In the first month of the fourth year of the Republic of China, Jiangxia City.
The wind and snow coming from the northern country mixed together, making this city that was recently re-ruled by Prince Zhong of the Ming Dynasty look extremely cold and desolate.
Jiangxia Royal City and Prince Zhong's Mansion are now in a state of panic.
Li Zicheng fell ill after conquering Jiujiang and forcing Wu Yingxiong to death. His illness was not serious at first. Li Laishun arranged for him to recuperate in Jiujiang, and then led his troops to recover Jiangxia, Hankou, and Hanyang. Later, the news came that Wu Sangui had died of illness, and the servant who served Li Zicheng told the sick "Old Long Live" the good news to make him happy. Unexpectedly, when the old man heard the news, he was so happy that night that he called a group of old brothers to drink with him. While drinking, he suddenly burst into tears. After crying, he vomited blood, and then his health deteriorated.
Later, when he heard that Jiangxia City had been recovered, he clamored to return to Prince Zhong's Mansion in Jiangxia and take another look at his own Jiangxia City. The governor of Jiangxi, Yu Deshui, could not control him, so he had to arrange a navy ship to send him back to Jiangxia. As a result, the old man saw that the once prosperous city had now become dilapidated and depressed. Many places had gone too far, leaving only ruins. His condition worsened again and he couldn't see it.
Yesterday, the miracle doctor named Zhu Guangdan invited by Prince Zhong's Mansion quietly told Prince Zhong Li Laishun that it was time to prepare for the funeral.
At this moment, Li Zicheng, who was very sick and thin, was lying on the couch, looking at the room with his eyes open, not saying anything, and he didn't know what he was thinking about?
Li Laishun had been staying with the old man who had raised him up and allowed him to sit on the throne of the loyal king of the Ming Dynasty. His tears couldn't help but flow down.
There was a sudden noise outside the door, which seemed to disturb Li Zicheng who was thinking about something. He slowly turned his head and asked in a low voice: "How was the talk?"
Li Laishun knew what the old man was asking and sighed: "General Li wants us to hand over most of our military power and reorganize the troops of Prince Zhong's Mansion into three army towns and one navy town, unified by the General's Mansion. Command. Including the palace guards who are still under the jurisdiction of Er, only 53,000 troops can be given.
In addition, the official land in Jingzhou Prefecture and Jingmen Prefecture can be allocated to us for the government soldiers. All soldiers and officials will be given the status of nationals, and all officials will be given the status of national scholars. Including officials, soldiers, and officials, a total of 57,000 national citizens and 3,000 national soldiers were given to them.
As for those Minzhuang who are following us to fight against Wu, but cannot get enough troops, we will give them at most 100,000 more Chinese status. "
Li Zicheng smiled bitterly: "That's not bad. The total number of Chinese people and scholars is 160,000. What do the prefects and county magistrates of the five prefectures say?"
He was extremely ill, and it was so laborious to speak a few words that he almost broke off.
Li Laishun knew that he didn't have much time, but he still had to take the time to ask for advice, so he said to him: "The prefects and county magistrates sent by us can stay in their posts, but the provincial magistrates and county magistrates will be excluded from the provincial capital. Also, the provincial magistrates will also be appointed. We will send the Academic Affairs Secretary to Hubei. In the future, Hubei's official education and scholar and scholar examinations will all be in charge of the Academic Affairs Secretary, and the official examinations will also be managed by the Academic Affairs Secretary. If the people we send cannot pass the official examination within three years If you take the exam, you won’t have an official position, so it’s not very satisfactory!”
It turned out that Li Zhongshan, who had moved to Jiangxia, was not only waiting to meet people from Wu Zhou and Beiqing, but was also presiding over the republican restructuring of Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong, and Guangxi provinces.
The so-called republican reform is to change the false republic divided by warlords into a true republic where people discuss politics and unify government decrees.
Among these three provinces, Jiangxi was defeated. The current governor of Jiangxi is Master Yu, a confidant of Li Fuchen and Li Zhongshan, and the admiral is Li Fuchen's old associate Shao Lingzhi. Some of the officials at all levels below are retained. "Four Dynasties Elders" (Qing, Ming, Zhou, Ming); some are "reformers" from Guangzhou and Nanjing - the former are basically Guangdong scholars, and the latter are mostly southeast scholars, and they are known as reform schools People with good background (including teachers) are the backbone.
Therefore, it is relatively easy to unify political decrees in Jiangxi, but it is a bit difficult to implement people's deliberation on government in Jiangxi, because Jiangxi does not have a large number of people, especially unarmed people. Without people, there would be no republic!
The situation in Hubei is opposite to that of Jiangxi. Under the leadership of Li Zicheng, the original five Hubei provinces of the Ming Dynasty most thoroughly implemented the "Celestial Land Acquisition System". Small landowners or rich farmers were originally the backbone of society in all dynasties. In the early Western Zhou and Spring and Autumn Periods Chinese people also come from this type of family. Coupled with the experience of the "War against Wu", all small landowners and rich peasants in the five prefectures of Hubei were armed and participated in the war against Wu and Zhou. So this group of people has grown into the backbone of the republic!
However, the "Republic of the Five Prefectures of Hubei" is not the same as the "Republic of the Ming Dynasty". If the Five Prefectures of Hubei cannot be integrated into the system of the Republic of the Ming Dynasty as soon as possible, and the Five Prefectures of Hubei are allowed to form their own system, then the people of the Five Prefectures of Hubei are likely to support it in the future. Prince Zhong’s Mansion versus the Ming Dynasty
As for Hunan, the situation is even more complicated. Less than half of this province was conquered by Li Zhongshan, about half was forced to land, and two states were controlled by the Lao Jia family, a warlord force attached to the Nanwang Palace.
In addition, Hunan's original administrative and "quasi-national system" centered on the Chu Palace of the Great Zhou Dynasty and the Hunan General Manager's Palace were now beaten and pulled to his side by Li Zhongshan. The Jia family established a feudal system in Chenzhou and Guiyang Prefecture that was firmly controlled by the Jia family. In short, the situation was very complicated.
The situation in Guangdong is also a bit complicated. Guangzhou Prefecture, Shaozhou Prefecture, and Nanxiong Prefecture, which were originally led by Li Zhongshan, have gradually established people's government and are unified under the military orders of the General's Office and the Shangshu Province. This system is similar to the republican system in Jiangsu and Anhui provinces.
But other state capitals in Guangdong have always been under the rule of Nanwangfu. Although there are a large number of national soldiers who have been allocated land in those state capitals, and there are also many national soldiers who are used by the Nanwang Palace, they all now accept the orders of the Nanwang Palace!
In Guangxi, the situation is even more complicated. Sun Jiqing and Kong Sizhen were beaten away by Li Jizhen. However, a complex feudal system established by Li Fuchen and Kong Sizhen still partially exists!
The feudal system of Guangxi includes the direct leaders of the Nanwangfu, the direct leaders of Dingfan, Dingfan retainers (former slaves), Dingfan affiliates (originally Dingfan's green camp and Zhaoan bandits), chieftains, and militia (local powerful people) A feudal hodgepodge within.
Now most of Dingfan's retainers have fled, and some of Dingfan's subordinates have also fled, but the chieftains and militia are still there!
Moreover, in order to drive away Sun Jiqing and Kong Sizhen as soon as possible, when Li Jizhen marched into Guangxi, he also sent out many magistrates (subordinate states), magistrates and chieftains, forming many legal separatist forces.
Just looking at it gives me a headache.
Except for Jiangxi, where Li Zhongshan could impose orders and prohibitions, the "republic" in Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong, and Guangxi had to be implemented through decrees and negotiations.
The people Li Zhongshan wants to talk about right now are the loyal king Li Laishun, the western king Wu Guogui and the western prince Wu Shijue, the southern king Li Fuchen and the southern prince Li Jizhen. After negotiating with them, they will discuss it with the people below. There may be a backlash in the future and another negotiation is needed.
In short, while this republic will release the fighting power and enthusiasm of the grassroots, it will also cause difficulties in the implementation of imperial decrees. However, the old method of relying on literati and gentry to rule local areas will actually lead to a situation where government orders do not leave the capital. In many cases, it is even worse than a republic.
"There is no such thing as everything going well in the world." Li Zicheng muttered, and after a while he said in a low voice, "Well, I kept things simple back then!"
He seemed to be having a flashback, and his voice became clearer: "Governing a country, especially a big country, is really difficult to govern well. I thought it was difficult to conquer the world, but I never thought that governing the world would be better than conquering a country. The world is much more difficult. That Li Zhongshan is not simple. He understands it better than anyone else at a young age. If you don’t know, you would think that he has been an official all his life and is still a capable official. Laishun, compare yourself with him , simply can’t do anything. You, listen to him, and when you encounter something that you really can’t handle, tell him honestly that you call him uncle now, but you must really treat him as uncle in the future. This way, the Li family can live long. If you become rich, your old brothers who follow you will not suffer any loss."
After saying that, he slowly turned his head back, not looking at anyone, and just murmuring to himself: "General Liu, Tian Yufeng, Yiyihu, do you know? The world will always be at peace."
His voice grew softer, turning to silence.
On the eighth night of the first lunar month in the fourth year of the Republic of Ming Dynasty, Li Zicheng, the king of Chuang, died again!
In the general's palace, Li Zhongshan, who was receiving envoys from the Zhou Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty, looked a little sad. After he learned of Li Zicheng's death last night, he immediately went to express his condolences. However, King Chuang Li Zicheng was not an ordinary person after all, and a grand burial was not acceptable, otherwise it would be too disrespectful to the emperor of the Republic, Zhu Cijiong, so he could only be buried in a low-key manner.
Li Laishun also explained Li Zicheng's last words to Li Zhongshan - asking him to listen to "Uncle Zhongshan" and so on!
So Li Zhongshan immediately said that from now on everyone will be his own people!
After notifying Li Laishun to bury Li Zicheng in a low-key manner, Li Zhongshan returned to his home. Not long after he returned, Wu Guogui, Wang Shirong, Fang Ying, Chang Ning, and Mingzhu, who had arrived in Jiangxia City the day before, came to see him.
Among them, Wang Shirong and Fang Ying (nephew of Fang Guangchen) were Wu Shifan's envoys, and Chang Ning and Mingzhu were Kangxi's envoys.
And these two groups of envoys all have a disgraceful title, that is, "professor envoys". They came to Ming Dynasty to proclaim themselves ministers and recognize their boss!
Of course, the person they proclaimed their vassalship was not Li Zhongshan, but Zhu Cijiong. It's just that the conditions for becoming the younger brother must be negotiated with Li Zhongshan first. After the negotiation is completed, he can go to Nanjing to recognize Zhu Cijiong as the boss.
"What? You want to borrow money to conquer the Western Regions and colonize?"
When Li Zhongshan heard Wang Shirong's conditions proposed by Emperor Wu Shifan of the Great Zhou Dynasty (actually Wu Yingqi's conditions), he was almost stunned.
What's going on? Is Da Zhou going to borrow money for colonization too? Are they making progress too fast?
"Don't worry, General. The old Wu family is the most trustworthy, and all debts must be repaid!" Wu Guogui patted his chest and guaranteed.
There are still debts that must be repaid. Li Zhongshan thought to himself: Does your family have a gold mine?
Seeing the suspicion on Li Zhongshan's face, Prince Gong Chang Ning smiled and said: "General, this expedition to the Western Regions will definitely make money. It is impossible to lose the battle! Because this battle is between the Great Zhou Dynasty, the Great Qing Dynasty and Oirat. The Junggar tribe, in the name of the Mongolian Khan and the Chagatai Khanate, sent troops together! How can this be defeated?"
Oh, you want to cosplay the Mongolian Western Expedition!
Li Zhongshan was a little dumbfounded, "You are a Mongol Khan and a member of the Chagatai Khanate. What do you want? Want your eldest son to march to the west? How old is this? Does anyone in the west still recognize the Mongolian legal authority? "
"The general doesn't know something," said Fang Ying, who looked polite and knowledgeable. "The area west of the Tianshan Mountains and Congling in the Western Regions is now called the Mughal Land. The Mughal Land To the north is the Kipchak grassland, which is the territory of the Golden Horde. The Kazakh Khanate that currently rules there is the descendant of the Golden Horde. And the land in the river south of the Mughals is the territory of the Chagatai Khanate. , although it has been snatched away by the descendants of the Golden Horde Khan, the descendants of Chagatai are the legitimate owners there. The Yeerqiang Khanate in the Western Regions is actually the Chagatai Khanate that moved eastward. We now control Yeerqiang Khanate. The Qiang Khanate is equivalent to controlling the Chagatai Khanate.
If we advance westward in the name of the Chagatai Khanate, we will get the support of Mongol warriors in the southern Mughal region who are committed to the Chagatai Khanate! "
"Really?" Li Zhongshan didn't believe it at all, and he wasn't interested at all.
This Fang Ying was Wu Shicong's military advisor. He had been following him to conquer the Yeerqiang Khanate, so he knew many things about the Yeerqiang Khanate. In order to attract "venture capital" this time, he also did enough homework. He saw Li Zhongshan He seemed to have little interest, and then continued: "General, I am not sure about this other Mughal Khanate, but the Timurid Dynasty in India will definitely support the Chagatai Khanate!"
"What did you say?" Li Zhongshan was surprised, "India?"
India is rich!
Now India can rise, the world's number one economic power, the number one developed country in the seventeenth century is India!
"Yes!" Fang Ying said, "The general does not know that the Chagatai Khanate was once destroyed and later restored in Yeerqiang, and the leader of the restored Chagatai Khanate, Said and Timur Babur, the leader of the ZTE who moved the Khanate to India, was a close friend. They fought side by side in the Mughals. The Timur Khanate and the Chagatai Khanate also supported each other for a long time in history. The two Khans The clans are also married to each other and have close relations. If the Khan of the Timur Khanate knew that the Chagatai Khanate was fighting back the Mughals, he would definitely send troops to support it."
This is an opportunity!
Li Zhongshan's interest came immediately.
He didn't know much about things in Central Asia and India, and he didn't know that Yeerqiang had such a connection with the Mughal Empire in India. But he knew very well that with the strength of the Wuzhou, Beiqing, and Galdan families With strength, it would be easy to overthrow the various Mughal khanates. It doesn’t matter whether the Mughal Empire sends troops or not!
However, if the Chagatai Khanate and the Mughal Empire can really build a relationship, it can provide convenience for the Ming Dynasty to open up, no, help India's struggle against British colonial aggression.
The British are, after all, foreign beasts, not of the "Mo" race, so their minds must be different! The Chagatai Khanate also had the Great Khan of Mongolia and the Mughal Empire of India. The blood of the Mongolian brothers is thicker than water!
If the British cannot get India, then British capitalism and industrialization will not come so easily. Just for this reason, it is worth a try!
Thinking of this, Li Zhongshan finally nodded: "Since the relationship between the Chagatai Khanate and the Timur Khanate in India is extraordinary, we can invest some money!"
In order to disrupt the British colonial cause in India, it is worth losing even a few million!
"Invest some money?" Fang Ying asked, "General, do you mean to borrow it?"
"Let's not talk about borrowing," Li Zhongshan said, "Have any of you heard of the Dutch East India Company? Does anyone know about VOC?"
"I know!" Chang Ning nodded, "General, I know you said this when you reported to the emperor to impeach the Pope. This is a business that treats robbing money as a business!"
"Let's work together to do one!" Li Zhongshan said, "It is only natural that there is an East India Company to engage in business in India!"
"General, do you want to establish a Ming East India Company?" Chang Ning asked.
"No, no" Li Zhongshan shook his head, "People from the Timur Khanate don't recognize the Ming East India Company! Why don't we set up a Mongolian East India Company!"
"Mongolia?"
"The Mongols know how to steal money best!"
"That's good! The Mongolian East India Company goes to India to do business with the Timur Khanate, and India's Aurangzeb Khan will definitely take care of it."
Li Zhongshan smiled and said: "Then let's form a three-country joint venture and let's do it together. We will use the name of the Mongolian East India Company to develop trade routes in the western region and also do business with India. Let's set the share capital of this company at 1 million taels first! Wait! Let’s set up this company and then borrow money from banks in Ming Dynasty in its name. There is no problem in borrowing several million from it.”
This is great!
Wang Shirong, Fang Ying, Chang Ning, and Mingzhu all shine.
It is much better to borrow money in the name of any company than to borrow money in the name of the country. How ugly it sounds when the state borrows money and doesn’t repay it! If the company borrows money and fails to repay it, then the business will be lost, so why not sell it?
(End of chapter)
