When everyone was still stumbling about the sealing of the Four Kingdoms in World War I, the Great Tomorrow said this.

And what does it mean that the object of listening to this sentence includes merchants?

At this moment, Yang Shen suddenly understood why the emperor sent King Yue to bury Yang Yiqing's soul and live in the Qianguo Mansion for so long.

The emperor's ambitions were so broad, how could this statement of spreading branches and leaves only to encourage his subjects?

Vassal king...... In the future, the Ming Dynasty will probably be like the beginning of the country, and it will really be the kings who have sealed the foreign domains, thinking that they are a barrier.

Under a new system.

Yang Shen can think of it, and Zhang Fujing can naturally think of it.

There are so many extraterritorial vassal states around the Ming Dynasty that they can accommodate many princes.

The emperor only has six princes now, and this is not enough.

So why King Rui can also get the Son of Heaven's ear to mention the face, it makes sense.

It makes sense that the feudal domains were not completely captive in the capital.

In that case, the heart of the empire really needs to be well planned.

So during the small talk, Zhang Fujing mentioned the matter they had discussed outside the noon gate before.

"Renovating the Forbidden City?" Zhu Houxi frowned, "In order to prevent the halls from going to the water again, it is indeed necessary to take more precautions." It's just that this project is a bit expensive, and it's not in a hurry. ”

In my impression, Jiajing is full of "fire virtue", as if even the three major halls were burned during his reign.

Yang Shen finally knew why Zhang Fujing mentioned this matter today, because suddenly many townsmen and wealthy businessmen "misunderstood" Zhang Fujing's meaning, and enthusiastically said that they should do their part.

Where is it better to give gifts to local officials than to give gifts directly to the emperor?

This kind of opportunity to help the emperor build his home a little higher, but he can't ask for it.

Jin Kela was even more ashamed.

He has been engaged in it for so many years and has raised so many people, but he has not made so much money.

Fortunately, the emperor did not answer on the spot.

"In this way, the Ministry of Rites and Communications and the Ministry of Industry and Commerce will study it and come up with a plan and budget first. You all have hearts, and you are comforted. This time, there are a lot of congratulatory gifts in the inner transport warehouse, and there are many rare treasures that are flashy, and the palace can't use so much. Wait a minute, you can see which ones you want to buy back. There is no need to rush to get the silver out, in the end, this project will have to be purchased a lot, right? ”

Zhu Houxi looked at Yang Shen with a smile again: "The champion also contributed. Those who pledged to raise national bonds today and responded to the national policy are also good people. Writing some words and going back to framing the lintel is also a good story. ”

Yang Shen laughed and laughed, but could only answer: "The minister should do his best." ”

Immediately, the guests and hosts were happy.

For these wealthy businessmen, seeing the emperor himself, his bearing, pattern, and his style of speaking are really very different from what they imagined.

If you say the most different...... I didn't look down on them, but I relied on them very much.

Isn't that enough?

In which dynasty and in which generation did the merchants make a profit and have a close connection with such a national policy?

……

So far, the three major events of the Halloween Festival: military parade and reward, internal and external birthday congratulations, and top-level deployment of economic expansion have been made.

The next few months are preparations.

The establishment of the two Great Wall companies is linked to the upcoming reform of household registration and the major reform of the military system.

The reform of household registration is also linked to the land distribution in the three border areas of Qinggan, Hetao and Xuanning.

This time, the governors of the five prefectures and the general troops of various provinces outside the border areas went to Beijing to attend the meeting.

They are all in the army, and they come faster than Wenchen - if they can't ride horses and can't stand bumps, what kind of generals will they be?

They left the local area, at least for this winter, and it was safe again.

The generals were rushing on the road, and the envoys of many small countries on the Nanyang side had not yet left Beijing, and the fast ships that wanted to report to Beijing had already sailed on the Nanyang.

Last summer, Malacca was recaptured by the Daming Naval Division. When the news of the defeat reached Portugal, it was the end of last year. At that time, there was a fierce battle in the Hetao, and Zhu Houxi was on his way to Kaiping.

Portugal then studied countermeasures and set the tone that it had to be a fight.

Count Enrique led a number of ready-made ships to the front, both to hold the Viceroy of India and the Governor of Malacca accountable, and to retake Malacca. The Portuguese side organized more warships and merchant ships to form an expeditionary fleet, and then set off.

He crossed the ocean to Goa first, relieved the former viceroy of India and escorted him back to Portugal, and after spending a little time in order, he recklessly went directly to negotiate first.

Maybe it was the Portuguese expeditionary fleet that was coming behind him that gave him confidence, maybe it was the Portuguese invincibility at sea in the past so many years that made him overconfident, maybe it was the Indian governor who exonerated Juan and said some news to confuse him, who knows?

A lot of the time there are idiots who do stupid things.

And this time, Alfonso, who has evolved in Daming, Wang Zhi, who is already extremely shrewd, Juan, who is ambitious, and Zhao Jun, who wants to make great contributions again, co-directed a big scene.

When he returned to Goa with Enrique's "order" and sailed into the Strait of Malacca with a part of the Portuguese expeditionary fleet with mainly merchant ships and eleven large and small warships, approaching the city of Malacca, some of the Ming naval divisions and the escort warships of the Sea Trade Company that had already been ambushed in the fjord of the island at the end of the strait near the Indian Ocean, together with other warships scattered to the east.

And in the city of Malacca, it was also replaced with the Portuguese flag as if it were real or fake.

The captured Enrique, dressed like a man and so far apart, led by Juan himself, brought ashore at least the Portuguese warships and merchant ships to meet the new Viceroy of India, who had "made great contributions".

The result was a pleasant surprise.

After the marines on the shore and the surrounding Ming warships worked together to destroy two large and four small Portuguese warships and five merchant ships, the others gave full play to their lives.

This play can be continued.

A new Goa that can be recognized by both Portugal and the Ming Dynasty can control the profits of the sea routes between Asia and Europe, and the merchant ship owners who survive more need not think much about it.

All they need is to go back and control the other warships that remain in Goa together.

This time it was easier, first the clipper went back to report the news, saying that he had captured a few Ming warships that were still stranded here to patrol the sea, and took some Ming flags, armor, and weapons as evidence.

The most determined merchant who followed Juan and Alfonso together returned to Goa with two truckloads of goods, and asked the expeditionary warships there not to run empty, but to Malacca to load the goods back to Portugal.

João III simply made a wrong judgment and sent the wrong person to destroy Portugal's national fortunes in Asia.

Alfonso didn't give up yet, he looked at so many Portuguese generals and soldiers who were captured, and couldn't help but say to Zhao Jun: "Now Portugal must be the weakest time!" As long as they can be loyal to me and return to Portugal, I will be able to drive João away! ”

Juan shuddered and wondered why Alfonso was bolder than he was.

Tossing and turning between Malacca and Goa, and as soon as he disembarked from the shore with those men, there was a roar of artillery fire, and he Juan also took a strange risk - what if he was hit by a bullet in the back before he ran behind Alfonso's guards who greeted him?

And now, Alfonso really wants to replace the Portuguese royal family!

Zhao Jun shook his head: "Your Majesty's secret decree was very clear last time. Nanaobo, you are very particular about blood, and there are marriages between the royal families of many countries, and Portugal is not the only one on this side of the route and interests. It's enough to be able to make Goa, I can't take the sea master on an adventure. ”

He looked at these generals: "Capture the warships and these generals, and listen to what Your Majesty will do." What to do next, it is better to wait for Yang Duhu and Yang Wuhou to arrive. Calculating the time, after Yang Wuhou picked up Yang Duhu in Guangzhou, it was time to arrive in the next few days. ”

"Hey......"

Alfonso could only sigh.

Although he also knew that the emperor was telling the truth, it would be extremely refreshing for him to be able to return to Europe so dazzlingly.

It's a pity that Zhao Jun didn't even want to go out of Goa and directly defeat the expeditionary fleet over there, but instead risked being found out to lure them to the ambush circle here in Malacca in two batches.

Alfonso knew that this Daming Sea Master was the foundation of Zhao Jun's future life, so he would never break lightly.

But if Zhao Jun still wants to bring all the captured warships back to the Ming Dynasty, then maybe it will be Spain swallowing Portugal, and the next time it comes to Goa, it may be the expeditionary fleet of the Spaniards.

It's time to wait for the great tomorrow to make a decision, but fortunately, two days later, the escort fleet of the Shipping Bureau led by Xue Han, the Marquis of Yangwu, finally came here with Yang Bo.

Seeing the city of Malacca, Yang Bo stood at the bow of the boat, only feeling the wonder of his experience.

After the Zhongju first experienced the invasion of the north and the south in the six years of Jiajing, and Yu Dayou fought to the death in Huangya Mountain, and after the Zhonghui test, he sent Yang Yiqing to the funeral with the king of Yue, and experienced the battle of Outer Yunnan in the rear, and accompanied the northern expedition last year, and ran to Nanyang this year.

Thanks to his youth and good health.

But now, he has a new identity, and this identity will be with him for a long time.

When he arrived at the dock, after meeting with Zhao Jun, Alfonso and others, Yang Bo was a little surprised by the locals who came to greet him: "Admiral Zhao, there are so many Han faces in this Nanyang?" ”

Zhao Jun smiled: "Yang Duhu doesn't know, for thousands of years, the border people of Fujian and Guangdong, the remnants of Zhao and Song dynasties, and those who went to Nanyang don't know how many. ”

"It's also ......" Yang Bo sighed only the proportion, "In the past, the Three Buddhas were also descendants of the Han people." In this way, it will be easier for me to be an official here. ”

On that day, Weng Wanda had already set the big order here.

The Ming Dynasty only needed this large area of Malacca City and its surroundings to gradually build it into a fortress and a prosperous port city. In other places, there are small countries that draw their own borders and respect the Ming Dynasty, and in this South Sea, the city of Malacca, which directly belongs to the Ming Dynasty, is the center.

Therefore, Yang Bo's work is simple and simple, after all, only one city can be governed.

But to say complicated, that's too complicated.

The first thing is complicated.

After listening to their introduction to the latest situation, Yang Bo looked at Alfonso strangely.

In the end, he only said: "It's farther away from Europa, and the battle situation will be fast and slow, and there will be no rush for a while." On the other hand, Goa has to go back soon. If the Portuguese lord sent an envoy to inquire about the state of the war, he would not be able to show his stuff. ”

Juan waited for this, he was still a prisoner, but relatively free, fighting for Ming's plans and his own ambitions.

If he had returned to Goa, there would have been no one to control him, the first person under the former viceroy of India.

"Let the merchant ships go to Goa with their goods, but they must not leave for Goa at once." Yang Bo looked at Alfonso meaningfully, "As you said before, Portugal can't afford to lose this trade route. Now that the warships that can be dispatched have been folded here, the Portuguese lord will bow his head if he does not bow his head. His Majesty wants to retake Malacca for the benefit of maritime trade, and the cart cannot be put before the horse. ”

"But ......"

Yang Bo looked at Xue Han again: "Your Majesty has sent Yang Wuhou here, and he is also to serve in the Nanao Maritime Trade Company, so he has other arrangements for Nanao. This official has been ordered to come here to convey this arrangement to Nanao. ”

Xue Han never caught up with this opportunity to make meritorious contributions, and he had regrets in his heart.

Malacca is lonely overseas, and at this moment, although he and Zhao Jun are the respect of Hou Bo and the leading general, they must be controlled by Yang Bo.

Alfonso looked at Xue Han and could only sigh in his heart.

Although he is a foreigner, he has done everything that the emperor wanted him to do before leaving Beijing, can't he prove his loyalty?

Carolina is still in the palace, and his grandson is still in the palace.

Now when he heard this, he only bowed first, which was the appearance of receiving the order: "The minister asks St. Ann?" ”

Yang Bo stood up: "Holy bow." ”

Then he said solemnly: "Your Majesty's dictation: Alfonso, be too bold." But if what you plan can do, why don't you go back to Portugal with the remnants of your army and just be a minister? With many families in Europe fighting around, how easy is it for you to sit in a tight position? First of all, use the benefits of sea trade to raise private soldiers and cultivate strength, and have another son. Since I want João to make amends, he must send the silver. ”

Alfonso was overjoyed, was this allowed to him? And he was allowed to bring back these captured warships and soldiers.

"I can help you do this, but only to get you here. If any of the ships or soldiers are captured, I will lend them to you. When you arrive in Portugal, if Joao doesn't bow his head, you will grab things and come back, and the savings of the Indian Viceroyalty over the years will be counted together, and you can barely make up for the loss. If he bows his head, then two large merchant ships will be exchanged for one warship. I will only recognize you in the future to trade with Portugal, and whether or not I can regain a foothold in Portugal with this depends on your ability. ”

After Yang Bo finished relaying, he smiled at Alfonso and said, "Nanaobo, do you understand?" ”

"I understand!" Alfonso seemed to rejuvenate, "I really can't rush here, I have to wait for the opportunity." Now, on the contrary, Portugal cannot be allowed to really mess up. If it is swallowed by Spain, they will definitely come and fight for it, and Malacca will not be at peace. ”

"Then let's go to the port and see how many warships can still return to Portugal. Admiral Zhao said that he had captured a lot, and he didn't want to use all of them when he wanted to come to Nanao. Your Majesty's Longevity and Holy Day, the war in the Nanyang Protectorate is still unending, and he has not congratulated him. Jing Haibo is also offering Jiejie, it is better to have a larger formation, Admiral Zhao, is this the reason? ”

Zhao Jun had a smile on his face: "Exactly!" ”

How can you go home empty-handed?

Zhu Houxi had the mentality of giving it a try and asked Alfonso to do it.

But it must not be a brutal attempt to oust the Portuguese royal family, which would simply not sit still.

On the contrary, if Joao III does not bow his head, he will really temporarily cut off the sea trade with Portugal and let him struggle to support himself. In this way, Juan could not accept it.

The best outcome is that João III bows his head, Juan can be recognized by both sides, and Daming has already driven a nail into Portugal.

If Alfonso wants to slowly realize his ideals, he can only rely on the support of Daming behind him.

He opened the way, and the South Australian Maritime Trade Company followed, and the tentacles would always slowly arrive there.

The situation at sea has changed completely, and military dignitaries from the two capitals and 16 provinces in the hinterland have also concentrated in Beijing.

The time has come to October, and the atmosphere in the Wuying Hall today is very serious.

Present at the meeting were Xia Yan, a general staff officer of military affairs, as well as ministers of state who were consular to national defense affairs, Gu Dingchen, secretary of the Ministry of National Defense, Zhai Luan, secretary of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and Yang Shen, secretary of the Ministry of Finance and Taxation.

The commanders of the three major battalions, including Yan Chunsheng, Guo Xun, Li Quanli, Zhu Qi, the governors of the five prefectures, Xu Pengju, the Wei Guogong of the Nanjing garrison, and Song Liangchen, the commander of the Zhenwu Battalion in Nanjing, all sat down first, waiting for the emperor to come.

In front of them, there was a booklet.

That is the draft of the Ming military reform that is about to be officially launched.

The time they had been waiting for was also the time they had been reading the top-secret draft that had just been available to them.

Everyone's expressions were solemn.

On the whole, the Ming Dynasty should determine the military system and the military system, and take the direction of elite troops but not give up the management of public security in the huge territory.

From the perspective of positioning, the official army of the Ming Dynasty will be divided into three categories: border guards, territorial armies, and mobile armies from the deployment area.

Needless to say, Yunnan and Guangxi have also been turned into border regions in military affairs, while Fujian and Guangdong, which are adjacent to the two military-civilian border regions of Taiwan and Hainan, will be dominated in military affairs.

The territorial army, naturally, is the rest of the hinterland provinces. With the exception of the two capitals, the hinterland provinces were included in the daily jurisdiction of the five provinces.

In terms of direction, the five major military regions represented by these five prefectures are the former military governor's office under the jurisdiction of two island border areas, the right army governor's office under the jurisdiction of Yunnan and Guangxi two border regions that are not directly called border regions, the Chinese military governor's office under the jurisdiction of the Xuanning border region, the left army governor's office under the jurisdiction of the Jiliao border region, and the rear army governor's office under the jurisdiction of the Hetao and Qinggan border regions.

However, in the affairs of the border areas, the Governor's Office of the Five Armies could not have the final say in peacetime and wartime, and it depended on the emperor's will and the meaning of the military council.

The mobile army is very simple: the three battalions of the capital, the Nanjing Zhenwu battalion and the Yangtze River Naval Division.

In addition to these formal armies, there are special forces directly under the Emperor under the Jinyi Guard, public security forces under the system of the General Department of Public Security, and several special enterprises under the Imperial Assets Bureau.

From the point of view of the military system, this has the greatest impact. In the past, the guard system and the conscription system were parallel on the basis of military status, but after that, it will be changed to voluntary recruitment and compulsory conscription.

Elite soldiers, that is, the border guards, territorial armies, and mobile armies in the future, will all adopt the method of voluntary recruitment, including other military forces. Volunteer recruits all have contracts, set a full number of years, and serve exclusively for a long time.

In addition, unless there is a large-scale national war and the existing troops are no longer enough, compulsory conscription will begin. Compulsory conscription, on the other hand, no longer distinguishes between military and civilian status, but only by age. In the same way, military membership no longer has the shackles of having to join the army from generation to generation.

Judging from the merits, armaments, salaries, and ranks, there have also been changes.

The most conspicuous point is the decoupling of titles from military ranks. The title is the embodiment of the merits of the ancestors and themselves. And the military rank, from then on, is the basis for really determining which level of general can be held.

Generals, schools, and lieutenants, it can be seen that the Ming Dynasty is gradually stripping away the color of many official positions and official titles inherited from Meng Yuan.

In addition to the generals, ordinary volunteer soldiers will also have the rank of non-commissioned officer, corresponding to different military salaries, pensions, rewards and retirement benefits.

And all armaments are coordinated by the General Armaments Department of the Military Council.

According to the new draft, the Ming Dynasty will reduce the number of standing formal troops to 600,000.

According to the so-called data on the previous Ming roster, there should be more than 2 million generals in the Ming Dynasty. But on the one hand, most of the troops here are tun troops, and the other part of the data is also very large. In reality, the real combat strength should be only close to one million, and the mobilizable mobile force can hardly exceed 300,000.

However, these forces should be distributed in the vast Ming Dynasty, and there are very few who can really use more than 100,000 troops at a time.

At present, these 600,000 people will be organized into 60,000 naval and naval divisions, 20,000 soldiers under the mobile army Jinyi Guard system, 150,000 of the three major battalions in Beijing, and 20,000 in the Zhenwu battalion in Nanjing, and a total of 250,000 of the remaining 350,000 will be distributed in the four major border regions in the north and Yunnan, Guangxi, Guangdong, and Fujian, with less than 10,000 in each of the remaining 12 provinces.

The rest of them will be converted to civil citizenship, or go to the public security system, or sign a contract to become a corporate security guard.

In the event of a large-scale national war, there is also a system of compulsory conscripted reserves, and the total size of the army can be temporarily expanded to three times, 100 to 800,000.

Recruitment and conscription, the matter of the source of soldiers, the management of rosters and ranks, is the matter of the Ministry of Defense in the future.

The people who read it first couldn't help but look at Xia Yan.

Is that really good? A total of 600,000 standing formal troops, is it enough?

Xia Yan didn't answer, and after Zhu Houxi arrived at the Wuying Palace, he accepted the audience and said, "I've read it all, right?" Soldiers are expensive but not expensive, ordinary soldiers are paid three to five taels of silver a year, plus military rations and grass barracks drills, Daming's annual military expenditure is not a small amount. ”

After the change, almost all the money for recruiting soldiers can be saved. When I was in the army, food, clothing, and shelter were all borne by the military.

Yang Shen is indeed under a lot of pressure.

Does the Ming Dynasty now have the financial resources to fully implement the recruitment of standing troops? That depends on the actual situation of this year's tax payment after the victory of the Northern Expedition last year and the emperor's prestige reached a new height.

But the emperor has made up his mind, and now he will definitely change in this direction.

Many people still have many questions, and Zhu Houxi has answered them all at this meeting to "clarify the spiritual theme."

And Yang Shen listened and listened, it was the huge flow of money that supplied the daily rations, clothing, and various enterprises in the armament system of various armies. It is only in the system of the Imperial Assets Bureau, the General Armaments Department, the Daming Bank, and the National Treasury that it flows, but in fact, a lot of military expenditure is still supplied in kind.

The contract for conscription is on file with the Ministry of Defense, and it is signed with the Ming Dynasty, not the private soldiers of generals at all levels.

The hope of the generals is the multiple income and treatment brought by military ranks, titles, and military positions, don't think about being a "soil king" by drinking the blood of soldiers, serving in the army, and invading the army as in the past.

Zhu Houxi, with the prestige of returning from a great victory and a group of newly crowned lords and brave generals, resolutely pointed to this stubborn disease that the Ming monarchs and ministers had been worried about for many years, after the small-scale trial reform of the border towns and the establishment and change of the local security department in these years.

Correspondingly, after this change, the pacesetter barracks of the governors of the hinterland provinces were no longer under the governor's control. To grasp the direction well is to grasp the direction - some people who were worried about the excessive power of local officials will also withdraw the foreshadowing here.

The text returns to the text, and the martial arts return to the military.

But civil and military affairs, including money, belong to the Son of Heaven.

In Yang Shen's complicated gaze, Zhu Houxi lightly ordered: "Have a few more meetings in the capital, understand thoroughly and think clearly." Continue to sit in the army, or go to the Great Wall Company, go to the Public Security Department, and settle down. Military reform is not because the world is peaceful, but for the future. There will be opportunities for meritorious service, let the Ming King be reborn first! Whether it's defending the land or relieving the disaster, the credit in my eyes is not only from the battlefield! ”

(End of chapter)