Autumn of the 17th year of Chongzhen

Chapter 598 Seeking Jiangnan, Huguang Prepares for War
It is a supreme honor to seal the king. It is obviously impossible for Wang Yan to say that he does not want to. He has also thought about it carefully in his heart.

Indeed, what He Tengjiao said was correct, if Jin Shenghuan, a rebel general who came anyway, was made the Duke of the state, and his subordinates were still marquises, there would inevitably be complaints in his heart.

He is indeed standing in the way of his subordinates now, if it wasn't for the fact that he holds the financial power of the army and has high prestige, maybe someone would pull him down.

As the leader of a faction, sometimes he can stop if he doesn't want to, and the people behind him will keep pushing him forward. Only when he makes a step forward can the people behind him go further. There is no turning back.

Wang Yan looked at He Tengjiao, and found that the old man was not good at dealing with the Qing soldiers, but he was quite experienced in the internal political struggles of the Ming Dynasty, and many problems could be seen through at a glance.

Wang Yan didn't hide anything at the moment, "I have also thought about the matter of becoming the king, but I am afraid that if you push it too quickly, your Majesty will completely break with me and affect the overall situation of the Anti-Qing Dynasty."

He Tengjiao shook his head, now he is sincerely planning for Wang Yan, originally there was He Wenrui, what he wanted was to use Wang Yan to strengthen the power of the He family and let He Wenrui take over.

The situation is different now. He Wenrui is gone, and Jiangxi is rising again. He is half a hundred years old, and he will not live for long. If Wang Yan falls, the He family will inevitably decline. He cultivated two concubines, Changsheng and Desheng, so that he could support the He family business in the future.

"Not rewarding you for your hard work will hurt your morale. You still have to fight for the king of the county. Offending the emperor is better than centrifuging your subordinates." He Tengjiao said seriously.

After Wang Yan listened, he was silent for a while. He recalled that before sending troops to Sichuan and Shu, the emperor had obviously suppressed him and robbed him of his interests.

After a while, Wang Yan smiled slightly, relieved in his heart, he wanted to limit the imperial power, he was against the emperor, no matter what he wanted to offend the emperor.

"Taishan is right about this matter, I will make plans immediately."

He Tengjiao listened and nodded in satisfaction.

At this time, the staff of the Governor's Mansion came to the outside of the hall and reported: "Mr. Xiang, Supervisor, Du Futai, they have arrived."

After hearing this, He Tengjiao stood up, "Shi Heng wait for me for a while, I'll change into my official robe, and then we'll discuss matters together."

In the lobby of the Governor's Mansion, besides Du Yinxi, there were more than [-] civil and military generals near Wuchang City who came to participate in the discussion.

Everyone came to the lobby to vacate the main seat and the left seat, and filled up the seats on both sides.They were whispering to each other in the meeting hall, and when they were talking about the current situation, the guards outside the hall shouted: "President Wang, He Du is here!"

The hall suddenly became quiet, and everyone got up one after another. He Tengjiao didn't show his old man's face in front of the officials, and stood at the left end with dignity, while Wang Yan walked quickly to the middle hall and sat down at the main seat.

Wang Yan smiled and waved his hands to invite everyone to sit down, left Wen and right Wu, and everyone sat down together.

Wang Yan smiled slightly and said: "The two big battles this summer ended with our victory. The situation is of great benefit to me. The time to recover Jiangnan has gradually matured. Huguang is the key point, and the upstream of Jinling is the key to attack Jiangnan. Cornerstone, you must be prepared for a big battle. We invite you here today to discuss how Huguang will prepare for the war?"

After finishing speaking, Wang Yan took a look at everyone, and then continued: "The prime minister is now the governor of the five provinces, and it is his duty to manage Huguang. First, the counselor of the prime minister's shogunate, Chen Counselor, will present the plan for you to prepare for the war against Huguang. If you If you have any doubts or suggestions, you can raise them later.”

Although Chen Bangyan was Wang Yan's staff, he also had a reputation. He participated in politics under the name of Guangdong Buzheng Shiyou, and he could sit with all officials.

After Wang Yan finished speaking, Chen Bangyan stood up, bowed to everyone, then took a copy and unfolded it, and said unhurriedly: "He Du, Du Fu, colleagues, I want to attack Jiangnan, the army is strong and the horse is strong. The key. In this regard, the Xingyuan shogunate has formulated three points. Let me first talk about the first point, the expansion of the army and the selection of troops. At present, Huguang has assembled a total of 15 regular troops, which will be expanded to 25 in the near future, including 3 naval divisions. The source of troops was recruited from the Qihuang Rebel Army and the training of the township valor groups from all over the country. In addition, Huguang fully promoted the government soldiers and cultivated the reserve source of troops.”

Everyone in the hall listened, and there was a whisper, You Youlun, the prefect of Wuchang, asked: "Huguang has limited financial resources, and has just experienced a war. Can you explain the reasons for the expansion of the army? And why do you want to promote the army?"

Chen Bangyan nodded and explained: "Let's talk about the reason for the expansion of the army first. This time the Manchu Qing lost a large number of troops in Sichuan, Chu and Jiangxi at the same time, and they could not recover in a short time. To attack Jiangnan, Huguang needs to send at least 13 troops, and we still need to leave troops to look after the house. The expansion of the army by 20 is already decreasing again and again."

Everyone whispered to each other for a while, this issue is too much pressure on Huguang, there are 10 extra horses, and the military salary alone is 150 million taels a year, how can it be afforded.

Du Yinxi stood up and said: "Prince Wang, it will cost money to expand the army, and the taxes for implementing Fubing Huguang will be reduced. In this way, it will definitely not be possible to be close to Huguang, and since the army has been expanded, why should we promote Fubing? ?”

This time Wang Yan personally explained: "The expansion of the army can be reduced, but the government soldiers must implement it. In this Chu-Jiang war, Wuchang Xiangyang lost nearly [-], and the next attack on the south of the Yangtze River will only cause greater casualties. These are elite soldiers. There is no time for two or three years to train. If the war continues, the elite soldiers will be exhausted sooner or later. The truth is that promoting the government soldiers is a long-term solution, which can quickly replenish the elite soldiers for the court. Recruited soldiers are called garrison soldiers in one year, and those who are good at fighting after two years are selected as sharp soldiers. The three levels of treatment are different. In this way, even if the recruits suffer heavy losses, they can quickly be supplemented by soldiers who have been trained for many years. The combat power of the army will far surpass that of the Qing soldiers."

Wang Yan's method is indeed good in the long run. It is much more cost-effective to collect a little land tax and hide a large army among the people than to support a recruited army by the imperial court. Unfortunately, the effect is too slow.

Du Yinxi was slightly depressed, "After the reform of commercial taxation, Huguang's annual tax revenue is about 300 million taels. If the Fubing is implemented, the tax will be reduced by at least 30 taels, leaving 270 million taels. Arrangements will not support 20 soldiers."

Wang Yan knew that Du Yinxi was telling the truth, "Don't worry about Du Futai. The anti-Qing Dynasty is a matter for the entire Ming Dynasty. The provinces should support it. How can Huguang bear it alone. The matter of money, the truth will find a way to solve it."

Although Wang Yan said so, in fact, he was too poor, and he still owed many companies in Guangnan, and the millions of dollars were still unaccounted for.

(Thanks for the five hundred book coins of the happy woodpecker, Ximen Zhuge, and the monthly pass for the shadow of remnants)
(End of this chapter)