Ming Dynasty man

Chapter 126
The topic Yuan Keli said was beyond his imagination, and he couldn't accept it for a while.

Li Jing has always considered issues based on Hongshanling. With the financial resources of the Shen family, there is no problem in supporting Hongshanling. But if it comes to the national level, then his thinking seems narrow.

"Please teach me, sir." Li Jing said respectfully.

"Do you know a whipping method practiced by Mr. Taiyue?" Yuan Keli said.

Li Jing said with shame: "Sir, I don't know."

Yuan Keli shook his head and said, "Didn't people in your era have no words?"

Li Jing nodded hurriedly.

Yuan Keli laughed and said, "I said, how do you know Master Xu Guangqi's name but not Xu Zixian, Mr. Taiyue's name is Zhang Juzheng."

"Ah? I've heard of Zhang Juzheng, the one who reformed." Li Jing said hurriedly.

Yuan Keli sighed and said, "Mr. Taiyue reformed the law, and the treasury was full. Unexpectedly, after the death of Mr. Wanli, Emperor Wanli canceled the new law, and the treasury of the Ming Dynasty has never been full again."

Seeing that Yuan Keli seemed to be feeling emotional for a while, Li Jing hurriedly said: "Sir, what's the matter with Mr. Taiyue's whip?"

"All land tax will be converted into silver." Yuan Keli said.

"Could it be possible to collect taxes in this way?" Li Jing asked doubtfully.

"Yes?" Yuan Keli said.

Li Jing hurriedly asked: "Why?"

Yuan Keli laughed and said, "Because there are merchants!"

Even Li Jing, who is a modern person, was completely deluded by Yuan Keli's words.

Li Jing scratched his head and said, "Sir, I am only a soldier in later generations, and I don't understand many things. Can you explain it carefully?"

Yuan Keli laughed dumbly and said: "I heard you talking about future generations years ago. I thought people in future generations would know everything?"

After a pause, Yuan Keli continued: "Then I'll tell you why collecting money is different from collecting food. The merchants play a very important role in this. You know that merchants seek profits and must buy low and sell high, but The price of goods in one place is basically the same, and if you want to make a profit, you can only ship them to other places, and when you come back, you will bring back goods that are not available here, so the goods will circulate. Let me ask you, what do merchants use when trading?"

"Money!" Li Jing said.

"Yes! Taxes are collected with money. If the common people grow all the food, they will have no money to pay taxes, and of course they will have no money to buy what they need. So some people don't grow food, such as cotton, some raise silkworms, etc. , they sell these to buy grain, and the people who grow grain sell the grain to buy what they need. In the process of buying and selling, the common people will also have a surplus. If they have money in their hands, the country can collect taxes gone."

Li Jingwen listened to Dahan, isn't this circulation economics?He had heard of it before, and thought it must be difficult, but he didn't expect the reason to be so simple, but he hadn't thought about it before.

In fact, both Yuan Keli and Li Jing neglected that the key to supporting the circulation of goods is actually the government.

The government issues currency, and then uses the currency to purchase goods and materials from the private sector, so that the private sector will have currency available for trading.

When money was first used, there was no merchant link.

But as long as you understand the truth, it will be easy to handle.

Because money has been issued for thousands of years, there is absolutely no need to dwell on this issue.

Shaking the paper in his hand, Yuan Keli continued: "These new systems you have drawn up, if they are only in Hongshanling, there is no problem, but can you stay in Hongshanling forever?"

Li Jingjing nodded and said: "I understand that the high grain output in Hongshanling does not mean that the grain output in other places is also high. Even if these crops are promoted, it will not be effective in a while, let alone some places. It's not food. And according to this standard, the tax is indeed too high."

Yuan Keli nodded and said: "However, these systems you have drawn up are still very desirable. I think you can make a compromise. Those who grow this kind of crops will be taxed according to this standard. Only grain will be collected, and other crops will be taxed separately." Implement a standard and collect money. You have to know that things are rare and expensive. These things are produced in such a high volume that they will definitely be worthless in the future. In this way, military rations can be solved, and the problem of military pay can also be solved.”

After thinking for a while, Yuan Keli sighed and said, "Your current territory is small, and collecting some taxes may be enough, but if you want to develop rapidly, you need to face many things. There is a very critical issue. I don't know if you have thought about it. To achieve your goal, you must first have an army, then expand the territory, and then use the tax revenue from the territory to feed the army. There is a problem in this, the consumption of war is huge, not to mention you, the entire Ming Dynasty is now due to The war of building slaves has fallen, and if you occupy the territory, the imperial court will definitely come to suppress you, I don’t know if you can afford it.”

Li Jing was silent for a while, then shook his head and said, "I can't afford it! That's why I didn't dare to make too much noise, for fear of provoking the imperial court to keep encircling and suppressing me."

Yuan Keli smiled and nodded: "You are a relatively stable person, and you don't underestimate yourself. Very good! What is your next plan?"

Li Jing looked at Yuan Keli and said seriously: "Sir, this is the reason why I am looking for you. I need your advice now. I thought about my future development ideas a while ago, but after thinking about it, I always feel that it is a bit insignificant." It's all right, I hope you can give me your advice."

"What is your plan, tell me." Yuan Keli said.

Li Jingjing nodded and said: "I know that wars cost money, and farmers' taxes alone are definitely not enough, but I know that there is a salt mine in a place. If this place is taken, the source of money can basically be solved, but the occupation This place will definitely go to war with the imperial court. You know that fighting a war requires a lot of supplies. The supplies in my hand can't afford to consume them at all, unless I have a source of supplies myself, so I thought about occupying a mineral resource first.. "

Yuan Keli waved his hand to interrupt Li Jing: "The key is, do you have enough troops now?"

"There are more than 2000 combat personnel in Hongshanling. I can still get some soldiers from the two guards. It is no problem to add more than [-] people." Li Jing said.

"If you don't do anything, how long can you support the current staff with your financial resources?" Yuan Keli said.

Li Jing did some calculations and said, "No problem in three years."

Hearing that it would be no problem for Li Jing to raise more than 2000 soldiers for three years without doing anything, Yuan Keli's eyes lit up: "You are quite rich! You need at least 20 taels of silver to raise so many people for three years."

"Huh? 20 taels of silver? I counted 50 taels of silver." Li Jing said in surprise.

"What? 50 taels? Why do you want so much?" Yuan Keli was surprised.

"The average monthly salary of the soldiers on my mountain is five taels of silver a month." Li Jing scratched his head and said.

This time Yuan Keli was really shocked, and his mouth trembled: "Five or five taels of silver a month?"

Li Jingjing nodded, and immediately explained in detail the new military system he implemented on the mountain.

Yuan Keli nodded after listening, sighed and said: "Your system is very good, auxiliary soldiers, regular soldiers, and ranks, so that if they want to get more money, they have to train hard, and they will work hard when they fight! With your current status, if you want them to work for you, you have to use this method, but isn’t it a little too much for your third-class soldier to pay three taels of silver a month?”

Li Jing smiled and said: "Hey, sir, you don't know that some of my guys came from the guards. The salary is low, and I'm afraid they won't be able to keep them."

Yuan Keli laughed loudly when he heard this: "You are really good at it, you can get soldiers from the guards!"

After laughing, Yuan Keli sighed suddenly, and then continued: "But your current military strength is definitely not enough. If you expand the army rashly, the government and the imperial court will definitely not be able to accommodate you, and you will definitely be encircled and suppressed. I suggest that you expand your military strength slowly. , don’t disturb the government and the imperial court, and wait until the exiles you mentioned are everywhere in the world, and then take advantage of the situation.”

Li Jing nodded again and again.

What Yuan Keli said coincided with what he did.

Li Jing is now waiting for the refugees to rebel, and then prepares to fish in troubled waters.

After pondering for a while, Yuan Keli said: "I'm old, I don't think I'll have a few years to live, but I'm old, and I still have great ambitions. If the general trend of the world is really as you said, how can I just sit idly by. Tomorrow I will Come back to the mountain with you!"

Li Jingwen was overjoyed when he heard that, but when he saw Yuan Keli leaning against the bed, he woke up from his illness and hurriedly said: "Sir, your body has not recovered yet. In my opinion, let's talk about it after recuperating. Besides, the Kaifeng side There are still some things that need to be dealt with, let's not worry."

Yuan Keli nodded.

The conversation between Yuan Keli and Li Jing didn't end until Yuan Shu came to inform that the dinner was ready.

In the past few days, Yuan Keli had been eating in the bedroom, but after chatting with Li Jing for a while, Yuan Keli's spirits improved a lot, and with the support of Li Jing and Yuan Shu, he got out of bed.

Li Jing knew that for old people of Yuan Keli's age, they must be able to move as much as possible, so Yuan Keli wanted to get out of bed, Li Jing did not object.

Even during dinner, Li Jing persuaded Yuan Keli to drink a glass of wine.

Alcohol can invigorate blood circulation, drink less, it is very beneficial to people's health, especially the elderly.

After the banquet, Yuan Keli ordered Yuan Shu to find all the military books he had collected before, including the maps used in commanding operations.

After dinner, Li Jing didn't want Yuan Keli to continue to bother him, but Yuan Keli wanted to drag him to continue talking.

Li Jing had no choice but to continue chatting with the old man.

This time it was a real chat. After all, Yuan Keli was old and sick. If he continued to bother him, it would be tantamount to overdrawing the old man's life. Li Jing would never do such a stupid thing.

Li Jing briefly told Yuan Keli about the historical changes of later generations and the situation of his era.

When he heard that the plane was flying into the sky and people were walking on the moon, Yuan Keli sighed repeatedly.

　Ask for support!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)