The alliance between the Zhou State and the British to squeeze the Ming Dynasty out of India was undoubtedly a major loss for the developing Ming Dynasty.In the forty-first year of Wanli of the Ming Dynasty, that is, in 1613, Nurhachi raised troops, and in 1662, Zhao Ming completed the reunification from the beginning, and the war lasted in China for nearly 50 years.During this half-century, the population of the whole of China was reduced by nearly half because of the war and famine.At present, the territory of the Ming Dynasty, including the population of the vassal states, is only about 60 million.For a large country like the Ming Dynasty to realize the industrial revolution, the market needed was much larger than that of a small country like Britain.Now that the Zhou and the British have joined forces, the Ming Dynasty has lost the market of nearly 100 million people in India, which will undoubtedly have a huge impact on the economy of the Ming Dynasty.For the Ming Dynasty to become the hegemon of the world, the total economic output must account for at least 50% of the world, and the industrial output value also needs to reach about half, so as to ensure that all the remaining countries are united and are not opponents of the Ming Dynasty.And to occupy such a large number of economic aggregates, as well as industrial output value, the Ming Dynasty needed an extremely broad market.Nanjing, the residence of the Prince Regent.Zhao Ming stood in front of a world map, his eyes fixed on India."
Regent, Wu Sangui and Yingyi are united, they complement each other by land and water, we really have no way for a while."
Du Yinxi said in a deep voice.Zhao Ming bowed slightly, "The South Asian subcontinent is too far away from us.Troops were sent by land, separated by the country of Taungoo and a few barren mountains, making it difficult for a large army to pass through, and from the sea, it would take at least three or four months for the fleet to reach India, and it would not be possible to send more than 30,000 troops at a time.Even if this amount of troops arrived in India, it would be difficult to defeat Wu Sangui and the British, but they would be in trouble due to insufficient logistics and reinforcements. ”The mountains and forests in the northern part of Donghu are difficult to traverse even after a few hundred years, and the number of troops that can be transported by sea is too limited.At present, the transportation between the land division and the sea is not convenient, and Daming is too far away from India.Zhao Ming was silent for a moment and continued: "Wu Sangui and Yingyi occupied our stronghold and seized the caravan of the Ming Dynasty, and the imperial court could not react without reaction.Command the sailors, send the former elite gunboats, patrol the route, and go out of India, meet the British ships, seize them, or sink them!
”Chen Mingyu thought about it and proposed: "India is too far away, then recover the Western Regions, in short, we must teach Wu Sangui a lesson." ”Zhao Ming said in a deep voice: "The widow doesn't just want to teach Wu Sangui a lesson, but he must take India and destroy Wu Sangui."
Because this is the halfway point of maritime trade between the East and the West, if Wu Sangui and the British were to unite, our fleet would not only not be able to reach India, but would also lose the markets of the Ottomans, Persia, and the East African coast. ”This place in India can be said to be blessed, surrounded by mountains, and the fertility of the land, in Chinese terms, is the land of mountains and rivers, and it is the land of kings.This place is not only easy to defend and difficult to attack, but also has a unique location in the ground, in the middle of the Eastern and Western worlds, and you can make a lot of money by being a second-class dealer with peace of mind.Now, Wu Sangui is united with the British, and the British pirates are notoriously powerful.Once Britain relies on India, then the merchant ships of the Ming Dynasty will not only not be able to reach India, but even trade with Persia and Ottomans, as well as East Africa, will also be affected.This is like the rise of the Ottoman Turkish Empire, which blocked the land trade between Western Europe and the East, and Wu Sangui formed an alliance with the British in India, and once they controlled the Indian Ocean, it also blocked the Ming Dynasty's trade with Arabia and Africa.Therefore, Zhao Ming would never allow this to happen, and the safety of Ming Dynasty merchant ships in the Indian Ocean must be guaranteed.Now it seems that an all-round confrontation between the Ming Dynasty and the West is inevitable.Gu Yinxi and others, listening to Zhao Ming's meaning, are going to send troops to India, but now there are obviously no conditions to send troops, and they can't help but be a little worried."
How is the Regent going to act?"
Du Yinxi asked in a deep voice.Zhao Ming said: "A detailed plan must be drawn up to extinguish the week. ”Zhao Ming walked to the map and said, "First of all, this time Wu Sangui and the British alliance will definitely lead to the unsalable products of Jiangnan.This problem has not been completely solved since last year, and now the loss of the Indian market will inevitably cause another blow.In this regard, the imperial court needs to be prepared, and the widow will issue debts and recruit a large number of workers to build railroad tracks and warships.In addition, the official road connecting Yunnan and Guizhou was overhauled in the southwest to solve the livelihood of workers and expand domestic demand. ”Zhao Ming's meaning is that the government of the Ming Dynasty will issue money to carry out infrastructure construction and pay workers, and the workers will be able to buy the products produced by the workshop and solve the economic problems caused by the shrinking foreign market.In this way, the Jiangnan Workshop was able to tide over the difficulties and persist until the Ming Dynasty reopened the route to the Indian Ocean, so that the workers' livelihood could be guaranteed, and at the same time, the Ming Dynasty was able to improve the infrastructure and build a large number of warships to prepare for the conquest of the Zhou State.Seeing that everyone did not object, Zhao Ming returned to the topic: "Now that Wu Sangui is entrenched in the Western Regions and India, his strength cannot be underestimated, and the Ming Dynasty cannot be destroyed quickly.Therefore, the imperial court had to make a long-term plan. ”Zhao Ming pointed to India, "If you want to destroy the Zhou State, you must either send troops by land or attack by sea."
The widow means that in one year's time, he will collect the Western Regions and Wusizang, open up land trade routes, and weaken the strength of the Zhou State.At the same time, prepare for the defeat of Donghu.After the official road of Yunnan and Guizhou was repaired and the military resources were ready to rush to the fullest, it took three years to occupy the entire territory of Donghu and build an official road connecting Yunnan and Guizhou from Donghu, as well as a military port.Complete the preparations for the land attack on Zhou. ”If the Ming army wants to occupy India and destroy Wu Sangui, the only feasible route at the moment is to occupy Burma first, use it as a springboard, and gather a large army to cross the Rakhine Mountains and enter India.This road is more difficult to walk, and it is necessary to build a road, otherwise it will be a disaster for the army.Therefore, it may take several years to open the road, but the Ming army will have to do it.On the Us-Tibet Plateau, the main force of the Ming army could not go up, and it was too far to detour to the Western Regions, enter Central Asia, and then enter India from the Khyber Pass, the distance was too far, and only the direction of Donghu could allow more than 100,000 Ming troops to enter India."
When preparing for the land attack on Zhou, the imperial court needs to increase the research and development of advanced warships, build steam paddle steamers within five years, and double the number of existing warships, so that the imperial court can control the sea control in the Pacific and Indian Oceans."
Zhao Ming glanced at everyone: "According to the idea of the widow, the cabinet will formulate a plan as soon as possible." ”Now the Ming Dynasty wants to destroy Wu Sangui, one is to open up the land passage, and the other is to increase the delivery capacity of the navy, which requires more advanced warships.It has been five years since the steam engine was made out by Song Yingxing, and Zhao Ming has spent more than one million silver dollars regardless of the cost.After giving Song Yingxing five years, Zhao Ming believed that the steam paddle steamer should be able to be built.()