I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 154 The Northwest Problem Must Also Be Solved

Xiyuan Xi'an Gate Supervision Office.

Wang Chonggu and Huo Ji sat together in the flower hall, drinking tea and talking in low voices.

"Yao Feng, is the situation in Fujian stable?"

Wang Chonggu asked.

The two men are both from the same hometown of Shanxi and have fought together in the southeastern battlefield to suppress the Japanese pirates. They are the backbone of the Prince's Party and have a very close relationship.

But Huo Ji was one year younger than Wang Chonggu, and passed the imperial examination one year later, so he was treated as a junior.

"After years of Japanese aggression, the situation has finally stabilized. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has previously sent us an order through the Supervisory Office, stating that Fujian should focus on restoring people's livelihood.

Open kiln factories, expand tea plantations, produce more porcelain and tea, sell them through sea merchants, and make more money for the people of Fujian. However, western Fujian is mountainous, with high mountains and dense forests, and the families are isolated and each has its own territory. There are many mines and little land, and in order to open mines and fight for land, the villages are constantly fighting.

I was the governor of Fujian for three years, and I spent two years visiting western Fujian, guiding and educating people, pacifying the locals, and barely bringing stability there. "

After hearing this, Wang Chonggu's eyes lit up.

"Yao Feng, when I was in Jiangxi, I heard that there were many troubles in western Fujian. But the mountains there are high and the roads are long, and most of the aristocratic families live in secluded places. They have little contact with the court and other places, and their power is not strong.

I have heard that in Huguang, local noble families colluded with the government to mine for profit and were extremely arrogant. The imperial mine supervisors and tax supervisors were nothing in their eyes.

In Hengyang, Yongzhou, and Chenzhou, I heard that several former mining and tax supervisors sent by the Ministry of Revenue died one after another.

Huo Ji was stunned. "So arrogant? Don't you know the weight of the law?"

"Since the pre-Song Dynasty, there have been many Jinshi scholars there, and poetry and literature have been passed down from generation to generation."

Wang Chonggu's words made Huo Ji smile in surprise, "Poetry and literature are passed down from generation to generation. That's because their little deeds are not worthy of your highness's attention. By the way, didn't Hai Gangfeng come south from that side? No sound?"

"When Hai Gangfeng passed by, those noble families treated him like their ancestor and suppressed any disturbances. Hai Gangfeng was not familiar with the situation there and was in a hurry to go to Guangdong and Guangxi to investigate the rebellion of the Yao people and bandits, so he let them slip away."

Huo Ji couldn't help laughing. "These guys, who bully the weak and fear the strong, finally know that the law is like a furnace. By the way, Brother Jianchuan, you have been in Beijing for several months, I thought you were sent to Shaanxi, or took over Ruzhen."

"Shanxi can't do without Ruzhen for the time being." Wang Chonggu sighed, "The Coordination Bureau is developing coal and iron in Taiyuan, and it's in full swing. Yao Feng must have heard about it, right?"

"I received a letter from home saying that in Lan County, Taiyuan Prefecture, coal is mined and iron is smelted. The banks of the Fen River are now full of iron and steel mills."

"That's right. The Coordination Bureau has mobilized a large number of skilled craftsmen to open six iron mills and a steel mill. The Firearms Bureau is also going to open a cannon factory and a musket factory there, but it is said to be in Taiyuan City."

"When I heard His Royal Highness talking about industry before, I didn't know what it was. Now I understand that industry is anything that can produce goods, earn money, and benefit the country and the people. Tea plantations, porcelain factories, spinning mills, cotton cloth, silk, coal and iron, shipbuilding, and shipping."

"That's right. In the past few months, I have been helping out in the Coordination Bureau and the Supervision Office while studying in the Institute. I have learned a lot!"

"Reading?" Huo Ji was very surprised. Both Wang Chonggu and himself were Jinshi graduates, had been in officialdom for many years, and were considered well-known capable officials in the court. Why did they still need to study?
"Yes, it is to summarize the previous political affairs. After two months of study, I learned about the financial and taxation system, organizational behavior, and operations and statistics. Only then did I understand that in the past, we relied entirely on experience to govern."

Huo Ji became even more curious, "Is there anyone who teaches these?"

"Yes. The one holding the banner is Zhao Dazhou, who has been with His Highness for a long time and is very familiar with His Highness's decrees. The instructors are mainly Xu Wenchang and Li Zhuowu, both of whom are gifted and talented.

They brought people to summarize the decrees issued by His Highness in recent years, as well as the various problems and solutions encountered by Ruzhen, you, me, Dongcun (Cao Bangfu) and others when they followed them, extracted the essence, and compiled them into a book. Then they told us about it. While listening, I compared it with the past governance, which was quite rewarding. "

Huo Ji's mind raced, "Your Highness's Imperial Academy Scholar?"

Wang Chonggu curled his lips, "It's much more real than that."

"Is this late student going to study here too?"

"Yao Feng, it's a good thing to go in and study. Daichuan (Liu Tao), Huanzhou (Wu Dui), Fanxi (Zheng Luo), Yuefeng (Xiao Daheng) and others have all studied. Even Ruzhen and Zili, who are so busy, took time out to study for two or three months in two sessions. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince calls it unifying thoughts through learning."

Huo Ji nodded, knowing what was going on. He stroked his beard and smiled bitterly, "Who did you learn all this knowledge from, Your Highness? The Emperor doesn't have these tricks."

"It must be a gift from heaven." Wang Chonggu sighed.

"My humble servant greets His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!" The voices of the attendants outside came in. Wang Chonggu and Huo Ji quickly stood up and stepped forward to greet them.

"I, the Minister of War, Wang Chonggu/Huo Ji, pay my respects to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

"Mr. Jianchuan, Mr. Yaofeng, there's no need to be so polite." Zhu Yijun helped the two men up and sat them down in the upper seats. After a few polite words, he got straight to the point.

"Gentlemen, this time I have invited you to come and chat, mainly to talk about the affairs of Shaanxi and Gansu."

Wang Chonggu and Huo Ji looked solemn and replied respectfully, "Your Highness, please give us your instructions."

"Now we have negotiated with Altan Khan and opened border trade. Both sides have benefited greatly, especially Altan Khan, who has made a lot of money. It is said that he has organized 16 caravans in one go, going to Mobei, Jinshan and the Western Regions, reselling our Ming goods and making huge profits.

In this case, he will not turn against us for a while. This time, Mr. Zili was stationed in Jizhou and launched an attack on the Kharchin tribe led by Xin Aihe. Altan Khan only blocked the border with the Kharchin tribe and remained neutral. "

Wang Chonggu and Huo Ji continued to listen quietly.

"With such a good situation, I would like to take this opportunity to revive the four towns of Yansui, Ningxia, Shaanxi and Gansu.

No man can be good for a thousand days, and no flower can be red for a hundred days. I wonder how long our friendly situation with Altan Khan can last, ten years or twenty years? Once the situation changes, these four towns will have to face the Tatar invasion again.

Especially in Gansu Town, with the Turpan tribe to the north, the Ordos tribe to the east, and the Qinghai Tumed tribe to the west, it is surrounded by enemies on three sides and is isolated. The situation is not optimistic. "

Zhu Yijun shook his head and said, "I have read the border situation report, which said that Altan Khan went to the Tumed tribe in Qinghai for inspection many times from the Ordos tribe. How did he get there?
In the middle is the Gansu Town of the Ming Dynasty. He can't fly over there. He can only go from the Juyan Sea, south along the Zhangye River, pass Ganzhou and Suzhou, and cross the Qilian Mountains. Does this count as breaking the border? Does it count as entering the country to plunder?
But the border military commanders and the ministers in the court pretended not to see it. "

Zhu Yijun said self-deprecatingly, "Now I can only pretend that I didn't see it. But this is not a long-term solution."

He leaned forward and stared at Wang Chonggu and Huo Ji with a deep gaze, which made the two of them straighten their bodies and feel solemn.

"The nine-front strategy I have formulated is to attack the east and make peace with the west. Sending troops to deal with Xin'ai is only the first step in the east attack. To make peace with the west, we must also have a firm foothold and a strong fence in order to stand firm.

I will ask the Emperor for permission to invite Mr. Jianchuan and Mr. Yaofeng to go to Yansui, Shaanxi, Ningxia and Gansu."

Wang Chonggu had been studying the affairs of the northwest border and heard the problem.

In the past, Yansui and Ningxia were two towns combined into one, and Gansu and Shaanxi were connected into one. Why does His Royal Highness the Crown Prince say something a little different?

After hearing Wang Chonggu's doubts, Zhu Yijun nodded approvingly and said, "During the last peace talks, we asked to return the Dasongshan area west of the Yellow River and east of Gulang and Zhuanglang, which was occupied by the Tatars, to the Ming Dynasty.

The area is surrounded by the Ming Dynasty on three sides and the desert on the north. The area is small and not fertile, so Altan Khan did a favor. He only gave up the land and pasture. He couldn't argue with him, so he secretly moved the people there and we sent people to take over without making a fuss.

The Great and Small Song Mountains gave me the Ming Dynasty, and the two towns of Gansu and Ningxia became one."

It turned out to be the case.

It seems that the imperial court secretly gained a lot of benefits from the peace talks with Altan Khan.

Come to think of it, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is such a smart man, could he easily spare Altan Khan?
After talking for a while, Huo Ji said, "Your Highness, I am one year younger, so I will go to the more remote Gansu and Ningxia. Brother Jianchuan is older, so you can stay in Shaanxi and Yansui."

Zhu Yijun thought about it and nodded in agreement, "Okay, I will tell you two gentlemen about our dynasty's strategy in the northwest."

(End of this chapter)