With the end of the first Kongdai cram school, the war machine of the Ming Empire began to rumble!
Although the first phase of the Ming Dynasty's Northern Expedition targeted the Central Plains, the war began in the northwest and northeast seas.
The defection of the Junggar tribe and the war against the Yeerqiang Khanate seemed to have little to do with the Qing Dynasty, but in fact it was not.
Because once the Junggar tribe transforms into the Beiting Army of the Ming Dynasty, the western part of Khalkha Mongolia will be exposed to the front of the Junggar army!
Moreover, once the Yeerqiang Khanate is destroyed, the connection between the Qing Dynasty and the Heshuote Khanate will be severed. The importance of the Kashote Khanate to the Qing Dynasty was beyond many people's imagination.
Because the Kashote Khanate rules Tibet and Qinghai and is the protector of the Gelug Sect of the Tibetan Yellow Sect! The Mongolian tribes in Monan and Mobei now believe in Tibetan Buddhism and regard the Tibetan Lama as the living Buddha! Therefore, the status of the Great Lama to Mongolia is a bit like the Pope of Western Catholicism.
Once the Kashote Khanate was destroyed by the Ming Dynasty and the Tibetan Yellow Sect became the helper of the Ming Dynasty, the Qing Dynasty's rule in Mongolia in Monan and Mobei would be shaken!
Therefore, Duduo cannot turn a blind eye to the defection of the Junggar tribe and the destruction of the Yerqiang Khanate!
However, Duduo's response is not necessarily to send troops to attack the Junggar tribe (Beiting Army), because the distance is too far and logistical support is too difficult.
Without going to Kong Dai's cram school, those who joined the army in the Generalissimo's Mansion could guess that Duduo would save the Yeerqiang Khanate and frighten the Junggar tribe by encircling Wei and rescuing Zhao.
And the "Wei" in Duduo's eyes can only be Shuofang Army!
"Third brother, once the Junggar tribe invades the Yeerqiang Khanate and takes up the banner of the Beiting Army of the Ming Dynasty, your Shuofang Army will inevitably become the target of Duduo's attack!"
In the Forbidden City in Nanjing, Emperor Zhu was walking and talking with his half-brother, the "Third Prince Zhu" Zhu Cijiong. Behind them were a large number of eunuchs, maids, and guards, following from a distance without making any sound.
The two brothers were heading to Wuying Palace. Today was the day Zhu Cijiong left Nanjing. He had to kowtow to Emperor Chongzhen and Queen Zhou Shang to say goodbye.
Zhu Cixiang also returned to the Forbidden City in Nanjing from Laoshan Palace for this matter, and Chongzhen and Zhou Hou also returned to the Forbidden City from Xipu Palace where they were resting, and lived in Wuying Hall, waiting for their two sons to visit.
"Prince Zhu III" was not in a good mood. He was the one who clearly contacted the Junggar tribe, but it was Wu Sangui who got out of the trap, and he had to continue to be the "Loan King". It seemed that he would be hereditary!
Because Zhu Cixiang has found a good way to maintain harmony between the central government and the feudal towns - recruiting scouts from the feudal towns!
Recruitment is actually to spend money to buy strong young men from Jiubian Fan Town who are struggling, and then train them into an army, and then use elite officers from the Jiangwu Hall to command them, and also give them a chance to upgrade to the Jiangwu Hall after their meritorious service... ...Should these helpless young men from the feudal town become the sharpest sword in the hands of the Ming Dynasty?
The nine vassal towns replenished the court with more than 10,000 strong young men a year. Based on a one-half elimination rate and an average service period of 15 years, the court could maintain at least 120,000 to 150,000 strong men on hand for a long time. !
Which vassal town dares to be disrespectful to the imperial court? It's not bad if a feudal town can support 20,000 elite soldiers, and it is certainly not as good as the Nine-Border Youth Army trained from the Boy Scouts.
I think if Emperor Taizu Gao had thought of this trick, all the Nine Border Fortress Lords would have been honest, and there would be no need to abolish them...
It seems that the Shuofang vassal will never be withdrawn!
"Imperial brother, my brother, Shuofang's army is very small. Although there are fifty or sixty thousand registered military households, there are less than twenty thousand of them capable of fighting. Moreover, the equipment is not very sophisticated, and the muskets are all made in Yulin, Yan'an and other places. , and the quantity is not enough!
But the biggest difficulty is still having no money... I have almost spent all the money I spent on the last debt issue, and I can barely pay the interest! Imperial brother, you must save my brother! "
Prince Zhu is suffering! He has not had a good life for eight years. At first, he was worried about being captured and beheaded by Donglu every day! Later, I was worried because I would never be able to repay the loan shark.
Later, his brother Emperor Zhu set up a vassal debt trap, trapping a group of wealthy merchants and landlords in Huguang, and helped the third prince to alleviate his difficulties a little.
However, although the principal of the feudal debt does not need to be repaid, the interest must be paid!
Shuofang Fan issued more than 5 million taels of debt, with an interest rate of 6%, which cost 300,000 taels a year!
The financial foundation of Shuofang Fan was very weak. Almost all the land was allocated to military households, and the town could not collect a penny in taxes.
Therefore, Zhu Cijiong had to work hard to develop the industry and commerce of Shuofang Fan, and obtain profits by developing Huamachi Salt Field, developing the iron industry in Yulin and Yan'an, conducting mutual trade with Mongolian tribes, and selling horses to the imperial court.
However, despite all efforts, the Shuofang Fan's annual fiscal revenue did not exceed 200,000 taels. Including the court's subsidies, it was only 550,000 taels. After paying the interest, there was only a mere 250,000 taels of silver left. After paying the necessary expenses After that, there were less than 100,000 taels left...
Although there is not much left, there is a surplus after all! So if you can barely pay the interest, you are actually crying about poverty.
Of course Zhu Cixiang knew that he was crying for poverty, but he also understood that with Zhu Cijiong's financial resources, he really did not have the ability to mobilize all the 50,000 to 60,000 vassal troops registered.
Because the land of the Shobo Domain was very barren, the income of the military households below was not high and they could only make ends meet and were unable to afford military service.
If Zhu Cijiong wanted to mobilize the army, he would have to issue a sum of "lugging money" and "settlement money". Without one or two million, it is impossible to launch a large army.
"Third brother," Zhu Cihong said with a smile, "how much food is there in Shuofang Town?"
One to two million silver is not a problem for the current Ming Dynasty's finances. The financial scale of Ming Dynasty has exceeded 100 million!
It’s not like when Emperor Chongzhen was in power, he couldn’t collect 10 million throughout the year...
As for muskets and cannons, it's not difficult either. Shuofang Fan can produce muskets himself, and has sold at least thousands of them to the Mongols in the past few years! Will you still have no inventory on hand? It should be enough for the imperial court to provide dozens of 3-pound cannons.
But it would be a headache to transport one or two million stones of grain to Yulin! There is no waterway from Xiangyang to Yulin, so it can only be transported by carriage and horse, and the delivery rate is not even 10%.
"It's not enough..." Zhu Cijiong shook his head, "The northwest is poor and there is little rain, so I can't save much food... I have less than 500,000 shi of food on hand, so I still use the money from the issuance of feudal bonds from Shanxi. Bought from Guanzhong."
"Bought grain from Shanxi?" Zhu Cixiang provoked Brother Thumb, "Well done! Can you still buy it now?"
"Let's give it a try, but this money..."
Zhu Cijiong had been a vassal king in Shanxi, and he still had some basic skills, so he could buy food, but the price was definitely not cheap.
"I will give you 1 million taels first, and then 30 3-pound cannons." Zhu Cihong paused, "Remember, don't waste the battle! Duduo is known as the brave king, and he is the most capable of fighting among the kings of Donglu. And He uses his cavalry very well, and you are no match for him.”
When the two brothers were talking, they had already reached the Wuying Palace, and from a distance they heard Pang Tianshou's voice announcing: "The old emperor, the empress, the emperor and the acting king are here!"
Chongzhen is forty-two years old this year, and he is called "Old Emperor". However, he does not look old at all, but is full of glory. On the contrary, his son Zhu Cijiong, although only 21 years old, looks a bit old, as if he is two years old. He looks about fifteen or sixteen years old, is very thin, and wears very old clothes. At first glance, he looks like a prince from a poor family.
Both Chongzhen and Zhou Hou stood under the big eaves of Wuying Hall, stretching their necks to wait to see their son. They didn't look at Zhu Cihong, but at Zhu Cijiong. Seeing their son's desolate appearance, the "two elders" burst into tears.
This son's life is miserable! Zhu Cixi, a cruel and stingy brother on the stall, has taken on millions in "loansharks" at a young age. What will he do in the future?
But Chongzhen and Zhou Hou didn't have much money. The couple's annual fixed income plus Zhu Cixiang's filial piety was only 12.3 million taels of silver... There was no condition for Prince Zhu to feed him. Think about it. All sad!
