A general strategy of sending 150,000 troops to pacify the entire Liao Dynasty in three years was now placed in front of the important ministers of the two governments.
It was just a rough strategy. It looked like it was copied from the five-way march plan deployed by the Ming army in the Battle of Saarhu. Otherwise, the ministers and ministers of the Cabinet Office would have to explode after seeing this.
What will be discussed in today's meeting between the two governments is not the specific combat strategy, but how much the Cabinet Office needs to spend on the war to pacify the entire Liao (referring to the entire jurisdiction of the Andong Protectorate) that is expected to last three years. Military spending? And how to distribute the fertile land captured through the Battle of Pingliao?
"Your Majesty," Lu Zhenfei, the aging chief assistant, finished reading the one-page Pingliao outline, then took off his glasses and said with a frown, "the army of 150,000 has been fighting for three years, and the additional personnel expenses alone are. I'm afraid it will cost 25 million taels, right? If you include the expenses of hiring people, purchasing mules and horses, buying grain, renting ships, building castles and roads, I'm afraid 10 million taels can be spent. .....
Today, the four northern provinces of Shandong (Western), Henan, Hebei, and Shanxi are still recovering and recuperating, with little income but much use. Anbei, Daning, Beiping, Shuofang, Hexi, Anxi and other vassal towns also relied on imperial subsidies.
To the southwest, our battle with the rogue bandits in Siam also cost a lot, and the number of troops currently employed has exceeded 30,000. The monthly expenses are more than 500,000 taels, which is really a waste of money!
At sea, our battle with the Spanish continues. There are still Spanish warships in the waters around Japan, and soldiers still need to be stationed in Goto, Tanegashima, Nagasaki, Ryukyu Kingdom, and Victory Bay on Luzon Island. Various additional monthly expenses are between seven and eight hundred thousand taels!
The military expenditure in Siam and at sea alone is no less than fifteen million taels a year!
If we add the six major vassal towns in the north, the Sichuan Army in the southwest, the Sichuan Border Army stationed in Qinghai (Shang Kexi, Kong Tingxun Department), and the expenses of the three vassals of Zhungeer (Beiting Fan), Tumote, and Chahar ... Thirty million taels of silver a year can be spent!
Fortunately, the cost of developing the Gulf of America does not need to be borne by the imperial court, otherwise I would not know how to manage this family..."
Listening to the old and confused Lu Zhenfei complaining, Zhu Cihong only felt funny in his heart: I, Zheng Zhilong, and Shen Tingyang were the ones in charge of the Ming Dynasty court! You always pretend to look at the budget and final accounts... but you definitely can't understand them!
Otherwise, when you get older, you won’t feel that the court has no money!
Lu Zhenfei's brows furrowed tighter and tighter, "Now the three years of Pingliao will cost another tens of millions of taels. When spread out, it will be more than 33 million taels per year... The additional military expenditure alone is six More than 10 million! Your Majesty, the current annual income of the imperial court is only 110 to 20 million when converted into silver!"
His words suddenly stopped here, and then he looked at Zhu Cixi longingly - he was thinking about Zhu Cixiang's money from the Royal Chamber of Commerce!
Of course Zhu Cihong understood what the old man was thinking. The old man had mentioned regulating the Royal Chamber of Commerce more than once when they were alone, but Zhu Cihong pretended to be confused and ignored it.
Today this old man is trying to attract the attention of the Royal Chamber of Commerce again! Zhu Cihong thought to himself: Wei Zaode is better! Although he is a bit greedy, but for the sake of this emperor... let him come back as soon as possible and become prime minister again!
"Mr. Quan!" Zhu Cihong interrupted Lu Zhenfei's words and called Zheng Zhilong's name.
"I'm here!" Zheng Zhilong stood up immediately.
"Tell Lu Shoufu where the expenses for three years of Pingliao will come from!"
"I accept the decree," Zheng Zhilong nodded slightly to the old man, "Chief Assistant, all the expenses for the three years of Ping Liao came from the fields in eastern Liaoning and western Liaoning!"
"What?" Lu Zhenfei was stunned, "How come? Those fields are still in Donglu's hands!"
"You can issue land coupons first!" Zheng Zhilong said, "The land in eastern Liaoning and western Liaoning can be calculated as 50 million acres. One land coupon is issued for one mu of land, and one land coupon is worth three taels of silver, which is 150 million taels. . It’s enough to cover Pingliao’s expenses!”
that's all?
One hundred and fifty million taels?
"No way?" Lu Zhenfei shook his head, "Can soldiers still recognize land coupons? Don't cause a mutiny!"
Zheng Zhilong chuckled and said: "Shou Fu, this is not the first time we have issued land coupons! Some of the land coupons issued in the previous batch have not been converted into land and are listed and traded on the exchanges in Nanjing, Shanghai and Hankou. ! One acre of land in Henan, Shandong, and Shanxi is worth more than four taels on the three major exchanges. The land in Liaodong and western Liaoning is much better than the land in Henan, Shandong, and Shanxi. One acre is worth three taels, which is really great It’s so cheap... If you don’t want to be a soldier, it’s not difficult to change hands and get out!”
Zhu Cixiang said: "When the time comes, the Royal Chamber of Commerce will offer a guaranteed minimum price of three liang to purchase it!"
Zheng Zhilong shook his head: "You can't get it...Although eastern Liaoning and western Liaoning are cold, the land is fertile and mature, and it is close to the Liao River and the Bohai Sea, so water transportation is convenient. There will also be a tax holiday of three to five years... ....How can it be sold for three taels of silver? If such a good thing really happens, I can take as much as I have!"
Well, the meeting between the two governments has again become the Liaodong and Liaoxi land investment promotion meeting.
If Donny in Jianzhou City knew about it, he would be so angry that he would cry!
If you weren't such a bully, even before the land was conquered, you would have already used it to bind the underlying assets and issue land coupons... and you were still paying 150 million taels per issue!
Do you know how much one hundred and fifty million taels is?
If this number had been given to Emperor Chongzhen back then, the Ping Liao event in five years would have been successful!
Whether Doni is crying or not, not many people on Emperor Zhu's side care, they just feel that their eyes are bright!
Now not only has Pingliao's military expenditure of more than 100 million taels been secured, but everyone has also discovered an excellent investment opportunity.
The land coupons that both the richest man in the Ming Dynasty and the richest man in the Ming Dynasty want to buy must be good things, a good deal that guarantees a profit without losing money... You must buy more!
Zhu Cixiang thought for a while and then said: "The regular pay of the standing soldiers in the armies of the Liao Dynasty will be given to silver taels, and the additional pay and rewards will be given to land coupons. Regular, additional, and rewards will be given to those who apply for volunteer service. All are given land coupons. Land coupons can also be paid for military procurement, as long as the supplier is willing to accept it."
After listening to Zhu Cixiang's words, the first assistant Lu Zhenfei was still a little skeptical. The land coupons were used as salary and bounty for the standing soldiers, but it seemed inappropriate to let the volunteers get all the land coupons, right? Is anyone still willing to enlist as a soldier? Isn’t this too much of a loss?
.....
There's a war! Recruiting troops! Going to get rich!
As soon as the news that the Ming Dynasty was going to conquer the Anton rebels and openly recruit heroes (mainly serving as heavy troops and supplementary troops), volunteers (mainly veterans with outstanding marksmanship), knights, and sailors to join the army, the entire city of Pukou and Nanjing The east city in the outer city suddenly started to boil.
On the tenth day of May in the eleventh year of Hongxing's reign in the Ming Dynasty, outside the Xiaolingwei camp in the east city of Nanjing, which was enveloped by the scorching summer heat, the place that should have been deserted suddenly became crowded with veterans and veterans who came after hearing the news. The sons and young adults of the northern immigrants who settled here.
Everyone was squeezing towards the notice board outside the mausoleum guard gate, wanting to see with their own eyes the imperial list of recruits.
This is the east city of Nanjing where the families of the Northern Army and immigrants from the north gather! Just like Pukou and Laoshan on the other side of the Yangtze River, the streets are full of men who dream of winning a battle on the battlefield, and their desire for military glory even exceeds that of the second generation, N generation and military academy in Pukou and Laoshan. students.
Because the people here don't have much ancestral wealth, and there aren't many academics who have been admitted to military schools and universities. Except for a few children from silk reeling merchant families, the only way for others to change their destiny is to join the army.
It’s a pity that there are not many opportunities to join the army! The new army of the Ming Dynasty currently has less than 500,000 people, and it implements a long-term military service system. In peacetime, less than 30,000 people need to be replenished each year, and the quota occupied by newly graduated non-commissioned officers must be deducted. The quota of more than 20,000 troops is for the whole country. Although the army focuses on northerners (the navy focuses on southerners), the quota that can be allocated to the northerners' volunteers in Nanjing East City is only two to three thousand per year... .Not enough points at all!
Now is great, I finally have a chance!
