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Chapter 372 Waiting for opportunity

"During the lecture, Mr. Long Live said that the terrain north of the border wall is high, has little water, and has a cold climate. It is not suitable for farming crops and is only suitable for the growth of pasture. However, I am not good at grazing the people, and then the northern barbarians took over. Why should I replace them? Did they measure it?"

Wang Chengen quickly took the charcoal, handed over the wet wipes, and continued to look up at the newly drawn area on the map. He had long ignored the fonts. Commenting on the emperor's words was a taboo in the palace. As long as he didn't want to guard the imperial mausoleum, it was best. Pretend you haven't seen it, don't criticize or praise it.

But there is one thing that I really don’t understand. The interior of the Ming Dynasty’s territory has not been finished yet. Why do they have to send people to the cold places to venture out for surveying and mapping, and then personally draw maps for the Mongols in the north? Could it be that the imperial court has to fight with the Mongols again? Peace negotiated?

"Hey hey hey, I have found out all the plants, trees, mountains and rivers in their yard. It will be easier for me to rob things in the future. How many Marines can you send out to snatch all the cattle, horses and sheep of Beilu? Five Is ten thousand enough?”

After appreciating the fonts that seemed to have some improvement, Hong Tao was in a good mood. He returned to the desk and put down the wipes. He picked up the memorials of Jun Song and Sun Chengzong and read them carefully. At the same time, he did not forget to answer Wang Chengen's questions.

In fact, talking about things far away from the Great Wall with a young eunuch who has never even been out of Beijing is basically like playing the piano to an ox, but there is really no one around to chat with. Although Wang Chengen knows little, he is very tight-lipped. Talk to him for sure. You can't get inspiration, but you can go over it in your mind like a repeater and further improve it.

"Ah! Long live the Lord, are you going to send troops to the north?" The emperor said quite easily, but Wang Chengen was quite frightened.

Since they abandoned Liaodong Town, the imperial court has just calmed down, so why is it going to war again? Moreover, in the past few years, neither Beilu nor Jianlu have detained customs on a large scale. Isn't it good for the two sides to live in peace and harmony?

"... Look at you, you look like a bear. When you heard that there was a war, you shrank. You even said that you would defend yourself with your life. What's the matter? Do I have fewer arms and legs than Beilu and Jianlu? Why did they come to me? You can’t go!”

Just by listening to the tone, Hong Tao could feel the fear radiating from Wang Chengen, and felt a little heavy in his heart. No matter whether the frontier army wins or loses, as soon as a war starts, the people will only suffer heavier taxes, labor and casualties. No wonder they are extremely tired of and afraid of war.

This idea is very reasonable, but it must be changed, otherwise no matter how hard it is, Daming will not survive. So how to change this situation? There is no good way. The only way is to use repeated victories and repeated profits to awaken the blood of the people.

Let the people understand that war not only brings losses but also gains. When the gains often outweigh the losses, people will be optimistic about the changes. Just like doing business, there are definitely risks. As long as the chance of making money is greater, businessmen will rush forward without hesitation.

"...Slave, please ask someone to move the ladder away, and then guard it outside!" Can the emperor steal the Mongolian cattle, horses and sheep? Wang Chengen thought about it carefully, and it should be possible. There is no reason why the Mongols are more powerful than the emperor.

Since the general direction is feasible, there is nothing to be afraid of. I don't know how to arrange troops. I can only do my best to serve the emperor, and keep an eye on everyone around me to avoid leaking the news.

"Let Zhang Ran take Governor Yuan and Li Ruzhang into the palace, the sooner the better." Seeing that the young eunuch was not interested in this issue, Hong Tao was too lazy to talk to him, waved his hand to indicate what to do, then picked up his pen and continued writing Sketch on paper.

Go out and fight the Mongols? That's right, after nearly ten years of preparation, Hong Tao felt it was time to take action. The scale does not have to be large. Provoking a small- to medium-sized conflict at the right time and place will not only do no harm, but may also benefit. Even if you don't get any advantage, you can still use it as a training exercise to remind the enemies in the north and east, telling them that the Ming Dynasty is still alive, and the teeth and claws have not fallen out, and the lethality is very high. Don't worry about nothing. Come and pinch the soft persimmon.

According to reports from Du Song and Sun Chengzong, the Mongols and Jurchens had ceased fighting since the beginning of winter, and there were no more fights over territory until the beginning of spring. The two believed that the Mongols and Jurchens might be negotiating, but the specific situation was unclear.

The information obtained by Jin Yiwei confirmed the speculations of Du and Sun from the side, and the Mongols and Jurchens were indeed out of contact. From the analysis of some rumors I heard, it seems that they are planning to get married, but it is not clear who is with whom.

Political marriage is a very old trick. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. But as long as there was a slight possibility of an alliance between the Mongolian tribes and the Jurchens, Hong Tao was determined not to be happy.

In order for the two families to continue to be hostile to each other, he was almost poisoned to death despite all the objections. He finally threw it out of Liaodong Town. How could such a big piece of meat and bones be divided and eaten without even seeing the blood? This is right. A serious insult to my own intelligence!

Since you didn't ask the Ming Emperor for his opinion in advance, and you weren't even prepared to invite him to the wedding with wine and candy, then don't worry about our lack of attention. Hong Tao is not very good at other things, but he likes to do damage from the bottom of his heart, and he is good at it.

Before the wedding was held, a partial army was sent to sneak into the wedding scene. They killed people on sight, burned down the house, and robbed things. They turned the happy event into a waste. I let you get married and faint.

However, it is easy to talk about it and think about it, but it is still very difficult to implement it. Ming Dynasty tied the fence very tightly and was on guard everywhere. People were also not idle. As long as the border troops made any move, they would be discovered immediately. If there are fewer people, there is no power, and if there are more people, you may not be able to win.

Two years ago, Hong Tao would not have dared to risk provocation. Let alone whether the newly established navy could win, it would be difficult to deal with the undercurrent in the court. But now he thinks he can give it a try, for three reasons.

First of all, the overall situation of the imperial court is basically under control after successive rectifications. There is no too fierce party struggle. Even though many officials still think that they are not qualified as the emperor and are unable to make a comeback in a short time. This is called stability of the rear.

Secondly, after more than two years of continuous training, the Navy has gained a certain amount of practical experience and combat effectiveness. Coupled with the addition of new equipment, it has the ability to fight more with less. As long as you do enough preliminary preparations and think carefully about all aspects, there is still a chance of success.

Finally, there is this map. It looks like just a picture, but it actually contains a lot of content. Having it is equivalent to having a good location. At least you won't have a black eye after leaving the Great Wall, and miss the opportunity because of getting lost. At the same time, the availability of relatively detailed maps also shows that the intelligence work has achieved certain results.

As the saying goes, if you know yourself and your enemy, you will never be in danger. If you can roughly figure out the number and location of the enemy, you can launch a surprise attack on your own side at the right time and place to attack its weaknesses. This is equivalent to calculating mentally and unintentionally, and taking advantage of the opportunity.

(End of this chapter)