Chapter 39 Ye Chen asks for orders
It is not just an improvement in personal status, but an idea to bring peace to the world and eliminate border troubles for the Ming Dynasty.
This sense of accomplishment is far better than getting promoted and making a fortune.
He is not willing to follow King Yan south, so what if King Yan Bian Zhuang stabs the tiger and finally ascends to the throne? King Yan will definitely give up the grassland. Even after victory, it will take a long time to return to the grassland, and it may even be impossible to come back forever.
So where will he realize his life's achievements?
What Lian Zining said to King Yan was true. But to be honest, it's not selfish.
Now Lian Zining saw that King Yan was interested. Lian Zining said, "Your Highness, in my opinion, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
King Yan said: "Oh, what chance?"
Lian Zining said: "The opportunity to unify the western grassland."
King Yan said: "What kind of opportunity is this? Even without this battle, wouldn't I be able to do it?"
Lian Zining said: "Your Highness, do you really think you can do it?"
King Yan frowned slightly, as if he felt that he had overlooked something. He took a sip of tea and said, "Tell me in detail."
Lian Zining said: "The western regions of the grassland are unified, with a population of over ten million. According to the nomadic fighting rules, there can be hundreds of thousands of cavalry. Such strength is enough to destroy the country. Therefore, no matter who is in power, the court will never allow such a situation From a powerful vassal state. Whether he is a clan lord or not. It’s the same.”
What does King Yan want to say?
Finally, he sighed and said, "Indeed."
King Yan subconsciously ignored these things. Now that Lian Zining reminded him, he had to admit that this was a problem.
The purpose of establishing vassal states in the Ming Dynasty was to defend the borders, rather than to allow the vassal kings to threaten the court. Even in the original plan of the Ming Dynasty, there were at least three princes in the northwest. That is, the King of Qin, the King of Jin, and the King of Yan. If everything goes well, a few princes will be granted the title. Let them keep each other in check. I am determined not to let these places be in the hands of a prince.
Checks and balances of power, no matter which emperor in ancient China understood this, but whether they can play it successfully is another matter.
It can only be said that after the death of the prince, the court's focus deviated from the norm, and the court did not impose restrictions on King Yan. In addition, Zhu Yuanzhang and him are biological father and son. The relationship is naturally close. Many things are not so obvious, but once the civil strife in the Ming Dynasty ends, The new emperor is a nephew, but it is completely different.
Lian Zining said: "Your Highness, the civil war in the Central Plains cannot be decided in a day. During this period, we only need to break the thorns and sweep across the Western Regions. No matter how the court changes in the future, we will be in an invincible position. This opportunity cannot be lost. Never come again."
King Yan took a deep breath and said: "There is also a problem. To fight a war, you need soldiers, food and weapons, and everything in the Yan Kingdom depends on the pass. Now if you want to fight a big war, it is not enough."
Lian Zining said: "I am willing to go to Beijing for Your Highness."
King Yan said, "Okay, I'll leave it to you, sir."
Lian Zining said: "Your Highness, please rest assured. I will certainly fulfill my mission. But what do you think, Your Highness?"
King Yan said: "I only have three bottom lines, and trade with the customs cannot be cut off. I want to borrow Changchun for thirty years, and I want a complete set of factory and mine equipment from steel production to firecrackers, as well as personnel guidance."
After hearing what King Yan said, Lian Zining seemed to have something strange in his eyes and said, "Yes."
Intra-Customs trade cannot be cut off. Without intra-Customs trade, King Yan would have no market for the many things he produced, and the economy would have problems. It’s okay if you haven’t tasted the benefits before. Now I have tasted the benefits. Naturally, I won’t give up easily.
Borrowed from Changchun for thirty years.
The reason why it was borrowed was that King Yan knew very well that Changchun could not be kept for a long time. Because it is too close to Liaodong. Especially after King Yan made a strategic breakthrough in the northwest, it was too far away from the core area of King Yan.
But the King of Yan needs Changchun as a strategic buffer and a grain production area. Although Changchun produces very little food, it is a small supplement to the King of Yan.
most
The latter point left Lian Zining a little confused.
But Lian Zining knew very well that these three conditions had their own meanings, and they should not have been thought up by King Yan on the spur of the moment. In other words, before Lian Zining came, King Yan had already made a decision.
After King Yan sent Lian Zining away, Queen Yan came out from behind and said, "Amitabha, you finally let go."
King Yan said: "You can't let it go. It's not like you haven't seen my father-in-law's letter. The world has become different."
Xu Da's letter is nothing more than Xu Da's judgment on the future war. Firearms will definitely be better than cold weapons. The future of war will be centered on firearms. King Yan actually felt this too.
After all, the Shenji Camp in history was first created by King Yan.
It's just that King Yan didn't feel that deeply. He just felt the usefulness of firearms, and did not elevate this usefulness to a theoretical level. Of course, this is why firearms in history have not reached the heights that He Xi has now.
To be honest, He Xi didn't create any new firearms.
Regardless of firecrackers, there are other artillery and so on. It's not really an innovation. After all, there are prototypes, and He Xi just modified the prototypes. The only innovation is probably the flintlock gun. But in fact, there are not no firearms with fusible engines.
What He Xi does is nothing more than technology integration.
The only change He Xi made to Daming firearms was probably to increase the reliability of the firearms.
The muskets and artillery produced after He Xi improved the production process have high redundancy. Fireguns are almost impossible to explode. Anyway, before He Xi arrives, it is common for firearms to explode. But nowadays, it is impossible for a gun to explode.
After all, the performance requirements of many steel materials for making steam engines are much higher than the performance requirements of steel materials for fire guns.
When working on steam engines, the strength of steel was greatly improved.
Moreover, the power of black powder is also limited. As long as it is not used in a destructive manner, or if a barrel is filled with gunpowder and detonated, it will generally not explode.
The same goes for artillery. However, because the artillery needs to be lighter, it is not as strong as the gun. However, as long as you follow the factory instructions and fire multiple times in a row, it will not explode if you stop. Even if it far exceeds this limit, it may not explode, but the probability will become higher and higher.
Of course, the Ming Dynasty has not yet fought a war in which artillery was blown out of the chamber.
It is precisely because of the reliability of firearms that many generals changed their views on firearms.
After all, military reliability is the most important thing.
How did King Yan use the Shenji Camp in history? Just put the Shenji Battalion outside the position, let them finish shooting, and then withdraw. As for why the soldiers did not open fire within the military formation. They were probably worried that once the chamber exploded, the military formation would collapse without a fight.
As a result, many firearm-based tactics are unlikely to be developed.
King Yan finally decided to give up going south. In fact, he knew that after Ye Chen's battle, he keenly felt that the title of King of the Cavalry Battlefield seemed unkempt. One hundred thousand elite cavalry were a force capable of destroying a country before. But is it still the case today?
King Yan doesn’t know anymore.
Naturally, King Yan was unwilling to risk his wealth and life. But there are benefits to not taking risks.
The benefit that King Yan wanted was the production capacity of firearms.
It's just that King Yan still has limitations in many things. He did not see that the real qualitative change in firearms was not the advancement of steel technology or a firearms workshop, but a series of profound changes behind it.
Princess Yan didn't dare to think what King Yan would think. In her opinion, it was just good for the family to be peaceful. As for being an emperor? Who wants to be who?
Princess Yan suddenly thought of something and asked, "Can Lian Zi rather go here to achieve his mission?"
King Yan sneered and said, "I don't understand what he is thinking. Besides, he is He Xi's most proud disciple. I'm afraid he has something to do with his teacher. And I'm afraid Xiongying wants this from me. It's not us who should be anxious. , but them."
Beijing should be anxious. After all, as long as King Yan goes south, Beijing will be caught on both sides.
In case of attack.
King Yan also felt a little sorry for the current situation in his heart. King Yan secretly thought: "Father, if you pass the throne to me, it will definitely not be what it is now."
