Early Ming Dynasty: Turning Clouds and Rains into New Learning Saints

Chapter 274 Grassland Strategy
Of course, for the families of the crew members, it’s really up to heaven to see each other again after they say goodbye now!
But for ancient people, let alone long-distance voyages, even ordinary journeys could lead to separation between life and death.

In this era of underdeveloped transportation, a letter reporting safety is really very precious!However, ordinary people had no way of delivering letters.

As of now, the most common communications in the Ming Dynasty are through inns, which are expedited according to different message levels.The most urgent way of transmitting information is through signal towers.

However, all these methods of communication only serve the court.Officials can send private messages and so on, but ordinary people don't have to think about it.

On the dock, watching the farewell scene, Zhang Yifan suddenly thought of this.

In the past, ordinary people would not travel far.You will live your whole life in the place where you were born, or within a hundred miles radius.That is to say, only businessmen like to travel far away.

However, as steam trains become more popular in the future and more concrete official roads are built, the scope of ordinary people's activities will become larger and larger, and the demand for letter delivery will definitely increase.

So, should we consider issuing stamps to ensure that the government establishes a set of communications that serve the needs of ordinary people?With the promotion of compulsory education across the country, there will definitely be more demand for letters!

It seems that in the original history, the first stamp was issued by Britain, which was the first to industrialize.This matter must be changed!

With this in mind, he decided to talk to his wife after he went back and let Zhu Jingjing take the lead in implementing this matter.When I look back and write letters in the same city, maybe they women write more diligently and use them more!

As for himself, he was still being called by Zhu Yuanzhang to attend various meetings, and then he had to attend classes at the Imperial College, so he was really too busy.

This kind of life, although it involves farming, feels a bit busy, like farming "double-grabbing" every day.If you really hang out with that father-in-law, you will end up like this unconsciously!
However, the Ming Dynasty was following Zhang Yifan's design direction, which made him very happy.Whenever he thinks about the current Ming Dynasty, the system is different from the original history, and he is quite happy.

In mid-August of the 15th year of Hongwu, Zhang Yifan accompanied Zhu Yuanzhang to the Battle Bureau again.But this time I came not for the steam engine, but for the assembly line production of plate armor.

The production of this plate armor is to use the medium carbon steel from the steel furnace to be hot-rolled into a thin steel plate, and then use a heavy-duty stamping machine to stamp it when it is red hot. Finally, it goes through a series of heat treatment procedures such as tempering, quenching, and annealing. Complete the basic plate armor creation.

The main thing was Zhang Yifan explaining to Zhu Yuanzhang that with the help of the steam engine, the power required for this process did not rely on hydraulic power. In Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes, there was a kind of machine beauty!

If one had to have such a set of tools to produce plate armor during the war, it wouldn't even be necessary!
No, Zhu Yuanzhang kept nodding in praise as he looked at the plate armor in his hand.

Armor is the courage of soldiers!With armor protection, soldiers will become brave.Just like the plate armor in your hand, it can't be cut with a knife or pierced by a spear, let alone shot with an arrow.With this armor on your body, the morale of the enemy and ourselves will definitely go up and down!

Of course, the most important thing is not this. I heard Zhu Yuanzhang praise: "Yifan, I really didn't expect that the cost of such a set of plate armor is at least half cheaper than I imagined. It's rare!"

Zhang Yifan laughed when he heard this. This is the progress of technology.The assembly line operation method itself reduces costs.And because of the steam engine, it does not rely on water power and other terrain. The heat treatment furnace can also use the hot exhaust gas from the iron furnace tail, which can also save fuel costs.The price of the plate armor made in this way is definitely higher than that forged by hand before. It's not even cheap!

However, this set of plate armor actually only includes a helmet, breastplate, and iron skirt, not full body armor.According to Zhu Yuanzhang's plan, this was prepared for the cavalry troops assembled in the north to sweep across the desert.

At this time, he saw Zhu Yuanzhang holding a set of plate armor in his hand, and said with some emotion: "I'm afraid it's too late this year, but I can afford to wait until next year when the flowers bloom, and each army can be allocated thousands of plates. A, hit the grassland with all your strength, and strive to wipe out the remnants of the Meng Yuan in one fell swoop!"

After hearing this, Zhang Yifan thought for a moment and said to Zhu Yuanzhang: "Father, I have actually considered this grassland battle."

"Oh?" When Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, he was a little curious, so he handed the plate armor to the guard, then looked at Zhang Yifan and asked, "What do you think? Can you tell me?"

In his opinion, there is no strategy to use in the battle on the grassland. It really depends on the strength on the grassland, that is, the power of the cavalry.

For this reason, he has been hoarding cavalry troops in the north. From Liaodong to Qin, he is reorganizing the cavalry in preparation for war.

Seeing Zhu Yuanzhang looking at him, Zhang Yifan expressed his thoughts and said: "I think that if we want to have long-term peace and stability on the grassland, we need to implement a law similar to the one in the mainland that allocates grain fields to the public!"

Grain fields on the grassland should be distributed among the public?
This thought flashed through his mind, and Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but be very interested, and immediately asked: "Tell me in detail!"

Zhang Yifan's plan to distribute grain fields to the public has proven to be a very popular measure, especially during the Southwest War.It was originally thought that the war in the southwest would be a very protracted war, and that it would even require the accumulation of heavy troops to guard the southwest.After all, the people there are barbarians and uncivilized, and their customs are very different from those in the Central Plains.

In short, the southwest has always been a troublesome issue in all dynasties.

But who would have known that after the implementation of the law to allocate grain fields to the public in the southwest, the effect was not obvious at first. It seems that what happened before is what it is now.But as time passed, the news from the local area changed drastically.

The people in the southwest showed unprecedented support for the imperial court. There were even many hiding chieftains who were captured by local people and sent to the government.The censors sent to inspect the area also expressed great appreciation for the local customs, saying that the government's work there was very popular with the local people.

It was also for this reason that Zhu Yuanzhang was relieved to order half of the 20 troops recruited from the north to leave the southwest and head to the north to prepare for war.

It has to be said that the smooth war and governance in the Southwest can really be attributed to the public distribution of grain fields.At this time, Zhu Yuanzhang was of course interested when he heard about similar policies being implemented on the grassland.

So, Zhang Yifan said to Zhu Yuanzhang: "The social structure of the grassland tribes is actually very backward. To put it simply, the patriarchs and nobles of the grassland tribes, especially the descendants of Temujin, control the most production resources. That is, their herds. Ordinary herdsmen graze for them and work hard for them..."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang immediately understood the law of public distribution of grain fields on the grassland, and immediately confirmed to Zhang Yifan with a smile: "What you mean is that the court promised that each herdsman will have his own herd. That's what you mean." What?"

After hearing this, Zhang Yifan flattered him and said, "My father is wise and powerful, and this is what I mean by my son."

After hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head and said: "Although doing this can indeed win the hearts of the grassland herdsmen, after a generation, the weak will eat the strong on the grassland, and new tribes, chiefs, etc. will eventually be formed. Then if Temujin appears, People who have been united by him from various tribes are another threat to the Central Plains Dynasty."

When Zhang Yifan heard this, he immediately smiled and said: "Father has considered this far-reaching, so some other policies need to be added."

As soon as he heard this, Zhu Yuanzhang smiled. He knew that what his son-in-law said later would be the key point, so he nodded and motioned for his son-in-law to continue.

So, Zhang Yifan explained his idea: "In order to prevent the grassland tribes from becoming stronger again, we must control them, not only militarily, but also through economic means. For example, with the use of steam engines, the textile industry will definitely advance by leaps and bounds." , the demand for wool will be very large. Therefore, the imperial court can set up points on the grassland to purchase wool, so that herdsmen can make a living by selling wool. Whether any tribe is living well or not depends on the price the imperial court purchases their wool!"

"For the same reason, the same operation can be done for the acquisition of cattle, horses and sheep. We can build a city on the grassland as a trade center and connect it to the Central Plains by train. This will ensure that the imperial court has enough strength to influence the grassland. Wait until the new learning develops in the future. , the grassland tribes who only rely on animal husbandry will not be able to fight with swords and guns, some of them can only sing and dance!"

In its original history, the Ming Dynasty had been implementing economic policies for the imperial court for nearly 300 years.However, this economic policy is not to control, but to block.

This kind of blockade is effective, but it also has recurrences.For example, the grasslands of the Yexian era and the grasslands of the Anda Khan era were both relatively strong. Their troops even reached the city of Beijing and even captured an emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

However, it was also this blockade that made the Mongolian tribes so poor that by the end of the Ming Dynasty, arrowheads were not made of iron, but were ground with stone.From a certain perspective, the fact that the Jurchens in Liaodong were able to sweep across the grassland in the end was due to the Ming Dynasty's blockade.

However, in Zhang Yifan's opinion, blockade is the worst policy, and it is better to use an economic stick to guide the grassland tribes, to keep abreast of the trends of the grassland tribes, to control their economy, and to divide and rule the grassland tribes.

At this time, after hearing his answer, Zhu Yuanzhang had a serious expression, thinking seriously, and finally nodded and said: "In the final analysis, your plan must be based on building the railway to the grassland. Otherwise, the imperial court will have control over the grassland. If it’s not timely enough, problems will still occur.”

As the founding emperor, he naturally had his own way of thinking, and he would not follow what Zhang Yifan said.Now, as soon as he opened his mouth, he pointed out the most critical point in solving the grassland problem, which was the degree of control the imperial court had over the grassland.

Through the railway, if the grassland can become part of the Central Plains Dynasty, then the implementation of other policies will make sense.

Just listen to Zhu Yuanzhang continue to say: "To build a city on the grassland, it is used to govern the grassland, garrison the army, purchase cattle, horses, sheep, wool, etc., and you must choose a good place. This should be carefully considered later!"

Building cities on the grasslands is nothing new. When the Central Plains dynasties were strong, they would build cities wherever their power could reach.However, most of the time, when the Central Plains dynasty was weak, it either gave up on its own initiative or was forced to give up, etc.The reason is that garrisoning the grassland consumes too much money and food, and in the end we cannot afford to garrison.

But now, with the extension of the railway, it will become easier to transport supplies to the grassland or transport specialties from the grassland to the Central Plains.The logistical and economic problems of garrisoning the army will not be a problem.

Zhu Yuanzhang followed Zhang Yifan's train of thought and after talking about the key points, he seemed to have straightened out the whole train of thought. He smiled and said to Zhang Yifan: "This idea you have can withstand an army of [-], haha!"

Regardless of his words or demeanor, you can see his happiness.

This is actually not surprising at all. Zhu Yuanzhang was most worried about the remnants of Meng Yuan.Even in order to prevent the Mongol Yuan from resurrecting and attacking the Ming Dynasty, he sealed off all his sons at the border fortress and gave them military power to defend the Ming Dynasty's northern frontier and face the threat of the grasslands.

Not only that, his son, who subsequently enfeoffed, also formed a second line of defense against the grassland, which was to enclose all the way along the Yellow River.This shows that he was on guard against Meng Yuan and worried about Meng Yuan's future strength.

However, now with the help of Zhang Yifan, Zhu Yuanzhang has unprecedented confidence to completely defeat the remnants of the Meng Yuan who fled to the grassland when he was still emperor.Then there was a long-term policy to prevent the grassland tribes from becoming strong again.

Just imagine, Zhu Yuanzhang's biggest heart problem is about to go away, how can he be unhappy?
After hearing his praise, Zhang Yifan said modestly: "My son is actually just talking, and my father has to worry about the country. It's really not worth mentioning!"

Seeing how humble he was, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but sigh, this son-in-law is really worth it!

If his sons were like his son-in-law, then...

When he thought of this, Zhu Yuanzhang thought of something in his mind, and the happy expression on his face suddenly disappeared.

When Zhang Yifan saw him, he looked like he was changing his face in a Sichuan opera. His face suddenly turned ugly and he looked unhappy. He couldn't help being stunned and asked quickly: "Father, what's wrong? Did my son say something wrong or something wrong?" Did you do something wrong?"

Hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang quickly shook his head and said, "No, you are fine, Yifan, I am proud of having you as my son-in-law. I am also happy that the fourth son is promising. As for the others, the fifth son is also fine. You asked him to study medicine. He has indeed been working hard, and I am happy to see him. But..."

As soon as he heard what he said, Zhang Yifan probably understood why his father-in-law changed his face!
(End of this chapter)