In September, the weather gets cooler.At night, Zhao Ming stood in the courtyard of the courtyard, looking at the starry sky overhead with deep eyes.At this moment, his shoulders suddenly sank slightly, and a cloak was draped over his body.Zhao Ming looked back and saw that it was Li Zhizhi standing behind him, so he held her hand and asked, "What about the broken slave sleeping with Shichengdu?"
”The broken slave in Zhao Ming's mouth was the baby that Li Zhizhi picked up during the Battle of Jiangyin, and later Zhao Ming saw that Lao Li was old and alone, so he handed over the child to Li Zhongming, anyway, his surname was Li, and he didn't even need to change his surname.In this battle of Jiangbei, Li Zhongming died in the chaos in order to cover Zhao Ming, and Zhao Ming took the child over again, thinking that he was a righteous son.The athlete in Zhao Ming's mouth is Zhao Ming's own son, named Li Shicheng."
They're all asleep!
I just came to see Xianggong!
”Li Zhizhi said softly: "It's not early, what does Xianggong think?"
”Zhao Ming didn't want to bring the distress in his heart to his family, so he shook his head with a smile, "It's nothing, just blowing the wind and watching the stars." ”Li Zhizhi grabbed Zhao Ming's arm and said softly: "Although I am a woman, I have also heard that victory and defeat are a common thing in soldiers.The heroes in the storytelling also have times of failure.I thought that after defeat, I could be ashamed and courageous, and stand up again, and I was the real hero. ”Saying that, Li Zhizhi leaned on Zhao Ming's shoulder, raised his head, and looked at him, "I believe that my husband is a true hero, and he will definitely be able to get through the current difficulties!"
”Zhao Ming is indeed difficult at the moment, the Longwu Dynasty negotiated peace, and the Ming Dynasty's national policy adjustment still had a huge impact on the feudal town.After the truce of the Ming and Qing dynasties, there was no reason for the feudal towns to continue to maintain large military expenditures, and the Longwu court tightened the support of the feudal towns, and the local people felt that they would not fight anymore, so they were unwilling to continue to pay heavy taxes to support the army.The marshals of the Zhejiang department, each of them only has the territory of two or three prefectures, but they have raised forty or fifty thousand soldiers one by one.In times of war, the common people could afford heavy taxes to raise soldiers, but now that there is no war, the gentry and the common people are naturally unwilling to pay for it, and the towns can only tighten their belts to live.As a result, the towns of Zhejiang were in financial difficulties to varying degrees, which affected the arms business of Huaxing Company.Previously, Huaxing Company received a large amount of orders from the towns of Zhejiang, from muskets to armor, kettles, shoes and other things, all of which were produced in large quantities, but now the situation has changed, resulting in the towns generally have no money to pay off the final payment, resulting in serious losses of Huaxing Company.In addition, due to the negotiation of peace and the previous defeat of Zhao Ming, it became very difficult for Donghai Town to recruit new soldiers and garrisons, forcing Zhao Ming to only improve the treatment of soldiers, which increased the financial burden.Zhao Ming heard Li Zhizhi's relief, wrapped one hand around her shoulder, looked into the distance, and said firmly: "Don't worry, your husband will not let you down." ”"Xianggong go and rest!"
The two looked at the stars in the sky, and Li Zhizhi said softly.Zhao Ming patted her on the shoulder, "You rest first, I still have some things to deal with." ”At that moment, the two separated, and Zhao Ming came to the public house in the front yard, where the lights were still on in several rooms, and some staff and scribes were still busy.Zhao Ming walked into his office, the guards lit the lamp, and he poured himself a bowl of strong tea, took a sip, and began to get busy.On the third watch, outside Zhao Ming's public house, there was a knock on the door, and Chen Mingyu said outside: "Handsome?
”Zhao Ming put down his handbook when he heard this, and said in a deep voice: "Come in!"
”The door was pushed open, and Chen Mingyu, Gu Yanwu, Huang Zongxi and others entered the public room, making the originally large room a little crowded immediately.Zhao Ming looked at everyone and said with a smile: "Have you accounted for a few of you?"
”Chen Mingyu nodded and saluted, "According to the marshal's proposal, the household department, the military department, and the official department have carried out the accounting, if it is according to the marshal's proposal, the salary for recruiting troops will be increased to two taels, and the officers will also be doubled, and the number of men and horses will be restored to 80,000, and the military salary alone will not be less than 2.2 million taels."
If we add in the consumption of grain and grass, the replenishment of ordnance, the purchase of artillery and warships, as well as training and rewards, the household department must allocate at least 4 million taels of military expenses to the military department every year.If we count it further, the annual budget will exceed 6 million taels for officials to dredge rivers and build roads, as well as the expenses of Mongolian and county schools in various prefectures and counties, as well as various yamen. ”Previously, Huaxing Company made a lot of money in the arms trade, and Donghai Town seized a lot of money on the battlefield, so Zhao Ming spent money, so he had no restraint and implemented many policies.For example, the new government schools in various prefectures and counties have reduced or exempted the cost of study, and there are also infrastructure projects such as building water conservancy and leveling roads.Originally, with the financial resources of Donghai Town, there was no need to worry about money, but Jiangbei was defeated in the first war, and the trade environment within the Ming Dynasty changed again, so Donghai Town had to tighten its belt.When Zhao Ming heard that the budget exceeded six million taels, he immediately frowned, which had seriously exceeded the budget of Donghai Town.In the Hongguang Dynasty that year, the annual tax revenue was only more than five million taels, and according to the expenses of Donghai Town, the soldiers and horses in one town were more than the consumption of the entire court in Hongguang before.However, despite this, Zhao Ming had to improve the treatment of soldiers."
That's what you want!"
Zhao Ming frowned, "Now in Jiangdong, in the silk weaving workshop, some skilled craftsmen can get at least one or two taels of silver a month, and some can even get one or two or five yuan. ”Donghai Town was engaged in maritime trade, and a large amount of silver poured into Jiangdong, causing prices to rise, inflation, and a decrease in the purchasing power of silver, if Zhao Ming did not increase military salaries, it would inevitably hurt morale.Chen Mingyu said: "Dashuai, now we pay about five million in taxes, and the business of Huaxing Company has been affected this year, and the taxes will definitely decline, if the budget is six million, I am afraid it will be difficult to continue." ”Zhao Ming frowned, and after a moment of silence, he suddenly asked: "Is there still land to be divided in Taiwan, can you use acres of land instead of a part of the salary and rewards?"
”The hot kang head of the wife and children is the life that many Han people yearn for, and almost no Han people have the ideal of becoming a landlord and old wealth.In all walks of life, the common people earned money, the soldiers were paid, and they would always try to get some land or build houses in their hometowns.If a person has been in the army for three or four years and retires, he will be able to become a small landlord, and I believe that many people will be attracted to join the army.Chen Mingyu said in a deep voice: "The strategy of the marshal, I have also thought about it, but after the first battle outside the Guanwai, the marshal sent more than one million Koreans to the island, and now the population on the island is close to three million, and there is not much land available for distribution." ”Zhao Ming didn't expect that during his war against the Qing Dynasty, Donghai Town was about to digest the central and northern regions of Taiwan, and he couldn't help but be surprised.()