"In fact, according to our original intention, we must slow down for a while."

"But we hope you can be a little more impulsive. The current Ming Dynasty can fully bear it, so you don't need to worry too much, grandson."

Stay and develop, or seize the opportunity.

Zhu Ying’s judgment was not accurate, but fortunately he had the old man around.

When Zhu Yuanzhang heard Zhu Ying's dilemma, he smiled and said.

After hearing these words, Zhu Ying naturally made a decision in his heart.

He replied: "Then let Bei Yuan fall into complete chaos."

If we don't fight now, we will definitely have to fight in the future.

In terms of national strength, the Ming Dynasty was a hundred times stronger than the grassland.

For the Northern Yuan Dynasty, which was facing external and internal troubles, this was naturally a better time. Even if the Oirat or the Eastern Chagatai Khanate got involved, what would it matter?

They are all alliances of tribes, so there are bound to be many contradictions among them, but there is always a chance.

Moreover, by controlling the war on the grassland, it will not have any impact on the people's livelihood and economy in the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at his eldest grandson's determined look and said, "We know that your eldest grandson has great ambitions. In the future, he will definitely not just stay on the grassland, but even go further."

"But you have to remember one thing. In war, there will always be casualties. Territory is always built with blood."

"Don't be reluctant to give up. Only by giving up can you gain. Even if the 40,000 cavalrymen in the grassland military base are wiped out, it doesn't matter. Most of those cavalrymen are soldiers from the grassland. They are just money and food to our Ming Dynasty."

"As long as the Ming Dynasty develops steadily, we can build a second and third military base."

"It doesn't matter if we fail once, twice, or three times, but as long as we succeed, the entire grassland will belong to our Ming Dynasty."

At this moment, Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes revealed dominance and ruthlessness.

He knew very well that Zhu Ying cared too much about casualties.

Even the cavalrymen who had been trained on the grasslands were reluctant to leave.

But as the old saying goes, you can't command an army with kindness, and you can't catch a wolf without sacrificing your own children.

When it's time to hit, just hit with all your might.

Listening to the old man's admonition, Zhu Ying nodded seriously and said, "Grandson understands."

That day, Zhu Ying informed the grassland military base.

Agree with Liu Buyi's memorial.

It is said that food and fodder must be sent ahead before the army moves.

Now that the decision has been made to fight, we must start logistical preparations.

The entire northern border area is considered barren. Even though there are high-yield crops now, the people here can only barely make ends meet.

If we want to support the operations of the grassland military base, we must mobilize supplies from the southern region.

The reason why Zhu Ying has this confidence is that the key point is the construction of the North-South Avenue, which has greatly reduced transportation losses and increased speed.

The main body this time is not the Qun Ying Chamber of Commerce. Relying solely on the Chamber of Commerce, it is impossible to sustain such a large-scale military operation, and can only use the national treasury.

This requires an edict from Zhu Yuanzhang.

According to normal rules, it would naturally have to be done through a court meeting.

Zhu Ying knew very well that there would definitely be other civil officials involved.

Sure enough, during the morning court session the next day.

When Zhu Ying proposed to use the military base as the center and conduct radiating activities to the surrounding areas, it didn't take long for a civil official to stand up and ask:

"May I ask Your Highness, the Crown Prince, does this activity mean that we are going to conquer other tribes on the grassland?"

Zhu Ying took a look and saw that the person who spoke was a senior official from the Ministry of War. He nodded and said, "That's true."

The head of the Ministry of War continued to ask, "If I remember correctly, there are nearly 40,000 cavalrymen at the grassland military base. I wonder how many cavalrymen Your Highness is planning to mobilize."

Zhu Ying replied calmly, "30,000 cavalry."

When these words were spoken, the court was suddenly shocked.

What does 30,000 cavalry mean?

At the end of last year, the Northern Yuan Dynasty dispatched nearly 200,000 cavalry, which sounds like a small amount.

But that was the effect of all the cavalry of the Northern Yuan Dynasty gathered together.

And there might be some unqualified people among them.

The 30,000 cavalrymen at the grassland military base are real combat soldiers.

The consumption required is extremely huge.

After these words were spoken, the head of the Ministry of War was speechless for a long time.

I really don’t know how to answer this.

Thirty thousand cavalry.

Apart from the Northern Yuan court, there are also tribes that cannot be conquered. This is not just an activity, it is clearly an attempt to stir up a bloody storm on the entire grassland.

At this point, the head of the Ministry of War lowered his head and obediently returned to the train.

This matter was no longer something he, a head of the Ministry of War, could talk about. He had to get the Shangshu out to discuss it.

The Minister of War, Ru Heng, raised his head slightly and looked towards His Majesty, his expression calm and without any reaction.

Obviously, the grandfather and grandson had already discussed this matter a long time ago, and bringing it up in the court was just a formality.

If anyone is tactless and dares to stop it, he will definitely suffer the consequences.

But not speaking is not an option either.

No one objected, and all agreed. Wouldn't it make the ministers in the Fengtian Palace seem useless? They only knew how to flatter.

Ru Hong tilted her head slightly and looked at the Minister of Revenue Zhao Mian.

Zhao Mian felt Ru Hong's gaze and immediately looked away.

Ru Hong was speechless.

It was clear that Zhao Mian wanted to take the lead.

After all, it was the chief of the Ministry of War who came first.

Feeling somewhat unhappy, Ru Hong glared at the head of the Ministry of War who had just spoken.

The head of the Ministry of War only felt a sharp pain in his mouth.

Complaining in my heart.

How would I know that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince would make such a big noise? This is considered a collision.

Ru Rong was no novice either. She came up with a solution immediately after thinking about it.

He immediately stepped out of the ranks, bowed, and said, "Your Highness, the Great Ming army is now strong and powerful, with 30,000 cavalry available on the grassland alone."

"The Northern Yuan Dynasty suffered a blow at the end of last year. It is facing external and internal troubles. This is definitely a great time to send troops."

"I just don't know what His Royal Highness intends. Should the people of the conquered tribes follow the army or migrate to the territory of the Ming Dynasty?"

Zhu Ying replied casually: "Of course, they will migrate to the territory of our Ming Dynasty. The population in the north is declining now, and migrating people from the grassland is just the right time to fill the barren land in the north."

With just one sentence, Zhao Mian, who had been listening, understood that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was going to implement a population reduction policy on the grassland.

As this cycle continues, a large number of tribal people in the entire Beiyuan grassland will become farmers, and the population on the grassland will naturally be greatly reduced.

The insufficient population will naturally not pose any major threats to the Ming Dynasty.

Upon hearing this, Ru Hong immediately stated that the entire Ministry of War would fully support the decision of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

The pressure immediately came to the Minister of Revenue Zhao Mian.

"This old fox." Zhao Mian cursed in his heart.

With such a large population migration, registration and other issues were a problem. In addition, large-scale food supply, land division, people's appeasement, and technical training all fell on the Ministry of Households.

Zhao Mian hesitated for a moment and then said, "Your Highness, I wonder when this campaign will begin."

"I estimate that there may be more than a million people. I am afraid that we need to make more preparations in advance to resettle and distribute them inside the pass, so as to avoid any unrest."

Zhu Ying also knew that this matter was a test for the Ministry of Revenue. After thinking for a while, he said, "After the morning court today, Minister Zhao can devote all his efforts to preparing for this matter."

"The message here will be sent to the grassland military base at an expedited speed of 800 miles. As for when to start the battle, let them decide for themselves and seize the opportunity."

"As for money and grain, we must first prepare the food rations needed by one million people for half a year. The Ministry of Revenue should collect and transport them from all over the country. This is a major matter for our Ming Dynasty and we must not be careless in the slightest."

"Especially in the area of ​​corruption, we will send in additional inspectors, and if any officials are involved in corruption, they will be severely punished."

Half a year’s food rations for a million people.

This pie is too big, and with so much money, it is bound to be coveted by many middle-level officials.

As long as one person reaches out, there will definitely be more than one person reaching out.

By that time, with the exploitation at every level, the amount of food rations transported would be greatly reduced.

Such things are difficult to avoid, no matter how generous the salary or how strict the law.

Even though Zhu Ying issued a strict order, there were still many people who dared to commit crimes despite the strict order, as people died for money and birds died for food.

"Let me be frank with you. Anyone who dares to take action will not just lose his position. Be careful of your life."

"This time, the money and grain transfer will be counted and transported by two groups of people."

"Any discrepancies between numbers and statistics must be investigated strictly."

Zhu Ying said calmly.

He knew very well that the officials in the capital would most likely not dare to take any action. Even if they wanted to share some of the money, they would manipulate it secretly from behind.

The ones who will really take action are those who pass by or even the local officials in the end. They are the big bosses.

However, Zhu Ying had already made preparations and was arranging a group of loyal people to conduct a secret investigation.

Zhao Mian felt worried, as he knew what the consequences of mobilizing so much money and grain would be.

It can be said that it is redundant to express any opinion.

He could only repeat the instructions to his subordinates again and again after the court session.

After Zhu Ying set the direction, he began to make some coordination arrangements with the relevant departments.

In a situation like this, it is naturally impossible to take all the money from the imperial treasury in the capital, and the local ministries of revenue need to make certain arrangements.

Especially in the south of the Yangtze River, a lot of grain was transported directly to the north along the North-South Avenue.

These were all prepared for the tribesmen who were about to be conquered.

…

It is naturally impossible for such a war to be reported in the imperial gazette.

But many businessmen have already felt it.

After all, in a very short period of time, not only the government was purchasing grain, but the Qun Ying Chamber of Commerce also began to purchase high-yield crops.

You have to know that as far as the current market price is concerned, due to the large yield of high-yield crops, the price has basically been at a relatively low level, except for the initial period when everyone bought some to try out the novelty and curiosity.

Because there is no need for intensive farming, many uncultivated wastelands can be used for planting.

This results in a very rapid spread.

You have to know that in the Ming Dynasty today, not everyone can be a tenant. Many people not only do not have land, but they cannot even get a job as a long-term worker for the landlord.

This number is extremely large.

So they are now planting large quantities of high-yield crops such as sweet potatoes.

All you have to do is report to the government and you can reclaim wasteland for planting. After paying 40% of the tax, the remaining 60% is yours.

Zhu Ying actually has always had the idea of ​​raising the price of sweet potatoes.

Right now is a good opportunity.

Although sweet potatoes can fill you up, there are not many ways to eat them nowadays. Excessive consumption of sweet potatoes can easily induce symptoms such as bloating.

So rice should still be eaten with it.

As for potatoes, their yield drops faster than that of sweet potatoes after they are planted.

Sweet potatoes are much larger than potatoes, so they are more widely grown than potatoes.

Corn is mostly grown in northern regions.

It is not widely planted in the South.

Although these high-yield crops have solved many problems of food and clothing, they are currently the main food for the poor, which means that many people look down on them and their market prices are extremely low.

It often takes three or four stone of sweet potatoes to exchange for one stone of old rice.

Zhu Ying began to purchase sweet potatoes vigorously at a fair price, which naturally led to an increase in the market price of sweet potatoes and other crops.

Ordinary people don’t like these things, but they are delicacies to grassland herdsmen.

In comparison, although rice was also purchased at the same time, the level was obviously not as high as that of sweet potatoes.

When it comes to rice and wheat, Zhu Ying keeps a close eye on the market prices, and if he finds someone hoarding grain, he will immediately conduct an investigation.

Even in the current peaceful times, there will be no leniency towards the grain hoarding merchant Zhu Ying.

If you dare to do it, you will be fined heavily, and in serious cases, your family may even be confiscated and killed.

The news from the capital soon reached Liu Buyi.

When Zhu Di learned of this situation, his expression became even more gloomy.

Because before this, he was completely unaware of this matter.

It was obvious that Lan Yu and Liu Buyi joined forces to report to Zhu Ying and finally got the emperor's approval.

However, the current situation is more favorable for Zhu Di.

Because Zhu Ying's decree gave Lan Yu and himself a lot of freedom.

Liu Buyi is still serving as a trainer at the base and will not be involved in the war in the short term. He is mainly responsible for the transportation and supply of logistics and food.

Therefore, Zhu Di's only opponent was Lan Yu.

After receiving the news, the first thing Zhu Di did when he returned to the camp was to call a meeting of his generals to discuss the matter.

At the same time, the message of the imperial decree was also passed on.

After listening to this, Zhang Yu immediately asked, "Your Highness, what His Royal Highness means is that if we are far away from the base, we can do what is convenient for us and not send the prisoners back to the base for the time being."

Zhu Di nodded happily.

Zhang Yu’s sense of smell was indeed sharp.

Because of the base training, the personal loyalty of the middle-level officers under his command to the commander-in-chief is very weak.

Although Zhu Di no longer has the intention to rebel, the reality is that there is no soil for rebellion.

But the general didn't want the soldiers under his command to just follow his own orders.

This is the obsession with military power.

Zhu Di was undoubtedly a person who was extremely obsessed with military power.