The Soul of the Han Dynasty in the Late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 543 Repaying the Emperor's Grace

Chongzhen said: "I originally thought that the Marquis of Dongping would be able to make another windfall, but I didn't expect that he was not going to fill his own pocket at all, but let me take it from the people and use it for the people."

Wang Cheng'en said: "The Marquis of Dongping is actually better at management, the messy situation can't stop him from earning money, and he doesn't want to hoard and raise the price of grain to earn ill-gotten gains.

Blessed are the folks who dredged the river this year. Unscrupulous businessmen who hoarded grain in the past few months and wanted to sell it at a high price may not be able to do so. "

Chongzhen was awakened by Wang Chengen, and he secretly felt that there might be some deep-seated reasons for many scholars and bureaucrats to target Huang Han.

If Huang Han got tens of millions of shi of grain, he still adopted the method of charging [-]% interest for half a year to give Shengdou people quantitative loans for rations on a family-by-family basis. Businessmen who planned to make a fortune by pushing up grain prices would probably lose a lot of money.

The emperor is not stupid, he knows that businessmen are involved with both civil servants and military generals.He said:
"The South Canal, Wei River, and Zhang River are seriously silted up. Over the past few years, local officials have repeatedly petitioned the imperial court to ask the Ministry of Industry to take the lead in dredging the river channels. Why don't I want to do such a project to benefit the people, but where does the money and food come from?

Who should be sent to manage so that there will be no trouble?Hundreds of thousands of people gather at the Tiaohe construction site, which requires a strong army and a responsible general to manage, and Dongpinghou is the most suitable. "

Wang Chengen said: "Your Majesty is wise, Dongpinghou should know that he has offended many civil servants and generals by enclosing so many fertile fields. If it is not for the protection of the emperor, there will be no harvest in autumn. Therefore, he took the initiative to ask for relief with work."

Chongzhen was planning to deal with the bullying Huang Han, and confiscated part of the food along the way, but he didn't even think about swallowing the harvest, which was equivalent to offering hundreds of thousands of stones to the court.

Huang Han has this attitude. Of course, the emperor can't be a villain in vain. He knows that no one will make a fuss about those unowned land in the future. Even corruption is very aggressive, but unfortunately there are too few such talents.”

Wang Chengen heard the implication, and knew that in this way, no one would dare to ask for the land that Huang Han embezzled, so he immediately shut up obediently.

At this time, the emperor was actually feeling mixed feelings. He knew the benefits and risks. Huang Han's resettlement of refugees in Zhangde Mansion would win the hearts of the people, and then mobilize tens of thousands of people to pay for labor. Wouldn't the hearts of the people in more than a dozen prefectures and counties be destroyed by Huang Han? strive for?
Chongzhen really didn't ignore Shengdou Xiaomin, and he was willing to see the common people live and work in peace and contentment. After seeing Huang Han's memorials, he agreed again and again.

He issued a decree to strictly order the state capitals along the line to organize manpower and obey Dongpinghou's deployment, but he instructed officials at all levels to carry out propaganda with great fanfare, highlighting that the imperial court is the master of this project to benefit the people.

There is no need to pay for food, and those who participate in the work can still get food and money. The government is very active along the way, and it really does it with great fanfare.

Because dredging the rivers to facilitate transportation is the local government that benefits the most. Increased water storage in reservoirs, rivers, and lakes will also increase farmers' ability to resist drought.

The local officials personally dispatched yamen servants and subordinate officials to cooperate with Sheng Tianzi to initiate, the director of the Ministry of Industry, and Dongping Hou participated in the river-chasing movement to maintain order.

After receiving the imperial edict, Huang Han immediately took action. He was not stupid, and asked the magistrates to raise banners and banners.

The content written on the banners and flags is very simple, nothing more than "the emperor's grace is great, and work is used for relief." "Thank you, the Holy Son of Heaven, for the well-being of the people!" slogan.

The purpose of course is to emphasize that this time the labor labor is the money and food of the emperor's grace, and Dongpinghou is just an executor.

Flattering is a compulsory course for an official, and officials at all levels enjoy flattering the emperor. As expected, banners were flying on the Tiaohe construction site, and the slogan of thanking the Holy Son of Heaven resounded loudly.

There was no way to stop it, because the naughty Huang Han ordered that all the laborers must choose the flag or the slogan on the banner and roar at least three times when eating.

Soon, spies from Jinyiwei and Dongchang reported to their superiors what they saw, and Cao Huachun immediately reported how the common people were grateful to the Holy Son of Heaven.

Attitude is everything, and Huang Han's lack of credit is enough to prove his attitude towards the emperor. Listening to Cao Huachun's words that the common people sing their praises every day, the young emperor's worries eased a lot.

Because the managers sent by the local government may withhold the laborer's compensation, all food and wages are distributed by the "Red Banner Army" teenagers.

Through observation, they will organize the labor into ten people as the basic unit, select one chief for management, ten for a team of 100 people, select a chief executive, two deputy chief executives, three chief executives and one chief executive...

This kind of management is not created by teenagers, but is similar to the management model of the "Red Banner Army" including military servicemen. At that time, as long as the teenagers manage the leaders of Baizong, Bazong, Qianzong, etc., they can manage tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands. human effect.

After the formation of the organizational structure, the "Red Banner Army" only needs to convene a meeting of the leaders of more than a hundred captains to give orders, and the management is naturally much easier.

Everyone loves to be an official, and farmers are no exception. Moreover, the wages of the small heads who are selected are at least doubled, so there is no doubt about their enthusiasm.

A person who becomes a superintendent leads ten fellow villagers to work every day, and he himself will be paid ten cents a day more. arts.

These superintendents and hundred chiefs are all selected by fellow villagers, and decided after inspection by the young soldiers.

As long as it is not bullies and hooligans who have always run rampant in the village, as long as the people are not elected against their will because of fear, in principle, respect the choices of fellow villagers.

The yamen servants and subordinate officials sent by the counties and prefectures are basically appointed as temporary errands such as the general manager or the general manager, and they can get more than [-] yuan a day in remuneration.

The subordinate officials and yamen servants have a guaranteed minimum income in their respective yamen. When they come to the Tiaohe construction site to manage the labor they organize, since they do not handle the distribution of money and food, they will definitely not have the opportunity to intercept their own profits, but they can receive a manager's reward in a dignified manner. .

This is equivalent to income other than wages. The subordinate officials and yamen servants who were reluctant to come to the construction site to suffer, found that the "Red Banner Army" did not treat everyone badly, and immediately regained their energy.

I have never been able to get paid for laboring for the government. When the work first started, many ordinary people who were brought to the construction site by government servants and subordinate officials were unbelievable.

The youngsters of the "Red Banner Army" adopted the working method of giving benefits directly without talking nonsense, and paid three days' wages in advance to the laborers on the spot, so that everyone could eat potatoes and sweet potatoes according to their quota.

The ration is relatively sufficient, which can basically ensure that most of the strong laborers are [-]% full. This kind of practice is still for the sake of saving food, and it is also to prevent the young and middle-aged people who come to work from being full because of free food.

(End of this chapter)