[Chapter 648] To Nanming's money, to Beiming's life
"Congratulations! Your child who is not born yet can enjoy tax-free preferential policies and does not need to pay the salary. However, your family has a total of eight people, and each person's salary of two taels of silver must be paid. At the same time, the superiors have regulations that the salary must be paid in a three-year manner. Therefore, we sincerely benefit your family of thirty-five taels of silver."
"Huh? Why are you missing one or two? Brother, you are such a smart person, you have noticed this. I originally wanted to do something good without leaving a name, but you discovered it. I will tell you the truth. In fact, these are all the extra kindness of the lords above, and I will give you waives! Look, you guys are so concerned about you! One or two white silver, you will be exempted if you say you are exempted! Where can you find officials who plead for the people like this?"[]
"What? You can't take out the thirty-five taels of silver? Brother, don't joke, this is a salary! What is salary? Do you know? It is a salary for the army to train the food and salary for killing enemies! Listen clearly, this is specially allocated to the army! What does the army do? It is a murderer! Think about it yourself, if you can't take out the thirty-five taels of silver, what will the army react? Let me tell you, if the army is angry, your whole family will not want to live!"
"Brother, you really can't get a penny? Okay, you go back to the prison with us for a few days first! When the silver is collected, we will release people when we leave. Remember, we don't care about food, you have to ask someone to deliver food by yourself. Otherwise, we will be hungry, faint from hunger, and starve to death, and we will not be responsible! Also, our prison has to collect money, and we have to collect one penny of money for one day! We will settle the bill together when we are released from prison!"
"Brother, if you want to be aware of it, you have to find a way to raise money! It's not a joke to go to jail! Look at your daughter's beautiful ones, sell it quickly, at least you can sell it for three or four taels of silver. You have three daughters, and you can sell it for more than ten taels of silver if you sell it. Also, your two sons can also be sold. Don't think that only your daughter can sell it..."
...
Xu Xingxia can imagine how the tax collectors who were responsible for collecting taxes communicated with the people. As for the results of their communication, they can basically imagine. The Ming Dynasty was so dark and corrupt that it would be so unstoppable, and it would be unreasonable. Faced with such heavy tax pressure, if the people could not repay the resistance, they could only say that they deserved it. If it were him, Xu Xingxia, would have done it long ago.
In fact, small-scale chaos broke out in many places in Beizhili. The direct reason is this salary training. The continuous small-scale chaos is a sign of large-scale chaos. History has proved many times that when the number of small-scale chaos reaches a certain level, large-scale chaos will break out. However, Ye Xianggao is indifferent to this. The small chaos broke out in Beizhili, compared with the rebellion of the white-clothed army in his eyes, is simply a pediatric department. His top priority is to kill Xu Xingxia first. He believes that the source of all chaos is Xu Xingxia.
Subconsciously, Ye Xianggao always felt that the southeastern half was relatively wealthy, and that such a small amount of tax increase would not be affected at all. The southeastern half was the base camp of the Donglin Party, and local officials at all levels basically had more or less contact with the Donglin Party. With their help, they were not afraid of the tax collection. As for the north, he did not expect it at all. It seemed that in Ye Xianggao's eyes, there was no tax revenue for the northern provinces, such as Zhili, Shanxi, Henan, etc., it was impossible for Ye Xianggao to have any tax revenue, even if the tax was increased.
However, what Ye Xianggao did not expect was that the decree he suggested to the court to issue was a golden money tree and a treasure pot in the eyes of officials in the northern provinces. Of course, they would not miss such a good opportunity. They did not care whether the salary could be collected. They only care about whether they could use the name of the salary to enrich their private pockets. Anyway, in the name of the court's laws, even if they caused chaos among the people, it was still a problem for the court and had nothing to do with them.
This time, the Fuwang Party launched the slogan of stopping the increase of taxes and punishing the evildoers, which indeed incited a considerable number of people. Many ordinary people in the capital expressed clear support for the Fuwang Party's slogan. From the outside, this coup really tasted "justice". The people do not care who you are the emperor, who is the crown prince, and who is the orthodox. For the people, the most important thing is to have benefits. Without adding taxes, it is naturally the greatest benefit.
Of course, Ye Xianggao was unlucky. Who asked him to make the salary training at the beginning? The charge of the tyrant of the tyrant was naturally firmly on his head. The Fuwang Party desperately advocated this charge, letting it go infinitely, and even put all other charges that had nothing to do with Ye Xianggao on Ye Xianggao's head and chasing him. It seems that Ye Xianggao is definitely the most evil guy in the past five thousand years.
Of course, the target of the Fuwang Party's attack was not only Ye Xianggao, but also the Donglin Party behind Ye Xianggao, and even the entire Nanjing court. This time, Ye Xianggao was able to leave the capital safely and soundly, which is probably related to the Fuwang Party's strategy. If Ye Xianggao was really caught and executed, there would be no way to attack the Nanjing court.
...
At the end of April, Xu Xingxia finally returned to Ningxia Town. Just as he returned to the chairman's residence, Xu Xingxia immediately convened an emergency meeting of the Government Affairs Committee. When he set off from Jiayuguan, he had already sent Kuaima to issue relevant orders to inform the relevant person in charge. Therefore, more than 20 members of the Government Affairs Committee were all here.
Under Xu Xingxia, the Supreme Chairman, there are many institutions such as the Government Affairs Committee, Military Committee, Equipment Committee, Legal Committee, Science and Technology Committee, and Commercial Committee. They are all directly responsible to Xu Xingxia. They are equal and unaffiliated. Each committee has one director, seven to thirteen standing committee members, and about twenty-five members. Generally speaking, the director is the daily head of the committee and is directly responsible to the superiors. However, the director does not have the power to appoint and remove any standing committee members or members of the same level.
This time the coup within the Ming Dynasty was affected most directly, and the Government Affairs Committee was naturally the Government Affairs Committee. Because the Foreign Affairs Department was under the jurisdiction of this committee. Xu Xingxia needed to make any decisions on the relationship between the White Army and the Northern Ming and Southern Ming. To be honest, the court would actually split the North and South, which made many government affairs committee members feel incredible. Before this, no one expected that the Fuwang Party had such great power.
The core content of this meeting was to determine the relationship between the White Army and the Northern Ming and Southern Ming. The situation of the Ming Dynasty became so chaotic, which was absolutely beneficial to the White Army. The more intense the competition between Beijing and Nanjing, the more unyielding it, the more both sides suffered, the greater the benefits to the White Army. However, what exactly needs to be done to turn these benefits into reality requires a clear instruction.
"Hello, Chairman! Hello!" Zuo Guangdou said hello in a regular manner.
This is the first time that Zuo Guangdou has participated in a meeting of this level. Of course, this was specially approved by Xu Xingxia, and he is not qualified to be selected as a government committee member. Xu Xingxia does not expect Zuo Guangdou to do his own work for himself and serve the white-clothed army wholeheartedly. However, it is still quite useful to regard Zuo Guangdou as a representative sent by the Nanming in advance.
Before the government affairs meeting was held, Xu Xingxia had already decided on the basic policy, which was to ask for the money of the Southern Ming, and use the wealth provided by the Southern Ming to eliminate the Northern Ming Dynasty. If there was excess military expenditure, it could also actively expand to the outside world and include the Yarkand Khanate in the territory. As long as this was done, it would be almost no difficulty for the white-clothed army to pacify the Northern Ming Dynasty. After the Beiming was settled, there would be a lonely Nanming left, and wouldn't it be as hard as possible to rub it as you want?
In fact, it is not impossible for the White-Clothed Army to start a war against the Northern Ming and Southern Ming at the same time. However, the price paid may be a little higher. From the perspective of military strategy, concentrating superior forces and destroying the enemy is the most basic principle. At present, the White-Clothed Army only has elite cavalry units, lacking elite infantry, and no navy, so it is naturally the most cost-effective to take the Northern Ming first. When the Northern Ming eliminates it almost, the newly formed infantry and navy should have been prepared almost.
The biggest feature of Nanming at present is that it has money. The wealth in Jiangnan is originally the most abundant in the world, especially in the southeast half. The sprouts of capitalism, which later became known as Suzhou, Changzhou and Songjiang. The number of handicrafts here accounts for more than 90% of the country. In addition to the capital city, this area gathers the richest group of people in the Ming Dynasty. The wealth they have is amazing. Their ability to create wealth is also quite amazing. Every day, a large amount of white silver pours into their private warehouses.
At that time, China was basically the center of the world's wealth. Even after the Age of Discovery, world trade was still mainstream. The porcelain, tea, silk and other materials sold by the Ming Dynasty were like three huge vortexes, constantly absorbing wealth from all over the world into the Ming Dynasty. No matter how emerging countries such as Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom constantly discovered gold and silver wealth in other places, in the end, these gold and silver flowed into the territory of the Ming Dynasty through trade.
It is correct to say that the Taikang warehouse in the imperial court had no silver. The tax revenue of the imperial court was indeed gradually exhausted. However, if it was said that the dynasty had no silver, it would be nonsense. At that time, more than 50% of the silver in the world were concentrated in the territory of the Ming Dynasty. If calculated based on absolute numbers, there were at least 300 million taels. If it was slightly optimistic, it might even reach more than 500 million taels. Moreover, this number is still increasing.
Chapter completed!