Just as it is impossible to accommodate two large carnivorous beasts in a mountain, unless Chongzhen moves the capital, it is impossible for the Ming and Houjin to coexist, because their core area is too close to each other, and it is a deadly threat to either side and the other. Therefore, for www.biquge.info the Ming Dynasty, even if the tax increase is harmful to the finances, as long as the Houjin regime can be eliminated, it is acceptable, because moving the capital is politically and financially costly, since this battle must be fought, then why not finish it as soon as possible? But from a political point of view, raising taxes is extremely difficult. The high-ranking officials of the Ming Dynasty were the emperor's servants and also the owners of large land, and in the same year, their fellow villagers, relatives, and so on were inextricably linked with countless squires, and they had to consider the interests of the empire at the same time, but also consider the interests of themselves and their hometowns and friends, plus the clans and nobles, the intricate interests have reached the point where they affect the whole body, how much tax is levied? Where is the tax levied? In what form is it taxed? Who will pay for these taxes? The slightest minutiae can lead to new conflicts and contradictions, and even risk tearing the empire apart. Thus, for a technocrat like Bi Ziyan, who had not formed a party in the past, no matter what he said, he would add a group of enemies to himself, and those who benefited from his advice would not necessarily come to his aid when attacked. Therefore, by pretending to be sick to say nothing, watching the changes, and acting at the opportunity is the best choice.

"It seems that Bi Shangshu will not express his position when the critical time comes!" Liu Cheng said with a smile: "But this can't be blamed on him, expressing his attitude too early is not only harmful to himself, but also not necessarily beneficial to national affairs, and there are not many people in the country who are good at managing money like him!" Speaking of this, Liu Cheng sighed: "It's just that this makes Lord Yang suffer, as soon as his policy of inviting soldiers to train and increase taxes is announced, it will become the target of public criticism, and the feeling of dying without illness is not comfortable!" ”

"Yes!" Xu Xianming also sighed: "I heard a businessman from Jingshi say that you can see unveiling posts everywhere in Jingshi every morning, and they all say all kinds of bad things about Lord Yang, and the city patrol division can't tear it up." The scholars even had a gritty hatred for him, and when they heard that they recognized it, they also said that they would wait for Lord Yang to punish this traitor on the way to the court! ”

"Heavenly punishment?" Hearing this familiar word, Liu Cheng couldn't help but be dumbfounded: "It's really fake, who is so bold?" ”

"Huh!" Xu Xianming said with a smile: "It's just a lie, scolding at the gate of the Yang Mansion, throwing some stones and sundries, how dare you really kill people." Besides, the Son of Heaven has given Lord Yang twenty brocade guards to escort the Lord every day, does anyone dare to do it against Beizhen Fusi? ”

"It seems that Lord Yang's holy favor is not declining!" Liu Cheng smiled: "Okay, this matter started because of me, and I have to do my best to wave the flag!" ”

"In!" Hao Shaoqi responded.

"You will later select ten people from my guard who are skilled in martial arts, down-to-earth and reliable, and send them to Lord Yang. At this juncture, nothing can go wrong! ”

"Yes, sir!"

"My lord, since there is no eyebrow for the tax increase, should the expansion of production in Chaoyi be delayed?" Xu Xianming asked in a low voice. Liu Cheng frowned and did not speak. According to the previous plan, Liu Cheng would reap the dual benefits of the war against the Houjin: as a general, he would gain greater power by winning military merits; As the backstage boss of the Chaoyi factory, while making huge profits by providing military orders, he could also use the military spending of the Ming Dynasty to expand production capacity, update equipment, and train skilled workers. If all goes well, by the end of the war, Liu Cheng will have the largest and most technologically advanced military-industrial complex in East Asia. But the plan hit a hurdle from the outset – Mr. Yang's plan to raise taxes was hampered, and if the plant's expansion went as planned, and military orders did not keep up, excess capacity would sit idle and the factory would likely run out of cash flow.

"Can't wait!" Liu Cheng thought for a while: "Reducing the expansion plan to half of the original, I will write a letter to Batur, Gushi Khan, and Chechen Taiji, telling them that I will supply weapons openly, which should be able to remove part of the inventory, and the rest will be said in the autumn of this year, and there should be an eyebrow at that time!" ”

"Yes, sir!" Xu Xianming wrote down Liu Cheng's words: "Then I will revise the plan after I return to Chaoyi, and the original order can be pushed forward, hoping to reduce some losses!" ”

"Well, what about the good news?" Liu Cheng subconsciously pressed his eyebrows, in his mind, the expansion of production is the core work of the next step, even more important than the war against Houjin. According to the virtue of the Ming court, it has always been "the birds are exhausted, and the good bow is hidden; The cunning rabbit is dead, and the lackeys are cooking", he destroyed the Houjin today, and tomorrow it is estimated that the Son of Heaven will want to cut off the wings and cut off the military power. If you are lucky, you can get a knighthood if you meet a benevolent person, and you can mix in the ranks of the nobles and wait for death; If you meet a mean male guesser, you feel that your merit is too high, your power is too heavy, you are reluctant to reward too much, and you are afraid that you will have resentment if you reward less, so it is not strange to simply find a reason to kill him. There are countless similar examples in history, and it is no wonder that the emperor is ruthless, it is uncomfortable to sit in that position and have waste under his hands, and it is even more uncomfortable for his subordinates to be too capable. Even if everything goes well, Liu Cheng will be added to the rank and enjoy wealth after the destruction of the Jin, but with what he has done in the past, he is a pigtail from head to toe, even if Chongzhen protects him, it is estimated that he will have to be beaten and impeached by the old masters of the imperial history for the rest of his life, maybe one day he will have to go to the edict to squat for a few days, and that day will be better than life imprisonment. But as long as this expansion plan is completed, with this capital, whether it is external aggression or internal suppression, it is impossible for Daming to put Liu Cheng aside, as long as he is not a fool, he knows that the trick of unloading the mill and killing the donkey in the past is still well hidden.

"Oh, I almost forgot to say all that!" Xu Xianming patted his thigh and said with a smile: "There is news from Zhejiang, Du Gu has taken the fortress of the Dutch in Dayuan, and the war has come to an end!" ”

"Good, good, good!" Liu Cheng stood up excitedly, and said a few good words in a row, it is not difficult to see his ecstasy, he paced in the room, and said with a smile: "What a Zhao Youcai, he actually laid a foundation over there with his bare hands, I really underestimated him before, it seems that there are thousands of horses in the world, but there is no Bole, so that Haojie is old in the reckless, empty and self-defeating!" ”

"It's also an adult's discernment!" Xu Xianming smiled and complimented Liu Cheng, and his words fell back to his old profession: "I heard that the Dutch came from thousands of miles to build a city in Taiwan and live, presumably it is a rich place, right?" ”

"Yes, the local climate is warm, the land is fertile, it can be harvested three times a year, there are large trees, fisheries, minerals, and the sea can be dried salt, and if you grow cane sugar, it is even more profitable." Liu Cheng nodded: "But not yet, only some deer skins, golden sand, sulfur or something." “

"Why do you say that?"

"Then Taiwan is still just a wild place, even if there are many things, people have to mine them, and now these are just the local people occasionally taken from the deep mountains, but they are just a drop in the bucket!"

"Hey, it's a pity that such blessed land falls into the hands of Tufan!" When Xu Xianming heard Liu Cheng say this, he couldn't help but sigh, he raised his head and saw Liu Chengzheng looking at him in surprise, and couldn't help but blush: "My lord, I just forgot my form for a while, please forgive me!" ”

"It's okay!" Liu Cheng said with a smile: "As the head of the Planning Commission, it is a good thing for you to pay more attention to financial and material matters, how can I blame you." In a few days, I will let Xu Hecheng go south to replace Zhao Youcai and come back, and he will be in charge of the stall in the south in the future, you can find a chance to talk to him before he leaves, and give him a list of the materials that we may lack in the next few years, so that he can pay more attention! ”

"Do you want to transfer Mr. Zhao back? Should he be, shouldn't he-" Xu Xianming heard the news from Liu Cheng's mouth for the first time, and couldn't help but be taken aback, Zhao Youcai had just made a great contribution and sent someone to replace him, could it be that he did something wrong?

"Did he make some mistake that I transferred him back?" Liu Cheng smiled and said what Xu Xianming was thinking.

"No, no-" Xu Xianming couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed when his boss broke his mind, and just wanted to explain but saw Liu Cheng waving his hand: "Xianming, no wonder you think so, Zhao Youcai He just made a great contribution, and it was the time to make great achievements, he was transferred back by me, didn't he make any mistakes, I want to punish him?" But no, I did it for two reasons: first, I had something important for him to do; Second, there is someone more suitable for this position than him. Speaking of this, Liu Cheng hesitated a little and asked, "Obviously, you have been the head of this planning committee for some time, do you have any ideas?" ”

"Thoughts?" Xu Xianming thought for a while, and replied with a wry smile: "Tell my lord, I only feel that things are complicated, and I am trembling every day, lest there is something I haven't thought of, and I will miss something!" ”

"Not bad!" Liu Cheng smiled and nodded: "If you make an analogy, it shows that you are the big housekeeper of the dozens of large and small workshops in Chaoyi, the only difference is that the things that you, the housekeeper has to take care of, are much more complicated, and the most ordinary farmers can use is only a few kinds of firewood, rice, oil, salt, cloth and forage, and you are afraid that there are only two or three hundred kinds of food, right?" ”

"That's what your lord said!" Xu Xianming nodded, but for some reason Liu Cheng pulled the conversation to this side.

"The factories in Chaoyi are different from those farmers, and ordinary villagers are self-sufficient in food and clothing, and all they have to buy from outside is salt, tea, and iron. The factory is different, for example, the textile factory, just a combing process, requires more than ten kinds of human urine, stone alkali, alum, and charcoal, all of which are indispensable. These raw materials are not produced in one place, they must be transported from all directions, and the cloth produced must not only be bought from neighboring states and counties, but must be marketed in all directions. Therefore, if we want the factory to grow and grow, it is not enough to have Chaoyi alone, but we have to send brave and capable people to all directions, that is, to buy usable raw materials, and to market our goods. For me, the factory building in Chaoyi and the people running outside are like two wheels in a car, both are indispensable! Zhao Youcai's victory is just the beginning, the most important thing is to send capable people to explore what products are available on this big island? What are the needs of the local natives and the merchants who come and go? Or by force, or in exchange for benefits, to open a new way out for our factory, this is what should be done next, do you understand? ”

"The adults are high-minded, but the villains understand!" Listening to Liu Cheng's words, Xu Xianming was convinced, Liu Cheng's meaning was very clear, although Zhao Youcai was shrewd and capable, but after all, he was originally a squire, if he started doing business, he was afraid that he would not be able to catch up with Xu Hecheng, since he won Dayuancheng, then it would be more appropriate to change Xu Hecheng to run the market next, anyway, he was already familiar with this set in the northwest, and Zhao Youcai returned to Liu Cheng's side, which naturally had a new use.

"It's not too early, show that you should rest first, there are still many things to deal with tomorrow!"

"Yes!" Xu Xianming hurriedly stood up and saluted his boss. Liu Cheng nodded, watching his subordinates exit the door, he felt a dry mouth, he really said a lot. Isn't it too much? There is a voice in my heart asking myself, subordinates don't need to know too much, the less they know, the more honest they are; And another voice retorted that idiots who don't know anything will just mess things up.

Liu Cheng shook his head, as if he wanted to drive out the two sides who were arguing in his mind. Maybe it was the scene of Fang Cai's mother who fell to death and shocked her child deeply, "Every day in this world, there are mothers who watch their children die and can't do anything, if you want to complain, blame your surname Aixin Jueluo!" He muttered to himself, walked over to the cupboard, poured himself a glass of wine, and drank it down.

The second glass of wine Liu Cheng drank much more slowly, and he was thinking about things while tasting the wine. Zhao Youcai would be very unhappy when he learned that someone would replace him, but he had no other choice but to obey, the army was in the hands of Du Gu, and he should not have time to win over his own avant-garde captain in such a short period of time. When he came back, he had to think of a surprise to him, this was not just to dispel Zhao Youcai's resentment, the superior had the obligation to reward his subordinates for meritorious service, and he couldn't pay back the debt.

Liu Cheng thought for a while, and the alcohol gradually played a role in his body, and he began to feel that his thoughts were gradually dulled. So he decided to go to bed first, anyway, there were still many months before Zhao Youcai came back. Before the god of sleep took control of him, a thought flashed through his mind: "What is Yang Sichang doing at this time?" (To be continued.) )