Strategy for the Revitalization of the Late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 144 Military Power and Monetary Lifeline

At the beginning of September in the second year of Dingwu, the dock outside Changsha City was still busy, with merchant ships coming and going in an endless stream, nearly half of which came from various places in western and southern Hunan.

With the evolution of the war situation, especially when the Qing army occupied Wuchang and controlled Hanyang, Huangzhou and other places, the water transportation between Jiangxi and Hunan was completely cut off. The Changsha Prefecture City had changed from an important trade transit station in the southwest of the Ming Dynasty to a terminal and warehouse.

This was determined by the complex war situation on the east and west fronts after the north-south confrontation between the Ming and Qing dynasties, and was also determined by the Jingyue-Ganbei defense system jointly discussed by Zhu Cilang and Du Yinxi.

Today, Changsha City and its surroundings not only gather timber, tung oil, iron, saltpeter, and sulfur from western Hunan, but also a large amount of tin transported from northern Guangxi via southern Hunan, coal mines and cotton and linen cloth from central and northern Hunan, and copper mines, medicinal materials, and other scarce materials from Yunnan and Guizhou.

Due to the turbulent situation, Zhu Cilang had already issued an order to the southern provinces to lift the so-called mining ban, but required the local wealthy gentry who had obtained mining rights to pay corresponding mining taxes.

But this time, he did not send eunuchs from the palace to collect commercial taxes and mining taxes as Chongzhen did, but appointed local governors and ministers to preside over the matter and use this part of the tax as military expenses for the local anti-Qing war.

Of course, this was still supervised by officials sent from outside the court. Many things had to go through the hands of several people, otherwise Zhu Cilang would have difficulty controlling the place.

These wealthy local gentry who opened mines would also be qualified to work in the government's newly established mining office, but the number of vacancies was very limited, requiring them to compete constantly and undergo annual assessments.

In the first half of the year, as Ajige led his troops to pursue Li Zicheng, Wuchang City was lost, Jingzhou, Xiangyang and other places fell, the Yangtze River waterway from Hunan to Jiangxi and the Han River waterway from Hunan to Hubei were all blocked, and the number of ships traveling between the three places dropped sharply, which dealt a fatal blow to Hunan's commercial trade.

Now, although the war has temporarily subsided and martial law has been basically lifted in various places, since Xiangyang, Hankou, Wuchang and other places are in the hands of the Qing army, it is impossible to restore Hunan’s commercial exchanges with these traditional trading areas.

However, the water transportation between Guangxi and Hunan is not well developed, and transporting materials over mountains and hills requires a lot of manpower. Hunan’s current commercial trade basically relies on the army and government, and everything is for preparation for war.

However, with the distribution of military pay and rewards, the city of Changsha is still bustling with people and filled with a vibrant atmosphere.

Jingzhou, Yuezhou and Changsha are currently concentrating tens of thousands of troops. After receiving rewards, the soldiers and their families have extra money in their hands, and the demand for various commodities naturally increases.

Now, under the guidance of Zhu Cilang, Du Yinxi is planning to enhance the production capacity of Changsha Prefecture City and build it into a southwestern center integrating trade and handicrafts.

Ultimately, Du Yinxi needed money and food; this was the foundation of his military preparations in Huguang. Without control over the commerce that depended on the Xiangjiang River and sufficient tax revenue, many military and political reforms would be difficult to implement.

This is actually the wartime system that Zhu Cilang has been promoting. He must develop the Ming Dynasty's war potential and restore the court's control over the local areas in order to avoid the tragedy of civilization being conquered by barbarism again.

The Qing Dynasty only maxed out its military skills, and in other aspects it was very immature and backward compared to the Ming Dynasty.

In the original history, after entering the Pass, they almost completely accepted the system and institutions of the Ming Dynasty, and even caused great regression in many places due to its barbaric and backward nature.

However, although a newly emerging dynasty has various shortcomings, its financial efficiency and mobilization capabilities are far from comparable to those of the Ming Dynasty, which is nearly 300 years old. In particular, the Ming Dynasty's military weakness is the most fatal.

Therefore, what Zhu Cilang had to do was to transform the Ming Dynasty through the wartime system and convert its powerful handicraft production capacity into military power on the battlefield.

Of course, in this process, the excess production efficiency achieved by the newly built workshops through the implementation of more advanced management methods, the Ming court's control over the money shops, and even the control over the flow of currency through the control of commodity trade, were the little shocks that Zhu Cilang brought to the world.

In other words, Zhu Cilang was not satisfied with the traditional land tax, nor did he just want to obtain the military funds needed to resist the Qing Dynasty through traditional methods such as setting up tax stations, opening mines in various places, collecting commercial taxes, mining taxes, etc.

At a higher level, he was very clear that only strong production capacity and strong military and financial strength based on this productivity could be the foundation for the Ming Dynasty to achieve a dimensionality reduction attack on the Qing Dynasty.

The copper mines in Yunnan and the silver earned through overseas trade are the key. These additional copper mines and the influx of silver are Zhu Cilang's gentle way of obtaining food and military supplies from landlords and gentry through monetary means.

His position meant that he couldn't easily overturn the table, but apart from robbing directly, Zhu Cilang had countless ways to make these landlords and gentry count their money with a smile, and then sell themselves out.

However, the premise of all this is that the Ming Dynasty can defeat the Qing Dynasty on the battlefield!

The day before he moved to Yuezhou to inspect military and political affairs and then returned to Nanjing, Zhu Cilang went to the fields to inspect the growth of autumn crops. Countless farmers were using water wheels, pulleys and other tools to draw water for irrigation in an attempt to alleviate the drought.

"Zhong Jian, how many years has the drought in Changsha lasted?" Zhu Cilang asked as he looked at the rice seedlings that were not growing well.

Du Yinxi accompanied the inspection all the way. In the past two years, he has also done a lot of work to prevent drought. Upon hearing this, he immediately clasped his hands and said:
"If there was a severe drought, it's been six years now. Now, the water conservancy facilities in various counties and prefectures have been basically repaired. In places where rivers have dried up, many wells have been dug. The impact of the drought has been greatly reduced."

During the nearly two years that Du Yinxi was in power, most of Changsha Prefecture's water conservancy facilities had been repaired. He even recruited craftsmen to build tens of thousands of water-drawing agricultural tools and thousands of wells to combat drought.

However, the impact of the drought could not be ignored. It was not until the drought in northwestern Hunan ended and food and grass arrived from southern Hunan and other places that the drought in Changsha, which had lasted for six years and killed countless people, suddenly seemed to have no impact.

"Just hold on for another year or two and it should be fine." Zhu Cilang sighed.

He couldn't remember exactly when the drought that affected several prefectures ended, but he had the impression that in the 17th year of Chongzhen, the drought that had lasted for more than three years across the country was basically over. Northern Jiangxi had also been suffering from severe drought for six years, and it was only last year that the weather finally turned favorable.

"Your Majesty, your words are auspicious. Changsha will soon have good weather and the people will have no worries about food and clothing!" Du Yinxi said with anticipation.

"If there is a shortage of food, report it to me and I will ask He Tengjiao to transfer food from Jiangxi." Zhu Cilang then gave further instructions.

Du Yinxi was moved when he heard this. If he went to ask for food, He Tengjiao would definitely make things difficult for him, even ignoring the lives of the people of Changsha and delaying the allocation of food. He then bowed and said:
"Yes, Your Majesty!"

After inspecting the fields and countryside outside the city, Zhu Cilang, through questioning officials such as Du Yinxi, roughly learned that Hunan's situation was becoming increasingly difficult after the large-scale expansion of the army. He immediately issued an order, asking He Tengjiao to prepare food and fodder in Jiujiang in advance.

After dealing with these matters, Zhu Cilang led a group of ministers and boarded a warship to Yuezhou. He personally deployed Jingzhou City, one of the two major fulcrums of the Huguang front, but he never formally inspected Yuezhou City.

The fleet set off from Changsha, sailed down the Xiangjiang River, and docked at the pier outside Xiangyin City at night, but Zhu Cilang did not get off the boat. If it were not for the fact that the lake was very dangerous with undercurrents and strong winds at night, he would not even want to delay for another quarter of an hour.

In the afternoon of the next day, as soon as the fleet arrived at Yuezhou City and docked, Zhu Cilang could not wait to lead a group of civil and military officials to climb up the nearest city wall for inspection.

At this time, in addition to Wu Jinxi, Chen Fu, Liu Tichun and others, he was also accompanied by a dozen officials and generals. Under the protection of the soldiers of the imperial camp, the group of people climbed up the water gate tower of Yuezhou City together.

Zhu Cilang stood on the edge of the battlement of the city wall and looked into the distance. He saw the vast and misty Dongting Lake outside the city, and outside the city, defensive fortifications were being completed.

After he came to this world, one of his greatest pleasures was to overlook the fortresses under construction. Every time he saw that a place had been repaired or a layer had been added, he would feel an inexplicable sense of satisfaction in his heart. He even began to think about where to arrange the armored soldiers for defense and how many artillery pieces should be deployed to deal the most severe blow to the invading Qing army.

After experiencing the "Battle of Fengyang" and seeing the battlefield of the 17th century with his own eyes, every time Zhu Cilang thought about these things in his mind, countless scenes would flash through his consciousness like movie clips.

Although the Yuezhou Prefecture City had been renovated and expanded in the previous year, Du Yinxi had not yet fully controlled the situation at that time, and the manpower and material resources invested were not large. Now they are stepping up efforts to make up for it.

The current Yuezhou City is still a vast construction site. The outer moat and two earthen walls have been completed. The soil excavated from the moat is used to build the walls, and the remaining material has become the material for other defensive fortifications. Large and small watchtowers are densely distributed on the east and north sides of Yuezhou City, serving the dual functions of early warning and defensive measures. The construction here is also based on bastions, but like Fengyang City and Xuzhou City in Jiangbei, the outer perimeter is a combination of moat, earthen walls, and watchtowers. A large number of caltrops, sharp wood, and mines will also be deployed to wear down the initial wave of attacking Qing troops.

The inner city still has traditional tall brick walls, which are raised and thickened based on the original walls of Yuezhou Prefecture City. By adding battlements, blind spots under the city are reduced and the firepower density is increased.

At the same time, these thickened and raised city walls have two layers, high and low. When the Qing army climbed the first layer of the city wall, the soldiers guarding the higher second layer of the city wall would give these unprotected enemies the most violent blow.

Of course, this also made the construction volume of Yuezhou Prefecture City astonishingly large, especially in the northwest direction, on the edge of Dongting Lake, where an inner harbor wharf and a fortress guarding this wharf were built.

In this way, when the situation was extremely urgent, the Dongting Lake Navy based in Xiangyin could deliver supplies to the city, or support the retreat of the defenders, and preserve the vitality of the anti-Qing resistance.

To strengthen the city walls, Wu Jinxi had previously taken advantage of the winter farming off-season to conscript tens of thousands of laborers to quarry stone from Longku Mountain to the east. This allowed him to build a fortified city, capable of both offensive and defensive operations, capable of accommodating tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians for over a year, building upon the foundations of the original Yuezhou City.

However, Huguang had limited human, material and financial resources. After investing a lot of resources in Jingzhou and Yuezhou, the defense of Changsha became much simpler. They simply built an extra earth wall and added horse-faced armor to the wall.

Zhu Cilang had already deployed tens of thousands of troops in Huguang at this time, and there were also tens of thousands of soldiers in Jiujiang City. He also had tens of thousands of more elite troops in Jiangnan, so he was not worried that the Qing army would march straight in and capture Changsha.

"Your Majesty, when the outer earth walls are finally built, we will install one or two hundred French cannons and general cannons inside and outside. The Tartars will not be able to capture even those earth walls and watchtowers unless tens of thousands of them are killed." Hao Yongzhong said excitedly as he looked at the joy on Zhu Cilang's face.

"Soon such a fortress complex will be built in Jingzhou. It was designed by His Majesty himself. When we were in Jiangbei, Duoduo led hundreds of thousands of troops but couldn't capture it. I don't think the Tartars will ever set foot in Jingzhou again in their lifetime." Upon hearing this, Wu Jinxi immediately withdrew his gaze and said with admiration.
"The Tartars are just a group of savages. How can those dogs compare with Your Majesty?" Chen Fu also spoke.

Although he had long known that these bastion-like city defense fortifications were designed under the guidance of Zhu Cilang based on Western methods, every time he looked down from such an angle and thought of the Qing army's repeated defeats and continuous setbacks, the image of Zhu Cilang in his mind would become taller and more majestic.

"Forget about Duoduo. Even if that Dorgon personally led his troops south, he would definitely not be able to compare to a single hair of your majesty."

Liu Tichun also nodded excitedly, then remembered something and said excitedly:

"Your Majesty, I have been fully engaged in military training recently. The soldiers have been fighting tooth and nail, unwilling to rest even late at night. Once the equipment arrives, they will surely be a formidable force. With them guarding Yuezhou City, the Tartars will never be able to take it down.

"I've heard that someone in the Changsha weapons workshop has developed a number of unstoppable guns and bombs specifically for use against the Tartars attacking the city. Those mines are incredibly powerful, capable of killing several people in one blast. If the Qing army is caught off guard and attacks the city directly, I will surely destroy them without a single shrapnel."

Liu Tichun and Hao Yongzhong were both powerful generals left behind by Zhu Cilang in Huguang. Both of them were good at fighting and were brave and daring to fight. They were definitely not the kind of people who would desert in the face of battle. Zhu Cilang trusted them very much. Apart from the management of money and grain, he did not set up civil servants or place military generals to undermine them.

Of course, he simply didn't have the power. If the Palace Army sent another group of men, his personal army would be unnecessary. And since he was going to use two people, Zhu Cilang wouldn't be shy. That wasn't his style.

"Your Majesty still has 100,000 strong soldiers in Jiangnan. If those damn Tartars like Dorgon and Dodo arrive, they will be dead soon." Hao Yongzhong laughed.

He had some understanding of Zhu Cilang's defensive strategy, and now he was full of unprecedented confidence in the future of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Cilang watched for so long, listened to the flattery of the civil and military officials, and finally asked:
"What's the recent movement of the Qing army in Wuchang? Aljin, has Gaodi been quiet lately?"

"Your Majesty, Aljin came to provoke us before with hundreds of horsemen. After being repelled by me, he only dared to test the area around Tumen Town and Yanglou." Liu Tichun immediately bowed and clasped his fists.

"Ever since Aljin and Gaodi led their troops into Wuchang, Tong Yanghe and Wang Tizhong are no longer able to make decisions on major or minor matters. Now the Qing army in Wuchang is commanded by Aljin." Wu Jinxi also said.

Although he had retired from the position of Yuezhou militia military supervisor, his position in the Huguang civil service system was second only to Du Yinxi, so he was naturally well aware of military affairs.

At this time, Chen Fu also continued:
"Not only that, the Qing army has been active in various places along the Han River recently, and Xiangyang and other places have received a large amount of food and fodder shipped from Nanyang. If nothing unexpected happens, the Qing army should soon move south to attack Jingzhou."

Zhu Cilang nodded and instructed, "The main force of the Eight Banners in Beijing has not yet begun large-scale operations, but if they are well prepared, a hundred thousand troops can reach Huguang in less than two months. We must keep a close eye on Xiangyang, especially the Qing army's conscription of civilian laborers."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

After inspecting Yuezhou, Zhu Cilang immediately met with Zheng Sen in Junshan. He had been training the navy from Jiujiang to Yuezhou in the past few months. The naval officers and soldiers he brought had now been added to the "Poyang Lake Navy" and "Dongting Lake Navy".

Of course, all this corresponds to the Zheng family's attitude towards the court, especially Zheng Zhilong's loyal act of fleeing to Nanjing and being ready to welcome the emperor at any time.

On the way back to Nanjing, Zhu Cilang also revealed to Zheng Sen the court's plan to build workshops in Suzhou, Songjiang and other prefectures in the next few years, as well as the plan to utilize Jiangnan's production advantages in commodities such as silk and combine with the Zheng family caravan to achieve the Ming Dynasty's absolute control over overseas trade.

Of course, Zheng Sen immediately understood what was meant by this statement. The merchant groups in Jiangnan would definitely join in. His Majesty would never allow the Zheng family to dominate and control the entire overseas trade.

Since the Ming Dynasty was able to recruit the Zheng family and turn the pirates into wealthy people, the court officials could naturally recruit other merchants in the south of the Yangtze River, grant them official positions, and even use the navy to escort them.

In other words, the so-called union is only temporary. This is both Zhu Cilang's promise - the Zheng family still has the qualifications to be on the table, and Zhu Cilang's threat - persuade your troublesome father well, if he doesn't listen, the Zheng family can be a dish on the table at any time.

In fact, at this time, the Zheng family did not completely dominate the Ming Dynasty's foreign trade, and merchants from Jiangnan could still get a share of it. Historically, if the Qing Dynasty had not banned maritime trade, Zheng Sen might not have been able to achieve absolute hegemony over the Western Pacific so quickly.

Now, these businessmen have the support of Zhu Cilang and the protection of the Ming Dynasty court, and they have the strength to compete with the Zheng family, at least that's what it seems.

Zhu Cilang currently wants to use the Zheng family's maritime power, through the production advantages of Jiangnan and the trading link of overseas silver, to obtain military funds and purchase the food and supplies needed by the army from various places.

Of course, in this process, he will also rebuild relevant government offices such as the Maritime Customs Office, and use the Ming Dynasty's system to gradually achieve control over the flow of bulk trade commodities such as grain, tobacco, spices, and dyes in the form of state-run enterprises, in preparation for future operations in Southeast Asia.

In today's international trade, the Ming Dynasty still has an absolute advantage. Tobacco leaves, cotton, raw silk, sugar, silk, and porcelain from Jiangnan and Fujian can be exchanged for a large amount of silver.

Zheng Sen was very surprised by Zhu Cilang's layout of overseas trade. Although he had begun to get involved in the Zheng family's business and fleet, it was the first time he realized that business could be arranged in this way. He was even more shocked by this plan that was guided by political purposes, which was linked together and planned step by step.

In fact, both Zheng Zhilong and Zheng Sen at this time were still limited to pirate thinking, lacking a sense of the overall situation and the ability to judge changes in the situation.

What he didn't know was that everything Zhu Cilang did was supported by countless theories and facts in later generations, and he didn't know that Zhu Cilang's focus was never on trade itself.

Silver is not just a precious metal that can be used to purchase food and military equipment, it also has another name - currency!
Zhu Cilang wanted to control Ming Dynasty's overseas trade, build new workshops in Jiangnan, and train craftsmen, which was also the key to future military expansion and anti-Qing resistance.

In the seventeenth century, whoever possessed strong handicraft production capabilities and could transform them into military strength would be invincible.

Previously, the flourishing of Ming Dynasty's handicrafts and commerce was the result of the court's loss of control over the grassroots. But now, Zhu Cilang wanted to reverse this and transform the flourishing handicrafts and commerce into the military strength of Ming Dynasty.

After gathering the troops in Jiangxi and Huguang, summoning Wang Yingxiong, and taking control of the national military power, his most important task now is to truly regain control of the monetary lifeline of the Ming Dynasty before the Qing army moves south!

(End of this chapter)