There were many shipwrecks in a short period of time, resulting in huge losses. The relevant situation had been reported to Tianjin Prefecture long ago. It was because Zhou Keshan was under heavy pressure from Guo Ning that he threatened Zhang Liangpeng with force.
In September last year, Guo Ning was enthroned in Kaifeng surrounded by his subordinates. He founded the Zhou Dynasty and named it Longwu. On his way back to Zhongdu from Kaifeng, more than 100,000 elite soldiers who had destroyed the Kaifeng court returned victoriously.
The armies followed one after another for hundreds of miles, cheering and cheering for the emperor's chariot along the way, with a momentum that shook the heaven and the earth.
However, apart from this, the process of founding a country is very simple, even shabby.
This is not to highlight the true nature of the military regime, because Zhou Dynasty's finances are not rich.
After taking over the Kaifeng court, Zhou's territory more than doubled, but his income did not increase at the same rate.
Under the rule of the Kaifeng imperial court, the south and north roads of Henan were the hardest-hit areas by the Mongolian troops who marched southward in the early years. The land on the Qinlong Fourth Road was barren, and it had been a bottomless pit for money investment for hundreds of years. Although the Nanjing Road was richer, it was not what it was back then, let alone
The flooding of the Yellow River caused huge losses. How many victims east of Kaifeng were displaced. When the new dynasty was established, was it too embarrassing not to provide relief?
The Jurchens clenched their teeth and maintained here for two years. They could not afford to have an army and people's livelihood at the same time. In the end, they had to rob the Southern Song Dynasty. Now this problem has been transferred to the hands of the Zhou Dynasty.
In comparison, the Zhou Dynasty's direct expenditure on military construction was actually limited.
Rewarding merit by allocating land is less expensive than giving money as a reward, and it can also ensure the loyalty and combat effectiveness of soldiers. However, as the scale of wars continues to expand, after a war, the work of granting and adjusting land is huge.
The emotions are intertwined and still require continuous investment.
To take the simplest example, if a soldier is rewarded for his meritorious service, he can directly allocate the local wasteland and give it to him. But for an entire army, everyone has been rewarded for his meritorious service, and with the necessary pensions, hundreds or even thousands of hectares of land must be allocated.
Therefore, it must be accompanied by large-scale adjustments in the military villages, some areas are expanded, some are relocated, some are merged, and some are split.
Everyone has selfish desires, and soldiers are not saints. When adjustments are made, some people are satisfied and others are dissatisfied, which will inevitably lead to conflicts, which will not only affect farming, but also affect the unity of the army. Therefore, reliable manpower is needed to review, investigate, punish, and mediate. For this reason
It is necessary to expand the military law department and recruit a large number of retired soldiers as officials.
After all, every job must be supported by money.
When the land allocation for grassroots soldiers is completed, the awards for so many middle- and high-level civil and military subordinates cannot be delayed. Last year, the system of nobility was not perfected in the Great Zhou Dynasty. After the Yuan Dynasty was changed, so many people were twisting their fingers and counting their merits over and over again.
, just waiting to be rewarded at the New Year's Day meeting.
Guo Ning's rise was so rapid that neither the military nor the government system had yet created the kind of complicated giants who had to be rewarded heavily to win over him. But precisely because of his rapid rise, the family backgrounds of the ministers in the new dynasty were generally still very thin.
Waiting for the great reward after the founding of the country.
It is not necessarily possible for the soldiers to work hard to support Zhou Guogong as emperor, and then carry forward their own customs and continue to live their lives drinking the northwest wind.
Are the fields and houses luxurious? Can the slaves be driven? Are the standards of taxes and fiefs similar to those of the previous dynasty? Does the level of official position overwhelm my old enemy? What is the scope and length of exemption from corvee? Is there a wife or son?
Book iron coupon?
All kinds of content have been repeatedly calculated by the courtiers, and there are five or six true and false plans that have been circulated. Some plans are generally in line with Ding Haijun's usual simple style, and some plans are simply nonsense. According to this idea, it will be implemented
If it goes down, the people of the world will be eaten by ferocious beasts immediately, and they will have no way to survive.
Guo Ning knew this very well, and he knew even more clearly that rewards could not be delayed or withheld. In this regard, he and Yelu Chucai went through the ledgers many times and formulated two principles.
One is called "Respecting military honors, merits and demerits are not worth their weight." It talks about the tendency of military personnel to express merits and rewards. It refers to the nine-level nobility system in the Jin Dynasty. It does not skimp on fame and status, but it cannot easily create powerful people who are above the law.
The other one is even more critical. It is called "Sharing of benefits, equal shares of nobility and stock". It means that after reciting merits and rewards, one does not follow the tradition of the past dynasties to seal or eat households. Guo Ning will follow the example of merchants in the Southern Dynasties in raising funds for maritime trade.
Number, take out the part of the Shanghai Bank's equity that belongs to Da Zhou, and distribute the rewards.
In the third year of Da'an, there was a change of dynasty in Zhongdu, and the new emperor came to power and massacred the clan. Guo Ning took the opportunity to seize the resources that no one noticed at the time, but in fact were extremely huge, which were the fleet and the Jurchen clan's
Smuggler.
In the following years, he continued to expand maritime trade, drawing hundreds of thousands of huge sums of money from it every year. When the situation of coexistence between the north and the south was settled, Guo Ning relied on the huge market and material output in the north.
, combined with its own fleet and the Song people of the Southern Dynasties, formed a trading company that could be called a giant.
The soldiers all know that the Shanghai guild is different from ordinary guilds. The Zhou and Song dynasties each have strict organizational systems to ensure nearly 10 million guan of business and millions of guan of benefits every year. And since this year, the South
The trade routes were smooth, and the fleet could go directly to Guangzhou in the Southern Dynasties, trading directly with the legendary countries in the South China Sea, and the profits were even higher.
In a normal year, the grain output of a hundred acres of land between Hebei and Zhongdu is only fifty or sixty dollars, which is completely different from the huge profits at sea. It is impossible to say that the soldiers are not envious of the interests at sea.
.
However, everyone also understands that His Majesty the Emperor himself is willing to use the income from sea trade to subsidize the national finance. This is the emperor's noble integrity. But after all, the royal purse does not allow outsiders to interfere at will. Even thinking about it is arrogance.
When Guo Ning released the news that he would share equity with the heroes, most of the officers who felt they were qualified to be included were overjoyed.
Of course, it is inevitable that some people value land and property and feel that commercial gains are illusory and unreliable. This has been human nature for thousands of years, and there are quite a few such people.
Guo Ning and Yelu Chucai then summoned the officers several times to answer questions and describe the specific situation of maritime profits.
On this day, he returned to Tianjin Mansion from Central City and summoned the senior local officers of Tianjin Mansion, as well as some generals who had suffered a slight loss in the title of knight because they had defected late.
When everyone met the emperor, there was naturally more red tape than in the past. Fortunately, Guo Ning didn't show off, and everyone still inquired about the welfare of everyone. When he met those who had official business dealings in the past few days, he would give a few instructions alone; Even if they didn't make a big mistake, I would pull them to a corner of the meeting hall and give them a little heads up to prevent them from making the same mistake again and again.
After dozens of people were seated, Guo Ning asked people to hang a huge banner in the meeting hall and narrated everything in person.
The shares of the entire Shanghai Bank were each held half by the Great Zhou Dynasty and the Great Song Dynasty, and the profit distribution was also the same. But this was a political division, not a purely commercial calculation. In fact, the two companies relied on their respective territories and fleets. and land-based commercial channels, except for cross-border trade that must be promoted jointly, other operations are independent.
This time, Guo Ning plans to release the equity in his name one after another. The first phase is targeted at civil and military officials who have received honors from the new dynasty, which covers almost all military officers above the rank and civil servants with key positions. There are nearly a thousand people in total, of whom warriors account for more than 90%. The release of 30% of the equity to them represents an income of more than 500,000 yuan that year.
According to this plan, an ordinary man from Jianguo County in Dazhou can get more than 200 yuan of dividends from a trading company every year, which is enough to be worth a handful of big landowners in ordinary villages. I really want the land, so I took these With money, it is easy for the family to buy land. The newly opened silt fields near Zhongdu are only two or three acres per acre.
After hearing this, many officers showed smiles, and the meeting hall was buzzing with people. Two officers who were close to each other discussed on the spot where they wanted to buy land, and they continued to live together as neighbors. , and also agreed that it would be best to be the in-laws of the children.
Just as the two of them were talking about this, Shi Tianni next to them interrupted and said, I heard that the sons of the old Wang family are very naughty and can't do anything as men and women. The daughter of the old Cheng family might as well marry my younger brother Shi Tianze. If you dislike my younger brother, , it’s okay to marry me as a continuation. I can call you father-in-law right now.
As soon as this man spoke, the warriors burst into laughter. Some made witty remarks to congratulate the new son-in-law, while others laughed at Shi Tianni for being so shameless. In the blink of an eye, the hall became more buzzing and noisy.
If the two armies were fighting and the Chinese army was in such chaos, Guo Ning would have to send law enforcement officers to chop off a few heads. With his majesty in the army, a slight cough at this moment could make the soldiers feel solemn immediately.
But he knew very well that warriors fought for wealth in the final analysis. Now that we are not fighting, a lot of wealth is right in front of us. When everyone is happy, why force the rules? To a certain extent, these northern warriors are willing to say it in front of the emperor. Some witty words are also a way to show kindness.
At the moment, he just smiled and listened, motioning to Li Yun to continue talking.
What Li Yun said is actually very critical. It turns out that except for royal decrees, once the equity of a trading company is allocated to an individual, it cannot be transferred again, and violators will be severely punished. Unless the owner is deprived of his title, he will always receive dividends from the equity. .
However, after the death of the person who owns the equity, if the descendants have no shadow, the equity will return to the royal family. These equity are currently under the control of Li Yun. In the future, when the government is sorted out and Li Yun has accumulated enough qualifications, he will be promoted to the post of Shaofuqing and take charge of the royal family. Money Valley.
After General Li Yun finished speaking, Zhao Bin, who was sitting at the back of the team, came out and asked if it would be okay if he took the money and instead of buying land, he bought his own ship, hired people, and set up his own trading company to do business.
Before Li Yun could answer the question, Guo Ning left the throne, hugged Zhao Bin and asked: "You guys, aren't you thinking about taking care of yourself in old age? Why are you so excited all of a sudden?"
Zhao Bin's rough and dark face showed a little bit of embarrassment.
Although he is old and disabled, with his military exploits and hard work at sea, he is already a man from Jianguo County. So at the end of last year, he became the favorite of countless matchmakers. Now he not only has a wife and a concubine, but also a wife and a concubine.
He brought him two cheap sons and three cheap daughters, all of whom had their surnames changed to Zhao.
He has a large family, and although the income from the land alone is sufficient, it is a bit tight. Zhao Bin originally went to sea because he could not adapt to the boring life after retirement, but after seeing the scenery at sea, although he is old, his heart becomes more and more
I am uninhibited and want to do my own business.
Guo Ning laughed loudly at that moment: "If you want to do something, of course you can, as long as you don't mix it with military-controlled materials and don't poach officials."
Zhao Bin agreed repeatedly.
Guo Ning asked again: "Not to mention the sea-going ships we tried to build ourselves. They are expensive and not easy to use. A while ago, your old partner Zhou Keshan ordered dozens of sea-going ships with a material of 400 materials in Fuzhou.
Each boat costs a thousand guan. Do you have enough savings to buy a boat? If not, I can lend it to you."
Just as I was talking about this, an urgent letter came from the courier outside.
Guo Ning opened it and frowned.
The noisy warriors fell silent for an instant, everyone returned to their places, and the hall was completely silent.
Guo Ning stood in the hall, looked around at everyone, and suddenly smiled to himself: "I am in a very good mood today. I just spoke to everyone and made a wish. Seeing everyone happy made me even more happy. But I was humiliated on the spot.
My face is all swollen from the beating."
Hearing this, Shi Tianni was the first to come out. He held his sword, raised his head, and said loudly: "Excuse me, Your Majesty, what happened? I have heard that the Lord is worried about the humiliation of his subjects, and the subjects who humiliate him will die. Who dares to humiliate Your Majesty?
They are the sworn enemies of our hundreds of thousands of soldiers in the Great Zhou Dynasty!"
After he finished speaking, Yelu Keqiu Baer came out and clasped his fists: "Me too!"
Li Shouzheng immediately came out of the queue: "Who dares to be rude, please tell me, Your Majesty. I am willing to take my knife and take his life!"
Guo Ning sighed: "It's really embarrassing to say this. I can't help you guys. I really don't know how to say it properly."
The generals insisted on asking again and again, and Guo Ning finally told the reason.
"On the seas around Guangnan of the Song Dynasty in the Southern Dynasties, pirates suddenly became rampant and attacked and robbed our fleet many times. Zhou Keshan calculated the numbers and found that there were more than 20 ships missing in two months. The total loss was about two months.
Millions of dollars."
Most of the subordinate troops on Beijing Road have been stationed in the eastern part of the grassland for generations, and their leaders are all powerful people from this area. Previously, the black army under Shi Tianying followed Li Ting to open up Qinlong, and the rest of the troops still stayed in the local area.
After following Guo Ning, these people had quite a lot of experience in crossing the sea by boat or running long distances, but when they first heard about the Song Dynasty, Guangnan, sea, and pirates, they still felt a tremble in their hearts. After shaking off, they immediately heard that they had lost two million yuan, and
Everyone was shocked. Anyone with a quick mind immediately calculated that the loss of two million coins would be borne by Da Zhou, which is one million coins, which is more than 60% of this year's expected dividend!
In other words, everyone had been having fun for a long time and had already thought of many places to go. All of a sudden, their money was reduced by 60%! The fields, houses, gold jewels and even beautiful ladies that had become reality in their imaginations were all gone! This... this
The losses are really heavy!
Everyone was furious and their eyes were red. Many people were breathing heavily and clenching their fists, just like wild beasts competing for food on the grassland, with ferocious expressions.
Just at this moment, Li Yun beside him sighed: "This is the loss in the first year, and there may not be that much in the future. If we prepare some resources, make good friends with the pirates, and reduce the loss to 30% or 20%, we can always
Right?"
After hearing this, everyone was breathless. What does this mean? Why should the benefits obtained by the gentlemen fighting in the mountains of corpses and blood be given to the pirates? The annual loss is 20% or 30%, and it will accumulate over twenty or thirty years.
, isn’t this number scary?
Some people were so angry that they wanted to argue with Li Yun on the spot.
But he saw Li Yun holding the military report, reading it at a glance to the end, and said: "Huh? Zhou Keshan said that he has found out the details of the pirates, and would like to ask your Majesty to dispatch hundreds of elite soldiers to secretly go south.
Sweeping the pirates' nest in one go... just in time to steal the pirates' accumulated assets to make up for the losses?"
Hearing this, Guo Ning also looked over and said casually: "Are you kidding? It's so easy to mobilize troops to fight thousands of miles away? How can the soldiers be happy? How can I give up? Besides,
, I have to go through a set of troop deployment procedures when I return to China, it will take ten days and a half, and there is no time... yo!"
Guo Ning was suddenly speechless: "Is what he wrote true? Are the pirates so rich?"
In addition to Shi Tianni and others, more than a dozen military generals came out, shaking the house: "Your Majesty, the troops are too slow to mobilize back home, and the movement is too loud. I'm afraid the pirates are on guard! We are willing to go south.