With the end of the first Kong Dai cram school, the war machine of the Ming Empire began to rumble and turn!

Although the first phase of the Ming Northern Expedition was aimed at the Central Plains, the war began in the northwest and northeast seas.

The defection of the Dzungar tribe and the war against the Yarkand Khanate seem to have little to do with the Qing Dynasty, but in fact it is not.

Because once the Dzungar Ministry transforms into the Ming Beiting Army, the western part of Khalkha Mongolia will be exposed to the front of the Dzungar army!

Moreover, once the Yeerqiang Khanate was destroyed, the connection between the Great Qing State and the Heshute Khanate would be severed. And the importance of the Hoshute Khanate to the Qing Dynasty is beyond many people's imagination.

Because the Heshute Khanate ruled Tibet and Qinghai, it was the protector of the Tibetan Yellow Gelug sect! And the Monan and Mobei Mongolian tribes now believe in Tibetan Buddhism and regard the Great Lama of Tibet as the Buddha of the present world! Therefore, the status of the Grand Lama towards Mongolia is a bit like that of the Western Catholic pope.

Once the Heshute Khanate was destroyed by the Ming Dynasty, and the Tibetan Yellow Sect became the helper of the Ming Dynasty, then the Qing Dynasty's rule in Monan and Mobei Mongolia would be shaken!

Therefore, Duoduo could not ignore the defection of the Dzungar tribe and the destruction of the Yarkand Khanate!

However, Duoduo's response was not necessarily to send troops to attack the Dzungar (Beiting Army), because the distance was too far and the logistics were too difficult.

Without going to the cram school of the Kong Dynasty, the soldiers in the Generalissimo's Mansion could guess that Duoduo would save the Yeerqiang Khanate and deter the Dzungar tribe by encircling Wei to save Zhao.

And the "Wei" in Duoduo's eyes can only be Shuo Fangjun!

"Third brother, once the Dzungar tribe invades the Yeerqiang Khanate and plays the banner of the Ming Beiting Army, your Shuofang army will inevitably become the target of Duoduo's attack!"

In the Forbidden City of Nanjing, Emperor Zhu was walking and talking with his half-brother Zhu Cijiong, the "third prince of Zhu". The two of them were followed by a large number of eunuchs, palace maids, and guards, who followed from a distance and did not make any sound.

The two brothers are going to Wuying Palace, today is the day when Zhu Cijiong leaves Nanjing, he has to go to Emperor Chongzhen and Empress Zhou to kowtow.

Zhu Cihong also returned to the Forbidden City in Nanjing from the Laoshan Palace for this matter, and Chongzhen and Zhou Hou also returned to the Forbidden City from the Xipu Palace where they were recuperating, and lived in the Wuying Palace, waiting for the two sons to come to visit.

The mood of the "Third Prince Zhu" is not very good, the Dzungar Ministry is obviously contacted by him, but it is Wu Sangui who is the one who unravels the set, and he still has to continue to be the "loan king", and it seems that he will be hereditary!

Because Zhu Cihong has found a good way to maintain harmony between the central government and the feudal towns - recruit scouts from the feudal towns!

Recruitment, in fact, is to spend money to buy the sturdy young men in the towns of the Nine Border Domain, and then train them into an army, and then use the elite officers from the martial arts hall to command them, and also give them a future of meritorious service promotion to the martial arts hall...... This group of helpless feudal town teenagers must not become the sharpest sword in the hands of the Ming court?

The nine feudal towns replenish more than 10,000 strong teenagers to the imperial court every year, and according to the one-half elimination rate and the average service period of 15 years, the imperial court can maintain at least 120,000-150,000 combat effectiveness for a long time!

What feudal town would dare to be disrespectful to the imperial court? It would be good if a feudal town could afford 20,000 elite soldiers, and it would certainly not be as good as the Nine-Sided Boys' Army, which had been trained from the Boy Scouts.

I think that if Emperor Taizu Gao thought of this trick back then, the Nine Sides Saijun would be honest, and there would be no need to remove......

It seems that Shuofang's domain will never be withdrawn!

"Brother Huang, the Shuofang army of the younger brother is outnumbered, although there are fifty or sixty thousand registered military households, but less than 20,000 of them can fight. And the equipment is not very sophisticated, the muskets are all made in Yulin, Yan'an and other places, and the number is insufficient!

But the biggest difficulty is still the lack of money...... The money in the last debt circle has been almost spent, and the interest is almost impossible to pay! Brother Huang, you can save your brother! ”

The third prince of Zhu is bitter! He hadn't had a good life for eight years, and at first he was worried every day that he would be captured and killed! Later, he was worried that he would never be able to repay the usury.

Later, his elder brother Emperor Zhu set up a set of feudal debts, and pit a group of wealthy landlords in Huguang to help the third prince reduce his difficulties a little.

However, although the feudal debt does not have to be repaid, the interest has to be paid!

Shuofang feudal bonds were issued more than 5 million taels, with an interest rate of 6 percent, and 300,000 taels had to be paid a year!

However, the financial foundation of the Shuofang Domain was very weak, almost all of the land was allocated to military households, and the feudal towns could not collect a penny of taxes.

Therefore, Zhu Cijiong had to work hard to develop the industry and commerce of the Shuofang Domain, and obtain profits by developing the Huamachi salt fields, developing the iron industry in Yulin and Yan'an, carrying out mutual market transactions with the Mongol tribes, and selling horses to the imperial court.

However, with all the efforts, the annual financial income of the Shuofang Domain did not exceed 200,000 taels, and the subsidy of the imperial court was only 550,000 taels, and after paying the interest, only 250,000 taels of silver remained, and after paying the necessary expenses, there was less than 100,000 taels left......

Although there is not much left, there is a surplus after all! So if you can't pay the interest soon, you're actually crying poor.

Of course, Zhu Cihong knew that he was crying poor, but he also understood that with Zhu Cijiong's financial resources, he really did not have the ability to mobilize all the fifty or sixty thousand feudal troops on the register.

Because the land of the Shuofang Domain was very poor, the income of the military households of the lower feudal domains was not high, and they could only make ends meet, and could not afford military service.

If Zhu Cijiong wants to mobilize the army, he has to issue a sum of "packing silver" and "settling silver". Without one or two million, there is no way to launch a large army.

"Third brother," Zhu Cihong said with a smile, "How much grain is stored in Shuofang Town?" ”

One or two million silver, it is not a problem for the current Ming finances, and the financial scale of the Ming Dynasty is over 100 million!

It's not when Emperor Chongzhen was in power, and he couldn't collect 10 million all year round......

As for muskets and artillery, it is not difficult to do. Shuofang was able to produce muskets on its own, and sold at least a few thousand to the Mongols in recent years! Do you have any inventory? It should be enough for the imperial court to give a few dozen 3-pounder guns.

But if you want to transport one or two million stone of grain to Yulin, it will be a headache! There is no waterway from Xiangyang to Yulin, so it can only be transported by cars and horses, and there is no 10% delivery rate.

"It's not too much......," Zhu Cijiong shook his head, "The northwest is poor and rainy, and I can't save any food...... The minister's brother had less than 500,000 stone of grain in hand, and he still bought it from Shanxi and Guanzhong with the silver from issuing feudal bonds. ”

"Bought grain from Shanxi?" Zhu Cihong raised his thumb, "Good job!" Can you still buy it now? ”

"Try it, but this silver ......"

Zhu Cijiong was a vassal king in Shanxi, and now he still has some foundation, so he can buy grain, but the price is definitely not cheap.

"I'll give you 1 million taels first, and then 30 3-pounder guns." Zhu Cihong paused, "Remember, don't waste battles!" Duoduo is known as the King of Bravery, and he is the most capable of fighting among the kings of the Eastern Captives. And his cavalry is well used, you are not his opponent. ”

When the two brothers were talking, they had already walked to the Wuying Palace, and they heard Pang Tianshou's voice from a distance: "The old emperor, the mother, the emperor and the acting king are here!" ”

Chongzhen is forty-two years old this year, and he is called "Old Emperor", but he doesn't look old at all, but he is glorious, but his son Zhu Cijiong, although he is only 21 years old, looks a little old, as if he is twenty-five or sixteen years old, and he looks very thin, and his clothes are also very old.

Chongzhen and Zhou Hou both stood under the big eaves of Wuying Palace, stretched their necks and waited to see their son, not looking at Zhu Cihong, just looking at Zhu Cijiong, seeing their son's down-and-out appearance, the "second elder" was in tears.

This son's life is miserable! Zhu Cihong, a ruthless and slamming brother, carried millions of "loan sharks" at a young age, what will he do in the future!

But Chongzhen and Zhou Hou don't have much money, and the couple's annual fixed income plus Zhu Cihong's filial piety is only 1.23 million taels of silver...... There is no condition for the third prince of Zhu to gnaw on an old man, it's sad to think about it!