Autumn of the 17th year of Chongzhen

Chapter 398 Armament Expansion and Preparation for War
The commanding and commanding army of the Ming Dynasty is the Dudufu of the Five Armies, but now it basically exists in name only. The imperial court has lost all the forbidden troops and has no money to recruit again.

Since the imperial court neither pays nor rations, the army is naturally equivalent to the private soldiers of the governors. The system of the Five Loyalty Army is now basically independent of the imperial court.

If it weren't for the foreign enemy of the Qing court, the current situation in Nanming would very likely have evolved into a powerful separatist regime at the end of the Han Dynasty.

At this time, the imperial court had been in Guangzhou for nearly two months, and began to obtain some money from the Shibo Department, but the financial situation still did not improve, and was soon spent on arranging officials, opening Enke, and supporting the clan.

The mansion of Wang Yan in the city of Guangzhou is not only the mansion of the Duke of the State, but also the mansion of the commander of the Five Loyalty Army, and also the yamen of the Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi.

At this time in the lobby, Wang Yan was convening his staff to discuss matters. Chen Yonghua told Wang Yan before that money is expensive and silver is cheap, and he told many of his staff again.

After Wang Yan finished speaking, he gave the ministers a little time to digest, and then said: "The governor concluded that the current situation is that there is too much money flowing into Guangnan, so it is necessary to spend part of it and buy some from other places. Stockpile materials. But this matter is very complicated. The court has no money, and most of the money is in the hands of merchants and gentry. If grain, pig iron, and salt are bought in large quantities, the price will definitely drop sharply. It is basically unprofitable to transport these materials to the south, so the main force for buying outside can only be led by the government. The governor has persuaded several companies to buy some, but the key still depends on the government. Now I want to know how much we have in stock Gold jewelry and silver?"

Li Suiqiu picked up the account book, came out and read: "Duke, apart from the expenses for rewarding soldiers, providing for their families, and building a martyr's shrine, there are about 9 taels of gold, 110 million taels of silver, and ten boxes of jewelry."

The money was obtained from Nanchang by beheading officials of the Qing government and ransacking their homes. In addition, it was the property seized from Zhang Cunren.After Li Suiqiu finished speaking, he closed the account book and was about to go back to his seat, but he remembered something, so he added: "Another 20 yuan in silver from Jindu Town has been shipped to Guangnan, and it has not been included in the account under his post." "This is the money that Jin Shengheng donated to the imperial court. It will be transferred directly to the Ministry of Accounts and should not be included in the account. Right now, the imperial court is short of money, but this governor's account is very sufficient. Some ministers and clans have already complained about this governor." Wang Wang Yan said in a deep voice: "Now more and more clans gather in Guangzhou. Last month, the Shibosi paid 20 yuan in silver, and the clan split 20%. There is a lot of complaints, so the [-] taels should be given to the court."?
"No~" Li Suiqiu responded with a salute.

"How much property is still transported from Wuchang to Changsha?" Wang Yan asked again. "At the beginning, there were gold jewels equivalent to 50 taels of silver in the account, and 150 million taels of silver were transported back to Changsha by Man Dazhuang, but since then, some of them must have been used to block the Futai to relieve the victims. In addition, dredging the Lingqu, Expansion of the Dongting Navy is a big item that costs money, and although I have not reconciled with Hunan, it is estimated that there are not many left."

Wang Yan frowned slightly. The Lingqu connects the Yangtze River system and the Pearl River system. Once it is unblocked, Huguang ships can sail directly into the Lijiang River through the Xiangjiang River, and then go down the river to Guangzhou directly, so that a large amount of materials do not need to cross Lingnan. It was a move for thousands of years, and the Dongting navy was related to Nanming's future strategy of locking the river, so it couldn't stop. Moreover, there were two armies in Huguang, Zhongzhi Town and Houyongying, who were paid by Wang Yan. It seemed that Changsha's money could not be moved.

"What about Guangnan's material reserves?"

"Su Ge has been in business for a year. He bought 57 shi of rice grain from Nanyang and stored it in major warehouses in Guangnan. In addition, he also has 30 pieces of cloth and [-] jin of pig iron." Wang Yan was thinking for a while. , stood up and took a few steps with hands behind his back, and said: "This reserve will be exhausted in World War I. The governor wants to buy grain from Jiangnan and Nanyang, enough to buy pig iron from the north, and buy all the gold and jewelry. In exchange for supplies."

Chen Bangyan thought for a while and said: "If the Duke uses up all the gold and jewelry, there will only be 110 million taels of silver in the account. How will we recruit soldiers in the future? How will the military pay be paid?" Wang Yan said: "After the imperial court's business tax reform, The tax of the Shibo Division will be increased by three times, and the governor will ask the court for the payment of soldiers. As for the recruitment of soldiers, it is more troublesome. The court is currently in difficulty. If the governor rashly expands the army, I am afraid that the emperor and ministers will feel unhappy. It is best to find An excuse." Wang Fuzhi said: "It's not difficult. Right now, there is a serious shortage of the five loyal troops, and there are only [-] soldiers capable of fighting. This is more than enough to defend the country, but not aggressive. If you want to do great things, you need at least [-] soldiers in Guangnan An army capable of fighting cannot be achieved in a day. Considering the training time, the sooner the vacancy can be replenished, the better. There is news from Jiangnan. As Boluo returned to Jiangnan from Fujian with the main force of the Qing army, Huaxia and others in eastern Zhejiang I have already abandoned Ningbo and other big cities and turned to Siming Mountain. Chen Zilong also retreated to Taihu Lake, and King Lu's army returned to Zhoushan. After the Qing army has rested and reorganized, it will definitely invade again in the coming year. I think the best excuse is to guard against the Qing army's attack. The imperial court has learned from Fujian, so naturally it will not object, so it is logical for the Duke to expand his troops and prepare for war."

Wang Yan was persuaded by Wang Fuzhi, but recruiting troops was not an easy matter. He thought: "Okay! I will write to the emperor now, but recruiting troops requires not only money but also land. The development of Qiongzhou has not yet been completed. I'm afraid there isn't that much land."

Chen Bangyan got up and said: "Before the Qing soldiers invaded Guangnan, 30 to [-] villagers near Guangfu were killed or injured, and the household registration in the eastern part of Guangdong also suffered a heavy loss, so there are some lands."

~~~ A few days later, hundreds of cavalry rushed to the land of ten prefectures and one prefecture in Guangnan to convey the recruitment order issued by Wang Yan. For a while, notices of recruiting soldiers were pasted on the gates of every city.In Jieyang County, Chaozhou Prefecture, after the Qing soldiers invaded, the people in the city were slaughtered. After the Qing soldiers returned to Fujian, the people who hid in the mountains and the people who fled returned to the city one after another, which made Jieyang recover a little popularity.

At the gate of the city, nearly a hundred people gathered around the newly posted notice, and those who could read shook their heads and read: "Duke Chu of the Great Ming Dynasty, Prince Shaoshi, Master of Wuyingdian, Minister of the Ministry of War, Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, Wang Yan, all the gentry and elders of Guangnan, The northern captives are ferocious, and the heart of destroying me and the Ming Dynasty will not die. In the coming year, they will invade in large numbers. Wherever the captives arrive, they will make the lives of Guangnan miserable. In short, anyone who registers as a soldier will be given ten taels of housing expenses, ten acres of official land for rent, and four years of tax exemption. A burly man shouted: "The northern captives are brutal, we can't let them kill us again, we should stand up and defend our parents, wives and children."

Everyone responded, "Well said, the imperial court doesn't increase the agricultural tax now, and it's not treating us badly. Let's sign up to join the army together. We must not let the northern captives destroy our lives."

(Thank you for coming to give me a smile, God’s will C, Yuedong Woxin’s reward, thank you for my monthly ticket for liking Xueba)
(End of this chapter)