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Chapter 177: Shuixi Preparations, Three Ghosts’ Plan

 "Okay, how much more do you think we can borrow?" Huang Li was so excited about the money that he decided to issue additional shares.

Wang Jialu thought about it on the way and said: "How about adding 800,000 yuan to make up one million taels? If Your Highness wants to borrow more, I think it's okay. Anyway, it's not difficult to write an IOU. If you can't borrow it, just keep it. Until next time

Try again in one city."

Huang Li's open mouth didn't close for a long time. This is not an additional issuance, this is a big one! It's really surprising that there is so much wealth among the people!

Gritting his teeth, Huang Li summoned the paperwork again, and the soldiers who could write also came and started handwriting the banknotes.

That's right, IOUs are money. One IOU is one thousand, ten IOUs are ten thousand, and one hundred IOUs are one hundred thousand. I need to get eight hundred of them?!

At Wang Jialu's suggestion, in order to save trouble, thirty or forty IOUs with a denomination of 10,000 were produced, which greatly reduced the workload.

For the sake of Bai Huahua's money, Huang Li wrote the number with a grimace.

Write from one to one hundred, and then from one to one hundred. This time, add a comma under the number, add a comma for the next batch, and add a period for the next batch. I still don’t believe it.

Yuan Dongbao held the big seal of King Ding, and Wang Shide held the IOU. Bang, bang, bang, the two of them cooperated tacitly, and they were happy. They were even more happy: they were rich again, and they could buy delicious food under the pretext of improving the food!

"Fresh braised duck intestines, duck tongue, duck wings, duck gizzards, three fresh bean curds, beef noodles, beef cakes, Chinese soup dumplings..."

Huang Li rolled his eyes in disgust and stamped the seal, his saliva almost flowed out!

"Oh, it's so hypocritical to pretend to be deaf and dumb. Even if you think stupidly, you know that businessmen are not willing to borrow money, and they still destroy their families to provide relief. When the Qing army went to the south of the Yangtze River, the righteous soldiers were all killed, right?"

"No, this time I will go back and ask the government office to print the IOU and put their seal on it. Your Highness, the third prince, even though I said it was not the case, you still have to show some respect!"

"In order to be worthy of these enthusiastic investors, I have to fight hard and work hard to repay shareholders. Every IOU is not a waste of paper. Please keep it!"

Huang Li was so tired that his wrists ached, as if he was back in elementary school when he was forced to do homework. But for the money, he was in pain and happy.

……………

Shuixi.

The effect of lobbying and propaganda is getting better and better, and the attitude of the chieftains towards the Ming army in eastern Sichuan is becoming more and more ambiguous.

At first, there were only a few people coming and going, but this time more than 200 people came at once. An Kun sent people to secretly pick them up along the way and arrived safely.

These two hundred people brought hundreds of guns and three hundred improved rocket launchers.

After seeing the power of carrying a gun, Liu Xiang and Pi Xiong were overjoyed. They immediately equipped their troops and expanded their troops to more than 2,000 people.

"There is news that our army is marching across Huguang and even captured Changsha." Pi Xiong was more energetic than before, unlike an 80-year-old man. "Your Highness is more brave than Taizu."

."

Liu Xiang nodded with a smile and said: "His Royal Highness is like a god with his troops. He is well prepared for the attack on Huguang. It is not surprising that he is invincible."

After a pause, he changed the topic and said: "Contacts from all directions have been effective again. In addition to An Zhongsheng, chieftain Luo Dashun and chieftain Langdai of Long'an Fan have all stated that they will advance and retreat with Shuixi. Although the other chieftains are waiting and watching,

But it can be seen that my mind has been shaken."

An Chongsheng is An Kun's nephew, and Long'an Fan, the chieftain of Langdai, is An Chongsheng's brother-in-law. The natal family of An Kun's wife, Lu Tianxiang, is the Wumeng chieftain. She is very excited to hear that she is preparing secretly.
p>

Judging from the current situation, An Kun's patience and humiliation have achieved very good results. As long as Wu Sangui takes action, all the chieftains will believe the rumors and everyone will be in danger. If it doesn't work, they will take action.

Especially the chieftains of the Yi people, because Wu Sangui adopted a policy of massacre in Shuixi, "everywhere he passed was cleared step by step, the villages were burned, and the chieftains were looted, burned, and killed." It was foreseeable that the chieftains of each family were angry.

.

Pi Xiong said with his jaw: "Now it seems that the situation is good. When the time comes, as long as His Highness can send troops to help, great things can be accomplished."

Liu Xiang was not so optimistic. He smiled and said: "It is certain to send troops. His Highness has always kept his word. This attack on Huguang will also have a certain impact on Wu Sangui. At least, the transfer of food and wages from Huguang to Yunnan and Guizhou will be interrupted.



The destruction of Huguang will not only affect the food and salary transferred to Yunnan and Guizhou, but also the wealth of the Qing court will be greatly reduced.

For example, in the early Qing Dynasty, eight provinces were responsible for water transportation of about 4 million shi, namely Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hunan, Hubei, Anhui, Jiangsu, Shandong, and Henan.

Huguang initially only borne the amount of 250,000 shi, accounting for only one-sixteenth of it. The Jiangnan region accounted for more than half, with South Zhili and Jiangsu and Zhejiang bearing the most.

But starting from the middle and late Ming Dynasty, due to the obvious urbanization in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, the population was dense, the economy became more and more prosperous, and more and more land was planted with cash crops.

For example, planting mulberry and raising silkworms, planting cotton, etc., have continuously reduced food production.

There is a gradual transition from "Su Changshu, the world is sufficient" to "Huguang is ripe, the world is sufficient". Huguang has become the country's food supply base, and it will not be achieved all at once.

As "the rice produced locally in Jiangsu and Zhejiang is not enough for food", "Zhejiang and Susong in the south of the Yangtze River and other prefectures are narrow and densely populated, so even in the years of good harvest, people rely on Huguang for food."

Huguang's efforts to allocate grain to other provinces are also getting stronger and stronger. In the fourth year of Xuande's reign, "the reform of the transportation method ordered Jiangxi, Huguang, and Zhejiang to transport 2.2 million shi of grain to Huai'an warehouse."

By the middle of the Kangxi period, the "Xiang rice" allocated by Hunan and Hubei each year reached about 5 million shi.

It can be seen that the prosperity of Jiangsu and Zhejiang is inseparable from the diligent farming of farmers in Huguang.

In later generations, there was a theory of "grain-economic contradiction". One of them is that the income from just growing grain is low and it is very hard; switching to cash crops can make you rich, but you have to find ways to keep your stomach full.

Therefore, in Huang Li's view, destroying Huguang may have a chain reaction, that is, reducing wealth and increasing the Qing government's financial burden.

This time in a year, without food, the economic prosperity of Jiangsu and Zhejiang will be difficult to maintain. In fact, the time can be determined to disrupt water transportation, putting greater pressure on the Qing government.

Of course, the more far-reaching impact of the attack on Huguang cannot yet be seen. Liu Xiang and Pi Xiong can only see that they can inspire people and restore the decline of the anti-Qing Dynasty after Yongli's death.

"If you didn't want to help Shuixi revolt, your highness might be able to make a bigger splash." Zhang Yaoer, who was serving tea obediently beside him, said gently: "The navy is so powerful, it won't be a problem to attack Nanjing, right?"
p>

Liu Xiang turned to look at Zhang Yao'er and blinked, not knowing what he was thinking. After a while, he nodded and said: "His Highness did have such an idea, but he didn't want the Qing army to be too vigilant, which would increase the difficulty of the next attack on Huguang.



Zhang Yaoer pursed her lips slightly and breathed a sigh of relief in her heart, "Now I finally speak. It seems that as long as I say good things about His Highness, this guy won't be angry."

Pi Xiong frowned slightly, sighed softly, and said, "In this case, it was Shuixi who tied up His Highness."

Liu Heng pondered for a moment and said: "King Qianyang does not need to worry. Although His Highness did not expect to assist Shuixi, he is extremely wary of Wu Sangui. If there is an opportunity to weaken him, he will definitely not let it go."

"Your Highness attaches great importance to Wu Sangui?" Pi Xiong thought for a while and found that he was not surprised. He nodded and said: "Yungui is a direct threat to Sichuan. Wu Sangui is powerful and should not be underestimated."

Liu Xiang turned his gaze to the south, squinted his eyes slightly, and said softly: "Now we just have to see how long it can last, and whether we can give His Highness time to return to the army and reorganize the army."

……………

Kunming.

Mount Wuhua houses the palace of Emperor Yongli. Although it has not been expanded or repaired on a large scale, the building is still gorgeous and spectacular without the war.

In the back garden, the canal that introduces spring water into the garden is like a flowing green ribbon. There are pavilions and pavilions on both sides of the canal, connected by bridges built in the sky like rainbows.

In the pavilion next to the clear water, Wu Sangui, his confidant Fang Guangchen, and Wu Guogui, the commander-in-chief on the right, drank tea, ate fruits, and discussed current affairs.

"According to reliable information, Wuchang, Changsha, Yueyang and other important places in Huguang have indeed been captured by bandits. Huguang, like Sichuan, has been destroyed."

Wu Guogui touched his thick sideburns, with a look of admiration on his face, and said: "If the false prince is really commanding himself, a certain family will really admire him."

Fang Guangchen, with a white face and a slight beard, played with a folding fan in his hand and said with a faint smile: "Destroying Yiling, conquering Wushan, seizing Eastern Sichuan, and annihilating the Eight Banners of Xi'an and the Green Camp of Gansu and Shaanxi in Guangyuan, fighting to survive in a desperate situation, how can it be easy to fight?

Generations?"

Wu Sangui's facial features are still regular, and his skin color is not too dark, especially his slightly sunken eyes, which are shining brightly. However, his slightly gray beard and wrinkles at the corners of his eyes betray his age.

Although they are over fifty years old, the majesty of the three ghosts who have been fighting on the battlefield all year round is still there.

His face was very solemn, and he said in a deep voice: "The imperial court wants me to send troops to attack eastern Sichuan. However, Yunnan and Guizhou have been decided for the first time. The native chiefs have ulterior motives and are uncertain about their rebellion, but they are temporarily unable to relieve the imperial court."

Fang Guangchen looked at Wu Sangui's face. A red scar on the bridge of his nose undulated slightly as he spoke. He thought to himself that he had known the reason why Wu Sangui didn't want to use troops. It was just that the Qing court didn't give him much benefit.

As for the internal stability of Yunnan and Guizhou, can't it be maintained with Wu Sangui's 100,000 troops? Even if half of the troops are mobilized, the rebellion of the local chiefs can be quickly quelled.

If Wu Sangui wants to send troops to attack the Ming army in eastern Sichuan, he must agree to his conditions.

The first is money and food, and the supply must be sufficient; the second is that he recommends Wu Zhimao to be the admiral of Sichuan; the last is to wait for him to destroy Ankun in Shuixi, and then go to Zunyi and Tongzi to attack eastern Sichuan.

The biggest chieftain in Guizhou is An Kun. Wu Sangui has repeatedly provoked and rebelled. Knowing that he has forged a deep hatred with An Kun, how can he leave a big hidden danger and go out to fight?
Chapter completed!
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