Jingnan Strategy

Chapter 305 Zhu San’s suffering

"After one year, you have to pay more than ten kilograms of grain for summer grain, fifty or sixty kilograms of grain for autumn grain, and you have to do corvee for them..."

"Boss, you have to take care of me!"

In the field, listening to the complaints of the people, Zhu Gaoxu couldn't help but feel sad even though he was prepared.

It is true that land tax in the Ming Dynasty was a fixed amount, but the literal collection figure and the actual collection figure were often different.

In this era when it was difficult to cultivate scholars, there were only five nominal officials in a county. It was impossible to rely on five people to collect taxes. Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang allowed the county to accept 20 to 70 subordinate officials.

The salary of a junior official was not low, but it could not stop people's greed. Zhu Gaoxu remembered that he had written some stories in "The Collection of Hai Rui" he had read in his previous life.

If ordinary people want to do something, they need to give some silver coins as gifts to subordinate officials, so as to open up joints and avoid being made things difficult for them.

This situation started to appear in the early Ming Dynasty, and became common in the middle and late Ming Dynasty.

In yamen, large and small, both subordinates and officials have developed the habit of serving as slaves for many years. It is the old rule to suppress and buy cheaply, and it is the norm to take care of the people's needs when doing things.

In summer and autumn, when taxation and transportation are coming, it is another good opportunity for dirty officials to get their hands on things.

People who pay taxes often have to hand over an extra part of their money on the grounds of "fire consumption" to honor the officials in charge to ensure safety.

In addition, there were a large number of helpers who were squeezing the people. Because the number of subordinate officials originally stipulated in the late Ming Dynasty was no longer enough to govern a huge country, the emergence of helpers was inevitable.

A large number of unorganized helpers began to take orders from the yamen, and these people had no wages, so their daily life was to obtain profits by bullying the people. In addition, they colluded with the local gentry.

The relationship between the wealthy gentry and the subordinate officials can be regarded as collusion with each other, but the group of helpers who were organized are the lackeys of the powerful and wealthy households. This is one of the reasons why the late Ming Dynasty was never able to collect taxes.

Zhu Gaoxu knew the general tax issues of the Ming Dynasty, and the two years he came to this world to study with Zhu Yuanzhang made him understand some of the minor issues of this era.

Combining the two, Zhu Gaoxu naturally knew where the people's burden lay, but he did not expect that only thirty years after the founding of the Ming Dynasty, such symptoms as in the middle and late Ming Dynasty would already appear.

Looking at the old farmers and common people looking at him, Zhu Gaoxu knew that there were too many such people in the world.

He felt sad, but there was no way to get rid of them all at the moment because he didn't have that many replacements on hand.

"Jin Kui..."

"The mark is on!"

When Zhu Gaoxu spoke, an official from one hundred households beside him bowed in response, and all the farmers looked at them eagerly.

"Take a few brothers to Qilinmen to transfer some people. Investigate and punish the people you mentioned. Then transfer three brothers from Bohai to serve as grain chief, li chief, and Jiangning County boss. Don't let everyone be retaliated against. ."

"The brothers who are transferred will still be paid according to the original salary, and they will be promoted after two years."

"Yes!" Jin Kui bowed in agreement, and then trotted back to the official road, leading several brothers on horses towards Qilin Gate.

"Wait a minute, old man, I won't let you be retaliated against."

Zhu Gaoxu smiled and talked to the old farmers. At this time, no matter how slow the old farmers were, they knew that the person in front of him was probably not as simple as the boss. After all, he had just asked to replace the boss of Jiangning County. If he was just the boss, There is no reason to replace yourself.

Facing Zhu Gaoxu, who did not know his identity, everyone became more cautious for a while, and Zhu Gaoxu also took the opportunity to ask many questions.

During the exchange, Zhu Gaoxu had a deeper understanding of the burdens of the people in the pass in this era.

It has been several years since Zhu Yuanzhang migrated to the wealthy households. Those wealthy households who had migrated have purchased many fields in the outer city of Nanjing, and some people have even purchased fields outside the city.

Obviously, Lao Zhu's idea of ​​reorganizing their wealth failed to come true. Although most of the tens of thousands of wealthy households have become "common people" in the capital, there are not a few who took the opportunity to continue to expand their assets.

However, Zhu Gaoxu is not worried. After all, if you want to expand your assets in such an era, political donations are very necessary.

When the Liaodong students raise their heads, it will be time to settle accounts with the officials. The assets of these wealthy households will be confiscated and eventually divided equally.

Only in this way can the prosperous period of the Ming Dynasty be made longer, so that the talented students from Liaodong and Bohai can improve basic science and enhance national strength.

Zhu Gaoxu thought like this, and an hour passed.

When Jin Kui came over, the old farmers were relieved because they saw more than a hundred armored cavalry brought by Jin Kui.

Being able to mobilize the army means that the person in front of them is probably a big shot they will never see in their lifetime.

"Master, all the criminals have been detained for investigation. These are the three brothers who will be in charge of the village in the future."

Jin Kui came to the field with three scribes in their early twenties and wearing round collar robes. When Zhu Gaoxu saw this, he also said to the three of them:

"The three of you need to be diligent in the future. If anyone causes trouble for you, ask your brothers to report it to me, and I will solve it for you."

"Don't worry about the salary. You just need to do your duty, and then write me a memorial every month about the people's difficulties."

"Your Majesty..." The three of them bowed in agreement, and that title made the old farmers behind them dumbfounded.

"Long live your Majesty, long live long live..."

The common people didn't know the difference between "teaching" and "edict". When they heard these people professing their vassalship, they all thought Zhu Gaoxu was the current emperor and knelt down in a row.

"I'm not the emperor."

Zhu Gaoxu didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and then said to Jin Kui: "Take your brothers to escort them home after their farming. I will return to the East Palace first."

"Please rest assured, Your Highness!" Seeing that Zhu Gaoxu's identity was almost exposed, Jin Kui no longer hid it and bowed directly in return.

Seeing this, Zhu Gaoxu didn't say anything. After a few words of comfort to the old farmer, he returned to the carriage on the official road and recorded today's events in his book.

"Return to the East Palace."

As he spoke, the carriage and team also turned back towards the capital, leaving only the old farmer and the others watching from a distance.

Two hours later, as the carriage drove into the inner city, the time was approaching dusk, and the twilight drum of the curfew began to sound.

Listening to the sound of the drum, Zhu Gaoxu got off the carriage, changed into a golden chariot and entered the palace from the Donghua Gate, and then got off the golden chariot at Chunhe Highness.

Only when he entered the Chunhe Hall did he see Queen Xu and Guo Yan sitting together and chatting.

"My son, I pay my respects to my mother..."

Seeing Queen Xu, Zhu Gaoxu bowed five times and kowtowed three times, then stood up and walked to them.

"Going outside the city?"

Queen Xu saw the muddy edges of Zhu Gaoxu's shoes. She asked with a smile and said:

"I know what you did to clean up Gao Sui this morning. Your father came to me to complain. I think you did a good job."

"If your father and eldest brother hadn't doted on him, he wouldn't have done anything to you without knowing what he was capable of, and even said some stupid things."

Compared with Zhu Di's doting and favoring, Queen Xu can understand Zhu Gaoxu's thoughts.

She motioned Zhu Gaojiu to sit aside, and after he sat down, she explained: "I am not here today to talk about Gao Sui's affairs. I know you are confident, so I am here to urge you."

As soon as she said this, Guo Yan, who had been chatting with her all afternoon, blushed.

Seeing Guo Yan's red face, Zhu Gaoxu knew what was going on. For this reason, before Xu could speak, Zhu Gaoxu nodded: "Don't worry, mother, I will fight for it."

"It's not enough to just say it verbally. Emperor Taizu Gao inherited the Tang Dynasty system, so the prince can choose two attendants: Liangdi, six, Chenghui, sixteen, Zhaoxun, and Fengyi, twenty-four. ."

"I've been to your palace a few times. Apart from the Crown Princess, there are only two other ministers. It's really a few."

"You and the Crown Princess should pay attention first. When it comes time to choose a concubine for your father next year, the selection of attendants will be filled for you."

"I came here today to ask you what you like so that I can select one for you next year."

Just a few words from Queen Xu made Zhu Gaoxu feel empty.

It is true that he likes beautiful women, but years of dealing with government affairs have made him a little tired. If he really fills up the fifty-eight selected servants, he really doubts that he will follow in the footsteps of his elder brother.

"Just fill it up with Fengyi, but my son can't handle it all."

Zhu Gaoxu had no choice but to discuss with Empress Xu. Empress Xu only wanted to scare Zhu Gaoxu and had no real intention to find fifty-eight attendants for him, so she nodded with a smile: "Then I'll listen to you, just choose twenty-six more to serve as servants." , you first tell mother what you like."

Queen Xu asked curiously, and Guo Yan on the side also looked over curiously. After all, she and Zhu Gaoxu were in a political marriage, and she was not sure what Zhu Gaoxu liked.

"A slim but plump figure is enough. The height should not be less than five feet."

Zhu Gaoxu only asked for body shape. After all, the system of selecting concubines in the Ming Dynasty was perfected by Zhu who traveled all over the country. It can be said that it is an extremely perfect beauty pageant standard in itself.

From body to posture to appearance and voice, it goes without saying that Lao Zhu's aesthetics is good-looking. As long as any woman who can go through the steps of choosing a concubine in the Ming Dynasty, there is no unsightly one.

"Everyone else likes small and exquisite women, but you actually like tall women."

After hearing Zhu Gaoxu's words, Queen Xu looked at Guo Yan: "So you are a perfect match."

Guo Yan's figure has been established since she was seventeen years old. She is also five feet three inches (169cm) tall. She has inherited the genes of the old Guo family and rarely gets sick, so she is also liked by Zhu Gaoxu.

After all, he himself is just over two meters tall. If he were to find someone over 1.5 meters tall according to the standard, Zhu Gaoxu would really not be able to do it.

"Okay, I'm relieved now that I know what you like. You can live your life well, and I won't delay you anymore."

As she said, Queen Xu was not worried about Zhu Gaosui. Instead, she came to inquire about the concubine's request and then stood up to say goodbye to Zhu Gaojiu and the others.

Zhu Gaoxu and Guo Yan took her out of the palace and got into the carriage. They watched her leave before taking a detour to the front palace.

As Queen Xu said, Guo Yan has grown up. If Zhu Gaoxu gives birth to a grandson at this age, he will have time to bring him up. When the old man retires in the future, at least there will be someone to help him share the government affairs, so he can't sleep at night.

But when he couldn't sleep, Zhu Gaosui, who was carried to the teaching field, also couldn't sleep at all.

"Zhu Gaoxu, you straight mother-in-law!"

In the dark room, Zhu Gaosui could not help but curse secretly in his heart as he smelled the stench of sweat that almost made him suffocate.

At this moment, he was huddled on the fire bed with ten people. Although it was not very cold, the 'bad' environment made it difficult for him to sleep, not to mention the constant snoring next to him.

He wanted to leave after being carried to the training ground today. However, Li Shi, Li Qi and others who were told to him didn't care about his identity as King Zhao. They caught him and started training him hard.

Zhu Gaosui, who was limping after being kicked by Zhu Gaoxu, survived the entire afternoon amid the abuse from Li Shi and others during training.

He swore that this was the day he had been scolded the most in his life. Except for his parents and ancestors, every organ in his body had been scolded by Li Shi and others.

"You wait for my father to react. When he reacts, he will definitely..."

Full of hatred, Zhu Gaosui fell asleep unknowingly even though he hated the snoring.

"Beep--"

"Dang, Dang, Dang, Dang!" Early the next morning, when wooden whistles and gongs sounded, the soldiers on the fire bed got up one after another and put on their mandarin duck war jackets.

After being greeted by Li Shi and others, they didn't care about Zhu Gaosui's identity as King Zhao, so they stretched out their hands to shake him awake.

"Damn it, who woke me up?"

Zhu Gaojiu had a dream in which Zhu Di took him back to the palace and asked Zhu Gaojiu to apologize to him.

Just when he was about to hear Zhu Gaoxu's apology, the shaking of the soldiers woke him up, making him very angry.

It was only when he looked clearly in front of him that he realized that he was still in the military camp. What happened in front of him was just a dream.

"King Zhao, you will be punished if you sleep again."

"Hahahahaha..."

While the soldiers were dressing, they mocked Zhu Gaosui, causing Zhu Gaosui's face to turn blue and blue.

He had no choice but to get up and put on the mandarin duck jacket that was full of the smell of yesterday's sweat. He felt uncomfortable all over.

When he followed the team out of the dormitory and started to line up, his ugly appearance began to show.

Faced with the instructions to stand at attention and turn left and right, he behaved in an ugly manner, which attracted many people to laugh at him.

His face was so red that he could bleed. Li Shi and Li Qi, who came to inspect him, also saw his embarrassment.

"Your Highness won't be unhappy if you train him like this, right?"

Li Qi was a little worried, but Li Shi laughed heartlessly and said, "No, His Highness said, as long as you don't train him to death."

"Look, we waited all night, but we didn't get His Majesty's decree. This shows that Your Majesty also agrees with His Highness's approach."

"Anyway, as long as you can't practice to death, practice to death."

After Li Shi said that, he took Li Qi to inspect other dormitories. Zhu Gaosui, who had gone through separate training, finally understood the basic instructions and started running with the team to the playground.

However, once the team started running, Zhu Gaosui seemed out of place. Not only his steps, but also the swing of his left and right arms were unique among the team.

"Fortunately, he's not a slut."

On the school platform above the playground, Li Shi, who had returned here, glanced at Zhu Gaosui's team with his binoculars and said, "It's strange for you, why is it that of the three children born to His Majesty, His Highness is the only one who is as brave as any man?"

"You have to ask His Highness." Li Qi rolled his eyes at Li Shi, took a sip of tea from the cup, moistened his throat, and said at the same time:

"After the morning running, military formation drill and firearms training, King Zhao won't be tired and cry, right?"

"That's not the case, she's not a girl." Li Shi stood and spoke without back pain, but Zhu Gaosui on the playground was like a bellows at the moment, constantly taking big breaths, and his lungs and trachea were burning and uncomfortable.

"Hold on, there's only one more lap to go and it's only five miles!"

"Beep--"

The sound of drills and wooden whistles made Zhu Gaosui exhausted. He wanted to sit down and rest, but the big trainer really dared to beat him.

Whenever he stopped in the first four laps, there would be flying kicks on his butt and legs. No matter how angry he was, the only response he got was: "Do you think you are still King Zhao? You are just a big-headed soldier now!" "

After Li Shi's loud voice, everyone knew that Zhu Gaosui was demoted to the teaching field because of his fight with Zhu Gaoxu.

For the Jurchen Eight Guards who respected Zhu Gaojiu, it was a good thing that they did not kill Zhu Gaojiu yesterday.

Not to mention his little flag officer who wanted to give him a flying kick, there were at least 10,000 to 20,000 people in the entire teaching field who wanted to give him a flying kick.

"Don't wait for me to get out, I will kill you all when I get out!"

"Zhu Gaosui! Are you a bitch? You're a bitch!"

"Take a good look for yourself, how many people are waiting for you here!"

Before Zhu Gaosui's sinister idea could be realized, he was yelled at by Baihuguan, who had already reached the finish line.

For a time, thousands of people in the entire playground were looking at him. Even though Zhu Gaosui thought highly of himself, he could not help but lower his head under the gaze.

Gritting his teeth, he finally finished the five miles.

Before he could rest, the official of the hundred households immediately ordered: "Go and get the armor and weapons, and the army will conduct training in half an hour!"

"Yes--"

The response was deafening, but to Zhu Gaosui's ears, it was life-threatening news.

Gritting his teeth, he could only follow the team to collect the armor and weapons.

Half an hour later, when he stood in the military formation wearing more than fifty pounds of armor and holding a three-pound spear, he felt that his hands and feet were heavy, and it was very laborious to move around.

He once felt that he was quite brave, but after putting on this heavy armor, he immediately felt that he was not as good as an ordinary soldier.

This was his illusion, because he had never trained with armor on, and because he disliked food last night, he was training on an empty stomach at the moment, so he felt weak in his hands and feet.

"Zhu Gaosui, I heard that you dare to fight with His Highness?"

Baihuguan walked up to Zhu Gaoxu, looked at his blushing face, and couldn't help but taunted: "His Highness is a man who can fight hundreds of people in double armor. You have so little strength and you don't overestimate your ability to challenge His Highness? "

"It's none of your business!" Zhu Gaosui became furious as soon as he heard the news about Zhu Gaoxu. After all, it was all thanks to Zhu Gaoxu that he would experience such a thing.

Moreover, when he mentioned Zhu Gaojiu's killing of hundreds of people, Zhu Gaojiu only felt a dull pain in the place where he was kicked yesterday.

"Haha, do you still have the energy to curse? It turns out you're not an eggless bitch, so move faster!"

Official Baihu deliberately bullied Zhu Gaosui, but Zhu Gaosui always felt superior to others, so he gritted his teeth and trained.

After persisting like this for two quarters of an hour, when the whistle sounded at the end of training, he felt that his whole body had lost all strength and he lay directly on the ground.

Seeing that he was still breathing heavily, the people next to him didn't bother to pay attention to him. They just let him lie there for a quarter of an hour before the whistle started to sound.

"Beep--"

"Firearms training!"

The disgusting whistle and the voice of hundreds of household officials sounded. Zhu Gaosui could only get up in embarrassment, and then formed the formation according to the previous formation.

After he got up, he discovered that there were many wooden targets dozens of steps away, but he had no intention of caring about these. He just held the long gun and followed the steps of the training just waiting for the military order.

In front of him, soldiers holding strange weapons passed them and walked to the first row.

"Ready...beep!"

When the whistle sounded, the people around them started to use fire ropes to help them light the matchlocks. At this time, Zhu Gaosui already knew what their weapons were. It was probably the matchlock gun that Zhu Gaoxu could sing all the way south.

"Clap clap-"

For a moment, smoke filled the air, obscuring everyone's sight, and gunfire continued. After a long time, the musketeers in front began to retreat.

They passed by Zhu Gaosui and others and came behind them.

"Beep--"

The whistle sounded again, and all the spearmen stuck the ends of their spears on the ground and pointed them diagonally at the sky.

Zhu Gaosui also followed the example of the gourd and crowded together with the spearmen to form an airtight formation of spears.

Only when the smoke dissipated did Zhu Gaosui see the almost completely broken wooden target.

"Hiss..." Zhu Gaosui took a breath and couldn't help turning his head to look at the matchlock gun that was as tall as a person.

If he had this thing, no matter how powerful he was, wouldn't he be killed by a gun?

"Boom boom boom——"

Suddenly, the sound of artillery made Zhu Gaosui frightened.

He heard the sound and looked around, only to realize that there were hundreds of artillery pieces not far away.

They did not fire stone bullets, but conducted air-cannon training, but even so, Zhu Gaosui still had lingering fears.

During the training yesterday afternoon, he had already seen the artillery firing live ammunition. Every baggage truck was penetrated by them, let alone people.

"If you want to rebel, do you have soldiers? Do you have a team?"

For a moment, Zhu Gaojiu's words rang in Zhu Gaosui's ears, and then he realized how big the gap between him and Zhu Gaojiu was.

Thinking of the treasonous words Gu Sheng said to him, it seems so ridiculous in retrospect.

But even so, Zhu Gaosui still refused to accept Zhu Gaoxu. In his opinion, Zhu Gaoxu was just lucky.

If he was enshrined in Bohai, he might do even better than him, but he just doesn't have this opportunity.

"Hmph, let's see how I can win people over from you."

Zhu Gaosui glanced at the eight Jurchen guards around him with greedy eyes.

"If I could control this army, not to mention Zhu Gaoxu, even my father would have to talk to me..."

Zhu Gaosui was thinking about it, but he didn't even think about it. He dared to think this way, so what was the status of Zhu Gaojiu who actually controlled this army.

"Beep--"

"The training is over, return the armor and weapons, and eat in the cafeteria."

After the firearms training was over, Zhu Gaosui breathed a sigh of relief.

He was so tired that he no longer had the energy to curse, so he could only follow the team to return the armor and weapons, and then divided the teams to eat in the fifty canteens in the cathedral.

After queuing up with a wooden bowl the size of a human face, the military camp food that Zhu Gaosui regarded as dirty yesterday was now more delicious than the bear paws he ate in Prince Zhao's Mansion.

A pound of rice, a Yangtze river fish, a spoonful of fried vegetables, a small spoonful of chicken, and chicken soup with almost no foam on it made up his lunch.

Since all the chairs were occupied, he could only go to a tree and squat down, picking food into his mouth in embarrassment.

This was definitely the worst meal he had ever eaten in his life, but it was also the most delicious meal he had ever eaten in his life.

(End of this chapter)