Emperor Chongzhen, who was far away in the capital, learned about the situation with Hong Chengchou through the eavesdropping system. He was very pleased and praised him for doing a good job!
Hong Chengchou's ability is indeed good, so there is no need for Emperor Chongzhen to go to the rescue personally. The Ming army occupied Mingwei Fort and was considered stable. As for what would happen to the Tsarist Russian troops sent back, Emperor Chongzhen didn't mind.
If Tsarist Russia is eventually divided between Poland and Sweden, it would be a good thing for the Ming army to destroy Tsarist Russia without having to do anything themselves.
If Tsarist Russia finally withstood the attacks of Poland and Sweden, for the Ming army, it would also consume the forces of the three Western countries, which would help the Ming Dynasty continue to expand its influence here in Mingwei Fort. Even if he wants to fight these three countries in the future, it will be easier.
In short, no matter who wins or loses, the Ming army won't mind!
Winter has arrived, and it's time for Hong Chengchou to spend the winter in peace. But wait until next year, we should also visit the lower reaches of the Volga River to intimidate the several khanates there to ensure the tranquility of the Volga River Basin. In this way, through land reclamation and farming, the logistical pressure from the domestic side to Mingwei Fort can be greatly reduced.
To achieve this strategic goal, the Cossacks and Turgut tribes still have to win over each other. Therefore, Emperor Chongzhen did not mind giving Racine and Punchuk a higher title. In addition, he also ordered the two of them to let their sons come to the capital to further their studies, just like Zheng Zhilong's son Zheng Chenggong did. By the way, let them gain insights and have a greater sense of belonging to Ming Dynasty.
In addition, on the original territory of the Mughal Empire, Wu Sangui's troops had captured the entire west of Lahore, including the Kashmir area. The territory of the Ming Dynasty already borders the Persian Empire and the Braha Khanate.
Whether it was the Persian Empire or the Braha Khanate, they were all very nervous when facing the aggressiveness of the Ming army.
Among them, on the Persian Empire side, because Abbas II suffered heavy losses before, he did not have the spare capacity to make corresponding troop deployments, and had plans to abandon part of the border.
Although the Braha Khanate did not lose any troops, the pressure on its Khan was greater than Abbas II. Because on the back of the Braha Khanate, the Ming army led by Hong Chengchou appeared and defeated the counterattack of the Tsarist Russian army; now in the south is the Ming army that destroyed the Mughal Empire. If the north and the south attack, it will definitely be life or death. The battle started.
In addition, after Li Dingguo's headquarters in Mumbai reorganized some local people into the Ming army, they began to march westward along the coast and almost reached the border of the Persian Empire. It can be said that Abbas II also couldn't sleep.
Emperor Chongzhen was quite satisfied with these situations. However, based on the information received from Li Dingguo and Wu Sangui, it seems that Abbas II intends to adopt a strategy of strengthening the walls and clearing the country. Once the Ming army invades the Persian Empire, it will be obviously restricted by logistical supplies.
This move is particularly effective for Wu Sangui's side, because Wu Sangui's inland area does not have the ability to provide large army logistics after successive battles. If it is forcibly collected, it may cause turmoil in Tang and other vassal states.
Based on this fact, there was no need for Wu Sangui and Li Dingguo to summarize and report the news step by step, so Emperor Chongzhen sent someone to convey the order.
On Wu Sangui's side, he wanted to work with Hong Chengchou to force the Bukhara Khanate to surrender and become the minions of the Ming Dynasty. Otherwise, we should simply unite to destroy the Bukhara Khanate and open up the path between the Tang State and Mingwei Fort.
For the Persian Empire, the Ming Dynasty's focus was to shift to the seaside, attack from the sea, directly seize the wealthy areas of the Persian Empire, civilize the center, and then sweep away other barren areas.
Of course, this is the plan. Whether the situation will change in this way remains to be verified by time.
Emperor Chongzhen himself estimated that the Ming Dynasty's advance from south to north would inevitably have a profound impact on the situation in Europe. Maybe, history will change greatly, and a war in which the Ming Dynasty will challenge many is possible.
Let’s take a look at this!
When Emperor Chongzhen thought of this, he stopped paying attention to the situation in the west and began to think about Nanyang.
It has been several years since Nanyang was conquered. Compared with the Mughals, the Ming Dynasty had a greater influence, and many people immigrated there.
However, compared to the past, most of the people who lived in the Ming Dynasty now became local farmers, hiring the original indigenous people to open estates, especially the grain production, which was continuously produced.
In the Ming Dynasty, the occurrence of man-made disasters has been reduced. Although natural disasters still occur, life is not difficult, and food production has also increased. For example, large-scale land reclamation and farming in Hetao Plain, Liaodong and other places have greatly supplemented food consumption.
Among them, potatoes make the largest contribution to the grain harvest in the north. In the south, there is a greater proportion of sweet potatoes. The vigorous promotion and planting of these two crops have caused Nanyang's food to begin to be transported westward along the Strait of Malacca.
At this time in the Ming Dynasty, there was no shortage of food, but the people of the Ming Dynasty who were influenced by the Ming Dynasty culture were in short supply!
Mongolian grassland, Liaodong, Korea, Fusang and other provinces are really vast and sparsely populated, and it will take at least hundreds of years for them to truly prosper.
Over the Tianshan Mountains, even if Gansu and Shaanxi continue to immigrate, it is far from enough to fill the gap. Not to mention, Hong Chengchou launched a westward war and took away a large number of people.
In short, Emperor Chongzhen calculated over and over again. Today's Ming Dynasty is really not short of food or money, but it is short of people! Perhaps this is a side effect of the rapid expansion of the Ming Dynasty!
"We really can't expand anymore!" Emperor Chongzhen thought about this and couldn't help but sigh. "After occupying the Arabian Peninsula and the Persian Empire, we really have to slow down. The process of industrialization in the Ming Dynasty far exceeds that of the world. There must be a place. Dumping goods is not!”
Emperor Chongzhen also thought about the future world structure. Europe should still be kept, but Europe cannot be unified and just have so many small countries coexisting. Going back to Ming Dynasty, he will be the policeman of the world and uphold justice for them.
While he was thinking, he suddenly heard the chamberlain coming over and saying, "Your Majesty, Your Highness, please see me!"
"Oh?" After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen waved his hand and said, "Let him come in!"
After a while, Prince Zhu Cixiang came in to greet him, and then told Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, I still have some doubts about the electromagnetic theory, and I would like to ask my father for advice."
Emperor Chongzhen smiled after hearing this, nodded and said, "If you have any doubts, let me know."
Ever since Zhu Cihong succeeded in presiding over the armored battleship, his interest began to shift to electric lights. But before, he started his new research on steam engines, and electricity was a completely new field, so there were many things he didn't understand.
Although some of the Ming Dynasty's most knowledgeable scholars in the field of electricity and electromagnetism have gathered around him, and craftsmen from various fields have also been mobilized, this is a new field after all, and Emperor Chongzhen still has to consult Emperor Chongzhen on many matters.
At the beginning, Emperor Chongzhen could still answer casually. But half a year later, he couldn't guarantee it anymore, so he could only let Zhu Cixiang speak out first.
Emperor Chongzhen was satisfied with Zhu Cixiang's positioning and understanding of himself. Therefore, let him achieve success in these aspects as much as possible. He even put forward the long-term vision of the internal combustion engine and guided Zhu Cixiang to research in that direction to see if he could develop an internal combustion engine in his lifetime.
This is not impossible. In the original history, the Dutch physicist Huygens was inspired by the explosion of gunpowder and carried out research on obtaining power from the explosion of gunpowder. This started the invention of the internal combustion engine.
However, Emperor Chongzhen knew the concept of an internal combustion engine, and even knew that using flammable substances such as petroleum extracts to burn heat energy and convert it into power was the correct path for the internal combustion engine. Just this little bit would have greatly shortened the invention of the internal combustion engine.
With a mature steam engine as a prototype, an internal combustion engine is actually not difficult to build. The key lies in the thermal efficiency. Regarding this point, of course Emperor Chongzhen still guided it in the same way as when he invented the steam engine.
First the internal combustion engine comes out, and then it is improved. If time, energy, and money are spent, the thermal efficiency will definitely become higher and higher. Finally, one day, it will definitely be the day when it can be truly practical.
In front of him, after Emperor Chongzhen finally answered Zhu Cixi's question, he asked him: "Is there any progress in the internal combustion engine?"
Hearing this, Zhu Cixiang became excited and immediately responded: "Father, the prototype designed by Erchen is already being built, and it is estimated that it will be built in about a month. Looking back on some details, I still need to ask my father for advice!"
When it comes to internal combustion engines, he is obviously much more confident. After all, he was one of the people who knew the most about steam engines in the Ming Dynasty.
Zhu Cixiang is also satisfied with everything now. Because the news he received privately from the government and the public were all praising him, and leaving his name in the history books would leave a mark even if he was a prince for a lifetime.
"Yes!" Emperor Chongzhen nodded after listening to his words, and then warned, "The summarized documents must be kept well, and the important contents must be made in duplicate and stored separately to avoid loss."
Upon hearing this, Zhu Cixiang quickly replied, saying that he did not dare to neglect in this regard. Therefore, Emperor Chongzhen said what he finally wanted to say: "These documents are very precious. They should not only be passed down to future generations, but also be deduced based on these documents to make them a further foundation for new learning. On this point, you You also need to pay close attention. Otherwise, if I personally go on the expedition and won’t be around for a few years, why don’t you just do nothing and wait for me to answer?”
Hearing this, Zhu Cixi couldn't help but feel very ashamed and quickly agreed.
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