When Li Dingguo hurried back to Kunming to help Dashun Chao Gang, his rival Wu Sangui had already arrived in Wuhan, the western capital of the Ming Dynasty.
The person who called Wu Sangui to Wuhan Mansion was, of course, the Emperor of Heaven, Zhu Cihong, who was personally conquering the army. Although Zhu Cixiang felt that the time had come to destroy the Dashun Dynasty, he did not intend to attack while others were mourning - he still wanted to give Li Laiheng some time to give his Ada Li Guo a grand burial.
It's not that Emperor Zhu is kind-hearted, but he knows that Li Laiheng is also a ruthless character! At first glance, this guy seems to be a Shun third generation, but in fact he is still a Shun first generation. He has been fighting in the armies of Li Zicheng and Li Guo since he was a child, and has very rich war experience. Moreover, on the Dashun side, the prince Chuigong, the prince Fujun, and the eight kings discussed politics... The prince Li Guo was not a dictatorial monarch, and Li Laiheng, the prince Fujun, was not Li Adou who was raised in a deep palace.
Therefore, without Li Guo, the combat effectiveness of the Dashun Army will not collapse immediately, and internal strife is unlikely to occur - according to reliable information, Li Laiheng's son Li Jicheng looted India, made 8 million taels of silver, and also received Many orchids and famous horses came back, and with so much money, good things, and beauties in hand, there was no reason to be unfair even if Chongzhen was asked to replace Li Laiheng as the third generation emperor of Dashun.
However, in Zhu Cixiang's view, the military force of the Dashun Dynasty was inevitably going to decline. It's not because Li Guo is gone, but because the characteristics of the Fu army system and Li Jicheng's Indian Ocean wealth determine that Dashun Fu soldiers will no longer be able to...
Dashun's military service system, to put it bluntly, consists of 600,000 military contractors, who contract military service and then receive land. The military service expenses are paid through the income from operating the land. If there is more, it is profit.
In fact, this is a business!
Although the Dashun Dynasty was most discriminatory against merchants and was obsessed with suppressing business, the military households of Dashun, the basis of Dashun's rule, were actually a group of small-scale war merchants.
Since you are a businessman, you have to consider making profits!
How much profit can definitely be gained from fighting Wu Sangui to death? Not bad enough to die!
In the war with Tianzhu, no matter whether we can take over or not, we are bound to make a fortune... That place has weak soldiers and a lot of money, and it also has a powerful partner like the Dutch Indian Pirate Company, who can invade and steal money together by sea. You can definitely make a lot of money.
Therefore, the profit-seeking nature of businessmen determines that this group of soldiers from Dashun Prefecture will inevitably cry and go south to rob India...
And with India, a place where the soldiers are weak and rich, how can the morale of the Dashun soldiers who were sent to fight against the Ming army on the battlefields of Shaanxi, Sichuan, and Huguang remain?
Don't worry about being few, but worry about uneven exchange!
Of course, Li Laiheng can also give out money and rewards to boost morale... However, his bandit son can go to India to steal money, but there is no way to transport India's grain, cotton and other miscellaneous materials back to Dashun. .
The road from Shalian, Myanmar to Sichuan and Shaanxi would not be easy to travel in the 21st century, not to mention that it is only the 17th century, and even the steam engine has not been invented yet!
Therefore, the gold and silver that Li Jicheng snatched back to Yunnan and Sichuan were not only money, but also weapons for the Ming Dynasty to launch a currency war against Dashun!
...
"Uncle, come in quickly, come in quickly...it's windy outside, come inside and talk!"
Wuhan, East Lake Palace, outside Qingliang Pavilion, Ming Emperor Zhu Cixiang invited himself out of the courtyard gate to greet Wu Sangui who had come from afar. Also with Emperor Zhu were Wu Sanmei, Wu Sanfu and Wu Yingxiong.
In the Qingliang Pavilion, a steaming copper pot with boiling water and plates of mutton slices and vegetables have been placed - today Zhu Cixiang is going to treat Wu Sangui to boiled mutton to help him wash away the dust.
Wu Sangui is old, 55 years old this year, but Wu Sangui, who has been running on the battlefield for a long time, is still very strong. He rode on horseback for seven or eight days in a row without showing any signs of fatigue. Moreover, he has maintained a good figure and has not gained weight at all. However, Wu Sanfu, who has been pampered in the Ministry of War in the past few years, has developed into a fat man. He is a little breathless when walking. It seems that his life lies in exercise!
Zhu Cixiang and Wu Sanmei were the same age, both thirty-seven and eighty-eight, and it seemed that they were both running for the fourth grade. However, both of them still maintain good figures, neither fat nor thin, and they look energetic.
Wu Sanfu's son Wu Yingxiong is now Zhu Cixiang's head guard. He is also tall, burly and handsome. He is also a graduate of the Martial Arts Hall. He also led troops on the northwest front and served as the battalion commander of the Black Cavalry Battalion. He fought more than ten battles with rogue bandits and won them all!
Of course, his victory was not due to his great ability, but because Dashun's cavalry was too weak. Where cavalry could be used, the Ming army's black cavalry had almost no opponents.
Wu Xiang, the father of Wu Sangui, Wu Sanfu, and Wu Sanmei, died last year and was buried in a grand ceremony. Emperor Zhu also suspended the court for three days to express his condolences.
However, Wu Sangui and Wu Sanfu's request to go home and be filial sons for three years was rejected by Zhu Cixiang. In the early years of Hongxing, Zhu Cihong abolished the "three-year Dingyou" system for officials on the grounds that the country was at war. Instead, there is a three-month "short-term worry."
The country is at war! Everyone should turn grief into strength, kill more Tatars and bandits, and be loyal ministers of the Ming Dynasty! But it can't be three years after the death of the father and three years after the death of the mother. If the child is raised by a concubine, he still has to observe three years of filial piety after the death of the biological mother... How many years was the average life span of people in the Ming Dynasty? Keeping filial piety for such a long time is such a waste of life.
"Uncle Chang," Zhu Cixiang said to him with a smile after pulling Wu Sangui to the table, "I am not going back to Sichuan this time. It seems I will have to stay in Wuhan for a long time. You are supervising the army in Shaanxi, not far from Wuhan. You can come here often!"
Wu Sangui was stunned, "Your Majesty, are you serious?"
"What?" Zhu Cixiang said with a smile, "Don't you believe that I can defeat the bandits and restore the lost territory of Sichuan?"
Wu Sangui really didn’t believe it! It has been almost 20 years since the Ming Dynasty lost Sichuan... Emperor Zhu personally conducted several expeditions, but the thunder was loud and the rain was light. Could it be that this time he changed his temper?
Zhu Cixiang smiled and picked up a plate of sheep tail oil, scooped the whole thing into the boiling water, and then used chopsticks to scoop it while saying: "This time is different from the past... In the past, rogue bandits were poor bandits, and poor bandits are hard to destroy!" This time the poor bandits got rich and became rich bandits, so the rich bandits will be easier to deal with!"
While talking, Zhu Cixiang had already scooped up the cooked lamb tail oil, placed it on a plate, then scooped a spoonful of the mixed sesame paste, and finally picked it up with chopsticks and ate it in one bite.
"Is it easy to deal with someone if you are rich?" Wu Sanfu asked with a smile.
"Yes," Wu Sanmei also asked, "Your Majesty, if the poor bandits over there have money, they can buy guns and cannons, so they should be harder to fight!"
The people of the Wu family basically have no economic acumen and no international vision. They are just a local warlord...
Zhu Cixiang smiled and said: "What is silver? Silver is nothing but stones... As long as our Ming Dynasty supplies them, silver is money. Otherwise, silver is just stones!"
In recent years, the trade routes from Guangxi, Guizhou, Xichuan, and Huguang to the territory of the rogue pirates have not been interrupted. The two major banks receive more than two million yuan of co-governance treasures every year... but there will be no more in the future! "
Zhu Cixiang has decided to cut off the trade routes to Sichuan and Yunnan. Once the trade routes were cut off, the gold and silver Li Jicheng snatched from India and the copper coins cast by the Dashun Kingdom would become excess currency in the Sichuan and Yunnan markets. This is inflation!
"But Sichuan is also a land of abundance!" Wu Sangui shook his head, "It can also supply a lot of supplies, right?"
Zhu Cixiang smiled: "Of course... Sichuan has wine, meat, silk, cloth, and rice. The bandits, fake officials, and nobles who have money can eat, drink, and have fun, but those who don't have money will suffer! Everything has been increased, except for the military salary increase, so I can only serve as a soldier for Li Laiheng. Uncle, do you think those rogue soldiers are still willing to sacrifice their lives?"
Wu Sangui and Wu Sanfu looked at each other, their brows still slightly furrowed.
Wu Sanfu reminded in a low voice: "Your Majesty, money can make all the difference. Can we really block the trade routes of Tongliu bandits?"
