Before hanging himself, Chongzhen lifted the table

Chapter 245 Finale

The destruction of the navy was fatal to both the Ming Dynasty and the Japanese country.

Now the Japanese navy was defeated by the Ming navy, and it was in Edo Bay. There was no place to escape, which was almost equivalent to the annihilation of the entire army.

Without sea control, the Ming army could land anywhere on Honshu Island. It just so happens that the most prosperous towns in Japan are all in coastal areas. In this way, they are all within the attack range of the Ming army.

For the Ming army, it could concentrate its superior forces at any time and attack any coastal town of the Japanese state. This factor alone is extremely important for victory or defeat.

Therefore, Tokugawa Iemitsu could imagine that the conditions for the Ming emperor to seek peace under such a background would be absolutely ridiculously high.

However, what he never expected was that the Ming Emperor would not accept the peace proposal at all, and would only allow unconditional surrender.

For Tokugawa Iemitsu, this was impossible to accept in any case, and the worst possible outcome would be a dead end. The most elite of the shogunate's army are the troops directly under his jurisdiction.

Therefore, Tokugawa Iemitsu took Matsudaira Nobutsuna as the general and clamored to kill as many Ming troops as they came.

Of course, Emperor Chongzhen would not get used to these Japanese people, and directly released the army with Jianlu as the vanguard, starting from Kyushu Island to cross the sea to attack Honshu Island, and even branched out to attack Kyoto of the Japanese country, where the emperor was, and blocked the road to Honshu Island. The Japanese army in the west, together with the friendly forces attacking directly from Kyushu Island, first made dumplings of the Japanese army in the south of the country.

At this time, Japan's disadvantages as an island country were clearly demonstrated. Without enough depth, the Ming army could land from any coastline and attack as they wanted. The Japanese defense would not be able to prevent it at all.

In the end, in just one month, all the areas west of Kyoto fell into the hands of the Ming army. A large number of Japanese troops fled to Edo, including their emperor, who also had to flee to Edo.

It can almost be said that the last battle of Japan was the Battle of Edo.

This time, Emperor Chongzhen did not take action, otherwise he would really be conquering the world by himself. The armies still used Jianlu as the vanguard. With the assistance of superior flintlocks and artillery, they defeated the Japanese army with just one charge, without any suspense.

Although it is said that the cannon fodder Jianlu suffered more casualties than in any previous war, this did not matter to the Ming army at all.

Edo was captured, Matsudaira Nobutsuna died in battle, Tokugawa Iemitsu committed seppuku, and the emperor was captured.

Subsequently, the Ming army divided into multiple groups and swept across the entire Honshu Island. A small number of Japanese people fled to Hokkaido, which was not yet part of the Japanese country. Some even went to sea by boat and disappeared without a trace.

Emperor Chongzhen didn't worry about any of this. Hokkaido had not yet been developed at this time, so it was not too late to make arrangements for Kyushu Island first.

The battle to destroy the Japanese country started from crossing the sea from Busan, and it only took more than half a year.

On the Ming army's side, there were more than 3,000 casualties and about 100,000 casualties among the captives.

On the Japanese side, the number of Japanese casualties and casualties was about 200,000, and the number of captured Japanese soldiers was also about 200,000.

Of course, there is actually a very big difference in the casualties between the two armies. For example, the casualties on the Ming army's side are mainly wounded, while the casualties on the Japanese army's side are mainly dead.

Another point is that the Jianzhou Jurchens were the main casualties, followed by Koreans.

Subsequently, all the captured Japanese soldiers were taken to various mines for mining. The other Japanese men immigrated to North Korea and developed the Liaodong Plain, while the Koreans immigrated to the Japanese country and lived in various places.

As the Emperor of Japan and other captives were escorted back to the capital, there was also a decree to confer the title of King Dai as the feudal king of Kyushu Island, and also granted several feudal princes to Honshu and Shikoku. They were allowed to recruit people from the Ming Dynasty to immigrate to the Japanese country. Naturally, the immigration costs were borne by each vassal king. They could make promises, give land to officials, etc. The court did not care.

The only thing the court cares about is that there must be a court garrison on the original Japanese land, and the cost of the garrison will be shared by each vassal state.

The news spread and the world was shocked!

It is simply unimaginable that the Japanese country was wiped out in such a short period of time and suffered such little losses!

Of course, in the eyes of the people of the Ming Dynasty, Jianlu was not considered a human being at all, and he would be dead if he died. To be precise, not one of our own. Kill the Japanese and kill the Japanese, that is killing two birds with one stone.

Several dynasties wanted to destroy the Japanese country, but they could not.

The former Yuan Dynasty must have been powerful enough, but as a result, the entire army was annihilated in two expeditions against the Japanese state. From the Song and Yuan Dynasties to the Ming Dynasty, including North Korea, Japanese pirates have always been plagued by Japanese pirates, but they cannot be cured.

Everyone knows that the only way to eradicate the Japanese kingdom is to destroy it, but no one can destroy it, including Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty!

I think back when the Ming Dynasty was just founded, Emperor Taizu sent envoys to the Japanese country, but they were killed by the Japanese country. I finally swallowed this feeling, not because I liked being slapped in the face, but because I was helpless.

Even later, Emperor Taizu listed the Japanese country as a country that would not be conquered. This was not because the Ming Dynasty believed in benevolence and righteousness, but because Emperor Taizu believed that conquering the Japanese country would severely damage the Ming Dynasty itself.

But now, the current emperor not only destroyed the Japanese country, but the cost to himself was very small. In the eyes of the world, the achievements of annihilating the Japanese country in opening up new territories are far more powerful than the annihilation of Dongwu or even the Western Regions and other countries!

Not to mention, there is also the move to recover Liaodong and bring North Korea into the territory.

Therefore, when the news of the Japanese victory reached the capital and spread throughout the world, everyone's views changed. The current emperor's power even surpassed that of Emperor Taizu!

In the early summer of the 25th year of Chongzhen, Emperor Chongzhen returned to Beijing with his troops.

However, most of the troops are still stationed in Korea and Japan, but all the generals are rewarded. Those who do not have a title are basically awarded the title of third-class earl or above. Most of those who already have a title will be promoted to the first level. If they have many military exploits, they may be promoted to a higher level.

In short, if you recover Liaodong, make Korea a part of your territory, and destroy the Japanese country, you will receive many rewards from the army.

For the imperial court, there were hundreds of thousands more free miners who were very suitable. While saving a lot of money, it also greatly increased the output of coal, iron, etc. in the Ming Dynasty.

For civil and military officials, opening up such a large territory at once would create countless official positions, eliminating the need for redundant officials accumulated over hundreds of years in the Ming Dynasty.

No, Emperor Chongzhen announced that he would re-establish the Dusi of Nuergan, but the location of the Dusi was changed to Shenyang. The jurisdiction covers the entire Liaodong, all the way to the seaside, and also includes the entire North Korea.

The reason for this is that the population in these places is too small and transportation is inconvenient, so it is more convenient to set up military units to govern them.

In addition, with the surrender of Jianlu, people on the grassland were already panicked, and there were no powerful tribes at all. Just before Emperor Chongzhen returned to the capital, tribes expressed their intention to submit to the Ming Dynasty one after another. Therefore, Emperor Chongzhen also announced that a Mongolian capital division would be established in Guihua City to govern the entire Mongolian grassland, including Mobei.

All tribes that submitted to the Ming Dynasty could go to Guihua City to trade with each other. Of course, they had to pay taxes. The tribes that have not submitted to the Ming Dynasty are not only unable to trade with each other, but the imperial court is also preparing to send troops to exterminate them.

As soon as this policy came out, the Mongolian tribes, including the three Mobei tribes, who were in extremely difficult conditions, immediately surrendered to the Ming Dynasty.

In the original history, they were forced to rob the eastern Mongolian tribes, causing Dorgon to send troops to suppress them. But now, as long as they submit to the Ming Dynasty, they can do business with the Ming Dynasty in exchange for their survival supplies, and they are forced by the military power of the Ming Dynasty, so naturally they are honest and obedient.

After Emperor Chongzhen returned to the capital, he basically left state affairs to the prince. Anyway, the prince had been a supervisor for many years, and he was basically proficient.

As for Emperor Chongzhen himself, he devoted himself to technological innovation.

Steam engines have been widely used in military manufacturing. Under the promotion of Emperor Chongzhen, steam engines began to be used in other applications, such as mineral transportation in mines and on ships.

The efficiency of manpower carrying the ore out is naturally much lower than that of transportation powered by steam engines, which can once again greatly improve the efficiency of mineral mining;

Installing the steam engine on the ship and transforming it into a paddle steamer is the smallest modification, and it is also a method that can be promoted on a large scale. Although steam paddle boats were not suitable for sailing on the sea, they were suitable for traveling on inland rivers, especially upstream of the Yangtze River.

Suddenly, many large-scale Fuzhou ships were in need of transformation into steam paddle steamers, and finally the manufacture of steam engines began to enter commercial use.

In early February of the 26th year of Chongzhen, steam paddle steamers puffing out smoke could be seen from time to time on the Yangtze River. On the deck of one of the steam paddle steamers going upstream, an old man with gray hair sat on a Taishi chair, looked at the steam ships on the river, and said with emotion: "His Majesty once said, the Ming Dynasty will There have been earth-shaking changes, I really didn’t expect it, but I finally saw it!”

After hearing her words, a young man standing next to him said quickly: "Grandma, this is far from enough. The changes His Majesty said are far more than these."

This person is Ma Wannian, and the old man is naturally Qin Liangyu.

After Emperor Chongzhen regained Liaodong, Qin Liangyu went to Liaodong and personally went to the Hun River to worship his brother. Then he went to the capital to meet the emperor, then took a boat from the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal to Yangzhou, and then transferred to a steamer. Go upstream along the Yangtze River back to Shizhu’s hometown.

At this time, Qin Liangyu shook his head slightly after listening to his grandson's words, and said with emotion: "Today's changes are already big enough. Just by burning a fire, this steamship can start moving, and even go upstream. You want Do you know how difficult it was for boats to sail upstream in the past?"

Ma Wannian heard this and was about to make a distinction when he heard Qin Liangyu say: "Before, if we had this steamer, the trackers on the Yangtze River would starve to death. But now they don't. They You can go to Dongwu, Liaodong, Korea, or even Japan. As long as you are willing to work, you can live a good life. This kind of thing is really earth-shaking compared to before."

Hearing this, Ma Wannian could tell.

What his grandma meant was not just that there were new steamships, but that the court's attitude towards the people would allow them to live a good life, rather than that a group of people would always suffer under the court's policies.

Thinking of this, he immediately remembered that the southwestern chieftain system was ended by the current emperor. This is something that has existed for almost thousands of years, and it is gone like this. To be honest, those people in the chieftain's territory are indeed living better than before. This is something that cannot be denied.

I heard that the current emperor said that the equipment that transports minerals in the mines, which seems to be called a steam train, will also be rolled out on the official road. I guess that will be even more earth-shaking than the steamship in front of me. These four words, right?

Also, the court's taxation seems to be tilted towards commercial taxation. Business is encouraged, but taxes are collected, which is different from before.

Land taxes will be reduced or reduced as long as there is a local disaster, which is completely opposite to the business tax.

By the way, I didn’t expect that the profits from sea trade would be so huge. No wonder the emperor would make Zheng Zhilong the Marquis of Pinghai! Nowadays, the imperial court has completely liberalized the maritime trade, but has reestablished the Municipal Shipping Division to collect taxes from maritime trade.

Thinking of this, Ma Wannian suddenly felt something was wrong, so he looked down and found Qin Liangyu's head lowered. So, he quickly whispered to the attendant beside him: "Grandma is asleep, go and get a robe."

After he finished speaking, he suddenly felt something was wrong, so he knelt down to take a look and found that Qin Liangyu's face was peaceful and his eyes were closed.

Ma Wannian's expression changed and he felt something was wrong. He quickly stretched out his hand to explore, and then cried out sadly: "Grandma..."

In early February of the 26th year of Chongzhen, Qin Liangyu died of old age without illness or disaster at the age of seventy-nine, five years longer than the regrettable death in history.

Emperor Chongzhen was greatly saddened by the news and ordered a three-day suspension of court to mourn the whole country.

Beginning in the twenty-seventh year of Chongzhen, Emperor Chongzhen began to use troops again.

However, this time, he did not personally lead the army, but sent Li Dingguo, Qin Yiming and other generals to lead the army south to defeat the Annan rebellion and truly incorporate Annan into the Ming Dynasty's territory.

Zuo Liangyu died of a sudden illness in Annan, but his son Zuo Mengeng was captured alive.

At the same time, Zheng Zhilong's troops captured Luzon Island, wiped out the Spanish on the island, and held public sacrifices to commemorate the souls of the Ming people who had been massacred several times by the Spanish.

After hearing the news, the Dutch in Batavia and the Strait of Malacca finally no longer dared to stay in Nanyang, nor did they dare to massacre the Ming people in their territory and flee without a trace.

In the twenty-eighth year of Chongzhen, the original Australia was discovered by the Ming army. Subsequently, Emperor Chongzhen's two biological sons and other vassal kings who were not enfeoffed and were still alive were all enfeoffed to Nanyang and Australia, making the entire Nanyang truly Included in the Chinese Circle.

In the 30th year of Chongzhen, the Ming army set out from the port of Dongwu and captured Ceylon. In the following ten years, they launched successive wars, capturing Persia and the Arabian Peninsula belonging to the Ottoman Empire, and captured Egypt. Part of it made the world panic, saying that the Yellow Peril was coming again.

However, what is unexpected is that during Emperor Chongzhen's lifetime, he did not launch other wars. Instead, he devoted himself to operating these territories far away from the mainland and moved millions of people there, making them provinces directly under the jurisdiction of the Ming Dynasty. Unlike other provinces, Places were also divided into feudal lords.

It was beyond the comprehension of everyone at the time that the wise and mighty emperor worked so hard to manage an enclave. It was not until the development of the Suez Canal and the exploitation of underground oil in the Middle East that future generations understood that this was so!

Of course, after the death of Emperor Chongzhen, the next generation emperor Zhu Cixi finally got his wish. He followed his father's example and led troops to conquer all directions, and conquered territory after territory. Although he did not have the power of Emperor Chongzhen, he inherited everything Emperor Chongzhen left him, including various advanced technologies, so he could still crush his enemies.

In this dimension, the national power of the Ming Dynasty was unparalleled, far ahead of other countries.

There is a rumor that when Emperor Chongzhen died, he left a will to his descendants, explaining in detail what future emperors would do!

Of course, this is just a rumor. As for the truth, we can only ask the Ming emperors who were wise and powerful from generation to generation and always had extraordinary foresight.

(Complete the book!)

　It ended just after one million words. The reason is simple: the results were too poor. Although I tried hard, my grades never improved.

　　In fact, if it weren't for the many old readers who have always been there, I'm afraid I'm sorry for you, this book would have been eunuch long ago.

　　Judging from the number of words, it will end in about one million words, which is a waste for an online article; but from the content point of view, this book is about Emperor Wu, who suppressed the world by one person, and it has written more than a hundred chapters. It’s almost the same. It’s not too bad, right?

　　Again, thank you very much to those who have read it, thank you (bow)!

　　

　

(End of this chapter)