In the winter of the sixteenth year of Dashun's rule, Chittagong, Arakan.
On the broad Gornopri River, hundreds of large and small warships were moored one after another, linked end to end, from the newly completed Chittagong Military Port to the foot of the Chittagong Fort, which was also built not long ago.
These hundreds of warships are all Western-style sailing ships and Western-style galleys. The largest of them is seven to eight hundred deadweight tons, floating on the water like a castle! Small galleys can also have hundreds of deadweight tons. They have a slender hull and use oars and sails. At first glance, they are very suitable for charging in offshore waters and inland rivers!
If you carefully identify the flags on these Western-style warships, you will find that these Western-style warships actually belong to two countries. Among them, the Western-style galleys are flying the flag of the Republic of the Netherlands, while the Western-style galleys are flying a blue flag with the word "Chuang" - this is the flag of the Dashun Empire!
It's amazing, the Dashun Empire now has a real navy! From now on, they are no longer scumbag bandits, but high-end and classy pirates!
The commander of this Dashun pirate army is the "Pirate King" Li Jicheng, the grandson of the Dashun Empire.
On the pier of Chittagong Military Port, "One Piece" Li Jicheng was strolling away with a young military attaché who was similar to him. This young military attache is Luo Ke, the prince of Tongguan Hou, the son of Luo Hu, the former leader of Li Zicheng's Boy Camp.
Luo Ke was transferred from the front line of Shaanxi, and his current official position is that of deputy envoy of Arakan Jiedushi, because Arakan Jiedushi was the original king and has been moved to Ava by Li Jicheng, the grandson of the governor of Burma's military affairs. Therefore, Roko is the highest official in Arakan, and Chittagong and Mrauk U are both under his rule.
Although he got a good job and could stay away from the cloud-shrouded battlefield in the north, Luo Ke's brows did not clear up.
"Luo Ke, are you still worried about the war in Shaanxi? My grandson doesn't even worry about it. You are just a prince, why are you worrying so much?"
Li Jicheng knew that Luo Ke's heart was still in Shaanxi - in fact, it was the same when he first came from Shaanxi! Although people have arrived in Myanmar, their hearts are still in Shaanxi. Every day when I close my eyes, what I dream about is Qishan Mountain, Qiuchi Mountain, Wuzhangyuan, Monk Plains, Xihanshui, Baishuijiang, Lianghekou Town, Xigu City... Every place name is... Li Jicheng's most unforgettable memory is because he fought in those places and buried his comrades and enemies in those places. He has enjoyed the joy of victory in those places, and has also been sad and shed tears because of failure.
Luo Ke smiled bitterly: "If Grandson really doesn't worry, why bother with so many things in Myanmar? We even have a naval fleet..."
Li Jicheng, who was told what he was thinking, just let out a breath, "Luo Ke, what do you think? Is my troubles in Myanmar in vain?"
Luo Ke also sighed, "Whether it's in vain or not depends on what your grandson wants?" He lowered his voice, "If you want to be the king in a corner of Myanmar and continue the Dashun bloodline, it is certainly not in vain. But if your grandson wants to Want to save the entire country by relying on the income from operating Myanmar..."
Li Jicheng frowned, "Is the situation really that serious?"
Luo Ke sighed again: "The Shaanxi front line can still be sustained. After all, after so many years of fighting, there are fortresses and mountain passes everywhere. It is not easy for anyone to break through. But my Dashun's national power is gradually drying up!"
"Isn't that the case?" Li Jicheng seemed to be unwilling to accept it. "The imperial court has persisted for so many years, hasn't it survived? Now Myanmar has made some profits, it should be able to make up for one or two, right?"
Luo Ke shook his head: "The land in Bashu and Yunnan is about to be exhausted! In recent years, land granting has become more and more tight, and the court has also begun to strictly limit rents to prevent soldiers from paying too much. I heard that the reform of rent sharing for public soldiers will be implemented. ...Many military households in the government are already unable to make ends meet. If another share is given to the government, I am afraid that a large number of people will go bankrupt!"
After all, Dashun is the foundation of the peasant regime. The first generation of elders are still there and still sympathize with the peasants. Moreover, there are lessons from the overthrow of Xiangyang Prefecture and Nanyang Prefecture due to land issues. Therefore, the Dashun regime after entering Sichuan paid great attention to protecting the interests of farmers. At the beginning, it carried out equalization of land and allocated land to farmers, leaving about 70% of the land for farmers. Therefore, in the first ten years after Dashun entered Sichuan, there was indeed a situation of peace and prosperity.
However, as the second generation of Fu soldiers gradually grew up and the long-term tug-of-war between Ming and Shun began, the Fu soldiers' demand for land increased day by day. The Dashun court had to carry out "re-equalization of land" and take land from the common people to support the Fu soldiers - of course Yes, re-equalizing land is not a simple plunder, but a redistribution of land that takes into account the affordability of the people to the greatest extent.
The usual approach is to take and replenish, take the people's cultivated land to replenish the people's livelihood land; take the people's flat fields to replenish the people's mountainous land; take the people's river fields to replenish the people's Burmese land. Moreover, the Dashun court also repeatedly issued strict rent restrictions, strictly limiting the rent that military households could receive to 30% of the land output, and also prohibited evictions from tenant farming.
Since the average rent collected by the Dashun court accounted for about 20% of the land output (not the actual revenue received by the court, but the actual burden of the farmers), equalizing land was not a good idea for ordinary people in Sichuan and Yunnan. , still bearable.
However, because the soldiers’ fields did not pay rent to the court, the more fields the soldiers occupied, the less the court’s income would be. As the number of military households in Dashun exceeded 600,000, the Dashun court's land rent income was close to drying up, and the Dashun court, which had lost its land rent, was unable to support a long-term war. As a last resort, the Dashun court came up with a plan Public soldiers share rent.
Of course, this public-soldier sub-leasing is not to subdivide the income of the soldiers' households in name, but to collect another rent from the farmers who rent the land of the soldiers, which is theoretically 10% of the yield per mu. 30% plus 10% is 40%, and paying rent to the court requires paying freight. The grassroots officials in Dashun also have to "eat" some, so the actual burden is even higher... Dashun The peasants under the rule of the DPRK will probably suffer more and more.
Li Jicheng frowned and said: "The purpose of restricting rent is to support the people. If there is no restriction on rent, why don't the soldiers in the government eat up all the common people? If the army forces the people to rebel, our Dashun Dynasty will be in trouble internally and externally!"
As for the sub-leasing of public soldiers, there is no way. Such a large court needs food and supplies, and military rations must be supplied to various front lines. The income from industry and commerce is too small, so the court can only collect another share from the farmers... If we can gain something from this trip to Tianzhu, the situation should get better. "
"It's difficult, it's difficult!" Luo Ke said three difficulties in a row.
Li Jicheng looked at Luo Ke, "Hard? What's so hard? Are you worried about robbing? No, it's not robbing. It's because the landowners and corrupt officials in Tianzhu are unwilling to help?"
"That's not true," Luo Ke shook his head and said, "My grandson will definitely be able to return home with a full load this time, but...what the court lacks now is not yellow and white things, but real food and supplies!
Tianzhu is so far away from Sichuan and Shaanxi, and even the landowners and corrupt officials in Tianzhu cannot get there! "
Li Jicheng laughed: "We have already thought of a way. What we got in Tianzhu can be used to buy flintlock guns from the Dutch. With the flintlock guns, our soldiers may be able to defeat Wu Sangui. If we can capture Shaanxi , we will have a smooth situation!"
Hearing what Li Jicheng said, Luo Ke could only nod, but in his heart he didn't quite agree with Li Jicheng's idea.
Now the front line of Shaanxi has long been dotted with fortresses, and it is not possible for tens of thousands of flintlock rifles to open up the situation.
Moreover, the main problem that Dashun is facing now is not military, but that the land in Sichuan and Yunnan cannot afford as many as 600,000 military households and the long-term Ming-Shun War!
The foundation of the Fubing system currently implemented in Dashun is to raise troops with land. If land with economic value can be obtained through war, then the Fubing system can have a virtuous cycle. But the problem now is that Dashun's enemy, the Ming Dynasty, has successfully resurrected, and has also adopted a conservative strategy to block Dashun in the mountains of Sichuan and Yunnan. And the long-term war has caused Dashun's soldiers to expand viciously. If this continues, they will be swollen to death sooner or later!
