Lao Zhu naturally also knew that Han Du had many industries in the capital, and Han Du would probably not be willing to move the capital. However, since Han Du did not directly object now, but asked about the reasons for moving the capital from the side, Lao Zhu was also willing to work with Han Du.
Explain it a bit.
After all, moving the capital was Lao Zhu's idea. If Han Du could be persuaded, then when it came time to move the capital, there would be less resistance.
With a long sigh, Lao Zhu stood up from the dragon chair and walked step by step to His Majesty Dan. As he walked, he said: "Although Jinling has been the capital many times in official history, most of the dynasties that established their capital in Jinling were relatively peaceful.
A dynasty in one corner does not have the courage to unify the world. Moreover, Jinling is located in the south, and the enemies of the Ming Dynasty are in the north. With the capital here, there is always a feeling of being beyond the reach of the war in the north of the Ming Dynasty. "
After hearing this, Han Du thought for a long time before he handed over his hand and said: "On the contrary, I think that the Ming Dynasty should build Jinling as its capital."
Lao Zhu turned around and stared at Han Du, without saying anything for a long time. Originally, Lao Zhu was trying to persuade Han Du, but now it seems that Han Du is determined to confront him.
Seeing Lao Zhu's gloomy face, Han Du quickly explained: "Your Majesty, if the Ming Dynasty only has one capital and fourteen provinces, then there is nothing to say. I also agree to move the capital." .??.??
"Oh? What do you want to say?" Lao Zhu felt a little strange about Han Du's words.
Han Du replied seriously: "But Your Majesty, now the Ming Dynasty has more than one capital and fourteen provinces. The Ming Dynasty also has the thirty-three governor's offices of Nanyang, as well as continents, and the new continent of America. Let me put it this way, if the Ming Dynasty only has
If you care about the land and not the sea, I agree to move the capital. But if the emperor still doesn’t want to give up the sea completely, then I think Jinling is the best capital of the Ming Dynasty."
Lao Zhu felt that Jinling was too small in spirit, but the size of the capital's spirit was not fixed. As long as construction continued in the future, Jinling would naturally become the most imposing imperial capital in history.
Since I like big ones, wouldn’t it be more fun to play with them from childhood to adulthood?
Lao Zhu pondered and fell into deep thought. To this day, can the Ming Dynasty completely give up on the sea?
cannot!
The Ming Dynasty now catches more than two million tons of fish from the sea every year, which is a great supplement to the meat needs of the people of the Ming Dynasty. What's more, there are now thirty-three governor's offices in Nanyang, which pay tribute to Lao Zhu every year
The amount of wealth in the Ming Dynasty is that of a truckload. Every year, Nanyang provides the Ming Dynasty with a large amount of copper, silver, gold, grain, spices, sugar, etc. It is impossible to give up these things.
"I never said that I would give up the sea completely. Even if I move the capital, Ming Dynasty will still have Nanyang, continents and the New World."
Even the strong-minded Lao Zhu has to admit that these places are now integrated with the Ming Dynasty and cannot be separated.
Han Du laughed immediately after hearing this, but Lao Zhu couldn't understand the deep meaning in this smile.
"The Emperor has a clear view of thousands of miles, and is wise and wise. Of course he knows the importance of the sea and will not give up on it."
After saying that, he turned to look at Zhu Biao again, "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is also wise and will not abandon the Ming Dynasty's interests at sea. However, if the emperor moves the capital to Xi'an, then the emperors of later generations will have nothing to do with them from their birth to their accession to the throne.
I have never seen the appearance of the sea. I am completely unfamiliar with the sea. At that time, will Ming still not give up on the sea?"
When Han Du asked back, Lao Zhu and Zhu Biao fell into silence at the same time.
Seeing this, Han Du struck while the iron was hot and said: "People don't cherish things that they don't understand at all. It's like a person holding a stone in his hand. He will only find it very inconvenient and very inconvenient to walk with this stone in his hand.
Even if no one asks him to throw away the stone, he will choose to throw it away. But he will not know that what he is holding is not a stone at all, but a priceless jade."
Lao Zhu pondered and sat down on the dragon chair, and said slowly: "Since Xi'an is not possible, it is too far away from the sea. What if I move the capital to Beiping? The layout of Beiping is large enough, and the palace and city are also intact. There is no need to build much.
The sea is not far away either, and we can better defend ourselves from the north."
Zhu Biao didn't say anything when he heard this and turned his eyes to Han Du.
Han Du smiled and shook his head, "Beiping is not far from the sea, but it is too far from Nanyang. It is only a few thousand miles from the old port to Jinling, but it is more than 10,000 miles to Peiping. Sooner or later, Nanyang will become the food of the Ming Dynasty.
Important sugar resource areas, as well as rubber that has been planted and is about to be harvested, are all very important materials. These things are not only needed by the Ming Dynasty, but also by those in the West. If the capital is moved to Peking, they want to defend Nanyang thousands of miles away.
I’m afraid it won’t be easy in this precious land.”
On the sea, there are both enemies and merchants. When you are not strong enough, you can only trade obediently. If you are strong enough, what else is there to trade? Just grab it, it is simple and convenient, and you will make a lot of profits.
"Besides, I believe that it is precisely because of the threat of the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty that the Ming Dynasty was unable to move the capital to Peking."
"Moving the capital to Peking and the emperor guarding the country, wouldn't it be better to defend the north?" Lao Zhu looked unhappy.
The emperor's strategy of guarding the country has been in his mind countless times, and it seems to him that there is no problem.
But now he was rejected by Han Du, and Lao Zhu was certainly not happy. After all, in terms of marching and formation, Han Du did not make any achievements, so he only commanded the navy well.
Han Du smiled and said: "I don't understand the construction of defense lines and strategic layout, but I know that the Meng Yuan people will definitely understand the principle of 'capture the thief first, capture the king, and shoot the man first, shoot the horse'."
"Keep talking." Lao Zhu sounded a little dissatisfied, wanting to see if Han Du could tell Hua.
"The Meng Yuan people are different from other barbarians. They have lived in the Central Plains. Now they have been driven to the bitter cold land of the grassland by the Ming Dynasty, and they have never forgotten the colorful country in the Central Plains. Once they regain their strength, the first thing they want to think about is to return to the Central Plains.
Lord of the Central Plains."
"Delusion!" Lao Zhu angrily slapped his hand on the armrest, and the rough breath in his nose came out, as if it was carrying sparks.
However, Lao Zhu was still angry, but he also knew that what Han Du said was true. Those Mongolian people who were driven to the grassland never gave up the idea of sending their troops south and re-entering the Central Plains.
Otherwise, the Ming Dynasty would not have to station hundreds of thousands of troops on the nine sides, and all the main military strength of the Ming Dynasty and those who are good at fighting would be placed here.
"You, keep talking."
Han Du pursed his lips hard, feeling that his words had stimulated Lao Zhu too much. "Your Majesty should know that if you want to overthrow a dynasty, the most effective way is to break through its imperial capital. This point is important to the Emperor's campaign."
The time of the world has also been vividly reflected. The emperor has been fighting in the north and south for many years, but although the former Yuan Dynasty has suffered more defeats and fewer victories, it has been lingering. But after the king of Zhong* Mountain conquered most of the capital, the former Yuan forces in the world quickly increased.
dissolve."
"Since the Meng Yuan people have suffered this loss, they naturally know this truth. If the emperor moves the capital to Beiping, wouldn't it mean that the imperial capital will be completely placed under the military front of the Meng Yuan people? At that time, the best choice for the Meng Yuan people is to attack the capital.
"
Han Du looked at Lao Zhu and moved the capital to Peking. This was simply setting up a target for the Mongolian people.
Lao Zhu, however, was not angry but smiled, and clapped his hands happily, "Wouldn't it be better in this way? Not only did the Meng Yuan people avoid harming the people, but they could also rely on the impregnable city to make the Meng Yuan people suffer a bloody blow.
?”
Han Du sneered and nodded, "Of course you can, but you can only be a thief for a thousand days, and there is no reason to guard against thieves for a thousand days. The Meng Yuan people can fail ten times, or even a hundred times, under the walls of Peking City, but as long as they succeed once, that is
The world is overturned!"
Lao Zhu's smile instantly froze on his face, and he could no longer smile.
Zhu Biao also turned pale, and said with trembling fear: "Father, I think it is inappropriate to move the capital to Peking."
This is like a fight between two people. One is covered in armor and the other is holding a dagger. It is true that the dagger is helpless with the armor, but as long as the person wearing the armor is negligent and the dagger takes advantage of him, he can kill him.
Killed him!
Of course there would be no problem in moving the capital to Peking if the Ming Dynasty was strong and prosperous. But could the Ming Dynasty continue to be so strong and prosperous without ever weakening? Once it weakened, what could be used to withstand the Meng Yuan troops?
Han Du sneered and looked at Lao Zhu's somewhat pale face, and sighed and said: "Your Majesty, when great powers compete, they must not show off their courage for a moment. The Ming Dynasty covers thousands of miles. The biggest advantage is not how strong the soldiers are, but how big it is.
There is room for strategic maneuvering. If we move the capital to Peking, it would be equivalent to tying our own hands and completely giving up this biggest advantage."
"To be honest, in my opinion, moving the capital to Beiping does not bring any benefit except for the false reputation of an emperor guarding the country."
Lao Zhu originally wanted to persuade Han Du, but he never expected that he would be persuaded by Han Du in the end.
He raised his head and sighed: "How about making Jinling the capital?"
Han Du then replied with a smile: "With Jinling as the capital, we can be in the middle and control the land and sea at the same time. Moreover, Jinling is separated by the Yangtze River. If an enemy comes from the north, even if they attack the Yangtze River, they only need to send navy
Blockade the Yangtze River. Then even millions of soldiers can only look at the river and sigh."
Lao Zhu lowered his head and thought for a moment, and had to admit that what Han Du said made sense. With the width of the Yangtze River, if no ships wanted to cross it, even millions of soldiers would be helpless. At that time, all they had to do was send navy troops to destroy the other side.
The ships can basically be safe and sound. They can even go up the coast through the navy to attack the rear.
"What if there is an enemy coming from the sea?" Zhu Biao couldn't help but ask. As the prince and future emperor, he must be cautious and considerate about these matters. He cannot just say it to Han Du.
He nodded in agreement, not even bothering to think about it.
Han Du said confidently: "If there is an enemy coming from the sea, then retreat to the ground. However, with the strength of the Ming Dynasty navy, the enemy has been wiped out in Nanyang, and it is almost impossible to attack Jinling. And we can still be there.
Outside Jinling City, forts are arranged along the Yangtze River. The enemy ships are going upstream, and their speed will certainly not be too fast. If such ships are on the river, they will be targets for the cannons."
Lao Zhu secretly nodded, and now it seems that he really did the right thing when he chose Jinling as the capital in a hurry. "But if the capital is not moved, and there is no obvious place in the north, then the people in the entire north may be
Suffered from the invasion of the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty."
Han Du raised his hands seriously and said: "Your Majesty, I think it's just the opposite. If the capital is moved to Beiping, the Ming Dynasty will be constantly harassed by the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty, because the temptation of the capital is too great for them. But if the capital is in Jinling, then the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty will have no choice but to do so.
, I’m afraid they won’t go south to invade the Ming Dynasty. Because they also know that once they attack the people of the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty will definitely take revenge.”
Lao Zhu lowered his head and laughed twice, then suddenly looked up at Han Du and asked in a deep voice: "What is the last resort?"
Facing the formidable Lao Zhu, Han Du pursed his lips and said, "I don't have enough to eat and I'm about to starve to death."
Lao Zhu was silent when he heard this. He knew the bitter cold of the grassland. He also knew that although the Meng Yuan people fought fiercely, they were often forced to do so. Because there were too many disasters in the grassland, a snow disaster would probably kill the Meng Yuan people.
People have nothing to eat. If they cannot go south to invade the Ming Dynasty, they will starve to death.
This is also the most troublesome point for Ming Dynasty, because people who are on the verge of starving to death are really terrible. Let alone desperate, such people will not care about anyone else's life just for a bite to eat.
Seeing that Lao Zhu was in a dilemma, Han Du couldn't help but interjected: "This time I patrolled the border with His Royal Highness and listened to the King of Jin talking about the tribal power in his grassland."
Lao Zhu raised his eyes and looked at Han Du, not understanding what he wanted to say.
Han Du said to himself: "Since Liang Guogong destroyed the Imperial Court of the Northern Yuan Dynasty, the tribes on the grassland have been falling apart for a while, but they quickly attached themselves to two major tribes. To the west is the Oara tribe, and to the east is the Tatar tribe.
The large tribes are growing rapidly relying on the Meng Yuan people who have defected to them. Your Majesty, we cannot sit idly by and ignore this matter. If the two tribes are allowed to grow stronger, it will definitely become a serious problem for the Ming Dynasty."
Lao Zhu nodded and said: "I know about this, and I am also having a headache about it. Both of them are in the far north, too far away from the Ming Dynasty. Even if they want to send troops to conquer, I'm afraid it won't be easy.
thing."
Hearing that Lao Zhu always wanted to send a large army to conquer, Han Du was immediately speechless. Lao Zhu really used the hammer too much. When he saw a nail, he would hammer it without even thinking about it.
The Oara and Tatars hid in the north of the grassland, making it difficult for the army to conquer them, but that doesn't mean there is nothing they can do!
Han Du immediately raised his hands and bowed slightly towards Lao Zhu, "I have an idea that may be useful, but I don't know whether to say it or not."
Lao Zhu knew that Han Du had always been resourceful. Hearing this, he quickly sat up straight and looked at Han Du eagerly, "If you have any good ideas, please tell me."
"Mutual trade." Han Du said two words solemnly.
Lao Zhu was stunned when he heard this, and his expectant eyes suddenly turned into a look of discouragement. He waved his sleeves and robe impatiently and said, "I thought you had some good ideas, but it turns out you are just picking on others' wisdom."
In history, there were more than one people who opened trade with the grassland tribes, or even more than once. Therefore, Lao Zhu said that Han Du was wise in picking up people.
Facing Lao Zhu's disdain, Han Du said indifferently: "Your Majesty, I did use the old wisdom of my predecessors, but since the predecessors can use it, it means that there is no big problem with this method of mutual trading. I am sure
It works."
"Okay, it must work." Lao Zhu looked at Han Du helplessly and spread his hands, "But there are many people in the past dynasties who have carried out mutual trade with the grassland, but what is the result? In the end, the grassland is not strengthened.
, and finally suffered the consequences, and were led south by the prairie cavalry?"
Han Du shook his head and retorted: "I do not agree with the emperor's words. Perhaps after the opening of the mutual market, the grassland has indeed grown a bit, but the Central Plains has benefited even more."
After all, the Central Plains Dynasty was considered a handicraft society. Compared with the nomadic society of the grasslands, the natural price difference of this product allowed the Central Plains Dynasty to make a lot of money.
"Furthermore, in the past dynasties, mutual trade has been opened and closed. Except for the BC Yuan Dynasty, no grassland tribes have truly occupied the Central Plains. Moreover, I am not talking about simple mutual trade, but only after the grassland tribes surrendered to the Ming Dynasty can they trade with them.
I have said before that as long as there is still output in the land, people will definitely thrive in this place. The grassland is vast and the vegetation is lush. It is impossible to completely drive away the Mongolian people. Even if the Mongolian people are driven away
, as long as these places are not occupied by the people of the Ming Dynasty, they will be occupied again by the Mongolian people sooner or later."
"emperor
You can send troops to suppress the army for years, but can the Ming Dynasty persist for years? Even if it can persist, it is not worth it. It spends a lot of money on the border troops every year, but there is no benefit at all. In the long run, the Ming Dynasty will have gold and silver.
The sea will eventually be emptied out one day. When that happens, what will happen?"
Hundreds of thousands of troops were displayed on nine sides of the Ming Dynasty, which could only be controlled by Lao Zhu. If it were a weaker emperor, he might not even be able to sleep. The key is that millions of dollars are spent every year, but nothing is gained.
No, Lao Zhu was so tough that all officials dared not complain. But will future emperors be as tough as Lao Zhu?
Lao Zhu also understood this, looked up at Han Du, and asked: "So, what are your thoughts?"
Han Du took a deep breath and solemnly replied: "I think it is better to persuade the Mongolian officials and people of the Northern Yuan Dynasty to surrender, be kind and gentle to them, and open up mutual trade, allowing Mongolian and Chinese exchanges."
Seeing that Lao Zhu was silent and silent, Han Du continued to explain: "Don't worry, Your Majesty, we don't buy everything and sell everything in the mutual market. The biggest problem of the grassland tribes is the difficulty of survival, especially in terms of food. They are very
As long as the imperial court sells them food, as long as it can keep them from starving to death and save their lives, their desire to invade southward will be much smaller."
Lao Zhu was well aware of the horror of being forced to a dead end, and he was unwilling to push the Meng Yuan people to a dead end. To talk about the grievances between Lao Zhu and the Meng Yuan people, it is really difficult to describe in one word. Lao Zhu deeply hated the Meng Yuan people in his heart. After all, he
All the parents, brothers and sisters starved to death because of the stupidity of the former Yuan Dynasty.
However, Lao Zhu raised an army to overthrow the former Yuan Dynasty and drove the Mongolian Yuan people back to the grassland. After so many years of fighting, Lao Zhu's inner anger was almost gone.
After all, it seems that the Ming Dynasty can still survive. At least there is no shortage of food, and according to the output of sweet potato and red taro, I am afraid that in less than two years, the Ming Dynasty will not only no longer worry about food shortage, but will have to worry about food shortage.
Too much and worrying.
In this case, as long as Lao Zhu was not crazy, he would not think of forcing Meng Yuan to a dead end and then fighting against Ming Dynasty.
"Since it is a mutual market, there will naturally be comings and goings. But, what can we get from Meng Yuan?"
Zhu Biao was not willing to fight for years in the Ming Dynasty. The cost was huge, but the key was that people died in wars. So many people died at the border every year, which made Zhu Biao unbearable.
"Father, the cattle, sheep and horses in the grassland, and even horns and tendons are all good things, and the Ming Dynasty is in urgent need of them."
Han Du smiled and nodded slightly. After Zhu Biao finished speaking, he interrupted: "You can buy these, but you can't buy horses."
After hearing this, Lao Zhu and Zhu Biao looked up at Han Du and were very puzzled. You must know that horses have been the rarest and most valuable things in trade with grassland tribes many times in history.
Because horses can be used to form cavalry, and when using cold weapons, cavalry has too great an advantage.
"Horses can be used to train cavalry. We should buy them in large quantities. Why not buy them instead?"
Seeing Lao Zhu frowning and asking himself, Han Du replied with a smile on his face: "We can use horses to train cavalry, and the grassland tribes can even use them to equip cavalry. And the Mongolian people are not fools, even if they are willing to sell horses to
We will definitely not buy the best horses, and will only sell them to us with inferior horses. Because they are also afraid that we will train the best cavalry and then deal with them. The grassland cavalry is more powerful than the Central Plains cavalry.
One of the reasons why they are so powerful is because their war horses are better than ours."
Zhu Biao turned around and looked at his father, and asked Han Du even more puzzledly: "Since our horses are not as good as theirs, shouldn't we buy more of their horses?"
"It's useless, no matter how much money we pay, the Mongolian people will not sell their best war horses to us." Han Du shook his head, "Because this is their lifeblood, who can dig their own ancestral graves?"
Sell the stuff?”
"Since we can't buy the best, let's not buy it at all." Han Du said firmly.
Lao Zhu noticed that Han Du seemed to have something in his words, and pointed at Han Du with some excitement, "Say, keep talking, explain it to me clearly, what is the truth?"
Han Du nodded, "Before speaking, the emperor asked Rong Chen to tell me about the situation of the Mengyuan people. In fact, the life of the Mengyuan people mainly depends on cattle and sheep. There are relatively few cattle. They mainly live on sheep. Don't look at it.
It seems that everyone in the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty raised a large number of cattle and sheep, but they usually did not slaughter cattle and sheep for food. They mainly ate the milk produced by cattle and sheep.
It's like, cattle and sheep are their capital, and milk is their profit, and they mainly live on the milk produced by these cattle and sheep."
Seeing that the two people were puzzled, Han Du smiled and asked: "I wonder if the Emperor and His Highness the Crown Prince have noticed that in the lives of the Mongolian people, the role of horses is very limited, or almost useless."