Upon returning to the government office, the merchants tightened their belts one by one, then collectively engaged in underhanded tactics: dismissing employees and closing their shops. Dismissals due to lack of business were considered legitimate, and as long as an extra month's wages were paid, the authorities wouldn't pursue the matter.
Many merchants were willing to spend a little more money to lay off their laborers. This resulted in 10,000 laborers losing their jobs in Tianjing City.
And it just so happened to be right after the autumn harvest. Merchants in Tianjing were laid off, and the surrounding cities of Jiujin followed suit, causing a wave of layoffs of 80,000 laborers.
A total of 80,000 people. Local governments were immediately put on the defensive.
When Si Xitong learned of this, she contacted Wei Zhao to utilize the infrastructure project. She was willing to accept lower wages, mainly for providing meals. The wages would be paid that same day.
Local officials immediately contacted laborers to travel to various places to repair roads, and the laborers, instead of being grateful to the government for hiring them, began to hate the unscrupulous merchants.
The pressure of 80,000 laborers was instantly relieved. It is estimated that many new roads will be completed before the Spring Festival.
The merchants had only intended to vent their dissatisfaction with the imperial court, but they hadn't expected the court to already have a solution. They even made an example of the shops that had maliciously gone on strike, since some shops hadn't hired anyone and hadn't paid a month's wages.
They merely imitated the style in name only, leading to many shops engaging in malicious copycatting. Furthermore, many of these shops were general stores, easily shut down by the imperial court, making it a perfect opportunity for the government to profit. First, they fined a number of shops, shut down and auctioned off others, and then began selecting conscientious merchants.
These conscientious merchants all belonged to the Gongsun family. The imperial court intentionally granted them a plaque, raising the bar for some merchants and causing many to deeply regret their decision.
Wu Qiu had just handed over the 5 million to 300,000 taels of silver when he heard that the merchants dared to act so disrespectfully towards the imperial court.
I also heard that His Majesty personally hired 80,000 people to repair roads and canals.
He couldn't help but laugh at the merchants who were trying to pull off some underhanded tricks: "Times have changed. Trying to use petty tricks will only lead to a heavy price."
Si Xitong immediately invested the money in the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of War.
Xie Lanzhi's Ming Suan Men calculated the overseas accounts for Si Xitong, namely that the total value of the cannonballs on that ship was one million taels.
It can be said that this battle was not won, but instead, a million taels of silver were spent.
Si Xitong has 70 million taels of silver in the national treasury that can be used immediately, and there is not much silver left to hold back.
Xie Lanzhi came for the sake of the national treasury. She made a special trip to the Xie clan in the morning to persuade clan members to donate money to support Xieji.
The Xie clan naturally stood up to support their own people, so she immediately raised 20 million taels. The clan's assets now total 500 million, but she can only use 300 million; the remaining 200 million is collective property of the Xie clan.
She won't move.
Thinking that she could use 300 million, Xie Lanzhi couldn't help but marvel at the Marshal's power, which could expand to the point that one person could hold 60% of the wealth.
The remaining 200 million will have to be divided among the Xie family's five million members. By the time it reaches the bottom ranks, there won't be much left. Over the years, she has conquered considerable territory; although most of the Xie family members have been incompetent and lost some ground, she has still managed to retain the key positions.
Especially the Xie family merchants. Now, the Xie family merchants are not only the main merchants of the Central Alliance, but also the top merchants covering the four Southeast Asian countries.
She believes she can recoup the 300 million she took within five years.
Xie Lanzhi transported 320 million taels of silver to Si Xitong's national treasury.
When Si Xitong heard about this, she suppressed the urge to go find Xie Lanzhi. She wiped her eyes and continued working.
The potential threat of opportunistic merchants taking advantage of the situation has been largely contained. The national treasury is now full again. Now it's time for them to retaliate.
Si Xitong sent someone to deliver a crimson tiger-head plaque to Wei Zhao and Wei Gong.
Wei Zhao and his apprentice were very surprised to receive the tiger-head plaque, and they went to find Lu Qing and Aza.
When Lu Qing heard that His Highness had used the highest token she had set up for the Five Great Gates, she asked incredulously, "Lord Wei, is it really so serious that we have to withdraw the untested semi-finished product for use?"
Aza also expressed his lack of confidence, saying, "The Marshal's diagrams are too advanced; there are many that I haven't been able to decipher, so how can I operate them?"
"Isn't it too hasty to use them now? I heard that the Xie family has already sunk a ship in the open sea. They should be able to deal with the pirate group."
Wei Zhao understood Si Xitong. He said, "In my opinion, it's not a half-finished product; it's already extremely powerful."
Wei Gong, the only official of the Mohist school, remained silent despite his genius.
Lu Qing still disagreed, feeling that the weapon was too unstable.
Aza, however, is not recommended.
The group started arguing, leaving the Vice Minister sent by Wu Qiu somewhat embarrassed and standing there. The Vice Minister of War, Lü Qing, was still waiting for the Ministry of Works to deliver the goods; their Ministry of War was transporting the weapons to the Delta.
As a result, the group leaders themselves started arguing.
They argued for about half an hour.
Wei Gong had already taken out two straight, intersecting iron pipes and clamped them on both sides of the cannon. Wei Zhao was dumbfounded when he saw this.
“Gong’er, you…”
Wei Gong finally spoke up: "The iron pipes can be pieced together, which should reduce some costs."
Wei Zhao decided to test the cannon, and he ordered someone to bring it out and fire it directly. The familiar explosion sounded, and the target shattered. After firing the first shot, a huge shell casing fell smoothly into the pipe. Although it was only half full, it could be easily retrieved by someone.
His eyes lit up, "It seems to have worked!"
Although it wasn't as sophisticated as the marshal's drawing, capable of ejecting itself, at least the spent cartridge case managed to come out smoothly through a makeshift opening on the side.
"Quickly replicate them according to Wei Gong's method, the more the better," Wei Zhao immediately ordered the craftsmen of the five major gates.
The craftsmen inspected the cannons that Wei Gong had hastily assembled. Then they drew up plans and rushed to complete the work.
Lu Qing and Aza, standing nearby, had been staring in disbelief for quite some time. They couldn't help but give Wei Gong, who remained silent, a thumbs-up: "A genius!"
Aza was also a master of imitation. Through his hands, even the most complex cannons could be mass-produced. Add to that Lu Qing's copying of her husband's gunpowder and her own year of learning to refine new drugs, and the power of the shells was greatly increased.
Lu Qing was almost stunned by what she saw.
Meanwhile, after Wang Zheng and Xie Fu advanced into the Southern Region, they discovered that the 1,000 people in Muye had been increasing their numbers by 1,000 every night since the day before yesterday, and now there were 3,000 people.
Three thousand men could occupy little land, but Mu Ye had taken Shi Yang hostage and sent Shi Yang's confidants to fabricate a proclamation to appease the people, thus calming many of them down.
After entering the city, Makino killed some people but stopped killing. His subordinates, however, started a killing contest within the city, which was utterly outrageous.
Wang Zheng calculated the map and found that Muye's army was mostly gathered in the disputed area between Yue and Shi, including an enclave that led to the Central Alliance.
Wang Zheng sensed something was wrong: "Shafer, do you have any way to contact Xie Guang in the enclave?"
Shaffer said, "Unfortunately, our men will surely die if they go in."
"I just hope it won't turn out like I suspect, otherwise, we inland will be in for a lot of trouble." Wang Zheng knew that the situation in the outer seas could still hold out for a while under Xie Ji's control, but the situation in the Central Alliance was different. There weren't even many of the useless Type 94 cannons here. Their strength was negligible, and they were close to Tianjing, making them an important outer defense for Tianjing.
If the outer defenses are breached, Makino's men can then head straight for Tianjing... Three thousand men might not be enough to break into Tianjing, but what about ten thousand?
An attack on the emperor's territory would affect the entire situation in the Central Plains.
While Wang Zheng was still worried, an iron ship carrying a thousand people had already infiltrated the enclave.
The thousand men had just landed, led by the pirate Hans, on an enclave surrounded by mountains on three sides. The next moment, cannon fire rained down on them.
The pirates scattered.
The iron ship's cannons immediately opened fire, bombarding the nearby mountain valleys. Before they could even see anyone, another barrage of fire destroyed the remaining plank road.
Xie Guang, hiding in a stone cave, felt the earth shaking outside, and mud kept falling from the makeshift military tent.
His head was covered in mud, and he couldn't help but brush it off, only to have more mud fall off. It was like dandruff that couldn't be brushed off cleanly.
"These pirates always go to remote places." Xie Guang was somewhat glad that the marshal had sent him. If it were any other general, they might not have been able to hold the line.
Taking advantage of his terrain, he used only one Changhong cannon to drive the pirates away, preventing them from coming up.
The centurion next to him was incredibly happy.
"It's time to get the gunners on board. We can't let them get away."
Xie Guang couldn't help but drool when he thought about the thousand guns and fifty thousand rounds of ammunition the marshal had given him: "Our team is worth ten thousand men. What do we have to fear from pirates?"
"They'll be here soon."
Xie Baihu said speechlessly, "You'd better cherish this opportunity and not be careless again."
Xie Guang's voice suddenly rose: "Who said I was careless? I've been trained."
He did receive training from the Imperial Guard in the Jiujin region. At that time, the Imperial Guard would send firearmsmen to practice every month and teach them how to raise and aim their guns. Although they could only fire one shot each time, it made many people familiar with firearms.
Xie Baihu was somewhat skeptical.
Xie Guang quickly proved himself right. When the pirates discovered the cannon position and tried to destroy the cannons, they discovered that the cannons had already been moved to another location and were temporarily not being fired.
Hans, who had just landed at the foot of the cliff, was immediately subjected to artillery fire. He could hardly believe that the people of the Central Plains had been so clever as to fortify this place. It was clearly a barren land that would be easily overlooked.
Hans took off his pirate hat and said, "After landing, we conquered two countries in one fell swoop. We thought the people of the Central Plains were nothing special, but we didn't expect to encounter an artillery force this time. I have to say, these people of the Central Plains are truly resourceful."
Some pirates were even bandits from the Central Plains who defected to them.
The bandit quickly replied, "Commander Hans, although the people of Yue and Shi are also from the Central Plains, they are just small countries."
"The true great power of the Central Plains still lies with the Xie family and the Imperial Guard of Tianjing. I think the people in front of us must be soldiers from the Xie family."
"The Xie family?" Hans remembered this surname from the Central Plains. He immediately ordered everyone to try to climb the mountain from the foot of the hill, determined to capture the enclave.
Of the thousand men who landed, fifty were killed in the bombing. The rest rushed down the mountain. This time, they didn't even need cannons; ordinary stones were used to blast the pirates off the mountain. Some of the stones were even tied with traditional cannons. The stones not only didn't hold the pirates down, but they also blasted them to pieces.
The pirates were so frightened that they retreated to the shore. The attack from above stopped abruptly. It was as if they were being played with; it was extremely cunning.
The pirates, who had previously avoided the rocks, now felt a chill run down their spines at the sight of them: "Mr. Hans, these Central Plains people are far more cunning than we imagined, unlike those pigs from the Shi Kingdom."
"Let's retreat. Tell Commander Makino that we hope he can find another way to enter the Central Alliance."
"Even if we manage to break through, the plank road above will have been destroyed."
Hans looked through his binoculars at the boardwalk and saw that it had been destroyed, but the spiked bridge above it was still there, and it could still be crossed if a temporary structure was erected.
However, the artillery power and weaponry of this enclave had exceeded his expectations.
"Retreat!" Hans led the remaining seven hundred men out of the enclave.
While still in the capital of the Stone Kingdom, Mu Ye received news that he had failed to capture the enclave. His face darkened: "When did the Central Plains acquire such powerful cannons?"
Hans said, "Judging from the distance, it should be about two thousand meters. I didn't expect that the Central Plains still has such an advantageous cannon."
"Commander Makino, it seems the information you've gathered is outdated."
Makino gave him a cold glance, and Hans immediately shut his mouth. Foreigners are known for their bluntness. Now that he was facing obstacles, he had to start considering the consequences.
Because their advance into the two countries was so successful, they gained the misconception that the Central Plains were fragile and easily defeated by their crude cannons.
However, they soon paid the price. Even though there were only three hundred men, Hans considered them all his compatriots who had come from afar. It wasn't Makino's own people who died.
Hans's words carried a hidden meaning: "Commander Makino, your plan ends here. It seems that the goddess of victory is not on your side."
Makino suddenly gave a deep laugh: "Hans, you're feeling sorry for your compatriots? That's just womanly sentimentality. Once you were hired by the commander, you had no choice in the matter."
"Commander Makino, what do you mean by this?" Hans asked. "Do you intend to continue the attack?"
Makino turned around and said, "Since we can't get in through the side gate, let the God As Legion come."