In fact, the effective direct management territory of the Ming Dynasty was not large.
The Ming Dynasty's rule over the Northeast region was symbolic. It issued a letter of appointment to the local indigenous leaders. Whether they accepted it or not, the initiative did not entirely rest with the Ming Dynasty.
Therefore, the current Northeast, for the Ming Dynasty, is the same as the satellite countries North Korea, Vietnam, and Myanmar.
The rule of the Ming Dynasty was only limited to the complete Central Plains area, which was slightly stronger than that of the Northern Song Dynasty, including Xixia, Youyun Sixteen Prefectures, Dali and other places.
In the territory of the Ming Dynasty, there were no grasslands, no Western Regions, and no snowy regions.
"If we really want to take down Mongolia, it seems we can't do it without resorting to some ruthless measures."
Zhu Ying sighed slightly. In fact, he wanted to simply conquer the grassland, but as far as the current situation is concerned, especially the three major forces of Beiyuan, Oara, and Eastern Chagatai Khanate are entrenched in the grassland.
The three major forces combined have millions of prairie cavalry.
To the northwest, there was also the Golden Horde, which was at war with Timur, and had a large number of cavalry in their hands.
It is impossible to conquer the grassland in a short time, or within ten, twenty, or even thirty years, according to the current situation.
Even if the matchlock gun has a modified version of the flintlock gun, it will not be able to pose a strong threat to the prairie cavalry without enough horses.
Because humans are the most mobile, even if they have the advantage of range, it would be a difficult problem to bring all the grassland areas under the direct rule of the Ming Dynasty when the difference in numbers is so large.
Thinking of this, Zhu Ying no longer hesitated.
As a man, when you should be ruthless, you should naturally be ruthless.
After the morning court session the next day, Zhu Ying took his memorial and handed it to the old man of Huagai Hall.
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the contents of the memorial and did not say anything else. Instead, he nodded in approval and said: "Since the great grandson has made a decision, we must support it."
Zhu Yuanzhang thought he was a ruthless person.
Not only did I not have any objection to Da Sun's plan, but I also supported it.
The main reason for this is Zhu Ying's own psychological disorder.
After all, some of the truth, goodness and beauty in the previous life still have some influence.
Among Zhu Ying's strategies is a comprehensive embargo policy on the grasslands.
In other words, when the law is issued, the Ming Dynasty will implement a strict embargo system on the grasslands.
Among them, all merchants in the Ming Dynasty were prohibited from transporting steel, grain, salt, tea, medicinal materials, cloth, and women to the grassland.
Once any discovery is made, the offender will be executed immediately and all property will be confiscated.
Joint and several partners and all interested persons shall be guilty of a serious crime and shall have all their property confiscated and be sentenced to hard labor.
Hard labor and labor are two different things.
Today's labor is equivalent to doing the work of a craftsman, such as building roads and bridges, working in factories, and a series of other things under the arrangement of the prison.
But hard labor is different. It means going to the most remote and bitter cold places to carry out construction, including repairing border cities and other places that are extremely intensive and easy to die.
Once you are sentenced to hard labor, it means that your life is over, because hard labor has no concept of years. Unless you are amnesty, you will work until death.
People on the grasslands need a lot of food to survive the winter.
With the current population of the grassland, without the support of the Central Plains dynasty, there would simply not be enough food to eat.
It is already winter, and if an embargo is issued at this time, it will definitely be a famine for the grasslands.
Mongolians only eat meat without medicinal materials and tea. It doesn't take long, just a few months, for a large number of Mongolians to suffer from indigestion, constipation and blockage, abdominal distension, and unspeakable suffering.
Steel actually refers to weapons and all iron products.
Such as knives, guns, arrows for bows and arrows, needles for women, iron pots for cooking meat, and a series of other supplies.
These are inevitable consumables, and in the absence of craftsmen, they must be continuously replenished.
Needless to say, there is no need to mention table salt. Barbecuing can be done without an iron pot, but without table salt, it will be the same as Wei Tong Jue La.
The restrictions on women actually hit the Mongolians very hard.
You must know that there are not many women on the grasslands. In many cases, the solution for Mongolians to get wives is to purchase women from the Ming Dynasty.
Regardless of whether they are human traffickers or barbarians, a large number of women are sold to the grasslands every year.
Mongolians are relatively poor, and it is common for fathers, sons, and brothers to share the same woman.
Even nobles cannot avoid it.
The Mongolians don't attach much importance to blood. As long as the son is raised by themselves, no matter whose seed it is, it belongs to them.
Therefore, when many Mongolians went on an expedition and suddenly discovered that they had a few more sons, they would not feel green. This is because the vast grasslands were originally green.
On the contrary, I will be very happy that I have a few more sons.
If you have more sons, your family will naturally grow stronger.
This is a custom on the grassland. Whoever raises a child is the child of that family.
Morning morning on the third day.
Zhu Yuanzhang announced this law in the court.
The ministers in the audience looked at each other in shock. You must know that such a thing is a relatively harsh policy for the Ming Dynasty, especially for scholars.
But listening to His Majesty's tone and His Highness the Grand Sun's gaze, no one dared to stand up and object.
After a long time, a minister stood up and reported: "Your Majesty, I don't know if this ban applies to the entire grassland, or only to those who disobey me, the Ming Dynasty."
This issue is more critical.
Because there are still many friendly tribes in the Ming Dynasty on the grassland, including mutual horse markets, tea exchange for horses and a series of commercial activities.
These are still relatively common in border markets.
Zhu Yuanzhang did not answer directly when he heard this, but turned his attention to Da Sun.
Zhu Ying took a few steps forward and said in a deep voice: "The objects of this decree are all the territories that do not belong to our Ming Dynasty. Any guard station outside the border areas of the grassland and where our Ming Dynasty is stationed is covered by this ban."
As soon as these words came out, the whole hall was in an uproar.
After only a short while, no minister dared to speak.
Those who can stand in the Fengtian Palace still have a basic sense of politics, and the current proposal is obviously proposed by His Highness Taisun.
Maybe it would be okay to have a few tough words with His Majesty.
But with His Highness Taisun, it's not that easy.
The ministers in the court are usually in their early thirties at best, and His Highness Taisun is not yet 20. If he can successfully serve as an official, his retirement life will still have to depend on His Highness Taisun.
After the Ming Dynasty, His Highness Taisun will also rely on you.
What people worry about most is the unknown.
His Highness Taisun has not yet ascended the throne. If there is a reckoning after he ascends the throne, who can bear it?
This is also Zhu Ying's current advantage as the grandson. Sometimes, for some things, ministers will be more afraid of the heir who has not yet become the emperor than the emperor.
If Zhu Ying had succeeded to the throne and became emperor at this time, the ministers would not be so afraid.
Zhu Yuanzhang said: "Since you have no other objections, this matter can be settled."
"The six ministries will make a plan today. We will rush to the post station six hundred miles away and notify the border customs quickly."
...
The laws and regulations of the imperial court are on the one hand.
In fact, even if such laws are promulgated to border areas, it is difficult to say that they are effectively implemented.
After all, the interests involved are too great, and many merchants at the border are just doing these businesses to make a living.
There are a large number of smugglers among them, and it is difficult to ban them no matter how hard they are banned.
Even under strict regulations, smugglers' profits have become higher.
In the past, Zhu Ying, or the Qunying Chamber of Commerce, was one of the largest smugglers. Relying on the huge profits from snowflake salt and the sale of other goods, he established the initial primitive accumulation.
In fact, for now, completely giving up on this business would be a big loss for the Qunying Chamber of Commerce.
Even now, there are still many Majia Chamber of Commerce that are secretly managing these businesses, but they are not using the name of Zhu Yingqunying Chamber of Commerce.
Now that Zhu Ying has made up his mind, these vest chambers of commerce will naturally be forced to cease operations.
The real strict enforcement of this prohibition still falls on the side of the Qunying Chamber of Commerce.
Because the Qunying Chamber of Commerce controls enough smuggling routes, these smuggling routes will become a key blow to the grassland.
After the Sixth Ministry issued a notice on the matter, Zhu Ying's order was also conveyed to Uncle Zhang.
Uncle Zhang took the edict from the palace and sighed softly.
Because he is not a Han, but a Jurchen, a Jurchen from the East China Sea.
When this ban was implemented, it also included the places where Uncle Zhang once lived.
He understood very well what would have happened if the people of the past had no food, medicinal materials, cloth, iron tools, etc.
one year,
No, maybe in just half a year, a large number of people will die due to famine and plague.
The entire grassland will begin to wither.
It will become a hell on earth.
"Father, do we really want to do this?"
Uncle Zhang's son, who was once Zhu Ying's bodyguard, asked hesitantly after reading the decree.
Uncle Zhang frowned and hesitated for a moment before reprimanding: "This is the boss's order, so it must be strictly enforced."
"But..."
"No buts."
Uncle Zhang's expression became solemn: "You should also know that it was because of our employer that we were able to survive. It is also because of our employer that we are what we are today."
"From the time when our master saved our tribe, we have sworn to Changshengtian that we will be loyal to our master wholeheartedly in this life and from now on."
"No matter what the order is, even if it asks us to die, we must strictly implement the order of our boss."
Zhang Bo's son immediately lowered his head and said, "I understand, father."
After Uncle Zhang finished speaking, he felt a little lonely again.
Because not all members of Zhang Bo's tribe followed Zhu Ying, they were just a separate branch.
The relationship among the tribes is also more complicated, and friendly tribes are basically related to each other.
Thinking of this, Uncle Zhang said again: "I will go to the palace to ask my employer to see if I can give him a way out. Now when the Ming Dynasty is full of people, if there are grassland people who are willing to move to the Ming Dynasty, I hope my employer can accept them."
"Even if you don't pay too much, you can at least survive in the Ming Dynasty by working hard."
"Now that the Ming Dynasty is rich, there is a lot of food, and there are many places to employ people. Even if dozens or millions of people come, they should be able to get a bite of food."
"I have never begged my boss in my life. If I ask this once, my boss should be able to agree."
...
Faced with Uncle Zhang's request, after some thought, Zhu Ying chose to agree.
Zhang Wen, the son of Zhang Bo, was appointed on the spot as the leader of the incident.
Zhang Wen is the son of Uncle Zhang and the young chief of the tribe. In this regard, it is relatively easy to go to the grassland to recruit people, and he can also gain more trust from the grassland.
For the current Ming Dynasty, the better the population, the better. In fact, there are many Mongolians in the Ming Dynasty, and many of the ministers in the court are Mongolians.
It's just that these Mongolians were born in the Central Plains area since they were young because of the Mongolian-Yuan relationship. Therefore, they have no concept of the Mongolian grassland, and naturally they have no strong resistance to Zhu Ying's ban on the grassland.
After agreeing to Uncle Zhang's request, Zhu Ying summoned Lan Yu to Kunning Palace in the afternoon.
"Your Majesty, Lan Yu, pays homage to His Highness the Grand Sun."
Now, under Zhu Ying, Lan Yu no longer has any arrogant thoughts, all the water chestnuts have been smoothed away, and she is even more obedient than under Zhu Yuanzhang.
With Zhu Yuanzhang, Lan Jade still had some merits that could be sold, but with Zhu Ying, there was nothing. On the contrary, it was a bit taboo because of the military power issue.
I haven't made any big achievements so far, so naturally I can't float.
Lan Yu also knew that Zhu Ying was not very particular about the merits of Ming Dynasty.
"Duke Liang, please get up quickly, Guo Zhong, show Duke Liang his seat."
At Zhu Ying's instruction, Guo Zhong immediately moved the chair.
After Lan Yu sat down, Zhu Ying went straight to the point without exchanging too many pleasantries.
"About the ban on the grassland this morning, I think Duke Liang has heard about it."
Lan Yu nodded and said: "I have already heard about it. This method is good. As long as it can be truly implemented, it will definitely be a powerful blow to the grassland."
"Without food, ironware, tea, and medicinal materials, the grassland will inevitably lose its vitality in the near future."
Having said this, Lan Yu paused for a moment and said: "I just want to please pay attention to His Majesty Taisun. After this ban is spread to the grassland, it will definitely cause great waves. Can Yuan will definitely unite with other tribes to invade our Ming Dynasty.
Force the withdrawal of such ban."
Zhu Ying nodded and said: "There are also knowledgeable people on the grassland. I will surely see what happens after this."
"Therefore, the military defense at the border will be greatly strengthened, including the training of guard posts, armaments, etc., which are all urgent matters at the moment. There may be a major invasion on the grassland before Zhengdan."
"That's why I specially asked Duke Liang to come here today."