I

Royal Garden.

Zhao Han flipped through the frontline reports sent from Tainan, and Relan Zhecheng really didn't care.

Two thousand Datong troops are stationed in Chikan City, and the Taiwan fleet patrols every day. The Dutch in the city of Geranje could not go ashore or go out to sea, so they were all suffocated on the island.

Even the Han people in the residential areas, proud of their good water skills, secretly left the island at night and swam ashore to join the Datong army. Not all of these Han people are the lackeys of the Dutch. Many of them just work on the island, such as barbers, shoemakers, tailors, chefs, etc.

More and more Han people were escaping from the island, including those with poor water skills. They removed the door panels and rowed to the other side.

Until the end, the Dutch sent troops to guard and forbade anyone to leave.

But they had long since lost their fighting spirit, and those Dutch soldiers were too lazy to patrol. They took out their inventory one after another, smoked and drank while on duty, and guarded them like a sieve. Within a few days, all the Han people were gone.

On the entire island, only the Dutch and slaves were left.

No one shaves their heads, no one repairs their shoes, no one cleans up their excrement. The castle and settlements both stank to the sky, and the small amount of cultivated land was left uncultivated. The slaves were of no use at all.

If this continues, even if the Dutch don't starve to death, they will be driven crazy.

"Bring me a pen." Zhao Han said.

Li Xiangjun immediately brought a pen and paper.

Zhao Han wrote an order and handed it to the female official in charge of rites: "Let the cabinet forward it to the Ministry of War and the Governor's Office."

This order was very simple. After the spring of next year, Li Dingguo was asked to go to the north to train a cavalry division. Huang Fei was transferred to Taiwan to take over the position of division commander.

Tune in and out, everything happens for a reason.

Li Dingguo was transferred to the south. His division had the most people from Fujian and Guangdong.

Transferring Li Dingguo back to the north means expanding the army again!

In fighting on the grassland, cavalry is very important. Currently there is only one pure cavalry division, so Zhao Han decided to train a second one. There are enough war horses. There are official horse farms in Liaodong, and the Mongolians on the grasslands have often gone south to sell horses in the past two years.

In the past, there was not enough food, and the large number of immigrants consumed too much, so the army had to save some.

It will be relieved next year. In Shandong and Henan provinces, the land tax reduction and exemption period has expired, and land taxes will be collected in full next year. Moreover, the Datong Bank and money and grain exchange points in the north are gradually opening up. The population of Shandong and Henan provinces has also increased, and more and more abandoned land has been reclaimed.

Shandong and Henan have been resting and recuperating for several years, and finally they are bearing fruit.

Zhao Han even guessed that the actual population of these two provinces must exceed the previously reported numbers, and many people who had hid in the mountains came out again.

In addition, each division of the Datong Army will increase to 11,000 troops next year.

The additional 1,000 people can probably be understood as regular engineering troops. In addition to working as engineers and soldiers, they occasionally had to work as civilian laborers to help transport baggage and so on. They were also responsible for military convoys - in the past, they were paid to recruit peasants and soldiers to work.

This type of military force was also available in the Ming Dynasty, and they were selected from the remnants of the army.

Among military households in the Ming Dynasty, the eldest son was a soldier and had military status. The other brothers in the family are classified as military surplus and can usually find things to do on their own. But if a war breaks out, some remnants of the army will have to enlist to help the regular soldiers carry armor, help the regular soldiers wash clothes, etc., and even serve as auxiliary soldiers.

In addition, another three thousand elite soldiers were selected from each army and recalled to Nanjing to serve as the imperial guards. The number of the emperor's imperial guards reached 5,000.

After next year's military reform and the newly formed cavalry division, the number of regular troops nationwide will be close to 250,000.

If you include the provincial patrol troops (armed police), excluding urban police forces, the total strength is about 400,000. Like the police, most of the patrol soldiers are veterans. They are mainly soldiers with slight disabilities and those who are slightly older. Their combat effectiveness is not much inferior to that of the regular army. They are usually responsible for suppressing bandits, detecting theft, and putting down chaos.

Yunnan, Guizhou, and Guangxi provinces have a very large number of patrol soldiers. To put it bluntly, they are to prevent the remaining chieftain forces from causing chaos!

To be honest, Zhao Han is not enthusiastic about continuing to expand in the north because the time is not ripe.

If you look at Zhu Yuanzhang's previous Northern Expeditions, you will know that the first two spurts had an unstable foundation in the north, so Zhu Yuanzhang stopped immediately after learning his lesson. At that time, the north was completely destroyed and there was not much population at all. All military supplies had to be transported from the south, which was time-consuming and labor-intensive and not very satisfying.

As a result, Zhu Yuanzhang immigrated to the countryside in large numbers and managed the north for eight years before starting the third Northern Expedition. This is much easier. The population in the north is more abundant, and it is also convenient to recruit civilians and military rations on the spot.

Zhao Han was facing a similar situation at this time. The population in the north was too small, and it would be difficult to hold on to the grassland even if it was conquered. Even if they can hold it, they still have to station troops on the grassland and have to transport military supplies from the south. The huge amount of money and food consumed can drive Fei Chun to death.

For the current plan, we will train the cavalry while developing the north.

When the cavalry is well trained and the north has slowed down, it will be the real time to go north out of the grassland.

"Your Majesty, the Zhu family brothers and sisters are here. Do you want to summon them?" the female officer reminded.

Zhao Han said: "Let them come in and call Concubine Tian to the Royal Garden."

Tian Xiuying arrived earlier, and the Zhu brothers and sisters had to slowly cross the Forbidden City.

"Greetings to Your Majesty!"

"No courtesy, please sit down."

The Zhu brothers and sisters were quite reserved, but Tian Xiuying greeted them warmly and personally pulled Zhu Ainao to sit down.

Zhao Han asked: "How about work and study?"

Zhu Cixiang replied: "Reporting to Your Majesty, I am working as the chief of etiquette section in Jiangning County. Last year, the county government gave me a poor evaluation. Cijiong is studying at Jinling University, and his grades last semester ranked 69th. Cijiong has no intention of pursuing an official career. He doesn't want to study either. He is currently working as an apprentice at Cifang Bookstore, and he plans to open a bookstore to make a living in the future. As for Ainao, he works as a mathematics teacher at Xuanwu Lake Primary School."

Xuanwu Lake Primary School is already in the outer city. It is estimated that when Zhu Yuyao applied for a teacher job, she failed to get into the school in the city.

Being a teacher is the most socially acceptable profession for highly educated women today. After all, as a queen, Fei Rulan also worked as a teacher at a girls' school in Luling County.

After Zhao Han listened, he looked at Zhu Cizheng with a smile: "Your ambition is to open a bookstore and live a living?"

Zhu Cizheng replied: "Your Majesty, just read some miscellaneous books every day."

Zhao Han said: "Then there is no need to open a bookstore by yourself. There are countless miscellaneous books to read in the libraries of Hanlin Academy and Qintian Academy. You can choose a place by yourself and become a librarian."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Zhu Cizheng was overjoyed.

After chatting about some other things, Zhao Han asked, "What do you want from me?"

"I dare you to ask your Majesty to grant a marriage to my third brother." Zhu Cihong told the family situation.

Zhao Han asked Zhu Cijiong: "What does the woman do at home?"

Zhu Cijiong replied: "She is from Anhui. Her family is in business, and she also has an uncle who is the magistrate of Shanxi."

"No wonder I don't dare to marry my daughter to you," Zhao Han asked, "Are you two of the same kind? Is the woman willing?"

Zhu Cijiong said quickly: "Yes, Xiaomei is willing. We have decided privately... We are in love and often read together at school."

"As long as the woman is willing, it is not a bad idea to grant her a marriage," Zhao Han said, "Let's take care of this together. Is there a woman that Cixi likes?"

Zhu Cixiang replied: "I have asked someone to find a matchmaker. She is the daughter of a grocery store owner outside the city."

Zhao Han asked Zhu Cizheng again: "What about you?"

Zhu Cizheng seems to be very lazy. He likes to read miscellaneous books. He has no other hobbies or interests, and he doesn't even have a sweetheart. He shook his head and said, "I haven't thought about getting married yet."

"Then we'll talk about it later." Zhao Han was too lazy to be a matchmaker.

Finally looking at Zhu Yu'ao, Zhao Han asked: "Where is Yu'ao? Is there a man you like?"

Zhu Yuyao said: "Reporting to Your Majesty, there is none."

Zhu Yu'ao was the most worried about getting married, because the reason her brothers and sisters went south was because she was married to Zhao Han by Chongzhen. There was no publicity about this matter, nor was it deliberately kept secret, but it had long been known to the world.

The princess of the previous dynasty almost married the emperor of the current dynasty. Who would dare to marry a leopard who has eaten a bear's heart?

Zhao Han thought carefully and realized that it was really not suitable to marry the son of a minister. But folk men can't be betrothed at will. I really don't know what to do about this matter.

And Zhao Han felt a little awkward. From a man's point of view, if he stepped forward to propose marriage to Zhu Aina, it would be as if he had given himself a cuckold.

After thinking about it and not knowing what to do, Zhao Han said: "When you find the person you like, I will give you a marriage."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Zhu Ainao was neither sad nor happy, she had long been used to it.

At noon, the Zhu brothers and sisters were left to eat, and in the afternoon they were invited by Tian Xiuying to visit the Royal Garden.

When leaving the Forbidden City, Zhu Cihong scolded: "媺娟, you are nineteen years old. If you don't get married, you will really be an old girl. Your Majesty offers you a marriage, so you accept it. Why don't you answer politely? After I go back, I Just let the matchmaker help you find someone, and you can always find someone with both talent and virtue, and you can't push back when the time comes."

Zhu Yasuo smiled bitterly and said: "Brother, have you forgotten that Young Master Li?"

"Why did you mention him? It was three years ago, can't you forget it?" Zhu Cixiang said depressedly.

Zhu Aao said: "It's not that I can't forget it, but that I'm discouraged."

At that time, Zhu Cixiang was still studying at Jinling University, and Mr. Li came to Nanjing to visit relatives. Once, Zhu Cixiang and Zhu Yuluo met Mr. Li while visiting a bookstore.

The talented man and the beautiful woman fall in love at first sight.

After Mr. Li left Nanjing, he still kept in correspondence for a long time, saying that others did not dare to marry the princess of the previous dynasty, but he, Mr. Li, dared to confiscate his family and exterminate his clan, and would soon return to Nanjing to propose marriage.

Suddenly, communication was cut off and there was no further news.

It was most likely Mr. Li who told his parents about Zhu Yu'a's identity when he asked his parents to send someone to propose marriage, and then everything came to nothing.

Zhu Ainao has been waiting for a letter from the other party, one year, two years... Just last year, the letter finally came, but it was that Mr. Li had already married, and asked Zhu Ayao not to wait any longer.

Since then, Zhu Yuluo no longer trusts men and feels that men are just big pigs.

Zhu Cijiong suddenly said: "Forget it that my sister will marry His Majesty. Anyway, Chu's father agreed."

Zhu Cizheng suddenly became anxious: "How can that be done? My mother is His Majesty's concubine, can my sister also be His Majesty's concubine?"

"That's right, it's out of character." Zhu Cijiong scratched his head, looking like he wasn't very smart.