Before six months, Deng Ming returned to Jiangling and came to Li Laiheng's territory.
"This expedition didn't make a lot of money, but we repelled the invasion of the south of the Yangtze River. Our trade, grain-producing areas, and seaports were all safe, and we frightened the governors in the southeast. Overall, it was not a loss. " said Deng Ming, Li Laiheng, Liu Tichun, Dang Shouxu, and Ma Tengyun.
Everyone nodded. The effect of this expedition was indeed good, which completely offset the negative impact of Zheng Chenggong's death on Nanming. Everyone also felt very happy working with Deng Ming. The accounts were clear and everyone got the share they had agreed upon in advance.
"It's time to pay off the debt" Dang Shousu said. The master helped him carefully calculate the expenses. If he had to repay the money used to buy the bonds, Deng Ming would face a huge loss because most of the borrowed money was spent: "Does the Duke plan to repay this money?"
"When we do business, of course we must pay attention to integrity, and we must not default on our debts." Deng Ming replied seriously.
"How about I help the admiral." Li Laiheng was embarrassed to let Deng Ming bear all the debts alone, because the money borrowed by Deng Ming was used by everyone together.
After hearing Li Laiheng¡¯s proposal, several other people expressed their willingness to pay some money, either happily or reluctantly.
"No, no need." Deng Ming waved his hands repeatedly: "The money was borrowed in the name of the imperial government, and the discounts were also taken by the bankers of the empire. Is there any reason for everyone to share it?"
"Does the Admiral have so much money?" Li Laiheng asked curiously.
"Of course not." Deng Ming replied confidently. The share of money he received had already purchased cattle, horses and other materials needed by Sichuan, otherwise it would have been handed over to bankers such as Yu Youming for investment. coastal areas.
"Oh, I almost forgot." Li Laiheng smiled and patted his forehead: "The admiral has to pay back with an IOU. Look at my memory."
"I didn't print new IOUs. Having so many IOUs on the market will cause prices to rise."
Deng Ming borrowed money from the southeastern provinces, then purchased materials in the southeast, recruited craftsmen, and married soldiers. A large amount of materials flowed into Sichuan, causing Sichuan's population to surge and its industry and commerce to become increasingly prosperous, but there was no inflation. On the contrary, in Huguang and Liangjiang, as a large amount of supplies on the market were swept away by the Ming army, silver has experienced significant depreciation. After discovering this trend, some banks in Sichuan began to invest in purchasing land. If the price of silver continues to depreciate, wealthy households will definitely buy a large amount of land - but they may also bury the money underground. Of course, inflation in Huguang and Liangjiang is not yet so dramatic, and land prices are far from returning to pre-recession levels.
A report from Xiong Lan to Deng Ming stated that the bonds allowed Sichuan to obtain a large amount of materials from the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, so that this large-scale troop dispatch did not cause price fluctuations. But if a large number of IOUs are printed to repay debts, then after receiving the IOUs, the governments of Huguang and Liangjiang will definitely use them to purchase goods from Sichuan merchants. Even if this batch of IOUs is damaged and has a conversion advantage, the amount returned to Sichuan will still be large. , which will affect prices in Sichuan.
"You can't pay back the IOU, because it can be used to buy things from Sichuan." Deng Ming said categorically.
"Then what else?" Li Laiheng initially suspected that Deng Ming would default on his debt, but seeing how righteous he was when he answered Dang Shousu just now, he thought he had misunderstood him.
"Who said I want to pay it back?" Deng Ming asked loudly.
There was silence in Jiangling's Yamen for a moment, and finally Li Laiheng hesitantly reminded: "Didn't the admiral just say that he wanted to pay it back? It only takes the blink of an eye."
"What I said is that I won't default on the debt, but I don't have to pay back the money." Deng Ming said with a smile.
"Isn't it a default if you don't pay back the money?" Li Laiheng became a little impatient.
Deng Ming's face showed a smile that said, "Shuai Hu, you still have a lot to learn." "Shuai Hu, Zhang Changgeng's envoy is about to arrive. When he arrives, you will know what I plan to do."
In order to prevent Deng Ming from buying off their troops, governors from all over the country took back the bonds. IOUs from Huguang and Liangjiang that were collateralized by bonds also began to be issued and handed over to officials and soldiers who were owed wages and salaries to prove that they were Creditors of the governor. Since it is not directly linked to him, there is no need for Deng Ming to repay the money, but he still does not intend to default on the debt, otherwise it will damage his good reputation.
As Deng Ming expected, Zhang Changgeng¡¯s envoy soon came to Jiangling with a full box of war bonds held by Huguang. After meeting Deng Ming, the envoy first congratulated the Ming army on their great victory, and then carefully pointed out that it was time to pay off these one-year bonds. When Zhang Changgeng paid money to buy bonds, he had to accept a discount, but now as long as Deng Ming is willingJust pay him the Sichuan IOU according to the paper - Zhang Changgeng will give another discount to redeem the Huguang IOU issued by him, and the soldier can use the Sichuan IOU to buy things from Sichuan people's trading houses - now Sichuan is here in Wuchang Yuan can already be circulated. Even if it is not available in other places, there will be Wuchang businessmen willing to accept it.
"There is still interest." Deng Ming had already asked someone to settle the account and handed it over to the envoy from Wuchang for review: "I wonder if your envoy thinks this figure is correct?"
"That's right, that's right." The envoy from Wuchang nodded repeatedly.
Huaiyang, Jiaodong, and northern Zhejiang were in chaos, making Zhang Changgeng even more wary of Deng Ming. Now that the central army of the Qing court had retreated to Shandong, Zhejiang had no time to take care of itself. The two rivers were more wary of the north than of Deng Ming. Zhang Changgeng knew that if Deng Ming suddenly turned against him, Then he certainly doesn't need to expect any reinforcements. Seeing that Deng Ming seemed not to default on his debt, the envoy sent by Zhang Changgeng was also overjoyed. Chengdu now had a clear advantage over Wuchang, and Zhang Changgeng had nothing to do if Deng Ming turned against him.
"Well, I have prepared all the IOUs, and you can withdraw them at any time." Deng Ming paused and asked: "But why are you pressing so urgently? Is it because the reputation of the imperial government is not good? Are you worried? The imperial government won¡¯t pay back the money?¡±
"Where is it?" The envoy from Wuchang said with a smile: "The Duke and the Emperorthe credibility of the imperial government cannot be better."
At first, the envoy found it difficult to praise the robbers for their creditworthiness, but seeing that Deng Ming himself said so, he agreed.
"Is it because the interest we paid is not high enough? So you are resentful and want to withdraw it in a hurry?" Deng Ming asked again.
"No." The envoy from Wuchang shook his head hurriedly: "If it is stored in a bank, there will be a storage fee. The Duke of Guo helps us keep it. Not only does it not charge money, but it also gives interest. This is simply pie in the sky."
"Then just sell it again." Deng Ming said with a smile: "I am about to issue this year's national bonds. Wuchang will buy my new bonds with the principal and interest of this bond. You will not miss a dollar. .¡±
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Outside the city of Jiaxing Prefecture, there is the camp of the Jingnan Army.
Today, a distinguished guest came, who was the envoy of Jiangnan Admiral Liang Huafeng. With the military power in his master's hands, the Jingnan Army had no choice but to receive him properly.
"This is a letter from the Governor of Zhejiang to the Governor of Liangjiang. The Governor forwarded it to my lord," the envoy seemed not to notice the wariness on the faces of Zhuang Yuncheng and others. As soon as he entered the door, he handed over Zhao Guozuo's request for help: "The Governor of Zhejiang borrowed troops from the Governor of Liangjiang and wants my admiral to come to Jiaxing and embarrass you."
After reading Zhao Guozuo's letter, although Zhuang Yuncheng didn't know the reason, he still had a great impression of Liang Huafeng, who had tipped off the news. Moreover, since the other party had given this letter, he would probably not send troops to attack them. Zhuang Yuncheng clasped his fists and said, "Admiral Huafeng is so generous." Well, I don¡¯t know how to repay you.¡±
"No, no need." This envoy had been to Zhuang Yuncheng's hometown before. At that time, he assured Liang Huafeng that this Ming history case was nothing at all. Now the envoy waved his hand nonchalantly and said: "My lord knows that you are flying the banner of peace and security. This banner is very good! There are indeed traitors in the court, and it is time to clear them out."
After learning about the situation in Zhejiang, Jiang Guozhu recruited Liang Huafeng from Suzhou to Nanjing. Neither of them was very optimistic about the situation of the war. The biggest advantage the government had over the Jin gentry was that it had a well-trained army that could defeat those who dared to take the lead in causing rebellion. Now that Zhejiang has been unable to deal with Zhuang Yuncheng, the situation in Zhejiang will be difficult to deal with.
Since Jiang Guozhu also planned to build a prison in Jiangnan, he was particularly concerned about the changes in the situation in Zhejiang. Zhuang Yuncheng's successive victories forced Jiang Guozhu to repeatedly postpone the deadline for launching the prison. After receiving Zhao Guozuo's request for help, both Jiang Guozhu and Liang Huafeng believed that they must not wade into this muddy water - the army in the south of the Yangtze River was busy, monitoring those Jin gentry who might rebel, being wary of the court, being wary of Zhang Huangyan of Chongming, and even being wary. How could Zhang Chao in Nanchang still have the energy to help Zhao Guozuo? Besides, Zhou Peigong secretly reported that Zhao Guozuo's financial situation was very bad, and he might not be able to pay the guest troops. It is impossible for Jiang Guozhu to use his own money to help his neighbors solve their problems. Besides, helping Zhao Guozuo would be politically harmful. Beijing may think that Jiangnan wants to expand its territory, which is a sign of rebellion; Chengdu seems to be the mastermind of the chaos in Zhejiang. If Jiang Guozhu goes Helping Zhao Guozuo may make Chengdu think that he is hostile to Deng Ming.
"Isn't it too lenient to regulate even a book?" Liang Huafeng's envoy expressed indignation: "Mr. Zhuang knows about my admiral, and he has been speaking up for him for the past two years."
"Admiral Liang's care will be kept in mind by the common people." Zhuang Yuncheng couldn't help but be moved after hearing such a clear statement.
"Don't worry about Jingnan, I'll??The admiral will continue to complain to the court on your behalf. When the time is right, my admiral will report to the court and ask the Holy Spirit to pardon you and dismiss the Ming History Case. "What Liang Huafeng's envoy said echoed most of the participants of the Jingnan Army. They rose up in rebellion because they couldn't survive, but they were actually a little confused inside and didn't know how it would end.
After calmly accepting everyone's gratitude, Liang Huafeng's envoys and the Jingnan Army reached a no-fight agreement - the Jiangnan troops will not enter Zhejiang, and the Jingnan Army in Zhejiang will not support the rebels in Jiangnan - if Jiangnan also appears When the Jin gentry rebelled, the Jingnan Army was not allowed to provide support in terms of personnel, food, or arms. On the contrary, it had to cooperate with Nanjing in condemning the rebellion.