War is a means that serves politics and the overall situation.
If one is divorced from politics and the overall situation and talks about war alone, his position and achievements will mostly be limited to that of a general, and he will not be able to become a true commander-in-chief.
The commander's concern is not the gains and losses of one city or one pool, but the overall situation.
Zhu Di advocated sending troops out of consideration for the stability of the southern and southwestern frontiers of the Ming Dynasty.
Yang Rong is not Zhu Di, he is not a professional soldier, and he does not have genius battlefield command capabilities, but he also has his own advantages, which are his overall view and decisiveness.
Faced with the refutations from the Minister of War, the Governor of the Chinese Army, and others, Yang Rong firmly held his opinion and solemnly said: "I have seven reasons for what I think. I would like to ask Rong Chen to explain it clearly before making a judgment."
Zhu Yunwen raised his brows, "Good guy, Yang Rong is going to show off his prowess. The seven reasons are enough to prove that he has calculations in his heart."
"Tell me!"
Zhu Yunwen looked at Yang Rong expectantly.
Yang Rong took out a folded piece of paper from his sleeve. After unfolding it, it was a simplified map of the Ming Dynasty. The important towns in the northern part of the map were densely written with small characters. The southern part of the map was obviously much empty, with only a few strokes.
"Your Majesty, gentlemen, our Ming Dynasty's border defense focuses on the north to prevent the Mongolian tribes from going south. However, looking back at the Hongwu Dynasty, the southern border is not stable. In the three years of Hongwu, more than 100,000 mountain people in Yangshan County, Guangxi rebelled. In the fourteenth year of Hongwu, , Cao Zhen and Su Wenqing in Guangzhou rebelled. In the fifteenth year of Hongwu, Guangdong King Daping rebelled. In the twenty-eighth year of Hongwu, Yao Zhuang of Guangxi rebelled."
"There are all kinds of troubles and troubles here. Although the imperial army suppressed the rebellion many times, they were unable to solve the root cause. I believe that sending troops to Annan and setting up Annan County will not only help quell the rebellion and curb the people's will, but also take this opportunity to adjust the military affairs of the Ming Dynasty. Deployment, change eight points north and two points south to seven points north and three points south. To stabilize the southern part of the empire, this is one."
Hearing what Yang Rong said, Zhu Di, Xu Huizu, Yao Guangxiao and others couldn't help but be secretly surprised. Even Zhu Yunwen showed surprise.
What Yang Rong is talking about is the military deployment of the entire Ming Dynasty. His vision is so high that it is admirable.
Yes, the main enemy of the Ming Dynasty is the Mongolian tribe, so in terms of military deployment, most of the military forces are deployed along the northern border. In addition to the main force of the capital, 80% of the elite divisions are located in key northern towns!
The remaining military deployments are scattered across the country. Yunnan, Guangdong, Guangxi and other places have a small number of guard posts and their strength is also weak. In peacetime, it is indeed possible to suppress the local area, but once there is a major rebellion, it will not help at all.
During the Hongwu Dynasty, there were repeated rebellions in the south, and the court suppressed each rebellion. They had just returned to the court, and before they had a good night's sleep, another rebellion began over there. Some rebellions even lasted for several years. A key factor is that The southern military is weak and cannot defeat local indigenous and ethnic minorities.
Yang Rong saw the shortcomings of the Ming Dynasty's military deployment and wanted to send troops to Annan to increase the court's military presence in the south to better control the place.
Even Ru Rui, who refuted Yang Rong, calmed down his anger at this moment and listened to Yang Rong's story calmly.
Yang Rong continued: "Looking at Annan again, it repeatedly attacked Champa, threatening Siam and Bago. It also repeatedly invaded our country, the Ming Dynasty, and the Guangxi front line suffered greatly. Whether it was the Annan Chen Dynasty or this Hu Jiya, their They all have ambitions to fight foreign wars. If the imperial court uses a large army, why not once and for all, set foot on Ping'annan and take it back?"
"If according to the so-called righteous teachers, after the rebellion in Annan, a descendant of the Chen family is selected to take charge of Annan, in three to five years, his ambition will expand and he will attack Bian Ming again. By then, will Ming go to war or not? Go to war, Isn’t it possible to use the army for the second time, which costs a lot of money, and without producing evidence, we just sit back and watch Annan attack the border and destroy our Ming Dynasty! Who will bear the consequences of this? This is two!"
Zhu Di looked at Yang Rong with admiration. What he said was indeed reasonable.
It is not easy for the imperial court to mobilize large armies. Not to mention once and for all, at least it has to be decided in one battle. In exchange for ten or twenty years of peace.
If we just beat Hu Jiya, the territory will not belong to the Ming Dynasty, and it is others who have the final say. If peace is not peaceful, the Ming Dynasty will not be able to control it. What if Hu Jiya comes second...
If we take it back to the Ming Dynasty and station a large army and officials to control it, as long as we don't bully the local area too much, there will be no problem in maintaining peace.
Yang Rong talked eloquently, from the overall situation to the local area, from the court to Annan, from governing the country to peace of the people, telling the reasons for sending troops to Annan, taking Annan and Ming Dynasty territory.
By this time, Ru Yu, Liu Jun and others also saw clearly that although it was difficult to conquer Annan and it would consume a certain amount of financial, material and manpower, compared to the overall situation and the entire Ming Dynasty, the advantages of conquering Annan outweighed the disadvantages.
Yang Rong pointed to the map in his hand and said: "The Annan side is close to the sea, echoing the Leizhou Prefecture and Qiongzhou Prefecture in Guangdong. If we occupy Annan, our Ming Dynasty will have a military stronghold in Nanyang. It can stop the occupation of cities and the Qiongzhou Prefecture in the distance. The kingdoms of Siam and Chenla can control the kingdoms of Mansika, Sumatra, Srivijaya, Kuawa, and Bo Ni from far away."
"Although I, the Ming Dynasty, have no intention of annexing the countries in the South Sea, we can use this to deter the countries, appease the pirates, clear obstacles for the southward fleet, cooperate with the Guangdong Navy, and maintain awe in the South China Sea. This is seven."
"To sum up, taking Annan's land will bring great benefits, while abandoning Annan's land will bring great disadvantages. Therefore, I urge you to send troops to Annan and make it our Ming Dynasty territory."
Zhu Yunwen looked at Yang Rong, nodded slightly, and clapped his hands and said: "Everything is well understood, and it's a wonderful argument. Ru Aiqing, what do you think of what Yang Rong said?"
Ru Yun took a deep breath and said to Zhu Yunzhen: "I am not as good as him in my thoughts and concerns. If you think about it carefully, what he said is right. However, I insist that only a righteous teacher can build a country and secure it. If we take the opportunity If we seize Annan by force, we may be ridiculed by future generations, so please give it some thought, Your Majesty."
Zhu Yunwen knew that these civil servants were all honorable men and could not commit banditry. However, with some operation, Annan could still be taken back. Didn't Zhu Di do it in history?
However, this plan still requires a few people to die, and it also takes some time.
"Whether to send troops to Annan still needs long-term consideration."
Zhu Yunwen said thoughtfully.
Ru Yu, Xu Huizu, Zhu Di and others were stunned.
What did the emperor think?
Judging from his attitude, hasn't he always wanted to send troops to Annan?
Moreover, Yang Rong's point of view was very clear, and the emperor also agreed with it, but then turned around and said that he wanted to consider it in the long term?
Zhu Yunwen stood up and said solemnly: "The envoys who occupied the city asked for help. As the sovereign state of Ming Dynasty, we must not ignore it. However, the situation in Annan is unknown, so it is not appropriate to send troops directly. If we don't arrange for people to find out the situation first, if there is a sudden change in Annan, and the troops It means to capture the city, then it will not be too late for the Ming Dynasty to send troops. As for the issue of Annan's ownership, we can discuss it in the future."
Seeing this, everyone couldn't say anything else, so they had to bow and leave with doubts.
Zhu Yunwen paced and thought, it was very likely that Hu Ji Yao's regicide and usurpation of the throne was true. The only problem was that although Hu Ji Yao had some means, he was not agile enough. The Chen family's descendants and ministers had not yet been killed. It was estimated that Hu Ji Yao had some means. It won't be long before the Chen family's descendants and ministers will come to Ming Dynasty.
The descendants of the Chen family are dead. It will be too difficult for the Ming Dynasty to want the land in Annan. In addition, there are a group of Confucian scholars in the court who want face, skin and reputation. They may not have any objection to sending troops to Annan, but they can directly occupy it. Annan, they will jump.
If you want to completely annex the entire territory of Annan to Chinese territory, there is a prerequisite for killing all Hu Jima's family, and then the Chen family will also
disappear together.
Annan has nothing to do anymore, so Daming will naturally have the final say. If he arranges some entrustments and asks Daming to stay, won't the matter be settled?
Even with his face and reputation, the Nanyang countries could not object if they knew about it.
The army cannot be used now, because Annan is not yet in chaos and the matter is not big enough. Zhu Yunwen chose to wait, waiting for Hu Ji Yao to kill more people, waiting for a more suitable opportunity...
Although Zhu Yunwen did not adopt Yang Rong's opinion, he let everyone see Yang Rong's ability. Early the next morning, Xu Huizu asked to see Zhu Yunwen, hoping to transfer Yang Rong to the Governor's Mansion and make full use of him.
Zhu Yunwen hasn't approved it yet, and Ru Yu has also come. The same thing is true. He hopes that Yang Rong will join the Ministry of War and join the Staff Division as the chief, and cooperate with the Staff Division doctor to be in charge of conquests, military system, city god, town garrison, inspection drills, etc. Rectify the army and other matters.
Xu Huizu fought hard, but Ru Jin refused to give in.
Having no choice, Zhu Yunwen asked Yang Rong to choose. Yang Rong chose the Ministry of War Staff without saying a word.
This choice is also easy to understand. The Staff Department is similar to the General Staff of later generations. It is the main organization for planning wars. Yang Rong is good at military affairs and has an imperial examination background. If he doesn't go to the Ministry of War, how can he go to the Governor's Mansion?
Kunning Palace.
Zhu Yunwen looked at Ma Enhui, who was holding a mirror as a treasure, shook his head slightly, and continued tinkering with bamboos of different thicknesses.
"What is your Majesty doing?"
Ma Enhui couldn't help but ask when she saw Zhu Yunwen holding a short saw and cutting the bamboo.
Zhu Yunwen held a bamboo as short as a palm in front of his eyes, looked through the bamboo hole, and said to Ma Enhui: "I heard that there are gods who can see clairvoyance, and I want to learn from it."
Ma Enhui chuckled and said, "People are clairvoyant. Your Majesty, this is a thousand-mile bamboo."
"What do you know……"
"I don't understand, but why didn't I keep the treasure of the magnifying glass and gave it to Dai Yuanshi instead?"
Ma Enhui was a little aggrieved.
Zhu Yunwen pointed to his own eye and said: "The magnifying glass is an unlucky thing for the queen. I don't plan to give it to you, lest this eye also gets punched..."
Ma Enhui was unwilling and pulled Zhu Yunwen to beg for a magnifying glass, but Shuangxi came over with a tray. On the tray were magnifying glasses, but there was no handle, just a round mirror in the middle.
"Why is there no handle? And why are there different sizes?"
Ma Enhui asked puzzledly.
Zhu Yunwen picked up a small lens and gestured to the bamboo. It was slightly larger, so he changed it to a suitable one. He carefully stuffed the lens into the bamboo tube, then found a large bamboo tube, selected the large lens, and assembled it.
Putting the small bamboo tube into the big bamboo tube, Zhu Yunwen slowly opened the bamboo tube and looked out through the bamboo tube. It was a little blurry, so he adjusted the angle a few times.
The maid walking past the door was clearly visible, and even the patterns on her clothes were clearly visible.
Zhu Yunwen took Ma Enhui out of Kunning Palace, walked to a high ground, and then said to Ma Enhui: "Queen, please see clearly, put your eye here, close the other eye, and then adjust the distance by pulling out the bamboo joints. Come and try it."
Ma Enhui didn't know why. After taking it, she looked at it and said to Zhu Yunwen: "Your Majesty, isn't it the same as usual?"
Zhu Yunwen smiled and said: "Then the queen will take out a little bit of the bamboo and try it."
Ma Enhui tried to pull out a bit of bamboo, and was suddenly surprised and shouted: "Your Majesty, it seems that I can see further. Isn't that the Lengxiang Palace? Why can I see it so clearly from hundreds of steps away?" ?”
Zhu Yunwen said with a smile: "I told you, this is clairvoyance. In the future, when marching and fighting, others will use scouts, we will use clairvoyance..."
