Jingnan Strategy

Chapter 119 Change of Mindset

"Eight thousand guan?!"

Yang Bin's breath froze. At this price, he could earn at most a few hundred guan, which was much less than the more than [-] guan he expected.

"Your Highness, you..."

Yi Shiha also looked at Zhu Gaoxu. After all, he also felt that "Nano Zhongshu" was what Jilin Guard needed most. After all, to raise troops, they must have enough food.

Although the emperor has approved the allocation of a whole year's worth of food to Jilin Guards every spring, with that little food, Jilin Guards can only maintain the status quo of [-] people and [-] soldiers.

If these thousand salts are exchanged for food, even if they are only exchanged for [-] shi, they can raise three to four hundred more soldiers, not to mention that Jilin Guards' conditions can be exchanged for [-] shi.

Faced with Yi Shiha's doubts and Yang Bin's anxiety, Zhu Gaoxu sat firmly on the Diaoyutai, poured himself a glass of wine, drank it all and said:
"I'll sell the salt to you, and I'll keep the tea, but I have other business to discuss with you."

As he spoke, Zhu Gaoxu looked at Yang Bin: "Ginseng, mink skin, deer antlers...these are the businesses I want to discuss with you."

Ginseng, mink, deer antler...

Listening to these three things Zhu Gaoxu said, Yang Bin's eyes lit up.

These things are not considered treasures in Jilin, but if they are shipped to Jiangnan, they can make a lot of money.

"In the land of Susong, ginseng is worth three guan per catty, a mink coat is worth fifty guan, and deer antlers are worth forty guan per catty..."

Zhu Gaoxu counted the value of these things and looked at Yang Bin: "These are all businesses."

"Your Highness really knows the market in Jiangnan..." Listening to the goods and prices read out by Zhu Gaoxu, Yang Bin laughed awkwardly.

Regarding his embarrassment, Zhu Gaoxu didn't say much, but said:

"I sell these things to you at half the price in Jiangnan. Although the price is twice as high as what you get in Liaodong, you should know that [-]% of Liaodong's ginseng, deer antlers and mink come from Jilin. Besides, you don't have any in Liaodong. You can’t buy connections even if you want to.”

"Before, Jilin only had a population of more than 6000, and the number collected was not large. After I come over, the output will be much higher than before. How high it is, I won't tell you, and don't ask."

"After selling these goods to you, I will also pay to buy grain from you. The amount is large, but you don't have to worry."

"If you think it's okay, then we can finalize this matter. If you think it's not okay, I'll treat you to this banquet today and I'll pay for it."

Yang Bin is right. Jilin is indeed bitterly cold and short of food, but after all, Jilin is the hometown of the three treasures of ginseng, mink skin and deer antlers.

Even though the price of these three treasures in the early Ming Dynasty was not as expensive as in the late Ming and Qing Dynasties, the price was indeed not cheap.

Seven days have passed since the lifting of the ban. During these seven days, Zhu Gaoxu checked the tributes paid to the palace by Liaodong Dusi.

Among them, most of the ginseng mink skins and deer antlers are produced in Jilin Shipyard, which can provide hundreds of kilograms of ginseng, deer antlers and more than a hundred mink skins to the palace every year.

This is only the tribute. If you include the amount sold privately by local guards and sold in local markets, it is not impossible for this amount to increase more than ten times.

It's just that Zhu Gaoxu's vision is not short-sighted. Instead of letting people from Jilin Shipyard dig ginseng and hunt mink antlers, it would be better to mobilize hundreds of thousands of Jurchens from the East China Sea and Haixi to collect it for him.

But if he wants to do that, he has to show his strength, such as solving Xiyang Ha that Lao Zhu told him.

Thinking of this, Zhu Gaoxu continued to look at Yang Bin.

At this moment, Yang Bin was hesitating. He was not considered a big businessman in Huai'an Prefecture, and could only be ranked in the middle.

Spending [-] guan in one go to buy salt yin put a lot of pressure on him, but he also knew that buying salt yin was a stepping stone. If he couldn't even eat the salt yin, then the King of Bohai would not take Jilin. Leave the business to him.

As long as he can take over Jilin's business, he can earn at least [-] guan every year. In addition to the several hundred guan earned by Yan Yin, and the subsequent business of buying grain for Jilin, he can still earn between [-] and [-] guan every year. .

If the King of Bohai becomes powerful in the future, he will also be able to benefit from it...

"The common people need half a month to prepare, and half a month later they will hand over the eight thousand guan of money."

In the end, Yang Bin failed to resist the temptation. After all, he would not lose money on this business no matter what, and there was no reason not to do it.

"Okay..." Zhu Gaoxu didn't say anything else, he just raised his wine glass and clinked it with the glass in Yang Bin's hand.

Seeing Zhu Gaoxu's agreement, Yang Bin felt a stone drop in his heart, but he was still curious as to why Zhu Gaoxu wanted to buy grain later instead of directly converting salt into grain.

But compared to this answer, he cares more about his future 'money path'.

After several rounds of changing cups, Zhu Gaoxu stood up and called Shang Yishiha to leave the restaurant, leaving only Yang Bin who was already drunk and unconscious.

If nothing else goes wrong, he will be clearly arranged by the madam in the restaurant.

"The sixteenth floor..."

After walking out of the restaurant, Zhu Gaoxu exhaled the smell of alcohol and looked back at the six-story building with the name 'Qingjiang Tower' written on it.

As a restaurant run by the Ming Dynasty government, it covers an area of ​​several acres, with walls outside and tall buildings with high foundations and double eaves inside. The overall design is spacious and gorgeous, and it is packed with seats every day.

Zhu Gaoxu didn't expect that the first time he came to Qingjiang Tower, one of the sixteenth floors, was to discuss business.

"Let's go."

Just looking at the group of official prostitutes and happy girls leaning on the railings in thin skirts, Zhu Gaoxu greeted Yi Shiha and left.

When they walked out of the gate of Qingjiang Tower, a carriage was already waiting for them.

This was arranged by Yi Shiha. Since his arrival, Zhu Gaoxu no longer has to bother Chi Huan every day when traveling, but he can let it rest well before heading to the north.

"Your Highness, I don't know why you bought the grain after the fact. Why didn't you just sell the salt for grain?"

After getting on the carriage, Zhu Gaoxu had just sat down when Yi Shiha asked him a question that was equally confusing to him.

In this regard, Zhu Gaoxu also explained: "I don't need too many people at the moment, and the court has rationed food. For the time being, I will go to Jilin Guard to check the situation. If conditions are good, I will buy additional food."

Regarding Jilin, Zhu Gaoxu felt uneasy.

He had been to Jilin in his previous life, but at that time, Jilin was already covered with high-rise buildings, and the farmland in the countryside had been developed long ago, and there was no trace of its original appearance at all.

But the Jilin he went to now was the place where he had been interrupted for 200 years after encountering the Mongolian butcher knife.

If placed in the Liao and Jin Dynasties, although the area was bitterly cold, at least some people had developed it and there were enough mature fields and population.

But now, no one can guarantee what Jilin will look like after 200 years of interruption.

Two hundred years is enough time to disintegrate a city made of reinforced concrete, not to mention some civil buildings in the Liao and Jin Dynasties.

Zhu Gaoxu had a premonition that if he wanted to redevelop Jilin and its surrounding areas, what he would have to do was 'archaeologically' the local water conservancy facilities from the Liao and Jin Dynasties and repair them at their ruins.

This difficulty is no less than that of later generations developing the Great Northern Wilderness, or even more difficult.

But only in this way can Zhu Gaoxu use Jilin Guard as his basic base and gradually expand his power outwards.

Now he cannot feed the [-] or [-] people in Jilin. Only by relying on these [-] or [-] people to build the local area, and then purchase food from Yang Bin and further relocate the population, can Jilin Wei become Zhu Gaoxu's own. Peking City'.

While he was thinking, the carriage also drove towards the Fujun Qianweifang where he lived. At the same time, Yishiha, who received the explanation, also told Zhu Gaoxu what he had gained in the past seven days.

"My servant has asked the old tribesmen at home. Now the more powerful tribes are living and farming in six cities, including Tuowen City, Fusimu City, Fukixi City, Kaolang Ancient City, Kilemi City, and Mangjita City."

"The six cities have frequent commercial exchanges, mainly through barter."

"Tribes from all over the East China Sea and West China Sea will bring their minks, horses and other local specialties here to exchange ironware, farm tools, silk cloth, porcelain and other production and living items with merchants from Hebei, Shandong and Liaonan."

"Among these six cities, Ephtigin is the most prosperous, and it has good personal relations with the slave families. They are loyal to the Celestial Empire."

"Your Highness is the vassal queen. I can personally make a trip to convince the leader of Fotijin City to accept Your Highness's control."

"In addition, the leader of the East China Sea Savages, Ge Feng A Nang Hanu and others, are also close to the court. A letter from His Highness should be able to appease them."

"Except for them, there is..."

Zhu Gaoxu did not make a mistake in choosing Yishuha to help him. He knew the Jurchens in Haixi, Donghai and other regions very well, and counted more than [-] Jurchens along the Songhua River and Heilongjiang who were close to the Ming Dynasty, neutral, and opposed to the Ming Dynasty.

Among them, 39 are pro-Ming, [-] are anti-Ming and pro-Mongolian, and the rest are those with unclear attitudes and only want to do trade.

"How far are these fifteen houses from Jilin, and what is their population?"

After obtaining the key information, Zhu Gaoxu further inquired about Yi Shiha.

"The ones closest to us are Xiyang Ha and several of his allies, about eight tribes. The rest are in the upper reaches of Heilongjiang, close to Wu Liang Ha."

"Even the people in the servant's family don't know much about the eight tribes in the upper reaches, but there should be less than ten thousand people."

"The Xiyang Ha tribe has about 3000 people, and the other six tribes have about 3 to [-] people. Together with Xiyang Ha, there are no more than [-] people."

"Excluding the old, weak, women and children, I estimate that they only have 8000 or [-] men capable of fighting."

Yi Shiha analyzed and reported the good news: "Compared to them, there are more than [-] people close to the Celestial Empire in Futigin and other cities. However, if you want them to send troops, you must give them enough benefits."

"In other words, there are about 70 people in the more than 7 units in Haixi, right?" Zhu Gaoxu had the answer, and Yi Shiha nodded in agreement.

There are so many people in the Haixi Jurchens, but it is not beyond Zhu Gaoxu's expectation. After all, even in the late Ming Dynasty, the Haixi Jurchens can still draw tens of thousands of Dingkou to fight with Nurhaci for decades. This is after the Tumubao incident. The result of slow reproduction after most of the Jurchens of the Ming Dynasty were massacred by the Mongols.

There are more than 10,000 Jurchens in Haixi, which is good news for Zhu Gaoxu.

The Jurchens, especially the Haixi Jurchens, can be said to be a good source of soldiers that Zhu Gaoxu can use.

For the Han people, Zhu Gaoxu had to pay a high salary of eighteen guans to hire them, but for the Haixi Jurchens, even if he only gave him a few stones of rice every year, he could still recruit many people to serve as soldiers.

Use the Jurchens to deal with the Jurchens, then bring them inland to assimilate them, and move some Han people to sheltered areas along the Heilongjiang River to establish guard stations. This is one of the ways Zhu Gaoxu came up with to quickly conquer the Northeast.

Although the Northeast is large, there are only a few hundred thousand Jurchens in Haixi and Donghai together.In the history of the Ming Dynasty, it was difficult to assimilate them because Zhu Qi Town overturned the earthen fortress, which resulted in the pro-Ming Jurchens being slaughtered and the other Jurchens hiding in the mountains.

If they were brought together, even if they were not brought into the customs, but only brought into Liaodong, they would only be assimilated under the squeeze of the surging Han immigrants.

What's more, except for a few such as Xiyang Ha, most of the current Jurchens are eager to move to Liaodong or even into the Pass.

Zhu Gaoxu knew how embarrassing his situation was. Lao Zhu wanted to use him but was worried about losing the reins in his hands, and Zhu Yunwen was always on guard against him.

In this case, he wanted to immigrate from the south. Let alone the flight rate of immigrants, it would be difficult to feed the people who immigrated on a large scale just because of the situation in Jilin.

In contrast, the Jurchens who are eager to move south are the ones Zhu Gaoxu can win over, especially those Jurchens who are familiar with Yishiha's mouth.

But just doing this, Zhu Gaoxu always felt a bit inconsistent. Although he was bringing Haixi Jurchen, he always felt...

"Your Highness, there is too little information about the Jurchens from the East China Sea. We can only estimate that their followers number between 40 and [-]. However, they are spread too widely, and often only a few hundred people form a stronghold. It is difficult to find them."

Yi Shiha did not see Zhu Gaoxu's weirdness, but continued to introduce, and said at the same time: "The slave also asked the family to prepare twelve guards who can also speak Jurchen. Now they are already selecting craftsmen for the palace, but you Are you really sure you want to take Denglai Road?"

Yi Shiha told Zhu Gaoxu the route he planned to go north, and Zhu Gaoxu nodded.

He was worried by Lao Zhu and feared by Zhu Yunwen. Under this situation, if he still walked from Peking to Liaodong, he would inevitably be suspected by Lao Zhu's suspicion.

Instead of doing this, it would be better for him to take the sea route from Dengzhou and Laizhou in Shandong Province to Liaonan, all the way to Jilin.

This saves a lot of half a month of travel and a lot of trouble.

"Shut up!"

Suddenly, the carriage stopped sharply. Yishiha almost fell down because he was sitting on the side, but fortunately Zhu Gaoxu held him up.

"My lord in the car, there are some military lords blocking our way."

The coachman's voice sounded from outside the carriage. Before Yishiha could react, the carriage door was opened, and a Jinwu guard wearing bright armor appeared in front of Zhu Gaoxu.

"Good boy, let me find it easily..."

When the Jinwu guard raised his head, Zhu Gaoxu was stunned.

"I chased you all the way." Fu Rang's face appeared in front of Zhu Gaoxu.

"You go back first and take my horse with you."

"Yes!"

Before Zhu Gaoxu could react, Fu Rang turned to explain to several Jinwu guards outside the car, then got in the car and closed the door.

He quickly sat down in the empty seat on the right side, took off the helmet on his head and put it on his lap. His forehead was covered with sweat. It was obvious that he was chasing Zhu Gaoxu very hard.

"What are you doing here..."

Zhu Gaoxu's expression was complicated. During this period, Fu Youde's words to him before his death had been echoing in his mind. Therefore, he never went to Ying Guogong's mansion, nor did he go to find Fu Zhong and Fu Rang.

"The old man's funeral has been arranged, so I will naturally come to find you."

Compared with Zhu Gaoxu's guilt, Fu Rang lost his previous recklessness, but grinned at Zhu Gaoxu and said:
"Your Majesty didn't say anything about the attack on the Lord. I guess he is probably a fool."

"The old man expected that our five disobedient sons would retire one after another as soon as he died, so he left us all letters."

"The contents of the letters are almost the same. They say that everything will be fine if he dies, so let us work well in the court."

"The eldest brother is not happy, so he plans to take the two children back to Suzhou. I will probably never come to Nanjing again in this life."

"I don't know what my three brothers in Yunnan will do after reading the letter. They will probably become officials."

Fu Rang said frankly that these were similar to the history that Zhu Gaoxu was familiar with in his previous life.

"What about you..." He looked at Fu Rang with complicated eyes.

"Me?" Fu Rang wiped the sweat from his forehead: "I am not happy to work for those two people in the palace. I originally wanted to become an official, but when I heard that you were sealed to an inaccessible place in Jilin, I was afraid that you If you can't handle it, I will go with you to Jilin to help you."

"That person saw my memorial and didn't say anything. He just allowed me to be the commander of the Jilin Guard."

As Fu Rang spoke, he couldn't help but laugh: "If you can't fight, then you have to ask me to fight for you."

He laughed very loudly, but it sounded harsh to Zhu Gaoxu.

He had been with Fu Rang for several months, how could he not know Fu Rang's character?

Thinking about it, he felt that he was sent to a bitter and cold place like Jilin because he spoke for Duke Ying, so he felt guilty and wanted to go to Jilin Guard to help him.

However, Zhu Gaoxu knew very well that the reason why he spoke for Duke Ying at that time was because he wanted to seek the power of Duke Ying.

It was then, but now...

Zhu Gaoxu looked at Fu Rang and didn't know what to say.

Although Fu Youde has passed away now, the Yingguo Palace still has enough strength. Most of the many health clinics in Yunnan are in the hands of the Fu family.

Although Lao Zhu can take action against Fu Youde's old troops in Shanxi, Shaanxi and Peiping, he will not take action against Yunnan at this juncture.

If Zhu Gaoxu wanted to, he could take this opportunity and use Fu Zhong to win the favor of Fu Zheng, Fu Mao, and Fu Jing, so that they would not take up their official positions for the time being, waiting for changes in the future.

However, every time he thinks about this, Zhu Gaoxu still thinks of Fu Youde's last words.

So when faced with Fu Rang's words, he took a deep breath: "I promised the Duke not to involve your family anymore, but I don't want to..."

"Bullshit!" Fu Rang interrupted Zhu Gaoxu and swore: "My father is my father, and I am me. I went north with you to make contributions, not to listen to your mother-in-law and mother here."

"My dad said you are right, you are just too indecisive. If you had been more decisive, you would have ended up being exiled to Jilin!"

Fu Rang's scolding was a bit unpleasant, and Zhu Gaoxu couldn't help but clenched his fists.

Seeing him clenching his fists, Fu Rang remembered the scene where he was dominated by Zhu Gaoxu in the martial arts arena, and couldn't help but swallow his saliva.

"Your Highness, it is a good thing that Commander Fu will accompany us to Jilin."

Yi Shiha saw Zhu Gaoxu's hesitation and reminded him: "Commander Fu has led a thousand troops of Jinwu Guard after all. With him here, it will be much easier for us in Jilin."

"Did you hear that?" Fu Rang stiffened immediately when he saw that the stranger Yi Shiha was also talking to him.

Seeing the appearance of the two of them, Zhu Gaoxu didn't have a mother-in-law, but stared at Fu Rang and said frankly:
"I'm not a mother-in-law anymore. But if you want to come with me, I'll make an agreement with you first. You are my guard. You must obey me when training, marching, and fighting. Otherwise, even you, I It will still be dealt with by military law."

"Okay!" Seeing Zhu Gaoxu's move, Fu Rang also patted his leg: "How many more of your five hundred guards are you missing?"

"There are only 56 people at the moment." Zhu Gaoxu was a little embarrassed. He didn't expect the brothers of Xu Zibaihu to think about it for so long.

Seven days have passed, but there are only 22 brothers from one hundred households with the name Xu who have chosen to go north, and the remaining 34 are brothers they brought from other guards.

"You recruit first and see. If there are not enough, I will find people from Jinwu Guard and brothers from other guards. If that still doesn't work, I will bring in my own guards."

There are 120 guards in Duke Ying's mansion, and most of them are at the old house in Fengyang. If Fu Rang asks Fu Zhong for help, Fu Zhong will not refuse to give it. After all, Zhu Gaoxu has really helped his family too much.

"I know." Zhu Gaoxu nodded, and then began to reflect.

In fact, what Fu Rang said is right. He does tend to be hesitant and indecisive many times.

Because of this, he has delayed going north since last year.

With such a character, how could he intimidate the Jurchen tribes after going to Jilin, and how could he achieve the historical achievements of his predecessor in the Battle of Jingnan?

Thinking of this, Zhu Gaoxu took a deep breath.

Maybe Fu Youde's death stimulated him, or maybe Fu Rang's words woke him up, but in short, he finally made a decision.

"That's it for Jilin. I have one more thing to ask for your help."

Zhu Gaoxu looked straight at Fu Rang, which made him feel terrified: "What?"

"Help me persuade your second, third and fourth brothers not to become officials, at least for the next ten years." Zhu Gaoxu said, and also gave his own excuse:

"Yunnan is currently in turmoil. Without your family members, the people of Yunnan will suffer many disasters."

"I know they are dissatisfied with the people in the palace, but at least they can survive these few years."

"..." Looking at Zhu Gaoxu, Fu Rang didn't expect that he had changed so much.

Obviously, I was still thinking about not involving him, but after agreeing to it, I had to involve my whole family.

If it weren't for his words, Fu Rang would have suspected that he was just faking it.

"I can try." Fu Rang was a little embarrassed, but still agreed.

Seeing that he agreed, Zhu Gaoxu also breathed a sigh of relief. At this time, the carriage they were riding in also stopped. Yishiha opened the window and looked outside, then turned back and said: "Your Highness, we are home."

"Okay, you guys get off the car. I'll take this car back to the house." Seeing Zhu Gaoxu and the others arriving, Fu Rang also waved his hand to drive them off.

Zhu Gaoxu didn't say much. He just looked back at Fu Rang before getting out of the car: "Wait for my news."

After that, he got out of the car and left, closing the door behind him.

Watching them walk into the yard and close the door from the window, Fu Rang then asked the coachman to drive and left the Fujun Qianweifang in the carriage.

(End of this chapter)