Brother Zhu Youxiao

Chapter 312 Preparations for the Southern Expedition
"Zhu Youjian is calm, he rejected all the vassal kings who wanted to visit..."

When Zhu Youjian was discussing with Bi Ziyan, Lu Wenzhao, and Wang Chengen, at the gate of Fuwangfu on the street of Baiwangfu.

Fu Wang Zhu Changxun watched the county kings go to Qi Wangfu to visit and was rejected, and he felt a little abnormally happy in his heart.

Compared with Tianqi five years ago, Zhu Changxun, who went back to Luoyang, has lost some weight. Although he is still in the fat range, he is not so annoying.

But at a vague look, those who didn't know thought it was the resurrection of Emperor Wanli.

In terms of appearance, he really looks very similar to Wanli, so it's no wonder Wanli likes him so much and dislikes the thin Zhu Changluo.

However, Zhu Changxun, who had bullied Zhu Changluo all his life, was stabbed in the back by Zhu Youxiao and Zhu Youjian, his two elder nephews.

Last year, when the imperial court issued a decree to summon all feudal vassals, feudal lords and county kings from all over the country began to sell some of their property.

Things such as mansions, villas and courtyards were not only sold for how much, many vassal kings even went north to the capital with a large amount of cash from their families.

Zhu Changxun was still wary of Zhu Youjian, so he kept his youngest son Zhu Youhua to look after the house, and he only brought [-] taels north to the capital.

As far as he knew, the person who brought the most money in the north was Zhu Cunshu, King of Qin.

He went to Beijing with more than [-] carts of gold and silver, at least [-] taels of silver, and soldiers and horses along the way sent troops to protect his convoy.

However, after all, Zhu Cunshu is the superior of a nearby feudal clan, and the money in his mansion should not be as much as that of other powerful feudal clans.

Among the many powerful feudal clans, Zhu Changxun cared most about Zhou Fan, Chu Fan, Zhao Fan, Jin Fan, and Shu Fan.

Among them, Zhou Fan and Shu Fan made him fear the most. After all, they were the oldest and accumulated the most silver.

At that time, it will really be a vassal overseas, and the number of arch guards they will hire is probably the largest among all vassals.

Although Zhu Changxun felt that he was worthy of them, he still wanted to avoid these two guys on the ground.

"Father, Zhu Youjian is going to send the children of the feudal vassals to Annan to listen to Hong Yanyan's orders. You and I are going. If Zhu Youjian uses some tricks, I won't be able to come back gone?"

Just as Zhu Changxun was mocking the feudal vassals, a well-proportioned young man next to him suddenly opened his mouth, and his opening also attracted Zhu Changxun's attention.

The person who spoke was Zhu Yousong, who was sent to the Military Academy by Zhu Changxun, and he was in his early twenties at the moment, and his appearance could still be vaguely recognizable as before, with a little more energy.

However, it can be seen from his tone that he didn't learn much at the Military Academy, and when he saw Zhu Yousong, Zhu Changxun remembered the letter from the Yanshan Military Academy when he arrived in the capital twelve days ago. white paper...

[Student Zhu Yousong, policy discussion C, short soldier C, commanding control...]

[Six subject rankings, [-]th place]

[Final Examination Evaluation: Class C (defensive talent, lack of guerrilla)]

A simple evaluation of the Military Academy almost made Zhu Changxun have a cerebral hemorrhage.

He was counting on Zhu Yousong to shine in the Military Academy, and then command the tens of thousands of troops from the Overseas Fufan to sweep Tianzhu.

As a result, a "defensive talent, not enough generals" from the Military Academy directly put Zhu Changxun's eyes in the dark.

Fortunately, he brought Zhu Youju this time. After the tuba practice was useless, he could continue to practice the trumpet.

If Zhu Youju can't do it, he will drag Zhu Youhua to the Military Academy. In short, he has to find a general for Fufan.

Of course, in addition to feeling heartbroken that Fufan will not have a general in command in the future, Zhu Changxun also feels uncomfortable because he has seen the achievements of the children of other clans.

Among the children of the feudal vassals, the grades from top to bottom are the auspicious king Zhu Youdong, the [-]th, and he is evaluated as "the talent of the general army, who can lead the three battalions alone".

Followed by Zhu Yujian of the Tang Dynasty, followed by Zhu Changqing of the Huai Dynasty, and Zhu Yibian, a son of the Xiangfan who voluntarily gave up his clan status during the Wanli period, they all ranked around [-] to [-].

As for Zhou Fan's son Zhu Gongyun and his grandson Zhu Shaotong, they were in the [-]th and [-]th places.

Basically, the students who are more than [-] students are given by the Military Academy as general talents, while the students who are more than [-] are guerrilla talents.

Those who are more than [-] are the talents of defense, and those who are less than [-] are the talents of a hundred households.

It is not difficult to understand why Zhu Changxun was so angry that he almost vomited blood.

Zhu Yousong is completely the tail of the crane among the two hundred defensive talents, only three positions away from the ability of a hundred households.

Hundreds of households...

That kind of existence, Zhu Youjian has a lot of hands, and what Zhu Changxun wants is a son like Zhu Youjian.

In his opinion, Zhu Youxiao didn't have any commendable means, that is, he could play a little tricky, and the biggest advantage was to listen to his younger brother.

As long as Zhu Youjian does not rebel, putting a pig on the throne can be carried by Zhu Youjian to the historical status of Mingjun.

Zhu Changxun watched Zhu Changluo's useless son continue to make meritorious deeds, and at the same time looked at his own son's six hundred and ninety-seven, it was fine if he didn't die of anger on the spot.

Therefore, regarding Zhu Yousong's words, Zhu Changxun also said viciously:
"Going to Annan is for experience. Zhu Youjian dares to wear heavy armor and gallop across Mobei with a strong bow. What are you afraid of beating an Annan barbarian?!"

"He... how do I compare with him..." Zhu Yousong was insulted by his father, and could only respond aggrieved.

"Why can't it be compared? I suppressed his father for the rest of his life, why can't you suppress him for the rest of his life?!"

Zhu Changxun was so angry that even Zhu Yousong, who had lost weight, was a little upset.

"In a few days, you will go south with the army, and I will stay in the capital to wait for your good news."

"When the Annan incident is over, I will ask the navy to take down the vassal state, and then the guards will be stationed in the vassal state, so you can train your troops well and expand your territory."

Zhu Changxun has already figured out the matter of becoming a vassal overseas. The soldiers of the twelve guards of the navy are paid five taels of silver per month and sixty taels a year.

Please guard the camp, one person is three taels, and one year is thirty-six taels of silver.

The combat power of the Gongwei Battalion is not weak, but the Gongwei Battalion is only responsible for protecting the vassal land, while the Navy Twelve Guards are responsible for defeating the vassal state at the beginning.

Fufan has nothing but the most money.

Zhu Changxun has already found out that the number of naval foot guards is [-]. If the vassal king rents them out, he will have to pay nearly [-] taels of silver a year.

Except for them themselves, they have to pay [-] taels of gunpowder and ordnance every year, and those who died in battle need to provide two hundred taels of silver as a pension.

The high spirits of the twelve guards of the navy doomed that few vassal kings could invite them.

On this point, Zhu Youjian will definitely make adjustments, otherwise some county kings may only be able to recruit a thousand households of troops if they empty out their properties, and they will not even be able to hire the guard camp after conquering a mansion.

But no matter how Zhu Youjian adjusts, anyway, Fu Fan can spend millions of taels of silver, and Zhu Changxun is also determined to be the top five powerful Fan in Ming Dynasty.

When he conquers a province, then relocates tens of thousands of Ming people and trains tens of thousands of soldiers, then he can be his local emperor.

What about Zhu Youxiao and Zhu Youjian, when the time comes, his eyes will not be clear and his heart will not be disturbed.

Thinking of this, Zhu Changxun looked at Zhu Yousong, with a flash of depression in his eyes, and immediately turned and walked into the mansion.

At the same time he entered the mansion, Jin Yiwei, who was sent by Lu Wenzhao to ask the missionaries about the price of gunpowder in various parts of Europe, also returned.

The price of gunpowder did not disappoint Zhu Youjian. At present, the price of a pound of gunpowder in Europe is twenty pence, which is equivalent to three silver coins, three hundred cash.

In an island country like Britain, the price of a pound of gunpowder even reached [-] pence, [-] cents.

The reason why it is so expensive is all because of an ingredient in gunpowder.

The ingredients of gunpowder are very simple, nothing more than charcoal, nitrate, and sulfur.

Charcoal is easy to talk about, and sulfur is also abundant in Europe, Italy and other places, but saltpeter is rare in Europe and North America, and the price is very expensive.

As a military material, saltpeter has always been strictly controlled by the state, and Daming is undoubtedly the leader in the production of saltpeter in the world today.

From the Hongwu period in the early Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang formulated the rules for exporting saltpeter.

The rules can be roughly divided into two categories, one is foreign countries rewarded or allowed by the Ming Dynasty to obtain the qualification to buy saltpeter.

The second category is saltpeter smuggling through informal channels, often hidden from historical records.

Due to the shortage of saltpeter, during the Ming Dynasty, the Korean Kingdom of Korea sent envoys to Daming many times to obtain gunpowder weapons such as saltpeter for use by the army.

For example, in the seventh year of Hongwu, Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand and bestowed [-] catties of nitrate and [-] catties of sulfur to Korea. This amount is enough for European countries to fight for decades.

When the Korean War broke out in the Wanli period, Emperor Shenzong of the Ming Dynasty also granted military aid such as bow horns and flame nitrate to aid the imperial court. North Korea also obtained the right to purchase [-] catties of flame nitrate in Daming every year, and in case of special circumstances, it can request additional purchases. .

However, the trade of saltpeter between China and foreign countries at the official level has always been under strict control, and the quantity is extremely limited.

Even Zhu Youjian's good brother, Zhu Youxiao, who works as a carpenter every day, once said in history: "Nihuang Chinese long skills are strictly prohibited by the ancestral system, and you are not allowed to go out of the barbarians."

Therefore, the proportion of Daming saltpetre circulated abroad in an officially approved way is relatively small, and most of it is sold abroad in the form of smuggling.

North Korea, Japan and other countries mainly smuggled saltpeter, and the Spanish government in Luzon even encouraged merchants to smuggle saltpeter to Luzon, and clearly stipulated that military supplies such as pig iron, saltpeter, and copper guns imported from Ming Dynasty to Manila were tax-free imports.

Since Silva served as the governor of the Philippine Islands in 1609, successive Spanish colonial governments forced Ming maritime merchants to deliver gunpowder and other military supplies to Manila every year.

As for the smuggled saltpeter, they were all sent back to Spain by the Spaniards in Manila.

However, in this plane, since the Ming army replaced the flintlock guns, and Zhu Youjian reformed the system, the smugglers were severely cracked down.

Therefore, Daming has very strict control over saltpeter, anyone who smuggles saltpeter will be executed, and the price of saltpeter has also become cheaper as the demand has decreased...

"How much is the price for my saltpeter?"

Looking at the documents collected by Jin Yiwei, Zhu Youjian frowned and asked, but just as Lu Wenzhao wanted to answer, Bi Ziyan subconsciously answered:

"The price of the Ministry of Industry is [-] Wen per catty per month..."

"Twenty Wen?" Hearing that it was so cheap, Zhu Youjian looked at the document, and thought about the units of weight in this era, East and West, and later generations, and then said:
"That is to say, if I sell a catty of saltpeter to Europa, the profit will be [-] to [-] times?"

"Probably like this..." Bi Ziyan also took a breath, and Zhu Youjian said even more after hearing the words:
"Since this is the case, let Sun Liang not set up a gunpowder branch. The Ministry of Industry mines every year..."

Zhu Youjian pondered for a while, thinking about how much he would not disturb the European market, and then suddenly thought, whether Europe is chaotic or not is none of his business.

It is better to use saltpeter directly to hit the European saltpeter market, and then they do not mine saltpeter themselves.

Anyway, the largest saltpeter producing area in the world will be under the iron hooves of the Ming army in the future, so as much as there is.

"Let the Ministry of Industry mine an additional five million catties of saltpeter every year to go south!"

"Five million catties? Is it too much?" Lu Wenzhao was stunned. After all, the amount of five million catties of saltpeter is not low. If it is all turned into gunpowder, it is enough for Europe to fight with the current intensity of war for more than ten years.

However, Zhu Youjian didn't care about Europe's life or death, and he didn't care about how many people were killed. He waved his hand:
"Exchanging five million catties of saltpeter for more than two million taels of silver is a good deal."

"The Ming Dynasty needs both silver and grain at the moment. Only with silver can we buy grain from Siam and Gan Bozhi."

Zhu Youjian didn't say the whole thing. In fact, he wanted so much money for currency reform.

The common people of Ming Dynasty would not trust banknotes anymore, so they had to start with denomination coins first.

Wait until the common people have trust in the imperial court, and then slowly issue banknotes.

"I need to change the affairs of the overseas feudal clans, and it's not easy for me to come forward, so I'm going to arrange for you to come forward to preside over the affairs of the overseas feudal clans."

Zhu Youjian suddenly changed the subject, but Bi Ziyan could understand.

Saltpeter makes huge profits, but after all, it is the silver of ocean trade, which cannot reach the hands.

What can be obtained right now is the silver in the hands of the prince in front of him.

"In the second year of the apocalypse, the price of renting soldiers and horses should change for the overseas vassals that I formulated."

Zhu Youjian thought the same as Zhu Changxun, and was thinking about how to solve the problem of the clan renting and mobilizing troops.

Bi Ziyan became serious when he heard the words, and Zhu Youjian also said calmly:
"At the beginning, the number of guard battalions was small, and they were not soldiers. Therefore, they were preparing to be transferred to fight overseas."

"However, now that the five armies are being reorganized, the [-] guard battalions of the Ming Dynasty are gathered within the territory of the Ming Dynasty. The high salaries to raise soldiers will increase the burden on the court."

"Therefore, I am going to cancel the transfer of the twelve guards of the navy, and instead ask the governors of the southern, western, and eastern armies to fight for him."

Zhu Youjian did not mention the Northern Army Governor's Mansion. The first reason is that the current military strength of the Northern Army Governor's Mansion has only fifty battalions after the Hetao Battle.

The second is because the transportation of the Northern Army's Governor's Mansion is inconvenient, and it is too far to go south or take a boat.

In comparison, it is much more convenient for the Governor's Mansion of the Western Army, the Governor's Mansion of the Southern Army, and even the Eastern Army's Governor's Mansion, which needs to defend Jianlu.

The Western Army's Governor's Mansion can take the Red River directly to the South China Sea after taking Annan, while the Southern Army's Governor's Mansion and the Eastern Army's Governor's Mansion have long coastlines.

Hundreds of princes and county kings, if they want to take root overseas, they will need to rent more soldiers and horses.

In addition, if the southern military governor's office solves Annan, Nanzhang and Champa, it will directly border Siam, Gan Bozhi and Toungoo.

At that time, except for Toungoo, which is less than [-] miles away from the border, which needs to be defended by the southern army's governor's mansion, the rest of the places will not need more than [-] guard battalions.

At this time, it is enough to deploy thirty arch guard battalions to guard the old port, Jiaozhi and Nanzhang, and the remaining twenty or so arch guard battalions can be dispatched.

Zhu Youjian did not intend to calculate according to the head, but planned to give a unified price.

"For one battalion to defend the battalion, [-] taels of silver a year, [-] taels for a sentry, and two hundred taels of silver for the vassal king who died in battle."

Zhu Youjian spoke to Bi Ziyan, but Bi Ziyan had the final say, so the price was a bit high.

Among other things, two hundred taels of compensation for one person killed in battle may not seem like much, but for some county kings, if hundreds of soldiers were killed in battle, they would need to pay twenty thousand taels of compensation.

This is simply unbearable pain for them, and they can't take it out at all.

"The pension money... is too much." Bi Ziyan said bravely:
"If the pension money is formulated in this way, I am afraid that many county kings will not be able to pay the money."

"The king of the county really can't get it out. The few in their hands are only tens of thousands of taels, and the most are only three to four hundred thousand taels of silver." Zhu Youjian talked eloquently:

"However, they don't have enough money, and the local natives have a lot."

"There is always silver and gold waiting for them if they want to."

Zhu Youjian's words are very straightforward, that is, to encourage the weak county king to pursue Miao Tuoye.

For people like Bi Ziyan, Zhu Youjian does not agree with this point of view, but he also knows that his disapproval cannot make any change.

"This point, the lower officials will make it clear to the vassals..." Bi Ziyan responded, while Zhu Youjian continued:
"The silver of the relocated people is still based on the standard of ten taels of silver."

"The lower official knows." Bi Ziyan didn't want to talk about this matter, and Zhu Youjian could see it.

He was not surprised by Bi Ziyan's resistance. Some officials in the Ming Dynasty were extreme, some were moderate, some were aggressive, and some were peaceful.

There are thousands of different kinds of people, and it is impossible for him to ask Bi Ziyan to think the same as himself. He only needs Bi Ziyan to do things well.

Therefore, he no longer forced Bi Ziyan, but said to him:
"That's the way it is. For the cultivation of sweet potatoes and potatoes in the north, this needs to be taken care of."

"If there is a locust plague, sweet potatoes and potatoes will be lifesavers..."

"I understand, Your Highness, thank you for your enlightenment."

Bi Ziyan got up slowly, bowed to Zhu Youjian, and then slowly exited the study under Zhu Youjian's gaze.

After he withdrew a cup of tea, Wang Chengen said unfairly: "This Bi Ziyan has the same bad temper as a civil servant."

"It's normal, after all, I read the sage's book..." Zhu Youjian picked up the document and subconsciously replied.

But while he was answering, he suddenly paused, and then said with a strange expression: "Book of sages..."

He suddenly remembered some people, especially the group of people in Qufu, Shandong.

"Among the merchants who smuggled North Korean saltpeter in Shandong, didn't they deal with the Confucian government?"

Zhu Youjian raised his head and asked Lu Wenzhao, but Lu Wenzhao shook his head and said:
"That's not true. The Confucian government mainly has a lot of criminal evidence in the collateral occupation of common people's fields. The smuggling is usually Qi party officials."

"That's a pity..." A trace of disappointment flashed in Zhu Youjian's eyes, but in the next second, he said in a resentful tone:

"The evidence of the crime of encroaching on the people's fields is not small, let's take the opportunity to arrest a group of people."

"Uh... yes" Lu Wenzhao was at a loss for words, he didn't expect that His Royal Highness would even dare to arrest Yan Shenggong's collateral.

But when he thought about it again, he seemed to think that it was not so surprising, after all, His Royal Highness was scheming against so many of his relatives who hadn't given the fifth suit.

"How is Hong Chengchou's preparations? Has Yidonghe City noticed something is wrong with Jianlu?"

While dealing with the military newspaper, Zhu Youjian questioned Lu Wenzhao, and Lu Wenzhao also bowed and said:

"Hong Jinglue has already dispatched Gongwei Battalions with different numbers of people from Sichuan, Guangdong, and Guizhou."

"On the tenth day of May, the troops and horses of each battalion must arrive at Guangnan Prefecture and Lin'an Prefecture in Yunnan, Siming Prefecture, Nanning Prefecture, and Taiping Prefecture in Guangxi."

"At present, Hong Jinglue has only mobilized forty battalions of soldiers and horses, about [-] people."

"However, seven battalions of soldiers and horses, about [-] people, were temporarily gathered in Hepu Port, Lianzhou Prefecture, Guangxi."

"Yuanjiang Mansion, Cheli Mansion, and Meng Gen Mansion in Yunnan each stationed two battalions of soldiers and horses, a total of six battalions, about [-] people."

"In addition, the six guards of the Naval Governor's Mansion are also stationed in the Wanzhou waters (the Paracel Islands) and Wanli Shitang (the Nansha Islands)."

"The [-]th Battalion of the Gongwei Battalion of the Confederate Governor's Mansion has taken over the old port and is suppressing the local natives who plan to rebel."

"Currently, the number of soldiers and horses involved is [-]. Yunnan, Guangxi, and Sichuan have each recruited different numbers of civilians."

After Lu Wenzhao finished his report, Zhu Youjian raised his head and said:

"How many people did I have in Annan?"

"Approximately, more than [-] people..." Lu Wenzhao gave a number after a moment of silence.

Hearing this, Zhu Youjian frowned slightly before saying:

"Let Hong Chengchou make a quick decision after the food and grass are prepared, a little Annan, I need to hear his success before next year's autumn harvest."

"The day before the war started, the local people were notified to evacuate to the coast, and Hong Chengchou was told that the Six Guards of the Navy must first protect the local people in Daming who evacuated to the coast."

Zhu Youjian knew very well that if a war broke out among these [-] people, many people would definitely become victims of the war.

Right now, he is no longer a simple poverty alleviation cadre, but King Qi, the commander-in-chief of the five armies of the Ming Dynasty.

Logically speaking, he should not have informed these [-] people, because it would easily expose the military situation.

But if he doesn't notify, what is the difference between him and the officials of the five parties of Qi, Chu, Zhejiang, Xuan and Kun?How is it different from a pure politician?
He doesn't want to be someone who treats people's lives as nothing. He was incapable when Huaibei was starving, but now that he is capable, he won't ignore it...

"Your Highness..." Lu Wenzhao hesitated to speak.

"Go on..." Zhu Youjian interrupted him.

Obviously, Lu Wenzhao also knew that it was not good to do so, but he also knew that this was also the difference between Zhu Youjian and the emperors of the Ming Dynasty.

He is a humane person, which is why Man Gui, Sun Yingyuan, and Lu Wenzhao want to support Zhu Youjian.

There were too many impersonal officials and emperors in the Ming Dynasty. Only such humane people can give them a sense of security for this group of low-status warriors since the Song Dynasty...

(End of this chapter)