Rebirth of Zhu Di's son

Chapter 353: If you don’t welcome the time, you will suffer the consequences.

The next day.

Afterwards.

Hall of Martial Arts.

Zhu Gaoxu called Prince Zhu Zhanyu to the imperial table, then raised his hand and handed out a memorial.

"This is a memorial jointly signed by more than ten important officials of the imperial court, including Jian Yi, the Minister of Civil Affairs, and Xia Yuanji, the Minister of Hubu."

Zhu Zhanyu took the memorial respectfully and did not open it in a hurry. Instead, he bowed and retreated behind the table next to him. After sitting down firmly, he opened it with a serious face.

Probably in order to comply with the memorial system newly implemented by Zhu Gaoxu last year, the content of the memorial jointly submitted by Xia Yuanji and others was very concise. The opening chapter, signature, and time were removed. The main text was only seven to eight hundred words. Zhu Zhanyu read it quickly.

"Even if Xia Yuanji and others don't write a letter advising the imperial court to build roads on the grassland and encourage merchants to trade, I will do so."

Zhu Gaoxu saw that Zhu Zhanyu looked serious after reading the memorial, so he opened his mouth and briefly introduced his two strategies for managing the grassland.

At the end, he concluded: "There is no order of precedence between stationing troops and building roads and setting up the actual tudusi. Moreover, building roads, building acropolis and Qianhusuo Castle in various places, building post stations, and building processing plants for beef, mutton, and dairy products Everything must be advanced simultaneously.”

"When all the roads, stations, acropolis, and the city of thousands of households are repaired, it will be the day when the Ming Dynasty Tudusi truly takes root in the grassland."

"My father is far-sighted and my sons and ministers admire me greatly!"

Zhu Zhanyu bowed and saluted.

Zhu Gaoxu waved his hand to signal Zhu Zhanyu not to be too polite. After he sat down, he asked: "How did you do what I asked you to do?"

A few days ago, he ordered Zhu Zhanyu to find ways to investigate the climate conditions of the grassland and find some crops suitable for planting on the grassland.

"Go back to my father, I have already taken care of this matter."

Zhu Zhanyu replied respectfully.

Zhu Gaoxu said: "Let's talk and listen."

"Yes."

Zhu Zhanyu accepted the order and said, "I will talk about the climate first."

"The winter on the grasslands lasts for five to six months, is cold and long, and is accompanied by heavy snowstorms. If there is a cold wave or heavy snowfall in winter, a large number of livestock raised by herdsmen will freeze to death, and even the herdsmen will freeze to death."

"Therefore, the snow disaster is called the white disaster by local herdsmen, and it is one of the two major disasters in the grassland. The other disaster is the black disaster, which is a sandstorm."

"The two seasons of spring and autumn on the grassland only last four months together, which is very short, and the weather is very changeable. For example, in autumn, it was crisp and clear just one moment, but the next moment there may be strong winds, flying sand and rocks, and sometimes even heavy snowfall."

"The summer is short, only two months, and the temperature difference between day and night is large. The sun is strong at noon, and the temperature can be comparable to the hot summer in the south of the Yangtze River. In short, strong winds and rapid weather changes are the biggest characteristics of the grassland climate."

"Mobei's water system is developed and criss-crossed. According to Erchen's research and estimation, there are at least [-] rivers and more than [-] lakes there."

"The northern parts of Yanran Mountain and Langjuxu Mountain have relatively abundant rainfall and abundant water and grass. However, the southwest of the two mountains has little precipitation, is very dry, and has relatively high temperatures. Sandstorms are prone to occur in summer and autumn."

When Zhu Gaoxu heard this, he nodded seriously and said "hmm" at the same time.

Immediately, he winked at Kang Ping, who was standing by his side.

Kang Ping understood, hurriedly stepped back, and then quickly brought over two pots of steaming tea, replacing the less steaming teapots in front of Zhu Gaoxu and his son.

"Father, due to the cold climate of the grassland, there are not many crops suitable for planting on the grassland."

Zhu Zhanyu respectfully said: "In terms of vegetables, celery, cabbage, radish, etc. are all harvested in winter and have strong cold resistance. In terms of crops, there are rapeseed, millet (sù), millet (shǔ), and other crops brought back by Zheng He from overseas. of winter potatoes (potatoes, potatoes).”

Millet is also called millet, millet, and dog-tail millet. In ancient times, millet was called liang, and glutinous millet was called 秫.

China is the origin center of millet and has a long history of growing millet. There is a farmer's proverb: "Only the bamboos die in the green hills, but no millet dies on the ground." This shows that China has a strong ability to resist drought.

It is resistant to drought, barrenness, and acid and alkali, so it can be planted in arid areas and barren mountainous areas.

Mizi (méi), also known as millet and millet, is a kind of non-stick millet.

Before rice was introduced to China, it was called five cereals together with corn, wheat, soybeans and hemp seeds.

This crop is an annual cultivated herb with a short growth period, drought and barren tolerance. It is usually planted in March and April every year and harvested before the Mid-Autumn Festival in August.

In "The Book of Songs: Millet Li", after the demise of the Shang Dynasty, the country was in ruins and overgrown with millet plants, which made it look particularly desolate.

The reason why Chinese ancestors preferred millet was that agricultural technology was backward at that time, and millet had strong vitality and a short maturity cycle, so it was naturally valued.

After the Qin and Han Dynasties, as wheat cultivation and processing technology gradually matured, millet was slowly marginalized.

Later, with the advent of various rice varieties, millet gradually left the Chinese people's dining tables.In fact, the rice eaten by Chinese people in later generations was different from the rice in ancient times.

Later generations of rice were developed through hybrid technology, and the cold-resistant rice in Northeast China also did not exist in ancient times.

Although the yields of millet and millet are not high, they are highly adaptable. You can also try to open some fields to plant these two crops in dry areas near rivers or lakes on the grassland.

As for potatoes, they like cold weather and are native to alpine areas.

The grassland belongs to the alpine region, with cool summers, large temperature difference between day and night, and sufficient sunshine, which is very suitable for growing potatoes.

In particular, most of the rainfall in Mobei is concentrated in summer, which basically coincides with the peak water demand period of potatoes.

Moreover, the storage of potatoes is not complicated. Just dig deep pits like storing grain, keep them away from light, dry, and isolate as much air as possible.

Therefore, in Zhu Gaoxu's plan, potatoes will be the first staple food of the grassland people in the future.

Mobei has a vast territory and a well-developed water system. There are many places where potatoes can be grown.

In this way, the people of the Ming Dynasty who settled in Mobei could make profits by exporting large quantities of potatoes and potato processed products.

Coupled with beef, mutton and dairy product processing plants, it will not be a problem to feed millions or even tens of millions of Ming people on the grasslands in the future.

"Except for the Mongolians who had become Chinese as early as the Hongwu and Yongle years, how many nomadic tribes of all sizes are there on the grasslands today?"

Zhu Gaoxu was silent for a while and then asked.

After the destruction of Oara and Tatar, he had already made an estimate of the remaining nomadic tribes on the grassland. After returning to Beijing, he read the battle reports submitted by generals such as Chen Mao and Zhu Neng, as well as the Military and Legal Affairs Department of the Metropolitan Governor's Office and the Army. The statistics compiled by Honji and other military attachés gave us a deeper understanding of the grassland population.

He asked Zhu Zhanyu at this time. On the one hand, it was a temporary idea, and on the other hand, he also wanted to see how much Zhu Zhanyu had learned about the grassland through his efforts in the past few days.

Zhu Zhanyu thought for a while, and then replied in an unconfident tone: "According to what I have learned from many sources, the Mobei people (formerly the Tatar tribes) are currently close to 12, and the Moxibei people (formerly the Oara tribes) are close to 38. ) is more, including the tribes of various sizes that previously relied on the Choros tribe but surrendered to the imperial court after the Battle of Helin, there are about [-] people."

Zhu Gaoxu's eyes lit up, and he asked with some surprise: "Where did you find out the number of nomadic tribesmen in Mobei and Moxi?"

"My minister collected the military reports of the meritorious generals who accompanied the Northern Expedition, combined with the intelligence collected by the Military Intelligence Department of the Metropolitan Governor's Office before the war, and calculated it through additions and subtractions."

Zhu Zhanyu explained honestly: "After more than ten years of foreign mergers and acquisitions, the Choros tribe led by Mahamu and Tuohuan's father and son has increased its subordinates by more than [-], but the total number of Wala tribes has But it is decreasing year by year.”

During the Hongwu period, after the Ming Dynasty captured Monan, Emperor Yuan Shun fled north too hastily. Only 4 to [-] people followed him and Wang Baobao back to Mobei. The Mongolian and Semu people who had moved inland to the Central Plains all became Ming soldiers. people.

In order to rule these surrendered subjects of the former dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang banned the Hu language, Hu clothing, and Hu surnames, prohibited intermarriage between Mongolians and Semu people, and implemented the policy of forced sinicization.

Historically, after two to three hundred years of rule and assimilation by the Ming Dynasty, there were no Mongols or Semu people in the Central Plains.

Even now in the early Qianxi period, after more than fifty years of forced sinicization under the Hongwu and Yongle dynasties, the Mongolian and Semu people who settled in the hinterland of the Ming Dynasty have long been no different from the locals.

After the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty returned to Mobei, the Wara people who had relied on Mongolia in the early years and called themselves the Oirat people took advantage of the situation and rose up. In the late Hongwu period, they completely occupied the land of Moxi, and continued to compete with the Can Yuan (Tatar) who retreated to Mobei for the dominance of the grassland.

In June of the fifth year of Yongle, Zhu Di personally conquered the desert for the first time and defeated Arutai's troops in one fell swoop. He killed more than [-] Tatar soldiers and captured more than [-] cattle, sheep and horses.

In April of the [-]th year of Yongle, Zhu Di personally conquered the desert for the second time and defeated the three major Oara tribes led by Mahamu. He killed more than [-] Oara soldiers and captured more than [-] cattle, sheep and horses, forcing Mahamu to In the winter of that year, Mu sent envoys to pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty with horses as a sign of surrender.

In April of the 16th year of Yongle, Zhu Di personally conquered the desert for the third time. He went all the way to the lair of Alutai, wiped out the main 12 cavalry of the Tatar Khanate, sealed the wolves in Xu, and captured more than [-] cattle, sheep, and horses. Taiwan had to surrender to Zhu Di.

Each of Zhu Di's personal expeditions severely weakened the Oara and Tatar tribes, which in turn led to a sharp decline in the population of each tribe.

In addition, starting from the Yongle period, the Ming Dynasty, on the one hand, strictly controlled the flow of various crops and food materials into the grasslands, and on the other hand, it actively dispatched eminent monks to teach the Dharma in the grasslands.

In order to strengthen their rule, the leaders of various grassland tribes forced herdsmen to believe in religion, which led to a large number of men choosing to become monks, resulting in a shortage of men.

The lack of supplies has made life difficult for herdsmen, prompting more people to escape reality and choose to become a monk.

The lack of men has reduced the male labor force and led to a decline in production, further aggravating the population decline in various grassland areas.

As a result, when the battle with Lincheng ended, the total number of tribes in the entire grassland, large and small, was only over 50.

"If God does not take it, you will be blamed; if the time is not welcomed, you will be blamed instead."

Zhu Gaoxu looked at Zhu Zhanyu solemnly and said: "Prince, I have decided to leave it to you to set up a real tudusi on the grassland, build roads, cities and other matters."

"Father, I am afraid that my lack of ability will cause me to miss your important task of managing the grassland."

Zhu Zhanyu was extremely excited inside, but his face looked very calm.

But his expectant eyes revealed the true thoughts in his mind.

(End of this chapter)