Chapter 929: The Celestial Empire, a Gold-Swallowing Beast (Seeking Subscriptions)

"Imperial Brother, your younger brother has already worked out the accounts. To shift the garrison to Datong Prefecture, and also to build forts and strongholds in the old lands of the Ulanqab League, the two Tumed banners of Guihua City, and the Chahar Plain Red Banner, to set up pasturelands, to recruit Mongol and Han herders, to open up farmland, and on top of that to send troops north of the Gobi... all the various expenses added together, five million eight hundred eighty thousand taels will be quite enough!"

"Your Majesty, this subject has also worked it out. To shift the garrison to Xuanfu, and also to build cities and settle the people in the old lands of Chahar, Ju Ud, and Xilin Gol, to open farms and pasturelands, and on top of that to send troops north of the Gobi — all such expenses added together, six million one hundred eighty thousand will be enough."

"Your Majesty, this subject cannot at present work out the accounts for shifting the garrison, and can only calculate the accounts for sending troops to attack the Khorchin... At the very least twenty-five thousand troops must be sent, taking at least two years, and money must also be spent to buy over the small Mongol tribes. Without five million, it will not be enough no matter what."

Five hundred eighty-eight plus six hundred eighteen plus five hundred — in total that was seventeen million sixty thousand... Emperor Zhu's face had turned somewhat grim! Were you three born in the year of the lion? Your lion's-mouth-opening skill is truly formidable!

One opening of the mouth and it was over seventeen million!

Fortunately you have met Us, a wealthy sovereign who is reasonable. If anyone had dared to submit accounts like this in the Chongzhen years, he would probably have gone straight to the Embroidered Uniform Guard's Imperial Prison.

Emperor Zhu gave the three men no answer, nor did he bargain, but continued asking: "Third Brother, Commander Gao, after you shift your garrisons, how much supplementary money and grain will you need each year? Have you calculated it?"

What Zhu Cijiong and Gao Jie had just reported were the expenses for shifting garrisons and sending troops north of the Gobi — those were not recurring expenditures. If it was going to lose money like this year after year, Emperor Zhu could only do as his ancestor Emperor Xuan did and shrink the frontiers to save money.

"It has been calculated," Zhu Cijiong said. "Your younger brother has calculated carefully. From now on the Pacify-the-North Protectorate will need the court to subsidize eight hundred thousand taels of silver each year."

Eight hundred thousand taels a year... What a good brother! Zhu Cilang let out a breath of relief and cast an approving look at Zhu Cijiong. He truly was a "Debt King" who had known hardship — he knew how to manage a household! For this alone, his fief must never be reduced in the future.

Emperor Zhu then turned his expectant gaze toward Gao Jie, only to see Gao Jie wearing a long, mournful face.

"Your Majesty, this subject... this subject has also had people calculate it. Without one million five hundred thousand taels a year, the Beiping Military Commission cannot be maintained."

"Is that so?" Zhu Cilang nodded, outwardly noncommittal, but inwardly clear as a mirror — Gao Jie, you are finished. You are certain to become a debt commander!

The Datong Prefecture that Zhu Cijiong received had formerly been the territory of the Bordered Green Banner. What sort of people were the Bordered Green Banner? They were all landlords, rich peasants, and unscrupulous merchants... people who had paid money to buy their bannerman status and bannerman lands. Their managerial ability was very strong!

Moreover, these former Bordered Green bannermen were still operating over ten thousand farms of several hundred mu each in the Datong Prefecture region, and could pay Zhu Cijiong at least one million shi of flour in rent every year. The north on the whole was still rather short of grain; as long as the Pacify-the-North Army had grain in hand, everything else would be easy.

Besides, Zhu Cijiong and his subordinates were all people who knew how to manage a household and run a business, so of course they knew how to get money.

But Gao Jie's men had spent all those years in Xuzhou and Haizhou, two rich agricultural prefectures — apart from collecting rent, what else could they do? Yet the Beiping Army's territory, apart from some agriculture in the valleys within Xuanfu, was all grassland and mountains elsewhere. Where were they to collect rent?

To believe that a subsidy of one and a half million could cover the Beiping Army's hole — you could beat Gao Jie to death and Zhu Cilang still would not believe it!

It seemed Gao Jie's accounts had been calculated at a loss!

"So that is two million three hundred thousand a year..." Zhu Cilang turned his gaze to Huang Degong. "Commander Huang, from now on, will two million a year for the Daning Army be enough?"

"It should be enough," Huang Degong, who had also known hard days, did not dare to speak in absolutes. "The specifics will still have to be calculated after the Daning Army is taken."

Zhu Cilang nodded. To truly settle the Pacify-the-North, Beiping, and Daning garrisons, it would probably cost five million a year, and the grasslands north of the Gobi would take over seven hundred thousand more — in total over five million seven hundred thousand... Just thinking about it made his flesh ache!

"Third Brother, Commander Huang, Commander Gao," Zhu Cilang paused. "The accounts you have submitted, We approve them all! But We will say the ugly words up front: We will pay the silver in full as listed, and will not short you a single tael! But this task absolutely must not be botched. First of all, the battle north of the Gobi must not be botched... Even if it is using a butcher's knife to kill a chicken, you must still smash the three Khalkha divisions north of the Gobi to pieces and drive them off! The three of you are to decide among yourselves who will be the supreme commander of the northern expedition.

Furthermore, no raising the price midway! If the silver is not enough, find a way yourselves; if there is a surplus, it is yours as well. Do not come asking Us for more silver!

If you cannot carry on, then take the lead in resigning — not one man resigning, but a general resignation of everyone from the rank of regiment commander upward!

Do you understand? If you understand, then tomorrow, once the Hanlin Academy has prepared the military pledges, you will come and sign them."

Emperor Zhu was treating Zhu Cijiong, Huang Degong, and Gao Jie as general contractors!

But with a one-time expenditure of over seventeen million, plus a long-term expenditure of over five million seven hundred thousand each year, Emperor Zhu could be said to have been benevolent and righteous to the utmost toward these three garrisons.

If the Great Ming of history could have given the four garrisons of Datong, Xuanfu, Jizhou, and Liaodong over five million seven hundred thousand taels of silver in subsidies each year, and on top of that given a one-time military fund of over seventeen million, then no matter what Hong Taiji did, he could never have fought his way in!

"Summon the Prince of Tang, the Duke of Liang, Shang Kexi, Kong Tingxun, and Choros Chokhur Ubashi to the hall!"

Just as Zhu Cijiong, Huang Degong, and Gao Jie left, the five "creditors" of the western route — Zhu Yujian, Wu Sangui, Shang Kexi, Kong Tingxun, and Choros Chokhur Ubashi — were summoned into the great hall.

The eastern route had fought brilliantly these past two years, and had even fought the Great Qing out of existence! The western route had also been fighting these past two years, and had fought extremely hard!

Abdallah Khan of the Yarkent Khanate and his son Yulbars, the Governor-General of Kashgar, were both tough customers. The Mongols under them who believed in the religion of Arabia were also quite capable fighters. It was just that their political ability was too poor — they did not know how to govern a state, and they were particularly fond of fighting civil wars! To reward their soldiers they allowed looting; when they could not loot other countries' cities, they looted their own. So the various peoples of the Western Regions truly suffered enough under their rule.

In addition, the internal strife within the religion of Arabia was also very fierce — this sect fought that sect, and it was all mixed up with the Mongols' internal feuds.

So the later history of the Yarkent Khanate was one of being beaten, smashed, and looted by the Oirats, or of beating, smashing, and looting themselves... But after so many years of being beaten, smashed, and looted, their fighting strength had still been tempered.

Moreover, they could also obtain aid from the Uzbeks and the Kazakhs. So the war to destroy the Yarkent Khanate was, to a certain extent, also a war in which the various peoples of the Western Regions joined hands to resist the invaders from Central Asia!

It was of course extremely fierce! Even fighters like Wu Sangui and Sengge were battered and exhausted by it. Only in the early winter of last year did they barely manage to destroy the Yarkent Khanate and rescue the various peoples of the Western Regions from their sea of suffering.

But the fierce war had also caused severe destruction throughout the Western Regions, and had saddled Wu Sangui's Hexi and Anxi garrisons with no small deficit.

In addition, in the war to retake the Central Plains, Emperor Zhu had captured many Han traitors who needed to be sent to the Western Regions for labor reform, and Wu Sangui also had to spend money to settle them. Moreover, Wu Sangui had over two hundred Chiliarchs under him who needed to be settled in Hexi and the Western Regions — yet another enormous expense.

So Wu Sangui had now come with a bill of several million taels to collect from Zhu Cilang!

And Choros Chokhur Ubashi, representing the Dzungar tribe and the Beiting Army, not only wanted to obtain military subsidies from Zhu Cilang, but also wanted to get a batch of firearms and artillery for the war against the Uzbek Khanate and the Kazakh Khanate.

As for Shang Kexi and Kong Tingxun, the two turncoat Han traitors, having rendered no merit they did not dare ask for money, but the supply of army provisions on the road west still had to be secured!

Apart from army provisions, the two of them also wanted to get some weapons and ammunition from Emperor Zhu, in order to fight the Khoshut Khanate's army in Qinghai... These two fellows also wanted to ask about the price for Gushi Khan — if they captured Gushi Khan and destroyed the Khoshut Khanate, how much money could they get?