Chapter 247 Black Tiger is Back
Not only has the cost of the Ministry of War increased several times, the cost of disaster relief is also several times that of the previous emperor. There are also costs for controlling floods, repairing national roads, building bases, establishing capitals, building seaports, etc., all of which were expenditures that did not exist during the previous emperor's reign.
His Majesty has also shown special favors to the people, exempting grain taxes in many states and cities affected by natural disasters every season. Looking at these expenditures alone, it seems that the treasury of Daxia is so empty that it can feed rats. Daxia's national strength has long been insufficient to cover its expenditures, and it is not far from the end of the country!
The result is that the national treasury has doubled! It seems that no matter how much your majesty increases the army or how much he reduces taxes, it cannot shake the foundation of the country. This is still the national treasury, not counting the private treasury of your majesty and the queen.
At first, the officials of the Ministry of Revenue wanted to find an excuse to say that the Queen spent too much money, but the data directly slapped them in the face. The Queen didn't spend a penny from the national treasury! The money the Ministry of Internal Affairs spent on the harem every month was one-tenth of what it was when the previous emperor was alive.
The Queen is simply the most frugal and virtuous Queen in history! The officials of the Ministry of Revenue were speechless and never dared to pick on the Ministry of War again. The civil and military officials in the court were speechless, especially the old-school officials from Chang'an.
They couldn't figure out where the money came from. His Majesty always reduced grain taxes. Although the new crops promoted in Yandi were extremely high-yielding, and there was trade with the northern border and the opening of sea trade, it shouldn't have made so much money, right?
The fact is, that's really all the money! And all the money spent by His Majesty is used for people's livelihood. He has neither built his own gardens or palaces, nor asked all regions to pay tribute to him with rare treasures that would waste people's money and labor.
Although building bridges and roads and connecting water conservancy projects cost money, after they are completed, they can boost the economy of prefectures, counties and towns, allowing the silk and tea from Shuzhong to be exported to the sea more efficiently and allowing the sugar and fruits from Lingnan to appear on the tables of people in the northern border.
Flowers and plants from Dianzhou became the raw materials for Yanzhizhai, lacquerware from Qianzhou became a hot commodity in Jiangnan, and paper from Bozhou and porcelain from Jiangyou were among the most popular commodities exported overseas...
Allow local people to do some side jobs to revitalize the countryside besides the farming seasons in spring and autumn, and realize that one road can bring prosperity to a village and one wharf can bring prosperity to a town.
So although the money invested in infrastructure in the early stage seemed to be a lot, the local business taxes were quickly collected back.
What followed after the officials of the Ministry of Revenue were slapped in the face was that Gu Changxiao felt that they could not keep up with the pace of national construction, so he specially sent the officials of the Ministry of Revenue to the countryside for training. Otherwise, if this continued, they would become a drag.
In short, the result was that all the civil and military officials in the court agreed that Han Xing should lead troops to Minzhou, but for the time being, they were to deal with the sacrificial issues in Minzhou and defend against pirates who landed on the shore. As for whether to formally send troops to Japan, it was to be determined.
But Jin Sui knew that it had actually been decided, which was next spring, because the wind was not favorable for sailing to Japan now. The reason why Gu Changxiao did not say it in the court was to give Han Xing and the navy time.
It was also to leak the news so that Japan could prepare in advance. Don't think that there are no traitors in this era. According to Yan Jiu, many local merchants in Minzhou have frequent transactions with Japan.
Merchants are profit-oriented. Some of them only care about profit and not their country. If the price offered by Japan is attractive enough, they will definitely be willing to be traitors.
Therefore, before Hanxing officially sends out troops, these spies from Minzhou must be lured out. In order to resist foreign aggression, one must first stabilize the internal situation. Only when the internal situation is stable can the navy go on an expedition with confidence.
Before Han Xing went to the expedition, he and Yan Shier Niang brought An An to the palace to meet Jin Sui. The general was going on an expedition, and it was a naval battle that had never happened in this dynasty. No one could tell whether he would live or die.
Han Xing came to entrust his wife and children to Jinsui, because he knew very well that His Majesty did not like the Yan family. If something really happened, the Queen would be the one who could protect Shi Er Niang and An An.
Jin Sui solemnly admitted that she would always protect Shi Er Niang and An An, so that Han Xing could go to Japan without any worries. At the same time, she searched for something to give to Han Xing in the space, but found that there was really nothing to give.
She taught Han Xing maps, telescopes, sextants, compasses, medicines, food, bean sprouting techniques, and even the desalination of seawater. It was said that the pirates did not bring fresh water when they went out to sea, but light wine that could be stored for a longer time.
Jin Sui also specially asked the Yan family caravan to go further north in the northern border to retrieve hops, successfully brew low-alcohol beer, and load it onto the ship as backup fresh water.
Of course, soldiers are not allowed to drink alcohol easily. This is a backup in case there is no fresh water.
There were also weapons such as gunpowder and fish oil, which filled Hanxing's ship.
Han Xing was one of the earliest generals to serve beside Jin Sui, so he knew very well that destroying the Japanese was the Queen's long-cherished wish, and he also assured Jin Sui:
"I will definitely live up to your Majesty's and Your Majesty's expectations, destroy Japan, and allow our Great Xia Navy to dominate the West Sea!"
The last gift Jinsui gave him was a photo of his family of three, which she made into a talisman for Han Xing to carry with him. This could ease his homesickness better than Twelve Niang giving him a hair sac, or carrying little An An's hair.
When seeing the photos, Han Xing and Shi Er Niang were amazed at Jin Sui's "painting skills", which were so ingenious and lifelike. Shi Er Niang said exaggeratedly:
"This doesn't look like it was drawn with a pen, it looks more like it was created by gods!"
If Liuyun were here, he would definitely say to Shi Er Niang: "You guessed it right! This is a magical method!" My senior sister has so many magical weapons!
On the day Han Xing set out, Gu Changxiao and Jin Sui took Shuo Ge'er and all the officials to the East China Sea Base to see them off, officially announcing to the world that Da Xia was officially going to the West China Sea! They also let the officials see our warships. It was quite funny to say that some officials who had never been to the East China Sea Base didn't react at first when they saw the warships for the first time.
He even asked people around him, "What island is that? I've never heard of it."
The other party sneered and looked at him amusedly: "You will know later."
Sure enough, after Gu Changxiao finished his morale-boosting oath to the navy, the navy officially boarded the ship, and the battleship started with the sound of the bugle.
Then the man's eyes widened with shock, his jaw almost dropped: "That, that's not an island! It's a battleship!"
"Haha, did you figure it out? That's right, that's a new type of warship produced by the military industry, which can accommodate a thousand people! Do you see those black holes? They are all gun muzzles."
"Our Great Xia warships are going to war, and they are bound to change the situation in the four seas! Let's let those pirates see that they are no different from monkeys in front of the Great Xia warships, holding knives and guns and swinging on ropes every day! Their old-fashioned warships can't even withstand a single shot from us!"
Now even the most conservative old censor feels proud of it. We should indeed go out to sea. Our Great Xia already has the strength to do so. We can't let such warships be hidden in the harbor forever and used as merchant ships, right?
In the past, Daxia did not attach importance to maritime power because the sea was too unstable compared to land, and the naval expenditure was too high. The income from the sea could not offset the military expenditure, so Daxia gradually gave up the navy.
But now the Ministry of Revenue uses the commercial tax at sea to tell everyone how high the profits at sea are! In the past, because the correct route was not found, merchant ships had a high risk of death when going out to sea.
Since the Queen Mother gave us the safe passage, maritime trade has been extremely profitable! Facing the provocations of the island countries at sea and the rampant pirates, if we still don't pay attention to the navy, we will be beaten to the land by those small countries sooner or later.
Awareness is something that comes naturally when one is strong. In particular, the gentry, due to the land reform, shifted their focus of interests from land to commerce. After seeing the huge profits of maritime merchants, they supported the emperor in building a navy more than anyone else.
The funny thing is, Han Xing had killed a lot of people in Chang'an before, and the powerful and noble families in Chang'an wanted to make voodoo dolls to curse him.
As a result, now that Han Xing has become a navy admiral, they hope that Han Xing can return with a great victory. There are really no eternal enemies, only eternal interests.
In the past, there were few post stations between Chang'an and Minzhou, so it took a long time for news from Minzhou to reach Chang'an. Now it is different, whether it is expedited by land for 800 miles or by water.
The official road was rebuilt along the way, mountains were blasted and ditches were filled, and a flat official road was built in Minzhou, which was more difficult than the Shu Road. Once the news came, it spread very quickly.
Ever since Han Xing set out on the expedition, the latest naval situation has been sent to Gu Changxiao's desk every day.
Gu Changxiao would pick out the key points. Jinsui said that, for example, the first thing Han Xing did after arriving in Minzhou was to demolish the local evil shrine. At the beginning, some people were bewitched by the evil ways and strongly opposed it.
But the female official who went to Minzhou with Han Xing distributed medicine and food to the people, calmed the people's emotions, and exposed the true face of the evil sect. In addition, Han Xing not only did not demolish the Dragon King Temple, but also funded the construction of a larger Dragon King Temple.
This gave the people of Minzhou, who had always been very religious, a spiritual sustenance, and successfully eliminated the evil ways and witches without causing a large-scale civil unrest. The second thing was to prohibit human sacrifice, and to use collective punishment.
If a village is found to be holding human sacrifices, the entire village will not be allowed to receive food and items from the female officials. The village that reports the incident will be given a very generous reward.
They also granted high-yield grain seeds, one year of tax exemption, etc., which were great benefits for the farmers.
The evil sacrifice in Minzhou was quelled at an extremely fast speed, and then the focus was on clearing out the pirates, as well as the merchants and nobles who had previously colluded with the pirates.
The land reform in Minzhou was not thorough, and the local heroes had more power than the court officials. But this time our Jade-faced Yama Han General has come to Minzhou and will completely change the world of Minzhou and bring a bright future to the local people.
Twelve Niang often brought An An into the palace. Jin An and Ying Niang were responsible for taking care of the children, including An An and Shuo'er.
Shi Er Niang and Jin Sui looked at the map of the Minzhou sea area and talked about the recent situation of Han Xing and the navy. Shi Er Niang felt that she had learned a lot of new knowledge, some of which she had never heard of before.
Especially after listening to Jinsui talking about things at sea, she also became eager to go out to sea with Hanxing.
Jin Sui was shocked. This girl once dared to go to the Northern Frontier alone and left An An in the palace. She took the Yan family's merchant ship to find Han Xing. She really could do such a thing!
Jin Sui quickly informed Yan Jiu secretly, "Make sure to keep an eye on your sister!" When Shuo'er was one year old, Han Xing had been in Minzhou for half a year, and good news came again. All the pirates in the South China Sea had been wiped out. In the past three months, no pirate ship dared to enter the South China Sea, and no pirate dared to land.
Gu Changxiao was about to praise the navy in the court when he suddenly received an urgent letter from Han Xing saying that an unidentified fleet had entered the South China Sea and our army was trying to find out where they came from!
Gu Changxiao and Jinsui didn't have to wait too long. When Han Xing's latest news came, it was accompanied by a familiar font, written like a dog crawling, with a word as big as a bucket, but it made Jinsui so excited that she almost cried.
"It's Black Tiger!"
She looked at the world map in disbelief, wondering how the Black Tiger, who had pursued the Hu people from the northwest and directly penetrated into the thirty-six countries of the Western Regions, could appear in the South China Sea by boat?
Up to now, three and a half years have passed since Hei Hu chased the Hu people from Chang'an! His son is old enough to go to kindergarten, but he has never seen his biological father.
Jin Sui couldn't wait to urge Gu Changxiao to read the urgent news. She was so excited that she slapped her thigh. Well, she slapped Gu Changxiao's thigh, so he held Jin Sui's hand to prevent her from getting too excited.
"Hei Hu is indeed a lucky general! He is a tiger general! I used to say that this guy is stubborn and obstinate. If you give him an order, you must make it very clear, otherwise he will do it in his own way.
Look, this is what our Black Tiger General understands. If you ask him to chase the Hu people, he will chase them to the end. "
It was not just a chase to the end, it was a complete chase! The Hu people who invaded Chang'an had already been killed by Hei Hu, but he didn't care.
You barbarians have captured so many of my people, killed so many Han people, and burned so many farmlands and state capitals. Of course, I must fight back and I will also invade your country! The Western Regions were originally in chaos. The area was not large but there were many countries. Although they had been watching the tiger fight from the mountain at the beginning, they hoped to destroy the enemy with the help of the black tiger.
In the end they discovered that this Han army was different from the previous ones and was too fierce, so they had to unite to resist.
But no matter they united or fled, they could not escape the pursuit of Black Tiger. There were two times when Black Tiger ran out of food and grass and prepared to return.
As luck would have it, the army sent by Gu Changxiao to deliver supplies just caught up. Maybe God was helping us. Anyway, Black Tiger successfully penetrated the thirty-six countries in the Western Regions.
All those small countries in the Western Regions with difficult-to-pronounce names will become the new borders of Daxia.
The pursuit really went all the way to Tianzhu. It was the Hu people who first ran to Tianzhu and fought with the Tianzhu army. The Hu people could not beat the Black Tiger, but they could beat the Tianzhu army.
When they defeated the Tianzhu army, Hei Hu came after them. He was killing the Hu people, but for Tianzhu, Hei Hu's army was like a savior from heaven! As a result, Hei Hu successfully annihilated all the Hu people, and he became a guest of honor of the Tianzhu emperor. The Tianzhu emperor was even afraid that he would destroy Tianzhu, so he gave him extremely generous gifts.
So Hei Hu was a stubborn person. His understanding was, I am here to kill the Hu people, but the Indians are not the Hu people! So he refused the half of the territory awarded by the Indian emperor to make him a king of a different surname, and even refused the beauties awarded, but he accepted all the gold and gems.
Then Hei Hu found that it was too troublesome to return by the same route. When the Emperor of Tianzhu heard that he was willing to return to Daxia, he was so happy!
Help him find a solution immediately. Since he doesn't want to return the same way, he can go by sea. A few years ago, a merchant caravan from Daxia came to India, and it is possible to go by sea.
Hei Hu was a very courageous man. He didn't even think about the risks at sea. He just thought that he could carry more things away by boat, and he wanted to bring them back to Da Xia to present to his boss.
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