Daming: Dad, you are really not good at governing the country

Chapter 479: The story of the Song Dynasty is a lesson for our Ming Dynasty
At the end of the 14th year of Hongwu, the candles in the Fengtian Hall were burning brightly.

The flames flickered between the carved beams and painted buildings, as if they were whispering something to people, and exuded a solemnity that made people dare not breathe loudly.

Zhu Yuanzhang was wearing the shining dragon robe and sitting steadily on the dragon robe that symbolized supreme power.

Although he looks calm at the moment, his eyes are filled with a look of contemplation.

After all, this gentleman started out as a commoner and fought his way through many obstacles.

It took countless battles and innumerable power struggles to establish the Ming Dynasty.

The knife of time has carved traces on his face, and those are all stories.

At this time, the atmosphere in the hall was a bit serious, and everyone was discussing the matter of horse politics.

You know, war horses are very important to a country, just like the foundation of a building.

It is closely related to the stability and prosperity of the Ming Dynasty. No one dares to be vague about this matter.

Zhu Yuanzhang raised his eyelids slightly, his gaze was steady, yet with a hint of inquiry.

His eyes seemed to be able to travel through time and go far away.

We should dig out some useful things from the history so that we can come up with a good solution for the current situation of our Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Yuanzhang just spoke slowly and quietly.

But the emperor's majesty seemed to be materialized, echoing in this quiet hall.

After hearing this, everyone present immediately became as quiet as quails, not daring to make a sound, and listened with their ears perked up.

At this time Zhu Gang stood up. He was wearing the clothes of a vassal king and a black gauze hat on his head.

His demeanor was so dignified that he looked like a proper prince.

He first bowed slightly, with a serious and cautious expression on his face.

Zhu Gang then said, "Father, look at the Song Dynasty, its economy was very prosperous.

The culture is as bright as the stars in the sky, and it is definitely a dazzling pearl in the history of China.

But look again, it has not been able to unify the world since its founding.

It's like a bird trapped in a cage, unable to fly even if it wants to."

As Zhu Gang spoke, he frowned, and it seemed that he felt very sorry for the history of the Song Dynasty.

Then he went on to say: "Also, the Song Dynasty was constantly oppressed by the Liao and Jin in the north, and those northern cavalry would come south from time to time to rob.

There was a constant war on the border, and the people there had a very hard time.”

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded slightly when he heard this and motioned for his son to continue.

Zhu Gang cleared his throat and continued, "Father, the emperors of the Song Dynasty were not unaware of the importance of war horses in wars, and they also attached great importance to horse management.

You see, they issued an edict to encourage people to raise horses, and set up a lot of horse-raising institutions, all in the hope of producing more war horses.

But the problem is that most of the areas in the Central Plains are places for farming.

The conditions for raising horses are too limited, there are simply not many large and suitable pieces of land for raising horses.

Add to that all the other messy stuff, and in the end we just couldn’t produce enough powerful war horses.”

When Zhu Gang said this, he sighed, his eyes full of helplessness.

"Because of the lack of war horses, the Song army suffered a great loss on the battlefield.

Often, before they even came into actual combat with the enemy, they would already be at a disadvantage in terms of cavalry and would always be in a passive position.

Even if the country is rich and the city is prosperous, it is not strong in military terms.

When I met those foreigners, I felt that I couldn't use all my strength. The last days were so difficult, it's really sad to think about it.

What happened in the Song Dynasty is a lesson for us.

Every time I think about it, I become alert in my heart. We in the Ming Dynasty cannot follow their old path again."

After hearing what Zhu Gang said, Zhu Yuanzhang narrowed his eyes slightly and his expression became more solemn.

His fingers were tapping rhythmically back and forth on the armrest, and he was thinking about something.

At this time, Zhu Yuanzhang was lamenting the helplessness of the Song Dynasty at that time, while thinking about the current situation of the Ming Dynasty.

He knew in his heart that if he failed to take good care of the war horses, the Ming Dynasty might really follow in the footsteps of the Song Dynasty.

Half a cup of tea passed before Zhu Yuanzhang spoke again.

"What about the Yuan Dynasty?"

Zhu Gang hurriedly took a step forward, his tone filled with urgency.

He tried to make himself speak logically, "Father, you also know the Mongols in the Yuan Dynasty. They all grew up on horseback since childhood, and their riding and archery skills are amazing.

They attached so much importance to horse breeding that they devoted the entire country's strength to building cavalry.

Just relying on the extremely powerful cavalry, they swept across the world and finally conquered the terrifyingly large Yuan Empire. "

Zhu Gang paused, and the worry on his face became more obvious.

“Although the Ming Dynasty has driven Emperor Shundi and other members of the Yuan Dynasty’s royal family back to Mobei, the remnants of the Northern Yuan Dynasty are still entrenched in Mobei.

Their wolfish ambitions are obvious, and they are just looking for opportunities to make a comeback.

Our Ming Dynasty's Jin Army had gone to conquer them several times before, but each time we were unable to completely wipe them out because our cavalry was weaker than that of the Northern Yuan Dynasty.

We have suffered occasional defeats, and although the loss of troops is still within a controllable range, it has had a significant impact on the morale of our army."

Having said this, Zhu Gang subconsciously clenched his fists.

There was a glimmer of reluctance and a bit of self-blame in his eyes.

After all, Zhu Gang was a vassal king who held military power. It would be strange if he felt good if the Jin army did not perform well.

However, Zhu Gang also knew that the current situation was very complicated and not all problems could be solved by force alone.

Zhu Gang took a deep breath and continued, "Father, you know in your heart that the situation in the Ming Dynasty is not peaceful.

From time to time, there were peasant riots in various places, and you took great pains to suppress them for the sake of peace in the world.

In addition, some meritorious officials who made mistakes were punished before, and there are only a few generals who are good at fighting and can lead troops to fight.

Under this situation of internal and external troubles, if we don't make careful arrangements on the Ma policy and then promote it vigorously.

Facing the Northern Yuan and other foreign tribes, the stability of our Ming Dynasty is like a candle in the wind, which can be extinguished at any time."

As Zhu Gang spoke, he raised his head slightly.

He looked at Zhu Yuanzhang eagerly, his eyes showing worry about the situation but also a determination as a vassal king to contribute and share some of the worries for the Ming Dynasty.

People feel that the King of Jin is quite reliable. At least he cares about his country and the world.

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned slightly, looked at Zhu Gang and said, "Third brother, I know exactly what you said.

So in your opinion, what is the key point if we want to get the horse policy right in the Ming Dynasty?

Since you know the pros and cons of the previous dynasty, you must have some ideas in your mind, right?
Don’t hide it, just speak out.”

(End of this chapter)