Daming: The most ruthless tyrant in history

Chapter 1052-Ambition
Among the territories controlled by the Ming Dynasty, the border areas of northeast, northwest, southwest and southeast were all highly valued by Zhu Youxiao.

Without him.

This is closely related to the countries and forces surrounding the above-mentioned region. Compared with the region to the south, the region to the north can be said to be a concern for Zhu Youxiao.

After all, the southern region is connected to the vast sea, and some of the needs can be met by sea. This is why Zhu Youxiao vigorously developed navigation.

In the final analysis, it was because of insufficient productivity and the level of science and technology had not reached the desired level. As long as the steam engine could be developed, Zhu Youxiao would find a way to build railways!

This was one of the important components of Zhu Youxiao's plan for the Ming Dynasty.

With the extensive railway trunk lines, the connection between the central government of the Ming Dynasty and the local areas is closer, so any sudden situation will not take a long time to be known.

If it involves governance, it is okay and can be delayed for a few days. But once it involves the military level, let alone a delay of a few days, in extremely special circumstances, a delay of one day may lead to a reversal of the war situation.

This is also the reason why Zhu Youxiao spared no effort to support Song Yingxing and others in developing steam engines.

Even if it is the most backward one, once it is developed, it will create a possibility for the Ming Dynasty. This will lead the Ming Dynasty to gradually move from intensive manual manufacturing to intensive industrial manufacturing based on steam, and during this period it will also undergo primitive industrialization.

Industrialization cannot be driven forward by a few people or a few achievements. It must go through a relatively long accumulation process, and only after a lot of accumulation can it be gradually promoted.

Therefore, the Ming Dynasty today is in a stage where everything is changing around this core.

The primitive accumulation was achieved partly by the Ming Dynasty itself and partly by external expansion. In this way, accompanied by politics, war, economy and other aspects, especially the new currency system created by Zhu Youxiao, once it can gradually take shape, the Ming Dynasty will be able to complete this accumulation in the shortest time.

This also means that wars will continue throughout the reign of Emperor Tianqi. After all, the countries or forces surrounding the Ming Dynasty are unwilling to see themselves dominated by the Ming Dynasty.

This is true even for the vassal states of the Ming Dynasty.

Just like North Korea, although there was a special governor-general stationed in Korea and the minister Zhu Youjian was in control of the overall situation in the court, the unrest and chaos in this land had never stopped.

The Korean royal family is the source.

Think about it.

Before the Ming Dynasty intervened, although Korea was a vassal state to the Ming Dynasty, at least on this land, it was the Korean royal family that had the final say. No matter how well or badly they did it, they had the power.

But since the Ming Dynasty intervened, the Korean royal family has been gradually sidelined and turned into puppets. It would be fine if they didn't have any ideas, but if they had any ideas, it would be impossible to accept it.

So with this leader, a group of people will gather together. After all, if they can really accomplish something, they will be able to reap greater benefits instead of relying on others.

The situation and pressure faced by Zhu Youjian, a minister of the Ming Dynasty, in Korea were by no means as easy as some people thought. On the contrary, Zhu Youjian did a lot to gain benefits for the Ming Dynasty.

Even the vassal states were like this, let alone the Ming Dynasty’s mortal enemy.

"Da da da~"

"Hey, yo~"

On the vast grassland, the sounds of horse hooves and horse neighs alternated continuously. A military camp stretching for more than ten miles stood here, and the atmosphere of solemnity and murderousness made people in this area extremely nervous.

The central army commander’s tent.

"This battle in the south of the desert will be the last chance for our Great Jin!" Huang Taiji, wearing armor and carrying a sword, stared at the people in front of him with sharp eyes and said in a sonorous voice.

"Of course I know that once this war begins, the Ming court will not sit on the mountain and watch the fight as before, but the Great Jin must fight this battle, not for anything else, just to break the deadlock!!"

"Hu Dun and Tu Han have the idea of ​​moving west, and the Ming court wants to build a palace in Chengde. These seem to be two completely unrelated things."

"But if we can force Hu Dun and Tu Han away through this battle, even if our Eight Banners will suffer considerable losses in the battle with the Ming army, this battle will also be a victory for our Eight Banners!!"

After hearing this, Fan Wencai, Fan Wencheng, and Sony all showed different expressions.

In fact, they knew very well what Huang Taiji wanted to express.

If the battle could drive away the troops led by Hudun Tuhan, their migration to the west to Xuanda would inevitably affect the situation in the northwest of the Ming Dynasty. This would add burden and distress to the Ming court, and inevitably reduce its attention to Liaodong. After all, the Ming Dynasty had a vast territory, and no matter how powerful the Ming court was, it was impossible to take care of everything.

With this premise, when the Great Jin has a short rest, they can continue to start a war in the south of the desert. Without the banner of Hudun Tuhan, the tribes in the south of the desert will be caught in a melee. Even if the Ming Dynasty intervenes during this period, as long as they cooperate properly, they may be able to take advantage of the situation.

"But Master."

Sony looked worried and said, "The emperor and his ministers in the Ming court are not stupid. If the Eight Banners can find out the news, the Ming court can definitely find out too."

"Once the Ming court knows that Hudun and Tuhan are planning to move west, they will definitely react to the border areas of the capital and Xuanda under the jurisdiction of the Ming court."

"And during this process, the Ming court will certainly issue orders to Liaodong and intervene in the dispute south of the desert. If the Eight Banners fail to achieve their goals, the situation will be very unfavorable to the Eight Banners."

“Is it advantageous now?”

Huang Taiji glared and said, "Liaodong is becoming more and more stable. The elite troops under the command of the two Dusi of Heilongjiang and Jilin are increasing. It is very difficult to deal with Hong Chengchou alone. Now there are two more thieves, Mao Wenlong and Liu Xingzuo. Liu Xingzuo, in particular, knows my Eight Banners very well."

"In recent years, the armed merchant groups active in the Liaodong border area around our Eight Banners, do you dare to say that they have not learned about the habits of our Eight Banners through Liu Xingzuo?"

"The current situation is that the areas where the Eight Banners can be active are being forced step by step by the Ming court. Apart from going north and west, tell me, where else can we go?"

The atmosphere in the tent suddenly changed.

Fan Wencai and his companions were all silent.

This is an indisputable fact.

Although Huang Taiji was able to secure his throne as Khan thanks to the battle against Hudun Tuhan and resolve some internal conflicts, he also implemented many new policies to ease conflicts.

The status and power of the Han people under the Eight Banners have been improved to varying degrees.

Even if the Han slaves were obtained through various tribes on the grassland, they could be exempted from slave status as long as they were transferred to the rule of the Eight Banners.

Or farming.

Or join the army.

Either work.

This choice is much better than the Mongolian, Korean and other ethnic groups.

Faced with the Ming Dynasty's relentless pressure and economic blockade, Huang Taiji had no other choice. Of course, Huang Taiji could also obtain some resources through various tribes on the grassland.

But the price is too expensive.

It is better to block than to open up.

Since grassland trade could not be completely blocked, Zhu Youxiao ordered the clan office to take the lead in controlling the border customs and to gather a group of armed merchant groups.

In addition to silk, tea, salt and other items, even backward firearms were sold. Only iron, gunpowder and other items were strictly prohibited.

Thanks to the increasingly improved system, especially the reporting measures, the business groups active in the border customs dare not touch these things easily.

During this period, there were also some stubborn people who wanted to give it a try with a fluke mentality.

But what about the results?

We didn't catch you once, and we didn't catch you twice, but sooner or later your tracks would be exposed. All their properties were confiscated, and all nine members of their clan were beheaded and sent to the border.

The deterrent effect is really too strong.

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It is precisely because of this that the customs under the jurisdiction of the Zongrenfu are able to set prices for goods traded on the grassland according to the Zongrenfu's guiding prices.

You can exchange what you need.

Gold and silver are the first choice.

Precious medicinal materials, furs, etc. are secondary choices.

Horses, cattle and sheep came last.

Only with choices can trade be stable.

The Ming Dynasty certainly needed a large number of horses, cattle and sheep, but it could not show it too obviously. It was with this series of combined efforts that the Ming Dynasty gradually stabilized the grassland trade.

Of course, this is inseparable from the deterrence of the military.

Whether it is the Liaodong border, the Jingji border, or the Xuanda border, at least in the area south of the desert, the grassland trade is relatively stable.

It is possible for the Jianlu to obtain what they need through grassland trade, but they have no group to contact directly and can only do so through the grassland tribes. However, the price itself is very high, and if they want to obtain it, they must pay a higher price, not to mention the extremely deep conspiracy buried by the Ming Dynasty.

That is, Zhu Youxiao hoped that the Jianlu could obtain some firearms through various channels so that the Jianlu could invest a lot of resources into it. This was the Ming version of the arms race.

Given the size of the Jianlu, it would be absolutely wishful thinking for them to compete with the already integrated Ming military industry in this area.

Can they figure out primer technology?
Airtightness, do they know what's going on?
Lathe mother bed, do they know what it is?

The Ming Dynasty stagnated for a long time in the past, but now with Zhu Youxiao here, when it comes to the exploration of science and technology, it is moving forward in the general direction. It doesn't matter if it's a little slow, but at least every step is down to earth.

"I don't want to see your worries and concerns anymore."

After a long silence, Huang Taiji said with a sharp look in his eyes: "If the battle in Mo Nan is not fought well, how can the strategy of surprise attack on North Korea be realized?"

"Don't forget, because of the alliance, I killed Oba. In fact, many people are dissatisfied, not only in Khorchin, but also in the Eight Banners."

"Hong Chengchou is no easier to deal with than Xiong Manzi."

"If we can't lure them to the south of the desert, then taking advantage of the chaos to get some forces to break through the blockades of Mao Wenlong and Liu Xingzuo and then rush into North Korea to plunder the population there will become a huge joke."

In fact, the turmoil in the south of the desert was a big chess game set by Huang Taiji. In this big chess game, Huang Taiji not only wanted to bring about changes in the south of the desert, but also wanted to use the changes in the south of the desert to try to attack Korea, because the Eight Banners needed population, a steady supply of population.

The environment in which the Eight Banners are now living is really too bad. Although Huang Taiji has introduced many policies, the number of new babies born each year cannot cover the number of deaths.

No matter if they died in battle or died of old age.

In short, it cannot be covered.

This also made Huang Taiji feel a strong sense of crisis.

If the Eight Banners were surrounded like this, there would be no need for the Ming Dynasty to take action at all. It would only need to maintain it for more than ten years, or even longer, and the Eight Banners would probably fall apart.

"Master, if this is the case, then in the southern part of the desert, our army must find a way to fight a few battles with the tribes that are affiliated with Hudun and Tuhan."

After hearing what Huang Taiji said, Fan Wencheng knew that persuasion was no longer possible. Now he had no other choice but to stand from Huang Taiji's perspective and consider how to properly solve the problem.

"A large number of Ming troops have begun to gather in the Liaodong border area, especially in the Liaohe area. In my opinion, Hong Chengchou must have made preparations and saw what our army wanted to achieve. But Hong Chengchou certainly did not anticipate what would happen in Korea."

"After all, Korea is now completely controlled by the Ming court. In addition to the forces in the court, the Heilongjiang and Jilin provinces have also become a barrier for Korea."

"Even in the northern waters of Korea, there are also active Ming naval forces. This also makes the Ming court never think that the Eight Banners still have ideas about Korea."

"This is what Ben Khan wanted!"

Huang Taiji raised his lips slightly and said, "You know it's impossible but you still want to do it. If the Eight Banners want to break through the Ming court's blockade, they must dare to show their swords to the Ming court."

"The unrest in Mo Nan is still not big enough."

“We have to find ways to attract more groups.”

"If it is even possible, we should ask the armed merchant groups active in the grassland to actively participate in it. Only when the southern desert is in chaos, will the chances of conquering North Korea be greater."

This is undoubtedly a gamble.

Be it Fan Wencai or Sony, they all showed complicated expressions when they heard this. This was clearly a gamble of everything the Eight Banners had and an attempt to break the deadlock.

Although they still have concerns in their hearts, based on the current situation they know, there is no other way except to do this, unless the Eight Banners give up everything they have and move around like the various tribes on the grassland. But in that case, will the Eight Banners still be the Eight Banners? Wouldn't they be the same as the various tribes on the grassland?

If it really comes to that, once the core members of the Eight Banners are almost wiped out while traveling around the grasslands, the Eight Banners will no longer exist.

Judging from the current situation, the Eight Banners have no other way to break the impasse except to take risks and gamble. This is Huang Taiji, a man who is willing to do anything for his ambition. Even if he knows that the road ahead may be extremely dangerous, he is willing to give it a try!!!
(End of this chapter)