Jingnan Strategy

Chapter 128 The city is full of white men

"Your Highness, this is the temporary residence built for you by the brothers in the institute..."

In Jilin City, when Zhang Chun led Zhu Gaoxu to a courtyard where two soldiers were guarding, he opened the locked door without hesitation, revealing the inside of the courtyard.

The walls built with river rocks, which are about ten feet long, the river stone roads paved piece by piece into the soil with Sanhe soil added, and the rows of stone and wood structures of the main house and the wing rooms built with river stones...

To be honest, Zhu Gaoxu didn't expect that Zhang Chun and the others could actually build such a house for him to live in within a month.

Not only him, but also Yi Shiha didn't expect that Jilin City was still covered in heavy snow during the first lunar month.

Zhu Gaoxu walked into the yard and walked back and forth around the yard.

Although it only took a month, the military households in Jilin City did build this place like a house.

"This house is 45 steps long from east to west and 56 steps deep. It occupies two-thirds of nine acres and is divided into a front yard and a back yard."

"There is a main house in the front yard, a Shanchuan residence on the left, an ancestral hall on the right, twelve side rooms, and twelve side rooms..."

"The backyard has a back room, two bedrooms on the left and right, six wing rooms, twenty side rooms, a garden, a stable, a treasury, and a granary. There are six houses and fifty rooms in total."

Zhang Chun introduced the situation of the house truthfully, while Zhu Gaoxu and Yi Shiha were also surprised as they walked.

Although they had already looked at the front yard, they really didn't expect Zhang Chun and more than [-] people to actually build such a big house in a month.

In the first month of the year when the temperature was [-] to [-] degrees below zero, Zhu Gaoxu could not imagine how much hardship they endured to build this house.

Although this house is more than ten times smaller than the regulations allocated to him by Lao Zhu, it is already very big for Zhu Gaoxu. After all, he does not intend to stay in Jilin City all his life.

After walking around the house, Zhu Gaoxu turned to look at Zhang Chun, who had been following him.

It has to be said that Zhang Chun taught Zhu Gaoxu a hard lesson. He did not expect that this military attaché child, who had no record in history, could actually supervise the construction of such a house in a month.

"How many military households, how many craftsmen households, and how many acres of cultivated land are there in Jilin City? What else is there in the treasury?"

Zhu Gaoxu wanted to test Zhang Chun, but Zhang Chun said without hesitation: "Jilin City has one thousand military households, three hundred craftsman households, and 16 people over the age of 920, for a total population of 970. "

"There are 110 acres of farmland in Jilin Bay, including 410 acres of bean fields, [-] acres of millet and wheat fields, and more than [-] acres of sloping land for growing vegetables in summer."

"In the treasury, there are more than [-] kilograms of gunpowder, more than [-] stones of millet, more than [-] stones of wheat, more than [-] kilograms of iron, more than [-] bows, and more than [-] pieces of long and short soldiers. Three hundred and six sets of armor and four hundred and five sets of dark armor."

Zhang Chunru reported the wealth of Jilin City in detail, among which the count of armors was the clearest. It was obvious that he often counted armors.

"How many troops are there in battle? How many troops are stationed?"

Zhu Gaoxu asked again, and Zhang Chun replied calmly: "There are 520 and six fighting soldiers, 270 and six Qin horses, and 420 and seven garrison troops. It was originally sufficient, but there were 47 people in the battle formation against the barbarians in the previous battle. "

"They are all young and strong?" Zhu Gaoxu asked again, and Zhang Chun nodded: "They are all young and strong, and the oldest one is only thirty-four."

"If you want to recruit more people, you can also choose from among the children of military families who are not in the formation."

"No need..." After listening to all Zhang Chun's words, Zhu Gaoxu had an understanding of the situation in Jilin City.

It has to be said that Jilin City's armaments are sufficient, and the number of soldiers far exceeds Zhu Gaoxu's expectations.

In this way, plus the 600 men in his hands, there are more than 500 soldiers in Jilin City.

Thinking of this, Zhu Gaoxu asked: "The military rations stored in the Jilin City Army's fields are also filled into the treasury like other guard posts?"

"It's all like this." Zhang Chun didn't understand why Zhu Gaoxu asked this, but Zhu Gaoxu smiled after hearing it.

Without waiting for Zhang Chun to ask, Zhu Gaoxu ordered:

"The 47 military households that had been eliminated before were no longer required to perform military service and have since been converted into civilian households."

"In addition, another twenty dan of grain will be allocated as compensation, and ten acres of land will be allocated to each of the 47 families. The Ding tax will be excluded. From now on, the land tax will be set at ten and two each year."

"This..." Zhang Chun was stunned by Zhu Gaoxu. He did not expect that Zhu Gaoxu would actually reward the few military farmlands to the widows of military households, and also change their household registrations.

He wanted to persuade, but Zhu Gaoxu frowned and said: "Jilin City is my fiefdom, and from now on, I will make the decision."

During the conversation, they also walked out of the house, and many military households and soldiers such as Lin Wuliu had gathered at the door of the house.

The military households were worried that the houses they built would not please the King of Bohai and would be punished, and their eyes showed worry.

Lin Wuliu and others had burning eyes, as if they wanted to immediately go north to conquer the savages.

Looking at this group of people, Zhu Gaoxu also said loudly:

"From today on, military status and craftsman status will be abolished. All military craftsmen will have their annual salary allocated by the Bohai Palace."

"Soldiers are paid twenty dan per year, six guan of money, one piece of cotton cloth, and two pounds of cotton. They are distributed on the first day of each month. For those who are lost in battle, each household will receive ten acres of fertile land and twenty dan of grain."

"The craftsmen's annual salary is twenty guan, which is distributed on the first day of each month."

"The army in the institute divides the land evenly except for the bean fields, excluding Ding tax and miscellaneous tax. The land tax is divided into ten and two..."

Zhu Gaoxu said some enlightening words that made all the military craftsmen in Jilin City stunned.

For a moment, they did not cheer at all, but wondered whether the King of Bohai was crazy.

They were all ready for Zhu Gaoxu to change his order in the morning and evening, but when Zhu Gaoxu saw this, he said to Zhang Chun: "From now on, Zhang Chun, the official of thousands of households, will organize the land to be divided equally."

"General...take the order..." Zhang Chun reluctantly accepted the task, and only then did many military craftsmen react.

This King of Bohai doesn’t seem to be acting...

"The King of Bohai is a thousand years old!"

"Long live the King of Bohai!"

'Wish you good health, Your Highness! '

"Your Highness..."

For a moment, the military craftsmen who reacted began to praise Zhu Gaoxu, and the original resentment in their hearts because of the construction of the royal residence in winter disappeared.

If they had known in advance that the vassal king they welcomed was such a sage, they would have been eager to stay up all night to build a royal palace.

Facing the crowd cheering, Zhu Gaoxu also smiled and raised his hand to signal for silence:

"Okay, let's all go down and rest until we divide the fields tomorrow!"

Zhu Gaoxu said this, and then turned to look at Zhang Chun.

When Zhang Chun saw this, he shouted immaturely: "Everyone, step back!"

Seeing that Xiao Zhang Qianhu had spoken, all the military craftsmen also dispersed happily. Everyone was discussing the newly arrived Bohai Wise King.

"The three of you, Lin Wuliu, Yishiha, and Zhang Chun, come in. The others will go back to cook first."

Seeing that the military craftsmen had dispersed, Zhu Gaoxu also dismissed the brothers who had followed him north, and only asked Yi Shiha and three other people to enter the hospital with him.

Upon seeing this, Lin Wuliu left a dozen brothers to patrol the simple palace, and followed Zhu Gaoxu into the courtyard.

Not long after, the three of them came to the [-]-square-meter main hall, and Zhu Gaoxu also smiled and said: "In the future, this will be the Chengyun Palace. It is enough for the palace to be like this. There is no need to spend a lot of time to get a plaque. "

"Yes..." Zhang Chun responded in surprise. He really had too many confusions about Zhu Gaoxu. After all, he was too different from many of the news about vassal kings coming back from the south.

Faced with his doubts, Zhu Gaoxu ignored him and said to Lin Wuliu:
"From today on, there are only two thousand households in Jilin City. One is Zhang Chun, and the other is you."

"Thank you, Your Highness!" After hearing that he finally got what he wanted, Lin Wuliu was so excited that he wanted to kneel down, but when he realized that His Highness didn't like kneeling, he quickly changed to bowing.

Looking at his appearance, Zhu Gaoxu also said: "Your name doesn't sound good when you are an official. I will change it for you..."

Lin Wuliu's name originated from the location of his home. Because he lived in Lane [-] of Yulinfang and was the sixth child in the family, his father named him Lin Wuliu.

This way of naming was not strange in the late Yuan Dynasty, but now that Lin Wuliu has a thousand households, it is natural to change one.

Thinking about it, Zhu Gaoxu thought about the name in his mind, and finally said: "You can only get promoted in this place where only millet and wheat can be grown, so just call him Lin Su."

"Thank you, Your Highness, for the name!" Lin Wuliu, who changed his name to Lin Su, agreed with a smile, but he still scratched his head and said, "Your Highness, how do you write the word millet?"

"..." After hearing Lin Su's words, Zhu Gaoxu raised his eyebrows and couldn't help but sigh in his heart: "It seems that we have to start a literacy class in advance."

"You will know when I teach you how to read in a few days." Zhu Gaoxu told Lin Wuliu, and at the same time looked at Zhang Chun: "How many people in the city are literate?"

"There are only four, one is the last general, and the other three are Wang Zhenfu, Li Limu, and Liu Limu." Zhang Chun answered truthfully, feeling a little surprised.

"How many children under the age of 15 are there in the city?" Zhu Gaoxu asked again.

"About 900 people." Zhang Chun answered again, and Zhu Gaoxu also opened his mouth and said:

"How many officials have been recruited before? Have you bought all the books, paper, pens, inkstones, etc.?"

"Twenty-two people, three thousand sets of books, and three thousand stacks of paper, pens, and inkstones are all on the boat in the south." Yi Shiha said without thinking, Zhu Gaoxu nodded after hearing this, turned to Zhang Chun and said, "Is there any open space in the city?"

"There are many more. Previously, Jilin City was built according to the garrisons and could accommodate 3 people. Now there are less than 7000 people." Zhang Chun answered.

"Okay" Zhu Gaoxu nodded and ordered the three of them: "Although it is still early spring, we still have to trouble the people in the city."

"Tomorrow, Zhang Chun, you and Lin Su will organize soldiers to go door-to-door to inform you. They will tell you that the palace will send out corvees and build two academies in the city."

"One is for soldiers in the institute to study, and the other is for junior students under the age of 15 to study."

"The people in the city are exempted from tuition fees, and we will open an academy when the team from the south comes." "This..." Zhang Chun hesitated: "Your Highness, with the annual food here, I am afraid that we cannot support so many scholars."

Zhang Chun did not say that the three thousand sets of paper, pens, inkstones and books cost a lot, costing Zhu Gaoxu more than [-] yuan.

If it were in the past, let alone raising more than 2000 people who need to learn writing, even raising a thousand soldiers would have to live according to the face of Liaodong Dusi.

However, now Zhu Gaoxu is here...

Faced with Zhang Chun's words, Zhu Gaoxu smiled and reassured: "Don't worry about money and food. In early April, Liaodong Dusi will send more than [-] stones, millet, and rice into the warehouse."

"Sixty thousand?" Zhang Chun's eyes widened when he heard Zhu Gaoxu's words. In the past, that was the Jilin Shipyard's two years' expenditure.

"Not only that, when the subsequent team from the south comes, they will bring more than 1 stones of food."

Yi Shiha also smiled and talked to Zhang Chun, and only then did Zhang Chun know Zhu Gaoxu's strength.

He is not an ordinary county king, and he cannot be measured by the ordinary county king's treatment.

Zhang Chun was still surprised, but Zhu Gaoxu sat on a chair and said to the three of them:
"From now on, all the money, food, weapons and other things in the city will be taken care of by Yishuha, and you two will just focus on training the troops."

"The top priority now is to distribute the cultivated land in the camp to the military households. Counting the family members we brought, there are almost 470 households."

"The fields in the institute are divided according to this. Basically, each household can receive two acres of cultivated land."

"The team from the south will bring [-] draft horses. Although these horses also belong to the palace, they are usually given to the common people to keep in captivity. Every household will raise one horse for farming and clearing up wasteland."

"The cultivated land cleared for wasteland will be distributed uniformly by the royal palace, and it will be distributed equally to the people."

"At the beginning of April, people in the city will come to collect food. Each person will receive six measures of food per month, except for soldiers."

"But remember to remind the people that this food is not distributed for a lifetime. It is only distributed so that everyone can open up wasteland without worries."

“When the cultivated land reaches an average of ten acres per person, the per capita ration will be stopped.”

Zhu Gaoxu has been spending money and making calculations in his mind.

Excluding the cost of books and just talking about the distribution of grain, he has promised to distribute no less than [-] shi of grain since arriving in Jilin City.

Not only that, about [-] dan are fixed monthly expenses.

This is still the case when the team from the south has not arrived. If Fu Rang's more than 1000 people from the south arrive in Jilin City, the expenses in Jilin City will reach about [-] shi per month.

It can be said that the grain distributed by the Liaodong Dusi is only enough for the palace to control for ten months, leaving a shortfall of [-], which can only be filled with Zhu Gaoxu's annual salary.

This is only the expenditure on food. If money is included, Zhu Gaoxu will have an even greater headache.

The 550 three soldiers and officers have a fixed annual expenditure of more than [-] guan, and the [-] craftsmen have an annual fixed expenditure of [-] guan.

This amount is [-] guans, but Zhu Gaoxu only has [-] guans per year. Even if he adds [-] guans of salt and [-] guans from selling gauze and silk cloth, he can still make it. Twenty thousand guan.

There is still a surplus of [-] gu in terms of food, but in terms of money, even including the [-] guan given by Zhu Gaochi before leaving, he is still short of [-] guan this year.

The price of grain in Liaodong is high, but it is impossible for him to sell grain.

Thinking of this, Zhu Gaoxu couldn't help but laugh at himself. Perhaps he was the only one among all the vassal kings who was short of money.

Even the poorest Su vassal would not be poor himself. After all, among all the vassal kings, he was the only one who paid for his soldiers out of his own pocket, but this could also be said to be his "own fault."

A military salary of eighteen thousand dollars, let alone the Ming Dynasty, even if you look at the whole world, only he can give it as high as he can.

Therefore, after talking about spending money, Zhu Gaoxu has to talk about making money.

"If the cultivated land is equally divided, how much tax grain do you think we can receive during the autumn harvest?"

Zhu Gaoxu looked at Zhang Chun, who was silent for a moment after hearing the words, and then continued: "If it is two from ten, it is about 350 kilograms per mu. Counting [-] acres of sloping land, we can only collect [-] shi at most. "

With Zhang Chun's words, Yi Shiha next to him already started to have a headache.

With a wave of his hand, His Highness spent 10,000+ stones every year, but got only 350 stones.

Zhu Gaoxu didn't have a headache after hearing this answer. Instead, he continued to ask Zhang Chun: "If you sell iron pots, grains, and tea to the Haixi Jurchens who are on our side, how much do you think you can get in exchange?"

"..." Zhang Chun frowned when he heard that Zhu Gaoxu wanted to do business with the Haixi Jurchen. After all, his father was killed by Xiyang Ha, who was also a Haixi Jurchen.

Seeing his awkwardness, Zhu Gaoxu did not let it go, but comforted: "Only by pulling together one faction and fighting another, can we grasp the intelligence of Xiyang Ha's escape and then strangle him."

Perhaps Zhu Gaoxu's comfort had an effect, Zhang Chun could only frown and confided:

"Today, the most valuable items are iron pots and grain, followed by cloth and cotton, and finally tea, porcelain, pottery and other items."

"According to some military households who went to Futijin City last summer, one stone of grain can be exchanged for one mink skin. I don't know much about the rest."

Zhang Chun's words made Zhu Gaoxu and Yishiha's eyes light up. They did not expect that mink fur was so cheap in Futigin City.

As far as the remaining grain in Zhu Gaoxu's hands is concerned, he can exchange it for eight thousand mink skins.

If these mink skins are given to Yang Bin, they can be made into at least [-] pieces of ready-made clothes, which can be sold for [-] guan. After deducting the cost of [-] shi of grain, plus shipping and labor costs, Zhu Gaoxu can still make a profit even if he shares half of Yang Bin's money. To at least fifteen thousand guan.

However, things like mink pelts are rare and expensive, and if Zhu Gaoxu really dares to collect [-] mink pelts, then it is estimated that the minks in the Northeast will not live for a few years, so we have to start from various directions. Just fine.

The early Ming Dynasty was no better than the late Ming Dynasty. Many valuable wild goods in the late Ming Dynasty were not valuable in the early Ming Dynasty. The only valuable things were furs, pearls, corals, ginseng and deer antlers.

Zhu Gaoxu can sell a certain amount of iron pots and grains, but the scale cannot be too large, otherwise he will be stabbed by the censor, and he will probably be remembered by the group of people in the temple.

At the moment, what he hopes most is to remain anonymous in Jilin until Lao Zhu passes away, and then he will go south to enter the customs...

"Why does it feel a little strange?" Zhu Gaoxu felt strange in his heart. Although he was Han Chinese, the word "going south to enter the customs" always felt a bit inconsistent.

Putting aside these thoughts, Zhu Gaoxu got down to business. He looked at him and said:

"For the goods in Futigin City, you still have to go there in person. It is best to negotiate a fixed trade with the local leader."

"Don't worry, Your Highness, I will set off tomorrow." Yishiha did not delay and asked Zhu Gaoxu, "Do you need some troops from the Futijin tribes?"

"No, I can't use so many troops now," Zhu Gaoxu rejected Yi Shiha's proposal, but at the same time he said to Lin Su and Zhang Chun:
"I don't have much time. It's best to resolve everything before the autumn harvest. After the autumn harvest, I will find the old chief Xiyang Hana to avenge my dead brothers from the north!"

"Yes!" Zhang Chun excitedly bowed. What he wanted to do most now was revenge. When he heard that Zhu Gaoxu was going to do business in Fotijin City, he thought that Zhu Gaoxu was just a sage on the surface and was secretly doing some robberies.

Now it seems that doing business is just to collect money to train soldiers, and training soldiers is to kill Xiyang Ha.

"Zhang Chun, do you have a map of Jilin?"

After Zhu Gaoxu finished talking about finance and remuneration, he naturally started to prepare for side matters.

He greeted Zhang Chun, who was already prepared and took out a map and a booklet from his arms.

The book records the situation in Jilin City, and the map depicts the situation around Jilin City.

Lin Wuliu and Yi Shiha took the map and spread it on the table. Li Chun walked up to Zhu Gaoxu and introduced him to the situation around Jilin City.

In Li Chun's description, the Jilin Shipyard is located in Jilin Bay. There are three [-]-material fortune ships and ten [-]-material ships in the water village. The soldiers in the guard station are all proficient in watercraft, boat handling and firearms control.

To the east of Jilin City, at about the location of Jiaohe City in later generations, there is a Jurchen Stone Castle of the East China Sea.

This stone fort is called Shanchu Fortress by Zhang Chun and others. The Jurchens in the fort often come to Jilin City to exchange for things, and are also responsible for providing information in exchange for things.

They had informed them of Xiyang Ha's attack on Jilin one day in advance, so Jilin City was able to repel Xiyang Ha with such few casualties.

There are more than 3000 East China Sea Jurchens living in this stone castle, which can be regarded as a large tribe among the East China Sea Jurchen tribes.

However, they basically use animal tooth arrows and have very little iron armor, so many households in Jilin City did not take them seriously before.

Zhu Gaoxu had almost memorized the Jurchens of the East China Sea in this place. Its leader was called Ezhen, and he knew some Chinese, which made communication easier.

Zhu Gaoxu planned to let Yishiha pay homage to them after returning from his visit to Futijin City. It would be best to establish a long-term trade cooperation relationship.

After introducing the Perfect Fortress, Zhang Chun also said that there is a Namura Fort 2000 miles northeast, with more than [-] Haixi Jurchens, who are similar in nature to the Perfect Fortress.

If you take the overland route all the way north, you will also pass by five or six Haixi Jurchen stone forts, with the scale basically ranging from 3000 to [-] people. After passing seven stone forts, you can reach Harbin in later generations, which is now Xiyang. Ha Lao Chao Zhaozhou.

This distance seems very close, but in fact it is more than 400 miles, so it is not easy for Xiyang Ha to attack Jilin City once.

He didn't grab anything last time. Zhang Chun estimated that he would be honest for a few months and not send troops until the autumn harvest was approaching.

Generally speaking, Xiyang Ha will take the land route, while the Ming army basically takes the water route, all the way up the Songhua River.

The main reason why they did not choose the land route was because they were worried about being attacked. After all, the number of Ming troops in Jilin City was small. Every time they went on patrol, they would patrol the Songhua River Basin by boat and return after arriving in Zhaozhou.

Only when Liaodong Dusi is preparing to go on an expedition, the soldiers of Jilin Shipyard will go overland with the large army, but most of the time they only undertake the task of escorting grain and grass.

If you take the water route, it is more than 700 miles north to Zhaozhou. There are many Haixi Jurchen stone forts along the way to supply the fleet.

Just after listening to Zhang Chun's words, Zhu Gaoxu gave up his future attack on Xiyang Ha by water.

The waterway is easy to supply, but it is also easy to expose the target. After all, the only force that can operate a ship with [-] materials on the Songhua River is the Ming army. If Xiyangha arranges two scouts along the way, they will probably be captured by Xiyangha before they set out a hundred miles. knew.

To deal with Xiyang Ha, the only way to defeat Xiyang Ha is to attack lightly. After all, the armored soldiers in his hands are limited, and the Ming army will not necessarily suffer in a close encounter.

But no matter what, there are tens of thousands of people in Xiyang Ha's lair. If the Ming army in Jilin City does not have strong enough fighting will and absolute organizational power, then even if Zhu Gaoxu can kill dozens of people with a single step, he will not be able to defeat the people in the rear. Escape thoughts.

In the final analysis, we still have to train troops, and training must start with literacy...

(End of this chapter)