I really don't want to be emperor at the end of Ming Dynasty

Chapter 465 Extreme Social Problems
  The emergence of firearms has made courage and martial arts no longer so important. A soldier who is skilled in bow and horse needs more than ten years of training. But the problem is that a rifle can easily kill a soldier in one day's familiarity with the gun. A warrior who has trained hard for more than ten years.

As for the artillery, it made the dangerous fortress in the cold weapon era no longer so easy to break through. In the eyes of the Cossacks, their Alka Castle could not be conquered within a year even if the Ming Dynasty used a hundred thousand troops.

But the problem is that in the face of the Ming Dynasty's heavy artillery, the castle only lasted for more than three hours. If only counting from the beginning of the bombardment, this time was only more than an hour.

As a result, the castle was blasted with cannons and opened a large hole about thirty meters long. Under the cover of the hand-cranked machine guns of the Ming Dynasty Royal Army, they successfully entered the city of Alka. With part of the city wall lost, the battle was destined to end.

Although the Cossacks are very tenacious, so what if they are tenacious? Under the combined attack of rifles, revolvers and tiger squatting cannons, they simply blocked the attack of the Ming army.

The Crouching Tiger Cannon was invented by Qi Jiguang, who can be regarded as an old man among artillery. But the problem is that the advantages of the Crouching Tiger Cannon cannot be replaced by other artillery. First of all, this kind of artillery now only weighs more than [-] kilograms and can fire shotguns. , which has a very strong killing effect on large-scale and dense formations.

Especially in street fighting, if you encounter an enemy defending a courtyard, you can place the Tiger Crouching Cannon directly in front of the gate to bombard it and fire live ammunition. It is simply an artifact for breaking down doors. For general buildings, it can also be regarded as an artifact for demolishing houses. Even though the artillery of the Ning Navy has been developed for several generations, from the initial Franco machine cannon, to the front-mounted smoothbore cannon, the rear-mounted smoothbore cannon, the rear-mounted rifled cannon, and now the three-inch, four-inch and five-inch cannons, the Tiger The squatting gun's status has never been shaken.

The Cossack soldiers who retreated to the city of Arka originally wanted to defend the city. Unfortunately, when they encountered them hiding in the courtyard, they directly brought the Tiger Crouching Cannon and rocket launchers over and blasted them into the courtyard.

Just like pulling out nails, one after another, the battle soon came to an end.

Lu Xiangsheng looked at Hou Hongwen and said: "Report the victory to the regent and the cabinet. Tell them that I have captured Alka City and will continue to attack according to the plan!"

Hou Hongwen said with some worry: "Jiandou, don't you think about it..."

"I don't think about it!"

Lu Xiangsheng said resolutely: "Our regent's appetite will never be easily satisfied!"

"You misunderstood what I meant. What I meant was that you should be careful about your power!"

"Great master overlord?"

Lu Xiangsheng sneered: "What does my military exploits mean in front of the king? Besides, whose military exploits can be greater than his?"

"That's not what you said. After all, you are not his direct descendant!"

Hou Hongwen said: "Currently, there are thirty-nine colonels and brigade commanders in the Ming Dynasty, but there are thirty-one direct descendants of the King of Liaodong. However, there are two brigade commanders in the Anbei Army. Plus you..."

Lu Xiangsheng said: "The Ming Dynasty thinks too much about itself. If the king doesn't let me lead the army, I will go home and farm!"

Therefore, Lu Xiangsheng led the Anbei Army to continue attacking northwest. However, Ula Mountain was not a pass like Alka Castle, but consisted of more than a dozen castles.

Even though the Anbei Army of the Ming Dynasty is currently deploying troops in the Ural Mountains, the Anxi Army is attacking Congling in the Gobi in the northwest, and the Annan Army is struggling to advance in the primitive rainforest. It can be said that the Ming Dynasty now has a third-line army, but domestic construction has not stopped. A large number of people adopted the work-for-relief method and began to build cement roads or railways.

Of course, in addition to improving the traffic environment, water conservancy projects are also essential, especially in the lower reaches of the Huaihe River, where the rivers are blocked and the dams are in disrepair. They have reached the point where they cannot be repaired without repairs.

In addition to building dams and dredging ditches in the south, the north is also preparing for drought relief. Wells are being dug and canals are being dug. The entire Ming Dynasty is full of busy construction sites. Of course, the reason for all this busyness is because of the economy of the Ming Dynasty. Running well, the market economy is full of vitality.

The regent of the Ming Dynasty, Xiang Hui, was pregnant. This made the cabinet and the ministers of the Ming Dynasty feel relieved. There were not many heirs in the royal family. Currently, the only male heir is the eldest son, Cheng Jialong. Counting the princess Cheng Jiayue, there are only two people, and there is no backup. The prince really worries everyone.

Although Cheng Shijie is still in his prime, the problem is that life is full of too many accidents. Just like Emperor Tianqi, he was in good health, but died young. If Emperor Tianqi had been alive, the Ming Dynasty would not have So many problems arise.

Although Emperor Chongzhen took Emperor Apocalypse as an example, in fact, he must subconsciously do better than Apocalypse. He also reformed the Ming Dynasty in many ways. As a result, the more reforms he made, the more problems he had. It was completely a headache and a pain in the head.

But Cheng Shijie does not have this problem. On the surface, Cheng Shijie seems to be indifferent to everything. The Cabinet handles national government affairs, the Military Department and the General Staff Department are responsible for military affairs, and the Inspection Yuan is still responsible for supervising the discipline of officials nationwide.

The biggest difference from the previous Ming Dynasty is that Ming officials now do not need to hold court meetings. In fact, in Cheng Shijie's view, the court meeting system is actually anti-human. When Cheng Shijie was working at Hansteel Group, he was very disgusted with the daily morning meeting system. The morning meeting system is actually just a formality, almost the same every day, focusing on safety, ethics and work enthusiasm.

How can I have the energy to work when I wake up so early every day?

How can you do a good job if you don’t get a good rest?

Because of this, there is no need to hold a morning meeting. If there is a problem, just call the relevant responsible persons. In fact, the form of the morning meeting system is greater than its meaning. What constructive opinions can a nerd who has just passed the Jinshi examination put forward on national policies? The scholar's opinion is pretty much the same.

Faced with Xiang Hui, a pregnant woman, Cheng Shijie no longer traveled far away. He walked and chatted with Xiang Hui in the Regent's Palace almost every day.

The relationship between Xiang Hui and Cheng Shijie is also very enviable by Zhu Weiti, Yang Yuniang and others. No matter how envious they are, they can't say anything. After all, Xiang Hui and Cheng Shijie got to know each other and went through the most difficult days together.

Through their chat, we can hear that Cheng Shijie and Xiang Hui were very poor at the time. In order to support their family, Cheng Shijie had to work for more than ten hours every day. Especially when Cheng Jialong was young, Cheng Shijie once went on a business trip for a long time and Cheng Jialong couldn’t even recognize him. Cheng Shijie is leaving.

The good news of the Ming Dynasty continued, especially not long afterward, Zhu Weiti and Yang Yuniang were pregnant one after another. This made Cheng Shijie very happy, but the problem was that ministers immediately began to write letters, requesting Cheng Shijie for amnesty.

Cheng Shijie simply threw away the memorial. The result of my hard work, why should I give amnesty to the world?

However, after more than a year of repeated negotiations, the results of the new title rewards of the Ming Dynasty were released. Almost all the nobles of the Dingxin Dynasty were actually granted fiefs. This fiefdom was in the La Plata Plain, which is now the In the Ming and Xinming Management Committees, the fiefdoms of each honorable noble were different in size and level according to their levels.

The titles of the Dingxin Dynasty were divided into five levels: Duke, Marquis, Earl, Viscount and Baron. It was also stipulated that Dukes could not be awarded titles except for military merit. At the same time, it was stipulated that relatives would no longer be rewarded with titles. No matter the parents and relatives of Princess Xiang Hui, or relatives such as Zhu Weiti and Yang Yuniang, they will not be ennobled.

At the same time, it is also stipulated that there are two types of knighthood: military knighthood and civil knighthood. Civil servants can also be knighted and serve as prime minister of the cabinet. If they serve for five years and are rated above average during their term of office, they can be awarded a count. If they serve as prime minister twice and are rated above average, they can be awarded a count. You can be promoted to Marquis, and if you serve three terms and fifteen years, and pass the exam, you can be promoted to Duke.

Cabinet members do not have titles, but those who have made outstanding contributions can still be granted titles. For example, the current cabinet member Fu Zonglong took more than [-] soldiers and a group of subordinate officials to the snowy mountains starting from the beginning of the year. After more than half a year, Negotiate and peacefully resolve the Uzbek issue.

Stimulated by the chieftain army, the chieftains who had lived on the snow for generations also coveted the land in Indochina. They were willing to accept the imperial court's return to the land, but the limited condition was that their property must be guaranteed.

Being able to peacefully solve the snow mountain problem is actually the same as the Ming Dynasty, which has been victorious in all its internal and external wars over the years. Especially the artillery carried by Fu Zonglong directly caused an avalanche on the snow mountain, which frightened the snow mountain chieftain.

Because of Fu Zonglong's contribution, Cheng Shijie specially approved that Fu Zonglong, a member of the cabinet, be promoted to marquis and named Yunhou. Two thousand square kilometers are actually enclosed.

The biggest difference between the nobility in the Dingxin Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty is that they have real fiefdoms. For the duke, the real fiefdom is [-] square kilometers, the marquis is [-] square kilometers, the earl is [-] square kilometers, and the viscount is [-] square kilometers. , Baron is one hundred square kilometers.

The duke's fiefdom can be regarded as a region in later generations, while the marquis is almost a medium-sized county, the earl is equivalent to a small county, and the viscount and baron are almost at the township level.

Officials and ministers who have been granted titles can manage their own fiefdoms, exploit the resources within their territory, have officials and dependents, and can also raise servants and soldiers.

Sun Zhiwan and Zhou Ning were firmly opposed to this, but Cheng Shijie rejected their suggestion directly. What a joke, where is La Plata?
  That was South America, surrounded by indigenous people and without an army. It was simply a dream to develop there. Cheng Shijie named twelve dukes in one go: Duke Shen Mingyu of Yong, Duke Changyu of Xia, Duke Zhou Yandong of Yu, Liang Guodong and Chen Guodong, Duke Zhou Ning of Yue, Duke Liu Qingsong of Jiang, Duke Chen Dayong of Zheng, Duke Li Zhixiang of Chu, Duke Shen Shikui of Qi, and Duke Bo. Duke Yuan Shiliang, Duke Wu Sheng of the Song Dynasty, and Duke Lai of the Song Dynasty offered advice.

In addition to the twelve princes, there are also thirty-nine marquises. As the head of the civil servants, Sun Zhiyi was awarded the Wenjue Gaoyang Marquis. All these nobles of the Dingxin Dynasty only had fiefdoms in Xinming, and they managed it by themselves. Twenty percent of the output must be handed over to the Ximing Management Committee.

As Xiang Hui became pregnant again, her temper became stronger and stronger. The only person in the Ming Dynasty who dared to scold Cheng Shijie appeared. Of course, Xiang Hui also left enough face for Cheng Shijie and would not scold him in front of outsiders.

Xiang Hui looked at Cheng Shijie helping Cheng Jiayue over and said displeasedly: "Oh, you still know that you come here to see me, a yellow-faced woman, and you don't want to accompany your heart?"

Cheng Shijie smiled bitterly and said, "The child is still here!"

Cheng Jiayue shook his head: "You said that children don't have ears, so I can't hear anything!"

Xiang Hui said: "In front of the child, I will give you face!"

Cheng Shijie asked: "Where are you going to go for a walk today?"

"Let's go on a trip!"

Xiang Hui pointed to the gray sky in Jinzhou and said: "Don't just focus on developing the economy and ignore environmental issues!"

“Environmental issues are never as important as having a full stomach!”

Cheng Shijie said: "Where is this? Compared to Fog City, it's just a child's play!"

"Since there is coal and iron ore in Australia, why not make steel directly there? Even if it pollutes, it will only pollute there!"

Cheng Shijie smiled bitterly and said: "There is no one there, and they cannot be allowed to really develop. Once Zhanzhou develops, they will turn their backs and deny people!"

Xiang Hui also understands what Cheng Shijie is referring to, after all, he has learned from past mistakes.

Having people prepare the carriage and RV, Cheng Shijie took Xiang Hui, Cheng Jiayue and Cheng Jialong and started traveling. Seeing the people coming and going on the road and the constant flow of traffic, Xiang Hui sighed: "The people of Ming Dynasty are still too easy to be satisfied!"

Compared with the abundance of materials in later generations, there is really no way to compare with the current Ming Dynasty. Even taking wages as an example, it is not a big problem for any worker in later generations to buy two thousand kilograms of rice with one month's salary. If you have a high income, you can buy tens of thousands of pounds.

But people in later generations are under too much pressure, but people in Ming Dynasty don't have so much pressure. First of all, there are no real estate companies in Ming Dynasty anymore, and houses are not for speculation.

Without the pressure of mortgage loan, the pressure of life will not be a concern.

There was a village on the roadside of Xiang Hui. Someone was getting married in this village. She looked at the wedding team of two to three hundred people and felt a little envious: "Our ancestors are more particular about their weddings!"

"Would you like to get a replacement for you?"

Xiang Hui shook his head and said, "There is an issue you need to pay attention to!"

"what?"

Cheng Shijie asked puzzledly.

"When I saw them getting married, I remembered that I heard from the palace lady that his son had just paid a betrothal gift of eight hundred taels of silver!"

Xiang Hui said: "With the income of Mrs. Wang and his family, this betrothal gift is not light, right?"

Cheng Shijie nodded and said: "Wang Rui, Wang Po's son, serves as a captain in the Guards Brigade. His monthly military pay and allowance is thirty-five taels of silver. Together with Wang Po and his husband, their family's monthly income is fifty taels." It’s about [-] taels of silver, and it would take a year and a half to save up [-] taels of silver without eating or drinking!”

"This is going to cause problems!"

Cheng Shijie smiled: "You are also a parent. Do you believe the nonsense of those experts in future generations?"

"It's not a good idea to have a heavy betrothal gift!"

Xiang Hui immediately thought that she also had a daughter.

Cheng Shijie said: "Are you willing to let Cheng Jiayue marry a poor boy?"

"I definitely don't want to!"

Cheng Shijie said: "It's not that I dislike the poor and love the rich. This is the most realistic problem of human nature. Marriage means breeding offspring. In nature, any animal follows the unfair principle that the strong owns everything and the weak do not deserve to have offspring." Only when a female wolf in a wolf pack mates with the strongest male wolf can she give birth to the strongest wolf pups. Humans are also animals, and marriage is a law of the jungle. I have no way to interfere forcibly, because interfering with it will cause extreme social problems. !”

Xiang Hui was a little confused: "What extreme problem?"

“Just like Ukraine!”

Cheng Shijie said: "According to the issues studied by scientists, the birth of a boy or a girl is directly related to the environment. Now the Ming Dynasty is in the Little Ice Age. Under natural fertility conditions, there are more girls and fewer boys. Take Liaodong last year as an example. Last year, new births in Liaodong Of the babies, only [-]% were boys..."

"More than [-]% of the babies are girls. What social problems will it cause?"

Cheng Shijie explained: "First of all, if there are too many baby girls and there is no profit, they will give up raising baby girls. You can't see it now. When I first came to Daming, there were many dead people in the ditch outside Dengzhou City. Babies can be seen everywhere, and more than two-thirds of them are female babies. Isn’t this a serious problem?”

Xiang Hui felt deeply shocked: "How could this happen?"

"This is human nature!"

Cheng Shijie smiled bitterly and said: "This is also caused by habit. This problem has not been solved in future generations. How can I solve it? It is better to let nature take its course!"

PS: When the author was writing at night, the computer system suddenly crashed, and there was no way to deal with it in the middle of the night. This chapter is from yesterday and will be available later tonight.

(End of this chapter)