In the Wenhua Hall, the chief officials of the Supervisor of Ceremonies, the Cabinet, the Six Ministries and the Fifth Military Governor's Mansion were all present. At a glance, they are all covered in red and crimson robes.
On the throne, Emperor Chongzhen did not sit down, but stepped down and came to the screen set up by the chamberlain. He pointed at the map of the Ming Dynasty hanging on it, glanced at the officials, and said loudly: "The Ming Dynasty today stretches from North Korea to the east. Liaodong, Sichuan in the west, Arctic Ocean in the north, Dongwu and Annan in the south. Have you seen everything clearly?"
Hearing this, Cao Huachun, the eunuch in charge of the Supervisor of Ceremonies, smiled quickly and said: "Your Majesty's civil and military skills far surpassed those of Emperor Qin, Han Wu, and the ancestors of Tang and Song Dynasties. This is the result of the expansion of territory!"
"Flatterer!" After hearing this, Xue Guoguan couldn't help but secretly slander him, but he opened his mouth and said with a smile: "Throughout the history books, I have never seen any emperor who has the civil, political and military skills of your majesty!"
When other ministers heard this, they all agreed. Although they may sound like flattery, they are sincere.
Since ancient times, no matter how good the emperor is at fighting, he is not as good at fighting as today! In every battle, the damage ratio would probably make even famous generals from ancient times feel ashamed!
However, Emperor Chongzhen did not smile. He took a thin stick from the hand of the chamberlain, pointed at the map, circled a few places and said: "But in the prosperous Tang Dynasty, here, here, these places in the Western Regions were directly under the jurisdiction of the prosperous Tang Dynasty. . Also, this place, at the beginning of the founding of the country, was also owned by the Ming Dynasty. It was for the Wusizang Xuanwei Department and the Duogansi Xuanwei Department. Now, my will can reach these places?"
As soon as he said these words, the Wenhua Hall suddenly became quiet. Many ministers had embarrassed looks on their faces. However, Cao Huachun may have a thicker skin, but he didn't show any embarrassment.
When Emperor Chongzhen saw it, he looked at him and asked, "What do Cao Daban think?"
When he heard the question, Cao Huachun was not nervous and immediately replied respectfully: "Your Majesty, I think that as long as your Majesty gives an order, Wusizang Xuanwei Department and Duogansi Xuanwei Department will never dare to disobey!"
After hearing this, Xue Guoguo immediately followed up and said: "Your Majesty's reputation has now spread throughout the world. The three tribes in Mobei have all heard about it. The Wusizang Xuanwei Division and the Duogansi Xuanwei Division will never dare to Disobey His Majesty’s will!”
Emperor Chongzhen did not wait for other ministers to follow suit, and immediately pointed the map again with a thin stick and said: "Now these two Xuanwei Divisions have actually existed in name only, and their ruler is Gushi Khan of Western Mongolia. You are so sure, Is he willing to submit to the Ming Dynasty? If so, can Western Mongolia also submit to the Ming Dynasty?"
The Wusizang Xuanwei Division specially proposed by Emperor Chongzhen actually refers to the Tibet area in later generations, while the Duogan Si Xuanwei Division refers to Qinghai and parts of Xinjiang. If the power of Western Mongolia is also counted under Gushi Khan's name, it includes Xinjiang and parts of Central Asia.
These places, when the Ming Dynasty's national power was at its strongest, were indeed all Ming Dynasty's in name. However, during this period, it had no contact with the Ming Dynasty. If it were in the original history, they would all have surrendered to Jianlu.
Emperor Chongzhen asked so clearly that no one in the Wenhua Hall dared to respond immediately. Because this is not flattery, you have to speak responsibly.
In the Wenhua Hall, after a quiet moment, suddenly, two young eunuchs stood out from the team of the eunuch Bingbi, the eunuch who was responsible for etiquette, and they both said to Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, I wish to go, please announce your arrival." towards!"
Emperor Chongzhen took a closer look and found that he had trained Lan Tianbao and Chen Baoting. He couldn't help but feel very happy. He immediately nodded and said: "Okay, Lan Tianbao will go to the Xuanwei Division and order Gushi Khan to surrender. Chen Baoting will go to Western Mongolia and order the emperor to surrender." The Urad tribe surrendered."
Whether you are on a mission to Tibet or Xinjiang, they are thousands of miles away and in barbaric places. It is a very difficult job for people from the Central Plains.
However, Lan Tianbao and Chen Baoting had no worries in this regard and immediately asked for help. It must be said that in terms of enthusiasm, young people are more active.
To be honest, Emperor Chongzhen was more reassured than others about the two of them going on an envoy.
If the person who sent the envoy is not good enough and goes there, and acts as a favor and authority, what he originally wanted to surrender and resolve peacefully may turn into a war.
And if the person who sends the envoy is capable, he can make the people there change their minds and join him even if they don't want to join him.
Lan Tianbao and Chen Baoting were personally taught by Emperor Chongzhen. Of course, he had a better idea of their character and abilities and thought they were good.
Therefore, after seeing Lan Tianbao and Chen Baoting receiving the order, he took back the Class C eavesdropping seeds that were previously rewarded to them and replaced them with two Class A eavesdropping seeds.
Others were actually surprised by the two of them volunteering.
It stands to reason that the chamberlain trained by the emperor has been appointed by the emperor as the eunuch Bingbi at a young age. If there are no accidents, with more experience, he will definitely be the leader of the twelve eunuchs in the inner palace.
However, these two people did not want to take the right path, but they decided to take the initiative to go to the wild land. If something goes wrong, this future and life may be lost. But they still want to go, I have to say, at least they are brave!
After such an episode, Emperor Chongzhen once again drew a large circle on the map with a thin stick, including the two Xuanwei Divisions and the Ming Dynasty territory including Western Mongolia. Then he glanced at the ministers and said: "Now, The vast territory of the Ming Dynasty makes it feel that it is beyond the reach of the whip? At least I think it does. From the decree issued by the capital to the southeast, northwest and northwest of the Ming Dynasty, it is time-consuming and laborious. If something happens, such as this time I lead the army to conquer Yunnan, just in I don’t know how much time was spent on the road. So..."
At this point, he paused and did not continue speaking immediately.
Cao Huachun may have felt that his two eunuchs were so active. Although it was impossible for their old arms and legs to be sent as envoys, they could still be more active in their speeches. Seeing him, he immediately responded: "Your Majesty, places that are too far away are all settings." The Xuanwei Division actually has the intention of being out of reach and difficult to manage. Therefore, it is nominally owned by the Ming Dynasty and ordered to pay tribute, but local affairs are under their own jurisdiction."
Having said this, he immediately changed his words: "But Your Majesty wants to change the Xuanwei Department to be under the direct jurisdiction of the imperial court. I think that Your Majesty should be able to solve this long-distance dilemma. Why don't you tell me to open your eyes!"
His words were really not sarcastic, but he guessed Emperor Chongzhen's holy intention and deliberately picked it out so that Emperor Chongzhen could say it smoothly. This matter was one of his skills in serving the emperor.
As he said, the reason why Ming Dynasty always used the Xuanweisi method was to control places that were too far away from the capital. Instead of wasting time and effort and being thankless, it would be better to have a name.
However, more than two hundred years after the founding of the Ming Dynasty, the situation has changed. Therefore, it is true that the Yunnan side used to have the Xuanweisi system, but by the late Ming Dynasty, the idea of returning to local rule had always been the mainstream voice in the Ming court.
What they didn't expect was that Emperor Chongzhen's expedition not only brought all Yunnan back to its original homeland at once, but even the original Myanmar Xuanwei Department and Annan Xuanwei Department were all re-defended and became Provinces directly under the jurisdiction of the Ming Dynasty.
At this time, after hearing what Cao Huachun said, they all looked at Emperor Chongzhen, wanting to know what novel conclusion the emperor had come up with this time.
Emperor Chongzhen was very satisfied with Cao Huachun's success. Perhaps this is the reason why the so-called traitor exists.
After thinking so unreliably in his mind, he glanced at the ministers and said seriously: "There is no other way but to pave roads and build bridges to make transportation more convenient. Therefore, I have decided that in the next few years starting from today, Internally, the focus of government affairs is the basic transportation of the Ming Dynasty!"
Upon hearing that it was so simple, all the officials, including Cao Huachun, looked at each other. It's as simple as that, no matter how much you practice it, it won't be very convenient!
While they were thinking about it, they heard Emperor Chongzhen continue: "Over at Kaiwusi, the cement I asked Song Qing to bake is now ready for use. Building roads with this cement is like building roads with glutinous rice juice. , the adhesion is very strong. Compared with the past, the newly built cement road is smoother and does not avoid rainwater erosion."
In ancient times, glutinous rice juice was used to build city walls in important areas. This was true. It had never happened before that glutinous rice juice could be used to build roads. Because the cost was too high and no dynasty could afford it.
Now, listening to the emperor's intention, it seems that this kind of cement can replace the effect of glutinous rice juice. Xue Guoguan was immediately happy after hearing this and asked quickly: "Your Majesty, I wonder how much this cement costs?"
When Emperor Chongzhen heard this, he smiled slightly and said: "It's very cheap. Otherwise, how could I say to use this cement to build roads?"
As for the actual cost, he would not pay this price. Of course, with the advancement of technology, the cost of cement will inevitably be further reduced. Even if Emperor Chongzhen mentioned the cost, and the cost is reduced again, some people may have misunderstandings.
But at this time, when the officials heard that the cement was very cheap, they couldn't help but be a little happy. But after all, I have never seen a road built with cement, so I remain cautiously optimistic.
Emperor Chongzhen didn't care about them. Now he was determined with his words. The reason why he still held meetings to discuss was to let these ministers understand the details. After all, they still had to rely on them to do the final work.
Therefore, he continued: "The improvement of the steam engine presided over by the prince has made a lot of progress after more than a year. The application of steam engines to vehicles and ships has also achieved great results. I believe , everyone in Ming Dynasty will work together to build roads with cement and improve transportation. One day, the day I predicted before will definitely come true."
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