"The art of war has clouds" know oneself and know the other, and the shopping mall is also a battlefield, compared to the fight of real swords and guns, it is more strange here, and it is more conducive to us to find out how to deal with the enemy! ”

The behemoth of the two Huai salt merchants is still a difficult mountain for Liu Fan now, so Liu Fan is also very cautious and careful in his heart when facing them. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ

In the following time, Liu Fan deliberately diverted the topic and did not talk about these troublesome things. Instead, try to lead the topic into something fun and interesting. In the laughter of silver bells, the sun is setting in the west, and the sky is gradually darkening...

The happy time is always short-lived, after an afternoon of playing with the three girls in the West Lake, the group set off on the road north to Nanjing on the morning of the second day. For safety reasons, Liu Fan also transferred another 500 elite soldiers to accompany him. It's not that Liu Fan is too cautious, but he has too many enemies in Jiangnan, so it's better to be careful for the sake of his life.

Starting from Hangzhou, all the way through Suzhou, Changzhou Zhenjiang north to Nanjing, the four of them traveled all the way to the mountains and rivers, but the five or six days of the trip was walked by Liu Fan and others for half a month. Although the time is a little longer, it is not without gains. Along the way, Liu Fan had an in-depth understanding of some basic situations in Jiangnan.

To say that Jiangnan is worthy of being the most prosperous and wealthy place in the Ming Dynasty, it is not only the world-famous "land of fish and rice" but also the economy is extremely prosperous. Songjiang's cotton textiles and Suzhou's silk textiles are all world-famous textile industry centers. According to Liu Fan's understanding, just a small Songjiang Mansion can produce 30 or 40 million pieces of cotton cloth per family. The silk, Luo, silk, satin and world-famous embroidery of Suzhou and Hangzhou shocked Liu Fan. Especially Suzhou embroidery, the embroidery workers in the south of the Yangtze River "paint with a needle", the embroidered masterpieces are lifelike, the charm of pen and ink is incisive, and it can be called "ingenious workmanship", the silk textiles here are not only huge in output, but also of high quality. Exquisite and luxurious silk products sell well all over the world and even the whole world, and their output is even greater, not to mention hundreds of millions every year?

In addition to the handicraft workshops that have blossomed everywhere, the fundamental reason for such prosperity is also in the thousands of ordinary people in Jiangnan. Liu Fan observed that almost every household in the south of the Yangtze River would plant mulberry and raise silkworms, and almost every farmer had a loom. Although the number of cloths woven by each household is very small, because of the large number of households, the sand gathers into a tower, and together it becomes an astonishing number of billions.

Jiangnan's textile industry has even surpassed its agriculture to become the most important pillar of Jiangnan, Liu Fan finally understood the fundamental reason why the ancients have always emphasized women's "female red", it turns out that it is not only a symbol of ingenuity, but also an extremely important source of income. In an ordinary people's family in the south of the Yangtze River, if there is a woman who is proficient in embroidery, then this people's family must be much richer than others, at least worry-free food and clothing is certain.

Assuming that the provinces south of the Yangtze River could be separated, then this "country" would not simply be an agricultural country, but even had the rudiments of a commercial country. Liu Fan sometimes even thinks that it would be good if he could dominate Jiangnan, so that he would not have to dig out all day long to think about how to make money, and he could support his army of 100,000 without worrying about sitting at home and collecting taxes. It doesn't take too much, just charge ten cents for a piece of cloth, and it will cost nearly one million taels a year. This is only for ordinary people, if even the commercial tax is counted, it will not be less than five or six million taels per year! Liu Fan suddenly thought, no wonder the Kangxi Qianlong of the "Great Qing Dynasty" is going to Jiangnan, it turns out that Jiangnan is not only beautiful, but also has more money!

"Husband, since Jiangnan is so rich, the people are rich and healthy, and the economy is prosperous. Here is the famous "land of fish and rice", there is a way is "Jiangnan cooked, the world is full", so why is the Ming Dynasty poor jingling? Even to the point where the concubine's sister and the emperor's brother-in-law still have to sell precious clothes to maintain the use of the palace? Speaking of her sister Shu Yingqiao's face was filled with a deep sense of distress, although her sister was a royal concubine, but her life was very hard, not only poor food and clothing, but even had to weave and embroider by herself and secretly sell it for money. If it weren't for her husband's continuous "blood transfusion" for the past two years, Shuying wouldn't even dare to imagine how far her sister would have fallen. Shuying, who was raised by her father before, didn't quite understand the reason, but now she followed Liu Fan all the way, but she was even more confused in her heart, so she couldn't help but ask the question that had been bothering her heart.

In the carriage, Liu Fan sighed helplessly, stroked Shuying's little face with pity, and then explained: "Jiangnan is very rich, but unfortunately, the astronomical wealth gathered by such a cornucopia is not enjoyed by the Ming Dynasty at all. How much does the southern provinces add up to in the Ming Dynasty every year? It's less than a million taels. Sadly, the money is not collected from wealthy merchants. It was "looted" from ordinary people. The textile center of the world, the world-famous "land of fish and rice", the most prosperous and prosperous place on earth. But it did not bring the slightest benefit to the Ming Dynasty, nor did it bring too many benefits to the people of Jiangnan. The only beneficiaries were the extravagant and unenterprising businessmen and the "literati" they supported. After receiving benefits, these "literati gentry" quickly got together. As a result, the Donglin Party, the Zhejiang Party, and the Chu Party came into being. No matter how hard they fight, one thing is the same, that is, they tried every means to make the Ming "exempt" from commercial taxes, mining taxes, etc., and all taxes except "agricultural taxes"! If you can't collect taxes, the Ming court is naturally poor! Speaking of this, Liu Fan couldn't help but sigh again, and a thick sadness rose in his heart, and he didn't complain about the death of the Ming Dynasty!

After a pause, Liu Fan continued to add: "The slogan is shouted loudly, and it can't hide its greedy and shameless nature, these Donglin princes are just slaves of money. Such a person can do anything for the sake of profit! Including raising a fierce and cruel wolf in the north! Don't look at how loyal and loving the people those Donglin gentlemen claim to be, in fact, they are the most greedy and cruel people. If these people really love the country and the people, and care about the people, then why don't they refuse to pay a penny in taxes? Not only that, but they have also intensified their looting and exploitation of the people. How ridiculous it is to be loyal to the monarch and love the country! How ridiculous is the "Tombstone of Five"? (To be continued.) )