One percent commercial tax in the Western Regions?
When the officials heard this, they couldn't help but want to laugh. Looking at Zhu Yunwen's serious expression, they didn't dare to laugh out loud.
However, Your Majesty, no matter how stingy and deceptive you are, you should not deceive Zhu Di like this. After all, he is your uncle. How can you deceive one of your own people like this?
Even some military generals felt that this treatment was too low. He was a vain Grand Marshal of the Shangzhu Kingdom. He only had an honorary title and no substantial content. As for the mansion, Zhu Di had no shortage of residences.
The words are so rhetorical, but Zhu Di should also be given some benefits, right? After all, he deserves the most credit...
Mao Taiheng, the Minister of Civil Affairs, approached Shangshu Jian Yi and murmured: "Jian Shangshu, what's going on? Giving 1% of the commercial tax from the Western Regions to King Yan, isn't the Emperor worried that it will upset people's hearts?"
Mao Taehyung did not participate in the final decision and was not aware of the relationship.
Jian Yi glanced at Mao Taiheng, and the corners of his mouth trembled slightly: "Bo Liang? Ha, in my opinion, this treatment is too generous! Do you know what this means?"
Mao Taehyung shook his head.
Jian Yi gritted his molars and said, "This means that as long as the imperial court controls the Western Regions, King Yan's lineage will always be able to take a share of the Western Regions' profits from the imperial court!"
Mao Taiheng disagreed: "How much can the revenue from the Western Region be? Just take it, it's nothing."
Jian Yi glared at Mao Taiheng: "You should know that the imperial court is going to reopen the Silk Road in the Western Regions! I heard that Shanxi merchants, Hui merchants, Hangzhou merchants, etc. are already on their way to the Western Regions."
Mao Taiheng knew the news, but he did not think that the Silk Road could be opened smoothly, let alone how much business tax the Silk Road could bring. The Western Regions are under control, but whether there are merchants to the west of the Western Regions is debatable. Even if merchants come, how much money and taxes can the Ming Dynasty make?
Besides, even if you collect a tax of 100,000 taels and take out 1%, it will only be 1,000 taels. You expect that 1,000 taels can support Zhu Di and his children and grandchildren. Are you kidding...
Looking at the somewhat short-sighted Mao Taiheng, Jian Yi sighed secretly. You don't even look at Xia Yuanji's face to see whether he is happy or depressed. Few people think the Silk Road is important, but Zhu Yunwen thinks it is important, and he will definitely build it into a golden road!
Yes, the population of the Western Regions is now very small, and business is very depressed, but you have to know that the Western Regions will not remain depressed forever, because Zhu Yunwen did not agree!
Although you are the minister, you have very few opportunities to enter the Wuying Palace. You have not seen that Zhu Yunwen has placed the "Silk Road" at a strategic height. In the next few years, the imperial court will vigorously develop the Western Regions, and the Silk Road will also become an important area that cannot be ignored. a strategic path.
Xia Yuanji is indeed a little distressed. The commercial tax in the Western Regions is inconspicuous now, but the future is uncertain. The current court is not the court of the Han Dynasty. The Silk Road of the Han Dynasty was more about country-to-country connections, a strategic channel, and commercial Although its value was highlighted, it was not highly valued by the imperial court. As a result, the Silk Road did not bring a steady stream of wealth to the imperial court. Instead, it became a huge burden due to various misguided efforts.
But things are different now. One of Zhu Yunwen's important considerations in running the Silk Road is business and commercial tax. Zhou Chen and others from the Imperial College of Business are already ready to open up the Silk Road in the Western Regions.
On his way back, in order to facilitate the imperial government's management of the Western Regions, Zhu Di was ordered to arrange for local officials to build inns. When the officials from the Western Regions set off, they should be able to enter the inns to rest along the way.
The future of the Western Region is promising, and the business tax is probably not a small amount. You must know that at this time, silk and ceramics were hard currencies in the Western market. They could be exchanged for real money and silver. And it is conceivable that commercial taxes were collected on this basis...
Zhu Di readily accepted Zhu Yunwen's reward. Regardless of whether it was good or not, he showed his attitude first: "I thank your Majesty for your kindness!"
Zhu Yunwen resolved Zhu Di's reward, followed suit, and gave Xu Huizu the honorary title of Generalissimo of the Zhu Kingdom, the same treatment as Zhu Di and Song Sheng. Statues in major cities commemorated his name and deeds.
But Zhu Yunwen did not give Xu Huizu a share of the business tax in the Western Regions, but fulfilled Xu Huizu's wish.
, Xu Yingxu was granted the title of Marquis of Changji, and each family had a duke and a marquis, which was considered a prestigious name.
Xu Huizu was very satisfied with the result. Through this battle, he won military exploits and confirmed his status as the governor of the Chinese Army. He no longer sat in this position because of the favor of his father Xu Da. At the same time, he also served Xu Ying. Xu won a marquis, and this was hereditary, which at least ensured that the Xu family would not be in major crisis for several generations.
Zhu Yunwen completed the reward, but the affairs in the Western Regions were far from over.
June 3rd, Wuying Hall.
Zhu Di, Xu Huizu, Liu Jun and Yang Rong, who was promoted to the Minister of War, together with Tie Xuan, Minister of War, Xie Jin of the cabinet, Xuan Qingshu, Xu Kai, Guo Sansheng, Duan Yun and others were also summoned to gather together with the Western Regions. thing.
Zhu Yunwen pointed directly at the core of the meeting: "The battle in the West has commendable results and gratifying results. I will not say more about these. There is only one point in today's discussion, and that is reflection. Only fighting without reflecting on problems, failing to solve and avoid problems will lead to We made the same mistakes and were constrained by the same problems. There are many problems exposed in this battle. I hope you can speak freely. This matter is related to the military system, military formation and combat innovation, so please speak freely."
Xie Jin, Ru Yu, Yu Xin and Yang Shiqi sat aside, each holding a pen and preparing to continue recording. The cabinet minister was only a stenographer at this meeting.
Zhu Di, Xu Huizu and others nodded solemnly. This battle indeed exposed many problems. If these problems are not solved, future battles will inevitably suffer losses.
Xu Huizu signaled Zhu Di to speak first, but Zhu Di did not refuse and looked at Zhu Yunwen: "The main problem in the campaign to conquer the west is that it is too passive. Whether it is facing Harry or Timur, our army can only be passive. Waiting for them to attack, either relying on the geographical location, or taking advantage of Camel City, in short, it is to look for opportunities to counterattack while defending."
"I believe that although the firearms are powerful, they have poor maneuverability and are too passive. If Tamerlane gives up the idea of revenge for Harry, gives up the intention of the decisive battle in Qamdo, and instead rushes north, crosses Beita Mountain, and directly enters Yiwu and others Land, kill towards the hinterland of the army, the army can only be forced to mobilize. By then, if you want to defeat Timur on the vast grassland, I am afraid that the losses will be extremely serious, and the entire army may even be annihilated!"
Zhu Yunwen knew this flaw. If Timur gave up his arrogance and gave up picking up the face left by Harry, as Zhu Di said, regardless of it, abandoning Zhu Di's army and attacking Yiwu, Hami and other places, Zhu Di's army would only If it can be adjusted from a defensive state to an offensive state, Camel City will lose its effect.
It is difficult to win with infantry against cavalry, especially heavy cavalry, and it is not impossible to annihilate an entire army.
Being too passive and lacking in maneuverability was Zhu Di's most frustrating and painful experience as a commander. It was difficult for an army dominated by infantry to achieve grand strategic detours, assaults, and outflanks.
For example, when Timur escaped, most of the main force could not pursue him and could only rely on cavalry to pursue him. However, with the limited cavalry, it was difficult to pursue Timur when he was scattered along the path. Fortunately, he caught up, otherwise he could not catch up. , the battle of Qamdo will be much bleaker.
Zhu Yunwen said to Zhu Di: "With insufficient maneuverability, it is indeed easy to fall into passivity. The fundamental solution to this problem lies in war horses. I believe that future military reform should be improved in the direction of firearms and cavalry. What do you think?"
"Turn into firearms cavalry?"
Zhu Di, Xu Huizu and others were slightly stunned.
The power of firearms has proven to be huge, and the damage to cavalry is also considerable. However, the main weapons currently are fire guns, tiger squat cannons, and divine machine guns. These three are mainly infantry.
If the firearms cavalry is transformed into a cavalry, and the sergeants ride on horses carrying fire guns, ride on horses with tiger squatting cannons, and ride on horses dragging divine machine cannons, then the mobility of the Ming Dynasty's army will be greatly improved!
Whether it's chasing or advancing, it's all done with ease!
The factor that restrained the Ming Dynasty from using firearms as cavalry - war horses - has been initially alleviated. In three years, the number of war horses in the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains and the north and south of the Qilian Mountains will be enough to arm 100,000 Beijing troops. If the Ming Dynasty is given ten years, it is not a delusion that the entire Beijing army will be cavalry. Things!
Zhu Yunwen saw this clearly. The northwest and western regions with huge pastures and hundreds of thousands of war horses were enough to breed elite cavalry for the Ming Dynasty!
Zhu Yunwen stood up and said seriously: "I hope that in the next ten years, the main force of the Beijing army and the key border areas will be equipped with all firearms, and the main force will be equipped with firearms and cavalry. All infantry should master basic cavalry skills, even if they are not proficient in riding. , and should also be able to ride long distances on horseback to strengthen the army's combat effectiveness."
Tie Xuan couldn't help but be secretly surprised when he heard this.
Zhu Yunwen is already planning to implement all firearms in the entire army. It seems that the Ming Dynasty sergeants will gradually leave the cold weapon combat mode and switch to a full firearms combat mode. After the Annan and Western Regions wars, the firearms combat mode has also been accumulated We have gained a lot of experience and achieved great results.
No one and no reason can stop the development of firearms!
Zhu Di nodded heavily and agreed with Zhu Yunzhen: "If the guard can be fully equipped with firearms and firearms and cavalry, I can lead the army to kill through the west of the Western Region. I heard that there are many countries there, and I am willing to bring some kings to dance for the emperor!"
Zhu Yunwen did not laugh. The west of the Western Regions is not scary, nor is Europe at this time. It is broken like glass shards, and countries are fighting each other. They do not threaten the Ming Dynasty, and there is no need to conquer them for the time being.
But the budding capital and scientific and technological development in Europe are worthy of attention, and their adventurous spirit and will to open up new territories are indeed worth learning from.
The Ming Dynasty does not necessarily have to dominate the world or colonize, but it must ensure that the strategy is strong. With the power of the Ming Dynasty, it must ensure that the West can only look to the Ming Dynasty for the opportunity to develop!
