Chapter 177 The iron horse that eats coal

Author: West Lake in the Rain

Chapter 177 The iron horse that eats coal

Under the new crooked neck tree.

Jiang Xinghuo said: "Before we tell the answer, we might as well think about it first. If the Ming Dynasty only established one capital, if it was Beijing, what would be the pros and cons? Only by clarifying these can you understand the essence of the problem and what is the meaning of moving the capital."

The answer to this point is so clear that Zhu Gaoxu could answer it without hesitation.

"The reason why we established Beijing as the capital is naturally to consider the temple and win over the people of the north."

Jiang Xinghuo nodded and motioned for him to continue. Zhu Gaoxu had also learned some of Jiang Xinghuo's ability to be clear and organized in the past few days. Although he stumbled, he still managed to speak in an orderly manner.

"If you look at the Yanyun Land where Beijing is located, then from the time Shi Jingtang, the Later Jin Dynasty Emperor of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, ceded the Yanyun Sixteenth Prefecture, the Yanyun Land has been separated from the rule of the Han Dynasty for more than 500 years."

"Looking south to the two rivers in Hedong (Shanxi) and Hebei, it has been more than three hundred years since the humiliation of Jingkang and the fall into the hands of the barbarians."

"It wasn't until the founding of the Ming Dynasty and General Xu Da's Northern Expedition to the Central Plains that he expelled the Tartars and recovered the Han lands in the north. It has only been more than thirty years now."

"More than thirty years are really too little compared to more than three hundred and five hundred years!"

"If Beijing is not established as the capital, I am afraid that the people in the North will be hard to control."

Hearing this, Zheng He also nodded one after another.

This truth couldn't be simpler. In fact, the most intuitive thing is to look at the composition of the Yan army under Zhu Di.

The pro-Yan Mongolian tribes who came to help the war, the recruited inner Mongolian tribes, the Mongolian Tartar officials who had already entered the Yan army system, and the Duoyan Three Guards. The shadow of the Mongols can be seen everywhere in the Yan army, even among the Han soldiers in the north.

, there are also some people who have already been severely transformed into barbarians, or people of mixed race between barbarians and Han people.

These people's hometowns are in the north, and it is difficult to keep them stationed in the south for a long time.

This means that in the early years of the founding of the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty was actually split into two countries.

The "North and South List" incident during the Hongwu period is the best example.

The South and the North are in a de facto state of division in all aspects of culture, living habits, economy, temples, etc.

Zhu Yuanzhang has tried his best to bridge this contradiction between the north and the south through measures such as immigration and enfeoffment of the eight major fortress kings, but in fact the contradiction between the north and the south is still acute.

The Battle of Jingnan, the civil war of the Ming Empire, can be regarded to some extent as a contest between the Hebei Youyun forces representing the north and the Jiangnan forces representing the south, a general outbreak of conflicts, and Zhu Di's basic base is exactly that.

The military leader, landlord, and powerful man in the North.

"And there's one more question."

Zhu Gaoxu added: "If we don't move the capital to Beijing, we won't be able to accumulate a large number of troops and horses in the North."

Zhu Gaoxu said this in a cryptic way, but what he actually meant was that it was impossible for Zhu Di to safely send the main army to the north, escape his control, and sit in Nanjing by himself.

The army is Zhu Di's lifeblood.

Now that Zhu Gaoxu knew that he was being eavesdropped, he didn't dare to say something too straightforward.

Zheng He had long known that the emperor and others were probably listening in the secret room next door, and he did not dare to talk nonsense at all.

"At this time, the Northland has been beaten to pieces, and a large number of the original troops and horses have been transferred south. It is definitely necessary to defend the remnants of the Northern Yuan Dynasty. If the capital is not moved to Beijing, then according to the unyielding attitude of the remnants of the Northern Yuan Dynasty, it will soon be

Frequently harassing the border, if this state continues for too long, I'm afraid."

Zhu Gaoxu didn't dare to say it, but Jiang Xinghuo dared to say it.

"I'm afraid the land of Yanyun will fall to the barbarians again?"

"That's it." Zhu Gaoxu said sarcastically.

There is a very straightforward reason for this, that is, Yan Yun's brave and capable Han men actually lived a better life if they joined the nomadic people than if they joined the farming people.

Why?

Yanyun Han'er is seriously ill, he is very brave and fierce, and he is not engaged in production. He is different from the farmers in Hebei. Yanyun Han'er follows the nomadic people to collect new year's coins and harvest grass and grain. Isn't it delicious?

Anyway, people in the Yanyun land send their men to the battlefield in the hope of earning more spoils and rewards. The level of fierce folk customs is different from that in the Jiangnan area where the literary style is strong.

"In other words, moving the capital to Beijing will be beneficial in terms of winning over the hearts of the people in the North, defending against the remnants of the Northern Yuan Dynasty, and consolidating the political power, right?" Jiang Xinghuo concluded.

Zhu Gaoxu and Zheng He nodded one after another.

"What about the disadvantages of moving the capital to Beijing?" Jiang Xinghuo asked again.

Zheng He dared to say this.

"In my humble opinion, I am a northerner." Zheng He added: "The north is short of food and people. It requires a large number of immigrants to the north for a long time to enrich the population of the north. At the same time, the food output in the north is lower than that in the south.

More than that, even if wasteland is reclaimed after immigration, the food produced will not be enough to support the army and officials, and food must continue to be transported from the south, which will make the conflict between the north and the south more acute."

"At the same time, it will also make the southern gentry who lack the control of imperial power have a big tail." Zhu Gaoxu added.

Regarding the pros and cons of moving the capital to Beijing, the two people basically analyzed it comprehensively. Jiang Xinghuo asked again: "What about Nanjing?"

——————

The secret room next door.

Zhu Di looked at Li Zhigang with a smile: "Li Shangshu, briefly talk about the pros and cons of making Nanjing the capital?"

Li Zhigang glanced at Xia Yuanji, who was sitting behind him and pretended to be deaf and mute, and said helplessly.

"Returning to Your Majesty, the advantage of making Nanjing the capital is naturally that there is no shortage of food in the south of the Yangtze River and it can attack the south of the Yangtze River at any time. The disadvantage is that the balance between the north and the south is difficult to maintain. At the same time, referring to the experience of Nanjing as the capital in the past, the north will easily become a big financial power.

Cave, once the north is invaded, the court, which is dominated by southerners, will definitely choose to abandon the north to reduce the financial burden. If the north is abandoned, it will be almost impossible to take it back through the Northern Expedition."

As a Songjiang native, Li Zhigang was truly loyal to the emperor.

I have already betrayed my country and class, what more do you want from me?

Zhu Di, however, was still chasing after him. Today he seemed to be staring at him and asking: "Why is it impossible? Li Shangshu might as well tell you, I really want to hear it."

Li Zhigang looked at this cramped secret room, and his heart trembled. He was even more frightened, frightened, and deeply curious about the person on the other side of the wall who kept talking.

He could recognize the voices of the second prince Zhu Gaoxu and the third eunuch Zheng He, but he had never heard the voice of this prisoner.

Even the identity of the prisoner was something he inferred from the conversations coming from the other side of the wall.

Who can make Zhu Di, who has always had a bad temper, be so tolerant?

It's really incredible.

Li Zhigang was frightened and frightened because the opponent's problems almost always forced him to the Shura field.

When the emperor asked him these questions, would he dare not answer them truthfully?

But there were some things that would make the emperor angry if answered truthfully.

What should we do if we send him to prison for the third time?

As time passed by, Li Zhigang was sweating more and more on his forehead, and it looked like two more handkerchiefs were getting wet.

Xia Yuanji was a kind person, so he finally couldn't stand it anymore and said after saluting.

"I dare you to answer for Li Shangshu, and I hope your majesty will allow it."

Zhu Di nodded.

Xia Yuanji said: "If Nanjing is really the capital, and there are changes in the north in the future, the court will abandon the north. Then by the time of the Northern Expedition, the court will definitely be occupied by civil servants from the gentry in the south of the Yangtze River. At that time, in order to protect itself,

In order to prevent the Northern Expedition from cultivating new military heroes, and to prevent northern scholars from flooding into the court and occupying their positions after the Northern Expedition was successful, they will definitely create obstacles in the temple and oppose the Northern Expedition."

"This is why Li Shangshu said that once the north is abandoned, it will be almost impossible to take it back with the Northern Expedition."

Hearing this, Dao Yan glanced at Xia Yuanji approvingly.

Zhu Di also nodded to Xia Yuanji and said, "This is where my concerns lie."

"If the capital is Beijing, then food will depend on and be controlled by the south; if the capital is Nanjing, the division between the north and the south will be inevitable."

"What can I do? What can I do?"

Zhu Di patted the chair heavily and sighed.

This question is also something that troubles the minds of several senior officials of the Ming Empire in the room.

It's a real dead end, and there are huge drawbacks to whichever one you choose. It seems like you can only choose the lesser of two evils.

But, is there really no way to break the situation?

Zhu Di cast his eyes on the wall.

Li Zhigang also looked over curiously.

He seemed to want to see clearly the mysterious man opposite through the wall.

——————

Inside the wall, the two of them gave almost the same answers as in the secret room.

Jiang Xinghuo concluded: "So, in fact, the tangle lies in three points."

"The first point is to worry about the division between the north and the south, and we need to take care of the north."

"The second point is that the current situation of food supply is more in the south and less in the north, and the economic center is in the south."
To be continued...