The expulsion of the Manchus from the Guanguan was only the first step, and if they were to continue to fight their remnants, they would need to be constantly invested, and the restoration and reconstruction of the northern land was the foundation for perseverance. Aid from the South is essential, but it cannot be as completely dependent as it is now, at least not for long.

The more the north outputs, the more the imperial court's finances will be looser; If you recruit one more soldier in the North, you can transfer one more soldier from the South, reducing the supply of some supplies from the south to the north.

In other words, Zhu Yongxing is trying to make all localities as self-sufficient as possible, so as to save money and start large-scale domestic infrastructure construction. Judging from the calculations of the household department, it will take several years or even more than ten years to control Huang and Huai, and the investment will be an extremely huge number. There are also dredging canals, building bridges and paving roads, building factories, etc., all large and small gold-swallowing beasts are horizontal in front of Zhu Yongxing, how easy it is to step over!

Of course, Zhu Yongxing doesn't have to be so bothered and exhausted. No matter how many people it froze to death and starved to death, I don't know that in more than ten years, when the people who survived can eat sweet potatoes and potatoes and live in shacks and grass huts, he can also proudly proclaim "national peace and security", and then make a prosperous world of this and that, and then self-indulge in the ocean of praise and praise.

Historically, this has been the case. The time span of the world's modern history is from 1640 to 1900 AD. The time span of China's modern history is from 1840 to 1919, which is a full 200 years behind the world's modern history.

In a drunken dream of "peaceful and prosperous times", the Manchu rulers were paralyzed by their self-satisfied "sense of superiority", and they could not see that the raging waves of the torrent of the times were rolling forward day and night, and they did not know what kind of historical changes were taking place in the distant West, let alone what they would mean for China. As a result, the colonists' steel gunboats came across the ocean. The Qing Dynasty of China, the oriental "dragon ship", was sunk.

Zhu Yongxing sees far and thinks deeply, he will not let the Chinese nation rise up to catch up with the gap of 200 years after a century of humiliation. Therefore, he will not be lightly satisfied, and he will be more tired than others.

At the end of the day, Zhu Yongxing summoned Huang Xiuren. He consulted with the officials of the Ministry of Industry and decided on the plan for the revival of agriculture in the north, and in the afternoon he met with the French envoys, thanked them for the horses they had brought from afar, and signed a credential confirming the formal establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, and allowing France to build a museum and permanent mission in Beijing, the capital of the near future. At the same time, Zhu Yongxing ordered the selection of the mission to Europe. It is mainly in the United Kingdom and France.

As one diplomatic historian once put it: "Since it became customary for countries to maintain permanent envoys in foreign capitals, there has been a radical change in the way international relations are conducted. Resident envoys began in the fifteenth century. Later, as strong and unified nation-states replaced feudal monarchs, custom became unavoidable. After the signing of the Treaty of Westphalia in the seventeenth century, peaceful exchanges developed and the problems to be resolved increased, so that the practice of permanent envoys became widespread in Europe. ”

What is important is not the establishment of diplomatic relations with the two great powers, Britain and France, but the fact that China has since embarked on modern diplomacy.

Although China's diplomacy, in terms of the modalities of its activities and the substance of its activities. It can be traced back to the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period more than 2,000 years ago. However, at that time, the vassal states were still formally within a unified state, and later they also returned to the great unification. So strictly speaking. It is not the same thing as the diplomacy between sovereign states that we are talking about today.

In the long years that followed, China and the surrounding ethnic minorities fought against each other and gradually merged. And with some surrounding countries also established vassal relations, although there were also tribute envoys from time to time, and also sent envoys to foreign lands. But because of its unique geographical location, China doesn't really have any real dealings with the rest of the world's major powers. Therefore, of course, there is no diplomatic relationship in the modern sense.

No accumulation of steps can lead to thousands of miles. establishing diplomatic relations and reciprocal diplomatic missions; Then it is to send overseas students, introduce translated scientific and technological books, and strengthen further cultural and technological exchanges. Zhu Yongxing knew that he was in a hurry, so he opened a window first. Then he pushed open a door, he wanted to let the people of the country open their eyes to the world, follow the tide of the times, and even lead the tide of the times.

The last one to be summoned was the tribute envoy sent by Taiwan, well, let's call it that! The envoys were Chen Yonghua and Feng Xifan, who presented New Year's gifts in advance, as well as some money and food, to show their support for the national war.

"Imitate the Mu family, Yongzhen Taiwan." Zhu Yongxing pondered for a moment, suddenly smiled, and said with a slight mockery: "Taiwan has been governed by the King of Yanping so that the needle cannot be inserted, and the water cannot be splashed, so what is the use of asking for the will of the imperial court?" Window dressing? ”

"Long live Qizuo, Taiwan's big and small officials are all sealed by the king, and they are also in line with the regulations of the imperial court." Feng Xifan protested: "If the imperial court wants to appoint capable officials to go, how can Taiwan refuse? ”

When Zheng Chenggong was alive, he did have the power to open the government and build a government, which was also the cowardly and ineffective Yongli court, and could only envelop the southeast pillar. But now that the imperial court is in a strong position, Taiwan naturally does not dare to be arrogant anymore.

"I said before that I would use Taiwan to amass troops and stop ships for the purpose of conquering Luzon." Zhu Yongxing sneered and said: "Since you want to imitate the Mu family's example, has the Mu family ever slyed and shirked, has it ever resisted the imperial army, has it ever resisted and disobeyed the order, and has it ever been arrogant?" ”

Chen Yonghua sighed secretly, this Min Shizi ascended the throne as the emperor, and his momentum was very different from that of the Qianlong period, and his words were aggressive, and he had no kind words to the Zheng family in Taiwan. Of course, behind Zhu Yongxing is an army of hundreds of thousands, and most of China is the majority, which Taiwan cannot contend with. Not to mention that the hearts of the people in Taiwan are not satisfied with living on the island, but more want to return to their homeland.

Feng Xifan's tone couldn't help but soften, in front of the righteous name of the monarch and minister, who would dare to be arrogant, "Long live I think there is a misunderstanding." The king of Yanping did not want to resist the imperial court, but also had the intention of conquering Luzon. When they are ready to stop, they will send troops, how can they bother the court to mobilize the army? ”

"When are you ready to stop?" Zhu Yongxing did not relax, and asked tightly.

"This-" Feng Xifan hesitated for a moment, and muttered: "Long live I don't know, Taiwan is narrow and has few people, it has just begun to be cultivated, and the grain is not yet self-sufficient, so it will take several years to be ready, right?" ”

"Oh, that's to make the court wait!" Zhu Yongxing sneered, "The imperial court wants to send troops, but King Yanping refuses; If he wants to send troops, he has to prepare. Hmph, does he still recognize himself as a minister? ”

"The king of Yanping is loyal to the court, and he has no two hearts." Chen Yonghua hurriedly stepped forward and said: "Long live, please forgive me, Taiwan is short of materials, and it is absolutely difficult to support the army to stop, it is not that Taiwan is resisting the imperial court." ”

"Rat-eyed, small-bellied chicken intestines." Zhu Yongxing rebuked disdainfully: "Has the imperial court ever collected taxes from Taiwan, has it ever said that Taiwan wants to support grain and grass materials, but has it ever stationed troops in Taiwan?" Don't you know that Taiwan is the best assembly and departure place for the conquest of Luzon? I don't want to hear a lot of quibbles, so you don't have to say it. Go back to sue Zheng Jing, don't deceive yourself and others, and fool yourself with what imitation of the Mu family. After the Tartars were pacified, the imperial army would have to make preparations for the conquest of Luzon, and whether he wanted to or not, the plan to use Taiwan as a base for advance would not change. I don't want him to give people, I don't want him to pay, how do I deal with him as a courtier? Retire! ”

After sending Chen and Feng away, Zhu Yongxing was still depressed. According to the current level of navigation technology and ship manufacturing, it is more important to cross thousands of miles across the sea to conquer Luzon, and the safety of the road is more important than the smooth battle. From Taiwan, crossing the Bass Strait is the quickest and safest route. There are also the Batan Islands and the Babuyan Islands on the route, which can be used as relay stations. In other words, a long voyage can be broken down into several shorter voyages, allowing the crew and soldiers to get better rest and have a greater chance of avoiding risk.

"Your Majesty, this Tainan is the most prosperous place in Taiwan, and it is the foundation of the Zheng family, I am afraid that I will not give up a certain place for the imperial army to stay." Wu Sangui works in the General Staff, and his vision is much broader, and the map of the General Staff is also more and more, more and more detailed, he pointed to the map of Taiwan and said: "This Taipei has not yet been developed, but the location is not ideal. ”

"Although it's not ideal, I'm afraid it's going to be difficult." Zhu Yongxing smiled bitterly and stretched out his hand to scratch the map, "Or you need to find another relay point in Taitung, where there is a lot of land, it is not easy!" ”

The northern part of Taiwan was developed relatively late, and now only the small number of people of the Pingpu tribe, the Kaida Gran, live a fishing and hunting life here. The central and eastern parts of Taiwan are the residence of the Gaoshan compatriots, which can be subdivided into Atayal people, Paiwan people, Bunun people, Lukai people, Beinan people, Cao people, Saixia people and Yamei people. In the western and southwestern plains and coastal areas of Taiwan, the aborigines have long intermingled and intermarried with the Han people, and they have accepted the Han culture earlier.

Obviously, if Zhu Yongxing wants to establish a base in the area of Taipei's chicken coop (Keelung) and a relay point in Taitung, he must have corresponding means and measures to minimize conflicts with the aborigines.

For the sake of the Ming army's cross-sea expedition, Zhu Yongxing had to take a tough attitude towards the Taiwanese Zheng clan in advance. At the same time, if there is a base in Taiwan, it will be able to respond as quickly as possible when the Zheng clan is in civil unrest in the future. Based on the current strength of the imperial court and the name of Zheng's courtiers, Zhu Yongxing felt that Zheng Jing was very likely to make concessions. As long as we don't insist on setting up a base in Tainan, as long as we continue to let the Zheng family keep Penghu, and as long as we give the Zheng family a guarantee of "imitating the Mu family example and forever in Taiwan", with Zheng Jing's current strength, it is estimated that it will be difficult to make up my mind to break with the imperial court. (To be continued......)