Anti-Qing: I'm actually an honest person

Chapter 168 A trip to Chenghai that refreshes the worldview (6k)

On Chenghai city pier.

The gongs and drums are loud, the sky is full of firecrackers, and the red flags are flying. There are huge crowds of people.

Liu Dapao even ordered people to clean up the main road from the pier to the city, then sprinkled water to clean the street, paved the road with flowers, and personally brought all the civil and military officials and company directors to stand on the pier like a little woman waiting for her husband to return home in triumph. Same, waiting anxiously.

"Come, come, the fleet is coming."

Liu Dapao was overjoyed, took over the binoculars and ordered after looking at it: "Play the music and fire the gun salute."

But who is Liu Dapao welcoming so grandly?
Naturally, he is the most capable general on Daming East Road, the former confidant general of Geng Jimao Fan, Zeng Yangxing who was born in the Liaodong warlord system.

Although in name Zeng Yangxing was also a courtier of Daming and a subordinate of Liu Dapao, but in fact it was the first time Liu Dapao met him, not to mention unfamiliar, or even a stranger at all.

So much so that when the ship docked, he couldn't recognize which one was Zeng Yangxing for a moment.

Fortunately, Zeng Yangxing knew him, or Zeng Yangxing knew the python robe he was wearing, and walked over with great strides, and with fists in his hands, he was about to kneel down and bow: "Minister Zeng Yangxing, I greet the prime minister."

Looking at this man again, he really has thick eyebrows, big eyes, a square head and a big face. His brows look forward to the prestige, the light armor on his body is shining, and even his voice is powerful and powerful, full of male hormones, which is quite attractive.

Naturally, Liu Dapao hurriedly stepped forward to help him personally: "General Zeng please hurry up, my new Ming Dynasty is not up to the feudal society of the past, your Majesty is not here, you and my colleagues are talking about each other, so there is no need to make such a grand ceremony."

"The prime minister is the head of all officials, and he is also the actual helmsman of the Ming Empire and the company. The way of etiquette should never be neglected."

"Hahaha, General Zeng just doesn't know something. In the new Ming Dynasty, there should be new etiquette. After discussing with my colleagues, a new law has been drafted and will be promulgated soon: Ordinary people, as long as they hold at least one lot of stock, they are considered shareholders of the company. In order to reflect the equality between shareholders of the company, shareholders of the company are not allowed to kneel down to each other, and all the officials in my Ming Dynasty are all large and small shareholders of the company. , Therefore, Daming shareholders, not to kneel when seeing an official is the new rule of my Daming, and it is the core etiquette of my Daming, of course, if you see His Majesty, you should kneel or kneel."

When Zeng Yangxing heard the words, he didn't know whether it was true or false, and he praised again and again for a while, "The prime minister's mind is really incomparably broad, and I really admire it."

"Hahahaha, okay, okay, I won't talk about flattery, come on, General Zeng will ride with me, get on the bus, I have ordered people to prepare wine and food in the palace to welcome you, and your majesty is already in the palace. I have been waiting for the general for a long time."

"Your Majesty and the Prime Minister love each other dearly, but I'm afraid. I... came to help the Prime Minister fight as a reinforcement."

"Hey~ I don't care about him, Zheng Jing's mere son, you can destroy it with a flip of your palm. I saw the general, and I was happy to kill this kid ten times."

Immediately, Liu Dapao grabbed the guy's hand, held it, and cordially invited him to get on his frame together. After a while, the salute roared again. Seeing this, Lei Zhentian sank into his dantian, summoned his inner strength and shouted in person: " Welcome, General Zeng enters the court~~!"

Then the residents who came to greet him shouted together: "Welcome, General Zeng has entered the court~!"

"Welcome, General Zeng enters the court~!"

"Welcome, General Zeng enters the court~~~~"

Waves of cheers followed. The amazing thing was that from the pier all the way to the palace in the center of the city, it didn't stop. Yang Xing was flattered for a while, which really frightened him.

Is this intentional?
But it's not enough, besides, there are so many people, so loudly shouting, it really doesn't look like it was arranged, it's more like it's from the heart.

But what can I do!Could it be that the battle report was transmitted incorrectly, exaggerating my military exploits?Jie Shu is not dead!The war is still going on!I just took down Ningbo, didn't I go back to Nanjing!
Liu Dapao seemed to see Zeng Yangxing's embarrassment, and said with relief: "Don't be restrained, whether it is my kindness to you or the gratitude of the citizens to you, it is all from the bottom of my heart."

"But...but..."

"General Zeng, this is the first time he entered the dynasty, so he may not know much about our Ming Dynasty. In our Ming Dynasty, merchants have a high status. It is not an exaggeration to say that the country was established by industry and commerce. Since the founding of the country, the land tax has not been confiscated once. How to collect the agricultural tax has not been discussed in any serious way between the DPRK and China.”

"The so-called business is actually mainly export-oriented. In this regard, it is quite similar to Zheng Chenggong, but I have done it far more thoroughly than him. To be honest, the conditions for developing business in Ningbo are far better than that of Zheng Chenggong. From Chenghai, by the way, General Zeng, have you done any research on trade and economics?"

"This...no, no, I only know how to fight."

"This is impossible. In our new Ming Dynasty, the bourgeoisie is in charge of the new regime. As a pillar of my Ming Dynasty, no matter what you do, you must consider economic factors. Economic factors are also the most important consideration for our new court. factor."

"Let me tell you straight, this time when you come to Chenghai, go back after a stroll, the front line cannot do without you, but after you go back, don't continue to rush to the north, build Ningbo, eat it in your mouth Swallowing the meat into the stomach is the top priority. I know Geng Jingzhong, or in the eyes of ordinary people, Hangzhou is far heavier than Ningbo, and Nanjing is far heavier than Hangzhou, but in fact, in my eyes, in the eyes of the officials of the Ming Dynasty, Ningbo, That's the top priority in the East."

"General Zeng, what do you think of my Chenghai City?"

"Prosperity and prosperity are rare in the world. Most of the houses I saw along the way were more than two floors. The garden I passed by just now must be a wealthy area, right? Even if you just take a look at the flowers, I see it is far better than Suzhou gardens." , even though the capital is larger in scale and more populous, it is probably far inferior in terms of bustle and bustle. I heard that Chenghai was a desolate empty city two years ago. People are amazed."

"Thank you, but Chenghai City also has its natural disadvantages. For example, the land area is a bit too small. For example, the nearby state capital is not a major grain-producing area, so now that there is a war, the people in the city still have to rely on overseas grain. The cost is high. Not to mention, it also took up precious shipping capacity in vain, etc. Many factors limit the upper limit of the development of Chenghai City. In my opinion, it is difficult for the population of Chenghai City to exceed 100 million, or after breaking through 100 million, The pressure on this population is too great, and it will seriously drag down other regions and Chenghai's own economy."

"So after the discussion of the board of directors, we plan to give Ningbo City all the support we can. We will send craftsmen to help you build defenses. We will build a larger bastion following Chenghai's model. Companies and cross-shareholding companies will also move to Ningbo to go public.”

"In addition to the company, the factories will also be relocated. At least at the moment, almost all the textile factories employing the most workers in Chenghai City will be relocated. Some other factories, such as the largest bone china factory in our Tiandihui, will also be mostly located in Ningbo. Opening a branch factory, I can tell you very clearly that although it is now during the war, within three years, the prosperity of Ningbo will be comparable to that of Chenghai."

"For the company's shareholders, Ningbo is the mouth of the Qiantang River. It has an excellent shipping port, there is no strong wind all year round, and there are large offshore islands where ships can be parked and the navy can be stationed. It can also cover surrounding counties through inland rivers. The surrounding area is densely populated. Grain and silk are produced, and the business atmosphere is developed. If Ningbo is captured, they can earn a lot of money, so why would they be unhappy?"

"The shareholders are happy, and they naturally have a way to make the workers happy too, not to mention that many of them are going to follow the big shareholder to Ningbo to build a factory, and even the remaining ones have moved away. The conflicts between people and land and the food problem in the textile factory and Chenghai City can also be solved, how can this not be a good thing?"

You must know that Ningbo City was brought down by Zeng Yangxing, and it can only be handed over to Zeng Yangxing for the time being. After all, no matter how much manpower and material support is provided, it must go through his hands, and it is even possible to give it directly to him. , Such a large amount of support is actually a bit scary.

"Chen... How can I be so important to the prime minister?"

Liu Dapao smiled and said: "There must be certain restrictions on you. Your officers and men will issue stock options, and the company will also send representatives of the board of supervisors to supervise you. Yao Qisheng will even help you handle civil affairs."

"However, correspondingly, whether it is money, weapons, ships, or food, I will give you whatever you want. Your next task is to build Ningbo into an impenetrable solid state within three months."

"I'm not afraid to tell you the truth. In the future, the imperial court will consider moving the capital, and Ningbo is one of the important reference cities. Even if it doesn't move there, Ningbo will at least have the status of an accompanying capital in the future, whether it's fame, wealth, Titles, power, as long as you are loyal to the court, these will far exceed your imagination."

"Even if Ningbo City is really moved to the capital, not to mention your status in the court, you and your descendants' status in the company will be extraordinary. To be honest, if one day I would have died , you are at least one of the popular candidates for the chairman of the company and even the prime minister of the empire."

"The minister absolutely dare not."

"Don't dare to be a fart. If you really dare not, there will be a problem with my system. The new Ming Dynasty is a false king and a real one. Only people who are approved by at least half of the shareholders can become the chairman of the company, and only the company Only the chairman of the board can become the prime minister of Ming Dynasty, this rule is set by me, and I will never allow it to be broken by anyone in the future."

Zeng Yangxing was dumbfounded, he had just come to Chenghai not long ago, but he already felt that his whole world view had been subverted.

Liu Dapao is different from all the politicians he has seen in his life.

"The prime minister's breadth of mind and grand layout are indeed far beyond comparison. It's no wonder that in less than two years, my Ming Dynasty has been in such a state."

"Yeah, so I think I can still control people. You are the leader in the war. You will be more comfortable working under my command than under other people's command."

After thinking for a while, Zeng Yangxing said curiously: "The Prime Minister said just now that Ningbo is one of the future capitals of my Ming Dynasty, but I don't know what other places are candidates for my lord? I will consider returning them after we drive out the Tartars in the future. Yu Jingshi?"

"No, absolutely not. It was really stupid to establish the capital in Beiping in the previous Ming Dynasty. After all, the geographical conditions of the capital should have been an important military town. In the end, because the capital was moved here, it was called Tianzishou The gate of the country is actually forcing the military forces of the whole country to try their best to keep the enemy as far away from the capital as possible, making such an excellent military town, but it is actually useless at all.”

"An important military town should take care of its military functions. It has to take on the task of the political center at the same time. It is impossible to fight in the place where the war should be fought. Every time the soldiers and horses of the Tartars appear under the capital city, it makes the whole country tense. The political influence is extremely bad, which is purely a bit of a disease."

"Besides, if a region wants to be both a military center and a political center, it must also serve as an economic center. Beiping itself is not a rich place. Once the water transportation is cut off, it will not even be able to support itself in food, let alone It is said that the huge waste caused by the process of transporting grain from south to north has dragged down the national economy."

As he said that, Liu Dapao couldn't help complaining: "Besides, it's obvious that the emperor is guarding the gate of the country, and the imperial power and the country will coexist and perish, so let's take out the momentum of breaking the boat and keep Nanjing's dried chicken feathers, isn't that awkward? ? As a result, after Chongzhen hanged himself, he didn’t even send an heir to Nanjing, which caused the Nanjing court to split because of the selection of the emperor. This system feels like it can’t be designed by normal human beings, or the political symbolism is too big , so that it completely overwhelms the practicality, in the final analysis, it is still sick.”

"Ha ha ha ha."

Zeng Yangxing had no choice but to say haha, not daring to answer at all.

Liu Dapao can say that this kind of straightforward complaints about Zhu Di and Chongzhen are because he has power in the government and the public, and he is a newcomer, so he dare not speak nonsense.

"It is clear that apart from Ningbo, the other two options are Songjiang and Nanchang."

"The reason for choosing Songjiang is similar to that of Ningbo. In fact, most of the advantages that Ningbo has are also in Songjiang, and they are even much superior. However, Songjiang's problems are also not small."

"Not to mention that Songjiang is still in the hands of the Qing court. The key is that the place is too flat, and there is not even a decent mountain around. Even if the Qing court has a 20 or even [-] troops, it can pass unimpeded under the Songjiang city. , there is no danger to defend at all, we can only rely on the defense of the bastion, even if it cannot be defeated, it is too easy to block it."

"Furthermore, Songjiang is the estuary of the Yangtze River. Although the inland river transportation is convenient, but all the way to the west, it relies too much on the southwest. To put it bluntly, the two lakes, Yunnan, Guizhou, and Bashu are all in the hands of Wu Sangui, and Wu Sangui... let's not talk about it. If he really beats the Qing court away, I’m afraid his relationship with the court will be very delicate. For Daming, the most ideal ending may be that Wu Sangui is happy after defeating the Qing court tartars, and Gabeng dies of old age. Then we can celebrate together.”

"If there is any more, it is Nanchang. In fact, Nanchang is really suitable as a geomantic treasure land of the capital. The whole Jiangxi is surrounded by mountains, which is relatively easy to defend and difficult to attack. Nanchang is located in the middle of the world, and it is more convenient to communicate with the whole country. Water transportation extends in all directions, it can be used as a distribution center for the world, and it naturally has the congenital conditions of a big city with a population of more than one million, with abundant water sources, it is really a good place.”

"However, Nanchang is too far away from the seaside. Although it is the center of inland river transportation, the future Ming Dynasty is destined to be the Ming Dynasty of the world, and it is indeed very likely that colonialism will develop. The economic center must be located in the seaside city."

"So if the capital is established in Nanchang, it will inevitably lead to the separation of the economic center and the political center. To be honest, in terms of the current social situation, I am not sure whether such a layout is good or bad."

As he spoke, Liu Dapao patted Zeng Yangxing on the shoulder and said, "There are some things you may not understand now, but you will gradually understand that New Daming is no longer a country of feudal society, but a country of capitalism. Do you know what the most essential difference between the two is?"

Zeng Yangxing shook his head.

"In feudal society, people are slaves to power, and the pinnacle of power is the imperial power, which is also supreme and bears the greatest responsibility. Therefore, there is a saying that there is no king in the world. Loyalty is emphasized. Loyalty to the emperor is regarded as the most important thing. Good character."

"Zeng Yangxing, I'm not a feudal emperor, so I don't want your loyalty, or I don't want your loyalty to me. Loyalty to the emperor does not mean patriotism. I hope we can become like-minded comrades. Colleagues in the imperial court, you have no need to be loyal to me, and we are not the emperor's servants, we are only loyal to the company, and the country that is one with the company, because the company is a shareholder's company, and we are the masters of the company and the country .”

Hearing this, Zeng Yangxing couldn't help being really stunned.

This set of rhetoric...is a bit anti-traditional and anti-Confucianism, but Zeng Yangxing really thinks that Liu Dapao like this is very attractive.

Originally, Zeng Yangxing was a Han from Liaodong, an old Han Junqi, if you insist on saying what kind of feelings he has for the Ming court, what kind of loyalty he has, it is really nonsense.

From the beginning to the end, from the inside to the outside, this Zeng Yangxing is an old warlord, and he is just an old warlord. The reason why he came to Chenghai City to meet Liu Dapao in person was just to make a political statement, hoping to let Liu Dapao see it. For the sake of his respect, if you give him some guns, it is best to allocate some sailors to serve him as sailors.

In fact, he has the intention of eating at both ends. He eats Geng Jingzhong's food and Liu Dapao's food at the same time. If he feeds himself, he will fatten up and become a big warlord. After expelling the Tartars in the future, he will not lose the dignity of the country. bit.

In the end, good guy, just told him that Ningbo is likely to be the capital in the future, and he will give him whatever he wants.

However, he suddenly felt that if Liu Dapao could really do what he said, it would be good if he followed him wholeheartedly.

Look at what they say, comrade.

So much so that the whole night, even when Jiu Nan gave a banquet, he couldn't help sneaking away to ponder what Liu Dapao said.

Originally, seeing that Zheng Jing outside the city was useless, he should just stay for a day or two and leave. After all, it seems that the war on the front line in Ningbo is far more dangerous than this in Chenghai. I lived in Chenghai City for more than ten days.

The euphemistic name is: learning.

Learning the operation mode of Chenghai City is special, so that he can copy it to Ningbo in the future.

The result is that the more he studies, the more he is amazed by everything in Chenghai City.

I learned from the side that Liu Dapao, the prime minister, actually fully respects the opinions of the company's shareholders. Those merchants who acted as human flesh wallets on weekdays and in history have a very high status in Chenghai City, and even an ordinary The little boss, actually really got used to not saluting an official, and it seems that this is already a matter of course, as if he was born like this.

The class division of scholars, farmers, businessmen, and businessmen was completely broken here.

There are still a lot of red-haired and yellow-haired devils here. Some devils have learned Chinese, and many citizens who serve these devils have learned foreign languages. They live with the Han people in the city all day long. It is amazing that no one oppresses anyone at all. At most, some yellow-haired people who are said to be skilled will be more arrogant.

What's even more strange is that almost all the male residents try their best to become soldiers. I heard that he is a general of the imperial court and is about to build Ningbo. In just a few days, there have been many big businessmen, big landlords, big Haoqiang took the initiative to come to the door, wanting to give himself the soldiers of his own children, and they were even willing to give him money in reverse in order to let their children serve as soldiers.

Zeng Yangxing has fought a war all his life, and this is the first time he has seen such an aggressive and strange thing, especially now that there is a war outside the city, so many people want to be soldiers, but Liu Dapao actually doesn't want it.

What's more, he heard that the general meeting of shareholders has recently been discussing the cessation of military pay and the strange request of voluntary discharge. He said that in the future, he would only give the soldiers a little pocket money every month, but allow them to form their own soldier committees. , any soldier can freely check where every military expenditure allocated by the imperial court is spent.

They are all measures that have never been heard before. It sounds like a fairy tale. Zeng Yangxing is sure that if one day he tells his soldiers that we will stop paying military salaries, the angry soldiers will give him alive. It was torn up, but it turned out to be Chenghai, and the soldiers and citizens were so enthusiastic.

Zeng Yangxing couldn't understand everything here, but he had to admit that he felt comfortable seeing everything here. At least, Liu Dapao didn't lie to him.

The status of the Prime Minister Liu Dapao in Chenghai City is completely different from that of outsiders. On the one hand, as the founder of this system, as the pioneer, he has a lofty prestige in the hearts of every official and even the common people, especially the shareholders. Most people even believe that he is a thousand-year descendant.

It is said that he once arrogantly compared himself to Wang Fuxi, but everyone still thinks what he said makes sense.

On the other hand, however, his power does not seem to be great at all, at least not as great as outsiders including him imagined. The system he created with his own hands is naturally anti-dictatorship, not to mention a promise It has become a constitution. Every decision he makes, Liu Dapao, must consider the interests of all shareholders and the company. He is just like a tool man. There is even a board of supervisors in the company that monitors him.

Anyway, this matter has completely exceeded the scope of Zeng Yangxing's understanding. Isn't this the Emperor Censor Cha, who can even impeach the Emperor?
He had always regarded Liu Dapao as the shadow emperor of Ming Dynasty.

As for the nine difficulties.

It seemed that Liu Dapao really didn't use her as a puppet, but as a... mascot?

Liu Dapao even told him that after the Ningbo Mansion was built, he was at least qualified to send his cronies to work in the Supervisory Committee even if he was the accompanying capital as the general manager of Ningbo.

After much deliberation, Zeng Yangxing finally made a decision: send someone to take his family in Fuzhou to live in Chenghai City, and ask Liu Dapao to allow his son to work in the Xiangfu, and use his savings to buy a piece of land in Chenghai , planning to build a house.

As for whether Geng Jingzhong has any bad thoughts about this, who cares about him?
(End of this chapter)