"I have already planned when to send troops and how to send troops," Zhao Han said.
"I know where General Zhao wants to send troops this summer." Xu Nianzu picked up his tea cup, walked to Zhao Han's desk, dipped it in tea and drew a simple map, "It's just to capture all the land in southern Hunan, with the Yangtze River as the boundary, and the north
Officers and soldiers confront each other.”
Zhao Han found it interesting and said with a smile: "Keep talking."
Xu Nianzu did not continue to draw the map, but said: "Fujian has been in chaos for many years, and the Fujian officers and soldiers have been wiped out in Jiangxi. The general town means sending troops from Qianshan to the north and Chaozhou to the west. If Zheng Zhilong is conquered, we can still go by sea.
If we attack Fuzhou, the officers and soldiers of Fujian will surely surrender in defiance of the wind."
Zhao Han sat up straight and looked at this person. His expansion plan for this summer was actually clearly stated.
Well, it’s not too outrageous. Anyone who knows military strategy can guess it.
Zhao Han smiled and asked: "If this is the case, why do you ask me to send troops to Jiangnan?"
Xu Nianzu said: "Zhao Zongzhen has been reluctant to go to the south of the Yangtze River because he is afraid of the imperial army from the north. There is no need to be afraid now. Last year, the Tatars entered the pass and turned the north and Shandong upside down. The northwest bandits took the opportunity to grow, and now they are attacking Henan and the south.
It's a complete mess. Not to mention sending a large army south, the imperial court doesn't have enough troops to fight in the north, and it has to send more training officers to train the new army. Once the training funds are released, the Ming Dynasty will be destroyed!"
"Sit down, don't stand." Zhao Han raised his hand to signal.
The Ming Dynasty collapsed a bit quickly.
Judging from the current situation, even if Zhao Han does nothing, the Ming Dynasty will never survive the seventeenth year of Chongzhen.
Last year was a watershed
Zhao Han expanded, the Tatars broke through the border, and the rogue bandits reappeared.
The three forces were not involved in each other, but they influenced and promoted each other, and together they severely beat and crippled the imperial court.
This produces a violent chemical reaction!
The Ming Dynasty's finances had completely collapsed, but in the spring of the twelfth year of Chongzhen's reign, the financial situation was estimated to have collapsed to the level of the fifteenth year of Chongzhen's reign.
Even the officers and soldiers who encircled and suppressed the bandits, many troops could not afford to pay them, so they relied on the generals to rob the people themselves.
The imperial court will continue to organize and train the new army, and will allocate an additional training salary of seven million taels.
Most of these seven million taels of silver came from Henan, Shandong, Nanzhi, Zhejiang, Sichuan, and Hubei. Add in the money embezzled by local officials, how can the people afford it?
Zhao Han wanted Daming to live for a few more years, but judging from the current situation, he really couldn't live for long.
"Headquarters," Xu Nianzu said anxiously, "are you just going to watch the people in Jiangnan starve to death?"
Zhao Han asked: "Your Xu family has so much land, why don't you use food to help the victims?"
Xu Nianzu sighed: "The Xu family does have a lot of cotton fields and mulberry fields, but there are really not many grain fields. If the Xu family wants to help the victims, a few thousand people can do it. Once there are tens of thousands of hungry people, they have to buy food. But the main town is in Jiangxi, southern Hunan.
Due to the embargo, even if the Xu family has money, they can't buy grain! Fortunately, the drought last year was not severe, otherwise the price of rice in Jiangnan this spring would have risen to at least five taels of silver and one stone!"
The Taihu Plain and its surrounding areas were the largest grain-producing base in the country in the early Ming Dynasty.
The rapid development of industry and commerce has resulted in this grain production base not being able to produce enough grain to feed itself, so it has to buy rice from Huguang and Jiangxi.
Zhao Han's expansion broke this supply chain!
The decrease in grain shipments from Jiangxi and Hunan has caused rice prices in Jiangnan to skyrocket. Workers and farmers cannot afford to buy grain (many farmers grow cotton in exchange for grain), causing a social imbalance in supply and demand, and destroying both urban and rural ecology.
At this time, the court had to send more taxes, which was tantamount to a fatal blow.
The gentry families in Susong and Changhu prefectures were either directly engaged in industry and commerce, or provided raw materials to industry and commerce. How could they not be affected?
Nowadays, it is no longer a sharp rise in food prices, but an overall rise in social prices!
All the governments in the south of the Yangtze River, both landowners and merchants, hope that this situation will end as soon as possible. The economic ecology they have been operating for more than a hundred years has been completely disrupted by Zhao Han.
"In the main town, people are eating each other!" Xu Nianzu shouted.
Zhao Han sighed: "There are too many big families in Jiangnan, and the resistance to dividing the fields is too great."
Although land annexation is serious in Jiangxi, there are many mountains and little land. With tens of thousands of acres of land, they are already super wealthy.
In Jiangnan, one family can own hundreds of thousands of acres of land!
This is the inevitable result of the prosperity of industry and commerce. Capital not only converts good land to cotton, but also quickly concentrates wealth in a few families. The richer these families are, the more they have to annex land. This situation is the same all over the world.
Xu Nianzu remained silent.
"I'll think about it again." Zhao Han did not refuse immediately.
Xu Nianzu wanted to say more, but his clan brother Xu Fengcai stopped him, for fear of offending Mr. Zhao.
Zhao Han waved his hand and said: "Go."
The Xu brothers left and three famous prostitutes were invited in.
Zhao Han sat back in his chair, tapping the armrests with his fingers, and his mind was filled with things about Jiangnan.
Plans cannot keep up with changes.
Since the beginning of the war, Zhao Han's military expansion plan has never been able to stick to the end.
The corruption and fragility of the Ming Dynasty were beyond Zhao Han's imagination, and all his plans were too conservative.
"Meet Mr. Zhao!"
The three courtesans saluted in unison.
"Sit down." Zhao Han said casually, still thinking about business.
It was late spring, and Zhao Han was wearing a cotton Taoist robe, which was the Ming Dynasty casual wear made of cotton.
The costumes are very ordinary, but they cannot stand up to the extraordinary characters.
The three courtesans had met many important people, including famous scholars, scholars, and governors. But none of them could have the momentum of Zhao Han. Just sitting there quietly gave people a strong sense of oppression.
Suddenly, Zhao Han came back to his senses and said with a smile: "I'm really sorry, I was just thinking about something."
As if the ice melted, the sense of oppression suddenly disappeared, allowing the three of them to relax at the same time.
Wang Wei was the oldest, so she flattered him: "Mr. Zhao is busy with everything, and he may be thinking about some major world affairs."
"You really guessed it right," Zhao Han asked, "Tell me, should I attack Jiangnan first or Fujian first?"
The three women were speechless.
They are good at poetry, painting, music and singing, but they have never talked about this kind of content with customers.
Zhao Han smiled and said: "Don't be afraid of saying something wrong, just say whatever you want."
Lin Xue said: "I am from Fujian. I hope that my husband can attack Fujian first."
"Attack Jiangnan first!" Wang Wei and Liu Rushi said at the same time.
Zhao Han asked: "Why attack Jiangnan first?"
"All the way to Jiangxi, the people live and work in peace and contentment," Wang Wei replied. "Instead of the money falling into the hands of corrupt officials, it is better for Mr. Zhao to capture the land of wealth in Jiangnan and let the people in Jiangnan live in peace and contentment like the people in Jiangxi."
Have a good life."
Liu Rushi said: "Nanjing and Zhenjiang are better. In remote counties and counties in the south of the Yangtze River, I heard that the price of rice has risen to three taels of silver. How can people afford rice at such a high price? If Mr. Zhao does not send troops, Jiangnan will have to
Many people starved to death. Two years ago, I saw cannibalism three times during the journey of just over a hundred miles from Songjiang to Suzhou. If no one was escorting me, I might have been eaten too."
Jiangnan is too fragile. There is a lot of money but little food. If there is a natural disaster, there will be famine.
Zhao Han suddenly changed the topic and said with a smile: "What do you three want to do for a living when you come to Jiangxi?"
Wang Wei said: "I want to be a teacher at a girls' school."
Lin Xuedao: "I am good at painting, so I can draw some illustrations for the bookstore."
"I... also want to be a teacher at a girls' school." Liu Rushi said.
Zhao Han thought for a while and said: "Sou Mei Academy has no shortage of female teachers. Jishui, Nanchang, Raozhou, Qianshan, and Jiujiang are all planning to open girls' schools. I can write a letter of recommendation. You can take it with you.
Just go. As for the bookstore, I can also write a letter of recommendation."
Liu Rushi suddenly asked: "Mr. Zhao, can women be officials in Jiangxi?"
"It's possible," Zhao Han sighed, "but it's very difficult and easy to attract criticism."
Xiaohong is already married. In order to take care of her family, she no longer works as a missionary. Instead, she becomes the chief registrar of Anfu County, which is equivalent to the director of the county office. This matter caused a sensation last year, and even pedantic people came to
Big-character posters were posted at the entrance of the county government office.
Zhao Han's General Military Mansion also received a large number of petition letters, hoping that he could ban women from serving as officials.
Liu Rushi said quickly: "I just asked casually."
Lin Xue immediately changed the topic: "Is "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" written by Mr. Zhao?"
"Haha," Zhao Han couldn't help laughing, "Have you read that novel?"
"It was reprinted two years ago. I drew illustrations for "The Legend of the Condor Heroes," Lin Xue said. "This book has two signatures, one is Li Zhuowu (Li Zhi), and the other is Zhao Zi. In recent years, it has been widely rumored that Zhao Zi
He is Mr. Zhao from Jiangxi."
Zhao Han couldn't help laughing: "I'm afraid it's not Mr. Zhao from Jiangxi. What they said was the traitor Zhao from Jiangxi."
Lin Xue refused to accept this and asked, "Is it really Mr. Zhao's fault?"
Zhao Han said with a smile: "I used to work as a domestic slave and had no money, so I wrote novels to earn some writing fees."
"Sir, you are really a great talent." Lin Xue complimented.
Through the novel, Lin Xue successfully made the atmosphere relaxed and harmonious.
Liu Rushi kept up his efforts and asked: "It is said that Mr. Zhao has a reputation as a scholar, but is it true?"
"I took the exam twice and failed." Zhao Han said.
Wang Wei asked: "Sir, are you proficient in poetry?"
Zhao Han smiled and said: "I haven't practiced it well."
Famous prostitutes have their own way of doing things, and these three women all tried to find out Zhao Han's interests.
He had no other thoughts, he just wanted to be cared for by Zhao Han.
Liu Rushi listened to the conversation between Xu Ying and Zhang Pu that day. She asked: "I heard that at the age of fourteen, your husband has won the favor of the Jiangxi Superintendent. Do you want to accept him as a disciple?"
"That's the case." Zhao Han nodded.
Wang Wei and Lin Xue were both very surprised. They thought Zhao Han had simple knowledge, but they didn't expect that Zhao Han was a child prodigy.
It is rare for a provincial academic officer to take the initiative to recruit apprentices, because it will definitely attract criticism.
Liu Rushi raised the corner of her mouth: "I guess Mr. Zhao must be full of knowledge and only regards poetry as a side track, so he doesn't bother to talk about poetry and poetry with others. Mr. Zhao must have a few masterpieces, right?"
They also understand "national affairs", but it's all the same old thing, about rectifying government and appointing people on their merits.
Needless to say, Jiangxi has already done this.
Then we can only refer to poetry, which is the strength of courtesans.
Zhao Han said with a smile: "I am reminded of an old work, in which I performed a master's game in front of three famous people. Don't sing the song of eternal regret, for there is also a Milky Way in the world. There are more tears when husband and wife say goodbye in Shihao Village than in the Palace of Immortality."
After reciting this poem, the three famous prostitutes stood up quickly: "Thank you sir for your teaching!"
Their little thoughts were seen through by Zhao Han, and they were also impressed by this poem. Let them sing poems and songs in the future, pay more attention to the suffering of the people, and not just care about the emperors, generals, talents and beauties.
When this poem was thrown out, it was Zhao Han who was admonishing the literati.
Liu Rushi thought to himself: Mr. Zhao is worthy of being a child prodigy. He is indeed proficient in poetry, and he just hides it in his heart without showing any trace.