In a few months, Yingtian Mansion has changed greatly.
The original dirt roads in the city have been replaced with cement roads.
Walking on the flat cement road is even more comfortable than those roads paved with bluestone strips.
At least, there aren't any bumps or bumps.
No mud even on rainy days.
The carriage also ran more smoothly.
The Technical Research and Manufacturing Bureau, under the guidance of Taisun, launched a new four-wheeled carriage.
Not the same as the original old-fashioned horse-drawn carriage.
This four-wheeled carriage is equipped with a connecting steering device, making it very flexible.
Before that.
Because of the inconvenience of steering, horse-drawn carriages were rarely used.
People preferred to use two-wheeled carriages.
With the addition of steering gear, the number of four-wheeled carriages quickly increased.
The widespread use of the RMB, coupled with the liberalization of business, has also promoted the prosperity of commerce and trade.
The population of Jinling City increased by nearly 100,000 in just a few months.
Moreover, more people are coming in continuously.
The Ming Dynasty is entering an era of unprecedented prosperity.
The new year is approaching.
Many people flock to the streets to buy new year's goods.
Zheng Guohou Mansion.
There are also many people coming in and out.
Compared with ordinary people, the Duke's family celebrates festivals even more lively.
More is needed.
There are naturally a lot of people coming in and out.
A group of inconspicuous sellers walked out of the Hou Mansion in twos and threes.
Among the crowd, Chang Mao was also mixed in.
Ever since Huang Zicheng and Qi Tai were executed, he discovered that there were guards in disguise monitoring the area outside his house, so he stayed behind closed doors.
From then on, even if there were no more Jin Yiwei men outside, he would always stay at home.
If you don’t go out through the front door, you won’t take a step toward the second door.
The source of information depends entirely on reading newspapers.
Zhu Yunzhen's methods made him feel very scared, and he became increasingly afraid to go out.
Stayed at home for several months.
It wasn't until the end of the year that Chang Mao felt it was almost safe, so he disguised himself and went out.
only.
He didn't know that he was patient, but Xu Miaojin was even more patient.
For several months, the people she arranged have been taking turns watching from outside.
Everyone entering and leaving Zheng Guohou's mansion was checked.
For several months, it never stopped.
Although Chang Mao was in disguise, he was already targeted as soon as he went out.
…
…
…
Yangshan.
As soon as Lao Zhu saw Zhu Yunzhen, he hugged him happily.
"Come, let Grandpa Huang take a look. He has grown a lot taller and can hardly be carried anymore."
He was older, so after I hugged him, he felt a little strenuous, so I had to put him down.
"It's been a few months. Do you miss Grandpa Huang?"
"Think!" Zhu Yunzhen looked up at Lao Zhu and said, "My grandson thinks about Grandpa Huang every day, but he is busy with state affairs and dares to delay, so he cannot come to visit Grandpa Huang often."
"Grandpa Huang, if not, you should go back to the palace to live."
"My grandson will renovate the palace and make it comfortable for you."
Hearing this, Lao Zhu waved his hand.
"No need!"
"You are governing Ming Dynasty very well now, better than us."
"Although we are recuperating in Yangshan, we have heard that there is so much money in the treasury that we can't even use it all, and the granaries are full of grain."
"As we get older, we will inevitably like to point fingers when we see something happen, which will be detrimental to your governance."
"Yangshan Mountain has beautiful scenery, with golden wind and morning dew in the morning, and colorful sunset in the evening. It has beautiful mountains and good water. Let's spend our days enjoying ourselves here."
"If we get tired of staying here, we want to go out and walk around to see what our old Zhu family has built and how the people are doing."
Zhu Yunzhen looked at his face that was gradually covered with wrinkles and said: "If Grandpa Huang wants to go somewhere, he must inform his grandson in advance, and grandson will build a spacious cement road for Grandpa Huang first."
"Hahahaha!" Lao Zhu laughed: "We heard that you invented something called cement, which is used to build roads. It is as good as bluestone. There is no mud on rainy days. It is even better than bluestone when it is flat. Now we have built a road. The road leading to Songjiang Mansion."
"Yes!" Zhu Yunzhen nodded and said, "Next, we will use it to build more roads."
The transportation in Daming was actually very developed with many roads.
The problem is that due to material limitations, most of them are dirt roads.
The biggest problem with dirt roads is that they become very muddy when it rains, making transportation difficult.
Moreover, after trampling on rainy days, small pits will be formed.
When the weather is clear and the road is dry, the potholes will not disappear; they will still exist, making the road surface uneven.
Cement roads undoubtedly have many benefits.
Especially when the weather is bad.
"Beiping was the former capital of the Northern Yuan Dynasty and is now an important border town. It is also a hub in the north and is extremely important to prevent the Northern Yuan from going south."
"We think your next cement road is to build a cement road from Jinling to Peiping. How about that?"
"We also want to visit the north." Zhu Yuanzhang smiled.
"Grandpa Huang, let's go together." Zhu Yunxuan said with a smile: "My grandson has sent officials to survey, and is preparing to build a cement highway from Jinling to Peiping."
It is different from what Lao Zhu thinks about national defense.
Zhu Yunzhen didn't take Bei Yuan's threat to heart at all.
Now the new army has expanded to 5,000 people.
And all are equipped with breech-loading guns and custom-loaded ammunition.
In terms of combat effectiveness, he estimated that these five thousand people would be enough to sweep across the entire Beiyuan.
What's more, the Technical Research and Manufacturing Bureau is still producing more guns.
A new firearms factory is being built and production efficiency will be further improved.
He wanted to build a road to Peiping, mainly from an economic point of view.
The road from the capital to Peking will undoubtedly become the economic artery of the Ming Dynasty, greatly promoting exchanges between the north and the south and the prosperity of commerce.
"Hahaha!"
Lao Zhu laughed, touched his head and said: "Okay, okay, we are still thinking, will you blame this bad old man of ours for talking too much, asking you to govern the world, but you have to point east and west? Do this or that, just think of it!"
He paused and then said: "We see that you have done a good job in everything during this time of governing the country."
"One more."
"Now that there is money and food in the treasury, we are thinking that it is time for the Great Wall to be repaired."
"Bei Yuan's threat cannot be taken lightly!"
Zhu Yunzhen was slightly startled when he heard this.
In fact, we have received a lot of memorials asking for the construction of the Great Wall in the past few months.
Even the kings of Yan and Jin wrote letters one after another, requesting the imperial court to allocate funds to rebuild the Great Wall.
However, he kept the memorial secret and did not make any statement.
Lao Zhu should have known these things before he warned them.
However, in Zhu Yunxuan's view, Ming Dynasty was about to enter an industrial society, and the existence of the Long March was more of a symbol.
The inviolable symbol of the Chinese nation.
The Great Wall needs to be well preserved.
But it would be unwise to spend a lot of manpower and material resources to recruit civilians to build the Great Wall at this time.
Because no more foreigners can invade China.
The Long March will also become a historical building within the country instead of a border wall.
Lao Zhu obviously hasn't seen this yet.
"Grandpa Huang, my grandson does not plan to build the Great Wall anymore." Zhu Yunzhen looked at Lao Zhu and said firmly.
Lao Zhu was stunned for a moment and asked: "Why is this?"
"Mencius once said: The people of a region do not rely on the boundaries of a territorial border, the country does not rely on the dangers of mountains and rivers to consolidate the country, and the power of the world does not rely on the benefits of military revolution."
"My grandson thinks that although Mencius's words are a little too naive, they are not unreasonable."
"Without the benefits of military revolution, it would be impossible to dominate the world."
"The danger of mountain streams is also of great benefit to defending the frontier."
"But my grandson always believes that offense is the best defense!"
"Since the Qin and Han Dynasties, the Great Wall has been repaired, and countless manpower, material resources, and financial resources have been spent."
"Countless people died during the construction of the Great Wall."
"One foot of the Great Wall has the blood of one person, and the Great Wall of thousands of miles has thousands of miles of bones."
“The price paid is too high to be fully calculated.”
"But there are still five chaos in China, and the Northern Yuan Dynasty has taken over the Central Plains and ruled China for decades."
"Had it not been for the imperial grandfather to lead the uprising and expel the Tartars, the Central Plains of China would still be under the rule of foreigners."
"Looking at history, in the Han Dynasty Wei Qing and Huo Qubing defeated the Xiongnu; in the Tang Dynasty, Li Jing defeated the Turks with three thousand cavalry, and Su Ding leveled the desert."
"This dynasty also overthrew the Northern Yuan Dynasty and attacked the grasslands from afar. Just a few years ago, Lan Yugang led his troops to defeat the Royal Court of the Northern Yuan Dynasty."
"None of this relies on the Great Wall."
"And once there is civil strife in the Central Plains, or when the country is weak, the grassland army will definitely move south. The Great Wall will still be there, but it will not be able to resist it at all."
"Therefore, there is a saying in a Tang poem: As long as the general can win a hundred victories, there is no need for the emperor to build the Great Wall."
"My grandson thinks that the Great Wall is not strong enough."
"If the Ming Dynasty was prosperous, supported by the people, and had strong soldiers and horses, why would it matter if it was only the Northern Yuan Dynasty?"
"If the national power declines, the people's morale is unstable, and civil strife arises on its own, what is the use of the Great Wall?"
"The truly useful Great Wall is not the wall at the border, but the people's hearts! If the people are happy, the country will be able to win, and the border will be strong. This is what we call a united will to form a city."
"The Chinese nation is united as one. If there is an invasion by a foreign enemy, they will all fight together. No one will lead the way for the foreign nation. To flatter and surrender is the best Great Wall!"
After Zhu Yunxuan finished speaking, Lao Zhu's eyes suddenly lit up.
"well said!"
"The Chinese nation, united as one, is stronger than the Great Wall."
"I have decreed and recorded it in the ancestral precepts. During the Ming Dynasty, future generations will never build the Great Wall."
(End of chapter)
