There's nothing wrong with saying that, since the Ming Dynasty is indeed constantly strengthening its control over these harsh and cold regions.

Although it seemed quite good, Zhu Yunying was still somewhat dissatisfied because it couldn't meet some of his demands. What he needed was more and stronger control over the Ming Dynasty.

Having sufficient control and an absolute desire for control is a characteristic of Joo Yoon-young; he genuinely dislikes the feeling of things slipping out of his control.

"That's true, but although our Great Ming Dynasty has troops stationed there, it's far from enough," Zhu Yunying said with a smile, but then reminded him, "Liaodong is bitterly cold now, with long winters. If the court didn't transport cotton cloth and quilts from other places, it's hard to say whether the troops could survive the winter."

This was also Zhu Yunying's honest opinion, mainly because the infrastructure in Liaodong was really too poor and the living environment there was indeed too harsh.

Even though Zhu Yunying had been busy advocating for the cultivation of more cotton, environmental limitations were often unavoidable.

For example, some areas in Liaodong were indeed not the most suitable for growing cotton, which is why the imperial court had to constantly transport cotton cloth to Liaodong and the Nine Border Regions. It was indeed not an easy task for the border troops to get through the winter.

Zhu Yunying smiled and said, "Liaodong is indeed too harsh now. Even for military households, living here is not an easy thing."

Lan Yu, unconcerned, offered a very good suggestion: "Your Majesty, our dynasty has repeatedly defeated the Mongol Yuan dynasty, capturing countless prisoners. Although we have also dispersed and resettled many Tartars, relocating them to Liaodong is also a viable option."

Xu Huizu immediately frowned and retorted, "Duke Liang's words are inappropriate. The reason why the dynasty disperses and settles those Tartars is precisely because it is worried that these Tartars will gather and cause trouble. If these people are settled together, they might try to seize weapons and rebel."

At this moment, Li Jinglong immediately spoke up, saying, "I second your opinion. If the Tartars are concentrated and settled, they may become too powerful. Once there are rebels, these people will occupy Liaodong."

Lan Yu was even less concerned, and said confidently, "This is not difficult. As long as these people dare to cause trouble, we dare to kill them! Our Great Ming can drive the Tartars back to the Mongolian steppe, why should we worry about these insignificant little guys?!"

Lan Yu was so domineering and confident, and perhaps many Ming Dynasty soldiers also possessed such confidence and self-assurance.

Although the late Yuan Dynasty was a chaotic period with numerous separatist forces and rebel armies, the reality was that even though the Yuan Dynasty was beginning to decay, its brutal rule truly left many people feeling miserable and disillusioned.

Even a weakened camel is bigger than a horse; the Ming Dynasty's ability to establish its dominance over the country naturally meant that its army was strong and well-equipped. The court's repeated defeats of the Mongol Yuan Dynasty gave the Ming soldiers the confidence to look down on those Tartars, giving them a significant psychological advantage over the nomadic peoples to the north.

Li Jinglong then spoke up, saying to Zhu Yunying, "Your Majesty, the Duke of Liang's plan is probably inappropriate. Our Ming Dynasty's warhorses mostly need to be bred by those Tartars. If all the Tartars are moved to Liaodong, the number of warhorses in our dynasty will be greatly reduced."

There is no doubt that separating and settling the captured Tartars was due to concerns that they might incite unrest.

However, while assimilating and weakening these Tartars, the Ming Dynasty also hoped to leverage some of their advantages, such as horse breeding, as their value and capabilities were still worthy of the court's trust.

After all, a large part of the vast grasslands were under the control of the Ming Dynasty. The breeding of warhorses was something everyone was eagerly anticipating, and something the Ming Dynasty absolutely dared not be careless about.

Although the Ming Dynasty's soldiers currently have a significant psychological advantage over the nomadic tribes, it's unlikely that they no longer value cavalry.

After all, in the era of cold weapons, cavalry was a truly strategic military force. A powerful cavalry could give many people a sense of confidence, which was also a decisive trump card that a truly great dynasty should have.

Zhu Yunying nodded slightly. What Li Jinglong said was indeed quite reasonable. The Ming Dynasty dared not be careless in building its cavalry force; that was a fact. It was indeed difficult, but without a sufficiently powerful army, a dynasty could not be considered truly powerful.

If you don't believe me, just ask the Song Dynasty, whether it's the Northern Song or the Southern Song. They were essentially the same. They were very wealthy, but they were repeatedly ravaged by foreign tribes.

Before the advent of machine guns, nomadic peoples were always a major threat to agrarian civilizations. Even though Zhu Yunying is currently busy developing firearms, and the power of firearms is indeed constantly increasing, Zhu Yunying also knows that some things cannot be neglected.

Lan Yu was naturally somewhat unhappy, mainly because he thought he had come up with a very good suggestion, but it was repeatedly opposed by his colleagues.

What's even more problematic, and what makes it difficult for Lan Yu to back down, is that both Li Jinglong and Xu Huizu are juniors in his eyes, which is something Lan Yu somewhat 'looks down on'.

If Xu Da or Li Wenzhong confronted him, Lan Yu would probably just accept it. Even if he was somewhat arrogant and domineering, he knew that he didn't really have much confidence in front of some people, but it was a different story in front of others.

This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!