Yuan Huang gradually understood Xiao Ruxun's meaning and paled in shock. "Ji Xin is saying … could it be … Ji Xin, those are captives, not young men! If we want so many captives, how will we have the money to feed them? "
"Who said we need to feed captives? Deacon Yuan, have you heard about His Majesty opening more mines in various places and increasing the mining tax? "
Yuan Huang paused. "I've heard a little. Most of the court officials are dissatisfied and the local people are seething with resentment. The eunuchs who collect the taxes are too arrogant and enslaved the local people. If this continues, the world will not be stable."
"If we use 100,000 young Japanese captives to replace the people in mining, is that feasible?"
Yuan Huang opened his mouth and did not know how to express his thoughts. After a while, he reacted. "Let the captives open the mines?"
"Yes, since ancient times, every dynasty has used the children of prisoners to do some lowly work. Since it is possible for our own people, why can't we use them as slaves? In any case, they are all captives. Instead of killing or releasing them, why not have them work for the Daming and contribute labor? Wouldn't it be fine if they just died on the construction site? "
Xiao Ruxun smiled coldly.
Yuan Huang shivered.
"Duke Yuan, there is no need to have any sympathy for foreign invaders. The court officials object to the Emperor opening mines mainly because it is a nuisance to the people. Then we can just have the Japanese captives open the mines. We don't need to care if they live or die, and we don't need to harm the local people. The captives are not the people of the Daming, but war criminals. If we use war criminals to open mines, we don't need to pay a single cent. What reason do the court officials have to object to the Emperor opening mines?"
Yuan Huang thought about it and felt that it was true. They only needed to have people watch over the war criminals, but …
"Ji Xin supports the Emperor opening mines?"
Yuan Huang's gaze was a little strange.
"Of course I support it. Duke Yuan, don't you know that the battle of Ningxia and the current war could not have been fought without the Emperor directly transferring money from the palace treasury?"
Yuan Huang's complexion had also turned a little strange.
"Where does the Emperor's money in the palace treasury come from? Naturally, it was the exorbitant taxes that these courtiers strongly opposed. But in other words, why did His Majesty want to open mines and impose these exorbitant taxes? Why did the court not allocate funds from the Ministry of Revenue, but instead had the Emperor transfer silver from the palace treasury? This has happened many times since the reign of Jiajing. If His Majesty runs out of money in the palace treasury, how can he fight this war? "
Yuan Huang's face darkened, unable to speak.
"Others might not know, but I do! The local taxes had been embezzled by them again and again, and the taxes were getting lower and lower year by year. Normally, after the war had been pacified and production had resumed, the taxes should have been higher than before. But now, the taxes had been reduced instead of increasing. There were even some years where the annual income was less than three million taels. They had squeezed the people dry of their money, and they did not have to pay a single cent. Ten taels of silver in taxes had been embezzled for five or even six or seven taels of silver! Do they really think everyone in the world is an idiot? "
After being yelled at by Xiao Ruxun, Yuan Huang's brows were tightly furrowed. He did not say a word, and his gaze was a little unnatural. There were certainly idiots that Xiao Ruxun spoke of, but this old man was definitely not one of them. He had seen through everything, which was why he had become disheartened and retired from the jianghu, no longer an official, and tried to save the country and the people from another path. Zero ↑ 9 △ Small ↑ Say △ Net
"I am a general, and I only look at the results, not the process. I only know who supported me in this war, who gave me money, who gave me food and military equipment, and that is all. I also know that at least a portion of the mining money was used for military expenses, and the embezzled taxes were not used where they should be used. They were all used by corrupt officials to indulge in debauchery! Then, I naturally support the mining!
Of course, I have also read books, and I know how difficult it is for the people to live, and I also know that it is not easy to survive. I am not a cold-blooded person, and seeing the people of the Daming not having enough to eat, I also feel sad, so I thought of using captives to replace the people of the Daming, so that they can at least rest for a period of time, save some money for the court, and give the people some breathing space. This is all I can do, and also the only way I can save money for the Daming, Duke Yuan! Am I wrong? "
Yuan Huang lowered his head and did not say a word.
After a long time, Yuan Huang sighed deeply.
"Ji Xin, sometimes, it is not good to see things too clearly."
"Duke Yuan, this is the way of life of a civil official. Xiao Ruxun is a general, and a very awkward person. He clearly has no right to control, but he always thinks about things he should not think about. If the country is prosperous and the people are at peace, he cannot be at peace. Only when his heart is at peace can Ruxun be at peace. If he cannot convince his own heart, then even if he is rich enough to rival a country, and has many beauties on his left and right, he will still be unhappy. Instead of being depressed for the rest of his life, he might as well give it his all, even if he dies."
Yuan Huang raised his head and looked deeply at Xiao Ruxun.
"If you were a Jinshi or a Hanlin, how good would that be? But why are you a general … "
"Duke Ye once said the same thing to me. I told him, 'Daming is not the Daming of a Jinshi or a Daming of a Hanlin, but the Daming of the people of the world. The rise and fall of the country is everyone's responsibility, not the responsibility of one or two Jinshi or Hanlin. Although Ruxun's status is low, he has the ambition to serve the country. As long as his body is not destroyed, his ambition will not change."
Yuan Huang stared blankly at Xiao Ruxun for a long time, then closed his eyes in shame.
"These words are enough to make all the Jinshi or Hanlin die of shame! Ji Xin, this old man is not as good as you! "
When he finished speaking, Yuan Huang stood up, let out a long sigh, and slowly walked out of the room.
On the fifth day of the tenth month, the ten thousand soldiers from Shandong gathered at Zhenjiang Fort. On the seventh day of the tenth month, the archers of the Xuanwu Army gathered at Zhenjiang Fort. On the tenth day of the tenth month, the Southern Army of Zhejiang arrived one after another, with a large number of cannons and cannons. Once the Ningxia Firearms Camp arrived, the army would be considered to have arrived.
Xiao Ruxun began to cross the river north on the sixth day of the tenth month. She went to Zhenjiang Fort to inspect the army, pacify the army's morale, and arrange for the army's food, clothing, and lodging. She also brought over a mixed military medical camp of more than two hundred doctors from North Korea and Great Ming Empire to treat some of the soldiers who fell sick during the journey. Symptoms such as headaches, fever, and acclimatization were quickly cured. What Xiao Ruxun was most worried about was that with so many people coming at once, it would not cause a plague.
Then, Xiao Ruxun issued the first military order. All soldiers were not allowed to drink raw water or eat raw food. Water had to be boiled before drinking, food had to be cooked, and they were not allowed to relieve themselves anywhere. They had to do so at a specific location. If they were found to be disobedient, they would be flogged ten times for the first time, fifteen times for the second time, twenty times for the third time, and for the fourth time, they would be beheaded in public.
Then, he summoned the commander-in-chief, deputy commander-in-chief, general, and other generals to meet and familiarize themselves with each other. He wanted to see who could be trusted and could be of great use, who was reckless and could not be used arbitrarily, and who was dissatisfied with the commander of the army at his age and wanted to find fault with him.
Commanding an army was a very troublesome matter, and commanding an army from different places was even more difficult. This was how the Daming Dynasty had always led the army. The soldiers did not know the general, and the general did not know the soldiers. At the beginning of the country, due to the great prestige of the general, the soldiers were good at fighting, so this kind of disadvantage was not big. But as time passed, the number of generals who could fight decreased, and the soldiers became weaker and weaker, so the problem became very big.
How the commander-in-chief could get used to the various troops was a very important matter.
Therefore, intentionally or unintentionally, Xiao Ruxun allowed the news of Xiao Ruxun flogging Li Rusong twenty times to spread in the barracks.
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