Chapter 469 Harassing the South, Extorting Grain!
The southern rebels had no choice but to stop their offensive because their economic base was a small-scale peasant economy, and it was spring plowing at the moment.
While the southern rebels stopped attacking, the northern rebels Jiang Yu also stopped attacking.
The imperial court did not directly attack because of the lack of food and grass for the time being, so the situation between the two sides was so stalemate.
However, the balance of war is still gradually tilting towards the Ming court.
After all, when the south was busy with spring plowing, the north side was also stepping up production. A large number of guns were further produced, and the rebel army formed was also stepping up training.
The food brought back from overseas is also increasing, and many people still escape to the north through various methods, which strengthens the strength of the north.
While the two sides insisted on this, Tianqi finally came up with his wired telegraph technology, and indeed set up the first telegraph line between Lushun and the capital.
Zhang Gui was also very happy about this, and after receiving Tianqi's telegram, he immediately replied to Tianqi.
However, when Tianqi and Zhang Gui were exchanging telegrams, the new emperor also sent a telegram to Zhang Gui, talking about the current situation, and hoped that Zhang Gui could give him some advice.
Zhang Gui asked him to focus on the world instead of confining his vision to the land.
The new emperor suddenly realized that he immediately restored Zhang Gui's position as Admiral of Xichang, and directly asked Zhang Gui to use the name of Admiral Xichang to coordinate the fleets of Xichang to harass all parts of the south for him, and the court regained the lost land and punished traitors.
After Zhang Gui got the authorization, he really started to implement the matter seriously.
After all, there are a lot of money in it.
First of all, just sailing to the south to grab food in the name of rebellion and sell it to the court can make a lot of money.
Secondly, it can also directly collect money to help transport some ordinary Han people who are unwilling to accept oppression in the south to the north.
It just so happened that Zhang Gui's Lushun fleet already had steam ships, so in terms of attacking the southern rebel forces from the sea, it had an advantage over the Ming court's own naval fleet that also participated in the attack mission.
Of course, it’s not just Zhang Gui who can make money from the court. In order for Zhang Gui to better lead the Xichang fleets to harass the south, the new emperor also authorized Zhang Gui’s Lushun fleet to purchase arms from the court.
Because the imperial court, which owns the entire northern industrial base, is now most in need of arms, and it needs to exchange arms for food.
Although this will allow the court to make a lot of money from Zhang Gui, Zhang Gui can use the purchased arms to strengthen his private army.
As a result, Zhang Gui's Lushun Fleet and Jiading Corps increased in strength in a short period of time, and he still commanded the Xichang fleets.
Not long after, Zhang Gui personally brought his Lushun fleet down to Jinshanwei, Songjiang Prefecture, and landed at Jinshanwei. He directly ordered his family corps to attack Songjiang Prefecture, arrested all the officials of Songjiang Prefecture, and robbed Songjiang Prefecture. All the food stored in the government treasury also took away tens of thousands of people.
There is no unique and even.
Zhang Gui's fleet continued to harass along the border, sometimes not only harassing, but also involved in smuggling, directly contacting some local big landlords, and buying their grain at high prices.
After all, the south is not monolithic. Many landlords and bureaucrats have a good relationship with Zhang Gui, such as Zhu Xieyuan and Jiang Dejing, so they secretly sold millions of shi of grain to him.
Not long after, the entire south was shaken.
"Damn it! Why did Uncle Zhang Guo and Xichang also get involved and harass my rear from the sea!"
Feng Xuexian was furious because of this.
Cheng Kegong said after pondering for a moment: "Now it seems that we can only move the boundaries and ban the sea, just like setting up barbed wire fences along the rivers and mountains, and setting up guard posts along the coast. Each household is strong enough to build a wall to prevent small-scale fleet raids, and at the same time, send several regular battalions to station along the various seaports to prevent large-scale naval raids everywhere at any time!"
"This is too costly! The taxes and food that have been intercepted have been spent for a long time, and we can't force the big households to pay more. In fact, many big households have already paid a lot of food and money. The key is to expropriate the people. , where there are so many strong people, do you still need spring plowing? Do you need to transport food everywhere? Are you still fighting wars?"
Feng Xuexian said it rather embarrassingly.
After hearing this, Cheng Kegong punched the table angrily: "Why doesn't the imperial court occupying the north and Uncle Zhang Guo of Lushun not have these problems?"
"Because they can only plan food in the ground! They don't care about spring plowing, even if there is no food, they can go directly south to collect food."
Feng Xuexian replied.
Cheng Kegong was still not reconciled, and said: "Think about it again, Taizu was able to succeed in the Northern Expedition back then, so why can't we do it?"
"Maybe it's really because the times are different."
Feng Xuexian sighed and said: "According to people from Songjiang Mansion, this uncle's steamship is extremely fast, just like a steam train, and it keeps puffing out smoke. It must have been some kind of trick! , these sailors of Uncle Zhang Guo can come and go in the sea at will, and even entered the inland river to show off their power, forcing many big households to donate 300,000 shi before leaving."
Boom!
Cheng Kegong slammed his fist on the desk: "Why do you want to donate food? These big households are really afraid of death! We rebelled for them, but they themselves used food to support the enemy!"
"There is no way, our small sailboats can't stop it, and the big households don't want to watch their shops and houses along the river being destroyed by their cannons, and even the fields along the river cannot be plowed in spring."
Feng Xuexian said: "Looking at it now, this is actually a solution. We can negotiate with Uncle Zhang Guo, and we can give him a certain amount of silver and food every year, as long as he doesn't really help the court to disturb our rear."
Cheng Kegong nodded after hearing this: "That's the only way."
So, not long after, the southern rebels really sent envoys to Zhang Gui.
"You plan to give me one million stones of grain, two hundred thousand bolts of silk, and five hundred thousand taels of silver every year?"
Zhang Gui asked Dong Zuyuan, the envoy.
Dong Zuyuan nodded: "That's right! It depends on whether His Highness is willing to remain neutral."
Zhang Gui asked directly after hearing this: "Do you think Lushun Island, Ganghwa Island, Jeju Island, Kashima Island, and Luzon Island that the imperial court has let Gu generations guard for generations are worth a lot of these grains, silver, and silk?"
Seeing that Zhang Gui was not moved, Dong Zuyuan had to grit his teeth: "Three million stones of grain, five hundred thousand pieces of silk, one million taels of silver! How about it?"
"It's not about money and food."
Zhang Gui got up and replied, "Aside from the righteousness that no Han person wants their country and nation to be divided, Guhe and the imperial court are actually the same now. The most lacking thing is people, especially the Han people! The imperial court It is the lack of Han Chinese labor force who has the lowest education cost and is the easiest to agree with the imperial rule. What is missing is a large number of free Han people who can come to the ports and islands where the island is located. There is no way, there are not enough Han people on those islands, so that there It can’t be completely like Middle-earth, you know, Gu can’t go back to Middle-earth casually, but he is also a person who misses his family. If he wants to live in an area more like Middle-earth, then there must be enough Han people. To be able to return to Middle-earth, you must first eliminate those landlords who only want to confine your compatriots in your own manor as slaves."
(end of this chapter)