Yang Feng listened with shock to the new version of the royal secret compiled by Qi Tai and others.
Of course, that's understandable.
It can only be said that they were forced to really start using their brains.
And this is a very smart approach.
Because his previous troubles in Shanxi, although it can be said to have ended perfectly, have made people in Ming Dynasty grow weary. Shanxi has developed rapidly in the past two years, and its industry and commerce have grown explosively. In just two years, he has already lost money.
Tax farming was close to maintaining a balance of payments. Although the Shanxi gentry was forced to divide their fields, they began to enjoy greater happiness through industry and commerce. Factories were built one after another in the carnival of free capitalism.
The military supplies in the border towns also provided them with a broad market.
Weapons, ammunition, uniforms, armor, and even canned food were continuously produced and transported to Datong, Shuofang and even distant Yanran and Hanhai through the wooden rail that was almost completed.
They even exist in Beiting and Anxi.
This was originally the main trade route for Shanxi merchants.
But in the past, Mongolia did not surrender, so the imperial court prohibited the import of supplies to Mobei, but now with the surrender of various Mongolian tribes, the door to a new world has just opened for Shanxi merchants.
It's totally like a carnival.
Which other provinces, especially coastal provinces such as Jiangsu and Zhejiang, are not envious?
Which of those gentry doesn’t want to?
But when Zhu Yuanzhang was alive, they dared not speak out. They could only endure it silently, watching overseas gold and silver continue to flow into the bank, and even if they made loan sharks, they would be caught in Jinyiwei's prison. At the same time, they guarded
Their land that could have been used to grow various cash crops could only grow worthless rice, and they had to endure various industrial and commercial restrictions from the court. After Zhu Yuanzhang died, Zhu Yunxi did not expect that he would intensify his efforts.
The imperial examinations that they finally relied on to get into the country must be reformed, and they must also go to the West to compete with the people with the dignity of emperors. It is conceivable that the mighty fleet going south will bring back a huge amount of goods that will destroy the gentry's hands.
The prices for goods are so pitiful.
black pepper?
If a fleet goes south, it can pull back millions of kilograms at a time.
No need to purchase, just grab it.
In this case, if we use the banner of Zhu Yuanzhang's imperial edict, make Zhu Yunwen the King of Wu, and then use the banner of King Wu to implement de facto separatist rule, wouldn't we be able to do whatever we want?
Treasure money?
You can open your own bank!
This is actually a good thing. The gentry all admit that adding banknotes to banks is a good design. After all, it existed in the Song Dynasty. They just couldn't bear that they couldn't open a bank. If Zhu Yunwen separated Jiangsu and Zhejiang, he couldn't open his own bank.
Yet?
You can also go overseas to trade yourself and make a lot of money directly overseas.
Bans such as drinking tea can also be lifted.
Even the salt industry can be liberalized.
…
Everything can be let go.
The prosperous age of Bahuang Xiange!
but……
"You still don't care?"
Sister Liu said curiously.
This is not the vassal king causing trouble, this is to encourage the gentry to simply reshuffle the system in the Ming Dynasty. Anyway, Zhu Yunxi's throne is extremely upright, and it is impossible for everyone to make a fuss in this regard. In this case, then
Simply bypass the emperor. Of course the vassal kings like to separate their regimes, and the gentry also like to separate their regimes. Anyway, Zhu Yuanzhang's enfeoffment has laid the foundation for them.
They just need to defeat the emperor and force him to admit it.
Besides, it’s not like he didn’t leave it for the emperor.
Even if a vassal king has one province or all commands the envoys, there will still be several provinces without vassal kings at all. Even if the three prefectures of Su, Song and Chang are turned into the fiefdoms of King Wu, the emperor will still have other prefectures in Zhili and Jiangxi, Fujian and Guangdong.
These provinces do not have vassal kings at all. Anyway, the country was conquered by Emperor Daxing. As the heir, he will get the biggest piece, and it is reasonable for the other descendants to each get a piece. What's more, everyone will still respect him as emperor in the future. Is it possible for him to have the throne?
Not enough?
"Don't worry, let's watch them play first. Besides, I don't have to protect the Zhu family's imperial power.
Some of Lao Zhu's designs are right.
But it’s not entirely right.”
Yang Feng said.
Why did he intervene?
He is not a filial son and grandson of the Zhu family, and he has no obligation to safeguard the imperial power for the emperor of the Zhu family.
Just watch them make trouble, pick the fruits when the trouble is almost over, and then carry out reforms based on Lao Zhu's current system. For example, the guard system is destined to collapse, why not change it, such as simply establishing a reserve force. For example, Lao Zhu
We have indeed done a lot to limit land annexation, but it is obviously not enough, so we simply nationalize it and add permanent tenancy, and no trading is allowed in the future. As for the new population, those who have wasteland nearby will open up wasteland, and those who don’t have wasteland will move out and do not want to open up wasteland.
If you don’t want to move, then work in a factory, serve as a soldier, or do business.
Gotta force it.
The people will not leave unless forced.
In short, those gentry dare to do something big, why doesn't Ambassador Yang dare?
But the premise is that when the quarrel breaks out and it cannot be ended, only then can he step in to pick the peaches as the adjudicator, but now the fun has just begun!
"Then have you ever thought about it, no matter whether the emperor wins or the vassal king wins, they are still the Zhu family world in the final analysis. No matter Zhu Yunxi, Zhu Yunwen or Zhu Di have to protect the Zhu family world, some fundamental things will not be deceived by you.
And Zhu Yunxi obviously wants to get rid of you now. He is already the emperor and does not need anyone to tell him what to do. The little princess has suggested to him many times that he should coax the vassals to negotiate peace first, and then wait for you to come back. But everything
If you are rejected by him, he doesn't need you anymore. If you go back and solve this chaos, then who is he as an emperor? He should even know the truth about Zhu Yuanzhang sending you to sea.
It's obvious he'd be happy to have you lost at sea, never to return."
Sister Liu said.
Yang Feng smiled slightly.
Of course he knew this very well.
The imperial edict was indeed Zhu Yuanzhang's intention, but Zhu Yuanzhang had long been idle and bedridden at that time. Of course, it was Zhu Yunxi who issued the imperial edict.
This is normal.
No emperor would tolerate his existence.
Zhu Yunxi did regard him as his teacher, but not to mention his teacher, he was his brother. Didn't he just kill him as soon as he came to the throne? He was a qualified emperor, at least in terms of decisiveness in killing. He was just a temperament.
It's just a little anxious, but it's normal. After all, he still has a chance to win. Lao Zhu took care of everything for him. Zhu Di was driven to the Western Regions, and all other powerful vassals were driven away. Even Yang Feng set up a plan for him.
Once it was dealt with, he had nothing to worry about, and of course he couldn't wait to start exercising his will.
As for now, it's just a small accident.
But he will still win.
After all, Lan Yu has surrounded Kaifeng, Cao Zhen's army has also arrived in Wuchang, and has also surrounded Wuchang with Li Jinglong. Although the Zhu Gaochi brothers don't look weak, they are ultimately unable to break through Zhou Dexing's blockade.
In fact, they can only protect Peiping at the moment.
Although Zhou Dexing is older, he is still a veteran after all. Based solely on his qualifications, even Xu Huizu and others can be treated as juniors in front of him. This kind of elder does not need to do anything, his presence is enough to ensure stability.
And as soon as the seal is opened, everything will be over.
And this is inevitable.
Lan Yu surrounded Kaifeng with an army of 200,000, including 60,000 Shenji Battalion. This strength itself was sufficient. He was just waiting for the siege artillery to arrive.
"There isn't much time left for them."
Yang Feng said with emotion.
Suzhou.
Dongting Mountain.
"It's just nonsense, isn't it ridiculous!"
Yao Shan, the prefect of Suzhou, looked at the fake Zhu Yunwen in front of him.
"Ke Yi, you should do extraordinary things in an emergency. What's more, I have sent people to Kaifeng to deliver a message, asking the king to come quickly. King Yan and others will definitely be happy to see it happen. These heroes were sent by Prince Yan to help. Now I owe you
All the elites of the Suzhou Guards have been mobilized to go north, leaving only the old and the weak. Suzhou is so loyal. Once there is a mass response, the Suzhou Guards will not dare to interfere.
The imperial edict of Emperor Daxing is here. Ke Yi is an old minister of Emperor Daxing. All you need to do is obey the edict."
Qitai said.
Then he pushed forward the forged so-called edict.
Of course it’s fake!
Even Yao Shan knew very well that this was a forgery.
but……
"Brother Ke Yi, if Brother Ke Yi takes the order of the Suzhou magistrate to comply with the imperial edict of Emperor Daxing and welcome King Wu back to the vassal state, all the elders in Suzhou will obey. As for the Suzhou guards, they are not worried about it. They are just bribed."
His close friend, a native of Changshu, and Ding You's former friend Huang Yue said.
"But where did the soldiers and horses come from?"
Yao Shan said hesitantly.
Everyone was embarrassed for a while, this question was very critical.
First of all, it is impossible for them to fool the common people into joining the army.
Suzhou is the richest.
The common people are so idle that they want to join in this kind of royal infighting? At most, they can just watch the fun from the sidelines. In fact, even the gentry will also watch the fun from the sidelines. After all, the reason why Qi Tai did this was just because he was desperate.
They weren't desperate.
Of course there were Suzhou gentry who followed them, but the majority were watching the fun.
This is inevitable.
"In fact, there is no shortage of available soldiers in Suzhou. As long as each family is willing, it is easy to have tens of thousands of soldiers. If the gentry of Su, Song and Chang three houses are willing, they can even have 30,000 soldiers."
Huang Yue said with a mysterious smile.
Everyone looked at him doubtfully.
"Everyone, it is indeed difficult for the local people to be used by us, but you seem to have forgotten how many Japanese slaves there are in Su Songchang's three mansions. Not only Japanese slaves, but also Korean slaves and even Annan slaves. These people are all capable of selling their lives.
As long as we give them money, they can all work hard. As for ordnance and the like, it’s not worth mentioning. It’s enough to collect them from the private sector. The only problem is that they have to have money.”
Huang Yue said.
There are indeed many Japanese slaves in this area.
Of course, the official status is definitely not a slave. Under Zhu Yuanzhang's system, the gentry had no right to keep slaves at all.
But you can hire workers.
Su Song often includes Zhejiang. In fact, the industry has developed rapidly in recent years, especially the textile industry. This is a natural advantage. All kinds of hydraulic machinery are inseparable from the water network, and it is best to have a water network that does not freeze all year round. And this area is the largest
The water network area is also the largest grain-producing area. There is enough surplus grain to feed the non-agricultural population, but the disadvantage is that the wages are relatively high.
After all, the common people do not lack food and clothing. In this case, if you want them to be willing to work in the factory, you can only pay them a high enough wage.
But for textile owners, of course, the lower the wages, the better.
Who is the lowest?
Japanese slaves.
They eat less than dogs and work more than donkeys, and no one cares whether they do well or not and can be whipped to death.
But we can't say they are Japanese slaves.
Because they were actually brought by the generals of the Fusang Dudu Commandery Division. The latter were basically lawless in Fusang, far away from the emperor. They colluded with the Japanese officials and the chieftains to abduct the poor people who had no food to eat from the Japanese country, and then sent them to
In the Ming Dynasty, they were slaves to the chieftains. Of course, there were no slave restrictions for the latter. Not to mention Fusang, even the chieftains of Yunnan and Guizhou were slaves. The textile owners here were paid a pitifully low salary for a Japanese slave, and they were not paid.
Japanese slaves, but to the foreman responsible for managing them.
The latter will of course take them back to their real owners behind them.
Then the gentry would just take care of the food for the Japanese slaves.
As for the small amount of food that the Japanese slaves had, the gentry could only afford to keep a dog.
All that's left is to lock them in textile workshops for endless work...
Well, it's actually just selling piglets.
Japanese version.
I have to say that the hearts of capitalists and profiteers are equally dark.
Of course Zhu Yuanzhang didn't know.
He hasn't been doing anything in the past few years, so who would bother him with such a trivial matter.
Of course Zhu Yunxi knew that, but this was an important business for the generals of the Fusang Guards, and there was no need for him to cause complaints. Moreover, these Japanese slaves weaved cloth for the Ming Dynasty, and were eventually sold to Japan and other vassal countries at high prices. In exchange for the gold and silver, it belonged to the Ming Dynasty. Why?
It's actually not a bad thing.
So he didn't care.
In fact, this situation is very common, including that of Yang Feng in Huining. The extremely low-cost labor force of the Japanese country was used to make up for the problem of high industrial and commercial costs caused by the higher cost of employment for the people of the Ming Dynasty to live a good life. It's just that
Yang Feng is dominated by Japanese women, while those in Jiangnan are dominated by Japanese men. However, both men and women used the blood and tears of Japanese people to build the industrial foundation of the Ming Dynasty. Legally speaking, it cannot be said to be illegal, because in terms of status, they are still
The people directly under the Ming Dynasty were not vassal people like the Japanese state. Their slave status was with the chieftains in Fusang and even the generals of the guards.
As their master, the latter ordered them to go to Jiangsu and Zhejiang to help their friends. This was not a problem in law.
Of course, it cannot be said that it is completely legal.
After all, there is still household registration management, but this problem can be solved, as long as the local officials in Fuso can guide them.
But now these Japanese slaves can indeed be used as cannon fodder.
After all, they are dedicated to their lives.
"So, can these promises made by King Wu be supported by the Suzhou gentry?"
Fang Xiaoru handed a volume of blood book to Huang Yue.
The latter immediately unfolded it and looked at the content above.
Open up the sea ban, allow merchants to trade overseas, open up the banking industry, allow merchants to set up banks, open up all minerals, allow merchants to mine freely, and abolish the system of not leaving the capital...
Huang Yue closed the blood book with a smile.
"Your Majesty, please rest here for a few days. I will return to Suzhou soon. There should be good news soon."