Song Nan took out a stack of papers from his arms, bowed down and put it on Zhengde's lap, and Zhengde said, "What is this?" ”

Song Nan said: "The details of all expenses and the general ledger of all expenses since the establishment of the arsenal for a year are requested to be read by the emperor." ”

Zhengde was stunned and said, "What are you doing to show me this?" ”

"Didn't the emperor say that the ministers made the wealth of the country? The minister asked the emperor to see how much silver he had spent for this arsenal, inside and out, from labor to materials, and all aspects of investment, the minister had invested more than five million taels of silver. The purpose of the establishment of this factory is to develop armed firearms and equip the Ming army, so that the Ming army is invincible in the world, and I have never thought of making a profit from it. The emperor heard rumors from the outside world that the minister had made a lot of money by developing a white paper workshop, but the emperor knew that this silver was not owned by me alone, and the minister was just a small shareholder inside, and it was only a few hundred thousand taels of money. The ministers persuaded them to say that it was a risky thing to put the silver into the arsenal, and the ministers did not dare to tell them about the emperor's prohibition of making firearms, as long as they said it, I am afraid that a large number of creditors who would be surrounded by debts in front of the minister's door every day. ”

Zhengde was stunned: "There is still such a thing? ”

Song Nan said: "The emperor can send someone to investigate, but the minister didn't say a word." Think about it, in order to make money, why don't you develop real estate and do other businesses; Which one is not better than engaging in a firearms arsenal to make money safely? Why wading into these troubled waters? Isn't it because of the minister's heart to serve the country? The minister was worried that one day my Ming army would not be the opponent of other countries. Soldiers, the country's major affairs. Therefore, starting with armament is the fastest way to improve strength, and the emperor can misunderstand my hard work. ”

Zhengde was quite moved by Song Nan's words, but he didn't expect Song Nan to be so loyal, he cared more about the survival of Daming Sheji than anyone else, and he also said that he was difficult to make a fortune, which also hurt his heart too much.

"If the emperor thinks that the minister is difficult to make money, the court can not procure, and the minister can not use these firearms, the emperor wants the minister to go to the northwest, and the minister obeys the order, but the number of victories and defeats does not dare to guarantee, following in the footsteps of Xu Guangzuo, the emperor does not blame me, the minister is not incompetent, but it is difficult for a clever woman to cook without rice."

Zhengde waved his hand and said, "What are you talking about?" I'm just joking, and I'm going to let you go. Three million taels of silver, the household is about to make a fuss. ”

Song Nan snorted and said, "What is three million taels?" After that, I still need to purchase 3 million taels of firearms to accompany the army. ”

Zhengde was startled and shouted, "Do you still want it?" Two hundred doors are not enough? ”

Song Nan said: "It may be enough to drive away the hundreds of thousands of Tartars in the northwest, but if you want to do it once and for all, you need a large number of firearms." ”

Zhengde was stunned and said: "Once and for all? ”

Song Nan said: "The second condition mentioned by the minister is that this matter must be decided by the emperor. The minister thinks that we don't know when we will be the end if we continue to hold on to the Tartars so unlimitedly; The minister not only paid attention to the war, but also carefully pondered the reasons why it is always difficult for me to maintain peace and stability in the Ming frontier, and after consulting many people of insight, the minister synthesized his own judgment and came up with a crucial reason. ”

"What is the reason?" Zhengde was extremely interested.

"The Hetao is lost, and the border towns are difficult to settle. The reason for the loss of the Hetao area is that the minister asked the emperor to issue an edict to expel the Tartars, and allowed the ministers to lead troops to recover the Hetao, and drive the Tartars back to the wasteland north of Wolf Mountain, Yin Mountain, and Daqing Mountain, so that they will lose the fertile land of the Hetao and the water and grass, and they will no longer be able to recover their vitality and invade the border of our Ming Dynasty. ”

Zhengde's mind was full of mush, he didn't understand what Song Nan said about the Hetao problem, and he didn't understand the overall situation of these strategies, but he heard from Song Nan's demeanor and tone that what Song Nan said was a big thing, a great big thing. Song Nan seemed to mean that not only to expel the Tatars who had invaded the northwest, but also to drive them farther away, to the edge of the sky, and never bother themselves.

The so-called Hetao area, in layman's terms, refers to the large river basin through which the Yellow River flows through several bays, where the abundant water resources of the Yellow River have shaped a land of fish and rice in the north; From Helan Mountain to the large area north of Datong Xuanfu, the water and grass are fertile, the products are abundant, and it is a land of ointment.

At the beginning of the founding of the Ming Dynasty, the defense in the Hetao area was connected by Daning, Dongsheng and Kaiping to form a defense system; Just as the Xiaoice River era was coming, the northern climate was cold, the ice and snow were difficult to dissipate, and the two guards of Daning Dongsheng who were hanging alone could not be self-sufficient, and the materials of the imperial court were difficult to transport and replenish, and soon after, the two guards of Daning Dongsheng announced their abolition. The remaining Kaiping Yiwei was difficult to support alone, and finally announced the revocation in the fifth year of Xuande, and all the people who belonged to it were relocated to the area of Fengyang Mansion in Shanxi, Hebei.

When the Yongle Emperor raised his army, he borrowed the assistance of the Mongolian army that originally belonged to King Ning, and later when Yongle ascended the throne, he simply gave the territory of the original Da Ningwei to the Mongols.

On the surface, it seems that Emperor Yongle's abandonment of Daning Dongshengwei was understandable, because the long and distant defense line, the difficulty of supply, the difficulties of defense, and the cold weather all seemed to indicate that it was the best strategy to shrink the defense line to the Great Wall. In fact, however, the contraction of the defensive line heralded the abandonment of a large area north of the Great Wall, and the Mongol tribes moved southward, and finally the entire Hetao region was occupied by the Mongols. And the abundant water resources and abundant products here also make the Mongolians who occupy this place happy, and this place has almost become the base camp of the Mongolians.

However, the disadvantage is not in such a place, due to the abandonment of the Hetao area, the Mongolian Tatars can directly confront several border towns of the Ming Dynasty, which is equivalent to opening up the depth of defense in the north and raising a group of wolves at the gate. Although the gate is strong and the defense is tight, but wolves are always wolves, and they will always choose people to eat.

In the summer of the fourteenth year of orthodoxy, the Mongol wolf showed its fangs, and the Mongol Great Khan also waved his troops to the east and south, attacking Liaodong in the east, and attacking Gansu, Datong, and Xuanfu in the south. The reason why they were able to attack these border towns of Datong Xuanfu so quickly was because the Hetao control was in the hands of the Tartars, and they did not need to run over the Wolf Mountain, Yin Mountain, and Daqing Mountain, but pretended to be and slashed the butcher's knife towards the gate of the Ming Dynasty.

Later, the well-known defeat of the civil fort, the vitality of the Ming Dynasty was greatly damaged, not so much that the change of the civil fort was the responsibility of Wang Zhen, the eunuch, but rather that the Ming Dynasty gave up the Daning Dongsheng Kaiping Sanwei and lost the control of the Hetao, which laid the root of the later defeat.

Since then, the border town of the Ming Dynasty has never been peaceful, and there are no less than 1,000 large and small battles in the important town of the nine sides every year, and the Ming Dynasty is also forced to spend huge energy to defend the important town of the nine sides, and is exhausted by the toss.

In the area of Liaodong, the establishment of the Nuer Gandu Division has actually existed in name only, the Ming Dynasty lost the control of the northeast Liaodong, in the north of the nine sides, the Tatars raged in the Hetao and Mobei, and the Ming Dynasty from the Great Wall to the north has lost the control of the beginning of the country.

What Song Nan is talking about today is about the gains and losses of the Hetao, Song Nan originally didn't understand the overall layout, but in the past few years, Song Nan has read more books and seen more people, and every time he talks about current affairs with some knowledgeable people, he inevitably involves these topics. came and went, which triggered Song Nan's thinking about these old things. This time, the Tartars came on a large scale, which aroused Song Nan's thinking about this matter, and Song Nan mentioned this matter.

But in fact, it is not a simple matter to re-set, and it is not a nod of Zhengde, it is one thing to defeat the Tartars to seize the Hetao, and it is another thing to really succeed in the re-set, whether you can hold the Hetao and establish a solid defensive system north of the Yellow River is the key. And this qiē will cost countless amounts of money and silver, and the price that will be paid will be tongue-smacking; The Hetao area has been regarded as a core area by the Tartars, and it is also a strategic location, which is not a matter of repetition.

But in any case, Song Nan wanted to bring it up, Song Nan did not estimate what kind of consequences this matter would bring, what kind of reaction the imperial court would make, Song Nan's starting point was only one, the Ming Dynasty wanted to build a strong country and long-term peace and stability, so no one could be allowed to make trouble on the couch. After several years of hard work and recuperation, the court finally relieved itself, and the Tartars will consume all the accumulation in an invasion war, how can they strengthen the country and enrich the people in the long run?

That being the case, it is better to solve this problem in one place, and the long-term pain is better than the short-term pain, and only by completely solving the cancer in the north can we solve the problem fundamentally.