard that they were relocated to Ryukyu to distribute grain and cattle."

"Is it food again..." Zhu Youjian's heart sank.

Although he knew that from the end of the Song Dynasty to the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty to the early years of Yongzheng in the Qing Dynasty, the entire period was a long Little Ice Age, and that the Little Ice River Drought would officially break out in the seventh year of the Apocalypse, but he did not expect that this Little Ice River Drought So many natural disasters have already been revealed before the outbreak.

As for the natural disasters in the past few years, I have been overwhelmed with dealing with them.

Although it is true that there are powerful enemies outside and corrupt officials inside, natural disasters are real.

During these days, Zhu Youjian has settled an account, that is, if Daming returns to the taxation of the Hongwu period, can he survive the drought in the Little Ice River...

The answer is no!
There have been seventeen years of severe drought, among which tens of millions of people are involved in the fewest cases every year, and close to hundreds of millions in the most cases.

How much food do hundreds of millions of people need to eat a year?

Even with sweet potatoes and potatoes combined with rice and wheat, it would take at least [-] million stones a year to keep them alive, and this was just a way of living, and it was about a catty of sweet potatoes a day.

If you eat it for a long time, it will cause big problems.

That is to say, in the face of the severe drought in the Little Ice River, Zhu Youjian must maintain [-] million shi of grain in the official warehouse.

What kind of difficulty is this?At least in the feudal society, even before the twentieth century, no dynasty dared to speak harshly about the official warehouse grain of [-] million shi.

From ancient times to the present, most of the means are to transfer food to relieve the victims, but Zhu Youjian's embarrassment is, where does he transfer it from?

If it can be done in the first few years, it can also be done in the next few years, but what about the two years when the drought was the worst?

70% to 80% of the country's population and arable land are affected, and expect to transfer food to those [-]-[-]% of the arable land population to relieve them?

It is not that the Chongzhen court did not fail to work hard on disaster relief, but the result of the hard work was that during the two years when the Xiaobinghe drought was at its peak, the price of grain in the Ming Dynasty almost reached an average price of one stone and one tael of silver.

Who can afford such food prices?

Such natural disasters and Zhu Youjian can only be overcome by means of fishing in coastal provinces, grain adjustment in the interior, and migration from other places.

Develop the Northeast, win the Indochina Peninsula, develop Ryukyu Prefecture...

These are all helpless actions. If he hadn't faced the natural disaster of seventeen years of severe drought, how could he have spent money and food on it.

Just like the civil and military of the Ming Dynasty at the moment, they simply don't understand why Zhu Youjian spends hundreds of millions of stones of grain every year to develop Liaodong and Ryukyu.

Perhaps even if the Little Ice River is suffering from a severe drought, they can at most say "a year of famine, spending money and spending money", and then pick up their chopsticks and continue to eat their delicacies.

As for the people who have been affected by the disaster, as long as they don't rebel, they don't care at all...

"It is necessary to intensify the external migration, and the campaign to the south..."

Zhu Youjian couldn't help thinking in his heart, and then said to Jinyiwei Qianhu:

"When Hong Chengchou and others arrived in the southwest, they would tell me as soon as possible."

"Yes……"

Thousands of Jinyiwei responded, and Zhu Youjian returned to his resting place under the escort of Jinyiwei.

A few days later, he rode overland with a brigade of Jinyi Weiti and returned to the Yanshan camp, and such news was also watched by civil and military officials who had been following his whereabouts.

"When this son returns to Beijing this time, he will definitely abolish the military governor's mansion and the Beijing camp!"

"I have endured the abolition of the guard before, but now His Highness wants to attack the Beijing camp, don't you think it's too much?"

"Our ancestors were also heroes who threw their heads and blood for Daming. Why are we abandoning it now that we don't need it?"

In the capital city and in the British government residence, dozens of nobles, big and small, were noisy and hustle and bustle. This situation made the British prince Zhang Weixian who was sitting in his seat frown a little.

"Okay! There's nothing wrong with the horoscope yet, so what's the point of being noisy?!"

Seeing Zhang Weixian's frown, Xu Xigao immediately reprimanded him, but his reprimand seemed to be for Zhang Weixian to see.

Zhang Weixian glanced at him, then came out to calm his mind and said:

"I have already entered the palace this morning to inquire about the matter of the Beijing camp. Long live means that even if His Highness wants to abolish it, he will find a way out for me. Don't worry."

"So it's really going to be abolished?" The fat on Cheng Guogong Zhu Chunchen's face trembled, and a word made the hall quiet.

"Long live means to cancel, but the specific arrangement should be discussed with me first." Zhang Weixian is still trying his best to maintain the situation.

"But before King Qi abolished the Shanxi Guard, he didn't discuss with me..."

"The same goes for Shandong and Henan..."

Some nobles wanted to scold back, but after thinking about it, they still kept some voices, and they were not so tough.

There is no way, the current Zhu Youjian is more like Wu Xun than them, and with the innovation of the vassal king, no one dares to underestimate His Royal Highness King Qi who is about to turn fourteen.

After all, this is a person who can even make innovations to his own relatives. Compared with the feudal lords, what are they worth?
Zhu Fan is still alive, what about them?If he did something, he might see Jin Yiwei standing by the bed the next day.

"This time is different from the previous ones. Your Highness did not cover up the abolition of the Tianxia Guard and the Beijing camp." Zhang Weixian explained for Zhu Youjian:
"If you don't trust the old man, the old man can write a letter and ask His Highness what he thinks."

"no need!"

At this time, the sound of orderly footsteps came from not far from the meeting hall, and at the same time, a group of Jin Yiwei also bypassed the screen wall and appeared in front of many nobles.

At this moment, all of them unconsciously clenched the hem of their clothes, their palms sweating.

Li Ruolian appeared under Jin Yiwei's arch guard, and then brought Jin Yiwei to stop in the courtyard outside the meeting hall, cupped his hands and said:

"Pass down the king's decree of Qi, please go to the Yanshan camp in three days from the Shuntian mansion's big and small nobles!"

"..." After the words came out, everyone fell silent.

Yanshan Daying, what is that place?It is estimated that there is no one in the entire Ming Dynasty officialdom who does not know about it.

That place is where Zhu Youjian made his fortune, and it is also the safest place for Zhu Youjian.

When many nobles were discussing Zhu Youjian, Zhu Youjian suddenly asked everyone to go, which made all the nobles feel guilty for no reason.

Even the British Duke Zhang Weixian couldn't help bowing his hands, and said in return:

"May I ask Commander Li, why did His Highness ask me to wait?"

"Old Duke..." Seeing Zhang Weixian making a bow, Li Ruolian immediately returned the salute, and then said:

"This time, many nobles are invited to go, mainly for the affairs of the five army governor's mansions and guards, as well as the Beijing camp."

"Your Highness said that if the nobles keep their place, they will receive all the treatment they deserve. His Highness is unwilling to criticize anyone who has made great contributions to Ming Dynasty."

As soon as Li Ruolian's words came out, the hearts of many nobles tensed up. Some of them were worried because they had done something wrong, while others were wondering who had done something wrong to Daming.

Among the crowd, there was one person whose eyes were averted, and Li Ruolian naturally saw him, but he didn't say anything, because he knew that His Highness needed this person to continue to expand his influence.

"Since the matter has been reported, I will take my leave."

Li Ruolian bowed to Zhang Weixian, and then retreated with Jin Yiwei.

At this time, the mansion became silent, and Zhang Weixian glanced at everyone, and then said:
"Things will depend on three days later..."

"..." Everyone was silent, they only hoped that this line of business would not be a grand feast...

(End of this chapter)