"Pre-shoot three rounds, put!"

"Boom, boom—"

In the southwestern mountain jungle, when the cannon thundered, a stone and wood fortress that it regarded as a target was devastated.

The stone and wood walls made of three-fold earthen walls began to dent, and the native soldiers in the city, dressed in blue and blue shirts, trousers, black headscarves, white cloth belts, and simple iron armor, were hiding behind the walls in fear.

They looked at the sky, only to see tens of thousands of small black dots falling in piles, and if they raised their shields quickly, they would still survive, if there was no armor and shields and people who were still exposed in front of this pile of black dots, then they would be bloody in a moment.

When the triple combination of cannon with solid iron cannonball, flowering shell, and shotgun appeared, the Southwest Tusi Fortress, which was originally difficult to shake, became a military merit of promotion and reward.

Just like now, after a whole day of shelling, this walled fort was breached, and the Ming troops wearing armor poured into the village in batches, and the fire did not know when it rose, and it was not extinguished until night, but it spread.

In this regard, the Ming army, which had been prepared for a long time, had dug out a fireproof isolation zone and watched a walled city and mountain forest burned down.

The fire lasted for three days before it was extinguished, but a mountain dam (plain) more than ten miles away from him stood a camp covering an area of thousands of acres.

"This field artillery is easy to use, but it's a pity that the road is not good, otherwise if you use siege artillery, you won't fight for four whole days."

In the camp tent, Liu Zhen, who was wearing a military uniform, smiled heartily, and there were also Cao Guogong Li Jinglong, Jiangyin Marquis Wu Gao, and An Luhou Wu Jie in the camp with him.

"After removing this Duzhangman walled fort in Shangbaiyan, I want to deter the other Duzhangman, but it is best to strike while the iron is hot and clean up all the Duzhangbarians in Xuzhou in one go."

Looking at the map on the table, Li Jinglong, who was in Xuzhou, Sichuan, spoke unhurriedly, which made Liu Zhen, Wu Gao, Wu Jie and others look sideways.

Although they were transferred to Guangxi, due to the rebellion in Xuzhou, Mu Chun and others went to Nanjing, so they could only lead their troops to Xingwen County, Xuzhou Prefecture, to suppress the Duzhangman entrenched in Xuzhou Prefecture.

Duzhangman, this ethnic group that came out of the mountains of Yunnan and Guizhou and expanded northward during the Eastern Jin Dynasty was famous for "wearing double knives on the left and right, fighting and killing, and light life and death" from the Jin Dynasty.

In the Tang Dynasty, because of the continuous progress of iron-smelting technology, they also began to constantly confront the Central Plains Dynasty, attacking and killing the soldiers and civilians of the county defenders.

From the Tang Dynasty to the present day, successive dynasties have failed to subdue them, nor have they been able to penetrate deep into their territory to destroy their bases.

Among them, the Song Dynasty and Duzhangman fought more than a dozen battles, the most serious one, the Song army mobilized the housekeeper baby, and the ace army of the northwest frontier army came to suppress the rebellious Duzhangman.

After many years, the 40,000 Song army finally annexed the land of the two states and eight counties from the hands of the Duzhangman, seizing a large area of land suitable for planting.

But even so, the kings and scholars of the Song Dynasty still felt that the investment was not proportional to the income, so they began to try to keep peace with Duzhangman.

After the fall of the Southern Song Dynasty in the Yuan Dynasty, due to the Tusi policy to the southwest, the Duzhangman under the indulgence of the Yuan Dynasty took away a large area of land, and even claimed to rule southern Sichuan, overlooking Yunnan and Guizhou.

After the Yuan Dynasty reacted, he immediately sent Shangshu Pingzhang to lead the troops to the south and fought with Du Zhangman in the southern Sichuan area.

In the end, the Yuan army thought that it could not fight with the entire Duzhangman region, so it could only adopt a policy of division and disintegration, and did not blame the four major departments such as Dingzhou and Ayong.

After capturing the governor of the dam military and civilian government in Shanduzhang, the Yuan army only killed a dozen Tusi led by him, and did not pursue the Shanduzhang area, so as not to prevent the entire Duzhang region from rebelling against the Yuan Dynasty's rule in the southwest.

It is precisely because of the indulgence of the Yuan Dynasty that Duzhang has begun to build stone fortresses and even built his own city.

This time, taking advantage of Mu Chun, Qu Neng, Gu Cheng and others to enter Beijing, they invaded Xuzhou on a large scale, so Zhu Di dispatched 1,000 artillery and 50 field guns and 10 siege guns from Qinzhou to fight in Sichuan with the army.

The war has been fought since last winter to the present March, and there are no less than 100 Duzhang barbarian forts that have been razed to the ground, beheading more than 6,000 people and capturing 30,000 people.

Rao is like this, Li Jinglong did not completely pacify the capital, because the road conditions in the south and southeast of Sichuan are too poor, and the siege artillery can be used except for attacking the city, and there is no way to face these walled forts hidden in the mountains.

There are more than 2,000 such walled forts in the entire southern Sichuan and Guizhou metropolitan areas.

"Guogong, it's calculated!"

When Sheng Yong's voice appeared, he walked into the big tent with a booklet, put the booklet on Li Jinglong's table and said: "Sixty-seven brothers were killed, more than 500 were wounded, 1,672 people were beheaded, 2,797 people were captured, 270 horses were studied, 342 cattle were cultivated, and all kinds of other kinds were recorded on it. ”

After Sheng Yong finished speaking, Wu Gaocai looked at Li Jinglong and said: "As far as the current situation is concerned, it will take at least a few years to pacify the Duzhang barbarians, why don't you negotiate peace for the time being, and then come back to encircle and suppress them after fighting Annan?" ”

"Let's go to the Governor's Mansion first, and wait for the East Palace to reply." Li Jinglong frowned and spoke, and everyone also bowed their heads in approval.

Soon, this volume was sent to Nanking by fast horse along with the others, and by the time they arrived in Nanjing, it was already March 26.

"It's been six months, and your belly hasn't grown."

In the dormitory in front of the East Palace, Zhu Gaoxu touched Guo Yan's belly, curious why she didn't have a big belly.

"Maybe it's because of martial arts practice, I've grown up a bit, but I haven't grown up very big."

Guo Yan replied with a smile, and the two female officials also said with a smile: "Your Highness accompanies the crown princess every day, so naturally you can't feel it." ”

"A few days ago, Her Royal Highness the Queen came down, and she said that the crown princess was probably pregnant with a boy, so she had to be careful to protect it."

"Boy?" Zhu Gaoxu smiled and touched Guo Yan's belly when he heard this: "Good boy, when he grows up, I am not old yet, and I can teach him well." ”

"Yes......" Guo Yan's smile was light but intriguing, Zhu Gaoxu was about to say more to her, when he saw Yishiha appear at the palace gate.

"I'll go to the front to deal with government affairs first, and I'll come back for dinner to accompany you."

"Your Highness, be careful, don't work too hard."

Zhu Gaoxu explained to Guo Yan, and Guo Yan also cared about Zhu Gaoxu.

The husband and wife looked at each other and smiled, and then Zhu Gaoxu walked out of the front bedroom.

"Is there anything important ahead?"

Walking out of the front dormitory, Zhu Gaoxu asked Yishaha who came from the front, and Yishaha replied unhurriedly when he heard this: "Cao Guogong in the southwest sent a merit book, as well as a handwritten letter, and Wang Shanggong of Qianqing Palace also came, and wanted to ask about some details of the selection of Fengyi." ”

"Okay." Zhu Gaoxu responded, and then took Yishuha to the Chunhe Palace.

After a while, the two came to the Chunhe Palace, and also saw the nurse Wang Shanggong of the three Zhu Gaoxu brothers, as well as the pile of notes and books on the table.

"Is the concubine selection over?"

Seeing Wang Shanggong, Zhu Gaoxu sat back in his position and asked, and Wang Shanggong also replied: "Your Majesty's has been selected by Her Royal Highness the Queen, and now only Your Highness's twenty-two Fengyi have not been selected." ”

"Her Royal Highness the Queen said that among the remaining more than 2,000 show girls, as long as Her Highness likes them, you can choose them, and you don't have to care about the number."

"I don't want that much." Zhu Gaoxu was a little curious when he heard this: "Can I go and see for myself?" ”

"Back to Your Highness, you can't." Wang Shanggong replied respectfully, but it made Zhu Gaoxu lose a lot of interest.

"Among the concubines selected this time, how many women are Tianzu?" Zhu Gaoxu doesn't want to choose a woman with bound feet, although foot binding is not as terrifying as foot binding, but wrapping feet thin is not in his aesthetic for him.

If Guo Yan is what satisfies him the most, in addition to the background of empathy and Huaixi Wuxun, it is the pair of heavenly feet.

"Tianzu has it, but not much." Wang Shanggong didn't understand why Zhu Gaoxu wanted a Tianzu woman, but he still answered his question.

"Is it feasible to let Yishiha go and see if it's possible?" Zhu Gaoxu didn't believe in the portrait very much, and still wanted to send Yishiha to choose for himself.

"Your Highness, don't embarrass the slave."

Wang Shanggong's words shattered Zhu Gaoxu's thoughts, he could only think for a moment, and then said to Wang Shanggong: "Tianzu, just be plump." ”

The women who can enter the palace are not bad, although Zhu Gaoxu can't choose what he likes, but with these two standards, they are not bad.

Women, unless they look like they are all over the country, they don't start to be old after thirty-five or sixteen.

These twenty-two Fengyi are just women he personally uses to enjoy and reproduce children, so he doesn't have to pay too much attention to it.

"In that case, the slave and maid are gone."

Wang Shanggong saw that Zhu Gaoxu liked Tianzu, and he couldn't say anything, so he left after returning the salute.

After she left, Zhu Gaoxu also opened the book of merit and rewards, and opened Li Jinglong's letters to read.

Zhu Gaoxu only knows a rough idea of what the Ming Dynasty did in the southwest, after all, this period of history is rarely mentioned in later generations, and unless this period of history is specifically studied, it is difficult to explain the details of the Ming Dynasty's development of the southwest.

Therefore, after reading Li Jinglong's letter, Zhu Gaoxu roughly understood the strength of Du Zhangman, and at the same time had a general understanding of the Miao Yao, Hello and other clans in the southwest.

Before going to Sichuan to pacify the capital of Zhangman, Li Jinglong had already reformed the land in Guangxi and returned to the 27 families, suppressing the six families that tried to resist the imperial court.

Rao is like this, there are still more than 400 large and small Tusi in Guangxi, and the situation is only a little better than that of Yunnan.

If you count Sichuan and Guizhou in the future, then there are probably more than 1,800 toasts in the entire southwest.

Some of them have only a thousand people, while others have millions of people, and the soldiers and horses that can be pulled out range from two or three hundred to three or forty thousand.

Just like what Li Jinglong said in his letter, just to pacify the capital of Zhangman, it is necessary to mobilize more than 100,000 troops, encircle and suppress for five or six years before it can be eliminated, and move to the Sichuan Basin to integrate with the locals.

Although there are hundreds of thousands of people in Duzhangman, they are small ethnic groups compared to Miao Yao, Luo Luo and other ethnic groups.

It can be said that the southwest in front of Daming is still a difficult bone to gnaw.

If it weren't for the cannon, I'm afraid Li Jinglong wouldn't have broken through a few Duzhang Stone Villages yet.

Thinking of this, Zhu Gaoxu looked at Yi Shuha: "Check the merit reward book, and after confirming that it is correct, you will be promoted." ”

"Besides, how is the situation with the Ordnance Bureau, have all the firearms needed for the Northern Expedition been stockpiled?"

"Back to Your Highness, there is still a shortage of artillery, muskets, and fixed ammunition." He also returned the salute and continued:

"Why don't you stop the casting of naval guns, shore defense guns, and siege guns, and go all out to forge field guns to meet the needs of the northern and southern expeditions?"

"Well, do as you say." Zhu Gaoxu bowed his head, and then asked: "How is the situation of the Jurchen appeasement recently, can Meng Zhang have a letter to go south?" ”

Since it was already the end of March, it stands to reason that the Changchun Mansion in the Bohai Sea had already been able to send news to the south, so Zhu Gaoxu would ask about it.

"Meng Zhang does have news, but it's not a song, it's a book."

Yi Shiha took out a thumb-thick bamboo tube from the scattered table, then pulled out a note from it and handed it to Zhu Gaoxu.

Zhu Gaoxu picked up the magnifying glass that was placed aside and looked at the contents carefully.

Hundreds of words were densely written on a note, and Rao is Zhu Gaoxu was also very uncomfortable to read.

After spending a word, he finally finished reading the content of the note, which roughly means that before winter, more than ten Jurchen tribes in Beishan and the East China Sea took refuge one after another, and in addition, the Jurchens of the former Yuan Helan Mansion actually sent people to Jilin to take refuge.

The person who went to Jilin was Aha of the Wanyan clan, and the person who followed him on the envoy was a Jurchen named Mengge Timur.

"Brother Timur ......"

Zhu Gaoxu's expression was strange, he seemed to be familiar with this name, and after thinking about it carefully, he reacted, isn't this the ancestor of the old slave.

The idea of this group of people was very simple, that is, to ask the imperial court to give them a place to live, and Zhu Gaoxu immediately smiled at the corner of his mouth when he saw this.

"Tell Meng Zhang to appoint Aha as the commander of the Jianzhou Left Guard, and appoint Meng's brother Timur as the commander of the Jianzhou Central Guard."

"The Jianzhou Left Guard should be located south of the Helan River, and the Jianzhou Central Guard should be located in the area of Haiyang Station in the former Yuan."

Zhu Gaoxu said, and did not forget to add: "Give them armor and weapons, official uniforms and letters, let them restore the second guard of Jianzhou for the imperial court, and send generals to teach them military training and the art of war." ”

"Yes......" Yisha responded first, and then said worriedly: "But Your Highness, although that place is said to be the hometown of the former Yuan, it is now in the hands of North Korea, and we have the courage to set up a guard station, I am afraid that it will cause dissatisfaction in North Korea." ”

"I also said it, the former Yuan hometown." Zhu Gaoxu dealt with it and said: "I replaced the former Ming Dynasty, and the former Yuan naturally belonged to the Ming Dynasty. ”

"You let Meng's brother Timur and Aha go after subduing all the Jurchens in Helan Mansion, and ask Meng Zhang to send liuguan to build a city and set up a yamen in the local area."

"If Brother Meng's Timur and Aha have any rebellion, then let Meng Zhang leave it alone for the time being, and wait for my order after the Northern Expedition is over."

When Zhu Gaoxu said that he had made arrangements, the corners of his mouth couldn't stop smiling, and Yisha quickly understood his thoughts.

"Your Highness is planning to let these two Jurchens stir up the muddy waters in the local area, and then reap the benefits of the fishermen?"

"Pretty much." Zhu Gaoxu finished processing a note, and then looked at Yishiha and said: "Send them armor and official uniforms, and see how many girls and real people they can accept." ”

"If there are only a few thousand people, it is estimated that it will not be able to stop the North Korean soldiers and horses."

"If North Korea kills the two of them, the imperial court can send troops in the name of this, and if North Korea comes to diplomacy, it can just reprimand them for not asking for themselves."

"In short, release the news, this place is bound to be won by the imperial court."

"Wu Yingdian also sent someone to deliver the news to my father, saying that if the North Korea knew the news, it would definitely ask him for this place, so that he would not be soft-hearted."

"With this place, in the future, the handicrafts of Liaodong can be sent to the wharf through the Yalu River, and sent to Yinqi and Treasure Island by land and sea, which can save 800 miles."

Zhu Gaoxu said, and Yizha also wrote down the matter, and then spoke: "By the way, Your Highness, the documents of the three hospitals in Jilin, Liaoyang, and Shenyang outside the customs have been sorted out, and 827 doctors have been brought out from each department. ”

"Well, let them continue to learn, and at the same time improve the teaching materials in the vernacular." Zhu Gaoxu heard the news of the Guanwai Hospital, nodded involuntarily, and then stacked the processed music together.

After doing this, Zhu Gaoxu thought of how to deal with the huge number of ethnic minorities in the southwest.

"Tell Li Jinglong that it is best to kill the local officials of the capital, relocate its people, disrupt them into Sichuan, and enrich the population of Sichuan."

"There is no need to hesitate and ask for instructions for the stubborn, don't worry about the impeachment of the temple, I will block it for him."

After that, Zhu Gaoxu looked at Yishuha: "Are there any officials under our command who can serve as political envoys?" ”

"If you want to find it, you can find it, it's the ...... of loyalty" also hesitated, Zhu Gaoxu shook his head after hearing this:

"Loyalty doesn't matter, as long as you have the ability to do things."

Emperor Taizu Gao praised him for his simplicity and integrity, and His Majesty also praised him for his integrity, honesty and honesty, and benefited the country."

Zhu Gaoxu thought about it after hearing it, and he really couldn't remember what the origin of this sentence was, it seemed that he had read it in the book, but he couldn't remember the content clearly.

"You send someone to ask him if he is willing to be the envoy of Sichuan Chengxuan, and if so, bring him here."

Zhu Gaoxu rubbed his eyebrows after saying that, and he also bowed down and sent someone to ask for justice.

After resting for a while, Zhu Gaoxu continued to devote himself to government affairs, and it was not until half an hour later that he heard footsteps.

Yisha glanced at the palace gate, and then whispered to Zhu Gaoxu: "Your Highness, Jianyi is here." ”

"Invite him in." Zhu Gaoxu did not raise his head and ordered, and at the same time stepped up to deal with the music in his hand.

After more than a dozen breaths, when he looked up again, Jian Yi, who had already come in and waited for a long time, bowed down: "The left attendant of the Ministry of Officials is Jian Yi, see His Highness." ”

The news that the East Palace was not willing to bow down had already come out, and Jian Yi naturally did not bow five times and three times.

"Give a seat." Zhu Gaoxu commanded Yishu to say a sigh, and then watched Jian Yi sit down before he spoke:

"I have always felt that what an official should do is to benefit the people, which can be divided into three steps, namely yourself, your hometown, and the world."

"Of course, you can also use self-cultivation to rule the country and level the world."

"I heard Yizha say that you are from Ba County, and my grandfather and father have praised you many times, so I want you to serve as the political envoy of Sichuan."

Zhu Gaoxu said, sat back and watched Jian Yi's attitude, and Jian Yi was silent and then spoke: "The minister dared to ask His Highness, what is the difference between this Sichuan political envoy and the current Sichuan political envoy. ”

"Naturally, there is." Zhu Gaoxu did not hide it, but said bluntly: "If Shandong is the northern pilot of the New Deal, then Sichuan is the southern pilot of the New Deal." ”

The decision to use Sichuan as a pilot in the south was made by Zhu Gaoxu after careful consideration, so in the face of Jian Yi's inquiry, Zhu Gaoxu also explained:

"I looked through ancient books, and the population of Sichuan plummeted from more than 13 million at the peak of the Southern Song Dynasty to more than 500,000 after the unification of Mongolia and Yuan."

"During the Ming Xia period, Sichuan was steadily restored to 750,000, and then it was taken over by the imperial court, and it took 22 years to recover to 1.46 million people."

"Although the population has not yet been counted, at the rate of growth in the past, I am afraid that the population has recovered to 2 million."

"As for cultivated land, at the peak of the Southern Song Dynasty, Sichuan's cultivated land was about 22 million mu, while what was written in the 24th year of Hongwu was 10.7 million mu, and the actual situation is probably no less than 12 million."

Zhu Gaoxu first talked about Sichuan's population and cultivated land, and then talked about Sichuan's new policy.

"I am ready to ask Cao Guogong to relocate the people of Guizhou Xuanwei Division and other places to Sichuan, enrich the population of Sichuan, and open an official school in Sichuan to reform the rule of officials in Sichuan."

"With the number of Sichuan's mouths, at least 5,000 officials and 600 officials are needed to handle government affairs well, and they can measure the acres of land, cancel miscellaneous items, and implement a land tax of 10 and 1 to reduce the burden on the people."

"In addition, the Guizhou Xuanwei Division and some places south of the Yangtze River in southeast Sichuan should also be transferred to Guizhou to reduce the administrative pressure on Sichuan."

"After these are done, Sichuan should also open a compulsory government school, which only charges for books, not tuition and miscellaneous fees, and provides students with a free lunch."

"I think these things are policies that can reduce the burden on the people of Sichuan, and if you, a Sichuan person, are in charge, then the acceptance of the people of Sichuan will be higher."

"Besides, the rich squires in Sichuan have little power and cannot confront the imperial court, and the new policies in Sichuan will be implemented faster and better than in Shandong."

Zhu Gaochu finished saying everything he wanted to say, and Jian Yi listened to the whole process, and had to admire Zhu Gaoxu's understanding of Sichuan's ancient and modern times.

As the left servant of the ministry, he has naturally been paying attention to the new policy of Shandong, and at the same time he has seen many benefits.

It has to be said that the promotion of the treatment of officials has indeed increased expenditure, but the number of officials has also reduced the number of corruption cases.

Although the Ming Dynasty gave a quota of 30 million stones during the Hongwu period, the people actually bore 40 million, 50 million or even 60 million stones.

Because the quality of the officials was uneven, it can be said that the "drenched kick" they invented harmed hundreds of people.

This situation is not only the existence of the Ming Dynasty, but also the existence of all dynasties.

From ancient times to the present, many emperors only look at the paper to collect taxes, and feel that they only collect twenty or thirty catties of rice per mu, how can they make the people unable to survive and rise up.

But in fact, the twenty or thirty catties of rice they collected were the remnants of the group of officials below after they had eaten their fill, and behind the twenty or thirty catties of rice may be fifty or sixty catties, or even hundreds of catties of taxes.

Land annexation is not terrible, but it is terrible if you can't pay taxes.

It is not so dark that landlords hire tenants, and most landlords still know how to sympathize with tenants, because they know that only in this way can they last.

However, as far as the officials were concerned, they could not afford to provoke the big landlords, so they had to exploit the small and medium-sized landlords and rich peasants.

Under the exploitation of the officials, when this group of middle-class people was slowly exploited and perished, a large number of tenants also lost their way to live.

It is the norm for land to be abandoned and uncovered.

Rectifying the rule of officials, this is the best way for a dynasty to maintain long-term stability, and this method has been given by Zhu Gaoxu.

With the teaching method and systematic training, it can be said that a large number of students who need to support their families can climb up every year.

As long as they can arrange work for them, they will do their best, and from the observation of righteousness, their morality is much higher than that of ordinary officials, and the rate of corruption is not too fast.

Even if there is corruption, the imperial court can strictly fight corruption, and there is no fear that without them, the place will not be able to function, because there are still a large number of students waiting for this position behind them.

As far as Shandong's new policy is concerned, if he can really enter Sichuan as it is done, Jian Yi thinks that the burden of the Sichuan people will indeed be reduced a lot, so at this moment, he has also become shaken......

(End of chapter)