Deng Wentong has been to the capital since the beginning of the year, and after more than half a year, he came to Datong again, and he ran down twice, and his feelings were very different. At the beginning of the year, although the place was not peaceful, the local officials were still conscientious, and occasionally there was chaos and could quickly suppress it, but now it is different, they took the official ship to the north, and encountered two groups of water thieves along the way.

Everywhere he passed, the officials and small officials were exploited, and Deng Wentong even saw with his own eyes that a businessman trafficked a cart of rice paper into Beijing, and the road was full of checkpoint tax cards, and when he arrived at Chongwenmen, he had to pay five taels of silver. A cart of paper could only be sold for a few bucks, and the merchants were forced to be burned with paper in public, and the carriages were thrown into the fire, and they left the capital on horseback.

"The end times!" Deng Wentong shook his head and sighed.

But Bao Shiqing didn't care at all, and said with a smile: "My lord, I don't care what other people's territory is, but after entering Datong, although there are also homeless people, all officials are responsible, and there are patrol soldiers on the road, and they are in good order." On both sides of the road, there are people working in the fields, and each fort has a place to recruit soldiers. Our prince has the ability, only he can suppress all kinds of cows, ghosts, gods and snakes, and all evils are easy to dispel. ”

"Hehe, you treat Yongzhen as Zhong Kui!"

Deng Wentong laughed, his tense mood was a little better, but he didn't dare to be too optimistic. I can only muttered silently in my heart: "Yongzhen, it's a big trouble, I really hope you can have an idea......"

When they arrived in Datong and went all the way to the temporary palace, Zhang Ke had already waited at the door, and approached his brother-in-law and Bao Shiqing to the study with a smile.

"Coming from afar, my brother-in-law has made you work hard again."

"Hahaha, it's nothing to work hard, but Yongzhen's whimsy makes me turn my bowels so soft that my hair turns gray." Deng Wentong said and took off his hat and said with a smile: "Don't believe it, take a look?" ”

Not to mention, Deng Wentong's sideburns really have a few gray hairs. He was just in his early thirties, and Zhang Ke was a little distressed when he saw it in his eyes.

"Brother-in-law, you should also look for a few helpers, as long as you have understanding and reliable character. We can't rely on you alone for everything, we can't learn from Zhuge Wuhou. ”

Deng Wentong smiled calmly: "I really chose a few helpers, but they still have to experience." This time, I wanted to set up a bank, and I had to handle such a big thing myself. I also have to be at the helm for Yongzhen, otherwise I don't have the guts. ”

Bao Shiqing said with a smile: "Lord Deng, you have already made up your mind, don't be polite." ”

"Just talk to you!" Deng Wentong scolded with a smile that he established Jiangnan Bank a few years ago and tried to expand the bank's power across the country. Now that Zhang Ke has won the Jin Shang, it is equivalent to eradicating the biggest opponent, everything is logical, and Deng Wentong already has a case in his heart. All the way north, he happened to write out the plan.

Zhang Ke saw the clue and said with a smile: "Brother-in-law, don't hide it." Let's talk while we eat. ”

With a wave of his hand, his subordinates hurriedly put on the wine and dishes, only eight dishes, plus a jar of Fenjiu. Zhang Ke personally filled Deng Wentong and Bao Shiqing with a full glass.

The three of them drank as they spoke. While chatting about the bank. Bao Shiqing came up with his own plan, Zhang Ke glanced at it a few times, and put it aside.

"How. Yongzhen, you can't look at it? ”

"No, no, no!" Zhang Ke hurriedly waved his hand and said with a smile: "I'll tell you the truth, in fact, I heard a similar idea two months ago. ”

Deng Wentong's eyes lit up, he is a financial wizard, but unfortunately there are too few people in the Ming Dynasty who understand this thing, and he is extremely sensitive to his peers.

"Yongzhen, hurry up and invite us, let's discuss it together."

"Please, please." Zhang Ke shook his head and said, "The person has been buried." ”

"Yongzhen, how can you kill such a talent, you shouldn't be!"

"His name is Fan Yongdou!"

After Zhang Ke finished speaking, he silently lowered his head and poured a glass of wine. Deng Wentong was stunned for a moment, then shook his head and smiled bitterly, this person really can't forgive, let alone Zhang Ke, even if it falls into his hands, it will be cut by a thousand cuts.

Seeing that the air pressure was a little low, Bao Shiqing smiled and said: "Lord Wang, Lord Deng, why care about such a person, let's discuss the bank!" I thought that this matter was very important, and once a large amount of money in the world was taken into the bank accounts, the bank would have no less power than the imperial court. ”

"Well, Shiqing is right." Deng Wentong said with a smile: "The matter is slow, I don't think we can be in a hurry, the first step is to start rectifying the Qianzhuang ticket number, and put up the shelf, as for the Yamen's funds, start with Liaodong and the City Division, and the next step is Shandong, as well as Xuanda, and move forward little by little." At the same time, we will start to mint silver dollars and silver tickets that are popular all over the world, and only when everyone accepts them can we get ripe. ”

Bao Shiqing shook his head a little and said: "If you want everyone to accept it, you can't do it, the bank absorbs deposits, issues loans, and lives on the interest difference." Once the banking system is established, it will inevitably attack the local gentry and powerful usury, and they will definitely fight back. Lord Wang, I dare to say that where the Yizhou soldiers go, the bank can be built. Once we lose the protection of the army, our bank may become someone's treasury. ”

It is an unbreakable truth that the barrel of a gun comes out of power, especially the business of finance, which makes everyone blush, without the support of strong force, let alone Zhang Ke, even the emperor can't open it.

"Speaking of which, we still have to expand the army!"

Zhang Ke smiled and said: "It's okay, I have already ordered Xuanfu, Datong, Jizhen, plus Tianjin, everywhere to recruit 15,000 soldiers each." If we train within a year, we will be able to approach 200,000 troops, and we will be able to do things much more calmly. ”

From the bank to the expansion of the army, from the expansion of the army to the tuntian, a meal was enough to eat until midnight, if it wasn't for the fatigue of the journey, I was afraid that I could talk all night.

The next day, Zhang Ke invited everyone to the palace again and arranged the recent work.

The recruitment was handed over to Ma Rufeng, Deng Wentong was in charge of banking affairs, and Bao Shiqing was to contact the four major Jin merchants to let them exert a little more effort.

……

First of all, Zhang Feng led the cavalry to the north frequently, killing the Mongol Tartars did not dare to go south, and the north of the Great Wall, within 500 miles, has become a safe area, and the Han people can come and go freely.

Nothing is better than a stable environment, and with military support, commerce and trade have also prospered. Zhang Ke set up five horse markets in particular for the West Tumut Department and the Ordos Department to open the door to trade. Tartar horses, cattle and sheep, furs. Medicinal materials have flowed in rapidly, and the silk, porcelain, grain, salt, and iron ware produced in the Ming Dynasty have also been smoothly sold to the grassland.

Business is the blood vessels of the body, and after they are unobstructed, there is a source of living water. The boom in commerce and trade also created a strong demand, and wasteland suitable for cultivation was developed. The farm was successfully built.

The fields that could not be cultivated were also turned into pastures, and the Han people were not good at raising cattle and sheep, so they hired some Mongols to help, and soon pastures were established.

According to conservative estimates, within two years, the number of sheep raised will exceed half a million, and the number of herdsmen, carders, and weavers will be required. Sell merchants, at least 30,000 people.

It can be said that the aquaculture industry has supported almost one-third of Xuanda!

Since the middle of the Ming Dynasty, there have been people fleeing from the nine sides. The population continues to decline. In some places, less than a third.

Since Zhang Ke entered Xuanda, there has been a large-scale return of people for the first time, and the border has prospered again.

Of course, in addition to Zhang Ke's excellent means, there are also important reasons. That is where the rogues went, a large number of people fled, and some entered Henan. Gyeonggi, some fled to Xuanda and became part of the Uiju soldiers.

With the rapid development of Xuanda, more and more refugees poured in, and by the end of the year, the number had exceeded 100,000!

At this time, Deng Wentong also found Zhang Ke.

Straight to the point, Deng Wentong's first sentence was: "Yongzhen, it's not okay to go on like this!" ”

Zhang Ke smiled and said, "What does my brother-in-law think?" ”

"We have worked hard to develop pastures so that the people can have a way to live. But the better we do, the more refugees will come in. And if this trend continues, the number of people will only increase exponentially, and our resettlement capacity is limited, and sooner or later we will not be able to hold on. ”

Zhang Ke was also surprised, he calculated that whether it was Xuanda or Jiliao, it was vast and sparsely populated, and the influx of refugees was actually a good thing. Even if Xuanda can't be settled, it can be sent to Liaodong.

If there were no refugees, how could the expansion of the Yizhou soldiers be so smooth, in less than three months, soldiers were recruited everywhere, and there were still many people looking forward to becoming Yizhou soldiers!

But when Deng Wentong reminded him like this, Zhang Ke was also suddenly alert, he may not care about the 100,000 homeless people, but millions, or even tens of millions!

That was not within his power, and with the current situation of the rogue, such a day would not be far away.

Zhang Keyou had no choice but to pay attention, and asked solemnly: "Brother-in-law, do you have a way, now that the southeast industry and commerce are prosperous, can you digest some personnel?" ”

Deng Wentong smiled bitterly and shook his head: "Yongzhen, I didn't tell you, in fact, there are also displaced people in the southeast. ”

"What?" Zhang Ke was stunned for a moment, the homeless people are only in the northwest and the Central Plains where they can't eat and wear, how can the rich Jiangnan be like this?

"As the so-called success is also Xiao He defeated, the southeast trade is prosperous, so more raw silk and more cotton are needed, so the big families are desperately expanding the manor and annexing the land. The small-scale peasant economy went bankrupt, and thousands of people flocked to the cities to work. Fortunately, commerce and trade are prosperous, and they can temporarily absorb the population and avoid chaos. In recent years, the harvest in the southeast has been quite good, and the grain supply is barely available, but once there is a natural disaster, a large number of fields are planted with mulberry trees and cotton. If there is not enough food to eat, there will be chaos in the southeast. ”

Zhang Ke has always had a myth, always thinking that going towards development and developing industrial and commercial capital can solve all problems, but after listening to his brother-in-law's narration, he suddenly sobered up.

With textile and porcelain alone, these industries are still unable to absorb the huge population, and let's not forget that at this time China had more people than Europe combined!

In the face of such a huge economy, the issue of food will always come first.

Zhang Ke couldn't help but stand up in his clothes, pacing back and forth on the ground, thinking about it, and after a while, he sighed: "It seems that there is only one way to grab land from overseas to grow food and supply it for domestic consumption." ”

Deng Wentong also said: "There is no other way, but the pass is in the navy!" (To be continued......)