Before hanging himself, Chongzhen lifted the table

Chapter 208 Catfish
In fact, regarding matters on the Shaanxi side, Chief Assistant Fan Jingwen has already entered Tongguan and is handling matters on the Dashun Army side.

But after all, it was related to such a large place and population, and Emperor Chongzhen happened to be nearby and planned to return to the capital.After all, it has been almost two years since he led the troops on the expedition in the second half of the 17th year of Chongzhen, and it is now the middle of the 19th year of Chongzhen.

Generally speaking, this is unimaginable for an emperor who has been away from the capital for two years.However, Emperor Chongzhen had no choice but to lead the army to conquer it himself.The world is unfair, even sitting in the Forbidden City is useless.

Emperor Chongzhen had given instructions on the principles of matters related to the handover of Qin, so he did not need to worry about most things.

There was one point where even the chief minister couldn't make a decision, so he had no choice but to report it to Emperor Chongzhen.

Speaking of which, it is actually a land issue.

The territory and land of the Dashun Army were all redistributed.Most of the original powerful landowners were overthrown by the Dashun Army, and there were no one left, so there was no controversy.However, there are also some powerful landowners who escaped before. Now that they heard that the imperial army had recovered Shaanxi and other places, they came one after another and wanted to get their houses, land, etc. back, which caused conflicts with the existing owners. .

In this regard, one of the methods Fan Jingwen proposed is that if the original owner has clear evidence to prove that the house and property belong to them, then they must return it to them.If you can't produce evidence, you can't return it to them.

Fan Jingwen said in the report that this method had solved some problems, but there were still some dissatisfied with him, saying that he favored the bandits and wanted to impeach him.

Shaanxi and Henan provinces are basically controlled by the Dashun Army. In other words, such things happened during the handover in these places.Together, even the first assistant of the Ming Dynasty will be under a lot of pressure.

He had no choice but to report it to the emperor.

Emperor Chongzhen sneered at this.There are some things that just take this opportunity to rectify and let them understand the importance of abiding by the laws of the court.

Therefore, Emperor Chongzhen issued an imperial edict and provided principles for solving such matters.

Land ownership is determined based on tax payments over the years.The reason is very good. Those who pay taxes in accordance with the law will be protected by the court and their ownership will be recognized; if taxes are not paid, it will be useless even if you take out the land deed, and you will even be held accountable for tax evasion.

There are many disasters in the world, and the imperial court is unable to provide disaster relief. The root cause is that taxes cannot be collected and the imperial treasury has no money.Those who evade taxes must be severely punished.

At this time in the late Ming Dynasty, the most common thing among powerful landlords was tax evasion, thinking of various ways not to pay taxes, and to transfer taxes to ordinary people.

Emperor Chongzhen took advantage of this and basically beat back most of the powerful landlords.

As for the house, it is simple.Zhu Yuanzhang established a etiquette system at the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China, which stipulated who should live in a house of what specifications. Otherwise, it would be over the limit and would also be punished.

However, starting from the middle of Ming Dynasty, this rule was tacitly violated by everyone.However, Emperor Chongzhen made it clear that the law still exists, and acting in accordance with the law can still make the powerful landlords suffer.

Of course, the current owner must have exceeded the limit.As a result, mansions and compounds often end up being confiscated, and no one can get them.

These things, after Emperor Chongzhen gave the principles, it was still Fan Jingwen who carried them out.

Emperor Chongzhen went all the way to Xi'an and found that the population of both Shu and Qin was greatly reduced.Many houses in villages and towns are not full of people.The nearly 20 years of natural and man-made disasters in the late Ming Dynasty, as well as military disasters, caused great damage to the local area.

Severe droughts still occur, but due to the sharp decrease in population, the remaining people can still barely survive.

After walking all the way, Emperor Chongzhen decided to transfer Zhang Guowei to Qin to build water conservancy projects, which would be able to fight against natural disasters.This matter of cement should be left to the craftsmen to experiment with.This is a great tool for infrastructure construction. Next, water conservancy projects and roads will be built across the country, all of which require the use of cement.

In addition, the planting of sweet potatoes should also be promoted in the areas formerly controlled by the Dashun Army, which will help the local area recover faster.

When Emperor Chongzhen arrived in Xi'an, Chief Assistant Fan Jingwen led all the troops under his command, as well as Gao Guiying, Tian Jianxiu and other generals from the Dashun Army to greet him.

No matter what happens, all the generals under Fan Jingwen's command have the attitude of a victor, and they should be high-spirited.

As for the civilian and military generals of the former Dashun Army, although the emperor had given instructions on how to arrange them, they were still a little uneasy after all.At this time, if the emperor turns against him, they will have no power to resist.

Think about it, the Dashun Army is the largest rebel force in the world.In the past, it was understandable that the emperor might have made good promises to reassure the people.However, there is also the possibility that the world will be settled and the emperor will settle accounts later.

These people are still a little scared about their future.

However, when Emperor Chongzhen saw them coming to greet them, he first said to Gao Guiying: "I am very happy that we meet again, no longer on the battlefield. The world can be at peace as soon as possible and the people can live and work in peace and contentment. Your contribution is not small. .”

Hearing this, Gao Guiying immediately remembered the first time she met the emperor. It was during the Battle of Daizhou, right?

Thinking of the past, it really made her feel a little sad.

At that time, you would never have imagined that today would happen, right?
Nowadays, among the earls who stand among the military officers of the imperial court, there is also her biological brother.

Thinking about this, she glanced at her brother, and then quickly and respectfully replied: "The sinner is really frightened, please forgive me!"

The local officials of Dashun Army will not stay in their original posts, but will be transferred to another court.As for senior officials, the emperor has not yet made arrangements.Therefore, Gao Guiying currently has no status in the court.

When Emperor Chongzhen heard what she said, he smiled slightly and said, "I have said that your contribution is not small, so I specially grant you the title of Uncle Taiping, which is a first-class uncle. You can live in the capital, enjoy glory and wealth, and you can also do things for the court, and Let me know what you are good at!"

No matter what, Gao Guiying was originally the queen of Dashun Kingdom, and she had the merit of surrender. Being granted the title of earl was only an extra salary payment every year, but it could reassure people's hearts and was still a good deal.

When Gao Guiying heard this, he immediately expressed his gratitude and quickly thanked him. Then he replied to Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, I have been doing some work in the army's food and grass management. I must have some experience. I am willing to serve the imperial court to repay your kindness."

Emperor Chongzhen listened, nodded and said: "In this case, I appoint you as the commander-in-chief of the baggage camp. You will first follow me back to Beijing to plan the logistics for the battle to conquer Liaodong."

The condition of Dashun Army is not to face Li Zicheng and others.Therefore, the only war they can participate in is the war with Liaodong Jianlu.Therefore, he said this.

After hearing this, Gao Guiying felt relieved and immediately accepted the order to thank him.

After dealing with the queen of the Dashun Army, Emperor Chongzhen then turned to look at Tian Jianxiu, the remaining general of the Dashun Army.Seeing this, Tian Jianxiu immediately stepped forward to wait for the order.How to place him is definitely a very interesting issue, and everyone is looking at it with curiosity.

I only heard Emperor Chongzhen say to Tian Jianxiu: "I came all the way from Shu to Xi'an and saw that here in Qin, the people live and work in peace and contentment, and the local governance is in order. I would like to ask you, are you willing to serve as the governor of Shaanxi for the imperial court and still help the imperial court govern? Shaanxi?"

Tian Jianxiu was very surprised when he heard this.The governor was a high-ranking official in the border area. He must have been in the imperial examination and had many years of official experience before he could be appointed.However, Tian Mixiu was just a bandit.No matter how much he thought about it, he never thought that the emperor would actually make him governor of Shaanxi!
Therefore, when he heard this, he was stunned.

After hearing this, Chief Assistant Fan Jingwen quickly stepped out to remind Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, the governor is related to the military and political affairs of a province. You must have many years of experience as an official in the court to be qualified."

After hearing this, Tian Jianxiu came back to his senses and felt that it was natural.

The only way for a rebel like him to be recruited was to be a military general. I had never heard of anyone becoming a civil servant, especially a feudal official.

However, Emperor Chongzhen listened and asked Fan Jingwen: "What did you say, after serving as an official in the court for many years, you can be a good official in the border areas? Then I ask, why is the world in chaos?"

Fan Jingwen: "..."

This question cannot be refuted at all.You said it was because of natural disasters, and controlling natural disasters was also within the scope of the feudal officials.If the governance is not good, then the ability is not good.

The world is in chaos, this is the result. Even if your theory is extravagant, it cannot change the facts.

You can’t say that it’s just this generation of unruly people, right?Even so, the rectification of unruly people is still the responsibility of the feudal officials.

Fan Jingwen was stunned for a while. After he came to his senses, he had to remind the emperor from another angle: "Your Majesty, after the imperial examination system was established during the Hongwu period, all civil servants who served as frontier officials were from the imperial examination. This is the norm! "

After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen replied decisively without thinking: "So what? It doesn't matter whether it's a black cat or a white cat, a cat that can catch mice is a good cat. For me, the one who can manage the place well is a good territory." Officials. The imperial examination system established by Emperor Taizu has proved to be incompatible with the current situation after 270 years of development. Therefore, the imperial examination system cannot stabilize the world, leading to chaos. Therefore, I have decided that the imperial examination system must also be reformed. !”

At this point, without waiting for Fan Jinwen to speak, he added: "Emperor Taizu also gave instructions on this when he asked me about it in a dream."

Fan Jingwen: "..."

The emperor said everything he needed to say, so that he had nothing to say.

If the imperial examination system is reformed, it will affect scholars all over the world, and it will also affect scholarly families like them. It can be said that it will have a great impact.

Generally speaking, no one wants to modify something that is already available.Because then they have to adapt again.

However, the world belongs to the emperor, and they are just ministers.Once the emperor made a decision, the ministers basically had no way to resist.

Therefore, the officials of the Ming Dynasty used the ancestral system to suppress the emperor, which would be of some use to the emperor.

As a result, on the side of Emperor Chongzhen, everyone said that Emperor Taizu agreed, so even the ancestral legal system could not suppress the emperor.

This also forced them to believe that what the emperor said must be true.Because they all witnessed with their own eyes that Emperor Chongzhen was originally mediocre, but under the guidance of Emperor Taizu in a dream, he not only bravely defeated the three armies, but also became wise and powerful. In less than three years, he basically pacified the world. , suddenly turning the danger of national subjugation and species annihilation to the road of world peace.

Who dares not to believe what the emperor says!If Emperor Taizu really gave guidance to his descendants, then the transformation of the current emperor is simply unexplainable!

At this time, Emperor Chongzhen saw that Fan Jingwen was no longer talking, so he turned to look at Tian Jianxiu and asked seriously: "I see that you are governing Shaanxi in an orderly manner, and I intend to reuse you to continue to govern Shaanxi and benefit the people of Shaanxi. How? ?”

After hearing this, Tian Jianxiu felt a little hesitant because he was afraid that he would not do well and live up to the emperor's expectations.For a moment, I was still a little hesitant.

When Emperor Chongzhen saw it, he shouted again and asked: "What, are you afraid of being laughed at if you don't do well? Where did your original energy for rebellion go? Are you just so cowardly?"

Upon hearing this, Tian Jianxiu blushed immediately and immediately accepted the order: "Your Majesty treats you so kindly, I will definitely do my best to live up to your Majesty's high expectations. If Shaanxi is not managed well, I will not do this." It’s gone to the head!”

When Emperor Chongzhen heard this, he smiled and said: "Okay, I will watch and see whether it is better to govern the place where you are born in a wild way, or whether it is better to govern the place where you are born in the imperial examination?"

This Tian Jianxiu is like a catfish put into the fish pond, which is a kind of whip for the officials in the court who are all from the imperial examination.

In Shaanxi, from the grassroots level to the governor of a province, all officials are from Yeluzi.They have governed the local area for about two years before and have some experience in governance.

In this way, if they are compared with other places, they will not suffer a loss. It just depends on who manages it better!

Emperor Chongzhen personally arranged for the two most senior people in the Dashun Army and gave them good treatment, which could be regarded as stabilizing the middle and upper levels of the Dashun Army.

After passing Tianxing Zhang Tianlin's place, now the recruitment mission has been truly completed. As he wished, he was transferred to the Biaoying camp directly under the imperial court as a staff general.

After Emperor Chongzhen stayed in Shaanxi for nearly a month, he led Huang Degong and Wu Sangui's troops to leave Shaanxi, exited Tongguan and entered Henan, then entered Shanxi from Kaifeng, went all the way north, passed Yanmen Pass to Datong, and then transferred to Xuanfu. Juyongguan returned to Beijing.

He walked on this road for nearly two months.

It has to be said that there is still a severe drought in the north, and the fields in many places are dry and cracked.It is difficult for people to drink water, let alone use water to irrigate farmland.

Fortunately, it is good here in Shanxi. The efforts of Zhang Guowei and others in farming have been very different over the past few years compared with when Emperor Chongzhen first led his troops to Shanxi.

This illustrates the truth that if there are no man-made disasters, there may not be human tragedies!
Building water conservancy projects can help to combat drought to some extent.The popularization of sweet potatoes has also allowed the people to have food supplements in addition to the staple food. They will not eat book covers and Guanyin soil, let alone cannibalism.

Therefore, Emperor Chongzhen transferred Zhang Guowei to serve as the governor of river transportation in Henan and Shandong provinces, responsible for the construction of water conservancy projects in these two provinces, especially the management of the Yellow River, which was a top priority.

In late November of the 19th year of Chongzhen, Emperor Chongzhen finally led his troops back to the capital.

(End of this chapter)