Chongzhen's domineering

Chapter 280: Mobilizing Forces in the South China Sea to Plot at Sea (Part 1)

Just as Zhu Jue was preparing to march into the South Seas, Huang Taiji had just led the Jurchen cavalry back to Liaodong.

At this time, most of Liaodong had already been recovered by the Ming army. If the vast mountainous area where Dingliao Right Guard was located were included, then Liaodong had been recovered by 80% or 90%.

At this point, Huang Taiji could only roam around the area north of the Hun River, specifically the line between Shenyang, Tieling, and Fushun Pass.

Sun Chuanting seemed unsatisfied; he actually amassed a large army and began constructing a city more than twenty miles southwest of Fushun Pass.

The city was so huge it was terrifying. Each wall was more than ten miles long, and it looked even bigger than Liaoyang.

Liaoyang City can easily accommodate 500,000 to 600,000 people. If Sun Chuanting really garrisoned 500,000 to 600,000 troops there, then Fushun Pass and Shenyang would be in danger.

This is because Shenyang is less than 100 li southwest of Fushun Pass. Sun Chuanting built a city more than 20 li southwest of Fushun Pass, and the city wall was more than 10 li long. So it was only 50 or 60 li away from Shenyang.

The key point is that about 20 li east of Fushun Pass is Sarhu, and less than 100 li south of Sarhu is Hetu Ala, the stronghold of the Jurchens.

In other words, if Sun Chuanting were to cross the river and attack, he could reach Fushun Pass in less than an hour and Shenyang in less than a day. If he were to head east without crossing the river, he could reach Sarhu in less than a day and Hetu Ala in two days.

Once this city is built, heavy troops must be stationed along the line of Shenyang, Fushun Pass, Sarhu, and Hetu Ala. Otherwise, if Sun Chuanting launches an attack, it will be disastrous if he captures any of them.

Where did the Jurchens get so many troops?
Huang Taiji was in so much pain that he almost vomited blood.

Zhu Jue, however, was full of ambition and was just waiting to send troops to the South Seas to plot his maritime ambitions.

In early August, the second batch of small and medium-sized Zhiyuan merchant ships at the Beijing Shipyard were nearing completion.

Around 1:00 AM that morning, Zhu Jue, along with Zheng Zhilong, Wang Chengen, Fang Zhenghua, and others, headed straight for the Beijing Shipyard.

At this time, Wang Zheng, Song Yingxing, Lu Xiangsheng, and others were all waiting in the dock.

As soon as Zhu Jue entered the shipyard, he asked impatiently, "Liangfu, how much longer until these Zhiyuan merchant ships are completed?"

Wang Zheng estimated, "Your Majesty, the small Zhiyuan merchant ships will be completed in two days, the medium-sized Zhiyuan merchant ships will probably take another three days to be completed, and I estimate that it will take about five more days to complete all one thousand Zhiyuan merchant ships."

This means that they will be able to send troops to Southeast Asia in five days.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly and then asked, "Chang Geng, how many sets of equipment, including boilers and water-cooled fans, have been prepared for making ice and fertilizer from saltpeter?"

Song Yingxing estimated, "It should be close to two thousand sets. We should be able to gather two thousand sets in five days."

This set of boilers and water-cooled fans is enough to cool off ten households. If it were to be used to build barracks, it would be no problem to build ten ten-person rooms. In other words, each set could provide cooling off for one hundred soldiers or able-bodied men. Two thousand sets would cost two hundred thousand.

Zhu Jue pondered, "Jian Dou, Xiong Wencan has already sent word that he has no problem recruiting 100,000 young men to go to Southeast Asia to cut down trees."

The two thousand sets of equipment that Chang Gung prepared are enough to cool off two hundred thousand people, which means that we need to bring at least two hundred thousand people over in this first batch.

The naval officers and soldiers are mainly responsible for operating the ships; it's unlikely they'll be stationed there for defense. Therefore, in addition to the officers and soldiers operating the Zhiyuan warship, you'll need to prepare 100,000 troops.

This means the loss of over 100,000 men, including those controlling the Zhiyuan warship. There simply aren't enough men to go around.

Lu Xiang-sheng slowly nodded and said, "Your Majesty, I understand. One hundred thousand soldiers are no problem. The problem is, with such a large force, shouldn't we send a capable general to command them?"

This is true too.

The South Seas are not a peaceful place; they just need to be developed.

Right now, the Dutch are frantically seizing colonies over there, and so are the British and French, who are also eyeing the South Seas.

If they don't send a capable leader there, let alone develop Southeast Asia, it will be a question whether they can even hold onto their territory there.

The problem is that almost all of his capable subordinates have been sent to Liaodong, and the rest have almost all been sent to the Americas. Lu Xiang-sheng doesn't have any capable subordinates left.

Zheng Zhilong does have Zheng Lian and Zheng Cai commanding troops in Zhejiang, Zhili, Fujian, and Qiongzhou respectively. However, it's not feasible to have all the troops outside under Zheng Zhilong's confidants, as the Zheng brothers already control enough troops.

Zhu Jue thought about it carefully, and then solemnly asked, "Jian Dou, what do you think of You Zhen?"
At this point, Gao Yingxiang and Zhang Xianzhong are both tied down by Yun Teng, and even their self-preservation is in question. Advancing into Northern Zhili is virtually impossible, and there's no need for Youzhen to remain stationed at Zhenbao any longer.

Zhu Youzhen, the martial arts champion of the Wuchen year?
This young man happens to be from a military household of the Guangzhou Left Guard under the Guangdong Provincial Military Command, so he should be able to adapt to the climate of Southeast Asia. Upon hearing this, Lu Xiang-sheng nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty is wise, Youzhen is indeed excellent."

Then it's Zhu Youzhen.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly and said, "Well, then quickly send a fast ship to pick him up and bring him back to the capital. I still need to give him some detailed instructions."

Lu Xiang-sheng nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty, I understand."

Now that the troops have a commander, someone else needs to be in charge of developing the area.

Military generals are good at defense and even transporting supplies, but when it comes to real development, civil officials are needed.

The problem is, at this point, the inner court seems to have no officials left to send. Xu Guangqi has gone to the Americas, and even his prized disciple Guan Shaoning has gone to Huguang and Bashu to promote the cultivation of tea, mulberry trees, and Chinese medicinal herbs. Who else can he send?

It seems that we can only let Xiong Tingbi take charge of Nanyang for the time being. After all, he was in charge of recruiting the labor force for the development there, so it should be convenient for him to manage it.

As Zhu Jue was pondering this, Lü Zhi suddenly strode in, holding a memorial, and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, Lord Sun has come to report."

This shouldn't be anything wrong in Liaodong; Lü Zhi looks perfectly normal.

What could that be?
Zhu Jue took the memorial and understood it after reading it.

Sun Chuanting has already begun building a city southwest of Fushun Pass, and he has also ordered people to carefully survey the coal mines there.

It was indeed a huge open-pit coal mine. If there were enough people to mine it, it's hard to imagine how much coal it could produce in a day.

The problem is that the soldiers and civilians from Liaodong Town who were originally sent to mine coal all wanted to farm, because mining coal meant no money or food, and even eating was a problem.

Sun Chuanting's idea was to see if the soldiers and civilians in Liaodong Town could also be paid some wages so that they could have enough to eat and wear, and only then would people be willing to mine coal.

He definitely has to pay the wages. There are plenty of coal and iron mines in Liaodong. He plans to develop the area on a large scale, build cities and factories, and produce steel on a massive scale.

If you don't pay people their wages and no one does the work, then development will definitely fail.

Not only should the wages be paid, but they should also be paid according to the standards of the capital region, so as to mobilize the enthusiasm of the soldiers and civilians in Liaodong.

Zhu Jue thought for a moment and then decisively said, "Go and tell Boya that all soldiers and civilians in Liaodong Town who are willing to work in the coal mines will be paid."

If they can mine 1,000 catties of coal a day and 30,000 catties a month, they will be paid 3 taels of silver a month. If they can mine 2,000 catties of coal a day and 60,000 catties a month, they will be paid 6 taels of silver a month.

"Let's calculate it this way: one tael of silver for every ten thousand catties of coal mined. This money will be allocated from the Imperial Treasury. Once you get there, have Boya tally up how many people are willing to work in the coal mines and how many catties of coal they can mine per day. Then you can collect the silver from the Imperial Treasury and pay them their wages."

The wages are too high. That's an open-pit coal mine. A strong young man can definitely dig more than 2,000 catties of coal a day. If he digs like crazy, he could dig 3,000 or 4,000 catties a day, which would be more than 10 taels of silver a month!
Lord Sun was worried that no one would be willing to mine coal.

Now, the soldiers and civilians of Liaodong Town will probably be scrambling to mine coal.

Should I remind His Majesty?
The cost of starting a business like this is terrifying; it could easily be hundreds of thousands of taels a month.

Never mind, His Majesty probably just wants the people and soldiers in Liaodong to mine coal like crazy.

I won't say anything more.

Lu Zhi was taken aback for a moment before quickly bowing and saying, "This servant understands."

Should we talk to Sun Chuanting about the development of Liaodong now?

Zhu Jue thought about it carefully and decided to give up.

They don't lack steel right now. Liaodong hasn't been fully recovered yet, so it's not suitable for large-scale development. Besides, development in Southeast Asia is just beginning. He doesn't have the energy to manage the development of Liaodong. Let's talk about it later.

He thought for a while, then raised his hand and waved.

Lu Zhi quickly cupped his hands, bowed, and took his leave.

(End of this chapter)