Chapter Thirteen Three Shortcomings
He Xi knew it was time to show off Zhu Xiongying's cards. Said: "Here is a secret edict."
He Xi then took out a box from behind and handed it to Zhu Xiongying.
As soon as Zhu Xiongying opened it, he saw the bright yellow imperial edict. He opened it tremblingly. There were a few simple words written inside, which was to make Zhu Xiongying the grandson and supervise state affairs in Beijing.
The time above is the twenty-sixth year of Hongwu. That was two years ago.
Zhu Xiongying's face was extremely complicated, with some joy and resentment, but more importantly, he didn't understand. He didn't know why Zhu Yuanzhang did this? .
He Xi said: "Here is a secret letter from His Majesty."
Then he handed it to Zhu Xiongying.
Zhu Xiongying opened it and looked at it carefully. The secret letter was very long and took up more than a dozen pieces of paper.
He Xi has not read it, but he also understands what Zhu Yuanzhang wrote in it? Isn't it Zhu Yuanzhang's overall plan? At the same time, there may be some instructions to Zhu Xiongying to let Zhu Xiongying guard against himself.
He Xi had already expected this.
Zhu Xiongying has been learning how to govern a modern country and how to industrialize in Beijing. If the Industrial Revolution is promoted in the Ming Dynasty. I never thought that this was included in Zhu Yuanzhang's arrangements. On his way back to Nanjing, he had to fight back.
This was also the last lesson Zhu Yuanzhang taught Zhu Xiongying.
As an emperor, don't trust anyone. Even the people closest to you.
But He Xi didn't know whether Zhu Xiongying could understand at this moment. But He Xi knew that there was already a rift between the two parties over this matter. Zhu Xiongying and He Xi will be the most important partners in the future.
Without Zhu Xiongying's banner, it would be impossible for Beijing to gather forces from all parties. After all, Zhu Yuanzhang established the legacy of the world. It doesn't dissipate that quickly. If He Xi started his own army, the difficulties he would encounter would be ten times that of cooperating with Zhu Xiongying.
Without the support of He Xi and the support of the industrial system behind He Xi, Zhu Xiongying did not feel that he could fight back to Nanjing.
In comparison, although Zhu Xiongying had read the history of Jingnan, he also knew that during the Battle of Jingnan, his uncle King Yan almost died several times for many years.
Zhu Xiongying didn't think that he was more powerful than King Yan in terms of fighting.
Both parties need each other. Just in the field of power, they will also become opponents.
However, He Xi was not afraid.
He Xi has always been grateful to Zhu Yuanzhang. Without Zhu Yuanzhang’s training, He Xi would not be where he is today. But at the same time, He Xi felt relieved about the fact that Zhu Yuanzhang was about to die.
Without Zhu Yuanzhang in the world, He Xi is not afraid of anyone.
Including the person in front of you.
Zhu Xiongying has become much more mature politically over the years. After reading the letter, he was silent for a while and said, "My uncle has known about Grandpa Huang's plan for a long time. Why should he teach me now?"
He Xi said: "Pre-emptive strike. After capturing Shen Guogong, we can immediately seize the military power of the Beijing camp around Beijing. Your Highness, sit in the capital and send people to visit the Yanbian Guards Station in Beijing. What I can guarantee is that the 100,000 troops in Liaodong Province will do whatever it takes." The price will support His Highness. I will immediately lead the troops south and capture Hejian Mansion."
Zhu Xiongying said: "Hejian Mansion? Why Hejian Mansion?"
He Xi said: "Hejian Prefecture has a special position. There are many rivers in Zhending and Hejian Prefectures, both running from east to west. Our army can defend by the rivers and defend in sequence. Of course, if we can go down, we might as well continue Go deep and occupy the north of the river. This is one of them. The Beijing Camp is a gathering of troops from all directions. Among them, the Hebei Guards are all under the jurisdiction of Beijing. Therefore, as long as things are done properly, the entire Hebei will not encounter much resistance. That’s the second thing. The most important thing is our overall strategy.”
Zhu Xiongying said: "General strategy? What general strategy?"
He Xi said: "Your Highness, the enemy is strong but we are weak. There are Dukes of Wei, Dukes of Song, and Dukes of Ying in Nanjing. They are famous ministers and generals. It is unrealistic to expect the army to go south and capture Nanjing in one fell swoop. But since ancient times, vassal kings have always rebelled. If quick victory is the priority, how can the war last long because the enemy is in one corner of the country?
In this difficult battle, if Nanjing had not behaved unprepared and had troops approaching the river, it would not have collapsed. But now, it's different. Because the industrial revolution has already happened. "
"In the 14th year of Hongwu, Ming's steel production was only a few hundred thousand tons. Today, Ming's steel production has exceeded one million tons. And 80% of it is in Beijing and Liaodong. In terms of the amount of ordnance production, we are ten times that of Nanjing. In terms of strength comparison For example, we are ten times as powerful as the South. It can be said that we have the advantage. But we have three major flaws."
"First, the population is insufficient. In Liaodong and Hebei, the population is less than 10 million, so all the people must be soldiers to fight a big war. And having all the people as soldiers does not mean recruiting people randomly as soldiers. This situation is not only useless. , but also harmful. The military must be reformed."
"Second, there is a shortage of food. Since Jingkang, the vitality of the north has not recovered much. In recent years, Liaodong's grain production has increased year by year, and even Changchun has a surplus of grain. However, it is still insufficient to support the current war. Even if Beijing has We need to save grain, but once the war starts, I’m afraid it won’t last for a year. So rural areas need reform.”
"Third, there is not enough money. Every move of troops and horses brings thousands of taels of gold. Although Beijing is now in charge of the banking department, it seems that there is countless gold and silver on hand, but when calculating the general ledger, Beijing Liaodong only has a balance of tens of millions of yuan a year at most. This little money is simply not enough. Fighting. So money is not enough."
"Insufficient people, insufficient food, and insufficient money. With these three deficiencies, reforms must be implemented. Reforms must be implemented from all aspects of military, economic, political, and organizational aspects. Only by mobilizing all manpower and material resources can we have hope of defeating Nanjing."
When Zhu Xiongying heard what He Xi said, he suddenly felt a trace of hatred in his heart.
Zhu Xiongying thought to himself: "This is what Grandpa Huang wants to see, and this is what you want to see. Crazy, crazy, haven't you thought about me? Haven't you thought about the people of the world?"
Zhu Xiongying is a child after all. Even though Zhu Yuanzhang explained it to him in his letter. He may not understand either. Otherwise, He Xi's series of reforms would have no chance of being implemented. Among other things, he extended his hand into the army and carried out drastic reforms to the army. If He Xi dares to make such a request, Princess Anqing will just wait to become a widow.
Zhu Xiongying and distinguished guests, hello, hello, hello, hello to everyone. It is on the premise that both sides have not touched each other's basic base, and soldiers, horses, and the army are the basic base of these nobles. Now these old things have not died. For them, Han Lin'er can drown, He Xi How come you can't die?
Only now, a large-scale war can give He Xi a chance.
It should be noted that Zhu Xiongying has been in Beijing for three years. It’s not a day anymore.
It's not that Zhu Xiongying is very powerful, but as the eldest grandson of the emperor, he has natural cohesion. Everyone thought that if Zhu Xiongying could ascend the throne, they would have been close to him for a long time. However, the situation suddenly changed. Zhu Xiongying could not ascend the throne and wanted to rebel.
It is still in this situation where the enemy is strong and we are weak.
Many people have no choice.
Seizing the heir is the most cruel, and most of the followers on both sides will be killed. As for defecting to the other party, I'm sorry, the position in Nanjing has long been filled. There is no result in defecting to the other party. As long as Zhu Xiongying gives them a little hope, many things can be compromised in the face of survival.
Not to mention, in terms of the world, He Xi is a minority, but in terms of Beijing and Liaodong, He Xi and He Xi's disciples and grandsons, including the Imperial College in Beijing and several universities, are the majority.
With their support, as well as the support of the Liaodong military, He Xi had the opportunity to extend his hand in a big way. More importantly, He Xi drew a big pie for everyone, and this big pie was to advance into the Central Plains and capture Nanjing.
Everyone transformed and became the new masters of the world.
To this end, they can tolerate the loss of self-interest. What He Xi is doing is incremental. Although this increase needs to be transformed through victory on the battlefield, He Xi is confident of winning. And without this war, He Xi would not be able to satisfy the appetite of the Ming Dynasty scholar-bureaucrat group. They could only cut their flesh. He Xi would do everything with half the effort, and in the political arena that others are familiar with , there is almost no hope of victory.
