A new round of military confrontation is taking shape on the surface, but it does not mean balance, it means that there is no peace.

For the Ming army, which had a strong naval division, there was no need to deploy defenses everywhere along the river, as long as there were warships and heavy troops stationed at several key points, it was enough to curb the danger of the Qing army crossing the river to attack.

The Qing army, on the other hand, became difficult to defend because the Ming army could take advantage of the sailors and flexibly choose the location to cross the river to attack. Moreover, the current Ming army is very different from that year, from top to bottom, inspired by victory, full of desire to attack, but it will not let the Qing army be peaceful.

The Qing court also saw its own weakness, and it was impossible to distribute troops evenly along the river, so it could only take a key defense. In imitation of the coastal harassment, the Qing army carried out the relocation of the border in the coastal area, forming a vacuum of no man's land, and stationing troops at several key points.

The first key area is Jingxiang, the Qing army took Nanyang as the front line and Luoyang as the rear base to prevent the Ming army from attacking Henan; It also strengthened the city defense at Baitu Pass in Pingli, choked the key passes on the border of Lake and Shaanxi, echoed with the Qing army in Henan, and formed a two-sided attack on the Jingxiang area.

The second key area is in the Wuhan area in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, with Xiaogan as the front line, Xinyang as the base camp, Jingxiang in the west, and Wuchang in the south.

The third area where heavy troops are stationed is in Hefei, which is "the mouth and teeth of the south of the Yangtze River, the right throat of Huai", "the head of the south of the Yangtze River, the throat of the Central Plains", and has always been the administrative and military capital of the Jianghuai region.

The fourth key area is in Huai'an, which is adjacent to the river and the sea, and is the main transportation route from south to north. The troops are stationed here, firstly, to stop the Ming army based on Chongming Island from attacking and plundering, and secondly, to prevent the Ming army from going north from the canal.

The Yangtze River has been lost, and the Yellow River is the last line of defense that the Qing army relies on. However, the Qing court did not give up and stationed troops between the Yangtze River and the Yellow River in order to succeed. It's just—

"The dragon is lost in the sea!" Ao Bai sat in his chair and looked at the map on the wall. Sigh.

Compete for dominance on land, invincible in cavalry and archery. This is the advantage of Eight Banners, and it is also the foundation on which it relies to win the world. But now it seems that without a competent sailor, the whole battle situation will inevitably take care of one or the other.

For example, in Tianjin and Tanggu, the Ming army had a strong naval division. Yan zhòng threatens important places known as "the key points of the river and sea" and "the gateway of Kifu". It is necessary to garrison troops here to strictly defend it, and as for the coastal areas of Shandong and Zhili, they can only be made up by moving the border.

So, the confrontation is superficial and temporary. The Ming army constantly carried out small-scale military operations, maintained morale, trained new recruits, and became familiar with battle formations. Breaking the balance just takes a moment. A suitable point of attack.

"The Ministry of War has transferred Shi Lang to Beijing, he is familiar with water warfare, and he also has experience in training sailors, or has a solution." He smiled bitterly and said reassuringly.

"The Han people cannot be trusted, nor can they be of great use." Ao Bai snorted, and said in his heart: What is the solution, it is nothing more than building warships and training sailors. Where did all this money come from? Again, it is time-consuming and labor-intensive. I'm afraid it's not urgent.

Sonny became more and more sick, and there were three of the four auxiliary ministers left, and Ao Bai was firmly in the first place, with a high and powerful position, and almost controlled the government and politics, big and small things. It's mostly a one-word decision.

"Zu Zepu reported that the people in the Jiaodong area were impetuous, and there were rumors that the Ming army was going to land and counterattack, and there were quite some reckless people who wanted to make trouble." Suke Saha said in a deep voice: "Shandong is close to Zhili, you must be on guard!" ”

The commotion in Shandong was, of course, due to the great victory of the Ming army and the psychological encouragement provided by the liberation of Shenjing, as well as the chaos caused by the expansion of the coastal relocation. Of course, the actions of Yu Qi and others attracted the attention of the Qing Dynasty government.

As for the prefectures and counties in Shandong, coastal areas such as Denglai in Jiaodong are the most uneasy. Because there were rumors that the number of troops exceeded 100,000, the troops were directed at Shandong, and they planned to use Shandong as a springboard to attack Beijing - this statement was not believed by the Qing court, because Beijing generally believed that since the Ming army had the advantage of a naval division, it was better to land and fight in Shandong than to take Tianjin directly, which would be more threatening to the Beijing division.

From Shandong to Beijing, the head of the Ming army's Shezhou division fought with the Qing court in the northern plains, which is obviously not logical.

Of course, the Shandong side also knows the truth of "the south boat and the north horse", but when it comes to the black hats and lives of officials at all levels in Shandong, they are still highly nervous. The Qing court thought that it was unlikely, and at most it was the infiltration of Ming Dynasty elaborates and spies in Shandong, instigating some rebellious people to revolt in order to cope with the Ming army's offensive in other key areas.

"Zu Zepu's governor has a thousand men, if he can't deal with a few bandits and grass bandits, then he doesn't have to be the governor." Ao Bai snorted and said unhappily: "If you want to say that people's hearts are impetuous, where is there no fuss, and you are frightened, right?" ”

As soon as the transportation was cut off, the grain and rice soared. Although the Xiaoice period is warming, it is far from normal. Compared with the south, the effect of agricultural cultivation in the north is much worse. The war was tight, conscription and arrest made the population engaged in agriculture insufficient, and the financial and material resources of the Manchu Qing in the north became more and more difficult to compete with the Ming Dynasty.

There is not enough food and clothing, and even salt has begun to be in short supply because of the migration to the sea. In such an environment, how can we make people's hearts feel at ease? Ao Bai knew what it was, but Sukh Saha's mention of it made him even more upset. The point is that they can't figure it out. The Ming Dynasty was able to import grain from overseas, and it was an action that was carried out very early, and they had this intention now, and they could not realize it.

Not to mention the strength of the Ming Dynasty's sailors, no country dares to rely on the edge of the Qing court. Even the Mongol tribes dared to defy the yin and the yang, and there were many people who watched the situation and few who helped, not to mention the countries such as Korea and the Japanese State that looked down on the Manchu Qing Dynasty.

Originally, in history, the Netherlands had a grudge with the Zheng family because of Taiwan, and also colluded with the Manchu Qing Dynasty, wanted to trade and trade, and wanted to defeat the Zheng family and regain Taiwan. But now, the Dutch also made overtures to the Ming Dynasty and were able to establish a merchant house in Guangzhou to conduct trade with the Ming Dynasty.

Internal and external difficulties, money and food embarrassment, it is very appropriate to describe the current Manchu Qing Dynasty. But the Manchus were alien rulers, and like a gambler, they would not give up the power and enjoyment they had grabbed until the end of their despair. As for the extent to which the people were poor and hungry, that was not their concern.

Maintain, hold on, and count as long as the time comes. The Manchus are now in such a state of mind, they are not willing to return to the bitter cold Liaodong, they are not willing to give up the Central Plains, they are not willing to lose everything they have gained by violence and killing.

Sukh Saha opened his mouth and swallowed all the words back. The current shape can be described as internal and external troubles, but Ao Bai controls the government. He has always been disgusted with him, and once something is said by him, it will be delayed or even not done.

According to the secret spy report, North Korea is unstable, and the Northern Expeditionary faction is greatly expanded. There is also a plan to expand the armament war: the army of the Imperial Camp in the capital will be increased from 7,000 to 20,000; The number of forbidden troops was increased from 600 to 1,000, and all of them were reorganized into cavalry; The Imperial Camp Office has increased the number of cannons, and it is also planned to increase the number of training troops guarding Seoul by 10,000 and the number of troops in the Imperial Camp Office by 2,000. Although due to financial difficulties, it will be very difficult to achieve such a goal of military expansion. But the situation is terrible, and its heart can be heard.

The Li Dynasty regarded the Qing Dynasty as a dog and a sheep Yidi, and privately called the Qing Emperor "Emperor Hu" and the Qing envoy "captive envoy". In addition to the official congratulatory table to the Qing Dynasty. A qiē internal official documents, including the royal tombs, the Zong Temple, and the Confucian Temple, have always used the Chongzhen year name. These circumstances could not be concealed from the Qing court, but neither in history nor now, except for the edict and reprimand of Shunzhi, no practical action has been taken.

If North Korea is a knife stuck in the back of the so-called "land of dragons", then the attitude of the Mongol tribes has changed. It is even more indicative of the harshness of the shape.

Originally, the Qing government had a policy of looting money on the condition of increasing the rank of official to the rank of knight. That is, the more you donate. The more you add officials, the thicker you are. In this way, some mediocre Mongolian princes and nobles can loot the people layer by layer and buy officials and lords for their use, which can not only achieve the purpose of controlling their economy, but also increase their financial revenue.

However, since the Ming army launched a counteroffensive in Jiangnan last year, this policy has been nearly ineffective for the Mongol tribes. In the case of a change in the shape shì, no one will be for a temporary empty title. Spend money, right?

After the Qing court unified the Mongolian ministries, it abolished the original titles of the feudal lords and the khans, and with reference to the Manchu official ranks, the Mongolian feudal lords and members of the golden family were respectively awarded the titles of prince, county king, beyler, beizi, zhenguo duke, auxiliary duke, etc., and also set up the first, second, third, and fourth taiji. The feudal lords and members of the nobility who were not members of the Golden Family were given the rank of first, second, third, and fourth. According to different grades, different grades of silver, Yulu, Suiding and their respective rank marks are awarded.

The Mongol tribes delayed in the matter of donating money and helping soldiers, but they still had to be diligent in the payment of silver and money, which put a relatively heavy economic burden on the Qing court.

The change in attitude of the Mongol tribes was even more obvious when they began to violate the ban system established by the Qing court. Mongolia's economy is mainly nomadic, and it chooses water and grass to live. However, the Qing court, for the purpose of suppressing the development of the Mongolian economy and plundering the Mongolian economy, instituted a ban system, so that the Mongols could only be trapped in the territory of the banner where they lived, and could not cross over.

The ban confined the Mongols to a corner, made it impossible for the banners to carry out economic exchanges and interconnections, and kept the Mongols tightly bound to the territory of the banners in which they lived. This will naturally cause dissatisfaction, when the Manchu Qing was strong, the Mongol tribes did not dare to disobey, but at this time they did not look at the Manchus very much, or the Mongol tribes had re-evaluated the victory or defeat of the Ming and Qing wars, and no longer bet on the Manchus.

Such internal and external tendencies are dangerous, especially if they are allowed to develop. Sukh Saha had proposed the idea of fighting hard, but it was rejected; He also agreed with the discussion of moving the capital and returning to the land of Longxing to breathe, but he was ruthlessly reprimanded.

In Sukh Saha's view, the mobilization of elites, even if it is a forbidden brigade in Beijing, as long as it can achieve a big victory, the people's hearts will be greatly reversed; If it is defeated, then it will plunder the wealth and plunder the people and retreat to Liaodong to fight a protracted war with the Ming Dynasty. Or just withdraw directly from the Central Plains, and still save troops, and then with the help of the climate and terrain of Liaodong, and the capital consumed by the Ming Dynasty.

Either way, he thinks it's better than holding on like this. Empty consumption of strength, but no will to fight a decisive battle; The division of troops and garrisoning seems to be difficult to defend everywhere. As time passed, people's hearts became more chaotic, finances tighter, and there was no hope of victory.

"Well, the donations of the eight royal merchants—" Ao Bai pondered for a moment, and said with some displeasure: "The number is too small, how can it affect other merchants?" ”

It has always been very convenient to make war money, and it is also a good time to accumulate capital at the earliest, and the people of Shanxi have seized this opportunity. There were a very large number of Shanxi people in the ranks of the Manchurians who swept the world, and they formed the logistics force of the Manchurian Iron Cavalry, and in this logistics force, the Eight Great Emperor Merchants of Shanxi (the Eight Great Locust Merchants of the Manchu Dynasty) were formed in this logistics force.

They controlled most of the trade with the Manchurian army, and also controlled the vast majority of the Chahar, or Zhangjiakou, trade with Mongolia.

In fact, long before the Manchurians entered the customs, these eight imperial merchants often traveled back and forth inside and outside the customs. At a time of increasing corruption and social unrest in the Ming Dynasty, the merchants' unique keen sense of smell enabled them to see the rise and ambition of the Manchus. So outside of normal trade. Secretly transported military supplies to the Manchurians, provided military intelligence, and engaged in political trading.

After the Manchu Qing Dynasty entered the customs, Shunzhi did not forget to establish the eight great families who had made great achievements in the Central Plains for themselves, held a banquet in the Forbidden City, and personally summoned them. And give clothes (presumably horse coats and traitor clothes). At the banquet, Shunzhi wanted to give them official rewards, and the eight families were flattered and tried their best to resign. As a result, Shunzhi named them "Imperial Merchants" (subordinate to the Ministry of Internal Affairs).

Among them, Fan Yongdou was appointed to preside over trade affairs and "give Zhangjiakou as the world's industry". The other seven also have their own rewards. From now on. Fan Yongdou and others obtained political and economic privileges that other businessmen could not enjoy.

In particular, Fan Yongdou not only procured goods for the royal family. He also relied on the royal prestige to open up his wealth and start trading all over the world. In addition to operating the salt industry in Hedong and Changlu, he also monopolized the market for ginseng and other valuable medicinal materials in Ussuri and Suifen in Northeast China, so he was also called "ginseng business" by the people. In the blink of an eye, Fan Yongdou became a great imperial merchant with millions of riches, the best of the eight families

But this time, that time. The Qing court in order to solve the financial difficulties. I still set my eyes on these "royal lackeys" first, hoping that they will lead them. Instead, they extracted wealth from the merchants of the north in order to prop up what they saw as an undefeated war.

"After the Japanese shogunate fell to thieves in Nanjing, they terminated the trade on the grounds that the copper mines had been exhausted." Su Ke Saha sighed inaudibly, and said, "The Fan family, who contracted the copper import trade as an imperial merchant, suffered a great loss, and at this time—"

"Now it's a loss." Ao Bai was unmoved. He said with a sneer: "In the past, the copper trade with Japan was a huge profit, how much did they earn?" ”

The Fan family prospered because of the officials, and most of the business they did was related to the government, so the handle of their fate was naturally in the hands of the officials. It was also the Fan family who was too greedy, reaching out everywhere and contacting the five imperial merchants in Zhangjiakou. Contracted copper trade with Japan. At that time, the Qing court banned mining in the country, and the imported copper industry was naturally a profiteering industry.

However, after the Ming army recovered Nanjing, the attitude of the Wa shogunate began to become clear, and the copper trade with the Manchu imperial merchants was categorically interrupted. The once lucrative copper industry suddenly became unprofitable, which caught the Fan family, who contracted the copper import trade, at a loss. The officials of the imperial court took the opportunity to urge the official copper, forcing the Fan family to go to the market to buy it at a high price, and suffered heavy losses.

Suke Saha disagreed with the similar policy of "killing chickens and taking eggs" made by Ao Bai and others, but his euphemistic exhortation was forcefully pushed back by Ao Bai, and he had to lament in his heart and was helpless.

In fact, Ao Bai and others were able to do this, on the one hand, because of the form, and on the other hand, there was also a basis and reason.

What does it mean to "under the whole world, it is not the king's land, and the shore of the land is not the king's minister"? It can be said that all courtiers under feudal rule did not have their own property. What's yours is not yours, it's the court's, it's the sovereign's; It's yours now, because the court and the monarch don't need it yet, and it's just in your name for the time being.

"If the skin doesn't exist, the hair will be attached?" Curb Pilon said on the side: "What they did, they still don't know in their hearts? If the Qing Dynasty is defeated, what will happen to them? It's useless to cling to the money. After explaining the reason to them, are they still unwilling? ”

If you want to, you have to take it out! If you don't know how to raise it, you will have to rob your home.

As the most famous imperial merchant family in the early Qing Dynasty, when the Fan family was at its peak, the family property was all over the north and south, and there were nearly 1,000 salt shops in Shanxi, Zhili and Henan; In Cangzhou, Tianjin, there are warehouses for hoarding salt; In Suzhou, there is a shipping bureau that manages ships going to Japan, and there are six foreign ships; There are three shops in Beijing, six in Zhangjiakou and four in Guihua City; There is a pawnshop in Zhangde Mansion, Henan, more than 100 hectares of land in Zhangjiakou, and more than 1,000 properties in various places.

"War is an important way to create super-rich", and the Eight Emperors and Merchants are important practitioners of this law. They relied on their attachment to the Manchurians, forgot their righteousness for the sake of profit, and became millionaires with millions of family assets on the ruins of the collapse of the country and in the sea of corpses and blood of their compatriots. It can be said that every penny of money they earn is stained with the blood of their compatriots, and innocent souls are attached to them.

It's a pity that the dramas of "the fox and the rabbit die, the lackeys cook" and "unloading the mill and killing the donkey" are commonplace in feudal society and have been performed repeatedly. "Watch it rise up, watch it feast guests, watch it collapse." Such storylines are similar, the endings are similar, and there is nothing new in the world.

Honestly, heaven is good. The traitors who took refuge in the Tartars and betrayed their compatriots, the once glorious imperial businessmen were used as the target of oppression by their masters so quickly, I am afraid they never expected it, right?

As Zhu Yongxing said in an article published in Di Bao: Commerce has no borders, and businessmen have nationality. Such as Fan Traitor Yongdou, Wang Traitor Dengku, Jin Traitor Liangyu, etc., people of the Ming Kingdom, descendants of the Han Dynasty, but when the national war was in the country, they did not seek to benefit the country and a dime, but re-Qing one of the people's letters? Those who do not care about the survival of the Han people, only care about the selfishness of the family, and forget the righteousness for small profits, there is no better than this. It is really to send a sharp blade and hatred, kill compatriots in the sea of blood, and destroy the country overnight, although it is difficult to eliminate this hatred for eternity...... (To be continued......)