Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 510: Heading to Huai'an
An adult male needs four dou of grain per month, and more than 200,000 troops would consume 800,000 dou of grain per month. If the consumption incurred during transportation is taken into account, the Qing government would have to raise two million dou of grain every month to maintain its military forces in Henan.

At first glance, this number doesn't seem like a big deal.

After all, one mu of land can produce two dan of grain, and two million dou is the output of more than 100,000 mu. Such a number is enough to bear the burden of a county, not to mention that the Qing government also controlled the four provinces.

But that’s not how the accounts were calculated.

The northern border of the Ming Dynasty had been devastated by years of war, and some places were even uninhabited for thousands of miles. Taking into account the lean season, the amount of food that the Qing government could raise would be extremely limited.

Not only Dorgon knew this, but Zhu Cilang also knew it very well. Therefore, when he decided to launch the Northern Expedition, he issued the principle of "no delay in strategy and no haste in tactics" to military generals at all levels, in order to weaken the Qing army as much as possible.

To be honest, this is a bit bullying.

The area south of the Yangtze River had not suffered much from the war, and after Zhu Cilang came to power, he greatly strengthened his control over the land. In addition, with the steady supply of food from Southeast Asia, even though the number of Ming troops deployed in the Huaihe River area was almost the same as that of the Qing army, the logistical pressures on the two sides were vastly different.

Yingtian
Qianqing Palace Warm Pavilion

"Your Majesty, this is the book written by Gu Yuanjing," Qian Qianyi said as he handed the book to Zhou Quan. After Zhu Cilang opened it, he continued, "According to his report, the new treasure notes have been widely circulated in the southeast, so he wants to ask the court to use some of them in road construction and factory verification in the southwest."

Zhu Cilang was always extremely cautious about Baochao. Even though he had an absolute advantage over maritime merchants, he only distributed 10% of each merchant's transaction volume in the form of Baochao.

Initially, the maritime merchants were somewhat dissatisfied, thinking that the imperial court was finding ways to exploit them. However, as maritime trade routes became more accessible, the volume of trade also increased day by day.

Compared with this, such a small loss seemed insignificant, and each family calmly offered this "tribute" to the court.

The rest of the process was simple.

Zhu Cilang had extremely strict requirements for the issuance of Baochao, so its actual value was quite stable.

Seeing this, merchants holding Baochao increased the share of Baochao in transactions, and its various advantages were fully demonstrated.

By this time, Baochao had gradually spread as merchants purchased goods, and its actual value was slightly higher than the currency value due to its scarcity.

Although Gu Yuanjing didn't know what deflation was, based on his experience over the past year, he felt that it was time to issue more money, so he wrote this letter.

Of course, at this stage, Baochao is just a supplement to silver. Even if the court really rejected Gu Yuanjing's proposal, it would not have much impact on economic activities.

However, as the Ming Dynasty's interactions with the outside world gradually increased, it became inevitable to return the right to mint coins to the imperial court, and Zhu Cilang was inevitably tempted.

"I want to separate the responsibility of issuing treasure notes from Haimao Group."

Ok?
Gu Yuanjing lost the emperor's favor?
Before he finished speaking, Qian Qianyi's mind had already turned several circles. After another glance at Zhu Cilang, he completely dispelled his previous thoughts.

"Your Majesty, Gu Yuanjing did his job correctly. Why?"

“It has nothing to do with mistakes or omissions.”

Zhu Cilang naturally knew what Qian Qianyi was wondering about, but the power and responsibility of money houses and maritime trade would inevitably become heavier as time went by. If it was only on Gu Yuanjing, it would be considered extremely irresponsible. "I intend to establish a new department, whose responsibility is to manage the court's assets." Zhu Cilang paused for a moment, and waited for Qian Qianyi to laugh at him before continuing, "There is no rush for this. We must plan it out first. I want you to be prepared today so that you won't lose sight of the big picture when the time comes."

After hearing these words, Qian Qianyi was surprised and couldn't help but have some thoughts.

Court assets.

These words are very important.

Although businesses like the Haimao Group have been affiliated with various government offices since their inception, due to Zhu Cilang's personal involvement, the central government rarely dares to interfere.

Don't think this is just a matter of one or two errands.

Since the sea route was reopened, the number of merchant ships entering and leaving the Ming Dynasty has increased day by day. After the Governor of New Spain dared not discriminate against Ming Dynasty goods, the trading volume skyrocketed.

You know, a huge volume of trade represents huge profits, and the generation of power is based on profits.

Under such circumstances, an interest group that was semi-independent of the bureaucratic system made everyone in the cabinet uneasy. If the current emperor's authority was not too great, it would be reasonable to expect some incidents similar to the Great Ceremony Debate.

But now.
As his thoughts turned, Qian Qianyi's doubts grew stronger and stronger. However, old-school civil servants like him always put the struggle for interests first when considering issues, and his mind naturally wandered to other things. However, Zhu Cilang continued to talk to himself.

"Oh, by the way, there is one thing I need to clarify in advance. After the new department is established, all officials must know the art of economics, or at least pass my assessment. This is related to the survival of the Ming Dynasty, and must not be taken lightly. If anyone makes me unhappy about this matter, I will test whether his nine clans are tough enough."

Damn!
Qian Qianyi's heart sank when he heard these words.

Your Majesty has always acted calmly and has never been so murderous. I'm afraid that his behavior now is not just to express his determination.

"I understand that the cabinet will urge the ministries to complete this matter properly."

"Alright, just pass this along, and the cabinet doesn't need to worry too much. This is just the beginning anyway, and it would be inappropriate to make it murderous."

"."

At this point, Gu Yuanjing's memorial had come to an end. Afterwards, Qian Qianyi followed the protocol and gave a general report on the affairs handled by the cabinet in the past few days. Today's audience also came to an end.

According to common sense, Qian Qianyi should return to Wenyuan Pavilion at this time, and it was time for Zhu Cilang to rest. But who would have thought that when Mr. Qian was about to leave the warm room, the familiar voice stopped him again.

"Mr. Qian, please wait a moment. I have something to discuss with you."

Ok?
Hasn't everything that needed to be said been said? What else can be said?

As his mind was turning, Qian Qianyi stopped walking, and then Zhu Cilang's voice came again. After a slight pause, he could only smile bitterly in his heart.

"I am going to Huai'an."

(End of this chapter)