Jizijuan Tiger Crouching on the Barren Hill Chapter 4 The Big Plan (two in one update, please vote for me!)
Emperor Yonglong remained silent.
The poor situation in the northwest has always been a hidden danger. Gansu and Ningxia, together with Liu Dongyang and their expansion of Hami and Shazhou, look very glamorous, but in fact the shortcomings have begun to show up, that is, the difficulty of logistical supply and the huge cost, which has become a letdown
He had a faint ache of regret.
Zhang Jingqiu and Chai Ke had previously reported to him the pros and cons of regaining Hami and Shazhou when they were talking about recovering Hami and Shazhou. But in that situation at that time, they had to win the hearts and minds of the people and the support of the northern scholars.
, made this decision, and now Hami and Shazhou have been recovered, but the long-term supply has become a pain point for the three sides.
Chen Jingxuan's memorial to the cabinet and himself was full of serious shortages of grain and money. The biggest problems were Gansu Town and Hami. Shazhou's supply consumption was too large. Chen Jingxuan even vaguely revealed whether he could give up Hami.
Fortunately, this guy hasn't said that he wants to give up Shazhou, but even so, it has caused a lot of controversy in the cabinet.
But fortunately, everyone understands the sensitivity of this matter, and it has not spread yet. It is only known to a few cabinet elders and themselves. However, the Ministry of Revenue has also been shouting that the expenditures of Liaodong and the three sides are too large, and it has reached a point where it is difficult to support
to the point.
But once banditry breaks out in northern Shaanxi, supplies will no longer be able to be maintained as before. I am afraid that the two towns in Gansu and Ningxia will not be able to support them, especially Hami and Shazhou. Can they still be maintained?
Thinking of this, Emperor Yonglong felt a faint pain in his head. How come his father, who had been in power for forty years, was able to travel to the south of the Yangtze River six times with great ease, but when it was his turn, he ended up in such a mess? This question has always troubled him, and it also made him think.
Difficult to follow.
"Brother Imperial, since Huguang has a good harvest in sight, it is better to take advantage of the situation in the north to collect grain in Huguang and transport it to Xi'an first. As long as we can give the people of Gansu and Shaanxi the news that Xi'an has a large amount of grain, we can lower the price of grain in northern Shaanxi.
Once it stabilizes, we might as well let Henan adjust grain from the south of the Yangtze River. Once Henan is stabilized, there will be little room for grain prices in Shaanxi to rise again." King Zhongshun couldn't help but interject.
Emperor Yonglong smiled bitterly, "Old Jiu, although there is still some money in the Ministry of Finance, it is all for emergencies. What you said will cost a huge amount of money. The remaining money from land tax and sea development strategies will be spent in November and December.
Already?
Where can I find the money to do such things in advance?"
Loyal and obedient to Wang Moran?
After a while, he said: "Why not borrow money from Haitong Bank?"
Emperor Yonglong also hesitated, "Someone in the cabinet also proposed to borrow money from Haitong Bank?
But the opposition is not small?
Mainly in terms of interest. Do you know that this loan is not worth hundreds of thousands of taels?
At least one or two million taels, not to mention whether Haitong Yinzhuang can get it?
Is this a lot of interest per year?
…”
In business, if King Zhongshun wants to help his brother again, it is absolutely impossible to borrow money without interest. Even if he wants low interest rates, he will be opposed by other shareholders?
It’s no wonder that there’s a lot of opposition in the cabinet.
"Why don't you speak?" Emperor Yonglong chuckled.
"It concerns your own interests, so you think it's easy to handle?"
"Brother Emperor is joking, but Brother Emperor also knows that Haitong Bank is composed of hundreds of shareholders, among whom there are dozens of members of our Zhang family, northern gentry and merchants?
Jiangnan gentry and merchants, plus maritime merchants and salt merchants and grain merchants from the south of Huguang?
The ingredients are complex, although Chendi is also the largest shareholder?
But after all, it’s nothing to worry about..."
King Zhongshun looks embarrassed?
Explain with a grimace.
Only Feng Ziying has the specific list of shareholders of Haitong Bank?
But as the largest shareholder?
King Zhongshun knew roughly, and even Captain Long only knew a rough idea. If it were to be specific to each person, only Feng Ziying knew it.
"Lao Jiu, you mean you can't make the decision?" Emperor Yonglong was a little curious.
He had a rough idea of the situation of Haitong Bank, but he didn't know much about how it operated and what model it used to make money. He only knew that he had reached an agreement with the imperial court and that Denglai's naval fleet and related shipyards and docks
Construction Haitong Bank will provide loans, but nothing else.
"Brother Emperor, when Haitong Bank was first established, there was a charter, which was signed and approved by all shareholders. It clarified the operation model. No one can go beyond this business operation rule, not my brother, Feng Ziying
No matter who the initiator is, this point has been recognized by everyone at the beginning. Otherwise, the gentry, merchants, salt merchants and grain merchants in Jiangnan would not join in, otherwise they would be worried about our royal family members and the imperial court occupying
Are they cheap? But in fact, we royal family members are probably more opposed to the imperial court getting involved than they are."
King Zhongshun was very dismissive of this group of relatives. If he hadn't wanted to raise money to open up the situation, he really wouldn't want to deal with this group of relatives, near or far, but he had to admit that there were people like this.
Joining it has indeed made many gentry and merchants in the North feel more at ease, and also encouraged them to invest in the company.
"This group of people had always disagreed with the loan from Denglai. They felt that the interest rate was too low, and the court did not provide much help to the bank. It was Feng Keng who went to make several explanations before reluctantly convincing them.
To help people, I have to say that these people are really less loyal to the emperor than ordinary gentry and merchants."
Emperor Yonglong was also greatly touched by King Zhongshun's emotion. Who would give in under the interests? These royal family members are all their ministers and relatives in terms of etiquette and law, but when it comes to interests, there is no such tenderness and affection anymore.
It is even more impossible to take a piece of the pie from their mouths.
"In that case, Lao Jiu, you also mentioned that you want to borrow money from Haitong Bank?" Emperor Yonglong was silent for a while before saying.
"Brother Imperial, I don't have this ability, but maybe Feng Keng can." King Zhongshun hesitated and said: "The same was true for the previous Denglai loan matter, but Feng Keng found a few leading figures to persuade them one by one.
, although there were some twists and turns in the middle, it was finally passed. Although it was difficult this time, my brother felt that with Feng Keng's eloquence, he could still convince these profit-seeking guys."
"Is Feng Keng really so capable?" Emperor Yonglong was a little surprised. Although the strategy of opening up the sea was proposed by Feng Keng, which was enough to prove his foresight on the macro level, it was completely different from the specific lending of money. Emperor Yonglong was very surprised.
Knowing the appetites and virtues of those clan members, it is not easy to convince them.
"Although I don't know how Feng Keng can convince these people, I admire Feng Keng's ability very much. He can always find some truth that makes people follow his ideas and principles involuntarily..." Zhongshun
Wang laughed, obviously still very confident about this.
Emperor Yonglong nodded slightly, as if he was trying to figure out something, but also seemed a little touched.
"Brother, are you still troubled by Liaodong affairs?" King Zhongshun said cautiously.
"This Lu Song is also talkative, you know it? Compared with the Shaanxi incident, Liaodong is nothing, at least it is not so urgent, but I think I am an impatient person with a big appetite, but Feng
Tang seems to be even worse than me." A smile appeared on the corner of Emperor Yonglong's mouth, but this smile was a bit complicated, "Old Jiu, do you know what he wants?"
King Zhongshun was nervous for a while, "My younger brother also wants to know."
"Humph, he proposed to assign Kuandian Liubao to Shuerhaqi's Jianzhou right guard, and at the same time allow Shuerhaqi to recruit Korean refugees to reclaim wasteland in Kuandian Liubao area." Emperor Yonglong said word by word.
Although Kuandian Liubao was abandoned by Li Chengliang, he only withdrew his troops in actual operations. However, in theory it was still an area controlled by the Zhou Dynasty. It was only withdrawn to avoid being raided by Nurhaci and due to supply difficulties. Now it is handed over
It seems reasonable to give Jianzhou Youwei jurisdiction. The only thing that is a bit unreasonable is that Kuandian Liubao is close to the Jianzhou Youwei area, not the Jianzhou Youwei area.
King Zhongshun naturally understood the logic here, and frowned and said, "I'm afraid Nurhachi won't agree, and North Korea will also react, right?"
"I am also worried about this. Although North Korea and Nurhachi are now at odds with each other, it is also because Nurhachi has great influence outside the pass and it is also the reason that our Liaodong side is not strong enough. But if Shuerhachi is allowed to take root and absorb in the Liubao area of Kuandian
North Korean refugees, firstly, Nurhaci will not agree, which will intensify the conflict and the war will continue. Secondly, will North Korea become resentful because of this, and even get involved with Nurhaci?"
King Zhongshun was also unsure. He had a rough idea of such important military matters, but when it came to making a decision, he did not dare to speak out. "What are the opinions of the cabinet elders and the Ministry of War?"
"I don't agree. Qi Yongtai and Li San are supportive. Fang Congzhe is firmly opposed. Ye Xianggao and Li Tingji are not clear and have no objections. However, they have raised several concerns. The main concern is that if the war is prolonged, the Ministry of Household Affairs will
We can't afford it." Emperor Yonglong was also hesitant. Since the matter was serious, he really did not dare to make a sudden decision. "And once North Korea turns against us, the situation in Liaodong will be even more dangerous."
"Didn't Feng Tang realize this?" King Zhongshun always felt that it was not that simple. "He should have an explanation."
"Of course he has his reasons, and I can't say he's wrong. It's just that I and the cabinet are worried about whether what he said can achieve the goal." Emperor Yonglong sighed, "Feng Tang pointed out in the memorial that King Li Hui of Korea forced
Due to the power of Nurhaci, they are increasingly flattering to the Jianzhou Jurchens, but they are also afraid of the pressure of the Zhou Dynasty, so they deliberately adopt the strategy of sitting on the fence. At present, the Zhou Dynasty is still unable to force North Korea to change its policy trend, so it should seek practical benefits, such as supporting Shu
Erhaqi’s Jianzhou Right Guards recruited Korean refugees to compete with Nurhaci as a strategy..."
"Brother, is that all?" King Zhongshun frowned.
"Of course, Feng Tang proposed that people from Shandong, Beizhi, and Henan be moved to Liaodong and west Liaoning to replenish the border areas. Three hundred thousand people would be relocated, and they would be exempted from taxes for twenty years, and provide support such as grain seeds and cattle for the first three years.
,…”
King Zhongshun took a breath. No wonder even the emperor's brother and the cabinet were so hesitant. This gap was too wide.
Relocating people to the border is not a new approach, but moving to Liaodong, especially now, must be done with caution.
The reason why Nurhachi's development momentum is so rapid is that, in addition to unifying the Jianzhou Jurchens and annexing the Huifa and Hada tribes of the Haixi Jurchens, another more important factor is that he recruited, absorbed and plundered many Han people from the Han region in Liaodong.
, even from Chahar, it attracted many Han people living outside the Great Wall.
This group of Han people brought to the Jurchens iron smelting, armor making, leather making, farming and other technologies that the Jurchens had never mastered before. For the first time, the Jurchens in Jianzhou had the ability to make their own weapons and armors, greatly increasing their strength.
Only then did he have the strength to further annex the Haixi Jurchens.
You must know that Nurhaci made his fortune with more than a dozen pairs of tattered armors. He paid special attention to the production ability of weapons and armors. As long as Han people with the ability can get better treatment and a better life under his command than in the pass.
Because of this, the imperial court is now half-hearted and hesitant about the situation in Liaodong.
Knowing that Liaodong can't support Liaodong's needs by relying on military garrison alone, a large amount of supplies and material needs have to be transported from within the customs, and the freight cost alone is an astronomical figure, and except for grain and fodder, all other materials need to be imported from within the customs.
This huge supply difficulty has seriously restricted Liaodong's self-supply ability, making any operation or even many trainings have to consider whether its own supplies can be met.
There are only two ways to solve this serious shortage of supplies, either to have strong endogenous production capabilities, or to have strong, efficient and low-cost transportation and delivery capabilities. If both are available, then naturally
Even better, but neither of these are available to the current Liaodong or the Great Zhou Dynasty.
The former requires abundant manpower, and the current population of Liaodong is less than 500,000. Among them, there are 100,000 soldiers of Liaodong Town, plus their family members, accounting for almost 70%. The remainder are mostly various types of soldiers serving the Liaodong Town Army.
Personnel, the number of people who can truly survive independently is probably less than 50,000.
In other words, the entire Liaodong is a huge military group with almost no basis for the survival of other civilian populations. Except for a part of the population belonging to military camps that can barely meet their own survival needs, this huge military group has most of its military and daily needs.
Rely on external input.
When sea transportation is cut off, all materials need to be imported from the direction of the capital via the Liaoxi Corridor. The capital itself is a city that is difficult to be self-sufficient and needs to be imported in large quantities from the south of the Yangtze River. This means that all materials must be imported from the more distant Jiangnan or Jiangnan.
The consumption and cost of importing goods from Huguang can be imagined to be high.
It can be said that Feng Tang was considering a long-term plan for Liaodong, but it was very difficult to implement this strategy.
First of all, relocation itself is a difficult problem. Even if it is to move refugees who have suffered from famine to Liaodong, it is not easy. People must resettle their hometowns and have to leave their hometowns only as a last resort. This is one of the reasons. Relocation costs a lot of money, even if it is from the nearest city.
Relocating people from North Zhili and Shandong by land costs a lot and is easy to be infected with diseases. Moving by sea requires huge transportation capacity and costs a lot. Relocation from preparation to planning to implementation is extremely complicated and complicated.
If you are not careful, it will cause civil unrest. This is the third point; after the relocation, will it stimulate the ambitions of the Jianzhou Jurchens or Chahar people, which will lead to attacks and plunder from the two parties? Can Liaodong Town withstand it? This is
The fourth and most crucial point is that otherwise it will be like making wedding clothes for the enemy.
Seeing that King Zhongshun was also shocked and did not dare to speak, Emperor Yonglong smiled mockingly, "This matter is only limited to the cabinet ministers and me, and you know, it is also a difficult question for people to choose.
, If we don’t do this, in the long run, it will indeed be difficult to contain the threat of the Jianzhou Jurchens and even the Chahar people. Without a sufficient population, Liaodong will be like a big hole, constantly devouring the already stretched financial resources of the court.
The problem of relocating people to the border is too big and too difficult. Even if it is gradually realized in three to five years as Feng Tang said, with the promotion of the imperial government and the assistance of private businessmen, it will still be very costly and difficult.
…”
King Zhongshun pondered for a long time and then said: "Then when Feng Tang proposed this strategy, did he tell you how to implement it?"
Emperor Yonglong hesitated for a moment and then said slowly: "This was not stated. He only said that it would be implemented by the arrangement of the imperial court. It could be carried out in conjunction with the construction of the Denglai Navy. In the early stage, the matter could be promoted through Jiangnan maritime merchants. He said in the memorial
He also said that whether it is supporting the Haixi Jurchens and Shuerhaqi, whether it is wooing the Chahars or suppressing the Horqin people, they are all measures to treat the symptoms rather than the root cause. It is difficult to truly curb the expansion of the Jianzhou Jurchens. If we want to truly destroy the Jianzhou Jurchens,
The Jurchen and Chahar people in the prefecture are threatening us, and we Han people have to grow and establish a foothold in the land of Liaodong, and he also said that it is easy for the land of Liaodong to accommodate the survival of two to three million Han people, especially when he mentioned
When some new edible foods are introduced from overseas, they may be able to help the immigrants from Liaodong."
"New edible food?" King Zhongshun asked with some confusion.
"Well, he probably means that when Xu Guangqi lived in seclusion in Tianjin Wei, he planted some crops from the Western Yi, called potatoes and sweet potatoes, similar to taro and groundnut..." Emperor Yonglong was quite puzzled.
"I don't know where Feng Tang learned about this situation, so he vowed that such crops can also be grown in Liaodong, which can reduce the pressure of transporting grain from the customs to Liaodong..."
King Zhongshun was somewhat disapproving, "It's cold in the east of Liaoning, and there are less oranges in Huainan and tangerines in the north. Feng Tang is a bit fanciful. How can such things that are related to the imperial government's plans be believed to be true just because of some hearsay? This is not a good strategy, but
Feng Tang said that relocating people is a move to strengthen the foundation, and I deeply agree with it. Without enough people, it will indeed be difficult to support the entire Liaodong situation."
"Laojiu, do you think it's feasible at this time?" Emperor Yonglong looked at King Zhongshun and said.
"This is not my brother's fault. I just feel that Liaodong must be defended. So no matter what strategy is adopted, Liaodong should be stable. Perhaps Feng Tangzhi's suggestion is a bit too hasty, but it may not be impossible to find some compromise strategies." King Zhongshun