"Ministry of Revenue, how much is the Lianghuai salt tax that will be lifted in the first half of this year?" Zhu Cixiang asked with a smile.
"Reporting to Master Qian Sui, because the court was displaced and the files and accounts were lost, it is difficult to get the specific number. I only remember a rough idea." Hou Xun, a bachelor of the Zhongji Palace and the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, stood up from his seat and replied, "Since the beginning of the year So far, the total salt tax from Lianghuai and Lianghuai is only more than 80,000 taels."
"More than 80,000 taels in half a year, almost 170,000 taels a year." Zhu Cihong shook his head, "It is really not the behavior of a benevolent king to make the people of the world suffer from the high price of salt and eat less every day for a mere 170,000 taels of silver.
I have decided to abolish the Salt Law from now on, and the six major salt transportation envoy departments will be abolished. First, the salt transportation envoy departments of the Huaidu and Huaidu will be abolished! The three subordinate divisions, two salt inspection institutes, and eleven inspection departments were abolished at the same time, and they were implemented immediately! "
What? Emperor Chongzhen was stunned.
The Salt Law and Salt Policy enacted by our ancestors have been implemented for more than 270 years. Are they abolished just because you want them to be abolished? Do you really think you are the reincarnation of Emperor Taizu Gao?
However, Emperor Chongzhen did not stop him. He was now a semi-dead emperor and had no authority, so he could only watch his son's jokes.
The interests involved in this salt law and salt policy are huge! The cabinet and courtiers will definitely stop it! If a quarrel arises between a traitor and an upright minister in the court, I can speak...
But at this time Wei Zaode, the chief minister of the cabinet, just said respectfully: "I obey the order!"
What? That's it? Emperor Chongzhen was so surprised that he looked blankly at the other elders below.
No one stood up to object! Several pavilion elders nodded slightly, obviously completely supporting Zhu Cixi's wise decision...
When did the ministers of the Ming Dynasty become so well-behaved?
"That's it!" Zhu Cihong said, "Let's draw up the order."
"I accept the decree." Li Shichun, Zhan Shifu of Zhan Shifu and a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy, didn't hesitate and immediately wrote down the decree.
After drafting the decree, he asked the chamberlain to hand it over to Wei Zaode. Academician Wei immediately drafted the decree and posted it. Then the decree was sent to Zhu Cixiang. After reading it, Zhu Cixiang nodded and handed it to Huang Dabao to write a pen for approval.
The whole process took less than a stick of incense, no one raised any objections, and there was no need to hit the court...it was done!
Emperor Chongzhen was dumbfounded! Who are the cabinet and courtiers of this term? Wei Zaode is just a weakling. Hou Xun and Qian Qianyi are both leaders of Donglin. The Donglin Party likes to argue the most, so why are they better behaved than rabbits now? Why are you so disobedient when I am in power?
There are still six subjects for Shizhong... It seems that there are no six subjects for Shizhong now, and the Metropolitan Procuratorate is almost empty!
"Master Qiansui," Qian Qianyi, the leader of Donglin, finally spoke, but it was not an objection, "There are hundreds of thousands of people living on salt in the Huaihe River. If their livelihood is cut off, I am afraid someone will take the opportunity to incite trouble. Don’t be defensive.”
"You have to be on guard!" Zhu Cixiang said, "Fortunately, the fire cannons that Zheng Zhilong paid tribute have arrived, more than 300 turtle-dove-foot fire cannons made in Foshan, and more than 4,600 Japanese bird cannons... Who dares to cause trouble? The blunderbuss used to defeat the new army will now be put to use!"
This is going to be a killing spree! Those are all good people of the Ming Dynasty. You, the prince, want to force the people to rebel? Emperor Chongzhen turned his attention to the courtiers again, but he was still disappointed. All the court officials firmly support Prince Zhu!
Zhu Cixiang added: "Japanese bird cannons are lighter than turtle-dove-footed fire cannons and are more suitable for use by soldiers in the field, so they must be distributed to various units as soon as possible. Let's first replace the four fire cannon groups, and all three battalions in each group will be equipped with Japanese bird cannons. Guns, the remaining one battalion is equipped with turtle-dove-footed fire guns! There is a fire gun association among the four front divisions on the left, center and right. Then order the craftsmen accompanying the army to make gun spikes as soon as possible, and all bird guns must be equipped with gun spikes."
Zhu Cixiang's new army to overcome difficulties now has five divisions, front, center, left and right, of which four divisions, front, center, left and right, followed him south. These four divisions are all fully staffed, each with four associations. Among them, the Second Division of the Center and Left each has a cavalry corps. The other two divisions and the division staying in Dengzhou only have four infantry corps, and only a small amount of cavalry in the divisional troops. However, due to the shortage of fire guns before, the four fire gun associations that accompanied them south did not have enough fire guns.
Now that the Zheng family has shipped thousands of Japanese muskets, each division can finally have a real musket association.
As for the rear divisions currently remaining in Dengzhou and Haisha Island, they are mainly composed of strong men recruited in Denglai, plus some key veterans. They have no cavalry and are all infantry. The four associations are stationed in Dengzhou City and Haisha Island. Each association has some turtle-dove-foot firecrackers. Except for the association stationed on Haisha Island, which has more turtle-dove-foot firecrackers, the other three associations have no firecrackers.
Zhu Cixiang went on to say: "Coming with the Zheng family's merchant ship, there are also thirty or forty old Japanese servants who are good at using muskets. They have all served with the Zheng family for many years and can speak Chinese. They can temporarily serve as instructors in each battalion. Teach me how to load and control Japanese muskets."
For many years after Japan's Warring States Period ended, Japanese ronin who fought in the Warring States Period sailed overseas with Chinese and Dutch merchant ships and served as mercenaries in many Eastern countries. There are also many Japanese mercenaries in Zheng Zhilong's army. Most of them are good at using firecrackers and have the courage to fight in close combat.
After Zheng Sen became Zhu Cihong's senior brother, he wrote to Zheng Zhilong and asked him to send dozens of Japanese mercenaries to teach him the art of gunfire.
"Since the Japanese helped our country fight against the Japanese, they have obviously realized the fault of invading North Korea during the Wanli period, and North Korea is no longer a vassal state of this court."
Zhu Cihong paused and then continued: "Besides, the Tokugawa shogunate in Japan implemented a seclusion policy. Today, there are no Japanese ships sailing in the East China Sea and the South China Sea, and there is no longer the danger of Japanese pirates.
Therefore, Japan and Japan should coexist in harmony and should no longer be regarded as enemy countries. As for how to intersect, you should first seek the opinions of Fujian Commander-in-Chief Zheng Zhilong. You can issue an order to recruit Zheng Zhilong to the court to discuss exchanges with Japan. "
This is another sensitive topic! Because when the Ming Dynasty was established, Japan was in the period of confrontation between the Northern and Southern Dynasties, which was very chaotic. There were always samurai who lost their lords and became pirates, harassing the coast of China. Then the Ming Dynasty closed itself off again, and Japan entered the even more chaotic Warring States Period. As a result, Japanese prodigals and smugglers along the coast of China combined to form the Japanese Rebellion. During the Wanli period, Japan invaded Korea again, triggering a long-term war between China and Japan. Therefore, the Ming court did not have a good impression of Japan, even though Japan is now ruled by the relatively well-behaved Tokugawa shogunate.
If the proposal of harmonious relations with Japan had been put forward during the reign of Emperor Chongzhen, it would have definitely aroused criticism from the whole court. I don’t know how noisy it would be.
But now I only saw Wei Zaode standing up and saying respectfully: "I accept the order!"
Zhu Cixiang nodded, and then said: "In the second year of Chongzhen, the imperial court followed Xu Guangqi's advice and hired hundreds of Western generals and soldiers from Hao'ao, purchased sixteen Western cannons, and one thousand two hundred muskets. It's a pity that the trip has come. In Jiangxi, most of the troops were deported because Lu Zhaolong raised objections to the incident, leaving only more than 20 officers to escort the firearms to Beijing.
Later, these Western officers trained troops for Sun Yuanhua. The soldiers he trained were actually very elite, but Yuanhua was not good at selecting generals and could not command them. The generals he used were all former Pi Dao troops. They were resentful of the imperial court because of Mao Wenlong's death, so the army was in chaos. Later, they defected to the Eastern captives, and it was a pity to open their eyes for the captives. But the imperial court cannot deny the effectiveness of Western military training just because Yuan Hua died! "
He raised his voice and spoke firmly: "Therefore, I decided to send Tang Ruowang to Haao to recruit hundreds of Western generals and soldiers, to supervise and train the soldiers of the new army to overcome difficulties, and to open a military lecture hall for officers to teach Western warfare.
In addition, efforts should be made to recruit Western craftsmen to set up cannon factories, gun factories, iron factories, glass factories and other factories in Nanjing, and tax exemptions and exemptions can be provided as appropriate. If any of them have superb skills and can make muskets and field artillery for the imperial court, they will be heavily rewarded! "
After Prince Zhu finished speaking, he glanced at Wei Zaode. Wei Zaode, the chief minister of the cabinet, stood up again and said respectfully: "I obey the order."
Zhu Cixiang smiled and nodded: "Okay, this matter is settled. Draft the edict, vote, approve..."
