The Rise of Ming Dynasty 1646

Chapter 741 "The Court Meeting"

Although spring has come, there is hardly any greenery outside the city of Beijing, and even some shallow streams have not yet thawed, reflecting the gray bricks and mottled turrets on the city wall, revealing an indescribable bleakness.

Only the more than 4 Ming troops surrounded by Xizhimen, Deshengmen and Dongzhimen, brought infinite vitality to this ancient city.

However, the shiny armor on the soldiers standing tall and the firecrackers in their hands reflecting the glare of the sun made the captive soldiers on the top of the city feel a little colder.

In the camp of the Ming army seven miles east of the city, Zhang Jiayu was holding a roster in his hand and reported to the emperor, "Your Majesty, in addition to the volunteers from Xianghe, Sanhe, Wuqing, Baodi and other counties that traveled with the army, today there is Fangshan County More than [-] troops from the Zuoyuhe Division of the Rebel Army, more than [-] from the Zhao Tong Division of the Daxing County Rebel Army, and more than [-] from the Qiu Yongyan Division of the Shunyi County Rebel Army arrived, and they are all camped five miles to the northeast.

"There are also a large number of rebels coming here, such as the Li Xueming Department of Changping County and the Jiangxin Department of Huairou County..."

Zhu Linmi hurriedly raised her hand to interrupt him, "Just tell me how many people there are in total. Fang Yizhi, Lin Zunbin and the others have been waiting for more than an hour outside."

"Yes." Zhang Jiayu glanced at the total number at the end, bowed and said, "Return to Your Majesty, there are more than 8000 volunteers from all walks of life outside Beijing, and 4 to [-] people are on the way, and they will arrive within five days. "

Zhu Linmei smiled wryly in her heart.Since the Dragon Guards broke through the Jianlu line of defense at Bali Bridge in just half an hour a few days ago, and bombarded Tongzhou City in a short time, the Jianlu around Beijing have been like frightened birds, leaving their garrison places and fleeing into the city. Beijing.

After all, no matter how powerful the Ming army is in the rumors, it can't beat the shock of Jianlu in Tongzhou, which was heavily garrisoned by real swords and guns.

At the same time, rebel troops from all over the country rose up one after another, chasing after the retreating Jian captives and beating the dogs in the water, which was also quite rewarding.In just a few days, [-] to [-] troops will gather outside the city of Beijing, and more people are coming in from behind.

In other words, if Zhu Linming wanted to, it wouldn't take long to gather an army of 20 horses!
Of course, there is no need to count on the fighting power of these rebels, and they cannot rely on them to attack the city.Moreover, the Ming army's logistics supplies were prepared according to 5000 people. If so many people were added at once to "eat for nothing", food and grass would soon be in a hurry.

He thought for a while, and told Zhang Jiayu: "The enthusiasm of these rebels is commendable, but the actual combat effect is really limited, so let's reward them and let them go back to their original places.

"Ah, that's right, you should write down those who have indeed killed the enemy, and then ask the Ministry of War to send people to select some of them to be the team of the police force in the future."

Jianlu had a profound influence on Beizhili. Zhu Linmi, the original army, did not plan to keep any of them.

Zhang Jiayu briefly reported Tan Bai's surprise attack last night when he was out of the city, and nearly a thousand people were wiped out by the Polu camp, etc., and then resigned and left.

He stepped out of the tent, Fang Yizhi, Lin Zunbin, Zeng Jian, Tian Zhuangfei and other ten courtiers followed Shi Lin in. There were people from almost every department, it was like a small court meeting.

There is no way, the emperor’s personal conquest for a long time, Yang Tinglin and the cabinet did not understand many of the new things he handled alone, or had no way to intervene, and the courtiers who handled the affairs were worried that it would be difficult to explain clearly, so they simply "organized a group" to come to Beijing to perform.

After the salute was over, Lin Zunbin from the Household Department was the most urgent, and he didn't have the slightest intention of giving in. He took a step forward and said, "Your Majesty, the spring sowing in various places in the south of the Yangtze River, including Sichuan and Huguang, has been properly arranged. Most of the potatoes and sweet potatoes are planted by farmers. .

"It's just that in Huai'an Mansion and Shandong Xinfu, although Zhang Butang has ordered people to prepare potatoes and sweet potato seeds, planting these at this time may delay the spring sowing..."

"If potatoes and sweet potatoes are planted in Shandong and other places, is it enough for one month?"

"Return to Your Majesty, except for some farther places in the north of Lu, we should make it in time."

Zhu Linmi said without hesitation: "Then plant them. Potatoes and sweet potatoes grow very fast, even if they are delayed for a month, they can be ripened at least once this year, and the yield is much higher than that of wheat. However, where wheat has been sown, don't plant it again." Toss."

"Sir, lead the order."

Zhu Linming is very clear that during the so-called "Heyday of Kangxi and Qianlong" in history, nearly [-] million people were fed by relying on high-yielding potatoes and sweet potatoes.At present, except for Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan and Beizhili, the cultivation of these two crops has been spread all over the country. It is foreseeable that the whole country will be full of warehouses during the autumn harvest this year.Enough to feed the current population of Ming Dynasty for two years!
This is without the use of chemical fertilizers.

Lin Shilang backed away, and Fang Yizhi immediately cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, last month the expedition team of the Ministry of Commerce discovered a gold mine in New Guinea. It is reported that the reserves are quite high, but there are not enough people to dig for gold."

Zhu Linming's eyes lit up when he heard the words, he only remembered that Australia was rich in mineral deposits, but he didn't know exactly what mines were there, and he didn't expect to be unexpectedly happy.

He hurriedly asked: "How much gold can be produced monthly, and how many people are needed to mine it?"

"When you return to the emperor, you have already found it. It produces at least 500 taels per month. At least a thousand strong people are needed."

Sure enough, we still need to actively develop colonies!Zhu Linming sighed in her heart, now all the gold mines in Daming have an annual output of more than 3 taels, and this mine in Guinea has an annual output of 8000 taels!It should be noted that these golds are almost all "pure profits".

He immediately ordered: "A thousand loyalty camps will be stationed in Guinea Island, and three thousand Jian prisoners will be assigned to you. In addition to mining, the camps must also be built!"

"The minister obeys the order."

Fang Yizhi continued: "Your Majesty, apart from the gold mines, there are also several copper mines in Guinea, should we also..."

"Mining! Mining together naturally!" Zhu Linmi said immediately, "By the way, 3000 people may not be enough in this way."

He said, looking in the direction of Beijing, and said with a smile: "There are plenty of captives. You can ask the Ministry of Industry to figure out how many manpower you need. Just give me the last memorial."

"Yes, I will do it now."

After he finished speaking, Li Guangchun, the servant of the Ministry of Rites, couldn't wait to report: "Your Majesty, the provincial examinations for Gezhike in various places have been released, and a total of 360 people from all over the country have been selected. According to your majesty's original intention, the general examination and palace examination will be held immediately after the provincial examination. However, your majesty Now that he is still commanding the army in Beizhi, Xu Butang is going to step down to ask for an order, should we postpone it until the end of the year?"

Zhu Linmi did not expect that more than 300 people passed the Gezhi Imperial Examination for the first time. It seems that Gezhi Academy has cultivated many talents in the past two years.

He asked Li Guangchun, "When will the scholars from all over the country enter Beijing?"

"Return to Your Majesty, originally scheduled for early June."

There is still more than a month.Zhu Linming felt relieved, although the city of Beijing was strong, he didn't plan to spend long here.

"No change, it's still scheduled for June. I will make a triumphant return at that time and personally preside over the palace examination!"

(End of this chapter)