I'm sure of the prosperous age of Kangxi and Qianlong!

Chapter 624: Calm down the troops

In recent years, the situation in the Mobei Grassland has become increasingly clear.

Chechen Khan and Tushetu Khan fought bloody battles in the grasslands for several years, causing the population of Khalkha Mongolia to drop by one-fifth directly and indirectly.

Such a sharp decline in population is not entirely due to war losses, but more due to the unbearable turmoil of war. Under the guidance of Xizuo, they all migrated to the Monan grassland under the control of the Ming Dynasty.

In the west of the Mobei Grassland, the Zhasak Tuhan Tribe, which was once controlled by the Junggars, and the Tangnu Ulianghai Mongolia, all took advantage of the civil strife in the Junggars and waited for opportunities to escape from their control.

Galdan Celing knew about this, but he had nothing to do. The current Junggar Khanate actually controlled only Hamili and half of northern Xinjiang, and the Yarkand Khanate in southern Xinjiang had already established a firm foothold.

Even those khanates in Central Asia that Cewang Alabutan conquered when he was still alive have long been scornful of Junggar.

Zhu Yijiong closed his eyes and thought for a moment, then said: "Give an order to the government-run banks (official banks) in the major coastal port cities to take the lead in raising interest rates and absorb the excess inflow of private silver depositors."

"Mint branches should also be set up along the coast to mint excess silver into silver dollars. The cabinet will go back and work out the exchange ratio between silver dollars and silver to make it as profitable as possible for private depositors."

"These imported silver deposits and newly minted silver coins can be taken to Siam, Japan, Tianzhu and other overseas vassal countries to buy their grain. All the grain bought back from overseas is stored in various military warehouses in the North, and can be used The local immigration support can also support the military and food resources for the future expedition to Mobei and the Western Regions."

Chen Ji was stunned for a moment, and then praised: "Your Majesty is wise. This interest rate increase is enough to solve the hidden danger of excessive inflow of silver along the coast."

This is purely flattering the emperor.

But it doesn't matter. Although it is impossible to solve it once and for all, it is more than enough to slow down the inflow of silver and the speed of inflation in the domestic market in a short period of time.

Although Zhu Yijiong doesn't know much about so-called economics, he still knows a little bit about inflation and the means by which he raises interest rates to attract people to save money.

Many people think that ancient banks and banks were places that simply collected money and helped people keep their money.

This is actually completely wrong. At least since the mid-Ming Dynasty, these bank accounts have no longer operated in this way.

In order to attract depositors to deposit money, bank banks must pay interest to depositors. During the Wanli period, private banks even expanded so fast that they competed with the imperial court. As a result, the Ming Dynasty had no choice but to set up government-run money shops.

In the 23rd year of Guangxu's reign in the late Qing Dynasty, what these banks were doing was an abstraction. Because the interest rates of major private banks varied, some banks deliberately attracted depositors to deposit money, and then transferred the deposits to banks with higher interest rates. Go deposit money and earn the difference.

When the interest spread was at its highest, it even reached six cents.

It's a waste of money, and the middlemen make the difference.

As a result, the game went too far, triggering a serious financial crisis at the end of that year, and a large number of private banks were bankrupted.

Zhu Yijiong is now playing the role of government-run banks to take the lead in raising interest rates, which will definitely have a similar effect. As long as the interest rates are high enough, banks will follow suit and raise interest rates, gathering excess private silver and earning interest differentials.

This silver will eventually flow into the imperial government's official bank account bureau.

And the imperial court will definitely not lose money, because the imperial court controls the mint. As long as the silver yuan is promoted, a large amount of minting profits can offset the interest differentials of private banks.

These new silver coins minted by the Mint can be used overseas to purchase overseas grain, which can be used as military supplies for the imperial court's future expedition to Mobei and the Western Regions, which is equivalent to solving many problems at once.

Under the premise that the country's fiscal revenue was somewhat unable to make ends meet, Emperor Zhu was already thinking of conquering the Mobei Grassland and the Junggar Khanate in the Western Regions.

No one in the civil or military circles of the Manchu Dynasty held any objections. This would not only solve the problem of silver currency along the coast, but also meet the needs of the war. It could also offset part of the money and food consumption of immigrants. It could be said that it served multiple purposes with one stone.

Of course, the silver used by the imperial court to buy grain will definitely flow back to China in large quantities after several turnovers.

This is the disadvantage of a country that is too prosperous. China has no trade competitors around the world, and Chinese goods and sea trade have absolute advantages.

In the next few decades or hundreds of years, the world's silver will only continue to flow into the Chinese market, and it will be difficult for foreigners to make money off it.

Therefore, the problem of inflation will only become more and more serious in the future, but this has nothing to do with Emperor Zhu. The best he can do is to ensure that prices rise as steadily as possible while he is alive, without being too outrageous.

The rest depends on how future generations solve it. It doesn't matter if it can't be solved. The worst thing is that his Ming Dynasty will be overthrown by the people.

Moreover, in addition to using silver for fighting, excess silver along the coast can also be dispatched to border towns in the North through lending support to stimulate local economic development, and even carry out some water conservancy projects in the northwest and grasslands. Infrastructure facilities will further promote the development of local Chinese culture.

But in this way, the debt of the imperial treasury will increase, which is equivalent to copying the homework of future generations.

National debt!

Chen Ji bowed and retreated. No one in the cabinet spoke. The issue of coastal silver and fiscal revenue was settled in advance.

Zhu Chengxun suddenly left the mission and handed over his hands and said: "Your Majesty, this year's expedition to Burma has caused huge losses to the national treasury, and eight hundred military prefectures have been added. The financial pressure on the border areas in the north and south has greatly increased. I think it is best not to be good at it this year and next year." Use swords and soldiers. Even if you really want to fight, it is best not to fight a big war. Even if you are conquering the Mobei Grassland and Junggar in the Western Regions, you should plan it in the long term and not act too hastily. At least you should allow enough time to recuperate with the people and border towns. "

"I know." Zhu Yijiong nodded slightly.

Let coastal government-run banks raise interest rates, absorb private silver deposits, set up minting branches, and mint large silver coins to purchase overseas grain. These are all long-term policies.

Moreover, it is impossible to do everything recklessly. Even if the interest rate is raised, the appropriate rate of increase will not cause the imperial treasury to suffer too much loss, nor will it absorb all the silver in the market, causing a reverse "silver shortage" in the market. crisis.

This is all calculated and planned by the Cabinet, the Ministry of Household Affairs, and the Ministry of Commerce based on the coastal and national household names.

Zhu Yijiong added: "The capitals of the five major border towns and the eight hundred army prefectures will definitely not be able to use weapons in a few years. They will mainly focus on immigration, border expansion and reclamation. As for the conquest of the Mobei grassland and the Junggar in the Western Regions, these must be considered in the long term. , be sure to be fully prepared. If you don’t move, hit it once and for all!”

"According to the order."

The cabinet ministers quickly handed over their hands to accept the decree.

The current military strength of the Ming Dynasty, to put it bluntly, can be compared to the entire Mobei Grassland and the Western Regions. Even Siberia and Central Asia are not a big problem.

But the key is that it is easy to occupy by force, but subsequent governance is a big trouble. Even if they are all treated as colonies and exploited crazily according to the European colonial style, these pieces of land will not be able to extract much oil and water.

Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, it first went to war with the Manchu and Qing Dynasties, and then the Manchu and Qing Dynasties were pacified, and then they frantically expanded their territory. Not only is the pressure on military spending huge, but even several newly occupied territories have not yet been completely stabilized.

Now that the imperial court has expanded its territory in southwest Myanmar, it has also returned all the chieftains of Yun Burma who had been struggling for several years to return to their hometowns at once. The financial burden and various hidden dangers must be slowly eliminated.

Regarding the future expansion ideas of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yijiong already had a draft in his mind, which was roughly copied from the homework left by Lao Zhu. Immigration, border guarding, reclamation, and the construction of post stations and local garrisons were added, and the reclamation was slowly pushed forward.

This requires a stable central finance. The failure of the Ming Dynasty was due to the fact that after the death of Lao Zhu, the subsequent ones from Jianwen to Yongle were unable to use Lao Zhu's financial logistics.

Moreover, Lao Zhu established the military garrison for cultivation and the feudal kings to guard the borders. No matter which one is actually right, but taken together, the weak central finance in the early Ming Dynasty could not support such a huge finance. burden.

These two are the gold-swallowing beasts, the bottomless pit, which is actually where Yongle withdrew the vassal king after he ascended the throne.

Until the end of Yongle, when the Ming Dynasty gradually encroached on the Northern Yuan Dynasty, the military household guard system established in border towns basically existed in name only.

A large number of military household guards in border towns were reduced to decorations, either fleeing or abandoning their land. By the time of the "God of War of the Ming Dynasty", the Ming Dynasty lost all its elites in the first battle, civil servants were in power, the land in northern Xinjiang shrank completely, and the border town military household guard system completely collapsed.

Zhu Yijiong was also learning the policies that Lao Zhu had played with, but he couldn't learn them all, and he couldn't use them in the vassal border guards and military household guards.

The reason why Lao Zhu acted so hastily was not only because of the domineering generals and the nobles of Huaixi, but also because Zhu Biao died too early. The vassal king's border garrison was essentially prepared for Jianwen, for fear that Emperor Jianwen would not be able to withstand the iron heel of Bei Yuan and move south. .

Lao Zhu's basic plan for the vassal's border defense was to set up defense lines along the Great Wall, the Yangtze River, and the Yellow River. Even if the Mongolian cavalry of the Northern Yuan Dynasty really went south, they would have to fight against the vassal king along the three lines of defense and wait for the Mongolian cavalry. By the time we reached Nanjing, we were basically at the end of our war effort.

The imperial meeting ended and the ministers dispersed.

Leaving the side hall, there is a carriage waiting in front of the door.

This is a gift from the emperor. Every time these important officials of the imperial court hold an imperial meeting, they are specially allowed to take a carriage in the Forbidden City and return to their respective yamen to work.

In the eyes of the ministers, this was because His Majesty cared about the officials and valued the scholar-bureaucrats, but the actual reason was that the Forbidden City was too big, and Zhu Yijiong disliked that they were not quick enough and would delay the handling of important government affairs.

The ministers went back to their respective offices. Zhu Yijiong did not rush to summon envoys from various countries, but first reviewed the memorials on the case.

Many of these memorials are about the details of the war in Burma. Although memorials like this are also military memorials, the war has already been fought. The follow-up is nothing more than a discussion of merit and rewards. The Cabinet and the Secretariat have already voted for approval. Simulate.

The emperor Zhu Yijiong only needs to sign and does not need to worry about anything else. After a brief glance, he immediately picked up his pen and said, "Yes."

Zhu approved several memorials in succession, all about the war in Burma, the follow-up affairs of the Dai and Meng kingdoms, and the establishment of the 800 new military prefectures.

Zhu Yijiong unanimously replied: "Yes."

After half an hour of reviewing, I finally saw a memorial from overseas.

Although the Governor-General of Yecheng was only established a few years ago and even relied on the imperial court for part of its fiscal revenue, the first Governor-General of Yecheng acted very quickly and ruthlessly.

The Banten Kingdom's territory on Java Island was completely annexed by the Governor-General of Yecheng at the end of last year.

No matter how weak the Banten Sultan was, he still had to respond. They first approached the British to protest, and then... the British refused to tolerate them.

The angry Sultan Banten was so angry that he actually crossed the sea and sent troops to declare war on the governor of Yecheng.

The Governor of Yecheng in the Ming Dynasty immediately saw the opportunity and took out all the 15,000 matchlock guns approved by the previous court and distributed them to the Han landowners who immigrated to reclaim land, and used the direct garrison of the Governor's Mansion as the core to attack the Han people in those areas Conduct temporary training in accordance with reserve forces.

In this way, the governor of Yecheng gathered tens of thousands of troops in a short period of time, and all of them had high morale, because they were defending the land they had reclaimed.

The army sent by Sultan Banten was only ten thousand men, and most of them did not have firecrackers. The only firecrackers were bought from the British.

The war ended almost instantly. The Bandan army was beaten up by the Governor of Yecheng, and they all became "tenants" (slaves) of the Han landlords in the Governor's District of Yecheng.

Banten lost tens of thousands of troops and people at once, and the governor of Yecheng was still unforgiving and further demanded compensation from the Sultan of Banten.

As the Protectorate of Banten, the British in Bencoolen could only intervene to mediate for their own interests.

As a result of the final negotiation, the Sultan of Banten paid war compensation to the Chinese "army" and promised that Chinese businessmen in Banten would enjoy the same privileges and benefits as British businessmen.

What is even more outrageous is that Sultan Banten actually wanted to surrender to the Chinese emperor.

A country's submission to two suzerain countries is almost equivalent to one woman marrying two husbands.

The governor of Yecheng was not able to make a decision, so he could only report to the court.

The cabinet vote proposed: "The Sultan of Banten disrespects the Celestial Empire, and the governor of Yecheng has done meritorious deeds. But he cannot agree to the oath of submission, otherwise the majesty of the Celestial Kingdom will be lost. When an envoy is sent to rebuke the Sultan of Wanten, how can one country profess its vassalage to two countries?" ?”

The secretary's office followed the vote: "Second."

Zhu Yijiong thought for a moment, then wrote and wrote: "Yes."

It is obviously impossible for one country to surrender to two countries. Otherwise, what prestige would China have?

Unless the Sultan of Banten broke off relations with the British, which was obviously impossible.

Moreover, sooner or later, China will completely annex Banten. Whoever allows it to get too close will annex it. How can Coconut City and Old Port be connected together? Bandan cannot defeat Coconut City's army, nor can it cultivate land. The Han people in Yecheng and Old Port will be destroyed sooner or later.

If you take over the country now, it will be difficult to do anything later.

However, the Sultan of Banten quickly received an edict of rebuke from the Chinese envoys and was extremely frightened. However, in order not to damage the alliance with China, the British regarded Banten as a colonial protectorate that could be abandoned at any time.

Sultan Banten had no choice but to smoke opium all day long to numb his mind.

That's right, opium has been introduced here, and it was brought here by Chinese businessmen who escaped from the Ruan family's territory. Soon it spread wildly throughout Banten.

From the royal sultans to the nobles, everyone smoked heavily.

Zhu Yijiong banned opium in China a hundred years ahead of schedule, but because of this, opium became rampant overseas.

(End of this chapter)