Emperor Ming Dynasty

Chapter 623 Scholars Are Cheap
"The Ming army has finally moved!"

Kunming, Dianwang Mansion, Sun Kewang raised his head, his eyes were vicissitudes, and there was a hint of gloom.

The long beard was combed meticulously, the messy long hair became smooth, and the cheeks became more plump.

There were dozens of maids serving at the side, but Sun Kewang felt that it was not enough.

After being named the Queen of Qin, she pretended to be the emperor, and even stipulated that the word "Qin" should be added before the title of all government offices. Jianchang's Daxi court was reduced to a decoration.

What makes him most regretful is that there is no palace in Yunnan, and the castration technique is unqualified. After many attempts, the castrated boys always die, so they can only stop abruptly.

Without eunuchs serving him, he always felt uncomfortable.

The huge harem with hundreds of people makes people feel uneasy.

"My lord, now that Ming thieves are attacking, the court is unstable!"

Qin Wang Changshi and Yang Changzhi, who regarded himself as a prime minister, said anxiously: "For the present plan, the only way is to gather troops and horses to Kunming to fight to the death with the Ming thieves."

"Confused—" Although Sun Kewang enjoyed a lot of wealth and honor, he still kept a little calm after all. Years of combat experience told him that this kind of thinking can only wait for death.

"As long as troops are sent to guard the official road, the Ming army will not be able to enter."

Wearing a loose royal robe, Sun Kewang remained dignified, but the cold sweat on his chest and back made him uncomfortable even though it was silk from Suzhou.

"Let Bai Wenxuan lead the troops to Qujing. We must stick to the official path. As long as we survive the summer, the Ming army will naturally retreat when the autumn rains come."

Back then, Zhu Yuanzhang's 300,000 army swept through Yunnan after breaking through Qujing.

The old road from Pu'an to Guizhou (also known as East Road, Pu'an Road), commonly known as Huguang Pu'an Road, was the most important road between Yunnan and the Central Plains in the Ming Dynasty.

In the early Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang expropriated hundreds of thousands of military households, built this official road from Guizhou to Yunnan, and set up a series of thousands of households and military settlements along the way.

Also because of this road, Guizhou Province was established during the Yongle period, so the main population of Guizhou is basically distributed near the official road.

From Kunming to Qujing, leading to Anshun and Guiyang in Guizhou, entering the territory of Huguang, and then passing through Huangshui Station and Bianshui Station to Yuanzhou (now Zhijiang County), a total of 1890 miles from Yunnan to Yuanzhou.

Sun Kewang raised his head, looking at the prominent and wealthy Qin Palace, he was a little lost for a moment.

Starting from Mizhi, he wandered for more than 10 years and finally gained a firm foothold in Yunnan.

Under the pressure of the Ming army, he tried his best to expand the army and increase the production of resources.

Ordered more than 3 captured barbarian and Ming troops to garrison fields, with an annual income of [-] million stone grains; increased commercial taxes, encouraged the ancient tea-horse road, with an annual income of one million taels; weakened chieftains, collected materials and money to enrich the palace, resulting in the accumulation of nearly tens of millions of precious stones , Fur.

Other things like encouraging farming and building dams, just like his foster father Zhang Xianzhong, he listened to the words of scholars, as long as they had sincere opinions from scholars, he would do it, and then he learned some policies of the Ming army, which became a hodgepodge.

However, even though he worked hard to make Yunnan Da'an, just last year, in the Enke he held, he couldn't get [-] places and even [-] candidates, which made him lose face.

"Is the Ming Dynasty that good?" Sun Kewang's eyes were full of puzzlement, and he murmured: "Even if it's giving women and money, they don't want it, and they don't want to be officials. They only think about the Ming army in Guizhou hundreds of miles away. .”

"Students are really cheap."

After cursing, Sun Kewang ignored Yang Changzhi's expression and said distressedly: "Open up the treasury, let the military households who are stationed in the fields rest, put on their armor, pick up their weapons, and go with me to fight Ming thieves."

"Your Majesty, those villages used to be from the Ming army..."

"Then what's the matter, my adoptive father was also in the Ming army before, didn't he still kill all the rebels?"

Sun Kewang said in a deep voice: "I finally understand that scholars have many eyes, and only those warriors are reliable."

"Tell those villagers that I will allocate fifty acres of land to each of them, and when the Ming army is defeated, another fifty acres will be allocated, allowing them to be free—"

Yang Changzhi was stunned, and stammered: "Your Majesty, this is all our fields."

"I'm reluctant to let the child catch the wolf."

Sun Kewang gritted his teeth and said: "When we are defeated, we will have nothing. It is better to divide the land first."

"Where is Jianchang, do you need to notify me?"

"I'm all Ming soldiers here, how can I live in Jianchang? I'm afraid the Sichuan soldiers have already been fully prepared, or have already started."

Sun Kewang's actions shocked the whole of Kunming.

The count of 100,000 people was moved, and everyone rejoiced:

"Master Wang is coming—"

Merchants need goods from Huguang and Jiangnan; scholars want to participate in the imperial examination; gentry look forward to peace and progress.

Only the farmers were calmer.

Whether it is the imperial court or the king of Qin, they are the ruling class for them, and they have to pay taxes, and no one can escape.

Accumulated over the years, it explodes in one day.

In the Qin army, there were 160,000 cavalry, more than 300,000 well-trained veterans, [-] ordinary infantry, and [-] barbarians, a total of [-], and [-] were claimed.

For this reason, Sun Ke hoped to recruit more than [-] civilians to deliver military food and materials.

Bai Wenxuan first raised [-] elite soldiers, with [-] infantry in front, guarding the gate of Kunjing.

Sun Kewang led the rest of the troops behind him later, thinking that he would press the formation.

However, he said that in Guizhou, after a year and a half of farming, with the help of Lingnan, Guiyang has accumulated grain and grass with millions of stones, which is enough to start a battle.

Zhu Meng appealed to the imperial court as early as last year, and after the summer harvest, that is, in early June, he regained Yunnan, which had been occupied for many years.

This time, Zhu Meng mobilized [-] Ming troops, including [-] elites, [-] infantry, [-] barbarians, and [-] infantry conscripted from Guangdong and Guangxi.

The force is about [-].

Compared with Sun Kewang, it is not enough, but the advantage lies in the cavalry. There are more than 5000 people, all of whom are elite cavalry with one man and two horses.

However, even if Zhu Meng tried his best, he only asked Guizhou to conscript 100,000 people to transfer grain and grass.

It can be said that at this time, the controlled population of the imperial court was only over one million, and this little corvee almost made the whole of Guizhou run on the road.

"After this war, I must ask His Majesty to exempt Guizhou from taxes for three years."

Zhu Meng made a promise.

As the commander-in-chief of Guizhou, Li Dingguo felt incredible about Sun Kewang's huge military strength, and said with a headache:

"Yunnan is full of passes, and cavalry is of little use. We must make a quick decision this time."

"Although I don't know where Sun Kewang got so many soldiers and horses, but if he hasn't been in battle for several years, he is definitely not as good as our army."

Zhu Meng looked at Li Dingguo who was in deep thought, and said with a smile: "And don't forget, people in Yunnan are in Ming, not in Sun. This is our greatest advantage."

Li Dingguo doesn't have a cold about people's hearts, and the army's heart is the key to everything.

"Duke Qian will arrive tomorrow, so don't be late."

(End of this chapter)