Rule over Ming Dynasty

Chapter 300 Haste makes waste
Liyugukou, presented to everyone, is no longer a dilapidated stockade with wooden fences, but a majestic green brick square city.

The summer wind was blowing from east to west, and the dragon flag at the top of the city was fluttering in the wind. Several soldiers in armor stood under the banner, and beside it were dark pipes.

"When did a brick city pop up here?"

The leaders following Tuo Yuanbao were also dumbfounded. They were shocked when they saw the blue brick square city in front of them, and they asked suspiciously after a long time.

Things are so weird, this Carp Valley belongs to their territory, and it can even be regarded as an important outpost of their Jianzhou Jurchen.

Although it is reasonable to be occupied by the Ming army, it makes people wonder why a city has stood up in just a few months.

It's just that this matter is destined to have no answer. After all, in terms of their construction ability, this kind of matter is simply a miracle.

Tuo Yuanbao slowly came to his senses, but shook his head bitterly.

Although he accepted the strategic plan of taking a detour to attack Carp Valley, his father probably never imagined that a brick city had been built here, and it seemed that the Ming army was guarding it.

Fortunately, the number of people they led this time was as high as [-], but they might not be able to capture this green brick square city.

In August, the capital city is still bustling, but the weather has gradually turned cooler.

As the autumn is approaching, the capital's attention to the Jianzhou war has obviously weakened, and it has begun to speculate who will win the championship in this year's autumn.

Exam preparation has become the most important thing for candidates nowadays.

Although the capital downplayed its concern about the Jianzhou war, many candidates did not dare to take it lightly.

With the frequent mention of Jianzhou in recent issues of "Ming" and the Jianzhou Jiyou project launched by the imperial court, everyone knows that this year's autumn topic may be inseparable from Jianzhou.

Like last year's Shuntian Qiuwei, the chief examiner, Yin Songcheng of Shuntianfu, cleverly borrowed "Liu Chun's collection of pictures to prevent Han from invading Vietnam", thus alluding to Liu Daxia's behavior of hiding Annan files.

That's why all the examinees were trying hard to find out the latest progress of the Jianzhou war, but they wanted to carry out precise escort.It's just that except for Wang Yue who is still camping in Binjiang, there is no news of any war.

Xiyuan, Hall of Mental Cultivation.

Zhu Youtang, who was wearing a dragon robe, was sitting upright in front of the case. He looked more mature and was handling the affairs of the two capitals and thirteen provinces conscientiously.

Although the war in Jianzhou is very important, if you want to manage the country well, you can't just focus on Jianzhou, but you must control the overall situation.

The most gratifying thing is that the Governor of Huguang, Liu Zhong, is still conscientiously continuing to clear the land.

Although the progress of this kind of hands-on Qingzhang model is slow, it can make all hidden fields invisible, and it also reveals that many officials and gentry still have a fluke mentality.

Perhaps, there really are no shortcuts in this world!
Only by Liu Zhong's hands-on method of clearing up the land can he truly find out the real land of the Ming Dynasty, which is the best way to solve the hidden land, and it is also a sharp weapon against unjust gentry.

"I heard that you had a heatstroke, and I was very disturbed, so I sent an imperial physician to treat you! You are my minister of the ribs, and you should take good care of your body so that you can help me create a prosperous world!" Zhu Youtang will write the pen personally when facing loyal courtiers Reply, seriously exhort Liu Zhong.

Although I haven't seen it with my own eyes, I don't want to stay outdoors for even a quarter of an hour this summer. This sultry weather is simply fatal.

It's just that Liu Zhong, rain or shine, has always followed the principle of personal measurement, and his progress this summer has not been slowed down by the scorching heat.

The information Zhu Youtang obtained from Huguang also confirmed that Liu Zhong had not cheated, and had always fulfilled his duty as a clear leader, so he had picked up a good minister.

Now caring about Liu Zhong's body is not only to win over people's hearts, but also from the heart.

Thanks to Liu Zhong's role model, many officials and gentry in various places no longer dare to hide the acres of fields, and even many magistrates followed Liu Zhong's example and went to the fields to measure in person.

It was the voluntary registration of these local officials and gentry, coupled with the voluntary investigation of the fields by local officials, that led to the registration of a large number of hidden fields.

The same is true, this year's grain tax has exceeded the 4000 million stone mark, but it has more than doubled the original history.

There is nothing wrong with the idea of ​​light taxation advocated by Confucianism, but the successful transformation of an agricultural society requires the guidance of state capital.Now that Daming wants to take this step, he cannot do without the support of the grain tax.

If the Ming Dynasty's plan to clear the land goes smoothly, the Ming Dynasty's finances will definitely become richer and richer, which will be far more than the gains from rectifying the salt policy.

In terms of achievements alone, Liu Zhong is much worse than Wang Yue now, but his achievements in the future may be able to catch up from behind.

"Your Majesty, the officials from the Ministry of Industry have arrived and are waiting in the imperial study!" Liu Jin walked in from the outside, reporting respectfully.

After Zhu Youtang finished processing the memorandum, he would usually reply to the officials of Fengjiang. Just after the reply from Xu Shiying, Governor of the East China Sea, he put down the brush in his hand.

"Your servants welcome Sheng'an!" Jia Jun, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, led several core officials of the Ministry of Industry to wait here, and immediately saluted Zhu Youtang who came in.

Zhu Youtang didn't pay much attention to these vain rituals, so he cut to the chase and said, "How is the construction of Jianzhou going?"

After all, respect and inferiority are engraved in everyone's bones. The officials from the Ministry of Industry present turned to look at Jia Jun.

Jia Jun is a tall little old man with a gray beard, but his eyes are piercing and bright, revealing a bit of wisdom.

There is a specialization in the art industry, and because of his outstanding talent and performance in engineering, Jia Jun became the first Juren Shangshu since the Ming Dynasty.

Faced with Zhu Youtang's question, Jia Jun pointed to the sand table seriously and said, "Your Majesty, this is the latest construction progress of our Ministry of Industry, please take a look!"

The Ministry of Industry has jurisdiction over millions of craftsmen, many of whom are skilled craftsmen.

After the sand table in Jianzhou was shrunk, they moved it here directly. There are already five cities standing on the east side of the sand table, four of which have been completed.

Seeing that the progress was much faster than expected, Zhu Youtang couldn't help but nodded in satisfaction, then pointed to a rift valley and asked seriously: "Is this the Carp Valley?"

"Your Majesty is wise, this time it is the Carp Valley! According to His Majesty's instructions, all [-] craftsmen have entered Jianzhou to build the city, and now the city of Jianzhou covers an area of ​​one square kilometer!" Jia Jun kept bending his waist, But with a bit of pride.

The war in Jianzhou is a matter of the Ministry of War. Now the most important job of their Ministry of Industry is to build a city in Jianzhou, so that the new city built is scattered in Jianzhou like a spider web, forming a criss-cross pattern.

This has been the case since ancient times. If there is no city, it may be land that can be abandoned at any time.It's just that once a city is built, it is often the city and the people.

If it is said that the Eastern Expeditionary Army is recovering the territory, then the Ministry of Industry is now incorporating the recovered Jianzhou territory into the territory of Ming Dynasty through fortification.

Zhu Youtang saw that the situation was going in a good direction, so he reached out and picked up a square city mold from the sand table: "Do you still use cement now?"

The glue used in this era is mainly the glutinous rice method. Just by hearing the name, you can know that the cost is very high, and it is a waste of food.Just like fishing line, suitable materials are always hard to find.

In view of this, Zhu Youtang provided the cement formula.

After many attempts, the Ministry of Industry finally used limestone for simple firing, thus obtaining a rough version of cement.

The performance of this rough version of cement is naturally not comparable to that of later generations of cement, and even the effect is not as good as the current glutinous rice method, but the cost of cement is very low.

Most importantly, as long as limestone mines are found, local materials can be obtained, which greatly reduces the cost of transporting glutinous rice from Beijing to Jianzhou.

"There are quite a lot of limestone mines in Jianzhou, and the terrain has been figured out before the night is not closed, so now the five cities built are all made of cement to build new cities!" Jia Jun, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, his eyes lit up, looking proud respond.

Zhu Youtang looked at the square city mold in his hand and found that this small mold was also made of cement, so he asked curiously: "What is the cost of a city now?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, since we built the city outside the Great Wall and distributed food and cloth tickets to craftsmen and workers, the cost of a city has already reached 5 taels!" Jia Jun, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, swallowed and spit, looking cautious and authentic.

The Ming Dynasty had a complete corvee system. If this kind of city building was done domestically, [-] taels of silver would usually be enough to build a brick city.

It's just that the current situation is quite special. Even with cement, a high-quality and cheap adhesive, both craftsmen and refugees need to pay wages.

Just like this, the cost of building a state and city this time is quite high, but it has brought a certain burden on Daming's finances.

Zhu Youtang frowned slightly and sighed helplessly.

He knew that if he didn't choose to squeeze his compatriots, this was the normal cost, but he had to do it.In fact, the construction of the city is of great significance, but it is beneficial to the Ming Dynasty to continue to control Jianzhou.

Like the Liaoxi Corridor, this is already a territory outside Shanhaiguan, but because of the existence of Ningyuan City and Jinzhou City, the Ming Dynasty has continued to control it.

As long as they can take root in Jianzhou and Zhucheng, relying on the strong military power of the Ming Dynasty, it will be a matter of course to drive or annihilate the little Jianzhou Jurchen.

Zhu Youtang knew that only by giving can you get rewards, so he seriously warned: "Jianzhou is the granary of the northeast of the Ming Dynasty. For the great cause of China, we must tighten our pants and complete the construction of the Jianzhou city network." After a pause, He also emphasized seriously: "I will not be stingy with my investment, but all ministers must make a good budget and strive to spend all the money wisely! If things come true, you will all be rewarded, but if you want to seek personal gain from it, then don't do it." Blame me for not showing affection!"

"Your Majesty would like to follow your Majesty's instruction!" Minister Jia Jun and other officials of the Ministry of Industry knew that this was Zhu Youtang's bottom line, and they no longer wanted to be greedy for ink, so they expressed their views seriously.

If it was in the past dynasty, maybe they had the idea of ​​seeking personal gain, but the current emperor is wise and powerful, and the Metropolitan Procuratorate is even more eye-catching, so they are all willing to contribute to the dynasty.

Unconsciously, although the number of civil servants who died in the Hongzhi Dynasty was second only to that of the Hongwu Dynasty, more and more civil servants were willing to obey Zhu Youtang's orders.

Due to the concentricity of the monarch and his ministers, and the fact that Daming's finances were still rich, cities and towns sprung up in Jianzhou like mushrooms after rain.

Naturally, there is no need to say more about Shanhaiguan, but the Guanning Jin Corridor has already been formed, and on this basis, it is quietly extending to the entire Jianzhou.

In time, as long as every corner of Jianzhou is touched, the fertile land of Jianzhou will be officially included in the territory of Ming Dynasty.

As for the plan of the Northeast Granary, it is not just a slogan. More and more disaster victims from Henan have arrived in Jianzhou, and they have actively participated in the work of repairing the city, so that this plan is also carried out in an orderly manner.

Many people actually get one thing wrong!This Ming Dynasty expedition is not just to defeat the Jianzhou Jurchen, but to seize the entire Jianzhou territory.

In order to achieve this strategic goal, steady progress is the best approach.

Wang Yue was not in a hurry to wipe out the main force of Jianzhou Jurchen. One was that there was no need to take risks lightly, and the other was that Ming had been silently "recovering" Jianzhou.

Boom!

With the sound of a cannon, a lead bullet weighing as much as ten kilograms shot out from the muzzle, carrying a sharp sound of breaking through the air.

After these years of secret research and development, Da Ming not only worked hard on firearms, but also continued to improve the artillery, and now the range of the heavy artillery has reached one mile.

Click!

The trunk of a pitch pine tree was hit by lead bullets, and the trunk broke immediately, and then fell to the ground with a crash.

puff!
Facing the oncoming lead bullets, a Mongolian cavalryman showed a shocked expression on his face, and then his whole body was hit by the lead bullets, and the sound of bones shattering came from inside his body.

what……

Although a Mongolian cavalry escaped unharmed by chance, his mount was beaten to pieces, causing his whole body to fall heavily and fracture his bones.

How could this be?
Tuo Yuanbao was leading his men to prepare to seize the Ming Dynasty City. However, facing the cannonballs flying from the top of the Ming Dynasty city, especially the chaos of his military formation, he suddenly became confused.

Although the Ming Dynasty was extremely powerful, its own corruption was also obvious.

But I don't know when it started, the Ming Dynasty seems to have been reborn, not only the military discipline has become stricter, but now shocking things are emerging one after another.

"Kill!"

Just when the Jurchen army led by Tuoyuan Baosuo was in chaos, the city gate was suddenly opened, and a well-trained heavy cavalry came out of the city directly.

"Heavy riding? How is this possible?"

"It's over, this is Daming's Aegis Battalion!"

"Why is the Aegis Battalion here? Do they know that we can't sneak attack?"

……

Facing the sudden appearance of the Aegis Battalion, several leaders who followed Tuo Yuanbao were dumbfounded, and immediately smelled a conspiracy.

Among the cavalry, heavy cavalry is undoubtedly invincible.

It's just that the cost of heavy riding is too high, not only does it need to invest a lot of resources to build, but also the usual maintenance is a very expensive thing.

According to their original intelligence, the Aegis Battalion did not follow the Eastern Expeditionary Army this time because the weather in Jianzhou is too hot.

But I don't know if it's because of Wang Yue's delaying tactics until the end of summer, or because the Aegis Battalion has been hiding here waiting for them, but now it's giving them a head-on blow.

"kill!"

Tie Xiangshan took the lead and led the [-] Aegis Battalion to fight out, stabbing the chaotic Jurchen army in Jianzhou like a sharp arrow.

(End of this chapter)