Daming: Brother, there is no future for monks, let's rebel

Chapter 187: Chen Youliang's Strategy! 【Ask for full confirmation】

Chen Youliang worried about the recent great achievements of the Ming army.

To be honest, Chen Youliang still admires Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Han and Zhu brothers in his heart, and his dislike and hatred for the Mongols is the basis for him to have this kind of sympathy.

It's just that everyone understands that when the threat of the Mongols is lifted, the next goal of the Ming army must be to occupy the Chen Han regime in Sichuan and Yunnan.

"Now that the Ming army is in full swing, with arrogant soldiers and powerful generals, they are invincible. I feel that we should build fortresses on the border, train soldiers, and use the mountains to prevent the Ming army from invading."

As soon as Chen Youliang finished speaking, the Prime Minister Zou Pusheng next to him immediately expressed his suggestion.

But what Zou Pusheng said is commonplace, and it is of no use to the current Chen-Han regime in Sichuan.

If only relying on the method of shrinking, the Ming army will use ten times the national power to smash Chen Han's defense.

What Chen Youliang needs now is how to improve his national strength, instead of building a tortoise formation and separatist rule in Sichuan for the rest of his life, as Zou Pusheng said.

"Brother Huang, we don't have many people in Sichuan now. Even if we eat Yunnan, the population is far less than that of Huguang. If we want to strengthen our national power, we must increase our population." Chen Youren, Chen Youliang's younger brother, said.

As the most capable of Chen Youliang's younger brothers, Chen Youren has always been able to provide very useful strategies for governing the country.

"Youren, please tell me, is there any good way to strengthen the country?" Chen Youliang asked quickly.

Population is related to national power, which has been the same principle since ancient times.

Because Song and Jin fought continuously in Sichuan more than 100 years ago. Sichuan, which was originally the land of abundance, lost more than [-]% of its population. Later, when the Mongols ruled Sichuan, they did not have much rest and had been collecting high taxes and tributes.

Today, the population of Sichuan as a whole is less than half of what it was in the Song Dynasty.

"If you want me to say, there are only three places that Zhu Chongba is better than us. One is a big land, the second is rich, and the third is a lot of people." Chen Youren said slowly, "This big land It is because there are many people, so you can recruit soldiers, and if you have money, you can train the army to be more elite. If this is the case, then we will follow Zhu Chongba's example, first increase the number of people, and treat the people in Sichuan lightly. If we can call back those people who have hidden in the deep mountains and old forests, at least we can gain nearly one million more people.”

Those people who Chen Youren mentioned were hiding in the deep mountains and old forests were not included in the household registration statistics of the imperial court at all. These people hiding in the deep mountains and old forests did not need to pay taxes or perform military service.

Of course, as long as there are people, there are rivers and lakes.

These people who fled to the deep mountains and old forests did not live in the peach blossom garden.

In Sichuan, Chongqing, Yunnan, Guizhou and other places, there are a large number of chieftains who occupy the mountains as kings, and the population under the rule of the chieftains basically belongs to the private property of the chieftains.

The government's various administrative orders and the collection of grain and grass taxes are often only specific to a certain chieftain.

This situation has resulted in chieftains with a large population, but only need to pay very little taxes, and even many chieftains have their own armed forces, and they are even more indifferent to government conscription.

"What you said, Youren, is indeed a good idea." Chen Youliang stroked his short beard, nodded and said, "However, these populations are controlled by the chieftains. If we want to control the population If you get it back, you must meet these chieftain swordsmen."

These hereditary chieftains entrenched on various hilltops, no matter they were of Han or Yi origin, all regarded their territory and population as important as their lives.

The Mongols, who were famous for their viciousness back then, never took away the land and population under their hands.

Now if Chen Youliang dared to touch their lifeblood, then these hereditary chieftains would definitely rise up and resist.

Chen Youren sneered, "So what if swords and soldiers meet each other? These chieftains usually bully the weak and fear the hard, but rely on their own high mountains and dangerous roads. Zhu Chongba sent people to wipe out so many chieftains in Guizhou, which shows that they rely on the geographical advantages. It’s not invincible, as long as we learn how Zhu Chongba attacked the chieftains in Guizhou, we can clean up these chieftains in Sichuan and Yunnan.”

After hearing Chen Youren's words, Chen Youliang's eyes lit up with joy.

The Ming army's crusade against various chieftains in Guizhou has never stopped.

The first unlucky one was Yang, the hereditary chieftain of Bozhou in eastern Guizhou. Last winter, the chieftain of Shuixi in western Guizhou surrendered to the Ming and Guizhou Xingdusi.

All the chieftains in Guizhou were wiped out by the Ming army, and millions of people and land were controlled by the Ming army government. The strength of the Ming army in the Southwest suddenly increased dramatically.

Chen Youliang naturally knew that the Ming army was able to make such rapid progress in Guizhou, all because of the most efficient and effective administrative and military means.

Chen Youren also put forward feasible suggestions to Chen Youliang based on the information he heard.

"Brother Huang, the Ming army in Guizhou is nothing more than beating chieftains to divide the land. We can also learn this trick."

"Another one, I found that even if the chieftains in the mountains of Sichuan and Yunnan can grow food and weave cloth, there is one thing they absolutely cannot live without."

Chen Youliang immediately guessed what the necessities his brother was talking about.

"Youren, you mean salt?" Chen Youliang asked in a low voice.

Chen Youren nodded, "Brother Huang is right, I am referring to salt, most of these chieftains live in cottages, and there is no way to get salt, in addition to salt, there are many other necessities such as medicines that they lack Yes, as long as we take appropriate measures, we can flatten and round these toasts."

Brother Chen Youliang quickly decided on a strategy, and planned to attack the chieftains on the hills in the southwest.

After some calculations, the two brothers decided that as long as they consumed half of the strength of these toasts, they could increase their soldiers by another [-].

It can be seen that since the end of the Southern Song Dynasty, how many people in the southwest area have hidden in the deep mountains and old forests.

The Chen Youliang brothers had just decided on a strategy to clean up the chieftains, and were about to take out the last bit of gold, silver, food and grass to supply the army, but suddenly received an urgent military situation from Yunnan.

After driving Duan Gong away, Chen Youliang returned to Chengdu and set up the Marching Marshal's Mansion in Yunnan, leaving his fifth younger brother Chen Yougui to guard in Yunnan.

"Duan Gong is thousands of miles away, yet he still dares to think about Yunnan. It's really tolerable, what can't be tolerated!"

Chen Youliang was very annoyed when he saw the information from Yunnan.

It turned out that after Chen Youliang drove Duan Gong to the Tianzhu people in Bangladesh, he massacred the Burmese who surrendered to him. Although these barbarians were subdued in a short period of time, Duan Gong sent someone to contact Burma shortly after Chen Youliang left. The various tribes of Myanmar, and provided them with a large amount of military food support, so that these Burmese tribes colluded in rebellion.

Several camps in the Marshal's Mansion of the Yunnan Marching Army have been captured by the Burmese rebels, and the raging rebels even once threatened several important copper mines in Yunnan.

Chen Youliang is now able to support hundreds of thousands of troops, half of which rely on the rich products of the Chengdu Plain, the land of abundance, and the other half rely on several super large copper mines in Yunnan.

Now that the Burmese rebels have threatened Chen Youliang's pocket under Duan Gong's flickering, he naturally cannot tolerate it.

"Immediately send troops to reinforce the Marshal's Mansion of the Yunnan Marching Army. We must drive out these Burmese rebels and capture them all in the mines to dig stones!" Chen Youliang said angrily.

Yunnan has a vast land and many mountains and rivers. The little force in the hands of the fifth brother Chen Yougui is simply not capable of all-out attack and all-defense, so soldiers and horses must be sent to support.

Chen Youliang was very puzzled about one thing.

That was when Duan Gong was driven away by them. He was obviously very embarrassed. He only took [-] to [-] remnants of the defeated generals and fled.

How come it's been less than a year now, and Duan Gong has such a strong capital to support those Burmese natives?

According to information from the Marshal's Office of the Marching Army in Yunnan, there are nearly 10 rebels, large and small, from all walks of life in Myanmar.

Although these Burmese rebels have 10 people, they may not be able to keep up with the combat effectiveness of the 1 Red Turban Army.

But if you want to support [-] mouths to eat, you need a very large amount of food.

Chen Youliang couldn't figure out how Duan Gong got so much food.

"Could it be that the Tianzhu where Duan Gong fled to is really full of gold, silver and jewels, and food is grown all year round?" Chen Youliang couldn't help but asked in confusion.

When Chen Youliang led the army in Yunnan, he heard the introduction from the indigenous savages of Burma that Tianzhu in Bangladesh is rich in precious stones, gold and silver, and has abundant rainfall all year round and a warm climate, which is very suitable for the growth of rice.

Now that the function has only been used for one year, there is a surplus of food to support the savage aborigines in Burma. It seems that the rumors about Tianzhu's prosperity are true.

"Brother Emperor, hit the snake and hit seven inches. The mountains and forests where these Burmese savages live are all full of poisonous insects, rats and ants. Even if they are repelled, it will be difficult. Exterminate them in the mountains and dense forests. They will go if they don't cut the grass and roots. Return it." The younger brother Chen Youren said beside him.

"Youren, what do you say?" Chen Youliang asked.

"Since Duan Gong is behind these indigenous savages in Myanmar, we will find a way to get rid of Duan Gong. In this way, without Duan Gong's food and grass support, the Burmese in the dense forests and deep mountains will not have to worry about it." Chen Youren Said.

The suggestion he made can be said to hit the heart of the Burmese.

Although ancient Myanmar was in the tropics, the agricultural production level of the local residents was backward, and there were not many means of development for the swampy rainforest.

As a loose alliance of city-states in Myanmar, it is almost difficult to come up with rations for an expedition of [-] troops for several months.

Therefore, without the food and grass support provided by Duan Gong, relying only on the family background of the Burmese, they can only play birds and monkeys in their respective tribes.

"The method is good, but Duan Gong is thousands of miles away, and he has to cross the miasma-filled jungle in Burma. How can we solve Duan Gong?"

"Brother, I once heard from the Tubo people that after crossing the holy mountain in the south of Tubo, it belonged to the king of Tianzhu Deli. Now the place Duan Gong occupies also belongs to the king of Tianzhu Deli. He must have hated Duan Gong to the bone. After all, it took away his territory, if we can send someone to unite with King Tianzhu Deli, we can let him destroy Duan Gong together, so as to solve our worries in Yunnan."

In the fifth year of Hongwu in Ming Dynasty, August [-]th.

Jiangnan, Zhenjiang.

The rustling autumn wind has swept away the hot weather, and the southward monsoon has appeared on the sea to the east of Zhenjiang.

At this time, it was the time for Zhu Han's planned voyage to the west.

The older brother Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Han came to the port of Zhenjiang to witness Daming's first voyage to the West.

"Seventh Five-Year, do you think our voyage to the West this time will really benefit the descendants of Ming Dynasty?" Zhu Yuanzhang, the older brother, was still a little worried and asked.

Zhu Han's voyage to the West this time is on an unprecedentedly large scale.

There are five light sailing ships that are only used as pioneers for exploration.

These light sailboats are all the latest sailboats produced by Zhenjiang Shipyard. They all use huanghuali wood for their hulls, and their rudders are made of rosewood wood. Only these precious woods are enough to buy a super-sized one in later generations. Modern yacht.

Fortunately, Daming is rich in all kinds of wood resources, and the cost of making these sturdy hulls is still acceptable.

In addition to the five exploration-type sailing ships, there will be ten fourth to sixth-level sailing warships next.

These sailing warships have made many adaptive adjustments in structure and layout based on the experience and lessons provided by Hu Dahai who had drifted thousands of miles before.

As the latest batch of sailing warships, these ten warships are the main force in the voyage to the west. Each warship is equipped with three types of artillery. The hull and sails of the enemy are bombarded from above, and the small light guns on the deck can fire shotguns to kill the sailors and crew of the enemy.

The investment in the construction and transformation of these ten warships is even more regardless of the cost.

When the mast and keel needed strong and suitable wood, Zhu Han directly ordered the demolition of the palace hall of the Goryeo Kingdom, and took the beams and columns above as shipbuilding materials.

The maintenance cost of each warship is almost equivalent to the military salary and supply cost of all soldiers in a guard.

Behind the ten sailing warships, there are six galleys.

These six galleys can not only be used as logistics supply ships, but also can use paddles to sail quickly when offshore, and can also be unimpeded in ordinary rivers.

Each galley is equipped with dozens to hundreds of sailors. Generally speaking, the sailors on the galley belong to the hardest and most tiring positions. Almost all the sailors from Europe to West Asia are slaves. .

The paddling sailors on these ships like Zhu Han are not slaves, but most of them are recruited from Goryeo and Wa Kingdoms. Goryeo and Wa Kingdoms are thin and short, but they also endure hardships and stand hard work. They are most suitable for the narrow rowing position , and Daming only needs to provide them with an annual military salary of ten taels of silver, and it is completely sufficient to give them a piece of Daming naturalized status after the five-year period expires.

Both Gaoli and Wa Kingdom belong to the sphere of influence of Ming Dynasty. After these coolie sailors have the status of naturalized people of Ming Dynasty, they can see officials without kneeling in the territory of Gaoli and Wa Kingdom, and they can own their own fixed property. They are protected by the Ming garrison and their status is almost equal So the warrior class.

For the Koreans and Wa people, these conditions are already generous enough, and they can even make them lose their lives when necessary.

(End of this chapter)