Many courtiers who are not familiar with border affairs seem to be a little confused by the fact that the prince has done so. The two cities of Ningjin and Jin are important border towns, and they are also the bridgehead against the southern invasion of the Eastern invaders. How can they become the fatal weakness of our court? There is some suspicion of confusing right and wrong. .
Meng Zhaoxiang, the newly appointed left minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, was not sure why, so he had to ask for a clear answer: "Your Highness, these two cities are the important towns where Sun Chengzong's academicians are strong. They guard the key points and are actually barriers to western Liaoning. Your Highness said they are weaknesses. I would like to comment on this." Stupid and incomprehensible.”
According to the prince's wishes, not only can't he garrison a large number of troops, but he also seems to have plans to withdraw his troops and retreat. It is understandable to reduce the garrison strength, but if he wants to give up on his own, it is absolutely impossible.
It's normal for some people not to understand. Yaoji explained slowly: "Not only the Aiqing is confused, but some of the Aiqings are also confused, but they just don't speak up immediately. At present, the soldiers and horses in western Liaoning are unable to engage in a field battle with the Eastern captives. As everyone knows, there is no need to cover up, and the most terrifying thing is to ignore the comparison of the enemy's and our combat power, and still think of yourself as the upper court. If the two cities of Ningjin and Jin are besieged by the Donglu for a long time, the king's division must go north to relieve the siege. However, relief is not easy. ?Which beloved minister is sure to issue a military order and lead one hundred thousand troops to retreat from the enemy in the field? I will immediately order the king to take over the post of governor of western Liaoning in Jin Dynasty! Is there any? No? Since everyone is well aware of the difficulty of relieving the siege , there is absolutely no need to use the court’s face to excuse it. My Ming Dynasty’s dignity has long been lost in a bunch of defeats! If you want to save face, you can only solve it by winning the battle. How to win the battle? The first thing is Encircle and suppress the remnants of the rogue bandits, reorganize the internal affairs, recuperate, and boost the economy. With money in Taicang, only then can we have the money to recruit troops and expand the army. Defeating the Donglu and even regaining the lost territory is not as simple as talking about it. If this is the case, then we The monarchs and ministers discussed in the main hall today that Liaodong should be recovered. Is this actually the case? Those who criticize the imperial strategy are just so whimsical that they don’t even pay for it, and even evade taxes, so they ask the imperial court To regain the lost territory, can the imperial court regain the lost territory with words? Which beloved minister can regain the lost territory by talking to the Donglu about benevolence, justice and morality? Not to mention you can't do it, not even the literati in the world can't do it, because the Donglu Only respect guns and do not respect etiquette! Whoever can beat the Donglu until they pee and run away with their heads in their hands can force them to surrender! Now that our Ming army is exhausted, we can only use the superiority of troops to overwhelm the Donglu. If two hundred thousand is not enough, then Three hundred thousand, if not three hundred thousand, then five hundred thousand! Emperor Chengzu sent 500,000 troops to the northern expedition to Menggu. I thought that my military command ability was far inferior to that of Emperor Chengzu, so I sent 800,000 troops to attack the Eastern captives. 800,000 After excluding the 300,000 servants in the army, there are still 500,000 soldiers. Each person is paid 2 taels of silver per month, which is a huge amount of 12 million taels a year. In addition to the consumption of weapons, ordnance, and ammunition, The supply alone requires 20 million taels, and food and grass need to be calculated separately. If there is no strong financial support, how can we defeat the vicious Donglu? At present, the imperial court does not have such a huge sum of money dedicated to expanding the army and preparing for war. If any beloved minister has a large amount of money, With this talent, we can raise 10 million taels of silver. Before the autumn comes, I will go on a personal expedition to the Northern Expedition to the Eastern Han Dynasty. Let’s consider it as a loan for the time being. After the army returns in triumph, I will repay the 11 million taels of silver with interest. Question Is there someone you love who can raise this huge sum of money? If not, then work honestly and don't be swayed by rumors in the market. From now on, before I think I am ready, whether it is officials or common people, If anyone continues to clamor for a crusade against the Donglu, I will send that person’s family to the front line in western Liaoning! The king is short of soldiers in Jin, and that person’s family can join the army and serve the country!”
The main militant faction said they would fight, but they had no guns or soldiers. How could they hammer their braids with their hands?
With the current number of troops, as long as a large-scale battle breaks out between the two sides, they will be basically exhausted.
The main force of Braids is about 150,000, and Ming Dynasty has assembled 300,000, giving it a strength advantage of about double.
Not only is there no guarantee of victory, it is also very likely to suffer a huge defeat.
First of all, except for a few ace troops in the Ming army, the individual combat effectiveness of most soldiers is lower than that of braids.
Secondly, since the defeat of Guangning, the Ming army has had no battle experience for many years, and command coordination is out of the question.
Then, the temperament of the generals in each group was uncertain. As long as their troops suffered a slight loss, they might turn around and run away. This would have a domino effect on the Ming army and directly lead to the defeat of the entire army.
What's more important is that a certain prince only has this little wealth left in his hands. These 300,000 troops are the hope for a final comeback. Unless it is absolutely necessary, he cannot put all his money into it.
Braid has won many battles and his morale is strong. A certain prince doesn't want to get into trouble and actively sends money and equipment to others, so he can only stay at home and be a fat man.
When fighting a war with a braid, the superiority of troops is the greatest psychological comfort. Expanding the army and preparing for war is a top priority, but it cannot be done overnight because there is not enough money to support the exposure of 200,000 troops at a time.
Not counting food, a soldier needs at least fifty taels of silver for pay and equipment alone. This is for infantry, and double that for cavalry and artillery.
Two hundred thousand horses, all three types of troops, including cavalry, infantry and artillery, cost at least twelve million taels of silver, which was a lot of money.
There are so many purple gold bonds, but they still have to use money to make money. The army is a cute little creature that can only go in and out. It can eat as much as it wants, and it will never know when it is full...
You can't expect these 200,000 troops to be combat-effective in an instant. After simple training and being sent to the battlefield in three months, they will be used to deliver express delivery.
If we wait until the new army forms combat effectiveness, it will take at least one and a half to two years. Just raising these troops every year will require no less than six to seven million taels of silver.
In other words, these 200,000 men will definitely burn 20 million taels of silver before they go to war. Are you afraid?
There are no shortcuts on the road to military training. Spending less money will result in defeat.
Theoretically speaking, it is not too much to use money to buy victory, and this has been true throughout the ages.
Most of them have more than three years of actual combat experience, and most of them are veterans.
The new recruits of the Ming army have never even killed a living person, and their combat effectiveness on the above battlefields is beyond the limit...
There is no need to fight this battle. The emperor will definitely kneel down and cry, crawl over and kowtow to a certain prince to admit his mistake!
Yaoji believed that the Chanyuan Alliance in the Northern Song Dynasty was well aware of current affairs, so he spent one hundred thousand taels of silver and two hundred thousand bolts of silk in exchange for peace of mind and mutual benefit.
The things given to Daliao were only equivalent to more than 300,000 guan of copper coins. At that time, the fiscal revenue of the Northern Song Dynasty was as high as more than 69 million guan, excluding various gold, silver and copper mines.
The annual currency only accounts for less than 0.5% of its fiscal revenue. It can be said to be a value-for-money contract, but it is only considered by later generations to be detrimental to the national system.
Looking at the Ming Dynasty again, in the twenty years from 1619 to 1639, the annual Liao salary was tentatively calculated as 3 million taels, and the total was as high as 60 million taels.
The result was that all the area north of Jinzhou was lost. The total number of casualties was no less than 200,000. They were also robbed five times by pigtails. The loss of personnel and property amounted to tens of millions of taels. The damage to the northern economy was even more incalculable. .
Being proud of later generations, he did not surrender, pay tribute, or seek peace, which only resulted in the country being destroyed in less than thirty years. The emperor guarded the country until only one crooked-neck tree was left...
For example, some people led their troops to the Northern Expedition not long after they traveled through time. Why did you go on the expedition yourself when you are so capable? Just snap your fingers and get rid of all the braids!
After being taught a lesson by the prince, most of the people calmed down. However, Shen Jiayun, the right minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, seemed to have no intention of giving up. He stepped out and said: "Your Highness, I wonder what the court should do if the Donglu enters the pass again?"
Since the prince is rarely dissatisfied with the courtiers' criticism of border affairs in western Liaoning, let's not mention it for the time being. However, the invasion of the Jifu area is not a trivial matter. How to deal with it must be decided early.
Yaoji didn't want to explain any more, so he shook out eight words: "If you can fight, then fight, if you can make peace, then make peace!"
let's hit?
No money!
Don't fight?
You keep coming to hit me every once in a while!
This is the situation, it's very embarrassing!
In the winter, Lu Xiangsheng led the Tianxiong army and died in Julu. This was largely due to the fact that Duanduo Daddy and Fatty Yang had isolated Lao Lutou, and the generals around him also ran away first.
However, even if the Ming army concentrated the main force nearby and launched a decisive battle with Braid, the chance of victory would be very slim, and it would be nothing more than being destroyed by the group.
Considering the comparison of combat power between the two sides, a certain prince believed that in the decisive battle between the two armies, Zha Ming had to use 300,000 troops to defeat the 100,000 on the other side to have any hope of victory.
I have analyzed before that this is something that is impossible to achieve in a short period of time, so don’t worry about victory blindly. That has to be bought with money.
In this time and space, victory on the battlefield is temporarily closed to cash-strapped nobles like scapegoats...
As soon as Shen Jiayun heard that the prince intended to make peace with the Donglu, he was immediately shocked and asked in a loud voice: "Your Highness, the Donglu occupied our land in the Ming Dynasty and killed the people of the Ming Dynasty. They have already forged a bloody feud. All the emperors in the past have dispatched troops and generals. , striving to regain the homeland of Liaodong. To this day, the Eastern captives still covet my country, the Ming Dynasty, thousands of miles away, how can your highness make peace with the chief slaves? "
The two sides have been fighting for more than twenty years, and when they get to the prince's place, they have to shake hands with their old enemy and make peace? How can this be exchanged?
Chengde, the minister of Dali Temple who was also the main war faction, immediately came out to support his colleagues' views: "I agree with what Shilang Shen said, and you must not negotiate peace with the Eastern captives. If you make peace, where will the imperial court's face be? How can we regain Liaodong?" The policy committee has truly failed to fulfill the long-cherished wish of our ancestors, and I hope Your Highness will think again!"
In the view of the main war faction, making peace is a treasonous and unethical thing. Not to mention that the prince intended to do so, even if the emperor insisted on making peace, he would be criticized by the public opinion of both the government and the opposition.
Yao Ji did not scold or refute this guy, but asked calmly: "If there is no peace, according to the two beloved ministers, what should the court do? Forget it on paper, everyone in the court can do it, what I want is Actual strategy!”
I finally picked a few officials who were not worms, but then these two idiots came to trouble me, and I couldn't even hide away.
Since the prince asked about it, Shen Jiayun said eloquently: "I think that if you want to fight against prisoners, you must first train your troops. To organize and train soldiers, you need to select generals and add sharp firearms to get twice the result with half the effort. Master Wang has few horses, so he can build more chariots. In field battles, we can resist the Donglu's iron cavalry, thereby exploiting our strengths and avoiding weaknesses, and we may be able to defeat the enemy."
The general direction Shen Jiayun said was correct and very targeted, but he just ignored a prerequisite.
Yaoji smiled, looked at the bastard meaningfully and said, "What Aiqing said is true, so can Aiqing raise the corresponding amount of silver on her own for the purpose of training troops?"
Just multiply the number of soldiers you plan to train by fifty. This is the annual training cost. Then you think about how many people you want to train.
The prince held on to the handle of the money, and Shen Jiayun suddenly felt embarrassed. He did not dare to throw the blame to the Ministry of Revenue, so he could only laugh at himself to show weakness: "I have little talent and little knowledge, so I may not be able to do this!"
After talking for a long time, he finally left the task of raising money to the Ministry of Revenue. The Minister of the Ministry of Revenue and the Minister would not turn a deaf ear and would definitely not give up.
The other party asks you to raise 10 million taels of silver as soon as he talks big and small. If you were the one taking the blame, would you agree to it?
This is a court meeting, not a private joke and chat. Once you agree, you must do it, otherwise it will be the king's crime.
Yaoji reiterated what he just said just now, lest some mentally retarded ministers make the same mistake again: "I have already said before that the imperial court is temporarily unable to expand the army, and the existing troops are not enough to resist the enemy in the field. Which beloved minister has the ability to raise funds? If the money is raised, I will confer a noble title on him. If he raises one million taels, he will be granted the title of earl. If he raises five million taels, he will be granted the title of marquis. If he raises ten million taels, he will be granted the title of duke. As soon as the silver enters Taicang, I will immediately There is no joke about cashing in, and it is a loan with an annual interest rate of 10%, and the principal will be repaid with interest within five years. If no one can raise the money, don't talk about building an army and preparing for war. If you don't have money, what kind of army can you build? What kind of war can you prepare for? I am now telling you widely that if you don’t raise money, don’t talk about fighting. Those who talk about war on paper should take up official positions on their own. I agree to it! If you only talk about support and silver, I will forgive you for not staying for a long time!"
Even if I openly buy noble titles now, I am still hereditary and rebellious. Do you have the ability to buy them?
You even rely on this palace to provide you with a salary, so you are clamoring to fight the Donglu. You are worthy of being a loud-mouthed minister!
When it comes to spending money, everyone is extremely energetic and can't wait to be happy.
When it comes to making money, I'm afraid of hurting myself.
With such virtue and intelligence, you still want to beat Donglu and flirt with Pigtail? ? ?
Meng Zhaoxiang, the left minister of the Ministry of Personnel, refused to give in and insisted on his opinion: "Your Highness, as far as I know, Taicang has been rich after days of raids, with a total amount of no less than tens of millions of taels. How can it be said that it is such a dilemma? Is it used to prepare for war? Isn’t it more appropriate?”
All the officials knew that the Ministry of Revenue was now rich, which was very different from before. It was not difficult to spend millions of taels of silver.
Yaoji was too lazy to explain, so he asked Old Li Tou to speak for him: "As for this question, please ask Li Shiwen, Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, to answer it for Aiqing!"
Now there is a good show. Li Shiwen regards wealth as his life, and regards Taicang's silver as his own money. Except for the Academy of Sciences, even the prince must inform the prince in advance of any expenditure exceeding one hundred thousand taels. Only if he agrees.
Li Shiwen was extremely dissatisfied with the idiot Meng Zhaoxiang's suggestion. Even if the prince did not point to him, he would resolutely refute it: "Shilang Meng doesn't know something. This year, the government of Shaanxi requires two million taels. Two million taels are required for drying salt, and the same amount is still required for the suppression of Henan and Shanqian in Fuzhou. The salary for Liao Dynasty is four million taels, the salary for Xuanda and Ji Town is four million taels, and the army and horses in the south are required to suppress the bandits. Two, plus the various expenses of the imperial court, the total is no less than twenty million taels, which exceeds the bank deposits of the Ministry of Household Affairs by more than six million taels. May I ask where did the money for military training come from, Sir Meng?"
