The most reckless man in the Ming Dynasty.

Chapter 425: War is not just about force
America is definitely a trip I must make.

Tang Hao came to the Ming Dynasty unexpectedly and witnessed first-hand the hardships of life for the lower-class people. He had to do something for them.

He asked himself if he was some saintly gentleman, but if he didn't even have an ounce of compassion and kindness, then what was the difference between him and an animal?

Historically, grain production in the Ming Dynasty was shockingly low.

A strong man in the north can get more than 200 kilograms of wheat by cultivating one acre of land. Therefore, if a family wants to make ends meet, it will be difficult for them to feed themselves if they do not cultivate 30 to 50 acres of land.

The rice yield in the south is higher, but it is limited, only about 400 to 500 kilograms. A family without ten acres of paddy fields would probably not be able to survive.

How could such an appallingly low output, coupled with the advent of the Little Ice Age, feed the tens of millions of people of the Ming Dynasty? As a result, refugees began to appear. As the number of refugees increased, this huge empire would eventually collapse under internal and external troubles.

It is particularly worth mentioning that it was not until the middle and late Ming Dynasty that early-maturing rice cultivation began to be widely promoted in China. This was called an agricultural revolution. Some scholars in later generations believed that this was one of the most amazing changes in the world.

Early-maturing rice was first introduced to Fujian from Champa during the reign of Emperor Zhenzong of the Northern Song Dynasty, but it was not widely planted. It was not until the middle and late Ming Dynasty that it was widely planted in the south, especially promoting the transformation of Huguang region into the most important grain exporting region, forming a pattern of "When Huguang is ripe, the world is full."

From then on, rice became the main food for people in the Ming Dynasty. According to the estimation of Ming Dynasty scientist Song Yingxing, rice accounted for 70% of the total food.

After the promotion of early-maturing rice, in the south of the Ming Dynasty, two crops a year became the most common situation (otherwise it was rare), and some places even had three crops a year, which greatly increased grain production.

Tang Hao has already ordered people to go to Champa to look for this thing. If they can't find it, they will destroy Champa as well. There's nothing more to say.

If we had promoted the planting of early-maturing rice one step ahead of time and increased the grain output of the Ming Dynasty as much as possible, we could not know how many lives could have been saved.

At least, Tang Hao didn't want to hear about the tragedy of people eating their own children during his lifetime!

Otherwise, he will feel guilty!

But these cannot completely solve the problem of food shortage in the Ming Dynasty.

The most important thing is to be able to reach America and bring back high-yield crops such as potatoes, corn, peanuts, and sweet potatoes.

In fact, it is theoretically possible to cross the Pacific Ocean and reach America by following the North Pacific Current, but it is very risky!
In this vast ocean, the fleet may have to endure half a year or even longer of suffering before they can find supplies on land!

Moreover, the Ming Navy had never traveled this route before, and had no idea of ​​the specific route or the difficulties they would encounter on this route, such as hurricanes, oceans, reefs, etc. It could be said that they knew nothing at all, and any one factor could lead to the annihilation of the fleet!

Although, crossing the Pacific Ocean is indeed a feasible option.

Later archaeologists discovered ancient human remains in Guam, Hawaii and other places that were highly consistent with the residents of Dawenkou in the Neolithic Age. The skulls also retained traces of the Dawenkou people's tooth extraction custom, which shows that some ancestors had spread across the ocean to these areas thousands of years ago.

When it comes to technical issues, the first one is the ocean-going capability of ships.

Traditional Chinese seagoing vessels have always been considered incapable of ocean voyages, but this is actually just a stereotype.

Since the Tang Dynasty, Chinese ships have been able to leave the coast and sail on the oceans for a certain distance. For example, "Guangzhou Tonghai Yidao" written by Jia Dan in the Tang Dynasty recorded a route from Guangzhou through the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean to West Asia and East Africa. Among them, the route from Galan Island (now the Nicobar Islands) to the Lion Country (now Sri Lanka) for more than ten days westward was an ocean voyage across the Indian Ocean.

Then in the Song Dynasty, ocean-going navigation capabilities were further developed, and most of the routes to the South and West Oceans were direct ocean routes. For example, "Lingwai Daida" records that "Guang ships took 40 days to reach Lanli (now Banda Aceh) to spend the winter." Other routes included Lanli to Gulin (entering Malabar, India) which took 30 days, and Gulin to Dashi which took 60 days, all of which were direct ocean routes.

The current Ming Dynasty is the peak period of long-distance sailing fleets. Both the size and routes are sufficient to meet the needs of transoceanic voyages.

The second is navigation technology. The navigation technology in the Age of Exploration was not as complicated as it was later. Crossing the ocean mainly relied on the equal-latitude navigation method. The star-pulling technique that the Ming Dynasty had mastered was a simple method of measuring latitude.

Therefore, to cross the Pacific Ocean, one only needs to find the latitude of the Kuroshio Current, and the rest can be left to the ocean currents and the westerlies. In fact, even if one does not know how to measure the latitude, as long as one can find the westerlies west of Japan, crossing the Pacific Ocean is not a difficult task. It is indeed feasible to cross the Pacific Ocean from Japan to America.

However, the difficulties and obstacles that need to be overcome cannot be explained in just a few words!
There is no route, no nautical chart, no clear understanding of the conditions along the way, and no idea where the magical continent is. Any detail, no matter how big or small, may destroy the entire fleet and cause everyone to be buried in the belly of the fish!
This is where the real danger lies!
But this is also what Tang Hao must do next!

Of course, before he sets out to explore the magical continent, the hidden dangers within the Ming Dynasty must be resolved first.

Tang Hao looked at An Guo.

“War is not just about the use of force.”

"A war of money and food, a war of resources, is the best strategy."

"It's just like when Emperor Taizong Wen launched five expeditions to Mobei, but achieved little success."

After hearing this, all the generals nodded in silence.

The first time was in the eighth year of Yongle, when the Ming army defeated 50,000 Mongolian cavalry in the Battle of Feiyun Mountain, and the Tatars in the Mongolian headquarters pledged tribute to the Ming Dynasty; the second time was in the twelfth year of Yongle, when the Ming army defeated Mahamu, the leader of the Oirat who was defending a dangerous place in Hulanhushiwen, and chased him to the Tula River. Mahamu escaped, the Oirat was defeated, and Zhu Di announced his victory to the world.

The first two northern expeditions were of great significance. They crippled the Tatar tribe and destroyed the Oirat tribe, consolidated the border defense of the Ming Dynasty, and struck at the remnants of Mongolian forces. They were of great positive significance for stabilizing the situation on the northern border.

But the next three times were completely in vain.

The third time was in the 20th year of Yongle, when Zhu Di led his army from Beijing to personally attack the Mongolian Arutai army. The Ming army marched northeast through Kaiping and discovered a large amount of Arutai's baggage in Kuoluanhai North Road. They sent troops to burn it and collected their livestock before returning.

The fourth time was in the 21st year of Yongle. Zhu Di once again personally led an expedition against Arutai. Upon hearing that Arutai was defeated by the Oirat, his army stayed there and did not advance.

The fifth time was in the 22nd year of Yongle, when the Tatars invaded the border again, and Zhu Di organized the fifth Northern Expedition.

what's the result?
All the food was sent to the front line.

All the laborers were drafted in to transport food and supplies.

All the young and strong men were dragged to the battlefield to fight.

Time and time again, year after year!
As a result, people all over the world will naturally complain and resentment will arise. It can be said that the war will be bitter for a long time!

Therefore, it is not groundless to say that Zhu Di was "ambitious and warmongering", especially since the five northern expeditions had already put the country on the verge of collapse and domestic conflicts were on the verge of breaking out.

This was also the reason why Emperor Renzong and Emperor Xuanzong stopped fighting and calmed the people, and focused all their efforts on shrinking the battle line and developing people's livelihood.

With the current social productivity of the Ming Dynasty, it really cannot withstand the turmoil of three generations of powerful rulers!

"War is just the continuation of politics!"

"War is not the goal. We can't fight just for the sake of fighting!"

"If there is a better way, to defeat the enemy without fighting, wouldn't that be great?"

(End of this chapter)