Cutting 1719

Chapter 418
After returning to Nanjing, Xu Chengliang first went to the Privy Council to report on his duties, but Uji King did not go to the Privy Council immediately, but went directly to the palace to meet the emperor.

After Uji Jingtong entered the palace, Ning Yu was in the imperial study, looking at the book about the reconstruction of "History of Ming Dynasty" submitted by the chief assistant Ning Zhongjing.

Strictly speaking, all dynasties have revised the history of the previous dynasties to prove their own orthodoxy. Therefore, after the Qing court took possession of the Central Plains, the first thing it did was to compile the history of the Ming Dynasty to demonstrate its orthodoxy.

From Shunzhi to Kangxi to today's Yongzheng, these emperors have all emphasized the revision of Ming history, which has a very strong political meaning, but for some reason, the Ming history compiled by the Qing court was purposefully destroyed and unfavorable to the Qing court. The historical facts are subject to discussion in terms of objectivity and authenticity.

In particular, those who edited the "Ming History" were all literati from Jiangsu and Zhejiang in the southeast, so most of them set up good biographies for the Donglin Party members and painted them, which is also the reason why the southeast gentry are in the same line.

Of course, these are all methods used by the Qing court. In addition to the "History of the Ming Dynasty", even the poems have been revised. It was tampered with "Aspirations hungry for food and meat, laughing and talking about spilling blood".

For example, in Zhang Xiaoxiang's famous work "Liuzhou Getou", "Shusi is on the ground, strings are singing on the ground, and it is also smelly." The word "smelly" also touched the sensitivity of the Qing court monarchs and ministers, so it was also changed to "It also withers." There is also Chen Liang's "the capital of Yao, the land of Shun, and the feudal title of Yu. There should be one and a half shameful ministers and Rong."

In Ning Yu's memory, the essence of Qianlong's revision of "Siku Quanshu" later was to cleanse the Qing court, which contained obvious political bias. For some reasons, a large number of different types of documents were excluded, so among them The missing content is vast.

For the monarchs and ministers who have created Ningchu, to inherit the destiny of the Ming Dynasty, it is natural to rebuild the "History of Ming Dynasty" for the Ming Dynasty.

The reason why Ning Yu was not allowed before is very simple. He hadn’t completely laid the foundation of the south at that time. At this time, he was editing the "History of Ming Dynasty", which was obviously suspected of abandoning the basics. Now that the south is established, only a few provinces in the north are missing. The matter of "History of the Ming Dynasty" was also put on the agenda.

Ning Yu drew a circle on Ning Zhongjing's notebook, and instructed: "The restoration of the "Ming History" is an important matter to lay the foundation. The cabinet needs to set up a special history revision committee. When the first draft is completed in a ten-year period, once the necessary expenses are required, it will be included in the cabinet's budget for the coming year."

After this matter was dealt with, Ning Yu also sent someone to report to Uji Jing to enter the study. There are still many things that Ning Yu needs to deal with, so he doesn't have much time to meet with his deputy head of the General Staff Department.

"Vice Chief of the General Staff Department, Yu Zhijing, has met the Emperor!"

Ning Yu looked at the slightly thin figure of Yu Zhijing, and felt a little sigh in his heart. After all, he was beaten out of the blood rain on the battlefield, and the root cause of the disease has not improved, so he whispered: "I will meet you later." Send imperial physician Zheng Ye Tianshi to treat you, no matter what, your body is still important, you are only in your early twenties, you can't waste your life."

"I thank you, Your Majesty."

Uji Jing's voice was more or less agitated. He had led the army to fight for almost three years, and he had never really seen the emperor alone.

Ning Yu nodded, and then said softly: "I transferred you to the General Staff Headquarters, do you have any complaints against me?"

The reason for asking this question is entirely because after the Northern Expedition starts next year, it will be easier for soldiers on the front line to confer honors for meritorious service. On the contrary, the major departments in the Privy Council are only in the rear after all, and the opportunities for meritorious service will be much less.

"I don't dare. Although I also have the idea of ​​the Northern Expedition to the Central Plains, I also understand that without the planning of the General Staff Department, the supplies of the General Logistics Department, and the various new weapons of the General Armament Department, the battle ahead will not be good. beat."

Uji Jing's face was still calm, but the truth he said made Ning Yu feel quite pleasing to his ears.

"That's right. A good fighter has no great achievements!"

Ning Yu said with a smile: "It is not only those who fight in front are heroes. In the small world of Nanjing Privy Council, those who can make some achievements are also heroes. Dong Ce understands this truth, but he still lacks the first priority." Line experience, so I asked him to lead troops, but you have no shortage, you need a bigger structure."

"Thank you for your advice, Your Majesty, I will never disappoint His Majesty."

Ning Yu nodded, stood up and walked to the map hanging in front of the imperial study room. Half of the southern country and rivers and mountains on it had been dyed red represented by Ning Chu, while the black represented by the Qing court was entrenched in the north. , northern Henan, Zhili, Shanxi, Gansu, Manchuria, etc.
"Strictly speaking, the Northern Expedition next year is a bit hasty, but I can't wait in my heart, and I believe you are too."

Ning Yu looked at the map and sighed softly, "It's been [-] years since Jiangshan was lost. I really don't want to wait another day. Therefore, Uji King, your burden will be heavy, understand?"

Uji King took a deep look at the map, and then lowered his head and said softly: "The thoughts in your Majesty's heart are also the thoughts of the people, and it is our mission. I must do my best to ensure the Northern Expedition next year."

"To ensure the Northern Expedition, the current army establishment is not enough. It is necessary for the Privy Council to cooperate with the Governor's Office of the Five Armies to further recruit and select troops and expand the troops."

Ning Yu snapped his fingers and said: "Since the expansion this year, the current Fuhan Army has controlled 20 divisions. Although there are more than 20 people, it is far from meeting our current strategic needs. By the time of the Northern Expedition next year, we will It is estimated that [-] divisions, or [-] people, will be needed conservatively to completely complete the unification, and other southern provinces also need to leave a few divisions as support."

Uji nodded. He had just returned from the southwest front line, and he also knew that in order to cope with the land reform and the future war against Burma, it is estimated that only half of the nearly ten divisions in the southwestern provinces could be transferred back at most, that is, Five divisions are required to stay in the southwest to cooperate with the completion of land reform.

According to this calculation, by the time of the Northern Expedition next year, it will be necessary to expand the army by 10 people on the existing basis alone, which needs to be increased by half, plus all their supporting weapons, equipment, and all barracks facilities. The time for the scene is only seven months at most, because next year's Northern Expedition must not pass through July at the latest, otherwise the weather will be too cold, which will make the march unfavorable.

Fortunately, the current Fuhan Army has stored a large amount of weapons and equipment, plus there are no large-scale wars, so the loss is very low, and the Hanyang Arsenal is already in full production, so there is no need to worry too much about weapons But no matter how you calculate it, it is not an easy task to train 10 people in seven months.

"Uji King, the burden is very heavy, but I have already issued an order to the Governor's Mansion of the Five Armies to start recruiting recruits, so you can rest assured about this." Ning Yu gave him another reassurance .

Hearing this sentence, Uji King relaxed a little bit. The related recruitment of recruits is still very time-consuming. If it has already started in advance, it can save a lot of time.

"With His Majesty's foresight, I will definitely be able to complete the important task."

Ning Yu smiled slightly, "Then I won't say any more, I just hope that all the maps that will be replaced by the end of next year have been dyed red."

Regarding this point, not only Ning Yu is very confident, but other generals are also like this. What can Yongzheng do to stop the Northern Expedition of a 20 army?
In winter, on the pier in Edo, Japan, there are not too tall ships moored. They are crowded together with difficulty, and it seems easier to hit them. Behind them, there is a slender three-masted ship The sailing boat, with the big Ningchu flag hanging on it, looks quite majestic.

The Japanese shogunate officials who were queuing up on the pier saw the tall warship and then looked at the rows of gun emplacements, but they felt a chill in their necks, and some even began to suspect that this was still the case. It's not a mission ship. Why does it look like it's here to fight?

Of course, in addition to these officials, there were also many common people around. After all, people from the Kingdom of Heaven rarely came to Japan, and they were all sent by Japan to the Heavenly Dynasty, so everyone was somewhat curious.

In this strange atmosphere, Ning Zhonghai, as a representative of the mission, walked out of the cabin in a military uniform, and set foot on the land of Japan first, and behind him were dozens of other Ningchu officials from various ministries.

Unlike the official uniforms worn by other people, Ning Zhonghai deliberately chose to wear military uniforms. The reason is very simple. This time he came to Japan for a friendly visit, and wearing military uniforms can bring some shocking power.

When Ning Zhonghai stepped down from the slab, his eyes could not help squinting, because he had stayed in a place like Nanjing for too long, and he was already used to the ever-changing vitality of Nanjing, that kind of aggressiveness. However, the Edo Castle in front of him seems to be an old man who is dying, exuding a kind of doldrums.

This kind of stagnation is reflected in every Japanese. Although they have smiles on their faces and their clothes are fairly neat, they can't hide the loneliness and envy in their eyes.

The 120-year rule of the shogunate has turned Edo Castle into a hopeless city.

Before coming to Japan, Ning Zhonghai already had a general understanding of the current Japan through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other channels, that is, the current Japan is a country completely ruled by generals and samurai, the emperor on the surface, but Just a puppet of the general.

In this country, the fate of everyone is completely doomed at the moment of birth. The son of a farmer can only farm the land, the son of a merchant can only do business, and the son of a public servant can be an official—as for this country The real ruling class warriors are even more distinct and insurmountable.

Like the current Edo shogunate, as the actual ruler of the country, it occupies about a quarter of the country's land. In addition, it also occupies important cities such as Osaka, Kyoto, and Edo, as well as major mines, and monopolizes The casting rights of gold, silver and money.As for the other lands, they are all owned by the daimyo, and they are called vassal states, with a total of 270 six vassals.

Among them, the current central officials of the shogunate mainly include the elders, the old middlemen, the servants, the performers, the Gao family, the big eyes, the towns, and the surveys. The three ranks, like the pro-vassal refers to the same family of the Tokugawa clan, the genealogical generation refers to the original belonging of the Tokugawa clan, and the outsider refers to the vassals who surrendered after the Sekihara War. Through this strict hierarchical system, the shogunate is guaranteed Absolute dominance.

Of course, in this ruling structure, there is no place for the emperor and the public. Their role is to sit upright in the court and act as puppets.

After dealing with this situation, Ning Zhonghai quickly realized a problem, that is, the trivial system of the shogunate is not conducive to the central government of the shogunate to gather its own authority, and it is not enough to make Japan a country with real potential After all, when most of a country's energy is concentrated on internal governance, it is difficult for it to develop externally.

In addition, the actual force directly under the Tokugawa shogunate is very weak. The samurai directly under the real control, Banamoto, the royal family, and Banner's entourage, add up to only a few thousand people. Whether there are 1 people is actually very important. It's hard to say, of course, the armed forces of the various vassals below are even lower, and most of them have hundreds of people.

Although the shogunate and the vassals do not have a lot of force, there are still a lot of samurai in Japan, about 10 people, all of whom have received a certain amount of samurai education. To some extent, they are all similar The children of the nobles of the Eight Banners, so the general quality is very good.

But here comes the problem. The hundreds of thousands of samurai owned by Japan can only play a role in internal friction before they can be converted into external plunder. However, the current shogunate does not have the financial resources to feed the samurai. Therefore, it has now become a hidden danger in governance.

No wonder there is a need for insurance reform!Because if there is no reform, these hundreds of thousands of unemployed Japanese samurai will take the lead in killing the shogun!
This is also the reason why Japan has repeatedly sent envoys to Nanjing. They are so poor that they are about to sell their pants, so they can only find a way to alleviate the financial crisis through the Great Chu trade!
Thinking of this, Ning Zhonghai has a smile on his face. He is more confident that he can complete the mission this time. After all, the general situation is now here, and the Tokugawa shogunate essentially needs Ning Chu. , is larger, so the conditions can be more stringent!
"Matsudaira-kun, Japan is really a nice place!"

Ning Zhonghai grinned and said, the former private salt dealer has already smelled the smell of huge profits from it, and the next step is to see how to operate it.

(End of this chapter)