Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Zhu Youjian, who learned that Huang Taiji had escaped, also sighed with regret.

If he had known that Man Gui could achieve such a brilliant victory, he would have definitely mobilized a few more new troops and tried to bury Huang Taiji in the grassland.

Unfortunately, the outcome of this battle was something no one had expected. And blocking the Jianlu on the grassland was entirely based on luck.

It was easy to deal with the Jianlu before when they brought the Mongols with them. With the cooperation of these people, the Ming Dynasty was able to keep track of the Jianlu's whereabouts.

Now that the Jianlu have decisively abandoned the disloyal Mongols, it is difficult for the Ming army to find them on the open grassland.

So Zhu Youjian just expressed regret for a moment and did not indulge in this regret.

What he was more concerned about was the report from the Royal Guards, which showed that the Shanxi merchants wanted to make something big:
"These Shanxi merchants are so bold for the sake of profit!"

"Before he dared to have an affair with the Jianlu, now he wants to swallow up the grassland."

"What do they want to do with millions of taels of silver?"

This is the latest intelligence obtained by the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Many Shanxi businessmen gathered together and raised millions of taels of silver to do something big.

The Jinyiwei didn't know what they were doing specifically, they just reported the news.

Zheng Shiyi quoted the intelligence center's analysis and responded:

"The Jinyiwei's guess is that they want to donate the title, obtain a piece of territory on the grassland, and have legal guards."

"Also, they need to be qualified to purchase firearms and arm their guards."

"But there is no accurate information. Jinyiwei has no one among those big businessmen."

Zhu Youjian said "hmm" to show his understanding, but he could not accept this to continue, so he gave the order:
"If no one is available, arrange for someone."

"You should cooperate with the Congressional Organizing Office and establish the Ming Merchants Association under the Congressional Commerce Committee."

"Then establish subordinate associations such as the Military Merchants Association, Border Merchants Association, and Maritime Merchants Association, and place your own people in these associations, just like the Newspaper Association."

Zheng Shiyi naturally knew the situation of the Newspaper Association.

Although the merchants and scholars in this association have more and more say, they are still controlled by the Jinyiwei because their reports often offend people and need the protection of the Jinyiwei. The Public Opinion Department has a great influence on them.

If Shanxi merchants joined the Military Merchants Association and the Border Merchants Association, and these associations were controlled by the Jinyiwei like the Newspaper Association, the Jinyiwei would have a great influence on them and make them cooperate.

So when Zheng Shiyi heard the emperor's arrangement, he immediately showed joy on his face. Then he heard the emperor continue:
"The merchants accompanying the army will be managed by the Jinyiwei together with the Privy Council's Logistics Department."

"What materials these people are transporting and where they are transporting them to must be kept secret."

"Prevent the enemy from using the movement of supplies to detect where the Ming army is going to fight."

“This association must be strictly controlled and only reliable businessmen are allowed to enter.”

As he spoke, Zhu Youjian thought of the overseas intelligence work and instructed:

"In the future, Jinyiwei will need the cooperation of merchants when collecting intelligence abroad."

"Now, we should take advantage of the establishment of the Border Merchants Association and the Maritime Merchants Association to set rules for them."

“Let Congress make relevant laws in the name of maintaining national security.”

This decision made Zheng Shiyi very happy, knowing that the emperor was delegating power to the Jinyiwei again.

In the past, they were somewhat wary of those well-connected businessmen, but now that they understood the emperor's attitude, they knew that the Jinyiwei could do what they wanted.

The only problem is that if the laws enacted by Congress are too restrictive, they will be greatly restricted. So Zheng Shiyi must discuss with Liu Zongzhou to enact strict national security laws.

He decided to continue to emphasize the importance of national security in newspapers and speed up the establishment of the National Security Council in order to gain more convenience when making laws.
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After arranging the affairs of the Imperial Guard, Zhu Youjian asked Wang Wenzheng, the governor of the East Factory:

"The eunuch supervisors from various places are now communicating with the East Factory. Do they have any news?"

"The eunuch Xuan Da is employed by the dynasty, right? Could it be that he doesn't even know about such a big thing?"

Wang Wenzheng has been busy reorganizing the East Factory recently, striving to make it an intelligence agency on par with the Jinyiwei and restore the power of the East Factory. Upon hearing this, he immediately replied:

"Wang Chaoyong did hear news that some Shanxi merchants wanted to donate to him for the title."

"They also made a request, which is to jointly run an arsenal with Your Majesty, just like the Tongzhou Arsenal."

This request is interesting. Zhu Youjian had previously wanted to reduce the military in Liaodong in order to save 2 million taels of military expenditure to build new firearms.

When he heard that Shanxi merchants wanted to run an arsenal, he was of course quite interested and asked:
"Why do they run an arsenal?"

"How much money do you plan to pay?"

Wang Wenzheng smiled and said:

"These people know that after General Man's battle, the new musket will definitely be sought after by all armies, and they won't be able to get a share."

"So I wanted to build another arsenal with my own money and get the right of first refusal."

"These people have prepared one million taels of silver and plan to do the same as the Tongzhou Arsenal."

"One million taels?" This figure would have satisfied Zhu Youjian at the beginning of the year.

But now he is dissatisfied, because the new musket has demonstrated its power on the battlefield, so how can it be calculated according to the previous price?

So he said firmly:
"Two million taels of silver for the same shares."

“Otherwise, you can only take half of the shares and retain the right of first refusal.”

"The arsenal will be located in Zhuolu. The Zhuolu Arsenal will be expanded, with the existing factory used as an ammunition factory and additional branches such as a firearms factory."

"They were also asked to recruit craftsmen from Shanxi and send them to Zhuolu as soon as possible."

This requirement was the reason why Zhu Youjian was willing to jointly run an arsenal with Shanxi businessmen.

The establishment of the Tongzhou Arsenal at the beginning of the year had recruited almost all the craftsmen who met the requirements in the vicinity of the capital.

If they wanted to build the Zhuolu Arsenal, they needed to recruit merchants from other places.

These merchants are local bosses, and their business and industry are closely connected. I believe that with their help, skilled craftsmen can be recruited.

Therefore, Zhu Youjian now welcomes Shanxi merchants to invest in building arsenals. He also hopes that as many people as possible will participate, so that he can bring the power of Shanxi merchants under his control.

Historically, they were used by the Jianlu to transport military supplies. Now that the Jianlu have been defeated by the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty can also use them.

After making this arrangement, Wang Wenzheng reported:

"There is one more piece of news that I think should be reported to Your Majesty."

"The Shanxi merchants on the grasslands are encouraging General Man to recruit herdsmen as his subjects."

"They were fighting fiercely with the Mongolian nobles and asked the Lifanyuan to mediate."

"In a few days, the memorial should be submitted."

Zhu Youjian had not known about this matter before. After hearing Wang Wenzheng's report, he immediately became interested:
"Man Gui won such a great victory in this battle, is there anyone who dares to fight him?"

"What is the reason for this?" Wang Wenzheng said with a smile:

"If General Man recruited herders alone, most of the Mongolian dignitaries would not dare to compete with him."

"But now those Shanxi merchants all regard themselves as feudal nobles. They recruit hundreds of households at a time, and tens of thousands of households are recruited at once."

"There weren't many people on the grassland to begin with, and many were killed by the Jianlu. If those Mongolian nobles lost tens of thousands of households, there wouldn't be many people left under their command."

“So naturally they were unwilling to do so and asked the Shanxi merchants to keep the herders.”

Zhu Youjian laughed when he heard this, and had no sympathy at all for these Mongolian dignitaries.

The reason why he has been keeping these people for the past two years is to use them to contain the Jianlu.

The performance of these people this year was so terrible that he didn't take them seriously at all.

So he immediately said:
"Let the Privy Council and the Lifanyuan jointly commend and reward the meritorious Mongolian dignitaries."

"As long as the herdsmen under these people are willing to go back, we will send them back."

"The others will be demoted or demoted depending on the situation. Don't worry about them."

"They have fewer herdsmen under their command, so they are just sent to Mobei where water and grass are scarce."

Screen these Mongolian dignitaries and leave only those who are loyal to the Ming Dynasty in the south of the desert.

This was also the purpose of the Ming Dynasty allowing the Jianlu to march westward, using the Jianlu to disrupt the grassland and restore order on the grassland.

Now it seems that Jianlu has completed his mission well, and the brilliant victory achieved by Mangui has also given the Ming Dynasty the confidence to restore order on the grassland.

In order to encourage people to go to the grasslands and attract disaster victims from the north, Zhu Youjian summoned officials from the Lifanyuan and ordered:
"The grassland is in chaos now, it's time to restore order."

"The Lifanyuan will work with Congress to draft a bill to establish order on the grasslands."

"The specific details will be decided by you and the Congress. I will start with the first one, which is the Development Bill:"

"Any citizen of the Ming Dynasty who is over 20 years old, or who meets the naturalization requirements, can open up a piece of land no more than 10 square miles outside the Great Wall 300 miles away. After cultivating or grazing for more than 10 years and paying the corresponding taxes, they can own the land permanently."

"If you have ten to one hundred households under your command and have developed ten to one hundred square miles of land, you can obtain the status of a knight after paying the tithe for ten consecutive years and serving in the imperial army."

"To go further up, you need to donate money and choose the plots of land allocated by the court."

“Those who donate first will be chosen first, and the plots that are in high demand can be auctioned off.”

This bill undoubtedly encouraged people to go out of the border and compete with the grassland people for land.

If it were in the past, the ministers would certainly have advised against provoking border conflicts.

However, Zhu Youjian can now directly manage overseas affairs through the Lifanyuan without consulting them at all.

Moreover, the severe natural disasters in the Ming Dynasty and the immigration policy that has been implemented in recent years have made many officials realize that if the victims are not relocated, they will cause chaos.

Therefore, when the Lifanyuan discussed this plan with the National Assembly Preparatory Office, Liu Zongzhou and others did not raise any objections although they did not have a good impression of it.

Other ministers had different opinions on this, but the chief minister Han Yu supported the bill because he knew that Shanxi, which was closest to the grassland, would benefit the most from it:
"In the past, Shanxi border residents went out to farm on the grasslands."

"Altan Khan's prosperity during the Jiajing period was inseparable from these people."

"Rather than letting them be used by the Mongolian nobles, it is better for the court to give them a status and let them pay taxes and serve the court."

Yuan Keli also strongly supports this, believing that it will ensure long-term peace and stability on the grassland:
"In the past, when the imperial court sent troops to the grasslands, the most difficult part was the roads and logistics."

"With the support of these lords scattered across the grassland, the court can build roads on the grassland."

"And when troops are needed, tens of thousands of people can be easily summoned."

"From now on, the grassland will no longer be a problem and will be completely controlled by the Ming Dynasty."

“The three great protectorates can also be truly built with their help.”

The two most influential people in politics and military affairs both supported the Reclamation Act.

Compared to them, the ministers who opposed them had nothing to show for it. Especially after something happened in Shaanxi, they could no longer speak out against it:

"Shaanxi bandit Shen Yiyuan colluded with the enemy to invade."

"They besieged Jingbian for three days and nights, but were unable to take it. They plundered the surrounding areas and then left."

"Weren't the Hetao tribes dispersed by the Jianlu? How dare they still invade the border?"

An official from the Lifanyuan explained:
"The tribes in Hetao were dispersed, but that doesn't mean all the people were killed."

"They just don't have a leader now, but with the competition, someone will emerge soon."

"These people's belongings were looted by the Jianlu. If they want to survive, they can only rob other people."

"If the imperial court does not go beyond the border to maintain order, these people will definitely violate the border in the future."

The Privy Council official added:
"Shen Yiyuan was a frontier soldier. There are many people like him in the frontier army."

"The imperial court provides them with military pay, but it cannot suppress their ambitions."

“It would be better to release these people and let them open up the land on the grassland.”

It is suggested that the court encourage border troops to go out of the border and let the strong men inside take their brothers out.

Otherwise, if he stayed in the Ming Dynasty, he would become an unstable factor and might become a bandit like Shen Yiyuan.

The fact that Shen Yiyuan colluded with the Taolu also showed that the chaos on the border of the Ming Dynasty could no longer be suppressed. Rather than letting them cause chaos in the Ming Dynasty, it would be better to lead them to the grassland.

With the unanimous support of the northern ministers, the Development Act was quickly improved and implemented and spread to various border areas.

After learning about this law, many disaster victims began to flock out of the border and go to the grassland to open up land without fear of the severe cold.

One step ahead of them were the merchants who received the news in advance.

They had long known that the development bill would be passed, and they brought the recruited herdsmen to the grassland to develop land.

For a time, the grassland became turbulent, and some people even fought on the grassland to seize territory.

Man Gui, Zhu Mei and others were also overwhelmed trying to coordinate these disputes.

He also requested the court to relocate the garrison as soon as possible and occupy the land near the grassland.

Otherwise, if the Han people abide by the law and do not open up the land, the scattered herdsmen will occupy it. It is necessary to set up a guard post as soon as possible to actually rule this land.

Zu Dashou's situation was more difficult, because some people blamed Shen Yiyuan for colluding with the captives to invade the border.

Therefore, he had to continue to suppress bandits and lead the bandits in Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces to the grassland.

This made him even more angry, so when he arrived at Hetao, he swept through all the tribes and turned the Hetao area upside down in the name of tracking down the thieves.

This naturally caused dissatisfaction among the tribes in Hetao, and there were constant large and small battles. (End of this chapter)