The Great Industrial Ming Dynasty Started from Beiping

There may not be mines in mountainous areas, but mines are usually in mountainous areas.

There are mines in Tosan, and there are a lot of mines. It is one of the few mineral areas in southern Goryeo. It has been recorded very early that people discovered that the open-pit mines here were used by people.

The refugee army absorbed the miners, and they quickly abandoned the mining area and destroyed the steam engine for water pumping and other equipment in the mining area that King Nan had finally introduced from the Ming Dynasty.

The mining base in southern Goryeo disappeared in one fell swoop.

The King of the South couldn't care less about his heartache. Except for the troops left behind, only [-] to [-] could be mobilized. It still consumed his savings over the years. The collapse of the [-] South Army had far more impact. There are more than [-] soldiers.

In addition to the resurgence of the refugee army and even higher morale, the [-]-strong army that originally besieged the remnants of the refugee army was also affected. Their morale plummeted and they were even unwilling to fight anymore, clamoring for military pay and military rations.

In just two months, the situation has undergone earth-shaking changes. In less than a year, the strategic posture of the refugee army and the Korean Southern Army has changed. Cities in various places dare not open their city gates, and local armies do not dare to open their gates. Dare to take action.

The refugee armies moved in all directions. Not only did they not resist, but a large number of people joined them, and their power expanded like a snowball.

"When they were weak, they banded together. After they gained the upper hand, the thieves who had been working closely together became wary of each other, and even clashed and became enemies."

Two royal guards came back with news about southern Goryeo.

Zhu Gaochi has stayed in Ping'an Dusi for three months. According to the original plan, he should have entered Nuergandusi by now and met with the official officials and local officials from various ministries appointed by the imperial court.

The refugee incident in southern Goryeo did not happen suddenly. There were a large number of refugees in southern Goryeo very early on. The refugees started sneaking around, were captured by local soldiers, and gradually went up to rebel.

But no one expected that the situation would develop so quickly, exceeding Zhu Gaochi's expectations.

Since ancient times, refugee uprisings refer to uprisings to overthrow the old dynasty and establish a new dynasty, then in China, only Liu Bang and Zhu Yuanzhang, not many, Li Zicheng and Huang Chaodu failed quickly.

There are also many refugee uprisings in Europe, but there is no successful template like Liu Bang and Zhu Yuanzhang in the strict sense. The feudal aristocratic serfdom system maintained in Europe has given local refugees no opportunity to grow. The population in various places cannot move and cannot be connected. .

Therefore, although there were many refugee uprisings, very few of them took off. No one thought that Goryeo could be overthrown by the refugee uprisings. Zhu Gaochi also thought so, because there were too many shortcomings at the bottom and too few elements for success.

Drawing on history, Zhu Gaochi ignored this refugee uprising, thinking it was just a wave in history. Looking back now, it is actually different.

Goryeo's official power was squeezed so hard by the Ming Dynasty that Goryeo's regular army was unable to extinguish the refugee army in time. Coupled with its own collapse, it gave the refugee army a chance to become more powerful.

"I think the current situation is very clear. First, I will not give the King of Goryeo a chance and keep Seoul as it is. Secondly, I will contact the Goryeo Right Army Control Envoy, agree to the request of the Goryeo Governor's Office, relax restrictions on Ming merchants, and finally contact several groups at the same time. The leader of the big bandit army, if the right army of Goryeo shows restraint and refuses to repent, we can try to win over the bandit army."

Jiang Binzhi took a step forward and said with his hands raised, his words were very caring for the Crown Prince's face. The refugee army of Goryeo was called a bandit army in the Ming Dynasty's civil and military circles, and they were completely considered from the perspective of the royal family.

Zhu Gaochi doesn't care much about these statements because he has his own confidence.

"Actually, I prefer to maintain the original situation, not because the refugees overthrew the Goryeo royal family, but because whether it is the King of Goryeo or the South King of Goryeo, we know the truth. Even if the South King of Goryeo is wary of us, it is still easy to control."

"The refugee army is different. Their tempers are unpredictable. Reasoning may not work. They will increase our cost of controlling Goryeo, and they may even become our enemies and lead to a direct war."

Zhu Gaochi explained.

His Highness the Crown Prince's reasons were very convincing, and Jiang Binzhi also began to think deeply.

The King of the South of Goryeo was also the Controller of the Goryeo Right Army. It was indeed because of him that the influence of the Goryeo Governor's Office was not easily involved in the southern part of Goryeo, but overall peace was maintained.

After all, it comes down to management costs. Although the current management costs are high, they are acceptable. The fear is that after the refugees gain power, they will not be able to maintain the old situation and destroy Ming Dynasty's interests in Korea.

"His Royal Highness, what suggestions do you have?" Jiang Binzhi asked sincerely.

Jiang Binzhi's attitude was not as respectful as that of traditional domestic officials, so Zhu Gaochi didn't pay attention.

Since the literati of the new era who pay attention to rules and are accustomed to new rules have different appearances, those literati who grew up in the new atmosphere and new social atmosphere will also take it for granted. This is the inevitable development of things.

Just like less than a hundred years ago, the attitude of the people towards officials a hundred years ago is completely different from the attitude of the people towards officials a hundred years later. They are two completely different worlds.

In the [-] years since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, the industrialized society has developed for more than [-] years. Not only has people's economic level increased significantly, but the social atmosphere has also changed dramatically. Every student coming out of the school has a face full of confidence and is heading towards Various positions are rushing towards the great future contained in the dividends of the times.

Zhu Gaochi did not answer immediately, but looked at the map behind him.

The behavior of His Highness the Crown Prince caused the civil and military officials in the hall to look at the huge slave Gan Dusi.

The scope of Nurgandusi, at least on the map, has been expanding every few years, until it has expanded to Kuwu Island, also known as Sakhalin Island. It has been China's land since ancient times. Later, with the decline of national power, it was occupied by the great powers. Divided out.

Every year, the exploration team goes north under extreme circumstances, exchanging materials with the tribes they encounter and hiring guides. As the exploration team progresses, the map of Nurgandusi becomes larger and larger.

The Northeast is an undeveloped area. From Beidahuang to Beidacang, it was built by the hardworking hands of the people and the organizational power of later generations.

The Ming Dynasty's population in Liaodong has just exceeded two million. Even Liaodong has not been fully developed, not to mention Nurgan, which has a harsh environment. Half of the year is covered with ice and snow.

The further north you go, the longer the ice and snow cover is, which is not conducive to the environment for human reproduction. As a result, the population in this area is very, very small, at least in ancient times.

The current map of the Ming Dynasty is not as complete as the world map of later generations, but Zhu Gaochi knows what it is like in those unexplored places.

In ancient times, the straight-line distance from China to the Americas was three times longer than that from Europe to the Americas, and it was also the vast Pacific Ocean. Europe could reach areas with better climates, while China reached colder areas, and there were many in the eastern part of the Americas. Mountains block it, making it more than ten times more difficult.

Therefore, if the Ming Dynasty wanted to reach America, it went through a lot of hardships and did not consider other aspects. There were two ways to learn from it. One was to imitate the Spanish galleons route, and the other was to imitate Russia's footsteps in reaching the Americas.

Spain's large sailing trade routes across the Pacific had a very high sinking rate due to distance and ocean risks, which was also one of the main reasons why Spain and Portugal's national transportation could not last long.

If the Spanish and Portuguese fleets return half of the ships, they will have considerable profits to share. If most of the merchant ships are sunk or robbed by pirates, investors may lose all their money.

The high sinking rate prevents fleet merchants from building commercial ports and docks around the world, so many of their businesses are one-time deals. The high mortality rate makes the two countries unable to succeed.

So why with such a high mortality rate, the Netherlands and Spain still developed world shipping, and were even called sea coachmen.

Such as the Netherlands.

The Netherlands was in a cold region and people had to be very hardworking to produce and make enough things to feed themselves.

Herring is fished only once a year. Although it can catch [-] million kilograms, it is only about ten kilograms per person. Not only can it not feed the people in the entire region, but it can even be a problem to feed the fishermen themselves.

Most fishermen in the Netherlands thought of using their fishing boats to transport goods to other parts of Europe, and they gradually gained the reputation of the Dutch as "sea coachmen".

This is the same reason why the nomads in northern China continue to move south despite the high mortality rate.

The Spanish galleons trade was a high-profit commercial route for luxury goods. The number of ships per year peaked at twenty to thirty. Because of the extremely high commercial interests, even if the sinking rate was high, the trade interests of the route were still maintained.

Their country maintains and colonizes the population in the Americas through the Atlantic Ocean, not the Pacific Ocean, so Spanish galleons commercial routes are currently unable to carry large-scale immigrants.

Unless you ignore the death of the people and transport one million immigrants to the New World, half a million or more people will die on the sea. Be prepared to sink half of the ships on each voyage.

This is still based on the fact that Spain has explored a complete route. Zhu Gaochi did not dare to regard the lives of the people as a game. It was a long road and could not meet Zhu Gaochi's requirements.

So can we imitate Russia?

Russia's failure in the Americas was not mainly due to the geographical environment and climate. Although this road is not easy to walk, compared with the Pacific Ocean, if it can succeed, it can become a channel for large-scale immigration.

The Russian fleet led by Bering roughly followed the route of the original migration of humans to the Americas, and represented the Russians' arrival in the Americas. However, it was an uninhabited wilderness with frozen soil and rocks scattered on the ground, which was not suitable for farming and farming. settled land.

For nearly sixty years, Russia failed because it arrived in the Americas too late. It was the last pioneering force to arrive in the Americas. They were unable to obtain better land. Coupled with the fear of Russia by Western countries, they were They put aside their respective conflicts and jointly expelled and suppressed Russia. Years of obstruction led to Russia's failure in America.

But it is different now. As long as the Ming Dynasty arrived in the Americas, invested heavily in the early stage and built a local shipyard, it could sail along the coast and reach wealthy areas, becoming a large supply point for large-scale immigrants.

Although it is very hard and there will be many difficulties encountered, it can achieve the effect of large-scale immigration and development while ensuring the safety of people's lives. The most important thing is that there are no colonists in America now.

Most of the indigenous people in the Americas are also very friendly. The Western colonists could not settle in the Americas without the help of the local indigenous people. If it were not for the treatment and supplies of the local indigenous people, the Western colonists would have died of hunger and disease long ago.

As long as the Ming people live in harmony with those peaceful tribes and bring trade to them, they can gain their friendship and jointly resist the tribes with bad attitudes. Of course there are bad people among the indigenous people, but under the long-term Western propaganda, people have the old impression that the indigenous people are generally very barbaric and murderous demons.

If the Ming Dynasty took root in the New World and relied on the advantage of first-hand layout, even if Westerners came to the New World many years later, they would be easily driven out by the Ming Dynasty.

So to develop the Northeast and Far East, or even build a railway, the current number of eunuchs alone is not enough. More cheap labor is needed. Only with a lot of sacrifices can it be possible to build a railway in the current era.

Just like the Great Wall built during the Qin Dynasty, the technology was insufficient and manpower was needed to make up.

If the railways in the seven western provinces were built to stabilize the west, solve the problem of prisoners of war, and expand the population of the Ming Dynasty, the Nanyang Railway was built to develop Nanyang. Both the former and the latter are profitable, and the time span is not too far away. If the health can be restored quickly, then the construction of the Nurgandusi railway will be a loss-making project that will not bring profits in the long term. It is destined to require a large amount of long-term investment and commitment from the Ming Dynasty.

So using domestic workers, the monthly salary of [-] yuan per person, and good social welfare and treatment will not attract many people, and the country cannot afford it, and it will cause a lot of casualties.

The cost of building the Nurgan Railway must be reduced to meet the needs of its plan.

Zhu Gaochi looked away.

The reason why I have been touring the Northeast for so long this time is to conduct on-site inspections and lay the foundation for the launch of future projects. Relaxing the regulations on the use of eunuchs is also a preparatory work.

Just relying on the number of eunuchs is not enough. Hundreds of thousands of eunuchs sounds like a lot, but the technology of the Ming Dynasty is not enough. It is not as good as the United States in the [-]th century. The only thing that can compare is the agricultural technology of the Ming Dynasty. This is the advantage of ancient China. Even in later Western games, the special skill of Chinese civilization in the game is high food production.

Therefore, the food needed to satisfy the population of one million or even more to build the Nuergan Railway can be obtained by the Ming Dynasty. In addition to domestic food, there is also food from Southeast Asia, which can be transported to the Northeast through domestic railways at low cost. .

The climate and environment of Nanyang, coupled with the agricultural production technology of the Ming Dynasty, gave the Ming Dynasty the confidence to have no shortage of food, even if it had not yet obtained high-yielding crops from the Americas.

Since there may not be enough eunuchs, add Koryo.

Who made Goryeo start a civil war? Otherwise, if Goryeo is stable, it can only meet the manpower needs of the Ming Dynasty Commercial Bank in Goryeo. As for transferring people from Nanyang to Nuerqian, it is not that Zhu Gaochi is unwilling to do it, but the mortality rate is too high .

The Koreans and the Japanese are both cold-resistant and have the best manpower to build the Nuergan Railway. Moreover, Liaodong has used eunuchs for [-] years and has an extremely mature management system. Isn't this the right time, the right place, and the right people?
  Jinzhou's industry, Peiping's industry, and Nurgandusi's river transportation provide the conditions for transportation and industrial materials needed in the early stage. Historically, the Hongwu Dynasty used the Nuergan river to build the Jilin Shipyard and supplied supplies through various rivers and Nuergan rivers.

The weather is cold, but there are Goryeo and Japanese people who are "not afraid" of the cold.

In the early stage, there were poor roads but highly developed rivers.

The most important thing is food abundance.

Zhu Gaochi made up his mind that the excess grain would rot in the warehouse because of its short shelf life. Taking the grain out for consumption would not only avoid wasting food, but also provide a bright path for the future of the Ming Dynasty.

"Goryeo refugees are everywhere, and the people are living in dire straits. It is so uncivilized. As a superior country, Ming Dynasty cannot stand by and watch innocent people die tragically, so Ming Dynasty must reach out."

Zhu Gaochi said slowly.

Zhu Gaosui on the side had sore teeth. He had grown up with his eldest brother. How could he still not know what his eldest brother was like? He had to listen to what his eldest brother said.

People who don't understand Big Brother will be fooled because Big Brother is moral to the left and civilized to the right. If they really believe what Big Brother says, they will definitely end up miserable.

But it's strange, people are still confused by Big Brother, and no one has ever reflected on it.

Jiang Binzhi did not have Zhu Gaosui's thoughts. The Ming Dynasty was so civilized. His Highness the Crown Prince was right. He quietly waited for His Highness the Crown Prince's next words.

"I plan to establish the Nuergan Railway Engineering Department to absorb refugees from Korea through disaster relief, build railways in Nuergan, and promote the development projects of Nuergan, so that everyone can benefit."

Using work to provide disaster relief was not invented by the United States. It has been around since ancient times.

In the book "Guanzi: Number of Riding Horses", there is Guan Zhong's remarks about the country encountering severe drought and floods: "If there is severe drought and floods in the year, and the people lose their roots, then build palaces, terraces and pavilions, and there will be no queens before." Those who do not have pigs are mediocre. Therefore, building palaces, rooms, terraces and pavilions is not only for beauty and pleasure, but also for the purpose of pacifying the country."

The meaning of this passage is that if there is a disaster year of severe drought and floods, and the people are displaced and unable to farm, and their livelihoods are not secure, they can build large-scale construction of palaces and buildings, and hire people from poor and destitute families who cannot even raise pigs and dogs. The poor make a living by working.

Therefore, sometimes the purpose of building palaces and pavilions is not for the king's enjoyment, but to implement the country's economic policy of investing in construction to restore people's livelihood.

This was later called work-relief method.

Because it has the effect of "killing three birds with one stone", it can save government financial expenditures in famine relief or public affairs, and prevent the occurrence of refugees and thieves in bad years, so it is favored by rulers.

However, the economy must be stable first, otherwise even if it knows how to do it, the government will not be able to afford it. Therefore, at the end of the dynasty, due to the economic collapse, there were work-relief methods, but they could not solve the problem of refugees.

Jiang Binzhi's eyes lit up, His Highness the Crown Prince's method was very in line with his wishes.

"After this disaster, the King of South Goryeo is hard to maintain his original attitude under the huge blow. Even if he wants to persist, there is nothing he can do. I think we can contact the King of South and let the merchants of the Ming Dynasty recruit all the refugees and cut off the refugee army. the foundation of.”

"The merchants of the Ming Dynasty could also take advantage of this opportunity to strengthen their influence in southern Goryeo. The court not only maintained the situation in Goryeo and prevented the southern Goryeo from becoming independent due to the refugee army, but also stabilized the Ming Dynasty in Nuer. The foundation of doing it can be said to be killing three birds with one stone.”

He is indeed a smart person, and it is easy to talk to smart people. Zhu Gaochi showed admiration in his eyes.
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  The original Governor of Goryeo, Xie Gui, died of illness, and the auxiliary defense corps was disbanded. The current Governor of Goryeo is Zhou Xing, the former general of Guangning. When Zhu Di was still King of Yan, there was a conflict over the military power in Liaodong. He once visited the prince's palace, and later completely Surrender.

Zhou Xing got Zhu Gaochi's order and took [-] Ming soldiers and [-] Korean troops commanded by Ming military attaches to control the southernmost areas of Gyeonggi Province and Gangwon Province to prevent refugees from entering.

King Li Bangguo of Goryeo also met with the envoys of the Ming Dynasty and learned of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's decision to help the Goryeo clan.

Although Li Fangyuan hated Li Fangyuan, he did not want the refugee to defeat his younger brother. The refugee taught his younger brother a big lesson, and Li Fanguo was very satisfied. However, if the refugee defeated his younger brother and obtained the Three Ways, Li Fanguo would be restless.

Since Daming supported the Korean clan, Li Fangguo fully supported it, but he couldn't sleep at night, worried that Daming would reconcile with his younger brother and threaten his throne, and he became worried again.

Li Fangyuan also soon met the merchants of the Ming Dynasty. They brought the request of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. Half of Li Fangyuan's territory lost order, especially the loss of the important military area of ​​Maozhu.

Not only the food from Chungcheong Province cannot be transported, but now even the food from Gyeongsang Province is blocked. They are also worried that the food and grass from the two places will fall into the hands of the refugee army, which further strengthens their strength.

Due to the lack of food and grass, the morale of the troops in hand was unstable, and he was unable to gather troops. The anxious Li Fangyuan was helpless and could only agree to the requirements of the Ming merchants.

The most prosperous people in Goryeo were not the local Yangban class, but the merchants of the Ming Dynasty.

The merchants of the Ming Dynasty happily supported Li Fangyuan with [-] shi of grain and grass, which solved Li Fangyuan's immediate urgency. After Li Fangyuan got the grain and grass, he immediately reissued part of the rations to the sergeants, temporarily suppressing the instability of the army.

Soon after, in the stable area of ​​southern Goryeo, the major business houses of the Ming Dynasty recruited unlimited numbers of people and put forward the slogan of three meals a day, attracting a large number of poor people to join.

September of the twelfth year of Yongle.

After all, the Southern Army of Goryeo was a regular army with high organizational capabilities. It was not comparable to the short-term refugee army. The Southern Army deliberately retreated, defeated first and then won. It conquered the refugee army, achieved a great victory, and reversed the situation in southern Goryeo.

The imperial army was victorious one after another, but with more and more refugees fleeing, the refugee army collapsed and was finally besieged back to Lishan. This time there were no accidents.

At this time, Zhu Gaochi had already left Ping'an Dusi for two months and went to Nu'ergan Dusi. He met with hundreds of Ming officials from various places and reached many agreements.

The prerequisite for building railways is stability.

Whether it is the Sainan Province, the Saibei region, Jiaozhi, the seven western provinces, Nanyang, etc., they are all stabilized first and then built.

Except for Laos and other places, Nanyang is not stable, so Zhu Di wants to go south.

Zhu Gaochi maintained close relations with local officials in various ministries. The organizations of the Daming Bureau of Industry and the Nuerqian Railway Engineering Department, jointly established with the Railway Engineering Department, were also established in September of the twelfth year of Yongle.

Liaodong Railway, Nuerqian Railway, Seven Western Provinces Railway, Nanyang Railway, and major domestic railways.

Coal mines, iron ores, coking, smelting, iron smelting, kerosene, ammonia, steam engines, forging machines, blast furnaces. One industry drives another industry, and one industry spawns many industries, such as coal black, kerosene, and ammonia produced by coking, that is, The main materials required for chemical fertilizers bring about the chemical industry and so on.

The workers' income increased, military households had a place to go for their food, and Ming Dynasty's goods were sold domestically and exported unimpeded.

Those high-risk and inefficient industries due to technical limitations and limitations of the times were replaced by eunuchs and prisoners of war. The entire society entered a stage of vigorous development, and the population of Ming Dynasty reached a new high.

The population in the second year of Yongle was more than [-] people. Many of the young people at that time had grown up and started to start families and start businesses. The second baby boom had begun.

In the spring of the thirteenth year of Yongle.

The population of the Ming Dynasty in the old year was officially recognized after being reported by statistics from various places, including the seven western provinces, Pyongyang Province, Hamgyong Province and other border areas. The number of people with Ming Dynasty citizenship was [-] million. More than a thousand people.

The largest population of non-Ming citizens is in the seven western provinces, followed by Champa.

For example, the population of the original Tamerlane Khanate was about [-] million, which was divided into two. The seven western provinces controlled by the Ming Dynasty had about [-] million people. Those recognized by the Ming Dynasty have not been recognized by the Ming Dynasty for so many years. to five million people.

"How magnificent that it took fifty years for the Ming Dynasty to restore Chinese civilization!"

"The great Ming Dynasty."

"Fifty years of great achievements."

"Long live His Majesty the Emperor, long live His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

In the second month after Zhu Gaochi returned to the capital in the Ming Dynasty, people below organized and organized enthusiastic activities. The streets were filled with banners and firecrackers were set off in front of various shops.

There are dragon and lion dances, the Eight Immortals crossing the sea, and flower boats parading through the streets.

The leather shop that purchased furs from the Nurgan area hung up the news at the door that the entire store was [-]% off, attracting crowds of people on the street, and all the goods in the store were sold out.

People wore new clothes made of leather, cotton, wool and other materials. The girls wore various exquisite headdresses on their heads. The white powder on their faces and the bright colors of their clothes made them more beautiful and lively.

"Executive member Zhou, I wish your family a prosperous business."

"Okay, okay, we are happy together."

alley.

Neighbors from all over the neighborhood came to congratulate the merchants in the alley. The old man and his son stood at the door with smiles on their faces, greeting each neighbor and giving him a red envelope with a dime sealed in the red envelope, which was a generous gesture.

There was heavy traffic outside the alley.

Crowds of people. (End of chapter)