Chapter 1595 Xin Zijuan Approaching

  Feng Ziying stroked her chin and nodded slightly.

  Prince Yizhong wants to make a move in the south of the Yangtze River. The biggest reliance is the route, the Yangtze River and the canal. If this route is cut off, the transportation cost of various materials in the Northland will increase by at least 50% or even more than double, and the price will also skyrocket by more than 30%.

But this is not enough. The price increase is one aspect, but if the price increases and the supply of energy is still guaranteed, it is of little significance. If it is not cut off, at least it must be minimized.

  Under the circumstances that Huguang is still not sure whether it can be controlled by Wang Ziteng, it is a good idea to cut off food fundamentally and weaken the security of food sources in the North.

  Anyway, with the war together, food prices will definitely skyrocket. Hoarding food now is necessary and not a loss anyway.

  Food is the foundation of everything, and it is also the biggest weakness of the Northland.

  Ninety percent of the food for hundreds of thousands of frontier troops comes from the south, and 70% of the food in Gyeonggi comes from the south. These two pieces alone are enough to make food security a winner.

In fact, it is too late to start now, but Feng Ziying believes that Prince Yizhong will not dare to start too early, because it will be too easy to be noticed, and doing it after the summer grain is harvested can avoid too much noise, and now, even if It is because the imperial court has noticed some abnormalities, and it needs to study and analyze what is the reason. With the administrative efficiency of the Great Zhou court, it is not bad to be able to come up with a conclusion after the autumn grain purchase.

   But for Feng Ziying, this is not a problem. Preconceived assumptions allow him to perceive the progress of Prince Yizhong's preparations more keenly.

   "Mr. Weng, besides the problem of food, is there any other movement?" Feng Ziying was not satisfied with the abnormal signs of food, he needed other evidence before he could persuade Qi Yongtai and Qiao Yingjia to pay attention.

"There are many more." Weng Qiyang nodded, "For example, the price of iron materials is also rising. Although the iron materials from Yongping Prefecture have increased by nearly three times compared with the same period last year, the price of iron materials has still risen slightly, which is obviously not appropriate. Common sense means that some people are continuing to hoard iron materials.”

  “…, Copper prices rose even more,…”

   "The rise in cowhide is also beyond imagination, but Shanxi merchants almost control the main channels of cowhide from the northwest and north, so their purposeful restriction of the southward flow may be one of the reasons..."

   "Cotton cloth has also increased significantly, but Jiangnan is the main production area, and the impact is not too great. However, at this time in previous years, the price should have gone down, but this year it has risen,..."

   "The price of sulfur and nitrate has tripled, and even there is no market at all,..."

  Weng Qiyang listed more than ten kinds of important materials in one breath, or the prices of strategic materials, all showing varying degrees of increase.

  Especially the price of iron and copper, which are the most important basic raw materials for making military materials such as firearms, armor and arrow clusters.

Originally, the output of Yongping Prefecture has increased greatly since the steelmaking furnaces of many iron factories were completed and put into operation last year, and a large amount of southward transport to Jiangnan, Guangdong, and Nanyang was carried out through Yuguan Port. It has reached the lowest level in the past three years. Unexpectedly, the price has risen all the way since March. In August, the price has risen to a high level higher than that of the same period last year. If there are no other factors, it is simply unimaginable.

Undoubtedly, this is an obvious signal that Nanjing is actively preparing for war, but what makes Feng Ziying somewhat suspicious is that the army in the Jiangnan area is a garrison force dominated by guards, and its combat effectiveness is very worrying. Once the Jiangnan rebellion, the court will never If they will sit back and watch, they will inevitably dispatch elite frontier troops to the south to counter the rebellion. How will Jiangnan respond at that time?

  In the situation where there is absolutely no compromise between the two sides, the imperial court will never just use one part of the Guyuan Army as it did with Yang Yinglong in Bozhou, and it may even take time out of the entire four northwest towns.

Compared with the importance of Jiangnan, the Northwest is tolerable to the current imperial court, even if it is temporarily abandoned, otherwise the abolition will not first point to the Northwest, and once the Jiangnan is lost, the imperial court will lose its foundation Where, even collapse is imminent.

  Materials are reserved for war, but Feng Ziying does not think that storing enough strategic materials is enough for Jiangnan to challenge the military power mastered by the imperial court.

The situation of the Wei army facing the elite frontier army is probably not much better than that of the Beijing camp. Only relying on Wang Ziteng's Denglai army, or adding the part of the Xuanfu army and the Datong army that Niu Jizong can control, It would be too naive to just want to support the war against the imperial court.

With the current frontier army of the imperial court, whether it is Jizhen, Liaodong Town, Datong Town, Shanxi Town, or Yulin Town, the military power of any of these towns can sweep the entire Jiangnan and it is more than enough, even if Jiangnan has the support of the two towns of Denglai and Xuanfu , and definitely not an opponent for the imperial court to control the frontier army.

  Weng Qiyang left, leaving behind a heavy atmosphere in the room, as well as Feng Ziying's inner confusion.

   Could it be that Prince Yizhong really plans to launch it at the end of this year?

   But are they ready?

   Especially in the military.

  This is a reality that no rebel force can avoid. The military superiority possessed by the court is overwhelming. As long as the court recognizes it or feels that it has no choice, then any opponent standing in front of it will be torn to pieces.

  The south of the Yangtze River is the economic lifeline of the court, and there is no room for loss. Once the court thinks it has no choice, it is not impossible to send troops from Liaodong Town and Ji Town to the south to counter the rebellion.

  Under such circumstances, Feng Ziying had to question whether Prince Yizhong and those around him had such courage.

  Prince Teng, Niu Jizong, you can even add Chen Jixian with a vague attitude, Tang Binyin, Jia Jing, Zhen Yingjia, Gu Tianjun, Miao Changqi, Zhu Guozhen in politics, do they dare?

   But why not?

   What good will it do for Prince Yizhong to procrastinate any longer?

  This year's severe drought is enough to put the whole situation in the north into a tense situation. Once food shortages become a common phenomenon in the whole of the north, I am afraid that the continuous civil unrest will be the first to put the court in trouble. Perhaps this point may really be used by the Jiangnan side.

  The information provided by the person from the Anfu Chamber of Commerce also confirmed the information provided by Weng Qiyang.

Of course, the Anfu Chamber of Commerce is more concerned about the future of Dongfan. Although they are also aware of the tense relationship between the North and the South, they still don't think there will be a confrontation between the two sides. Raise the anti-flag.

The reclamation of Dongfan has entered a critical period, and a steady stream of immigrants began to enter Dongfan in large numbers. In addition to the salt fields on the west coast, Anfu merchants in the southern area close to the Penghu line and the northern Danshui area began large-scale reclamation, and achieved great success. Good results, rice fields, logging, and mountain people's trade have all begun to bear fruit, but also brought effects such as small-scale conflicts and diseases.

  But for Anfu businessmen, this is all expected. As long as they persevere, they firmly believe that all problems and difficulties can be overcome.

  Feng Ziying appreciated the perseverance of these Anfu merchants, and said again that as long as the Anfu merchants persisted, the imperial court would definitely give strong support in all aspects, so as to continue to expand the land, make long-term plans, and not pursue short-term interests.

   "Ziying, I feel like you have something on your mind? Are these two businessmen?"

Busia Mara has returned to her former style. The leather armor is covered with robes, covering her uneven figure. The full moon scimitar is still slanted across her waist, and she can draw it at any time, even when she is in love with Feng Ziying. , Her scimitars were all placed on the bedside, within easy reach, which made Feng Ziying laugh at her several times, but the habit she formed did not change.

"Well, they are a large family of Jiangnan merchants. Shanshan merchants have many business contacts with them, and many Shanshan merchants also use them to trade goods into the North, and into Liaodong and grasslands." Feng Ziying nodded, "Some kind of In a sense, they are also my friends and allies.”

"Then since it's a business matter, it won't make you worry about it, right?" Busia Mara didn't understand, her lover was the Chancellor of Shuntian Mansion, a fourth-rank official of the Great Zhou Dynasty, so why would she still do business? things to worry about?

"The economic base determines the superstructure." Feng Ziying said something that Busia Mara did not understand, and then said: "War is fighting the economy. Without iron and copper, there will be no weapons. Without food, cloth, wine, and leather, how can we fight?" Come to armor, clothes and supplies, and fight on an empty stomach? Therefore, people who underestimate the economy are short-sighted or stupid, and they will not live long."

   Busia Mara felt offended, pouted with a cold face, and snorted softly: "You mean I'm stupid?"

"No, you're not stupid, you're just too naive. You only look at the surface of many things, but you can't see the essence through the surface." Feng Ziying smiled, "Of course this is a comparison with me, and compared with other people, you are already very good. "

  Busia Mara was amused, but her mood improved, "Okay, you Han people like to play tricks..."

"I'm not playing lip service, do you think talking lip service can secure the position of Shuntian Mansion?" Feng Ziying asked back: "Besides, just now who was under me tactfully begged for mercy and never dared to provoke again, this is not something that lip service can do, right? "

Even though Busia Mara was so forthright, she couldn't stand being molested by Feng Ziying's **** words. Her fair face was suddenly flushed, and she punched Feng Ziying twice. At this moment, she felt like a Back when I was a girl at the age of seventeen or eighteen, I felt very relaxed, but it was a pity that I was already thirty.

  Feng Ziying hugged Busia Mara for another burst of tenderness, a little farewell is better than a newlywed, Feng Ziying cherishes this rare time alone, and Busia Mara is also extraordinarily gentle, showing the tenderness and tactfulness of Jurchen's number one beauty.

  (end of this chapter)