Volume 4: Hot! The whole world is a warring state Chapter 760 Zhu Youjian's Fury
On October 1, the 28th year of the reign of Emperor Tianqi of the Ming Dynasty (1646), Beijing, the top floor of the Privy Council Building.
In the huge operations room, there were no fewer than five hundred people sitting there, including the emperor, the crown prince, princes in charge of duties, kings of major vassal states, the prime minister and vice prime minister of the cabinet, the chief and deputy privy councilors, the eunuchs in charge of the core departments of the inner court, the left and right censors of the Censorate, the president and vice president of the Supreme Court, the commanders of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the ministers, vice ministers, presidents and directors of various ministries... as well as the commanders-in-chief, governors-general, provincial governors and provincial governors of each first-level administrative region.
At nine o'clock in the morning, after the officer sent by the Privy Council to take charge of the venue confirmed that all personnel had arrived, Zhu Youdong nodded and said, "Let's get started."
"Yes." Privy Councilor Yan Siqi stood up and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, today's meeting is the one with the highest attendance rate of officials above the third rank since the founding of the Ming Dynasty. This meeting has only one theme, which is to determine the many matters concerning sending troops to India in September next year. Specifically, it involves various aspects such as manpower, materials, and strategy. Although there are more people participating in this meeting than ever before, everyone is a high-ranking official of the court or the ruler of a vassal state. I believe that everyone can keep the secret of this meeting. Of course, the secret of this meeting must also be kept. After leaving this door, except for those that are allowed to be made public, nothing else can be spread. Do you understand?"
"Reply to the Prime Minister, I understand now."
"Okay, let's proceed to the first item of the meeting. Deputy Privy Councilor Zhao Lujiao will introduce the preparations of the Privy Council and the Ministry of National Defense for the Indian campaign next year."
"Your Majesty, Your Highness, everyone." Zhao Lujiao, with white hair and beard, stood up. "For the Indian campaign next year, according to the instructions of the emperor, the Ministry of National Defense has prepared 161 divisions in the army, with a total of 2.42 million troops (the special forces division has 20,000 troops). And equipped with 800,000 civilians. At present, the troops of these 160 divisions have all arrived, and each division has been fully staffed. Thanks to the full operation of various arsenals, the equipment arrival rate of these 160 divisions has reached more than 95%. In terms of ammunition base, the bullets in the guns of the soldiers of each division can ensure that each soldier has at least 50 magazines. Even with the frequent training in recent times, the artillery ammunition base can be maintained at more than 10 bases.
In this batch of troops, the Ming Dynasty sent 100 divisions, Japan, Fukuoka, and the Inca Kingdom in America each sent 10 divisions, Guiguo sent 7 divisions, Zhouguo and Tangguo sent 5 divisions each, Annan sent 3 divisions, Qinguo, Jinguo... Shuguo and Chuguo only sent one division each. However, due to geographical reasons, Shu and Chu countries undertook the construction of the base for the conquest of India and 400,000 of the 800,000 civilians... At present, the construction of the base for the conquest of India centered in Yangon has been completed by more than 90%. The barracks for the soldiers and the warehouses for various heavy equipment have been built. At present, the dredging and expansion projects of Yangon Port have not been completed, because in addition to the unprecedented scale of the army's assembly, the scale of our navy's assembly is also unprecedented.
In terms of the navy, except for the two battleships Yu Tonghai and Zheng He, which belong to the American Squadron, the remaining seven battleships, Yu Dayou, Deng Zilong, Cao Sanxi, Lian Po, Li Mu, Bai Qi, and Wang Jian, as well as 25 heavy cruisers, 66 light cruisers and destroyers, a total of 98 combat ships will be incorporated into the main fleet to participate in this battle. Currently, except for Wang Jian, which is being fitted out and has not yet been officially commissioned, the other six battleships have been commissioned and have started joint training.
The above is only the first batch of troops. For the second batch of troops, the Military Service Bureau has completed the basic training of 6 million men aged between 18 and 30. All of these people have been organized into reserve forces and can be used to supplement the active forces at any time. Among them, there are 4.5 million in the Ming Dynasty and 1.5 million in the vassal states. In addition, the Military Service Bureau has organized men aged between 31 and 40 into the third batch, and 2 million of these men have received basic training. In other words, in terms of the source of troops, as long as the Ming Dynasty is determined and has enough weapons, it can pull out another 8 million soldiers who have completed basic military training within half a year. Of course, doing so will cause too much damage to the national economy and people's livelihood. Unless it is absolutely necessary, the Privy Council will not expand the active army to more than 3 million.
In terms of the navy, the Emperor-class battleships, with a standard displacement of 16,000 tons and a full load displacement of nearly 20,000 tons, are equipped with the newly developed 320mm main guns of Fangshan Academy of Sciences and use heavy oil as fuel. The first ship, the First Emperor, has completed the main project and has just started outfitting. It is expected to be put into service at the end of the 29th year of Tianqi or the beginning of the 30th year. The underwater parts of the subsequent Han Taizu Liu Bang and Han Gaohou Lv Zhi have been completed, and the keels of Han Wudi Liu Che, Han Shizu Liu Xiu, and Zhaolie Emperor Liu Bei have just been laid. The drawings and designs of Wei Wudi Cao Cao and Sui Wendi Yang Jian have been finalized, and relevant materials are being collected at the shipyard... In short, in the next three to five years, the navy will successively obtain eight new battleships and more than a dozen heavy cruisers that also use heavy oil as fuel...
The above is the report on the armament situation. "
After Zhao Rujiao sat down, Yan Siqi, who was presiding over the meeting, glanced at the emperor sitting above him and saw that Zhu Youdong had no intention of speaking. He continued, "The second item of the meeting will be carried out. Cao Sanxi, the Minister of Finance, will report to you on the economic preparations for war."
"Your Majesty, Your Highness, the Crown Prince, everyone, you have all listened to what Zhao Shumi just said, and you should be able to imagine or feel that such a large-scale armament will have a great impact on the economy of our Ming Dynasty and its vassal states. At present, the data collected by the Ministry of Finance, Banks, the State Administration of Taxation, the State Administration of Industry and Commerce, and the local governors have clearly shown that, except for a few industries such as military industry, clothing, and medicine, all other industries in our dynasty are shrinking.
The Ministry of Finance estimates that the country's tax revenue this year will be around 700 million, which is an increase, but it will not be able to grow by more than 10% like in previous years. As for expenditure, as of September this year, the court and local governors have spent 650 million. It is expected that the annual expenditure will exceed 800 million.
Since the court has issued an additional 1 billion banknotes this year, just like last year, the court has not had a fiscal deficit. Not only that, because there was a considerable degree of deflation in the past few years, although the court has issued an additional 2 billion banknotes, domestic prices are basically stable. However, once the war starts next year, this expenditure will continue to soar. Although tax revenue will certainly increase after the war, this deficit will eventually appear. And when the deficit appears, prices may not be stable after the increase in banknotes.
Of course, you don't have to worry too much. In order to cope with this war, the Royal Bank has been desperately absorbing gold coins and silver dollars from the people through paper money in recent years. At present, it has a reserve of no less than 1 billion silver dollars of precious metals, so the amount of the reserve is sufficient. "
After everyone laughed for a while, Cao Sanxi continued, "In short, although it is difficult to make ends meet, it is not a big problem to make ends meet. Please rest assured. Next is food. This is not a big problem either. The current national grain reserves are enough to feed 250 million people in the Greater East Asia region for a year. And our Greater East Asia region is so vast that it is impossible for the entire region to have a total crop failure. Therefore, the problem with food is the smallest.
Next is logistics. In the past two and a half years, the Ministry of Finance has transferred a total of 400 million yuan to the Ministry of National Defense to purchase supplies. All active soldiers have at least four sets of spring and autumn clothes, summer clothes, and even winter clothes. All kinds of compressed dry food, canned meat and vegetables, and medicines are prepared in sufficient quantities. As long as the transportation can keep up, our soldiers will never be in danger of lack of medicine or food.
In terms of transportation support, the 800,000 civilian workers mentioned by Zhao Shumi just now, in addition to the 400,000 basic civilian workers provided by Shu and Chu, there are 50,000 from the Inca Kingdom, and the new vassal states in Nanyang provide fewer troops, but the civilian workers have provided a total of 150,000. In the mainland of our Daming, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Health, the General Administration of Industry and Commerce and other departments have prepared 50,000 medical staff, 50,000 chefs, 50,000 seamen, and 50,000 old masters who drive horse-drawn carriages for freight all year round for our troops... In addition to the above personnel, the Ministry of Finance made a single transfer to the Ministry of National Defense a few years ago and placed a large number of orders with major civilian shipyards. Nowadays, the Ministry of National Defense already has 3,000 transport ships of 5,000 tons and above, and nearly 2,000 small transport ships of various types below 5,000 tons. Calculated in this way, as long as the control of the sea is in my hands and the port facilities at the landing site are good, our Daming can deploy more than 5 million tons of materials or more than 500,000 troops at a time...
In terms of land transportation, the Lanzhou-Xinjiang double-track railway has been completed, with an annual carrying capacity of more than 3 million tons. The Qinghai-Tibet Highway has also been completed, and direct access from Xining to Lhasa is now possible. The Central South Railway is operating well and can carry 1.2 million tons of transportation. The locomotives, carriages, and four-wheeled carriages for the above land transportation are all ready...
In short, we have considered every aspect of logistics. Although there will definitely be problems in actual operation, I can guarantee that as long as the sea control is guaranteed, the soldiers will not lack medical care, medicine, or equipment. That's all. "
"Let's move on to the third item of the meeting. Your Highness Prince Xin, please report the problems that the Censorate found during the preparations for war."
"Brother, Your Highness the Crown Prince, everyone." Zhu Youjian, who was 35 years old this year, stood up and said, "In the past two years of national preparations for war, the Censorate has sent out a total of 3,642 inspectors. In addition to routine inspections, there have been 69 special inspections. In general, officials at all levels, factory owners, and people from all over the country have performed their duties and made corresponding contributions to this unprecedented preparation for war. However, there are also some daring criminals who still commit crimes in the face of such a national war situation."
He took out a notebook from his bosom: "In the past two and a half years, the Censorate has investigated and punished a total of 325 civil servants. Among these offenders, there are actually not many who have embezzled or misappropriated state funds, only 63. Among them, the largest amount of money involved is only more than 700,000. The rest are all related to conscription. In some places, such as Mongolia and Jurchen, military service officials mainly accept bribes to allow those who have not been selected to join the army. In some places, especially those economically developed provinces, they accept bribes to cross out the names of young people who have already received conscription orders and replace them with other personnel.
Ladies and Gentlemen, the army of our Ming Dynasty only has one hundred ordinary infantry divisions and one special forces division, totaling one and a half million people. Together with the navy, it is one and a half million at most. Only four and a half million young and strong men between the ages of eighteen and thirty have been activated in the reserve. But in fact, the total number of men in this age group in our Ming Dynasty is around twenty million. So some military service officers, even local prefects, governors and other officials, may think that it is not a big problem to replace one or two people. But what is the reality? Most of those we did not select are technical backbones of various factories, middle school students and even graduate students of Fangshan Academy of Sciences. How can these people be easily replaced?
Even more shameless were some officials who, because their sons were not in school or working, were called up. They sought favors everywhere, colluded with each other, forged medical certificates, and gave their sons all kinds of false illnesses in order to avoid military service.
Ladies and Gentlemen, my Zhu family is a royal family. I won’t mention the captain of the Shangqiu ship, Zhu Congquan, who died heroically. Even now, there are more than 2,000 royal family members in active service, from Lieutenant Fengguo to General Zhenguo. My eldest son, Zhu Cilang, is 17 years old this year. He has interrupted his studies at the Royal Military Academy and joined the army ahead of schedule. The eldest son of King Lai, Zhu Ciran, and the eldest son of King Jian, Zhu Cizhuo, have both returned from Australia to join the army. I really can’t imagine what kind of shameless person would try every means to exempt his son, relatives and friends from military service before such a national war...
I have already arrested all the officials involved in the case and the young men who evaded military service and brought them back to Beijing. The Censorate has already drafted the indictment and will file a lawsuit in the Beijing court soon. What I mean is that all these people should be sentenced severely, and it would be best if their heads were used as a sacrifice before the army sets out! "
