While Dai Yuanshi and others were daydreaming and discussing the new medical theory, Zhu Yunwen had returned to Wuying Hall and urgently summoned the cabinet Xie Jin and Zhang Zhen, the Minister of War Ru Yu, the minister Liu Jun, the Chinese Army Governor Xu Huizu, and the governor Song Sheng. Huang Zicheng, the Secretary of the Ministry of Household Affairs, Li Jian, the former military governor and commander-in-chief of the navy, Zhu Di, the king of Yan...
These people are either important officials of the imperial court or mainstays of the army, so it is reasonable for them to be called.
What is surprising is that Zhu Yunwen actually summoned Yao Guangxiao, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, Yang Shiqi, the imperial wine minister, Yang Rong, Yang Pu, Jin Youzi and others of the Hanlin Academy.
After everyone saluted, Zhu Yunwen ordered Jie Jin to read Zheng He's documents. The news of Annan's natural disaster and the occupation of the city asking for help spread to everyone's ears.
"Let's discuss how to treat this matter, whether Ming Dynasty will take care of it or not, send troops or not."
Zhu Yunwen sat upright and looked at everyone.
Rujun, the Minister of War, frowned. If he occupied the city and asked for help or not, he could just pretend that nothing happened and let it fend for itself. However, Annan's sudden change made it difficult to deal with it.
Annan is a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty. No matter how chaotic it is, it should still be the Chen Dynasty's own business. At present, Hu Jiya is not only usurping the throne, but also massacring the Chen Dynasty royal family, making it clear that he is a rebel.
The vassal state has the obligation to pay tribute to the suzerain state, and the suzerain state also has the obligation to protect the vassal state.
It stands to reason that the Ming Dynasty should take care of Hu Jiya, but Annan is not outside the gate of Nanjing. He can be reached just outside the gate. How can he take care of it when he is more than 3,000 miles away?
"The Romance of Fairy Wood"
Once the imperial court uses a large army, it will definitely consume a lot of national children, and some of the wealth that the imperial court has just accumulated will be wasted. Is it worth it to labor and mobilize people for a remote and difficult-to-control place?
In Wuying Hall, no one spoke for a moment.
Annan is located in the south of Yunnan and Guangxi provinces. During the Qin Dynasty, Qin Shihuang did not go through an auction, but asked Tu Sui to directly take over the land by force. Seeing that there were many elephants around, he set it up as Xiang County. This was the first time that Annan was included in the territory of the Central Plains Dynasty.
At the end of the Qin Dynasty, Zhao Tuo, the captain of Nanhai County, took advantage of the fall of Qin to seal off the pass and annex Guilin County and Xiang County in Lingnan. During the period of Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty, the Nanyue Kingdom was established.
Liu Che, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, destroyed the Nanyue Kingdom in the winter of the sixth year of Yuanding (111 BC) and established Jiaozhi County. After nearly a thousand years, Annan became Chinese territory.
During the Five Dynasties period, there was great chaos in the Central Plains. Liu Hu, the founder of the Southern Han Dynasty, invaded Jiaozhi. Later, due to his tyrannical rule, Wu Quan, a rich man from Jiaozhi, took advantage of the situation to raise troops, proclaimed himself king, and established the Wu Dynasty.
At this point, Annan was separated from the territory of China. By the time of Zhu Yunwen, it had been nearly five hundred years.
When Zhu Yunwen saw that everyone was silent, he knocked on the table and said, "Ru Yun, you lead the military department, let's talk first."
Rujun had no choice but to sigh and said: "Your Majesty, I think this matter needs to be investigated. We are not sure whether what the envoy said is true. If we send troops rashly, there is no such thing in Annan. Once the news spreads, Come on, Ming Dynasty will become a laughing stock."
Zhu Yunwen nodded slightly. It was inappropriate to prepare to send troops before he knew it clearly. But they didn't know that this was the truth. Zhu Yunwen knew it.
"I have called you into the palace to discuss it, not to test its authenticity. I have arranged for the Security Bureau to investigate. If this matter is false, the Ming Dynasty will not be able to move. But if this matter is true and the court does not make preparations, it will dereliction of duty."
Zhu Yunwen said seriously.
After hearing this, Rujun had no choice but to say: "Your Majesty, I think that although Annan has changed, it will not hinder our Ming Dynasty. Taizu once said that Annan is a country that will never be conquered. If our Ming Dynasty sends troops, it will be inconsistent with the etiquette and the ancestral system. It doesn’t match. If the Ming Dynasty sends troops to Annan to gain its territory, the Ming Dynasty will not be able to supply it. To gain its people, the Ming Dynasty will not be able to give orders. Over time, it will become a stubborn disease and drag down the court."
"From this, I think that the imperial court does not need to use a large army to deal with Annan.
, just send envoys to Annan to warn Hu Jiyou and order him to restrain himself and not attack Champa. "
After Song Sheng heard this, he felt a little angry and didn't care about anything else. He said bluntly: "Can the Annan problem be solved by just sending envoys? If this is true, the imperial court should send envoys to Tartar, Oara, and Japan to see Can we solve the border troubles?"
Ru Yun's face darkened, and he glared angrily, saying: "Captain of the Song Dynasty, Annan is a foreign land. Not to mention the dangerous roads, dense forests, poisonous miasma, and dense rivers, let's talk about using a large army. How to use it? Tens of thousands of soldiers and horses, It is not enough to quell the chaos. One hundred thousand soldiers and horses, two hundred thousand soldiers and horses, how to ensure food and grass? Once the supply cannot keep up, I, the Ming sergeant, will die there in vain!"
Song Sheng was about to retort, but was pulled back by Xu Huizu. Xu Huizu sighed: "Ru Shangshu, Song Sheng is a rough man with a bad temper. Don't get along with him. Your Majesty, what Ru Shangshu said is reasonable. He sent troops to Annan. I am really a subordinate." Here's what I can do. I think that if An Nan's change in heaven is true, he can appease Hu Ji Ya first and warn Hu Ji Ya that once he attacks Champa City, I, the Ming Dynasty, will not sit idly by."
"Courtesy first and then soldiers?"
Zhu Yunwen frowned, looked at Xie Jin, and asked, "Xie Aiqing, what do you think?"
Jie Jin cupped his hands to Zhu Yunwen and said with a serious face: "Your Majesty, I think that the Ming Dynasty cannot ignore the affairs of Annan. There are three reasons. One is that Annan is a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty. Hu Jisha and his subordinates violated the rule of the Ming Dynasty and usurped the throne. This is a violation of the rule of law." The way of kings and ministers should be taken down to clarify the orthodoxy.”
"Secondly, during the Hongwu period, Annan invaded Champa many times, and the Champa kingdom repeatedly paid tribute to Qiuyuan. Taizu said that the Ming Dynasty was the master of the world, and it was the right thing to do to control chaos and prevent danger. Taizu sent envoys many times , warned Annan, but Annan ignored him and even sent troops to invade Guangxi, disobeying the Ming Dynasty. If he sends envoys again, it may not be effective. "
"Third, our Ming Dynasty is prosperous, the new army has been reorganized and trained, and this victory can be expected. At present, the southern border is uncertain, and the people of our Ming Dynasty will surely suffer from it. Instead of sitting idly by, it is better to send troops to Annan to defeat it once and for all."
After hearing this, Zhu Yunwen was noncommittal, looked at Huang Zicheng, the Minister of Household Affairs, and asked, "What do you think?"
Huang Zicheng took a step forward and said seriously: "Your Majesty, I lead the Ministry of Household Affairs and it is not appropriate to participate in military aircraft. However, as far as the supply of grain and grass is concerned, I think there is no problem. Thanks to new strategies such as the One Whip Method, this summer's tax revenue will be quite generous. Apart from the corresponding Expenditures and funds used for disaster relief still remain. Although Yunnan, Guangxi and other places have been in trouble for many years, official warehouses in Sichuan, Guizhou, Guangdong, Jiangxi and other places have abundant grain reserves."
"According to my estimate, the local official warehouses are more than enough to support 200,000 soldiers, and there is no need to even use the capital's grain reserves. However, the autumn harvest is just around the corner. If the imperial court launches a large army, it will have to recruit migrant workers, which may damage the autumn harvest and affect autumn taxes. I can only He said that if we send troops to Annan, the Ministry of Household Affairs can support them."
Zhu Yunwen glanced at Huang Zicheng with admiration. Although he had a bad reputation in history, he has been very responsible and talented since he took over the Ministry of Household Affairs.
His worries are not unreasonable. Using 200,000 troops is definitely not a matter of 200,000 sergeants.
Many people think that fighting in ancient times was like playing. Just open your mouth and shut up to lead hundreds of thousands of troops to go to war. They also wish that they could fly over thousands of miles in a few days.
In fact, in ancient times, war was a very laborious and costly matter. It could not be fought easily, and even more easily it could not be fought.
Sun Tzu's Art of War says:
Anyone who raises an army of one hundred thousand and marches for thousands of miles, pays the common people's expenses, and pays thousands of gold for the service of the public; there is turmoil inside and outside, is lazy on the road, and cannot do anything, there are 700,000 families.
This means that using one hundred thousand soldiers and horses to travel thousands of miles will cost "thousands of gold" every day. In order to ensure that these one hundred thousand people fight, 700,000 families are needed to provide logistical support.
Even if one person is born in a family, then
It is also the logistics of 700,000 people to protect the team of 100,000 people.
For one soldier, seven people are needed to provide logistics.
After all, "Sun Tzu's Art of War" is from the Spring and Autumn Period. With the development of history, logistics efficiency has improved, but it also requires the use of great national power.
Judging from the history of Zhu Di's northern expedition with an army of 500,000, the logistics were terrifying.
Historical records:
There were 340,000 donkeys, 177,573 carts, and 235,146 people pulling the carts. A total of 370,000 dan of grain was transported and stored out of the fortress.
Of course, Zhu Di's "half a million" army is most likely an imaginary number, or the number of logistics personnel is also included.
Because according to many historical data studies in later generations, with an army of 500,000 and a long supply line, with this little logistics, it could only supply at most 150,000 to 200,000 soldiers and horses for the northern expedition.
It can be seen that when sending troops to fight, it is by no means just ordering soldiers and horses in the military camp and then going out for the war. It affects hundreds of thousands of families and people, and requires hundreds of thousands of migrant workers to ensure logistics.
Now that the autumn harvest is coming, if we mobilize the army, we will inevitably recruit hundreds of thousands of laborers, and these people are often the breadwinners of the family. Without them, the autumn harvest is likely to reduce production, and the result of the reduction is that the people will be poor.
Zhu Yunwen asked other people for their opinions. Zhu Di obviously supported the use of troops against Annan. Yao Guangxiao also hoped to solve the Annan problem through a war and at the same time give a deterrent to potential forces such as Lucchuan in the southwest to ensure peace in the southwest.
"Yang Rong, what do you think?"
Zhu Yunwen asked softly.
Xu Huizu, Zhu Di, Xie Jin and others were a little surprised. Yang Rong was just an editor of the Hanlin Academy, and he had only been involved in military and national affairs for only a few months after entering the Hanlin Academy?
Yang Rong was also a little surprised. He originally thought that he, Yang Pu, Jin Youzi and others were just observers and came with ears. They were surrounded by big guys, so it was never his turn to speak.
Zhu Yunwen looked at Yang Rong expectantly. The history books rated him as "flexible with all his strength and decisive in situations". He was very good at military affairs. I wonder if he had this kind of decisiveness when he first entered the official career.
Yang Rong calmed down and walked out, his eyes determined and his expression serious.
Although this stage came too early for me, now that I am on stage, I cannot miss the opportunity.
Yang Rong saluted, and then said grandly: "Your Majesty, I think that not only should we send troops to Annan, but we should also include Annan in the territory of our Ming Dynasty and make it a county of our Ming Dynasty!"
As soon as these words came out, everyone was shocked.
Rujun directly retorted: "Annan is a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty. It is a country that does not conquer. If we use a large army, it will only punish Hu Jiya and return him to the Chen family. If we occupy Annan and make it a county of the Ming Dynasty, we will Isn’t it true that the Ming Dynasty invaded other countries? It is inconsistent with etiquette and sentiment! If the military is unjust, how will the Ming Dynasty gain a foothold and how will other vassal states view the Ming Dynasty?”
Xu Huizu also frowned and said: "Annan has been a country for a long time. It may not be easy to add its territory to the Ming Dynasty. Moreover, there are many barbarians in the area, which is extremely difficult to control. If Annan is controlled forcefully, it will inevitably cause war. Over time, it will drag the Ming Dynasty into the Ming Dynasty. Being in the quagmire is unfavorable, too unfavorable.”
Yao Guangxiao looked at Yang Rong with something strange in his eyes.
When others objected, Yao Guangxiao was already considering the pros and cons of taking back Annan.
That place was originally a county in the Central Plains. If it could be taken back, it seems not impossible...
It's just that these courtiers take "justice" too seriously. If they are not teachers of justice and violate Confucian etiquette, they may not agree to send troops.
Yang Rong showed no fear in the face of doubts. He just looked at Zhu Yunzhen calmly and stated the reason for withdrawing Annan.
