Zhu Yijun and Liu Ping had just finished discussing some matters regarding the Nanyang Imperial Estate, and there was a report from outside that the elders of the cabinet had paid an audience. Perhaps it was the good news about 80,000 hectares of fertile land that brought about a good mood. Zhu Yijun met with his ministers in Xinuang Pavilion with a smile.
The cabinet elders came here for no other reason than to discuss the two issues that had caused a heated argument in the cabinet just now: whether to withdraw troops now; and whether to accept the annexation of North Korea.
These two questions can actually be further refined. For example, should we withdraw our troops now? If the answer is yes, that would be easy. But if the answer is no, then we have to ask again: What do the troops intend to do if they stay in North Korea? Should we continue to attack the Japanese mainland, or should we garrison North Korea from now on?
If we want to continue to attack the Japanese mainland, we have to ask whether the original logistics transportation line needs to be adjusted, and how to adjust it? Are the existing troops sufficient for an expedition against Japan? If not, where should they be allocated? Does a large army need to be rotated during a long campaign, when should it be rotated, and where should the troops be used to rotate? Should the reward for victory be "decided" now, or should it be "decided" after the Japanese mainland is conquered?
If we do not want to attack the Japanese mainland, but want to stay in North Korea, then we need to ask, how many troops are needed to help defend North Korea? Or is it possible that in the future there will be a squad army system in North Korea, where men and horses will be recruited from all over the country to take turns garrisoning the country?
Another example is the issue of North Korea. If North Korea disagrees with it, then that's it. There are probably two options. The first is to completely let go, that is, the army will be withdrawn into the country, and North Korea will continue as usual; the second is to retain some military strength, which can refer to the above arrangements.
If North Korea is agreed to be annexed, the issue becomes more complicated, including at least the following:
First, how to build North Korea’s administrative system. This includes whether to establish a chief envoy in North Korea, whether to establish a capital or administrative department, and whether it is necessary to set up a separate governor and governor. Speaking of which, it seems that the governor should be set up separately, but should the governor of Jiliao also serve as the governor?
Second, how should North Korea’s King Li Ho arrange things. Although the King of Korea is the king of a country, according to the etiquette system of the Ming Dynasty, his status in the Ming Dynasty is not that of a prince, but that of a county king. The direct descendants of princes and county princes are all considered to be of the first or second grade, but they themselves are all of the highest grade and must be in the country when they reach adulthood. [Note: In the country, go to the fief. ]
Of course, Li Huo is an adult, which means that he must find a local kingdom for him. In other words, he must first find a fiefdom at the level of a county king.
North Korea's three thousand miles of country, in exchange for the most land in Ming Dynasty, this deal is certainly a good deal for Ming Dynasty, not to mention that the princes of Ming Dynasty do not have real rights to manage their fiefdoms, which means that Ming Dynasty only needs to find a piece of land for Li Hao. of food. So, where to place this fiefdom, the cabinet needs to make recommendations, and the emperor needs a holy judgment.
Third, what should North Korean officials do after they are attached. The two classes in North Korea were just military generals. The selection rules for civil servants and Ming Dynasty seemed to be the same, but in fact they were not the same thing at all.
It is really difficult to get a Jinshi exam in the Ming Dynasty, because even if your father is the elder, since the Jinshi exam papers will be published to the world, it is difficult to cheat - to a certain extent, all the scholars in the world are supervisors. Unless you get the test questions in advance, you have the opportunity to prepare the essay in advance.
However, according to regulations, the examiners for the general examination are temporarily appointed by the emperor. After accepting the appointment, these examiners must immediately enter a place designated by the Ministry of Rites to isolate themselves from the outside world, and then discuss the topics and submit them to the emperor.
Next, anyone involved in deciding the topics and printing the examination papers, in theory, everyone except the emperor himself must be isolated from the outside world until the examination begins... In short, there are a lot of corresponding regulations that make it difficult to cheat.
And on this basis, the imperial court also paid great attention to the possible malpractices in the imperial examinations. Like Zhang Juzheng in the original history, it was almost unique that he could arrange a top three spot for his son - after all, he himself said it, "I am not a phaser, but a photographer."
However, the civil servants in North Korea's two classes are different. Although they all appear to have passed the imperial examination, there are actually various ways for them to pass the exam easily. These matters have been mentioned before, so I won’t repeat them again.
Such civil servants are naturally undesirable in the eyes of the civil servants of the Ming Dynasty. However, considering that North Korea has just been conquered, for the sake of stability, these people must be used first for the time being. Then, how to appoint and for how long need to be carefully discussed.
Fourth, although most of the upper class in North Korea are fluent in Chinese, the lower class people are not. This definitely needs to be changed, but how to change it is a difficult problem. It also needs to discuss a charter.
All in all, there are many things, and each one needs to be carefully discussed. After all, the Ming Dynasty did not have a tradition of ruling colonies. Once North Korea annexed it, it would definitely be treated as a native country, and all rules and regulations had to be implemented with caution.
Thanks to Zhu Yijun, he is in a good mood now and listened patiently to Wang Jiaping, who led the cabinet, to explain these issues to him one by one.
After listening, Zhu Yijun made the first judgment: "After this battle, it can be seen that the morale of the Korean people and the army is extremely disorganized, and they are unable to fight back in the face of the Japanese invaders. From what I have seen, it is generally said that the Japanese pirates will still go and come back." It is possible that even if the Japanese pirates do not come, if there are unscrupulous people in the country who plot to rebel, I am afraid that the King of Joseon will be helpless.
In view of this, if North Korea sincerely surrenders, we, the Celestial Empire, should take care of parents to protect their children and heaven and earth to nourish all living things, and make exceptions to grant their requests, so as to avoid the loss of life in the country that respects my name and religion. "
Although Wang Jiaping broke up with those officials today on bad terms, and most of those people opposed the annexation of North Korea, as Yuanfu, he could not do things based on his temporary likes and dislikes. Therefore, Wang Jiaping reminded: "Your Majesty, this is a serious matter. Are you allowed to discuss it with all the ministers and workers before making a decision?"
Zhu Yijun waved his hand: "If Mr. Wang thinks this is necessary, let them discuss it. In short, the cabinet must know that I have made up my mind, and all relevant matters should be done as approved by North Korea."
It seems that Zhu Yijun is indeed a mature emperor now. He knows that the right to discuss should be given away. If not, it will be easy to get into trouble. For example, the Chief of Ceremonies received hundreds of essays a day, all of which were scolding the Emperor for taking them away. Their power to discuss politics is that of a single man and a traitor to the people...
Zhu Yijun was annoyed by seeing such things, but he couldn't scold these civil servants, so he might as well let them discuss it. Anyway, no matter how they discussed it, in the end it was his emperor's holy judgment that counted.
The five ministers actually knew for a long time that the emperor would agree to the annexation of North Korea. The reason is actually not difficult to find: since the year of Renchen, North Korea's next mention of annexation happened exactly after Gao Pragmatic personally went to North Korea.
And there is proof of this. For example, North Korea’s so-called “Yu Chenglong and Quan Li conspired to rebel.” These two were originally at the top of Korean culture and martial arts. They had never heard of any evil deeds, but they actually fought against the 100,000-strong army of the Chinese dynasty. Isn’t it strange to plot rebellion when everyone is gathered in North Korea?
Therefore, the cabinet elders are aware that North Korea's move to request annexation was most likely promoted or even controlled by Gao Pragmatic.
Since it was done by Gao Pragmatic, how could the emperor disagree? Even if there was no news beforehand, considering the relationship between the monarch and his ministers, this matter must have been settled early.
Because of this, when the emperor finished speaking these words, the elders did not bother to object even if they originally disagreed. Upon seeing this, Wang Jiaping started to talk about North Korea's future arrangements. Unexpectedly, he was interrupted by Zhu Yijun with a wave of his hand: "It's not too late to discuss these specific matters when Il-shin returns to North Korea. Now there is another matter that needs to be done." Negotiate.”
Wang Jiaping had no choice but to say: "Please give me your Majesty's instructions."
"Before Rixin set off for the expedition, we had a discussion with me about when the battle would be over." Zhu Yijun looked around at the five elders and said, "What Rixin means is that we can't stop at driving the Japanese pirates back, we have to end it once and for all. , completely surrendered the Japanese country, so he proposed a cross-sea expedition to the Japanese mainland. What do you think about this matter?"
Wang Jiaping saw that the other four cabinet ministers had no intention of speaking first, so he said: "Just now, dozens of officials from the cabinet came to see them, and there happened to be a dispute over this matter. Many officials thought that the war should be abandoned. The army should be withdrawn as soon as possible to avoid huge expenses and a waste of national power.
In particular, the ministers complained about the increase in commercial taxes in the five provinces south of the Yangtze River. Many of them used exaggerated words and fierce tone. I am afraid that if the imperial court not only refuses to stop its troops, but continues to attack the Japanese country, these officials will be greatly disappointed, and they will inevitably make rude remarks..."
Zhu Yijun doesn't know whether it's because of his nature or because he is too influenced by high pragmatism. One of the most annoying situations for him is that some people are searching for various reasons to refuse to pay taxes.
Gao Jingshi has emphasized the importance of taxation countless times in various essays in the past, and Zhu Yijun has always recognized his views.
However, Gao Pragmatic has another saying that has been widely circulated now, that is, "Taxers take from the people and use them for the people." This sentence has now been widely recognized.
Therefore, if there is a need to station troops due to the annexation of North Korea, or if there is a further attack on the Japanese mainland and the troops cannot withdraw from North Korea, both of these things need to be supported by the additional "Hundred Three Commercial Taxes" levied on Jiangnan, so we must face a Question: Is this money considered “used for the people”?
In other words, how to explain that this approach is not a great achievement, but a real need. To put it more bluntly, is this good for the "people" and is it a big enough benefit?
Gao Pangshi had communicated with the emperor before, but at that time the emperor and his ministers mainly talked about North Korea, and less about Japan. Regarding the issue of North Korea's internal attachment, there were two key points that the two discussed at that time. One was the strategic significance of the Korean Peninsula in the Central Plains Dynasty - or in the words of later generations, it was called the "geopolitical" level; the other was the economic significance. level of meaning.
At the geopolitical level, Gao Pragmatic convinced Zhu Yijun that the Korean Peninsula is an important cornerstone for stabilizing Northeast China.
According to a highly pragmatic analysis, since the Qin Dynasty unified the Central Plains, every era of great unification must face at least two problems: one is how to maintain the unity of various plates internally; the other is how to ensure the advantage over the northern nomads.
Although China has laid the foundation for great unification since the Qin Dynasty, the North China, Northeast, Northwest, Qinghai-Tibet, Yunnan-Guizhou, Jiangnan and other plates are naturally at risk of tearing apart due to their very different geographical environments.
In order to ensure control over various sectors, in addition to garrisoning troops and enfeoffing, the Central Plains dynasty also implemented reforms in Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan and other places to subtly enhance the empire's control. The choice of the capital is an important manifestation of the ruler's will.
Since the Qin Dynasty, Qinchuan, which is 800 miles away in the world, has become the first choice for building the capital of a unified empire. Then, as the geographical environment deteriorated, the political center of the empire began to gradually move eastward. In the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the emergence of the Grand Canal also made it possible for the economic center of gravity to move southward and the political center to continue to move eastward and northward.
The fundamental reason why Beijing has always been the capital of a unified empire since the Yuan Dynasty is that it is the intersection of the three major plates of North China, Northeast China and Northwest China. The saying in later generations that Beijing is "at the critical position of the chicken's neck" actually refers to its key geographical location at the intersection of three major tectonic plates.
Of course, the current territory of the Ming Dynasty is not in the shape of a rooster, so Gao Pragmatic must use the Ming Dynasty as an example to explain to Zhu Yijun. According to Gao's pragmatic explanation, North China is the barrier to the South, and Northeast China is the corner of North China. Only by controlling North China and Northeast China at the same time can we gain an advantage over the ethnic minorities in the northwest.
Once there were changes in the Northeast, such as the Ming Dynasty's original abolition of Nuergan Dusi, the result was that the imperial court's advantage over the Northwest, especially over the Mongolian Plateau, would soon disappear.
In fact, for the two dynasties of the Yuan and Qing dynasties that incorporated the Mongolian Plateau into their territory, the Northeast, Northwest and North China were horns with each other. Once one of them changed, for example, the Ming Dynasty captured North China, the Yuan Dynasty, which fled back to the Mongolian Plateau, quickly lost the Northeast. , and then completely collapsed.
The situation in the late Qing Dynasty was similar. When Mobei Mongolia was invaded by Tsarist Russia, the Northeast was no longer a safe home, and the Qing Dynasty soon fell into trouble. Of course, when Gao Pragmatic gave examples, he could only give examples of the Yuan Dynasty, but that was enough.
All in all, precisely because the three sectors are indispensable, Beijing has always been favored even though it is located in the north. From the perspective of building a capital, the climate conditions are not superior, and it even needs the south to supply important strategic materials such as food.
In fact, Gao Pragmatic saw further in his heart, because he knew that in the original history, after Tsarist Russia and the Soviet Union tore Mongolia apart, Northeast China, North China, and Northwest China were all under great threat. Stalin wanted to use Mongolia as a buffer between the two countries, but this situation But it resulted in a modern version of "the emperor guards the country's gates."
Because of this, the first-generation leadership group of the Red Dynasty repeatedly proposed to the Soviet Union to solve the Mongolian issue. However, when New China was impoverished and destitute at that time, such requests were destined to be wishful thinking. Now that the Mongolian issue is a done deal, protecting the Northeast has become the most important issue for the security of the north and the whole country.
North Korea is the factor that most affects Northeast security. Because the overall terrain of the Northeast slopes from northwest to southeast, the southeastern part near North Korea has a more favorable climate and a denser population than the northwest part, and is the center of gravity of the Northeast.
As for Japan's possible aggression, to be honest, it is not the focus of Gao's pragmatic considerations, because according to his plan, there is no possibility that Japan will invade the Korean Peninsula and then invade the Ming Dynasty in the future.
What about the possibility of more external aggression? For example, Western colonists, Gao Pragmatic, were not too worried. After all, the southern Xinjiang system was his response to this.
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ps: This chapter is a repost from yesterday. I had a rest last night due to illness and I only got well this afternoon. I’m very sorry. Tonight's update should not be affected.
