Chapter 195: Urgent Matters
He Xi didn't speak, just looked at Lian Zining quietly.
Lian Zining looked at the silent He Xi and could only express his innermost thoughts. He said: "Today, if the imperial court wants to transport materials to the front line of the Western Regions, it must be sent from Beijing to Liaodong, and from Liaodong to Liaodong through the canal. Mobei, and then transported it all the way to the Western Regions, which is more than ten thousand miles away. Before I came, King Yan was already planning to capture Turpan as the foundation of southern Xinjiang to compete with Timur."
"Going west from Beijing to Turpan is much closer. If we capture the northwest, can we even get support from the northwest frontier army if necessary?"
Lian Zining said: "Exactly." He then added: "I am not only thinking about the King of Yan, but also for the sake of the court. I don't want bandits from the Western Regions to invade the court. It is also a good thing to stop the war outside the northwest. "
Turpan is different from northern Xinjiang.
As long as King Yan takes Turpan, Timur will not be able to cross Turpan and enter the northwest.
Although it is said that Gansu and the area are still supporting Nanjing. However, both He Xi and Lian Zining regarded these lands as the mainland of the Ming Dynasty. These lands were attacked by foreign enemies, which was a completely different concept from the Yan Kingdom fighting foreign enemies.
Although from a practical point of view, after dividing the troops to the northwest, even if they win, they will probably have to bear the heavy responsibility of guarding the border. For Beijing, it is difficult to say whether it is a gain or a burden.
But in a broad sense, it is a scoring item.
Although moral considerations are important, the pros and cons must also be weighed. Look at the overall investment.
He Xi said, "I know this."
It's just that I know it.
Whether it works or not is another matter.
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The agreement between He Xi and Lian Zining was placed in front of Zhu Xiongying.
Zhu Xiongying took a look and was generally satisfied. Deep down in his heart, Zhu Xiongying was no less afraid of King Yan than Nanjing, for no other reason than King Yan Zhu Di was the Yongle Emperor in history, although history has changed.
But King Yan still retained his independence. Zhu Xiongying couldn't be completely relieved.
It's much better now.
If this agreement is implemented, I dare not say that King Yan will be controlled by Beijing in the future. At least it would be difficult for King Yan to rebel. Not to mention, King Yan now has a great enemy in Timur, a Mongolian hero in the post-Mongol era.
Looking at his life, even if he is not the opponent of King Yan, he will not lose so easily. Not to mention, the Mongolian regime in Central Asia has become Turkic. That is to say, ***. King Yan wanted to annex the Timur Khanate, and encountered various problems that were enough to last him a lifetime.
Zhu Xiongying was naturally relieved. If nothing unexpected happens, it is unlikely that he will meet the King of Yan in battle in this life.
As for some of the prices paid, they are nothing compared to this.
It's just that people who don't have long-term worries must have immediate worries.
The benefits of the agreement between He Xi and Lian Zining are quite far-reaching. But the problems it brings are imminent.
Zhu Xiongying said: "I can't be more at ease with my uncle's work. Of course I'm sure of it. Just let me use the seal. But in this way, there will be more than 200,000 taels of expenses in Yan State every year. If the war is urgent, I'm afraid we will have to advance money for Yan State."
"The imperial court's finances are tight. I can't sleep day and night. My uncle doesn't seem to be in a hurry. Now everything is almost settled. Can my uncle tell me how to pay for the imperial court's expenses? Otherwise, the military salary will not be paid until the end of this year. Won’t come out.”
"This is the top priority."
He Xi said: "Your Majesty, I don't know. I have been worrying about this matter for a while. It was only during the actual operation that I discovered that many problems cannot be bypassed."
Zhu Xiongying said: "What's the problem?"
He Xi said: "Southern countries follow Confucianism and Taoism, which emphasizes that the emperor takes orders from heaven and respects heaven and ancestors. The world belongs to the Zhu family. This is why many people are very opposed to what Taizu did back then. After all, in the eyes of the scholar-bureaucrats Come on, this court belongs to the Zhu family, and the world belongs to the Zhu family, not our family. Why should we
Why do we want to consume our family's property out of thin air for the Zhu family? "
"This is why only the yeoman farmers are the foundation of the imperial court. Because the yeoman farmers cannot resist the power of the imperial court. They are more obedient to the imperial court's management. Because for the yeoman farmers, without the imperial court creating a peaceful environment, they cannot produce. But for the yeoman farmers, they cannot produce without the imperial court creating a peaceful environment. For local wealthy families, it is different. Troubled times are a nightmare for the people of the world, but for many wealthy families, it is simply a feast. Therefore, there is no immortal court in the world, but there is an immortal court. Aristocratic family."
Zhu Xiongying understood but did not understand what He Xi said.
If you understand, you understand the pattern He Xi said. Indeed, this was also the original model of the Ming Dynasty established by Zhu Yuanzhang, which was to combine the Ming Dynasty with the peasants and attack the middle level. It does not matter what this middle level is. It can be powerful, aristocratic families, scholar-bureaucrats, or gentry. etc.
Anyway, the classical Chinese empire model is strongest when a strong court is combined with a large number of peasants.
Zhu Xiongying didn't understand because he didn't know why He Xi suddenly said this.
Seeing that Zhu Xiongying seemed to understand, He Xi sighed and said, "Your Majesty, what is industrialization? Large-scale division of labor, factory model. It requires a large number of people to produce labor in a system, and it is impossible for the yeoman system to produce an industrial revolution. The system of self-cultivating farmers is naturally combined with the self-sufficient small-scale peasant economy. Once the industrial revolution began, it meant that a quite powerful force was born among the self-cultivated farmers in the imperial court. They became the main output of wealth. "
"Before the yeoman system, the court levied taxes from the yeoman. As long as the quota was not exceeded, it was impossible for the yeoman to violate the court. But this method was not feasible for factory owners and capitalists."
"What is the essence of taxation? It is exploitation."
"It's taking money from other people, which is not an easy thing."
Zhu Xiongying said: "Is it possible that these people still dare to disobey the imperial order?"
He Xi said: "Of course I don't dare. But, how much is the appropriate tax? Factories and merchants are different from agriculture. There is a limit to how much farmland can produce in a year. But factories are different. This year If the output is more, you can tax more, but next year the output will be less. You must tax less, otherwise this factory will close down. Once it collapses, not only will the court not be able to collect taxes from it, but it will also have to find ways to resettle these unemployed people." .
"Otherwise there will be trouble."
Zhu Xiongying said: "Can't you send someone to investigate? You are vigorously building Shuntian Mansion. The number of officials in Shuntian Mansion is the highest in the world. Can't you find out clearly?"
He Xi sighed and said, "I really can't find out."
This is He Xi's true words.
After several years of cultivation, Beijing has formed a large market, especially after the construction of the railway between Liaodong and Beijing, Liaodong and Beijing are infinitely close geographically. A unified market has been formed. Liaodong has very close economic ties with Beijing.
The most obvious data is that the Beijing-Yingkou railway can turn over tens of thousands of taels of profit every month. If calculated this way, one million yuan can be earned from this railway in a year.
This is not a small amount.
After the Japanese market was opened and the Nanyang market was opened to Beijing, the whole of Beijing was busy doing business and the market became more prosperous. He Xi can foresee that this prosperity will intensify. Without him, the Western Region market brought about by the surrender of Yan Fan is also beckoning.
The economy itself is based on expectations. If expectations are good, they will be reflected in the market.
On the whole, prosperous business can bring a lot of tax revenue to the Beijing government. Even that itself is no small amount. ***The total taxes and services in all aspects are nearly 20 million yuan a year. Less? Nothing less. After all, before the separation of the north and the south, the Ming Dynasty's tax revenue was only more than 50 million taels a year.
But the question is is it enough? Naturally it is not enough.
Not enough at all.
Even He Xi has secretly printed a lot of banknotes. Because of the boom in the market, no one noticed.
It’s not like He Xi never thought about succession
Continue. But the market didn’t allow it.
