This is probably because last year the Great Court Meeting was held for the first time, and many details had not yet been discussed in detail. Moreover, at that time, the late emperor passed away and there was a war in the northwest. The situation in the court was far more intense than it is today. Therefore, the Great Court Meeting in the first year of Zhengde seemed more intense than in the 18th year of Hongzhi. Calm.
The vigorous emperor stood under the golden plaque. With his eyes looking majestic and confident, he preached to his important ministers:
"In the eighteenth year of Hongzhi, I made the restoration of Tao a national policy. I determined that in three or five years, I would restore the old territory to thank all the people of the world. If this ambition is not achieved, I vow not to give up.
And I, remembering the great decree of the late emperor, wishing to emulate the rule of Tang and Yu, and those who speak out may agree with each other, or insist on their own faults, but I remember that my mother is sideways to her mother, and my mother's party is partial to her mother. You ministers, please strengthen your courage and wisdom, and guide me to rule. This is the so-called ambition of a great meeting! "
At the beginning of the great dynasty meeting, the emperor made this opening statement, which means that I will follow the emperor's orders and follow the benevolent policies of Yao and Shun of the Tang Dynasty to govern the country. You can say whatever you need to say and assist me in handling the affairs of the court.
In fact, this is what civil servants often call for to broaden the scope of expression.
So all the courtiers in the palace once again shouted long live.
Zhu Houzhao came down the stairs, "During the Western Han Dynasty, Emperor Wu established Shuofang and Wuyuan counties. The Heshuo area has been the territory of the Central Plains since then. The "Book of the Later Han Dynasty" records that the land of Heshuo was connected by canals, and the Shuichun River was Cao. It saves a lot of effort and enough food for the army. Therefore, Emperor Xiaowu and Guangwu built Shuofang, opened up the Xihe River, and established Shangjun, all for this purpose."
"Emperor Taizu of this dynasty launched an army to conquer the Yuan Dynasty in order to drive out the Tartars and restore China. Emperor Taizong conquered Mobei five times and conquered Yuanting in the north. The ancestors of the emperor also went to Jianzhou to suppress the Jurchens, so there was Chenghua Liting. More than a hundred Over the years, the war between the Ming Dynasty and the grassland has never stopped. I am determined to inherit the remnants of my ancestors and capture the land of Hetao in my lifetime. All ministers can submit the discussion today. I will accept it if it is beneficial to the reunification of Tao, and if it is not conducive to the reunification of the Tao, I will accept it. I will abandon it."
As the emperor, he will set the tone. Today is a discussion on how to regain the Loop.
But the specific discussion of how to regain the Loop is a matter for the ministers.
In fact, in the final analysis, the complex is a military operation, or a war against the Tatars.
Basically, judging from the current situation, this must be an expedition, so it is completely different from the Battle of Huamachi in the 18th year of Hongzhi.
At this time, the Ming Dynasty was no longer in its early years. Tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands of troops entered the desert. This was no small matter.
For Yang Yiqing, there are only two requirements for him to take this mission back.
One is for people and the other is for military supplies.
So at this point, the ministers began to use their brains.
Yang Tinghe Jinzhuo said: "Ningxia's army is weak. It is necessary to select strong men from each guard and organize them into two guards. Then they will be given war horses and military supplies, supplemented by reclamation and training."
Li Dongyang believed that the imperial court should prepare more grain and grass, and for convenience, it could build a granary in the northwest similar to Jingtong Granary.
The so-called Jingtongcang is a large granary built in the capital and Tongzhou. Emperor Chenghua also used these grain reserves to stabilize prices. In the 22nd year of Chenghua, Jingtongcang had 20 million shi in grain storage.
After Hongzhi, expenditures became increasingly heavy, and the grain storage in Jingtong gradually decreased. So far, only 13 million shi are left. When Zhu Houzhao was dealing with household affairs, he also ordered that attention should be paid to keeping the grain warehouse full and functioning.
Wang Zhen, the minister of Taipu Temple, suggested that the imperial court should appropriately expand the number of official horse farms so that he could raise more war horses and reduce the pressure. Otherwise, Yang Butang would always ask him for horses, which would be a headache.
However, the cost of horse administration is not small, often hundreds of thousands of taels of silver.
Zhao Shen, the Minister of Punishment, put forward a rather special point of view: He felt that since there was a shortage of war horses, it would be good to cultivate and accumulate more official horse farms, but the old system of "Nama Atonement" in the Chenghua period could be restored.
In the era of imperial power, there was no concept of the rule of law. Whatever the country needed, it would do whatever it needed. At that time, there was a shortage of horses, so this was the only way.
Emperor Yongle was still short of food in the capital, so he stopped the development of the country and concentrated all the food in the capital. In this way, all the salt merchants who received food had to send food to the capital. All the granaries in the capital were full for a while.
Zhu Houzhao sat on the dragon chair, listening to Zhao Shen's method, shaking his head in his heart. How many more horses can be obtained with a few prisoners?
Sure enough, Lin Han, the Minister of Rites, rejected this approach, saying that in this case, it would be better to temporarily stop the gradual withdrawal of the people and herdsmen. Since the country is at war, if the people have to suffer for a little more than two years, the people will surely understand the imperial court.
Han Wen, the Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue, suggested: As I said before, opening the sea is for retrieval. Now that the opening of the sea has been completed, the shipping companies of the three cities have implemented an access system, and the access money earned is nearly two million, which can be allocated to horse administration and comprehensive national policies respectively.
…
All in all, at the Fengtian Palace, many ministers started various discussions on how to replicate the situation. Some of these are good ideas, and some are just throw away.
After hearing this, Zhu Houzhao felt that there were several points that he had never thought of before. The Three Stooges were better than Zhuge Liang.
Among them, the military strategy was proposed by Wang Shouren. He suggested using elite soldiers to come and go like the wind to suppress traps first. He was not the first to do this. During the Chenghua period and even in the eleventh year of Hongzhi, Wang Yue's attack was considered a successful trap. The reason why suppression is easier to succeed is that nomadic people also have their own "work and rest".
This is a kind of military common sense. Wang Shouren must have known it since he had fought with the Tatars.
This common sense is that the nomads' southward expedition to the Central Plains usually took place in autumn, while the Central Plains dynasty's northern expedition usually took place in spring, which is exactly the opposite. Behind it all is determined by the production method.
First of all, let’s look at the nomads. The reason why they often choose autumn is because nomads are cold-tolerant but not heat-resistant. The climate in Guan Nei is relatively warm and nomads cannot adapt. In autumn, the air is crisp and the climate turns cooler. Even if the war drags on and the weather gets colder, the nomadic cavalry will fight more vigorously. At the same time, the Han army is not cold-resistant and will suffer more and more losses.
When the weather got cold again and the rivers in the north froze, the cavalry drove straight in without any hindrance.
Moreover, autumn is the time when farmers harvest their fields. It is difficult for the Central Plains army to gather, which is also conducive to their fighting.
The most critical factor is that they are short of supplies in winter. If they don’t rush to get some supplies in the fall, it will be difficult for women, children, and livestock to survive the winter.
For the farming people in the Central Plains, spring is the best time to attack. Once the weather gradually turns hotter, we are not afraid of it getting hotter as the weather continues. Secondly, spring is the breeding season for livestock. In order to raise more cattle and sheep, nomadic people will try their best to spread out over the vast prairie to graze and raise their young. At this time, it is difficult for them to assemble an army in a short period of time, and the war will also affect livestock reproduction.
In addition, the master's expedition requires a lot of food and grass, and the collection of food and grass also takes time, and winter is a slack time for farmers, so there is just time to organize civilians to transport food and grass.
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The so-called suppression means going deep into the desert at this time, killing people and robbing cattle and sheep whenever you encounter them.
If the nomads rob the people in the pass, the people will be in dire straits. If the Central Plains dynasty robs them, it will be a heavy blow. Anyway, it’s the Seven Injury Fist, let’s see who kills the other first.
Wang Shouren's final conclusion is quite reasonable, "Since the Ming Dynasty has spent its national power on preparing troops, how can it treat the Tatars as accumulating troops and horses? If the trap is not eliminated, God will definitely investigate."
Even if you have this power, why don’t you weaken them?
Yang Shangyi and Zhou Shangwen both agreed with this suggestion, but they did not expect that a civil servant would put forward such a view, because civil servants always tend to prevent the army from attacking.
Suppressing traps also requires food and grass.
Another suggestion was made by Song Heng, a doctor in the Shaofu, who viewed the war from an economic perspective.
Song Heng was only a fourth-rank official, which was nothing on this occasion, but the imperial court would allow officials, big and small, to speak, so he did. He believed that the imperial court should gradually tighten trade with Tatars, based on the town of Datong. Further strictly control the sale of salt, iron, cloth and other materials to the Tatars. He believed that the army was not strong in the past, so doing so would only allow the impatient Tatars to plunder the border.
However, as the imperial army and horses continued to move northward from the desert, they actually had the strength to resist the Tatars. And no matter where they enter the customs, the officers and soldiers can respond.
On this basis, border trade regulations should be specially formulated for the sake of complex national policies, and merchants who still maintain trade with Tatars should be severely cracked down on.
This is actually a kind of blockade. This had been done to a certain extent in Datong before, and the Ming Dynasty itself prohibited trade with Tatars, but there was a lot of smuggling in private. According to Song Heng's suggestion, the court's measures should be more resolute and as powerful as opening up the sea.
In fact, it is not that the court is not resolute. The trade war will hurt both sides, because the people on both sides have mutual needs for trade.
But Zhu Houzhao thought carefully and realized that in fact, for two or three years due to military harassment and economic blockade, the Tatars' strength would be greatly reduced. By that time, the court's victory rate would be the highest.
But one disadvantage of the economic blockade is that the Tatars may really not be able to survive. What if they can’t survive? They can only go south to plunder.
In this way, the Ming-Mongolia War may occur this year. It will be somewhat unprepared.
And having said that, what if we win?
This kind of war is a full-out attack by the underdog. If they fail, most of their breath will be lost.
Have lunch at noon,
The emperor first revealed his intention to several important ministers, "I think the suppression can be carried out this year. Zhou Yanzhang has already gone north to the desert. In the spring, the Mongols were grazing cattle and sheep, and the probability of quickly gathering troops to counterattack was relatively high." Small. But after discussing the blockade, I think it can be implemented after the trap is eliminated next year."
Next year, the Ming Dynasty's cavalry and frontier troops will be further strengthened, and they can wait for the Tatar counterattack.
Yang Yiqing also thinks this is safe, "Wei Chen thinks it is excellent. If there is a blockade this year, the Tatars will definitely invade the border with all their strength in the autumn. It is a vain risk and is definitely not a good idea."
"One year of suppression, two years of blockade, and three years of repeated suppression can be successful." Yang Tinghe said directly: "If there are two strategies of suppression and blockade on the first day of the meeting, it will be worthwhile."
Zhou Shangwen can be used for suppression, but I don't know if Song Heng can be used for blockade. However, Zhu Houzhao is not in a hurry. It will be a matter of next year after all, so we can keep an eye on it.
In addition, he also thought about another thing.
The dharna will continue in the afternoon,
The emperor said to everyone: "Previously, the great Situ said that the city's shipping department has nearly two million silver. Now that I have opened the golden mouth, I said that the sea must be opened to open the sea, and the sea is to open the sea. Now that I have said , we must keep our word. In the first year of Zhengde, the expenses in the palace must be reduced and the redundant officials in the court must be withdrawn, but the military pay, food and grass of the Ming Dynasty soldiers cannot be reduced. This year, the complex must also be effective, so this amount of silver, I Don't move, dear friends, don't make any decisions. Yang Aiqing, I promise you today that I will allocate one million taels of silver to purchase troops and horses, train soldiers, and prepare for war!"
The ministers were astonished that such an amount was astonishing. The emperor was really willing to spend money on this matter.
