"The debt is 200 million taels, and the interest is not included. If you want me to pay back the money, I need to borrow another 40 million taels!"
Xu Jingchang held a teapot in one hand, stood tall and read a crooked poem loudly into the wind.
It happened that Miss Huang came over with a fox fur coat and put it on him for fear of freezing.
Xu Jingchang smiled and said: "Tell me, do I have the style of Li Taibai now? Do I look like a romantic talent?"
Miss Huang rolled her eyes at him and said, "Like, if you remove the two words, it will look more like it."
"Which two words?"
"Madman!" Miss Huang said unceremoniously: "Your Majesty has been assigned a heavy responsibility. Everyone in the world is looking at the Duke, but you are so out of control now. Are you really not afraid of something happening?"
Xu Jingchang laughed and said: "You are wrong. I have no choice now. Conventional strategies no longer work. Even if there is a golden mountain in front of me, I still have to find enough people to dig it for me! Actually, right?
, the courtiers and your majesty all made a mistake. They asked me for money, thinking that I would put the money in front of them... That's 200 million taels, where can I get it? "
Miss Huang was startled, "What is the Duke going to do?"
"Actually, I just need to change my thinking. I just need to make Peiping look like a capital city and be able to support His Majesty's journey north. That's enough."
Miss Huang frowned a little. Is there any difference between turning Peiping into the capital and getting 200 million taels to build Peiping?
She really couldn't understand. Does it mean that we don't need to spend money to build Beiping?
She couldn't figure it out, but she didn't ask any more questions.
"Anyway, it's good that the Duke is aware that you are from the south and it's cold in Peiping, so don't freeze. It's better to go back to the house and rest as soon as possible."
Xu Jingchang nodded. Peiping is indeed much colder than the south.
So I hope those people can endure it!
Who are those people Xu Jingchang is thinking of?
That's right, Xu Jingchang left a backdoor when he transferred the land of the guard station... because he carefully calculated that even if the land in the north was turned into a farm, it would stimulate the enthusiasm of military households for work.
But it was impossible to produce enough food for trade while maintaining the living standards of military households.
At least it's not possible in the early stages.
So Xu Jingchang thought about it and made a decision, which was to demote the captured Duoyan three guardsmen, the wealthy smuggling merchants, the uncooperative generals of the guard station, their families, and all the prisoners in Beiping.
Slaves, let them work as hard labor, farm and cut trees, and develop Beiping.
He knows the consequences of doing this. There will be constant criticism from both the government and the public. Even if he has a strong background, he may not be able to withstand it.
Zhu Di may not go all out to protect him.
But when this matter was tied to moving the capital and treasury revenue, Zhu Di had no choice.
You must know that once Zhu Laosi is sure of something, it will be quite embarrassing.
Xu Jingchang could just rely on Zhu Di's protection to do whatever he wanted.
Of course, the one who acted as the vanguard for him was the King of Han Zhu Gaoxu.
Xu Jingchang took advantage of the good weather and rode a tiger-shooting cart from Peiping, headed northwest, and arrived at Huailaiwei. There was a Sanggan River nearby, which was nourished by the river water, and the land on both sides was very suitable for farming.
Zhu Gaoxu was patrolling here. When he heard that Xu Jingchang was coming, he urged his horse over and complained to him: "It's like this every time. You enjoy it in the back and let me fight the wind and snow. You are so unethical."
Xu Jingchang chuckled and said, "Your Highness' ability is here, I am ashamed to say that I am afraid of causing trouble to you."
Zhu Gaoxu snorted rudely, "Don't talk about those useless things, I just ask you, how much labor can you give me?"
Xu Jingchang said: "You can have as much as you want!"
Zhu Gaoxu was shocked, "Impossible!"
"Why?"
"The reason is very simple. If you count all the captured criminals, there are only 30,000 to 20,000 people. Many of them have to go to Daning to build foragers and renovate the Great Wall. Where did you find so many people?"
Xu Jingchang suddenly smiled faintly, "Really? Your Highness, King of Han, you need to open your mind. Aren't there people who are needed? In the grasslands, Liaodong, Korea, Japan, and even Annan! As long as you can afford the price, how can there be a shortage of people?"
"
"You? What do you mean?" Zhu Gaoxu was very surprised and looked at Xu Jingchang stupidly... Even though he had made a lot of calculations, he never expected that this person named Xu would play so fancy?
Zhu Gaoxu looked around and had to pull Xu Jingchang up to his Tiger Shooting Car. The two of them sat down before he leaned forward and whispered: "Cousin, what are your plans? You have to talk to me."
Be careful! Otherwise, I won’t worry.”
Xu Jingchang also smiled and said: "Now that things have happened, I have said that the cost is just the result of calculation... For example, food is not necessarily transported from the south. If water transportation is omitted, a lot can be saved."
Zhu Gaoxu frowned and said: "You are right, but the output in the north is not much. How many people are there in Yingtian? It must be more than one million. If the capital is moved to Beiping, Beiping will probably have more than one million people. Where can you get so many people?"
Food? Aren't you afraid of forcing the people to rebel? Let me remind you, if it really comes to that, I won't fight with you anymore, I'm afraid of getting myself into trouble."
It can make the always bold Zhu Gaoxu panic, which shows how dangerous this matter is.
Xu Jingchang smiled and said: "Don't be busy yet, listen to me... It is absolutely impossible to let the common people farm and produce food to feed millions of people in Peking. But if you use slaves to farm the fields, things seem to be different! What if?
If a slave doesn't make money, you won't ask me for help!"
Zhu Gaoxu hesitated again and again. Suddenly, as if he was struck by lightning, he seemed to understand...
As a shrewd businessman, Zhu Gaoxu is very good at settling accounts.
Why did the Jiubian military households flee? The output was too little, the taxes were too high, and the squeeze was too harsh, and they couldn't survive... But what is the land rent around Peking?
Thirty percent to thirty-five percent.
It is far inferior to the terrifying ratio of more than 50% in Jiangnan, and even in places such as Suzhou, it can reach an astonishing 70%.
The common people cannot stand this ratio.
Why is this so?
The reason is not complicated. In addition to exorbitant levies and miscellaneous taxes, the common people also have to support their families, have children, marry wives and bury the elderly... In short, let them live like human beings. If they can't do that, they will flee.
But what would happen if it were these people who were demoted as slaves?
First of all, they certainly don't need to be responsible for exorbitant taxes, and they don't have the chance to have children. Since they are guilty, they have nowhere to go, so they can only work honestly on the farm.
A strong laborer can cultivate almost thirty acres of land... That's why there is a saying that there is thirty acres of land, one cow, and a wife and children. This is the ideal life of a homesteader.
And a mature slave, if pressed hard, can probably cultivate about 40 acres. Even if it is calculated as 30 acres, around Peking, he can still earn 20 dan in a year.
Twenty dans of grain, if you can give two dans of rations to your slaves, it is considered a great blessing.
In other words, if you use slaves to farm the fields, you can use 90% of the grain as commercial grain and enter the trade market... Do the math, how much is the difference between this and the 30% of the land rent of ordinary tenant farmers?
Not to mention homesteaders.
"With a surplus of food, more craftsmen can be fed... The conditions for setting up workshops around Peiping are very good. Among other things, there is kaolin for firing porcelain in the Kaiping area. We can definitely copy the one in Jingdezhen
Go to Kaiping... On the grassland, North Korea and the Japanese country all need large quantities of porcelain. How much tax revenue can this alone contribute? There are also timber from Liaodong, ports and docks in Tianjin, coal and iron from Yongping, and livestock from Daning.
…”
"Stop talking!"
Zhu Gaoxu suddenly interrupted Xu Jingchang's words. He was immersed in huge shock. He had been in Peiping for many years. Apart from galloping and fighting in the fortress, he had never thought about the wind, sand and bitter cold...
It turns out that there is so much wealth in Beiping.
The reason why it has not been developed is not because Xu Jingchang is a genius and the ancients are waste.
There is no shortage of eyes that can discover wealth in this world...but there is one problem, and that is food!
If you want to build an industry, you need people, lots and lots of people. When you gather so many people, you need food for everyone.
However, at the current level, transporting grain from other places cannot meet the huge gap. Even if Ming Dynasty exhausts its efforts, it will only be able to support the city of Beiping at most.
Xu Jingchang opposed moving the capital. For this reason, Peking at this moment really does not have the conditions to become the capital.
"My dear brother, if you use slaves to plow the fields, you will inevitably freeze to death and die from exhaustion, right?"
Xu Jingchang nodded, "Indeed."
"Then if you do this, your reputation will probably be ruined, right?"
"It's possible."
"Will someone immediately start trouble and punish them with the Ming Law?"
Xu Jingchang shook his head, "This will definitely not happen... After all, this is supported by His Majesty, and those who act as slaves are not human beings!"
Zhu Gaoxu was shocked. It stands to reason that he is a ruthless man. After all, he fought on the battlefield. Back then, he even thought about killing his uncle.
But Zhu Gaoxu still can't accept the idea of treating tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of people as adults.
After a long time, he said slowly: "What if these people rebel and make trouble?"
"Use the guards to suppress them. If these losers can't control slaves who are unfamiliar with the place, then they should be slaves!"
Zhu Gaoxu nodded again, "Can you tell me how much money you can make by doing this?"
Xu Jingchang said: "This account is not difficult to calculate. For example, a thousand-household farm produces 20,000 shi of grain every year, which can support about 10,000 craftsmen... I can petition the court to encourage businessmen to come and set up workshops, and even
Tax exemption within five years. People come, workshops are established, towns are established, and markets are prosperous. As long as the products are enough to support the expenses of hundreds of thousands of people, it is not a bad idea for Your Majesty to move the capital. I can set a time limit of fifteen years to move the capital.
Plans, these are not difficult.”
Zhu Gaoxu was silent for a long time, then suddenly laughed, "My dear brother, are you planning on waiting for this day?"
Xu Jingchang chuckled and said, "Don't think of me so badly. I am just for what I say. After all, if this thing is done, it will be good for your Zhu family."
"Seriously?" Zhu Gaoxu frowned.
"This is natural. After all, with the richness of products, the power that the court can mobilize has increased, and it is no problem to deal with mere Tartars. The Ming Dynasty may be able to achieve great achievements that have never been achieved in the past. Your Highness, the King of Han, can also accumulate the power of heaven.
Wealth, it’s not a problem to be as rich as the country.”
Zhu Gaoxu gritted his teeth and suddenly smiled: "Now that I have said that, do I still have a choice?"
"Of course!" Xu Jingchang said unceremoniously.
"What?" Zhu Gaoxu was puzzled, "What do you mean?"
"What I mean is that if you don't dare, I can talk to King Zhao, or I can talk to Zhu Zhanji!"
"No!" Zhu Gaoxu was furious, "This is my business, no one can steal it!"
It's still not good...I haven't updated regularly these days, so I'll try my best...please forgive me.
