Autumn of the 17th year of Chongzhen

Chapter 599 Building Armor Armor, Smelting Copper and Iron
Listening to Wang Yan's statement that Huguang does not need to bear the money independently, and everyone whispered to each other for a while, then there is no problem.

In fact, all the officials knew in their hearts that it was the right time for Daming to chase after the poor bandits after several consecutive victories. If they didn't take advantage of this time to pursue the victories, when Man Qing regained his strength, it would be a long way off to counterattack Jiangnan.

The next few years must be an important year of war, and military expansion is imperative. Since Wang Xianggong has made up his mind, everyone should tighten their belts.

Although the life of the Huguang government will definitely be difficult in the next period of time, once Jiangnan is restored and Jinling is established, all the princes will become famous ZTE ministers in history.

Seeing that everyone no longer objected, Wang Yan said to Chen Bangyan: "Chen Shenzheng, let's talk about the second point!"

"The second point is about the arrangements for the Qihuang 48 village and other rebels. The Qihuang area is located at the junction of Huguang and Nanzhi. It used to be Huguang's barrier against the Jiangnan Qing soldiers, but now that Anqing is in hand, the Qihuang area has become the hinterland. If threatened by the Qing army again, the Huangzhou government must send officials to govern and restore taxation."

Zhang Tongchang, the chief envoy of Hubei Province, stood up and said, "My lord, the situation in the Qihuang area is more complicated, and there are many cottages. It may not be easy to bring it under the jurisdiction of the government."

Zhang Tongchang is the great-grandson of Zhang Juzheng, the famous prime minister. He died generously with Qu Shixu in Guilin in history. Now his trajectory has changed. He did not lose to Guangxi with He Tengjiao, but became a high-ranking official in Huguang.

In the Qihuang area, since the reign of Chongzhen, there have been a lot of cottages, and there are people forming villages to protect themselves, and there are bandits battalions to fight against the official army. After a long time, it is difficult to distinguish who is the bandit and who is the civilian. They are the official army who came to fight. The officers and soldiers, the bandits are here to fight the bandits, and the Manchus are here to fight the Manchus.

Although the rebel army was helpful to fight against the Qing Dynasty, it was not in a long-term state. If the government did not manage it, it would probably evolve into a separatist force in the end.

Chen Bangyan explained: "This time when Duoduo attacked Huguang, His Royal Highness King Jing fought hard to become benevolent, and Qihuang 48 villages were scattered. This is the best time for the imperial court to restore the Qihuang area. This time, the recruits will be recruited first from the rebels. Incorporated and rectified, the military system of the government was first implemented from the Huangzhou government, and the people in the village were allocated land and moved down the mountain to resettle. The leaders of the rebels in each village were given official positions based on their ability. The army was wiped out and completely wiped out."

The Qihuang Rebel Army has always been the most active anti-Qing armed force in Huguang. They support the Ming clan Zhu Changchao as their leader, and they are known as the King of Jing. They also cooperated with Wang Yan to attack Wuchang.

Now that Zhu Changchao died, Wang Yan was in a hurry to incorporate the 48 villages, which was a bit unreasonable, but Huguang wanted to expand the army, and these rebels were indeed the best source of soldiers.

The New Curtain Army has only been around for two or three years, so it is difficult to become an elite. Although these rebels are also a mob, they have taken swords and guns and fought against the Qing soldiers. It is easier to reorganize than to train a new army of civilians. time.

In fact, it's not just Huguang, the five provinces under Governor Wang Yan, except for Sichuan, which is in a tug of war, all areas that do not fight the Qing soldiers, various volunteers, cottages, or chieftain armed forces, will be the targets of Wang Yan's integration in the future. He must put the provinces on track.

In fact, the reorganization of the Qihuang Rebel Army at this time may not be a bad thing for them. It is better to be able to transform from a miscellaneous brand into a regular official army that eats the royal rations than to be wiped out as bandits after the Ming Dynasty stabilizes.

Everyone was discussing again at the moment, if the Qihuang land can be brought under the jurisdiction of the government, the taxes in Hubei will be at least more than [-] taels in the coming year, and it can also solve a hidden danger. Since the king is determined, Zhang Tongchang will sit down. Come down and say that you have no opinion.

Chen Bangyan paused for a while, then continued: "The third point is to build weapons and armor. After the two battles, weapons, armor, and various materials were seriously depleted. In addition, the army will expand, and the gap will be even greater. Although Guangnan Some can be provided, but the craftsmen in Huguang must also gather together and make castings."

At this time, Wang Yan looked embarrassed when he saw the crowd. This is the same as expanding the army. Manufacturing weapons, armor, and firearms are all things that cost a lot of money.

"The truth is, it took a lot of money to build this weapon." Wang Yan waited for Chen Bangyan to close the folder, and then said: "But this time, under the city of Wuchang, nearly 8 civilians were captured, all of which can be used for mining and metallurgy. At least we Jingtie don't have to worry about it."

He Tengjiao nodded, "In Huguang, Daye and Zaoyang have iron and copper, but due to lack of manpower, mining is limited. These 8 people can mine a large amount of iron ore and copper every day as long as they are fed. Out of iron, you can make weapons, out of copper, you can make money, subsidize the military posture, this is feasible."

Zaoyang is located in the north of Huguang and is rich in iron ore. Daye is in the territory of Wuchang Prefecture. As early as the Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period, the fire of smelting was ignited. In the Tang Dynasty, Qingshan Yard was set up here to smelt copper and iron. In the Southern Tang Dynasty, the scale expanded. Taking the meaning of "Daxing Luye", it was named Daye County.

Du Yinxi heard this, and said at this time: "Speaking of this mineral, there is actually a big mine near Huguang. Compared with the five provinces currently governed by the governor, mining can be considered. If the manpower is sufficient, the annual income of several 10 taels should be able to be achieved."

Wang Yan's eyes turned green when he saw Qian, and he frowned, "Where is it?"

Du Yinxi said: "It's in Tongren."

"Tongren?" Hearing this place name, he probably knew that what Du Yinxi said was true, there must be a huge mine, otherwise he would not dare to be so majestic and use the name Tongren.

In fact, there are still many mines in Guizhou and Yunnan, but the roads are impassable, and the Han people have too few household registrations, and they often conflict with the Miao and Yi, so the mining is intermittent and has not been utilized.

Now the imperial court's energy is focused on fighting against the Qing Dynasty. Mine mining will inevitably require investment in the early stage, especially in places with inconvenient transportation like Guizhou.

First of all, there must be a road, and you need to buy tools, build a house, build a furnace, and recruit people. All of this requires a large sum of money, and there is no return in a short time. Not to mention that the court has no money, even if it has money, it will wait Not urgent.

Now that the war is so urgent, Wang Yan can't reach Guizhou and Yunnan in a short time, but Du Yinxi's words reminded him that the Southwest is actually a big treasure house, but the imperial court is not strong enough, and there is no money to invest, it seems that we still have to find a merchant cooperative mining.

Wang Yan nodded, "Tongren aside, Daye and Zaoyang have a lot of mines and tools, and they don't need to invest much money to resume mining. Of the 8 people, [-] will stay in Daye Ye, send the rest to Zaoyang, and send troops to supervise the mining."

The military and civilians under the Ming Dynasty were not allowed to be squeezed by the government. This group of Qing Zhuang who followed Duoduo to attack Wuchang became the targets of his squeeze.

(Thanks to Yue Dongwoxin and the injury of the special battle for the reward, thank you for the two-chapter monthly pass for Dai Daidai, and thank you for the monthly pass of the Earl of Darkness)
(End of this chapter)