Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Were there pirates in the South Seas? There is no doubt about that.

The numerous islands and busy trade routes gave rise to many pirates in the South China Sea, and they were impossible to eliminate.

However, compared with Zheng Zhilong's pirate group that dared to compete with the Ming Navy and plundered the Ming coast, the South China Sea pirates are just small characters.

Li Guozhu's father, Li Dan, once conspired with Yan Siqi, Zheng Zhilong and others to overthrow the Edo Shogunate of Japan and accept the enthronement of the Ming Dynasty.

It was only because he was reported before the uprising that he was forced to flee, immigrate to Dongning and open up new areas, and plunder along the coast of the Ming Dynasty.

Influenced by this, Zheng Zhilong, Li Guozhu and others did not think it was wrong to plot against Borneo and Java.

This gang of theirs has the power to overthrow an entire country.

With such strength, Li Guozhu naturally did not think that the South China Sea pirates were anything great. Instead, he regarded them as objects that could be used to help him deal with the Dutch.

After hearing his plan, Guo Shangyou nodded secretly, thinking that appeasing the pirates to deal with the Dutch was a feasible strategy.

The Ming Dynasty only needs to give them an official position after they recapture Anbuna Island.

So he ordered:
"I'll leave this matter to you. You can pacify the pirates and recapture Anbuna."

"If this goes well, I will report to His Majesty and establish a free trade zone in Anbuna."

“All Nanyang merchants can trade in the free trade zone without paying taxes.”

This was one of his strategies to reduce the possibility of conflict with the Dutch.

When all the Nanyang merchants had interests in Anbon Island, the Dutch needed to seriously consider if they wanted to occupy the island.

Moreover, in his opinion, Anbuna Island does not have to pay taxes, which is similar to the free trade zone established by the emperor.

It is natural to transform it into a free trade zone, and the emperor will definitely agree.

Li Guozhu was very surprised when he heard it.

How much money a free trade zone can make can be seen from Xiangshan Bay, which is run by the Portuguese.

He was ordered to establish the Anbuna Free Trade Zone, and naturally he would gain a lot of benefits from it.

Even because Anbuna Island is close to Borneo, Zheng Zhilong and others might need to seek help from him when they want to develop Borneo.

This made his mood become extremely beautiful.

Watching Li Guozhu leaving, Guo Shangyou thought for a while, then took out a silver seal and decided to report the whole matter to the emperor.

Judging from the martial law order issued by the emperor, he did not care much about the loss of cities outside the Great Wall and outside the country.

Anbon Island was occupied by the Dutch more than 20 years ago and has little to do with him, the current Governor-General of Nanyang.

As long as you explain carefully, the emperor will definitely forgive you.

Even if he was attacked by censors in the future, the emperor would not blame himself.

On the contrary, if he concealed this matter, the emperor might be angry, and he, as the Governor-General of Nanyang, might have to resign in disgrace.

"Governor-General of Nanyang, Nanyang Guards."

"Your Majesty has really given me a difficult problem."

"I don't know if my life will be lost there."

After writing the secret memorial, Guo Shangyou couldn't help but sigh.

If he hadn't been burdened with the identity of a eunuch, he really wouldn't have been willing to go to Southeast Asia and set up the Southeast Asian guards at such an old age.

But he was charged with treason, and if he did not obey the emperor's orders, the Donglin Party would tear him to pieces.

This forced him to accept appointments and serve in Dongning and Nanyang.

However, thinking of Dongning and Huo Weihua, Xu Dahao and others who had established the Dongning guards, Guo Shangyou felt somewhat balanced, knowing that the emperor was still treating him well.

No matter what, he can still serve as governor-general. If Huo Weihua, Xu Dahao and others want to regain their throne, they will have to risk their lives.

Moreover, judging from the fact that the emperor conferred hereditary barons on Huo Weihua and others, if he succeeded in opening up the Nanyang guards, he might also be able to obtain a hereditary title.

For the sake of future generations, he has to continue doing this job.

In order to provide assistance to future generations, he even requested the emperor in a memorial to transfer some soldiers from the garrisons on the canal to the Nanyang garrisons.

He served as the governor of the Grand Canal for two years. He also got to know some garrison officers and soldiers on the canal and wanted to recruit some people to join him in seeking wealth and glory.

These people will be his most direct force in the future, and their help will be needed when the family takes root in Southeast Asia.

As for the lack of immigrants, he planned to send the canal soldiers to Yunyang to recruit them. The emperor had previously allowed Zheng Zhilong and others to go to Yunyang to recruit refugees, and now the route had been opened.

Even in winter, boats could be sailed along the Yangtze River to transport the refugees.

Under Guo Shangyou's careful planning, the development of Nanyang soon got on the fast track, and immigration, development and other matters were all carried out in an orderly manner.

Compared with Guo Shangyou, Zhang Tongchang in Temple Street was not in such a good situation.

Even though he had anticipated the severe cold in Temple Street, he still hadn't imagined that the winter here would be so cold that it could freeze people to death.

If the emperor had not taught them how to build a kang and brought coal stoves and honeycomb coal, many of the people who stayed with him would have frozen to death.

The people from Jiangling whom he recruited from his hometown were not used to the winter in Temple Street.

They never imagined that the winter here would be so cold.

Moreover, heavy snow and ice made it impossible to implement many of Zhang Tongchang's plans.

They are lucky enough to be able to save their lives now, why should they rebuild Temple Street in winter?

However, the severe cold in winter is not without its benefits.

That is, Zhang Tongchang used the supplies he brought with him to quickly establish good relations with the Jurchens and Mongols around him.

They traded food and alcohol for a lot of furs.

Nowadays, many people wear fur coats.

According to Zhang Tongchang's estimation, if these furs were transported back to the Central Plains, they would be enough to earn back his expenses this time.

If he sells the ginseng and pearls he got in exchange, he will make a lot of money from this trip.

This gave him a lot more confidence in opening up the Jiangling Principality.

At least we don't have to worry about losing money, we can support ourselves through trade.

Moreover, he thought of the way to make money that the emperor had pointed out, and arranged for some people to cut down trees and build icehouses to store ice when the weather was good. He planned to transport the ice to the Central Plains for sale after the sea thawed next year.

Compared to the unstable fur and ginseng businesses, the logging industry is an industry that can generate stable profits.

The Ming Dynasty needed a lot of wood for shipbuilding and house construction.

Moreover, the trees in the Northeast are very tall, and many of them have grown for hundreds of years.

Compared to the Central Plains where all the big trees had already been felled, the quality of the wood here is very good.

Zhang Tongchang even had people select the best wood and planned to present it to the emperor to build a palace.

I believe these were also needed when the various royal palaces in the northwest of the capital were built.

They did not waste the sawdust obtained from felling trees. According to the emperor, if the sawdust was sprinkled on ice, it would keep the ice from melting for a long time.

In the future they can transport the ice to the south and sell it.

Although Zhang Tongchang had doubts about this, he decided to carry it out. Even if the ice melted on the ship in the future, it would not be a big loss for him.

If successful, Jiangling Principality would have another source of income, as it could collect ice in the summer and transport it to the south to sell.

According to his communication with the natives, in many places in the north, the ice and snow never melt all year round. There is no need to store ice in icehouses, and ice can be obtained in the summer.

It can be said that relying on the supplies carried by the fleet, Zhang Tongchang had a very good relationship with the surrounding natives.

The Jurchen and Mongolian tribes that were not conquered by the Later Jin had a acceptable attitude towards the Ming Dynasty.

However, Gao Yingxiang and others who went up the Heilongjiang River and established a stronghold next to the Khorchin tribe did not have such a good relationship with the surrounding tribes.

Needless to say, the hostile Khorchin tribe, those tribes that were inclined towards the Later Jin or even conquered by the Later Jin were also very hostile to them.

The people sent out by Gao Yingxiang were often attacked by some tribes.

Sometimes he couldn't even hold back and wanted to kill or expel all the surrounding tribes, leaving only the Ming people here.

However, he is now not strong enough and is watched by the captain of the imperial guards sent by the emperor, so he can only implement the strategy of the united front and win over some people who are against the Later Jin.

The Later Jin's policies toward some tribes were very cruel, so naturally there were people who tended to favor the Ming Dynasty.

The tribes in this area gradually formed two groups according to their leaning towards the Ming Dynasty and the Later Jin Dynasty, and the atmosphere became more and more tense.

It is foreseeable that a major war will inevitably break out here after the beginning of next spring. Whether Gao Yingxiang and his men can gain a foothold depends on the outcome of the war.

The Privy Council, which had just been established in the Ming Dynasty court, was also preparing for this war.

Thanks to the efforts of Yang Sichang and others, the Ji Si Plan was finally formulated. His strategy of four sides and six corners was transformed from a verbal plan into a practical strategy.

When Zhu Youjian saw the Ji Si plan, the first thing he did was frowned at the required expenses.

Because according to the plan, the money and food needed for next year's war will be at least six million.

In addition to collecting Liao tribute, the imperial court also needed to divert money from other sources for this war.

Yang Sichang, who was in charge of formulating the plan, said:
"According to the report of the Liaodong Commander-in-Chief, the officers and soldiers outside the Great Wall, that is, the Liaodong Army in the Ningjin area, have a total of more than 71,000 soldiers."

"There are more than 42,000 officers and soldiers in the Shanhaiguan area."

"Starting from the first month of the second year of Chongzhen, the Ministry of Revenue will pay salaries based on this amount."

"Next year's annual military pay for Guanning will be 4.8 million."

This was the result of Sun Chengzong's reorganization of Liaodong. The military expenditure needed for Liaodong was reduced to below the Liao salary.

If the Liao tribute could be collected in full, the 5.2 million Liao tribute would be enough to meet the military expenditure of 4.8 million and still have some left over.

But it is obviously not possible to calculate it this way, because it is impossible to collect all the Liao salary.

Moreover, Shaanxi, Shanxi and other places were hit by disasters, and some places needed to be exempted from taxes. At least one-tenth of the Liao Dynasty's salary was absolutely impossible to collect.

According to Zhu Youjian's estimate, if 4.5 million Liao tribute can be collected next year, it would be considered a powerful move by the Ministry of Revenue.

The actual number collected may be less than this.

Therefore, the six million taels of expenditure for the Ji Si Plan could not be met by Liao salary alone.

Even the Liao salary collected was not enough to support the Liaodong soldiers in the Guanning area.

This made Zhu Youjian deeply realize how much the so-called Guanning Army was overpaid. No wonder many people in later generations regarded them as an important reason for the demise of the Ming Dynasty.

However, it is not the time to completely deal with this huge interest group. We will need their help in the war against Jianlu next year.

Sun Chengzong was able to reduce the annual military pay of Guanning to 4.8 million, which was considered to be a great achievement. Compared with the original annual military pay of more than 6 million, it greatly reduced the pressure on the court.

This saved money can be used in Dongjiang and other places, allowing them to take the initiative to send troops and attack the Jianlu from all sides.

So after Zhu Youjian considered it, he decided:

"Let's use the budget of 6 million and let the Ministry of Revenue do its best to solve the problem."

"We also need to urge the Ministry of Revenue to settle the arrears of salaries owed by the nine frontiers."

"Please also give a budget for how much the Privy Council will need."

"Let the Ministry of Revenue be prepared so as not to be caught off guard."

Yang Sichang happily agreed, knowing that the Ji Si Plan had been approved by the emperor.

All that remains is to send it to the front-line generals and ask them to give their opinions.

After all, they are the ones who decide how to fight the battle on the front line.

No matter how good the strategies formulated by the Privy Council are, they still need people to implement them.

At a time when transportation and communication are inconvenient, the Jisi Plan still gives a lot of authority to the front line. It can even be said that it only proposes a goal, and how to achieve it is up to the front line to solve it themselves.

Therefore, the refinement of the Jisi Plan requires the cooperation of the frontline generals. When they are combined, it will be a complete plan.

Putting aside the reaction of the front-line generals to the Ji Si Plan, the Ministry of Revenue almost collapsed after receiving next year's budget from the Privy Council.

They worked hard and finally collected more than 6 million in arrears, basically solving the problem of wage arrears in the nine border areas.

I didn’t expect that another six million would be needed next year for a major war.

This made officials from the Ministry of Revenue, such as Bi Ziyan, Guo Yunhou, and Dong Yingju, feel helpless, and they collectively requested the emperor to cut the budget of the Privy Council.

For this matter, Zhu Youjian convened officials from the Cabinet, Privy Council, Ministry of Revenue and other government offices to hold a regular meeting to discuss how to make a decision.

The difficulties faced by the Ministry of Revenue were real. Now that it could basically achieve a balance between revenue and expenditure, it could be said that it was doing a good job. As a result, the arrears of wages in the nine frontier regions did not continue to accumulate and the situation did not continue to deteriorate.

But asking them to come up with six million taels of silver was beyond their means. Bi Ziyan cited a lot of difficulties, indicating that the Ministry of Revenue could not come up with the money.

In this regard, Privy Co-Director Yuan Keli said:
"The imperial court has a special Liao salary collection, why can't it come up with this money?"

Bi Ziyan responded to him:
"The Liao military pay is only 5.2 million, and the taxes in Shaanxi have been completely exempted by Your Majesty."

"This is not just a matter of reducing taxes by one-tenth. The Ministry of Revenue will also need to pay to support Shaanxi officials."

"I think it is not appropriate to send troops next year. We should hold off for a few years and wait for the court to recover."

After hearing these words, many officials attending the meeting agreed. Most of them believed that the court should not rush to send troops, but should rest and recuperate for a few years until it had recovered its breath.

Regarding this situation, Yang Sichang stood up and said:

"If the imperial court wants to rest and recuperate, will Jianlu agree?"

"In the sixth year of Tianqi, a great battle took place in Ningjin. In the seventh year of Tianqi, a great battle took place in Korea and Ningyuan."

"This year, the Jianlu invaded the former territory of Chahan again. Where will they attack next year?"

"Instead of passively waiting, it is better to take the initiative to send troops, and the cost of money and food may be less."

"Besides, even if the imperial court does not send troops, the annual military pay for Guanning will still cost 4.8 million. Compared to sending troops, the cost is not much less." (End of this chapter)