Autumn of the 17th year of Chongzhen

Chapter 163
In Fujian Province, the Zheng family had nearly 20 soldiers, while Wang Yan, who was in charge of Guangdong, brought less than 2 troops into Guangdong.

Although there are still some guards and recruits in the land of Guangdong, the combat power of these soldiers and horses is not as good as that of bandits. Wang Yan naturally despises these soldiers and horses, otherwise he would not have driven Chen Bangfu and other four soldiers and horses away. to Guilin.

They are both general towns, but compared with Zheng Zhilong, Wang Yan and Zheng Zhilong seem to be far behind.

Since Wuzhou returned to Guangzhou, all of Wang Yan's government affairs centers have been expanded with the word "army expansion".

Although Kuang Lu in the army doesn't like dealing with warriors, after Wang Yan asked him to be the head of the military department, coupled with his integrity as a scholar, he was very dedicated and strict when teaching school captains at all levels. , even Liu Shun, who doesn't even know a single Chinese character in Dou Da, can occasionally say "The Art of War".

Wang Yan decided to solve the problem of the generals in the army, but the problem of the source of troops made him very distressed. The original guard army could not be used, and the new recruits needed a lot of money.

The annual tax payment in Guangdong is only about 100 million taels. Excluding the tax money consumed by the government and the release of the imperial court, there is not much money left. It is very good to barely support 3 horses.

Nowadays, the business affairs in Guangdong and Hai are helpless because of the destruction of the Zheng family. The maritime merchants do not believe in the strength of the Guangdong navy. The land tax belongs to Fujian.

Before the Cantonese naval masters have been trained, it is impossible to go to sea to ban smuggling and force maritime merchants to return to the shipping department to pay taxes, so Wang Yan will not be able to enjoy the benefits of overseas trade for a long time.

For Wang Yan to expand his army, 3 troops are naturally not enough, and at least [-] troops are needed to be able to hold Guangdong and go north to Hunan in the near future.

But expanding the army requires money, but he only has the 350 million taels of silver robbed from the Zheng family.

This seems like a huge amount compared to money, but when Wang Yan first arrived in Guangdong, he had too many things to do, and 350 million taels of silver was not enough to spend.

Now it is October, and the farming season has passed. The 30 people in Yangzhou will not be able to achieve self-sufficiency until at least next summer and autumn. During this period, the cost of food, materials, tools, etc. will be at least 100 million. Two taels of silver, and Wang Yan spent another 10 taels of silver in rewarding the whole army in Wuzhou. This year, he still needs to ask the court to release 100 million taels of silver, and the remaining silver taels are only about 140 million taels of silver.

For the 140 million taels, it is still necessary to purchase artillery for the navy, purchase food, grass and equipment for the army, pay the soldiers, and leave a batch of silver payments for the north to Huguang, which is basically stretched.

Wang Yan wants to recruit [-] soldiers, obviously there is not enough winning money to support it.

After Wang Yanye watched the dispute between the natives and the guests last night, he suddenly had a little more idea in his mind, and he hurriedly discussed with his staff all night, and gradually got along with a countermeasure.

In the early morning of that day, Wang Yan and his subordinates invited people from the two tribes of Tu and Hakka to come to his camp to mediate the conflict and resolve the crisis.

Not long after, the four elders elected by the Guangnan villagers came to Wang Yan's camp, but the Hakkas did not arrive, so Wang Yansui had to chat with the four elders first, in order to learn more about the thoughts of the Guangnan people.

Wang Yan didn't need to ask any more questions, the Guangnan people had already confided their thoughts, "Leave the property, the Hakka people must leave Zhaoqing and Guangfu, and return to the land of eastern Guangdong."

For such a request, Wang Yan had expected that the dispute between the natives and the guests would ultimately be a competition for resources.

At this time, the school captain who was sent to the mountain to pass the mission came in to report, saying: "The Hakka people dare not go down the mountain, they must be guaranteed, and only sent a few juniors."

Hearing this, Wang Yan couldn't help frowning slightly, but he also understood the concerns of the Hakka people.

In all previous disputes between locals and Hakkas, the government more or less favored the Guangnan people who are more or less numerous. Otherwise, the Hakkas would not have stayed in the plains, but ran to the mountains to build strongholds, because they were bullied a lot. Use this to protect yourself.

Wang Yan understands that the Hakka people don’t trust the government. This is not something that can be changed overnight, but the juniors obviously can’t be the masters of the Hakka people, so Wang Yan didn’t even see him, so he got up and told the four Guangnan elders, After letting them wait for a while, they decided to go up the mountain in person.

Wang Yan and his party only brought two guards, plus Chen Bangyan and Li Suiqiu, one of them was Wang Yan's think tank, and the other was the money bag in charge of logistics, so Wang Yan would bring them with him in almost everything.

The mountains in Guangnan are not very high. Strictly speaking, they can only be regarded as hills. Wang Yan and others came to the foot of the mountains and walked up, but the more they walked, the more frightened they were.

The stars were dim last night, Wang Yan couldn't see clearly, but now he has a panoramic view of the earthen village on the mountain, only it is more than three feet high, with a circumference of about one mile, occupying the entire mountain, and only a few ventilation and observation holes on the outer wall Outside, there are almost no windows, just like a fortress, and there are still four such earthen villages on the nearby hills.

"The Hakka talents from western Guangdong moved here not long ago, and this kind of soil can only be regarded as very simple." Chen Bangyan saw the shock on Wang Yan's face, and said while climbing the mountain: "Yu once traveled in northern Fujian and southern Jiangxi. , the Hakka village over there is stronger than the one in front of you."

Hearing the words, Wang Yan couldn't help but whispered, "It seems that the countermeasures we discussed last night are not wrong. Both the Guangnan people and the Hakka people are good sources of soldiers for the general's expansion. Originally, the governor was worried about the lack of money, so he only planned to recruit [-] soldiers. , but now it is decided that these two forces must be utilized.”

"Guogong~" Li Suiqiu couldn't help stopping when he heard the words: "Now the maritime trade is monopolized by the Zheng family, and our Guangdong territory has not gained any profits. The finances are all supported by land taxes, and we can raise [-] soldiers. So the limit, no matter how much more If recruited, I am afraid that there will be no money to pay, and it will affect the combat effectiveness of the old soldiers."

"Mei Zhou, don't worry!" Wang Yan simply stopped in his tracks, "The governor just suddenly thought of a plan, and it doesn't cost money or food, even raising a hundred thousand soldiers!"

"Could it be that the Duke wants to organize the people of the natives into a guard?" Li Suiqiu frowned and said: "The system of the guards of the country has been corrupted for a long time, and the court has not added new guards, and the people don't like the guards. If the Duke wants to compile it, he fears that the natives will be dissatisfied and even lead to civil uprisings. In these extraordinary times, I ask the Duke to be on the safe side and not act hastily.”

Without spending money to raise soldiers, Li Suiqiu naturally thought of the Weisuo system created by Taizu, but it turned out that the Weisuo system was a failure.Naturally Wang Yan knew this, so he shook his head and explained: "Mei Zhou has misunderstood. This governor is not planning to train new guards, but to train government soldiers."

When Chen Bangyan heard this, he couldn't help saying: "Does the Duke want to use the soldiers of the Southern and Northern Dynasties?"

(End of this chapter)