Anti-Qing: Starting from the Reincarnation of the Ming Dynasty

If it were just the British, they would definitely not be able to produce a fleet of this size.

At present, the British sphere of influence is still west of Malacca and concentrated in India.

East of Malacca, the British did not have sufficient strength.

But isn’t this also the Netherlands and Spain?
These are two old colonial powers.

With the Dutch and Spanish colonial expansion in the East for hundreds of years, it would be no problem to put together dozens of sailing battleships.

After all, the definition of warships in this era is not so strict. Even Galen ships commonly used by maritime merchants can be used as warships with a few modifications.

The quality and performance may be worse, but it's not a big problem.

Of course, this is also related to the fact that since the restoration of the Ming Dynasty and the attitude of pointing the sword at the deep blue, both the Netherlands and Spain have deliberately strengthened their power in the East.

Facing the aggressive Ming Dynasty and the ever-expanding Ming Dynasty maritime merchants.

Neither the Netherlands nor Spain were willing to lose their Far Eastern colonies, nor were they willing to have hundreds of years of colonial gains ruined.

We can only continue to increase our investment in the Far East colonies, so we have this fleet to aid Japan.

This is the reason why the Netherlands and Spain left a lot of troops to defend Manila and Batavia in order to ensure the safety of their home bases.

Otherwise, it is not impossible for the Netherlands and Spain to join forces and form a fleet of a hundred battleships.

When Shimazu Shigehao heard this, his eyes couldn't help but light up.

Because he knew that the last time the Ming army launched troops on Ryukyu, the fleet it mobilized was only a hundred warships.

Among them, the sailing battleship is only one tenth.

That’s just a dozen or so!

Even if the size of the Ming army's fleet were doubled this time, there would only be about twenty ships at most.

If the Satsuma Domain can get help from these foreign barbarians this time.

It is really possible to make a comeback!

Well, fifty versus twenty, I have the advantage!

Suddenly seeing the hope of winning, Shigehao Shimazu couldn't bear not to be excited about it.

Taking a deep breath and forcing himself to calm down, Shimazu Shigehao asked with a slightly trembling voice.

"How many do you need?"

William chuckled, stretched out a finger, and said.

"A sailing battleship, plus the corresponding sailors, rent for five thousand Ming silver dollars a month."

"If you still need mercenaries for land warfare, five Ming silver dollars per person per month."

"Of course, the feudal lord is responsible for all the food, grass, weapons, medicines and other materials needed by the army during wartime."

Although they are unwilling to admit it, within the current scope of East Asia, the Ming Dynasty silver coins minted by the Ming Dynasty are indeed first-class hard currency.

Even the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Spain and Japan used the Ming Dynasty silver dollar to do business.

When Shimazu Shigehao heard this, he did not agree immediately, but was prepared to continue bargaining with these foreigners.

While bargaining, he hurriedly ordered his cronies to bring his own handwritten letters to visit the famous names with whom he had good relations in the past.

There is only one purpose, and that is to borrow money.

……

Sichuan, Ningyuan Prefecture, Zhaojue County.

Lin Shen got up early and did a set of punches in the morning sun.

Soon, a burst of sweat broke out all over his body, soaking a large area of ​​his cloth.

Feeling the muscles and bones all over his body moving, Lin Shen slowly exhaled a breath, then stopped his posture, turned around and returned to the house.

Although it has been several years since he retired from the army, Lin Shen still maintains his original living habits and exercises every day to keep fit.

After changing out of his wet clothes and drawing water from the well in the courtyard, Lin Shen began to take a towel and scrub away the sweat stains on his body.

After wiping off the sweat stains, he changed into official uniform.

At this time, his little wife, who had just been here a few days ago, also prepared breakfast.

A pot of fragrant and thick porridge, two pieces of oily bacon, a cold folded ear root, a few large pancakes, and two eggs.

Lin Shen sat down at the dining table and began to peel the eggs quickly, while his wife picked up the bowls and chopsticks to help him serve the porridge.

Lin Shen was not polite, took the bowl and chopsticks and started eating.

First, I took a sip of the fragrant and thick porridge.

Then, take a big pancake and roll it with folded ear root and bacon, three or two bites into one piece.

Halfway through eating, Lin Shen looked up and saw his little wife staring at him without moving her chopsticks, so he said.

"Madam, don't just watch me eat, you should also eat quickly."

When his wife heard this, she shook her head and said.

"I'm not hungry. You, the boss, eat first. I'll eat after you finish."

Due to the scarcity of production materials in this era.

Therefore, people developed the habit of letting the strongest workers eat first.

After all the strong laborers have finished eating and are full, it is the turn of the women and children to serve.

Because only when strong laborers are well fed can they do hard work and support their families.

Due to the innate physiological differences between women and children, even if they are full, their work is not as good as that of strong laborers. Therefore, they have no choice but to skip the table.

Many things exist and are reasonable.

It is not simply cannibalism or gender oppression, but a helpless choice under the premise of insufficient supplies.

Of course, if women and children are not allowed to serve on the table when production and living materials are abundant, then it will be a complete feudal remnant.

No need to wash this!
When Lin Shen heard this, he waved his hand and said.

"It's okay, just go ahead and eat. Our family doesn't lack food for you."

"These two boiled eggs, one for each of us."

While talking, he peeled an egg for his wife and put it in her bowl.

Lin Shen is a veteran of the Ming Army, the kind of meritorious veteran who lost two fingers on the battlefield and was discharged due to disability.

After he was discharged from the army, the imperial court gave him thirty silver dollars and twenty acres of paddy field as settlement expenses.

In addition, he has accumulated 35 acres of military merit fields through his military exploits during his years in the army.

He has a total of fifty-five acres of good farmland.

In Sichuan, a place with dense population and relatively scarce land resources, you can be considered a small landowner.

With his family's conditions, even if it is for his children and grandchildren to study, it is more than enough.

Also, when Lin Shen retired from the army, he was not an ordinary soldier, but a squad leader with the rank of sergeant, almost becoming a real officer.

Because of this, after he was discharged from the army due to injury, the imperial court arranged for him to change his job and let him work as an official in his hometown of Zhaojue County, where he could receive money and food every month.

Given Lin Shen's family situation, even if he couldn't eat meat every day, if he had meat every now and then, that would definitely be fine.

It is impossible for his little wife to go hungry as soon as she gets married. Lin Shen's wife glanced at the white and tender eggs in her bowl, swallowed subconsciously, but still shook her head.

"Master, you can eat. I don't have to go out to work. Just drink some porridge."

Her family background is not good, and she has been used to a hard life since she was a child.

Her parents taught him since he was a child that if there is food, it is important for the men in the family to eat first, and only after the men eat can the women eat.

Although she is now married to Lin Shen, her habits have not changed yet.

Looking at the good things on the dinner table, she didn't dare to move her chopsticks at all.

Hearing this, Lin Shen shook his head and said.

"Eat it with confidence. Our family can collect fifty or sixty silver dollars every year just from the rent collection of my military field. In addition, I also have a salary of two silver dollars every month. I will not be short of these two mouthfuls of food from you."

Although Lin Shen now has fifty-five acres of fertile farmland, the fifty-five acres of fertile farmland are not in his hometown, but near Chengdu.

Therefore, he himself does not sow.

Instead, it was handed over to the court to take care of every year, and I just waited to collect the rent.

Almost one silver dollar can be obtained from the land rent per mu of land per year.

The reason why the military merit field allocated to him was in Chengdu and not in his hometown was because Lin Shen's hometown did not have a sufficient amount of unowned land available for allocation.

If the Ming Dynasty insisted on dividing the fields locally, it could only divide the fields by attacking local tyrants.

However, this is obviously inconsistent with the positioning of the feudal dynasty of Ming Dynasty.

Therefore, most of the land allocated to Ming soldiers by the Ming Dynasty is concentrated near the former Mancheng.

It’s basically the same old Hatata!

Because the difficulty of dividing flag fields is the lowest, just kill people to divide the fields. After the fields are divided, there will be no hidden dangers.

Because those bannermen were either dead or sent to labor camps, there was certainly no hidden danger.

After the land is allocated, those who want to can plant it themselves.

If you don’t want to farm, you can leave it to the imperial court for unified management and just wait for the land rent at the end of each year.

Lin Shen is the kind of person who doesn't want to farm his own land.

He is now working as an official for the imperial court. He gets a salary every month. He also collects land rent at the end of each year. How comfortable is his life?

Why bother to face the loess and turn your back to the sky again?
The reason why he chose to leave home to join the army and fight for wealth on the battlefield was because he had to endure the hard life of facing the loess and facing the sky.

Even though he lost two fingers on the battlefield, he still made a contribution. If he comes back from the army, he will have to continue digging in the mud with his face turned to the loess and his back turned to the sky.

Then wouldn't his two fingers be lost in vain?
After hearing this, Lin Shen's wife took the bowl and chopsticks and started eating in small bites.

Lin Shen did not accompany his wife to have breakfast slowly. After he finished eating, he told his wife to take good care of the house at home, picked up his saber, led the horse and went out.

After leaving home, Lin Shen rode straight towards the Yamen.

It was almost o'clock, and he didn't want to be late.

After arriving at the county government office and signing the sign-in book, Lin Shen entered his class room. As soon as he sat down to drink a cup of tea and read the newspaper, he heard a loud gong sound outside.

"Emergency assembly, emergency assembly!"

"The official documents from the imperial court have arrived. Everyone immediately gathered in the county government hall to prepare to hear the official documents."

"Move quickly, don't keep the magistrate waiting..."

Amidst the noise, a group of people arrived at the county government hall, and saw the county magistrate wearing official robes, sitting at the top.

Wearing a green robe and black gauze and three long beards, he looks dignified and majestic.

After everyone arrived, the county magistrate cleared his throat and began to read the official document.

"According to the outline of the social development of the New Ming Dynasty, the imperial government's policy..."

Lin Shen stood in the lobby of the county government office, feeling drowsy as he listened.

Just when he was about to fall asleep, the county magistrate finally got to the point.

"Regarding the governance of Sichuan Province, the cabinet has issued important instructions, requiring local governments to immediately implement the work of clearing farmland and checking Dingkou, and there must be no delay and concealment!"

The county magistrate paused here and then continued.

"Zhaojue County is no exception. The work of clearing the land and checking Dingkou in every township, town and village in the county must be carried out."

"County officials work in pairs to supervise each other and go to each township and village to implement the work..."

Upon hearing this, the clerks responded with clasped fists and promised to complete their tasks.

Everyone seems very motivated!
Because, in the current Ming Dynasty, officials and officials do not separate families.

If an official can accumulate enough merit, he can report the list to the Ministry of Personnel and be promoted to an official.

This is full of temptation for both old officials and young people.

After all, as the saying goes, if you can be an official, why bother being an official?
The gap between officials and officials is more than a world of difference!
At present, the court wants to investigate Dingkou and clear out the land of the father-in-law, which is a rare opportunity for them to make meritorious deeds.

Even Lin Shen was a little moved.

Although he was a disabled veteran who retired and then became a civil servant, it was much easier for him to rise to the post than for others.

After all, two of his fingers were severed for Daming, so who knew not to look down upon him?
However, without sufficient credit, it will not be easy for him to be promoted.

Could this incident be an opportunity for him to change from a clerk to an official?
Different from the excitement of these officials, the county magistrate sitting above did have a slightly worried look on his face.

Unlike these officials, he was an official after all, appointed and dismissed by the imperial staff of Zhaojue County.

There are many more news channels than these officials.

He knew that the imperial court said it wanted to clean up the land and households, but it was not implemented nationwide.

Only a few provinces in the southwestern provinces actually received official documents from the imperial court requesting the clearing of land and land.

And this is worth pondering.

Is this move of the imperial court intended to clean up the father-in-law's land and investigate the Dingkou? Or do you have other plans?
If he guessed correctly, the imperial court probably came here not for the wine but for the toasts.

After all, the lawlessness of those chieftains in recent years has been seen by everyone. It is not impossible that the court can't stand it anymore and is ready to teach them a lesson.

And this is the reason why the court is looking for the land and the Dingkou.

Because it was impossible for those chieftains to allow the imperial court to directly find out their background.

And this also made the chieftains have to fight against the imperial court.

But if anyone dares to resist the imperial court, he will be labeled as a rebel, and the king's master will immediately come, confiscate the family and exterminate the clan...

Everyone in the world knows the current combat effectiveness of the Ming army.

After all, the Qing Dynasty is completely cold now, and all the grassland tribes have been promoted by the Ming Dynasty King. How big a splash can those little toasts make?
Of course, although the court was mainly targeting the chieftains this time, it was not just the chieftains.

If there were big gentry families in the local area who dared to resist the emperor's order and refused to clear their father-in-law's land and inspect their Dingkou, they would still end up confiscating their homes and annihilating their clans.

This is actually a good thing for officials like them.

He, the county magistrate, is not a local official, so the court's dealing with the local chieftains and gentry has nothing to do with him.

On the contrary, after the court kills the chieftains and gentry as a warning to the monkeys, the authority and majesty of these officials who represent the court will be greatly strengthened.

It's just a pity that if the swords are used, the people will inevitably suffer!
Scholars, it is inevitable to worry about the country and the people when their own vital interests are not involved! (End of chapter)