Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 837 Military Ministers Are Like Enemy States

The desert is solitary and straight, and the long river falls into the sun.

In the heart of the Hetao Plain, as the sun slowly sinks below the western horizon, the temperature drops noticeably.

Wang Yue tightened his cotton-padded coat and gave Zhu Yong a self-deprecating smile: "I'm getting old, I can't stand the slightest bit of wind and frost anymore. I feel cold even like this. It wouldn't have been a problem before..."

Seeing Zhu Yong's empathetic expression, Wang Yue nodded and continued, "I have considered that there are probably dozens of Mongol tribes located east-west and north-south along the '几' shape of the Yellow River. It would be necessary to establish a governor's office here to govern them. And going east across the Yellow River to the Daqingshan line, it would be necessary to establish a governor's office in Weininghai and Maoerzhuang to govern them."

"If we want to effectively govern the entire grassland, we need to establish a governor's office south of the sacred mountain, near Guihua. That area is flat and has always been the core of the Tatars. If we can build a city there, we can even develop agriculture in the surrounding area, which will alleviate the burden on the court in allocating money and grain."

Zhu Yong asked curiously, "So, General Wang, you think that conquering the grasslands isn't actually that difficult, but rather how to govern them in the long term is the most important thing, is that what you mean?"

"You can say that."

Wang Yue smiled and nodded, “Everyone in the court thinks I’m crazy! I insist on leading troops into the Hetao region, but they can’t see the long-term picture! In recent years, the Tatars have stopped living and grazing in the Hetao region. This is thanks to the successive successful searches of the Hetao region during the Chenghua era, and also thanks to the repeated victories against the Tatars during the reign of the late emperor, which forced the Tatars to retreat to the Yinshan Mountains and dare not cross the Yellow River.”

"If the court were to abandon the Hetao region, given its abundant water and grass, the Tatars would soon rise to power. At that time, the balance of power between the Ming and the Tatars would shift, and the nine border regions would never be at peace."

Zhu Yongxin thought to himself, "So you mean the peace and tranquility of the Ming Dynasty is all thanks to you?"

But it seems... I'm involved too.

Thinking of this, Zhu Yong felt a surge of pride.

During the Chenghua era of the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty achieved a series of victories against the grasslands, which can be said to have reversed the decline of the previous decades. It was the most prosperous era for military affairs in the mid-Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty defeated the Tatars and forced them to retreat one after another. They even abandoned the Hetao region, which they had long cultivated.

The Yansui Garrison, located in the border region of the Ming Dynasty, was established to prevent the Tatars from invading Shaanxi and Shanxi from the Hetao region.

The abandonment of the Hetao region by the Tatars meant that the Ming Dynasty had faced the least pressure in terms of border defense over the past decade or so, since the Tumu Crisis.

Wang Yue said, "Sailing against the current, if you don't advance, you'll fall behind! While I'm here, I can ensure the safety of the Ming borders. But who can guarantee that the Tatars will remain law-abiding after I'm gone? We must not be so soft-hearted!"
“Originally, I was alone and isolated, unable to advance any further. Fortunately, you, Duke Baoguo, have arrived, bringing with you the new army that I personally trained and that is capable of sweeping across the world. Now I can finally put my skills to use. I plan to lead my troops across the Yellow River in half a month to find the main force of the Tatars for a decisive battle.”

“The problem is… as the weather gets colder, snow could fall anywhere north or south of the Yellow River, making the environment even more harsh,” Zhu Yong objected. “Why not wait until next spring to take action?”

Wang Yue laughed and said, "It is precisely because it is winter and the troops are not able to move easily that the Tatars will not be on guard. Do you remember the Battle of Weininghai a few years ago? At the beginning of this year, we also braved the wind and snow to advance. How wonderful it was!"

Zhu Yongxin said, "It would have been better if you hadn't brought this up, but now that you have, I get angry."

In the Battle of Weininghai, you sent me out as bait, making the Tatars think we were attacking on the southern front. As a result, you led your men to sneak up near Weininghai by day and night, and killed them in one fell swoop, achieving great merit, while I gained nothing!
How dare you use this as an example now?
"Duke Baoguo, you have made outstanding contributions and are now a hereditary duke. Why bother arguing with an old man like me who has been stripped of his title?"

Wang Yue seemed to be able to read Zhu Yong's mind, and said with a bitter face, "A well-fed man doesn't know the hunger of a starving man. You don't understand how eager I am to make meritorious contributions... I believe that you, Duke Baoguo, also intend to prove yourself in the court and become the number one military meritorious person, right?"

Zhu Yong solemnly said, "General Wang, it's not that I'm disobeying your orders, but... there's just too much criticism of you in the court these days, and the cold winter really isn't a good time to go on a campaign to the grasslands. Take firearms, for example... they'll always have problems after winter sets in, so it's better to wait until spring..."

Wang Yue smiled and waved his hand, interrupting Zhu Yong: "Firearms are most effective in cold and dry weather. We can't wait until spring or summer, when it's raining continuously, to fight a war. At that time, the gunpowder will be damp, making it difficult to even fire, let alone kill the enemy. Now is the perfect time!"
"Even if the weather is unpredictable, what falls from the sky will only be snow, which will not have much impact on the storage, transportation, or even use of gunpowder! Besides, do you know what the situation will be like next year? Will the court still agree to our military expedition? Since the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, why don't we give it a try?"

Zhu Yong thought to himself, "Isn't this the key point?"

Wang Yue said, "Come with me to the main tent, and I will show you the plans I have drawn up recently! We will then formally finalize the battle strategy..."

"We should send troops first, and then request permission from the imperial court. Otherwise, with those civil officials instigating things, who knows what might happen! If we have to wait for the imperial court to issue every order, I don't know how long it will take before we can achieve anything!"

……

……

After meeting Wang Yue, Zhu Yong deeply felt how crazy Wang Yue was.

Half an hour later, Zhu Yong came out of the camp and saw his son Zhu Hui, who was directing his troops and the new officers and soldiers to set up camp.

"Father, how is it? Are we going to join forces with Lord Wang tonight?" Zhu Hui asked as he stepped forward.

"Need not."

Zhu Yong waved his hand and said, "Let's set up a separate camp! Send down the order to rest here for three days, wait for the arrival of the follow-up troops, and then march north."

"But the Yellow River is just to the north."

Zhu Hui was quite surprised.

Are you leaving so soon after arriving?
Or should we advance north?

Zhu Yong didn't say much to his son in public. After the camp was erected, he called his son into the commander's tent and then expressed his concerns.

Zhu Yong said, "I thought His Majesty had acted too hastily, but I never expected that after coming here, I would realize how arrogant Wang Shichang is. He practically wears his arrogance on his face. It seems that the Tatars are not worth mentioning at all in his eyes."

Zhu Hui nodded: "That's completely understandable. Back in the previous dynasty, Minister Wang won almost every battle against the Tatars. And over the years, he probably still thinks the Tatars are the same disorganized group they used to be. Besides, as people get older, they tend to reminisce and take their past glories for granted."

“My son, you see this very clearly,” Zhu Yong said with emotion. “Wang Shichang is living in the past! Although it hasn’t been many years since he left the Northwest, the Tatars have undergone tremendous changes and are probably no longer as weak and vulnerable as he remembers them!”

Zhu Hui said, "We didn't bring many troops. If we head north now, won't we be at their mercy? Will it be similar to the situation in the Battle of Weininghai, where they transferred us to the flank while they led their troops to fight on the front?"

Zhu Yong shook his head: "It's hard to say right now. I'll decide on the plan after I've met with the garrison commander. He's currently in Ningxia Town overseeing the grain supply and isn't here. I'll have to wait two days before I can see Eunuch Cao."

"it is good."

Zhu Hui said, "Actually, it's not impossible for you to go to Ningxia to pay a visit first."

"Don't go!"

Zhu Yong said, "I think I've figured it out. Wang Shichang is now wary of us just like he is of the civil officials in the court who oppose him. In his eyes, no one is an ally anymore!"

Zhu Hui said, "What? He doesn't even trust us, so why are we rushing here to help him?"

Zhu Yong sighed, "There's nothing we can do about it. After all, we also need military merits. We can't give all the credit for advancing into the grasslands to him alone, can we?"

"Now that we have the powerful fighting force of the new army as our backing, and the Zhang family's abundant wealth as our support, and His Majesty so highly praises the achievements in pacifying the grasslands, we must do something to consolidate our position! This can also be considered as bringing fame to the meritorious officials in the court!"

Zhu Hui nodded: "That's right. Our Zhu family must strive to be the number one military family in the Ming Dynasty, otherwise people will always ridicule us for not being worthy of the title of Duke."

"Now that the army is out in the field, if Minister Wang doesn't rely on us, who else can he rely on? Zhang Xiaoguojiu? The Zhang family is very good at raising money and supplies, but as for military administration, they have not achieved any results so far."

"It seems that the Ming Dynasty's military expedition must proceed from the Hetao region. That young imperial uncle Zhang still has no intention of joining the army; it seems he wants to distance himself from the matter?"

"Ugh!"

Zhu Yong said, "I'm thinking, the young imperial uncle of the Zhang family also has a thousand new troops under his command. If we could draw a few thousand more from Datong Town and send troops directly from Zhenqiangbao and Juqiangbao to the grasslands, heading straight for Weininghai, it wouldn't be impossible!"

Wang Yue ignored the repeated orders from the imperial court to withdraw his troops from the Hetao region, suggesting that he had already planned to send troops out without requesting permission.

Although he had repeatedly complained to the court about the lack of money and food, given Wang Yue's arrogance, he should have been prepared to send troops at any time. As long as he led his troops into the grasslands, not to mention the lack of sufficient food and fodder, even if he was only given a thousand men, he could still make a great run into the Tatars' heartland by plundering along the way and using war to sustain the war effort.

This is the fundamental reason why Zhang Yanling, who lives in Datong, has been keeping Wang Yue out of the loop until now.

Zhang Yanling also made two preparations in Datong.

The image he projected to outsiders was one of constantly opening mines and factories, making a grand show of his ambition to amass wealth... But in reality, what he was trying to do was "take lives," launching an attack from Datong Town straight to the heart of the enemy.

Wang Yue's path was the light, while his path was the dark.

Not to mention the Tatars, even the people in the court would not have expected that Zhang Yanling, a mere relative of the emperor, who was not even a military officer and only held the nominal position of Vice Commander-in-Chief and Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, would dare to lead his army straight into the grasslands and even be the main force.

To ensure the smooth implementation of the plan, Zhang Yanling's side was equipped with a large number of new firearms.

The flintlock rifle was standard issue for Wang Yue's new army, but by the time he got here, he was equipped with a new type of breech-loading standard rifle, similar to the famous M1886 of later generations. For Zhang Yanling, preparing the detonator was not difficult. He was proficient in chemistry, which was an unusual skill in those days, and he discovered that there were intricate connections between medicine and military industry.

It's not difficult for him to produce one or two prototypes; the real challenge is how to mass-produce complex mechanical structures without machine tools after refining them—a task that's incredibly difficult.

We also need to ensure the preparation of bullets, detonators, and smokeless powder...

Given the current technology and the urgent time constraints before the war, many times the only option was for Ming Dynasty craftsmen to "make things by hand".

He had to admire the experienced arsenal workers in the Ming Dynasty who were skilled at manufacturing firearms. As long as they were given qualified steel, they could create highly sophisticated mechanical parts with just their hands and simple tools within a certain period of time.

Once these mechanical parts are assembled, and molds pressed from simple machine tools are used, new firearms can be assembled.

With the current production capacity, hundreds of craftsmen can only produce a little over a hundred new firearms a month... and many craftsmen also have to be assigned to press and assemble fireballs, which leads to a severe shortage of manpower.

In Zhang Yanling's view, if war were to break out before the end of the year, it would be quite good to have a thousand new muskets.

He had originally planned to manufacture a Gatling gun, but after careful consideration, he realized that while it was highly practical, it required too much logistical support and might not be as effective as a breech-loading cannon in actual combat. Therefore, he had to put the plan aside for now and focus on manufacturing the most advanced rifle first, gradually industrializing it.

He stayed in Datong to prepare for the military expedition.

As for mining... all he could do was find those relatively easy-to-mine veins, temporarily not using the resources of merchants, but relying directly on the soldiers of Datong Town to mine them. The coal extracted would not be sold to outsiders, but mainly used for smelting steel and then manufacturing weapons on the spot.

……

……

Capital.

After Zhang Yu finished her postpartum confinement, she resumed management of the weaving workshop.

As empress, she didn't have to take care of her children herself, and because of the emperor's favor, she could be said to have the power to do whatever she wanted... Also, because her younger brother was not in the capital, no one found her any stories or interesting things to do, so she could only find things to do to pass the time.

Managing the weaving workshop and watching large quantities of cloth being produced bring in substantial revenue for the imperial court, turning into gleaming silver, was a very fulfilling experience for her.

Who says I, the empress, have to rely on men to live?

I don't want to be just a pretty face!

I can bring in a lot of income for this family...

Regardless of age or gender, everyone in the Zhang family is capable of standing on their own. Even if I become empress, I must still demonstrate my abilities to the world!
With the large-scale production of cloth, the prices of weaving materials in the capital, especially cotton and linen, have continued to rise. Due to the supply shortage, the imperial court had to discuss increasing the planting of cotton and linen in various regions.

"Isn't wearing silk clothes better?" When Lady Jin entered the palace that day and saw her daughter, she learned about her daughter's current predicament and couldn't quite understand.

The husband has been staying away from home and refuses to come back. One of the two sons refuses to see him, and the other would rather not see him at all!
With such a family, and a daughter who is an empress, why doesn't she live a life of luxury and instead thinks about weaving every day?

Do you think of yourself as the Weaver Girl?

Zhang Yu said, "Before entering the palace, I thought the same thing. Who wouldn't want to wear silk clothes? But Mother, in our family before, it was considered good if each person had a set of silk clothes, right? Who in an ordinary family could afford to wear them? Even if they could, they weren't qualified to wear them, were they?"

After thinking for a moment, Jin asked, "Can't ordinary people wear this? I remember when I married into the family, there were a lot of silks in my dowry, and they even had backings."

Zhang Yu said, "Is Mother trying to say that she comes from a wealthy family?"

"I have no right to decide my own birth."

Jin said impatiently, "I just want to ask when the war in the Northwest will end? And what about the Marquis of Shouning... your father? Can he resign from his official post and come back to the manor?"

Jin's visit to the palace this time clearly indicates that she has something to ask for.

She hopes that everyone in her family will return to home.

The Zhang family is now on the verge of collapse.

"It's not appropriate to interfere in men's affairs, is it?"

Zhang Yu hesitated and said, "Mother, let's talk about weaving instead... If you have some free time, you might as well learn how to weave, so that everyone in the family will have something to do."

"I still don't want to."

Madam Jin shook her head and sighed, "I don't have that ability... Perhaps we can let my daughter learn it when she grows up."

Zhang Yu frowned and said, "What did Mother say? Why does it sound so distant?"

Ms. Jin said impatiently, "It's your sister who needs to learn! She's ten years old now, and she doesn't have anything to do at home."

"Aren't you reading?"

Zhang Yu said, "He even said he'd help her marry into a good family in the future!"

Jin said, "She's not very good at it... Besides, what's the point of a girl learning so much?"

Zhang Yu suddenly realized that, without realizing it, a generation gap had formed between her and her mother, making communication surprisingly difficult.

“Mother, everything is fine in the manor now, there’s no need to change anything!” Zhang Yu said. “Father is doing great things, and Yanling is doing great things too, let them do it! They’re not helping outsiders, they’re helping your son-in-law! His Majesty needs our family now, so we must do our best. Once he no longer needs us, even if we want to become officials and serve His Majesty, we won’t have the chance.”

Jin frowned and said, "If they don't have a chance, let them come back..."

Zhang Yu shook his head firmly: "When I have some free time, I will talk to my father and ask him to use his connections in the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War to transfer a batch of cotton and linen from the south... Prices in the capital have gone up again. Cotton and linen are almost more expensive than the cloth we are making!"

Madam Jin said with a dark face, "I won't say, I won't say! If you want to talk, please let Her Majesty the Empress find someone to talk to us! Now that the whole family is involved, perhaps it would be better to live a peaceful life in Xingji!"

Zhang Yu said, "Mother is now adorned with jewels. Do you really wish we could go back to the days when we were poor? Now we have everything we could ever want. Isn't that better?"

Ms. Jin thought for a moment.

On one hand, she longed for the days when her family lived together and she constantly complained about her husband's lack of ambition; on the other hand, she felt that the current wealth and luxury were wonderful.

Always wanting to have both.

Zhang Yu said, "It's getting late, I'll have someone escort Mother out of the palace now... I have some fabric here, Mother, please take it with you when you go back."

"No more."

Mrs. Jin shook her head and said, "The fabric in the house is almost piled up like a small mountain. Is it really true that they take whatever they're making and bring it all home?"

Zhang Yu waved his hand and said, "I don't have anything else to give... If Mother feels that there is too much cloth in the house, she can give it away as a reward. Anyway, it's our own stuff, so no one will say anything if we take it back! Even if we sell it for money, it's better than having it piled up in the storeroom."

Jin said, "Why weave so much if you don't need it?"

Zhang Yu said, "Who says we don't need them? Everyone needs clothes to wear. It's winter now, and if we put the fabric on the market, it'll definitely fetch a good price!"
“Mother, don’t be ungrateful. Our family is living a good life now, but most people in the world are still starving and freezing! We must put the interests of the people first.”

"what?"

Jin was stunned upon hearing this.

I thought to myself, "Listen to this, is this even human language?"

I can't even take care of myself, how can I take care of the world?
Hmph, this whole family is going crazy!

(End of this chapter)