Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 143: We will not give up an inch of our great country! (Second update)

Zhu Di smiled.

The smile was a little cold and a little speechless.

He was unwilling to give even the iron ore, yet Xia Zhibai wanted more.

Did he really regard Zhu Di's Beiping as Xia Zhibai's own back garden? He could take whatever he wanted?
Zhu Di has never had a good temper.

Yao Guangxiao and others looked at each other, their expressions full of confusion and suspicion.

Where did Xia Zhibai get the courage to ask for such a high price?
The court allowed him to open an iron mine in Shuntian Prefecture, but he was still not satisfied and wanted more. Did he really think that what he said yesterday had a great impact on Zhu Di and forced the Prince of Yan to obey him?
How can it be so easy?!
Zhu Di sat on the main seat with a very grim expression.

He stared at Xia Zhibai with his tiger eyes, wanting to see through the thin man in front of him. He also wanted to understand where Xia Zhibai got the confidence to say these words to him. Didn't Zhu Di seem to be a man who was easy to talk to?
Yao Guangxiao and others took their seats one by one.

Xia Zhibai remained calm and was not moved by these gazes.

Zhu Di leaned forward and sneered, "Xia Zhibai, I respect you as a top scholar, a scholar, and you were sent by my eldest brother. I don't want to argue with you, but if you are still so pushy and self-righteous, I, Zhu Di, don't mind letting you learn a lesson."

"I can do it!"

Zhu Di's eyes were somewhat cold, revealing a hint of cruelty and sinisterness.

Xia Zhibai smiled.

He naturally believed that Zhu Di dared to take action.

Zhu Di had a bad temper. Whenever he was unhappy, he would beat people up, and it was common for him to take people's lives.

If they are really pushed to the limit, they will dare to do anything.

The only case in history of executing ten clans was also committed by this King of Yan.

Xia Zhibai cupped his hands and said, "Your Highness, don't be so quick to get angry, because not only Your Highness will hear these words, but other vassal kings in the north will also hear them. I want to use the power of the major vassal kings in the north to control the entire northern business."

Hear the words.

Zhu Di didn't get angry but laughed instead.

He was really amused by Xia Zhibai's words.

He, the Prince of Yan, couldn't control the business in Beiping. Xia Zhibai, a small "business official", wanted to get involved in the entire north. Did he really think that the northern merchants were a solid block? They could be manipulated at will? Even his father had to compromise in many cases. In order to ensure the supply of salt in the northern border, he had to launch the Sino-French policy.

Where did Xia Zhibai get the courage and guts to want to control the entire northern business?
Yao Guangxiao and Yuan Gong also frowned, not understanding why Xia Zhibai would speak so arrogantly.

This is simply impossible.

Zhu Di sneered: "Xia Zhibai, do you know what you are talking about?"

"Do you know how big the North is?"

"The population of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun alone is as high as two to three million. If you add the other vassal kings, the population is close to ten million. With such a huge area, why do you, Xia Zhibai, think you can get involved? Just because you are good at speaking? Do we vassal kings have to obey you?"

"Don't think that just because you have made some achievements in business in Yingtian Prefecture, you can run rampant in other places."

"Yingtian Prefecture is Yingtian Prefecture, and the governor is the governor."

“There’s a big difference between the two.”

"Besides, what good is there in business that can make a top scholar like you so obsessed with it and spare no effort?"

Zhu Di really couldn't understand it.

Xia Zhibai was a top scholar, and he should have had a smooth career, but he ended up falling into depravity and went into business, and he enjoyed it. What on earth was wrong with Xia Zhibai? !
Xia Zhibai stood tall and said calmly, "Your Highness, do you really want to know?"

"I do." Zhu Di nodded.

"Since Your Highness wants to hear it, there's no harm in telling Your Highness." Xia Zhibai said slowly: "Your Highness needs to understand one thing: the economic base determines the superstructure."

"The North is exhausted. Now the North cannot compare with the South in all aspects, especially since the Northern Yuan Dynasty still exists. That means the North has to spend a lot of energy on preventing sudden attacks from the Northern Yuan Dynasty or preparing for the Northern Expedition."

“The economy in the north will have a long, hard time recovering.”

“The gap between the north and the south will continue to widen.”

"If I hadn't been there, the ratio of northern and southern candidates in this imperial examination would have been very different. Because of my presence, His Majesty re-examined the papers and admitted many more northern scholars. Even with such a blind eye, the ratio of northern to southern candidates is still 3:7."

“The gap will only get bigger in the future.”

"Northern scholars cannot pass the imperial examinations as well as southern officials, and northern officials cannot compare to southern officials."

"Because the economy in the south is developed, more taxes can be paid to the court, and the population increases every year."

"Under such circumstances, southern officials will undoubtedly be more valued."

"What's more, the civil officials in the court are mainly from eastern Zhejiang and western Huai."

"How many people are there in the North?"

"Secondly."

"After these years of long-term wars, agriculture in the north has been in serious decline. Although there are military households reclaiming land, it still lags behind the south in terms of oxen, planting technology and other aspects."

"The lives of the lower classes were extremely difficult. On my way to Peking, I saw more than once several girls, aged twelve or thirteen, carrying firewood taller than themselves on their backs. Their families had only a grandmother, no parents, and no male children."

"Some of the men in my family died in the war, and some died in the first two Northern Expeditions."

"Such miserable conditions are common in the north."

"With only this group of old, weak, sick and young people, how far can the North develop even if it wants to?" "Without the prosperity of culture, it is difficult to suppress the military."

"If the imperial court does not take action and the North relies on itself to recuperate, how long will it take to return to normal? How long will it take to catch up with the South? By the time the North has truly recovered, I'm afraid the South will have already dominated the entire court. How much say will the North have by then?"

"Your Highness is from the south."

"I have some understanding of the situation in the court."

"The north and the south look down on each other and are in serious conflict with each other. Southern scholars look down on northern scholars, southern officials look down on northern officials, and southerners also look down on northerners. Behind the scenes, southern officials have been ostracizing northern officials in the court."

"If it weren't for your majesty's pressure, I'm afraid the northern officials would have been driven out long ago."

"It's just that your highness and even many princes have not realized one thing. In the eyes of the civil officials, the northern towns are all disposable and a burden to the court."

"At present, it is just that your majesty's prestige is high enough to suppress these doubting voices. When the southern officials become dominant in the future, these so-called nine important towns will be abandoned one after another, because keeping these garrisons will consume too much money and grain for the court."

talking.

Xia Zhibai looked at Zhu Di with a slightly strange look.

The deterioration of the Ming Dynasty's border defense began with Prince Yan.

Perhaps, Zhu Di in history wanted to solve the problem once and for all. After abolishing the garrisons north of the Great Wall, he made an effort to imitate Zhu Yuanzhang and launched five expeditions to Mobei.

However, in reality, Zhu Di did not achieve any substantial victory in these five campaigns. He led hundreds of thousands of troops each time, but the result was much ado about nothing, and the results were mediocre. He was never able to wipe out the main force of Mongolia.

Naturally, they were unable to eliminate the troubles on the Ming Dynasty's borders.

Then, under the relay of several generations of emperors in the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty's defense line was finally reduced to the national border.

"They dare!" Zhu Di glared angrily.

Xia Zhibai shook his head and said calmly, "It's not a question of whether or not we dare. If Your Highness were faced with that situation, you would do the same, because the North cannot afford to support so many garrisons. As time goes by, the court will have to invest more and more money and grain to support these garrisons. Eventually, it will become so much that the court can no longer afford it and will have to give up."

"His Highness Kaizhongfa should know."

"The imperial court used salt and tea as intermediaries to recruit merchants to supply military rations, horses and other supplies."

"Why did the court implement the Kaizhong Law?"

"It is because the imperial court cannot supply it on its own and has to rely on the power of merchants. Even so, in Liaodong, Xuanda, Gansu and other places, there are still problems of salt and food shortages from time to time."

"The bottom line is that the economy in the north is sluggish. Merchants cannot make ends meet after long-distance transportation, so they are unwilling to do the transportation."

“But everyone here knows it.”

"The war in the north has not stopped."

"Now we are just taking a break to adjust."

"Once the war begins, the number of males in the north will further decrease, and the production situation in the north will further deteriorate."

"By then, the North will have to rely on the imperial court for support."

“Businessmen are profit-driven.”

"Now that there is no war in the north, merchants can still make money. As the young and strong population in the north decreases, the grain they receive from the north will become less and less. This also means that they have to pay a higher price to transport grain from farther away in exchange for today's salt permits."

"When the cost becomes higher and higher, businessmen will start to weigh the pros and cons."

“Eventually they’ll give up.”

"in addition."

"When there is no profit to be made from the northern people, these merchants will take risks and turn their attention to the Mongols to trade with them. Mongolia is short of food, salt and tea, and these merchants can get them and sell them secretly. The profit they make is far greater than obeying the orders of the court."

“These are all predictable.”

Zhu Di's face turned completely black, and his fists were clenched so tightly that they made a crackling sound.

Yao Guangxiao and others also had grim faces.

They know.

What Xia Zhibai said is very likely to happen.

The productivity in the North was indeed too low, and the loss of population due to the war also meant that recovery was bound to be slow.

If the court's Northern Expedition fails to produce immediate results, it will greatly drag down the livelihood of the people in the north. At that time, many garrisons in the north will become worthless and a pity to abandon. There are not many officials from the north in the court, so it is foreseeable that some remote garrisons will be abandoned one after another.

One step back, every step back.

I'm afraid that in the end we will have to divide the country by the river.

Xia Zhibai said in a deep voice: "This is why I want to control the northern business."

"Relying on the power of the court, we will speed up the recovery of the North, boost the North's economy, and make the North strong again."

"At the same time, we will strictly control the situation of merchants aiding the enemy and selling out the country."

"We will not give up an inch of our beautiful mountains and rivers."

"We must learn to nip problems in the bud and prevent them before they happen."

“That’s what I’m going to do.”

(End of this chapter)