Chapter 454: At the end of the year. At the annual meeting
In November of the second year of Tianqi, the Chinese army suddenly launched an offensive in the south of the Yangtze River, which really caught the Ming Dynasty officials by surprise.
Sun Chengzong, the Nanjing manager of the Ming Dynasty, who started preparing for the Jiangnan counterattack in July, was already doing his best. According to the usual efficiency of the Ming Dynasty, the efficiency of the preparation work was already very good.
The various Ming troops who had just finished their task of counterinsurgency in northern Zhejiang were helpless. In order to win credit, they kept submitting memorials to the court and wrangling lawsuits. Although the Nanjing garrison did not go into battle, as the headquarters and logistics base of the rebels besieging northern Zhejiang, Nanjing city
The various official warehouses are almost empty.
The wounded and wounded soldiers need to be compensated, the bandit leaders need to be dealt with, the recovered areas need to be appeased, war preparation materials need to be hoarded, food and grass need to be prepared, and the soldiers need to rest... The Ming army's original plan to launch a counterattack in Jiangnan at the end of October had to be postponed due to various reasons.
In November, it was a good time for the so-called "Autumn Harvest and Winter War". Sun Chengzong once again ordered all Ming armies to prepare for an attack. At this moment, the Chinese army took action first. At this time, the Ming army was not ready for war.
The Ming Army stationed in Suzhou even had a riot involving soldiers over pay.
The water network area in the south of the Yangtze River was pervasive. The pirate army and its bandits surrounded Suzhou Prefecture from all sides on the first day. In the evening, the Chinese army and the Ming army fought in the streets of Suzhou City. The more than 20,000 Ming Dynasty defenders could not even survive a night.
After surviving the battle, most of the Ming army surrendered before dawn, and the capital city of Suzhou fell into the hands of the Chinese army again after many years.
A lot of bad news soon came back from the Ming army's front line: Suzhou and Songjiang lines soon fell, and the pirate navy from Chongming's westward march occupied the areas around Zhenjiang. Three days later, patrol ships appeared on the Yanziji River in the north of Nanjing.
After that, the Ming armies from all over the south of the Yangtze River retreated like a tide, all running towards Jinling City.
The Taiwan fleet's flagship "Flying Dragon" has been modified many times. The keel has been reinforced with cast iron, a new pulley system has been installed on the sail and cable system, and a 2,500-pound bronze smoothbore cannon has been installed on the bow.
36-pound pull-action fusiliated naval gun.
The Yangtze River task force was commanded by Taiwan Fleet Commander Mai Dahai, and the Marine Corps Commander was Yang Qi. The fleet sailed all the way upstream. No Ming warship on the Yangtze River dared to confront them. The crew members were in high morale and asked for help.
Go to Jinling City.
The Yangtze River Task Force indeed fired at Jinling City. Hundreds of cannons roared for a long time, setting all the visible buildings along the river on fire. Then they pulled anchor and set sail, ignoring the people hiding in Jinling City.
Fifty-six thousand Ming officers and soldiers formed a line of more than ten miles and continued to march westward.
Since it was winter at this time, northeasterly winds often blew in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Therefore, the Chinese warships took advantage of the side headwind to move forward in a zigzag pattern. The speed could not be faster. It took almost half a day for the huge warship fleet to pass through the water west gate of Jinling City.
For a long time, the Ming army in the city did not fire a single shot. They just watched the Chinese army destroy the buildings outside Jinling City one by one, and then slowly moved upstream.
Hiding behind the battlements with a group of Ming Dynasty officers and soldiers watching the armed parade of the Chinese fleet, including Nanjing Manager and Minister of War Sun Chengzong, he had been angry and furious, but there was nothing he could do: the huge fleet in front of him was almost
Beyond his imagination, the densely packed cannons carried on the ships made him speechless in surprise. As Minister of War, he was very aware of some of the situation of the Ming army. Even if all kinds of cannons in the country were concentrated in Nanjing,
City, I am afraid that the number of cannons carried by the fleet on the river cannot be compared. Moreover, looking at the range of these cannons, as well as the explosive bombs, shrapnel shells, etc., the quality of the Chinese army's cannons is also far higher than that of the cannons.
Of the Ming Army.
Sun Chengzong now began to doubt his mission: to regain Jiangnan from the Chinese army and pirates was an impossible task.
A few days later, a thin and slender sailing ship with canvas hanging from head to tail sailed out of the Chongming Fortress Pier at the Yangtze River Estuary. Driven by the winter northeast wind, the clipper communication ship "Seabird" sailed from the Yangtze River Estuary. It only takes three or four days to get to Taiwan Port.
The Seabird is the latest communication ship built. Its appearance is almost the same as the "later" clipper ships in Yin Feng's memory. The keels are all made of the latest cast iron. There are metal components everywhere on the whole ship. Its sailing speed is the fastest in the world at that time. As far as I'm concerned, there are no opponents anymore.
This is a communication ship belonging to the Chinese Army Navy Headquarters. It only listens to the command of the President of the Chinese Army Yin Feng and the new Navy Commander Ye Hua. Therefore, when this ship entered the Jingang Naval Base at high speed, everyone was sailing for training or returning. All the ships made way for it.
The messenger wearing a feathered helmet quickly disembarked from the ship, jumped on the fast horse that had been waiting there at the pier, and ran towards the port city of Taiwan in a cloud of dust.
When the guards at the city gate saw him, they immediately cleared the way for him. The messengers quickly arrived at the Grand Campus and the old camp of the Chinese Army Headquarters in the north of the city, adjacent to the headquarters of the China Company.
The guard at the gate of the old camp recognized the messenger and told him: "Are you going to report the king's confidential information? The king is in the Qianhao headquarters, and all the big guys are there."
The messenger turned the horse's head and galloped away without saying a word.
Next to the original factory area, there is now a masonry structure that combines Chinese and Western styles. It has a three-story building. In Yin Feng's opinion, it looks a bit like a church or a synagogue with Chinese-style cornices.
This building is indeed related to the Jews. It is the location of the main financial account of the Chinese Company. It is also the headquarters of the Oriental Bank, a joint venture between the Chinese Company and most Jewish communities in Asia and American Jews. It is the intersection center of the Jewish financial network across the world in Asia. , Goa in India, and Jews in New Mexico in the Americas are transferring the funds of the Jewish community to this place. This is also where the Chinese Company issues its own currency, the Chinese dollar.
In the basement at the center of the building, a group of people from both the East and the West crowded into the dark room, including more than a dozen board members of the Chung Hwa Company, Xu Hongji, Zeng Yue, Zeng Shan, and the chairman of the Taiwan Jewish Chamber of Commerce, Pei. Les Cadras - He is also the General Manager of Oriental Bank.
Both sides of the basement were piled with things. The aisle was very narrow and could only accommodate five or six people walking side by side, but it was very long. The end of it was faintly lost in the dim candlelight. Both sides of the basement were filled with wooden boxes and suitcases, stretching to the end.
"The basement project here lasted for two years. The retaining walls on both sides were all made of marble and cement. The craftsmen involved in the construction were all the most trustworthy people. They had worked in the company's engineering department for more than five years. Generally, coolies used "After the project was completed, these Japanese were sent to the gold mining areas of West Borneo," Bernardo, the supervisor of this secret underground vault, introduced while forcefully opening a box. Suddenly, the entire dim The basement seemed to be illuminated by a burst of golden light. Yin Feng and everyone gathered around, and everyone showed a knowing smile.
In this box, there are piles of various gold coins from all over the world: such as the British Royal Rose, the French Gold Louis, the Spanish Pistol, the Dutch Ducat, and even the Southeast Asian Malay States. Small gold coins from India, gold bars from India, and gold ingots from America.
In another box, there are piles of American Spanish silver, Japanese silver, Ming Yunnan silver bullion and other silver. There are at least hundreds of such boxes here.
Bernardo picked up a piece of silver from the box and said with a smile: "Your Majesty the General said he was worried about the company's income this year. However, after you see all this, you should not worry about the company's financial situation. Our company does have a loss this year. It’s very big, but you can rest assured that China Money and Oriental Bank will fully support you,”
Zhao Tie, the representative of the military board of directors, shouted with a loud voice: "King ship owner, we have plenty of money, don't..."
Yin Feng waved his hand to stop him from speaking: "Okay, we will discuss the arrangements for next year at the board of directors."
He looked at the boxes in the room, turned to Perez Cadras and asked: "Rabbi Perez, how many of them are here to mint silver coins?"
Perez, chairman of the Jewish Chamber of Commerce, bent down to salute, then took out a piece of paper and began to read. Bernardo held a torch to illuminate him. He spoke in Chinese with a strong accent. Yin Feng pricked up his ears and listened with great effort. .
"...We started to mint the first batch of gold, silver and copper coins five years ago. Now most of the gold and silver coins have flowed into the Ming Dynasty, and very few have flowed out. We have issued silver coins in recent years, and the ratio of silver to copper is close to nine to one. , Although the profit of 10% is already very high, the wealthy people of the Ming Dynasty on the mainland like to hide their silver, and the silver coins flowing into the mainland are rarely circulated."
"Silver and copper are nine to one, do you have to hide this?" Li Jin, the chief director, asked in surprise.
Bernardo replied for Perez: "Our silver coins are exquisitely minted, perhaps for this reason, but the rich people on the mainland really like to hide their silver for a long time and no longer invest in buying and selling. This is really wasteful. "
Jewish businessmen have long seen the benefits of currency circulation in the national economy, although there are also many misers among Jews.
Perez continued: "Our gold and copper coins are very popular in overseas trade in the Nanyang area, and our silver coins are also very popular among Chinese companies and our Jewish community, but in addition, in other parts of the world, users Still very few,”
Yin Feng nodded: "I understand. This means that most of the gold and silver here will be used as currency circulation. It also means that we cannot use it casually until we make money next year."
Zhao Tie was discouraged: "I've been talking for a long time, but I'm still short of money."
Yin Feng sighed: "There is no way. We have fought two big wars in succession in the past two years, and they have not ended yet. Now Jiangnan has started fighting again... Fighting means spending money. In the past few years, the company has been spending money like water. If only we could print money..."
Xu Hongji immediately jumped out and said: "No, Your Majesty, the Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes have discredited banknotes. No one will use this piece of paper as silver anymore. Even in the Nanyang area, the natives hate the Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes." ,"
At that time, the Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes were issued in large quantities without any reserves. After they were issued, the government did not even acknowledge them when they collected taxes. This thing was also rewarded by the Ming Dynasty emperor to the envoys of the vassal state who came to pay tribute, but this treasure was out of the capital gate. The Ming Dynasty banknotes depreciated completely, and the bad reputation of the Ming Dynasty banknotes even spread to foreign countries.