Chapter 113: Preparing to Jump Ship
If Beijing can guarantee its own power and have a place for him in the cabinet in the future, he can be generous and do not want to be the first assistant. There are many things that he cannot not consider.
Of course, this is also the worst choice for Ding Xian.
If possible, Ding Xian still wanted to be the chief assistant of the Nanjing court. This is why he had not made preparations to jump ship before. Now he obviously feels different.
From Ding Xian's position, he could actually see a lot.
Since the Battle of Hejian, most people in Nanjing feel that Beijing was a fluke and only did some things well. As long as we can make up for the shortcomings, we can launch a massive counterattack.
It's not that Nanjing hasn't made any moves, it's even made quite a lot of moves. It feels that there are things that need to be filled, and the more they make up, the more they make up. Even Fang Xiaoru made a sacrifice. But it's still nothing more than catching up.
It even makes people feel that it is beyond reach.
There are some things that the Ming court simply cannot do. For example, He Xi has created many charters, especially national debt. But Ding Xian really wanted to do it, but couldn't do it.
After all, He Xi’s national debt is backed by a financial system that establishes basic financial trust. But Nanjing does not have this.
Fu Youde did not want to imitate many things in military transformation. However, this would simply destroy the lives of the founding hero group. Why the founding heroes have a special status is not because they have special influence on the military.
With this reform, military training methods and combat methods and personnel training methods have completely changed. All the founding heroes have to step aside. Even an important general like Fu Youde cannot move easily.
As for railways, Ding Xian has organized many people to study steam engines.
But the result is still very confusing.
There are so many skills required here.
Otherwise, He Xi had invested nearly ten years before finally developing a steam engine that could be placed on a train. It can be said that the research on steam engines directly affected Beijing's entire industrial system. It can also be said conversely that it was the entire industrial system in Beijing and Liaodong that united to create the steam engine.
Zhang Zongde is just a leader.
But Nanjing lacks a scientist like Zhang Zongde, let alone He Xi's constant guidance. There is also a lack of large-scale investment and industrial system. There is a problem only if it can be created.
In Ding Xian's position, he understands these things.
Before, he had the idea of turning the tide, or of uniting the north and the south, but now his intuition told him that this seemed somewhat unlikely.
Ding Xian put his thoughts back and said: "Your Majesty, I think what Changxing Hou said is very true. We cannot sit idly by and ignore the situation in the northwest. The frontline war should be decided by the frontline generals. It is better to send a heavy general to Hanzhong. Sit in Hanzhong and counterattack. Longxi."
Zhu Yunwen said: "Who is it?"
Ding Xian said: "This is beyond my knowledge. It is better to ask the Duke of Korea."
Zhu Yunwen understood Ding Xian's opinion. South Korean Gong Li Qi was the first group of people, and it would not be a problem to hold on for a long time. Moreover, these people had a lot of experience in fighting in northwest Sichuan.
He is also considered a veteran. Can be used once.
Zhu Yunwen said: "Okay."
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Ding Xian and Qi De walked out of Qianqing Palace side by side.
Qi De hesitated to speak.
To be honest, Zide didn't have a very good impression of Ding Xian. Not only Qi De, but most people in the Nanjing court now have a bad impression of Qi De. This is also normal.
What Ding Xian has done will not be well evaluated in today's society where morality is paramount.
But at the same time, Zide still has a little understanding of Ding Xian.
Without him, Qi De is a man who does practical things. In his position, there are millions of troops on the front line, countless memorials, soldiers, muskets, artillery, pay, food, etc.
Ziddu had to make arrangements.
In Fang Xiaoru's era, there was a huge gap in this area.
After Ding Xian came to power, no matter what Ding Xian did,
Zide understands this very well. The absolute supply of these materials has been increasing. As for the front line, which still feels short of supply, that is because the fighting on the front line has been expanding.
When the war just started, the main battlefield was in Hebei.
Now the war is spreading, reaching Longxi in the west and the sea in the east, forming the Fujian battlefield, the Shandong battlefield, the Henan battlefield, the northern Shaanxi battlefield, the direction of Xiaoguan, and now there is the Longxi battlefield.
These wars are just a word to the people above, but to the people below, they don't know how much work they are.
How many supplies are required.
It almost made Zide feel breathless.
Under this situation. Who can solve Zide's problem is the most important thing, and everything else must be put aside.
Ding Xian naturally knew how Zi De felt about him. Ding Xian and Qi De can be regarded as tolerating each other for the sake of the country. Ding Xian knew one thing very well: he could not support the Nanjing court alone. He lacks the right team and manpower.
He cannot help but cooperate with others.
Zied was his chosen partner.
On the one hand, Qi De is very capable.
Logistics and overall arrangements in so many directions. Not everyone can settle things well. Zid can do it.
On the other hand, Zide is a practical person. He doesn't have much of a moral streak. And we know what it means to put the overall situation first.
Is a gentleman.
In this way, he can morally kidnap Qi De. At least in Nanjing, if the situation does not change, Qi De will not only not take action against him, but will even prevent others from dealing with him secretly.
Count them all in one fell swoop.
Ding Xian saw Zi De's expression. Said: "Brother Qi, what's the matter with you?"
Zide said: "There is one thing, I don't know whether to ask or not?"
Ding Xian said, "Ask as much as you want. There is nothing in the world that I cannot tell you."
Zied said: "How many new banknotes were printed?"
Ding Xian said calmly: "I don't remember."
Zide's footsteps suddenly stopped, and he said with anger in his tone: "Chief Assistant, this matter is not a joke, how could you not remember it?"
Ding Xian said: "This number is updated every day. How can I remember it all the time? Of course I know the approximate number. But I don't think you want to know this number."
Zide was stunned, and he understood what Ding Xian meant.
This is also what worries him the most.
Yes. The Nanjing court's annual income is about 50 to 60 million taels. Now with the occurrence of the industrial revolution, taxes in various aspects have also increased. Just like customs. In the pre-industrial era, customs taxes were not very high at best, but in the industrial era, it was a different story.
Even if there is no industrial zone under Nanjing's control, it will still be affected.
Not to mention, Ding Xian didn't do anything.
At least, the scene in Jiangning Town is quite good.
Not only did it bring a lot of tax revenue to Nanjing, but more importantly, it stabilized the currency value. A large amount of cloth was put on the market, which supported the face value of Nanjing's new coins. Ding Xian didn't know the reason. But Ding Xian only discovered this one thing.
But in any case, the huge war expenditures not only make Beijing breathless. It also brought Nanjing's finances to collapse.
Qi De knew this well.
After all, he deployed most of the military supplies. He knew exactly how much it cost. How could the imperial court have so much money for him to spend?
The imperial court's finances were in serious trouble.
Zid knew this without asking.
The incident of treasure banknotes can be regarded as a superficial financial education for Ming officials. They all know that printing money is unsustainable. There will definitely be problems over time.
But Zied still wanted to ask.
Because the impact of this incident is too great. Moreover, the war has lasted for several years, and Zide has clearly felt the undercurrent caused by pressure from all sides. Especially on the battlefield in the Central Plains.
The pressure is on to maintain an army of hundreds of thousands
It is not an easy thing for the original people.
The people's power is in crisis, the financial resources are in crisis, the military is not going well, and the whole situation is internal and external troubles. If we don't cheer up, the outcome in the future will be unpredictable. Qi De was devoted to his country, and it was precisely because he saw these crises that he became even more anxious. Want to solve the problem.
But if you want to solve the problem, you must first face it. If you don’t even know what the problem looks like. How can we solve the problem? Read the book
Qi De took a deep breath and said, "Please let me know, Sir, Chief Assistant, I must have a number in mind."
