The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 595 How to spend more money

The Ming Dynasty became richer and richer.

This money is only useful if it is spent. There is no point in keeping it in the national treasury or the internal treasury.

Wanli taught the Minister of Revenue Li Hualong some lessons, and he also realized the situation himself.

During this period, the treasury income also increased dramatically. The gold mined by North American Xidusi alone was one million taels per month.

Moreover, the profits of the major businesses in Wanshengtang are enough to support the existing millions of troops. If the Ministry of Revenue takes on the responsibility of providing food and wages, the profits of the major businesses in Wanshengtang will be in surplus.

How much is this?

Originally, he was purchasing rations and wages based on an army of four million. Even if the price of grain was calculated at four stone to one tael of silver, it would be more than 20 million taels a year.

In other words, when there is no war, the inner treasury will have an extra surplus of more than 12 million taels every month!

It would only make sense if he spent the money. It would be impossible for him to have children if he kept it in the treasury.

Early the next morning at about noon, he summoned the chief minister of the cabinet Shen Li, the Minister of War Liang Menglong, the Minister of Revenue Li Hualong, the Duke of Dingguo Xu Wenbi, the Earl of Yongnian Wang Wei and others to the Grand Council.

This time he stuffed little Zhu Changxun into the arms of Yongnian Earl Wang Wei. It was obvious that he was going to do something big.

He asked everyone to look at the huge world map on the table, and then he said solemnly: "Now we are not short of money and food, what we lack is manpower.

We don’t even have the troops to take over the vast territory of North American East Metropolis. We have only sent a total of 100,000 cavalry to Penglai Island and Fangzhang Island.

In addition, the East Asian Commandery and the North American West Commandery each had only 200,000 garrison soldiers stationed there.

This number of troops is barely enough when things are going well, but it will definitely not be enough once we go to war with the colonial bandits."

Does this mean you still want to recruit troops?

More than three million troops are not enough!
When everyone heard this, they couldn't help but be secretly surprised.

However, they didn't say anything.

Because the Ming Dynasty had too few troops overseas.

If there are not enough troops to guard such a large territory, it will probably become a mess once a war breaks out.

Seeing that no one objected, Wanli immediately asked, "Wenbi, Yuangong, Yingzhen, you are in charge of the Five Military Commandery. You should know where to recruit soldiers, right?"

We are naturally clear about this.

The three of them looked at each other, and it was Zhang Yuangong who spoke first: "Your Majesty, the Liaodong Regional Command should have the most soldiers.

The more than one million garrison troops originally mobilized have now had enough food and clothing in the past few years, and their young and strong men are becoming stronger and stronger.

Many of the military governors and garrisons there have written to us asking if they can recruit and select a group of young men to try out. Many of them want to make great achievements and even be granted titles and nobility."

well.

This is the benefit of redeeming all military merit rewards.

As the saying goes, there will always be brave men when there is a big reward. Now their casualties in the war are very small. Killing an enemy will earn you fifty taels of silver, which is more than the average person's annual income.

What's more, if you kill more enemies, you can be promoted to a noble title, given fiefdoms, and rewards. Who wouldn't want to give it a try?

Wanli nodded slightly, then asked, "How many young and strong men do you think the Liaodong Regional Command can recruit?"

I haven't calculated this carefully.

Zhang Yuangong estimated, "I think that once we issue a call for conscription, most of the young and strong will be willing to try. If we calculate based on the number of garrison troops there, there should be at least 500,000 or 600,000."

This number is not enough. What I need is millions, not hundreds of thousands.

Wanli nodded slightly, then looked at Xu Wenbi and Zhu Yingzhen.

Xu Wenbi quickly raised his hand and said, "Your Majesty, some people from the several military governors and border towns under my charge have also sent letters asking about recruiting troops.

However, there are not many of them. They have had enough food and clothing for a long time, and their affluent life has led to more children. However, most of the newborns are only in their teens or even a few years old.

"I estimate that the troops that these Dusi, Xingdusi, and border towns can recruit are not many, and each Dusi, Xingdusi, and border town can only recruit tens of thousands of troops."

Zhu Yingzhen quickly nodded and said, "Yes, Your Majesty, the Dusi, Xingdusi, and Border Towns that I am in charge of are similar."

Does this mean that we won’t be able to recruit too many troops in a short period of time?

Maybe you can go to Nurgandusi and have a look. There are more than three million households of civilians who have been transferred to the garrison.

However, the garrison troops of Nurgandusi have only had enough to eat in the past two years. If they want to have enough food and clothing, they have to wait until next year.

At this moment, I don’t know how many young and strong people can meet the recruitment standards.

Wanli nodded slowly after hearing this, and after thinking it over carefully, he said decisively: "Qianji, you send letters to all the military headquarters and garrisons to start recruiting troops.

We will first recruit one million people. Anyone who is over 15 years old and under 25 years old and feels strong enough can come and try.

You designate a gathering place for the young and strong men in each military garrison, ask them to report the number of people, and then mobilize the navy's fast boats to go and pull them away.

The deadline for this recruitment is March 1st of next year, and the deadline for the selection is April 1st of next year. You must make this clear in your letter."

Minister of War Liang Menglong quickly bowed and said, "I understand." Wanli then said to Yongnian Earl Wang Wei, "Father-in-law, have the Summer Palace start forging weapons and equipment. Start with one million sets of cold weapons. The new recruits won't be able to use muskets yet."

This is a small thing.

Yongnian Earl Wang Wei nodded repeatedly and said, "I understand."

In addition to weapons and equipment, we also need military uniforms and tents.

Wanli thought for a moment and then gave detailed instructions: "Yuan Gong, have Wanshengtang Cloth Shop quickly prepare winter uniforms and camp tents. For a million men, we will first prepare them according to the standards of a garrison battalion.

This time, the military uniforms and camp tents must be paid for, and the money will be transferred from the Ministry of War. The Ministry of Revenue will then allocate funds from the inner treasury. From now on, we will follow the formal procedures."

Duke Yingguo Zhang Yuangong nodded repeatedly and said, "I understand."

What else is needed next?

Oh, right, food.

Wanli thought for a moment and then gave detailed instructions: "Yu Ye, the food needed for this conscription will be allocated from the Ministry of Revenue.

I will order the soldiers of the Beijing Camp to go to the Nanyuan training ground to conduct selection exercises. At that time, you will allocate food according to the number of young and strong people who come to apply."

Minister of Revenue Li Hualong nodded repeatedly and said, "I understand."

The Ming Dynasty was about to start recruiting soldiers again. The young and strong men from all the military garrisons were rushing frantically to the port docks designated by the Ministry of War, fearing that they would miss the chance if they were late.

Although the Ming army soldiers' food and wages were not high at this time, their treatment was particularly good, and the rewards for military merit were even more incredible.

Another point that is actually very important is that there are very few casualties among soldiers in every major war.

This was known to all the soldiers who had participated in the war, and it had also spread throughout all the military garrisons.

In other words, the probability of casualties in war is low, but there are many opportunities to achieve success.

Anyone who can get this kind of opportunity will naturally want to try it.

The navy's speedboats were coming and going like shuttles, and the Nanyuan training ground was soon crowded with black spots. The selection of officers and soldiers was in full swing.

When Zhu Changxun heard that the Minister of War Liang Menglong was coming to report on the progress of the recruitment, he immediately felt curious and wanted to go to Nanyuan to see how the soldiers were selected.

Wanli naturally would not refuse such a small request.

At about 3 p.m. that day, tens of thousands of imperial guards and Jinyiwei cavalry left the imperial city and headed straight for Nanyuan.

This time they also brought the Jinwu Guards. Their glittering golden armor was truly attractive, and there were exclamations of surprise wherever they passed. Even the young and strong men who came to participate in the selection couldn't help but turn their heads to look at them.

When Wanli saw this, he secretly took note of it.

In the future, if they do not need to wear imperial robes to show their status when traveling, it is best for these Jinwu Guards not to wear golden armor.

This golden armor is so eye-catching that they will become the focus wherever they run.

Little Zhu Changxun, however, was watching the selection process with great curiosity.

This selection is a bit like the martial arts examination. First, you have to lift a stone lock to test your strength. If you can't even lift a 100-jin stone lock, then you basically have no chance to go to the battlefield.

After you pass the stone lock lifting test, you have to try swords and guns. If you can do it well and it's obvious that you've practiced before, then you've passed the test.

As for archery, horse riding, and even military strategies, they were only tested when selecting low-level captains such as sergeants and squad leaders.

At this time, the Ming Dynasty had gradually become rich and strong, and the quality of its soldiers was still quite high. There were very few who could not lift a 100-jin stone lock, and the border troops and garrison soldiers had basically practiced with swords and guns.

Therefore, very few people were eliminated and the selection process was very fast. The new recruits selected in the first few days even gathered together to start training.

Xiao Zhu Changxun was very satisfied with the show.

After reading it, Wanli couldn't help but nodded with a look of satisfaction on his face.

It seems that there will be no shortage of manpower in the future.

He can start a new round of warmongering.

If you have too much money, you have to quickly convert it into force.

This way you will become richer and richer.

That’s how money is spent!
The Age of Exploration was all about militarism and aggression, so that one could make money.

Spain and the Netherlands are clear examples of this.

After becoming the overlord of the sea, Spain began to live a life of extravagance, spending most of its money on enjoyment, and its military strength became increasingly weaker.

The Netherlands builds as many ocean-going ships as it can make money. This small country with a population of only a few million people has actually built tens of thousands of ocean-going ships!

If we talk about population alone, Spain's population is at least ten times that of the Netherlands, and the number of troops they can recruit exceeds the total population of the Netherlands.

The result was that the Netherlands replaced Spain as the new maritime overlord!
This is the difference between knowing how to spend money and not knowing how to spend money. Nowadays, if you have money, you have to develop military force.

(End of this chapter)