In Beijing in October, the autumn wind has begun to pick up, and the coolness is coming.
The King of Liao stood in front of the Emperor for a moment, sweating unknowingly formed on his back, and his whole body shivered when the cold wind blew.
"Bring some clothes to the King of Liao."
Zhu Yixi stroked the dog, glanced at the King of Liao, and said angrily: "You are such an adult, you don't know how to add or remove clothes, you only know how to hide in the flowers all day long."
"What's the matter? How many Mongolian concubines did you take in when you went to Chahar this time?"
"Hehe!" King Liao put on a coat and smiled: "Son, isn't this for the unity of Han and Mongolia?"
As he said that, he sat down closely and put on a smile: "Chahar is becoming more and more prosperous now."
"The wool business is booming. Every household likes to raise sheep instead of horses. They also raise a lot of cattle. It is much more relaxed than before."
"The herdsmen are happy to eat and drink, and they don't have much thought about looting. If things continue like this, there will really be peace."
Zhu Yixi was very clear about his words.
After all, Chahar not only has a governor, a royal guard, but also a khan, which can be said to be an informant.
In the past, feudal empires generally had little interest in the Monan Grassland. Even if they occupied it, they would often withdraw within a few decades.
For example, in the early Ming Dynasty, Yongle withdrew Daningwei and Hetao, and Xuande abandoned Kaipingwei. This was all because the administrative costs were too high and the court could not make ends meet.
Of course, the main reason is human nature. After all, humans naturally like warmth, so military households fled south in large numbers.
Even if the guard is there, it is difficult to station people.
But now in Chahar, farming and animal husbandry go hand in hand.
At the same time, the wool trade, fur trade, and cattle and horse trade brought exchanges between the grasslands and the Han Dynasty, and the economic ties became increasingly close.
If the Chahar Governor's Mansion can collect taxes, it will naturally be able to garrison troops and support officials.
Zhu Yixi would not adopt the restrictive marriage practice of the Manchu Dynasty.
It is nothing more than suppression, with endless consequences.
As a later generation, Zhu Yixi understands one thing deeply:
Upper decision decided by the economic background.
As long as Han Meng's vested interest groups exist, this area will not be missing.
Take the Mobei independence as an example. Everyone knows that the Mongolian nobles were bewitched by the furry bears, but why were they so bewitched?
Although it was caused by power, the most common reason was the usurious interest rate compounded by Shanxi merchants.
Data show that at the end of the Qing Dynasty, most Mongolian princes owed usurious loans to Shanxi merchants, and they were still paying usurious loans year after year and for several lifetimes.
In order to obtain opium, cloth, salt, and all kinds of enjoyment, a large number of nobles were forced to mortgage their land, while ordinary herdsmen pawned their wives, children, and children, and suffered miserably.
According to statistics, even if all the cattle and sheep land were sold, these Mongolian nobles would not be able to afford it.
In the past, the backing of Shanxi merchants was the Manchu Qing court, and the Mongolian nobles did not dare not to pay back the money. After Puyi abdicated, these princes and nobles immediately wanted to default on their debts.
What is more reliable than independence?
Monan is too close to Beijing.
A close economic union is far more effective than any kind of marriage.
Benefits are eternal.
With a business worth millions of silver dollars every year, even if future generations are unfilial and want to abandon the land, those high-ranking officials will definitely not let go.
If senior officials want to give up, interest groups will not let it go.
“What will happen to Naadam?”
Zhu Yixi was thinking in his mind, but the reality was just for a moment. He raised his head and saw the King of Liao bowing his head and acting like a child, which was very different from his usual liveliness.
This kid also knows how to be afraid.
"Father, the Naadam Conference is really lively. It is worthy of being a masked imperial examination."
When the King of Liao heard this, he immediately jumped for joy: "Thousands of heroes are competing for the three hundred people. It can be said to be exciting and lively."
"Archery, wrestling, and equestrian are all great. Even if they are eliminated, they are still top-notch."
Speaking of this, he said coquettishly: "Haier wanted to build the Liao Kingdom, so he invited some Jinshi..."
"Some?" Zhu Yixi couldn't help but laugh: "There are three hundred people in total, but you just pretended to take away two hundred."
"I guess I still have some conscience, so I left the top ten to me."
The Naadam Conference evolved into the Mongolian Imperial Examination, and anyone regardless of status or age, even a slave, could participate.
Therefore, anyone who has the ability can come and participate from Mobei in the north, Hetao and Qinghai in the west, and Horqin and Heilongjiang in the east.
The top ten will be directly admitted to the Guard Department and become third-class guards; the top thirty will be assigned to the Khan Department and serve as officials of hundreds of households.
The rest were incorporated into the imperial camp or frontier army and served as commanders or team leaders.
At the same time, this group of people will receive a reward of thirty silver coins.
After all, Mongolians are the most realistic and have the most stable money.
It is conceivable that if things go on like this, the Mongolian elite will be absorbed into the Ming Dynasty's bureaucracy and become a member of the ruling class.
Just like the imperial examination.
"Hey, my son is in urgent need of talents!"
The King of Liao said sheepishly: "In addition, my son also went to Horqin Grassland and recruited a thousand cavalry. Now he is waiting near Gubeikou..."
"Okay, I get it."
Zhu Yixi waved her hand: "I will let the Beijing Camp help you practice. You will definitely become an elite in half a year."
"Thank you, Father."
The King of Liao was overjoyed.
Who knew that the benefits the emperor had given him did not end there.
"With the passage of time, the Mongols in Suiyuan and Chahar have given birth to many children, and their household registration has increased rapidly. When you go to become a vassal, please take three thousand tents to the Liao Kingdom——"
"Father!" King Liao was startled, then ecstatic, and then inexplicably moved.
"Your eldest brother wants to conquer the Qin Kingdom. I gave up five thousand capital camps. But if you go to the Liao Kingdom, I will still be willing to give up thousands of herdsmen."
"Father, can I take away three thousand people from this household?" King Liao licked his face and pushed further.
Zhu Yixi laughed angrily: "You have such a big appetite. Do you know how many people live in three thousand households?"
"Regardless of the small number of people, if you use it well, it is worth thousands of troops."
Although the number of hundreds of households is less, it can still create a reduced version of the handicraft industry.
This was very rare for the Liao Kingdom, which was impoverished and dominated by nomads.
Not to mention anything else, wool spinning alone is enough to bring economic development to the Hezhong region.
As for saying that the rise of the Liao Kingdom will threaten the security of the Ming Dynasty, this is groundless worry.
Persia in the south and the Caspian Sea in the north are not better than barren lands like Anxi?
Moreover, vassal means colonial, economic, and cultural colonization, which must be carried out by human hands.
"My dear father, I thank you." The King of Liao agreed happily.
One hundred Han households, one thousand Mongolian cavalry, two hundred Mongolian scholars, three thousand herdsmen, plus the Anxi frontier army in the Liao Kingdom, the Liao Kingdom is indeed stable.
After he left, Zhu Yixi showed a smile.
The King of Liao is eighteen years old and will be nineteen next year.
Although he has always been out of tune and carefree, the rigorous teaching he received since childhood has made him an above-average figure.
Now that I have been observing politics in the Eight Departments for more than a year, I can be considered a mature person.
"It's not enough to be familiar with government affairs. You have to know how to govern the herdsmen."
The emperor thought about it and asked the King of Liao to go to Chahar for training.
No, Chahar has already shown his face, so he can only go to Suiyuan to serve as an official of hundreds of households.
After waiting for half a year, you can go to Liao and become a vassal state.
"Bring in the secret box of Governor Chahar."
The emperor spoke.
"yes."
Soon, the secret box from Chahar was opened.
Today's Governor of Chahar is still Sun Changzhou, who has been serving for nearly ten years.
From Governor-General of Xuanda to Governor-General of Chahar, Sun Changzhou has been serving as a local official, which can be said to be a result of hard work and great achievements.
Zhu Yixi read his letter and lay down directly on his back.
In the Chahar area, although the Chahar County Prince and the Beihai County Prince share power now, the land directly under the governor's jurisdiction already accounts for 30% of Chahar.
Including the Khan tribe, the total land of Chahar can be 50%.
In terms of population, the seven counties of Chifeng, Kuancheng, Chengde, Luanping, Pingquan, Daning and Heicheng have nearly 100,000 people.
As Chuluo Khan, the emperor's Khan tribe was also constantly expanding, and there were nearly 20,000 tents, or 100,000 people.
These herdsmen rely on the Mongolian official system, that is, hundreds of households, thousands of households, and officials who decide affairs.
The first two control the herdsmen's taxation, corvee service, recruitment, transfer, land population and other powers, while the judge controls the judicial power.
Due to the distance factor, the officials of the Khan Ministry were managed by the governor. The combined population of the two was 200,000, accounting for 70% of Chahar's population.
The other two county princes and a group of nobles occupied less than 100,000 households, totaling 20,000 tents.
As time goes by, more and more Han people will migrate northward, and the day when their areas will be incorporated into Han territory and the governors will be removed as provinces is not far away.
On the contrary, the Suiyuan area is close to Shanxi and Ningxia, and the population overflow is not obvious. The population of several prefectures controlled by the imperial court is less than half of Suiyuan.
Although a large number of Mongolian nobles were Sinicized, without Han people to cultivate farmland, the speed of Sinicization would be much slower.
"One hundred thousand hectares of cultivated land and three hundred thousand taxes."
Zhu Yixi cooed, feeling happy in her heart.
Although the feeling of having great power is great, not all nobles like cow dung and exposure to wind and sun.
Therefore, the imperial court implemented the policy of managing the nobles' pastures, that is, the power of redemption.
Many nobles stayed in the city to enjoy life and were too lazy to go home to manage their pastures and lands.
Therefore, the imperial court gave them a sum of money every year to provide escrow services, and over time they usurped the power of the nobles.
Basically, based on accounts, the herdsmen pay two yuan for one account, two hundred silver yuan for one hundred accounts, and two thousand yuan for one thousand accounts.
Unfortunately, what is certain is that the nobles will never receive two silver coins a year from a group of herdsmen.
A sheep in Chahar costs two to three cents. How can a herdsman collect taxes from seven to ten sheep?
(Let’s talk about silver cents. In the late Ming Dynasty, silver was cheap and copper was precious. A silver dollar was only worth five hundred cents, so one silver dollar was worth five silver cents. Later, the circulation of gold and silver was banned. A silver dollar was fixed at one thousand cents, so it was worth ten silver cents.)
(At the same time, a silver coin weighs about four grams, and its silver content changes from 70% to 50% silver, with the remaining 50% iron, copper, tin, and lead)
This is simply impossible.
Therefore, the smart nobles let the court manage the tribe. They moved to the city and enjoyed life like the Han people, making money every year.
[A novel app that has been running stably for many years, comparable to the old book-chasing tool, and a source-changing app used by old bookworms,]
The Mongolian nobles called it Iron Sheep Coin.
As the name suggests, money does not change due to disasters, time, or tribes, and is as permanent as iron.
For the imperial court, it was really profitable to spend a little money to acquire land and tribes, let the Han people reclaim the land, collect taxes and earn the difference.
Thus, we get the best of both worlds and achieve a win-win situation.
Only then will the cultivated land and the Khan tribe continue to expand, and Chahar will also need to give a large amount of money to those nobles every year.
A conservative estimate is that the annual expenditure of two hundred noble families, large and small, is nearly 100,000 yuan. The remaining supporting officials can still have 70,000 to 80,000 yuan left if they pay a little more.
"Trade, trade——"
"It took five years to go from losing money to breaking even, and almost eight years to make a profit."
Zhu Yixi couldn't help but sigh: "I saw the money back, and it's still 70,000 to 80,000 yuan, which is really good."
"Submit it, you must submit it."
"However, in this case, the share must be determined!"
The emperor thought about it and decided to make it seven-thirds, three for the imperial court, and seven for Chahar.
Although this amount of money is not enough to build a palace by myself, it is of great significance.
…
"Snowing--"
Liaodong Province, Shenyang Prefecture.
Just after returning home from the office, Zhu Cunqu shook the snow off his umbrella and couldn't help but shiver.
Good guy, it snows in October. The snow comes suddenly and dyes the entire county white.
The vendors and footmen in the streets and alleys all stopped and went back to their homes to burn their kangs. The entire county seemed to have been cleared of streets. Except for a series of footprints, there was no sign of anyone at all.
"Master——"
The servants hurriedly helped him back to the room, where he put on the big cloak that had been delivered to him, and a charcoal stove was also delivered to him.
At this time, a woman came slowly with a smile on her face.
Her skin is fair and delicate, exuding a charming luster, and her breasts are plump. Even if she is wrapped in a layer of cotton clothes, her moisture can still be seen.
The buttocks are slightly plump, revealing an amazing arc.
It seemed that he had just warmed up over the fire, his face was rosy, his eyes were watery, and his thoughts were almost overflowing.
How can one describe beauty with a graceful temperament and a delicate face.
He reached over with his delicate neck, his face full of concern: "These cotton shoes have been warmed up, please put them on quickly."
"Madam." Zhu Cunqu watched the Crown Princess squat down to change her shoes. He was very moved for a moment and couldn't help but touch her hair.
"Officer!" Feeling her hair being touched, the Crown Princess snorted proudly, then stood up and handed over another cup of hot tea: "Are you warm?"
"With my wife here, how can I not be warm?"
Zhu Cunqu chuckled.
"Only among the people can you feel the comfort of ordinary couples." The Crown Princess sighed.
Immediately, she touched her flat belly again: "Hey, when will I be pregnant?"
Zhu Cunqu consoled him: "We will always succeed."
At this time, several concubines also came to say hello, which relieved their sorrow.
Not only was the princess worried, Zhu Cunqu himself was also worried.
All the sons of King Qin have fled to the ground, and he has no heirs.
This is a very serious political loss, even if he is the prince.
So when he was in Liaodong, the emperor directly sent all his concubines over, hoping that they would give birth to a grandson named Dragon Seed. Unfortunately, he was never able to do so.
Back in the study, Zhu Cunqu, as the general judge, began to write a report:
Although the harvest of corn in Liaodong is good, it can only provide enough for food and clothing. There is neither tea nor silkworms, so there is only iron power...