Brother Zhu Youxiao

Chapter 268 Salt Tea Official Camp
"Look, brother, I made this bed myself, as well as this desk, this bookshelf, these tables and chairs..."

"Look, brother, the small pavilion in the lake was planned and built by me, and the tables and chairs on it were also made by me."

"And that pleasure boat, two feet three feet long and wide..."

On August [-]th of the fifth year of the Apocalypse, eight days had passed since Zhu Youjian sacrificed himself to the Taimiao Temple, and during these eight days, his illnesses were also recuperated.

It's just that his health was a little better, and Zhu Youxiao, who had been sneaked out of the palace, was forced to wander around the palace of Prince Qi, listening to Zhu Youxiao's talk about his "great achievements".

look!This is the "world" laid down by your brother for you.

What is this like...

Zhu Youjian sat helplessly on the handmade wooden wheelchair. Although he could walk around by himself, even run and jump, Zhu Youxiao spent a few days building a wheelchair for him.

At this moment, Sun Shoufa was pushing the wheelchair, and he was sitting in the wheelchair, while Zhu Youxiao was in front of him like a tour guide, introducing him every plant and tree in the Prince Qi Mansion with great interest.

Just these, Zhu Youjian has listened to it no less than three times.

"Brother, it's better to stop and rest."

Zhu Youjian showed a trace of helplessness, and Zhu Youxiao also turned his head to look at him when he heard the words, and said with concern:
"What's the matter? Is it uncomfortable again? Blame me for taking you out for a hair dryer."

"Not really..." Looking at Zhu Youxiao who blamed himself, Zhu Youjian couldn't laugh or cry and said:
"It's just that my brother told me these things three times, and I've already memorized them fluently, so it's better to talk about state affairs."

"National affairs..." Hearing what Zhu Youjian said, Zhu Youxiao paused.

In this regard, Zhu Youjian is also very helpless.

Since his illness, Zhu Youxiao asked Cao Huachun and Wang Chengen to stop all the memorials of the Governor's Mansion of the Five Armies, Yumajian, and Shibosi.

It is also by stopping these things that Zhu Youjian can recover from his illness within seven days.

"Twelve hours a day, my brother handles government affairs for seven hours a day, don't you feel too tired? Right now I don't feel well, I should rest more."

Zhu Youxiao looked at Zhu Youjian worriedly, but in response to his answer, Zhu Youjian said helplessly:

"I didn't deal with it for seven hours at a time. Really, I only spent two or three hours dealing with memorials. The rest of the time I spent my lunch break or eating, practicing horseback riding and archery."

"That's not okay. After the Zongyi is over tomorrow, I have no objection to my younger brother wanting to read the memorials and military newspapers, but not today. I have to rest well today." Zhu Youxiao said stubbornly.

His brows were tightly frowned, and he looked a little angry, which made it difficult for Zhu Youjian to continue to respond to him, so he could only end the topic with a long sigh.

However, the appearance of this topic allowed Zhu Youjian to talk about it and other topics.

"Even if you don't deal with military newspapers and memorials, it's okay to talk about sweeping the North and overseas feudal affairs."

Zhu Youjian looked resentful, and Zhu Youxiao nodded slightly after hesitating about this, saying that he could say it.

"Okay..." Taking a deep breath, Zhu Youjian went through the thoughts in his mind these days, and then slowly said: "Let's talk about sweeping the North first..."

"Sweeping the North is inevitable!" Zhu Youjian's eyes were burning, and he admitted that the national policy of sweeping the North was necessary, and then said:

"How to sweep the North? When will the sweep be? Who is the target of the North Sweep? These things have to be discussed."

"I have already discussed these matters with Sun Yingyuan and Man Gui in private."

"Abiding by the law, push me to the Kyushu Palace."

Zhu Youjian said the previous words to Zhu Youxiao, while the last sentence was said to Sun Shoufa.

When Sun Shoufa heard the words, he glanced at Zhu Youxiao, and after seeing the emperor's consent, he pushed Zhu Youjian to the Kyushu Hall.

The Kyushu Hall is said to be a hall, but it is actually a "back"-shaped palace group in the outer court of the Qi Wangfu.

There are thirty-six halls in the palace. Each hall is two feet high, but the length and width are different. The only common point is that the structure is square.

After all, King Qi's Mansion has the qualifications to open the House of Yi and the Six Departments, so many generals actually come to the Kyushu Palace to handle government affairs.

So when Zhu Youxiao and the others appeared here, many generals saluted one after another, and Zhu Youxiao also waved his hands and said:

"There is no need to be too polite, let's be flat."

"Call Man Gui, Sun Yingyuan, Cao Meng, and Saihan to Hanhai Hall." Zhu Youjian also ordered.

There are seventy-two small halls in Kyushu Hall, and each hall has its corresponding sand table according to geography and province.

The Hanhai Palace is a palace that houses the vast geographic sand table north of the Ming Dynasty.

When Sun Shoufa pushed Zhu Youjian to this palace, Man Gui and others who were in good health had already arrived here.

There were only seven of them in the Hanhai Palace, which could accommodate more than two hundred people to discuss matters, but it seemed a bit empty.

But Zhu Youjian also knew that if too many people were called, his brother might not want to.

"Long live, Your Highness..."

Man Gui and others saluted, while Sai Han and Cao Meng brought a chair and a small tea table with quick eyes and quick hands.

"Get flat." Zhu Youxiao sat down with peace of mind, and looked at Zhu Youjian.

Seeing this, Zhu Youjian got up carefully, and then walked to the three-foot-long and wide sea sand table in the hall, and took the familiar huanghuali baton from Mangui.

"This time, I'm here to discuss the matter of sweeping the north."

Zhu Youjian put his hands behind his back, looked down at the sand table, and looked at the pattern filled with flags from all sides, and asked:

"Where are the tribes of Monan and Mobei now?"

"Returning to His Highness, after the rebellion, Bo Yunai went to the southern foot of Harawen Mountain with Hutudun, and now he and Hutudun are grazing at the foot of Harawen Mountain, while the three major khans in Mobei are not here after the last meeting. Returned to Mobei."

"Huang Taiji returned to Ciluwei with his cattle and sheep, and Oba, the leader of the Horqin tribe, also returned to his tribe."

Sun Yingyuan, the governor of the Eastern Army's governor's mansion, told all about the situation, while Zhu Youjian had a general understanding of the distance between the various ministries and Daming.

If troops were sent from North Zhili, that is to say, from Baima Pass, the two tribes closest to them would be the Chahar and Karaqin tribes at the southern foot of Harawen Mountain.

In terms of distance, the distance between the two departments is nearly a thousand miles from Baima Pass, and the Ming army needs to cross the Yanshan Mountains for [-] miles and then cross the plains for more than [-] miles to reach their grazing land.

The Horqin Department behind them is about [-] miles away from Baima Pass.

The last three major tribes in Mobei are stationed in Langjuxu Mountain, Helin Mountain and Hangai Mountain respectively.

If troops were sent from North Zhili and Shanxi, the Ming army would have to march at least [-] li, [-] li, and [-] li respectively along the water source.

It looked far away, but the total strength of these three major groups ranged from [-] to [-], and most of them were unarmored rangers.

As long as the supplies of the Shangzhi Four Cavalry Guards are guaranteed, Zhu Youjian can chase and drive them north with [-] soldiers each.

The consumption of the four cavalry guards was clear to Zhu Youjian in the Battle of Hetao.

Three people, three horses, one person and one horse camel to transport the rations of a soldier and the horse, and the other two and two horses transport the rations of the three of them and three horses. This kind of logistics can roughly guarantee a straight line of four hundred miles. distance.

In other words, if the Ming army wanted to organize [-] straight cavalry to go to the farthest [-] miles away, and take the initiative to attack Langjuxu Mountain, it would need at least [-] horses to guarantee their logistics.

It seems like a lot, but for Beizhili and Shanxi, which have a population of tens of millions, this is not a lot.

Moreover, if there are Mongols accompanying the army to help herd and drive the captured cattle and sheep northward, then this consumption can continue to be reduced.

"Saihan, if the auxiliary soldiers and horses are used to transport supplies while the other is nomadic, how many auxiliary soldiers and horses do you think it will take for [-] cavalry to reach Langjuxu Mountain?"

Zhu Youjian handed over the logistics problem to Saihan, and entrusting such an important matter to him is undoubtedly the greatest trust in him.

In this regard, Saihan was excited, and hurriedly bowed and said:
"Your Highness, the last general has learned about the speed of our army's logistics. If we first go north to fight Harawen Mountain, then go north along the Harawen Mountain to graze, and take the Yinma River to Langjuxu Mountain, it will only cost about [-] yuan. Auxiliary soldiers, one hundred thousand horses."

"As long as it is paired with two thousand skilled Mongolian auxiliary soldiers, it can easily graze tens of thousands of sheep and support the army to reach Langjuxu Mountain."

"But the premise is that one of the two tribes of Chahar and Karaqin at the southern foot of Harawen Mountain must be captured first, otherwise the other small tribes don't have so many cattle and sheep for us to seize."

As soon as Saihan, who was familiar with Monan and Mobei, opened his mouth, Zhu Youjian probably knew the approximate cost of attacking the other two parts.

To maintain [-] cavalry to destroy the three major parts of Mobei, it will probably require about [-] auxiliary soldiers, [-] horses, and more than [-] Mongolian auxiliary soldiers.

It sounds like a lot, and it is very impossible, but for Zhu Youjian, who had just encircled and suppressed the three major parts of Hetao, [-] horses were not too short.

What's more, attacking this group of guys will only increase the number of horses drawn by the Ming army.

Thinking of this, Zhu Youjian pointed to the Horqin Ministry and said:

"If I want to assemble [-] cavalry, first attack Hutudun and Boyunai in Harawen Mountain, then go to Horqin to attack Auba, and then attack the three major departments along the Yinma River, how many auxiliary soldiers and horses will I need? ?”

"This..." Saihan hesitated for a moment, calculating rapidly in his mind, but in the end he didn't calculate very clearly, he could only calculate roughly.

"If you take this route, you will need to march for at least [-] miles. To ensure the supply line for such a long route, I am afraid that while maintaining [-] horses, you will need to send another [-] civilian men..."

[-] cavalry, [-] horses are needed, and [-] civilians are needed to support logistics. It sounds incredible, but it is actually about the same.

In the third year of Zhenguan's battle against the Eastern Turks in the Tang Dynasty, the Tang army's six-route soldiers and horses added up to a total of [-] horses, and the distance they traveled was less than a thousand miles. Hundreds of thousands of civilians were dispatched from Shanxi and Hebei.

At present, the [-] cavalry of the Ming army are going to attack four thousand miles, and it is not surprising to dispatch [-] civilian men and [-] horses.

"Your Highness, if we want to take this route, we have to guard against whether our supply line will be attacked by Jian captives."

"At least [-] horse and infantry must be mobilized to protect the supply line, and then a feigned attack from Liaodong will be dispatched to restrain the main force of Jianlu."

Sun Yingyuan spoke cautiously, and his words made Zhu Youjian nod his head slightly, but this would put even greater logistical pressure on the Ming army.

"It seems that Sweeping North can't be cleaned up in one go."

Zhu Youjian's words basically mean that this line and strategic goal have been abandoned by him.

He looked at the map, and then said: "It is really difficult to deal with Chahar, Harqin, and Horqin in one go, and the three major ministries in Mobei."

"The three major divisions of Mobei will be put on hold for the time being. First send troops to drive away Chahar and Karaqin, and then attack Horqin."

"Huh?" Hearing Zhu Youjian's words, everyone felt that Zhu Youjian had made a mistake.

According to Bo Yunai's backstabbing and rebellion, shouldn't it be an all-out attack on Harqin?
Regarding their doubts, Zhu Youjian calmly said:
"Bo Yunai and Hutudun are just the dead bones in the tomb for the newspaper group to keep warm. First destroy Horqin, and then recuperate for a year or two, and then attack from the west and south to attack Jianlu."

"Wait a moment."

Suddenly, Zhu Youxiao couldn't sit still, Zhu Youjian's words, basically all the generals have already made up their minds about one thing, but he hasn't made up his mind, so he opened his mouth after doubts:

"What does my brother mean to build a city in Mount Harawin, which is Horqin's grazing land?"

As soon as Zhu Youxiao opened his mouth, Zhu Youjian nodded slightly and said:

"Recovering the vast Nenghorqin Grassland to the east of the Harawen Mountains, and then building a city, will not only open up a horse grazing land for our Ming Dynasty, but also station a large number of soldiers and horses in the future."

"At that time, the south will be from Liaodong to the north, and the west will rely on the Harawen Mountain garrison to prevent the Jian captives from escaping. Finally, they will be completely wiped out in the land of Nurgan."

"In addition, at the southern foot of the Harawin Mountains, which is where Hutudun and Boyunai stationed troops, several cities can also be built, relying on the rivers from the melted snow of the Harawin Mountains for reclamation."

"Once the land is cultivated here, the capital, Beizhili, and Shanxi will be completely surrounded, and there will be no difficulty in being knocked off by the Hulu."

"Although the reasoning is good, but first sweep the set, and then move the people to manage such a large area, can the money and food keep up?" Zhu Youxiao was skeptical.

But regarding this, Saihan said as a living map:
"In Horqin there are quite a few arable land reclaimed by the Han fleeing north. Although the amount is not much, there are still [-] to [-] mu."

"This [-] mu is enough to sustain the lives of [-] to [-] people. If the captured cattle and sheep are brought to the local area for reclamation, plus the people who will be relocated later, I am afraid that hundreds of thousands of mu can be reclaimed in a year."

Saihan is not bragging. There is no doubt about the fertility of the Horqin Grassland. Even though the precipitation line moved eastward in the Ming Dynasty and crossed the Harawen Mountains (Daxing’an Mountains), the eastern and southern parts of the Horqin Grassland were still on the 400ml precipitation line.

Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di's many northern expeditions in the early Ming Dynasty were established after they ruled Duoyan Sanwei, and then set out from this place.

The subsequent rebellion of Duoyan Sanwei was actually based on the lack of population in the north in the early Ming Dynasty, and not so many people migrated to this place to change the ethnic ratio.

But that was the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, and now it is the end of the Ming Dynasty. Saihan heard Zhu Youjian say that the population in the north was crowded and the people were going to be relocated to Nurgan and Horqin. Saihan naturally knew what Zhu Youjian thought.

In the early Ming Dynasty, the population in the north was insufficient, and there was no way to control the basic land that had been laid down. This is the same reason that Tang Gaozong laid down a territory of more than [-] million square kilometers, but it quickly fell apart.

But the problem is that the northern provinces are densely populated. As long as the imperial court has food and is willing to distribute cattle and seeds, it can be said that it is easy to move hundreds of thousands of people to this place.

Zhu Youxiao's worry is not so much that he is worried about insufficient money and food, but rather that this place will be the same as Annan in the past, and it will take decades of continuous investment to stabilize it.

But Saihan's words basically made Zhu Youxiao feel at ease.

"Long live, Horqin's troops are only more than [-], and their soldiers and horses are no more than [-]. They can be called elites, but there are no more than [-]. They are not opponents of Shangzhi at all."

"I can assure you that as long as Wanzai and His Highness order, [-] straight cavalry will be enough to sweep Horqin."

Saihan's words made Zhu Youxiao heave a sigh of relief, and Zhu Youjian also said after seeing this:
"If there are enough people, Horqin can become the North Dacang, and it can also become the largest horse grazing land in Ming Dynasty."

"This...then brother, you can decide." Hearing Saihan and Zhu Youjian sing together, Zhu Youxiao also agreed.

Seeing that he agreed, Zhu Youjian also asked Saihan: "You have been to Horqin. Compared with Liaobei, where do you think it is better to cultivate?"

"North and south of Horqin, of course!" Saihan said without thinking:
"The meadows in northern Liaoning are thick, while the meadows in the north and south of Horqin are thin. The Horqin part has not been developed because they accommodate too few Han fleeing from the north and there is not enough food to eat."

"Okay!" Hearing this, Zhu Youjian looked at the vast Horqin Grassland, and then said:
"Design Shanxi and Henan to adjust grain this year to go to northern Shaanxi to appease the victims, and all the grain stored by the army in Northern Zhili will be escorted to Baima Pass."

"Then transfer the silver from the Huangdian to Sichuan, and buy grain from Sichuan and send it to Liaodong by sea."

"Before the beginning of spring, all the food must be in place, and the army is also divided into two, Liaodong is the auxiliary army, and Baimaguan is the main army."

"Baimaguan has four cavalry guards, as well as Shence guards, Jinwu guards, Tengxiang guards, and Wuxiang guards and eight guards."

As soon as Zhu Youjian opened his mouth, everyone's hearts tightened instantly.

The battle between the four cavalry guards and the infantry guards has never been fought by the Ming army so far.

Looking at the posture, His Royal Highness is obviously planning to launch a Northern Expedition of the Three Associations of infantry, cavalry, artillery, or dispatch four infantry guards to garrison Harawen Mountain and Horqin Grassland.

However, Man Gui and Sun Yingyuan thought about it. According to what His Royal Highness said, the main strategic purpose of driving Hutudun and Bo Yunai away, so the army should be the Northern Expedition of the Three Associations at the beginning.

As for driving them away, I am afraid that the cavalry will charge and surprise Horqin.

"In the Liaodong Division, Xiong Tingbi, Liaodong Economic Strategy Officer, will be the chief general, and you, Sun Yingyuan, will be the deputy general. As for the strength of the troops, you can decide for yourself."

Zhu Youjian still uses text to control martial arts. It's not that he is suppressing generals, but that Sun Yingyuan and the others still need time to grow.

What's more, the identities of Xiong Tingbi, Sun Chuanting, and Hong Chengchou are actually quite embarrassing.

They are obviously civil servants, but Zhu Youjian has not intervened in the political arena for the time being, so they cannot be transferred back to the capital to take up important official positions.

But if they were put in the five-army governor's mansion, then using civil to control military would represent a start for themselves, and I am afraid that some civil officials will use this as an excuse in the future.

Therefore, Zhu Youjian plans to let them continue to do business strategy outside, and when they have a position in the capital, they will call back one by one according to their age.

At present, Xiong Tingbi is fifty-seven years old, Hong Chengchou and Sun Chuanting are both thirty-two years old, Yang Wenyue is thirty, and Wu Aheng is thirty-one years old.

These five people are all backbone personnel that Zhu Youjian can transfer back to the capital and serve as capital officials.

In addition to them, Lu Xiangsheng, Dong Yingju, and Shen Tingyang can also be transferred back to the capital, but Shen Tingyang is inseparable from Jiugang and Shibosi, and Lu Xiangsheng and Zhu Youjian are going to let him continue to practice for a few years, after all, he is only twenty five years old.

In the end, Dong Yingju was very good at financial management...

"You go back first..."

"Yes……"

When Zhu Youjian spoke suddenly, Man Gui and others also withdrew from Hanhai Palace one after another.

"Brother, I want to transfer some people back to the capital for employment."

After thinking about it, Zhu Youjian still decided that he could start preparing for the reform of the official system.

"Transfer? Who is my brother going to transfer?" Zhu Youxiao was stunned, and found that his brother was a bit out of character. One second he was talking about sweeping the North, and the next second he actually said he was going to transfer someone.

"Li Changgeng, Secretary of the Nanjing Household Department, and Dong Yingju, Wu Aheng, Yang Wenyue, Sun Yuanhua, and Bi Maokang."

Zhu Youjian opened his mouth and said the people who could be reused in his mind, but Zhu Youxiao was stunned when he heard the words, and then regained his composure and said:
"Why, are you ready to do what you've always wanted to do?"

"Not really, but it can be arranged a little..." Zhu Youjian smiled.

"How are you going to arrange it?" Zhu Youxiao asked, and Zhu Youjian also talked eloquently:
"Bi Ziyan served as Minister of the Ministry of Households, Wu Aheng served as the right servant of the Ministry of Officials, and Yang Wenyue served as the left servant of the Ministry of War."

"In addition, the salt class and the tea class will be managed in a unified way, and a salt class department and a tea class department will be set up."

"The two divisions are only responsible for the management of the salt field, and at the same time hand over the salt and tea to the Huangdian for operation."

"In the past, salt and tea references are all abolished!"

As soon as Zhu Youjian opened his mouth, he broke the sky. If Yanyin and Teayin are abolished, according to Zhu Youjian's idea, then these two huge livelihood markets will be completely converted from private to government.

There is no doubt that the people of the Ming Dynasty consumed salt and tea. The annual consumption of salt was hundreds of millions of catties, and that of tea was even millions of catties.

At present, the scale of the Maritime Inspection Department is gradually expanding. Although illegal salt cannot be completely eradicated, it is absolutely impossible to disrupt the market as before.

In addition, the cheap salt from Huangdian is constantly impacting the traditional market, and the market of other salt merchants is already crumbling.

If it hadn't been for Zhu Youjian's reorganization of the five-army governor's office and stationing troops in various provinces, someone would have taken advantage of it.

The inaction of salt merchants and tea merchants also made Zhu Youjian have other thoughts.

Salt and tea must be operated by the government, which is the key to whether Daming can survive the severe drought.

Therefore, when Zhu Youxiao wanted to depose Yanyin and Chayin, he continued:

"I am going to let Dong Yingju be in charge of the tea department, and Li Changgeng be in charge of the salt department. After the abolition of Yanyin and Chayin, I will declare that salt tea is the official business of the imperial court and can only be bought in imperial stores!"

"Except for a small number of the more than [-] students who graduated from Yanshan, most of the rest will join the Salt Division and the Tea Division."

"Once they enter the two divisions, with the assistance of the provincial guard camps and maritime inspection divisions, as long as they control the salt farms and tea farms, and prohibit private tea and salt, Daming will be able to make more than seven million taels of profit just by these two items." huge!"

Zhu Youjian's eyes were as bright as a torch. He knew exactly what the seven million taels represented. Once this sum of money could be squeezed out, the military pay of more than [-] troops would be settled.

In other words, if the seven million taels of silver were directly exchanged for grain, it would be nearly [-] million shi of grain.

Except for the three years from 1640 to 1643, when [-]% of the entire Ming land was under disaster, in the rest of the years, Daming could use this money to buy grain.

Nearly [-] million shi of grain, whether used as wages, or directly used to relieve victims.

As long as the guarantor is alive, this amount of food can save five or six million people.

And this is just Zhu Youjian's lowest estimate of the income of the two companies...

　Because there are many more, they are all sent out after finishing writing.

　　This leads to my lack of carefulness in checking typos. I will correct the typos that you have suggested, and I will make corrections. I am sorry.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)