Chongzhen's domineering

Chapter 152 The Rebels Run Rampant and Cannot Be Eradicated (Part 3)

Rebels Gao Yingxiang and Zhang Xianzhong suddenly led tens of thousands of troops into Runing Prefecture.

Prince Chong, Zhu Yougui, was so frightened that he immediately sent a messenger on an urgent mission.

Zhu Jue actually approved a direct order for Hong Chengchou to send troops to rescue them!
Hong Chengchou was already feeling quite overwhelmed when he received the documents from the Cabinet and the Ministry of War.

He felt like crying.

Nowadays, Weihui Prefecture, Henan Prefecture, and Nanyang Prefecture are full of rebels.

He already had to rescue Prince Lu, Prince Fu, and Prince Tang, and his forces were already insufficient. Yet the young emperor still ordered him to send troops to rescue Prince Chong!

The problem is, he can't refuse to save him. If that vassal king is killed by the rebels, the young emperor will definitely execute him, and might even wipe out his entire family.

He was so upset.

If things continue like this, can these rebels still be supported?

Will he live to see the day the dynasty changes?

If a rebel wants to be raised to the point where he can threaten the young emperor, he would need at least a million.

What will this million-strong army eat if it doesn't engage in production and receives no taxes or grain?
Nowadays, Gao Yingxiang and Zhang Xianzhong only have tens of thousands of troops, enough to fight against local tyrants and evil gentry, or kill some corrupt officials and plunder some money and grain.

If they want to feed an army of over a million, they must plunder the money and provisions of the princes and royal families!
This seems to have become a dead end.

The young emperor was reckless; he ordered any vassal king to send troops to their aid whenever they pleaded for help.

Can he be saved?
Or rather, could he prevent Gao Yingxiang and Zhang Xianzhong from dealing with those princes and royal families?

Gao Yingxiang and Zhang Xianzhong might listen to him for a while.

However, once Gao Yingxiang and Zhang Xianzhong have hundreds of thousands or even millions of men under their command, they will no longer listen to him.

The only way for them to support hundreds of thousands or even millions of people is to rob the princes and royal families of their money and provisions.

Besides, by then, the enemy will be well-equipped and powerful; why should they listen to him?

Historically, Hong Chengchou was a man of great influence and prestige. In the Ming Dynasty, he served as the Junior Tutor to the Crown Prince, Minister of War, Right Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, and Governor-General of Jiliao. In the Qing Dynasty, he was the Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince, Minister of War, Right Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, and Grand Secretary of Military Affairs, Governor-General of the Southern Pacification. Wherever he went, he held great power and enjoyed immense wealth and honor.

Right now, he was feeling incredibly uncomfortable!
The young emperor is like he's out of his mind. He gave him 20,000 troops and sent him to deal with more than 200,000 rebels!
What else can he do now?
He had no choice but to retreat in order to advance, and submitted a memorial requesting to resign!
What Hong Chengchou wanted to do is another matter.

Zhu Jue was thinking about how to arrange the artisans recruited from Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Henan provinces.

There must be relatives and friends of the rebels among these people, and there may even be confidants specially planted by the three major clans and eight imperial merchants of Puzhou.

The three powerful clans and eight imperial merchants of Puzhou wielded immense power in the Northwest. It would be impossible for these guys to have built such a large business and made so much money without controlling a large number of artisans.

He wanted to cut off the possibility of the rebels developing from the root, but he also had to prevent these craftsmen from learning the steam engine technology. At least before the rebels were wiped out, these craftsmen should not be allowed to come into contact with the steam engine technology.

The consequences of leaking steam engine technology would be unimaginable.

How exactly should these artisans be placed?
Around 7 a.m. that morning, he had just begun reviewing memorials when he ordered someone to summon Wei Zhongxian.

Before the hour of Si (9-11 AM) had even arrived, and before he had finished reviewing the memorials, Wei Zhongxian scurried in, bowing respectfully and saying, "This servant greets Your Majesty."

Zhu Jue nodded slightly and asked routinely, "Zhongxian, how's the land acquisition going in the west of Tongzhou City?"

Wei Zhongxian quickly explained, "Your Majesty, the land price has been calculated, and the people in that area have started to move. Tomorrow, I will collect the silver from the Imperial Treasury and distribute it to them, and that will be the end of it."

Yes, you're really efficient at clearing the land.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly, then got up and went to the unfolded map. He pointed to the west side of the inner city and said, "Zhongxian, we still need to collect about 50,000 mu of land from each of the three outer cities on the west side, specifically from the side closest to the western city wall."

I plan to recruit all the artisans from Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Henan to work here. This year, I will also build more than 100,000 courtyards for them and let them live near the city walls. This will make it convenient for them not only to build the city walls, but also to dig the moat and canals.

Also, the city wall separating the northern and western outer walls hasn't been built yet. Why don't you take the extra effort and acquire the land along these three city walls as well, covering an area of ​​one li (approximately 500 meters) for each of these three lines.”

Ah!
Do they really need to acquire so much land?

Wei Zhongxian couldn't help but say with heartache, "Your Majesty, if I may be so bold, acquiring so much land will probably cost four or five million taels of silver. Then we'll have to buy materials and pay for construction. I'm afraid the imperial treasury won't be enough to cover the expenses."

Development work is indeed incredibly expensive.

Fortunately, the raw silk and tea can now be collected; otherwise, the money Wei Zhongxian seized from Jiangnan would not have been enough to sustain such a expenditure.

Zhu Juena couldn't help but sigh slightly, "Isn't money meant to be spent? It's alright, we'll earn a lot more next year. If all else fails, we can sell some silk and tea in shops in the capital and Nanjing to tide us over. Anyway, the Spanish didn't order much silk and tea in the first batch. As long as we get through this year, we'll have enough money to spend." How much can silk and tea fetch in the capital and Nanjing?

Upon hearing this, Wei Zhongxian cautiously replied, "Your Majesty, I have heard that silk can only be sold for a little over one tael of silver per bolt in the capital and Nanjing, but it costs twelve taels of silver per bolt when sold to the Spanish. The same goes for tea; tea leaves in the capital and Nanjing cost only two hundred wen per jin, but when sold to the Spanish, it costs two taels of silver per jin."

"This servant dares to say, we're losing money selling like this. We'd need to sell over a million bolts of silk and four or five million catties of tea to earn back two million taels of silver."

You rascal, Fang Zhenghua said you and Zheng Zhilong are so close you're practically inseparable.

Zheng Zhilong would talk to you about things like this!

Oh right, I forgot about the business in Japan.

Zhu Jue thought for a moment, then simply announced loudly, "Summon Zheng Zhilong to come and pay his respects."

Uh, why is His Majesty suddenly ignoring me?

Wei Zhongxian quickly said, "Your Majesty, what I meant was not that it cannot be sold. What I meant was that if Your Majesty is short of two million taels, I can find a way to raise the money for Your Majesty."

"This servant wouldn't dare conceal anything from Your Majesty. With the money Your Majesty has bestowed upon me, raising two million taels shouldn't be a problem."

You're really great.

They can even lend me money to spend.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly and said, "Zhongxian, you are very thoughtful. I have already thought of a way to solve the money problem. If it is still not enough, I will borrow from you again."

You can think of a solution right away?
Wei Zhongxian was taken aback for a moment, then nodded repeatedly and said, "Okay, okay, I'll keep the money for a rainy day."

Every day after sending his beloved son to the palace, Zheng Zhilong would wait near the Yuxi Palace for a summons, and he would arrive quite quickly.

A moment later, he strode in, cupped his hands and bowed, saying, "Your humble servant greets Your Majesty."

Zhu Jue nodded slightly and asked directly, "Zhilong, it seems that Japan also buys goods from the Ming Dynasty, right? How much do you think they buy from us in a year?"

Is Your Majesty planning to do business with Japan?

Zheng Zhilong nodded repeatedly and said, "Yes, Your Majesty, most of the goods from Japan are purchased from the Ming Dynasty. However, in the past, they mostly purchased them through the Dutch."

Back then, I didn't have many goods and couldn't compete with the Dutch. Now, we've driven the Dutch to Java, and they can no longer buy our goods. It will be very difficult for them to do business with Japan.

"We can now take advantage of this opportunity to do business with Japan. Japan already imports four to five million taels of goods annually, and now that we're also buying large quantities of copper from them, it shouldn't be a problem for them to import five to six million taels of goods from us each year."

Although a business worth five or six million taels a year couldn't compare to that of the Spanish, it was still a considerable profit, enough at least for emergencies.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly, then asked, "What kind of goods do they usually want?"

Without hesitation, Zheng Zhilong replied, "Japan wants silk, cloth, tea, porcelain, and raw silk, as well as sugar, deer, lead, and tin."

raw silk?

Zhu Jue asked with some confusion, "Why would the Japanese buy raw silk? If it's priced at five taels of silver per catty, they might as well buy ready-made silk and save the trouble of weaving it."

Well, they just want to knit it themselves.

Zheng Zhilong explained in detail: "Your Majesty, their royal family, the shogun, and even the various lords all like to use silk with unique patterns. Our silk does not have those patterns, so they also buy raw silk and weave it themselves."

Oh, what a unique pattern!

This can actually be customized.

However, they don't have time to do that right now.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly, then asked, "Is Hong Kui in the capital?"

Zheng Zhilong nodded repeatedly and said, "Yes, after he and Duke Wei returned, he waited for Your Majesty's instructions at my place."

well.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Jue decisively said, "Alright, let him go and run the business in Japan first. We basically have all the goods you mentioned. Let him earn back the five or six million taels from Japan every year for me."

Zheng Zhilong quickly cupped his hands and bowed, saying, "Your humble servant obeys the decree."

(End of this chapter)