The contradiction between population growth and limited food production can be said to be one of the biggest reasons for the change of dynasties.
If those in power cannot resolve this conflict, they can only solve it spontaneously through cruel reduction methods, that is, changing dynasties and killing countless people. And if those in power can solve this problem, ancient manpower is national power, and it will naturally be revived.
A big reason why the original Ming Dynasty perished was that the conflict between the population explosion brought about by the long period of peace in the Ming Dynasty and the decrease in food production during the Little Ice Age broke out. Of course, administration is also a problem.
However, in any dynasty and at any time, there are always problems with officialdom. This is not the main reason for changing dynasties.
At this time, Emperor Chongzhen heard Xue Guoguan raise this issue, glanced at the worried ministers in the Wenhua Palace, and smiled slightly: "What's so difficult about this? I have leveled the Loop and will soon regain Liaodong. I will immigrate there." yes!"
Hearing the emperor's light words, Xue Guoguan had to remind him: "Your Majesty, how many people can the barbarian land support? Even if it is better over the Hetao, the grassland is so big that there is nowhere to defend it. In case of invasion from western Mongolia or northern Mongolia , the land that we have worked so hard for will definitely not be preserved, I thought that no one would be willing to waste their efforts in vain, not to mention their lives are in danger!"
The other ministers nodded after hearing this.
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Zhong Qian, the imperial censor of Zuodu in the capital, also came out and said, "The Ming Dynasty also occupied the Hetao. Although there is an old saying that among the nine bends of the Yellow River, only one is rich. But that place is completely unsafe. Defend, even if we spend manpower and material resources to build a strong city, we can't prevent the cultivated grain fields from being destroyed by the Mongols."
When Emperor Chongzhen heard this, he couldn't help but ask: "The Ming Dynasty still has enemies in Hetao now?"
The Urad Tribe in the West Hetao area, the Tumut Tribe occupying the Hetao, the Chahar Tribe in the east, and the entire eastern Mongolia were all pacified and annihilated by the troops led by Emperor Chongzhen, and there were still enemies to speak of. ?
Therefore, when they heard this, the generals nodded and turned to look at the civil servants, wondering in their hearts, could they have forgotten such a big event?
"Your Majesty, the Mongolians on the grassland are like the weeds on the grassland, which grow again with the spring breeze!" New Mongolian tribes will rise and threaten our Central Plains. Moreover, Weicheng has verified that there are Oirat Mongols in the west and Khalkha Mongols in the north. These were all surrendered to the Jianru in the past and have a hostile relationship with our Ming Dynasty!"
Hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen couldn't help but shake his head and said confidently: "My beloved, you have to look forward and don't use the old yellow calendar to do things. The Mongolian tribes were just a little more tyrannical in the cold weapon era. The progress of civilization will inevitably It will make it impossible for them to defeat Ming Dynasty again!"
"..." After he finished speaking, the Wenhua Palace suddenly became very quiet. Everyone, including the generals, looked at Emperor Chongzhen dumbly and said nothing.
They have no experience from later generations, so naturally they do not know that after the rise of hot weapons, the grassland tribes will withdraw from the stage of history and will no longer have the right to speak in history. Speaking of which, the original Ming Dynasty was quite unlucky. If Emperor Chongzhen could revive the Ming Dynasty and let the Ming Dynasty breathe for another hundred years, no, even if it was only a few decades, based on the technology at that time, the Ming Dynasty's technology should not fall behind. In the West, after all, Xu Guangqi and others are doing things that serve the interests of China.
Once thermal weapons become more mature, and steam engines, Gatling, and the like come out, those barbarians with cold weapons will no longer be able to wreak havoc as before. Of course, this is a summary. If it comes to specific details, such as the emergence of Huang Taiji, who would learn from the strengths of the Ming Dynasty and use them for his own use, this will be discussed separately.
At this time, the civil and military officials in the Wenhua Hall, including the eunuch who was the Supervisor of Ceremonies, would have really thought that the Emperor had gotten carried away if his eyes had not been clear and there was no trace of pride and arrogance in his expression.
Emperor Chongzhen knew what they were thinking by looking at their expressions.
Originally, the Ming Dynasty at this time was a century of change when hot and cold weapons were switching. Now that I have traveled through time, this process will inevitably be accelerated. How can it be possible for the Mongols to rise again! It is not an exaggeration to say that even if Genghis Khan was still alive, he would dare to fight bodyguards, and he would definitely beat Genghis Khan to the point of finding teeth!
At this time, he smiled slightly and said: "Please don't believe me, please just watch it!"
"..." All civil and military officials, eunuchs and others looked at the emperor stupidly again, feeling the emperor's domineering aura. He was so strong, so strong!
They couldn't help but start to weigh in their hearts, should they advise the emperor to be humble?
Emperor Chongzhen didn't wait for them to speak, turned to look at the generals, and said loudly: "Did you hear this, sir? There are also Oirat Mongolia in the west and Khalkha Mongolia in the north who are not willing to obey our Ming Dynasty. I will send people to persuade them to surrender. If If you dare not listen, what will you say?"
"Kill!" Cao Bianjiao and other generals were quick and quick. They immediately shouted in unison. The sound shook the Wenhua Palace and startled many civil servants who were in deep thought.
Emperor Chongzhen nodded, turned to look at the civil officials, and said to them seriously: "Wen governs the country, and Wu Anbang. If any enemy dares to invade the Ming Dynasty, it will be a dereliction of duty by the generals! You can just arrange immigration, but in terms of safety, I will solve it!"
Having said this, he paused and remembered another concern they had, and then said: "In addition, I rescued more than 20,000 people from Liaodong this time, but only 5,000 people chose to enter the border. Why do you think this is happening?"
"Your Majesty, please make it clear!" Xue Guoguan and others looked at each other, not sure, and a little curious in their hearts. I wonder if the emperor's sudden mention of this matter is related to what he just discussed? They couldn't figure it out, so they finally sang to Emperor Chongzhen in unison.
Emperor Chongzhen did not show off, and immediately said to them: "These people were plundered by the Jianqi to work for them, which was to open up wasteland and farm in the Liaohe Plain. They just saw that there are actually many fertile lands in Liaodong. As long as they work hard, they will be able to cultivate their land." There was a big harvest. Therefore, they begged me to stay in Liaodong and give them the fields they cultivated after the Jianlu were pacified."
He promised to compensate those people at that time, so it was not considered as asking for it.
When Emperor Chongzhen said this, he looked at the surprised expressions of the officials below and emphasized: "No one knows better about whether the land is barren or fertile than them. Those who say it is bitter cold in Liaodong are just people who don't understand farming. It’s just human words!”
If the Hetao Plain can only house Shaanxi and Shanxi provinces at most, then Liaodong is a much larger place, and the overpopulation problem in the entire northern part of the Ming Dynasty can be solved.
If what the emperor said was just said by one or two peasants, then these ministers would not believe it. After all, it is well known that Liaodong is bitterly cold, so why has the land become fertile again? However, there are now about 15,000 people, and they have used their own actions to prove that they want to stay outside the customs.
The civil servants in the Wenhua Palace felt that their common sense had been refreshed, and they all remembered a sentence: It is better to travel thousands of miles than to read thousands of books.
While they were sighing inwardly, they heard Emperor Chongzhen continue to say: "Now Korea has been destroyed, and there is no royal family of Li. Even the Koreans have almost been captured, plundered or killed. The whole of Korea is almost a wasteland. Baoding Governor Lu Qing proposed to me the establishment of a Korean province. If you have no objections, Korea Province can accommodate many people from the Ming Dynasty. What do you think?"
In fact, everything he said and did was in favor of this proposal. Although I still asked the ministers for their opinions, the implication is that I agree, what about you?
If there is one more province in the Ming Dynasty, there will be one more provincial official. But that place should be a quiet place now. Even if the people of the Ming Dynasty moved there and it really became prosperous, I don't know how many years it would take. And it was across the sea from the capital. How many officials would be willing to go to North Korea to serve as officials?
Although they thought so, none of the officials present had any objections. At least it's an expansion of territory, isn't it? If he doesn't agree, the emperor will definitely be unhappy.
Xue Guoguan, who only has the reputation of being a stupid young man, hesitated for a moment, but still said: "Your Majesty, given the current situation in North Korea, if we set up a province, I think it is too exaggerated to establish a province. How about setting up the capital of North Korea to govern it?"
In the past, the Ming Dynasty only established the Liaodong Dusi to administer Liaodong. Xue Guoguan's opinion is not unreasonable.
However, Emperor Chongzhen shook his head after hearing this and said: "After the restoration of Liaodong in the future, Liaodong will also be established as a province. It will be Liaodong Province, which will be directly under the jurisdiction of the Ming Dynasty. Autonomy of various ethnic groups will not be allowed. North Korea will also be the people of the Ming Dynasty in the future. If it is moved there, it will naturally be under the direct jurisdiction of the imperial court."
"But, Your Majesty, both Liaodong and North Korea are far away from the Central Plains and have inconvenient transportation. I'm afraid the court is powerless!" Xue Guoguan straightened his neck and continued to defend.
Originally, the Ming Dynasty established a capital in Liaodong, and each tribe claimed vassal status and paid tribute. The ruling power was still vested in the heads of their respective tribes. The reason for this is that the situation in Liaodong is complicated, and it is unrealistic to conquer them one by one. Another big reason is that Xue Guoguan said that transportation is inconvenient, the mountains and rivers are remote, and the cost of direct jurisdiction is too high.
However, these problems will not be a problem in the future.
In the past, the land of South Vietnam was also despised by the Central Plains. However, later, it was not a place that the Central Plains Dynasty absolutely needed.
Speaking of which, it is actually the difference between raw land and cooked land. If you manage it carefully, even Siberia can become a province of the Ming Dynasty!
Therefore, Emperor Chongzhen raised his voice a little and said with a hint of scolding: "If the transportation is inconvenient, then build roads and bridges to make the transportation convenient. As long as you work hard, one day, you will be able to do it in one day." To Liaodong, the bridge across the sea, directly to North Korea!"
"..." After hearing this, all the ministers knew that the emperor had made his holy will, and he even said such unreasonable words, why didn't you say fly over to the cross-sea bridge?
Fortunately, none of the ministers dared to say this, otherwise, Emperor Chongzhen would probably say, of course you can fly!
At the insistence of Emperor Chongzhen, the matter was settled.
In fact, these civil and military officials in the Wenhua Hall didn't pay much attention. After all, even Liaodong has not been recovered yet. Whether Liaodong is established as a province or North Korea is established as a province, they are still far away!
Little did they know that Emperor Chongzhen was foreshadowing. Now it has been concluded that North Korea is also a province of the Ming Dynasty; in the future, even if the Japanese country does not collude with the Jianlu, as long as they dare to appear in North Korea, it will be an invasion of the Ming Dynasty. At that time, we can justifiably send out troops.
After discussing this matter, it was Emperor Chongzhen who spoke this time: "The Jianlu in Liaodong have retreated to the front line of Anshan Posthouse, and a lot of land in Liaodong is safe. As long as I raise enough food and fodder for the army, I will personally conquer it again, even if it is not complete. If we eliminate the Jianlu, we can at least recapture Shenyang."
At this point, he paused and looked at the chief assistant before continuing: "Xue Qing will take the lead and work with the Ministry of Civil Affairs to select capable officials from the candidate officials, and prepare to go to Liaodong to serve as officials, pacify the place, and rebuild Liaodong!"
This can be regarded as a precautionary measure. At this time, no one will doubt that Ming Dynasty will win the final victory in Liaodong. Therefore, Xue Guoguan accepted this decree simply.
Emperor Chongzhen then turned to look at the generals, with a smile on his face and said: "From the eleventh year of Chongzhen, the war against the captives began to take a turn, and now Liaodong is about to be recovered, all thanks to the hard work of the ministers. This year is It is a year of special significance and the New Year is coming soon. I think I should commend you and set an example for others!"
The seventeenth year of Chongzhen, in the original history, was the year when the Ming Dynasty was destroyed. It was the year when Emperor Chongzhen hung himself from a tree on the crooked neck of Meishan Mountain. It was the beginning of China's descent into darkness. This year was really special. .
But now, Jianlu is gone, while Ming Dynasty is prospering. From this, it is a year of special significance!
But others don’t know about this special year. Even if Emperor Chongzhen said it at this time, these courtiers in the Wenhua Palace were still in a daze, thinking quickly about what the special meaning was?
Naturally, Emperor Chongzhen would not give them an explanation. When these generals looked surprised and before they had time to react, he announced: "At the end of the year, I will reward you for your merits!"
In the past, every time I returned to Beijing after a battle, I would be rewarded accordingly. Those who have not yet reached the rank of Chief Military Officer will be promoted to Chief Military Officer, such as Wu Sangui and others; those who have reached the rank of Chief Military Officer will be promoted to the rank of Commander-in-Chief of the Left and Right, etc. If these generals want to reach another level, the only way is to be knighted.
However, in the Ming Dynasty, although military generals could be knighted, the conditions for military generals to finally obtain the title were very demanding. In other words, the Ming emperor was very stingy.
However, Emperor Chongzhen’s intention at this time is very obvious. He will be knighted at the end of the year!
Miaoshuwu
