prosperous age

"Shandai, this is the document Qi Yuanjing sent from Liaodong. Please take a look at it first."

In the cabinet duty room, Vice Minister of War Zhang Ke came in and handed him a document from the Ministry of War.

"Liaodong, what's going on?"

Wei Guangde reached out to take it, but still asked.

"The Liaodong government troops set out from Anle Prefecture and headed north. They have already reached the banks of the Tuhe River and have set up camp at the former Yidonghe Guard and Yimahushan Guard, opening up a passage into the tributaries of the Songhua River."

Zhang Ke said to Wei Guangde with a smile.

Originally, Wei Guangde was about to give up the plan of sending troops to Nurgan next year, but when he heard the news brought by Zhang Ke, he was overjoyed and quickly flipped through the document written by Qi Jiguang.

Sure enough, although Wei Guangde already had other considerations, including the sea route to Nurgan City, land transportation did not mean that Wei Guangde did not attach importance to it.

At this time, Qi Jiguang was still able to think of sending a troop of troops into the jurisdiction of Nurgandusi to first control the passage from Liaodong to the Songhua River. That means that after the ice freezes in winter, the Liaodong government troops can try to tow wooden boats to Tuhe through the snow road, and then launch them into the Songhua River and Heilongjiang River basins.

Qi Jiguang did not give up.

This made Wei Guangde very pleased.

"Have the warships transferred from Denglai arrived?"

Wei Guangde asked.

“More than 20 large and small warships have already docked in Anle Prefecture.

There is snow there now, but it is not thick enough to drag it, so we have to wait a little longer."

Zhang Ke said.

Wei Guangde had now finished reading the entire document and had an understanding of Qi Jiguang's preparations for the march north.

The Nurgan Thousand Households Unit, which was established among officers and soldiers from Liaodong, had a total of more than 1,200 people and was divided into ten Hundred Households Units. After the fleet entered the Heilongjiang River, they would choose to station themselves in the military forts previously abandoned by the Ming army.

Of course, the main force will choose to enter Nurgan City.

To this end, the document also requested that Tieling Wei be moved to Anle Prefecture, and that the Tuhe and Songhua River basins be placed under the jurisdiction of Liaodong.

Such a request was naturally for the purpose of deploying the Ming army in this area to protect the waterway connection with the Nurgan City.

After all, this place is thousands of miles away from Nurgan City, and it is obviously inappropriate to continue to include it in the Nurgan Regional Administration.

Anle Prefecture was once the capital of the Prince of Han, conferred upon him by Zhu Yuanzhang. After the Prince of Han moved inland, it was naturally abandoned, and part of the garrison stationed there also moved inland, while part was incorporated into Liaodong.

Before that, it had always been a garrison under the Tieling Guard.

“It’s not impossible. After all, this is the first time that the government troops have expanded their territory northward since the capture of Liubao in Kuandian.

But this time we are expanding northwards, I am afraid it is hundreds of miles, I wonder if it is safe?"

Wei Guangde looked at Zhang Ke and said.

After Zhang Ke entered the Ministry of War some time ago, under the leadership of Tan Lun, he and Zeng Shengwu redivided the jurisdiction of the departments and main responsibilities.

Naturally, he chose Liaodong affairs. After all, he was familiar with Qi Jiguang and it was convenient for communication.

"Yuan Jing and I have exchanged letters twice. The Jurchens in Liaodong are relatively stable now, with no unusual movements. Especially after the great defeat of the Mongolian tribes at Hongtubao, the Jurchen tribes have become particularly obedient.

When the army reached the residence of Yidonghewei, the Jurchen Altantan tribe that was originally there took the initiative to withdraw and give up the area.

The document also said that Yuan Jing intended to station troops in the former Sachha River Guard and Naling River Guard. In this way, the entire Liaohe River tributary to the mouth of the Songhua River could be brought under the jurisdiction of the official army.

The area near the original Sachsa River and Naling River was where the Jurchen and Mongolian tribes lived together, so the Jurchen tribe should not have much reaction.

As for the Mongols staying there, if they are obedient, they can be allowed to rest again, otherwise they will all be expelled.

After learning from the last lesson, the Liaodong Tuman tribe no longer dares to act rashly on the border.

It will just take some time to completely control that area."

Zhang Ke recounted in detail that this was a plan he had discussed with Qi Jiguang after they had communicated with each other.

After all, Tuhe River is a tributary and the river is not very wide, so it is very easy to be cut off by the enemy.

It would be safer to advance the defense zone to the Songhua River basin.

However, although this is a good idea, it also faces a big problem, that is, the government army is short of manpower.

In fact, expanding the territory northward by hundreds of miles is definitely not something that can be accomplished by the few thousand officers and soldiers of Tieling Guard on paper.

Sure enough, after hearing this, Wei Guangde had already constructed a map of Liaodong in his mind.

Although he was not sure where the original Sachha River Guard and Naling River Guard were stationed, but from the fact that the territory had expanded over a hundred miles to the north, he could imagine how huge the area incorporated this time was.

"How did you discuss it?"

Wei Guangde looked at Zhang Ke and asked.

"Recall the Sanwan Guard and Liaohai Guard and have them stationed in the former defense areas of the Sachha River Guard and the Naling River Guard. The area from Tieling to Anlezhou and Tuhe will be garrisoned by the Tieling Guard.

The three guards support each other, and if anything happens, they can get support from the government troops in Shenyang, so they can be safe. "

Zhang Ke said.

The general plan was to send 30,000 guards and Liaohai guards forward, with Tieling guards as backup, and also to take on the task of protecting Tuhe Wharf and ensuring transportation with Nurgan.

Wei Guangde tapped the coffee table lightly, then after a moment he withdrew his hand and said with a smile, "It's roughly feasible.

How about this, you come with me to meet the Prime Minister.

This is a big deal, so you should let him know in advance. It just so happens that you haven't met him in a formal setting since you joined the military department, so I'll take you to meet him."

Wei Guangde stood up and said.

Did Zhang Juzheng know that Zhang Ke had joined the Ministry of War?

Of course I know.

Moreover, based on the fact that Wei Guangde recruited people into the Ministry of War, Zhang Juzheng had actually realized to some extent that Wei Guangde did not seem to be satisfied with Zeng Shengwu, so he was looking for a candidate for the Minister of War again.

At the previous court meeting, Zhang Juzheng also saw Zhang Ke standing with Tan Lun and Zeng Shengwu, so it would have been hard for him not to see him.

Although there are many officials in the capital, there are only a few officials above the third rank.

Zhang Ke followed Wei Guangde and quickly walked into the Prime Minister's duty room.

Zhang Juzheng was not surprised by the arrival of Wei Guangde and Zhang Ke. It was only a matter of time.

In fact, Zhang Ke already knew it before he arrived in the capital.

He has been the Minister of War since ancient times, so it is not surprising to see his relationship with Wei Guangde.

After a brief greeting, Wei Guangde explained his purpose and handed Qi Jiguang's document to Zhang Juzheng. After he finished reading it, he mentioned that Liaodong planned to continue to expand northward and planned to transfer 30,000 guards and Liaohai guards to the Songhua River basin.

Wei Guangde just spoke briefly, and then Zhang Ke took over to narrate the content in detail.

Zhang Juzheng's expression was very calm, and he did not show how happy he was. If Zhang Juzheng could not help but feel happy when Li Chengliang expressed his desire to build the six forts in Kuandian, now, with the Ming Dynasty gaining Dongfan Island and Luzon, restoring the old port, and going deep into Burma, continuing to expand the territory outward, in fact, it has no meaning to Zhang Juzheng as before.

“Shandai, when the imperial court gave up the Nurgan Regional Command and moved its troops inland, it was actually because it was a waste of resources and required a huge annual investment.

Later you proposed to send troops back into Nurgan City, and I had no objection because you said that this time only a small number of troops would be sent.

For our Ming Dynasty, if there are only a few thousand households, it should be able to barely maintain it.

But now Liaodong has mobilized two garrisons and tens of thousands of people have moved north.

Now we only see the Songhua River Basin, what about the future?
Will the garrisons be moved north again in a few years to ensure the safety of the Heilongjiang waterway?"

Zhang Juzheng's words were actually a reminder to Wei Guangde that continued northward expansion would increase the burden on the court.

Once the critical point is reached, there might be another large-scale retreat, and some people in the court would strongly demand that the troops heading north be withdrawn to avoid bearing such a heavy burden.

"The reason why the Nurgan Commandery withdrew its troops was mainly because the area was bitterly cold and had no production. All supplies had to be transported from inland, which was a heavy burden.

This time, when I restore the Nurgan Dusi, I intend to use only the soldiers and horses, without bringing the family members of the garrison."

Wei Guangde began to explain his gradual plan to take over the Nurgan area, and Zhang Juzheng just nodded slightly.

“Just occupy the key positions, and of course we will expand later, but the prerequisite is to persuade the agricultural department to find crops suitable for cultivation in the north.

I also understand why the imperial court withdrew the Nurgan troops, but as long as the local area can produce output and relieve the pressure on the imperial court, I think there will not be much opposition.

I would not rashly increase my investment there, at least not before finding suitable properties.

There was even a plan to send a fleet from the East China Sea Navy to sail directly to Nurgan City if the Songliao Canal could not be built, which would greatly reduce the pressure on military supplies.

The East China Sea Fleet repeatedly entered and exited the Nurgan Sea. After becoming familiar with it, it also made it easier for the court to form the North China Sea Fleet.

Even if necessary, the court could commission merchants to purchase food from Korea and send it directly to Nurgan. All it would need to do is consider opening up the Sino-French border and provide additional ships to merchants willing to provide military supplies. "

In fact, Wei Guangde also wanted to take Japan along as well, but at that time the Ming Dynasty still cut off its economic and trade ties with Japan, so his fleet could trade with Japan, but he could never say it out loud.

From my impression, Japan's grain production seems to be quite high, and their agriculture seems to be much stronger than North Korea's.

Because according to the information Wei Guangde obtained, there have been frequent domestic wars in Japan in recent years, and there seems to be no ceasefire due to food problems.

Since there is no shortage of food, there should be surplus.

Not to mention that Japan could later mobilize hundreds of thousands of troops to enter Korea to fight.

It can only be said that even if the Ming Dynasty sent spies to Japan, they were more focused on spying on government intelligence and military intelligence, and rarely paid attention to the situation of the Japanese people at that time.

In this era, the richest dynasty was still the Ming Dynasty as a whole.

The intelligence sent back by the spies mentioned that most of the land in Japan was used to grow rice, from which it was inferred that the rice yield was very high.

In fact, Japan at that time had a mysterious confidence in rice, because whether it was the Tang Dynasty or the Ming Dynasty, the staple food was rice and flour, so in their opinion this was the reason why they grew tall.

Japan's land conditions allow them to grow rice in large quantities, so they naturally deify rice.

This is not only related to the war in Japan. In war, tall people are naturally an advantage.

Wei Guangde didn't know that this rice was the staple food of Japanese nobles and samurai. For most people at that time, they could only eat coarse grains and wild vegetables to fill their stomachs. There was no surplus of rice as Wei Guangde thought.

Even Wei Guangde didn't know what the physical fitness of the Ming people was like in the world at that time due to such excellent nutritional intake.

But at this time Zhang Juzheng stared at Wei Guangde with wide eyes. He didn't expect that it could be played like this.

The Ming army stationed in Nurgan was forced to close the sea and use ships to guide merchants to provide food.

Well, that was indeed the case with the Kai-Zhong policy in the early Ming Dynasty. Salt permits could be obtained by supplying food and fodder to the border troops.

Here, Wei Guangde made a slight change and changed the salt levy into a boat levy.

"Ahem, of course, under normal circumstances we don't have to do this."

Wei Guangde immediately said, "After all, initially, the number of government troops entering the Nurgan area will not be too large, and the imperial court should be able to afford the cost of a thousand-household garrison.

Unless other circumstances arise, a large number of additional troops will be needed.

However, based on the information we have so far, there should be no forces around that could pose a threat to our Ming Dynasty."

Wei Guangde added in his heart that maybe it would only appear a hundred years later.

But by that time, the Ming Dynasty should have already established a firm foothold there.

To put it bluntly, what influences the Ming Dynasty's investment of resources in the local area is mainly the local output.

If suitable crops are found that can support the consumption of the garrison, the government troops can stay there for a long time.

Before that, there were only the Jurchens who relied on fishing and hunting for a living and the nomadic Mongols. Most of the supplies of the Ming army's Nurgan Regional Command were transported from Liaodong, which naturally made it difficult for the imperial court to bear the burden for a long time.

However, things seem to be turning around now.

The Agricultural Persuasion Bureau has obtained potatoes from Luzon. Wei Guangde has eaten that thing before. It is actually potatoes. Although the taste is a little different, it is indeed potatoes.

Potatoes are buried in the soil. In Wei Guangde's impression, they seem to be cold-resistant and even have stronger survival ability than sweet potatoes.

To this end, one of the important tasks of the Agricultural Persuasion Bureau next year is to send potatoes to Liaodong for trial planting.

Once it is confirmed that it can be grown in Liaodong, the next step will naturally be to send it to Nurgan and try to plant it there.

In fact, in later generations, the main crop in East and West Siberia was potatoes, which was the second staple food for the people living there.

The first staple food is naturally various kinds of meat. For people living in high latitudes, the human body needs to replenish sufficient calories. It is difficult to do so relying solely on plants, and they need to consume a lot of meat.

“It’s feasible. The Ministry of War can prepare accordingly, especially letting the East China Sea Navy find a route to the north to Nurgan City.

If we can open a sea route, it wouldn't be a big deal to send a few ships of food every year."

Zhang Juzheng naturally still hoped to recover the original land of the Ming Dynasty, but according to the original practice, the court could not afford to send more than 100,000 mouths to the Nurgan Regional Military Commission at once.

"Understood. The Ministry of War will arrange for this matter as soon as possible and arrange for the navy to explore the waterway."

Zhang Ke prefers to use the navy to connect to Nurgan City by sea. In his opinion, he naturally thinks that the sea route can be used all year round, but he doesn't know that the northern coast will be frozen in winter.

"By the way, has there been any news from Myanmar recently?"

After talking about Liaodong, Zhang Juzheng asked about Myanmar.

"It's just ordinary official correspondence. It doesn't seem like anything major has happened, otherwise the news would have spread throughout the Ministry of War."

Zhang Ke said immediately.

"It's nothing serious."

Zhang Juzheng nodded and said, "Tell the Ministry of War and the three provinces that if Burma stabilizes, we should set up prefectures and counties as soon as possible. Even if the court cannot send officials to manage it for the time being, we must be prepared."

"Yes."

Zhang Ke nodded and agreed. (End of this chapter)