sbdcsierra Chapter 86: Drawing a Big Pie in the Sky for Kangxi
Chapter 86: Drawing a Big Pie in the Sky for Kangxi
Kangxi naturally saw the pained expression on his son's face, but he had no choice. Since he didn't plan to use the national treasury's money to build the reservoir, he had to pay for it himself. But how could the little money in his private treasury be enough? The oil mill was a profitable business. Even though Yinzhuo only received 30% of the profits, it was still a considerable sum. Right now, he was short of money, so he naturally had to spend it wisely.
"Don't worry, once this is over, Khan will return the money to you double."
Well, this pie in the sky looks pretty good, but Yinzhuo felt he couldn't digest it at all. You know, such a big country has so many places where money is needed. They say they'll repay him double, but where will that money come from? If his father knew how to make money, he wouldn't be eyeing his pittance right now.
After much deliberation, Yinzhuo concluded that there were essentially two paths for a country to become prosperous and powerful: one was to increase revenue and reduce expenditure, thus enriching the people; the other was to wage war to plunder others. When it came to plundering wealth, the first thought that came to Yinzhuo's mind was to persuade Kangxi to conquer that country that was living a comfortable life. Before the discovery of the Americas, the United States was the world's largest producer of gold. Before the 18th century, the West called the United States the Treasure Island. If he could persuade Kangxi to send troops to conquer the United States, not only would he no longer have to worry about gold and silver, but he could also avenge the grudge a hundred years later.
The thought of this made Yinzhuo somewhat excited, but he quickly calmed down because he soon realized that persuading Kangxi to send troops to attack Xiao Rizi would not be an easy task, since Kangxi was currently putting all his effort into fighting Galdan to the death.
But then he thought, just because it doesn't work now doesn't mean it won't work in the future. You see, ever since his father defeated Galdan, he's basically done nothing of substance for the next twenty-odd years. He's been spending his days suspiciously fighting with his son, which has completely ruined his group of exceptionally capable brothers. He figured that since his father is so irresponsible, he might as well set him up as a target, so that his brothers can relax for a couple more years.
"Father, I wonder what your opinion is of Japan?"
Although Emperor Kangxi did not know why his son had suddenly changed the subject to Japan, he still thought about it carefully and replied.
"Japan is the most fickle country. Its people are very lowly and do not know the existence of kindness and friendship. They are only afraid of military might. Therefore, we must not show them any kindness."
Yinzhuo had seen this phrase countless times while scrolling through Douyin in his previous life. At that time, he thought that Kangxi's evaluation of Xiao Rizi was truly insightful. Now, sitting next to Kangxi and watching him say these words with a furrowed brow, Yinzhuo felt even more directly Kangxi's dislike for Xiao Rizi, the country.
"What you say is true, Father. That's just how Japan is. To quote one of our ancestors, they know small etiquette but not great righteousness, they are concerned with trivial matters but not great virtue, they value minor details but disregard integrity and shame, they fear power but do not cherish virtue, the strong will inevitably become thieves and bandits, the weak will inevitably become subservient! The reason they are now bowing down to our Great Qing is because we are stronger than them. If we become even slightly weaker, they will probably be the first to pounce on us and bite us."
Kangxi thought to himself, "Weren't we just talking about the lack of money? How did we suddenly turn to this? What does this have to do with Japan?"
"Yinzuo, why did you suddenly bring up the matter of Japan with me? Weren't we just talking about building a reservoir?"
Yinzhuo himself knew that he had jumped a bit too far in the topic. He was just thinking about how to bring up money again, but he didn't expect Kangxi to hand him a ladder.
"It's because we need to build a reservoir that I thought of Japan. I read in a book that Japan, due to its unique geographical location, is lacking in resources like coal, iron, and crude oil, but rich in minerals like gold, silver, sulfur, and copper. The small island is dotted with over four hundred gold mines and over two thousand silver mines, not to mention numerous copper mines. Father, aren't you short of money? Why don't we send troops to conquer this small country? Then, whether you want to build a reservoir or wage war, you won't lack money. Besides, I've heard that although the people of Japan are short in stature, they are incredibly hardworking. If we take that island, we can capture some people and have them build the reservoir for us. This would not only exempt our people from corvée labor but also save us a lot of money..."
Kangxi looked at Yinzhuo, who was getting more and more excited as he spoke, and whose smile was becoming brighter and brighter. He shook his head helplessly. He could not deny that he was indeed very interested in the minerals that Yinzhuo mentioned, but it was not such an easy thing to wage war against foreign countries.
“Yinzuo, your idea is quite good, but sending troops is no small matter. Besides, the Qing Dynasty is not at peace right now, and Galdan has not been dealt with yet.”
Yinzhuo didn't expect to persuade Kangxi all at once. He was just testing the waters first. Anyway, his father would be short of money for a long time to come. He could persuade him later when the national treasury was completely empty due to the officials' generosity.
"I understand your concerns, Father. I am well aware that rashly launching a military campaign against a foreign power is extremely risky. What I said earlier was twofold: firstly, we are currently short of money, and Japan happens to have abundant gold and silver reserves. Taking it would allow us to use those reserves; secondly, Japan's current strength is far inferior to that of our Great Qing. Now is the best time for us to take it down, otherwise, if it grows stronger in the future, it may become a major threat to us. Father, your considerations are certainly more comprehensive than mine. Anyway, we are not in a hurry now. We might as well deal with Galdan first and then deal with Japan slowly."
After hearing Yinzhuo's explanation, Kangxi nodded slightly, and couldn't help but ponder it for a moment.
“What you say makes some sense. However, Japan is isolated overseas. Even if we were to attack, we would need to make thorough preparations beforehand. Also, our Qing navy hasn’t fought any major battles for many years. So there’s no rush. We can plan for the future when we have more time. Right now, our biggest enemy is Galdan of the Dzungar Khanate. How to quickly deal with him is the most urgent issue.”
Although Kangxi didn't say it explicitly, based on Yinzhuo's understanding of him, he could tell from his thoughtful expression that his father was probably eyeing the mineral resources on Xiaorizi Island. He had previously worried that Kangxi had no intention of attacking Xiaorizi Island at all. Now, he was relieved. As the saying goes, it's not the thief you should fear, but the one who has his eye on you. Now that Kangxi has his eye on it, when he's desperate for money and sees such a big piece of meat right there, wouldn't he want to take a bite? At that time, he probably wouldn't need to persuade him; he would send troops to collect the money himself.