Although the Ming army will expand in four directions, namely Liaodong, Southwest, Mekong Province, and Nanyang, there are also priorities.
Compared with the bitter cold in Liaodong and the disasters of the Little Ice Age, although there are rye and potatoes, development is still much slower than in the south.
Therefore, the emperor carefully calculated the resources invested in Liaodong's advance, advancing steadily and without haste.
However, the emperor had high hopes for the immigration and construction development of Mekong Province.
With the suppression of the She'an rebels, Mekong Province received support from 10,000 strong soldiers, and the pace of expansion naturally accelerated. The current land area has more than doubled compared to two years ago.
The Ming army in Yunnan was also expanding. Fifteen thousand troops were stationed in Yunnan Province to suppress the rebellion. The weak ones in Yunnan Province were disbanded and the strong ones were retained, and they were strictly trained. Now there are more than 30,000 strong troops ready to fight at any time, ready to recover the lost territory and repeat the Ming Dynasty's various envoys.
Of course, the Toungoo Dynasty of Burma would be the main target of attack. Although there was no plan to destroy the country in one battle, making the already declining Toungoo Dynasty even worse was a definite strategic goal.
In addition, the Maritime Merchants Association recruited retired officers and soldiers and trained officers sent by the court. It also had more than 3,000 well-equipped paramilitary forces in Borneo and gathered tens of thousands of Chinese and overseas Chinese, thus completely establishing a firm foothold.
With these arrangements for foreign wars and plunders, and the fact that the Jiangnan region was not severely affected by the disaster, the emperor had strong confidence in surviving the major disaster.
When it comes to the impact of the Little Ice Age in history on the Ming Dynasty, it would be more appropriate to define it as three parts natural disaster and seven parts man-made disaster.
The same is true now. Both the grain from overseas and Jiangnan, as well as other resources, are sufficient for the Ming Dynasty to survive the peak of the Little Ice Age.
But this is only theoretical. The final result still tests the court's overall planning, the government's operational efficiency, and the officials' diligence and dedication.
For example: how to transport food supplies to the disaster area to provide relief to the victims, whether it can be done in a timely manner, and whether the distribution is fair, these are all key factors in determining whether the impact of the disaster is large or small.
Especially in that era, factors such as transportation capacity and communication speed posed considerable constraints on disaster relief.
But the constraints can be solved and overcome. The emperor believed that since preparations had been made several years in advance, the tragic scenes in history would not happen again.
"The Censorate." The emperor turned his gaze to Bi Zisu. Seeing him come out and salute, he gave a solemn order: "Send officials to supervise and inspect local officials. Those who are corrupt or incompetent in disaster relief will be severely punished."
"I obey your order." Bi Zisu bowed and agreed.
Besides the Censorate, the Imperial Household and Imperial Guards would also be busy. This great disaster not only tested the wisdom of the emperor and the strength of the Ming Dynasty, but also served as a great test for the officials.
The greedy are mediocre and inferior, while the honest and diligent are superior. Unless something major happens, it is not easy to tell who is capable and who is mediocre.
The emperor nodded and said thoughtfully, "Shaanxi has suffered a great disaster, and famine is everywhere. From the court to the local people, we should all work together to overcome this difficult time."
The ministers listened attentively, not knowing what the emperor meant. It sounded as if he wanted them to donate money and supplies.
"I will first allocate 200,000 yuan from the treasury for disaster relief." The emperor said slowly, without any special expression. "Also, the salaries of the vassal states in Shaanxi will be suspended this year. They will be paid once the disaster situation eases."
Shaanxi was originally a barren land, yet it had six vassal kings. However, the Qin Wang, who was enfeoffed in Xi'an, was imprisoned in the capital, the An Wang, who was enfeoffed in Pingliang, was abolished because he had no children, and the Zheng Wang, who had been relocated to Huaiqing Prefecture in Henan, now only three remain in Shaanxi.
In the seventh year of the Tianqi reign, Zhu Changhao, the Prince of Rui, was enfeoffed in Hanzhong. The emperor had no intention of releasing him and adding burden to the local area. Including the Prince of Hui and the Prince of Gui, they were all staying in the capital!
But even so, the emperor still stopped the salaries of the three princes of Shaanxi under the pretext of a major disaster.
Anyway, these three princes had wealth and would not starve to death without their salaries. The emperor had not yet planned to abolish the feudal system completely, but he was just in a bad mood and wanted to punish these three.
The emperor's attitude towards the vassal states was becoming increasingly clear. In addition to taking back the salt profit privileges, he also took back all the estates granted by the emperor and paid them salaries in silver.
This also cut off the root of the vassal states' encroachment on farmland and the disturbance and harm to the people. Anyone who dared to offend the emperor would be imprisoned.
The emperor knew that the vassal states could not rebel, and even if they did, they would not cause any disturbance. It was the common people at the bottom of society, who were the gravediggers of the Ming Dynasty because they could not eat.
Therefore, dealing with the vassal states would at most earn him a bad reputation, but it would have no impact on his throne.
The officials in the court also had a bad impression of the princes. The emperor wanted to temporarily withhold their salaries, and no one dared to offend him and speak for the princes.
"Dismiss the court!" Seeing that no one spoke anymore and receiving the emperor's gesture, Wang Tigan stretched out his voice and announced the end of the court meeting.
Before the Minister of War Xiong Tingbi left the Meridian Gate, he was stopped by palace servants and taken to the Qianqing Palace.
"Your humble servant pays homage to the emperor. Long live the emperor, long live the emperor!" Xiong Tingbi walked into the hall and bowed.
"Mr. Xiong, please stand up." The emperor smiled and waved his hand, saying, "Please take a seat!"
Xiong Tingbi kowtowed again before sitting down on the embroidered cushion.
"How are the preparations for the Burmese invasion going?" the emperor asked directly, "Can we launch the campaign as scheduled after the Frost Descent?"
Yunnan was plagued by malaria. Although there were some preventive measures, the emperor still agreed to the military plan formulated by the Ministry of War to launch a large-scale campaign after the malaria subsided after the Frost Descent.
Xiong Tingbi bowed and said, "Your Majesty, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War is currently supervising in Yunnan Province. According to the latest report, the punitive operation can proceed as scheduled."
After a pause, Xiong Tingbi continued, "We have contacted all the chieftains in Yunnan Province and can mobilize over 30,000 local soldiers."
The attack on Burma was not an independent action of the Ming army. The chieftains who sent troops could obtain land and spoils after the war. This was also a means for the emperor to weaken the chieftains at home and reduce the number of casualties of the Ming army.
In addition, the emperor also sent people to Siam to contact and jointly attack Burma. You know, Siam and Burma are enemies, and Siam is very pro-Ming and is a good ally.
By gathering all available forces, the emperor could cripple and destroy Burma in one battle. Even destroying the country was not impossible.
After listening to Xiong Tingbi's report, the emperor felt relieved and instructed to strengthen the defense in the north.
The great disaster had a greater impact on the northern nomadic peoples, namely the Mongolian tribes. Nomadic peoples, with their single mode of production, were far less capable of resisting disasters than agricultural peoples.
As the disaster continued and intensified, the pastures moved south, food became scarce, and it was foreseeable that the Mongolian tribes would take risks.
For example, Huduntu was already dissatisfied with the naturalization of the Inner Khalkha and other tribes into the Ming Dynasty. The impact of the disaster made it very likely to transfer internal conflicts to external wars and plunder.
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