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

Chapter 568: Military Power in the South

Chen Hong and Jiang Jiangong were shocked. They felt that this was the essence of the matter. There was no morality involved. It was purely about naked interests.
But it is because of this that this inference seems so reasonable.
Zhu Houxuan sighed deeply. Ever since the coup d'état was launched in the capital, Zhu Houxuan had a vague feeling about the real reason for the coup and had been thinking about it. The words he just said were the result of his recent thinking.

The reason why he could figure it all out so quickly was because he was a time traveler. What happened in the land of Daming was nothing new to him, and he could always find the answers from the history he knew before he traveled through time.

The current situation in the Ming Dynasty gives such a strong sense of déjà vu, it is exactly like the United States before the Civil War!

Likewise, the North is dominated by industry, while the South is dominated by agriculture;

The capital was also in the North, and most of the decisions made by the Northern government were in favor of industrial development, which harmed the interests of Southern landlords;
Under Zhu Houxuan's supervision, many hidden households have been cleared out in the north of the Ming Dynasty. However, due to the restrictions on transportation and communication in the south of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Houxuan's influence and control over the south was obviously not that strong. There are still a large number of hidden households and domestic slaves in the south. In a sense, these hidden households and domestic slaves are the Ming version of "black slaves", but these "black slaves" have political rights and are legally citizens of the Ming Dynasty.
So the current Ming Dynasty is exactly like the United States before the Civil War
Judging from history, Zhu Houxuan had no doubt that they would launch a rebellion, and their composition was more complicated. They were not only gentry, but also royal family, nobles, old military officers, etc., because they all controlled the population by controlling the land, and then further seized various interests. Zhu Houxuan had damaged the interests of not a gentry class, but the interests of the entire feudal privileged class for so many years.
"I now believe that they dare to launch a rebellion," Jiang Jiangong said seriously.

"They definitely dare. This decision is not difficult to make because they are not against the Ming Dynasty or the Zhu family. They are just against me. I guess that if they can achieve the final victory in this rebellion, the Zhu family will still sit on the throne in the end, and the imperial power may be further compressed. In their eyes, this matter may just be a matter of setting things right. If they think so, then wouldn't it be easier for them to make up their mind to launch a rebellion?" Zhu Houxuan said the frightening content in an indifferent tone.

Chen Hong and Jiang Jiangong exchanged glances, and could see a hint of shock in each other's eyes.
Your Highness' attitude today is a little too frank
"Your Highness, how do you think Jiangnan can raise an army that can fight against the Guards? Does it have anything to do with the accounts of the Ministry of War?" Jiang Jiangong decided to change the topic to one that he was more familiar with.

"Yes, I have reason to believe that they have already controlled the garrisons in the southwest. After all, those who are close to the water are first to see the moon." Zhu Houxuan said.

"The guard post in the southwest?" Jiang Jiangong's expression became serious. "Can they stretch their hands that far?"

"I said at the beginning that the scale of this rebellion could be large, so we must be prepared for the enemy!" Zhu Houxuan said.

Jiang Jiangong listened and nodded solemnly.
"What are you talking about? Can't you just speak more clearly?" Chen Hong couldn't help but interrupt.

"Do you still remember the Yang family rebellion in Bozhou in the 22nd year of Zhengde?" Jiang Jiangong said slowly.

"The Yang family rebellion in Bozhou?" Chen Hong frowned. "I don't remember it clearly. I just remember that the Yang family in Bozhou broke into the city and killed officials, which made His Majesty very angry." "Yes! It was this incident. At that time, His Majesty returned from the Western Regions with a great victory. He was very happy, but this incident dampened his interest and wanted to send a large army to attack. However, the guards were old and tired, and the attack on the Western Regions also cost a lot. The court was no longer able to send a large number of troops to the southwest. At that time, 3,000 guards were sent to attack Bozhou. However, the terrain in the southwest was complex and the climate was unfamiliar. Most of the guards were from the north and could not adapt to the local climate. Many people fell ill and did not play a big role."

"Then someone suggested that we needed local troops to attack Bozhou, but the local garrisons were poorly equipped and only used cold weapons, so they suggested re-equipping the garrisons in the southwest. Your Majesty agreed, and that year 100,000 Zhengde Type 16 rifles were sent to the southwest to re-equip the local garrisons. This move worked wonders, and the Yang family of Bozhou suffered a great loss at the time, and they submitted a petition to admit their mistakes," said Jiang Jiangong.

Zhu Houxuan nodded slowly as he listened. The garrisons in the southwest had been in constant war, always in a low-intensity war, and had been encroaching on the land of the local indigenous peoples to expand the territory for the Ming Dynasty.
One of the major achievements of the Ming Dynasty in history was the complete annexation and digestion of the southwest region.

It is precisely because of this that the soldiers in the southwest garrisons were relatively less exploited. After all, the officers of the garrisons depended on the soldiers to fight. If the soldiers were exploited too much, they would have to be careful of the arrows shot from behind on the battlefield.
It is for this reason that Zhu Houxuan's reform of the garrisons did not affect the garrisons in the southwest.
"Then in the 23rd and 24th years of the Zhengde reign, 50,000 Zhengde Type 16 rifles were distributed to the southwestern garrisons for replacement. Logically, there should be another 50,000 this year," Jiang Jiangong continued.

"This year's 50,000 Zhengde Sixteen-Type rifles were confiscated by me!" said Zhu Houxuan.

"According to what you said, there are now 200,000 Zhengde Type 16 rifles in various garrisons in the southwest?" Chen Hong asked in surprise.

"In fact, it's more than that. Don't overestimate the difficulty of manufacturing the Zhengde Type 16 rifle. After all, it uses technology from ten years ago. Those people in Jiangnan are capable of manufacturing the Zhengde Type 16 rifle themselves. They may not be able to compare with the Tangshan Military Factory in terms of manufacturing cost, speed and quality, but it is good enough." Zhu Houxuan reminded.

"There is even a gunpowder factory in Wuchang City, which was approved by His Majesty. The gunpowder it produces is exclusively for the southwest," Jiang Jiangong said, rubbing his temple.

"Ah?" Chen Hong completely understood the source of the southern rebels' military power.

"Moreover, the form of war has also changed. The characteristics of the Zhengde Type 16 rifle are that it is easy to operate and quite powerful. A farmer can go to the battlefield after training for a month or two. The Zhengde Type 16 rifle in his hand can pose a huge threat to a veteran of the Guards who has experienced many battles." Zhu Houxuan said in a deep voice.

Chen Hong suddenly remembered the battle of the line-up execution a few days ago. If the future war takes the form of that, the advantage of the Guards will be greatly reduced.
(End of this chapter)