Chapter 53 Agreement with King Yan
It's not that Lian Zining is unsmart, it's just that he has been doing practical things over the years. To put it bluntly, if Lian Zining is asked to replace Yang Shiqi in charge of Beijing affairs, he may do a better job than Yang Shiqi. However, Lian Zining was indeed not an expert in diplomatic negotiations.
Many things between King Yan and He Xi were discussed by King Yan himself.
Moreover, King Yan was very general-like and did not have so many twists and turns. If it worked, it would work, but if it didn't work, it would not work. straightforward.
He Xi also had a good attitude towards King Yan and didn't bargain much.
From these circumstances, He Xi naturally made a judgment. At this moment, he had no intention of embarrassing Lian Zining and said, "I have been friends with King Yan for many years. Just say whatever you want. Zining, haven't we seen each other in these years? You and I have come to this point, let alone King Yan, even if you are here, I will give you a face no matter what, so that you can easily explain to King Yan."
These words made Lian Zining feel a little embarrassed. Although Lian Zining also knew, how much truth was there in He Xi's words? What a lie. It's just that He Xi felt that now he needed to cut through the mess quickly and reach an agreement with King Yan. Otherwise, as time goes by, there will be changes. Secondly, He Xi had a lot of things to do and did not have time to continue discussions with King Yan in Daning.
But Lian Zining is not that thick-skinned yet.
He thought about it and decided to be honest with her. This might be the most efficient way. Therefore, the three items of the King of Yan were to preserve trade, borrow the capital of Changchun, and assist in the construction of a complete firearms production factory.
He Xi thought for a moment and said: "Generally speaking, I agree, but I have to report it to the Supervisory State, and there will generally be no problems. However, I have two things that need to be mentioned first."
The matter of trade need not be discussed by the King of Yan, but He Xi must maintain it. After all, in all aspects of production in Beijing, there is a shortage of food and raw materials, but there is a surplus of industrial products. For King Yan, external expansion and foreign trade were one of the important starting points. It can not only bring profits to King Yan. After all, to raise so many troops, it is not enough to rely solely on the output of the grassland. It is also an important means of foreign war.
Most grassland tribes have no loyalty at all, especially now after the collapse of the Golden Family's rule. After all, the Golden Family has a glorious history, and most Mongolians still recognize the Golden Family. But what is Wala today?
The submission of the tribes below Wasi to Wasi was simply because Wasi was strong. Perhaps only after this situation continued for several generations would Wala's rule be deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. But it is decided not now.
The King of Yan boasted that Wa La had strong soldiers and strong horses, but why was he not the same? King Yan was confident that he could defeat Wala. The profits brought by trade can be shared with these tribes, thereby pulling these tribes on board. After all, in the eyes of the Ming Dynasty, most of the tribes in the northwest are paupers. That is a silver bullet attack that can't be seen by black eyes. The silver bullet offensive that Duke Jiang used to defeat the Northwest Army can also be used by King Yan. The British Duke used the same method to win over local rulers in colonial management.
Therefore, both sides have common interests in maintaining trade.
It can be said that they hit it off immediately. No need to say much. He Xi could even give King Yan a loan so that King Yan could make large purchases in Beijing.
Of course, some scarce things need to be restricted. Other than that, there are no restrictions.
However, there are some restrictions on the other two points.
He Xi said: "Changchun Dusi is temporarily owned by King Yan, there is no problem, but if the local people in Changchun Dusi are willing to follow King Yan, we will naturally not stop them, but King Yan can't move Changchun Dusi to Bai."
When He Xi said this, Lian Zining was a little embarrassed. However, he had to admit that He Xi was on point. What is King Yan’s biggest problem?
It's because there are not enough Han people under his command.
Although the King of Yan is married to the Mongols, the core of the rule of the Yan Kingdom is Han people. This is the foundation of the King of Yan. Not only will it not change now, but it will not change in the future. The Han people of the Yan Kingdom are the Three Guards of the King of Yan and the Three Guards of the King of Yan. His family members, whether male or female, will not exceed one hundred thousand.
There are not many people in Changchun Dusi. But there are also a lot of Han people. if
If the King of Yan can take away the Han people from Changchun Dusi, it will be a great benefit to the Yan State.
But Lian Zining didn't know whether King Yan wanted to turn Changchun into a wasteland. But if you think about it carefully, it's really possible.
Without him, the King of Yan wants the Changchun capital, in fact, he wants to have a buffer zone with Beijing. After all, if the Beijing army is in the Changchun capital and attacks the Yan State, it will be a replica of the Yan King's attack on the Yuan Dynasty. The King of Yan is based on the Songnen Plain, so it is impossible to migrate.
At that time, the situation faced by King Yan would only be more dangerous.
Turning the Changchun capital into a no-man's land was also in line with King Yan's needs.
He Xi did not let Lian Zining agree now, and continued: "The firearms and mining and other matters that King Yan wants have a prerequisite, that is, Yan State must first have mines, iron ore and coal mines, and does Yan State have them now? ?」
Lian Zining was stunned, shook his head and said, "No."
There are no iron mines on the Songnen Plain, but there are coal mines. It's just that I didn't find it.
After all, there are few people there. For the areas within the Ming Dynasty, the most convenient way to check for minerals is to check ancient books. Books are available in many places, and even local people have mined them a long time ago.
Of course, as mining technology becomes more advanced and some minerals go deeper into the ground, these ancient books will become less useful. But it was still very useful when industrialization just started. This is also a rich legacy left by our ancestors.
It's different on the grassland.
People on the grassland want to know where there are iron ore mines. If there are coal mines, large-scale exploration must be carried out.
And where does King Yan have the manpower, material resources, and technical power?
He Xi waved his hand and said: "Since there are no iron ore or coal mines, I just want to give it to you. What's the use of it? I just promise you that you can come to me at any time if you need it. I will approve it. , and even specially sent people to build it for King Yan. However, this has a premise and is inevitable, that is, King Yan must go westward to compete with Waci. It is said that the Western Region has always been rich in iron, and the Western Region has iron. It’s also very famous.”
King Yan's hundred thousand cavalry were a threat after all. In order to prevent King Yan from going south, He Xi had to leave some troops behind for defense. Fortunately, the Ming Dynasty had a complete defense line against the Mongols, and He Xi only had to maintain it. There is no need to spend much manpower and material resources to rebuild the fortifications. But this is ultimately a burden.
Once King Yan goes to war with Wasi, the battlefield must be in Mobei or the Western Region. In this way, He Xi can completely remove the defenses in the north and mobilize at least 100,000 troops.
Prepare troops for the decisive battle south.
As for going south to unify the world, how many thousands of people are needed? He Xi doesn’t know. But He Xi feels that the more the merrier, and we must give full play to our own advantages. What are Beijing’s advantages? Compared with the cold weapon era, what is the greatest convenience for firearms troops? That is, combat effectiveness relies on the output of firearms, not people.
Training an elite soldier so that they can master various combat skills and weapons in quantity takes much longer than training a musketeer.
He Xi naturally wanted to take advantage of this, expand his army, expand his army, and then expand his army, gritting his teeth and attack the million-strong army. The biggest problem here is, if nothing else, the population problem. Therefore, He Xi tried to find a way to get more people. ..
Allocate human resources.
At the same time, it also provides space for the large-scale use of steam engines.
Although He Xi found it a bit difficult, he felt that he could still sustain the battle with an army of one million people. But I don’t know if Nanjing can hold on. At least even now, Zhu Yunwen did not expect that the future war with Beijing would expand to an unacceptable scale.
At least, He Xi has already made efforts in this regard, but Zhu Yunwen hasn't noticed it yet.
Lian Zining said: "Okay. There should be no problem with this. As long as we report it to His Highness, there should be no problem."
