In Beijing, when receiving Lin Qilong's memorial, Shunzhi had just heard Huang Wu's suggestions from Sony and Oboi. Compared with the Chongzhen's masters, Sony, Oboi and others who were leaned as their right-handed hands by Shunzhi were still much more honest. Although Sony and Oboi were cautious in using words, Shunzhi still immediately understood that the war in Fujian might be worse than he imagined. If the navy was not severely damaged to the point of no offensive ability, Huang Wu would definitely not have used this trick of first destroying one thousand himself in order to kill 800 enemies.

"So quickly pass Huang Wu to Beijing, I want him to report in person." Shunzhi immediately ordered that this strategy would bring significant losses to the Qing court's tax revenue, and the cost of immigrating to sea is definitely not small. However, as Sony just said, it can save millions of taels of sea defense investment every year, and if the sea trade is completely cut off, Zheng Chenggong can also suffer losses. With the vast territory occupied by the Qing Dynasty, if it is fought with Zheng Chenggong, it will be a truth that it will be impossible to win.

However, before making this decision, Shunzhi had to ask Huang Wu personally in order to thoroughly understand the current situation of the five provinces' naval forces. If Huang Wu was asked to submit a memorial, first, he might take care of the face of the court and local officials without being completely untrue, which would certainly be detrimental to Shunzhi; second, he might tell the truth, and tell the tragic situation of the five provinces' naval forces in the memorial, and spread the news, which would cause great damage to the prestige of the court and the face of local officials. Although Shunzhi needed to make a correct judgment, he did not want to pay such a big price.

The emperor had limited time and most of the affairs could only be reported from memorials. However, Shunzhi was willing to take time to meet Huang Wu for major events such as banning the sea to relocate.

However, the ban on the sea cannot stop the sea and will not shake the foundation of the country. For the Qing court, sea trade was originally an icing on the cake, and fishery and shipbuilding are not worth mentioning compared to agriculture. What is even more worried about Shunzhi is Deng Ming, who was rushing along the Yangtze River. He ordered Huguang to send a military force to suppress the troops, and the Ming army began to besiege Yangzhou within a few days. The water transportation was different from sea trade, which was the life of the Qing court. The Qing court sent food and wages to the Eight Banners, supported the combat troops in the north and northwest, and appeased the dependent Mongolian princes and princes. They all needed money and grain from the south. The water transportation was absolutely unforgettable.

"Although Huguang failed to intercept Deng Ming, he had only a few thousand followers, but later he stole several thousand in Jiangxi. Zhu Guozhi's idiot gave him more than ten thousand, which was 20,000 yuan in total." After seeing Lin Qilong's memorial, Shunzhi was immediately angry again: "This time, the corrupt officials in Yangzhou exploited the people, which made Deng Ming carry dozens and millions of people at once!"

Shunzhi was not optimistic about their combat effectiveness, and before the government troops armed to the front of the teeth, these refugee troops were at slaughter. Now the combat effectiveness of the Eight Banners and Green Camp has not yet fallen into the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom period, and the combat effectiveness of the Ming officers and soldiers during the Chongzhen period was higher, especially for the Shaanxi border army that relied heavily on the Ming and Qing dynasties, there was absolutely no pressure to kill unarmed refugees.

Shunzhi was worried about their destructive power. With Deng Ming's direct force as the core, the local troops in Jiangnan could not quickly disperse them. Hundreds of thousands of refugees had the ability to destroy all warehouses, docks and other facilities on both sides of the canal. Even if the Ganzhou-Shaanxi Green Camp was drawn to Jiangnan to suppress, it would cost money and grain. And if hundreds of thousands of canal workers were killed, who would pull the fibers next year's canal ships? Shunzhi felt that one of the important lessons he learned from Chongzhen was that he would not let the troops from other provinces enter the mainland unless he had to. Now he had agreed to the Chu army enter the two rivers to cooperate in the suppression, and then put the Qin army in... Only when it was confirmed that the Jianghuai area would continuously provide blood to Deng Ming, Shunzhi would disperse in the spirit of "I can't get it, you can't imagine it."

"These three million taels of silver are worth it!" After seeing Lin Qilong's approach, Shunzhi couldn't help but exclaim: "At the critical moment, a steady old minister like Lin Qilong is reliable. Liang Huafeng is just a man who knows how to kill, kill, and kill! The saying "I only know that there is a war when I am ordered to fight the thief!" is said to be happy, but I have killed all the people. Will he pull the basket ship next year? This person is brave, but he cannot entrust a great task."

Although he despised Liang Huafeng, Shunzhi's reproach was not heavy, and the army was still at ease in the hands of such ordinary men. Especially the Han army, there was no need for a commander who was both civil and military. Besides, there was no restraint of an old minister like Lin Qilong. On the contrary, Zhou Peigong of Huguang made Shunzhi feel increasingly worried. Not only did he have military talents, he heard that he had not slaughtered the city. He has a good reputation among the scholars of Huguang. Now he lives in the city.

However, Liangjiang also pointed out that he would help deal with Deng Ming. If Zhou Peigong could control the Chu army when he went to Liangjiang this time, and did not burn, kill, loot, and turn Liangjiang into a piece of white land, Shunzhi would be even more worried. Shunzhi also knew that this was very contradictory. He hoped that the Chu army would repel Deng Ming, but the disaster would be less harmful so that he could be exempted from taxes for several years; but he also hoped that Zhou Peigong would be cruel and incompetent, even if he didn't really know how to win over the hearts of the people, he would just rely on the massacre of the city to defile himself.

Sony and Oboi could only praise Lin Qilong's flexible skills. It was not new for officials to exploit the people, and it was not a big deal in normal times. However, if the enemy attacked the doorsteps and exploited them, they would be fools, and they would die! Chongzhen had only been hanging for more than ten years, and these officials had healed their scars and forgot to hurt. As for Lin Qilong's words about the destructive things that the salt merchants did on the canal, Shunzhi and Sony's monarchs and ministers all believed that they could do it completely, and it was definitely not slandering Lin Qilong. This is also a matter of timing. If Deng Ming had not fought to Jiangnan, compared with the salt merchants who provided a large amount of income to the court, the grain workers were obviously insignificant. At that time, Shunzhi would not care about such small contradictions at all. Even if he heard about it, he would laugh it off. At most, he would say "no businessman is not businessman". If it aroused civil rebellion, the river officers and soldiers of the Governor of the Grain Transport would naturally suppress it; but when Deng Ming threatened the grain transportation, this problem would be a different matter.

Lin Qilong quickly made the right choice at the critical moment, using the heads of the canal transport officials and salt merchants to win people's hearts and deal with it properly. After losing these hundreds of thousands of people, Deng Ming was left with only one or two thousand followers. At most, with Ma Fengzhi and Zhang Huangyan, the Qing court would be much easier to deal with.

The Qing court did not hesitate to endorse Lin Qilong's handling. In addition, how Lin Qilong made up for the deficit in the treasury was also a concern for Shunzhi. If the canal materials were not misappropriated, Yangzhou Prefecture would definitely not be able to provide much silver. The silver that Lin Qilong took out to appease the people must be mainly provided by local gentry.

Although Lin Qilong had already stated that he would repay the loan after filling the treasury, Shunzhi was afraid that he would be scruples or could not lose face, so he hurriedly ordered Lin Qilong to put national interests first, and the canal transportation and the treasury must not suffer any loss. It doesn't matter if he can't repay the loan from the gentry. The court can give these gentry plaques based on Lin Qilong's list. If anyone wants fame, Shunzhi can also give them to him.

This time, relying on Lin Qilong's correct response, Jianghuai survived a great disaster without any danger, but as long as Deng Ming was still entrenched in Guazhou and Zhenjiang for one day, the Qing court's canal transportation would be as dangerous as it was.

"I don't know how safe the canal transport is, and how sure Lin Qilong is." If the canal transport collapse is imminent and Deng Ming has the ability to cut off the Grand Canal at any time, Shunzhi thinks that the most correct strategy is to shrink its military strength: reduce the military expenditure to Ganzhou and Shaanxi in the north, and let Li Guoying return to Baoning; the south side should transfer Wu Sangui back from Guizhou and Sun Yanling out of Guangxi. Shang Kexie Guangdong can also give up half of it and withdraw from Guangzhou. The most difficult one is Wu Sangui, but even if it is exchanged for Hunan, the southwest army must be transferred back to ensure the safety of the Yangtze River and the canal.

If Guizhou, Guangxi and part of Guangdong are abandoned, and the southwest army is withdrawn, the Yangtze River Basin and the Grand Canal will quickly turn danger into safety, but the price of this strategy is also huge. Last time, it was relied on the internal strife of the three kings of the Southern Ming Dynasty to force Yongli and Li Dingguo into a desperate situation. Although Yunnan lost again, Li Dingguo's territory lost more than 70% of it, and was basically waiting for death. As long as the Qing court recovered, he could also drive him to Myanmar. But once Wu Sangui's army retreated, Li Dingguo would

The original territory of Xiying will be restored. Next time, there may not be a good opportunity for the three kings to fight in internal conflict. It is not easy to defeat a famous general like Li Dingguo. Moreover, most of them have to exchange Hunan for Wu Sangui to give up his vassal state. Shang Kexi has no vassal state but also needs to compensate for military expenses. Sun Yanling cannot give it at all. He has to pay such a great price and bear the risk of Yongli's comeback. Shunzhi will not make such a bad move unless he has to be absolutely required.

"It should be no problem for the time being," Sony commented cautiously. The cost of withdrawing troops from the southwest was too high. No matter who saw that Yongli was only breathless, he would not be willing to waste all his efforts. Moreover, this withdrawal of troops might make the people in the world think that the Qing court had admitted its failure, or that they would think that the Qing Dynasty could do nothing to Yongli, and the consequences were unpredictable: "Although the cabin ships in Huguang and Jiangxi suffered losses, most of them successfully arrived in Yangzhou, and the money and grain they should pay were not short. This shows that Deng Ming's navy was very weak and could not cut off the Yangtze River and the canal transportation. This time, Yangzhou was also caught by him and the opportunity for Jiangmin to cause trouble. Now they are still persuaded by Lin Qilong to leave, Deng Ming will be defeated back to his original form and cannot continue to threaten the cabin transportation."

"It's very good." Shunzhi thought it was indeed the case, but he was still a little worried and turned to instruct the guards in front of him and said, "If there is military information in Yangzhou these days, it will be submitted to the imperial guards immediately, no matter how sooner or later."

"twitter!"

"The canal transport in Huguang and Jiangxi was not affected by any consequences. From this point of view, Deng Ming did not have the ability to threaten the canal transport. I just don't know how much benefit he gained from Zhu Guozhi, and whether his troops had changed after this siege of Yangzhou. If Deng Ming's strength did not increase much, and the people did disperse as Lin Qilong said, Deng Ming would carry out a retreat or be repelled by Yangzhou in those days." Shunzhi carefully sorted out his thoughts in his mind, striving to make it perfect and impeccable: "If Yangzhou reports within ten days and Deng Ming has withdrawn his troops, then the problem is not big. You can make a long-term plan and do not need to act recklessly."

"Transfer the order..." Shunzhi felt that it was necessary to meet Lin Qilong in person. Since he was willing to meet Huang Wu for the ban on the sea, then the canal transportation must be more concerned about it. If Deng Ming retreated as he expected and Yangzhou no longer needed the governor of the canal transportation to take charge, Shunzhi would have to escort Lin Qilong to Beijing in person. He had an interview with Lin Qilong and Huang Wu. Shunzhi was very sure that he could not be deceived by the people below and truly grasp the facts on the front line.

"The key is to see if Deng Ming will withdraw his troops." After retreating from the court, Shunzhi sighed worriedly. If Deng Ming could never be repelled, then the situation in the Jianghuai area would be very serious, and he needed to seriously consider giving up the strategy of temporarily ensuring Jiangnan.

...

When Shunzhi ended the imperial meeting, Lin Qilong was happy to learn that Deng Ming had begun to fulfill the agreement and retreated to the Yangtze River with the Ming army and the orphans of the canal workers.

"As long as Admiral Deng doesn't have to take Yangzhou, I have nothing to talk to with him," Lin Qilong found that compared to the unreasonable Qing court, he was easier to reach a consensus with Deng Ming: "As long as Yangzhou is not lost, I can always explain to the court."

When the Ming army retreated back to Zhenjiang, a rumor broke out in the Qing Dynasty's officialdom, that was, Dasu was defeated and Zheng Chenggong defeated the five provinces' naval divisions in Xiamen. However, most officials were also doubtful about this. After all, they did not know Huang Wu's suggestion, so they dare not say how much the losses of the five provinces' naval divisions were.

However, no matter whether the navy in the five provinces was devastating or not, Jiang Guozhu knew that Liangjiang could not expect strong reinforcements for the time being, and Dasu would definitely stay in Xiamen indefinitely. Zhang Huangyan’s Zhoushan base would not be threatened, and there was no way to put Deng Ming in pressure. Therefore, as soon as Deng Ming returned to the south bank, he encountered an envoy sent by Jiangning. Jiang Guozhu happily returned one million taels of silver to Deng Ming - he and Liang Huafeng each had 500,000 taels.

Jiang Guozhu was a little puzzled about Deng Ming. According to his understanding of Deng Ming, he should have to ask them one million taels per person. However, Deng Ming explained to Jiang Guozhu's envoy that this problem can be viewed from two aspects. In the first aspect, Deng Ming said that he would come to ask the winner for one million taels of silver. Although Jiang Guozhu and Liang Huafeng changed the combination, there was only one winner, so Deng Ming asked them for one million taels; in the second aspect, Liang Huafeng and Lang Tingzuo's combination was one million, which means that each person owed him 500,000, and the same was true for Jiang Guozhu and Guan Qizhong combination, which was the same. In this way, the combination of one million taels was still added.

"An agreement is an agreement. Although it is an oral agreement, it must be followed. Before reaching an agreement, I will try my best to strive for better conditions, but I will not break the contract afterwards."

After the envoy brought Deng Ming's words back to Jiang Ning and passed them to Jiang Guozhu, Governor Jiang Ning felt that he was a little moved. No matter how treacherous Deng Ming was during the negotiations, this kind of keeping promises still gave Jiang Guozhu a great favor. Thinking about other transactions, Deng Ming also treated the agreement meticulously, and Jiang Guozhu suddenly felt a sense of security - as long as he abides by the established rules when dealing with Deng Ming, it is absolutely safe.

In addition, good news came from Huguang. The Governor of Huguang said that Hubei soldiers and horses could not be transferred easily because they had to be wary of Li Laiheng, He Zhen and others. Therefore, he would shoot the Hunan Army into Liangjiang to assist in the war. He also said that 30,000 Hunan Army was ready to go, and the transport ships were also ready to stop. Once the court had a clear order, it would be led by the famous general Zhou Peigong and marched towards Jiangning at night.

Jiang Guozhu knew that the number of 30,000 Hunan troops was wrong as soon as he heard it. He neither believed that Zhang Changgeng had so many Hunan troops to mobilize, nor did he believe that Huguang had such considerable economic strength to allow such a large army to gather in Wuchang in just a few days. In addition, the number of ships required for 30,000 troops was not a small number.

Therefore, Jiang Guozhu knew very well that Zhang Changgeng wanted to quarrel. Wuchang's bill for the 30,000 military and horses was issued by the 300,000 taels of silver for the personnel who had 300,000 taels of silver for the 3,000 cavalry. In addition, he would have to pay double wages and double grains every month, which was almost 100,000 yuan per month. However, Jiang Guozhu greatly underestimated Zhang Changgen's shamelessness. He thought that Huguang would send about several thousand Hunan troops to pretend, but according to his envoy's secret report, Zhou Peigong might only come to Jiangning with dozens of followers - no wonder he could set off at any time.

"It's so shameless!" Jiang Guozhu cursed hatefully: "If you borrow a Zhou Pei Public Service, you dare to ask for a rent of 400,000 taels of silver!"

Although Jiang Guozhu had a request to others, he did not intend to endure this kind of blackmail at first, so he planned to reply that Liangjiang was unable to bear the logistics of the 30,000 Hunan Army, and that Zhang Changgeng was enough to send 10,000 troops. However, Jiangxi's reaction dispelled Jiang Guozhu's idea. At the beginning, after Jiang Guozhu proposed to help Huguang assist in suppression, Nanchang loudly agreed. Originally, Jiang Guozhu still hoped that Zhang Chao would oppose it, so that he had the opportunity to act as an agent for the affairs of the Governor of Liangjiang's yamen, forcing Nanchang to obey, so that Zhang Changgeng could understand that he was the real friend of the Governor of Huguang in Liangjiang; and after Huguang reported that he had arrived in Nanchang, Zhang Chao immediately agreed and said that Nanchang was willing to share half of the burden.

"Where did Zhang Chao get so much money?" Jiang Guozhu's previous eyeliner in Nanchang told him that Zhang Chao and Dong Weiguo had recently implemented some new economic policies and were said to have made small fortunes, but now it seems that it is not a small fortune but a windfall. Jiang Guozhu found that he despised Nanchang a little: "What is that unified purchase and sales thing? You must check it out quickly."

"He also wants to introduce a competitive mechanism," said Zhang Changgeng. In order to oppose me, Zhang Chao, who did not oppose the Hunan Army's entry into Liangjiang. Wouldn't he think about the people of Liangjiang? Now he has sent a large sum of silver to Wuchang, and his conscience is eaten by the dog." Since he has a competitor, Jiang Guozhu had to agree to Zhang Changgeng's conditions. Jiangning and Nanchang will each pay half of the money. After all, it is nothing to spend some money with the Governor of Huguang. Anyway, the silver can be reimbursed to Beijing. If the position of Governor of Liangjiang is lost, even if Jiang Guozhu saves money for the Liangjiang vassal treasury, what is the purpose of? Is it to make Zhang Chao have enough money?

While Jiang Guozhu was anxiously waiting for reinforcements, Deng Ming had already returned to Zhenjiang. After receiving Lin Qilong's compensation, a silver ship had already been sent to Jiujiang. Now the second ship was ordered to set off. The personnel in Jiangxi have used up all the silver left by Deng Ming. If they don't give the silver, they will need to get the goods from Dong Weiguo on credit, so that they will need to pay Dong Weiguo interest. Moreover, Deng Ming's credit has not been established now, and long-term credit may make Nanchang uneasy.

Although it was a state of war, the Ming army's merchant ships were unobstructed on the Yangtze River. In addition to Deng Ming's force deterrence, the Ming army's good habit of paying taxes in accordance with the law also helped a lot. After obtaining the Ming army's tax bank, the officials and clerks along the way were very satisfied with Deng Ming's credit. Their relatives and friends would also bring silk and other local products to the riverside for sale, or purchase Huguang's specialties brought by the Ming army back from the upstream. Like the tax bank, the Ming army was unruly and the silver used for shopping was very good. Kuping silver, and the specialties in Huguang were also reasonable and fair, and they were willing to consider.

"We have many ships and are very costly. Ordinary small merchants cannot compare with our army at all. Besides, the transit tax they have to pay is several times that of our army, and they have to endure the exploitation of clerks, and they cannot compete with our army in terms of price." Deng Ming said to Zhang Huangyan proudly: "Because our army has greatly reduced the undue taxes on the Yangtze River channel, the transaction volume of Huguang and Liangjiang is higher than before we cut off the Yangtze River, and it is still increasing. If we are given a few months to cut off the shipping time, it may be several times greater than before we came. Although the tax rate has decreased, the transaction volume has increased, and in the end some clerks who are dissatisfied with us have also stopped complaining."

Deng Ming carefully told Zhang Huangyan and Ma Fengzhi: "In the future, some private business companies will be established. Their efficiency will be higher than that of the army's cargo, and they will not be very conspicuous. These Qing officials can better conceal them. However, they are all our people. Only merchants with our backs can enjoy the benefits of low tax rates and low checkpoints. These people are tied to the interests of our army. If this good situation can last for a few years, the Yangtze River will eventually prosper, and a large number of craftsmen and business banks will be born on shipping. Once our power is excluded from the Yangtze River and the tax rate will return to the past, prices will surge, a large number of commercial banks will go bankrupt, and craftsmen will be unemployed. These people are our alliances, which will help us spy on the Qing army's intelligence and even provide us with military expenditure."

Deng Ming also knew that he was talking about an ideal state, and to a large extent it was daydreaming. The most important thing at the moment was to tie more forces in Wuchang to the Ming army's chariot as soon as possible.

"This is the function of the IOU." Seeing that Zhang Huangyan was still a little confused about his economic policy in Wuchang, Deng Ming revealed the answer to him: "Zhou Peigong told me a story about salt merchants who opened Shangguan at the border. I thought about it that night, and this was indeed a good idea..."

Deng Ming pointed out that his IOU is not linked to silver at all, so if Wuchang wants to get the goods, he needs to find a way to get the IOU: "It's useless for them to transport grain to Chengdu. Even if they can hide it from the Qing court, I will not allow them to sell goods in Chengdu. If they want to get the IOU, they have to farm in Chengdu, iron smelter, craftsman, and help me transport the population."

"This method is really interesting." Zhang Huangyan heard Deng Ming explain it repeatedly several times before he fully understood it.

"There are other benefits, but it is not available yet. When I understand all the things here, I will go back to Wuchang to see. Zhou Peigong is very cunning, but there should be no major issues. I have explained it very clearly. He can't make any tricks." At this time, Deng Ming felt that this time would not be too long. After he helped Ma Fengzhi stabilize the Chongming base, he could consider returning to the army.

"There is another thing," Zhang Huangyan put away his praise smile and his face became serious: "I heard that Admiral Deng burned many houses beside the canal."

"Sure enough, what should be come is coming." Deng Ming sighed in his heart.
Chapter completed!