Rebirth of The Deer and the Cauldron, Wei Xiaobao Becomes a God

"Humph, even if that's the case, you should report it to the court first, instead of making the decision on your own and allowing him to confiscate your property at will!"

Kangxi looked at the Fujian officials kneeling on the ground and shouted angrily: "And you officials, are you just going to listen to Wei Xiaobao's words? Hand over the stolen silver just like that. These are the money of the Qing Dynasty!"

"Your Majesty, we had no choice. The situation was urgent. If we didn't hand over the money, it would have angered the rebels and led to more killings." The governor answered tremblingly with his head down.

"Enough! You are a bunch of useless people. You only know how to eat, drink and have fun on weekdays, but you are useless at the critical moment! I will never let this matter go and I must get to the bottom of it!" Kangxi slammed the table in anger, scaring all the ministers to kneel down and beg for mercy.

In the afternoon, Kangxi and Wei Xiaobao sat at the negotiation table. It was called a negotiation table, but it was actually the reception room of the Governor-General's Mansion, with two main seats at the top and two rows of chairs facing each other at the bottom.

Kangxi sat at the first seat on the left, followed by the governor Wu Xingzuo, the provincial governor, the inspector, and the governor of education.

Wei Xiaobao sat in the first seat on the right, followed by Zhu Youli, Ling Zhao, Princess Jianning, Shuang'er and others.

"Your Excellency, the Grand Commander of the Heaven and Earth Federation, the delegation I sent to Ryukyu to form an alliance is still sailing on the sea, but you can't wait to send troops to occupy the entire Fujian Province. Are you intentionally provoking a war between the two sides?" Kangxi took the lead, with a hint of questioning in his tone.

"Your Majesty the Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, please don't misunderstand. It was not us who initiated the war, but your country's Fujian Governor Yao Qisheng. He attempted to launch a sneak attack on our concession in the Jinxia area while the main force of our navy was recovering Dongzhou Island. Therefore, in order to avoid a head-on conflict with your side, my remaining troops chose to transfer to Fujian." Wei Xiaobao explained calmly.

"Sir, you are leading a force of over 10,000 people to station here. How can it be explained simply by 'changing guard'?" Kangxi frowned and questioned dissatisfiedly.

"Your Majesty is absolutely right. This matter is indeed not a simple one. Your country's 70,000 troops have huge daily consumption, and I can hardly afford their expenses for food and horses." Wei Xiaobao responded frankly, with helplessness on his face.

When Kangxi heard Wei Xiaobao mention the 70,000 troops, he knew he was threatening him, but he still suppressed his anger and asked, "Then just tell me, what do you want us to do to release the 70,000 Qing troops and withdraw them from Fujian?"

Wei Xiaobao touched his chin, thought for a moment and then answered, "According to the rules of the underworld, you usually have to pay money to ransom the kidnapped people. One thousand taels of silver per person, seven thousand people is seventy million taels of silver. Seventy million taels of silver, not a cent less. If you pay me, I will withdraw my troops and release the people."

Kangxi sneered and asked, "What if I don't give it to you?"

Wei Xiaobao shrugged and said indifferently: "Then your majesty, don't blame me for being rude. I will continue to keep these 70,000 Qing soldiers and let them stay in Fujian for a few more days. As for when they can go back, it depends on your majesty's wishes."

Kangxi frowned and thought to himself. He knew that Wei Xiaobao was a difficult character, and if things really got out of hand, it would be bad for both sides.

So he slowed down his tone and said, "Can we not be so distant? After all, I am still your uncle. You can both call me uncle. Let's propose new terms. You know that the Qing Dynasty has no money, otherwise it would not have used the concession to pay for the last mercenary army."

Seeing that Kangxi's tone softened, Wei Xiaobao stopped arguing and said in a gentle voice, "Brother-in-law, you are straightforward. You know my brother-in-law very well. But before you put forward the conditions, I think you already know about the smuggling of the Hai Gang!"

Kangxi's face darkened, and he responded with a hint of dissatisfaction: "I know, you have collected so much silver, but I haven't told you about it yet, but you..."

Wei Xiaobao interrupted Kangxi and said anxiously, "Your Majesty, please don't get excited. Let me finish what I have to say before you speak."

Kangxi took a deep breath, calmed himself down, then waved his hand to signal Wei Xiaobao to continue.

Wei Xiaobao cleared his throat and began to narrate: "Your Majesty, you know that the best wine of Ryukyu Daqu only sells for 500 taels of silver at my place, but the sea gang smuggles it over and sells it for 5 taels of silver, which is a hundred times more.

An ordinary mirror costs ten coins here, but it costs one tael of silver when smuggled into China, which is also a hundred times more.

Soap costs five cents in my place, but in China it costs a hundred times as much, for five hundred cents.

There are also many items such as flowered cloth, clothes, water bottles, porcelain basins, perfume powder, etc. that China simply cannot produce. Smuggling them over can bring a hundred times the profit. That’s why the Hai Gang makes a fortune from smuggling. "

"What does this have to do with me? You have confiscated all the property of the Hai Gang, and all the money earned over the years went into your pocket."

"This has a lot to do with you, Your Majesty. If you don't move the borders and ban the sea, and prohibit free trade, then smuggling will not be able to make huge profits."

"Whether smuggling can make a profit has nothing to do with me, nor does it have anything to do with the court. Moving the border and banning the sea is a national policy that Emperor Shunzhi has already formulated, and it must not be changed at will."

“There may not have been a connection before, but now there is a close connection.”

"What exactly does this mean?" Kangxi asked in confusion.

"If you open Fujian to the outside world, you provide the land, and I provide the capital and technology, we can build a factory in Fujian together to produce various items needed for people's daily lives. What do you think of this idea?"

"What is opening up?" Kangxi asked in confusion.

Wei Xiaobao thought for a moment and replied: "This is just like the Qing Dynasty opening up the three ports of Shanghai, Guangzhou and Ningbo, allowing foreigners to come to these ports to engage in trade activities and collect taxes through customs.

However, Fujian's opening up was not limited to trade, but also included the construction of workshops and factories, recruiting those who had lost their land and those who suffered from disasters to work in the factories, and paying them wages. Taxes could also be collected from the sale of goods produced.

For the Qing Dynasty, this approach brought many benefits. I will briefly mention five points:

First, you can get dividends by investing in land;

Second, it can solve the livelihood problems of disaster victims, refugees and landless farmers, thereby maintaining social stability and avoiding rebellion;

Third, most of the raw materials needed for production are provided by farmers, such as using grain to make wine and using cotton to make cloth, which can increase farmers' income;

Fourth, these goods enrich people’s daily lives and improve their quality of life;

Fifth, with the prosperity of commercial activities, the Qing Dynasty’s tax revenue will increase accordingly, and the country’s financial situation will improve.

With so many benefits, why not do it? "

After Wei Xiaobao finished speaking, he looked at Kangxi calmly.

This time, Kangxi seemed to have really listened to Wei Xiaobao's words, but deep down in his heart he still could not completely eliminate his vigilance and doubts about Wei Xiaobao.