Chapter 781: The plan is extremely clever and the envoy is sent
"I didn't expect it, I really didn't expect it..." Yonghe smiled bitterly and shook his head as he spoke.
Yes, his true identity is just as Shen Guisheng said. He is the son of Jiaqing's wet nurse and belongs to Zhengbai Banner. And when he came to Jinzhou this time, he also received Jiaqing's secret order to serve as a messenger.
As for why he came, we must start with the current predicament of the Qing court.
Although 1794 has not yet ended, it is undoubtedly an extremely miserable year for the Manchus. Although they still occupy the colorful world in the pass, with a population of more than 200 million under their rule, they are already surrounded by enemies on all sides and are at the end of their rope.
First, Zhao Xin personally commanded the Liaodong Campaign in the north, causing the Qing government to lose the entire Liaodong Plain.
To the east, the Shandong Peninsula was completely occupied by the Northern Navy, and the northernmost front had entered the North China Plain.
To the south, the southern front troops led by He Xiwen landed at Lianzhou Bay in the seventh month of the lunar calendar and sounded the clarion call to attack Guangxi. This 5,000-man force, composed of Hoi An camp and servant troops, fought continuously for more than three months. , heading north and west along the river, with great momentum. At present, its troops have passed Hengzhou, and are only 220 miles away from Nanning City by water.
To the west, the 30,000-strong West Route Army led by Liu Sheng and Fan Tong continued to attack Fang Qiu in the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains. At present, Kurkarawusu, Talbahatai and Yili on the North Tianshan Road have all been captured, and all along the road have been cleared. All the troops surrendered in the face of the wind. On the Tianshan South Road, five thousand cavalry commanded by Jiang Fan successively captured Turpan, Karashar, Kuqa, and Aksu.
At this point, the strategic encirclement designed by Zhao Xin six years ago has been completed. If the previous actions were just like the corner layout in Go, then the massive conscription launched by Beihai Town in mid-September means that this The game of chess is about to enter its final stage.
In the eyes of many thoughtful people, it is a normal behavior for those who want to conquer the world since ancient times to recruit troops on a large scale. It took Beihai Town so many years to recruit troops on a large scale in Jiaodong, which is really a bit delayed.
However, when these people learned about the various measures taken by Beihai Town in this conscription, especially the propaganda and mobilization that went directly to the countryside, and the huge role played by the "Farmers' Association" that was hated by countless gentry, they were all confused. shock.
Only then did they understand why Zhao Xin's senior official named Kong spent two years and countless manpower and money to set up "offices" with all-round functions such as finance, personnel, and justice in various villages in Jiaodong; why he spared no effort They set up "agricultural cooperatives" to help landless farmers obtain land, and even dispatched the army to help people build houses and harvest autumn; why they spent money on food and recruited theater troupes to frequently go to the countryside to perform unheard of new plays; Families of soldiers and soldiers who are well-paid are provided with free education and various labor benefits.
For the Qing court, the signal sent by the large-scale conscription in Beihai Town could not be clearer. Ten or twenty thousand Beihai navy could defeat them, and they would be helpless. Hundreds of thousands or even hundreds of thousands would definitely be the force to destroy the country.
After Jiaqing discussed the conscription method in Beihai Town with several military ministers, he was very tempted by its effects and wanted to try it in the "rear areas" of Shaanxi-Gansu, Sichuan, and Yunnan-Guizhou regions.
As a native of Shaanxi, Wang Jie, a scholar from Dongge University, suggested that it be tried out in Shaanxi and Gansu first. He would choose areas with traditional Chongqing and simple folk customs, and add officers to the inspection department at the township level. Each officer would directly manage 500 households.
to fulfill.
However, when Dong Gao, who was in charge of the household department, simply settled the accounts for everyone present, Jiaqing felt as if a basin of cold water had been poured on him and his activities ceased.
According to the census of the Ministry of Household Affairs in the 55th year of Qianlong's reign, there were 8,737,887 people in Shaanxi and 17,136,882 people in Gansu, for a total of 25,874,769 people. Taking into account the population growth in recent years, the actual number is only much higher.
Well, let’s calculate the person-to-household ratio as 1:5. There are more than 20 million people, which means 51,74954 households. If there is one inspection for every 500 households, then more than 10,000 additional officials will be needed. Each official will have an annual salary of 12
Liang, 50 taels of silver to maintain integrity, then the court's annual expenditure will increase by more than 640,000 taels. If you add in the government offices, collection of canons, spearmen and other items, I am afraid it will be no less than one million.
Even if it only covers half of the population of Shaanxi and Gansu, its financial expenditure is not affordable by the court. And it will cost so much money in Shaanxi and Gansu alone. If you include other provinces, it will be an astronomical figure.
At this time, Jiaqing felt that he finally understood the series of "sexy operations" in Beihai Town over the years, and he sighed: "Build walls high, accumulate grain widely, and slowly become king. Zhao Ni considered these nine
The words are well thought out!"
In a narrow sense, all dynasties in China have adhered to the governance model of "imperial power not extending to the county." This does not mean that the imperial power does not want to extend to the county, but that in the traditional small-scale peasant society, the cost of governing the county is too high and is not the responsibility of the court at all.
The fiscal revenue could bear it. Therefore, a dual-track system was formed with "centralization" above the county level and "autonomous system" below the county level. The key class responsible for communicating between the two was the gentry.
As the feudal autocratic centralization of the Manchu Qing Dynasty was unprecedentedly strengthened, although it had an annual income of more than 70 million taels of silver, it still could not afford it. It could only rule indirectly through grassroots organizations with a vocational nature. For example, the Inspection Department, Township School, He
Parking place, ambassador of the tax department, gate officer, postmaster, etc.
If the state government in a traditional farming society wants to expand its financial resources, the only way to do this is to have more farmland, prosper market transactions, and increase tax revenue. Once the farmland within the territory is developed to the extreme, the court's annual income will basically reach its peak.
Jiaqing, who received royal education from an early age and had been a prince for more than 20 years, knew this truth very well, so he thought he had clearly seen Zhao Xin's various practices over the years.
"No wonder he wants to seize land outside the customs from the imperial court, go to war with Rakshasa, and take over a large area of the Far North! No wonder he wants to go to war with the Dutch in the South China Sea! No wonder he wants to make such a big fuss in Anping Port
, if you have money, you don’t have to come up with a Beihai dollar!”
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! In his view, Zhao Xin wants to build a huge dynasty with unprecedented vast territory, strict governance system, political power penetrating into the countryside, and super strong war mobilization power.
The problem is that the clearer he sees it, the more anxious Jiaqing becomes. The so-called "being alone and having few friends" means that after sitting on the throne of the emperor, he knows a lot of things in his heart, but cannot talk to outsiders.
In fact, this is not the only thing that makes him anxious. You must know that Qianlong's Zi Palace is still in the Guande Hall in Jingshan! The mausoleum in Zunhua has not yet been completed, and thousands of pole bearers have just begun to practice. Even if they give up the "West Hunt" in Beijing,
"The late emperor must be buried first. Otherwise, how can he face his ancestors?!
Just two months ago, the Qing government received a secret report from outside the customs from Shang Yu's secret agent, which detailed what he saw and heard during the Northern Navy's attack on Shengjing City.
While reading this secret report, Jiaqing noticed that the Northern Navy did not destroy the tombs of Nurhaci and Huang Taiji during the attack on the outskirts of Shengjing, and even sent troops to guard them after the war. This made him breathe a sigh of relief and also
Quite a surprise.
As a confidant, the Minister of Military and Aircraft Dong Gao also read the secret report. After thinking about it for two days, he suggested to Jiaqing that it would be better to use this as a breakthrough to start private negotiations with Beihai Town, using the Shengjing Imperial Mausoleum and the enshrinement ceremony of Emperor Gaozongchun as an excuse.
Buy more time.
After repeated deliberation, Jiaqing reluctantly agreed. After all, if he could delay a little longer, he could collect more taxes from various places. In the past few years, he and Qianlong had transferred fifteen million taels of silver to Xi'an through the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
, four million shi of grain and rice. It sounds like a lot, but once the imperial court moved to Xi'an, the grain that was regarded as the lifeline would no longer be considered, and the large amount of taxes directly under the Ministry of Internal Affairs would also be gone.
For example, Suzhou Weaving, Jiangning Weaving, Lianghuai Salt Administration, Changlu Salt Administration, Hedong Salt Administration, Guangdong Customs Supervision, Fengyang Customs Supervision, Jiujiang Customs Supervision, and Huaiguan Supervision are basically maintained every year.
It is more than two million taels, accounting for nearly 80% of the annual income of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
So for him, if the Beihai Navy could enter the customs later, they could at least take away hundreds of thousands more taels of silver.
The strategy is set, but how to contact him? Find the spies planted by Beihai Town in the capital? In the past, He Shen was responsible for this kind of thing and reported directly to Qianlong; since he defected, this line has been broken.
Dong Gao's advice was not to contact Shandong, but to focus on Jinzhou.
It's not that he doesn't trust Liu Yong, but the matter is very important. The situation in Shandong is complicated and the gentry is unstable. Once the news leaks out, it will cause unnecessary turmoil.
Jinzhou was chosen because the private sea trade there had not been interrupted, and the imperial troops had retreated to Ningyuan Prefecture and Shanhaiguan, so outsiders would not know about the situation in Jinzhou.
Jiaqing was convinced of this. However, it is easy to find maritime merchants, but it is difficult to find a messenger. First of all, he must be a trustworthy confidant, loyal to the emperor and the court, and he must be bold, careful, and calm. The most important thing is that he must be a flag
After picking and choosing, his nanny brother Yonghe became the best candidate.
Yonghe's mother, named Siha, was the only wet nurse in Jiaqing. She died of illness ten years ago. In the Qing Dynasty, the prince usually had 3 to 4 nannies and only one wet nurse. They usually stayed with the prince for several years.
Even for more than ten years, it undoubtedly has the greatest impact on the prince's temperament and upbringing.
For example, the reason why the Cao family was able to take charge of Jiangning weaving and became famous for a while was because Kangxi's wet nurse, Sun, was Cao Xi's wife.
According to the system of the Qing court, the wet nurse of the prince must be a bannerman, have a good appearance, a gentle personality, be well-educated, be proficient in Manchu, and be from the Ministry of Internal Affairs; in addition, she must be between 15 and 20 years old, and have given birth to three children.
, husband and children are healthy. The most important thing is that the third child must be a girl. Of course, if it is a princess’s wet nurse, the third child must be a boy.
Jiaqing had a very good personal relationship with his elder brother Yonghe, and they used to meet each other often. He was a typical banner man. Because of his mother, after he became a young man, he entered the leading guard house and became a blue feather guard. Buku was skilled in all things, including bow and horse.
He was also very peaceful and never relied on Jiaqing's connections to amass money.
Because his father passed away last winter, Yonghe was required to observe filial piety at home and could not go back to work after the annual festival. When he had nothing to do at home on weekdays, he often went to the Tianhuixuan Teahouse in Di'anmen to drink tea to pass the time.
I also met Guisheng, who was disguised as a teahouse waiter. He was called "Yong Erye" because he was the second best among his peers in the clan.
After the girl was chosen, Jiaqing asked the Ministry of Internal Affairs to issue an edict, posthumously conferring the title of first-class wife to the wet nurse Ta Siha. At the same time, she also granted the title of second-class wife to the surviving two men and women Zhang. The mother, Zhu, was the second-class wife.
The heirs were all rewarded with the rank of Cavalry Commander of the fourth rank, which they inherited three times, and each family was rewarded with one thousand five hundred taels of silver.
According to the old practice, the new emperor must reward his nanny after he ascends the throne. Jiaqing has been very busy in the past few months since he ascended the throne. Moreover, the fifty-ninth year of Qianlong has not yet passed, so there is no rush. But because there is a need to rush
This is the only way to summon Yonghe.
By the way, being an emperor does not mean that you can just let eunuchs deliver orders to whomever you want. Without justifiable reasons, even Prince Baylor cannot be summoned into the palace at will.
The emperor issued a decree to reward his mother and himself, which was a great blessing for Yonghe. Even though the "Xiao Xiang" had not yet passed, he still had to pass the plaque to the palace to express his gratitude.
After the monarch and his ministers had a formal duet in the main hall of Yangxin Hall, they went to Dongnuang Pavilion for a private conversation. When Jiaqing expressed his thoughts, Yonghe naturally had no choice and expressed his excitement.
Even if you have to go through mountains of swords and seas of fire, you still have to complete your mission.
Then it was Dong Gao's operation. He chose the Shuixi Cha family from among the many maritime merchant families in Tianjin. He was interested in the fact that the other family had a great business and was the leader of the salt merchants.
Finally, on the twentieth day after Jiaqing's summons, Yonghe carried a letter instructed by Jiaqing and drafted by Dong Gao himself, and brought a Lanling guard disguised as a domestic servant to board the ship bound for Matigou.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! After Shen Guisheng learned about Yonghe’s intention to come, he also read the contents of the letter and knew that the matter was of great importance. Although as the person in charge of the Intelligence Bureau in Jinzhou,
But this kind of thing was not something he could decide. So he immediately took Yonghe and his servant to Guangning County and settled them in an inn in the city. He also informed the local Military Control Commission and sent people to keep an eye on Yonghe and the other two.
People’s whereabouts.
That afternoon, he sent a telegram to the Eastern Front Command in Shengjing City through the Intelligence Bureau's radio station. An hour later, the call back came. Chief of Staff Li Rui asked him to bring Yonghe to Shengjing the next morning. He wanted to meet this man in person.
.
It is more than 300 miles from Guangning to Shengjing City. If you ride a horse, it will take two or three days to get there. So the next morning, after breakfast, Yonghe and his companions followed two Bei navy soldiers to the Zhenshuo Gate in the north of Guangning City.
, unexpectedly not a single horse was seen.
In addition to a few donkeys munching grass at the base of the city wall, there was only a dark green thing a few feet away, as tall as a person, with an extremely weird shape placed on the post road. There were two black things as thick as buckets underneath that thing.
The round wheel.
While the two were wondering, they saw a door opening on the side of the strange green thing, and a man wearing a Northern Navy uniform walked out. This scene immediately startled Yonghe and his companions, and they couldn't help but step back.
A few steps.
"Master Yong, if you change your clothes, you won't recognize me?"
Yonghe took a closer look and saw that it was Guisheng. He couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief and said, "Master Shen, you said you wanted to take me to Shengjing. How can I get there without a horse?"
Guisheng laughed and explained: "It's so tiring to ride a horse, and it also wastes time. Let's go by car today."
"Car?" Yonghe looked around and thought there was no carriage either.
Seeing that he still didn't understand, Guisheng reached out and opened the back door of the jeep, made a sign of invitation, and said, "This is the car. We can get to Shengjing City in the afternoon."