Chapter Twenty-Nine: Farewell to Venus Studying Overseas Events

Liu Zongmin and Niu Jinxing, who came to Yaogang, could not help but compare Zhang Zhimu and Li Zicheng. Zhang Zhimu is obviously more humane than Li Zicheng. The difference between the two in other aspects, they have more in their hearts, but they can't say it, this is a person who can't be compared together.

Niu Jinxing knows Li Zicheng very well, to say that when Li Zicheng first came to Yaogang, he wanted to know more about what kind of person Zhang Zhimu was, and if he hadn't decided to return to Yaogang first, he was completely convinced by Zhang Zhimu after he went to Yaogang to see Zhang Zhimu. What Niu Jinxing admires even more in his heart is that this person thinks of good things and is determined to do them, so he is very resolute. Sending their civil ministers and military generals to the kiln gang, Li Zicheng wanted them to understand how wise his decision was. Li Zicheng did this.

After arriving at Yaogang, these civil ministers and military generals of the Dashun Dynasty understood why Li Zicheng did not fight with the Yaogang people in Shaanxi and the Yaogang people in the Central Plains, and now he has returned to the Yaogang people in the south of the Yangtze River. It was because Li Zicheng stood high and saw far away, and he had long seen that the difference between the Dashun army and the Yaogang people was too great. The result is more deaths, and there is no chance of winning.

In particular, Liu Zongmin and his generals, after visiting the Yaogang Military Academy and the Yaogang Junior Military Academy, saw the teaching level and teaching facilities of Yaogang, as well as the teaching methods, and they were completely convinced. This was something they had never seen before, and they were simply stunned when they saw the various teaching materials of the kiln people. The textbook listed various combat examples and actual combat tactics, which made Liu Zongmin feel a chill in their backs. These things, the officers of Yaogang are already familiar with them in the academy, and in their army, if any general will feel that he is very superior with a move, how can this be compared. There is also a training base for new recruits, and only after strict training can recruits be incorporated into combat units, so that the army does not have to worry about the number of recruits. Liu Zongmin and those generals privately discussed, among the soldiers in their team, it would be good if one out of ten soldiers could reach the level of recruits here. In fact, they didn't dare to say that the broken bridge or something like that, and their generals didn't necessarily dare to cross it.

However, when the concerned generals visited, they unabashedly recorded the use of pencils by the new learning. The staff of the kiln gang, without confidentiality, also gave them some information.

Liu Zongmin and Li Zicheng discussed the matter of learning culture among the soldiers of Yaogang, and when Liu Zongmin discussed it with everyone this time, he had the right to speak, "This is the biggest difference between our army and the Yaogang army!" This is what King Chuang said. At that time, when King Chuang told me, I still couldn't listen to it. Now I know at a glance that it is difficult to train illiterate according to the tactics of the kiln. In particular, when you become an officer, you can't read and write and can't command a battle at all. When we withdrew from Shaanxi and the Central Plains, many of you were still muttering dissatisfied, but now you know why! Whether it is an officer or a soldier, we are too bad. It's not just the difference in weapons. ”

After the fifth day of the first lunar month, Niu Jinxing and a group of Wenchen will go back first. They had to take the train to Fenglingdu first, and then see if the Yellow River could sail, and if they could travel by boat, they would take the land route to Kaifeng.

Zhang Zhimu led the officials of Yaogang to see them off at Yaogang Station, which was really a pity. During this time, although everyone was from a political background, they still formed a deep relationship together.

Before getting into the car, Niu Jinxing finally came to Li Yan and shook his hand: "Li Gongzi, please do more in the future!" ”

During this time in Yaogang, Niu Jinxing asked Li Yan to talk about it several times. That is, the previous things were all for the sake of competing for favor, and there were many offenses, and I hope Li Yan will understand.

Li Yan is also a generous person, saying that the past is in the past, and everyone will still be good friends in the future, after all, they are still old friends!

Niu Jinxing: They are already thinking about their family's coming from the kiln. said to Li Yan, please, that is, when the family comes over in the future, there is something to help take care of. In fact, Niu Jinxing has no need for this at all, his wife is Li Zicheng's daughter, can the Yaogang people take care of it poorly?

Niu Jinxing and they left during the day, and Liu Zongmin and they took the train to Datong and Baotou at night, and they wanted to see the situation at the border gates. Zhou Yuji is also waiting for them over there, these sworn enemies of the battlefield are going to drink again. Liu Zongmin and Zhou Yuji are full of expectations.

Sent away Niu Jinxing and Liu Zongmin, the main leaders of Yaogang, and sat together again after the New Year, chatting about this year's things very easily.

The first is of course the military solution of the Jiangnan issue, and Chen Yufeng and Ouyang He are specifically responsible for this matter, and they have been preparing for it since last year.

The second major matter is the matter of carrying out land reform experiments. This matter is a hurdle that the kiln people must overcome, and the difficulty is not ordinary. Because this will touch the interests of those landlords, and they will also meet their desperate resistance.

Speaking of this matter, Ouyang He said: "I have always advocated that this matter should be pushed back as much as possible, and I think that we must now concentrate all our forces to complete the task of gaining national power." Carrying out land reform now will inevitably distract us. And those who oppose us will be united. However, since Mr. Zhang thinks that if he does not carry out land reform, other work will not be carried out, and if he has to do this, I think he will think of some strategy. ”

Zhang Zhimu knew that what Ouyang He said had a certain amount of truth, but if the land reform was not done, things like the election below would be just a formality, and they would not play a role at all. Basically, it is still those landlords who have the final say, and if they don't do it, they can't do it. It seems that Ouyang He has seriously thought about such a thing.

Sure enough, Ouyang He said again: "I see if we can still use the banner of the imperial court to let the emperor decree to promote land reform." In this way, we still act according to orders, and whoever opposes it is a rebellion. With our current strength, we should have a way to get the imperial court to make this will. If it doesn't work, it's okay to lend the court some more silver. ”

Zhang Zhimu knew that Ouyang He really knew the current situation in the Ming Dynasty too well, and what everyone said to the emperor could be resolutely implemented regardless of whether it was good or bad. But what we have to do, we have said all the good things, and it is difficult to satisfy everyone without a single mistake. If you can get the emperor to decree this, it is really a good move. The question is, how can Emperor Chongzhen make this will?

Chen Yufeng agreed with Ouyang He's statement and said: "Zhimu matter, I think it's best to have you and the emperor to contact it, Chen said it is amazing." It is best to let Emperor Chongzhen himself be willing to give an order, otherwise the idea will force him to make an order. ”

"Good! I'll take care of this matter," Zhang Zhimu said, "but, Second Uncle (Yan Xing) and Li Gongzi, you have to come up with all the detailed implementation plans." The plan should be operable. In short, we buy the landlords' land, not confiscate their land, and we pay the land money in five and ten years, and pay off in two plans. Land sales are no longer allowed. In principle, it is no longer permissible to reclaim land without permission. Land reclamation must be carried out in a planned manner, otherwise it will be difficult to control soil erosion. We must resolutely not relax the matter of returning farmland to forests. But the landlords, who had received large sums of silver, were encouraged to engage in industrial and commercial activities. In principle, the policy of low taxation but heavy penalties for tax evasion is adopted for industrial and commercial activities. Old boss Qiu, your State Administration of Taxation now has to rely on Yan Bo's police to complete the tax collection, but from this year onwards, you will gradually build up your own tax team. How to do it, I suggest you and Mr. Lu research it. Then, Li Yan drafted the corresponding tax law. Taxation must be enacted in the form of law. ”

Yan Xing said: "We are working with Li Gongzi to design the institutional setup of our government in the future. We also want to separate the tax sector. In the future, there will be several major types of taxes to be set up separately, one is the salt tax, the second is the customs tariff, the third is the agricultural tax, and the fourth is the industrial and commercial tax. We're refining it slowly. ”

Lu Chengxiang said: "During the Spring Festival, Li Mao talked about two things when he called me. One suggestion is that we should spend some money to strengthen the construction of key wharves on the two main streams of the Yellow River and the Yangtze River. These key wharves must be built with deep-water berths, and there must also be loading and unloading equipment such as tower cranes. There is also a dedicated bulk grain terminal, which can use our bulk grain handling equipment to reduce the time and cost of grain transportation. The special wharf for bulk commodities can greatly improve the speed of loading and unloading. The second is that we can spend some money to strengthen the embankments of several big rivers, otherwise the damage will be huge in the face of a flood like last year's. ”

Zhang Zhimu took over and said: "What Mr. Lu just said is two things, one is the issue of water transportation. I think Li Mao's suggestion is very good, and in my opinion, we should determine several key wharves according to the freight situation, and carry out key construction with reference to Lingshui Wharf and Huai'an Wharf. I also have a suggestion that we can start doing container shipping on a pilot basis. ”

Container transportation, everyone heard about it for the first time, and they all turned their eyes to Zhang Zhimu's face.

Zhang Zhimu said with a smile: "Everyone knows that the most troublesome thing in transportation is loading and unloading, not only the loading and unloading of goods is not only time-consuming and laborious, but also easy to break. If this is the case, in the future, all of our dock stations will have cranes. We make some standard containers, the goods we transport are loaded in the containers, loaded and unloaded by the crane, the containers are sealed by the owner with lead seals, and outsiders are not allowed to open them during transportation. In this way, the goods are not afraid of wind and rain on the road, and the goods are safe. Loading and unloading is also easy. These TEUs are used for turnaround. ”

Lu Chengxiang said: "Oops! That's great. I recommend that the boxes should not be too large, preferably a carriage that can pull one. In this way, the goods can be transported directly to the warehouse using this kind of container. However, the box must be sturdy, otherwise it won't take long for it to break. ”

"Containers can be specially designed, and we can currently make boxes out of good wood with a tin sheet on the outside. In the future, when the steel production comes up, you can also make containers with corrugated steel plates. Zhang Zhimu said, "In this matter, I will arrange for the shipyard to build some containers." Lu Chengxiang studied what size to use. ”

"Good! I'm talking about this after researching it. Lu Chengxiang agreed.

"The second thing Mr. Lu said, I think this is the case, Mr. Lu Bingyi is in charge first, and then handed it over to him when Tang Jingyao is removed. The flood control of several of our big rivers is really a big deal. We can no longer afford to build dams, but spend money on disasters. It's like having no money to see a doctor, but having money to buy a coffin. The dams in each section are strengthened locally. In those particularly poor areas, we can subsidize some of the money and food for the construction of dams. Officials at all levels should be told that there should be no carelessness in the matter of dam construction. We are not allowed to apportion labor to the people, except for the construction of dams. This year, a new channel of the Yellow River will be opened, and the mouth of the Huai River will also be excavated. We will strive to ensure that the Yellow River and the Huai River will not have any major problems this year. And then there are the banks of the Yangtze River. We want to ensure the absolute safety of the local dams we manage. I suggest that in the future, the Hydroelectric Power Commission should have a flood control department, set up hydrological observation stations in all sections along the river, and report data directly to the flood control department by telegram, so that we can have a clear idea. At least everyone can know where Hong Feng is, and we can know it in our hearts. After the Yellow River, the Huai River, and the Yangtze River, the rivers in various places should also be brought under control. We have a long way to go. ”

After the Chinese New Year, there was another news that made Zhang Zhimu very happy, that is, Fan Song was about to arrive in Quanzhou with a shipload of goods, and they were going to hire a ship in Quanzhou to transport the goods to Huai'an and then return to Yaogang. It happened that Fan Chengkun and Li Mao were going to go back to the kiln through Huai'an, so Zhang Zhimu asked Li Mao and Fan Chengkun to pick up Fan Song in Huai'an and go back to the kiln gang together.

Li Yunhe was very happy to hear that Fan Song was back, and now that the rubber was about to run out, Li Yunhe was in a hurry.

For this matter, Zhang Zhimu discussed it with Chen Yufeng and Ouyang He again. I feel that after taking Fujian this year, I must open my own route to Nanyang as soon as possible.

Chen Yufeng said: "I am also discussing this matter with Mr. Ouyang, and I am worried that the 5,000-ton ship on our slipway can be launched in the middle of the year, but will it take a while for the new ship to be launched?" ”

"I don't think it's a big problem, last year the 5,000-ton ship was already on trials. The people on our second boat also followed the trial voyage on this boat. As long as you are familiar with this boat, the equipment on the new ship and this ship is basically the same, and there should be no problem driving the new boat. Now the captains are all veterans trained by Fan Chengkun and them. Moreover, the 5,000-ton ship was not equipped with heavy weapons such as artillery, but was only equipped with some infantry guns and 12.7-mm heavy machine guns. It's not very difficult to train, as long as you can steer a big boat. Because of such a large ship to accompany and supply our steel-hulled warships, our warships can sail on the sea for a long time to carry out tasks. If you don't have to fight, you can also use it as a transport ship. ”

"We have five steel-hulled warships, and we have no problem dealing with the average fleet." Ouyang He said, "When Fan Song comes back this time, I think he will give him a task, to let him build a wharf in Nanyang that can dock 5,000-ton ships." ”

"The last time Fan Song came back, he took away a lot of machinery and equipment for the dock, and I think the dock they bought should be built well." Zhang Zhimu said, "When he comes back this time, we will give him the data of the new ship and let him see if he can dock our big ship." I want to let our two 5,000-ton ships go to the South China Sea and bring back two ships of guano, so that we can solve a big problem by coming back. We are now suffering from phosphate insufficiency. ”

Chen Yufeng said with a smile: "If others hear that you are going to use a boat to pull guano back from the South Seas, they will laugh and lose their big teeth!" ”

After laughing for a while, Ouyang He asked, "Mr. Zhang, are we going to move our naval base to Quanzhou?" ”

"Huh! Today, too, I will tell you about it. Our water army cannot always be an inland water army. At present, there is no power in the river that can compete with us. After defeating Zheng Zhilong, whether we want to or not, we will have to face the entire overseas opponent. Not only do we have the ability to defend our own maritime and coastal security, but we must not be too conservative, we must cultivate maritime awareness and build a navy that will always be strong. But without the support of overseas trade, no country can afford to maintain a strong navy. Zhang Zhimu said.

"Huh! Mr. Zhang, the current 5,000-ton sailing ship is your ship for overseas trade, right? Ouyang He asked with a smile.

"Yes! One of the advantages of our boat is that we don't have to wait for the monsoon. If there is wind to use, the sail is raised, and if there is no wind, it is steam powered. It's much easier to get around. Zhang Zhimu said.

Chen Yufeng said: "Do you also add two cannons to them?" Two cannons don't take up much space! Chen Yufeng said.

"I have studied with Mr. Lin Zongwei, plus the gunner, there must be a special gunner, and the usual training and maintenance are problems. It also affects the loading of goods on the entire ship. When encountering ordinary pirate ships, they can't catch up with us, and besides, our infantry guns are also sharp weapons against ordinary pirate ships. And our 12.7 mm heavy machine gun, which was the nightmare of ordinary wooden boats. Besides, can our steel-hulled warships escort them? If the Francis on the Luzon side are not defeated, I am not at ease with the big ship going to sea alone without an escort. Zhang Zhimu said.

"Yes! We don't know who robbed the cargo last time, and we can't afford to suffer such a loss. I don't know who to go to when things are gone? Chen Yufeng said, "When those things come back and go out, I don't know how much food I can get back, and I feel distressed when I think about it." ”

"Let's see if Fan Song can bring back some news this time?" Zhang Zhimu said, "I estimate that it is more likely that the Francophile did it." We can't be patient now, but it leaves us with a reason to go to war against them. Otherwise, we will come forward to fight them, and they will be unknown. ”

"We have to take our time in these things, I think we have a lot to do in this life!" Ouyang asked again: "I look at the present, how Mr. Zhang persuaded Emperor Chongzhen to support us in carrying out land reform is a top priority!" It's also very difficult. ”

"I've thought about it too. It is best if the emperor can support us, he can take the initiative to give us a holy decree, otherwise, he will be forced to make a holy decree from him. If it doesn't work, we'll make a decree for him. Zhang Zhimu said, "I will write a letter to the emperor in a few days." Tell them that if we want the world to be safe forever, we must let everyone in the world have land to plant. In this case, those who hold a lot of land will have to give it up. But we don't take their land by force, we buy them more land than the average by buying it. The landlords received the silver and could engage in industry and commerce. In the future, land will never be bought or sold. No one should want to be a big landlord. I'll see what Emperor Chongzhen's attitude is. We will not lend him money unless we give it a holy decree. See how long he can survive, after the New Year, the emperor will borrow half a year's worth of silver. ”

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Mt. Fuji erupted, Japan was earthquaked. --Progress of "Memories of the Southern Song Dynasty".