Chapter 198

After the meeting ended, the three of them each got busy.

On the issue of fighting for resources from the imperial court, everyone's interests are consistent.

War is fought with money and grain.

Only by obtaining enough money and grain can one expand more troops, thereby gaining more merit on the battlefield.

Whether civil officials or military generals, they all need achievements to enrich their resumes.

Doing other work might make it difficult to evaluate achievements, but military merit is clear at a glance.

How many enemy soldiers were killed, how many captives were caught, how much lost territory was recovered—these are all things that can be seen at a glance.

"Mr. Lan, I have a matter here that requires you to make a trip to Nanzhili.

The Guangxi region is short of grain, and I have negotiated a big deal with Provincial Governor Zhang.

The Provincial Governor's Yamen intends to lease out the government-run mineral resources in the Guangxi region, with the rent tentatively set at 50,000 taels/year.

The rent for the first three years needs to be paid in one lump sum in grain.

Although the military fields in Yangzhou have ushered in another bumper harvest, the grain stored in the prefecture's treasury is only 300,000 shi.

The amount is still far from the agreed-upon 900,000 shi.

Buying it up hastily from the market is easy to run into trouble, so we need the gentry of Yangzhou to help.

Take my name card and go talk to them.

Tell them that if they are interested in cooperating, I can subcontract the mineral resources to them.

If they are not interested, just purchase the surplus grain in their hands.

With my face, they will sell some, and the insufficient share will be purchased from grain merchants.

By the way, visit the sea merchants in various places and tell them that Lianzhou Port can be opened to them.

The price they need to pay is that when they return from sea, they need to bring back some grain, all purchased at market price."

Li Mu said calmly.

Compared to before, he has finally gotten onto the chessboard.

On this one-third of an acre of land in Guangxi, he is also a figure.

"My Lord, Guangxi is not Jiangnan.

Even if you buy all the cheapest coarse grain, 50,000 taels won't buy 300,000 shi!"

Lan Linjie hurriedly advised.

Referring to the experience of opening mines in Yangzhou, a few inconspicuous mines have an annual income of tens of thousands of taels of silver.

50,000 taels to contract all the government-run mines in Guangxi certainly won't be a loss.

But if the rent becomes 300,000 shi of grain, that's not necessarily the case.

Since the outbreak of the war, grain prices in the Guangxi region have remained high.

Even in Lianzhou, which was the first to stabilize, every shi of rice sells for 2 taels, and in many prefectures in the interior, every shi of rice can sell for 3 taels.

The price of coarse grain is cheaper, but it also starts at 1 tael.

Even the grain prices in the Jiangnan region have soared by nearly 40% due to the war.

"Mr. Lan, you misunderstood.

If it were all refined rice, I certainly wouldn't agree.

Of the 900,000 shi of grain Provincial Governor Zhang wants, only 30% needs to be coarse grain, and the remaining 70% is all bran.

I have calculated that based on the grain prices in the Jiangnan region, plus transportation costs, it's about an expenditure of 50,000 taels.

Many mineral resources in the Guangxi region are now in my hands and can be organized for resumption of mining at any time.

I possess a large number of prisoners of war and criminals, and the labor costs saved annually amount to hundreds of thousands of taels.

The only trouble is that once the mines resume production, the miners must be fed.

The demand for grain will increase significantly.

So before resuming production, we must purchase as much grain as possible.

Analyzing from the current situation, before the White Lotus Sect rebellion is quelled, grain prices will continue to rise.

Taking advantage of the autumn harvest, buy as much as you can."

Li Mu said with worry.

Huguang falling into war has had too great an impact on the situation in the world.

Fortunately, the front line in Jiangxi has stabilized, not letting the flames of war burn to the interior, otherwise grain prices would have soared even higher.

Influenced by the war, for a long time to come, Guangxi will be in a state of grain shortage.

If we purchase everything from the Great Dayu, grain prices will definitely be driven up to the sky by grain merchants.

Domestic production capacity is insufficient, so we can only cast our eyes overseas.

Unfortunately, Guangxi's location is a bit off, and its influence in maritime trade is not enough.

If the place were changed to Guangdong, and powerful officials spoke out, those sea merchants would definitely be able to get a large amount of grain from overseas.

"My Lord, rest assured, this student will definitely handle this matter properly!"

Lan Linjie immediately guaranteed.

As long as there is profit to be made.

As Li Mu's official position gets higher and his setup gets bigger, the demand for money and wealth also gets bigger.

The imperial court's appropriations simply cannot support the army under his command.

The Guangxi region is not wealthy, so he can only exert subjective initiative.

The military fields of the guard stations are a good industry, but agricultural production takes time.

Currently, only a small portion of the military fields have resumed production and are creating value.

More land has just been taken back from the rebels and is in a state of abandonment.

In the short term, resuming production requires putting up money.

Calculating the economic accounts, since entering Guangxi, it has always been spending more than earning.

Taking the imperial court's rewards and the captured spoils of war, and the various expenses falsely reported, all were filled in, and it was only barely enough to smooth out the expenses.

In the eyes of the outside world, the army under Commander Li is the most money-burning army in the Great Dayu.

……

"What, you sold the government-run mineral resources?"

Bei Tianyou asked in disbelief.

The Great Dayu's government-run enterprises are all fat jobs, and local officials have also shared in the profits.

Many inconvenient account expenses were paid by these enterprises.

Many government-run industries lose money year after year but have not been replaced; the main reason is interest.

"Mr. Bei, please calm down first.

I only leased out the operating rights for three years, and when the time is up, it will return to the hands of the imperial court.

Besides, in the current Guangxi, there is still a large amount of land in the hands of the rebels, and there are not many mines that can resume production in the short term.

The contractor will definitely lose money in the first year, and whether they can make money later depends on the progress of suppressing the rebellion.

The rent I received is not low, which also solves the immediate crisis for the imperial court, so the Emperor will not pursue responsibility."

Zhang Sihan explained calmly.

Leasing out mining rights has the suspicion of overstepping authority.

But given the current situation, the imperial court simply does not have the ability to resume production in the short term.

In fact, after entering Guangxi, he had already had ideas about these government-run industries.

Unfortunately, the management personnel appointed by the imperial court were either dead or had run away, and were long gone.

The miners below were originally the main force of the rebellion, and they wouldn't stay in place to wait for him.

He had neither the money and grain to resume production nor the trusted personnel in his hands, so he could only give up this idea.

Seeing that someone was willing to spend money to take over this troublesome matter, he naturally didn't mind throwing it out.

"Provincial Governor, in the current situation in Guangxi, what merchant would dare to come and mine?

Those who have the guts to take over the mines, are not afraid of encountering the scourge of war, and can resume production in a short period of time are only..."

Before Bei Tianyou could finish, Zhang Sihan waved his hand and interrupted.

"You just need to know these things; don't ever say them out loud.

To mix in officialdom, one must learn to be muddled when one should be muddled.

After Zuo Guangen fell, so many officials were implicated; the reason I was able to retreat unscathed was by being muddled at critical moments.

I only know that it will be difficult for merchants to obtain profits by contracting these mines."

Zhang Sihan said with a smile.

According to convention, the benefits of these mines will be shared by the gentry, officials, local yamen, and the imperial court.

Now the gentry in Guangxi have suffered heavy losses and have been eliminated from the game early, so this cake needs to be redistributed.

How exactly it is divided depends on the game between the various officials in Guangxi.

The rent received guarantees the income of the imperial court and the yamen, and what is sacrificed is nothing more than the interests of officials.

Agreements reached in advance before personnel appointments are even out naturally won't encounter resistance.

Subsequent troubles are naturally the responsibility of whoever benefits.

If the officials in the Guangxi region truly hate Li Mu because of this, he would be too happy to have it.

But these can only be thought about; when combined, the benefits are not small, but when dispersed into individual hands, there isn't much.

If the benefits were truly huge, Guangxi wouldn't have become a place of exile that everyone dislikes.

"My Lord, brilliant!

Not only did you solve the trouble of grain shortage, but you also sold a favor to the Li family.

When you make achievements in Guangxi and return to the imperial court, you might even be able to use it."

Bei Tianyou, who had reacted, immediately began to flatter him.

From his perspective, such a big deal is not something a Commander can eat alone.

Unless the Li family behind him is pulled in, whether it's raising grain or organizing the resumption of production, it's a big trouble.

"It's not as much as you think; I was actually forced to agree.

Even without this rent, if people want to secretly mine, we can't stop them.

According to what I know, some mines hidden by the gentry have already resumed production.

I don't believe that those gentry descendants who were lucky enough to save their lives still have the guts to secretly mine!"

Zhang Sihan said helplessly.

The power of the Provincial Governor comes from above and also from below.

The gentry group suffered heavy losses, and the local bureaucratic system failed to be rebuilt in time.

With no support below, he, this empty Provincial Governor, only exerts effectiveness based on the imperial court's appointment.

Every political decree issued now must be completed by the army.

The military temporarily replaced the role of the gentry and local bureaucrats, becoming the support for his power.

Once the interests of both sides conflict, his political decrees simply cannot leave the yamen.

"My Lord, doesn't this highlight your ability even more!

If it were someone else, they wouldn't be able to collect a single tael of silver and would have lost the imperial court's mines for nothing.

Being able to exchange three years of mining rights for 900,000 shi of grain to relieve the people is truly..."

A round of flattery made Zhang Sihan feel great.

……

The situation in Guangxi changed drastically, but the one who was hurt the most was the Yunnan Provincial Governor.

When the two armies were deadlocked, a rebel army suddenly killed its way into his own territory, which was truly a life-threatening matter.

The rebel army suddenly broke through Guangnan Prefecture, and its spearhead pointed directly at the Nanpan River.

If they don't find a way to intercept it, the enemy will soon slaughter their way to Kunming.

Thinking of the terrifying consequences of Kunming falling, cold sweat broke out on Zhong Zhenyu's forehead.

"Return to reinforce Kunming"—this thought had just emerged when it was immediately extinguished by him.

War is never decided by one side; at this time, wanting to withdraw troops also depends on whether the rebels agree.

(End of chapter)