Of course, what Zhang Mingwei said is the future national policy of the Ming Dynasty. For now, this is something that only the highest-level officials of the Ming Dynasty can know.
In the second half of the nineteenth year of Chongzhen, the imperial court was busy with these things.
First, Liaodong Province and North Korea Province were established, and prefectures and counties were planned under the provinces, and officials were selected and dispatched. It was very busy.
Second, it was naturally the marriage of Duke Xing Guo. After the engagement, it was scheduled to be married at the beginning of the 20th year of Chongzhen.
What they didn't expect, or rather expected, was that in early December of the 19th year of Chongzhen's reign, news of Luzon's success reached the capital.
Although they sent a large army there, they would definitely be able to defeat the Spaniards with their overwhelming superiority, but after this news was confirmed, they could finally rest assured.
Therefore, Emperor Chongzhen immediately announced to the world that he had said before that as long as he was a citizen of the Ming Dynasty, he was a citizen of the Ming Dynasty no matter where he was. If he was bullied, he would make the decision for the people of the Ming Dynasty. He would never break his promise on this matter. No, the Spaniards killed our Ming people, so he sent troops to destroy the Spaniards, which just saved the crisis when the Spaniards were about to massacre the Luzon Ming people again.
For a time, almost everyone in Ming Dynasty praised it.
In the past, Jiangnan's sense of identification with the imperial court was smaller. But just because of this matter, the discussions in the streets and alleys in Jiangnan, restaurants and teahouses, clearly showed a lot of identification with the imperial court.
The reason for this is due to regional differences.
At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the Mongolian disasters and the Jianqi rebellion most affected the north. In this way, the people in the north, including the gentry of course, were sincerely happy that the imperial court could sweep through Mongolia and destroy the Jianqi.
However, at least before the fall of the Ming Dynasty, the people in the south, including the gentry, did not feel deeply about this. They were not really concerned about the country and the people. Many people actually did not care about what was happening in the north at all!
In the same way, the rebellion of bandits mainly occurred in the northwest and the Central Plains, and most of them were north of the Yangtze River. The imperial court put down the rebellion of bandits, and the people in these places benefited, and they were naturally very grateful; for the people from the south of the Yangtze River, It is said that most of them have little impact. Even because of the focus of taxation, the prince personally collects taxes. The interests of many gentry are harmed, but they will complain.
But now, the Ming Dynasty has sent troops overseas, not only killing most of the Dutch and ensuring smooth sea routes, but also expedition to Luzon, killing the Spaniards who were causing trouble for the Ming Dynasty, and powerfully deterred those who dared to attack the Ming Dynasty. This will have a great positive impact on the Westerners and natives who have bad ideas.
For a long time, Jiangnan's economy has been leaning towards foreign trade. Starting from the Jiajing period, Ming Dynasty's products were sold to Japan, Southeast Asia, and even to Western Yi, and indirectly to Europe. The continuous flow of silver into the Ming Dynasty was basically the result of Jiangnan.
Now that the imperial court is sending troops overseas, it can ensure that their sea trade will be safer and their future financial prospects will be greater. Especially after going overseas to make money, people and goods will not be lost just because the natives or Westerners are jealous, which greatly ensures their safety. In this case, how could they not applaud it!
No, when Prince Zhu Cihong returned to the capital in mid-December, he told Emperor Chongzhen about the changes in the south of the Yangtze River. Emperor Chongzhen was very emotional when he heard this.
The Ming Dynasty is so big, and the interests of different places are different. If you want to be the emperor well, there are really many things to consider!
There is a saying that the reason why the Southern Song Dynasty was only the Southern Song Dynasty was because the gentry of the Southern Song Dynasty did not even think about the success of the Northern Expedition. They did not want it.
In fact, it was similar in the late Ming Dynasty. When the Jianlu invaders invaded the Central Plains, most southerners did not think of resisting. It was only after Jianlu finally decided to keep his hair or his hair, or his hair or his hair, that he came together to resist.
As the territory expands, there must be a strong central government and a common cultural identity in order to unite as one.
Regarding this point, Zhang Mingwei took this opportunity to instill this understanding into Emperor Chongzhen.
Whether it is the reform of the southwest region and the setting up of free schools for local children to study and achieve rites, or whether this system will be used in Liaodong, Mongolia and North Korea in the future, it is very necessary.
At this time, the reason why Prince Zhu Cixi came back was to attend the wedding of Princess Kunxing and Duke Xingguo. According to the suggestions given by Zhang Mingwei, the content of the Ming Dynasty Plan in the future will attach equal importance to the north and the south. It can even be said that the south will be more important.
After all, there are no powerful enemies that threaten us here in the north. Those that have not yet been conquered are Mobei Mongolia and Western Mongolia, as well as a small number of Tsarist Russian colonists. These are far away from the mainland of Ming Dynasty and can be explored slowly.
With the emergence of the steam engine, the Ming Dynasty's industrial revolution has actually begun. There will be more and more products in the Ming Dynasty that need to be sold overseas. Therefore, it is even more convenient for Nanjing to control the situation related to overseas. Therefore, if the prince goes to sit there, it will be more intimidating.
In addition, Zhang Mingwei also discussed with Emperor Chongzhen the issue of moving the capital of the Ming Dynasty back to Nanjing.
Emperor Chongzhen also agreed that if the capital was moved to Nanjing, it would be the real center of the Ming Dynasty, and it would also facilitate the court to continue to use troops in Nanyang, and even expand territory further afield.
However, moving the capital involves many aspects, and it does not mean that moving the capital is the only way to move the capital. Therefore, if the prince sits in Nanjing, it will become easier whether Chongzhen moves the capital or the prince ascends the throne in Nanjing!
With the news of Luzon's success, another major event was put on the agenda, and that was the enfeoffment of Luzon by King Zhou.
This week's king's enfeoffment of Luzon was the first example of a Ming vassal king enfeoffing overseas. How to do it will affect the enfeoffment of subsequent vassals. Therefore, Emperor Chongzhen summoned his ministers to discuss the matter. Of course, Zhang Mingwei could not escape.
In the past, the promise given to the vassal king was to give him military and political power, outside the vassal territory.
How to give it specifically is a question.
Finally, under Zhang Mingwei's suggestion, the vassal king could recruit officials at home and go to the vassal state. However, Luzon had just been occupied and could not do without the Ming army. More importantly, they currently only occupy a few of the most prosperous places in Luzon, and many places are occupied by indigenous people.
Therefore, it is unrealistic for the imperial army to withdraw directly and leave Luzon to the King of Zhou. For this reason, the imperial army must continue to garrison and subdue the tribes that have not surrendered on behalf of the vassal king.
However, all costs of garrisoning, including military pay, ordnance, food and grass, etc., need to be borne by the vassal state. On the vassal king's side, he could appoint officials to govern the vassal state, and he could also form local armies to maintain local security. This was considered to have military and political power.
In this regard, King Zhou, who had never thought of controlling military and political power, naturally agreed repeatedly. He heard that the overseas natives were very fierce. If there were no imperial troops, he would feel uneasy. It would be a tragedy if he died thousands of miles away!
Therefore, it is logically reasonable to bear all the costs of the imperial garrison.
At this time, he never thought that his descendants would complain about him. It has always been the custom for the vassal state to have imperial troops stationed. This actual military power has actually become only the power of security.
Just like Luzon only occupies a few mature areas, in Danyuan, what the court can control is actually only a small area, and there are still many places that are still occupied by indigenous people.
In the original history, Zheng Chenggong sent troops and had constant conflicts with the indigenous people. In this dimension, the imperial court's policy of relocating people will eventually conflict with the indigenous people. It will also take time for the situation on the senior officials' side to be fully controlled.
At the court meeting, after discussing the King of Zhou's enfeoffment of Luzon, there were differences in the next goal.
One was the Dutch who ordered Zheng Chenggong's navy to continue attacking Batavia and completely drive the Dutch out of Nanyang.
The other one is Dongwu's side. Should Sun Chuanting send troops to denounce Dongwu's crime of attacking Yunnan and occupy Dongwu?
There is another one, that is Annan, which has been ignored in the past. Now that the Ming Dynasty is stronger, Annan needs to be truly included in the territory!
As for the Japanese country, no one in the court had actually thought about it. After all, compared to these places, the Japanese country was a big country with a large population and stronger strength.
However, something no one expected changed the situation in the court.
Liu Mindong and Wei Zhidong finally made it back to the capital safely years ago. While they were still on the road, they heard about the imperial court sending troops to destroy Luzon and avenge the Ming people in Luzon.
"Brother, God is really helping us!" Upon hearing this, Wei Zhidong said to Liu Mindong excitedly, "It seems that the Emperor is truly the Holy Son of Heaven, and he is not just talking about it. Our revenge can definitely be avenged!"
Liu Mindong was also very excited, and immediately nodded in agreement: "Now we understand how good it is for us if the imperial court becomes stronger! The Japanese bully others too much, and we should just report it!"
With the imperial court's plan to send troops to Luzon to annihilate the Spaniards, Wei Zhidong immediately rushed to his uncle's house to find his uncle without even taking a break after returning to Beijing.
When his uncle heard that his nephew was back, he couldn't help but be very happy. The profit from an overseas trip is really high. I came back before the New Year to get dividends during the New Year.
So, his uncle immediately met his nephew in the study, full of joy.
Unexpectedly, as soon as Wei Zhidong appeared in the study and saw his uncle, he burst into tears and said, "Uncle, you have to make the decision for your nephew!"
As soon as he saw this, his uncle was immediately dumbfounded. It was immediately clear that something might have happened to this sea trade!
So, he immediately frowned and asked, "What's going on?"
After a pause, he added: "Your uncle and I have now been appointed as the governor of North Korea, in charge of the military and political power of the province. Who dares to embarrass you, haha..."
In the end, there was a sneer, and the implication was very obvious.
Wei Zhidong couldn't help but be overjoyed when he heard this. It would be great to be the governor of a province.
