The imperial court had already decided to march south again, but Zhu Gaoxu was not agitated by this.

The military industry and transportation system he envisioned was completely unestablished, and he has not seen any real profits from overseas; The haze of various wars was quickly placed in front of us.

The state treasury is temporarily short of cash, and if the money is used to fight a war, it is estimated that it will be exhausted, and there is no need to pay official and military salaries. Therefore, if Zhu Gaoxu wanted to go to war, he could only rely on the original system of governance, which meant that he would increase the burden on the people and military households in various places.

Under the system of unified governance, which is dominated by conscription and land taxation, foreign wars cannot divert the internal contradictions of the country at all, and they will only have a counterproductive effect, and the events of the late Qin and Sui dynasties are a lesson from the past. It is not entirely unreasonable that civilian officials are more opposed to the use of troops abroad.

Zhu Gaoxu is still determined to report and regain his appearance, but he is really forced to be helpless. In this era, if we don't use force, it seems that we can't let any national policy be implemented externally, and we have to have corpses all over the field to talk about it. At that time, the Hu clan of Annan provoked the imperial court, and it was just swept away by the Ming Dynasty army a few years ago; Chen Jikuo couldn't talk about it again. (Sooner or later, Chen Jikuo will understand that if he has a little strength, he will always pay the price if he is fluttering and ignoring the suzerain.) ）

And Zhu Gaoxu also understood: the long-term strategy he had conceived before seemed to be a bit idealistic, and soon various problems appeared, and it seemed more difficult to realize than he imagined......

The civil and military forces discussed in the Rouyi Palace, and Zhu Gaoxu put forward the intention of this southern expedition: first, a quick victory, to end the Annam War before the arrival of the rainy season next year. Second, the purpose of the campaign was to break up the rebels' northward offensive and focus on counterattacking Tran Ji Kuo, Ruan Shuai, and Le Li's troops; After severely punishing the culprits, the troops were withdrawn in time.

However, the nobles thought that the country of Annam (which only included the northern and southern regions of present-day Vietnam) was small enough to sweep away the entire territory.

Zhu Gaoxu immediately denied it: "The territory of the Ming Dynasty is vast, but the national strength that can be used for foreign conquest is limited. The current war can only be based on achieving the necessary goal, that is, to maintain the majesty and rules of the Ming court. Chen Jikuo and others who killed our soldiers will be punished. The rest of the things will be considered in the long run; Otherwise, we will have to conquer Tsushima, and I am afraid that there will be more problems. ”

When Xia Yuanji, the head of the household, heard this, his eyes suddenly widened, and he immediately asked, almost disregarding etiquette: "Holy Lord, do you still want to start a war in your country?" ”

It was also the first time that Zhong Wenwu heard Zhu Gaoxu say this, and when they saw that Xia Yuanji had already come forward to ask, they were all silent and waiting for the following.

Zhu Gaoxu had no choice but to explain: "It is said that the country has minerals such as gold, silver, copper, sulfur, etc., and it is convenient for shipping, which is exactly what the imperial court urgently needs. I also wanted to expand trade to obtain it, but the shogunate of my country refused to have diplomatic relations; At this time, it is necessary to find a way to open up trade routes.

Tsushima Island was a good base camp for Japan, and the guardian daimyo there protected the Japanese invaders, but the shogunate ignored our court's request to ban the Japanese invaders; We just have the morality and the reason to take Tsushima for ourselves.

Li Fangyuan, the king of Chaoxian, has written a letter and is ready to send troops to attack Tsushima Island. If the Chao Xian Kingdom occupies this place first, let's ask for it again, and it is inevitable that we will not compensate Li Fangyuan from other aspects, otherwise it will be greedy and unreasonable.

Now the relationship between the Xian Kingdom and the Ming Dynasty is the best, and Hou Xian has been courteous in Geoje County; We should try to maintain this relationship as much as possible unless we have to. It is better for the Ming to occupy Tsushima Island than to occupy Jeju Island. ”

"Alas......" Xia Yuan

Ji frowned and sighed unabashedly.

Zhu Gaoxu couldn't communicate with him too deeply, and it was really difficult to change the concept of many ministers, the idea that gold and silver can't be eaten.

Zhu Gaoxu had to comfort him with kind words: "Xia Butang doesn't have to worry too much, I know in my heart, and I will definitely do what I can." Didn't I just say that in the campaign against the rebels in Annam, we should not rush for quick success, but should accept it when it is good, just to save costs. ”

"Warlike will die, the Holy See." Xie Jin suddenly clenched his fists and spoke.

Zhu Gaoxu: "......"

At this moment, Zhang Fu, the Marquis of Xincheng, took the lead in the ranks, hugged his fists and said: "The minister seconded the wisdom of the saint, and the minister asked to lead the troops to Annan and share the worries of the saint." ”

In the first battle of the Annan Kingdom, Zhang Fu was the deputy general of the Zhengyi Zuo, and his combat performance was good, and he had the experience of fighting in the Annan Kingdom. Now that Zhang Fu supports Zhu Gaoxu's strategy, Zhu Gaoxu no longer hesitates, and gently pats the table and says, "Xinchenghou is the main general of this southern expedition." ”

Zhang Fu was overjoyed when he heard this, and immediately bowed: "The minister's decree!" ”

The rest of the princes were silent at this time. Zhang Fu, a marquis, was the chief general, and he had already received the emperor's promise, so the princes could no longer be deputy generals.

Liu Sheng hurriedly said: "Holy Lord, the minister is willing to be the deputy general." ”

Although this Liu Sheng was a person who surrendered from the side of the abolished prince, he performed well in the battle of Huguang and was very strong, and he was also very skilled in using firearms during the northern expedition to Tatar.

Zhu Gaoxu pondered for a while, and began to decide on the candidate on the spot: "In this battle, Liu Sheng will be promoted to the left deputy general, and Yin Desheng will be the right deputy general (the descendants of the old Han Dynasty's mansion). Chen Xuan is the chief general of the navy. Xue Yan, the secretary of the Criminal Department, and Pei Youzhen, the squire of the Military Department, received the holy decree to control the transportation of military supplies in Yunnan, Guangxi, Guangdong, and Huguang. ”

The civil and military who mentioned their names walked to the table one after another, bowing and receiving orders together.

Zhu Gaoxu beckoned everyone to excuse himself, turned his head and looked at Hou Hai, the left envoy of the Imperial Guard, and said, "Hou Zuo, I want to send you an errand, are you willing to go to Annan?" ”

Hou Hai hurriedly stood up and said, "The minister asks the Holy Lord to order." ”

Zhu Gaoxu said: "The duty of the Northern Department of the Imperial Department was originally to collect foreign news, and you took Jin Shi to Annan to do propaganda. Collect the bad things done by Chen Jikuo, Ruan Shuai, Li Li and others, so that the officials and people of Annam can understand their evil deeds; Every time the Ming officials and soldiers go to a place, you also have to promote the benevolence and righteousness of the officials and soldiers. ”

Hou Haidao: "The minister obeys the order." ”

Zhu Gaoxu said to Zhang Fu again: "The army must also pay attention to public opinion. It is necessary to let the soldiers and civilians of Annam understand that they are not doing well because of the war; The culprits are the Hu thieves and the rebels of Chen Jikuo. And the Ming army is a good person to help them. Only by making the descendants of the justifiable Chen family the king can we avoid the ambitions of the ambitious, end the war, and let the people live and work in peace and contentment. ”

Zhang Fu hugged his fists and said: "The saint is wise and martial, and the minister will obey his will." ”

Zhu Gaoxu said: "I ordered the Governor's Office, soldiers, civil officials, and eunuchs of Annan to immediately stop looting and castrating boys in Annan, prohibiting the forcible seizure of people's daughters, prohibiting the offering of Annan jewelry to the palace, and prohibiting disorderly robbery." Those who disobey will be severely punished according to the Ming law! ”

The ministers took the ceremony and received the order, and Hu Guangyu of the Hanlin Academy will write the matter of today's decision as a holy decree.

Let the Emperor have a royal view.

At this moment, Liu Sheng came out again and said: "The rebel army under Chen Jikuo's command is entrenched in Qinghua City, and the nest of the army is not far from its southwest. The ministers invited 5,000 elite troops from the Beijing camp and 10,000 guards to carry firearms and grain to land from Majiang by boat and take Thanh Hoa and Yi'an! ”

Zhu Gaoxu listened, and buried his head in looking at the big map on the table.

The surrounding civil and military forces whispered for a while, and then Zhang Fu persuaded: "The official army has occupied Dongguan (Hanoi) and a large area in the north, and the army can attack from Dongguan, advance and retreat, and defend, why should General Liu risk going to the south and becoming a lone army?" ”

Zhang Fu's remarks are indeed a relatively safe statement.

At this time, large-scale military operations were still mainly by land, which was more reliable. Therefore, the land bordering the DPRK and Xian has adjusted its national policy and tried to make friends with the Central Plains, otherwise it would lead to war; On the other hand, the Kingdom of Annam was more than once involved by the armed forces of the Central Plains Dynasty. Only the country is isolated overseas, and it has not bought much of the Central Plains, because there is no land route to the army.

But when Zhu Gaoxu heard Liu Sheng's bold idea, he couldn't help but be very interested. Because the use of the navy to achieve force projection is a strategic progress; Since Liu Sheng took the initiative to try, Zhu Gaoxu was tempted for a while.

However, the Yuan army had a lesson from the past, and the failure of the Yuan army to use sea ships to send troops to the country cannot be regarded as a lesson. When Zhu Gaoxu thought of this, he didn't want to make a decision right away.

He said, "I'll talk about it later." ”

The ministers bowed to thank him one after another and withdrew from the main hall of the Rouyi Palace.

Zhu Gaoxu sent Cao Fu to invite the queen Chen to inform Chen of the decision of the official army to march into Annam. and let Chen Zhengyuan return to China, inherit the throne, and concurrently lead the position of governor of the Annam Prefecture.

He had already planned a strategy for the post-war unification of Annam. It is to support the clan of Annan who is close to the imperial court and govern the country by itself; The imperial court stationed a part of the army in Annam, firstly, to ensure the power of the king supported by the imperial court, and secondly, to influence the national policy of Annam.

The military power of the garrison was in the Annam Governor's Palace. The governor was concurrently led by the king of Annam, and the nominal king seemed to be in command of the Ming army stationed at the same time, so as to reduce the resistance of the Annamite people; The actual military power was held by the deputy governor and other Han people.

Zhu Gaoxu believed that after the "Jiaozhi County" broke away from the Central Plains during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, it had been self-reliant for too long, and there were still various forces in the local area. If the imperial court wants to develop through direct occupation, immigration of military households, etc., and imitate the strategy of Liaodong, I am afraid that the cost of counterinsurgency is too great.

Therefore, after he ascended the throne, he changed the national policy during the Yongle period and prepared to control the upper echelons of Annan first; In the future, it is not necessary to assimilate and recover, and then act again. In short, it is too hasty and too costly.

Chen should more or less know that Zhu Gaoxu's investment in Annan must have some plans, but she doesn't care very much; After the death of her late husband, she had no strength for a long time, and she herself was hiding in Tibet and being used by various forces. Now she is completely dependent on the power of the Ming Dynasty to let her son get the throne, so it seems that the Chen family is truly grateful to Zhu Gaoxu.

After discussing for a while, Zhu Gaoxu suddenly said that Chen Zhengyuan was protected by the Ming army, and suggested that Chen did not need to return to China.

After Chen hesitated, he politely refused Zhu Gaoxu's retention.

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