Before hanging himself, Chongzhen lifted the table

Chapter 212 Talent comes out
When Emperor Chongzhen led his troops south along the canal this time, he no longer waved flags like last time. Therefore, the people in the prefectures along the way knew that the emperor was leading troops to fight again.

Officials along the way also rushed to the canal to meet him.

Emperor Chongzhen was not in a hurry. After hearing reports from local officials, he would also inquire about the situation in various places, especially farming and people's livelihood.

In Shandong, after the chief assistant Fan Jingwen led the [-]-strong Beijing battalion to disperse and suppress the bandits, after more than a year, the thieves, big and small, were basically eliminated.The promotion of sweet potatoes has also been accepted by the general public. In the months before harvest, when food is scarce, sweet potatoes will be used as a substitute, and the ways of eating them have begun to vary.

It can be said that the food problem in Shandong has basically been solved.

Of course, the most critical reason why it took less than two years to basically solve the food problem was that we actually reached the largest landowner in Shandong, the Kong family in Qufu.

All the fields of the Kong family were collected as official fields and then distributed to the common people for farming.In the first year, there was no tax. Therefore, the enthusiasm of the local people was greatly aroused. All farmland was planted as quickly as possible, and the grain obtained was also used by them.

Starting from the second year, taxes will be collected, and they will be collected according to the taxes stipulated by the government, rather than based on the rent collection ratio randomly set by the landlord.For the people who farm, the burden is also greatly reduced.

Measuring land across the country is a very complicated matter, and it may take one or two years to complete it, depending on the situation in each place.

More institutional reforms must be carried out on this basis.This was also during this period of time when Emperor Chongzhen was more inclined to lead his troops on an expedition and first put down the bandits.

When he led his troops to Yangzhou Mansion, he received the warmest welcome from the local people.

On both sides of the canal, people spontaneously gathered to welcome him. This was a sentiment left over from the last disaster relief effort.

Naturally, Shi Kefa also came to meet Emperor Chongzhen and report the salt affairs of the previous year to Emperor Chongzhen.

The salt field method is not complicated. After its promotion, salt production has been greatly increased, so the price of salt is very low, but it cannot support the large sales. Therefore, the income from the sales of salt last year alone was as much as 200 million taels.Shi Kefa also predicts that there will only be more this year.

And he also reported to Emperor Chongzhen that refined salt was also produced and sold in Yangzhou. The price would be much higher, the profits would be higher, and the sales volume would be quite large.

Emperor Chongzhen was very pleased with this and immediately confirmed his approach.

After ensuring the most basic needs of the people, it is an ideal model to carry out tiered sales.

This Shi Kefa could not lead troops to fight, but he could still do things according to orders.

After leaving Yangzhou, Emperor Chongzhen arrived in Nanjing, but encountered something bad here.

First, some people blocked the road and complained, saying that the local government failed to act and allowed evil officials to oppress the village and commit lawlessness.

Then the local officials complained, saying that they really didn't dare to take care of it, and even if they reported it to the police, there would be no results.

Emperor Chongzhen stopped in Nanjing and had to deal with this matter specifically.

The reason why the matter finally reached the imperial court was related to the emperor's attitude.

Most of the disabled and retired soldiers were placed in local government offices in the capital and Nanjing.

Most of these people who were originally soldiers were uneducated, and many of them were even injured when they were recruited from bandits and then went to war on the battlefield and had to quit the army. The habit of being a gangster is still there.

Although most people keep to themselves, there are some who start from making small mistakes and slowly run amok in the yamen and the local area because the emperor values ​​them.

The local officials did not dare to offend them. Even the superior yamen, including the Nanjing garrison eunuch, heard about it and turned a blind eye.

In general, this kind of thing is also easy to understand.When the emperor was furious, he would definitely kill them as a warning and deal with this group.

However, Emperor Chongzhen did not do this.Although these situations are factual and easy to figure out, he still stayed for nearly half a month. Not only did he send Jin Yiwei Xiaowei out to investigate, but he also strictly ordered the Nanjing garrison eunuch to find out the ins and outs of each matter.

Because this matter is related to one of the welfare of the army and the fundamentals of Emperor Chongzhen. Even if things are done in accordance with the law, if too much is done to the army, the fundamentals of Emperor Chongzhen will not be as strong as before.

As long as you work hard, you can grind an iron rod into a needle!
After half a month of investigation, Emperor Chongzhen basically understood the overall situation of disabled soldiers.
Speaking of which, it is actually a battle of interests.

The officials and servants who worked in the yamen were basically passed down from generation to generation. Although there is no explicit regulation, this has always been the case.

The reason why it has been passed down from generation to generation by the local people is also because the local people are familiar with the local conditions and can handle all kinds of things with familiarity.

Now, the emperor has decreed that in the future, these jobs will be replaced by disabled or retired soldiers, and what was once considered labor service will no longer be considered labor service and will be paid.This is tantamount to affecting the interests of the original local people, so naturally it is impossible to just let it go.

However, this is the emperor's order. They can't resist on the surface, so they can only come here to do it.

For example, most of them are local snakes. They first use tricks to make it difficult for disabled soldiers to do their jobs, and then make friends with them. It is easy for these people to treat them as real friends.Unknowingly, they are tempted to make mistakes through words and the like, causing public outrage.

Those local officials actually didn't like the emperor's innovation, so they would deliberately condone this kind of thing even if they knew about it.

On the surface, no one opposed the imperial power at all, but the actual result was that most of these disabled soldiers were in trouble after they arrived.

Of course, in addition to this reason, it is also related to the quality of disabled soldiers.

Not only do they have the habit of being gangsters, and their pre-recruitment tactics will be revealed, but it also has something to do with the fact that they are basically illiterate and need the help of local gangsters in daily affairs.

In fact, Emperor Chongzhen had a manual that summarized the work of these people, and they were assigned to local yamen only after training.

However, specific local affairs are ever-changing, and some people are simple-minded and may not be able to adapt.

Based on the investigation, Emperor Chongzhen did not say that this innovative policy should be abolished. Instead, based on the facts and the legal measures, he finally ordered people to compile these criminal incidents into a book and prepare to distribute it to all armies as a warning. .By the way, Emperor Chongzhen issued a decree to the capital.

Regarding the matter of disabled soldiers and the change of written examinations from competitions in various industries, in summary, the literacy level of the people in the Ming Dynasty was too low, and the prince was asked to take the lead in formulating a charter that could quickly popularize education for all.

He did this to show the army: Look, as an emperor, he is so worried about your welfare.

In addition, he also asked the court to do the work first, so that he could know how difficult it was.If the court can come up with a solution, that would be the best, and he doesn’t need to worry about it anymore. If he can’t come up with it, or he is really not satisfied with it, then he can come up with a solution to simplify pinyin and Chinese characters, which will make him appear to be a wise and powerful emperor. , far more powerful than these people in the court.

After finishing this matter, Emperor Chongzhen continued upstream along the Yangtze River and headed to Guizhou to lead the troops in the war.

At this time, it was already July of the 20th year of Chongzhen, and the news that the capital was going to hold a competition in ten industries had spread to all the states across the country.Many people are gearing up and want to try it.

At the head of a mountain village in Fengxin County, Nanchang Prefecture, Jiangxi Province, not far from the door of a house, a stream winds past.There are many green bamboo forests inside and outside the house, which rustle when the breeze blows.

Inside the house, there is a two-story attic next to the bamboo forest.Near the window on the second floor, an old man was writing furiously, with many manuscripts placed beside him.

In the quiet environment, the sound of carriages and horses suddenly sounded.After stopping at the house, two middle-aged men walked towards the house. They quickly entered the door and went straight to the second floor of the attic.

The younger one spoke as soon as he reached the second floor: "Dad, my eldest brother and I are here to see you. We want to try the capital."

The older one, after hearing this, said: "Dad, when it comes to miscellaneous studies, my second brother and I believe that no one else can compare with me and my second brother under my father's influence. If we go to Beijing, there are ten professions I want to try them all. Maybe it would be good to be among the top three."

The younger one hurriedly added: "We don't want to be officials, we just want my father's years of hard work not to be in vain. If I can win the emperor's attention, at least my father will not have to be so stretched when writing books in the future!"

These two people were very confident in what they said, because their father was none other than Song Yingxing, who wrote a series of miscellaneous studies. Many of his works have been lost in later generations, including "Yi Yi" and "Tiangong Kaiwu". , "On Heaven", "On Qi", "Si Lian Shi".Among them, "Tiangong Kaiwu" is most famous. "Tiangong Kaiwu" does not stand alone, but is part of Song Yingxing's writing series.

It's a pity that although he was a juren, he had no money to publish his book because he had been writing it for a long time, so he was able to publish it with the help of his friends.

These two middle-aged men are his sons, the eldest son Song Shihui, also known as Jingsheng, and the second son Song Shiyi, also known as Chengsheng. As a servant of his, he studied at the same school as Xue Xue.

At this time, Song Yingxing was a little curious when he heard what they said, so he put down his brush, rubbed his wrists, looked at his two sons and asked: "What about going to the capital to try, what about miscellaneous studies, what on earth is going on?"

When Song Shihui heard this, he realized that his father had been writing books behind closed doors in the countryside, so he had never heard of the fact that he became the number one scholar.

So, he introduced it to his father. At the end, he assured with confidence: "Dad, most of today's scholars only read four books and five classics. How much miscellaneous knowledge can they know at the last minute? My second brother and I are really confident, at least Get top three in farming, smelting, and carpentry."

In fact, he was already being conservative.

Generally speaking, scholars only read the Four Books and Five Classics, which basically require imperial examinations, and rarely read other books.

Of course, those who have passed the exam may also read other books, such as medical books.

However, people who have passed the imperial examination will not care about this industry competition.Those who will take the exam are only those who have not yet achieved fame, or are scholars at the level of young students or scholars.

After Song Yingxing heard what his two sons said, his eyes shone. After confirming that this was absolutely true, he made a decision and said: "Go, everyone, go, dad will go with you!"

Upon hearing this, the Song Shihui brothers couldn't help but be dumbfounded.

Their father was going to go too, which they didn't expect.

Because Song Yingxing had already obtained the title of a civil servant in the imperial examination, but he had never been able to pass the imperial examination.The candidates who come out of the imperial examination are definitely much better than the fake candidates who come out of this kind of industry competition.Generally speaking, no one is too free to take the exam for this industry competition.

Song Shihui said hesitantly: "Dad, if you also participate, I'm afraid you will be criticized!"

No matter what, even if there are ten industries, they are actually only the top three in each industry, and the number of places is limited.If someone takes the exam, it will definitely cause dissatisfaction among others.

Seeing the expressions of the two sons and hearing the words of the eldest son, Song Yingxing said to them excitedly: "This is something that has never happened before. It shows that the current emperor is wise and powerful and understands the importance of all careers. Dad is not interested in his personal future. I only hope that I can have the opportunity to meet the current emperor and explain what I have learned in my heart, so as to benefit the people of the world."

After hearing this, Song Shihui understood that his father had been focusing on miscellaneous studies since he failed several times in the imperial examination. He would definitely not miss this opportunity.

So, he said to Song Yingxing: "Dad, if the three of us have to go to Beijing, the travel expenses..."

It's a long way from Nanchang Prefecture to the capital, and the cost of a round trip is beyond the reach of ordinary people.

Song Yingxing heard this and said without hesitation: "It's okay, dad can just borrow it!"

Hearing this, the two brothers Song Shihui were very happy. Now the father and son are going to fight together!
At the same time, on the edge of Taihu Lake in South Zhili, a fishing boat docked, and a man who looked like a doctor got off the boat. With a hint of confidence, he said to his wife and children on the boat: "You go back first, if this time If you are one of the top three in Chinese medicine, I will come to take you to Beijing."

This doctor was none other than Wu Youxing, a famous doctor in the late Ming Dynasty, with a good calligraphy.He had been hiding in Taihu Lake for the past few years. Therefore, in the 17th year of Chongzhen, people everywhere looked for this famous doctor who was praised by the emperor but could not find him.

As peace began to prevail in the past two years, news slowly spread to Taihu Lake, and Wu Youxing began to contact the outside world.It's just a pity that the limelight of searching for him has passed by this time, so no one thinks of him.Of course, this is also related to his not dealing with the government.

After learning that the capital was going to hold a medical competition, and the top three would be considered as fake candidates, he wanted to give it a try.So he said goodbye to his wife and children and went to Beijing.

There are actually many like him.It can be said that people with lofty ideals from all over the country are gathering in the capital.

In early September of the 20th year of Chongzhen, Emperor Chongzhen finally arrived in Zhenyuan, Guizhou.

(End of this chapter)