"Kill all ......"

Everyone in the pavilion was silent as if they were choked by the throat, and Emperor Chongzhen's expression was also uncertain, and after a long time, he muttered: "Then, where does the cost of Wang Dou's army come from?" ”

He sighed and said: "Vermilion Bird, Xuanwu, Qinglong, White Tiger, as well as the Zhongjun Battalion, the Zhongyi Battalion, and the New Affiliated Battalion, according to what I know, Wang Dou's direct jurisdiction will not be less than 50,000 soldiers and horses!" The inner horse soldiers accounted for nearly half, and the right squire had already calculated that the 50,000 new army needed so much food and salary in a year, so why did Wang Dou get so much silver grain? ”

The intelligence of all parties is gathered, and Emperor Chongzhen also knows the approximate strength of Wang Dou's troops, and after getting up every day, he calculates and calculates this, and estimates whether Wang Dou's soldiers and horses have increased or decreased?

What he never understood was that how Wang Dou could afford such soldiers and horses was that in Liao Town, millions of taels of Liao were paid a year, and the number of elite soldiers on that side was nothing compared to Wang Dou. Pen fun and pavilion www.biquge.info

The ministers looked at each other, or Zhou Yanru, the first assistant of the cabinet, stepped forward and said: "Your Majesty, Wang Dou's way of raising troops, the court is afraid that he will not be able to learn, and he has no monthly salary in the army now, and he doesn't even give An Jiayin!" ”

People in the cabinet, who doesn't pay attention to Wang Dou? His past events have all been carefully watched under the big mirror, and his way of raising troops has been figured out and figured out by all parties, and everyone thinks that Wang Douchu's way of making a fortune is like the military system of the Tang Dynasty, for the people in peacetime, and as soldiers in wartime.

But there seems to be some slight differences, after all, the government military system needs to prepare its own bows and arrows, clothing and food, except for heavy weapons and war horses, but for Wang Dou, these are all supplied by him, and there is no need to raise them by himself. In this way, it is a bit like the guards at the beginning of the dynasty.

For example, now the forts in Xuanfu Town are farming when they are busy and practicing when they are free, just like when Wang Dou first made a fortune.

But if you learn from Wang Dou, there is one thing that is difficult for the imperial court to do, that is, the organizational ability of the grassroots!

At present, the A system has long been abolished in various parts of the Ming Dynasty, and the local squire is basically the master, and even pays grain and taxes, many of which are subcontracted by them. There are no trustworthy grassroots officials. Who knows if this kind of farming in busy hours and practicing in leisure time will be possible?

In the end, will the elite soldiers not be obtained, and tens of thousands of new troops will become simple peasants. Just like the guards of today?

And it takes too long this way. It's too hard to get out of the army. The dynasty is now surrounded by tigers and wolves, and it is not a time when the enemy is relatively weak, if there is a war. It is a series of bloody battles, and if such a new army opens the battlefield, or becomes an army in a bloody battle, or the whole army is annihilated, the risk is not small.

Don't look at Wang Dou's momentum now, but it was also very difficult when he first started, but fortunately he survived, and many elite veterans emerged from the Tuntian soldiers who fought in the Tuntian Fields, and Wang Dou finally had a full-time army of tens of thousands of people.

There is also a steady stream of Tuntian soldiers as reserve soldiers, which is the secret of Wang Dou's success.

The ministers can see this clearly, but they can't envy it, and the dynasty does not have the same opportunity as Wang Dou now, and it can gradually become an army from weak to strong.

What they need is an elite who can fight quickly, and they can't afford to develop gradually and slowly, so Wang Dou can not give the sergeants food and salary, but they can't, so if Cao, Wang and others organize and train the new army, they must have an Anjiayin and monthly salary, so that the sergeants can practice with peace of mind.

Of course, there are still many things in this that they don't understand, just like the meritorious service value in the Jingbian Army now, they feel that it is very mysterious.

"Yes, fighting while fighting, no food, the court can't learn, and I don't have that time!"

Emperor Chongzhen muttered.

It is too difficult to let the new army practice while tun the fields, and it is difficult for Emperor Chongzhen to trust the officials below, who knows what will happen in the end?

Yang Sichang proposed to increase the salary, Emperor Chongzhen was worried about losing his trust in the world, Yang Sichang said, "There is no harm, the endowment comes from the soil, and the soil field belongs to the powerful family, and the hundred acres are given three or four dollars of silver, and the merger is slightly suppressed", saying that most of the taxes belong to the "powerful family", but in the end, it is still transferred to the ordinary homesteaders, which makes the rogue more turbulent.

The corruption of the national court guard is right in front of him, and it is difficult for Emperor Chongzhen to believe in the integrity of the low-level officials.

But in any case, the imperial court will not even have the food and salary to train a new army of tens of thousands of people? Even if Wang Dou doesn't pay the army and settle down the silver, it costs a lot to raise an army of tens of thousands of people, and the local warlords can afford it, so why can't he afford it?

He looked at Ni Yuanlu, the head of the household department, sternly: "Ni Yuanlu, you said that the annual summer and autumn grain of the national dynasty is more than 26 million stones, even if it is calculated according to the right squire, the new army needs to invest more than 2 million taels of silver in the early stage, but after that, the annual military salary and equipment are only one million taels of silver!" ”

"Could it be that a great Ming, with the strength of the whole country, will not even be able to train a new army of tens of thousands of people?"

Ni Yuanlu looked haggard and knelt down, after he took office, the implementation of the policy of throttling and saving money, was attacked unimaginably, especially many empty salary, drinking the blood of the soldiers were dissatisfied, and even issued a personal threat of intimidation, not long ago he strictly forbade private money, the implementation of the banknote policy, and finally all of them were miscarried.

Ming Taizu set the ancestral motto of not serving as a household official with Zhejiang people, and Emperor Chongzhen made an exceptional appointment, knowing the grace of encounter, so that Ni Yuanlu was grateful, but since taking office, he found that everything he seemed to do was bad, and there would be no good results.

As soon as the emperor said this, Ni Yuanlu just smiled bitterly, although the annual income of the Ming Dynasty was more than 26 million stones, a large part of it needed to be stored in the local area, and the annual income of the household warehouse was only a few million taels of silver.

And the expenditure on this is more than 8 million taels on the military expenditure of each side alone, and the deficit of the household department every year is a huge number, so how can there be money to train the new army?

"No money?"

Emperor Chongzhen sneered, he was not the time when he would be the emperor, many things were slowly understood, and now that there is the Xuanfu Times, his horizons have been broadened a lot.

The Xuanfu Times is divided into current affairs news, miscellaneous reviews, Xuanfu news, Xuanda news, Daming news, overseas news and other columns, among them, Emperor Chongzhen likes to watch overseas news.

He remembered that he had mentioned in the middle, intentionally or unintentionally, that Zheng Zhilong in the southeast made a profit of 10 million taels of silver a year just by collecting ship taxes, which was higher than the income of his central treasury. There is also a mountain of silver in Japan's national stone, and it is full of mountains of gold and silver.

Looking at that report, it seems that the whole world is full of money, why is it that when it comes to yourself, your pockets are empty?

He said coldly: "Don't I have any money?" I remember that Wang Dou raided the Jin merchants, and just a few merchants copied out millions of taels of silver! ”

Suddenly a cold wind swept by, and the silence in the pavilion was terrifying, Ni Yuanlu looked at Emperor Chongzhen in surprise, and even Fu Shuxun, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, who was about to fall asleep. I also raised my head all of a sudden. His eyes were blazing and he looked at the emperor, the cabinet ministers, from the first assistant Zhou Yanru downwards, all with their noses and mouths. Mouth and mind. Silence.

Emperor Chongzhen looked at them one by one. Seeing that their faces were hidden in the gloom, which seemed to be quite eerie, he was suddenly shocked in his heart. A chill surged into his heart, and at the moment of lightning and fire, Emperor Zhengde, the Red Pill case, Song Duanzong, Zhao Yu, and all other things came to his heart one by one, he opened his mouth, and suddenly felt speechless!

……

Chen Xinjia gritted his teeth: "Perhaps, you can start with Liaozhen, Shanhaiguan and Liaozhen, the annual food and salary is more than four million taels, just save a little, and it is more than enough to train the new army......"

The ministers were still silent, Wei Zaode stood upright, glancing at Chen Xinjia from the corner of his eye, a trace of disdain floating on his lips, and schadenfreude.

In the end, seeing that the emperor's face was really ugly, Zhou Yanru, the first assistant of the cabinet, stepped forward and said solemnly: "Your Majesty, Weichen thinks that it is better to set up a yellow silk book and recruit hundreds of officials to help. ”

Although there was a precedent of Xue Guoguan's failure to persuade donations, Zhou Yanru believed that it was better to let officials and wealthy households help them than the emperor's appalling idea of confiscating officials and businessmen.

The ministers all nodded, Zhou Yanru's move was not a method in the method, as cabinet ministers, they would definitely donate a few hundred taels of silver each to play a vanguard and exemplary role.

Emperor Chongzhen said decadently: "Let's discuss this matter again." ”

He said: "Why is Wang Dou strong and strong? The cannon is sharp, this is a point! However, the national dynasty has the power of the whole Ming Dynasty, is it not even as good as the equipment? Yuan Jingwen, what do you say? ”

The atmosphere was too dull before, so at this time, the ministers in the cabinet rushed to speak first.

Jingwen of Shangshuyuan of the Ministry of Industry said: "Back to the emperor, over the years, the Ming Dynasty has gathered in Beijing, and the craftsmen in Tianjin are in hundreds of thousands of households, but because of the thieves and slaves, the craftsmen have been plundered a lot. There is also the flight of the craftsmen, and there are not many military craftsmen left near the capital division at present...... So ......"

He didn't say a word, the craftsmen who gathered the Beijing division, in addition to being plundered, were also poached by Xuanfu Town and the Qing State every year, and now the remaining number of people, compared to the roster, is afraid that there will not be one out of ten, and the rest are hungry and cold, and there is no enthusiasm.

Of course, he can excuse this with an old illness, after all, he has not been in the Ministry of Industry for a long time.

He changed the topic: "In fact, when it comes to firearms, the north has always been inferior to the south, and at present, Guangdong is the best at firearms. The minister heard that the Cantonese people are good at birds, and the people of Shanxi County were born at the age of ten, that is, they gave the bird a gun, and taught to hit the bird, and after a long time, they hit it skillfully, put it on the elbow, and hit it on their backs, and the money hole can be penetrated a hundred steps away! If you want to recruit new soldiers, the minister thinks that you can recruit Cantonese soldiers! ”

He said: "Again, the bird is made of the new clubhouse, and the gun is placed on the palm, and the gun does not move, and the palm is not damaged. Then use it on the elbow, and the person in front of it will turn around and strike it, all of which are good! The governor of Guangdong can summon the craftsmen of the new association to Beijing. The Cantonese people are also good at making Hongyi cannons, and up to now, there are nearly 300 Hongyi cannons in Guangdong Province. They can be sent to Beijing! ”

He talked about it, Emperor Chongzhen nodded from time to time, he watched the newspaper, Cao and Wang were defeated, and a large part of them were defeated under the artillery of the thieves, but they only had the Franc machine gun, and they responded with Hongyi cannons, and they would definitely be able to defeat the thieves!

Chen Yan, the left waiter of the Ministry of Rites and the scholar of Dongge University, said at this time: "The craftsmen are far away from their homeland, afraid of being negative and tired, in fact, they don't need to be so troublesome, they can directly buy guns and guns from the local people in Guangdong." ”

Although he is a native of Sichuan, he is friendly with officials in Guangzhou, and when he heard this, his heart moved, and he immediately spoke.

Yuan Jingwen squinted at each other and sneered: "How can a militaristic weapon be in the hands of a private person?" What is the intention of the scholars of Dongkaku University? ”

Chen Yan was not to be outdone, and also sneered: "Now that I buy all the copper and iron from private individuals, why can't I use firearms?" Didn't the military department buy bird guns from Wang Dou? Guangquan is quite fine, why can't you buy it? Besides, Wang Dou doesn't sell guns yet! ”

He said to Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, the ministers look at the people's notes. It was said above: The dynasty made weapons, and the craftsmen have always been unwilling to do their best, and the officials who supervised the production also sought to save. ”

He said: "The notes also say that when the East and West were traded, Zhuyi would buy the guns of Guangzhong, and the people who sold them to the people were extremely fine, and those who made them for the government were indiscriminate!" Looking at the Ming Dynasty, this is the case. After the craftsmen of the vast land arrived in Beijing. If you can't work hard, won't it be in vain to waste a piece of the emperor's holy will? Why don't you buy from a local area! ”

He said: "The minister has long heard that the iron industry in Foshan, Guangdong is the most prosperous, and there are tens of thousands of ironworkers in and out of the city. Tens of thousands of guns in the area. Just waiting! ”

Emperor Chongzhen was silent. Chen Yan glanced at the emperor and stepped back, and said that it was enough for him.

Zhou Yanru, the first assistant of the cabinet, said: "The ministers have heard that Wang Dou has used self-generated fire guns in the army. I remember that when Chongzhen was eight years old, Bi Maokang, the former right attendant of the military department, wrote "Illustrated Description of Weapons", saying: "Those who are most afraid of China are also firearms. There are a list of various firearms and poisonous crossbows, especially self-generated firearms. The minister thought that the new army would be trained on a day, and if all the soldiers were equipped with self-generated firearms, they would be available in the rain and snow, and the enemy would no longer be afraid! ”

Emperor Chongzhen said: "Bi Maokang is available, pass on the decree, and summon the ministers Bi Maokang to recover!" ”

However, in the end, it still has to fall on the aspect of food, without food, everything is on paper, and the ministers are also powerless, and there is no way to think about it, so in the end they have to discuss it again.

After they retreated, Emperor Chongzhen sighed deeply, seeing the ups and downs of the Ming Dynasty, but he couldn't do anything, the ancestors and ancestors were on top, and the sons and daughters were ashamed.

……

Led by Zhou Yanru, the first assistant of the cabinet, the ministers came out of the Dongnuan Pavilion, everyone was silent along the way, thinking about their own thoughts, and finally Zhou Yanru stroked his beautiful beard, and smiled at Zheng Sanjun, the secretary of the ministry, and Ni Yuanlu, the secretary of the household department: "It's okay today, the two elders, why don't you go to the house for a few drinks?" ”

Zheng Sanjun and Ni Yuanlu squeezed out smiles on their faces: "Okay, the lower officials will accompany the last seat and have a few drinks with the boss." ”

Here, Chen Yan, a scholar of Dongge University, also walked a few steps, watching Zhou Yanru and a few people get together, a cold light flashed in his eyes, and he smiled at Wei Zaode beside him: "I heard that Wei Shilang has collected a group of beautiful women, and their demeanor is different?" acting, I have long longed for it, and I must see one or two today. ”

Wei Zaode chuckled and said: "If you are happy alone, if you are happy with everyone, your subordinates will sweep the couch and wait for the high driver." ”

Soon, it was time to disperse, and Qipan Street, a place where the essence of the yamen gathered from all over the palace, the six departments of the court, the governor's mansion of the five armies, and the Jinyi Guard, was full of people in black pressure and various official uniforms, pouring out from the Daming Gate, and the teahouses and restaurants everywhere were full.

And as the weather gets colder, these liquor shops do better business, in stark contrast to the homeless beggars everywhere in Beijing.

On a restaurant on Wangfu Street, the applause is endless, the diners full of people are all listening to the storyteller singing the newspaper in a low voice, everyone's face, full of eyebrows and dancing, on a private seat near the window, several people with gloomy faces, also listen carefully to the movement below.

Listening to the cheers coming from downstairs, one person finally couldn't help it, he slapped the wine glass on the table, and said hatefully: "Look at these southern barbarians who are proud, the king and thief have only defeated the Mongols, and they seem to be invincible, not to mention that the Jingbian army can destroy my Qing Dynasty in a year, it is really bearable, which is unbearable!" ”

The rest of the people were also angry, and a man in his fifties was watching intently as an official sedan chair passed by the street below, and shouted in a low voice: "Be careful!" ”

He listened carefully to the surrounding movements, and the rest of the people also woke up, just as quiet, for a long time, the man said: "Right now, the officials of the Jingshi Ming Kingdom have turned a blind eye to our existence and closed one eye, but Wang Dou's Intelligence Department is really powerful, be careful to fall behind!" ”

He asked, "Has the information gotten out?" ”

The man said: "Even the newspaper and everything have been transmitted to Liaodong along the Tianjin waterway." ”

The man snorted, his face was quite worried, and after a long time, he said, "Let's go downstairs, in batches, and go in different ways." ”

Soon after, everyone went downstairs in twos and threes, and the man in his fifties, dressed as a wealthy businessman, also slowly paced downstairs.

"This lord, you go slowly!"

The guy in the lobby nodded and bowed to the man, the current situation is getting worse and worse, and the restaurant can't let go of any potential customer, not to mention that this man still looks like a high-end person.

At the door of the lobby, a middle-aged man took a newspaper and looked at it carefully, his newspaper was spread wide, covering his head and face, until the man walked out of the door, he put the newspaper down, and glanced at the man's back quietly.

An idle man at the door nodded slightly, humming a little song in his mouth and walking slowly or quickly.

After another quarter of an hour, the middle-aged man also put down the newspaper and went out of the building, and his newspaper was happily collected by the neighbor.

……

At the end of September of the fifteenth year of Chongzhen, Shengjing, Chongzheng Palace.

In the luxurious hall, Shunzhi Emperor Dolgon laughed, and the Tang newspaper came that the Eastern Expeditionary Army of the Great Qing Dynasty, led by Duoduo and Abatai, was like a bamboo, not only attacked the easternmost sea edge of the Korean State, but even with the cooperation of the surrendered Korean naval army, they broke through Ganghwa Island in one fell swoop, and captured all the Korean monarchs and ministers above, so to speak, the Korean State has perished.

Although he heard that the war on the other side of Guihua City was unfavorable and the Outer Domain Mongolia did not exist, but in exchange for the destruction of the Korean State in the east of the Qing Dynasty and the capture of their Dingkou people, Dolgon thought that it was still worth it, after all, how many people did the Outer Domain Mongolia have, and how many Koreans did it have?

He even looked at what the Xuanfu Times said, what kind of stone and silver mountains are there in Japan, and the gold and silver are piled up on them, isn't he excited?

Just a few widows, why should the Qing Dynasty be afraid? Japan will be the next target of the Great Qing Kingdom in the future!

From his ancestors, Dolgon also knew that the Jurchen ancestors did not fail to attack Japan, and if Korea was still called Goryeo, the Jurchen people in Manchuria often attacked Tsushima Island, Iki, Balde Bay and the coastal areas of Japan in small boats, fifty or sixty ships, hundreds or thousands.

The ancestors of "Daoyi" can do it, but why can't the Qing Dynasty?

Looking at the ministers below singing praises of virtue, Dolgon only felt that the great achievements, after the old slave went, he was supposed to be the successor of the successor, but he was robbed by Huang Taiji, but the hateful thing was that Huang Taiji Songshan was defeated, in order to stabilize the situation, he had to use the humiliating name of "Shunzhi".

However, now that he has done what Huang Taiji has not done, this is great!

He is the heir of the unification, and this is the unification!

Fueled by Shi Ningwan of Hongwen Academy, Dolgon felt that the Shunzhi era name was no longer worthy of him, and he would inevitably change the era name.

Looking at the ministers, he said loudly and majestically: "I have made up my mind, change the name of the year to Xuantong, and next year will be the first year of Xuantong!" (To be continued.) )