Chapter 349: Evening Talk between the Monarch and His Ministers
Zhang Yangquan stood by the window, feeling the cold wind pouring in from the window, and his mood gradually calmed down.
Just now Guo Niansheng reported that this time the field tax harvested a total of 5.47 million shi of grain.
Although he was mentally prepared, he still couldn't hide his joy. He felt hot all over and needed the cold air outside the window to cool his brain.
At this moment, Liu Bowen and Li Shanchang followed the guards and walked in, and they all greeted them.
"Your Majesty Liu Ji (Yang Xian) pays homage to your Majesty!"
"The humble minister Li Shanchang pays homage to the king!"
"You three don't need to be polite." Zhang Yangquan returned to the case and sat down. His eyes moved around the three of them, and finally stopped on Liu Bowen.
"Mr. Liu came here late at night. He must have something important to do, right?"
Liu Bowen said: "I heard from Yang Tongzhi that this time the land tax harvest was good, which led to a decrease in food prices in various places. However, Tianwan's army recruited troops aggressively, causing the people to live in poverty, and many people moved to the east of the Yangtze River."
Zhang Yangquan said: "Oh?"
Liu Bowen looked at Yang Xian and indicated that he would provide advice.
Yang Xian was secretly grateful and said hurriedly: "Your Majesty, as far as I know, a lot of people have migrated from the west. As long as we spread the news and provide food relief to all the refugees who have migrated, we will definitely attract a large number of people from Jiangxi."
Pop over!"
Zhang Yangquan's eyes flashed slightly and he said, "What do you think, Mr. Liu?"
Liu Bowen said: "I thought this matter could be carried out at the same time as dividing Tianwan's army!"
Zhang Yangquan thought for a while and said: "Okay, I will issue an order later to transport one million stones of grain to the front line to coordinate with the implementation of this plan!"
Yang Xian was overjoyed and said: "With this million stones of grain, the people under Chen Youliang's command will definitely flee eastward in large numbers, and Tianwan's army will collapse without a fight!"
Zhang Yangquan smiled and said: "Is this why you came here?"
Liu Bowen glanced at Li Shanchang and said: "Magistrate Li must have something to report, so I will leave first."
After that, he left with Yang Xian.
Zhang Yangquan turned his attention to Li Shanchang and was about to ask about the pilot situation.
Li Shanchang suddenly said: "Your Majesty, even if one million stones of grain are transported, the remaining four million stones of grain are still too much. I'm afraid the main warehouse of Jiangdu Mansion cannot hold it!"
Zhang Yangquan said: "The left prime minister also mentioned this matter just now. After discussion, we decided to restart the old warehouse of the Yuan Dynasty, which should solve this problem."
"This year, we can indeed cope with the old warehouses of the Yuan Dynasty, but next year the grain output will be even more, so we have to worry about it!" Li Shanchang reminded.
"Mr. Li, do you have any suggestions?"
Li Shanchang cupped his hands and said: "I thought we could build eight large main warehouses around Jiangdu Mansion as a backup. Then we ordered the local government to build two charity warehouses in each county to prepare for the famine!"
Zhang Yangquan pondered for a while and said: "Okay, I will discuss it with the Left Prime Minister tomorrow."
Only then did Li Shanchang take out an official document from his sleeve.
"Your Majesty, this is Danyang County's commercial tax and land tax coordination situation. Please take a look at it!"
Zhang Yangquan reached out to take it and browsed it quickly.
"Well, last year Danyang County's tax revenue was about the same as Dantu County's, but this year it was more than 40,000 taels more than Dantu County's. It seems that this pilot is a complete success!"
Li Shanchang smiled and said: "The tax results are enough to prove that the labor service system is better than the corvee system in all aspects!"
Zhang Yangquan smiled and said: "This pilot is successful, and you have contributed a lot. Early next year, I plan to set up six new departments, and then you will serve as the Minister of Household Affairs!"
Li Shanda was overjoyed: "Thank you so much, Your Majesty!"
After a pause, he said: "By the way, I was able to successfully implement the pilot this time. Hu Weiyong, a subordinate of my subordinate, has worked hard and made great achievements. I wonder if I can let him serve as a Yuanwailang under me?"
Zhang Yangquan hesitated for a moment and said: "Let him be the boss first. Young man, it would be better to practice more!"
Li Shanchang did not dare to say any more, and raised his hands and said: "Thank you, Your Majesty. I will take my leave."
After leaving the study, Hu Weiyong didn't ask any questions. The two of them left the palace together and walked along the dark street towards the small courtyard where Hu Weiyong was renting.
Returning to Hu Weiyong's courtyard, the two entered the main room, and Hu Weiyong said: "Teacher, how is the situation?"
Li Shanchang sat back on the chair, twisted his beard and said with a smile: "The King is very satisfied with the results of the pilot. Early next year, the King will set up six new departments, and I will serve as the Minister of Household Affairs!"
Hu Weiyong said happily: "Congratulations, teacher!"
Li Shanchang glanced at him and said: "Weiyong, I also recommended you to the king, and the king agreed to let you follow me, starting from the head of the household department!"
Hu Weiyong was stunned for a moment. The person in charge was the lowest-ranking official. He forced a smile and said: "It's good, the student has finally become an official!"
Li Shanchang patted him on the shoulder and said earnestly: "Don't be discouraged! I can see that the king's attitude toward you is different from that of ordinary officials. He probably wants to train you and entrust you with important responsibilities in the future!"
Hu Weiyong was surprised and delighted: "Really?"
Li Shanchang smiled and said, "Don't you trust my vision?"
Hu Weiyong took a deep breath and said: "Students must work hard and live up to the expectations of teachers and the king!"
A few days later, near the end of the year, Xu Baisheng, Shanzhu, Fu Youde, Bian Yuanheng and other frontline generals returned to Jiangdu Prefecture.
That night, every general received a summons from the king and went to the city to defend the North Gate Guard Station.
This Beimen Security Office was the Beimen Qianhu Office back then.
It was also the end of the year, and Zhang Yangquan had just received the imperial edict. He had a chat with other generals around a fire in the Thousand Households Hall, and discussed the matter of seizing Jiangdu.
As time passed, Zhang Yangquan not only conquered Jiangdu, but also occupied most of Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, and was about to unify Jiangnan.
Now is an important moment when a great cause is about to be accomplished. Zhang Yangquan hopes that everyone can return to the scene of that day, not forgetting the original intention, and moving forward.
Around Xu time, except for Li Er who was delayed for a few days because he was accompanying Zhu Yuanzhang and his wife, all the other generals had arrived.
The fire was burning brightly, and everyone was sitting around the fire as if sleeping in the countryside.
Zhang Yangquan sat on the north side, looking slowly at the generals.
Those fledgling bandits back then have now become independent generals, which makes him feel very gratified.
"Everyone is invited to come here today just to commemorate the past together. No matter the king or the minister, if there is anything that is inconvenient to say on weekdays, you can say it freely without any worries!"
Zhao Desheng suddenly held up his hands and said: "The last general advanced with little force and caused the loss of his troops and generals. I would like to ask your Majesty to punish you!"
Zhang Yangquan scratched his head and sighed: "Putting aside the disposal in advance, I would like to ask General Zhao, have you thought carefully about where the defeat was in this battle?"
Zhao Desheng said in a low voice: "The last general was greedy for success, relied on bravery and underestimated the enemy, and was lucky, and that's why he was defeated like this!"
Zhang Yangquan said: "Okay, you will gain wisdom after eating a little. Since you know how to reflect, this defeat is not without gain. Everyone should also take General Zhao's defeat as a warning. I believe that most people present will not agree with him."
If you stay on the ground, you may be ambushed and defeated!"
After hearing this, Wang Da quietly lowered his head.
Geng San said: "Your Majesty, the Shenji Battalion has more than two thousand muskets. I feel that these two thousand musketeers are a rare force. They will definitely come in handy when attacking Tianwan's army!"
Wang Dameng raised his head and said: "Your Majesty, I think we can let the musketeers cooperate with my advance camp and let the musketeers suppress the enemies on the city wall. My advance camp can easily attack any city wall!"
Zhang Yangquan's eyes flashed and he said: "Did you use this tactic when you attacked Hangzhou?"
The two said in unison: "Yes!"
Zhang Yangquan pondered for a while and said: "Very good, then the two of you will combine together to form an invincible siege force!"
The two of them were refreshed and said in unison: "Yes!"
Seeing that the two men's speeches were affirmed, the generals all shared some of their experiences and thoughts on the battlefield.
Xu Baisheng listened silently at first. When everyone had finished speaking and no one spoke, he said: "Your Majesty, I thought that I could send a scout force to the north to explore the terrain and prepare for the future Northern Expedition!"
Fang Yuan said blankly: "Since we are exploring the terrain, why not start from the west first? The opponent in front of us is Tianwan Army!"
Fu Youde hurriedly said: "Marshal Xu has already sent people to explore the terrain in the west, and also ordered people to print the map. When we attacked Huizhou, Marshal Xu ordered people to send the map of Huizhou over in advance."
Not only was Fang Yuan stunned this time, but Zhang Yangquan was also surprised.
Xu Baisheng is the type who works quietly without saying anything. If it were any other general, he would have come to ask for credit.
Zhang Yangquan glanced at Xu Baisheng helplessly and said: "Marshal Xu, I agree to your proposal, but if you do this kind of thing again in the future, you are not allowed to hide it secretly."
Xu Baisheng cupped his hands and said, "I accept your order."
Zhang Yangquan glanced around and saw that almost all the generals had spoken, but the wild boar had a sullen face and said nothing.
"Marshal Shan, has Fang Guozhen done anything recently?" he asked.
Shanzhu said solemnly: "He and Chen Youding seem to have reached some kind of alliance. The two sides will not invade each other and there will be no major moves."
Zhang Yangquan said: "Since he lives on an island, where do the food and supplies come from?"
"Back to your Majesty, Fang Guozhen currently makes a living by plundering our ships that communicate with the Southeast Asian countries!"
The king was furious and said: "This kid dared to rob our merchant ship. Your Majesty, you should send troops to destroy him!"
Zhang Yangquan asked Shanzhu: "What does Marshal Shan think?"
The mountain pig took a deep breath and said: "The sea is vast, and the distant army is in danger of encountering a storm. I think it is the safest strategy to capture Quanzhou first, and then set off from Quanzhou to exterminate the Fang bandits!"