The huge Liaojing stood in the north of the Caspian Sea and could accommodate 300,000 people. It immediately became the largest city in the entire Central Asia.
In the palace, the current emperor Xuan Ye was sitting on the dragon chair, enjoying the mixture of sea breeze and river breeze, his face flushed.
"What year is it now?"
"Reporting to Your Majesty, Guangwu has been here for sixty years!"
The eunuch on the side whispered.
"Sixty years!" Xuan Ye muttered: "It has been sixty years since our Eight Banners came to this Xiyuan Manhai!"
It has been sixty years since he inherited the throne in the 24th year of Shunzhi.
He worked hard to govern, inspired himself with the Yelv Stone of the Western Liao Dynasty in the history books, established his country in a foreign land, and then waited for an opportunity to counterattack the Central Plains and restore the Qing Dynasty.
In the past sixty years, he has continued to forge ahead, and the Nogai grassland has become his heart; he has won and lost with the Rakshasa people, completely occupied the lower reaches of the Liao River (Ural River), and monopolized the Caspian Sea with his navy.
Immediately, he continued to advance westward, using the Torgut tribe and the Cossats to compete with the Ottomans, and finally invaded the Black Sea.
To the south are Azerbaijan, Georgia, and the Ottomans.
To the west is the confrontation with the Crimean Khanate on the Black Sea.
The territory of the Manchu Qing Dynasty has expanded nearly ten times.
There are hundreds of prefectures and counties, and the population exceeds three million.
The core force of the Eight Banners has jumped to 100,000 households and more than 600,000 people. It can raise 100,000 troops at any time to fight in all directions.
Unfortunately, when he was eager to move eastward, the six countries of the Western Regions in the east merged into one, with the Liao Kingdom as the leader and became an obstacle.
The cavalry cannot gain the upper hand, and firearms are at a disadvantage.
In the past few years, he had repeatedly raised troops, but he did not take any advantage, and his morale disappeared unconsciously.
"When can I return to my hometown?" He wailed in his heart.
His old body is already urging him to prepare for his funeral and choose the next successor for this regime.
"Your Majesty, Fourth Master wants to see you!"
"Let him come over!"
Xuan Ye said casually.
"Father, the Rakshasa people have won a great victory in the north and have become emboldened after winning access to the sea. Although this provocation was initiated by the Cossacks, it is actually the Rakshasa people."
The fourth prince lowered his head and reported his thoughts on this northern tour: "It is reported that the Russians have reached a temporary peace agreement with the Crimean Khanate and are ready to compete with our country for the Liao River at any time."
"King Peter I of Rakshasa was courageous. He dared to go to Europe to study alone and implemented reforms after returning home. Just like King Wuling of Zhao during the Warring States Period. Although he is dead, the Rakshasa people are very ambitious now..."
"Yes!" Xuan Ye hummed softly and said: "The Eight Banners are on standby and can send out troops at any time. There is no shortage of food, grass and baggage!"
"But, Fourth Brother, what do you think the Qing Dynasty should do next?"
The fourth prince was stunned for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said: "Since the Qing Dynasty entered the Black Sea, it has been a world of war. Reform is the foundation for survival and strength."
"Although it is not necessary to imitate the Rakshasa people, it is still feasible to learn from them."
"For example?" Xuan Ye continued to ask...
The fourth prince was convinced and continued: "We can build factories, encourage trade, establish imperial examinations to select officials, and innovate weapons and tactics..."
Compared with the centralized power of the Rakshasa people, the Manchu Qing Dynasty, as a semi-slave and semi-feudal society, also absorbed the essence of the Han people and established a complete bureaucratic system.
Therefore, the current reforms of the Manchu Qing Dynasty focused on the military and merchants, eliminating the current policy of focusing on agriculture and suppressing commerce.
"My body is getting worse. From now on, you can supervise the country and prepare to deal with the ambitions of the Rakshasa people!"
The fourth prince was overjoyed and kowtowed hurriedly.
A few months later, before the Rakshasa soldiers arrived, Xuan Ye ran out of gas and made his last words:
"After you succeed to the throne, you must bury the Queen Mother Xiaozhuang as soon as possible. It has been suspended for decades and it is enough!"
After saying this, he died.
The fourth prince Yinzhen succeeded to the throne, gave his father the temple title Gaozu, and changed his name to Wu.
The first battle of the new emperor's succession is the surging new Rakshasa army.
…
At the same time, the city of Beijing was also surging.
In the 30th year of Xuanwu's reign, just after the New Year, the prince fell ill and stayed in bed for many days.
That's all. Emperor Xuanwu suddenly caught wind and cold, and his healthy body suddenly collapsed.
The emperor and the prince fell ill at the same time, and the illness came in extremely violent waves. How could the city of Beijing survive in peace?
In the Qianqing Palace, Emperor Xuanwu was lying on the couch and resting with his eyes closed.
The Queen sat aside and sobbed, while the Empress Dowager Zeng frowned: "Why are you crying? It is annoying and cannot solve the problem?"
"Yes!" The queen was stunned for a moment before she recovered.
Mrs. Zeng tucked the emperor's clothes and quilt, and then went to the East Palace on crutches.
Compared to the emperor, the prince had a severe cough. There were pots of spittoon and a strong aroma of medicine. Mrs. Zeng, who had just arrived, couldn't help but frown:
"How is the prince's condition?"
"Queen Mother, we have stabilized today, but the follow-up depends on the Crown Prince..."
"If the prince can do it by himself, what use do I need from you imperial doctors?"
Zeng scolded angrily.
She has been under a lot of pressure during this period of time.
She glanced at the filial grandson beside her and couldn't help but nod.
When he returned to Qianqing Palace, the emperor had already woken up. He wanted to cheer up, but he was powerless. Seeing his mother coming, he asked: "Queen Mother, how is the prince's situation?"
"Same as usual, one day is a day's work!"
Zeng said angrily: "You father and son are so cruel. You can't live as long as an old woman like me, and you just want me to give away the white-haired person to the black-haired person?"
"The heart is too cruel!"
Emperor Xuanwu smiled bitterly and said: "If my son is not filial, there is really nothing I can do..."
"That's it!" After all, Zeng had experienced decades of ups and downs, and she calmed down and said, "A country cannot be without a king for a day. If your father and son fall, the Ming Dynasty cannot fall."
"Mother, what do you mean?"
"According to the wishes of the Ai family, let the grandson supervise the country."
Emperor Xuanwu closed his eyes and thought for a moment, then responded: "My grandson is not young, and it is appropriate for him to supervise the country!"
The next day, Taisun supervised the country, and the city of Beijing was suddenly filled with storm.
No one expected that both the emperor and the prince would be so seriously ill.
In March, a late spring cold came, and the prince finally couldn't bear it anymore and coughed for a long time before leaving.
When he learned that the prince had died of illness, Emperor Xuanwu breathed a sigh of relief although he was sad.
The prince is weak and not like a human king.
Although Taisun is of average talent, he is too strong and is considered a barely qualified candidate.
After a few days, the emperor could no longer survive.
Among all the civil and military nobles, Emperor Xuanwu arranged the funeral arrangements and paved the way for his grandson to take power after succeeding to the throne.
In the face of his old mother, Emperor Xuanwu expressed his unwillingness: "The child took Xuanwu as his reign name, thinking that he would inherit the legacy of Emperor Shizu and show his majesty, but how can there be a place for military power in this world?"
After saying this, he left unwillingly.
After Taisun succeeded to the throne, he decided to change the temple name of Emperor Xuanwu to Xianzong, and changed the next year to the first year of Chengde.
Originally, the subsequent emperor wanted to give his grandfather the temple title Taizong, but he was blocked by the officials.
Let alone Emperor Chengzu, how can you make Emperor Zhezong feel so embarrassed?
Someone's second generation doesn't have Taizong, but your third generation does. Isn't this a slap in the face?
Xianzong is the title of Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty. "His merits shine all over the world, and his benevolence lasts for thousands of years." was the praise given by his son Emperor Zhang of the Han Dynasty when he honored him.
In the view of the cabinet, although Emperor Xuanwu's martial arts were not prosperous, he smoothly inherited the rule of Shaowu, created a prosperous age of Xuanwu, and brought the benevolent martial arts of the Ming Dynasty to its peak.
As of the 30th year of Xuanwu's reign, the Ming Dynasty had 27 provinces, four general offices, and two governor-general offices.
The total number of prefectures is 480 and the counties are 1,820.
The capital camp has 200,000 troops, the frontier army has 200,000 troops, the local patrol camp has 500,000 troops, and the navy has 50,000 troops, for a total of 950,000 troops.
As for the population, it has directly crossed the threshold of 300 million, reaching 310 million.
Moreover, as far as the cabinet knows, tens of millions of people have emigrated from Nanyang alone, and all of them are young and middle-aged people.
If it weren't for the continuous population outflow over the years, the Ming Dynasty's population would have exceeded 300 million.
Such a huge population naturally contributes a large amount of taxes.
As early as the 14th year of Xuanwu, taxes had exceeded 150 million.
By the end of the 29th year of Xuanwu, due to the continuous increase in trade with the vassal states, taxes had reached 170 million, almost double that of the Shaowu period.
From this point of view, Xianzong had wronged him.