Brother Zhu Youxiao

Chapter 523 Thorns
"This Xijing city can accommodate 10 people, right?"

"More than that, enough to live for 20 people."

When Yang Bingwen's voice sounded, he was strolling on the city wall of Xijing City with Jin Xuan who got off the carriage.

The two stopped in front of an archery tower, and what appeared in front of them was a city that was mostly empty.

Compared with Fangshi, which had only one square last year, the current Xijing City has expanded several times. The city wall alone is five feet high, four feet wide at the top, and six feet wide at the bottom. The outline is a closed rectangle.

The perimeter of the entire city wall is 20 miles, with an area of ​​[-] mu, enough to accommodate [-] people.

Although it looks so big, it is only the imperial city of Xijing City, not even the inner city.

As an imperial city, Changle Gate is in the east, Anding Gate in the west, Yongning Gate in the south, and Anyuan Gate in the north.

Each gate tower has three layers, which are divided into gate tower, archery tower and main tower.

The gate tower is outside, the archery tower is in the middle, and the main tower is inside. The wall between the archery tower and the main tower is the urn city. The entire city wall forms a strict defense system, and there is a wide moat outside the city.

The entire city is built on the central axis, and the planned roads are Suzaku Avenue running north-south and Chang'an Avenue running east-west, supplemented by twelve square streets and sixty long alleys.

These streets are still dirt roads, but Yang Bingwen can see how wide they are.

"His Royal Highness revised and overturned the drawings of the city construction several times, and finally decided the layout of the entire city according to the characteristics of Xijing City."

Jin Xuan set off and walked around the horse path, explaining to Yang Bingwen: "Zhuque Street is sixty feet wide, Chang'an Avenue is fifty feet wide, square streets are twenty feet wide, and long alleys are ten feet wide."

"Currently only the imperial city has been built, and only the four cities of Chang'an, Zhuque, Changning, and Yongning have been built in the imperial city."

"The King Qi Palace covering an area of ​​[-] mu and the [-] mu Liubu and Dudu's government offices have not yet been built, let alone other towns."

While the two were talking, they also walked down the city wall and came to Zhuquefang in the four squares on both sides of Zhuque Street.

"Zhuquefang is mainly a residential building but there are also yamen. Xijing City is composed of Zibo County and Linzi County, and the Zibo County Yamen was established with Zhuquefang."

On the blue brick street, there are rows of residential buildings on both sides, and no one lives in them, so Yang Bingwen and Jin Xuan can shuttle freely, explaining the differences in various places.

The residential buildings in Xijing City are mainly arranged in a "three vertical and four horizontal" layout. The layout of the houses is orderly, and the courtyards are layered.

Although it is a residential building, the buildings in the square have steep ridges and cornices, carved beams and painted buildings, which are exquisite and elegant. The courtyard halls are reasonably arranged, and the spatial landscape is rich in layers and endlessly changing, forming a "maze-like" building complex. It is a typical southern-style garden in the Ming Dynasty.

Yang Bingwen walked through many small courtyards. Their layouts are different, but generally speaking, they are elegant on the inside and beautiful on the outside, with regular shapes, flexible layouts, rich spaces, and gradual levels.

The dwellings in the entire Fangshi contain profound cultural connotations in rich forms, and are the product of the combination of the architectural culture of the Ming Dynasty and the climate culture of the Qi State.

"These courtyards take up no less than one-third of the area, right?" Yang Bingwen couldn't help sighing as he stood in a courtyard.

"It is indeed a three-part courtyard (184 square meters)." Jin Xuan nodded with a smile, and Yang Bingwen smiled wryly after hearing this: "This courtyard is placed in Daming, and even some scholars can't afford it."

"That was in the past..." Jin Xuan let out a foul breath, and replied with a smile: "Anyway, so much timber has been opened up for land reclamation, and the reformed laborers only eat food and don't waste money. The cost of these yards is only a few stones of rice. That's all."

"That's true..." Yang Bingwen nodded slightly, as a sign of approval.

The two walked out of the yard and walked in the empty Zhuque Square. Looking at the empty space, Yang Bingwen also asked curiously, "How many of these folk houses have you prepared?"

"Four square cities, with about [-] residential houses, it is not a problem to accommodate [-] immigrants." Jin Xuan responded, and said at the same time:

"However, based on what you and I inferred just now, I'm afraid these houses will be idle for two or three years."

"Not really..." Yang Bingwen shook his head:

"My father infers that the first batch of immigrants should be relocated in the winter of 16. According to the number of acres of land in 16 you just mentioned, about [-] to [-] people can immigrate to Qi, and Xijing City can accommodate at least [-]."

"When I set off this year, the country was flooded in the south and drought in the north, and the people were severely affected. In many places, people even ate tree bark and grass roots."

"Didn't the court provide disaster relief?" Jin Xuan stopped, frowned and looked at Yang Bingwen, but Yang Bingwen shook his head:

"It can be said that there is relief, but it can also be said that there is no relief."

After speaking, Yang Bingwen explained, and as soon as Jin Xuan heard the policy of the court, he knew that His Royal Highness King Qi was driving the people out.

"Long-term pain is worse than short-term pain, Your Highness is right..."

Jin Xuanhe has changed a lot a few years ago. If it was a few years ago, he would definitely fight for it, but now he is no longer so idealistic.

Among the original two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty, except for the six provinces of Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangdong, Guangxi, and Shanchuan, they were actually more or less densely populated.

The drought this time is enough to reflect many things. Since there are tractors, it is necessary to reclaim the arable land that can be reclaimed, and then emigrate to the real side. The court must make a choice.

"How are Chengde and the prince?"

Putting down people's livelihood, Jin Xuan began to ask Yang Bingwen about Chengde and Prince Zhu Ciran.

The last time he heard about the two of them was last year, and it has been a year now, and he doesn't know what has changed.

He is more concerned about the relationship between the two, after all, in his heart Chengde is a close friend and Zhu Ciran is a disciple.

"I heard that Wansui asked the prince to study in the Metropolitan Procuratorate, but after studying for two years, it didn't produce any results. I think so, after all, the prince is only 12 years old."

Yang Bingwen excused Zhu Ciran, but Jin Xuan frowned: "I'm afraid the prince is just playing for fun."

Obviously, as Zhu Ciran's former teacher, Jin Xuan knew Zhu Ciran's character very well. If there was no strict teacher's supervision, then Zhu Ciran's loose personality would not be able to learn much.

"It's true that he's a bit carefree and playful, but the prince is always close to the people and sympathizes with the people's strength. It's a blessing among misfortunes."

Yang Bingwen walked out of Zhuquefang with Jin Xuan with a smile, and Jin Xuan could only sigh when he heard the words: "It's good to be loose, but it's better not to toss like Long Live..."

Jin Xuan's feelings towards Zhu Youxiao were really bad. After all, when Zhu Youxiao was busy with the internal and foreign affairs of the governor, Zhu Youxiao was busy repairing the palace.

The cost of the three main halls, Dading Palace, and Zhongxia Palace is close to 800 million taels of silver, and these 800 million taels of silver are huge sums of money that can save many people today, not to mention the financial difficulties a few years before the apocalypse.

In Jin Xuan's view, Zhu Ciran's only advantage is his soft temper. Therefore, after he showed Zhu Ciran the hardships of the people's livelihood, Zhu Ciran could understand the difficulties of the people. He is similar to her uncle Zhu Youjian in this respect. .

Being soft-tempered is not a good thing for the king, but for the people, it is a great thing for the king to be soft-tempered and not toss.

Seemingly realizing that they talked too much, the two tacitly did not mention politics any more, but simply discussed the issue of Qi.

These conversations were recorded by the officials who followed, and after Yang Bingwen returned to Yingzhou, they were sent to the capital for Zhu Youjian to review.

However, due to the long distance, I am afraid that it will be March of the 15th year of Apocalypse by the time I send it back.

The two continued to chat about the Qi State, but they didn't know that a full-scale war broke out in Europe on the other side of the ocean, which was also the Qi State, because of Ming's intervention.

In October of the 13th year of the Apocalypse, that is, in November 1633 AD, due to the abundant supply of saltpeter from Ming Dynasty, the Catholic Alliance army led by Spain defeated the army of Protestant princes in the Czech Republic.

So far, the war in the Czech Republic ended with a complete victory for Spain. However, King Louis XIV of France could not tolerate the resurrection of Spain as the European hegemon again. Therefore, in August, France formed an alliance with Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom to attack the Spanish. Attack.

Due to insufficient supplies and logistical failure, the Spanish army was defeated and then withdrew from the Czech Republic.

The Danish army was victorious in the northwestern part of the Holy Roman Empire, and Sweden, with financial assistance from France, landed in Pomerania in December.

Although Sweden's participation in the war was four years later than in history, the Swedish army still defeated the army of the Holy Roman Empire at Braddenfield under the leadership of King Gustav Adolf II and occupied Pomerania. nia.

At the same time, the French army also sent troops directly under the leadership of Prime Minister Richelieu to jointly fight against the Catholic League Army with Sweden. This also represented that the 30 Years War had entered the stage of a pan-European melee.

Not only that, when the time entered the apocalypse 14 years later, the Swiss-French coalition forces occupied Mainz in March, and captured Augsburg and Munich in April.

The commander-in-chief of the Catholic Alliance Army, Wallenstein, fought the Battle of Lützen with the Swiss-French Allied Forces in May. The two sides did not develop like history. This time, the Catholic Alliance Army relied on sufficient gunpowder to draw with the Swiss-French Allied Forces. King Gus of Sweden Taft II was not killed on the battlefield, and the war entered a stalemate.

However, although the land was in a stalemate, as Xu Xiake led the fleet to leave, British and Dutch warships were looking for Spanish merchant ships at sea like hyenas, and the Spanish waterway was seriously threatened for a while.

Since the silver and gold from the Americas could not flow into Spain, Spain would not be able to use gold and silver to trade with Ming. Therefore, Felipe IV was going to negotiate with Ming to trade in America, but he has not yet decided whether to do so.

For a while, all kinds of information were collected by Xu Xiake's Beizhen Fusi Jinyiwei who stayed in Europe, and sent to Daming through carrier pigeons.

The homing pigeon arrived in South Kunlun with the news, then went to Xiaoxiyang, and finally arrived at the west harbor of Luchuan through Xiaoxiyang, and then sent it to the capital at an expedited speed of [-] miles.

The seemingly short process took more than five months. By the time the news was delivered to Zhu Youjian, it was already October of the 14th year of Tianqi.

"Trade in the Americas is fine, but if you can't win at sea, how can you guarantee his shipping lanes? Could it be that you want Guochao's Huangdian ships to send him saltpeter across the Western Ocean?"

In the Chengyun Hall in October, Zhu Youjian frowned as he watched the various information Jin Yiwei collected from Europe, and even he was a little confused for a while.

Denmark and Sweden delayed joining the war, France joined the war early, Spain did not lose the Battle of Lutzen, and Gustav II did not die in the battle.

How much impact can an excellent military general have on the battlefield?It doesn't need to be said by others, Zhu Youjian also knows, after all, he himself is the most capable general of Ming Dynasty.

Historically, it was the death of Gustav II, the king and coach, in the Battle of Lützen that caused the Swedish line infantry to lose their ability to attack, and Wallenstein was also suspected because of his defeat and self-respect.

Now that Gustav II is alive and Wallenstein can barely confront him, the situation in Europe is very interesting.

Although Spain can still maintain its advantage in war on land, once the saltpetre on the waterway is interrupted, its gunpowder production capacity will fall back to six years ago.

Without Daming's saltpeter, Spain would not be able to produce a large amount of gunpowder, and it would definitely not be able to defeat the Protestant Alliance Army in terms of firepower.

As long as Ming Dynasty does not intervene, Spain will be defeated by the armies of France, Denmark, and Sweden in succession as in history, and will encounter vicious events such as internal peasant uprisings, Portuguese independence, etc., and finally lose at the Battle of Mashausen and the Battle of Reims. Signed the Peace of Westphalia, ending the Thirty Years War.

These things are said to be very short, but in fact it took 14 years.

In general, half of the 30-year war in Europe has been fought. If Ming Dynasty helps Spain, Spain may win the 30-year war, and then the 30-year war will be extended, and a second 30-year war will break out in Europe.

If Daming doesn't support Spain, then at most he will be defeated a few years later than in history by relying on his current advantages.

Neither the victory nor the disastrous defeat of Spain is what Zhu Youjian wants. What he wants is a disastrous victory for Spain and ceding the interests in the United States to Qi.

However, the tragic victory is the tragic victory, and Zhu Youjian's requirements for Spain are divided into stages.

Now that Spain is at a stalemate in the war, what Zhu Youjian has to do is to let Spain continue to lose the war, and then a sense of crisis erupts, and then cede the North American colonies to Daming.

Only by accomplishing this goal will Zhu Youjian help Spain and let it regain dominance of the European battlefield.

As long as Spain is used well, let it dominate the European battlefield, and then sell some warships and artillery eliminated by Ming Dynasty to Spain, so that it can defeat the British and Dutch naval fleets, so as to gain sea power in the Atlantic Ocean, then Zhu Youjian can continue to act like Britain, France, The Netherlands and other countries negotiated and obtained the colonies of North America and Central America from them.

At this time, Zhu Youjian can turn to support Britain, France and the Netherlands, and at the same time let Britain and France encourage Portugal to become independent.

Once this matter is successful, after Portugal's independence, Zhu Youjian can negotiate with Portugal to obtain Portugal's overseas colonies, and then infiltrate South America.

In the future, Britain and France will continue to suppress Spain and the Holy Roman Empire, forcing Spain to withdraw from South America.

As a condition, Daming will sell all the obsolete warships to Spain, and at the same time cut off funding to Britain, France, the Netherlands, and Portugal, and let Spain make the loss of the American colonies a condition for victory in the war.

Without America, even if the European war is won, Spain will at most become a farming and animal husbandry country under the feudal system.

Although the Catholic Church can win for a short time, the Protestant Alliance will not always admit defeat, and the second war over religion will still break out.

As long as Ming and the vassal states do not directly send troops to intervene in European wars, those monarchs in Europe will not think about global politics, at most they will stay at the stage of European politics.

By the time they finish fighting the Second War of Religion, Qi and the feudal vassals have already established a firm foothold in America and southern Levia.

At this time, even if Europe reached a nominal alliance, it would not be enough to pose a threat to the Ming suzerainty system.

The implementation of the entire plan will take decades, and it will take about 20 years to complete the American colonies belonging to Qi from the European colonists.

Of course, if Zhu Youjian is not happy, he can also choose to lead troops to sweep across the Americas after taking over the feudal domain, and let Spain eat yellow lotus.

However, after facing the military power of Qi State, European countries are likely to realize the military strength of Qi State and the Daming suzerain-vassal system, and then choose to cease fighting and form a European Union.

The reason why Zhu Youjian took it step by step was to boil the frogs in warm water, so that European countries felt that Ming could not eat the Americas, so they did not directly use force to prevent them from feeling the military pressure of Ming.

If they felt the military pressure from Ming Dynasty, coupled with the existing economic pressure, then it would be a little strange for them not to stop fighting.

Cutting flesh with a soft knife is the most painful...

Thinking of this, Zhu Youjian also realized that in order for Spain to give up its colonies in North America and Central America, Qi State must show a decent military strength.

This force cannot scare Spain, nor can it make them feel indifferent, it can only make them feel pressure, and it cannot be too heavy.

Thinking of this, Zhu Youjian, who was standing at the window of the Chengyun Palace, picked up another booklet.

This is the document sent by Tianqi of Qi State in 13 years. Although Zhu Youjian has not received the document of 14 years, he can probably judge the current situation of Qi State.

"According to the number of machines, by the end of next year, there should be at least 50 mu of arable land, and it should not be a problem to feed 8 or [-] people."

"The output of gold and silver mines and coal mines has also stabilized at around 6 taels. It is still a bit difficult to raise an army, and we need the support of Prince Qi's Mansion."

Zhu Youjian calculated the situation of Qi State, and then turned around and gave Wang Chengen an order:
"In the name of Prince Qi's Mansion, on the first day of June in the 15th year of the Apocalypse, we recruited troops from the four provinces of Shandong, Henan, North Zhili, South Zhili, Zhejiang, and Jiangxi."

"Temporarily set up as five battalions of soldiers and horses, and those who apply will be distributed with a hundred acres of fields."

"At the end of the 15th year of Apocalypse, soldiers and horses went first, and at the end of the 16th year, his family moved to Qi State."

"Your servants take orders..." Wang Chengen responded first, and then asked: "Your Highness, why don't you continue to use the soldiers and horses of the Kingdom Dynasty to garrison the Qi Kingdom?"

"If five battalions of troops are recruited right now, counting his family, I'm afraid there will be at least 9 or [-] horses. Can Qi State bear so many people?"

"Besides, the five battalions of soldiers and horses, according to the annual salary of 15 taels of military pay and 30 taels of food expenditure, the palace has to spend at least [-] taels of silver."

"Your salary and Qi's annual income may only last for about seven years..."

Wang Chengen was a little worried, but Zhu Youjian shook his head and said, "Seven years is enough."

"The mining of gold and silver mines in Qi State is not yet on the right track. When the local area is on the right track, the annual income of 40 million taels of silver is not much."

"Counting in my salary and the trade between Qi and Daming, we can almost achieve a balance of payments."

Zhu Youjian calculated very clearly that they did not immigrate until the end of 16, and they would not arrive in Qi State until April and May of 17. Even if they used a steam ship, they would arrive in Qi State in February at the earliest.

After Daming's second batch of industrial zones are put into operation in Tianqi 15, the number of tractors that Qi can get will also increase. By 17, Qi should have no less than 100 million mu of arable land.

According to the situation of 10,000 mu per household, there is still a shortage of [-]+ mu of cultivated land.

But it's okay, because the mechanical progress is not enough, and Daming still has manpower available.

"Let Yang Wenyue send 16 reformed-through-labor workers to Qi to reclaim farmland next year, and send 20 reform-through-labor workers there in [-]."

"Tell Jin Xuan, let the labor camp workers clear the trees and stones first, and then use machines to plow them deeply. This will increase the speed of reclamation."

Zhu Youjian explained to Wang Chengen, and Wang Chengen also complied with all his orders.

After doing all this, Zhu Youjian asked about the bill: "How is the bill?"

"There are 2 votes in favor, more than 63 votes against, 14 votes abstaining, and [-] officials have not decided whether to abstain or agree or oppose."

Wang Chengen's response made Zhu Youjian frowned a little, but he was still a little worried immediately afterwards.

63 abstained, which means that 63 Enke students want to stay in Daming, so they can't do anything in favor of the abolition of Yansheng Gong.

If the 63 officials who have received Yanshan education leave by themselves, can their elder brother beat them?
Can my nephew, who is sloppy by nature, be able to command the group of new generals in the Fifth Army Commander's Mansion?

Thinking of this, Zhu Youjian walked to the window with his hands behind his back and frowning.

Looking at the heavy snow in the capital, he didn't know what he was thinking.

"It seems that Hong Chengchou and Sun Chuanting's entry into the cabinet must be accelerated..."

(End of this chapter)