Guazhou City in the suburbs of Yangzhou.

Careful people will find that the atmosphere in Guazhou City recently is different from the past, revealing a hint of solemnity everywhere and a hint of tension everywhere, as if something big is about to happen.

Except for a circle of wooden walls, Guazhou did not build a city wall. Even so, as more and more warriors patrolling, Guazhou City became increasingly tense like a military city. Tea lovers who drink tea leisurely on weekdays have been speculating endlessly.

Indeed, something big happened in Guazhou City. When Lin Chunhong was still wandering on the sea, the order of summoning a group of archery envoys to Guazhou was passed to Jingzhou. The archery envoys did not dare to neglect them. At the order of Lin Chunhong, Li Chongde was left alone in Jingzhou, and the rest, including Zhang Zhao, rushed to Yangzhou in a hurry.

The envoys of the Pavilion have just arrived in Guazhou for only a day, and Lin Chunhong also rushed to Guazhou from Pi Island.

The Jinjin Tower in Guazhou has already been guarding every three steps and every five steps, with strong protection. In the conference hall of Jinjin Tower, Lin Chunhong and the Pavilion Invitations sat upright with a serious expression.

"The Qing Dynasty Tatars had already broken through Gubeikou and Qingshan Pass, with Dorgon and Yuetuo as their commanders, with more than 50,000 troops. They are plundering the surrounding areas of the capital. This time, the Jingzhou army cannot sit idly by and pay for their teeth and blood debts until they are expelled from the country!"

At the beginning of the first day of the junior high school, Lin Chunhong set the tone and no one can object.

Lin Chunhong's toughness was beyond the expectations of most people. Especially Zhang Daohan and Zhu Zhiyu were even more shocked. He looked at each other with confusion. Zhu Zhiyu stood up suddenly and said, "The Dog Tartars harmed the Ming Dynasty. As a member of the Ming Dynasty, Jingzhou naturally cannot remain indifferent. His subordinates sincerely supported the governor's decision. But his subordinates wanted to ask, more than 100,000 soldiers went thousands of miles away to fight, and they must consume a lot of money and food. Where did the money and food come from? As the saying goes, before the troops move, food and grass come first, and there is no money and food. How can we fight against the Dog Tartars?"

Lin Chunhong nodded, signaled Zhu Zhiyu to sit down, and said solemnly: "Call you to this point is to discuss money and food. Please speak freely and not be restrained. First of all, please introduce the current financial situation in Jingzhou."

After hearing the name, Zhang Daohan picked up a thick stack of documents, turned over a few pages, and said: "At the beginning of this year, the budget amount was 54 million Dayuan. By September, all expenditures exceeded the budget, especially military expenditures, which almost doubled. The Finance Department estimated that by the end of the year, the budget would exceed 14 million Dayuan! Later, Bangtai Money Bank issued bonds and raised 3 million Dayuan, and there was still a deficit of 11 million."

There is still one million deficit, which is too huge, which makes Zhou Wang, Lu Shiming and other military representatives take a breath: They have already lost more than one million, how can they support more than one hundred thousand soldiers in battle?

However, Zhang Daohan's words continued: "However, there is one thing that needs to be notified to everyone. Since its establishment, its finances have been independently accounted and have not been included in the financial department system. Half a month ago, after the Finance Department and the Finance Department of the Maritime Governor's Office checked the accounts, they found that the deficit was not as serious as expected. The surplus of the Maritime Governor's Office this year exceeded 7 million great circles, so the deficit is expected to be more than 3 million!"

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. More than three million, compared with the budget of sixty or 70 million, it was not scary. As long as you save a little, you will get through it. Don’t worry, everyone was also incredible that the Maritime Governor’s Office has surplus of seven million. The Maritime Governor’s Office launched the battle to capture Java Island this year, and used more than 100,000 troops, but it could still make a surplus. The ability of the ocean to gather wealth is really not ordinary!

Lin Chunhong had already known this. The reason why he downplayed the surplus of the Maritime Governor's Office some time ago was nothing more than to promote the custom of issuing bonds within Jingzhou. At the same time, he felt relieved. With the surplus of millions, the entire Jingzhou Group could no longer retreat from the ocean on a large scale. By the way, the Han people's pace towards the ocean will only move bigger and bigger, and there will be no stop at all.

Zhang Zhao was quite content. Since the opening of the Jingzhou side, he has been under great pressure. To this day, in terms of military strength, the number of soldiers alone is almost equivalent to the mainland. In terms of revenue and expenditure, the Maritime Governor's Office is almost two-thirds of the mainland, and in terms of territory, it is far beyond the mainland's ability to compare. Now, the Maritime Governor's Office has solved the urgent needs of the entire Jingzhou Group and significantly improved the status of the Shanghai faction within the group.

Lin Chunhong nodded to Zhang Zhao with approval, turned to look at Zhou Wang, and said, "This is the financial situation. Next, please ask Governor Zhou to estimate the cost of going north to resist the Tartars."

Zhou Wang was nearly 60 years old and was getting older and his temples had turned gray. He stood up and did not look at any documents. He said, "In September, the Governor's Office adjusted the Central Plains War Zone. The Tiance Army returned to Jingzhou, and the Tianwu Army headed north to guard Fangcheng Pass. The Central Plains War Zone was under the jurisdiction of three ches and infantry corpses, two cavalry corpses, with a total force of 72,000. The Southeast War Zone was under the jurisdiction of Xiongwei, Shenji and Pili, with a total force of 60,000. The two war zones had a total force of 132,000. The Governor's Office predicted that the combat location was from Jinan, Shandong to the capital line, and the supply line was replenished through the canal. The supply line was more than 3,500 miles long. The transportation power of the entire Yangtze River Navy was needed, and more than 580 ships of various types were needed from the people and more than 64,000 civilians."

When they heard these scary numbers, the envoys couldn't help but feel very moved. Lin Chunhong was not on a whim and wanted to fight the Tartars' life and death, and clearly prepared for this war based on the standards of national war.

Zhou Wang continued: "According to the five-month period, it is not counted for food and grass, but only for collecting ships and civilians, which costs 4.6 million yuan."

Only 4.6 million? Zhang Daohan and Zhu Zhiyu breathed a sigh of relief. Military pay, rewards, etc. have already been in the budget, and the extra-budget expenditure is only 4.6 million, which does not seem to be very stressful.

Zhou Wang continued: "After the end of the Henan and Wuchang battles, the Central Plains War Zone and the Southeast War Zone were expanded rapidly, and all kinds of weapons were fully produced, barely ensuring supply. Now, to fight, the consumption of weapons must be at least five times. Among them, the consumption of ammunition should be at least two hundred shells and ammunition should be reserved for each artillery. Now there are more than 800 artillery pieces of various types in the two theaters, so the need to reserve is 160,000 pieces of artillery shells and ammunition!"

"The current reserves have not reached one-third of the standard, and all the soldiers' workshops need to fully produce them. Preliminary statistics show that the large circles invested in the soldiers' workshops have exceeded 8 million large circles!"

Eight million! No matter how the workers were drawn on other workshops, the envoys of the Pavilion Guards took a breath. If the previous reserves, military pay, food, manpower, etc. were included, within five months, if 130,000 troops were fighting, wouldn’t the consumption of Dayuan be more than 50 million!

When fighting, it’s really about making money and food!

Seeing Zhou Wang sit down, Lin Chunhong said: "The scale of the war in the future will only become larger and larger, so it is imperative to adjust the tax system from the long term. This is a later story, and I won't mention it for now. In September, the initial trial of issuing bonds will be made, and the effect will be good. After the first batch of bonds is returned at the end of the year, Chongzhen can issue another 13 million in eleven years, with a term of one year. Therefore, what needs to be considered now is that it is necessary to raise another 6 million Dayuan, which is enough to deal with this war!"

Guo Mingyan blurted out, "Why not issue more six million bonds?"

Lin Chunhong shook his head and said, "The issuance of bonds is not urgent, and it is necessary to slowly establish credit. According to the accounting of the Finance Department, the issuance volume of the second phase should not exceed 13 million... Too much issuance will lead to deflation, and Jingzhou's finances cannot bear it."

Guo Mingyan continued: "There are many wealthy merchants in Jiangnan and the people are rich, and there are many things to do. It is better to manipulate the grain prices in Jiangnan and increase by 20% and make a profit of one million."

When Zhu Zhiyu heard this, he immediately stood up and opposed: "This matter must not be done. Grain prices are the benchmark for all goods prices. Once the grain prices rise, all goods prices will rise, and the consequences are unpredictable. For a mere million yuan, it is not advisable to take the risk of raising the grain price!"

Lin Chunhong nodded and said, "Zhu Muzeng's words make sense, and the price of grain cannot be adjusted easily."

Guo Mingyan seemed to have expected to be rejected and was not discouraged at all. He continued: "If Jiangnan becomes like Jingzhou and directly imposes commercial taxes, how can we still be short of money? We seem to be in a bunch of flowers in Jiangnan, but in fact we only earn a little hard money. I have a plan, so everyone can help us think about it: forcing all sea ships and river ships to enter the warehouse built in Jingzhou for trade, thereby expanding the scale of the collection of management fees!"

As soon as Guo Mingyan finished speaking, the conference hall was full of discussion. In particular, Lin Chunhong showed joy, waved his hand, signaling everyone to be quiet, and then said: "The financial resources of Jiangnan cannot be converted into war power. It will be a huge loss to the Ming Dynasty and Jingzhou. The proposal of Guo Muzhan was very good, and at least a part of the financial resources of Jiangnan can be concentrated. However, even if the Jiang ship is not a big deal, it will involve a wide range of people. Once the order is forced, it may cause public grievances. As for the sea boat, it will not have much impact on the people, and it is feasible."

After getting Lin Chunhong's approval, Guo Mingyan showed a gloomy face and said happily: "In addition to fixed-point transactions, other people can also be allowed to run money shops, but they need to pay a huge deposit and taxes must be levied according to the tax rate in Jingzhou. Jiangnan's commerce is extremely active, and Bangtai Money House alone is really not enough. Li Duoyi and Wang Dajun have requested to open a money shop many times. It is better to follow the trend and agree to their request."

When Lin Chunhong heard this, he fell into deep thought. Paying huge margins is a wonderful way to make money in the short term. Taxes are levied according to the tax rate and can gradually control the financial resources of Jiangnan. However, financial monopoly involves a lot, and if you want to adjust, it will inevitably bring huge shocks. However, it is indeed the general trend to relax private finance. Bangtai Money House is not necessary, nor is it possible to always control all aspects of the financial market.

Finally, Lin Chunhong said: "Whether it is a fixed sea boat trading point or allowing private money shops to be opened, it is a major event. You must prepare carefully before you can take action. Guo Mu, I will leave this matter to you and come up with a detailed strategy within one month. Then the Pavilion and the Pavilion will discuss it."
Chapter completed!