Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 208 Gentlemen don’t have a good life
After encountering the night attack, Jia Lian became more and more cautious. He marched every day not for speed, but for stability.

Yunyangfu has many mountains and forests. The trees on both sides of the road have almost been cut down, but the bushes are growing happily.

It's fine during the day, but what about at night? You know, the biggest rebel group in Yunyang at the moment is a miner, and they know how to play bomb!
Except for sulfur, which is difficult to get, everything else can be made from local materials. Who knows how many possessions have been accumulated in these almost two years, and how many times can it be bombed?

After walking for five days, Jia Lian finally saw Yunyang Fucheng. Seeing the flags of the officers and soldiers on the city wall, Jia Lian felt reassured and at the same time became even more angry. Along the way, he did not encounter any officers and soldiers. Apart from anything else, the place had been in chaos for more than a year, and production had stopped long ago. Soldiers What to eat? How can we fight without food? These people in the logistics department should be killed! Yue Qi also had a problem and did not send troops to protect the grain road.

Jia Lian did bring some food, but it was only enough to feed these hundreds of people for half a month. In other words, he would run out of food after ten days.

After meeting Yue Qi, Jia Lian realized the misunderstanding.

"After Wu Han was captured, the thieves fled into the mountains and took the food route to the mouth of the Baihe River."

Oops, I was careless and angry for nothing. I really neglected that the food route would only be taken by land as a last resort. Just like in the Northern and Southern Dynasties, between Gao Huan and Yu Wentai, around the key points of the Yellow River grain road, one built a city and the waterway was blocked, while the other could only think of ways to get over, and the two sides were pulling back and forth.

"How is the discipline of the officers and soldiers? How effective is the recruitment?" Jia Lian asked very directly, after all, he represented Zhang Ting'en.

"Bandit troubles have existed here for a long time and cannot be eradicated. Officers and soldiers are often attacked, and their emotions are violent and difficult to restrain. According to the strategy formulated by Prime Minister Zhang, the rebels only need to go down the mountain and forget about it. So far, the effect is not good, and not many people have gone down. "

Mentioning this guy, Yue Qi gritted his teeth and said, "This thief is a scholar who has read a few books. Because the county school did not pay out the rice, he went to ask for instructions, but was expelled from the county school. He was furious. He went up to the mountain to become a thief. This thief was different from the one named Xu. He came to the mountain a few years ago and took advantage of the civil uprising to grow his number of dozens to nearly a thousand. Leader Xu also farmed. This thief’s men only do robbery, not production.”

Yue Qi also showed Jia Lian a strategy. The general idea was that officers and soldiers from all provinces would be surrounded on all sides and materials would not be allowed to enter the mountains. He also said: "After Wu Han was captured, the bandit force has dispersed, so there is no need to worry. I will report to Your Majesty and explain the reasons. Your Majesty will not urge you anymore. If you want to encircle it, you will not need many officers and soldiers. More than 10,000 people are enough. The pressure on local governments will also be reduced a lot. Furthermore, based on the characteristics of mountainous areas, training a small force that is accustomed to fighting in mountainous areas and familiarizing themselves with the terrain through daily training can have miraculous effects." After looking at the strategy, Yue Qi still had something, and he quickly adapted to the needs of the battlefield.

When Jia Lian talked about the night attack on the road, Yue Qi suddenly understood: "This group of thieves from Ding Damu are good at using fire attacks. Ten days ago, the officers and soldiers who went south were set on fire by this bandit at night and died." Three, more than a hundred injured."

Then he changed direction and went to fight Boss Xu. This guy had a fixed fortress and his goal was clear. The result was naturally a loss of troops and generals. According to the terrain, Chief Xu made many explosive sites, piled them with cobblestones, and covered them with soil to disguise them as earthbags. Who would pay attention? The result was naturally a bang when it got close.

Good guy, you’d be embarrassed to be a rebel leader if you’ve never been to prison, right?

After Zhang Tingen read it, he immediately rushed 800 miles away and sent it to the capital, along with his personal opinions.

Not many were killed directly, but too many were injured. When they got to the base of the stronghold, they discovered that there were no ghosts, let alone humans, who had already run away. Yue Qi was so angry that he set a fire. Ten days ago, Yue Qi went to fight against Ding Damu. The journey was really difficult, with countless traps of all kinds. There were not many casualties, but he was exhausted. He successfully occupied the stronghold and set fire to it while sleeping at night.

Among the rioters, the leader of the toughest group was named Xu. He was originally a miner. He only resisted because his wages were deducted from the mine, but he was imprisoned. Later, he was rescued from prison by the rebels. Because of his prestige, he was promoted as the leader.

Sure enough, you must not underestimate the ancients. Their professional fields are not areas that you can comment on at will.

This suggestion really betrays the position of the civil servants, which is very hated.

After resting for a night, Jia Lian expressed that he wanted to take a look on the spot, but Yue Qi blocked him life and death and absolutely could not go. It has already entered October, and the weather is so dry that if a fire starts, there will be no place to run. At this stage, we can only use officers and soldiers to guard key points, block the roads into the mountains, surround them on all sides, and spread nets on all sides, in order to minimize losses and finally eliminate the thieves.

The implication is that if local officials had not acted improperly, there would not have been the Yunyang Civil War. Now with this strategy, if the government is a bastard, who knows how much rent he will collect and put in his own pocket? Therefore, Lieutenant Long sent people to set up posts in the local area to supervise the officials. These people who read the books of sages are not good birds. If the emperor doesn't see it, they can cause public resentment to boil.

Yue Qi had no objection after hearing this. After all, there were only officers and soldiers in Yunyang Mansion now, and all the officials had fled. The nearest officials were at Baihekou, and the further one was in Xiangyang. For example, Yu Renjie, the governor of Hubei, stayed in Xiangyang and went to flatter Zhang Ting'en every day.

After some discussion, the two formulated a civil and military strategy, and the clipper sailed down the Han River to Xiangyang.

Yue Qi targeted these small groups of thieves from the beginning, but ended up injuring dozens of people without even finding a single hair.

This battle was fought like a loser, but Yue Qi couldn't go into too much detail in the military newspaper. It wasn't because he couldn't afford to use pen and ink, because it was embarrassing.

In other words, there are currently two rebel teams that are the most difficult to get, and the others are scattered scattered. The team of No. 100 is not enough to cause trouble. Basically, when officers and soldiers go to clean up, they hide in the ravines. When you leave, they come back.

This is Zhang Ting'en's biggest feeling after going on the expedition. Supervision must be strengthened. Harsh government is fiercer than a tiger. If civil servants are unreliable, then become secret agents. Anyway, someone has to keep an eye on them, otherwise these officials can bring the imperial court to pieces.

As Yue Qi narrated, Jia Lian, who had experienced it himself, could understand what he meant. There are many mountains in Yunyang, and you will be attacked if you leave the official road. The reason why the official road is relatively safe is the result of the army cutting down trees.

"There should be no problem militarily, but the key to this battle lies in local governance. As long as the people can have something to eat, they will not rise up in rebellion. I suggest that people be sent to count the unowned land, confiscate it, rent it to the people, and get tax exemption for one year. Three years of rent-free. As long as the people go down to the mountains to farm and distribute seeds and farm tools, and then send one officer to take charge of Yunyang, the land can be leveled in three years."

[This strategy is difficult to select and appoint local officials. If they are not appointed properly, they may suffer backlash. I risk the great disapproval of the world and ask each county to set up a postal supervisor. This position only has the right to investigate and report. 】

This is like Yan Song and Xu Jie, both of them are chief ministers and corrupt officials. Just because Yan Song obeyed Jiajing's orders, Xu Jie should be supported. In the minds of scholars, the former betrayed his position. Therefore, later people saw from historical data and folk operas that Yan Song was a corrupt official. , is a traitor, Xu Jie even has a good reputation.

This is the power of public opinion!

It can be said that Zhang Ting'en said that if necessary, I can play it openly, and he is really throwing himself out, regardless of his reputation behind him.

Jia Lian is in Yunyang, so of course he doesn't know the specific situation. He hasn't been fighting much recently, and he hasn't gone on field trips. He just wanders around the city and the countryside. Taking the generals with him, he is like a traveling scholar, chatting a few words with the common people when he meets them.

Yue Qi is very satisfied with this, as long as he doesn't cause trouble. As for the safety issue, he really couldn't stop him and sent troops to escort him but was driven back. You can only inform Zhang Ting'en quickly and take care of your students. Three days later, Yue Qi received a reply from Zhang Ting'en, "The people had no food to satisfy their hunger in winter. In order to avoid disaster, Jia Lian was appointed as the relief ambassador, following Nanyang's old policy of providing work instead of relief." 】

The saying "Huguang is ripe and the world is rich." This saying is no joke. Hubei is a major grain-producing province, as is nearby Henan. As long as the weather is good, there will really be no shortage of food in these two provinces. Last year was a good year for both provinces, and there was no shortage of food.

On the contrary, high food prices are a man-made disaster.

As an envoy, Zhang Ting'en issued an official document to all provinces, sternly ordering local governments to crack down on hoarding of grain merchants. If the price is more than half of the same period last year, they will first be fined. If they do not change, they will be arrested.

As soon as the official document was issued, there was an outcry from the four provinces. Zhang Tingen did not tolerate them, and directly sent another official document: Now it is an official document to recruit envoys. If you don't obey, the one who comes down will be Long Jinwei.

The local officials immediately felt at ease. They would rather earn less than have Captain Long come down.

These officials all know who Zhang Ting'en is, and he can really do it. Some old people who have lived a long time will think of the scene when every county had a so-called postal supervisor. Most of the policies formulated by Taizu of this dynasty were abolished during the reign of the Supreme Emperor.

Don't look at these officials who are always trying to restore the ancestral system. Hahahaha, who wants to have eyes around them that are always watching?
In the capital, after Emperor Chenghui received Zhang Tingen's memorial, he was shocked and couldn't sleep well all night.

Isn't this more shocking than Jia Lian standing outside the palace gate and saying "I don't dare to spare my life"?
However, once the countermeasures given by Jia Lian were implemented in Yunyang, they would also be hated by the local gentry.

What is ownerless land? Legally, all the land in the country belongs to the emperor. In fact, except for a few imperial villages, the emperor has the final say over a very small proportion of the land. Yunyang was quelling the chaos, and the government said, "You are ownerless. You are ownerless."

Of course the officials were very happy. Any officials who would become county magistrates or prefects in the future would have to kowtow to Jia Lian.

But if this strategy is not used properly, the gentry will also cause trouble.

By then, if this group of people doesn't rebel, or they simply keep impeaching, they will drown Jia Lian in saliva. Should the emperor resist the pressure for him? After all, once this hole is opened, officials all over the world will have examples. By then, if there is no civil unrest in the local area, local officials will dare to take the initiative to create civil unrest.

I really can't overestimate the moral integrity of these officials. They basically don't have that kind of thing.

Let's put it this way, blackmailing the common people is not as good as blackmailing the gentry?

Emperor Chenghui faced pressure not only from Yunyang, but also from Liangjiang. Sun Huazhen's commotion in Liangjiang was no less than that in Huguang. The prefect of Suzhou was arrested, the prefect of Songjiang was arrested, and the four county magistrates of Taicang and other places were more simply executed.

The local gentry in Suzhou incited the people to cause trouble, and Sun Huazhen directly sent troops to suppress it, arresting more than 300 gentry who owed more than a thousand taels of tax in one go. There are not enough prisons everywhere. Sun Huazhen only had one request: the tax arrears must be paid, otherwise the person would be arrested.

Jinling is relatively stable locally, and the largest local dignitary is naturally the Zhen family.

When Sun Huazhen went to Jinling, he didn't even bring anyone with him to see the Zhen family. Whenever this family asked to see them, they were blocked.

After coming more often, Sun Huazhen asked his master to meet him and reprimand him face to face: The Zhen family owes a debt of no less than one million taels. Are you thinking about how to pay it back? With just one sentence, the Zhen family's boss turned purple, turned around and left immediately, and then organized people to impeach Sun Huazhen. Old Sun's head was really tough. He specially ordered someone to buy a thin coffin and put it in the shed. He specifically said that he would die today and be buried today, not the day after tomorrow.

As for the voice-over, if Sun Huazhen really died in Jinling, Emperor Chenghui would really have an excuse to kill Liangjiang.

It is said that the merchants outside are not doing business now, and the officers and soldiers in the Beijing camp cannot buy food.

At this juncture, Lin Ruhai jumped out and organized salt workers to transport pickles from Yangzhou to Jinling, Suzhou, and Songjiang. With great fanfare, he ordered the Lin family in Suzhou not to go against the government, otherwise they would be destroyed out of righteousness. The front door of the Lin family was buried with eggs and rotten vegetable leaves, and the officers and soldiers were sent out to capture another 100 gentry.

Sun Huazhen's attitude is very firm. I am not targeting the common people, but the Jiangnan gentry. Come on, I don't believe it. Back then, when the Mongols came, you all knelt down so simply. How could this dynasty be afraid of you bastards if we were in power?
The governor of Jiangbei reported that if Prime Minister Sun stayed in the two rivers for one day, the people would be in dire straits.

Emperor Chenghui made a comment: Gentlemen have nothing to do, so I would like to ask you, when will the autumn tax from Jiangbei arrive in the capital?

When Jia Lian was in Wuhan, it was the time when the incident was the biggest, but Jia Lian left before the news reached Wuhan. When Jia Lian arrived in Yunyang, news from this place lagged even further.

When Jia Lian finally found out, he was very angry and scolded his mother: "You eunuch, you didn't tell the truth."

As usual, Emperor Chenghui held a cabinet meeting, and there was one less member in the cabinet. He first talked about Jia Lian's suggestion. This guy was thick-skinned and tough, and he was also known as a bastard, so he was used to attract firepower first.

The three cabinet ministers all jumped up, and Li Qing said angrily that this was tyranny. Liang Daoyuan was heartbroken, but if this strategy was adopted, the world would be in chaos. Kong Zhaoze said that the imperial court already had official land, so why did it bother to do so?

What an unclaimed land, you are lying to me.

Once approved, the entire land in Yunyang, including every piece of farmland, will become ownerless for you. There's a war going on there, and if a few gentry disappears, it's not a big deal. Therefore, we must resolutely block this opening, and no gap can be opened.

Emperor Chenghui had already expected it, so he said with a worried look: "I don't think so. The Yunyang Civil War was not a natural disaster, but a man-made disaster. A month ago, Long Jinwei went to Jiangxi, and Jiang Chaozong was afraid that he had been locked up On the way to Beijing."

The atmosphere suddenly turned cold, and the three cabinet ministers instantly regained their emotional stability.

(End of this chapter)