Four days later, Yang Yiqing entered the palace according to the order.
This afternoon, the emperor rejected all matters and ordered the Military Aircraft Department, the Cabinet, the remaining ministers, the chief officials of Dali Temple and the Metropolitan Procuratorate to all be present. Unless they were lying down and unable to move, they could not be absent!
In addition, there are also generals such as Yang Yiqing, Yang Shangyi and Zhou Shangwen.
The emperor's dragon chair faces south, and more than a dozen ministers are arranged in the east and west rows.
On the left, Yang Yiqing is the leader, and those standing on the left are all generals. On the right, Li Dongyang is the leader, and all those standing on the right are civil servants.
In the middle is a map found at the Ministry of Industry. It is placed on the ground. It shows the part of the Yellow River in the upper left corner of the glyph - the Hetao Plain.
After thousands of years of history, we can actually say this. Whether it occupies the Hetao Plain is a sign of the strength of a Central Plains dynasty. Because the Hetao cannot be defended, the Hexi Corridor cannot be defended, and Xiangnan Guanzhong is also threatened. How can you talk about being strong with such a sharp knife at your neck?
The emperor gave Liu Jin a look, and then dozens of palace maids came in one after another carrying teapots, and steaming tea was placed in front of them.
After that, the group of people went out and the door of Qianqing Palace was closed. In the palace, apart from the emperor and important ministers, there were only a few record-keepers in the attendant's room and the serving ceremonial supervisor and others.
Afterwards, tea is also served according to the time.
In addition, there is something special. Even today, it is Liu Jin who makes the opening remarks.
"Dear cabinet ministers and ministers. Since the recovery of Hetao has been listed as a national policy, there is no reason why the imperial court should not attach great importance to national policy. Today's meeting is designed for this purpose. Everyone can speak freely, but be sure to speak clearly and thoroughly. , We must be truthful and pragmatic. This is because once the imperial court makes a plan, countless financial resources and manpower must be invested in it, and this cannot be done carelessly."
"Let me say one more thing that Liu Jin just missed. Today's discussion is to discuss the court's strategy on how to recover the Loop from the 18th year of Hongzhi to the 3rd year of Zhengde. It is not about whether the Loop should be recovered. My dear friends, please don't go too far off topic. Otherwise, we are not discussing whether the Loop should be recovered. If I decide a national policy, wouldn’t it be a joke?”
"Your Majesty." Yang Yiqing started first, because he was the one who submitted the memorial to Fu Tao. "I can give you a general outline first so that Your Majesty and all my colleagues can have a look. The so-called Fu Tao is to recover the east of Helan Mountain and Luliang. This vast area is west of the mountain, south of Langshan and Yinshan Mountains, and north of the Great Wall. Now the Tatar Mongolian tribe is stationed here. In this battle of Huamachi, Menggoljin suffered heavy losses. But ..."
"...I have been an official in Shaanxi for more than 20 years, and have been in charge of three towns in the northwest for more than a year. I think that without this great victory, our Ming Dynasty's national power would be far greater than that of the Tatars, but the Tatar military and civilians are integrated. They are good at riding and shooting, and they come and go like the wind, unpredictable. When the Ming Dynasty went on an expedition, they fled early. When our army retreated, they came back again. This is where the border troubles become serious."
Zhu Houzhao can understand how troublesome this kind of army is, and the Ming Dynasty not only has the north to take care of, but also the southeast, southwest, etc. The Tatars were eyeing the fertile land south of the Great Wall.
"...So the complex actually has two meanings. One means that it can be defeated; the other means that it can be defended. Your Majesty," Yang Yiqing turned to face the emperor, "I am not boasting about Haikou. If I just lay down the river, I will expel the Tatars." If people escape to the north, I can achieve it in one year. But expulsion does not mean annihilation, and conquering does not mean defending. Hetao lacks the protection of the Great Wall, and Helan Mountain is not connected to Langshan Mountain and Yinshan Mountain. In other words, the Tatar cavalry can come and go freely, constantly Harassing the border. This is the hardest part.”….
"So, the Hetao is a place of four battles. Even if it is captured, there will still be wars every year?" This was what Yang Tinghe asked.
He is not against cheating, but he is asking fatal and crucial questions.
In a sense, this can indeed be said to be the place of the Four Wars. Historically, there have been many wars in the area of Yinshan Mountain and Helan Mountain. Because this is the junction of farming and nomadic life, and it is particularly important militarily. If we don’t fight around it, why fight around it?
"In this world... there is no impregnable border defense, nor is there a perfect line of defense. The Great Wall is thousands of miles empty, and heroes of all ages have dreams of all ages. Occupying the Hetao, we have
With fertile fields and horse farms, the imperial court can raise hundreds of thousands of troops. One hundred thousand soldiers can defeat the Great Wall! "
Suddenly there was a powerful voice in the main hall of Qianqing Palace, which was obviously more powerful than the civil servants.
Zhu Houzhao looked up and saw that it was Zhou Shangwen who spoke out!
These words could answer Yang Tinghe's question and were in line with the emperor's wishes.
Zhu Houzhao couldn't help laughing, "A man's ambition can reach the sky. Yan Zhang is right. I think the Ming Dynasty needs to change its thinking. In the past, we always thought of conquering a place and then guarding it. If we do this, of course people will come. I'll beat you because you won't fight back or fight out. After the Loop is established, if we want to change this situation, why can only their cavalry come, and my Ming Dynasty's cavalry can't go? Kou can go, but I can't go ?!」
Li Dongyang said: "Whether we can hold it or not is a matter after we defeat it. For now, Mr. Yang Ge, if we want to regain the Hetao, how much money will the court spend and how many troops will it send?"
This is the annoying part.
"If we talk about silver, I estimate that the number is no less than a million. If we talk about troops and horses, I might need another Ming cavalry!"
Need another cavalry?
Han Wen's face almost collapsed, "Mr. Yang Ge, you also know that the imperial court's support of more than 20,000 people is the result of years of accumulation. The military horses alone have overwhelmed many horse farms. You have acted as agent Ma Zheng’s people should know this!”
"What if we transfer 10,000 first?" Wang Chang, Minister of War, suggested.
Yang Shangyi and Zhou Shangwen didn't speak. This was already related to their vital interests.
"Your Majesty, I don't recommend dividing the troops. Datong and Xuanfu have equally serious border problems, and Dayan Khan invaded the border many times. If we divide the Ming cavalry in half, we want to defend everywhere, but I'm afraid we won't be able to defend everywhere!"
Han Wenxin said that you, Mr. Yangge, are afraid that you will force me to death, "Mr. Yangge, you just said that the Tatar-Mongolian Goljin tribe suffered heavy losses, and I gave you 10,000 fine cavalry. Isn't that enough?!"
"Ningxia is enough. What about Datong and Xuanfu? Dayan Khan did not suffer heavy losses."
It's about to start a quarrel,
Zhu Houzhao said, "It's still a question of money. If you have silver, you can train elite soldiers. But what about the horse problem?"
Yang Yiqing held the ceremony and said, "I have been in charge of Shaanxi's horse administration for many years and have severely cracked down on smuggling of tea among the people. If there is enough tea, I can exchange it for military horses in the Western Regions!"
"In the end, it's still a matter of money."
Xie Qian said, "The Ministry of Household Affairs originally had a sum of money, but it has been allocated to the construction of the capital. It is indeed difficult for the court to allocate a large sum of money to Mr. Yang Ge."
Yang Yiqing had some things to say that he couldn't say. What he was thinking about was that the court would give him money. Now that he had others, he could still find generals who could fight. It was just a question of money. Even if you allocate five hundred thousand taels to him first, he can start the work first. So in my heart, I was actually hoping that the emperor would leak out the small treasury to him. ….
Zhu Houzhao rubbed his fingers. He thought about it carefully. Retrieval was a national policy that he strongly advocated. At this time, he could no longer be too stingy and act like a miser.
Money is a resource to him.
If there is a place for it, then use it without hesitation.
"After hearing this, I probably understand. Mr. Yang Ge, I will not ask your clever woman to cook without rice. No matter what, I will give you three hundred thousand taels of silver, Da Situ."
"I'm here."
"You can think of a way for me to get one hundred thousand taels of silver. Check the household department's expenditures in previous years and cut off the unimportant ones. I will give you the remaining two hundred thousand taels."
Han Wen knelt down on his knees and said, "I obey the decree! Your Majesty, please rest assured. If it is to build a temple or a palace, the Ministry of Household Affairs does not have a tael of silver. But if it is to build a military or state affairs, I will dig up the ground three feet to dig out the silver for Your Majesty!"
"Okay, okay." The emperor said three good words in a row.
In fact, over time, these smart people have figured out how to please their superiors. The emperor wants to strengthen the country. Just behave like this, you must have divine grace.
Yang Yiqing's eyes were sore, there were emperors like this in the Ming Dynasty, only ministers like them who worked hard and devoted themselves to the country could be useful!
"Wei Chen, thank you for your kindness!"
"It's not too late to thank you. It's never too late to thank you when you get the money."
Hahaha!
The emperor made a little joke, and the atmosphere in Qianqing Palace became slightly more relaxed.
Zhu Houzhao stood up and said: "I have a commander like Ying Ning, generals like Shouwen and Yanzhang, capable and loyal ministers in the military department, and free money to clear the way. What do those northern barbarians have? It's nothing more than that. A scimitar. But can we Han people not be able to outsmart them with scimitars? My generals are not convinced, and I am even more unconvinced!"
"My Holy Emperor! Long live, long live, long live!"
"Having said long live, I also want to talk about silver. Three hundred thousand is far from one million. There is no silver in the household department. The silver of the young government is to be taken from the people and used for the people. I know that you are all thinking about me. I think there is money in my pocket, but do you know where the money came from? Mr. Li Ge, Mr. Xie Ge, do you know?"
Li Dongyang paused for a moment. It was wrong to pretend not to know about some things. Mei Kejia was an open person. "I only know that His Majesty is sending people to do business."
"Yes, the most reliable ones are from overseas merchants." Zhu Houzhao stopped trying to be too pretentious and said, "Let's just say it bluntly. Silk, porcelain, and tea from the Ming Dynasty are very popular overseas. They are shipped from the coast of Zhejiang. As long as they go to one place, they will be sold. It can be sold for ten times the price. So what I mean is that if you want to have silver for multiple arbitrage, you can get it from the sea. That is, open the sea!"
When these words came out, the Qianqing Palace became silent for an instant, and you could hear tiny needles falling to the ground.
None of the ministers in the Qianqing Palace dared to answer the question. Let's not talk about the fate of the emperor himself, but how to deal with the matter of teaming up with a businessman to carry out smuggling.
Just the word "open sea" is very sensitive. Because Zhu Yuanzhang ordered that no piece of board be allowed into the sea, and the sea ban was an ancestral system!
Moreover, such a big thing was not an impromptu idea at all. It must have been thought of long ago. In this way, it was not revealed until today and at this moment. Taking advantage of the opportunity of not having money in the complex... Such a plan is really amazing. .
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