Seeing Zhang He's promise, Zhu Su also nodded slightly. The Mongolian Yuan Dynasty in the north has become decadent. Although the current government and the public still regard the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty as a serious problem.
However, from the perspective of historical cycles, the disintegration and destruction of the Mongolian and Yuan Dynasties has become a historical necessity. Without the feudal system learned from the Central Plains, what Ming Dynasty will face in the future is just a group of nomadic wolves on the grasslands.
Although nomadism in the north is still a serious problem for the Central Plains dynasty, Zhu Su believes that as long as the Ming army uses cement to quickly repair the Great Wall and equips them with improved firearms on a large scale, the Ming army will be able to defend the nomads with the current elite level. The attack is no problem at all.
The current Ming Dynasty does not have the ability to easily destroy Bei Yuan. The safest way is to stay on the defensive against Bei Yuan, then focus on developing, and wait until the "magic skill is completed" before taking action. In the original history, Lao Zhu adopted such a policy and kept his head down for fifteen years. It was not until the 21st year of Hongwu that he struck hard and destroyed the ancestral temple of Beiyuan in one fell swoop.
At this point, the grassland forces have not been completely eliminated, and the Tatars and Walas are still roaming the grasslands, laying hidden dangers for the Baozong's future study abroad.
After Zhu Su informed Lao Zhu about the future, such efficiency of annihilation undoubtedly made Lao Zhu extremely dissatisfied. What Lao Zhu wants is not just to annihilate Beiyuan. In fact, what he wants in his heart is to take over the territory of Beiyuan, completely pacify the grassland, and leave an iron-clad country for future generations.
Zhu Su's prescription for this was to "grab" profits from overseas and feed them back to China. As long as Ming Dynasty practiced its internal skills and accumulated the three major conditions of economy, technology, and manpower needed to achieve technological breakthroughs, in the future, Faced with the huge technological gap that realizes the generation gap, the nomads will naturally "sing and dance" to "welcome the king's master." Then, a feudal system similar to that of the Western Zhou Dynasty was used to completely "Chineseize" the grassland Japanese and other barbarian lands.
Therefore, it is wise to keep fighting with Beiyuan for the time being and then seek development opportunities overseas. Keeping the Ming Dynasty's rarest naval generals with an aggressive attitude is undoubtedly the top priority.
"Thinking about it this way, the next top priority for Ming Dynasty's external affairs should be to eliminate the Beiyuan warlords entrenched in Liaodong. Naha is out." Zhu Su touched his chin that had not yet grown a beard. Brother Mu Ying is currently attacking Yunnan. According to the history books of later generations, the Liang King who occupied Yunnan did not have great talents. The Ming Dynasty could only conquer Yunnan in a matter of seconds.
And Naha in Liaodong held a heavy army of 200,000, and he was on the side of the Ming Dynasty, eyeing the entire north of the Ming Dynasty. The original strategy of the Ming Dynasty was to attack the Dayuan Ancestral Temple with lightning speed and force Naha to surrender. But now that the Northern Expedition failed, Ming Dynasty was forced to switch to the defensive. As a result, the threat from Naha was even more prominent than Wang Baobao of the Northern Yuan Dynasty.
After all, how can one allow others to sleep soundly beside the couch?
"...I am indeed a hard worker, so why am I worried about what happened to Naha again?"
"I don't want to anymore. Let the old man have a headache." After thinking for a while, Zhu Su shook his head with a smile. Lao Zhu's grasp of the overall situation was thousands of times better than his own, so how could he not be clear about the threat level of Naha?
After the purge of the imperial court is completed and Yunnan is pacified, he will be free to deal with Naha.
After I return to Beijing, I'd better follow Yao Guangxiao's advice and stay dormant for a while to develop the technology stack.
"What would you like to eat for lunch, Your Highness? We just caught some fresh fish at sea. The folk girl will cook them soon. How about adding a bowl of fish soup for you?" They were chatting in the cabin, and the figure of Sanniang appeared outside. . After receiving the notification and approval, she smiled and asked Zhu Su for instructions.
There was a slight sweat on her forehead, it was obvious that she had been busy for a long time. Zhu Su couldn't help but get up and said: "Sister Sanniangzi, you have just escaped from the disaster, why are you doing menial work on the ship again?"
"We are still out on the battlefield, so we can just eat the same food as the soldiers. You don't have to be busy, just take good care of your body."
"Have you told Lord Ru where you came from? When we get back to the shore, we will help you find your surviving family members. Even if you are thousands of miles away, we will let you return home safely."
Sanniangzi's originally smiling face suddenly froze and became a little unnatural. After a while, he suddenly knelt down and said, "Your Highness, Fifth Prince, actually... we don't want to return to our hometown."
"Don't want to go home?" Zhu Ming on the side was a little surprised, "...Are you worried about having trouble living? Don't worry, we will give you a settling-in allowance..."
"No." The third lady shook her head sadly. "How can you see your parents and fellow villagers with this despicable and dirty body?"
"I just went back shamelessly. I'm afraid that in the future... I won't be able to hold my head up for the rest of my life..." She lowered her head, tears already flowing down her cheeks.
"Why is this?" Zhu Cang was confused, but Zhu Su, Zhu Di, Zhang He and others suddenly understood. These women were defiled by the Japanese pirates. Even if they return to their hometowns, their spines will be broken, and even good families will not accept them. And if a woman in this era cannot marry a good family, her life will be ruined.
No, their lives have been ruined from the moment they were kidnapped by the Japanese pirates.
"Feudal ethics...sigh." Zhu Su sighed in his heart. Faced with such a behemoth, even though he claimed to be a time traveler with a broad vision, he couldn't think of anything to do.
"Could it be that the sisters who were rescued by us all have the same idea?" Zhu Su was a little embarrassed. "If this is the case, Sister Sanniangzi, what are your plans for the future?"
"The civilian girls... don't know either." The third lady looked confused and wiped her tears gently. "In short, I will definitely not be able to go back to my hometown."
Zhu Su was a little embarrassed. If he left it alone, the best outcome for them would be to sell themselves into slavery. I wanted to resettle them, but I couldn't find any good way for a while.
After all, as a prince, Lao Zhu could only allocate reliable maids from the palace, even for the maids and nuns used to serve in the palace, and could not hire private women privately. Zhu Su looked at Zhang He and wanted to say that Zhang He, as the deputy commander of the Fuzhou Guard, might need some helpful helpers at home...
"Your Highness, please don't look at the general like this." How could Zhang He not know Zhu Su's plan and quickly waved his hand. "Mojiang's monthly salary is only enough for a family of three. The house is no more than one entry, and all the meals are cooked by Zhuo Jing himself. How can he afford a helper?"
By the way, I forgot that the salary in the Ming Dynasty was very low, which is rare in history...
"Your Highness, please don't embarrass General Zhang." The third lady realized that Zhu Su wanted to arrange their livelihood for them, and she quickly knelt down in panic. "My sisters and I are extremely grateful to be rescued by His Highness. Can An be favored by His Highness again?"
"If we have the effrontery to ask His Highness to give out our livelihood, how can we, the sisters, stand in the world?"
"This...sigh." Zhu Su sighed softly. Looking at the expression on the third lady's face, I knew that if she forced herself to make arrangements, this poor woman might really commit suicide out of shame. Besides, I really don’t have a good solution now.
I had no choice but to go back to Suzhou and discuss with the prefect Wei Guan how to help these women in a subtle way.
"General Zhang, at this rate, how many days will it take for us to return to Su Song?" Zhu Su changed the subject.
"Return to your highness,"
"I think, in about three days, we can see Su Song's harbor." Zhang He raised his eyes and looked at the sun outside the cabin, and frowned unconsciously: "...If so, there is no accident."
There is no accident... Under normal circumstances, if you say something like this, there will be an accident, right? Zhu Su complained silently in his heart.
(End of chapter)
