Chongzhen's domineering

Chapter 317 Tai Chi Starting Line: The Restoration of Liaodong (Part 2)

Sun Chuanting was somewhat bewildered. In the past, he would always come directly to pay his respects, but this time Fang Zhenghua actually stopped him, saying that His Majesty was discussing important matters with someone.

With whom does Your Majesty discuss important matters?
They walked into the main hall of Yuxi Palace with curiosity on their faces, and were immediately stunned.

Good heavens, it seems all the ministers of the inner court have come, along with three imperial fathers-in-law, Lu Xiang-sheng, Wei Zhongxian, and others.

There were more than a dozen people sitting in the lobby; he had never seen such a large scene before.

It seems His Majesty does indeed have something very important to discuss; no wonder Fang Zhenghua stopped him.

He was taken aback for a moment, then quickly cupped his hands and bowed, saying, "Your humble servant greets Your Majesty."

Zhu Jue nodded slightly, then raised his hand and said, "Bo Ya, you've come at the right time, come and sit down."

Sun Chuanting looked around and realized that there seemed to be only one empty seat to His Majesty's left.

Should he sit in this position?

He had no choice but to bite the bullet and walk over, then respectfully sat down.

Seeing his travel-worn appearance, Zhu Jue couldn't help but ask, "Boya, why did you come all the way back? Has something big happened in Liaodong?"

That's not the case.

Sun Chuanting quickly explained, "Your Majesty, I have learned that the Jurchen cavalry are using warhorses and wagons to transport the elderly, women, children, and their belongings to the Khorchin grasslands. They have taken more than 100,000 people with them in one trip."

The Horqin Grassland has also organized a large number of oxcarts and horse-drawn carriages to pick them up. I estimate that if they keep going like this, within half a month, all the Jurchens in Liaodong will probably be taken to the Horqin Grassland.

"Your Majesty, I believe the Jurchens feel that Shenyang and Fushun Pass are indefensible, and therefore intend to flee to the Khorchin grasslands. Your Majesty, what do you think? Should I send cavalry to intercept them?"

The Jurchens have actually started to flee!

Upon hearing this, Zhu Jue's face immediately turned solemn.

The Jurchens' escape was actually a good thing for them, because with the Jurchens gone, they could easily reclaim the entire Liaodong region.

The problem is, the Jurchen cavalry is still around. Once these guys run off to the grasslands beyond the Great Wall, they become a major threat, even more troublesome than the Northern Barbarians of the past.

Is this a good thing?

The scourge of the northern barbarians dragged down the Ming Dynasty for nearly two hundred years.

The Jurchens were far more formidable than the northern barbarians.

However, the Ming Dynasty of today is not comparable to that of the previous two hundred years. Even the Ming Dynasty during the Hongwu and Yongle reigns was far less powerful than the Ming Dynasty of today.

The Jurchens wanted to emulate the Northern barbarians' invasion, but they were not without ways to deal with it.

Let's leave that for now; they're discussing important matters.

He thought about it carefully, then slowly shook his head and said, "Forget it, don't pursue a desperate enemy. Huang Taiji must have thought that you might send cavalry to ambush them. You don't have enough cavalry under your command right now, and you'll probably suffer a great loss if you go to ambush them. Let them go."

"Perfect timing! We can seize this opportunity to reclaim Liaodong and then develop the entire region."

Do you want to develop Liaodong?
Upon hearing this, Sun Chuanting was taken aback.

He didn't come here to ask about developing Liaodong.

However, he was only stunned for a moment before nodding repeatedly and saying, "Your Majesty is wise. The Jurchens have all fled, making it much easier for us to recover Liaodong."

As for the development issue, he didn't dare to speak about it, because he hadn't considered it yet, and it wasn't his forte.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Jue nodded slightly, then asked, "I ordered you to search for iron and coal mines in Haizhouwei and Liaoyang. Have you found any?"

I found this one.

Sun Chuanting nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty, I have found it. There seem to be quite a few iron and coal mines over there. I just sent some people to look for them and they were found."

There are quite a few iron and coal mines over there, which is perfect, as there are also many soldiers and civilians in Liaodong. We won't need to recruit able-bodied men from other places to mine there.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly, then asked, "How many soldiers and civilians are there in Liaodong now? If we want to conscript able-bodied men for work, how many can we recruit?"

I haven't calculated this in detail yet.

Sun Chuanting estimated, "There are still more than two million soldiers and civilians in Liaodong, most of whom are under thirty years old. There are not many over thirty. If we conscript able-bodied men to work, I estimate that conscripting four or five hundred thousand should not be a problem." So many able-bodied men would be perfect for mining.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly and then asked, "Where are the iron and coal mines in Liaodong mainly located?"

Sun Chuanting quickly pointed to the map and explained, "Your Majesty, the iron mines in Liaodong are mainly located in the area between Liaoyang and Haizhouwei. There may be more in the mountains to the east, but I have not yet sent anyone to investigate in detail."

The coal mines in Liaodong are distributed along the area from Fushun Pass to Dingliao Youwei, especially on the south bank of the Hun River, where it seems like there are coal mines everywhere.

Well, the coal mine and the iron mine aren't far apart.

Zhu Jue stared at the map and thought about it carefully, then decisively said: "We need to build five cities between Haizhouwei and Shenyang, one every fifty li or so. Two of them will be between Haizhouwei and Liaoyang, and three between Liaoyang and Shenyang."

As for the specific location of the city, Boya, you decide. In short, we need to build a defensive line in central Liaodong, a line that the Jurchens cannot break through, no matter whether they come from the east or the west.

These cities must be able to accommodate at least 100,000 troops, and at the same time, steel mills and foundries must be built inside. The steel production must reach at least one million catties per day, and the rail production must reach hundreds of miles per day.

"Lord Yuan, these cities are now under your responsibility. Bring all available artisans and able-bodied men there. Boya will be in charge of recruiting able-bodied soldiers and civilians from Liaodong. No matter how many men are recruited, these five cities must be completed this year."

Upon hearing this, the Emperor's father-in-law, Yuan You, quickly nodded and said, "Your Majesty, I understand."

Zhu Jue thought for a moment and then instructed, "Yuan Jiu, from now on we will make two kinds of tracks. For those in the city and factories, make them 150 jin for 10 feet. For those outside the city, make them 100 jin for 10 feet."

Upon hearing this, Song Yingsheng nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty, I understand."

The next step is to lay the tracks.

At this point, steel and rail production haven't picked up yet, so a full-scale rollout is impossible.

Zhu Jue thought for a moment, then pointed to the map and explained in detail: "This year we will lay the track between Beizhili and Nanzhili. We will lay the track along the Grand Canal from the capital to Zhenjiang Prefecture, and then from Zhenjiang Prefecture to Nanjing."

"Tian Guozhang, this is your responsibility. You will recruit able-bodied farmers along the route to lay the tracks. Recruit as many able-bodied men as you need. Don't worry about wages. The point is, we must lay the tracks to Nanjing this year."

Upon hearing this, the Emperor's father-in-law, Tian Hongyu, nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty, I understand."

Zhu Jue then instructed, "Zhongxian, the land acquisition along the way is now in your hands. Connecting the capital and Nanjing is only the first step. Next, we will lay tracks in all the larger cities along the Grand Canal, and we will also extend the tracks to both sides of the Grand Canal. This land acquisition will probably take several years."

That's great! Now I'll have something to do for the next few years.

Upon hearing this, Wei Zhongxian nodded repeatedly and said, "This servant understands."

Zhu Jue thought for a moment, then pointed to the map and instructed, "Lord Meng, the bridges along this railway line are entrusted to you. We need to build steel bridges on the Yellow River, Huai River, Yangtze River and other rivers along the line, and they must be steel bridges that can support trains weighing hundreds of thousands of kilograms. What do you think? Any problems?"

This is obviously problematic.

However, building a steel bridge is different from building a stone arch bridge. As long as there is enough steel, it can cross any river or lake, no matter how wide.

Bi Maokang thought about it carefully before slowly nodding and saying, "It's not a big problem. Your humble servant will try to finish building these bridges this year."

That'll do.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly, then asked, "Do you have any other questions?"

Upon hearing this, Song Yingxing couldn't help but ask, "Your Majesty, if I may be so bold, should we develop a steam locomotive as well?"

Developing this steam locomotive was no easy feat; it would take at least several years to mass-produce it.

Zhu Jue slowly shook his head and said, "Steam trains are not in a hurry. We don't have enough time to develop them or enough manpower to build them in large quantities. More importantly, steam trains need to travel everywhere, so it's difficult to keep them secret."

This steam engine is our core secret; we can't reveal it yet. Let's wait and see about the steam train."

Uh, okay.

Upon hearing this, Song Yingxing nodded somewhat listlessly and said, "Your Majesty, I understand."

After Lu Xiang-sheng finished speaking, he couldn't help but ask, "Your Majesty, I dare to ask, once the tracks are laid, won't a large number of horses be needed to pull the carriages?"

"Nowadays, all the horses in the capital region that can be used to pull carriages are being used; we simply don't have any horses left to pull carriages."

There aren't enough horses?
Zhu Jue was taken aback upon hearing this.

(End of this chapter)