Chapter 189: The King's Bureau at the End of Yuan Dynasty
Liu Futong's Northern Expedition, Zhu Yuanzhang's Southern Expedition...the two great kings in the world each chose their own development path. The reason why they have reached this point is not only related to the right time and place they are in, but also to the quality of their subordinates.
Liu Futong felt that he was almost done, so he rushed forward without hesitation.
Zhu Yuanzhang, on the other hand, was well versed in the essence of building high walls and accumulating grain widely, so he focused his attack on the southern prefectures and counties of Jinling.
By the way, Zhang Shicheng's choice is also very interesting. He first captured Jiangyin, then Changshu, and then tended to develop in the direction of Suzhou.
Zhang Shicheng chose affluent places, which were not only land of fish and rice, but also rich in products. Salt was produced in Yancheng and other places in Huaidong, silk was produced in Suzhou, Songjiang Prefecture and other places. Due to Huang Daopo's vigorous promotion, cotton textile technology advanced by leaps and bounds.
A flagship product.
In other words, Zhang Shicheng held the salt, silk, cotton cloth at the same time... and saved the money jar in an instant. This was no longer God's reward for eating, but holding a rice spoon and stuffing it into his mouth blankly, for fear of Lao Zhang.
Take a bite.
The choices of the three parties are different, but each has its own mystery.
Zhang Ximeng also returned from Lishui, preparing to discuss the march plan with Lao Zhu.
The person following Zhang Ximeng was Sun Yan. Their entire family had been sent away and their property was gone. Logically speaking, he should be disgusted with Zhu Jiajun.
But Sun Yan has another opinion.
Illegitimate wealth will be punished if you get it, and you will feel guilty if you receive it.
If Zhu Jiajun hadn't come over, he might have directly killed people and stolen all the property. Now that he can hand over the property safely and everyone is safe, it is already a blessing from God. How can he still hate Zhu Jiajun?
"Sun Yan, don't you really think that losing your family fortune is a big loss?"
"I don't think so!" Sun Yan said: "Experience Mingjian, Han San is nothing, but when he came to see me, he put forward three conditions... First, he wanted my family's fields, and second, he wanted my family's cattle and horses.
Money, third, he wants..."
"What do you want?"
"Yes, I want my stepmother!" Sun Yan was so angry that he gritted his teeth and his eyes stood up. Even though some days had passed and Han San was dead, he still gritted his teeth and was depressed to death when he thought of this sudden love between father and son.
!
Han San made him see the dangers of the world. In comparison, Zhu Jiajun was really a man of benevolence and righteousness.
"Thanks to Zhang's experience, please believe that even if the Zhu Jiajun asked me to feed the horses and pick up manure, I would be willing to do so without any complaints. It is really difficult to survive in troubled times!"
Zhang Ximeng was a little stunned, and was shocked in his heart. He thought again and again, stretched out his hand to let Sun Yan sit across from him, and then said to him: "Liu Futong chose the Northern Expedition, my lord, the Southern Expedition, and Zhang Shicheng planned the Pingjiang Road. These three choices are different. You have
What do you think?"
This is also about asking about the general trend of the world... Sun Yan cheered up. In the imperial examination, he chose policy theory and discussed the current situation. His ability to control politics was still acceptable.
But Zhang Ximeng's question was no small matter. Sun Yan was actually three times more nervous than during the exam.
"I thought Liu Futong was being dragged along the Northern Expedition. He had no other choice!"
"How can you see it?" Zhang Ximeng asked.
"He was the first to raise the flag of righteousness, and shouted the slogan of reopening the Song Dynasty. Now he has welcomed back King Xiao Ming, proclaimed him emperor, and named the country Song. Since he intends to revive the Song Dynasty, he cannot really get rid of the bad government.
, everything starts over, besides gathering troops and horses, capturing most of the capital, and seizing the Yuan Dynasty, what else can we do? So I thought Liu Futong was helpless!"
Zhang Ximeng listened silently, the look on his face softened a lot.
But this is the case. Liu Futong's banner of restoring the Song Dynasty is both their advantage and burden. Moreover, everyone knows what the Song Dynasty is like. Unless he can successfully retake most of the capital, he can truly refresh the government and rebuild the new country.
Otherwise, he will be locked up by the Song Dynasty and the Song Dynasty. He must go to the Northern Expedition, and he can only go to the Northern Expedition!
"Then tell me about Zhang Shicheng...if you were Zhang Shicheng, would you go down Pingjiang Road?"
"Won't!"
"Why?"
"Because although the land of Suzhou and Hangzhou is rich, it cannot even separate half of it. When he entered Suzhou City, he fell into a trap and could never get out again!"
Zhang Ximeng lowered his head, thought for a moment, and actually smiled, "I didn't expect you to see this move, it's really good... In fact, Zhang Shicheng's best choice is to join forces with Liu Futong, and go north from the east to capture Shandong.
Even if he touches the capital and plots Hebei, Zhang Shicheng may still have a chance to aspire to the Central Plains."
The biggest problem with Zhang Shicheng's occupation of Huaidong was that the territory was too small and there was no room for development.
Those who want to compete in the world have always occupied a unique and good territory. During the Qin, Han, Sui and Tang dynasties, they all set out from Guanzhong to conquer the world.
This is no coincidence.
First of all, there are 800 miles of Qinchuan in Guanzhong, with rich water and soil, dense population, and surrounded by dangerous mountains and rivers, which can form a complete geographical unit.
When your strength is weak, guarding the pass is enough to protect yourself.
When you are strong, you can fight your way out of the pass and compete for supremacy in the world.
Even if you encounter setbacks, you can still retreat to Guanzhong to recuperate temporarily.
In a word, the fault tolerance rate in Guanzhong is too high, so Liu Bang can fail countless times and make a comeback, but as long as Xiang Yu loses once, the ice will disintegrate.
However, since the end of the Tang Dynasty, Guanzhong declined irreversibly, and the Song Dynasty could only place the core of the country in Henan.
Although Henan's agriculture and population are top-notch, it lacks the dangers of mountains and rivers. The Yellow River floods in summer and freezes in winter.
But because the Sixteen States of Yanyun fell to the Khitan early, the kings and ministers of Zhao and Song could not close the door no matter what. Throughout the Song Dynasty, they all lived in fear.
I don’t know if I was suppressed too hard and suppressed the weird Neo-Confucianism. After all, the Confucianism of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Neo-Confucianism of the Song Dynasty cannot be said to be completely consistent, but they can also be said to be worlds apart.
By the end of the Yuan Dynasty, it was impossible to conquer the Central Plains.
The only land in the world that can breed kings is the land of Jianghuai... Tianwan occupied the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, which can be regarded as a head start.
Zhu Yuanzhang set out from Huaixi and occupied Jinling, which also developed steadily.
As for Zhang Shicheng, even if he captured Suzhou and Hangzhou, he would still be like a snake in the mountains, waiting to be beaten at every turn, and there would be no room for development.
So when he decided to cross the river and plot the Pingjiang Road, he was doomed to have low achievements. After all, there is the sea to the east and Zhu Yuanzhang's territory to the west. He wanted to eat a piece of meat from Lao Zhu's hand. Isn't that a fool's dream?
!
Sun Yan saw this move, but he couldn't figure out why Zhu Yuanzhang didn't go down the river and take Changzhou, and then Wuxi, Pingjiang, and Songjiang, completely taking over the fat and oily land at the mouth of the Yangtze River.
Incorporate into your own territory.
After all, with Lao Zhu's current strength, there is still hope.
In this way, wouldn't it be beautiful to sit in the southeast and look at the Central Plains in the distance?
"This is a good idea, but you seem to have forgotten where the foundation of the lord is!" Zhang Ximeng said with a smile: "The foundation of the Zhu Jiajun lies in equalizing land. After occupying Yangzhou and Jinling, it has seriously affected the distribution of power within the Zhu Jiajun. Some people are
I’m speaking for your family, they don’t want to equalize the land!”
Sun Yan was startled and said hurriedly: "Zhang Qianqian, I, I didn't bribe them!"
Zhang Ximeng laughed and said, "Don't be afraid, of course I know. After all, time is still short and we can't collude together. But I still know their thoughts. After entering the city, industry and commerce prospered, especially the silk workshops in Jiangnan.
With thousands of looms, the annual output is several times more than the tax of a government! Some people are greedy for this! If you want to develop silk workshops, you need raw materials. The people divide the land, and the raw silk produced is
Less is not good! Only by letting the big silk companies do what they want without caring about the life and death of the rural people can we have a sufficient supply of raw silk and make a fortune by weaving silk!"
Zhang Ximeng's few words go straight to the core and penetrate deeply.
Neither he nor Xu Da mentioned this level of truth.
If the Zhu Jiajun captured Suzhou and Hangzhou at this time, the population of these two big cities, plus Jinling and Yangzhou, in Zhu Yuanzhang's hands would be close to three million.
Silk from Suzhou, trade from Hangzhou, cotton from Songjiang... these can account for 80% of Zhu Jiajun's fiscal revenue!
A team can betray its own ideals, but it cannot betray its own interests.
At that time, if Zhang Ximeng continues to encourage land division, will it still be as smooth as it is now?
And can an army formed by citizens really be able to conquer the world?
Whether with more money, he will definitely be able to cultivate strong troops... Zhang Ximeng can't say yet.
In addition, there is another thing. If Zhu Yuanzhang seizes Suzhou and Hangzhou and cuts off Zhang Shicheng's southward route, no one knows what this salt dealer on both ends of the spectrum will do.
Although Zhang Shicheng alone is not worth fearing, what will happen if he colludes with Liu Futong? What will happen if he surrenders to Yuan Ting?
Even if he doesn't do either of these things, just struggling with Lao Zhu will be very troublesome.
After all, there was Emperor Tianwan and Chen Youliang in Huguang... If they took the opportunity to seize Huizhou and other places and cut off Lao Zhu's development path to the south, then things would be in trouble.
Therefore, whether it is from internal political considerations or from an overall perspective, developing southward is the safest path.
Moreover, today, everyone is still a Red Turban Army, and they are all shouting to be anti-Yuan. If internal fighting breaks out early, it will also affect the morale of the army.
Again, others may not care, but Zhu Jiajun cares about this very much. After all, this is one of the foundations of Zhu Jiajun.
Only by grasping the truth can you convince others with your ideals.
When ideals are shining brightly, things that can be bought with just a few words cannot be bought with real money after ideals fade. After all, people like the Cambridge Five cannot be bought with money.
Zhang Ximeng and Sun Yan talked a lot, even to the point of having no scruples. At the end of the conversation, Zhang Ximeng smiled and said: "I also need someone to organize documents. Are you willing?"
"willing!"
Sun Yan agreed without hesitation, "Experiencing the master's eloquent remarks really enlightened me. I am willing to follow the experience, gain more experience, learn my skills, and avoid being looked down upon by others."
Zhang Ximeng smiled slightly. He had been a secretary for so long, so it was time for him to have a secretary who belonged to a secretary.
Sun Yan was even more overjoyed. It was a blessing in disguise. Although Zhang Ximeng was not the boss of the Zhu Jiajun, he seemed to be one of the most upright subordinates under him. Sun Yan instantly felt that his back was stiff, but he was still very calm.
Don't get carried away.
Things must be done beautifully...and the first thing Zhang Ximeng came to see was Wu Datou's matter.
Sun Yan was shocked when this greasy middle-aged man with a short stature and a big head shook his head... No way? No way?
Is he the number one red thief?
Is he the most famous gangster in Yuan Ting?
If you give him a pick, he can sell pancakes on the street.
Could it be that Lord Wu has great supernatural powers and can undergo countless changes?
The worst one knows how to disguise himself, but what he saw was not the real Wu Datou, absolutely not!
Old Wu didn't know that he had shattered Sun Yan's three views... He just suggested to Zhang Ximeng, "When I was in Bozhou Prison, I talked a lot with my friends in the prison and made up a few new plays. I just heard that
Militiamen from Ningguo Road came over and wanted to know how we divide the fields. I thought that it might not be useful to just send people over to preach... Can I take people there and put on a few plays for the common people to educate them?
Are you happy?"
Zhang Ximeng was overjoyed when he heard this and said with a smile: "This is the best, but you have to be careful not to be caught by Yuan Bing and Xiang Yong!"
"Hahaha, don't worry about the experience. Even Yuan Ting can't catch me, let alone these losers! Okay, I'll go with the troupe right now!"
Wu Datou patted his butt and Le Diandian left.
Zhang Ximeng couldn't help but laugh and said: "Our number one general has taken action, let's see how it turns out!"