Inside the Cheng Yamen of Nanhai County in Foshan Town, there was silence.
When the reform touched upon their core interests, Foshan's capitalists fell silent. These wealthy people from Guangdong have already begun to make plans. Although everyone hates Shang Kexi, they wish they could catch him and kill him with a thousand knives.
But the price is a bit high for them to spend a large amount of land to invest in Wang Datou's revolution, and at the same time pay Foshan's commercial taxes to support Wang Datou. And the risk seems a bit high. I wonder if my life and fortune will be involved in it in the end?
Shouldn't this be calculated carefully?
First of all, giving up a large amount of land in exchange for residential land and commercial land in Guangzhou City is actually an investment with high risks and little or even negative economic returns.
Because the land they took out was all real high-quality assets, it was all distributed in Nanhai, Sanshui, Shunde and other counties, and some were also in Xinhui, Xiangshan, and Xinning. However, they had all been regarded as "ownerless land" by Wang Zhongxiao's people. "It's all gone!"
As for the land in and around Guangzhou that Wang Zhongxiao planned to supply to them, what would happen in the future, but what about now? These assets are not even in Wang Zhongxiao’s hands now!
This Guangzhou still has the last name Shang!
Even if they are optimistic about real estate in Guangzhou, can't they wait until Wang Zhongxiao conquers Guangzhou before buying it?
Today's Guangzhou is not the extremely prosperous Guangzhou City in the Ming Dynasty, but the Guangzhou City that was slaughtered once by Shang Kexi. The population is far worse than Foshan.
Moreover, Guangzhou’s status as a maritime trade center for thousands of years has been lost and replaced by Macau.
Even if it can develop in the future, we still have to count on them, the big businessmen of Foshan, to invest and operate it.
Therefore, this investment has no economic value at all. However, having no economic value does not mean that it has no political value!
Secondly, it would be unprofitable to seize the Foshan Port and engage in tax farming. Because Foshan is not a trading center, but an important iron smelting town and a handicraft industry center. The main supply market for Foshan's ironware and handicrafts is not overseas, but domestic.
It seems like they shouldn’t pay this customs tax!
Wang Shikai now proposes to establish the Foshan Port, and also hints that the port will be contracted to the Foshan Chamber of Commerce, which means that the Foshan Chamber of Commerce will pay the commercial tax. The most feared thing is to negotiate with the chamber of commerce to cover the tax.
Who do you look down on when you earn a few thousand taels a year?
This Wang Shikai is not a foolish king sitting in the court hall in Beijing. He is now in Foshan. You can tell how prosperous Foshan is just by looking at it with your eyes.
Packing hundreds of thousands taels or tens of thousands of muskets a year is nothing.
Everyone is required to provide land to support equalization of land, and money is required to pay commercial taxes. This investment is a bit big!
If Wang Zhongxiao can really kill Shang Kexi and become the King of Guangdong, then everyone can support him. The current chaos in the world may last for many years!
The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms in history spanned several decades, among which the Southern Han Dynasty was founded fifty-four years ago!
The chaotic times at the end of the Yuan Dynasty also lasted for seventeen or eight years! The chaos in Guangdong is not severe, and there is Dongguan Bo Hezhen who protects the peace.
If we could get the protection of the Wang family and the King of Guangdong before the world was unified again, wouldn't everyone be able to make money and do business with peace of mind?
Moreover, this Wang Shikai seems to be very enthusiastic about establishing maritime bans and sailing to Southeast Asia. He also wants to find the Dutch red-haired barbarians to rent an island in Malacca as a trading base. If this can be done, that will be great!
Foshan’s ironware and various handicrafts cannot completely win over the Nanyang market?
Just when a group of rich people from Foshan were making plans, Wang Zhongxiao's master Zhou Chang came in cheerfully, whispered a few words into Wang Zhongxiao's ear, and then Wang Zhongxiao laughed: "Okay, invite him in!"
"yes."
Zhou Chang quickly retreated, while Wang Zhongxiao smiled and said to a group of capitalists from Foshan handicraft factories: "Fu Zhifu from Guangzhou came to sue for peace on behalf of Shang Zhixin! On behalf of Shang Zhixin, isn't it Shang Kexi? It's interesting, let's work together Let’s meet him! Remember, don’t kneel down and kowtow when you see Fu Honglie later, you are all my friends!”
These are all friends!
The Foshan capitalists in the hall thought about it, that Fu Honglie was from Guangzhou, which meant that Shang Kexi, Shang Zhixin, the Shang family and the big businessmen in Guangdong were already inseparable. If they learned that the person from the Foshan Chamber of Commerce was already Wang Zhongxiao's My dear guests, then Shang Kexi and Shang Zhixin are going to overturn the situation, why don't they massacre Foshan?
This is even on the Thief King's ship!
Before a group of Foshan capitalists could react, Zhou Chang had already slipped out and quickly led in Fu Honglie, who was wearing the uniform of an upright official. Fu Honglie walked in with a frown on his face and a sad look on his face.
Because as soon as he arrived in Foshan Town, he realized something was wrong!
The Guangdong Township Army stationed in Foshan Town all wear round collar robes, red scarves and red hoods. The dress of this red scarf army seems to be similar to that of Wu Sangui's army!
Moreover, Fu Honglie also noticed that none of the officers and soldiers in the Guangdong Township Army had braids!
This is a rebellion!
And when Fu Honglie saw Wang Zhongxiao, his heart sank to the bottom. Because Wang Zhongxiao also put on a round-neck gown, with his head bare and without a hood, but his "hair" was exposed. It was not very long and could not be combed into a bun. It was just scattered there, looking messy. .
"Shikai, why did you grow your hair? Are you going to rebel?"
Seeing Wang Zhongxiao's hairstyle, Fu Honglie finally couldn't help but question it.
Wang Zhongxiao became unhappy when he heard this. He slapped the table and said, "Fu Zhongmou, do you care whether I grow my hair or not? I think a bald head is too ugly, and I also wear a money rat tail braid. It's simply unsightly." ! You all tell me, am I right?"
A bunch of people from Foshan haven't even cut off their braids, but they only have braids on the back of their heads, and they don't have them in their hearts - the Qing Dynasty hasn't completely conquered Guangdong yet, not even for a day!
Because the anti-Qing forces in Guangdong have always maintained a small amount of territory, the fire will never be extinguished!
So when they heard Wang Zhongxiao talk about growing their hair, they all nodded in agreement.
"Yeah!"
“The braids are so ugly!”
“It’s not convenient yet.”
“It’s better to grow your hair!”
"Fu Futai, why don't you grow your hair too!"
When Fu Honglie heard this, he became angry. He pointed at a group of Cantonese guys in the hall who were no older than him and refused to kneel before officials. He wanted to scold him, but Wang Zhongxiao was the first to speak: "Fu Zhongmou, if I remember correctly, Are you my Aunt Kong’s concubine? According to the rules of the Qing Dynasty, you are not qualified to call yourself a slave in front of Kangxi!"
Fu Honglie still yelled, "You, what do you call Gege?"
Aunt, aunt, and aunt can all be interpreted as the mother's sister, but for some reason, the term aunt was used by filial sons to refer to their father's concubines.
"Call me aunt!" Wang Zhongxiao glared, "I called her that in front of aunt Kong. She didn't even object. You're just a slave, why are you meddling in your own business?"
"You" Fu Honglie almost exploded with Wang Zhongxiao's anger.
"Fu Zhongmou," Wang Zhongxiao shouted, "Why are you coming all the way from Guangzhou to Foshan? Do you want to care whether I keep my hair or not?"
Fu Honglie snorted and had no choice but to not mention the hair. Although in the Qing Dynasty, there were rules about whether to wear hair or not, and whether to wear hair or not, but now more and more Han people have hair, including Wu Sangui and Li Zicheng. Also left, their heads are still there - they can’t be chopped off!
"Wangdaotai," Fu Honglie cupped his hands and said, "I have come to negotiate peace with you on the orders of Prince Pingnan."
"My father has just let go of Zu Zeqing's 5,000 defeated troops and is heading to Guangzhou. It will take ten days and a half to arrive." Wang Zhongxiao smiled and said, "Why don't you wait a few more days in Foshan?"
Fu Honglie was stunned, "What? Let Zu Zeqing go?"
Wang Zhongxiao nodded: "Shang Kexi, that old thief sent troops to attack me, so I reported it to my father, so my father had no choice but to let Zu Zeqing go north to Hunan! Haha, there is a lot of pressure in Hunan! It's Wu Guogui again , it’s Li Zicheng again, and now there’s an additional ancestor, Zeqing. It’s probably going to be over!”
"You guys," Fu Honglie said, "Wang Shikai, don't forget, you also had a share in Wu Shilin's death!"
Wang Zhongxiao smiled and said: "So what? Who among my subordinates in the world has not yet decided!"
"Not necessarily? You, where are you now?" Fu Honglie asked.
Wang Zhongxiao asked back: "Who is the letter from Monk Shang Kexi? Did he tell Wu Sangui two days ago to persuade him to join?"
"You, you know?" Fu Honglie was stunned again.
"Of course I know!" Wang Zhongxiao said, "Wu Sanwei is surrounded by an spy arranged by me. If this spy hadn't deceived me, you would have given Wu Sanwei one million taels of silver and two hundred thousand shi of white rice, right? ?”
"This is just the prince's tactic to delay the war." Fu Honglie explained on behalf of Shang Zhixin, "The prince has already gone to Zhezi to plead guilty to the emperor, and asked the emperor to issue an edict to mediate the war between Shang and Wang's family."
Wang Zhongxiao smiled: "Why does Kangxi need to mediate this matter? Shang Zhixin wants to stop the war, right? Now Shang Zhixin has the final say in Guangzhou City?"
Of course he knew that Shang Zhixin had taken away Shang Kexi's power in history, so when he heard that Fu Honglie only mentioned Shang Zhixin's orders and did not mention Shang Kexi's orders, he guessed that the Lao Shang family had a loving father and a filial son!
Fu Honglie looked at Wang Zhongxiao: "Wang Daotai, as long as you agree to cease the war, the prince can also give you one million taels of silver and two hundred thousand shi of white rice!"
The Shang family is really rich!
"Want to cease the war?" Wang Zhongxiao smiled and held out two fingers, "The first is to give up Guangzhou and retreat to Shaozhou! The second is to hand over Shang Kexi to me, an old guy who killed millions of people in Guangdong. The biggest evil is Extremely, not killing is not enough to make the people angry!"
"What? You asked the prince to hand over my father to you to kill? You also want to hand over Guangzhou Mansion?" Fu Honglie immediately shook his head and said, "This is impossible!"
Wang Zhongxiao laughed: "When my father leads the army to arrive and join forces, there will be an army of 30,000 to 40,000! Can Guangzhou be defended by then? If it cannot be defended, it will not be a happy death. But the Shang family is full!"
"You," Fu Honglie said angrily, "you really want to rebel!"
Wang Zhongxiao shook his head and said with a smile: "Fu Zhongmou, Kangxi has to consider whether I have rebelled against him or not! What Shang Zhixin has to consider now is whether to die in Guangzhou with his father or go to the north to live a few more years!"
Wang Zhongxiao's words were so arrogant, but he was actually trying to scare people. If he could scare Shang Kexi and Shang Zhixin away, he could just take Guangzhou without any blood.
At the same time, he also said this to the Cantonese people present!
The Cantonese people must know that Wang Datou wants to avenge everyone's killing of Shang. Today's Cantonese people are divided into three major ethnic groups: Tu, Hakka and Chao. The relationship between them is not good, but it is gratifying to oppose Shang. On the issue, they are unanimous.
With the public enemy of Guangdong, Shang Kexi, Wang Zhongxiao could more easily integrate Guangdong's manpower and material resources.
As long as Guangdong can be reorganized, Wang Zhongxiao will have enough power to launch the Northern Expedition. Although the Northern Expedition starting from Guangdong in history will not happen for more than two hundred years.
However, considering the decline throughout the country in the early Qing Dynasty, Guangdong's power as a proportion of the country was actually greater than it was two hundred years later!
It's just that Wu Sangui, Kangxi, and Li Zicheng didn't realize it
In their view, even if anyone could occupy the entire territory of Guangdong, or even the two Guangdong provinces, he would be nothing more than a warlord in troubled times who separated himself from one side. Their main rivals are each other!
Just when the situation in Guangdong began to evolve into full-scale separatism and vassalization, the situation in Huguang, Shaanxi and Gansu was also changing rapidly.
First of all, of course, Wu Sangui had been preparing for the "Battle of Qishan" for nearly a year. It finally kicked off after the autumn harvest in the forty-fifth year of Chongzhen, the eleventh year of Kangxi.
However, unlike Zhuge Liang’s style of attack in history when he came out of Qishan, Wu Sangui did not adopt a large-scale attack strategy, but a "small attack". He only asked Wu Yingqi and Wu Shicong to lead four Wu soldiers. A total of 20,000 people marched out of Lueyang and Feng counties to attack Chengxian, Huixian and Liangdang counties in Gansu.
These three counties are generally located in the southeast of Qishan Mountain, and the terrain is relatively awkward, so Yue Le did not dare to deploy a large army, but only placed some Gansu green battalions to monitor the Wu army in the direction of Hanzhong.
After Wu Yingqi and Wu Shicong sent troops, the green battalion soldiers in these three counties all had the attitude of "flee only when they see thieves". They were quite brave!
Courage is courage, but Chengxian, Huixian and Liangdang counties were still easily won by Wu Yingqi and Wu Shicong!
After these three counties were returned to Wu Sangui, it was naturally impossible to preserve Jiezhou, located south of Qishan Mountain, and it was also captured by Wu Sangui soon!
After capturing Jiezhou, Wu Sangui's road to Qishan was accessible. However, the weather had turned cold by this time, so Wu Sangui did not continue the Northern Expedition, but began the cat winter!
This time Maodong, even Yue Le, who was stationed in Qinzhou, and Kangxi, who was far away in Xi'an, were a little passive.
Because Wu Sangui obviously adopted a step-by-step strategy-not sending many troops, the consumption will not be large. The consumption is not large, which is conducive to solving supplies on the spot - Liangdang County and Hui County in Jiezhou and Qinzhou still have some cultivated fields and people who have not been forcibly relocated by the Qing army.
Therefore, the Wu Jiajun can sow wheat in Liangdang County and Huixian County of Jiezhou and Qinzhou in the coming spring. After the autumn harvest, it should be able to support Wu Sangui's main force to leave Qishan.
Although this style of play is relatively slow, it is very stable and conducive to longevity. It seems to be better than Zhuge Liang's method in history.
For the Qing army, it would be good if they could hold Qishan Mountain. It was impossible for them to cross Qishan Mountain and attack Chengxian, Huixian and Liangdang counties. They would not be able to defeat them even if they did so! But if he doesn't fight back, he can only watch Wu Sangui farm and accumulate valleys south of Qishan Mountain!
By next autumn, the Wu family's army, which is well-prepared, may dispatch 100,000 troops at a time to attack Qishan. By then, Gongchang Prefecture and Qinzhou may not be able to defend themselves!
After Wu Sangui captured Gongchang Mansion and Qinzhou, he could continue to draw the gourd and cultivate fields again.
By the autumn of the 13th year of Kangxi's reign, Lanzhou and Pingliang would probably be in danger.
Secondly, the enemies in the Huguang direction are also very stable!
Li Zicheng, a rogue bandit, still lives between the Yuanjiang River, the Yangtze River and Dongting Lake, slowly building military mansions and equalizing land, as if he wants to retire in Lizhou. Up to now, the territory is the entire Lizhou, half of Jingzhou, half of Yichang, half of Changde, and half of Yongshun.
Wu Guogui, who fought out of Guizhou, didn't seem to be in a hurry. He slowly captured Yuanzhou, Chenzhou, and Jingzhou, and now he has just entered Baoqing Mansion. It also looks like I'm not in a hurry, I have time.
Wu Sangui and Li Zicheng were still so stable at their age, but Kangxi was a little at a loss what to do.
His current military strength is no stronger than that of Wu Sangui and Li Zicheng. If these two old guys underestimated the enemy and advanced rashly, it would be easier to deal with them, but they are now moving step by step, and Kangxi has no choice.
Just when Kangxi was at a loss for words, news came from Guangdong that made him unbelievable - Wang Fuchen's memorial and Guangdong Admiral Li Lan arrived in Xi'an almost immediately!
What Wang Fuchen and Li Lan wanted to tell Kangxi was that the Qing Dynasty had now entered a new era - an era of separatist vassal towns!
A local governor supports his troops and fights civil war, but it can still be regarded as a good era for loyal ministers of the Qing Dynasty!
(End of chapter)
