The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 481: The Jungle of the Survival of the fittest

The world today is a jungle where the strong prey on the weak.

These days we must try every possible way to utilize all resources to engage in militarism.

If you don't engage in warmongering, while others do, you will become the weak and others will become the predators.

Although Wanli seemed to be teaching the second prince Zhu Changxu, he was actually also trying to figure out what to do next.

The Age of Exploration launched by European colonial powers was actually quite cruel.

In this era, there are no rules between countries. The whole world is like a primitive jungle where the strong prey on the weak.

Any country on the map has two choices: either become a vulnerable country or a prey of the strong.

This is a question of choice and has little to do with the foundation itself.

Perhaps, some countries think that they are already too powerful to become weak. Just look at Spain at this moment.

The maritime overlord at that time was truly extraordinary. According to later statistics, the Spanish colonial empire had a territory of more than 30 million square kilometers at its largest!
With their crazy plundering, the resources are truly inexhaustible.

What’s the result?

Perhaps, some countries feel that they are very weak, with no people and no resources. Then look at the Netherlands at this moment.

At this time, the population of the Netherlands was only about one million, and its land area was only more than 30,000 square kilometers.

Who could have believed that they would become the overlord of the sea?
However, historical facts have proved that he really became the overlord of the sea. Although they gradually withdrew from the struggle for hegemony at sea because their homeland was too small and their population was too small, they were indeed the overlord of the sea.

So, it's a matter of choice and has nothing to do with anything else.

If you choose to be the strong, you will always be able to get some meat. If you choose to be the weak, you will be torn apart by others.

It seems that there is no need to think about what the Ming Dynasty will choose. It will definitely choose to become a predator.

However, in history, the Ming Dynasty chose to become the weak!

This is historical fact.

Historically, it was not just the Ming Dynasty that made wrong choices during this period.

The maritime hegemon Spain also made the wrong choice. They felt that they were already extremely powerful and there was no need to develop military force.

As a result, they were beaten to the ground by the Netherlands, their former colony with a population of only a few million.

The same was true of the Ming Dynasty. During the Hongwu and Yongle dynasties, the Ming Dynasty was at its peak and extremely powerful. Renzong and Xuanzong also believed the evil of the civil officials and began to stop fighting and support the people.

The result was that they were destroyed by the Jiannu, a former vassal state with a population of less than one million!

This shows the importance of choice.

Now in Wanli's case, natural selection has become the law of the jungle.

His eyes were as cold as a beast in the jungle as he stared at the map again and again, and a blueprint for the future gradually emerged in his mind.

At this moment, the Ming Dynasty can no longer be polite like a weak scholar. It must pick up the territory that should be picked up and seize the territory that should be seized.

For example, Australia, this huge piece of land is a must-see.

For example, in America, the Ming Dynasty would not only not seize all of this larger territory, but would also swallow it up along with the Indian vassal states.

There is also the northern part of Nurgandusi, Mobei, and even the Siberian Khanate, which must all be taken.

More than three million troops are definitely not enough for such a large territory. Not to mention taking it down, even defending it would be a bit difficult.

So what to do?

In fact, there is precedent for this.

That is to cultivate the vassal state legion.

Now the Twelve Battalions of Korea, a vassal state, completely obey the command of the Ming Dynasty. They are equivalent to the Ming Dynasty's troops and will do whatever they are told to do.

The Indian vassal states in America can actually be cultivated, as they have many more people.

There are also the Ming Dynasty's garrison troops, which can also be trained slowly. As the Ming Dynasty's territory becomes larger and larger, we must also find ways to make the garrison troops stronger and stronger so that there will be enough manpower.

Wanli stared at the map for a while, then asked, "Guozhu, you said that the American Indian vassal states can now mobilize over a million troops?"

Li Guozhu nodded repeatedly and said, "Yes, Your Majesty, they have plenty of able-bodied men. The key is that they don't have weapons and equipment."

Weapons and equipment are nothing to the Ming Dynasty. I can't possibly equip them with muskets and cannons. Cold weapons are now made at will in the Ming Dynasty. We have as many as we want. Wanli nodded slightly and then asked, "Are their men strong?"

Li Guozhu nodded repeatedly and said, "Yes, Your Majesty, their original tribe is actually a bit like a nomadic tribe, except that they don't raise cattle, they hunt them.

They didn't actually have much land to farm, so it was just enough to supplement their food supply. Their staple food was still meat and goat's milk, so their men were all very strong and muscular."

well.

Wanli pondered and said, "This time you should go over and tell Zhaolong that we need to change our strategy.

We don't need to teach them how to open up wasteland and cultivate land, or build water conservancy projects, as that is too troublesome. Since they are used to nomadic life, we can teach them how to raise cattle, sheep, and horses.

If they don't have enough cattle, sheep, or horses, we can exchange them for land or rent it to them. We can also give them smoked meat, smoked fish, and grain to ensure they have enough to eat."

what?
Our army is now in danger of not having enough food over there, how can we guarantee that they will have enough to eat?
They are not just a few people, but two or three million people!
Upon hearing this, Li Guozhu pointed at the map and said carefully, "Your Majesty, there are actually quite a lot of plains over there. The area beyond this mountainous area to the west is almost all plains. They can just clear some wasteland and plant some crops and they'll be able to eat their fill.

If we were to bring food and meat to feed them, we would need too many ships, as they have a population of 20 to 30 million."

I know there are many plains over there, and more than ten or twenty billion acres of land can be developed.

However, we cannot do that.

Wanli shook his head slightly, then explained in detail: "Guozhu, you don't know the difference between nomadism and farming.

Farming means that most people settle down to open up wasteland and cultivate crops, and rely on grain as their staple food. This way, their bodies may not be as strong as those of nomads, but after settling down, they have time to think about how to make weapons and equipment.

Nomadism is different. Nomadism means moving around everywhere and eating mainly meat and dairy products. This will definitely make the body strong, but there is no way to settle down and figure out how to make weapons and equipment.

Now we can say that we mainly rely on farming, and the weapons and equipment we produce can be said to be the best in the world.

Do we really need Indian territories to figure out these things?"

What does this mean?
Li Guozhu thought about it carefully, then said cautiously, "Your Majesty, I'm going to ask you, do you mean that you don't want them to figure out things like muskets and cannons?"

You are really smart, kid.

This is a world where the strong prey on the weak. We cannot allow our vassal states to become strong prey, or to become ferocious beasts that can prey on the weak alone. We must let our vassal states know that they can only eat meat if they follow us, otherwise they will become weaker.

Wanli nodded slightly and said, "Yes, we don't need them to figure out muskets and artillery, we just need their able-bodied men.

Our territory is already very large now, and it will be even larger in the future. Whether it is to expand the territory or to defend the border, it will require a lot of people and troops.

We have now recruited more than three million troops, but this number is far from enough for our vast territory.

So, what should we do? Should we continue to recruit as many men as needed?

This is definitely not an option. Recruiting soldiers requires food and wages, and fighting wars requires military rewards. Our current food and wages are already terrible enough, and the military rewards when a war breaks out will be even more terrible.

If we continue to expand recruitment indefinitely and use all our own troops to fight, we will eventually be unable to hold on.

In this case, training a vassal state legion is the best option. They have ready-made men, and we don't have to pay for their food and wages. We only need to provide them with weapons and equipment.

Therefore, it is best for Indian vassal states not to think about how to make muskets and cannons. They only need to provide strong warriors.

Of course, I don’t mean to suppress them.

If they send people to follow us to fight, they will definitely benefit from it. We can provide them with enough cattle, sheep, horses, meat, food, daily necessities, etc.

This way, their lives will get better and better, and our strength will also become stronger and stronger. Why not do it?"

Oh I see.

Li Guozhu nodded slowly and said, "Your Majesty, we are essentially using the able-bodied men of our vassal states to develop our military power in disguise, right?"

You are really smart, kid.

Wanli nodded approvingly and said, "Yes, you can say that. We must do everything we can to develop our military strength. If we don't have enough manpower, we can use the manpower of our vassal states.

Go tell Zhaolong that this is the focus of our future strategy in the Americas. His mission is to try to make the Indian vassal states loyal to the Ming Dynasty and obey us completely. To achieve this, we can pay with weapons and equipment, cattle, sheep, horses, meat, grain, daily necessities, and so on."

Li Guozhu heard this and nodded slowly. "I understand. Your Majesty, I dare to ask you, how are we going to transport these things?"

This is indeed a big problem.

North America is thousands of miles away, and they must have enough ships to transport these things over.

(End of this chapter)