Buried alive in the Qing Dynasty

Page 301

Chapter 706 Not the Silk Road, but the Sugar Road

In February of the fourth year of Dagong, Beijing, Forbidden City.

This place has now become the temporary power center of the Great Tomorrow Dynasty!

Although the first capital of the new Ming Dynasty is in Nanjing, Beijing, like Guangzhou, is only an accompanying capital.But since Zhu Heqi regained Beijing, he never returned to Nanjing.

Moreover, after Zhu Heqi returned to Beijing after returning from Japan, he moved all the yamen of the Nanjing court to Beijing, but set up a left-behind department in Nanjing, so that the Supreme Emperor could stay there to watch the house.

The reason why Emperor Zhu wanted to temporarily move the court to Beijing was not because he wanted to establish the capital in Beijing.It is to digest the newly recovered northern provinces as soon as possible, and at the same time to facilitate the complete capture of Monan, Mobei Mongolian tribes and the Ming Eight Banners in the northeast.

Such a big mess is a headache to look at, and it is even more difficult to handle.

Now the six northern provinces of Huaibei, Shandong, Henan, Beizhili, Shaanxi, and Shanxi have all been recovered, and the Liaodong Peninsula and the Liaoxi Corridor have been combined to form a Liaoning Province (including Liaoyang but excluding Shenyang), so Zhu Heqi is needed There are a total of seven provinces organized by the imperial court.

The situation of these seven provinces is very different from the southeast provinces that the new Ming Dynasty took earlier. First of all, the finances of these seven provinces are relatively difficult... If they are as rich as Jiangnan, then there will be no chaos in the late Ming Dynasty .

Although these seven provinces are financially difficult, they can't spend less money, so the entire Ming court moved to Beijing to keep an eye on the officials of the seven provinces, so that they can plan carefully.

The second difference is that there are a large number of "unowned industries" on the territory of these seven provinces... This is a huge fortune!Of course, the imperial court of Zhu Heqi could not allow this wealth to be lost. After all, they had already advanced this wealth by issuing "Ping Liao debt".

Therefore, the Ming court had to enclose the land originally owned by Qing demon imperial merchants and official merchants certified by the Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty, the traitor dog officials, and Jinyiwei, as well as the land that was uncultivated for various reasons but had the value of reclamation, and divided them into one The farms, then appraised them, and finally selected by the big creditors from the south... There are many tricks in this matter. If the Ming court doesn't pay attention to it carefully, it will suffer a loss.

Moreover, the Ming court did not want those "big creditors" to throw the land there after they got it, so they had to create conditions to help those "big creditors" develop it.This is another delicate job that requires a lot of energy, so the Ming court can't stay too far away.

The third difference is that Confucianism in the remaining six provinces excluding Liaoning Province is very powerful!Confucianism and the rural sages have been closely integrated for a long time. The rural elites in these six provinces benefited by joining the Confucian sect group and then becoming or serving the rural sages.

Moreover, these six provinces have always been the places where the White Lotus Sect is more violent. Many local tycoons who have practiced the White Lotus Sect for generations have also mixed in with Confucianism, which has made Confucianism very stubborn.

Although facing the invincible soldiers of the Ming Dynasty, this group of Xiaoxiao dare not openly resist, and they are more cooperative with Qingtian Juntian.But Confucianism still has a dark hall... and the Confucian dark hall was not established in a hurry before the arrival of Ming Dynasty, but has always existed!

Moreover, Confucianism and Xiangxian have successfully monopolized the rural education in the northern provinces in the past few years.This is a matter of course. If Confucianism who has learned the "anti-classic" and the village sages with knife handles hold hands, they will be completely immune to literary inquisition.

In addition, there is often a huge clan behind the tyrants who can become village sages.Although the big families in the north are generally relatively small due to frequent wars, famines, natural disasters and other reasons, there are more small families in the northern countryside.

However, the ability of a small family and a small family to resist annexation is far inferior to that of a small clan against a large clan...

So now the power of Confucianism and Xiangxian does not exist on the surface, but in private they still spread all over the villages of the six northern provinces.

And if Zhu Heqi wants to minimize the influence of Confucianism (it will be difficult to eradicate it completely), he has to build an education and promotion system that Confucianism can control on the ground in the six northern provinces—— To put it simply, it is to establish a compulsory education system in the six northern provinces, and at the same time open a large number of primary schools (there are also elementary schools), middle schools, and universities, so that the intellectual elites in the six northern provinces can have a route to upgrade their exams.

Again, this is slow work, and quite expensive.

While rectifying the seven northern provinces (including Liaoning), the complete subjugation of Monan and Mobei Mongolian tribes and the Ming Eight Banners in the northeast cannot be left alone.

And the job of subduing Monan, Mobei Mongolian tribes, and the Ming Eight Banners in the northeast cannot be done with a hammer... The matter of Liting and sweeping caves is cool to write on paper, but it is really implemented It didn't have much effect.

Because the territory of Northeast China and Mongolia is really too big!

Just relying on "sweeping" will never clean it up, it must be "cured"!

However, Zhu Heqi’s method of governing the Northeast and Mongolia was actually a copy of the alliance flag system of the Qing Dynasty, which was not called “Alliance Flag” but changed to a word called “Ministry Flag”.That is to say, the Mongols on the grasslands and the population of all ethnic groups outside the borders of Liaoning Province in the northeast, all imitated the organizational model of the Eight Banners to form many banners that can be cultivated, fought and herded, and then organized the Luogan banners into divisions.

Moreover, each ministry and each banner has its own rules for grazing and farming, and cross-border farming or grazing is strictly prohibited.

Each ministry has a general commander, and each banner has a banner owner or Dutong...not all banners have a banner owner, and some banners will be commanded by Emperor Zhu himself, so the head directly in charge is called Dutong.

In addition, the Ming court also had the right to transfer the seals of various ministries and banners—that is, to move them from their original territories to other places.

Not long ago, Zhu and Qi moved one of the Eight Banners of the Ming Dynasty to Nagoya and Ezo Island, and moved the other two banners to the newly built Aihui City on the edge of the Heilongjiang River and the Jacques captured from the Raksha people. In Sacheng, a flag was placed in Jilin City, where General Ningguta was originally stationed, and he is planning to move another flag to Vladivostok.

Of course, Zhu Heqi has no such control over the Chahar tribe under Burni, the Mongolian Khalkha tribe, and the Junggar tribe of Ge Erdan.Although Burni followed the instructions of the Ming court, he also implemented the departmental flag system, but it was only a formality.

As for Junggar, it has maintained its own Otto restraint and has not made any changes.

However, the immediate priority of Zhu Heqi and his Ming court is not to reform the powerful Junggar tribe, or even march into Gansu or Sichuan to complete the unification of the Han region, but... to open up a white sugar road connecting the East and the West!

Yes, it is the Sugar Road, not the Silk Road.

Now sugar is the number one strategic material in the world!

However, Zhu Heqi has never been able to control a channel to send sugar to the west... Although the Nanyang Trading Company has achieved considerable success in the Nanyang and Dongyang seas, it is still difficult for them to enter the west of the Strait of Malacca.

So Zhu Heqi controlled [-]% of the white sugar, but it was difficult (not completely impossible) to send the white sugar to the hands of the Ottoman Empire...

Not long ago, a Portuguese merchant ship from the Indian Ocean brought two members of the Huang Zhisheng mission and an Ottoman mission disguised as a merchant group.According to reports sent to Beijing in an expedited six hundred miles from Guangzhou, the sultans and grand viziers of the Ottoman Empire were very interested in Ming’s “sweet gunpowder” and hoped to buy in large quantities.

Of course there is white sugar, but the question is how to send it to the Ottoman Empire in large quantities?After all, countries such as the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, and England that control the routes in the Indian Ocean do not want the Ottoman Empire to dismantle the Holy Roman Empire with the sweet powder supported by Ming Dynasty.

Just when Zhu Heqi felt a little bit tricky, his confidante Anukedun came to Beijing in a hurry, and brought him a "Road of Sugar" along the way.

Chapter 707

Anu's carriage drove directly from the Xi'an Gate in the Xiyuan of the Imperial City of Beijing, and finally stopped at the gate of Yuxi Palace where Zhu Heqi lived.The coachman stopped four Mongolian steeds, and this Kedun of the Junggar Khanate slowly walked out of the four-wheeled carriage with windows inlaid with crystal glass pieces.

This Junggar's Ke Dun really did not sacrifice his life for Emperor Zhu in vain. Zhu Heqi has given her a lot of benefits these days.

The carriage she is riding in is the one that Zhu Heqi gave her at the Dagukou Wharf when she came back from Japan—this carriage is the number one mechanism expert in the Ming Dynasty. It was designed with a western horse-drawn carriage transported all the way across the sea, and it was particularly stable and comfortable to ride on. Moreover, flat glazed sheets produced by the Crystal Palace were installed on the windows, which could not only block the wind and rain, but also transmit light.Sitting inside is not only comfortable, but also looks good.

On the way from Guihua City, this carriage has attracted many eyeballs.

In addition to the carriage, Anukodun also got a palace in Beijing, which is the original Pearl Mansion, and it was given to her when Anukodun accompanied Zhu Heqi back to Beijing last time...Of course Yes, in name it is Ge Erdan's Shunyi Palace.

In addition, Anukodun also received a bonus of [-] silver dollars and the official title of Minister of Attendance for his outstanding performance in the Tataragawa Battle.With this official title, she was able to freely enter and exit the Xihua Gate today.Because she was riding in Zhu Heqi's imperial carriage, she had the privilege of riding in Xiyuan.

What moved Anukedun even more was that Zhu Heqi, the Ninth Five-Year Lord, heard that she had come to Xiyuan, so he came out of Yuxi Palace to greet her.

That's why Anu came out of the carriage when he heard Zhu Heqi's hearty laughter: "Anu, what gust of wind brought you here?"

Anu looked up, and saw that fierce and likable man was grinning at him, and his eyes were still looking directly at his belly.

"The concubine respectfully welcomes Sheng An." Anu hurriedly saluted Zhu Heqi, but was supported by Zhu Heqi.

"Anu, you have a body, don't be too polite."

Zhu and Qi didn't see the outside world at all, they took Anu's big hand and walked into Yuxi Palace, asking as they walked, "How many miles have you been running back and forth? Can your body take it?"

"Why can't you bear it?" Anu giggled, "I have a car, and the heater is still burning in the car, and it runs smoothly, which is very comfortable."

"The journey is a bit tiring after all," Zhu Hechi thought for a while, and then asked, "Anu, does Ge Erdan know about your coming to Beijing?"

"I know, I know, he sent me."

When the two were talking, they had already walked into the main hall of Yuxi Palace together.

Located to the west of Taiye Pool, Yuxi Palace was built during the Jiajing period.When Zhu Heqi arrived in Beijing, the palace was already dilapidated.After the construction of Zizhuyuan was completed, Zhu Heqi asked the engineering team from Tianjin to renovate Yuxi Palace.

The newly renovated Yuxi Palace looks magnificent and luxurious, which is a bit like the prosperity of the Ming Dynasty.Of course, although the current Ming Dynasty is not as prosperous as the Jiajing year, when it comes to finances and military strength, it is directly catching up with the Hongwu year.

Zhu Heqi did not stay in the main hall of Yuxi Palace, but walked through the main hall and entered a side hall used as a study.

There are no chairs in the side hall, but a kang is built, and a table is placed on the kang, which can be used as a desk or other purposes.

Zhu Heqi and Anukodun sat on the same kang, with a small kang table between them.

Soon there was a maid serving tea for the two of them, and when the tea was being served by the palace servants, Anukodun took out a red invitation card and gave it to Zhu Heqi.

"Wedding invitation? Who wants to get married? Is it Tseng Allah Butan?"

Zhu Heqi is thinking about Ge Erdan's nephew... He wants Ce Wang to go to the United States to take the lead!American Khan can't be him, but he can be an American Huntaiji or something.

"No," Anu said with a smile, "it's Kangxi who wants to get married."

"Kangxi? Which one?"

There is more than one Kangxi. The known ones are Emperor Kangxi, Kangxi Khan, and General Kangxi...

"It's the Kangxi Khan who went to the Western Regions."

"Oh." Zhu Hexi opened it and saw that the wedding invitation was indeed written in Kangxi's handwriting, and then he found the bride's name and began to read, "Sofia Alexeyevna Romanova...how is she an idiot? Sister? Could it be that Kangxi also likes this?"

"What is Maomei?" Anu was stunned, "Your Majesty, this woman surnamed Suo is the princess of the Raksha Kingdom and the Golden Horde!"

"What? The Golden Horde?" Zhu Heqi was taken aback, "There is also the Raksha Kingdom...ah! Sofia of the Romanov dynasty is going to marry Kang Mazi?"

Now it was Zhu Heqi's turn to be dumbfounded.

Of course he knew that this Sofia was the prototype of the Sofia in "The Deer and Ding Tale", and he also knew that this Sofia was not beautiful at all, it should be said to be very ugly.

But how did she and Emperor Kangxi get together?They seem to have no fate in history, right?Zhu Hexi said inwardly, "Is it because of me? Because of me, Luochaguo and Paoluqing have to hug each other to keep warm?"

After thinking for a while, he asked again: "Did Kangxi want Ge Erdan to drink a wedding?"

Anukodun nodded: "Kangxi wants to invite Ge Erdan to bring [-] to [-] Junggar elites to have a wedding banquet together!"

"[-] to [-] quasi-army? He wants to..."

"We must deter the heroes of the Western Regions, coerce the two khanates of Bukhara and Khiva, and at the same time subdue the millions of Kazakhs on the Kipchak grassland!" very understanding.

After all, Ge Erdan's father Batur Huntaiji once "conquered" the Kazakhs when he was in power.However, this kind of "conquer" is still very incomplete, that is, to send troops to beat up the army gathered by the Kazakh Khan... Either kill the Khan, or subdue the Khan.

But those Ulus of the Kazakhs still exist, still governing millions of Kazakhs.

If you can't effectively bring these people into your jurisdiction, the so-called "conquer" doesn't mean much.

Therefore, in the original history, the Junggars fought against the Qing Dynasty for decades, and at the same time they fought against the Kazakhs for nearly a hundred years-only from this point can we see Ge Erdan's level!

Although he is a hero with great ambitions, his strategic and tactical abilities are not very outstanding.On the issue of choosing an opponent, he made a fatal mistake.He refused to digest the Kazakhs who had been beaten down by him, and turned to attack Kangxi who was much stronger than him. He was really seeking his own death.

And Kangxi's performance after conquering the Kazakhs was much higher than Ge Erdan.

While marrying the Raksha State, he held high the banner of the Great Mongolian State, and at the same time used his wedding with Sofia to hold the Kuritai Conference in Tashkent and then elect the Great Khan of Mongolia... It seems that he wanted to use the prestige of the Raksha people and the Junggar, Put yourself on the Khan position again, and then take all the Ulus on the Kazakh grassland for your own use, thus completely eliminating the possibility of the restoration of the Kazakh Khan.

This method... is worthy of Kangxi!

Thinking of this, Zhu Heqi smiled and said, "Kangxi has always been the Chinese monarch for more than ten years, and I have to bring a gift with him when he gets married!"

"With the ceremony?" Anukodun was taken aback, "Your Majesty, do you still want to follow the ceremony? Don't you want to kill Kangxi?"

"Think about it!" Zhu Heqi smiled, "But he ran so far, I can't reach him, so I can only watch him being carried back by Princess Sophia."

Being hugged by a princess?Anu thought to himself: "What kind of game is this?"

"Anu," Zhu Heqi said with a smile, "I'm going to send a mission to give Kangxi a gift... and send something to the Crimean Khan by the way."

"The Crimean Khan?" Anu had heard of the Crimean Khanate, but he didn't know much about the specifics.

Zhu Heqi smiled and said: "The Crimean Khanate and the Kazakh Khanate are bordering each other. As long as you cross the Kipchak Grassland, you can reach the Crimean Khanate. This Crimean Khanate is the Golden Horde. The remnants of the Khanate should also send envoys to attend the wedding of Kangxi and Sofia, right? I have something I would like to ask them to pass on to the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. Anu, can you make it easy for Ge Erdan to take them along? ?”

Chapter 708 Tuhai, there is no permanent enemy in this world!

"However, Ge Erdan still wants to give Kangxi a hard time in Tashkent... After getting rid of Kangxi, he will seek the position of Great Khan of Mongolia!"

Anukodun saw that Zhu Heqi seemed to have the intention of reconciling with Kangxi, and quickly revealed the conspiracy between himself and Ge Erdan.

Zhu Heqi couldn't help frowning when he heard Anukedun's words, and muttered in a low voice: "Why does Ge Erdan trouble Kangxi every time? I thought he wanted to sneak attack on Beijing... Been waiting for him for a long time!"

This is probably the enemy of fate, right?When Kangxi occupied Beijing, Ge Erdan wanted to attack Beijing. Now that Kangxi has gone to Kazakhstan, Ge Erdan wants to go to Kazakhs again... This is all for Kang Mazi.

"Sneak attack on Beijing..." Anukodun was taken aback by Zhu Heqi's words, and there was a bit of panic in his eyes.

"Anu, don't be afraid," Zhu Heqi looked at Anu and said with a smile, "No matter what rebellious things Ge Erdan did, I will not blame you. Even if you and Ge Erdan are together If you make trouble, I will spare your life after I catch you, and let you enjoy wealth and honor in peace."

Hearing Zhu and Qi's words, Anukdun was soaked in sweat instantly.That was the idea that she and Ge Erdan had fought that day... to come here and pretend to be a grandson for a while, and then sneak attack Beijing after defrauding Zhu and Qi's trust, and be the second in Burnie!

But they didn't expect that Zhu and Qi had already prepared themselves, saying that they couldn't have set up a trap to wait for Ge Erdan.

If Ge Erdan's head was hot at that time and he plunged in, the grass on the grave would be tall now!

Zhu Heqi glanced at Anukedun who was trying to keep calm, smiled and said: "Anu, since Ge Erdan wants to get rid of Kangxi and make himself a profuse sweat, let him try it. If things come to pass , Come and compete with me again!

Anu, don't worry, no matter how Zhen and Ge Erdan fight, you and your son will be fine. "

What Zhu Hechi said sounds good, but in fact... he is very unfavorable about Ge Erdan playing dirty tricks against Kangxi and Sofia.

Kangxi may not be able to fight tough battles, but he has never been afraid of anyone who is playing tricks.Oboi is so powerful, he's all overshadowed.

And Sofia is not a fuel-efficient lamp!In history, she instigated the rebellion of the shooting army, helped her foolish brother to power, and drove Peter the Great and his mother to the Moscow countryside... Although Peter the Great was not killed and left future troubles, the Raksha Kingdom is not Ottoman after all.If she really wanted to do this, not to mention the nobles and Orthodox priests below, even the shooting army itself might not support it.

Now a foolish Ge Erdan is facing up to such a sinister and cunning couple like Kangxi and Sofia...how could he possibly win?

Thinking of this, Zhu and Qi glanced at Anukodun again, thinking: "It's a pity, you are going to be a widow again... I don't know who will be cheaper with a good size."

However, Anu was moved by Zhu and Chi's assurance, and said gratefully: "Anu thank you Lord Long En, Anu must persuade Ge Erdan well, let him be satisfied and cherish his blessings, and be a loyal minister of Ming Dynasty forever."

Zhu Hechi nodded, and said with a smile, "Anu, don't return to China, and have a baby in Beijing... The Wen Po here in Beijing is much smarter than the Wen Po in Guihua City."

"Anu thanked Lord Long En." Anu thanked him again.

In fact, she originally planned to give birth in the palace in Beijing... The palace in Beijing is much better than the Silver Buddha Temple in Guihua City!

Zhu Heqi said to Anu again: "I sent a mission to send congratulatory gifts to Kangxi, you can write to Ge Erdan to talk about it... just because I have a batch of goods to be sent to Keluo through the Kazakh grassland. Mia Khanate, please escort him along the way.