Chapter 636: The court is moving south?

It is said that the Gentleman Village is a heroic tomb. Zhang Zhun is busy irrigating the fields and sowing hard every day. Three days passed quickly. On the eighth day of the Chinese New Year, Yun Yi successfully gave birth to a boy. After the Zhang family finally had a future, the family naturally celebrated. Friends and friends who learned the news, and even the Hu Ben Army, all expressed their congratulations.

In addition, there was news from some unknown place that Zhang Zhun and Yang Yinghan were about to date, and Empress Yi'an came to take charge of the marriage in person. Yang Yinghan would be named Princess, and Ziyuan became even more lively. Even Xue Zhidie happily returned from Queqiao Bay to express her congratulations.

On the tenth day of the New Year, Zhang Zhun invited dozens of relatives and friends on a small scale, as well as representatives of the Hu Ben Army and the Grand Governor's Office, which officially announced the matter. Others' children are usually made public when they are full moons. However, Zhang Zhun's special status and must be announced as soon as possible. Sure enough, everyone felt much more at ease when they heard this news and expressed their congratulations.

Unfortunately, time was tight and military situation was urgent. After the child's three dynasties, Zhang Zhun hurriedly embarked on the journey. The child's full moon banquet had to be handed over to Yang Yinghan. On the 11th day of the first lunar month, Zhang Zhun rode his horse to Pingduzhou.

Since he was granted the title of Pingdubo, he always came to see his own territory. Of course, looking at his own territory is a coincidence, and more importantly, he came to see the newly established Lion Cavalry Camp and Xiong Cavalry Camp of the Hu Ben Army. He was rich, weapons, personnel, and war horses. The first thing Zhang Zhun thought of was naturally to expand the cavalry troops immediately.

The establishment of the Lion Cavalry and the Bear Cavalry are two cooperatives. There are ten teams, and if they are not counted as officers, there are a total of 500 soldiers. If the officers are added, the force will exceed 600. The force of the two battalions is about 1,300. Most of the soldiers are elite troops drawn from various troops of the army and have a certain riding foundation.

According to Zhang Zhun's order, the commander of the Lion Cavalry Camp was Li Zhaohui, the deputy commander was Feng Wei, and the team was Sun Jiming, Meng Xia, Shi Liwei and others. The commander of the Xiong Cavalry Camp was Xie Zhiyou, the deputy commander was Yu Yingyou, and the team was Yuwen Hantao, He Jianing, Bingfeng, Chen Yuanzhi, Jin Zhenyue and others. They were all old men of the Tiger Ben Army. A considerable part were from the sniper and officer training classes around Zhang Zhun.

So far, the Hu Ben cavalry has a total of five battalions, with a total force of more than 3,000. The number of war horses has exceeded 5,000. Although it has not yet reached the standard equipment of two horses for each person, it can already be achieved that there are three horses for each two persons. Of course, such a number is not enough, and it needs to be increased.

Whether it is the Eight Mongolian Banners or the Eight Manchurian Banners, there are many cavalrymen. Zhang Zhun dared not expect that the number of cavalry in the Hu Ben Army is greater than theirs, but at least it cannot be much different. Without more than 10,000 cavalry, it would be a bit difficult to fight against the Tartars. In real large-scale battles, the Cavalry of the Hu Ben Army has not really fought face to face with the Tartars.

The training of cavalry takes much more time than the training of infantry. It takes at least two years to train a new recruit into a qualified cavalry. It would be better if there were three years. The current Hu Ben Army cavalry is largely still a horse-riding infantry. Of course, a small number of elite soldiers are not, some of them are born with riding talent.

After staying in Pingdu Prefecture for two days, Zhang Zhun was quite satisfied with the training results of the two cavalry battalions. After encouraging everyone, Zhang Zhun left Pingdu Prefecture and came to Qingzhou City. Information showed that after the Taurus cavalry headed south, they should "greet" on Qingzhou City as soon as possible, and then Jinan City. Therefore, Qingzhou City is now fully on alert, and all the troops of the Hu Ben Army are on standby at all times.

More and more immigrants from Northern Zhili and eastern Shandong were moving to Laizhou Prefecture with their families. The victory of Dongjiabao greatly stimulated the hearts of the local people. In their opinion, if there is another place in this world that is safe, it is the area controlled by the Hu Ben Army. The immigration from time to time made Qingzhou City very lively.

As soon as he entered the city, Zhang Zhun had not had time to inspect the troops, but he received a report from Lu Yidian: "Sir, that Zhu Dadian is here again."

Zhang Zhun asked in confusion: "Zhu Dadian?"

How did this guy know that he was coming to Qingzhou City? He really had some ability to predict the future! He refused the court's proposal and refused to take charge of Shandong's military affairs. Didn't Zhu Dadian know? He came to find him. Could it be that he wanted to hand over Shandong's military affairs to him in private? Is this guy going to be a hand-off manager?

After thinking about it, Zhang Zhun waved his hand casually and said indifferently: "Let him come in."

Lu Yidian went out and brought Zhu Dadian in after a while.

Zhu Dadian's face was obviously not very good, as dark as if he was about to be in trouble. After seeing Zhang Zhun, he was happy and then a little sad again, returning to his original dark appearance. He tidied up his clothes, saluted respectfully, and then said in a difficult tone: "The lower-ranking official Zhu Dadian has met the governor."

Zhang Zhun nodded and made a gesture of asking for a seat. He sat down first, and then said quietly: "Governor, please."

Zhu Dadian sat down with some anxiety.

Zhang Zhun said indifferently: "I don't know what important things are there for the Governor to come this time?"

Zhu Dadian's eyes wandered, his expression was obviously a little tired, and his tone said in a difficult tone: "Governor, the subordinate is here to ask for help. Please lend a helping hand to help Shandong soldiers and civilians through the difficulties."

Zhu Dadian was forced to come to find Zhang Zhun rashly. He had received news from the upper class that he could escape, throw Shandong's military affairs to Zhang Zhun, then patted his butt and went to Daming Mansion to take refuge. Unexpectedly, Zhang Zhun refused the matter lightly, and his wish ended from then on.

Zhang Zhun refused this matter, which was equivalent to putting Zhu Dadian on the fire. Shandong's military affairs were ultimately asked to preside over the leadership. Zhu Dadian himself knew very well what Shandong's military strength was. It was okay to scare the people, but he fought with the Tartars...

Zhu Dadian said helplessly: "Governor, you must save the lower official..."

Zhang Zhun snorted slightly and didn't say anything.

To be honest, Zhang Zhun despised Zhu Dadian in his heart. To be precise, he did not have any personal opinions on Zhu Dadian, but rather on the vast majority of Ming Dynasty officials. Zhang Zhun really disgusted with the faces of this group of people.

The big characteristic of the officials of the Ming Dynasty was that they were so proud that they were dying of pride that they didn’t even look at you directly. In layman's terms, they were just as arrogant as two hundred and five. However, once they fell, they would be faster than anyone else. Greed, short-sighted, ignorant, arrogant... all the words Zhang Zhun could think of were derogatory.

If you want to talk about the most backbone officials, the dynasty of which dynasty was definitely the Ming Dynasty and never surrendered even if they were beaten to death by the emperor. If you want to talk about the most backbone officials, the Ming Dynasty was also the Ming Dynasty. There were countless Ming officials who came to pass and took the initiative to surrender to the Tartars. Even the Qing Dynasty was surprised to capture the world's speed.

The late Ming Dynasty was one of the most corrupt periods of morality in my country's history. Loyalty, faith, benevolence, righteousness, integrity and shame, the Three Bonds and Five Constant Virtues were all left behind. A large number of officials were keen on raising singers, beautiful wives and concubines, and even disgusting children. The late Ming Dynasty was the most prosperous period, and the trend of children in Jiangsu and Zhejiang was full of pride, which was nauseating.

Zhu Dadian certainly understood that Zhang Zhun didn't like his arrival, but he had no choice. If he didn't want to be captured by the Tartars, or if he was held accountable by the court after he was defeated, only Zhang Zhun could save him. He said pitifully: "Governor..."

Zhang Zhun held the teacup, uncovered it, gently blew the tea inside, and then put the teacup back in the orderly and slowly, then said slowly: "How can I help you?"

Zhu Dadian was immediately overjoyed and felt a trace of hope.

Zhang Zhun was actually in a very good mood. From a public perspective, he captured Dengzhou City, captured Dorgon and others, and freed up the forces of the two battalions. The navy and the Marine Corps could also move smoothly. Now, he has the determination to win in the face of Huang Taiji's attack. Defeating Huang Taiji is only a matter of time and price.

In terms of personal matters, the harvest is also good. Yun Yi has given birth to a boy for herself, and there are successors to the incense. Shen Lingfei has already produced the seventh plum blossom. There are still people queuing up behind her, waiting for the flower to bear fruit. As long as he works harder and grows more and harvests, he will always get something.

Zhu Dadian said bitterly: "Mr. Governor, can you send some of the Hu Ben Army to Jinan City? The military and civilians of Jinan are warmly looking forward to the arrival of the Hu Ben Army."

Zhang Zhun curled his mouth and said disdainfully: "What am I going to Jinan City to do?"

Zhu Dadian said bitterly: "The army in Jinan City is seriously insufficient, with only more than 13,000 people. If the governor does not support any force, I am afraid that after the Tartars breaks the city, all the hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians in Jinan City will be kidnapped by the Tartars."

Zhang Zhun did not continue to hide it and said coldly: "Governor, I am a thief, you are an official army, we say different things and don't make plans. If you invite me to Jinan City, I have no benefit. How can I explain to the people below?"

Zhu Dadian gritted his teeth and said, "I can tell you a huge secret."

Zhang Zhun said disapprovingly: "Tsk! What a huge secret?"

Zhu Dadian looked around, lowered his voice, and said mysteriously: "Some people advocate moving south."

Zhang Zhun didn't react for a moment, and curled his lips lightly and said casually: "What's the south..."

He suddenly woke up, frowned tightly, stared at Zhu Dadian deeply, and said slowly: "What do you mean is Chongzhen is going to move to Nanjing?"

Zhu Dadian shook his head and said tactfully: "The emperor is unwilling to leave the capital... However, the six ministries will gradually move south. Liu Zongzhou, the Minister of Works, has been appointed as the Minister of War in Nanjing, in charge of the affairs of the southward migration. Only a very small number of people know about this."

Zhang Zhun subconsciously touched his nose.

It seems that his appearance has indeed changed the trajectory of history, and the court actually began to consider moving south. This is eight years ahead of the real history! In real history, it was only after Chongzhen was hanged in Coal Mountain that Nanjing became the capital. Now it seems that in the next one or two years, Nanjing may become the political center of the Ming Dynasty again.

In fact, there have always been people in the high-level states of Ming Dynasty who did not particularly like Beijing. The wind and sand here are too strong, dry, uncomfortable to live, dangerous, too many enemies, and often on the front line. The Tumu Fort Incident and the later siege of Altan Khan of the Tatar during the Jiajing period have put the capital in a war atmosphere. Although they were all safe and smoothly spent in the end, many people still felt scared. Especially in recent years, the Tatars invaded three consecutive times, which has made Beijing a storm.

Now, the situation around Beijing is actually very bad. The north is Tartars and Mongols, and there is Zhang Zhun here in Shandong, almost surrounded Beijing. Maybe one day, Beijing will be broken. If Beijing wants to be safe, it must take the initiative to attack and eliminate all these enemies. However, unfortunately, no matter which enemy is in any aspect, with the current strength of the court, it is very difficult to solve. Even if one of them can be solved, it will end up exhausted and then eaten by others.

For example, in this time, no one in Beijing dared to pat his chest to ensure that Beijing would be safe and sound and would never be compromised by the Tartars. A 100,000 Tatar troops outside the city are said to have red barbarian cannons. It would be strange if the people in the capital were not worried. Instead of being so worried every day, it would be better to move south early and go back to Nanjing to live a stable life. In Beijing, you only need to send troops to station them.

At the beginning, Zhu Di moved the capital to Beijing, a big reason was to avoid everything left by Zhu Yuanzhang. As for the statement that the emperor guarded the country's gate, it was said by later people. Even if Zhu Di really had the idea of ​​the emperor guarding the country's gate at that time, it was no longer practical now. Because Beijing now cannot take on such a heavy responsibility. The Taurus cavalry could completely bypass the capital, go deep into the core hinterland of the Ming Dynasty, and continue to loot.

On the contrary, due to the encirclement of the capital, the transportation of money and grain, information communication, etc., the war situation across the country has been passive. If Beijing is given up, it is equivalent to abandoning these passives. If the Ming Dynasty's nerve center is in Nanjing, it can be mobilized in an orderly manner and step by step. There is no need to panic, but it is a sudden mistake and various problems arise.

In addition to the reasons for the war, there are also economic reasons. The supply of materials around Beijing is seriously insufficient and we must rely on the canal transport in Jiangnan. The cost of canal transport is very high. Jiangnan purchases grain, and only one stone of grain costs about one tael of silver. When the canal transport comes to Beijing, it costs at least two taels of silver, and five cents are added out of thin air.

Don’t look at the cost of each stone of grain, which only increases the cost of five cents. It’s a lot! Over time, it’s definitely not a small amount. Think about the millions of people in the capital, as well as the military towns such as Liaodong and Xuanda, all of them need to be carried out through the canal transport. What a huge expense! Where did the court’s annual fiscal revenue consume? The canal transport accounts for a large part.

Even the most conservative estimate is that the imperial court spends less than one million taels of silver on the canal transport every year. In some years, it even exceeds one million taels of 1.5 million taels. This is also the basic reason why the governor of the canal transport is so popular. It is a first-class beauty! As long as you move your hands and feet, fill your private bags and your private waist bags will swell like blowing a balloon.

This cost is not considered the cost of unblocking rivers and opening up new rivers. If these are included, the expenses of canal transportation will be even greater. The finances of the Ming Dynasty court were originally ineffective. If this expenditure could be saved, the finances would definitely be much more abundant. Therefore, from the financial perspective, moving south is also relatively cost-effective.

Moreover, the canal transport in the south of the Yangtze River is easily cut off. Especially in the future, Zhang Zhun controlled Shandong, and the chance of the canal transport being cut off is even higher. The canal transport is the lifeline of Beijing. Once the canal transport is cut off, Beijing and even the surrounding areas will slowly wither and eventually completely perish. Without canal transport, there will be no Beijing, but the northern country, which is almost a consensus.

Faced with such a dilemma, it is naturally not surprising that some people proposed to move south.

The benefits of moving south are obvious.

Since the Song Dynasty, Jiangnan has been the main exporter of the country's grain and wealth. The wealth of Jiangnan is well known to everyone. What is the familiar Suhu Lake and the world is full of the world, what is the endless Songjiang cloth and the endless Weitangsha describes the wealth of Jiangnan. For the Ming Dynasty, the wealth in the southeast half of the southeast accounted for more than 70% of the country's wealth.

Nanjing is surrounded by rich places, and materials can be replenished on site without the need for water transportation. The water system in Jiangnan is developed and the cost of water transportation is low. Jiangnan has not been damaged by war, so productivity can continue to develop. Jiangnan is also the base camp of Donglin Party officials. Ordinary gentry has a relatively strong support for the imperial court.

Without the heavy burden of canal transportation, the court could save a lot of money and manpower. Without the direct threat from the Mongolians and Tartars, the court's military expenditure could also be reduced a lot. After moving south, the threat of the Shaanxi chaos army could not be considered for the time being. Because until now, the Shaanxi chaos army has not had any substantial damage to Jiangnan.

The so-called endurance is calm, and a step back will make the sky wide open. If the court made a decision to move south under such a difficult situation, there would be some hope of saving the crisis. After throwing away the heavy burden on itself, it might be possible to go on the road lightly and survive for a while.

Of course, the disadvantages of moving south are also obvious.

Moving south means giving up the northern country and giving up the area north of the Yellow River. In the area north of the Yellow River in Ming Dynasty, the existence of Beijing is crucial. Only when Beijing exists can other towns exist. If Beijing does not exist, other towns will no longer exist.

This may be a bit profound. Simply put, it is the political center of the Ming Dynasty. If it is no longer in Beijing, then the entire northern country will be rapidly marginalized and gradually forgotten. Because, in terms of population or resources, the northern country is not as good as the southern country.

This is indeed very uncomfortable for a regime and an emperor. If the emperor is no longer in Beijing, no one can be sure of how long the guards he arranged can be in control of Beijing. Especially for the emperor who made such a decision, he would never be able to escape the label of a cowardly king.

Zhang Zhun was sure that Chongzhen, who was fond of face, would not agree to such a proposal. Even if he knew rationally that this retreat was actually a good choice. However, the civil servants were very powerful. If most civil servants agreed to move south, Chongzhen would probably have to surrender.

Judging from the general trend of history, it is actually feasible to move from Beijing to Nanjing when the situation is critical. If Chongzhen was willing to move south and go to Nanjing to preside over government affairs, the later Nanming would not be a mess, with all kinds of amazing strange phenomena.

The reason why the Southern Ming Dynasty collapsed so quickly was mainly because of internal disunity. There were several emperors alone. Everyone snatched the throne from each other, not fighting against the Tartars, but specifically hit their own people. One beat more and more fiercely. As a result, they caused both losses and died together, which made the Qing Dynasty take advantage in vain.

If Chongzhen went south or appointed the prince to govern the country in Nanjing, this situation would not have happened. As long as the Southern Ming Dynasty did not divide itself, it would not be easy to eat the Southern Ming with the power of the Qing Dynasty at that time. The cavalry of the Tartars could not be fully implemented in the Jiangnan region. Therefore, there was basically no problem to continue the history of the Southern Song Dynasty.

"The court still has such a way out..."

Zhang Zhun subconsciously touched his chin and slowly began to think about it.

If Chongzhen moved south, the Hu Ben Army would have some benefits. After the Ming army advanced south, there would be a short military vacuum in Shandong, northern Zhili and Shanxi provinces, and Zhang Zhun was still confident of controlling these areas. Even if the imperial court stationed troops here, it would be no match for the Hu Ben Army. After the Hu Ben Army controlled these places, it would not be small in terms of population or territory. As long as it developed, it would be just around the corner.

Shandong itself has a lot of resources. In addition, the iron ore in Hebei and coal mines in Shanxi can fully meet the needs of modern industrial development. Especially the coal mines in Shanxi can be dug out with a shovel, and it is not difficult to mine. The imperial court did not know how to use these natural resources, but Zhang Zhun understood it.

In addition, if the northern country is controlled, the problem of war horses will be basically solved. Outside the northern country is the vast Mongolian grassland. As long as it borders the Mongolian grassland, Zhang Zhun can get a large number of war horses. At that time, even the number of cavalry fighting with the Tatars one-on-one will be possible. As long as modern industry appears, not to mention blooming everywhere, as long as the prototype appears, the Tiger and Ben Army can easily defeat the Tatars even if they have a hand tied up.

If there really is one day when the Hu Ben Army needs to consider it, it will no longer be how to defeat the Tartars, but how to quickly industrialize, thus occupy the world and establish a stronger empire that will never set. Once the modernization task is completed, it will be no problem to swallow the six-way and sweep across the world.

Of course, at the beginning, the Hu Ben Army faced a lot of dangers. As soon as Chongzhen left, the pressure from the Mongols and the Tartars was all imposed on themselves. It can be said that as soon as the court retreated, the storm fell on the Hu Ben Army. In the north, the Hu Ben Army had to face the attacks of the Tartars and the Mongols. In the south, it was necessary to prevent the Southern Ming from making trouble. Even if it was possible to directly compete with Li Zicheng and others.

The four-war army, the four-war army! If such a situation really occurs, the Hu Ben Army will face threats from all directions in the west. Without sufficient troops and strong combat power, they will definitely be overturned by people's wheel battles. Beijing is too dazzling, and there are too many people staring at it. Of course, from a military geography, once it controls the surroundings of Beijing, it will be condescending and eyeing.

After all, I have to thank Chongzhen for saying this. Personally, Chongzhen has backbone and will not surrender easily. Otherwise, once he patted his butt and left a mess, Zhang Zhun did not have time to prepare. Maybe Shanxi and Beizhili would be taken first by the Mongols and Tartars. Even if the Hu Ben Army could be snatched back in the future, it would probably be razed to the ground.

The future is really full of variables. The development of history really has countless possibilities. The trajectory of history, if the line changes inadvertently, countless different results can be produced. Whether history changes in line depends on Chongzhen's thoughts. If he refuses to move south, the trajectory of history will not change much. If he agrees to move south, or acquiesces to move south, then the trajectory of history will change greatly.

Zhang Zhun's eyes slowly returned to Zhu Dadian and said slowly: "Where did your news come from?"

Zhu Dadian hurriedly said, "It was heard from Wen Tiren. Wen Tiren strongly opposed the migration south. The emperor also refused to move south. However, other cabinet ministers, the important officials of the six ministries, as well as the senior officials of Liaodong and Xuandajun Town, all agreed to move south in private."

Zhang Zhun nodded thoughtfully.

It seems that Chongzhen is under a lot of pressure!

The cabinet ministers and the six important ministers of the ministry demanded to move south, but the pressure was not very high. The two legions of Liaodong and Xuanda also demanded to move south, so the pressure was great. Gao Qiqian, Wang Kun and others definitely did not want to continue fighting with the Tartars, so they put pressure on Chongzhen and wanted to retreat to Nanjing. These people had no courage to kill the Tartars and did not have the ability to do so, but they were still very experienced in internal strife.

Once Chongzhen could not withstand the pressure from his ministers and was forced to "stoo agree" to move south, or sent the prince to Nanjing, it would basically be a foregone conclusion. Since this is the case, the Hu Ben Army would also have to prepare in advance. Since the northern country may change its ownership, it would not be destroyed too seriously by the Tartars.
Chapter completed!