Yes, Madam Prime Minister

Page 387

Since the founding of the Wei Dynasty, maritime trade has become increasingly developed. In recent decades, Ronan has been involved in the trade of silk and bone china in the Kingdom of Fas, and cotton cloth from India has entered the East-West maritime trade system. The Eastern India Military Command has also introduced tea there to raise funds for its military. These and other things have reduced Seris's share of trade, but overall, it is still growing slowly.

Because Seres remains the world's largest producer and exporter of silk, porcelain, cotton, tea, sugar, and even iron.

Every year, a sea of ​​silver pours into this country.

And the first stop for most of these silver coins is Guangzhou.

Although the vast majority of the money is in the hands of the powerful and wealthy, ordinary people can still get some, and many have a lot of money in their pockets.

With money in their pockets, how could casinos not flourish?

Guangzhou is full of casinos, which can be divided into four levels: high, medium, low, and unclassified. The high level is not open to the public and is a place for the wealthy and powerful to relax. The medium level is a place for people with some wealth and status to gamble, and it is the casino that most people can see and think is the best. The low level is the noisy little gambling den in the city. As for the unclassified, it is the gambling hall in the surrounding towns and villages.

Baochanju is of medium quality.

At this moment, Astrid, along with Yang Nian, a recently acquainted friend, and several of her friend's friends, were gambling here.

The casino is equipped with detectors and has powerful and capable people on duty to prevent anyone from using supernatural powers to cheat.

But Astrid won money even without cheating, for two reasons: first, she had more capital; second, she was good at math, so she could make a small profit by investing more and doing calculations.

To be honest, the casino doesn't really care about her, because she could earn just as much money if she used it for any other business.

Moreover, after making a small fortune, she started gambling for real, and she usually lost.

"Young Master Feng, you're amazing! You won again," Astrid complimented the young man beside her.

The young man whom Astrid called Young Master Feng was named Feng Yonghuai. He had delicate features, was somewhat thin but not weak, and carried a folding fan. He wore a brightly colored, elegant dress, giving the impression that he was a young master from a scholarly family in Jiangnan, with a touch of rebelliousness. However, in reality, he was from Hebei, and his father was a military officer.

Feng Yonghuai's father was the Supervisor of the Guangzhou Navy, a position officially known as the Supervisor of Logistics. This was a military officer sent by the imperial court to the navy to oversee logistics and also assume certain supervisory responsibilities. His role as a supervisor, though not a full supervisor, was far more effective than that of a regular supervisor, because the ability to control logistics was far more powerful than mere rhetoric.

“I was just lucky, and you didn’t want to win,” Feng Yonghuai said.

“Brother Changsi, if only we could share some of this luck,” said a well-dressed young man. Changsi was Feng Yonghuai’s courtesy name. “If only we had Miss Luo’s gambling skills, that would be even better.”

“Absolutely, absolutely,” echoed another young man dressed in equally fine clothes.

One was the son of a local gentry, and the other was the son of a maritime merchant. Both were wealthy and powerful, but in terms of status, they were still lower than Feng Yonghuai. This was not only because Feng Yonghuai's father was a high-ranking naval officer, but more importantly because Feng Yonghuai was a fourth-rank official. In a sense, Feng Yonghuai, as a Juren (a successful candidate in the imperial examinations at the provincial level), had more privileges than his father, who was a second-rank official.

“My last name isn’t Luo,” Astrid corrected, her tone already composed.

An awkward silence fell instantly, but a few seconds later, a middle-aged man rushed over and broke the silence. He whispered a few words in Feng Yonghuai's ear, and Feng Yonghuai's expression changed. He then stood up and said, "Excuse me, I must leave."

He left after saying that.

With Feng Yonghuai gone, the meeting had to end, since the other two weren't familiar with Astrid.

Astrid and Yang Nian walked out of the casino together, preparing to go for dinner.

On the way, Astrid suddenly asked, "Tell me, what happened?"

Yang Nian held two sticks of maltose being stirred in her hand. "How should I know?"

"Can't you even see that there's something wrong with the navy? My friend Feng is going to support his dad." Astrid said, with a look of disappointment on her face. "Sigh, how can you be my stepmother if you don't even have this much analytical ability?"

Yang Nian immediately sprang to her senses, like a hedgehog that had been poked, and excitedly retorted, "Hey, don't talk nonsense. Who wants to be your stepmother? Your dad is old enough to be my grandfather."

Astrid sneered, "Ha, then go find a twenty-year-old who's even 'younger and stronger' than my dad."

“I don’t want someone young and strong,” Yang Nian retorted.

“That’s even better, he’s just a stinky old man,” Astrid immediately said.

"I'm not talking to you anymore." Yang Nian lowered her head and began to eat candy in large bites.

Astrid sighed, "You're such a person, you're ambitious and scheming, but you're also so concerned about saving face. It's really awkward. You and Yingqi even look a bit alike, I really suspect you're sisters."

"Heh, I don't have such a noble background," Yang Nian said with a self-deprecating laugh.

"I can't be bothered to talk to you anymore. Let's go eat. After we eat, we'll go back to Foshan. That old woman will be ordering me around for free again," Astrid said. She knew that her mother, Elena, couldn't get her to do anything, so she would definitely go to her father, Ronan. She couldn't refuse the old man's request.

“Your mother is a good person, you should treat her better,” Yang Nian said. If there was anything about Astrid that she disapproved of, it was her lack of filial piety.

“You wouldn’t understand even if I told you.” Astrid didn’t want to talk about it.

Just as the two were about to have their meal, another dinner party was about to begin in a garden.

Leading the group were Pei Jinghai, the Admiral of the Guangzhou Navy, a first-rank official; Feng Chongwei, the Supervisor of the Guangzhou Navy, a second-rank official; and Lin Wenhua, the Commander-in-Chief of the Guangzhou Navy, a second-rank official.

Pei Jinghai was from Songjiang and was the head of the Southeast Clique; Feng Chongwei was from Hebei and represented the imperial court; while Lin Wenhua was from Guangdong and represented the locals.

Before the dinner even started, the conversation had already begun. Lin Wenhua was the first to speak, “I don’t know which scoundrel among the brothers spread rumors that the imperial court is going to owe wages. Lord Feng, why don’t you go and refute the rumors on behalf of the court?” Lin Wenhua, despite his name, had no scholarly air about him. He was already being quite restrained at the dinner. In normal times, he would be a complete pirate.

"How can I represent the imperial court? In our Guangzhou navy, only Lord Pei can represent the imperial court." Feng Chongwei's name sounds like that of a military man, but he is adept at the diplomatic maneuvering of a civil official.

"Me? I was just falsely accused a few days ago of plotting to assassinate the governor and scheming to rebel. If I show my face now, some restless brothers might try to force me to join them in a mutiny." As he spoke, Pei Jinghai looked at Lin Wenhua, the local, with a hint of murderous intent in his eyes. "Lord Lin, don't you think so?"

Lin Wenhua slammed his hand on the table. "Damn it! Who was that bastard who dared to stage a coup? I, Lin, will hang him on the mast and make him into roast meat!"

Pei Jinghai suddenly burst into laughter, "Hahaha, I just heard some rumors, just like you, Brother Lin."

Chapter 898 Really broke, and there are factions within factions; learn from Ronan's good example.

Admiral Pei Jinghai's words were loaded with meaning, Supervisor Feng Chongwei remained silent if he could, and Commander-in-Chief Lin Wenhua used a lot of vulgar language.

But after one round, everyone fell silent.

Finally, Pei Jinghai took the initiative to speak frankly, "To be honest, given the current state of the country, the surrounding regions are probably already stirring. To the north, they've only picked up some outdated things from our Celestial Empire—musketeers and cavalry? Can they withstand field artillery? To the west, it's just the Rus' people stirring things up behind the scenes. Camel cannons? That's laughable. The real pressure comes from our side, from Annam, led by the traitors and supported by the Westerners."

"Let's not talk about who should take responsibility. We must stand together. Otherwise, you both understand the consequences if we lose at sea."

Pei Jinghai conducted an analysis.

He was unsure whether Annam would send troops, but if he were the ruler of Annam, he would certainly send troops.

Whether or not troops are deployed is not so important; what is important is to use this as a pretext to control the navy.

After he was falsely accused, the navy began to stir. Now that they're owed wages again, if the three of them don't stand in unison, there will be trouble.

Supervisor Feng Chongwei sighed, "Well, since you've put it this way, Lord Pei, I'll be frank too. The imperial court really can't afford that much money."

A frontline ordinary army soldier earns about fifteen taels of silver a year, excluding food expenses, which is basically enough to support his wife and children.

The annual salary of a special army officer is around fifty taels, excluding food expenses and special allowances. In terms of salary alone, it is higher than that of a minor local official. Of course, if one has the ability or connections, one would still prefer to be a minor official, since minor officials also have gray income.

Navy salaries are naturally higher than army salaries; ordinary soldiers earn 25 taels, while those of extraordinary soldiers earn 70 taels.

The Guangzhou Navy was no ordinary local navy; it would be more accurate to call it the Nanyang Navy. With officers, soldiers, and other miscellaneous personnel, it had more than 25,000 men on staff, and the annual salary for them alone amounted to 700,000 to 800,000 taels of silver.

Normally, this amount of money wouldn't be a problem, but this year the imperial court's tax revenue has decreased, and a large sum of money is needed to maintain stability, so there's really no way to pay salaries in full.

Lin Wenhua smiled and said, "Lord Feng, it's not that we're short of money. What's the annual income of the Guangzhou Customs? Tens of millions of taels of silver. Our salaries for those of us who make a living at sea come from there. Before, it would pass through the imperial court and then be distributed to us. But now the imperial court is too busy, so we take it ourselves. Doesn't this save the imperial court the trouble of transferring the silver and save a lot of travel expenses?"

Feng Chongwei was at a loss. "Lord Lin, you can't take this. If you do, you'll really be accused of treason."

“Lord Feng, do you think I’m short of money? It’s the brothers below who are short of money.” Lin Wenhua’s words became more and more blunt. “Besides, when someone tries to falsely accuse you of treason, you’d better really be planning to rebel.”

To reiterate, if those above are not suppressing those below, and are not preparing for rebellion, then rebellion has already been listed as an option.

Feng Chongwei lay sprawled out, "Lord Lin, are you trying to kill me?"

Just then, three people suddenly burst in. Before they even arrived, their voices preceded them: "The Admiral invited us to dinner, why didn't he invite us?"

"Old Feng, it's not fair of you to freeload without inviting me."

"Brother Hua, are you looking down on me?"

Soon, the others arrived. The three were: General Yang Zhaowu, the left and right commanders of the navy; Yang Zhaowu was from the Southeast faction, while Pei Jinghai was from Songjiang, Fujian. Most of the junior officers and sailors in the Guangzhou navy from the Southeast faction were also from Fujian. Next was Li Yunting, the military supervisor, a native of the capital and from a noble family. He was Feng Chongwei's subordinate, one rank lower, but he controlled more resources; he was the true logistics officer. Finally, there was Chen Guangyao, the coastal defense guerrilla commander, Lin Wenhua's deputy, also a native of Guangdong.

There are factions within factions.

In general, Pei Jinghai, Feng Chongwei, and Lin Wenhua are all moderates, relatively speaking.

Although Yang Zhaowu, Li Yunting, and Chen Guangyao were not in the same group, they were all radicals.

Yang Zhaowu's fellow villagers were poor people from the Fujian coast; a war would give them a chance to rise in status. Li Yunting was a fallen nobleman, almost the only one left in his family; a war would give him money and hope of reviving his lineage. As for Chen Guangyao, despite his rustic name, he was a local merchant. Lin Wenhua, a pirate, only cared about wealth and status; he wanted to expand his naval power and markets.

Of course, there is another point: Yang, Li, and Chen are truly capable of rebellion if pushed too far. For the poor, if they cannot find wealth abroad, they will find wealth domestically. For the declining aristocracy, if they cannot pave the way with money, they will simply reshuffle the deck. And for capitalists, if the overseas market is not viable, they will break into the domestic market.

Whose money isn't money?

At this moment, Pei Jinghai, Feng Chongwei, and Lin Wenhua looked at each other. After a brief exchange of glances, they realized one thing: the person was not summoned by the three of them. The matter was clear: there was a mole inside.

Since they're already here, we have no choice but to let them sit down.

If three people can't have a good conversation, then six people are even less likely to be able to.

The conversation stalled on many things, and eventually it all came down to one thing: money.

We can't do without this money. If we don't give it to them, they'll cause trouble. Are we supposed to suppress them? It's not that there's no way to suppress them, but is now the time to suppress them? Annam might actually use force, and the domestic situation could easily become chaotic. To have a good future in such a chaotic situation, don't we have to rely on our brothers to risk their lives? If we suppress them now, who will risk their lives for us?

However, taking money from customs is practically tantamount to rebellion.

The court is in chaos right now, but it hasn't collapsed yet. If they take the lead, they're definitely doomed.

"I think this matter ultimately requires the government's approval," Chen Guangyao said. "Only then can it be carried out; we really can't do it on our own."

"There's no one in the government who can make decisions right now," Li Yunting said. The former governor had just died, and the new governor hadn't arrived yet.

"If all else fails, we can borrow some money from the merchants here," Yang Zhaowu suggested.

Instantly, everyone except him objected.

The most vehement opposition came from Tan Kuan Yew, who came from a local wealthy family.

Borrowing money from merchants inevitably gives them the opportunity to take advantage of you. Admittedly, they are not loyal subjects, and some even have close ties with merchants.

But first and foremost, they were members of the imperial navy.

More importantly, power is something that money cannot easily taint; only then can power have real power.

“I’ve thought of someone,” Lin Wenhua suddenly said. “That’s the advisor, Master Luo, who got rid of Governor Ren and pinned the blame on our Admiral, yet forced him to put up with it. He might have some ideas.”

Feng Chongwei's eyelids twitched. "He's a traitor." He had no intention of colluding with traitors.

“Then let’s delay it,” Li Yunting said. “We’re not completely broke. Let’s do what Master Luo did and have a lottery system for salaries, while secretly giving a portion of the salary extra. That way, some people will be satisfied. If everyone gets a little bit, then no one will be happy.”

His suggestion was instantly accepted by everyone.

Chapter 899 The Righteous Eight Banners: Kill Them and That's It, Who Can Turn the Tide?

In Annam, the king, several high-ranking officials, and the banner chiefs of the Eight Banners gathered together for a meeting.

Annamites were cultured people, and naturally they wouldn't use the Eight Banners system based on colors like some other groups in another world.

The upper four banners are Yuan, Heng, Li, and Zhen, while the lower four banners are Yin, Guo, Xin, and Xiang, representing the Han Chinese who follow the laws of Heaven and respect their ancestors, as well as the Buddhists who are widely practiced here.

The Eight Banners were further divided into the Han Eight Banners, the Vietnamese Eight Banners, the Thai Eight Banners, and the Burmese Eight Banners.

Naturally, the Han Eight Banners were the highest level.

The reason why the king is called the sovereign is not because Annam submitted to David and thus became inferior, but because the king of Annam did not have a hereditary system, but rather the rule was rotated among the rulers.

The ruler of the country took turns serving among the banner lords of the four banners of Han.

The root cause was that they were originally a gang of outlaws. Of course, they resolutely refused to admit that they were outlaws; it was a label that David had put on them. They considered themselves to be "true scholars," a group of righteous men who wanted to set things right.

Back then, their rebel army suffered a major defeat, and their leader died of illness. This was not unusual. Their leader was already ill, and when he led the uprising, he was already eighty years old. He was a superhuman, otherwise he would have died long ago.

After the leader died, the four disciples under him refused to submit to each other, each believing themselves to be more "genuine" than the others. However, due to external pressure, they had no choice but to take charge together. They only managed to control Sichuan for a period of time before suffering another major defeat and having to flee south. This time, they fled completely, directly into Annam.

David didn't pursue the matter further.

When they fled into Annam, it wasn't just a few leaders and dozens of close associates, but more than 20,000 soldiers and 50,000 to 60,000 troublemakers.

They conquered Annam directly.

But at this point, the four leaders were still unable to subdue each other, so they simply agreed to take turns ruling in the future, with the ruler rotating among their respective banners every ten years, and not limited to their descendants.

At the same time, in order to maintain control over the majority and prevent themselves from being assimilated, the Eight Banners system was created. Among the locals, those who made contributions and were willing to be Sinicized entered the Upper Four Banners, and even had the opportunity to enter the Han Eight Banners. Those who were unwilling still had to believe in Buddhism, but those who were willing to join were assigned to different banners in the Lower Four Banners according to their different regions and the different Buddhist practices they believed in. On the one hand, this could unify them, and on the other hand, it prevented them from truly forming a group.

The Han Eight Banners, along with the Vietnamese Eight Banners, conquered Thailand and Myanmar within a few years, and then the Thai Eight Banners and the Myanmar Eight Banners were added.

For over a century, the rulers have consistently pursued a policy of warfare. While waging war, they used military operations and the pretext of logistical support to continuously relocate people within the country. As a result, there are many Thais and Burmese in Vietnam today, and many Vietnamese in other places as well.

Gradually, the original three countries and numerous ethnic groups have merged. Overall, the main difference between the people is now between those who admire Confucianism and those who believe in Buddhism. In fact, Confucianism and Buddhism have already merged to a great extent. Whether one is a Confucian or a Buddhist is just a marker of identity.

Annam was a truly unified country.

Annam throughout history has absolutely refused to acknowledge the label of "bandits" that David slapped on them. They have assimilated into Chinese society, and their system, at least the selection of the ruler, is entirely based on merit and ability, far superior to the imperial system still in use in the Central Plains. How could there be such bandits?

Back to this moment, Sun Youzhi, the ninth and twelfth ruler of Annam, is presiding over a meeting. This is a person, not a name, because the position is changed every ten years, but extraordinary individuals live longer and can return.

Although it was called a meeting, it was actually a briefing to clearly convey their strategic objectives to everyone.

Heading north was just a feint; the real goal was to capture the Zhennan Military Command, and ideally, also the Dongtianzhu Military Command, thus completely removing these two thorns in our side.

The main force of the Eastern India Military Command was not Han Chinese, but Bengalis and a group of Burmese descendants who had resisted the rule.