I am the prince of the Ming Dynasty, I don't give up

Chapter 445 Yang Tinghe's Doubts
During the three years that Yang Tinghe was away from Beijing due to mourning, he missed the period when Zhu Houxuan was the regent and all the wars against Mongolia.
Yang Yiqing smiled and nodded, saying, "I was thinking the same thing. I wonder what Jiefu wants to talk about."

"Just a casual chat." Yang Tinghe said, "Brother Yingning, do you think His Majesty can be persuaded by us?"

"Your Majesty is no longer the same as he was three years ago. His Majesty's power has grown over the past three years. We, the cabinet ministers, have long been unable to persuade His Majesty. The only one who can persuade His Majesty is Prince Jing." Yang Yiqing sighed.

"Oh? What do you mean?" Yang Tinghe looked very interested.

"Your Majesty holds all the military power. The 150,000 guards only obey your Majesty. The Ministry of War cannot control them at all. In this case, how can we possibly persuade Your Majesty?" Yang Yiqing gave a bitter smile.

"And His Royal Highness Prince Jing is in charge of all logistical work of the Guards, so only His Royal Highness Prince Jing can persuade His Majesty." Yang Yiqing continued.

Yang Tinghe nodded silently. He had been away from the political center of Beijing for more than three years, and the changes in these three years were really huge.
"Ever since I returned to my hometown to observe mourning, I heard in my hometown that Your Majesty has been fighting wars year after year, three wars in three years, and now he is preparing for the fourth war. Moreover, the Guards are also constantly fighting with the Mongols in the north. The frequency of the war is too high. Even during the time of Taizu and Taizong, there were no such frequent wars," Yang Tinghe spoke again.

Yang Yiqing counted his hands and continued to listen to what Yang Tinghe said.

"A country may be big, but it will perish if it loves war. I originally thought that the continuous wars would surely lead to the decline of people's livelihood in the northern provinces, and the people would suffer greatly. But on the way to Beijing, I saw that the people in the northern provinces were living and working in peace and contentment, with no signs of being affected by the war. Some places can even be said to be well governed. I really can't understand this." Yang Tinghe said with a frown.

After listening to Yang Tinghe's words, Yang Yiqing pondered for a while and said, "I have had the same doubts as Jiefu before. In fact, there are some things that I still don't understand. I can only tell you what I understand."

"Brother Yingning, please speak. I'm all ears." Yang Tinghe said quickly.

"Actually the reason is very simple, that is, His Royal Highness the Prince of Jing is willing to spend money," Yang Yiqing said, spreading his hands.

"Throw money?"

"Yes, it means spending money. In the past, when the imperial court launched a war, it had to first collect food and grass from the people, and recruit a large number of civilians to transport food and grass for the army. These civilians were recruited by the imperial court free of charge and compulsorily. I don't know how many people missed farming time and missed things because of this. When they arrived on the battlefield, they were in danger of fighting without any weapons to protect themselves, which was even more dangerous. In addition, there were corrupt officials who exploited them, so many people lost their families and lives because of this, so the people suffered deeply," Yang Yiqing said slowly.

Yang Tinghe nodded in agreement.

"But the logistics of the Guards became very different in the hands of His Royal Highness Prince Jing. It must be said that the railway is really a military weapon. With the railway, the consumption of transporting food to the front line has been reduced a lot. With less food transported to the front line, fewer civilians need to be recruited. And with fewer civilians recruited, the civilians consume less food, so even fewer civilians are needed."

"Just because of the railway, the number of civilians and food supplies required for your Majesty to launch a war is much lower than before." Yang Yiqing's expression became strange.
After listening to this, Yang Tinghe thought for a moment and nodded heavily, saying, "That's right. Emperor Taizong launched five northern expeditions to Mongolia, and each time he mobilized an army of 500,000 to 600,000. Of these, only 40,000 to 50,000 actually went to the northern desert to fight the Mongols, and the rest went to maintain the food supply. Therefore, each northern expedition was extremely costly. After each northern expedition, the northern provinces had to rest for four to five years before they could save enough money and food to launch another northern expedition."

"It seems that railways are indeed beneficial to the country and the people," said Yang Tinghe.

Yang Yiqing also nodded and continued, "Ever since His Royal Highness Prince Jing took over the regent, there have been very few large-scale conscriptions in the northern provinces. Any major project requires hiring people with money, and the civilian laborers for the various wars against Mongolia were all conscripted with silver money. It was all voluntary and never forced. His Royal Highness Prince Jing used people from the Royal Group to manage these civilian laborers, and the management was quite meticulous. I haven't heard of any vicious incidents. In addition, the Guards won every battle, and the casualties among the civilian laborers were very small. Therefore, the people did not think it was a hardship, but instead rushed to apply." "Moreover, the Royal Group provided many job opportunities, allowing ordinary people to have more opportunities to make money. The Royal Group has branches throughout the northern states and counties, which has made many officials restrained a lot. That's why you feel that many places in the north can be considered well governed, so His Majesty can launch wars continuously without affecting the people..." Yang Yiqing said.

"It's so, it's so..." Yang Tinghe murmured.

"His Royal Highness the Prince of Jing's influence is spread all over the north, and he controls the court. Doesn't that mean Your Majesty..." Yang Tinghe was shocked.

Yang Yiqing immediately understood the unfinished meaning of Yang Tinghe's words...

His expression became even stranger, and he said, "I understand what you mean. My opinion is exactly the opposite of yours. I think your Majesty's throne is as stable as Mount Tai. There is no possibility of it being usurped, no matter who it is..."

Yang Tinghe showed a thoughtful expression...

"Your Majesty, in your left hand is the imperial power, in your right hand is the real military power, and you also have brilliant martial arts... No one can touch your Majesty's throne..." Yang Yiqing said in a low voice.

Yang Tinghe nodded expressionlessly...

"I even think that the reason why Your Majesty trusts and...allows...indulges His Royal Highness the Prince of Jing so much is because he has this confidence...Your Majesty is very smart..." Yang Yiqing continued.

Yang Tinghe thought about it carefully and had to admit that what Yang Yiqing said made sense...

"Then how much money will His Royal Highness the Prince of Jing spend? Where does he get so much money?" Yang Tinghe brought the subject back to the main topic.

After all, corvée labor is a disguised form of taxation, and the labor of the people is also an invisible wealth. In the Ming Dynasty, the burden brought to the people by corvée labor was no less than that of taxes.

Zhu Houxun actually reduced corvée labor in disguise, and at the same time, he also spent money to hire people to do corvée labor. Yang Tinghe really couldn't understand this operation.
"I don't know. His Royal Highness Prince Jing can always use various means to produce money... No one knows how much money he has..." Yang Yiqing said.

"Produce silver and money?" Yang Tinghe was speechless again.

"Yes, because I don't understand it, so I have this feeling." Yang Yiqing said with his hands spread out.

While Yang Tinghe and Yang Yiqing were talking, the protagonists of their conversation were also having a conversation.
"Can we fight this battle?" Zhu Houzhao asked Zhu Houxuan while staring at him.

(End of this chapter)