The most reckless man in the Ming Dynasty.

Chapter 333 Send troops to Liaodong
The first step is to manage Liaodong.

The second step is to rebuild Daning.

Reconstruct the Ming Dynasty’s border defense system.

Zhu Houzhao was very interested after hearing this and turned to look at Yang Tinghe.

After all, if we really want to send troops, we need the cooperation of civil officials and gentry.

Yang Tinghe made a simple calculation and then asked, "How many troops does Lord Tang plan to bring this time?"

"Ten thousand Beijing troops will be enough. In addition, the horses from Jeju Horse Farm will be transported to Liaodong. The court can also order Korea to send troops to cooperate and wipe out the barbarians in Liaodong."

It was customary for Korea to cooperate with the Ming Dynasty in clearing out the barbarians in Liaodong.

When Chenghua Li Ting was in power, Korea, as a vassal state, sent troops to fully cooperate with the Ming army in the suppression.

The main reason was that the Jurchen barbarians were too rampant. While looting the Ming Dynasty, they also looted the Korean people. As long as they could rob them, they would make a profit. If they couldn't rob them, that would be another matter.

"We can send out 10,000 soldiers, but we have enough money, food and supplies to support it."

Yang Tinghe gave a reasonable suggestion, saying: "Marquis Tang can draw troops from the Liaodong garrison. They have been fighting against the barbarians for many years and still maintain a good combat effectiveness. This war can be ended as soon as possible."

The Ming Dynasty's border army relied on the nine-front military garrison system, which meant sending generals to garrison in the northern border areas. The generals had full autonomy in the areas they garrisoned, and could handle the situation on their own and manage the military and civilians in the garrisoned areas. It was a garrison model that combined military and political power.

The nine military towns in the Ming Dynasty were Shanxi Town, Shaanxi Town, Yansui Town, Jizhou Town, Liaodong Town, Datong Town, Xuanfu Town, Ningxia Town, and Gansu Town. Liaodong Town was known as the first of the nine frontiers because of its critical geographical location.

Among the nine border military garrisons, the four garrisons in Shaanxi set up the Three Border General Administration Office, stationed in Guyuan, known as the "Western Three Borders"; Shanxi set up a governor-general to liaise with Xuanfu and Datong, known as the "Central Three Borders"; a governor-general was set up in Ji Town to manage Ji and Liao, known as the "Eastern Three Borders".

Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang established the Dusi Weisuo system in border areas and began to militarize the management of border areas. These Dusi Weisuo in border areas could not only strengthen the military rule in border areas, but also promote agricultural production in border areas, which was of great significance to the development of border areas.

The Dusi Weisuo in these border areas were important garrison forces in the border areas. At the same time, kings were sent to garrison there, connecting the northern defense line into a whole. Weisuo were established in the Liaodong area to strengthen the central government's rule and control over the border. These Weisuo laid a solid foundation for the formation of the nine-border military garrison system.

During the Hongwu period, the imperial court took active defensive measures in the northern border areas, established important military towns on the northern border, and stationed heavy troops in preparation for war.

After adjustments, the Mongolian tribes in the northern desert grew rapidly, namely the Tatar and Oirat tribes, which posed a new threat to the northern border of the Ming Dynasty. Emperor Taizong Zhu Di led five expeditions in person, hoping to wipe out the Mongolian forces in one fell swoop. However, due to the long battle line and little success, the frequent military operations made the court unable to make ends meet, and he eventually died of illness on the way.

In addition, Emperor Taizong Zhu Di moved the Daning Military Command to Baoding, and the east-west joint defense system established during the Hongwu period was broken. The entire Liaodong region was surrounded by barbarians on the east, west and north, resulting in an increasingly deteriorating situation. The court also lost its right wing of the empire. During the Zhengtong period, the Battle of Tumu Fort even put the Ming Dynasty in danger of national extinction.

During the Chenghua period, Mongolia frequently harassed the Liaodong region. The northwest gate of the Ming Dynasty was also wide open, and the war with Mongolia continued. The border troops of the Ming Dynasty were often transferred to the east and west and fought back and forth all year round. The northern defense system had been severely damaged, and the court had to adopt a policy of "dividing the territory for defense", dividing one side into nine sides and demarcating defense zones in preparation for war.

An obvious phenomenon after the establishment of the Nine Frontier Military Garrisons was that the border defense of the Ming Dynasty moved significantly to the south. This showed that after being managed by several generations of emperors, the border defense of the Ming Dynasty was gradually weakening. The border of the Ming Dynasty was also shrinking. In dealing with the invasion of nomadic peoples in the north, the Ming Dynasty had always been at a disadvantage.

As the border moved south, the focus of the border had to be shifted to defense. Military defense caused the Ming Dynasty's military expenditure to increase day by day. This was mainly due to the bad phenomenon of "insufficient main troops, so recruited troops are used to supplement the personnel of the nine border military garrisons; insufficient recruited troops, so guest troops are used to supplement the personnel", which led to insufficient food and grass supply and military expenditure for the nine border military garrisons.

In addition, the military facilities of the Nine Border Military Towns had to be built and reinforced all year round, which consumed a lot of manpower and material resources. The large amount of wall construction would cost more than 1.5 million taels of silver and more than 2.3 million shi of grain a year. It is unknown how much of this money and grain was embezzled and went into the pockets of corrupt officials.

Another point is that the Nine Border Military Towns were the main battlefields of the war between Ming and Mongolia. When the war broke out, the troops were deployed and countless military pay was spent. For example, in the eighth year of Chenghua, the governor of Yansui Town, the right deputy chief censor, reported: "The enemy invaded the border one after another... We must prepare for next year's military expenses... The total estimated silver is more than 946,000 taels..."

This is only a small part of Yansui Town's annual military expenditure, not the entire annual military expenditure of Yansui Town. If the annual military expenditure of the nine border military towns is added up, it would be an astronomical figure that would make people despair!

As the border defense became increasingly deteriorating, military expenditures in the Ming Dynasty's finances increased, until it reached a point where income was not enough to cover expenditures. What else could the court do then?
When the imperial court faced a financial crisis, it would naturally rely on the people for compensation by increasing taxes and squeezing their wealth. The end result was the wrath of heaven and the resentment of the people. The people were completely disappointed with the Ming Dynasty and even hated it. They then rose up in rebellion, and such a great dynasty collapsed!
Therefore, in a sense, the Nine Border Military Towns undoubtedly became a key factor in the collapse of the Ming Dynasty. Tang Hao previously carried out reforms in a haphazard manner, but never touched the Nine Border Military Towns. It was not that he did not want to, but that he was not confident enough, or did not dare to act rashly.

Since the relocation of the Daning Military Command to Baoding, the imperial court abandoned the strategic location of Daning. The entire northern border of the Ming Dynasty was completely connected and became horse grazing land for the barbarians from the grasslands. The first northern border defense line of the Ming Dynasty, from Daning Kaiping, was changed into the Nine Frontier Military Town. The defense forces of the Ming Dynasty were forced to retreat to the south of the Great Wall, and they completely lost the initiative to go out of the border. The Nine Frontier Great Wall also became a target for the barbarians from the grasslands. The nine frontiers were raging, and the barbarians repeatedly went south to plunder and harass, and the Ming Dynasty's border defense was under tremendous pressure.

In other words, the current Nine Border Military Towns are the last line of defense of the Ming Dynasty.

Once the nine frontier military garrisons are breached, just like when the Oirat Grand Tutor Yesen brought Zhu Qizhen to the gate and directly marched to the outskirts of the capital with an unstoppable force, the Ming Dynasty would probably have to stage another battle to defend the capital!

Another point is that the border troops have been fighting all year round, and the people are tough and powerful, but at the same time they look down on the inland troops, including the Beijing troops. After all, the inland garrison troops have basically no combat power, and the Beijing troops are becoming increasingly corrupt due to the deliberate indulgence of civil officials and gentry.

In order to defend their country, they have been fighting bloody battles with the Tartar women and barbarians all year round, while you are having fun, drinking and playing with women in the mainland. Who would accept such a thing?

Not to mention that Emperor Hongzhi supported Ye Qi's reforms, which caused the nine border military garrisons to suffer fatal blows. The soldiers and civilians were in great distress and were dissatisfied and resentful of the court. It is no wonder that the border troops were alienated from the court, only recognizing money and food but not the court, and mutinies by the border troops often occurred.

Zhu Houzhao looked at Tang Hao and asked, "Lord Tang, are you going to lead the troops yourself this time?"

"I originally planned to let An Guo go, but after thinking about it, I decided to go there myself!"

Tang Hao smiled and explained: "Liaodong is different from other military towns. It is the head of the nine frontiers and an important part of controlling the Mongolian grasslands. Using Liaodong to clamp down on the left wing of Mongolia is a major national policy of the Ming Dynasty for border defense."

"Moreover, Liaodong also has the strategic significance of protecting the capital. The tribute from Korea must go through Liaodong. Therefore, whether from the perspective of military, border defense, or diplomacy, Liaodong is an important frontier town of our Ming Dynasty."

"Once the Liaodong region is not peaceful, the rule of our Ming Dynasty will also be unstable, so how to manage Liaodong has become an imminent problem for the court!"

Tang Hao reached out and circled another place on the map.

"And don't forget, Nurgandusi."

"The vast area of ​​Nurgan is the key land mentioned by Emperor Taizong, and it is no less important than the Western Regions."

"The Nurgan Regional Command stretches from the Greater Khingan Range to southern Liaoning, which is equivalent to the right wing of our Ming Empire. The right wing of the Nurgan Regional Command bears almost the same important military significance as the Western Regions. The direct cooperation between the right wing and the Ming Empire can not only threaten the Mongolian regime in the grasslands, but also effectively broaden the strategic depth of the Liaoxi Corridor to ensure the safety of the capital."

"In addition, now that the Ming Dynasty has conquered Japan, we can restore the Silk Road in Northeast Asia that Bohai State had established during the Tang Dynasty. This is because there are a large number of barbarian tribes in the Heilongjiang River estuary, Kamchatka Peninsula, Kuril Islands, Sakhalin Island and even Hokkaido. They will come here to trade. Although the economic value is not worth mentioning, it will obviously help enhance the Ming Dynasty's influence in these areas."

Zhu Houzhao's eyes became brighter and brighter, and he looked at Tang Hao with burning eyes.

"So, if our Ming Dynasty can continue to develop and cultivate this vast land of Nurganwei, the benefits will be far beyond imagination!"

"First, the Ming Dynasty can maintain military suppression of the Mongolian tribes from the right wing and the front to prevent the barbarians from the grassland from easily leading a large army to attack the capital. Second, if we cultivate the Nurgan Guard, we can recruit the brave warriors from these places and use them for our own use, which will effectively supplement our Ming Dynasty cavalry. Third, if the Nurgan Guard can become a self-sufficient cultivated land after deep cultivation, then the territory of our Ming Dynasty will expand a lot in an instant..."

The Nurgan Regional Military Commission was also abolished, or moved inland, and merged with the Liaodong Regional Military Commission, which was equivalent to Emperor Xuande Zhu Zhanji directly abandoning the key area of ​​Nurgan.

The result was the abandonment of the Nurgan Regional Military Commission, which almost destroyed the Ming Dynasty. The entire northern part of the Ming Dynasty was completely reduced to a pasture for barbarians on the grasslands. The Battle of Tumu completely stunned the entire Ming Dynasty.

This is the price of completely shrinking the strategic defense line and living a comfortable life behind closed doors!

(End of this chapter)