While the war in Jiangnan was in full swing, Chongzhen was not idle either.
He is preparing a series of big events.
The first thing is to mobilize troops.
He divided the newly recruited soldiers into two parts, sending one part to Jizhou and the other part to Juyongguan.
This will liberate Tang Tong, who is guarding Juyongguan.
Next, he transferred Tang Tong to Xuanfu to garrison.
This is the first battlefield against Li Zicheng and the Mongols. With his elite troops in charge, Yan Yingyuan will be under much less pressure.
Gao Di from Jizhou was transferred to Jizhou Town by Chongzhen.
Jizhou Town is not the same place as Jizhou.
The Jizhou in the Ming Dynasty is today's Ji County, and the Jizhou Town is today's Santunying Town in Qian'an.
Wang Yongji was transferred to Jizhou by Chongzhen.
In this way, the entire northern defense line was completed.
From east to west, from outside to inside, they are Wu Sangui of Shanhaiguan, Gao Di of Jizhou Town, Wang Yongji of Jizhou, Huang Degong of Miyun and Juyongguan, Yan Yingyuan and Tang Tong of Xuanfu, Li Xingzhong of Baoding, Liu Wenyao of the capital, and Li Xianzhong of the imperial city.
If the Jiannu invaded the pass again, with the buffer time of the Great Wall, the Ming army would be able to gather 100,000 troops quickly.
No, strictly speaking, we can gather an army of 200,000 to launch a counterattack.
Especially the new troops, after more than half a year or even nearly a year of training, they are already capable of fighting.
Although they are not as powerful as the border troops, they are much stronger than ordinary troops.
The second thing Chongzhen planned was to further relax the maritime ban.
During the Longqing period, the Ming court adjusted its maritime trade policy and allowed private individuals to trade in the East and West Oceans, which is known in history as the Longqing Opening.
but...
The Longqing switch is a one-time limited switch.
At that time, only one customs was open in Yuegang, Jianzhang Prefecture, and all merchant ships engaged in ocean trade along the coast had to go to Yuegang to handle ocean trade procedures. And they could only enter the port for inspection and leave the port for the sea.
At the same time, all ships must apply for ship routing and commercial pilotage.
(The ship's license is equivalent to the later driving license, and the business license can be understood as the business license.)
Previously, there was only one customs house in Yuegang. If possible, he planned to open a customs house in Shandong, Nanzhili, Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and Guangdong respectively.
In this way, the Ming Dynasty had five customs offices, which could further expand trade.
Especially official trade.
Prior to the lifting of the maritime ban, private trade had developed.
This time he wanted to carry out official ocean trade.
Sell the Ming Dynasty's tea, silk, and porcelain in exchange for gold, silver, timber, oil, and even sugar cane.
At that time, sugarcane in the Ming Dynasty was mainly grown in Guangdong, Guangxi and Fujian.
Affected by agricultural technology and weather, sugarcane farmers of that era relied entirely on the weather for their livelihood.
Therefore, the planting area and yield are not high.
But the situation in Nanyang is different.
The environment there is very suitable for sugarcane growth and the yield is very high.
Sugarcane is the raw material for making sugar.
Sugar was a luxury in ancient times, but a strategic material in modern times.
Why can it become a strategic material?
First, it has a long shelf life and is also a natural preservative.
Second, it can quickly replenish energy and nutrition in a short period of time.
Three can stop bleeding and accelerate wound healing.
Especially the second point, its importance on the battlefield is self-evident.
For example.
The two armies fought, and the Ming army defeated the Jiannu, but before they had time to rest, they encountered another group of enemy forces.
If every soldier had a piece of candy to replenish his strength.
Then we are fully capable of fighting again.
This can catch the enemy off guard.
After listening to Chongzhen's analysis, Li Ruolian subconsciously said: "Your Majesty, further opening the sea ban will harm Zheng Zhilong's interests. Now the war in the south has reached a critical moment. I think it is best to wait a little longer."
Chongzhen thought about it and felt that what Li Ruolian said was right.
Zheng Zhilong monopolized the maritime trade in Fujian.
If the ships leaving Yuegang did not fly Zheng Zhilong's flag, they would be attacked by pirates.
Of course, the so-called pirate was none other than Zheng Zhilong’s subordinates Li Kuiqi, Yang Liu, Yang Qi, Zhong Bin and others.
Once the maritime ban was lifted, ships would no longer have to go to Yuegang, which would indirectly break Zheng Zhilong's monopoly and damage his interests.
"Could it be that Zheng Zhilong would rebel?" Chongzhen asked while thinking about the possibility of this matter in his mind.
"It's hard to say!" Li Ruo Lian frowned, hesitated for a moment and then continued: "Your Majesty, a few days ago, a batch of grain ships arrived from Fuzhou. When they were unloading in Tianjin, they revealed a piece of news that Zheng Zhilong had transported a batch of grain, cotton and linen to Japan a few days ago."
"But as far as I know, island countries like Japan do not have much demand for food, cotton and linen. What they need are mainly raw silk, fabrics and books."
“So this trade is very strange.”
"When did it happen?"
"A month and a half ago!"
"Could it be that Zheng Zhilong was trading with Korea or the Jiannu?"
"It's possible, but there's no evidence."
Chongzhen frowned and fell into deep thought.
Zheng Zhilong was neither loyal to the emperor nor patriotic, he was a thorough businessman.
The behavior of businessmen is not controlled by themselves but driven by interests.
As long as there is profit, they are willing to do anything.
"Let's do this. Issue an order to the Ministry of War, Ministry of Revenue, and Ministry of Works, asking them to prepare to build warships. In name, it is to increase the strength of the Guanliao Dengjin navy, but in fact it is to guard against Zheng Zhilong." Chongzhen said to Wang Chengen.
"I accept your order."
Chongzhen would not take the initiative to go to war with Zheng Zhilong. He wanted to play psychological warfare with Zheng Zhilong.
Once Huang Fei's navy is large enough, he will take the opportunity to open the other four ports for maritime trade.
In addition, in order to combat pirates, he would have the navy escort merchant ships.
In this way, the differences between the two sides are exposed.
If Zheng Zhilong dared to disguise himself as a pirate and attack the merchant caravan, it would be tantamount to declaring war on the Ming Dynasty.
Chongzhen now had a reason to deal with Zheng Zhilong.
If he doesn't dare, he can only watch his interests being damaged.
At the same time, in order to reduce naval expenditures, he would ask the accompanying merchant ships to pay for escort fees.
Merchant fleets would certainly be willing to pay to ensure the safety of their goods.
The navy not only gained navigation experience, but also received escort fees, which reduced the court's naval pay expenditure.
It can be said to kill two birds with one stone.
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