Xiang Nan went on this expedition and returned with a great victory.
Not only did they conquer the Mongols, but they also made expeditions to Central Asia, West Asia, South Asia, Asia Minor, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Southern Europe, Northern Europe, North Africa and other places. They opened up territories on a larger scale than the emperors of the past dynasties, and they conquered the earth and wood forts. The humiliation was completely washed away.
Therefore, when the army returned to the court, people all over the capital rushed to the streets to welcome Xiang Nan back to the capital.
Hang Nan’s expedition not only conquered a large area of land, but also captured countless gold and silver treasures, cattle, horses, sheep, slave labor, etc.
Every soldier who followed him into battle gained a lot. It can be said that after retirement, every one of them became a small landowner.
Over the years, Xiang Nan has successively shipped back the seized items, which has greatly stimulated the economy of the mainland.
In the consciousness of the Chinese people, wars generally involve losing money.
Because in ancient China’s foreign wars, it was not easy to win against the ghosts, the dogs, the Huns, the Rourans, the Khitans, the Jurchens, and the Mongols. Every war is protracted, lasting several years or even decades or centuries.
During this period, the people had to send troops, food, pay, and equipment, which required a large amount of resources, manpower, and material resources. Even if the war is won, the consumption will be far greater than the loot captured, so Chinese military strategists of all ages have been very cautious about war.
"The Art of War" by Sun Tzu says, "Soldiers are important matters for the country, the place of life and death, and the path to survival." If you can defeat the enemy's troops without fighting, that is the best thing.
But in fact, Xiang Nan knew that war could make money.
The premise is that you have the advantage of crushing your opponents and will not fall into the quagmire of a protracted war. In this way, the losses in the war will be very small, and the captured spoils will be enough to make up for the losses.
It seems that when the colonists invaded China, they won easily because of the difference in weapons. Not only were there few casualties, but a large amount of compensation was received after the war.
Today's Ming Dynasty also took advantage of the generation difference in weapons. While most of the armies of other countries were still equipped with cold weapons, Xiang Nan's side had been equipped with weapons and equipment from the First World War for hundreds of years, making it difficult not to win.
Therefore, after ten years of war, not only did the Ming Dynasty's treasury bottom out, but because of the large amount of loot captured, the silver in the treasury exceeded 200 million, and the gold also amounted to 70 million taels. Talk about making a fortune.
…
After returning to Beijing, Xiang Nan and Qiu Moyan met again. They had not seen each other for ten years, and both of them were getting a little old.
"Almost all potential enemies have been defeated by me. The people will have a good life in the future." He held Qiu Moyan's hand and said to her.
Qiu Moyan nodded.
This time Xiang Nan fought all the way to Europe and to the ends of the earth. The distance was much further than Tripitaka's trip in the past. Even if he rode a fast horse, it would take him half a year to reach it.
"Huai'an, you did a great job." She said to Xiang Nan with a smile.
Xiang Nan nodded, "From now on, I will not go out again. I will stay in the capital and accompany you well." Upon hearing this, Qiu Moyan laughed.
…
After returning to the capital, Xiang Nan prepared for the construction of railways and built factories at the same time, such as oil refineries, pharmaceutical factories, alkali plants, machinery factories, shipyards, etc., all were arranged.
He has studied chemical engineering, machinery, energy, electricity and other subjects in the world of "Ghost Blowing the Lamp", and he is proficient in all of them, and now he can naturally put them into practice.
In addition, he abolished all restrictions on household registration and low-level registration in the country.
In the early Ming Dynasty, in order to better govern the people, Zhu Yuanzhang divided the people into three categories: military households, civilian households, and craftsman households. Among them, military households were specialized in military service, civilian households were specialized in paying taxes and performing corvee service, and craftsman households were specialized in handicraft production.
As for lowly status, it refers to slaves, maids, prostitutes, subordinate officials, fishermen, farmers, etc. They come from many sources, including the descendants of Chen Youliang and Zhang Shicheng who deployed troops, the wives and children of officials involved in four major cases in the early Ming Dynasty, the wives and children of former ministers of Emperor Jianwen, etc.
These people who have been relegated to lowly status are subject to heavy restrictions and restrictions. For example, people with low-level registrations were not allowed to take part in the imperial examinations, were not allowed to marry other people, were not allowed to own property, etc.
These people with low status, just like the Dalits in Tianzhu, do the hardest and most despicable jobs, and they will never be able to get over. It can be said that they are extremely miserable.
The household registration system actually had a certain positive effect when it first started.
At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, the population was desolate and the land was barren. The fields are uncultivated and the people are displaced. Zhu Yuanzhang promptly formulated the household registration system, allowing the refugees to have farmland to cultivate, allowing the land to be cultivated, and productivity was quickly restored. Therefore, the household registration system of the Ming Dynasty had positive significance for stabilizing the social environment in the early years of the Ming Dynasty.
Secondly, the household registration system of the Ming Dynasty also played a very good role in promoting the reasonable distribution of the national population. At that time, in many areas of the country, there were no roosters crowing for thousands of miles, and bones were exposed in the wild. Zhu Yuanzhang used the user registration system to count and analyze the population, forced population migration, and evenly distributed the population and land, which had a profound impact on future generations.
The detailed household registration system of the Ming Dynasty was the basic basis for tax collection throughout the country. The Ming Dynasty established a more detailed household registration system than before. There are multi-dimensional data on the population's gender, age, accession to the throne, place of origin, and Dingkou. Therefore, the distribution of taxes and corvee in the Ming Dynasty was relatively rigorous. At the same time, it also has important reference significance for future generations.
But after so many years of development, the household registration system has hindered the development of society.
For example, the military household system made military households miserable, fleeing one after another to avoid military service, which also led to a decline in the combat effectiveness of the Ming army; craftsmen working in government workshops were often exploited by officials at all levels. Therefore, craftsmen households often resorted to sabotage, cheating, and fleeing to resist; civilian households were even more miserable because they had to bear the largest share of taxes and corvees.
A small grain chief in Jiaxing County extorts eighteen kinds of extra money when collecting grain: money for shipping goods, money for shipping first rice, money for temporary transportation, money for making books, money for carriages, money for use, etc. Ma money, iron carbon money, Shenming Jingshan Pavilion money, warehouse repair money, money for ordering food, money for the post house, money for household registration, money for service, yellow grain money, money for repairing the pier, money for salt stamps, money for exports Yu Zi Qian.
Other corrupt officials will only become more ruthless.
Therefore, some scholars at that time said, "The people of the Ming Dynasty imposed taxes, soldiers, punishments, servitude, floods and droughts, food and fishery by officials, and annexation by powerful forces. These are the seven things that were imposed on the people."
As a result, a large number of people could not bear the exploitation and were forced to become refugees. The remaining people who did not escape had a heavier burden, and they had to bear the taxes and corvees of those who escaped. It can be said to be even worse.
After those refugees fled, in order to find a way to survive, they often turned into thieves and bandits, and even rebelled, posing a great threat to the court.