Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 236 Can the sound be louder than the sound of a knife or an axe? !
Zhu Yuanzhang laughed and said, "I can't be fooled so easily, but I think what this man said makes sense. He told me that the military is part of politics and the military as a whole serves politics."

"What do you think of this, Tang He?"

Tang He's eyes narrowed slightly, and after thinking for a while, he slowly said, "I am stupid, but this sentence seems to make some sense. However, I don't know much about these things, so I dare not make rash judgments or speculations."

"But in my opinion, no matter how good the words are, they must be put into practice."

"Otherwise it's all just empty talk."

"Haha." Zhu Yuanzhang laughed loudly, very satisfied with Tang He's words, and said: "I think so too. Sometimes those scholars tell us a story, and they say it in a exaggerated way, which makes people a little vague. In the end, it's just a matter of words, but this time it's a little different."

"The reason we called you here this time is not mainly to ask about the Northern Expedition."

"Instead, they want to temporarily postpone the Northern Expedition."

"The Northern Expedition is very important. Destroying the remnants of the old Yuan Dynasty is of vital importance to the Ming Dynasty."

"We are very clear about this."

"But sometimes we have to consider one thing, that is, we have spent so much effort on the Northern Expedition, what is the final result? If we only destroy the Northern Yuan Dynasty and then let it split into several parts, and the border problems are still not solved, then what is the point of spending so much effort?"

"Just to prove that our country is orthodox?"

"Why would we value this?"

Zhu Yuanzhang sneered, looking disapproving.

Whether it is orthodox or not, this is something you say to others. In the final analysis, it still depends on who is stronger.

Whoever is stronger is the orthodox one.

It’s all for publicity needs.

Zhu Yuanzhang continued, "I actually never thought about giving up the Northern Expedition. In fact, I always had the same idea as you. I don't care about those things. I must destroy the Northern Yuan Dynasty and let the North be quiet for a while. It's better to be quiet for decades."

"And if we destroy the Northern Yuan Dynasty, those scholars in the north will be able to calm down."

"The world will be at peace."

"In the past few decades, our Ming Dynasty has been able to win the hearts of the northerners. However, in the past year, our views have gradually loosened, because it seems that there is indeed a possibility of solving the northern border problem in the long term."

Tang He still looked unconvinced.

He couldn't possibly believe it.

He had seen the world and had crawled out of a pile of corpses. He knew what the world was like and the hatred between the Northern Yuan Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty. There was no room for easing between the two, and the two had been attacking each other for so long that it was impossible for them to stop.

This is a life-and-death struggle.

From ancient times to the present, the area north of the Great Wall has been occupied by barbarians for most of the time.

These people are uneducated and do not know etiquette. They are just a group of barbarians. Once they seize the opportunity of the Central Plains dynasty, they will rush forward and fight to the death. Moreover, the tribes on the grassland have their own beliefs and will not be easily assimilated.

Therefore, no matter whether the grassland is strong or the Central Plains dynasty is strong, both will fight to the death, which is related to the survival of the race.

In his opinion, the best thing for the Ming Dynasty to do is to completely destroy the Northern Yuan Dynasty and make the scholars in the north completely lose their psychological support, so that they can only rely on the court. Without those scholars interfering, after more than ten years of governance, the people in the north will be completely integrated into China again.

Although the north would not be completely peaceful, after the fall of the Northern Yuan Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty would at least be able to enjoy a few decades of peace, and even longer if the court handled it properly.

This is already very rare.

And this is also the best result Tang He could think of.

As for completely solving the border problems.

He didn't believe it.

That is something that is impossible to do.

Tang He said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, you have been deceived."

"This is simply impossible."

"We have been fighting for our whole lives. Don't we know what war is like? Those barbarians in the north are all harboring evil intentions. How could they just sit there and do nothing? Your Majesty, don't listen to these nonsense."

Tang He's voice sounded somewhat anxious, as if he wanted to persuade Zhu Yuanzhang to come back.

Zhu Yuanzhang chuckled and patted Tang He on the shoulder: "Let me tell you something, why are you so anxious?"

"but."

“We did think about it seriously.”

"We recently sent someone to the north to check out Xia Zhibai's iron smelting factory. He did make a lot of things there, including some 'hundred-fold steel'. However, the method of using the steel is different from the usual one. He chose to use it on firearms."

"Although it is still in the development stage, from the information we have, the 'guns' and 'cannons' he made have a much longer range and power than the muskets and cannons used by our Ming army. They are also safer and even easier to load with gunpowder."

"besides."

"He also tricked quite a few engineers from our sons. Now all of them have been assigned to study steam engines. He seems to really want to use the steam engines to make cars and build a 'train' that can travel a thousand miles a day."

"We just got the news a few days ago."

"Over in Peking, it seems that the steam engine has made some progress. It can barely drive on the ground and is said to be able to carry quite a few people."

"Tang He, think about it."

"If the soldiers of our Ming Dynasty were equipped with good firearms in the future, they would be able to hit the enemy with one shot from dozens of meters away, bombard the enemy with artillery from a few miles away, and even use steam engines to transport people. Wouldn't it be easy for our Ming Dynasty to completely suppress the Northern Yuan Dynasty?" "What are the Mongols strong in?"

"It's just archery, horsemanship, and bullying our Ming Ma Shao."

"But with the steam locomotive, we don't need horses anymore. Their horses are made of flesh and blood, while our horses are made of iron. Why should we be afraid of our iron horses? As long as we can continue to improve our firearms and artillery, the Northern Yuan may no longer be a threat to our Ming."

"As long as they dare to think of heading south, we can send people straight in and wipe out the royal court!"

"besides."

"Xia Zhibai also told us one more thing."

"We need to control the Northern Yuan economically and prevent it from completely degenerating into nomadic herding."

"From ancient times to the present, the Han and Tang dynasties have had many dealings with these nomads, but they have never been able to gain an advantage. The main reason is that the nomads would flee after fighting, and even if the Central Plains dynasty wanted to pursue them, it was really out of reach. But now the Northern Yuan Dynasty has a capital, and these Mongols who fled north still retain the habits of the Central Plains."

"They can't get away!"

“But if Bei Yuan is gone, then they can run away.”

"The threat from the Northern Yuan Dynasty is out in the open, but the threat after the Northern Yuan Dynasty is lurking in the dark."

"So we have been thinking about whether we should change our strategy towards the north, from destroying the Northern Yuan Dynasty in the past to using military deterrence, and then using the business methods proposed by Xia Zhibai to control the economy of the north, so that the great grasslands in the north can be used indirectly by the Ming Dynasty."

"Become the livestock supplier for our Ming Dynasty."

"We in the Ming Dynasty are short of cattle."

"If the Mongols are willing to use the grasslands to raise cattle, or to raise other things besides 'war horses', can we, the Ming Dynasty, take a loss and maintain normal trade with them for a period of time, so as to control salt, tea, grain, etc. and strangle the survival of the Northern Yuan Dynasty."

"Then it will be difficult for the Northern Yuan Dynasty to even think about heading south again!"

"What do you think of our idea?"

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Tang He with anticipation.

Tang He was bewildered at this moment. He was shocked by Zhu Yuanzhang's words.

After a moment of confusion, Tang He gradually regained his spirits. He reminded in a serious tone: "Your Majesty, are you serious about what you said? Don't be fooled by Xia Zhibai. This concerns the future of the Ming Dynasty. You have to be cautious."

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said, "We are doing things, don't you know?"

"We did send someone to investigate."

"If we hadn't really found these things, we wouldn't have believed it."

"Now that these are obviously true, or very likely to come true, we, as the emperor, naturally have to give it more consideration."

Tang He nodded.

He covered his mouth and stroked his beard, thinking for a while, then nodded and said, "If this is true, then what your majesty said is not impossible, but is there really such a thing in the world? I still don't dare to believe it."

Tang He smiled bitterly, still not quite believing it.

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned and said in a serious tone: "I know you don't believe it, but you know the steam engine. After Xia Zhibai's actions, the whole south is in chaos. The main cause of all this is this steam engine."

“We didn’t figure it out at first.”

"Why did Tian Jing suddenly come out and ask us to change the salt policy of the Ming Dynasty?"

"But later on, we gradually figured out something."

“Because it’s one.”

"The steam engine has brought great changes to the world. Just in salt production, it has caused such a big sensation. If we can really make a train that can travel a thousand miles a day as Xia Zhibai said, the impact on the world will be even greater."

"If the court continues to maintain the old ways, I'm afraid more and more problems will occur, just like the salt policy this time."

“So we have to change it from the root.”

“It’s about taxes!”

"But the changes we need to make are not just a little bit, but a lot. The entire steam-powered salt machine, as well as the subsequent steam locomotives, etc., will have a great impact on the military and people's livelihood of our Ming Dynasty, and will definitely cause a lot of chaos."

"If the imperial court cannot stop these chaos in time, these benefits will disrupt the Ming Dynasty instead."

"So we want to put the military aside for now."

"Concentrate your energy and rectify the taxation of our Ming Dynasty."

"Once everything is sorted out and settled, we can then deal with Bei Yuan's affairs."

Hear the words.

Tang He showed a trace of struggle.

He looked Zhu Yuanzhang up and down, hesitated for a while, nodded and said: "If this is really the case, it is indeed the best option to solve the possible chaos inside first. At the same time, it is also a good idea to observe other aspects by taking advantage of the changes in the salt administration. However, this way, there will be a lot of dissatisfaction in the court."

"I am a little worried."

Zhu Yuanzhang snorted coldly and said, "Louder than your voice? When have we ever been afraid of it?"

"No matter how loud their voices are, they can never be louder than the sound of swords and axes!"

(End of this chapter)