The huge army and years of conquest have consumed a great deal of manpower and material resources for the Annam Trần clan and the Quang Nam Nguyen clan. The lack of labor in North Vietnam led to the disrepair of river embankments, barren farmland, and a variety of exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes, which made life difficult for the people. In South Vietnam, there was a large-scale land annexation, and the Nguyen nobles were arrogant and lascivious, and corruption was particularly serious, and the common people were in a similar situation.

In terms of troops, the Annam Trần clan had an advantage, while the standing army of the Quang Nam Nguyen clan was no more than 20,000. However, the Quang Nam Nguyen also relied on the fact that they had more contact with the Europeans, especially the Portuguese, and were able to purchase more advanced European armaments and hire European military experts in the city defense. Moreover, the geographical situation was favorable to them, and Changyulei and Rililei resisted several attacks by the Zheng clan from the sea to Congshan, and held out until 1672.

Although the contradictions between Annam Trung and Quang Nam Nguyen are irreconcilable, it is a life-and-death situation. However, Zhu Yongxing still adopted a reasonable, well-founded, and restrained encroachment strategy, persecuting on both sides, and not forcing the other party to the level of desperateness, but letting them lose their own strength and weaken themselves in the battle with each other.

If compared in terms of strategy and strategy, Quang Nam Nguyen is more clever, and the methods adopted are somewhat similar to Zhu Yongxing. While confronting the Zheng clan and using the advantages of weaponry and geographical terrain to resist the Zheng clan's attack, they constantly encroached on the city of Zhancheng and interfered in the internal affairs of Zhenla, which was also a routine of supplementing the inside from the outside.

Compared with the two, Zhu Yongxing still attaches more importance to the Quang Nam Nguyen family. Zheng Gen of the Zheng clan in Annan is also a figure, but unfortunately there are still more than ten years before he takes power, and Zhu Yongxing can wait and see the changes for the time being. Now, Zhu Yongxing's raids in the Mekong Delta region have formed an alliance with the Champa state. It curbed the attempt of the Quang Nam Nguyen clan to make up for the interior from outside, and in the war between the Zheng and Nguyen clans, they could meet the source left and right and reap their benefits.

To put it bluntly, it is the principle of leverage, and the Ming army has become a small weight that can balance left and right. It only takes a little force on one side to tip the scales of war in one's favor. And Zheng and Ruan did not dare to risk being taken advantage of by the other party, and tore their faces with the Ming army and fought hard.

Annam Zheng clan, Quang Nam Nguyen clan, Champ City, Chenla, plus Nan Ming, the situation of mutual checks and balances between the five countries was finally realized by Zhu Yongxing. This should be the best result. There is no need to invest too many troops and material resources to reap profits and gain room for development.

"Don't be too frizzy and aggressive, or you should eat away steadily." Zhu Yongxing gave a face-to-face lecture to the incoming military chief and deputy commanders of Mekong Province, who were Lu Guogong Qi Sansheng and Yichuan Bogao Qilong, "With the 2,000 men and horses who want to set off with you, Mekong Province will have 7,000 garrisons to mobilize among the immigrants." Two or three thousand more men were to help in the war. As long as the troops are used safely, there is no hurry or impatience. Whether it is Quang Nam Nguyen Clan or Tan La, it will be difficult to defeat our army. ”

Lu Guogong Qi Sansheng and Yichuan Bogao Qilong listened respectfully, their eyes followed Zhu Yongxing's fingers on the map, becoming the generals in charge alone, and the two of them were both excited and apprehensive in their hearts.

"Champa is the weakest. But we still need them as a buffer for the time being, and it is not appropriate to have direct contact with the Nguyen Thi in Quang Nam immediately. Zhu Yongxing nodded to occupy the position of the city state and said: "You can send troops to help them resist the attack of the Nguyen clan in Quang Nam according to the situation, but it is not unconditional, and the grain and grass are to be paid." ”

Lu Guogong Qi Sansheng and Yichuan Bo Gao Qilong looked at each other and smiled. I know in my heart that His Royal Highness Min still has the same temperament that does not suffer losses, and he will not do anything for nothing.

"The direction of Mekong's expansion is in the south, and it is necessary to occupy the land according to the number of immigrants, and slowly take all of it into its pocket." Zhu Yongxing gently patted on the Jinou Peninsula, which is bordered by the South China Sea in the east and the Gulf of Siam in the west, and the geographical location is also quite important.

"Your Highness, the river network here is crisscrossed, and it doesn't seem to be suitable for large forces to fight." Lu Guogong Qi Sansheng said cautiously: "And it is close to the sea, if there is a sailor to help, it will get twice the result with half the effort." ”

"The sailors can only be slowly established and developed in Mekong Province." Zhu Yongxing said a little helplessly: "At present, the task of the South China Sea Fleet is to disturb the coastal areas of Guangzhou, Guangzhou, and Guangzhou, and it is impossible to get out. Fortunately, there is no need to rush, in two or three years, there will always be a way. ”

"Zhenla is weak, even if there is no water division, it is not an opponent of our army." Although Yichuan Bogao Qilong did not know much about the financial situation, he knew that it was not easy for Zhu Yongxing to maintain the current situation with all his efforts, so he didn't want to ask too much.

"Weak is weak, but why hasn't the country been destroyed?" Zhu Yongxing didn't wait for Qi Sansheng and Gao Qilong to answer, so he gave his own answer, "Nanruan planted a nail in the firewood stick, slowed down the expansion, and continued to invade and occupy the city in the south, and interfered with the succession to the throne of Zhenla, forcing Zhenla to sacrifice land as a reward, which is the idea of cannibalization." Although the whale swallow is simple, the Yue population cannot keep up, and the troops have to be thin, so it is difficult to deal with the attack of Beizheng. We must do the same, expand slowly, the foundation must be solid, not patronizing the immediate pleasure, burying long-term hidden dangers. ”

In nearly half a century of vicious fighting between the north and the south, the maximum mobilized troops of Bei Zheng reached 100,000, while the standing forces of the vast and sparsely populated Nam Nguyen were only about 20,000. With limited manpower and material resources, Nam Nguyen was able to preserve itself and even take the initiative to go on the Northern Expedition in the seven Truong Nguyen Wars, which is inseparable from the in-depth development and construction of southern Vietnam by successive Nguyen lords.

But now, Chu Vinh Hungh's alliance with Champa has curbed the Nguyen's southward expansion. If they did not want to engage in a large-scale war with the Ming army, the Nguyen could only invade Chenla to the west, or attack Nanzhang to the northwest. According to the current situation of the Zheng Ruan war, Zhu Yongxing believes that the Ruan clan will probably not be stupid enough to choose the former.

"War is at the service of politics." Zhu Yongxing said the most important point, and his eyes swept over the faces of Qi Sansheng and Gao Qilong, "Mekong Province is far overseas, and communication and liaison take a lot of time, so it is inconvenient for me to directly command and order, so I need Mekong Province to help each other with civil and military forces, unite sincerely, and make decisions on the spot." ”

The Ming Dynasty established the country by force and accepted the lessons of the Song Dynasty, and at first did not adopt the policy of suppressing military force with literature, but on the contrary, greatly increased the rank of military attachés. Zhu Yuanzhang, Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, also clearly stipulated that Wenchen was not allowed to be a prince, and the highest could only be an earl, and set up the highest military institutions as the five governors of the middle army, the left army, the right army, the front army, and the rear army. The deputies are all superintendents and know, and from the first product, they are all superintendents. Positive second product.

Moreover, the commanders of the imperial court guards are all the third rank, and the military governors of the provinces are all commanded to be the second rank, which is higher than the chief executive of the province (from the second rank). The commanders of the local guards are also three-rank officials, and the thousand households of the thousand households are the five products, and the hundred households of the hundred households are the six products. are much higher than the county (Zhengqipin).

However, this series of military attachés did not work well after the middle of the Ming Dynasty, and the imperial court successively set up "general soldiers" as the commander-in-chief of a certain unit in various places, and separately appointed middle-level officers such as generals, guerrillas, and garrisons as commanders of grass-roots troops. However, above these military attachés, those who have the command of the theater are often the civilian officials sent by the imperial court to serve as "admirals", "governors", and "governors".

Zhu Yongxing knew very well the disadvantages of suppressing military force with literature or using literature to control military force, but he also knew the harm of military generals who did not obey orders, hijacked troops to respect themselves, or were greedy for merit and indiscriminate killing.

Therefore, the politicization of the armed forces is a measure of constraint. This will not only enhance the cohesion and combat effectiveness of the army, but will also slowly penetrate into the hearts of every soldier. Although the development of political work did not take long. The experience of government officials is still insufficient, but as time goes by, Zhu Yongxing is still full of confidence in it.

Before the politicization of the armed forces reached a satisfactory level, Zhu Yongxing needed to suppress the signs that had already emerged of using civilian means to control military force, and to use alternative methods to straighten out the relationship between the military and the government.

"Civil and military discord, great harm to the country, please rest assured, Your Highness, the last general will obey the orders of the Governor Zong. Don't dare to make your own decisions. Qi Sansheng and Gao Qilong exchanged glances, and Qi Sansheng made a guarantee to Zhu Yongxing. The rumor of using literature to control force. Both of them had heard about it, and now it seemed that it was about to be implemented.

"The separation of military and political affairs is a policy that must be implemented in the future, and you don't have to worry about it." Zhu Yongxing seemed to see through the thoughts of the two, and said with a smile: "But according to the current situation, the military and the government are intertwined. There is no way to do it. Zong Shouyi can order the battle, but how to fight is still decided by you after consulting with the staff committee, and he has no right to interfere. ”

This is the flexibility, whether to fight or not to fight is in the hands of civil officials. How to fight, but it is still the general's master. The advantage of this is that there is a mutual constraint and avoids the disadvantage of the layman commanding the insider.

"Your Highness is wise." Qi Sansheng and Gao Qilong were worried about being blindly commanded by civilian officials who did not understand military affairs, and now that they have a lot of autonomy, they are a little satisfied.

Zhu Yongxing discussed the situation in the Indochina Peninsula with the two of them, and after feeling that there was nothing missing, he set up a banquet for the two of them. After the banquet, Zhu Yongxing personally sent the two to the door of the mansion before returning to the office to continue working.

Haiphong already had commercial tax revenues, coinage began to circulate in Yunnan Province, tea, realgar and other products were also exported to earn foreign exchange, plus the profit from the mirror, Zhu Yongxing not only used the money to purchase armaments, but also expanded the army by 15,000. Of these, 2,000 troops will go to Mekong Province, and the rest will be allocated to three theaters in Yunnan Province.

The expansion of the army caused a big shortage of money and grain, so Zhu Yongxing adopted the method of borrowing grain from the people. The people lent the government 100 catties of grain, and the government returned 150 catties after a year, or deducted it from the taxes due. This method can work, first, the interest rate of nearly 50 percent is very attractive, and second, after the recovery of the locality, the first season of sweet potatoes will be planted and replanted, so that the common people will not starve after lending grain to the government.

Sweet potatoes cannot be used for the supply of the army, but the common people are different. "Half a year's grain for melons and vegetables" can fill the belly and be free from war, which is happiness. When these ordinary people realize that victory or defeat in war is closely related to their own lives, they will not be numb and stingy.

Although Zhu Yongxing was actually "eating grain", he didn't worry too much. Sweet potatoes, potatoes, corn and other crops are being promoted, and the climate in Yunnan Province is warm and humid, and there is no problem with rice being harvested twice to three times a year. As long as the current standoff can be maintained, the food shortage will be alleviated in half a year. Then there is the fertile land of the Mekong Delta, which has three to four crops per year, and even if you count the time spent on cultivation, you will be self-sufficient in one season and have abundant food in two to three seasons.

"Next year will be better!"

The sun is big, the sky is blue, and the air is fresh. When Zhu Yongxing finished handling his official duties, stretched his arms, and walked out of the room, he expressed heartfelt emotion.

……………

"Next year will be better, right?"

Li Dingguo, the king of Jin, slowed down his horse, looked at the neat rice fields and busy farmers on the side of the road, and let out a long breath.

The morale of the army and the people has become more cohesive, which can be seen from the spiritual outlook of the people. With smiles on their faces, cheers on their lips, and the new land tax policy giving the people the motivation to work, the speed of recovery from the war was astonishing. Being able to implement a more lenient and benevolent policy on the one hand, expand the territory on the one hand, and fight against the Qing army on the other, Li Dingguo, the king of the Jin Dynasty, admired Zhu Yongxing's wisdom and ability to the extreme, and asked himself that he could never do it.

Everyone galloped through the village, and saw more than 100 people wielding guns and knives in the open space outside the village, advancing and retreating. Although the clothes are different and the movements are irregular, the shouting is also a little imposing.

Li Dingguo smiled slightly, is this to mobilize the people? These ordinary people practice every seven days, no matter what kind of training they can become, they are no longer people who can only cry and beg for mercy and be killed. The Qing army wants to sweep through like before, wantonly poisoning, I am afraid it will be difficult.

A team of men and horses traveled more than 20 miles, and then came to the place of the military discussion - Xiazhuang Town. What is a little unexpected is that not only Zhao Wang Bai Wenxuan is waiting here, but also Na Song, who holds the title of governor and governor of Yunnan.

After a brief chatter, the crowd went into the house to talk. Li Dingguo only learned that Lu Dao Nasong proposed to move to Dali, which had been approved by Zhu Yongxing, and this time he came to meet the front-line generals and reminisce with Li Dingguo and other old acquaintances.

"His Royal Highness Min moved to Mengzi, where can this official stay in Yongchang again." Na Song smiled and explained his thoughts to Li Dingguo and Bai Wenxuan, "Although you can't go into battle to kill, you must do your part, let the two princes concentrate on fighting, and don't worry about the future." ”

"The governor sitting in Dali is indeed a happy event." Bai Wenxuan said with a smile: "Old friends reunite, and tonight should be a drunken party." ”

Li Dingguo nodded with a smile and said, "Since this is the case, calculate the time, I'm afraid I haven't seen each other for almost two years." The war is not stopped, and it will be very close in the future, and I am afraid that we will not be able to get together often, so it is really a pleasure to talk about wine today. ”

"Is there more than one thing to do?" Na Song smiled, glanced at Bai Wenxuan, and said: "His Royal Highness Jin arrived late, and he has not yet known the content of His Highness Min's letter. After you see it, you'll find out. ”

(To be continued......)