Jingnan Strategy

Chapter 540 Returning home in glory
In April, Jiang Huai was transferred to Nanjing as the Minister of Household Affairs, while Jian Yi, the Minister of Household Affairs in Nanjing, came to Beijing to replace Xia Yuanji.

As if to attract the attention of the officials to other places, Zhu Gaoxu asked Liu Mian and Hu Ji to send additional troops to Jiangnan to increase the pressure on the Jiangnan business gangs.

In addition, Zhu Gaoxu issued an order to allocate 3 million yuan in money and grain from the Ministry of Household Affairs to the Yunnan Dusi, and ordered the Yunnan Dusi to repatriate the Burmese Xuanwei Division and the 800 Dadian Xuanwei Division.

At the same time, the pace of establishing prefectures and counties overseas was also accelerated, and 50 million treasury bonds were sold as scheduled on April 10th.

After several days of sales, the sales in various places were also sent to Nanjing and Beijing by expedited service, and then sent outside the customs by train.

The reason why they were sent outside the customs was mainly because Zhu Gaoxu and the others were already on their way to the northern patrol.

"Xia Yuanji, you haven't been to Guanwai yet. Take a good look. It's not as bitter and cold as you think!"

"Your Majesty, it is indeed my first time to come here, but it has already entered summer, so it is not as bitter and cold as in my eyes. If your majesty leaves too early, I am worried about your majesty..."

"Woooo..."

Xia Yuanji's voice was interrupted by the train whistle, and his appearance also meant that Zhu Gaoxu finally failed to shamelessly dump him in Beijing and ran away with Zhu Di and Zhu Qiyue.

Upon seeing this, Zhu Gaoxu told them about the steam-powered wooden warships and the iron-frame warships of the Ming Dynasty in the future, and even talked about aircraft carriers from these.

"However, there is a big difference between steam engine shipyards and ordinary shipyards, so the current shipyards must be iteratively upgraded."

"For this upgrade, I plan to upgrade only three shipyards in Lushun, Tianjin and Denglai to build warships for the navy and official ships for the court."

Zhu Di knew what Zhu Gaoxu was thinking, so he didn't care at all about the so-called 30% interest for ten years, because in the end, this group of people might lose their principal and property.

"Even if we only upgrade these three shipyards, the machinery required will be worth more than 2 million yuan, and the cost of subsequent ship construction will also increase, so this money will also be invested in upgrading warships."

"I went to see the last ship trial in Tianjin. The speed was too slow. It only lasted fifteen miles in an hour. It was not as fast as a person walking."

"As for private ships, they still use sail technology. Until new technology is released, steam engine ship technology will not be applied to private ships."

The train whistled from time to time, and Xia Yuanji and Zhu Di were sitting on the sofa in the carriage. Hu Ji, Zheng He, Yi Shiha and others were sitting aside. Jin Yiwei and Xichang soldiers stood in the corner to patrol.

But it doesn't matter, anyway, this batch of national debt is Zhu Gaoxu's method to cut off the capital of government and businessmen.

In such a short time, ordinary people have no right to buy it.

"Only 10 days after the sale started, 28 million coins have been sold, haha..."

As the train arrived at Shenyang Railway Station, Hu Ji also took a trip while the train was adding coal and water, and later brought back a piece of urgent information.

"Your Majesty, 28 million national bonds have been sold..."

After Zhu Gaoxu finished explaining his use of the money, Zhu Di stroked his beard and said:

"However, at present, only civilian ship technology is mature, while warship technology still requires continuous research and improvement after the machinery is put into the factory."

National bonds are sold on the 10th day of the lunar month, and Zhu Gaoxu and the others started their northern tour on the 15th day of the lunar month, and now it is only the 20th of April.

"..." Zhu Gaoxu was silent, but Zhu Di knew the result when he saw this.

"Tell me how the warships on the sea in the future will be different from those now. Why are they called warships?"

At this moment, the carriage they were riding in was opened up, and there was a velvet-filled sofa inside. Although it was not as comfortable as the sofa in later generations, it was still much more comfortable than the previous hard bench.

In just ten days, 28 million treasury bonds have been sold, and the information about the regions has not yet been sent. It is very likely that when they see the news of the sale of more than 28 million treasury bonds, 50 million treasury bonds will be sold. Already sold out.

Zhu Qiyue and Xia Yuanji also listened carefully and were very curious about the so-called warships.

"Currently, there are six major shipyards in Ming Dynasty, including three in the north and three in the south."

"Are you going to use all this money and food to build official roads and railways?"

"In ten days, no news from the Southwest and Overseas Banks was sent back. It seems that the treasury bonds of more than ten chief secretaries in the two capitals of Zhongzhou have been sold out."

Although Zhu Gaoxu is only fifty-one years old, he is still preparing to use this time as his last resort just in case.

"Warships will not come out so quickly in the short term. There are still many technologies that need to be broken through. The main ones to be developed first are steam-powered tugboats."

"You said that now that the technology is mature, you don't know how many miles you can travel in one hour?"

Hu Ji spoke in a low voice, but even so, Zhu Di and the others heard him.

He was as verbose as ever, and the train they were traveling on had a total of five carriages, so although the speed was faster than an ordinary train, the speed was only sixty miles per hour.

Faced with this problem, Zhu Gaoxu mused: "The Tianjin Shipyard has launched steam ships for the second time, and it has been determined that the current technology can build steam ships in batches."

Zhu Gaoxu chuckled lightly, and Xia Yuanji also stopped being verbose, frowned and said:

To prevent himself from becoming an old fool, he did not intend to stay in this position for a long time.

Zhu Di knew that he couldn't wait for that day, so he could only imagine in his imagination how majestic the Ming Dynasty's navy would be in the future.

Just like the last time the government bonds were issued, this group of people may have colluded with people from local banks. Most of the government bonds may have been sold before the banks opened.

Of course, this is just a vision of the future. Even if Zhu Gaoxu lives to be a hundred years old, he may not see the emergence of the so-called aircraft carrier because it is too difficult.

What he cares about is how he plans to spend so much money.

The reason for the ten-year period is that there will be another big case to harvest them within ten years and redistribute the accumulated wealth.

"With this kind of tugboat, it will be much more convenient for large treasure ships to sail into the Yangtze River and berth in the future, and they will no longer need so many trackers' manpower."

"Your Majesty, these people are still stubborn."

"It's about twenty-five miles with a full load. Even if there's a headwind, it can still travel three hundred miles a day."

After Zhu Gaoxu finished explaining, Zhu Di couldn't help but sigh: "I don't know if I can see this warship during my lifetime..."

Even if the technical difficulty of aircraft carriers before World War I is not as high as modern aircraft carriers, they are still beyond the reach of Ming Dynasty now and in the next few decades.

Just talking about the internal combustion engine power needed for aircraft, although Ming Dynasty is currently researching it, the foundation is still not solid enough. Zhu Gaoxu cannot provide a lot of theoretical knowledge, so he can only keep trial and error.

"Remember, I can stop any kind of money and food in the Ming Dynasty, but I can't stop the money and food from the Imperial College."

When Zhu Gaoxu described the future to everyone, he couldn't help but remind Zhu Qiyue.

After all, in his opinion, if the eleven-year-old Zhu Qiyue lived long enough, he might be able to lead the Ming Dynasty into the second industrial revolution.

"Yeah! I remember it!"

Zhu Qiyue nodded solemnly, feeling shocked by the future described by his grandfather.

In fact, Zhu Di took him to Taixue, and he also saw many subject models, such as airplanes, armored ships, tanks, cannons, rapid-fire machine guns, repeating rifles, cars, etc.

But seeing it is one thing, and actually being described is another.

They only know what these things do, but they don't know how to use them.

Putting aside everything else, the blueprint of the Ming Dynasty navy described by Zhu Gaoxu alone was enough to shock him for many years.

"One hundred years from now, the Ming Dynasty must have twelve maritime fleets at sea, with no less than 240,000 serving soldiers, 300 main battleships and 1,500 supply ships."

"From now on, we must continue to deepen into the high-precision end. I will compile a manual on these things in the future and pass it to you and your father to let you know how to go in the future."

Zhu Gaoxu still has many ideas about the future in his mind, and these are what he learned in his previous life.

With these things, Ming Dynasty will be able to avoid many detours in the future.

Even if the Ming Dynasty is replaced in the future, the country that inherits the Ming Dynasty can continue to move forward along this path.

Of course, if they are unwilling to follow the path they have planned, then there is nothing they can do about it. After all, it is impossible for him to jump out of the coffin and point at his children and grandchildren and yell at them.

"I'm particularly curious about that tank. Grandpa also told me about it. Maybe I can use it in the future."

Zhu Qiyue's eyes widened, but Zhu Gaoxu suddenly lost his voice when he heard this.

After a while, Zhu Gaoxu finally said: "It's okay to tell you, but you have to promise grandpa that you can't become an emperor and lead troops to fight in the future."

"Why?" Zhu Qiyue looked confused, but Zhu Gaoxu hesitated and said:
"You kid has never fought in a war. You don't know what kind of skills it takes to fight. If you are embarrassed later, it won't sound good if you say it out."

Zhu Gaoxu said this, but Zhu Qiyue nodded readily and said: "Of course, the emperor should make plans in the temple to win the battle thousands of miles away."

"Running an army, attacking cities, and plundering territories are what generals should do. Naturally, I will not interfere."

Zhu Qiyue spoke eloquently, but in his heart he thought that his grandfather might be gone by then, and it was not up to him to decide whether to fight or not.

"Well, that's the best thing you can think of."

Zhu Gaoxu nodded with satisfaction, and then told Zhu Qiyue how to fight in the future.

Of course, what he taught the emperor was how to fight a war, how to select generals, how to employ people, how to ensure the logistics of the army, how to keep the morale of the army high, and how to continuously win battles.

Zhu Qiyue listened to what he said, and then he thought about how he could recruit generals from his great-grandfather to fight.

Under Zhu Gaoxu's imaginative description of the future, time passed little by little. It was not until the sky became dark that everyone returned to their respective carriages to rest in despair.

Although he was very tired, Zhu Qiyue was still full of energy and his eyes were shining.

Of course, Zhu Gaoxu had no way of knowing all this. He only felt that his eldest grandson still listened to him. After a night's rest, the train took them to Changchun early the next morning.

When they got here, Zhu Gaoxu wanted to invite Zhu Di and the others to Jilin City.

It's a pity that Zhu Di's mind is not there. He wants to go to Mobei to see how the territory he has conquered is going.

The grandfather and grandson separated here. Zhu Gaoxu took Hu Ji and Yi Shiha to Jilin, and Zhu Di took Zhu Qiyue and Zheng He to Mobei.

As for Xia Yuanji, when he learned that the three generations of grandfather and grandson had separated, he chose to follow Zhu Di north without hesitation. He never looked at Zhu Gaoxu from beginning to end, which made him very depressed.

Even though Zhu Qiyue called him an old barbarian, Xia Yuanji insisted on following him.

Finally, under Zhu Gaoxu's gaze, they took the train and continued to Mobei. Zhu Gaoxu did not plan to take the train directly to Jilin, but planned to take a bus from Changchun to Jilin for a visit.

People say that he returns home in fine clothes, but Zhu Gaoxu is very low-key.

In addition to more than a hundred Jinyi guards hiding around, there were only twenty well-equipped soldiers around him to protect him with Hu Ji and Yi Shiha.

When we walked out of Changchun Railway Station, a carriage had already been arranged.

Zhu Gaoxu got on the carriage, but was not in a hurry to leave. Instead, he sat in the carriage and looked at the people entering and leaving the train station.

Among them were ordinary people wearing silk cloth, merchants wearing silk and satin, and soldiers and officials who went home to visit relatives.

Due to Zhu Gaoxu's lack of restrictions, coupled with the inflow of overseas gold and silver and the development of local cultivated land, the prosperity during the Hongxi years was far from comparable to that of the Yongle and Hongwu years.

Even farmers who are engaged in farming can put on their boots and go wandering around the city during their leisure time. Zhu Gaoxu has seen many of them.

"Things are getting better..."

Zhu Gaoxu sighed, and Yi Shiha nodded and said: "More than thirty years ago, this place was still a buried ruin. I never thought that in just over thirty years, there would be so many people here, and they are all dressed so richly."

"This is also a great blessing from His Majesty." Hu Ji echoed. Although he was still very young more than thirty years ago, it was precisely because of his young age that he knew how difficult life was at that time.

"In my memory, even though my father was already fighting with His Majesty as a Qianhu official, my family only had one meal of meat every day."

"It wasn't until the Supreme Emperor ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor, and I was taken to Nanjing, that life gradually got better."

"Now that there are chemical fertilizers and new crops, almost every farmer outside the customs raises poultry and livestock, and some even graze part-time."

"In the past, the imperial court used to transport ships of grain and livestock to the outside of the customs. Now it is truckloads of grain and livestock to the inside of the customs."

"But in more than thirty years, the relationship between the two has been so reversed. I can't imagine what it will be like in a few decades."

Hu Ji lamented, but Zhu Gaoxu was not optimistic about the Northeast region in a few decades.

After all, the weather was getting colder throughout the Ming Dynasty, and the only temperature rebound was from Zhengde to the 20th year of Wanli.

Because of this, the grasslands during this period could give birth to heroes like Dayan Khan and An Dahan.

Twenty years after Wanli, the world's temperature began to drop, getting colder and colder, and the heroes on the grassland who could be named gradually disappeared.

Compared with Ada Khan, who had 400,000 followers, Lin Dan Khan's followers, even Nurhachi, responded directly with a letter of ridicule.

If it were Anda Khan, Nurhachi would have already discussed the joint attack of Manchuria and Mongolia with his tail between his legs.

Zhu Gaoxu is very doubtful whether the northerners can maintain and continue the advantages they enjoyed during the Hongxi years as the environment becomes increasingly bad.

Although he has built the Beihai (Sea of ​​Japan) outlet of Donghai Prefecture for Northeast China, he has also vigorously developed Northeast China, making Northeast China a granary that cannot be ignored in the north of the Ming Dynasty.

But all of this is based on his support.

If the rulers of later generations stop supporting it and the northern faction is defeated by Jiangnan, it will be hard to say what will happen to the Northeast. Most of the factories will probably be moved away and it will become an agricultural granary.

This is not to say that agricultural granary is not good, but compared with industry, Northeastern agriculture is likely to declare bankruptcy with the arrival of the Little Ice Age.

After all, the reason why Nurhachi stood out was because the Northeast was severely flooded by the Little Ice Age at that time. Various ministries were constantly involved in fighting for resources, and finally a Nurhaci was created who was supported by Li Chengliang.

"Let's go to Changchun to have a look. You don't have to go into the city, just have a look outside."

Zhu Gaoxu signaled, and when Yi Shiha saw this, he ordered a carriage to escort them to Changchun City.

From the train station to Changchun City, there is a three-foot-wide cement road with endless fertile black land on both sides of the road.

These lands have been reclaimed for farming, and the edges are as far as the eye can see.

It is already April 21st, so the farmland is full of farmers who are working on planting rice.

After more than thirty years of cultivation, Daming has developed rice and wheat that are cold-resistant and have a growth cycle that can adapt to the Northeast.

In addition, rye from Central Asia and Eastern Europe was also introduced by Zhu Gaoxu. With the addition of new crops such as corn, potatoes, and sweet potatoes, crops in the Northeast were prosperous.

Looking at the endless cultivated land, a smile appeared on Zhu Gaoxu's face. After noticing it, Yi Shiha also smiled and said:
"After the establishment of the Third Division in the Bohai Sea, the number of people who voluntarily migrated has also increased. Now there are nearly 2.6 million people in the Bohai Sea and more than 16 million acres of arable land. There is too much land to plant."

"How many people are there in Liaodong in the south and Daning and Mobei in the west?" Zhu Gaoxu asked Yishiha, and Yishiha had done enough homework and replied without thinking:

"Liaodong in the south has a population of more than 5.6 million and more than 20 million acres of cultivated land."

"In Daning in the west, after the Songhe Railway was built, the number of people voluntarily moving in has also increased a lot. Now it has more than 1.2 million people and more than 4 million acres of cultivated land."

"As for Mobei further west, it is said that the railway is almost reaching Xiran Mansion in the west. The imperial court has stationed troops there. Many tribes who moved eastward have been recruited and resettled. The population is over 640,000 and the cultivated land is over 500,000. mu."

"Although there is little cultivated land, at this rate, there will definitely be acres of cultivated land on both sides of the Yinma River in the future."

Yishiha smiled brightly. Zhu Gaoxu was very satisfied, but he did not forget to remind him:
"Although it is good to reclaim farmland, we still need to pay attention to grazing control, control the number of herds, and pay attention to tree planting to prevent the expansion of the Great Gobi Desert."

"Your Majesty, don't worry. Wang Rong is doing a good job. Why don't we wait until we get to Jilin City and then go to Mobei to have a look."

Yi Shiha asked Zhu Gaoxu for his opinion, and Zhu Gaoxu nodded. At this time, the carriage also arrived outside Changchun City.

Through the glass window, Zhu Gaoxu saw a city built of concrete, surrounded by clusters of houses.

These houses are planned into areas similar to those in a city. They are square and square and do not make people feel cluttered.

The house uses concrete as the main building material. Although wood is also used, it is used less.

At this time, it happened to be when the people were preparing to cook lunch, so the smoke from cooking was floating in the sky above the market. Even through the window, Zhu Gaoxu seemed to be able to smell the aroma of the rice.

When Hu Ji saw this, he even asked people to go to a restaurant in the town outside the city to prepare meals. Zhu Gaoxu didn't stop him when he saw it because he was really hungry.

He looked around the outside of Changchun City and saw the women who had cooked the meals walking towards the official road carrying baskets filled with food and water. They were basically delivering food and water to their own families.

In addition, there are those little dolls wearing silk cloth, playing without any feeling of distress.

More than ten years ago, ordinary farmers would not dare to waste the clothes made of silk cloth on their dolls. They would only wear clothes when important relatives come or visit relatives.

Once you get home, you have to take it off and put it away for fear of wearing it out.

"These dolls, all white and fat, are all lucky people..."

Zhu Gaoxu smiled and commented on these playful dolls, and chuckled and agreed: "It is only because of your Majesty's ability to govern the country that the children can be fed, clothed, and become such blessed people."

"I'm just adding fuel to the flames..."

Zhu Gaoxu responded humbly, and at this time Hu Ji also came back with food.

He placed the lunch box on the table in the carriage, and then used silver chopsticks to taste each dish in front of Zhu Gaoxu. Then he poured tea for Zhu Gaoxu and signaled that he was ready to eat.

"You guys can eat too."

Zhu Gaoxu motioned for them to eat, but Hu Ji bowed and said: "I have already bought a portion for the two of you. Just go to the carriage next door to eat. Your Majesty, please eat first."

"Yes, Your Majesty, please eat first." Yi Shiha agreed with a smile.

Their polite approach did not make Zhu Gaoxu happy, but only made him feel lonely.

Although he has returned to Bohai, which he longed for day and night, he still maintains a sense of alienation from everyone.

I wonder if I can regain the passion and closeness I once had after returning to Jilin City.

"I'm afraid it will be difficult..."

Zhu Gaoxu sighed in his heart and put the meal into his stomach like chewing wax.

After a while, he put down his chopsticks and forced a smile.

"I've finished eating. You guys should go and eat too. After eating, we'll go to Jilin to see how the business is going."

"Yes……"

Seeing Zhu Gaoxu finish eating and giving orders, Yishiha and Hu Ji also respectfully packed up the leftovers on the table. After confirming that there was no oil stain on the table, they got out of the car and went to the carriage next door to eat.

Zhu Gaoxu looked at Changchun City outside the window and stared blankly for a quarter of an hour. It wasn't until Yi Shiha and Hu Ji returned a quarter of an hour later that he forced out a smile and said, "Let's go."

At his order, the carriage began to bypass Changchun City and slowly move towards Jilin City.

Looking at the endless black land in the distance, Zhu Gaoxu could only place his hopes on Jilin City, where he started.

(End of this chapter)