The Practical School originally had no basic base in Liaodong. The concept of "Liaodong Basic Base" probably only slowly emerged after Gao Pragmatic took charge of Jin Fuhai's military preparation.
At that time, he used both soft and hard tactics to win over a group of local garrison generals, including Jiang Enyuan, Pu Yuanyi, Cao Jian, etc. It was even because of Cao Jian that Gao Pragmatic thought of getting Cao Yan out of prison.
Later, when he was in charge of Liaofu, Gao Pragmatic also attracted some local generals from Liaodong who were not from Tieling, such as Zhao Yingchang, Yang Jian, etc. Now, one of them is the left commander of Ningyuan, and the other is a guerrilla in Qiantun. They are both " Working in Liaoxi "entering behind enemy lines".
Gao Pragmatic discussed with Wu Dui and Liang Menglong and believed that Jiang Enyuan and others should be considered for promotion to ensure their advantages. Wu Dui agreed in principle and signaled Liang Menglong to propose specific arrangements.
Liang Menglong pondered for a while and said: "This is a bit difficult to handle. In the past few years, Liaodong's military strength has gradually increased, and now there is almost no shortage of personnel..."
"Then set up a new one." Gao Pragmatic said decisively: "I think the military strength in western Liaoning is already sufficient, but the eastern part of Liaoning can be strengthened. We can consider upgrading the Shenyang guerrilla to Shenyang General, and set up another Fushun guerrilla under the command of Shenyang General. Also We can consider setting up two new guerrillas in Liaoyang, such as the left camp guerrilla and the right camp guerrilla in Liaoyang.
In addition, in view of the establishment of Kuandian Six Forts, it seems that the Dingliao Youweitun garrison could be tilted eastward. In my opinion, Dingliao Youwei can be moved to the vicinity of Zhenjiang Fort. The specific location can be determined on the west side of the Yalu River estuary southwest of Zhenjiang Fort. Our court can build a new city here to form a close-range deterrent to North Korea. The city can be named Dandong. Then based on the Dingliao Right Guards, the Dandong Guerrilla was newly established. "
Gao Pragmatic didn't seem to notice the surprised look of Wu Dui and Liang Menglong, and he pondered for a moment, saying: "In addition, the Liaohe Hetao has not been able to operate well since it was recovered. Although it has been determined to build a new border wall, if there is no city in the Liaohe Hetao, If you immigrate, it will always be difficult to defend. I intend to build a new city here, called Fuxin, and also set up a guerrilla force."
Wu Dui and Liang Menglong were stunned for a while. They looked at each other, and Wu Dui asked: "Rixin, you want to set up five new guerrillas at a time? Even if guerrillas are easy to handle, it may not be easy to build two cities. I mean this money Money...the household department has a surplus now?"
Since the ban on opening vassals was implemented, the Ministry of Revenue has been spending money like water. This is known to the world. Under such circumstances, Gao Jingshi, the Minister of Household Affairs, actually proposed to build two new cities. Wu Dui and Liang Menglong simply thought that their ears were broken.
Unexpectedly, Gao pragmatic shook his head and said: "As long as the location is well chosen, it doesn't have to cost money to build the city, and you might still make money."
The two big men who knew the military were stunned at the same time, and asked in unison: "What's the explanation for this?"
Gao Pingshi smiled and said, "Which place do you two want to listen to first?"
"Loop!"
"Fuxin!"
Gao Pragmatic also estimated that the two of them must first listen to the new city of Fuxin in the Liao River Hetao, because the location of this place is obviously more important in their eyes: it is connected to Liao (Liaoyang) and Shen in the east, to the sea and Gai in the south, to the west of Liaoxi, and to the northeast is Horqin. , and in the northwest is Chahar, which is the so-called battleground for military strategists.
Gao Pragmatic smiled and said simply: "After the Battle of Southern Liaoning, Jinghua conducted a detailed exploration of this area. Although it has been a pasture for the Mongols for many years, about 20-30% of it can actually be cultivated, especially suitable for planting. corn, and the rest of the mountainous areas are mostly hills and grasslands, which can be used for planting, hunting, grazing cattle and horses, and building border walls.
In addition, according to Jinghua's exploration, there are two important outputs here, one is coal and the other is agate. Among them, the coal mine can ensure that my immigrants can survive the cold winter safely, and the agate is extremely productive..."
"Agate?" Wu Dui frowned and said, "The output is huge, how big is it?"
Gao pragmatic raised his eyebrows slightly and said firmly: "I will make an appointment for half of the world tomorrow."
Not only Wu Dui, but also Liang Menglong was shocked: "Half the world?"
Gao Pingshi laughed: "To tell you the truth, I was shocked when I heard the news, but Jinghua has found two large agate mines, which is enough to prove that what he said is true."
This news is of course true, but mainly thanks to Liu Xin, it was she who told Gao Pragmatic about Fuxin Agate Sheng. According to her, the agate reserves in Fuxin accounted for more than 50% of the country's later generations, the sales of agate handicrafts accounted for 70% of the country's sales, and the sales of tourist products accounted for 90% of the country's sales. Therefore, Fuxin agate carvings are listed as national intangible cultural heritage. , was also officially named the "Agate Capital of the World" by the World Crafts Council.
Wu Dui and Liang Menglong had already experienced Jinghua's "turning stone into gold" prospecting skills countless times, so they naturally did not dare to doubt Gao Pragmatic's words. However, there was one thing that Wu Dui found strange and couldn't help but ask: "Nixin didn't seem to pay much attention to jade and gemstones in the past. Why is he interested in the agate business this time?"
Gao Pragmatic shook his head and said: "That's not the case. The two mines dug by Jinghua are just to prove that Fuxin agate is of high quality and high yield. However, Jinghua itself does not plan to expand the agate mine. These agates are reserved for others, and Jinghua itself is still the capital." Okay, we will focus on coal mines, and we also plan to make some purple clay pottery - Fuxin also has a lot of purple clay pottery."
Gao Pragmatic's words are really not a joke. Jinghua really does not intend to get deeply involved in the agate industry, because although this industry belongs to gem mining and processing and the profits are definitely considerable, it is not an industry related to the national economy and people's livelihood. Jinghua still plans to take the lead in corn planting and coal mining in Fuxin.
Corn planting is firstly to solve the food ration problem of immigrants, and secondly, it is for raising war horses. These two things are the big things in Gao Pragmatic's eyes. Whether Fuxin can be successfully built and grown, and whether it can become a self-supply ground for the Ming army's war horses, what they can rely on in an urgent situation is definitely not intensively cultivated wheat, but corn.
Besides, the grain output of Fuxin in later generations was also quite high in Liaoning Province, and it also relied on corn. This proves that corn cultivation in Fuxin is definitely suitable.
[Note: Fuxin City’s total grain output in 2019 was 2.775 million tons, of which corn output was 2.480 million tons. Of course, the important thing about this output is the proportion, not the absolute value. Otherwise, if Gao Pragmatic could grow so much corn, the Han people in Liaodong would have enough to eat just in Fuxin. ]
As for coal, after the establishment of the later Red Dynasty, Fuxin provided 800 million tons of coal to the country, and the mineable reserves are about 800 million tons. This almost 1.6 billion tons of exploitable reserves is more than enough for Jinghua's mission here. Even if the mining technology at this time is backward, even if it is only one-tenth of the future, it will still be a lot left. After all, Jinghua does not intend to make iron here. The coal mine is mainly used to keep the military and civilians warm, and to burn some purple clay pottery.
But when Gao Pragmatic said this, Wu Dui and Liang Menglong understood. Liang Menglong asked: "Should we leave it to the nobles?"
Gao pragmatically said: "There are no restrictions on investors this time. Anyone who wants to go can go. The Ministry of Household Affairs only requires a policy: any investment needs to provide a 10% 'priority purchase tax'. This tax is earmarked for the construction of Fuxin." City. If there is any remaining money, it can also be considered to be used for the construction of the side wall of the Liao River Hetao section."
"The balance?" Wu Dui said in astonishment: "Rixin is saying that this 'preferential purchase tax' can exceed 300,000 taels?"
According to the construction investment of the Ming Dynasty, the amount of silver usually spent to build a new city is about two to three hundred thousand taels. However, in Wu Dui's opinion, the location of Fuxin City's highly pragmatic selection was a bit far away, which would be slightly inconvenient in terms of labor and material transportation, and the cost might be on the high side, so he calculated it based on 300,000 taels.
Three hundred thousand taels was obviously a huge sum of money in the Wanli Dynasty of the Ming Dynasty. The first installment of military pay for the Yunnan-Burma War was only this amount. Now that Gao Pragmatic actually thought that the tax could be so high, Wu Dui was certainly surprised as to how he came to this conclusion.
But Gao's pragmatic answer was simple, saying: "Half of our Ming Dynasty's agate output will come from here in the future. How can a discerning wealthy family miss it? Although the investment in this business is high, it may not be able to recover its capital in five years." , but what about ten years? What about a hundred years? This is a long-term business with huge profits, and the harvest is guaranteed even if there are droughts or floods."
Liang Menglong smiled and said: "Rixin said it so well. If it weren't for the fear of being impeached, Menglong would have wanted to share some profits."
"Then go." Gao Pingshi smiled and said: "What are you impeaching? The cost of building a new border city and border wall for the Ministry of Revenue will come from here, which means that investing in Fuxin is to support the 'real border' and is actually beneficial. It is a great plan to benefit the country and the people. With the wisdom of the emperor, how can he not know the reason? No impeachment by him will be effective."
Liang Menglong laughed and said: "If this day comes, I will definitely ask Rixin to point you to a rich mine."
Gao pragmatic also smiled and said: "Easy to say, easy to say, for sure."
Liang Menglong was from Zhending, North Zhili, and he was not opposed to investing in places like Fuxin. However, Wu Dui was from Shanyin, Zhejiang, and was not sensitive to investing in such a far away area, so he did not interrupt.
After the topic was over, Wu Dui asked: "There are so many agates in Fuxin, and there is such a clever strategy as Rixin in building a new city. It seems that it is a big mistake. But what is the situation in Dandong? Is there any treasure? Pearl?"
There are almost no gems, but Dandong itself is a gem. Its value mainly lies in its geographical location. In highly pragmatic terms, it is a location advantage.
Dandong is located on the southernmost side of the Yalu River at the junction of Ming Dynasty, Liaodong and North Korea. The name of Zhenjiang Fort to the north comes from the meaning of guarding the Yalu River. Opposite Zhenjiang Fort is Yizhou, an important town in the north of North Korea.
The reason why Dandong is important has a lot to do with North Korea. However, North Korea originally paid tribute from Yizhou, and the first stop was at Zhenjiang Fort in the Ming Dynasty. If Dandong City was built, if the Koreans still set off from Yizhou, then the second stop should be Dandong.
It can be said that Gao pragmatically wanted to build Dandong City because he was interested in trade with North Korea, or to put it more clearly, he planned to expand trade with North Korea.
However, border trade is only part of the reason. There are two bigger reasons.
First, Dandong is located at the mouth of the Yalu River. Although the entire Yalu River is not navigable (the river channel in the upper reaches of the Changbai Mountains is narrow, the water flow is relatively large, and navigation is inconvenient, so later the Red Dynasty simply built a bunch of hydropower stations.), but the lower reaches are navigable, and even A large ship capable of navigation of three thousand tons. In other words, even large ships can enter the lower reaches of the Yalu River at this moment.
Gao Pragmatic had no intention of sailing a large ship into the waves. He mainly thought that it was very convenient for transporting supplies. The navigable section of the Yalu River could reach Kuandian, which meant that the Ming Dynasty could supply the military supplies needed by Kuandian by water transport. There is no need for people to transport supplies from Liaoyang or even further inland. Kuandian has sufficient supplies, so Jianzhou Jurchens dare not covet them.
In addition, Dandong itself is also suitable for building a seaport. Although this seaport has a small population and its trade function is not obvious yet, it has an advantage, that is, it can play a huge role in the war to aid Korea in the near future.
I have said before that North Korea is now very weak. When Toyotomi Hideyoshi's 200,000 troops attacked North Korea, North Korea had no resistance and could only rely on Ming's father to save it.
But the Ming Dynasty actually fought a dull war at that time. Since the Korean mainland was almost completely lost, almost all the military supplies needed by the Ming Dynasty's reinforcements had to be carried by themselves. A little military ration, but still not enough), so the Ming Dynasty continuously transported supplies to North Korea from Liaodong by land.
To be honest, this operation is very silly, because firstly, Liaodong itself is not rich in materials, and secondly, most of the transportation lines along this road are mountainous, and transportation is quite difficult and the loss is quite high, so this kind of transportation can almost be said It is a typical waste.
After the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the two most important grain-producing areas were actually Huguang and Shandong (this is not only related to grain output, but also to the collection system). Therefore, according to Gao's pragmatic view, the most cost-effective way to fight this battle is to transport food from Shandong to Dandong by sea, and then decide to take the land route from Dandong to the Korean interior, or continue to take the sea route to the Korean front coast, depending on the war situation. Regional shipping.
Based on a high pragmatic estimate, this method of transportation can reduce losses by at least half. Even if other aspects of this battle were exactly the same as in the original history, the change in transportation methods alone could ensure that after Li Rusong captured Kaicheng, he would not dare to enter again due to lack of supplies.
Just imagine, if Li Rusong in history could push the Japanese troops into the sea, how could there be such a thing as the second phase of the war to aid Korea later? That's a big deal that will save you a few years of fighting.
There is another point that Gao Pragmatic will not tell outsiders now, that is, the establishment of Dandong was actually the reason why he coveted North Korea. Although North Korea is one of the countries that Zhu Yuanzhang decided not to conquer, Gao Pragmatic has always had a way to "inherit the will of the ancestors but not follow the system of the ancestors", and he has ideas about North Korea.
Without the Korean Peninsula in hand, it would actually be quite troublesome for the Ming Dynasty to send troops to Japan. Although Jinghua's fleet was strong enough, no matter how strong it was, it would not be as good as launching a close-range attack from North Korea.
Even if we don't mention attacking Japan, taking North Korea will also make it easier for Ming Dynasty to defend Japan. The route of Japanese aggression in later generations was not complicated: first Korea, then Manchuria and Mongolia, and finally all of China. In fact, not only the "Tanaka Memorial", Toyotomi Hideyoshi also had the same idea. In short, he wanted to win North Korea first.
In this case, wouldn't it be better for Ming Dynasty to take over North Korea first? At least there is an extra buffer. Just like if the Qing army could win in Korea during the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1894, obviously the entire situation would be different.
As for the country without conquest... In fact, after the Wanli War to Aid Korea, some officials in the imperial court believed that Korea should be annexed directly. However, the conservatives were more powerful, and the Ming Dynasty, which was too shameless, felt that it was a bit difficult to save face, so in the end they did not It just makes it happen.
Now that Gao Pragmatic, a guy who "doesn't make money or loses money" is here, how can we tolerate a wasted fight?
People cannot live without ideals, and countries cannot live without ambitions.
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