Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 2176 Policy shift?

Chengdu in April is full of flowers and tourists.More and more changes are taking place in this city, which has become the center of the Sichuan shogunate.

A series of military residences inside and outside the city are being renovated or newly built.Naturally, the residences in the city are military officers’ residences. Since Liu Zhonggui took control of Sichuan, he has been fighting north and south, and the shogunate is relatively short of funds. This time, he brought back a large amount of gold and silver treasures from Yunnan, just in time to repair those houses that have been idle for a long time. To reward those who have made meritorious service in battle.In addition, many officers and soldiers of the dental army who have followed him for many years have also been rewarded, but the scale of their residences cannot be compared with that of the officers

As for the residential areas outside the city, they are brick houses with a uniform style. They are not big and not beautiful in appearance, but they are cheap.The Sichuan shogunate learned the high-efficiency rotary kiln brick-making technology from the people on the east bank, and at the same time purchased a batch of combined brick-making machines—of course, there are some slumbers now because of the lack of necessary parts—the output of bricks and tiles has greatly increased , and there is a lot of wood in Chuanzhong, so these brick-concrete houses were quickly built in large quantities and distributed to veterans who had beheaded a certain number of veterans in battle.

It can be said that Liu Zhonggui's shogunate, as a semi-autonomous regime, has really achieved the ultimate in its own foundation (the army).Not only did they guarantee more than [-]% of the military pay under financial difficulties, but they also built houses for them. This may only appear in the early years of the founding of the country or the era of the feudal town structure in all dynasties.

Of course, Liu Zhonggui stole a lot of money from Yunnan, which greatly improved his financial situation. At the same time, thanks to the advancement of technology, the productivity has been greatly improved, otherwise such a feat would not be possible.Do not believe?Please see that so many city walls or fortresses were built during the Wanli period of the previous dynasty, how many of them were built with rammed earth and bricks?Why?No technology, low productivity!

Liu Zhonggui also sent people to Ningbo secretly before, hoping to learn technologies such as lime kiln and cement kiln.It's a pity that most of these enterprises on the east coast are located in Denglai, and the people he sent finally returned without success.But in any case, people's spirit of doing everything for technological progress (these can be applied to the military) is indeed commendable.

When Li Nanxian and Zhang Shaozong came to the outskirts of Chengdu, they saw such a scene.Looking at the rows of standard houses, the two were also quite moved.This gang of warriors is very good to the soldiers below!The people's livelihood is so difficult, but you all turn a blind eye and keep adding taxes to help the military.This time, he managed to grab a lot of money from the south, but he didn't think about developing the country. The first thing he did was to improve the treatment of soldiers. Liu Zhonggui really couldn't say that.

After the two entered the city, they first found a place to settle down, and then they asked someone to inquire, only to learn that Jieshuai Liu Zhonggui had gone south with his teeth soldiers, which greatly disappointed them.A while ago, they found out that Liu Zhonggui and the imperial court had basically negotiated terms, and had already left Kunming and returned to Chengdu.But after a while, the whole army went south again, it is said that it was to deal with those chieftains who took advantage of the emptiness of the troops in the middle of Sichuan, and they really couldn't be idle for a moment.

At this time, Li and Zhang couldn't help complaining about those chieftains who were ignorant of current affairs, and their knowledge, vision, and strategy were all messed up!When the incident in Yunnan first started, why didn't you make trouble?The Ming Kingdom has almost been wiped out, but you guys jumped out one by one. Isn’t this stupid?Hurry up to send people's heads!

After confirming that they could not see Liu Zhonggui, they turned to see Liu Qi, the secretary of the shogunate.This time it was relatively smooth. Liu Qi, who had just returned from Chongqing, received the two of them in his own mansion.As the No. [-] figure in the civil service system of the Sichuan shogunate, Liu Qi is no stranger to Li Nanxian and Zhang Shaozong. wealthy businessman.

To say that they are well-known is not to say that they are the top richest people in the country.That's not true. There are still many low-key rich people in China who are richer than them, and many of them are deep-rooted big families. It is difficult for Li and Zhang, who are self-made, to compare.The reason why they are famous is that they are the compradors of the Dongguo people, and they can manage the business. They invest the commissions accumulated as compradors in the business and obtain huge profits.

The current Zhang and Li not only have considerable property under their names, but also have connections all over the provinces, and even the Qing people in Shatou City, Xiangyang and other places have acquaintances.In addition, they have in their hands the export channels of domestic tea, medicinal materials, textiles, grains and other bulk commodities, as well as the import channels of many commodities that only people in the East have. This is the most important factor for them to become rich and prosperous. The most important reliance for standing up to now.

After meeting Liu Qi, Li Nan, who had more assets, spoke first. He formally asked Liu Qi to manage Sichuan tea, and was willing to reimburse [-] yuan for military supplies—not the Shunyang made by Shunguo himself, but the Excellent East Coast silver dollar.Moreover, in order to convince Liu Qi, he also said in a firm tone that he would find a way to import tea-making and transportation equipment from the Dongguo people, especially the latter, which would be of great help in reducing costs.

Some people may ask, Li Nan first wants to start the tea business in Sichuan and just do it directly, why donate money to the shogunate?The reason is actually very simple. In order to raise military expenses, the Sichuan shogunate ordered the big businessmen in the area under their jurisdiction that they must pay a certain amount of silver for military supplies before they can engage in business in a certain industry, which is equivalent to buying a license.Because of Li Nanxian's reputation, he lost [-] silver dollars to obtain the qualifications to operate tea farms, tea roasting workshops and foreign trade in Sichuan. It is also very tricky to say, but this is the case in mainland China today (whether Qing, Shun or Ming) ) businessmen cannot avoid the hurdles in doing business, and they have even become accustomed to it.

Liu Qi was a little dissatisfied with Li Nanxian's offer of [-] silver dollars, but he knew that this was the only way to go.Li Nanxian is currently running the Dafa Yonghang Company. Although he mainly does business in Hubei, it may expand to central Sichuan in the future. This is of great significance to the Sichuan shogunate.After all, they are located inland, and external transportation has always been a big problem. If Dafa Yong can solve this problem for them, it will really help them a lot.

In addition, Li Nanxian's East Coast background has always made Liu Qi a little jealous.As a semi-separatist regime in Dashun, the Sichuan shogunate has always paid attention to maintaining the relationship with the east coast.At the beginning, the relationship between the two countries was bad because of the southern expedition to the Ming Dynasty. The Sichuan shogunate did not embarrass the people on the east coast of the area under its jurisdiction. The money was bought to prevent the people on the east coast from suffering big losses.

From these measures, it can be seen that they do not want to and dare not offend the people on the east coast. The machines they need to develop their economy and the weapons and military resources they need to develop their military supplies must be purchased from the people on the east coast.Therefore, Li Nanxian, who is a comprador on the east bank, is someone who needs to be treated with caution in Liu Qi's eyes, not those other businessmen in central Sichuan who can be manipulated at will. The two are not at the same level at all.Therefore, after much consideration, he finally approved the 2 yuan donation proposed by Li Nanxian. Of course, this still needs the approval of Marshal Liu, but Liu Qi thinks it is not a big problem.

Similar to Li Nanxian, Zhang Shaozong wanted to get involved in the raw silk and brocade business in Sichuan.Chengdu was called "Jinguan City" in ancient times, and Sulai is famous for its exquisite silk products, which are sold throughout central Sichuan and several surrounding provinces.The East Coast culture is rooted in Chinese civilization, so it is naturally very enthusiastic about these things. The price of a brocade of spicy peppers in Chengdu is not much lower than that of Suzhou and Hangzhou in Ningbo and Denglai, and the market prospect is very broad.

It's a pity that after Liu Zhonggui occupied Sichuan, because he was busy with conquests from east to west, Sichuan's brocade export volume did not increase significantly, and even slightly decreased due to excessive taxes and poor governance. The tapestry creates a stark contrast.In view of this, after the joint venture textile factory with Huang Bochao was on the right track, Zhang Shaozong, a big comprador, planned to enrich his product line, that is, increase the export of silk and satin.In this regard, Sichuan, which has a good foundation, is undoubtedly the best place to invest.

Zhang Shaozong had already made up his mind, so he opened a silk reeling factory and a satin factory in Chengdu.The former produces raw silk, while the latter weaves silk. At the same time, it also purchases a large number of finished products from farmers and weavers. As long as the quality is in compliance, all purchases are open.He had already inquired about it, and not only did Denglai, Ningbo and other places have a lot of consumer demand for this product, but even in the Eastern Kingdom, there was a huge demand for this product.The people from the Bank of Taiwan have made it clear to themselves that they can buy as much as they want, and the price is easy to negotiate!

The market has been determined, so Zhang Shaozong would be a fool if he didn't know how to do it!Therefore, he hurriedly came to Chengdu, intending to obtain the permission of Liu Zhonggui, the actual ruler of the place, to officially start the business of raw silk and satin.For this reason, he is also willing to contribute 2 yuan for military supplies, all of which are fish oceans minted by Dabo mints of good quality, with strong purchasing power, which should satisfy the shogunate, right?

To be honest, Liu Qi is quite satisfied with receiving [-] silver dollars. Although the amount is a bit small, what are the identities of these two people?Can it be treated as an ordinary businessman?Besides, if they are willing to set up a factory here, then this is a long-term business. In the future, they will not only pay commercial taxes, but also pay some money when there is apportionment. The overall benefits are still great.

Of course, the most important thing is that these two people are also quite sensible, not only preparing generous gifts for Mr. Jieshuai, but also having one for themselves.Liu Qi glanced at it just now. It was a bearer certificate of deposit issued by the Bank of Taiwan, worth two thousand silver dollars.This is a great gift, and it is worth doing activities for them.

After talking about business matters, Liu Qi took the opportunity to ask about the current situation in Ningbo, that is, whether the relationship between Dongguo people and Shunguo is going to be fully thawed, and when war horses, weapons, armor, machinery and equipment and other commodities will be released. Can be re-exported to Dashun.Regarding this question, to be honest, it is difficult for Li and Zhang to answer, because their level is not high enough, and they are not exposed to such important military matters.They can only make vague judgments based on their vague impressions. If Dashun can satisfy them in terms of certain conditions—such as population—maybe things will turn around.

To be honest, this judgment is not supported by actual evidence, but Li and Zhang subconsciously feel that the priority of the Ningbo government of the Dongguo people has changed again, because the content reported by the "Clarion" and "National Daily" is not the same as before. , This incompleteness is a sign of a policy shift, so they boldly made the above guess.

Liu Qi also dubiously believed their words.The current situation of the Sichuan shogunate is not very optimistic. Although Zheng Nanming successfully obtained half of Yunnan, it also made Changsha's vigilance and suppression of them further strengthened. It is difficult to say whether it has gained or lost.Moreover, after incorporating a large number of surrendered troops from the Ming Dynasty, the total number of soldiers and horses under Liu Zhonggui's command is now approaching 10, which is extremely majestic.But the problem also exists at the same time, that is, the newly recruited troops are generally poorly equipped and urgently need to be improved.As for the old troops, the equipment was also worn out in a series of battles, and many of them could not be repaired or supplemented by their own side, so they had to be purchased.

Recently Liu Qi is having a hard time worrying about this matter.The equipment of the Changsha Gun Bureau will definitely not be given to them—or it will not be given priority to them—they can only rely on themselves. Before the Chengdu Gun Bureau is officially established, all their military resources and weapons can only rely on the east bank Man, this is also impossible.Not to mention, even the Chengdu Firearms Bureau, which is under preparation, does not have to rely on imports from the east coast for a lot of machining equipment it needs?

Therefore, considering the above factors, it is quite normal for Liu Qi, as the secretary of Jiedu, to be so concerned about the direction of Ningbo's policies.He really hopes that Dongguo will immediately lift the ban on the export of Shunguo's military supplies and machinery and equipment. They really need it, and they need it urgently!

(End of this chapter)