"Lord, we are now facing a very important transformation!" Zhang Ximeng said in a deep tone and with a solemn expression.
Zhu Yuanzhang was very relaxed. Only Zhang Ximeng was with the army this time, and the other civil servants were not present. Lao Zhu even put one foot on the table and did not show any signs of leaving.
"If you have anything to say, sir, just tell me. What you say makes sense, and we'll just listen. If there are any difficulties, let's find a solution together. Is it possible that sir still doubts me?"
Zhang Ximeng waved his hand quickly, "My lord, this matter is complicated because my lord has to make a choice. Do you want the countryside, or do you want both the countryside and the city?"
"What do you mean?" Lao Zhu said with a smile: "Sir, what you said makes no sense. You have to ask. I can only say three words and want them all!"
"Okay! Since the lord wants it all, we must be prepared. We need to establish a complete set of methods to manage the city. Yangzhou is different from Chuzhou. The energy required is more than ten times! Of course, if we manage it well, we will gain
The profit is a hundred times greater!"
Zhu Yuanzhang's brows gradually wrinkled. He bowed his hips and leaned his upper body slightly, "Sir, please tell me carefully."
"Lord, if you just want the countryside, our fiscal and taxation system will naturally be based on land tax... This is also the most common practice for thousands of years. Farming and paying grain, royal grain and national tax are natural and reasonable. But if you want to enter the city, you have to go to the city.
If we use our brains on commercial taxes and fully manage a large city with hundreds of thousands of people, the number of officials needed will be more than ten times higher than now, and the price paid will be hundreds or thousands of times!"
Zhu Yuanzhang took a deep breath, thought again and again, and asked: "Sir, what can we get?"
"You can get a huge workshop that can provide tens of thousands of armors, thousands of cannons, hundreds of thousands of firecrackers, you can get millions of dollars of wealth, as well as food, clothing, housing, transportation, and all kinds of luggage, you can have whatever you want!"
Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly smiled and said, "Sir, you know we are not afraid of hardship! As long as the harvest is big enough, we will work hard!"
Hearing Zhu Yuanzhang's affirmative answer, Zhang Ximeng laughed from the bottom of his heart.
He finally changed Zhu Yuanzhang!
Lao Zhu was criticized a lot by later generations for being conservative and even retrogressive in finance and taxation.
In fact, if we only look at the Lao Zhu era, this problem is not big.
After the war, the biggest need is to recuperate, suppress commerce, farm honestly, produce food, weave cloth, accumulate social wealth, and restore the vitality of the population.
There is no doubt that Lao Zhu's choice was appropriate, but after decades of development, business prospered again. At that time, the Ming Dynasty continued to inherit the system left by Lao Zhu, and the country's source of tax revenue was still land tax.
.
Apart from the Ministry of Household Affairs, there is actually no agency that specifically collects commercial taxes. The Ministry of Household Affairs has not made any preparations. Even if it wants to collect commercial taxes, there is no way to start.
As a result, Zhang Juzheng, who was known as the regent, worked hard for ten years, but he only made plans for the land and did not dare to take action on commercial taxes. Zhang Juzheng was certainly not ignorant of the importance of commercial taxes, but I'm sorry, the Ming Dynasty at that time, even if it took ten years
, it is not possible to figure out how to collect business taxes, who should be arranged to implement them, what institutions should be set up in the court, how to divide the power of finance and taxation... There is no way, but to choose the easiest and most traditional land tax.
There is no other way.
Zhang Ximeng really hoped to make up for this shortcoming, so when he entered Chuzhou, he made a lot of preparations... Now that he has arrived in Yangzhou, it is time to show off his talents.
In fact, the economy itself between urban and rural areas is complementary.
There is food and various raw materials in the countryside, and there are markets and production capabilities in the city. The countryside provides food and agricultural and animal husbandry products to the city to support the people in the city. The people in the city make various tools and provide goods to the countryside... As long as the two go smoothly
Everyone can benefit from communication.
The current predicament of Yangzhou is that it is a huge city. Due to the war, it has lost contact with the rural areas where it used to work closely. It is like a person who has had his limbs cut off and is not far from death.
Therefore, the first step if you want to swallow up Yangzhou is to restore the vitality of Yangzhou and provide enough food for Yangzhou City!
The truth is so simple. Looking at all the heroes in the world, no one except Zhu Yuanzhang has the confidence to support the huge Yangzhou.
In fact, Zhu Yuanzhang was also under great pressure. Fortunately, Zhang Ximeng was beside him to encourage him, and Lao Zhu gritted his teeth.
Done!
Lao Zhu immediately ordered that 100,000 shi of grain be transferred from Liuhe. At the same time, he also ordered Chuzhou and Dingyuan to allocate grain. Even the grain bank took action.
If it can successfully enter Yangzhou and allow these 800,000 people to accept market coupons, the Grain Bank may become the largest bank in the world, with a profit of more than a hundred times!
In short, this pair of monarchs and ministers decided to fight!
Next, I saw a very funny and famous scene. After the army approached Yangzhou and set up camp, Zhu Yuanzhang did not launch an attack immediately. Instead, he set up the stove and the top cauldron and stood guard in front of the city.
Jun's noodles, let's start steaming steamed buns!
That’s right, it’s steamed buns!
The best white flour is added with water before the formation, and the dough is kneaded, and the people at the top of the city watch, put it on the pot, and steam the steamed buns... Soon the heat rises, and along with the northwest wind, the attractive fragrance floats into Yangzhou City
.
The Yuan army guarding the city couldn't help but swallow their saliva!
Why does it smell so good?
It’s really killing me!
These red thieves are so wicked, they actually want us!
Just when the defenders at the top of the city were so angry that they were about to curse, Zhu Jiajun's soldiers put the fluffy steamed buns into bamboo baskets one by one, carried them with their arms, and approached the city wall. They stopped at a distance of more than a hundred steps.
He took out a fist-sized steamed bun, which was still steaming, and weighed it in his hand.
"Look! What a great steamed bun! It smells so good, you can celebrate the New Year just by eating one!"
The soldiers shouted loudly, and the Yuan army at the top of the city rolled their eyes in anger. They know your steamed buns are good, so there is no need to anger us!
"Listen! Stop working for Yuan Tarzi. They don't treat you as human beings! There is no food in Yangzhou. You will starve to death in a short time! Don't be stupid. Who is not raised by your parents? Hurry up!
Put down your weapons, leave the city and surrender, there are big steamed buns here, take care of them!"
The soldier shouted three times in succession, but there was no response from the city, so he turned around and retreated.
At this time, many Yuan soldiers subconsciously swallowed and spit, their stomachs growled, it was really painful!
Unexpectedly, not long after the Zhu Jiajun soldier left, he came back again. This time he not only held steamed buns, but also a large pot, which contained a large pot of yam stew!
"Brothers in the city, look at it! Not only are there big steamed buns, but there is also stewed meat! The pigs have been raised for a year, and the fat is three fingers thick. The meat is delicious!"
As the man spoke, he actually picked up a large piece of trembling pork belly and put it into his mouth.
You don't need to chew it at all, just sip it and it turns into a rich and fragrant juice.
The soldier looked intoxicated. He ate another piece, and then he went too far. He simply broke open the steamed bun and inserted it into the basin. When he picked it up, the steamed bun was full of soup. When he bit it down, oil and water overflowed.
Rich and mellow, to the extreme.
Roasted pork is really an amazing delicacy. There are different ways of cooking it all over the world. Some add other ingredients, such as potatoes, yuba, quail eggs, etc., and some just use pork belly.
Anyway, no matter how you make it, as long as you add enough seasonings, control the heat, and stew it until it is soft, fat but not greasy, and thin but not woody, it is almost the most difficult dish to overturn.
Zhu Jiajun's braised pork is added with some yam, which can nourish the spleen and stomach, cure qi deficiency, and make the soldiers walk more vigorously!
It is a delicacy that also has therapeutic effects. It is delicious and nutritious. To say too much is nonsense.
You can tell just by looking at the happy and contented looks of the soldiers.
"Brothers at the top of the city, tell the people in the city that our Zhu family army is not here to fight, but to save the big guys... As long as you leave the city and surrender, the steamed buns and roasted meat will be delicious! Why are you working for the Tatar emperor? What do you think?
Starve to death?”
The soldiers were full of energy after eating and drinking. They shouted for a while and then left.
Although there was no response from the top of the city, Zhang Ximeng was very satisfied. The people inside couldn't help but know that he just needed to continue to persevere, and maybe it wouldn't be long before Yangzhou City would be at his fingertips.
Zhang Ximeng's guess was correct. This delicious meal offensive had indeed worked. The defenders in the four cities were alarmed. Although no one had left the city to surrender, more and more soldiers were complaining.
Look at people, look at you, look at Zhu Jiajun outside the city.
They are both soldiers, so why are they so different?
Do you not regard the big guys as human beings?
The soldiers were noisy and chaotic.
This news even reached the ears of King Zhennan. When he heard this, he was so angry that he went crazy!
What a group of insidious red thieves, I am going to kill you!
Boluopuhua immediately ordered to mobilize 5,000 men and horses to go out of the city to counterattack.
The order was given and the troops gathered together, but these five thousand elites were unwilling to go out!
"Sir, please tell the prince. I don't mean anything else. People outside the city eat white flour steamed buns and yam roasted pork. What do we eat? Brown rice and boiling water? There is no oil or water in the stomach, so we can't beat it.
! If the prince doesn’t reward us with a meal of meat, brothers, make sure everyone is in high spirits!”
"Pooh!"
The leader Wanhu spat angrily, "Why go outside the city when you have meat to eat?"
"Aren't you greedy? Go out of the city and kill the red thieves. Their steamed buns and roasted meat will all be yours! Isn't that good?"
After Wanhu finished speaking, many soldiers were silent. Only one brave man muttered: "Then we leave the city. There is no need to fight. The Red Scarf Army will also give us meat!"
This sentence actually scared Wanhu so much that he broke into a cold sweat and turned pale.
broken!
The morale of the military was shaken!
If these soldiers are allowed to leave the city at this time, they might actually mutiny. What if they surrender directly and turn around and attack Yangzhou City?
The red thief’s move is really damaging!
He did not dare to punish the soldiers and ran away in a hurry.
When Boruphua received the report, he was also shocked and dumbfounded.
"They are such insidious and vicious red thieves. There is no need to be afraid of them. I have already sent a letter asking for help to the Prime Minister. As soon as the Prime Minister's army arrives, they will surely fall apart!"
Wanhu nodded quickly, but it takes time to deploy troops and generals. The prime minister's army has not arrived yet, so how can he survive this period of time?
"Your Majesty, we still need to give you guys a little sweetness to stabilize the morale of the army!"
Boluo Puhua snorted loudly and ordered his men to give the soldiers some meat to eat.
It was okay if this order was not given, but after it was given, everything went into chaos immediately.
The people of Yangzhou City have been starving for nine meals in three days. They have eaten up all the food they can. To put it bluntly, even rat holes have been dug repeatedly, and the sustainable fishing has been exhausted.
Those young men and young apprentices lost their income due to the closure of their stores, and due to the war, they were unable to return to their hometowns, so they were trapped in Yangzhou City.
Weak and sick, many people die every day.
Most of these people's bodies have never been found, and they have all become food for similar people.
When the misery has reached this point, it is impossible to plunder the people.
Some large households did have some food reserves, but these large households were good friends with the prince, and many of them were open to the sky and could not be moved at all. After thinking about it, there were only the remaining war horses in the city.
Kill it and eat the meat!
At this point, no one cares about whether the horse is good or bad. Let’s have a good meal first!
Many soldiers began to kill horses for meat, but there were also many soldiers who had no horses to kill, and the problem of not only suffering from scarcity but also inequality emerged again.
A dispute broke out among many soldiers over a mouthful of unpalatable horse meat, which turned into a fight. One night, dozens of people were beaten to death.
How can we go out of the city to fight when our own people are making such a fuss?
Just that night, almost a hundred people came out of the city through the water gate.
The guys were soaked and shivering, and ran to the Zhujiajun camp.
True to their word, they were asked to sit by the fire to keep warm, and then steamed buns were brought to them.
This group of people grabbed the food in their hands and burst into tears. It was considered that they had food.
It smells so good!
Turning around, there were more than a hundred Yangzhou people on Zhu Jiajun's side. They spoke Yangzhou dialect and shouted into the city... When they got to the meal, they took out steamed buns again. Today, I won't eat yam and roast pork.
It became a stewed goose.
"Brothers, come and eat! It's all prepared for you! Don't worry, we will treat the prisoners preferentially!"
The garrison at the top of the city just watched, especially those who had not eaten horse meat last night, their stomachs growling with hunger.
After waiting for a while, the food arrived, but it was just a dark, hard pancake with bran added. It was as hard as gravel. When it was scratched across the throat, it was almost like torture. I had to drink soup.
Send it down.
But the soup was also smelly, and the few vegetable leaves left in it were all rotten.
This meal is inedible!
Not even as good as a pig or a dog!
Wang Heihu is a hunter. He is very agile and has made several military exploits in the Yuan army. However, he has never been reused. He is angry. Yesterday, he was robbed of horse meat and was whipped several times by a Mongolian householder.
Even if you scold him and don’t urinate, do you think a Han deserves to eat meat?
Wang Heihu was very angry. Today's food is like this again. Why should I work for you?
When people were not paying attention, he sneaked to the crenel, used the climbing rope to follow himself, and got off the city wall. It was the dry season and the moat was not deep. He quietly swam across the moat. When he reached the other side, the guy suddenly got up and threw his legs.
Just run, faster than a rabbit!
The Mongol generals who guarded the city saw this and were furious. They immediately ordered arrows to be fired to kill the traitor... However, no one responded to their orders. Even those who did move lazily raised their weapons to attack and were unable to shoot.
In fact, someone saw Wang Heihu when he went down to the city. Everyone didn't say anything, just hoping that there would be such a person to test it out!
Wang Heihu ran wildly and arrived in front of Zhu Jiajun's position, "I, I surrender, give me, give me something to eat!"
After a while, two big steamed buns and a goose leg were delivered to Wang Heihu.
"Eat it!"
This man who was born as an Orion buried his head and ate a steamed bun in three bites. He grabbed the goose leg and took a big bite. His face was full of intoxication. This is what people eat.
He lay on the ground and kowtowed.
"Thank you for the reward, I'm alive again!"
Wang Heihu turned around and shouted towards the city.
"Did you see it? We've got goose meat! Come on!"
Wang Heihu shouted over and over again, walking from one city wall to the other.
At the top of Yangzhou City, countless soldiers stared at Wang Heihu, and the yearning in their eyes was self-evident. Although no one ran out again, I don't know how many hearts have left.
Bo Luopuhua, the king of Zhennan, also felt ominous.
We can't go on like this. In a few days, we will collapse without a fight.
Be sure to drive away the red thieves!
The prince mobilized his cronies and planned to take advantage of the night to take the initiative to fight and fight! Boluo Puhua personally took action, selected 8,000 people, led them, opened the city gate, and killed them out under the cover of night.
But just as Boluopu was leaving the city, countless young men poured out from nowhere, and they rushed towards the city gate.
The soldiers guarding the city wanted to stop them, but when they saw that the number of people was too large and boundless, they simply joined in. Just like that, as soon as Boluopuhua left the city, the city gate behind it was seized by Yangzhou people.
"Go and tell General Zhu to ask Master Wang to come into the city!"