Seventeen years of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty.

Autumn.

There are four armies in Jiaozhi Province, namely the Langshan Army, the Sanjiang Army, the Changjiang Army, and the Thanh Hoa Army, totaling 50,000 troops, of which the provincial capital Jiaozhou belongs to the defense area of the Changjiang Army, and tens of thousands of soldiers are stationed in various battalions to guard important places and key roads.

At its peak, there were more than 100,000 troops in Cochin, but after all, Cochin was different from other regions, and it belonged to the Han region, and with the arch guards of Laos and Champ, it quickly restored stability, and it was no different from the mainland.

The Dragon Boat Festival in the mainland is popular to row dragon boats to make zongzi, and the custom of Jiaozhi is not weaker than that in the mainland.

The Yamen of Jiaozhi was in Guangwei Prefecture, and the management of the large and small guards in Jiaozhi became a means for the imperial court and the government to hold military attaches hostage, and the living treatment of the soldiers before and after the service was inseparable from the management of the guards, so the soldiers were more dependent on the local and imperial courts.

Coupled with the supply of logistics, the military system of the Ming Dynasty has become more and more stable.

Stability is the premise of everything.

Local tranquility, convenient management, unity of people's minds, rapid economic development, and the need for a large number of troops to garrison have reduced local expenditures and played an important role.

Rice crops are harvested three times a year in many areas of Cochin, and with the supply of technology and materials from the mainland, the local grain is not only self-sufficient, but also provides vital support for the Ming Dynasty's development in Nanyang.

The chief officers of the major battalions are garrisons and sub-guards, and Zhao Hong works in the yamen of the Jiaozhou capital.

The forty-year-old guerrilla general is not uncommon in Daming, but the relationship between Zhao Hong's family and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is very different, and people with a heart have grasped this very early.

Zhao Hong's wife is the former deputy envoy of Jiaozhi Xingdu Division, and the daughter of the current ambassador Huang Zhong.

When Jiaozhi was recovered, the three officials of Jiaozhi were all commanded by Lu Yi, and the deputy commander was Huang Zhong, Lu Yi died of illness, and Huang Zhong took care of it, and Huang Zhong took a fancy to Zhao Hong back then, and took the initiative to marry his daughter to Zhao Hong.

So is Zhao Hong's status today the reason for His Royal Highness the Prince, or the credit of his father-in-law is difficult to distinguish.

In the study.

The sunlight through the glass windows made the room bright, and Zhao Hong was sitting behind his desk and writing.

For a while, Zhao Hong was very confused and confused, and finally came to his senses, liked reading and writing, and recorded his feelings three times a day.

Half a life as a soldier, starting from a small soldier.

Zhao Hong has experienced something that many people have not experienced in their lifetimes.

Beiping, Kaiping, Daning, Liaodong, Senan, Saibei, Western Regions, Shandong, Beijing, Jiaozhi, only walked no less than 100,000 miles.

"The difference between humans and animals is that human thoughts, so the heart is the foundation, and the heart determines the individual's cognition of the world, so the heart is the origin and master of the world. Only by cultivating one's own mind and self-reflection can one achieve the harmony and unity of nature and the universe through inner purification, and achieve the unity of knowledge and action. ”

The beautiful hard pen words are unfolded on the white paper, and each word is horizontal and vertical, with even gaps, which is pleasing to the eye.

Words are like people.

People who have been in contact with Zhao Hong for a long time basically like Zhao Hong very much, this person can talk about any topic, can talk very comfortably, has his own opinions, but will not be stubborn.

"The same is true for leading troops, if the purpose is to make a fortune, even if you become a general, if your heart is not pure, the way is not right, and if the way is not right, the so-called will be a nest of bears, and the soldiers brought out will not be good soldiers, and such an army can only fight with the wind."

Zhao Hong paused, thought for a while, and then continued to write.

"The study of the heart pays attention to the conscience, the unity of knowledge and action, combined with Confucian thought, emphasizing the similar meaning of the original nature of human beings, only the heart is right, then when doing things, can you get good results, otherwise it is like an unscrupulous businessman, the greater the achievement of such a businessman, the greater the harm to the society."

"The same is true for leading soldiers, no matter what kind of style, only love soldiers like sons, pay attention to benevolence, then when the situation requires it, under the order, soldiers can still see death as home, because the relationship between people is complicated, if you don't pay attention to benevolence, it will become more and more indifferent and alienated, so why should soldiers sell their lives, but a few taels of silver, whose life is not life."

"Everyone is for me, I am for everyone, generals do not fight for their own selfish interests, only for justice, under the righteousness, people's hearts are not afraid of death, can they be invincible and never give up."

"An army that pays attention to benevolence is an invincible army, whether it is an army that starts by profit or plunder, it is just selfish interests, and it will be vulnerable in the face of the army of benevolence."

Writing this, Zhao Hong's heart is clear, his thoughts are transparent, many thoughts are accessible, and he feels that his heart is extremely strong, and he knows his next direction.

It's strange to say.

Zhao Hong knew very well about some rumors, what their family had to do with His Royal Highness the Prince, in fact, Zhao Hong himself knew that their family only had a brief contact with His Royal Highness the Prince.

may be older, when he was in Peking before, Zhao Hong admired more and more of the thoughts and remarks made by the little prince, which is in line with the avenue.

Some nations are strong by slaughter, and some are strong by productivity.

The latter is the invincible of benevolence.

The reason why Chinese civilization is today is because of the continuous development of the productive forces, which has promoted achievements in all aspects, of which the explosion of population is only one aspect, although the explosion of population has brought about the strength of the army.

However, reversing cause and effect is not understanding the truth.

Productivity is everything, even in the era of agricultural civilization before the prince introduced the theory of industrialization.

After work, Zhao Hong went home as usual.

After having dinner with his wife and children at home, his wife told Zhao Hong that his father-in-law wanted to see him.

On the second day, Zhao Hong took leave and went to Guangwei Prefecture.

The railway in Jiaozhi has been opened to traffic, there is a railway between Guangwei Prefecture and Jiaozhou Prefecture, Zhao Hong took a few of his own soldiers, dressed in civilian clothes and ordinary passengers, and arrived in one or two hours.

Huang Zhong's sons warmly received their sons-in-law in the capital.

He can see that his son-in-law is very capable, although he is only a guerrilla general at present, but Huang Zhong believes that as long as his son-in-law is given a chance, he will definitely soar into the sky.

"The old man's time in Jiaozhi is running out."

Hearing the words of the old man, Zhao Hong was not surprised.

He is a general with troops, and his father-in-law is the leader of the local capital, the court will not let such a situation go, if Zhao Hong is selfish, then he will be very dissatisfied when he learns the news.

And Zhao Hong has no selfish intentions, so he feels that it should have been like this a long time ago.

Seeing his son-in-law's face, Huang Zhong secretly sighed that he was ashamed, in fact, he himself was dissatisfied, their son-in-law's power in Jiaozhi was not small, but he went back to the mainland, even if he was promoted, his power was not as good as now.

"When will my father-in-law leave Cochin? How did the court arrange, and the son-in-law didn't go back to his hometown for a long time. Zhao Hong thought for a while and proposed: "It's better for the son-in-law to take a long vacation and take his wife to accompany his father-in-law home." ”

Huang Zhong shook his hand, his face became serious.

"I heard that Ping An was sick and couldn't get out of bed."

Zhao Hong was stunned.

"The situation over there is very unstable, and you need someone who understands the local situation and preferably adapts to the local climate, such a person is probably difficult for the imperial court to find out in a short time, and it is necessary to select an emergency from Nanyang, think about it, you have a great chance."

Zhao Hong did not shirk, but thought seriously.

The situation of the Myanmar Propaganda Division, if it is a hard-fought battle, it is simple, but it is a pity that the local geographical environment is complex, mountainous and forested, and there are extremely many tribes, which is more than ten times more complicated than Laos, which is also the main reason why the Lao Propaganda Division has been stable for many years.

In addition, in order to ensure the smooth construction of the Nanyang Railway, the imperial court has left a lot of troops in the Burmese Propaganda Division in recent years, but small-scale riots have continued.

As for peace, since the father-in-law has leaked the news, it can be seen that it is difficult to recover.

"At this time, there is news that the old man will return to Beijing, the old man is eighty percent sure, the court is probably going to use you, you have to seize this opportunity, if you perform well this time, then you will really come to the front of the stage."

Huang Zhong showed an expectant gaze.

Zhao Hong has no family behind him, only a mother and younger brother who sing, Zhao Hong can only rely on their Huang family, the higher Zhao Hong climbs now, the greater the help his children will get in the future.

Zhao Hong knew what his father-in-law wanted, but Zhao Hong did not say anything.

If the court uses itself, then he has a clear conscience, the court does not use himself, and he has no regrets.

Zhao Hong also hopes to lead the army to make meritorious contributions to the Ming Dynasty, but as the little prince said back then, nothing can be excessive, and the same is true for his own expectations, too much, then he will get carried away and be controlled by interests.

Sure enough.

After another month, Ping An couldn't survive and died of illness in the Burmese Propaganda Division, and the local situation immediately became chaotic, and even a railway engineering team was attacked by unknown forces.

Huang Zhong received an official letter of transfer from the imperial court, and Zhao Hong was also ordered to go to Burma to preside over the overall situation of the army.

Zhao Hong ordered 3,000 soldiers to go to Myanmar to comfort the Division, there are still tens of thousands of troops in the local area, it is very important to be able to control the heart of the army, 3,000 soldiers are enough.

There are two options for preaching from Cochin to Burma, one is by land and sea, and the other is by land.

To go by land, you need to go through the Lao Propaganda Department and the Eight Hundred Great Burma.

It is necessary to take a detour from Malacca by sea and land, which is too delayed, but the Lao Propaganda Division is okay, and the 800 Great Burma needs to walk on two legs, and the local situation is complicated, and it is not easy for the 3,000 troops to rush and guard against enemy attacks.

However, Zhao Hong chose land.

Because the land is faster, as for the risk, Zhao Hong believes in his soldiers.

3,000 soldiers with dry rations and weapons took the railway through the Lao Propaganda Division, and obtained the last supply at the border of the Lao Propaganda Division and entered the 800 Burma Propaganda Division.

Without dealing with the local tribes, the entire army marched in a hurry at the request of Zhao Hong.

The road is not smooth, there are a lot of mosquitoes, the soldiers are tired and stuffy after a long march, and the ordinary army has long been complaining, Zhao Hong hurried with the soldiers, and the army was quiet.

There was only the sound of walking in the woods, not even the sound of talking.

Everyone is like a robot.

"Are they still human?"

A few natives in the dark watched quietly, the more they looked, the more incredible it became, even they couldn't do it, it was so hard, everyone could not speak, drink water and not make a sound.

"Where is this army?"

"Coming from the direction of Laos, when did Laos have such an army?"

"They are flying the banner of the Ming army, how can it be Laos, it should be Jiaozhi."

"How did the army of Cochin get to us?"

"Would you like to come up and say hello?"

The leader shook his head, "Forget it, look at their appearance and hurry to leave, let's treat it as if you didn't see it." Several people returned and spread the news to the tribe, and the head of the tribe did not have much trouble.

There was no silver drawing, and there was no superfluous action, Zhao Hong gave an order, and the soldiers of the army had excellent military discipline.

In the end, this army was not attacked and successfully entered the Burma Propaganda Division.

After Zhao Hong arrived at the Burma Propaganda Division, the first thing he did was to gather the generals of the various ministries, and then inspect the armies of the various ministries, and judged the strength and morale of each army only by a short contact and communication.

Then the local soldiers were gathered, chickens and pigs were slaughtered to treat them, and the local soldiers were used as guides to explore the surrounding situation.

Based on this, he quickly ordered the battle plans of the various departments.

The first thing to find out is that the culprit of the attack on the Ministry of Railway Engineering is the same as in the Western Regions, with the attack point as the center and outward, and all the tribes need to confess what they think is the murderer, and then compare them one by one.

The tribe that did not confess to the culprit, or shirked the blame, Zhao Hong did not have the slightest politeness, and directly ordered the rebellion.

The grenade has become a mature military weapon, combined with the tiger squat artillery, as well as the grasp of the situation of the various departments, the attack of the Ming army has no force to stop, and the cottage has no role in the face of the tiger squat artillery.

After questioning one by one, the culprit was soon found.

All ministries need to send troops, and the Ming army is responsible for pressing the formation.

After this set of practices, if you participated in the Western Expedition back then, you will feel very familiar.

The culprit's tribe was leveled, the Ming army showed strong force, the leaders of the tribe looked ugly, at this time, Zhao Hong entertained the leaders again, cordially toasted with each leader, and enthusiastically praised their merits.

"Your merits, this general will definitely play the imperial court."

Hearing Zhao Hong's assurance, the leaders couldn't help but smile, "General Zhao wants to testify for us, and our loyalty to the last dynasty can be seen by the sun and the moon." ”

"I believe that we are all our own people." Zhao Hong said with a smile.

Hearing the general say that they were their own people, many of the leaders fell to the ground in their hearts, and they felt relaxed, and they no longer had any worries, not only did they not get proud, but became more and more respectful.

The materials looted from some tribes in Pingding, Zhao Hong waved his hand, and all of them were rewarded to the various departments that sent troops, plus Zhao Hong changed his strict attitude in the past, as if all the departments were happy overnight.

Even pulling and beating, envy and power, the effect is good.

The situation of the Burmese Propaganda Division was completely stabilized in only three months, and the disobedient tribes of the 800 Burma side still insisted on invading the Burmese Propaganda Division to expand their territory, and Zhao Hong was not polite.

Bring those tribal soldiers who have thoroughly supported the Ming Dynasty, and jointly counterattack into the Eight Hundred Great Burma.

With the opening of these native soldiers, the Ming army only needs to contribute at a critical time, and the advantages of the Ming army can be brought into full play, on the other hand, the sweeping of the mountains and forests and the encirclement and suppression of guerrillas are handed over to the native soldiers.

It is nothing more than setting up a horse, integrating resources, learning from each other's strengths, which is easy to say but difficult to do, many people don't even understand this truth, let alone do it to the point where Zhao Hong is like this.

And being able to establish a horse is inseparable from the strength of the Ming army, and whether the army can fight is inseparable from the talent of the generals.

At the end of the year, the managers of the Ministry of Railway Engineering found that not only the construction of the railway on the side of the Burmese Propaganda Division was unblocked, but even the 800 Burmese Propaganda Division had no resistance from previous years.

No one came to the construction site to ask for food or anything, in the past, in the face of such a situation, in order to do more than one thing is better than one less, no trouble, the engineering department will send a little thing to the other party.

Through several months of war, Zhao Hong's obedient tribal management gradually became stricter, like boiling a frog in warm water, asking for a small thing today, asking for a small thing tomorrow, and the rules of the Ming Dynasty were implemented unconsciously.

The merchants of the Ming Dynasty were also surprised to find that the various ministries began to reason.

Merchants have abundant goods, the most afraid is that the natives are reasonable, the most afraid is that the natives are unreasonable, in the face of such an environment, every businessman is happy, and praise General Zhao Hong again and again.

The goods of the Ming Dynasty are not only circulated in the cooked department, but also in the entire territory of Myanmar, and even the 800 Great Burmese Propaganda Division.

The benefits of Daming commodities were discovered by the natives and became the daily life of the natives, and the natives could no longer do without the commodities of the Daming Dynasty.

The Ming merchants raised their food stamps and became masters of the reasonable tribes, where they had access to cheap local labor, and the land trade, which had been unsustainable, flourished.

Patches of land were divided among the Ming merchants by the tribal leaders.

By the summer of the eighteenth year of Yongle, in less than a year, the local atmosphere had become worlds apart from before, and the biggest difference was that the natives were reasonable.

This is indoctrination.

Indoctrination was deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and the culture of the Ming Dynasty began to penetrate into all aspects.

The indigenous leaders understood the truth, they obtained the materials of the Ming merchants, and this land belonged to the Ming merchants, and they established economic estates in the local area, and they were no longer the heads.

In short, private property rights began to be born.

It is often said that in ancient times, only the East had land annexation, but the West did not, so some people say that the West was more civilized in ancient times.

The premise of land annexation is private property.

The common people had their own land to trade, and through trade it was concentrated in the hands of a few, and if the common people did not have land in their hands, then how could the land be annexed.

The land in ancient Western times belonged to the aristocracy, not to the common people, and the common people belonged to the property of the nobles, just as in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period in China, the land and everything on the land belonged to the nobles, and the common people who left the nobility hid in the swamp as savages.

Then there was naturally no land annexation in ancient times in the West.

There are pros and cons to everything.

The civilization of Goryeo was higher than that of the natives, so their land was annexed by the Ming merchants, but the tribes of Nanyang, especially the Eight Hundred Burma and the Burmese Xuanwei Division, were not very barbaric tribes, but they were not more civilized kingdoms, but they prevented the phenomenon of land annexation.

But it can't be said to be better, because the people in the tribe are slaves, they have no choice, only an exploited life, and the people in the agricultural era, he may live a rich or miserable life, which is determined by the limitations of the times in terms of economic productivity and material distribution.

What the imperial court saw was Zhao Hong's ability.

Zhao Hong only took a year to achieve a better situation than Ping'an, Ping'an can indeed fight, but in terms of the overall situation, it is indeed inferior to Zhao Hong, such a general, the imperial court gave a high degree of recognition.

The territory of the Ming Dynasty is too large, and there are many generals who can fight, and what the Ming needs is stability.

The generals who can bring stability to the Ming Dynasty and achieve the goals of the imperial court are the talents urgently needed by the imperial court, not to mention that Zhao Hong's performance over the years has been very "obedient" and has not shown the slightest possessiveness of power.

Following the three generals in the west, Zhao An, Jiang Gui, and Ren Li, Daming has risen another general.

Zhu Gao smiled very happily.

Unlike Zhao An, Jiang Gui, and Ren Li, these three are already famous talents in history, but Zhao Hong grew up under the system he created, which made Zhu Gaochi feel a sense of achievement.

Xu Ning felt the joy of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and couldn't help but smile.

Zhu Gaochi finally put away his smile and pulled Xu Ning kindly.

The two walked side by side in the Imperial Garden.

"Xu Ning."

"The minister is here."

"The Ministry of Railway Engineering is too big, many ministers of the imperial court have impeached, and the call for splitting the Ministry of Railway Engineering is too high, what do you think of this matter?" Zhu Gaochi asked with emotion.

The Ministry of Railway Works, including eunuchs, etc., has several million direct workers.

With its own school, canteen, shop, residential area, and management, it is completely a country, and the Ministry of Railway Engineering of the Ming Dynasty can actually destroy the existence of other countries.

Although the Ministry of Railway Engineering has been divided into many departments, and even the Ministry of Railway Engineering with different names, it is actually still grouped and belongs to the existence of a whole.

At the beginning, Zhu Gaochi didn't care, no matter how big the shelf was, it was also internal circulation, and the economic expenses were secondary, but in the face of the fierce reaction of the imperial court, Zhu Gaochi had to take it seriously.

In the end, it is the beginning of the fifteenth century, which is different from the environment of the later generations.

Xu Ning is good, but what about later.

Xu Ning did not hesitate, and said directly: "Everything is based on the wishes of His Royal Highness the Prince. ”

Zhu Gaochi was not surprised by Xu Ning's answer.

Xu Ning is also sincere.

What kind of virtue does he have, a poor boy has today's achievements, it all depends on the prince's value and promotion, Xu Ning has only seen the prince in his eyes for many years, if the prince thinks that the railway engineering department should be completely split, Xu Ning has no second words.

Xu Ning's status and identity, as well as the power he holds, can be said to be no less than that of cabinet ministers, and at the moment he is only given the rank of Zheng Sanpin, although it is not low, it should not be so.

However, Xu Ning's prestige in the Ministry of Railway Engineering is too high, and he has managed the Ministry of Railway Engineering for decades without moving his nest, and if Xu Ning is given the status of a second-class member again, no minister of the imperial court will agree.

Zhu Gaochi nodded, and turned around to approve the cabinet's recital.

The Ministry of Railway Engineering was officially split and not subordinate to each other.

The Northern Railway Engineering Department, the Southern Railway Engineering Department, the Western Railway Engineering Department, the Overseas Railway Engineering Department, the Nanyang Railway Engineering Department, and the five major railway engineering departments belong to the Ministry of Engineering, all of which are from the three-grade level.

The sixth department is the yamen of the second grade, and after the railway engineering department was split from the third grade, although it was reduced to the third grade, it was not considered a suppression.

After the establishment of the Nanyang Railway Engineering Department, the first thing it did was to intensify the exploration of the New World.

The construction of the Nanyang Railway is inseparable from the massive railway tracks, and the smelting of iron is inseparable from coal, the popularization and use of steam engines in the Nanyang, the demand for coal is getting higher and higher, and there is an urgent need for the supply of resources for economic circulation. (End of chapter)