The Great Bandit in Kangxi Year

Chapter 227 I Can't Eat Hot Tofu

After a while, the important cabinet ministers went to the imperial study together. The soldiers and horses were not moved, and the food and grass went first. Jiang Tao asked loudly, "Ministers, how much reserves and food and grass do the treasury have?"

Huang Zongxi is now in charge of the household department, he was startled, the emperor hastily summoned everyone, is there another war going on?
Huang Zongxi sighed lightly, and replied seriously: "My Majesty, the government now has 3000 million silver dollars, and now the domestic commercial tax has increased significantly, and it can get more than 100 million silver dollars every month. It can almost maintain the operation of the army, and the trade with the Dutch makes a monthly profit of 1600 million silver dollars, and after deducting the salary of officials and the consumption of education, there is still more than half of the surplus, and the country has a reserve of 7000 million shi of grain, which is enough to meet any difficulties.”

Jiang Tao nodded. Now overseas trade is the lifeline of the empire. What Huang Zongyi said has not included the gains from the American fleet and Japan. However, if there is a war next year, these will not be enough.

After all, the Far East Fleet of the Netherlands and Kangxi are rivals.

According to reliable information, the Dutch Far East Fleet has 100 battleships of various ranks and more than [-] cruisers.

If it competes with the Dutch in Southeast Asia, then the trade with the Dutch will be cut off. If Spain does not allow the goods of the empire to be shipped to Mexico, then the overseas trade will collapse. It does not matter if it does not fight Kangxi, but if both parties The empire is indeed a bit overwhelmed by the war.

However, attacking the Manchu Qing is as important as seizing control of Southeast Asia. Jiang Tao was worried for a while, and when he talked to everyone, Huang Zongxi immediately advised him: "You must not do it. Although Southeast Asia is good, the Manchu Qing is the enemy. Only by calming down Only in Mongolia and the Northeast can the empire have the ability to intervene in Southeast Asian affairs, otherwise it may not be able to do what it wants."

Jiang Tao nodded, and looked at the newly transferred Wang Fuzhi. Wang Fuzhi was very knowledgeable about soldiers and was appointed by Jiang Tao as Minister of War. He was also one of the ministers of the imperial cabinet at this time. He actually agreed with Huang Zongxi's point of view, and the hatred of the country and the family could not be forgotten , but he can also see the importance of the Strait of Malacca in his eyes. If the Strait of Malacca is in the hands of other countries, the empire's trade will eventually be controlled by others, and the governor of Mexico will always be provocative. This is a great challenge to the empire's trade.

He was very much in favor of the emperor's policy of merchants and rich people, and after a little thought, he expressed his thoughts:

"Don't worry, Your Majesty. According to information, Kangxi led 80 cavalry to defeat the Rakshasa. Oh, the Russians, it looks scary, but most of them are Mongolian cavalry. The power of all Mongolian ministries is controlled by the Mongolian princes." Here, Kangxi must now want to move the minds of the Mongolian ministries, so he must attack Liaodong, and he must attack with all his strength. As for the Mongolian ministries, he can send a large number of special envoys and gifts to show friendship and alliance with the Mongolian ministries, and to drive a wedge between the Qing Dynasty and Mongolia. Well, we need to contact Mongolia’s Kulun Living Buddha. This person is very important and has great influence in Mongolia. We don’t ask them to submit to the imperial court. As long as they hesitate for a while, they will definitely be able to conquer them within half a year with the military strength of the empire. Shenyang and other places."

"As for the Netherlands, we can sit back and watch. Next year, as long as Britain, France and other countries fight fiercely on the periphery, I believe the Netherlands' Far East Fleet will definitely support it. Even if it doesn't support, our navy doesn't care. As long as the Netherlands loses , the forces in Southeast Asia must be re-divided, and they will no longer be the only one. At that time, the empire will definitely take advantage of it. And after all, they are expeditions, and the country is thousands of miles away from Malacca. Our empire is close to Southeast Asia, and we can deploy troops at any time. It's one of the advantages."

"The second advantage is that the empire's navy is changing with each passing day. The longer it takes, the stronger it will be. The longer the time, the stronger the empire's navy will be. Moreover, the Holy One is in his prime, so why rush?"

"Well said, I am impatient." Jiang Tao patted the case hard, and said happily.

"Your Majesty is wise." All the ministers were relieved, after all, the empire was waiting to be rebuilt, and there was no room for war on all sides.

"By the way, Mr. Wang, how many soldiers and horses will the empire need to use for this battle?" Jiang Tao has made up his mind to completely calm down the north first. After all, there are too many powerful enemies around, so he has to be on guard.

"The Northwest Cavalry Regiment will be fully equipped in March next year. At this time, it is undergoing intensive training. As for the Royal Cavalry Regiment, it has reached 20 cavalry, including [-] tiger and leopard cavalry, [-] light cavalry, [-] spear cavalry, and [-] sharp spears." The division will probably be fully reorganized by May next year, and according to calculations by the Ministry of the Army, at least [-] sharpshooters and [-] cavalry will be deployed, as well as two sharpshooters and the navy." Wang Fuzhi stroked his beard, looking serious the way.

Jiang Tao was surprised, he didn't expect to need so much, and he was secretly estimating, Wang Fuzhi continued: "If the Mongolian ministries intervene, then it may be a protracted war against Japan, and more troops will need to be mobilized. This battle will definitely be a bloodbath." into a river."

"Why did Mr. Wang say that?" Jiang Tao was secretly startled, he didn't expect the matter to be so troublesome.

"First, there are about 500 million Han Chinese in the Northeast, and most of them hold a grudge against us. They think that if it weren't for us, they would not have lived in the bitter cold Northeast. Moreover, the Manchu Qing implemented the system of all people as soldiers. Under the rule of , the people of all ethnic groups will have to fight to the death, and it will be hard to say when the time comes."

"Secondly, the other party is building artillery and building countless fortresses. At critical moments, the other party may hide in the mountains."

"The third is that the opponent occupies the terrain and is familiar with the terrain. There should be no carelessness in this battle."

Wang Fuzhi expressed his thoughts one by one, which stunned all the ministers. There were many certain factors in the war that was supposed to be victorious, and if the Mongolian cavalry took the opportunity to invade the interior, they would probably suffer heavy losses.

At this moment, Wei Donglai also said: "Your Majesty, if one hundred thousand northwest cavalry regiments are dispatched, Galdan in the northwest may not be honest. He has not completely surrendered, and it is very likely that he will take the opportunity to expand his strength."

Jiang Tao was also stunned, he didn't want to look like the Dahua Empire was very powerful, but in fact there were powerful enemies on all sides. If the Empire and the Manchus fought a protracted war, if Japan and Wu Shifan started to quarrel again, the consequences would be really serious.

"Okay, well said. Immediately recruit 30 recruits, and then form [-] sharpshooters. I plan to move the capital to Beijing in March of the first year of Huaxing. The Lu'an Ordnance Institute will move there before then to build a larger Beijing. The Ordnance Institute and the headquarters of the Black Dragon Fleet will also be located in Tianjin. No matter what, the Manchus must be defeated. Otherwise, I will never sleep well, and all the ministers and workers must not slack off. From now on, the empire must set its sights on the north. If you don’t get rid of the Manchus, you won’t die.” Recently, his lazy heart was irritated again, so Jiang Tao had to leave the warm Jiangning, after all, moving to Beijing would be beneficial for the empire to launch an offensive against the Manchus.

But Beijing has one bad thing, that is, it is too close to Mongolia, and too close to the sea. Only when there is danger, people's nerves will become tense. Although the south is good, it will wear down people's fighting spirit.

"Observe the decree!" The ministers did not express their opinions on this, and they must all be aware of Beijing's strategic position. The emperor moved the capital, and the reserve and twenty sharpshooters will obviously follow, and the Royal Cavalry in the north and the Liaodong Military Region are both Being closer to Beijing is conducive to the emperor's control over the army, which is what they want to see.

(End of this chapter)