On the front wall of the silent straight house, there are two maps hung full of bells, and a pair of "Kunyu Wanguo Quantu" on the left is the most accurate world map of this era. Tang Ruji still remembers that when he saw this map for the first time, the shock and impact he received turned out that the Ming Dynasty was just a corner of this world, and even if the ocean that accounted for most of the map was removed, it was only one-tenth of the area of the continent.

As the first Ming official to see the world through the southeast, Tang Biji naturally knew that on various continents, there were substandard civilizations. Among them, the Tessie people located in the continent of Europa, have been comparable to or even surpass the Ming Dynasty in all aspects, they have sailed, traveled all over the continents, conquered the peoples there with muskets, established a huge empire, and are becoming more and more clear to become the center of the world, which is the Ming people who regard themselves as the superior country of the Celestial Empire, no matter what.

On the right side of the map of Kunyu Wanguo, there is a map of the Ming Dynasty, which is a map of the Ming Dynasty and its surroundings. On this map, the Ming occupies less than one-third of the area, with the black font suggesting the territory of the Ming Dynasty and the red ones being places outside the Ming Dynasty.

I saw Shen Mo pick up a thin pipe, walked to the left side of the picture of Da Ming, bent down, and 1 heartily painted "Malacca, three red characters in black." Then he stood up and said with a firm gaze: "From now on, this is the south gate of the Ming Dynasty!" As a bachelor in charge of military affairs, Tang Ruji is well aware of the importance of Malacca. The Strait of Malacca, which is as thin as a throat, is the only way to enter the South China Sea from the Indian Ocean, and together with Myanmar on land, it has built a barrier, turning the South Sea into the inland sea of the Ming Dynasty. The importance of this in terms of defense and economy cannot be overstated.

Just comparing the distance between Nanyang and Beijing, Tang Ruji said in his heart: "Yuanfu, is the future of my Ming Dynasty really in those overseas territories?" "Zheng Ruozeng's discussion of sea power has been used as a designated textbook for the military examination for ten years." Shen Mo glanced at him and said, "Why do you still ask such a question." He asked in a deep voice, "I asked what is sea power?" "Sea power is to have control over the sea, and in the next few hundred years, with sea power, you have all the tools to become the hegemon of the world!" Tang Ruji replied crisply.

"What are the six elements that affect sea power?" Shen Mo asked.

"One is the geographical location. Island countries have more advantages and initiative than mainland countries. Second, the geographical conditions, the long coastline and many deep-water harbors that can be cared for, as well as the large rivers that penetrate deep into the interior, are the necessary conditions for the pursuit of sea power. The third is the land and population, the larger the land area and the more the population, the greater the advantage. Fourth, the national occupation, the population is mainly engaged in maritime undertakings, which can provide abundant soldiers for the growth of the navy. Fifth, national characteristics.

The people of a naval power must be eager for material interests and pursue profitable business contacts at home and abroad, which can also be expressed as a nation's strong national spirit of pursuing overseas colonies and pursuing overseas interests. Sixth, the nature of the government. The government should have a sense of the sea and attach importance to the navy, and after reciting it fluently and fluently, he smiled bitterly and said: "Because of this, my subordinates feel that the conditions for us to grow sea power are still very lacking. ”

"..."Silently paced back and forth in front of the map with his hands behind his back, "The first five are not a problem, at least not a big problem. In fact, the real big problem is only the sixth point, that is, our imperial court is inward-looking, and how to maintain internal rule is the problem we have been concerned about for the past 200 years.

I've been trying to turn it around all these years, but the traditional tools have become entrenched, and the result has always been half the effort. With a sigh, he pressed his hand on Nanyang and said: "What worries me more is the continuity of the policy, I am really afraid that future generations will abandon this place as if it were a shoe, which will be an irreparable loss for our Chinese nation!" ”

"Yes, we know how hard it is to change people's attitudes." Tang Ruji comforted softly: "Fortunately, this time the soldiers have obtained such a cheap price as Malacca without bloodshed, even those old antiques will not let go" paused and said: "But it is the Yuanfu armed sect G ancients, and those who send troops to support the Lost Bil Khanate will definitely encounter great resistance." Hearing this, Shen Mo raised his head and looked at the top of the map, the Siberian Khanate, which was six thousand miles away from the Ming Dynasty, was officially called the Lost Bil Khanate, but he was still used to his title.

He looked at him coldly and said: "For a powerful country like Daming, the threat from the land is far more dangerous than from the sea!" ”

The ambitious Tsarist Russian Empire has expanded from a small corner of Moscow to a great empire spanning Asia and Europe over the centuries. The territory of the Golden Horde, one of the four great khanates of the former Meng, has been invaded by them, and only one Siberian Khanate remains. Just last year, the largest lords of the premises in Tsarist Russia, the Stroganov family, recruited Cossack cavalry and began to attack the territory of the Khanate.

The army of the Khanate was simply unable to withstand the fierce Cossack cavalry, although the invading Russian army was less than a thousand men. Under the snake spear cannon of Tsarist Russia, the capital Kashrek is now defended, and through the Asia-Europe trade route, he asked for help from his compatriots, the men and ancient people located in the territory of the Ming Dynasty.

Because of the constant vigilance of the double-headed eagle, Shen Mo got the news at the first time, and immediately ordered Noyan Darlah, Huang Taiji and others to recruit brave and capable warriors to gather in Ordos, and after the Ming Dynasty conducted cavalry firearms training, they galloped thousands of miles to help Siberia.

After the order was issued, it caused an uproar among the government and the opposition. For the people of the Ming Dynasty, it was easy to rely on the benefits of advanced firearms to subdue the ancients, but now they have to teach them firearms, isn't this a legacy of raising tigers? In fact, these people are all guys who don't understand military affairs at all, and only know how to talk about exaggerated things. They didn't know that now the guards of the ancient princes of the Gate G were all equipped with the first-line firearms of the Ming Dynasty. These muskets were forbidden to be exported to the Men and G. people, but they had a way of getting them in batches.

But for more than ten years, their people have still relied on cold weapons such as bows, arrows, scimitars, and so on.

Besides, it is only equipped with 2,000 people, what is the threat in the face of the hundreds of thousands of guns of the Ming Dynasty?

But those useless officials only saw that the ancients had guns, completely ignoring the facts, and did not see the evil consequences of Siberia's occupation by Tsarist Russia. Although he didn't dare to attack Shen Mo directly, he scolded Fang Fengshi, the governor of the three sides who insisted on this matter, and Wu Dui, the secretary of the military department, to the point of scolding.

The ancients came to the gate, although they surrendered to the Ming Dynasty, but they were sent to distant Siberia to support the relatives who couldn't be beaten by the eight poles, how could they not muttered that this was a conspiracy of the Ming Dynasty to weaken us? However, there must be brave men under the heavy reward, and there are not a few people who are dissatisfied with the status quo of peace and leisure, and there are not a few people who are eager for war, plus Noyan Dara is also a silent old man, so he is naturally embarrassed not to give face to his son-in-law. So it was possible to organize an army of 2,000 men.

One by one, one He divided the land into three grades, the first of which was the land territory within 2,000 miles from the political center, which was the basis of the survival of the state.

The second level is the land territory of 2,000 li and 6,000 li, and this area must be effectively ruled in order for a country to be called strong. The third level is the overseas territories within 2,000 miles from the mainland, and the land territories 6,000 miles away, which are traditionally considered to be outside the kingship. But Xu Wei's so-called "land to win the future" refers to this third grade. ”

"The times are no longer in tune, when the ancestors were in front of their homes, everyone was active at their own doorstep, and the well water did not interfere with the river water. But now people have begun to enclose the land all over the world, and they are about to reach out to our land. They have all studied the European economic model, and they should know that as long as they have the three elements of capital, population, and raw materials, their strength will grow inexhaustibly. And all three of these elements can be obtained by re-adding new land. If we are only satisfied with our own territory and turn a blind eye to the expansion of the great powers, we will eventually be caught up, crossed, or even hit by others! ”

"If possible, I really want to send my own army to fight directly!" Shen Mo opened his arms and said with a rare arrogance: "From the Siberian Khanate to the east to the north of our Liaodong, there is only about 50,000 people in such a vast area, and it can be a no-man's land. So as long as we can cover the Russians in Siberia and drive them to the west of the Ural Mountains, then the whole land is bigger than China itself, and we will be Ming! What's even more valuable is that it is completely bordered by the mainland, which can greatly shrink our land frontier! Think of what a sight it would be to build the Great Wall in the Ural Mountains! Thinking about it makes people ......, but Tang Ruji is not as excited as he said, he smiled bitterly: "But such a big no-man's land, the weather is cold, and it can't be cultivated, what do we want to do?" "Land wins the future!" Shen Mo repeated: "It's really useless now, but in a few hundred years, if our children and grandchildren want to dominate the world, they must rely on this land!" I can use it the most now

The price of the acquisition, if I do not take it. In the future, if you pay the price of the whole country, you may not be able to get it.

Moreover, this land is closely integrated with our land, and in the future, we may lose our territory in the South Seas, but here, we can firmly control it! ”

"I don't doubt that Yuansuke's opinion is correct, but how ignorant the people are, who can support your grand plan? If no one supports it, I'm afraid it will be half the effort. ”

"I actually have a way." Shen Mo said slowly: "But the time is not yet ripe. Not to mention being able to join our soldiers. With a light sigh, he said: "It's still unknown whether I, the first assistant, can be a few more years, how can I rashly adopt official actions?" "The golden opportunity cannot be seized, but the struggle is struggling in the quagmire of power struggle, which is also an important reason for the depression accumulated in silence for nearly a year.

Aware of his gaffe, he changed the topic with a silent smile and said: "Whether it's Malacca or Siberia, don't worry too much, let's put all your energy into Liaodong." "After eight years of unremitting purging, the Ming army has advanced the defensive ground to the south of the Sanjiang Plain, and there have been no ancient people on both sides of the Liao River for several years. Shen Mo judged that the external conditions for the establishment of provincial-level civil affairs units in eastern and western Liaoning were ripe.

Now the biggest resistance is not the ancients, but the military generals of Liaodong, because of its special geographical location, Liaodong has not set up a province, but to wave the capital to the envoy and lead the civil affairs and finance. This position, which is similar to that of the Jiedu envoy, also makes the military generals in Liaodong very different from their counterparts in other places in the Ming Dynasty. Now it is necessary to set up a political envoy department, which is clearly to record civil affairs and financial power from their hands, and the military generals in Liaodong are naturally not happy.

But this must be done, because the military generals manage civil affairs and taxes, which will only bring endless suffering to the common people and make Guanwai a hotbed of trouble. Even if you kill a wild boar skin, there will be dog bear skins and tiger skins that will become a nightmare for the Ming Dynasty!

Shen Mo has instructed the establishment of a top-level additional transitional committee, with Tang Ruji as the chairman, and the top leaders of the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Households, and the Metropolitan Procuratorate as the vice chairman. Nominally, it is to supervise and guide the establishment of the Liaoning Political Envoy Division, but in fact, it is to suppress those arrogant and arrogant hereditary generals who do all kinds of evil!

But this is not enough, those soldiers are old outside of Wanghua, and they are used to being the emperor of the soil, and they can do anything. Although he didn't dare to openly rebel, it was no problem to lure wolves into the house, or even directly pretend to be the ancients and kill the civil officials sent by the imperial court.

Silence will protect Li Chengliang in all kinds of ways, just for this time, at least this master is in town, whether it is the ancients of the gate or the military generals of Liaodong, they dare not mess around.

With this in mind, the two had an in-depth discussion......

Shen Mo was racking his brains there to plan for the Ming Dynasty, and the emperor in the palace was also racking his brains, in his opinion, everything he did was also for the Ming Dynasty! It's just that in the emperor's heart, the word Daming refers to his ancestors......

The eighteen-year-old emperor, unable to learn the turtle magic skills of Xu Jie, Shen Mo, and Zhang Juzheng, after completely losing confidence in the frontal struggle, he did not have the patience to expect Shen Mo to get out of his way, and after a long ideological struggle, he finally made up his mind to eliminate this unprecedented power from above!

After making up his mind, he thought hard about how to use the most appropriate way to kill Lost Silence.

In fact, it is not difficult to kill the lost and silent, but as a courtier, after entering the Huangji Gate, he is not allowed to bring any entourage. As long as you ambush a few strong eunuchs, you can tear down his old bones.

However, the consequences of killing a Shousuke with a reputation as a saint cannot be borne by anyone, not even if he is the emperor. Wanli didn't dare to imagine that kind of consequence.

Therefore, it is necessary to change the killing method, to be quiet, to get rid of the involvement, so as to get the desired effect