Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 690: Cancellation of Liao Remuneration
I have money in my hands and don’t panic in my heart.

At least for the next two or three years, Zhu Shencui would not have to worry about not having enough silver, so even if there were some problems with the tax payment this time, it would not shake the financial operations of the court.

Of course, this premise is based on the premise that no large-scale war breaks out. If a large-scale war breaks out, the silver will definitely not be enough. Just like this time, just to repel Huang Taiji's attack and mobilize heavy troops to garrison the Great Wall, the military expenditure and other expenses amounted to nearly one million.

From the Tianqi period to the Chongzhen period, the largest part of the Ming Dynasty's fiscal expenditure was Liaoxiang. In the early years of the Tianqi period, Liaodong military pay expenditure reached its peak. In four years, the Liaoxiang expenditure reached 17.2 million taels. Judging from this data, the annual Liaoxiang expenditure was a huge 4.3 million taels.

By the Chongzhen period, the Liao military pay remained at around 3.5 to 4 million per year, almost accounting for all of the country's fiscal revenue. However, such a large expenditure still could not stabilize the situation in Liaodong. The Ming army suffered more defeats than victories in Liaodong, while the strength of the Ming army from Nurhaci to Huang Taiji became increasingly stronger, which was truly unimaginable.

Of course, everyone knows how much of these Liao salary expenses are actually spent on the army. You should know that during the Zhengtong period of the Ming Dynasty, the total military salary expenditure of the nine borders was less than 300,000 taels per year, but now the total military salary expenditure in Liaodong alone exceeds 3.5 million taels, which is twelve times that of the Zhengtong period.

Part of this huge amount of silver was "lost" by manipulation of various organs. To put it bluntly, before the money allocated by the imperial court had even left the capital, it was reduced by 20% to 30%. When it reached Liaodong, the governor-general of Ji-Liao and the governor of Liaodong passed it through their hands, and the silver was reduced by this proportion again. The original allocation of one million was reduced to 500,000 in a blink of an eye.

This was not the end. After the generals of Liaodong received the silver, 500,000 became 300,000 or even less. Later, part of the money was spent on the repair of the Ningjin Defense Line, and a lot of it was embezzled, and finally fell on the heads of ordinary soldiers in the army. The original military pay of one million became 100,000 or even less.

Under such circumstances, only 10% of the high Liao salary was actually used. Some bold generals could not even guarantee this 10%. The court allocated so much money, and everyone from top to bottom was well fed, but the soldiers still could not even have three meals a day and their salaries were insufficient. How could their combat effectiveness be guaranteed?

The Liao salary has now become a black hole. Even if more silver is poured into it, it cannot satisfy the greed of these people.

Moreover, judging from the current situation, it is difficult for the Ming Dynasty to completely resolve the Liaodong issue by force. The Ming Dynasty now has serious internal problems, local rebellions have not been quelled, and natural disasters are frequent in various places. The people of the Ming Dynasty can hardly survive, so how can they talk about foreign wars?
This time he had to fight. If Huang Taiji had not taken the initiative to send troops, Zhu Shenzhu would not want to fight this battle at all. But since he had to fight, he had to concentrate his strength to win. Only by winning this battle would Liaodong be peaceful for a while, and Huang Taiji, who had suffered a great loss, would not attack the Ming Dynasty again in a short time.

Moreover, this time Zhu Shenzhui not only mobilized his main force, but also mobilized the trump cards of the Tumed tribes to directly encircle Huang Taiji's retreat in order to intimidate the other side.

In this way, Huang Taiji would have to think twice before attacking the Ming Dynasty from Mongolia through Shanhaiguan. Before the Mongolian issue was completely resolved, Huang Taiji would not take such a risk again. After all, the Tumed were eyeing them covetously, and the Ming army was not easy to deal with. Huang Taiji's Eight Banners were limited in number, and even if three or five of them could replace one Ming army, Huang Taiji could not afford such a loss.

Therefore, Zhu Shenzhu judged that Huang Taiji would never attack the Ming Dynasty from Mongolia again. The Ming Dynasty only needed to station an army in the area from Jizhou to Zunhua, restore the previous scale of Jizhou Town, and then curb the defense line of Shanhaiguan to stop Huang Taiji in Liaodong.

From this point of view, Zhu Shenzhui's goal was to change the previous strategic direction of Liaodong. The Ming Dynasty's strategy in Liaodong has always been to completely resolve the then Later Jin, which is now the Qing regime, with the goal of eliminating the other side and regaining the entire Liaodong.

Whether it was the initial Battle of Sarhu, or Sun Chengzong's subsequent step-by-step approach of using defense as offense, or Yuan Chonghuan's brazen claim of "pacifying Liaodong in five years", they were all based on this premise. However, given the current situation of the Ming Dynasty, it is temporarily impossible to achieve this goal. If the Ming Dynasty continues to do so despite knowing that it is impossible, it will not only have to invest a lot of manpower and material resources in the Liaodong battlefield, but will also continue to suffer from the huge amount of Liaodong military pay, which will further deteriorate the Ming Dynasty's finances, thus weakening the entire country.

Zhu Shenzhui decided to adjust the Liaodong strategy from defense to offense. Instead of spending a lot of military expenditure on something that could not be accomplished, it would be better to change the strategic goal.

The Liaoxi Corridor is the best line of defense. The line of defense currently controlled by the Ming army is relatively stable. As long as there is no expectation of attacking and only a good defense is done, no matter how capable Huang Taiji is, he will not be able to break through this line of defense, let alone break through Shanhaiguan.

Zhu Shenzhui's previous letter to Wu Xiang and Zu Dashou told them to wait for an opportunity and not to dwell on the gains and losses of a city or a place. The bottom line was to garrison Shanhaiguan and Ningjin Defense Line. As for placing so many troops in Liaodong, it was unnecessary. Not to mention the serious situation of empty salaries for these troops, nearly half of the hundreds of thousands of troops were empty, which occupied a large amount of expenses. Moreover, placing these troops in Liaodong also caused great pressure on logistics. The transportation of food and supplies alone was a big problem. Compressing the defense line and switching from offense to defense can also reduce the pressure on logistics. At the same time, these troops can be directly transferred from Liaodong to Jizhou Town to rebuild Jizhou Town to prevent attacks from the Mongols in the north and ensure that the Great Wall defense line is as stable as Mount Tai.

However, it is not easy to do this. Once the proposal of switching from offense to defense is put forward, it will inevitably encounter many objections. Among them, Liaodong is the territory of the Ming Dynasty, and the Jiannu are the rebels of the Ming Dynasty. Watching the rebels occupy the territory and establish their own regime is a provocation to the Ming Dynasty. Such behavior is bound to be intolerable. Moreover, the Ming Dynasty and the Jiannu have been fighting for decades. If the strategic goal is changed now, wouldn’t it mean that all these years of fighting have been in vain? Wouldn’t so many soldiers have sacrificed in vain?

How could the Celestial Empire be humiliated like this? This is absolutely unbearable. Slogans such as "absolutely no compromise" and "not giving up until the Jiannu are destroyed" will inevitably appear, and there is a great possibility that the policies of Emperor Wanli and Emperor Tianqi will be brought out and repeated to confirm the correctness of their insistence.

But is it really because of this? Zhu Shenzhu knew very well that it was not. The key reason was that the Liaodong battlefield was no longer just a military issue, but had become a "business". The court's annual fiscal expenditure on the Liaodong war was nearly 4 million taels, which was almost the entire financial expenditure of the Ming Dynasty, and this did not include the part subsidized by the royal family.

In addition, a large amount of material transportation, including huge amounts of food and military equipment, is the key. Many people have become the beneficiaries of this. Once the court policy changes and no longer invests huge amounts of money in Liaodong, then this business will be gone.

Without business, there is no money to be made. Without money, how can there be any profit? As the saying goes, cutting off someone's money is like killing their parents. For the sake of the money, how could these people give up this good business that has a long-term and huge profit?
"Your Highness, please think twice about this matter!" When Wen Tihen learned of Zhu Shencui's idea, he was shocked. Even Wen Tihen, who called himself a "lonely minister", did not expect that Zhu Shencui would start the war in Liaodong.

"I have already made up my mind on this matter. I did not discuss it with you, but I have not thought of making it public. Sir, you are the chief minister of the cabinet. You should know the heavy cost of Liao military pay. If the court removes such a large expenditure, where can the money be used and what can be done? Sir, you should understand."

"Of course I understand, but Your Highness, this can cover it up for a while, but it won't last long. What if..." Wen Tiren couldn't help but persuade him again. He knew these interest groups too well. This would directly cut off their financial resources! Although Zhu Shenzhu directly stated that the change in Liaodong strategy would not be made public, but would only do it without saying it, how could such a big thing be concealed? Even if it was done, it wouldn't take long for everyone to understand. When that time came, everyone would attack him and make a fuss on the grounds of the Liaodong war. How would Zhu Shenzhu deal with it?

"Don't worry, I have already made arrangements for this matter. You don't have to worry, sir. You will know when the time comes." Zhu Shenzhui said with a smile. Wen Tiren racked his brains but couldn't figure out what method Zhu Shenzhui would use to solve it. However, since Zhu Shenzhui made such a decision, he could only obey his orders as the Prime Minister. He just hoped that the matter would not become too big and out of control.

After all, Wen Tiren's power and wealth now come from Zhu Shencui. Since he accepted Zhu Shencui's request to continue to serve as the Prime Minister, Wen Tiren has completely boarded Zhu Shencui's boat. Wen Tiren has no friends in the court, on the contrary, he has enemies everywhere. Only by holding on to Zhu Shencui's thigh can he sit firmly as the Prime Minister.

Once Zhu Shenzhu fell, Wen Tihen would definitely not have a good ending either, and Wen Tihen knew this very well. If anyone in the court wanted Zhu Shenzhu to fall the most, apart from Zhu Shenzhu's original team, it would be Wen Tihen.

"By the way, sir, I intend to cancel the additional Liao tribute. What do you think about this?"

Wen Tiren was stunned. He didn't expect that Zhu Shenzhui would not only change the Liaodong strategy, but also cancel the Liao salary that had been collected before. He didn't know what to say for a moment.

"During the Chongzhen reign, the Liao tribute levy caused the people of the country to suffer terribly, and even caused rebellions everywhere, making life miserable. This king thinks that instead of levying the Liao tribute again, it is better to cancel it directly. This king has actually checked and found that although the amount of Liao tribute levied each year can temporarily alleviate the problem, the losses caused by the rebellion in the local areas far exceed this amount."

"The collection of Liao tribute is really not worth the cost, and it will lose the support of the people. If it continues, even if the rebellions in various places are suppressed, the people will not be able to survive and will still rebel again. How can the Ming Dynasty afford this to happen over and over again? It would be better to cancel it directly."

"Your Highness is kind. I thank you on behalf of the people of the world." Although Wen Tihen was not a good person, he was moved by these words. He immediately stood up and bowed deeply to Zhu Shenzhui.

(End of this chapter)