Although Zhu Youxiao sang a high-pitched voice on stage, he knew in his heart that if he wanted to further expand the territory of the Ming Dynasty, he must properly handle the contradiction between the productive forces and the relations of production, and at the same time avoid falling into the feverish pathology of Germany and Japan during World War II. For example, the Qin Dynasty was able to unify the six countries, because after the Shang Dynasty completely entered the feudal system, Qin Ruishi burst out with a strong fighting spirit under the stimulation of military achievements, and was far ahead of other countries in terms of economic recovery ability and military combat ability.

Of course, there is another exception, which is the Mongol Empire after the unification of Genghis Khan. On the surface, the Yuan Dynasty was able to defeat the Song Dynasty because it was a backward and barbaric nation that killed the advanced civilization, but in fact, the Yuan Dynasty had more advantages from a military point of view. Readers who know the "History of the Song Dynasty" know that the Southern Song Dynasty had a prosperous economy, Jiangnan was generally rich, and military equipment was also very luxurious, but this also led to the high cost of fighting in the Southern Song Dynasty, and the long-term war dragged down the finances of the imperial court. On the contrary, the Mongol war was originally for plunder, and its cost was much lower than that of the Song Dynasty.

To sum up, there are three basic elements for victory, one is the ability to recover the economy, the second is the level of military operations, and the third is the cost of war. The first two points have been excavated very carefully by ancient and modern Chinese and foreign military strategists, and have even been derived into some military disciplines, but the cost of war is rarely mentioned.

For example, Afghanistan has always been a graveyard of empires, both the Soviet Union and the United States have suffered here, although behind this is the contest of the three great powers, but on the table is the confrontation between the empire and the guerrillas, either side has sufficient military spending and powerful weapons, and has absolute superiority. However, the cost of their war is too high, and once they fall into a protracted war, they will decline, and from here we can also see the far-sightedness of Chairman ***'s "On Protracted War". Since the opponent's investment in the war is far greater than the strategic goal it wants to achieve, there will eventually be a situation of undefeated defeat.

Based on this understanding, Zhu Youxiao did not intend to immediately manage the Western Regions when he began to unite with Tsarist Russia to encircle and suppress the Dzungar Khanate, which is why he withdrew his troops from northern Xinjiang. At present, the main economic body of the Ming Dynasty is still a self-sufficient small-scale peasant economy and a primary handicraft industry, and the presence or absence of the Silk Road does not affect the economic development and living standards of the interior. On the contrary, Tsarist Russia saw this trade route as a route to wealth, and when Alexei returned to Moscow, he tried to hide his defeats and encouraged his grandfather Filaret to send troops to protect the caravans along the way. Soon the Ottoman Empire and the Safavid Dynasty joined in, fighting to the death for the Ming Dynasty's right to trade.

Getting back to the point, everyone saw that the little emperor even scolded his own teacher, so they naturally kowtowed and pleaded guilty, knowing that he was determined to develop maritime trade and compete with European powers for maritime supremacy. For this strategic decision, Huang Kezhang, the secretary of the Ministry of Industry, is supportive. Since the large-scale implementation of cash-for-work in the Ming Dynasty, water conservancy and transportation have been greatly improved in various places, and after three years of accumulation, the development of agriculture and commerce has been promoted. Seeing that everyone was puzzled, he saw the right time and said:

"The saint is angry, and the old minister tells the details. Since the implementation of the new policy by the imperial court, production has developed to a certain extent in various places, and the ability to resist disasters has also been greatly improved, which has realized the problem that the Holy Lord had to solve the problem of relying on the sky for food. Lao Chen heard that this year's summer grain harvest was very good, which was the result of the introduction of new species and the introduction of new planting techniques, and the smooth transportation also promoted the prosperity of commerce, the most obvious of which was the growth of foreign trade. In view of the sea disasters during the Jiajing period, Lao Chen thought that it was very wise to adjust the national strategy now, and he would open with one punch, so as not to come with a hundred punches! ”

Huang Kezhang is a veteran of the Three Dynasties, and has served as five Shangshu, with his own dignity attributes. It is Zhu Youxiao's future Taiguo Zhang, so he naturally wants to give a lot of face, Zhu Youxiao saw him come forward to sing peace, and decided to accept it when he saw it.

Huang Wubu's words were very conclusive, and the prosperity of trade was bound to increase the income of the imperial court and improve the living standards of the people. However, it is impossible to go abroad and make a fortune quietly, because the Japanese rebels rebelled in the southeast, and then the Europa people tried in vain to occupy the trade rights of our dynasty, which shows that the broom is not available, and the dust will not run away by itself as usual. Instead of being beaten passively, it is better to attack in advance, and offense is the best defense. ”

As soon as these words came out, everyone suddenly realized and finally understood his intentions. No wonder I went to Ningbo last year to inspect, and I also promoted generals who were familiar with naval warfare one after another.

Zhu Youxiao saw that everyone was gradually entering the state, and knew that the time had come, so he took the opportunity to speak:

"I have no ambition to annex the world, but I think that the courage of the Europa people to go thousands of miles to the East to plunder is commendable. Kou can go, I can go too! Zhennan's determination to ask for war just now was very much in line with my wishes, and finally I didn't hurt you in vain, so I was immediately named General Longwei and waited for my dispatch. ”

At this time, Mao Wenlong was still a general on Juehua Island, responsible for the transfer of grain, grass and population outside the customs. was suddenly named a second-class member, and his excitement was beyond words, and he forgot his gratitude for a while, and only then did he kneel and kowtow in a hurry under Sun Chengzong's reminder, like a child who had made a mistake.

Seeing that he was so funny, Zhu Youxiao immediately dissipated his anger, slowly put the sword into the sheath, and continued to flicker:

"During the reign of Shenzong, the aid to the dynasty and the anti-Japanese war hurt the country, which led to the rise of the Liaodong Jianyu, and the northwest and southwest Tusi took the opportunity to make trouble. Nowadays, our dynasty still has the strength to fight, but the strength of the country is exhausted, there are nomadic cavalry in the north, remote Tusi in the southwest, the Japanese country in the east, and the Hongmaoyi along the coast, which can be described as embattled. ”

Sun Chengzong stood below for most of the day, thinking that Huang Wubu could make the little emperor more restrained, but he didn't expect him to become more and more unscrupulous, and finally couldn't bear it anymore and said:

"It was a blessing for the imperial court to live in peace, but Jianyu and Jungger had been ploughed, and there was no resurgence of the ashes, and the northern nomadic tribes had settled down after moving inward. Now that the coastal Yiwang has been captured by Xiong Wencan and Jiang Dejing, the national prestige of my Ming Dynasty is flourishing, why is there a crisis! ”

Sun Chengzong was sarcastic, Zhu Youxiao knew it, but he was still a little fluttering about his achievements, so he shamelessly squeezed out a smile and pretended to be polite and said:

"These are floating clouds, Aiqing doesn't have to take them to heart. After several major wars, countless loyal bones were buried in the frontier, and the family foundation of the imperial court was also tossed up. ”

According to the restructuring of the New Deal, the early dynasty only announced some important decisions, and the specific resolutions would be discussed separately with the cabinet and the important members of the military aircraft department in the afternoon dynasty, and finally the emperor made the decision, but this highly centralized monarchy does not mean that the emperor can do whatever he wants, especially when it comes to major policies, the palace will also be noisy and dusty.

After a few days of quarrels, the family background of the Ming Dynasty in the third year of the Apocalypse finally sorted out a general context. With the implementation of cash-for-work, the country's infrastructure has been greatly improved, both in normal production and in disaster resistance. On the one hand, the whipping method and the allocation of land to mu have reduced the peasants' burdens, and on the other hand, they have stimulated the enthusiasm for land development and fertility, and in addition to the improvement of the water conservancy situation, the number of fertile land in the country has increased by hundreds of thousands of hectares. In addition, peanuts, potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, beans and other crops are also promoted and planted in Shandong, Henan, and outside the Guan, and with traditional wheat and rice, it can achieve three crops in two years, which makes the output of the land more abundant.

In terms of commerce, the imperial court not only built a large number of roads and post stations, but also abolished the checkpoints between various places, and the official roads were full of vehicles loaded with goods, which not only led to the development of handicrafts, but also increased the country's revenue. With the prosperity of commerce in the mainland, the goods of foreign trade have also begun to increase, especially in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone, where merchants and craftsmen from all over the world gather.

In terms of military affairs, although the imperial court fought several major battles one after another, the subsequent military expenditure was saved, so that the state could concentrate financial resources to popularize new firearms and warships, and this equipment and technical advantage reduced the redundant staffing, and the Ming army truly became a combat unit in the modern sense.

In this way, the impact of the Xiaoice River period on the Ming Dynasty has been minimized, and the Central Plains region not only did not regress, but grew rapidly under the impetus of new species and trade, which allowed the imperial court to continue to increase its revenue, in addition to mining taxes, value-added tax, customs duties, etc., and profits from overseas trade, with a total income of nearly 10 million taels of silver a year. This is a very considerable account, but Zhu Youxiao knows that compared with the late Qing Dynasty's annual income of 20 or 30 million taels, the potential of the Ming Dynasty is still very huge, and the Ming Dynasty does not need to pay reparations for foreign land, nor will it let the people smoke opium, except for routine expenses, all this money will be used in infrastructure, education, science and technology, national defense and other important fields, fundamentally improve the quality and soft power of the Chinese nation, and strive to achieve victory in the ocean hegemony within half a century.

As the saying goes, money is easy to do, and the same is true for the imperial court. In order to fight for more budgets, the cabinet and the military aircraft department quarreled every day, so that Zhu Youxiao often couldn't interject. Han Xi, Huang Kezhang, Yang Lian, and other members of the six ministries believed that the country had just experienced several wars and should continue to increase support for agriculture and handicrafts, work hard to restore production, and increase land and population. Sun Chengzong, Xiong Tingbi, and other military ministers believed that although the war had stopped, hidden dangers still existed, and it was still necessary to deploy a large number of troops outside the Guanxi and northwest to maintain order, and the scale of naval divisions on the southeast coast should also be increased in order to accomplish the strategic goal of keeping the enemy out of the country.

Taking advantage of the chatter of these old guys, Zhu Youxiao successively summoned Mao Wenlong, Jiang Dejing, and the former members of Shibazhi Hong Xu and Gan Hui. These people are well versed in naval warfare, and have fought against Japanese pirates, Western merchants, and pirates at sea many times, and have a very high level of command ability and strategic vision.

For example, this Mao Wenlong, when the Ming army was defeated in Salhu, he discovered the weakness of Houjin, and dared to use Phi Dao as a stronghold with less than 1,000 men to attack and sabotage behind enemy lines, so that Nurhachi had to divide nearly 30,000 horses and horses along the way, which largely restrained the advance speed of the Eight Banners.

Jiang Dejing was even more handsome, with the local warships of Guangdong defeated the European Galen four-masted ship several times his own, and with the cooperation of Nan Juyi, the governor of Fujian, he attacked the governor's palace of Macao, captured Mashigar Road alive, and wrote a letter requesting that the naval headquarters should be set up in Guangzhou to supervise the Nanyang waters, compared with the example of Ningbo.

Hong Xu and Gan Hui were trading at sea in their early years, and by the way, they did some business, and their hands were stained with the blood of Japanese and foreigners, and they were important candidates to contain Zheng Zhilong.

Jiang Dejing, a native of Quanzhou, Fujian, took saving the people of Li as his mission all his life, was loyal to the country, and was good at managing money and managing the army, which was a political light at the end of the Ming Dynasty. At this time, he was still a senator in Guangdong, and although he had recently defeated the Portuguese, he was really not ranked compared to the recent battles of the Ming Dynasty. This time it was a great favor to enter Beijing, so he had been carefully sitting in the side hall of the military headquarters, and when he listened attentively to the emperor's praise, he finally said with a sigh of relief:

"Your Majesty is majestic and strategic, and non-ministers can speculate. If His Majesty wants to set up a Nanyang Navy Division in Guangzhou, the minister is willing to follow the work of dogs and horses, and he will not hesitate to do so. ”

For these clear streams in history, Zhu Youxiao has always given extra care, and this time is no exception. After he listened to Jiang Dejing's plan in person, he said with a happy face:

"Jiang Aiqing is not an idle person, she can open her eyes and see the outside world, which is a blessed star given to me by God. The Silk Road of the Han and Tang Dynasties is mighty in all directions, and I have opened up thousands of miles of waves in the Western Ocean seven times, which can be recorded in the history of the Chinese nation. Nowadays, small Western countries dare to dominate in the vast ocean, which is by no means arrogant, but the beginning of a new era. Whoever can control the sea can take the initiative in trade, which is why the Dutch dare to use force to blackmail our DPRK to monopolize all trade. ”

Although Jiang Dejing was a low-ranking official, he was nurtured by his father's upright personality since he was a child, and when he heard that the emperor attached so much importance to the ocean, he said:

"Your Majesty, with the development of shipbuilding and navigation technology, the sea is no longer a natural barrier, and the scourge of the Japanese and the Red Hairy Empire has already illustrated this problem. When the minister came to Beijing, he had communicated with King Yi, and their warships had already been all over the world, but my Ming Dynasty was still a pure land. ”

Jiang Dejing's words are like beads, although he did not explicitly mention the crisis of the imperial court, but Zhu Youxiao can understand the situation of this era from the history books, and secretly sigh that this person has a long-term vision. With the support of these talents, the Ming Dynasty already had the strength to carry out the first phase of external expansion, which was divided into two parts: land and sea.

On the land side, based on the "Mongolian Oirat Code", the Yarkand, Turpan, Tumut and other tribes were united to form a national alliance of the yellow race to jointly resist the invasion of other races. He used the military alliance with Tsarist Russia to reopen the overland Silk Road, extended the power of the Ming Dynasty to the Black Sea generation, and maintained good-neighborly and friendly trade relations with the Ottomans and Safi to the south. Increase the number of immigrants and military camps on the borders of Yunnan and Guangxi, and send warships to house the princes of the Truong and Nguyen clans in South Vietnam, and the Champa city in the vicinity of Cam Ranh Bay.

On the maritime front, it released Portuguese prisoners, sent hundreds of diplomats to Europe to learn advanced scientific and technological technology and expansion models, established friendly relations with maritime powers such as Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, and jointly participated in trade between India and Southeast Asia. Rebuild the Ming Dynasty naval division, with Dengzhou in Shandong, Ningbo in Zhejiang, and Guangzhou in Guangdong as the center, and set up the Beihai, East China Sea, and Nanyang fleets. Jeju Island was recovered and converted into a horse farm, the port of Busan in Korea was leased, and a concession was established in Nagasaki, Kyushu with Portugal and the Netherlands, and preparations for the war against the Japanese were initiated.