Chapter 810 Ji Zijuan’s Tiger Crouching on the Barren Hills (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, 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 recapturing 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, now Hami and Shazhou have been recovered, but the supply that has been available for many years 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 problem was the excessive consumption of supplies in Gansu Town, Hami, and Shazhou. 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 have reached a point where it is difficult to support them. to the point.

However, once banditry breaks out in northern Shaanxi, supplies will definitely 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 dull 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 problem has been bothering him and making him feel uncomfortable.

"Brother Imperial, since the harvest in Huguang is 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, the price of grain in northern Shaanxi will be lowered. 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 lot of money. The money left over from land tax and sea development strategies will be spent in November and February. Now, where can I find the money to do such things in advance?"

 King Zhongshun said silently after a while: "Why not borrow money from Haitong Bank?"

Emperor Yonglong also hesitated, "Some people in the cabinet also proposed to borrow money from Haitong Bank, but there was a lot of opposition, mainly because of the interest. You also know that this loan is not for hundreds of thousands of taels, but at least one or two hundred." Ten thousand taels, not to mention whether Haitong Yinzhuang can get it, this interest is a lot of money a 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. No wonder there is also opposition in the cabinet. Not too small.

"Why don't you say anything?" Emperor Yonglong chuckled, "It concerns your own interests, so you think it's easy to handle?"

"Brother Huang is joking, but he also knows that Haitong Bank is composed of hundreds of shareholders. Among them, there are dozens of Zhang family members, including gentry and merchants from the north, gentry and merchants from the south of the Yangtze River, and maritime merchants. The composition of the salt merchants and grain merchants in the south of Huguang is complex. Although my brother is also the largest shareholder, it is not worth mentioning..."

  King Zhongshun looked embarrassed and explained with a grimace.

Only Feng Ziying has the specific list of shareholders of Haitong Bank, but as the largest shareholder, King Zhongshun knows it roughly, and even Long Jinwei only knows a rough idea. To get to the details of each individual, only Feng Ziying knows it. .

"Lao Jiu, you mean you can't make the decision?" Emperor Yonglong was a little curious.

He roughly knew the situation of Haitong Silver Village, 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 The construction of 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 operating model. No one can go beyond this business operation rule, be it 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 will not join in, wouldn't they be worried about our royal family members and the imperial court occupying the country? 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 clan members. 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 led the gentry and merchants in the North 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 explain it several times and finally convinced 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 of others? These royal family members are all relatives of their ministers in terms of etiquette and law, but when it comes to interests, they no longer have that tender and affectionate friendship. It is even more impossible to get a share 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, but Feng Keng found a few leading figures to persuade them one by one. , although there were some twists and turns in the process, it was finally passed. Although it was also difficult this time, my brother felt that with Feng Keng’s eloquence, he could still convince these profit-seeking guys."

"Feng Keng really has such ability?" Emperor Yonglong was a little surprised. Although Feng Keng came up with the strategy of opening up the sea, it was enough to prove his foresight on the macro level, but 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 to make people follow his ideas and principles involuntarily..." King Zhongshun He laughed, obviously still very confident about this.

Emperor Yonglong nodded slightly, as if he was trying to figure out something, but also seemed to be touched.

“Brother Emperor, are you still worried about Liaodong affairs?” King Zhongshun said cautiously.

"This Lu Song is also talkative, do you know that? Compared with the incident in Shaanxi, Liaodong is nothing, at least it is not so urgent, but I feel that I am an impatient person with a big appetite, but this 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 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 in Kuandian Liubao area and absorb North Korean refugees, first of all, Nurhachi will not agree, which will intensify conflicts and endless wars. 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 do you think of the 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 once the war is delayed, the Ministry of Household Affairs will We can't afford it." Emperor Yonglong was also hesitant. The matter was serious and 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 Nurhachi, he was increasingly flattering to the Jianzhou Jurchens, but he was also afraid of the pressure from the Great Zhou Dynasty, so he deliberately adopted the strategy of sitting on the fence. At present, the Great Zhou Dynasty was 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 this it?” King Zhongshun frowned.

"Of course, Feng Tang also proposed that people from Shandong, Beizhi, and Henan be relocated to Liaodong and western Liaoning to replenish the border areas. Three hundred thousand people would be relocated, and they would be exempted from taxes for twenty years. In the first three years, support such as grain seeds and cattle would be provided. ,…”

King Zhongshun took a breath of cold air. No wonder even the emperor's brother and the cabinet were so hesitant. This gap was too wide.

Relocating people to Shibian is not a new way, but moving to Liaodong, especially now, must be done with caution.

The reason why Nurhaci developed so rapidly was that, in addition to unifying the Jianzhou Jurchens and annexing the Huifa and Hada tribes of the Haixi Jurchens, another more important factor was that he recruited, absorbed and plundered many Han people from the Liaodong Han region. , even from Chahar, it attracted many Han people living outside the Great Wall.

This group of Han people brought to the Jurchens technologies such as iron smelting, armor and tanning, and farming that the Jurchens had never mastered before. This enabled the Jianzhou Jurchens for the first time to have 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, and 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 customs.

 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 severely 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 both of these are not 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, 100,000 soldiers of Liaodong Town, plus their families, account 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 maintain 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. Huguang input, its consumption and cost 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 have to relocate and leave their hometowns unless they have to. 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. Relocating 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 critical point, 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 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 from 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 mentioned. 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, this 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 Chahar people 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 threaten us Han people and have to establish a strong foothold in the land of Liaodong. And he also said that it is not a problem 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 things?” King Zhongshun asked with some confusion.

"Well, he probably refers to the fact 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 groundnuts..." 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 Huainan is full of oranges and Huaibei is full of oranges. Isn't it less common? Feng Tang is a bit fanciful. How can something that is 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 my brother agrees with it. If there are not 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 Wang Zhongshun.

"This is not my 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 He hesitated for a moment before saying.

 (End of this chapter)