The current size of the Ming Guards is about 750,000, including 150,000 naval officers and more than 600,000 army troops.

The size of each of the three major fleets of the navy is about 50,000, and because of the backwardness of warship manufacturing technology, there will be no possibility of large-scale expansion for the time being. Next, if the size of the army is to be expanded, it will definitely be an increase in the personnel of the land division.

Today's army is not small, with a total of 30 integrated Guards Divisions and 10 Guards Corps. Cao Yue is ready to follow the example of the establishment of the war zone in later generations after the end of the war, and arrange the guards to be stationed in a certain defense area, so that in case of war or other chaos, the army can be called in the vicinity.

Among the 30 guard divisions, there are seven guard divisions that finally follow Cao Bianjiao out of the pass, there are now seven guard divisions under the command of the Red Lady, and there are nine guard divisions under Huang Degong's command to conquer Sichuan. Among these 80,000 people, there are more than 40,000 people who are garrisoning Nanjing, that is to say, there are only more than 40,000 people in Cao Yue's hands who can be truly maneuvered. Fortunately, there are still more than 60,000 people in the recruit camp who are still training, and if the situation changes, these horses can also be pulled to the battlefield.

Originally, some of the sergeants who were dismissed from the Ming official army were organized into local security forces of the same nature as the public security forces in later generations, and their main responsibility was to maintain local law and order, and they would not join the battle team under normal circumstances.

With such a security team, although the number of troops available for maneuvering is not much, Cao Yue does not have too much to worry about.

There is also a very important point, that is, the Ming official army in the southern provinces has not been reorganized and has not been incorporated into the sequence of the Ming Guards, and they still maintain their original appearance. Although it is said that their combat effectiveness cannot be compared with the newly formed Ming Guards. However, there is basically no problem with temporarily topping up. The war was still going on, and Cao Yue felt that the number of troops was still a little insufficient, but from the perspective of the overall situation, the number of troops of such a scale was almost enough. After all, the cost of supporting such a huge army is astronomical.

Today's Da Ming. The internal and external troubles have not been completely resolved, production and order are being restored, there are too many displaced people who need to be resettled, and most of the revenue of the state treasury has to be invested in these aspects. The money spent on armaments was now partially spent from the state treasury, and then the money and silver seized from Beijing were thrown in, and Cao Yue also integrated his family industry into the military industry. Thanks to many efforts, we have not had a problem with military spending. As things stand, there is no room for greater expansion of the size of the army. We can only take the road of streamlining the administration of the army.

Cao Yue also knew that with the progress of science and technology, there will definitely be more and more investment in armaments, but it is impossible to invest all the large troops that are collected from the state treasury into armaments, so the size of the army must be controlled, and the scale of less than one million is relatively ideal.

Unless you go on the path of expansion later, which will require arming more armies. But now, it can barely be supported.

Cao Yue knew. If it weren't for the battle on several fronts, such a situation would not have occurred, but he also knew that it was everyone's expectation that he could relieve all internal and external troubles in the shortest possible time. He is the same, if he can eliminate the threat of Jiannu and Liukou in a short time. Then the Ming Dynasty will usher in a rare time of peace, various reforms can be carried out relatively quickly and deepened, and the matter of returning to Beijing can also be considered.

As the war progressed smoothly, returning the capital to Beijing became a frequent topic of discussion among officials in the court.

It has been many years since Ming Chengzu Zhu Di moved the capital to Beijing, in the eyes of most of the military and civilians. Beijing is the capital of the Ming Dynasty, and Nanjing is just the nature of the capital. Now that Beijing has been recovered, it is only a matter of time before Beijing is still in Beijing.

As long as the threat of Jiannu in the north is eliminated, and the rogues in the west can no longer toss the wind and waves, then the matter of returning the capital to Beijing can be considered immediately. For more long-term considerations, Cao Yue also tended to return to Beijing, after all, Beijing was also the capital of China in later generations, and in Cao Yue's heart, Beijing's weight was far heavier than Nanjing.

Also, there were rumors in later generations that the dynasties that set the capital of Nanjing were short-lived, and the analysis of the situation in history was really reasonable, plus he also believed that Nanjing's geographical location was not as important as Beijing, and even Xi'an was not as important, so he also supported the return of Beijing, and did not want the political center of the Ming Dynasty to fall in Nanjing.

For this purpose, there is no way to avoid fighting on several fronts, Cao Yue hopes that the war in Shaanxi and Sichuan will soon subside, and Cao Bianjiao will be able to eliminate the last bit of Duoduo's elite in the shortest possible time.

When these goals are achieved, the world will be peaceful.

The internal and external troubles have subsided, and Cao Yue is also ready to consider a longer-term plan. It is impossible to stop the war, and for a Han nationalist like Yishang, opening up territory is something that must be done, and several surrounding countries must teach a good lesson.

One is Korea, the other is Japan, and India, and the other is Vietnam, all of which have no good impression in Cao Yue's heart, and they must all be conquered. Other countries adjacent to the Ming Dynasty must also submit to the iron heel of the Ming Guards.

In order to achieve these goals, the rapid development of national strength must be achieved, and in order for the national strength of the Ming Dynasty to develop by leaps and bounds, the improvement of scientific and technological productivity is a necessary condition, and the level of science and technology will be improved, the level of military manufacturing will be improved, and the combat effectiveness of the army will be enhanced.

In order to achieve many goals in his lifetime, Cao Yue desperately hoped that internal and external troubles could be relieved as soon as possible, so he personally made the arrangements for several frontal operations. Because of the super strength of the Ming Guards, the ministers of the DPRK and China did not have any objections to Cao Yue's proposal.

With the frequent spread of good news, those who were originally worried were also relieved, and secretly admired Cao Yue's boldness.

Soon, the Red Lady came with good news, and her troops captured Yan'an Mansion, killed Li Zicheng's general Song Xiance, and severely damaged Li Zicheng's remnants. Li Zicheng only led less than 5,000 horsemen to flee in the northwest direction, and the Red Lady personally led the army to chase after him.

Huang Degong's department also came with good news, and after his troops entered Sichuan, they fought with Zhang Xianzhong's generals Sun Kewang and Li Dingguo's troops, Sun Kewang and Li Dingguo were defeated and fled, and Huang Degong continued to lead the army to attack. It's just that the unfavorable terrain of Sichuan restrained the military operations of the Ming Guards and failed to further expand the results. But Huang Degong was not in a hurry, he followed Cao Yue's instructions and steadily advanced, creating more pressure on Zhang Xianzhong.

Cao Yue was no longer worried about the battle in several directions, he knew that the final victory would come soon.

At this time, the Ming court issued another edict, hoping that the remnants of Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong's men and horses could understand the righteousness, adapt to the situation, and stop making trouble, and ask them to surrender to the court and create less suffering for the people.

The edict said that as long as they gave up their resistance, they could be excused for their crimes.

After this edict was made clear to the world, Cao Yue personally took a soldier of the Guards Division and an officer and soldier of the Naval Division to escort the little emperor Zhu Cijiong and the Empress Dowager Zhou, the eldest princess Zhu Yujiao and other members of the royal family back to Beijing to worship their ancestors and ancestors. (To be continued.) )