Chongzhen and I became partners

Chapter 853 Some people are happy and some are sad

The investigation results of Xichang were soon submitted to Emperor Chongzhen's desk.

It was a group of salt merchants who received the news late before and did not come to participate in the share auction, but they were optimistic that the stock price would appreciate, and thinking that the current stock price was too expensive, they tried to lower the stock price by spreading rumors, and then bought a large number of them. to profit.

In this regard, Emperor Chongzhen kept his word and ordered to copy the homes of these people to deter other stock speculators who tried to use illegal means.

From this matter, the matter of the salt industry also attracted the attention of Emperor Chongzhen.

In the past, he asked Wang Dehua of Dongchang to copy the homes of the top ten salt merchants in Yangzhou. Later, according to Liu Weichao's suggestion, he no longer restricted the sale of table salt, but increased the production of table salt and opened up the supply.

Moreover, in terms of the quality of table salt, the effective method provided by Liu Weichao is also used to produce higher-quality table salt, and because of the large-scale production, the cost is very low, so that after the table salt is distributed to the market, the price is similar to that of private salt, but The quality is much better, which basically squeezes out the space for private salt.

For the common people, the price of salt has dropped several times compared to the past; for the court, because of the large increase in salt production, the salt tax has also been greatly increased, which can be regarded as killing two birds with one stone.

This time, because of the salt merchants speculating in stocks, he paid attention to the salt industry again. After checking, he found no special problems.

The point is that these salt merchants originally purchased goods from the coast, and then shipped them to inland places where no salt was produced for sale. Using their financial advantages, they squeezed out other people and thus gained greater profits.

Unexpectedly, the construction of the railway has made the transportation in many places more convenient, which has further reduced the profit margins of these salt merchants.Because of this, these salt merchants paid attention to the stock, which would be the next place to make big money, and they came up with a way to suppress the stock price by means of rumors.

This matter made Emperor Chongzhen realize that the benefits of convenient transportation to the people of Ming Dynasty were far more than what he thought in advance.Although the construction of this basic transportation requires a huge amount of money and food in the early stage, the benefits obtained are also obvious!

However, for these infrastructure investments, it is not easy to set up a joint-stock company, because if it wants to make a profit, many railways cannot be repaired, and it will not make money.The imperial court has some money now, so it has to be invested in this aspect!
When Emperor Chongzhen had a better understanding of governing the country, the time soon came to the end of the 21st year of Chongzhen.

The poetry meeting led by the cabinet has received the greatest enthusiasm from Confucian students, especially the Jinshi of the capital, and they have written a lot of them, participated in this poetry meeting, and also spontaneously promoted it.

It can be said that the imperial court did not put much effort into this poetry conference, but it was organized vigorously and most successfully.

Some of these poems praise the peace of the world, some express the emperor's sageness, and some yearn for a better life in the future, etc., which can be described as a hundred flowers blooming.Calligraphy, paintings, etc., have also emerged in a large number.

Emperor Chongzhen sent a message to Liu Weichao just a few days before the Chinese New Year. At the same time, he said to Liu Weichao via video communication: "Look at it first. If you think it is not enough, or if you need any other poetry, just say it." Yes."

Speaking of this, after a pause, he didn't wait for Liu Weichao to speak, and immediately went on to say: "You don't know, this poetry meeting led by the cabinet is very lively, even hotter than I imagined. It will definitely not be difficult for them to come up with some good works!"

Hearing this, and hearing Emperor Chongzhen speak with a little surprise in his tone, Liu Weichao thought of a situation, and said to Emperor Chongzhen seriously: "It's just right, I also remind you of something!"

"What's the matter?" Emperor Chongzhen was very serious when he heard it, and immediately asked.

Liu Weichao looked at Emperor Chongzhen and said: "I know that you are vigorously promoting Gewuxue, which is very good. However, I think that Confucianism cannot be ignored, which is equivalent to the construction of spiritual civilization. , if it is gone, it will be disgusting!"

As soon as Emperor Chongzhen heard this, he knew that Liu Weichao's words were out of emotion, so he nodded immediately and said, "You are right, I know it!"

In fact, during the reign of Chongzhen, that is, at the end of the Ming Dynasty, the social atmosphere had actually turned to luxury, comparisons, etc., and the fine traditions of China were basically thrown away.Pursuing some kind of woman, scholar, wearing women's clothes to show off in the market, not ashamed, but proud, this kind of situation abounds!
Loyalty to the emperor and serving the country is not the mainstream, the poor are self-sufficient, and those who are successful also help the world. All these are abandoned by the people of this era. Only then did the Manchu Qing invade, and the scholars immediately knelt down to welcome the scene.

Liu Weichao actually reminded Emperor Chongzhen of this kind of ideological matter, and because of this, he set up the Department of Political Affairs, and revised the "Law of the Ming Dynasty" to stipulate that things about etiquette should not be allowed to collapse!

Now that the Ming Dynasty's economy is developing and the people's living standards are improving, there will inevitably be new pursuits, and this social style needs to be paid attention to again.

Liu Weichao can't change much in his own world, but he can directly influence Emperor Chongzhen, so of course we have to remind him.

Overall, however, everything is looking good.Even the stock issuance of the establishment of Nanyang Minerals Co., Ltd. went much smoother after cracking down on those who spread rumors.

The major shareholder of this company is the imperial court, which is directly under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Industry. Because it is going to mine in Nanyang, the company's security and middle-level personnel should have the ability to deal with crises.Veterans are undoubtedly the most suitable for this type of people. Therefore, the Ministry of Industry has already sent a message to the whole country to prepare to hire veterans for high-tech.And this has stimulated more common people to actively participate in the compulsory military service.

The promotion of this positive meaning was unexpected by Emperor Chongzhen.Therefore, after seeing the evidence collected by the factory guard, he was still very happy.

The Chinese New Year at the end of Chongzhen's 21st year, at least the Emperor Chongzhen is going to have a good year.

However, for others, it is the opposite, also because of that sentence: Some people are happy while others are sad!

For example, on the Nanyang Batavia side, the interim governor Kui Yi had already received a report from Annan's subordinates, and knew that the Ming Dynasty had already started to attack Annan, which made him nervous all of a sudden.

For the strength of the Ming Dynasty, as a Dutchman who had been captured and reached the capital, he knew better than anyone else.

The first time he was captured, he was lucky, he was not executed, and he was not even punished as a coolie. However, if he was captured by the Ming Dynasty again, he knew very well that his fate would definitely not be better!

In other words, it is absolutely impossible to be captured by the Ming Dynasty.Not only him, but also all Dutch people, the Ming Dynasty will never be merciful!

For this reason, he has been stretching his strings, staying in Batavia, trying to extract the last vestiges of benefits from this colony, but he must escape before the Ming army comes to attack.

Although this Batavia was built by the Dutch with great difficulty, the strength of the Ming Dynasty made it impossible for the Dutch to stick to Batavia. Even if they were unwilling, they could only give up.

On the Nanyang side, the nearest Ming army to Batavia is the Ming army stationed in Luzon.

For this reason, Kui Yi has been monitoring Luzon. Once the Ming army receives new reinforcements, it means that they are ready to attack the Dutch.

Another precursor, of course, is that the Ming Kingdom will attack Annan.

Therefore, after receiving the news from Annan, after careful consideration, he decided to move the Governor's Mansion to the Lion City on the Straits of Malacca.

Because he felt that once the Ming army came to attack, it must first attack the Lion City and occupy the Strait of Malacca, because this is a place that military strategists must contend for.Back then, the Netherlands was also snatched from the Portuguese.

Once the Ming army captures the Lion City and controls the Strait of Malacca, it will not be so easy for Batavia to escape, and it is likely to be intercepted by the Ming army.And if it is in the Lion City, once the Ming army comes to attack, they will run away directly, which is much safer.

Planning for a rainy day is common to both the East and the West.

After the relocation of the Governor's Mansion, there are still two sailing warships on Batavia's side, which are considered to be faster.With a large-scale reduction in personnel, most of the management on Batavia's side is done by Ming people.

This is not to say that the Dutch are so kind.It's the retreat that Kui Yi left for himself.

If he is accidentally caught by the Ming people, at least the Dutch treat the Ming people in Batavia kindly, so the punishment is likely to be reduced.

If the Ming people were slaughtered like the Spaniards in Luzon, it would stimulate the Ming army. Not only would it not be easy to escape, but they might also pay a heavy price after being captured.

In the final analysis, in a word, Daming is stronger, let Xiyi know what he can do and what he can't do!Otherwise, Xiyi would never have such kindness!

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The Dutch on the Nanyang side still have a way out and can escape to the West. Therefore, compared with the Dutch, the Tokugawa shogunate in the Japanese country does not have such a good way out.

The shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu has regretted going to the alliance with the Qing Dynasty countless times.Originally, he was about to complete the seclusion, but in the end he was dragged into the water by the Qing Dynasty.

Fortunately, North Korea not only did not swallow it, but also lost millions of soldiers and civilians sent to North Korea. As a result, Japan suffered heavy losses, the entire navy was wiped out, Kyushu Island was taken by the Ming Dynasty, and even Honshu Island was lost. More than half.

The Emperor was killed by the North Koreans. He didn't really care. What he cared about was that he was surrounded by the Ming army on Honshu Island. It is estimated that if the Ming army launches a general attack next year, the Tokugawa shogunate will be finished. !

How to do?
This is the question Tokugawa Iemitsu thinks about every day when he wakes up, after much deliberation, in the end, he really came up with a solution!
(End of this chapter)