Ming Empire

Chapter 302 Long-term plan
The current size of the Ming Guards is about 75, including 15 marines and more than [-] troops.

The size of each of the three major navy fleets is about [-]. Due to the backwardness of warship manufacturing technology, there is no possibility of large-scale expansion for the time being.Next, if the size of the army is to be expanded, it must be the expansion of the army division personnel.

Today's army is not small, with a total of [-] reorganized guard divisions and ten guard troops.Now is wartime, and the garrison of the guards is not fixed. After the war, Cao Yue plans to follow the organization of the war zone in later generations and arrange the guards to station in a certain defense area, so that if there is a war, or other When there is chaos, the army can be called nearby.

Among the thirty guards, there were seven guards who followed Cao Bianjiao to go out to fight. Hong Niangzi now has seven guards, and Huang Degong commanded the expedition to Sichuan. There are nine guards. There are only four guard divisions, about 8 people, for maneuvering.Among the [-] people, there are more than [-] troops guarding Nanjing. That is to say, there are only more than [-] troops in Cao Yue's hands who can really maneuver.Fortunately, there are still more than [-] troops in the new barracks who are still training. If the situation changes, these troops can also be drawn to the battlefield.

However, some sergeants who were dismissed from the Ming Dynasty's official army were organized into local security forces similar to the public security forces in later generations. Their main duty was to maintain local law and order, and they would not join the expedition team under normal circumstances.

With such a security team, although the number of troops available for maneuver is not large, Cao Yue is not too worried.

There is also a very important point, that is, the Ming government army in the southern provinces has not been reorganized, and has not been incorporated into the sequence of the Ming Guards, and they still maintain their original appearance.Although their combat effectiveness cannot be compared with that of the newly created Ming Dynasty Guards, there is basically no problem in temporarily filling up their numbers.The war is still going on, Cao Yue feels that the number of troops is still a little insufficient, but from the overall perspective, the number of troops of this size is almost enough.After all, the cost of supporting such a huge army is astronomical.

In today's Ming Dynasty, internal and external troubles have not been completely resolved, and production and order are being restored. There are too many displaced people who need to be resettled, and most of the treasury's revenue must be invested in these areas.Part of the money used for military expenditures is now spent from the treasury, and then the money seized from Beijing is thrown in. Cao Yue also integrated his family industry into the military industry.It took a lot of hard work to maintain the current military expenditure without problems.According to the current situation, there is no more space to expand the size of the army, and we can only follow the road of streamlining the army and simplifying the administration.

Cao Yue also knows that with the advancement of science and technology, there will be more and more investment in armaments, but it is impossible to invest all the large troops of the treasury revenue into armaments, so the size of the army must be controlled. scale is ideal.

Unless it embarks on the road of expansion in the future, it will need to arm more troops, but now, it can barely support it.

Cao Yue knew that such a situation would not have happened if it hadn't been for several fronts of battle, but he also knew that it was what everyone expected to be able to resolve all internal and external troubles in the shortest possible time.The same is true for him. If the threat of building slaves and bandits can be eliminated in a short period of time, then Ming Dynasty will usher in a rare time of peace. Various reforms can be carried out and deepened quickly, and Beijing can also be considered. .

With the smooth progress of the war, returning the capital to Beijing has become a topic of frequent discussion among officials in the court.

It has been many years since Ming Chengzu Zhu Di moved his capital to Beijing. In the eyes of most soldiers and civilians, Beijing is the capital of Ming Dynasty, and Nanjing is just an accompanying capital.Now that Beijing has been recovered, it will be a matter of time before Beijing is returned.

As long as the threat of establishing slavery in the north is eliminated, and the rogue bandits in the west can no longer make trouble, then the matter of Beijing can be considered immediately.For longer-term considerations, Cao Yue also tended to return his capital to Beijing. After all, Beijing was also the capital of China in later generations. In Cao Yue's heart, Beijing was far more important than Nanjing.

In addition, there were rumors in later generations that the dynasties that set their capital in Nanjing were all short-lived. Based on the analysis of the historical situation, it really makes sense. In addition, he also believed that the geographical location of Nanjing was not as important as that of Beijing, and even It is not even as good as Xi'an, so he also supports the return of the capital to Beijing, and does not want the political pivot of Ming Dynasty to fall in Nanjing.

For this purpose, there is no way to avoid fighting on several fronts. Cao Yue hopes that the wars in Shaanxi and Sichuan will stop soon, and Cao Bianjiao can also wipe out the last elite of Duoduo in the shortest possible time.

When these goals are achieved, the world will be peaceful.

The internal and external troubles have subsided, and Cao Yue is also ready to consider a longer-term plan.It is impossible to stop fighting. For a big Han nationalist like Yishang, expanding the territory is a must. The surrounding countries must learn a lesson.

One is North Korea, one is Japan, and India, and the other is Vietnam. Cao Yue doesn't have a good impression of these countries, and he must conquer them all.Other countries adjacent to Ming Dynasty must also surrender under the iron hoof of Ming Dynasty Guards.

In order to achieve these goals, the long-term development of national power must be achieved, and the improvement of scientific and technological productivity is a necessary condition for the great development of Ming's national power. The fighting power will increase.

In order to achieve many goals within his lifetime, Cao Yue desperately hopes that internal and external troubles can be resolved as soon as possible, so the arrangement of the battle on several fronts is also made by him personally.Because of the super strength of the Ming Guards, the court ministers did not have any objections to Cao Yue's proposal.

With the frequent news of success, those who were originally worried were relieved, and secretly admired Cao Yue's boldness.

Soon, Hong Niangzi came another good news, and her troops captured Yan'an Mansion, killed Li Zicheng's general Song Xiance, and severely damaged Li Zicheng's remnant troops.Li Zicheng fled to the northwest with less than [-] riders, and Hong Niangzi led the army in pursuit.

Good news came from Huang Degong's department. After entering Sichuan, his department fought against Zhang Xianzhong's generals Sun Kewang and Li Dingguo. Sun Kewang and Li Dingguo were defeated and fled.It's just that the unfavorable terrain in Sichuan restricted the military operations of the Ming Guards and failed to further expand the results of the battle.But Huang Degong was not in a hurry. He followed Cao Yue's instructions and advanced steadily to create more pressure on Zhang Xianzhong.

Cao Yue is no longer worried about the battles in several directions, he knows that the final victory will come soon.

At this time, the Ming court issued another edict, hoping that Li Zicheng's remnants and Zhang Xianzhong's men would understand the righteousness, adapt to the situation, stop making troubles, and ask them to surrender to the court, so as to cause less suffering for the people.

The decree said that as long as they give up resistance, they can forgive their crimes and forgive them.

After this edict was made clear to the world, Cao Yue personally took a soldier of the Guards Division and a navy officer and soldier to escort the young emperor Zhu Cijiong, the Queen Mother Zhou, the eldest princess Zhu Yuxi and other members of the royal family back to Beijing to pay their respects. Sacrifice the ancestors.

(End of this chapter)