Daming: The most ruthless tyrant in history

Chapter 887 Armed Merchant Corps
The empire on which the sun never sets cannot be built by just talking about it. It will inevitably take several generations or even longer to achieve.

"Brother, how do you know this?"

Zhu Youjian, who had been unable to calm down for a long time, suppressed his shock and looked at Zhu Youxiao and asked, "Especially this Tsarist Russia. I have never heard of it before. Even the European merchants who went to Tianjin did not seem to mention this country."

"I have my own way of knowing."

Zhu Youxiao said calmly: "The reason why I tell you all this is to tell you that everything in this world is beyond your imagination."

"What I mentioned to you before was only part of it. Now that you have experienced more, I will tell you this."

"The Ming Dynasty belongs to me, but it also belongs to you. Other forces or countries are all so enthusiastic about expanding their territories."

"Do you think that, as the Ming Dynasty, in this situation, is it enough to just protect our own little piece of land?"

"not enough!!"

Zhu Youjian frowned and said, "After my visit to Korea, my biggest feeling was that it is a crime to possess a treasure. Even though the Ming Dynasty has a vast territory and many rich places under its rule, if the Ming Dynasty just sticks to what it has and does not make progress, even if the Jianlu are destroyed, other forces will still emerge."

"After the bilateral alliance was launched, I learned a lot about the current situation of the grassland through Xiong Tingbi. The so-called Khan of the grassland, Hudun Tuhan, has always been obsessed with the territory of our Ming Dynasty."

"The various grassland tribes do need to be resolved."

Zhu Youjian frowned and said, "When the refugees were relocated to Liao, many of them came from the Nine Borders. Just listening to their stories of the past, the grassland tribes adjacent to our northern border would often invade our Ming border. In addition to Shanxi and Shaanxi, there are also Ningxia, Gansu and other places. Not only are the lives here poor, but the key is that they are also unstable."

“The problem in the northwest is indeed imminent.”

Zhu Youxiao said angrily, "After Sichuan and Guizhou build garrisons and achieve corresponding results, I will instruct the officials to promote the reform of the garrison system in the northwest."

"The northwest is too far from the heartland of the Ming Dynasty, and the Guanzhong area is plagued by disasters, making the foundation too weak. There are also the nine borders with many accumulated problems. The court still has too many things to solve."

"If during this period, the various forces in the northwest border dare to have any intention of interfering in the northwest, it will be a huge blow to the Ming Dynasty."

Forewarned is forearmed, without prejudging the waste.

The Ming Dynasty had a vast territory, which led to different problems faced by different regions of the Ming Dynasty. This is why Zhu Youxiao adopted different approaches and implemented different policies in different regions.

"Your Majesty, if you allow Shanxi and other places to form armed merchant groups at several customs, it is actually a plan for solving the grassland problem in the future, right?"

Zhu Zhuohong, who was training in the clan house, thought of something at this moment. He looked up at Zhu Youxiao and said, "After all, Guihua City has gradually become a gathering place for grassland trade. Although grassland forces still dominate here, many grassland forces dare not easily attack those armed merchant groups."

"Yes."

Zhu Youxiao did not deny it. "Since the Customs Administration was under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Clan Court, I have been planning one thing, which is to conduct a comprehensive investigation and sorting out of the various forces on the grassland."

"If you want to conquer your opponent, you must first understand your opponent, which requires starting from the political, military, economic, and cultural aspects."

"It's not like the Ming Dynasty hasn't suffered losses in this regard before." "Let's not talk about the distant past, let's talk about the recent one, the disastrous defeat at Sarhu during the Wanli reign. If the Ming Dynasty had a comprehensive understanding of the Jianlu and their system at that time, do you think the Ming Dynasty would have lost that battle?"

"will not."

Zhu Youjian shook his head and said, "The Jianlu are very strong, but they are by no means invincible, especially in terms of firearms, where the Ming Dynasty has the upper hand."

"After truly understanding, we found that the most powerful weapon of the Jian Lu is the combination of rifle shooting and rapid charge. Now that the Jian Lu have been repeatedly ravaged by our dynasty on the battlefield, they have begun to pay attention to firearms."

"But that won't work. The Jianlu can't catch up with our dynasty in the development of firearms. They can't even mass-produce the Hongwu flintlock rifle, let alone other things."

Zhu Youxiao definitely invested heavily in the research and development of firearms. The Military Preparations and Cleaning Affairs Division, which was affiliated with the Shaofu, refined the field of firearms and trained a large number of talents for this purpose, building up a talent echelon. This was not something that the Jianlu could catch up with in just one or two years.

"The significance of the armed merchant group is not only to maintain grassland trade and ensure that it is not looted by grassland tribes, but its real role is to continue to go deeper."

After listening to what Zhu Youjian said, Zhu Youxiao continued: "During this period, if you have a voucher issued by the Zongrenfu, you can purchase corresponding firearms from the Zongrenfu according to your meritorious service, such as the gradually obsolete bird guns, Rumi guns and other firearms, and even some artillery. This is all possible."

"Within the territory of the Ming Dynasty, the trade of firearms is absolutely prohibited, but outside the Ming Dynasty, as long as they do not involve the most core ones, they can be traded."

Zhu Zhuohong frowned and said, "Your Majesty, if this is the case, won't a batch of firearms flow to the grassland? Even to the forces you mentioned, such as the Oirat, Yarkand, and Kazakh Khanate?"

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"Are you afraid that the Ming Dynasty will suffer the consequences?"

Zhu Youxiao smiled and said.

"There are some."

Zhu Zhuohong nodded.

"That's because you don't understand the generation gap of firearms, let alone how the replacement of firearms works." Zhu Youxiao said arrogantly, "Even the Hongwu flintlock rifles currently issued are very backward firearms in my eyes. The Military Equipment and Cleaning Bureau is currently working on new firearms."

"It costs too much money and food just to overcome these difficulties."

"At the same time, there are too many problems that need to be solved urgently. The Ming Dynasty must open up a steady stream of financial resources to support its continuous transformation."

The arms trade is definitely a highly profitable industry.

Zhu Youxiao wanted to use his own way to gradually expand this highly profitable industry. For example, instead of leaving those that should be eliminated there to waste, it would be better to circulate them, giving part to the grassland, part to Korea, and part to Southeast Asia. When the standing army of the Ming Dynasty was gradually equipped with advanced firearms, these forces holding obsolete firearms would never be the opponent of the Ming Dynasty even if they really fought against it.

This is also the reason why Zhu Youxiao was determined to develop intensive handicraft manufacturing industry.

When the production capacity reaches a certain scale and Ming Dynasty embarks on the path of expanding its military, no matter how many powerful enemies it encounters, they will not be its match.

(End of this chapter)