The most reckless man in the Ming Dynasty.

Chapter 332: Suppressing Jianzhou and Managing Liaodong
Yang Tinghe frowned and found that things were not simple.

What big thing is this Marquis Zhongshan planning?

"Han Fu submitted a memorial stating that the situation in Liaodong was deteriorating."

Yang Tinghe took out the memorial and handed it to Tang Hao.

The situation in Liaodong has always been unstable. Emperor Chenghua launched two campaigns to sweep the land and suppress the barbarians, but he only brought temporary peace.

Barbarians are like this, they forget the pain once the wound has healed, they know small courtesy but not great righteousness, they fear power but do not cherish virtue, they will raid and rob when they are strong and be submissive when they are weak. Once they have accumulated some strength, they will start to invade, plunder and harass.

Tang Hao carefully read Han Fu's memorial, and then suggested: "What do you think of sending troops to Liaodong now?"

Send troops to Liaodong? !
Yang Tinghe's face changed drastically.

Why doesn't this guy play by the rules?
You have just been deprived of your power by His Majesty the Emperor and have become a military hero without real power. Can't you just be honest and keep quiet?

"Marquis Zhongshan, although the situation in Liaodong is bad, it is not yet to the point where the imperial court needs to send troops!"

"Besides, if we suddenly send out troops, money, food, and supplies will also be a problem..."

Tang Hao became a little impatient after hearing this, so he grabbed Yang Tinghe and dragged him to meet the emperor.

Zhu Houzhao had just returned from Kunning Palace and confirmed that the Queen was in good health and was about to give birth. The Emperor was also in a good mood.

However, when he saw Yang Tinghe being dragged in by Tang Hao, he was immediately dumbfounded.

"Ahem, Lord Tang, what are you doing?"

"Your Majesty, to boost the morale of the army, we should attack Jianzhou!"

Suppress Jianzhou? !
Zhu Houzhao immediately became interested when he heard this.

There is no doubt that he, like his grandfather Zhu Jianshen, is a staunch hawk.

Emperor Chenghua Zhu Jianshen reigned for twenty-three years. From the first year of Chenghua when he sent Zhao Fu to attack Guangxi, until the twenty-second year of Chenghua, the year before his death, he was still dealing with the little Mongolian prince who invaded the border in the northwest, while also having to free up his hands to deal with the military disputes in Annan and Champa.

Those who are disobedient are enemies. As for enemies, Zhu Jianshen has only one word: "fight". There were rebellions by the Yao people in Guangxi, the bandit Liu Tong in Nanzhang, the invasion of the Mongolian Maolihai, the border intrusion by the Jianzhou Jurchens, the Miao rebellion in Jingzhou, and the invasion by the Mongolian little prince. Zhu Jianshen enjoyed fighting them all.

Zhu Jianshen would beat anyone who dared to provoke or plunder the Ming Dynasty, and would beat them to death!
This kid Zhu Houzhao was even worse than Zhu Jianshen. In history, he even used the pseudonym "Zhu Shou" and proclaimed himself the governor-general of military affairs, the mighty general, and the commander-in-chief. In the 12th year of Zhengde, he led his troops to resist the Mongolian invasion and won the "Yingzhou Victory".

Therefore, hawks are warlike and when they hear about a war, they become more excited than anyone else.

"I have long wanted to attack Jianzhou!"

Zhu Houzhao said excitedly: "In the past, Emperor Xianzong twice swept the country and made these Jurchen barbarians dare not look south, but now they are starting to show up again!"

"Han Fu has made several petitions, requesting the court to send troops to completely kill these barbarians and wipe out their race once and for all!"

If we were to say who hated these Jianzhou barbarians the most, apart from Tang Hao, the later comer, it would probably be Han Fu, the commander-in-chief of Liaodong.

They repeatedly invade and harass people, rob and kill them before running away. They are so disgusting!

But Yang Tinghe still disagreed, because there was no need for the Ming Dynasty to attack Jianzhou and send troops to Liaodong now.

Wouldn’t it be better to keep the money and grain for developing people’s livelihood?
Why do we have to use it for war?

Besides, Liaodong itself is a cold and bitter place. Even if the Jurchen barbarians were killed, those fields are not suitable for farming at all. It is meaningless for the Ming Dynasty!
"Your Majesty, I oppose sending troops to Liaodong!"

"The focus of the country now should be on developing Japan. All the money and food resources have been poured into it, and there is no spare energy to support another campaign."

It’s the same old story. The treasury is empty and there is insufficient money and food, so they oppose sending troops.

This is the most common method used by civil officials and gentry.

Tang Hao did not argue with Yang Tinghe, but hung up the feng shui map he brought.

Yang Tinghe and Zhu Houzhao took a closer look and saw that this was a border defense map of the nine border military garrisons of the Ming Dynasty.

“Why has the situation in Liaodong continued to deteriorate?”

This question is difficult to answer.

After all, Liaodong is a place where Han and barbarians live together, and it is also a cold and harsh place. It is already very difficult for soldiers to be stationed here, not to mention that they have to always be on guard against looting and harassment from barbarians such as Mongolia and Jurchen.

Zhu Houzhao seemed to see something different, because Tang Hao was circled on the feng shui map.

"Is it because of... Daningdusi?!"

"That's right, Daningdusi!"

Tang Hao took out a charcoal pencil and connected the Daning and Liaodong Dusi into a line. "Emperor Taizu Gao mobilized a large number of troops and went through untold hardships to seize Daning and Kaiping from the Mongolian barbarians, and then sent a large number of troops to garrison, consuming countless manpower, material resources and financial resources. What was Emperor Taizu Gao doing for?"

"What was the main purpose of Emperor Taizu Gao's establishment of the Daning and Kaiping Garrisons?"

Tang Hao once again connected the Daning Dusi and Kaiping Wei, and then looked directly at the Ming Emperor Zhu Houzhao with sharp eyes.

In fact, this is a very disrespectful act.

You cannot look the emperor in the face, that is rebellion, not to mention questioning the emperor in person like Tang Hao did, that is simply no different from pointing at the emperor's nose and scolding him!
Yang Tinghe wanted to remind Tang Hao to pay attention to Chen Yi, but he also discovered something more important.

That is the Daningdusi.

Why did Emperor Taizu Gaozu try to seize Kaiping and Daning from the Mongolian barbarians at all costs?

Why did Emperor Taizu set up Kaiping Guard and Daning Guard and send heavy troops to garrison them?
"Mongol!"

"Taizu did this to resist the Mongols and the threat from the grasslands!"

Zhu Houzhao gave the answer subconsciously.

Tang Hao also nodded.

"That's right. Emperor Taizu Gao hoped to control the two strategic locations of Daning and Kaiping to form a pincer attack, thereby resisting the Mongols' southward counterattack on the Central Plains!"

"For this, Emperor Taizu Gao spent countless manpower, material resources and financial resources just to control Daning and Kaiping. As long as these two strategic locations exist, Daning and Kaiping will be the first line of defense against the southward advance of Mongolia, and the nine important towns on the Great Wall will be the second line of defense!"

"When the Daning Military Commission existed, the Daning Guard was like a knife inserted into the grassland, cutting off the connection between the grassland and the northeast. The court could also rely on Daning as an outpost base, with tens of thousands of troops sweeping the desert from time to time, eliminating disloyalty, chasing the fugitives north, and inflicting heavy losses on Mongolia."

This is actually an active defense strategy that uses offense as defense.

"In this case, the Daming Garrison can advance north of the Great Wall. This is a form of active defense. In addition, Daning also serves to monitor the barbarians in the northeast. The Nine Borders Great Wall defense line is more like the second border defense line of the Daming. It is the logistics base of the Daning Metropolitan Command. With the existence of the first line of defense, the pressure along the Great Wall can be greatly reduced, and there will be few cases of grassland cavalry ravaging the Nine Borders."

"However, during the Yongle period, our Ming Dynasty lost Kaiping and Daning. Since then, the northern defense line has been completely unbalanced!"

Tang Hao said in a deep voice: "Yongle abolished the Daning Military Region, and a power vacuum appeared in Daning. It was thrown to the three guards of Duoyan to graze. Many Mongolian tribes rushed into Daning to grab this fertile pasture!"

"The barbarians occupied the strategic location of Daning, and as a result, they were ready to invade and plunder from the south at any time, harassing the Nine Borders Great Wall. The first northern border defense line of the Ming Dynasty was changed from Daning Kaiping to the Nine Borders Military Town. The Ming Dynasty's defense forces were forced to retreat to the south of the Great Wall, and they completely lost the initiative to go out of the border. The Nine Borders Great Wall also became a target for the barbarians from the grasslands. The Nine Borders were in flames, and the barbarians repeatedly went south to plunder and harass. The Ming Dynasty's border defense was under tremendous pressure. The military expenditure for the Nine Borders alone was a terrifying astronomical figure!"

After hearing this, Yang Tinghe's expression began to become serious.

Because this is not Tang Hao exaggerating, but the truth.

Since the Battle of Tumu, when Emperor Yingzong Zhu Qizhen completely wiped out the elite troops of the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty went from prosperity to decline and no longer had the strength to go out of the border to clear up the northern desert. The Oirat Tatars also took advantage of the situation to rise up, and went south to plunder, harass, and invade the border all year round.

In order to resist the threat from the northern barbarians, the Ming Dynasty court had to invest heavily in money and grain, focusing on garrisoning the northern border. As a result, military expenditures accounted for more than half of all the financial expenditures of the entire Ming Dynasty for a long time. At its highest point, military expenditures accounted for as much as 70% or even 80%!

Zhu Houzhao's expression became extremely solemn at this moment, and he clenched his fists without knowing when.

If what Tang Hao said is true, then Emperor Yongle's abolition of the Daning Regional Military Commission was undoubtedly extremely unwise, and it directly planted a huge disaster for future generations!
But it’s not over yet!

"Finally, let's go back to the question we just talked about."

"Why is the situation in Liaodong becoming increasingly deteriorating? Because the Daning Regional Command is not only the first line of defense for our Ming Dynasty against the southward advance of Mongolia, but also the northern barrier against the eastward advance of Mongolian barbarians into Liaodong!"

"Yongle abolished the Daning Metropolitan Commandery, and the Mongolian barbarians could invade the Liaoxi Corridor at any time. The Liaodong Metropolitan Commandery, as the "Head of the Nine Frontiers" of the Ming Dynasty, was of decisive significance to the northern security of the Ming Dynasty. The Liaoxi Corridor, with Guangning City as its core, was backed by mountains and faced the sea, with undulating hills and a dangerous terrain. It was an important passage connecting the inside and outside of Shanhaiguan. From the Qin and Han Dynasties to the Ming Dynasty, it was a must-pass place for military strategists to fight!"

"But if Daning is abandoned and becomes a place where foreign barbarians can roam freely, they will attack from the west to the east into the Liaoxi Corridor. If the Liaoxi Corridor is lost, not only will the entire Liaodong region be in chaos, but even the barbarians on the grasslands will be able to attack our Ming territory from Shanhaiguan. Counterattacking the Central Plains will no longer be an empty talk..."

As soon as these words came out, the whole place was silent.

Zhu Houzhao was so shocked that he stood up suddenly. This involved the foundation of his ancestors!

Yang Tinghe was also shocked. His military vision was not even as good as Zhu Houzhao's, but he understood it at this moment.

Daning and Liaodong are both strategic locations that the country cannot afford to lose.

But now, the country has lost one of them!

"What we need to do now is to manage Liaodong and then rebuild Daning!"

Tang Hao punched the land of Daning heavily.

"As long as the imperial court recovers Daning, the northern barbarians will not dare to easily go south again!"

"At that time, our Ming Dynasty will change from passive defense behind the Great Wall to active defense outside the Great Wall, until we can repeat the Yongle feat and beat the Mongolian barbarians so hard that they dare not look south!"

(End of this chapter)