Zhu Yuanzhang can see my dreams

Chapter 341 341 Got Electric Shock

Zhu Yuanzhang's face was very dark.

It turns out that the eunuchs' abuse of power in the Ming Dynasty started from here.

I hope that officials in later generations will become accustomed to this and start to flatter in a proper manner.

Such actions set an extremely bad precedent for the political situation in the Ming Dynasty.

Neither literacy nor meddling in politics could be prevented.

He finally realized that none of his descendants would be as diligent as he was day and night.

Perhaps it was customary for the dynasty to have some corrupt officials or eunuchs abusing their power.

The weather will become extreme as a warning to the world.

Zhu Yuanzhang discovered that at this time, the northwest of the Ming Dynasty and other areas were suffering from continuous severe drought.

The imperial court had to transfer a large amount of grain from the granaries in Henan to relieve the suffering.

But it seems that not much was said by the victims.

After all, before saving the people, we must first save the officials!
After they have eaten the meat, they can also give you a cup of soup, which is already a big deal!
This happened before the Empress Dowager was alive, and she asked the government to provide quick relief to the victims.

Just three years later, another severe drought and locust plague hit food production in the northwest.

Then the government couldn't save him even if they wanted to.

From Xuzhou in the south to the Huaihe River basin and the north of the Yangtze River, there were severe floods for several consecutive years, causing great famine.

In Shandong and Henan, either the Yellow River or the Grand Canal burst, and many people died.

Drought hit the following year, so much so that many people in Shandong voluntarily abandoned their fields and became refugees.

Huguang, the main grain-producing area in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, also suffered disasters for eight years out of ten and suffered local famine.

This was true even in the rich and productive Jiangnan region and Zhejiang.

Moreover, once a disaster occurred, it would last for years. Severe droughts caused great plagues, resulting in a high death rate among the people. Then, there was not enough food, and the fields were barren and unproductive, which caused a great famine.

In the 13th year of Zhengtong, a severe drought occurred again, and as a result, the water flowed elsewhere.

The Yellow River dam in the northeast of Kaifeng broke, and the river water flowed eastward into the Yellow Sea, not far from the present-day East China Sea.

Another dam breach caused part of the Yellow River water to flow into the Woshui River, then into the Huai River and then south into the sea.

In addition to inundating large tracts of land and causing widespread destruction, high mortality and displacement of people, the flood also severely affected a section of the Grand Canal in Shandong.

The Shawan dam, where the Yellow River and the Grand Canal meet in western Shandong, broke several times in succession, and the canal lost most of its water source.

Because Beijing was heavily dependent on the canal for goods and food, the capital was in danger of being cut off from its southern supply sources.

Zhu Yuanzhang felt cold as he looked at the disasters that were happening everywhere in the Ming Dynasty.

He actually felt that this was a warning from God.

Zhu Qizhen's construction of the imperial palace and Wang Zhen's renovation of his house both required a large amount of manpower.

The only option is to increase corvee labor.

At first, Nanjing required large-scale corvee labor, which made many people dissatisfied.

Even after all these years, a lot of construction is still going on there, but after the capital was moved to Beijing, large-scale construction continued as the city was transformed into the "center of the world."

In addition, the people's corvée labor provided the government and the imperial palace with large quantities of goods they needed.

Not only are the performance of such services unaffordable, but their implementation is also extremely demanding.

Zhu Yuanzhang himself could not control the people doing corvée labor to work for him attentively, let alone other emperors.

The result of excessive demands from the government was widespread evasion of corvee labor.

Thousands of artisans either evaded labor or were rounded up by force to fulfill their obligations.

In some areas, a large number of people simply fled their homelands and became fugitives, which was the group of refugees that Zhu Yuanzhang was most unwilling to see.

Because he knew clearly that once the people were no longer under the control of the government, the court would not be able to collect taxes in the long run, which would cause great unrest.

More than half of the registered population in Fanzhi County, Shanxi Province, has simply disappeared, and a large amount of land has been left barren.

Not only in the northwest region, but also in wealthy places like Zhejiang, a large number of registered people disappeared.

The people hid, the land became barren, and the court was unable to collect taxes.

The subsistence standard of living left the already poor people with no spare money to spend and meet the needs of landlords or tax collectors.

In addition, the Ming Dynasty's corvée exacerbated their difficult and scarce lives, and the resulting social unrest was a constant threat to the stability of rural order.

The combination of various factors, including popular discontent, poverty, excessive taxation, heavy corvée requirements, and excessive exploitation of tenant farmers, left only one option.

"rebel!"

Ye Zongliu, a silver miner near Zhejiang and Fujian, led the miners in a rebellion.

Silver was of course very important to the Ming government, and the mining of silver mines was controlled by the government.

Control is generally exercised by local officials.

They demanded exorbitant production quotas and imposed the death penalty on those who stole the silver mine products.

Of course, the part that exceeds the standard should be put into your own pocket.

As for you bunch of lousy workers, do you deserve to get paid?

In the eyes of many officials in the Ming Dynasty, the common people were not considered human beings.

It's just that when they put it in an act of righteousness, they actually act like human beings.

Ye Zongliu, a former junior official in the Chuzhou government in southern Zhejiang, turned to stealing from the government-run silver mines.

At this time, he began to lead a growing group of dissatisfied miners and illegally "mined" at the border of Fujian and Zhejiang.

He organized an armed force to protect refugees from mining. As the silver output decreased, he formally rebelled and proclaimed himself king.

Zhu Yuanzhang hummed?
He really didn't expect that there were silver mines in Ming Dynasty.

This silver mine was discovered during the Yongle period, but by the Zhengtong period its output was already small.

After Jingtai suppressed the rebels, he reopened the mines. As a result, within a few years, many rebels came to the "old place" to gather and rebel.

Misfortune never comes singly.

Another group of tenant farmers at the border between northwestern Fujian and Jiangxi—who originally belonged to the newly established local security forces—also rebelled.

The main cause of the uprising was the excessive exploitation of tenant farmers by local landlords, who forced them to give seasonal gifts in addition to formal rent.

The brothers Deng Maoqi and Deng Maoba refused to do so and encouraged their fellow villagers to refuse to pay the additional expenses.

The conflict between the rebels and the local gentry resulted in the rebels winning easily.

Because in addition to being familiar with the local terrain and conditions, the rebels had received military training and had control of the local arsenal.

The servants of the gentry are used to being arrogant and domineering.

Who would have thought that the other person would actually raise the knife and chop their necks!
How much courage do they have to resist?
We can only seek help from the government.

Both uprisings grew in numbers and affected larger areas than before.

In particular, Zhu Yuanzhang discovered that there was a shadow of the White Lotus Sect among the Deng family’s brothers.

These bastards are really haunting us.

Wherever there are rebel groups, they are there, right?

Not only that, Zhu Yuanzhang discovered that the Ming army that came to suppress the bandits were a bunch of rubbish and were defeated by the rebels one after another.

If the local officials in the area had not promised to exempt the villagers from corvee labor for three years.

Compromises were also made on mining regulations, lowering the excessively high production quotas and abolishing the death penalty for illegal miners.

The miners' discontent also eased, and the rebels were able to continue to hold out.

Zhu Yuanzhang raised his eyebrows slightly. In fact, he also discovered that the people’s demands were not too much.

As long as the corrupt behavior and wrong decisions of officials can be eliminated, the harsh policies of the government can be eased.

Most of these people are willing to accept the imperial court's amnesty!

Zhu Yuanzhang was scratching his head at such a chaotic situation.

How did the Ming Dynasty become so troubled?

Although the rebels were suppressed, Zhu Yuanzhang was still very angry.

The unrest among these people, coupled with natural disasters, suddenly broke the grassroots Lijia control he established, allowing the population to move more freely.

It was totally different from the stagnant ancestral rules he had set in the first place.

The Ming Dynasty’s control over the grassroots became increasingly out of control.

As a result, Zhu Yuanzhang frowned even more tightly, as he had not yet figured out how to break the impasse.

He originally made his fortune by relying on a peasant uprising. How could he deal with a group of desperate people? Apart from killing the tough ones, he absorbed the rest to strengthen himself.

In fact, Zhu Yuanzhang was not afraid of rebellion.

It was mainly natural disasters and man-made disasters that made it impossible for many people to survive. The ancestral precepts that he painstakingly formulated were destroyed and were of no use!
This was what annoyed him the most.

Why were there so many disasters in the Ming Dynasty?

Why is God so unfair!

But Zhu Yuanzhang changed his mind and realized that he could still see the future of the Ming Dynasty, and he could not utter the words to curse the injustice of God.

There are many internal worries.

Zhu Yuanzhang was somewhat worried about the external threat to the Ming Dynasty: Mongolia.

The imperial court had always been very worried about the "threat" from Mongolia, a worry that was a sequelae of the Mongol conquest and Yuan Dynasty rule.

The Mongolian threat remained the primary issue in the Ming Dynasty’s foreign relations!

What surprised Zhu Yuanzhang was that there was no problem with the northern barbarians, but there was a problem with the south.

Luchuan (now Ruili area bordering Myanmar).

The Mongols conquered the Yunnan Plateau and invaded the Burma Basin about 30 years later.

But their conquests were limited and temporary.

During the late Yuan Dynasty, the Shan people, who lived in western Sichuan and northern Burma, became the dominant force in the region.

The Shan ruled the main Burmese state of Ava. Other independent states in northern Burma included Monyang and Lukchuan, an area roughly equivalent to the current Dehong Autonomous Prefecture in southwestern Yunnan and several adjacent places.

During the late Yuan and early Ming periods, Luchuan consolidated its territory in northern Burma and its invasion of Yunnan was unsuccessful.

During the Yuan Dynasty, a Xuanwei Office was set up in the area.

After Zhu Yuanzhang sent troops to pacify Yunnan, Luchuan Yiwei Si returned to the Ming Dynasty, and its tribal leader Silunfa was ordered to serve as the envoy.

But it wasn't long before Si Lunfa came into conflict with the surrounding forces.

The rest of the forces asked the Ming Dynasty for help, but Luchuan was badly beaten by the Ming Dynasty and almost wiped out.

Finally, the two sides reached an agreement, which stipulated that the rulers of Luchuan would accept the protection of the Ming Dynasty from then on.

Under this agreement, the rule of supply once every three years is guaranteed.

As Luchuan's power declined, the Ming Dynasty established five local prefectures and five chief administrative offices in present-day northern Shan State and Kachin State in Myanmar, establishing a more direct rule.

But after years of recuperation, Si Renfa, the Yiwei envoy of Luchuan, Yunnan, wanted to restore the old rule.

Rebellion against the Ming Dynasty began.

He was subdued by the Ming army led by Mu Ang, Duke of Qian, and the commanders Fang Ying and Liu Ying who were stationed in Yunnan.

Si Renfa sent an envoy to write a letter to the commander-in-chief of Yunnan, who then reported it to the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, expressing his willingness to pay tribute and apologize.

"Duke of Qian."

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled. He was very confident in Mu Ying.

As my first adopted son, I poured a lot of affection into him.

It can be considered as a good luck charm that brought him a son (there is a folk saying that adoption brings a son).

What's more, Mu Ying was a capable man, so Zhu Yuanzhang felt more at ease letting him lead the army.

Although on the surface it was a peace talk, Si Renfa was still accumulating strength behind the scenes, and Mu Ang died of illness on the way back.

Zhu Yuanzhang sighed again. It was indeed easy to take someone's life in the area of ​​Yunnan.

It is really difficult for the Ming Dynasty to expand its territory, as it is easy to lose a lot of people just during the march.

Even if we stationed troops there after conquering the city, many people couldn't stand the climate.

Deng Yu's death further reinforced Zhu Yuanzhang's inherent impression, and this was with the help of Wang Buli.

Zhu Qizhen asked the civil and military officials in the court to discuss the war in Yunnan.

He Wenyuan, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Justice, said that Luchuan was not a large place and was located in the extreme south, so there was no need to send a large army to attack it.

The government troops at Jinchi both farmed and defended, using political means to influence the people and make them submit. "Shun De Ge Miao, there was no need to conquer, and they bowed their heads and came to be king."

Grand Secretary Yang Shiqi and Imperial Tutor Liu Qiu also advocated this approach.

Even though they were from the south, they looked down upon scholars from Fujian and other places, not to mention "barren lands" like Yunnan.

Not worth the effort.

Liu Qiu also analyzed the border defense situation at that time and pointed out that the Oirat would eventually become a border threat, so the focus of border defense should be placed in the northwest, dredging ditches and walls, adding and repairing castles, diligent training, and strict surveillance to prevent unexpected events.

It is even more inappropriate to transfer the garrison commander of Gansu to the southern expedition to weaken the defense in the north.

Zhu Yuanzhang never imagined that at this time the Mongols would be dominated by the Oirat Mongols.

It seems that the Ayushiridara lineage is really in decline.

In order to "demonstrate his wildness", Wang Zhen refused to listen to these correct opinions and insisted on having his own way.

He had already recalled Gansu General Jiang Gui and others and put them on standby for the expedition.

The Minister of War Wang Ji guessed Wang Zhen's intention and strongly advocated the use of military force.

Wang Zhen was very pleased, so he dismissed the court discussion, and the Luchuan Campaign began.

He recruited 150,000 troops from Guizhou, Sichuan, Huguang and other places, and transferred supplies from half of the country.

Zhu Yuanzhang was very puzzled. There was no need to send troops to deal with the chieftains in the south and other places.

If the entire Yunnan fell, it would be justifiable to mobilize so many troops.

And he beat me three times!

How can you kill a chicken with a knife?

Even if they surrendered, Wang Zhen would not allow it, as he would exterminate their entire race and turn this place into a wasteland.

Judging from the battle results, Zhu Yuanzhang thought that Wang Ji was quite capable.

A scholar is good at fighting and can also speculate!
The leaders of the rebellion could not be caught time and time again.

Only after the explanation did Zhu Yuanzhang understand.

Wang Ji was protected by Wang Zhen and made a fortune from the war.

They arbitrarily conscripted laborers to carry silk and sell it to local chieftains along the way.

The army's baggage was not carried by animals, and the soldiers were forced to carry six dou of rice and climb up and down valleys. Many Ming soldiers hanged themselves because they could not bear the load.

When the last army reached the Jinsha River, they hesitated and dared not cross it.

Having crossed the river, they dared not attack.

At this time, the Ming soldiers had no desire to fight.

In order to repay his merit, Wang Ji captured many fishermen as prisoners.

As a result, Luchuan was naturally not subdued.

Although Si Jifa was eventually misplaced, once Wang Ji left, the tribe again supported Ren Fa's youngest son Si Lu to cause chaos.

Wang Ji had no choice but to sign an alliance with Si Lufa and engrave it on stone. They also erected a stone as a boundary on the east bank of the Jinsha River and swore:

"You can only cross the river when the rocks are broken and the river is dry."

So the army returned to the capital.

Let them rebel.

He messed up!

These battles consumed a large amount of funds from the imperial court, but in the end there were no significant results.

For Wang Zhen, a central figure in the court, spending money was not a big deal.

The good news from the remote southwest helped to support his reputation as a "politician"!

Compared with the eunuchs of later generations, Wang Zhen was a scholar who castrated himself into the palace and had strong political pursuits.

Wang Ji and others were able to gain great benefits from the war.

Moreover, he was the first civil official in the Ming Dynasty to be granted a title (the other two were Wang Yue, Earl of Weining, and Wang Shouren, Earl of Xinjian). It was truly a win-win situation.

Zhu Yuanzhang slowly closed his eyes and chuckled.

Sure enough, speculators are everywhere.

It’s these civil servants who know how to make money!

Fame and fortune.

Just when Zhu Yuanzhang was puzzled, he found that Wang Buli was not playing any exciting games this time.

He stared at the glowing magic weapon, stunned, and muttered to himself:
"how is this possible?"

Zhu Yuanzhang stood up suddenly. He wanted to listen carefully to what Wang Buli was panicking about.

Wang Buli paced around the room, saying loudly:

"How could Empress Ma die young?"

"She's such a nice person!"

"How could this be?"

When Zhu Yuanzhang heard Wang Buli's shouting, his heart sank.

So that’s what it is!
He had known it for a long time, but Wang Buli had just found out.

When Zhu Yuanzhang heard Wang Buli bring up the old matter again, he still felt a little worried in his heart.

What if Wang Buli can come up with a solution?

He stared at Wang Buli closely.

I only saw Wang Buli scratching his head with a look of sorrow on his face.

"But I don't know how to do anything. How can I extend my mother's life?"

Wang Buli yelled and quickly walked to the computer, pretending to force a search.

Zhu Yuanzhang was worried again, and he also hoped that Wang Buli could come up with a solution.

But as Wang Buli typed on the keyboard faster and faster, he kept saying something.

suddenly.

Zhu Yuanzhang found Wang Buli lying on the ground twitching, his hair and beard standing up, and the glowing magic weapon suddenly went out.

"Wang Buli."

Zhu Yuanzhang shouted.

But there was no response.

Wang Buli was lying on the ground as if he was dead, without any sign of life.

It looked like he was punished by heaven and struck by lightning!

Zhu Yuanzhang was really afraid that Wang Buli would die suddenly.

So he kept knocking on the transparent barrier wall, trying to rush in.

Then everything went dark, and Zhu Yuanzhang sat on the dragon throne, panting.

Crown Prince Zhu Biao stood by and was very puzzled by his father's expression.

Could it be that the descendants of later generations have done something unusual, or that kid Wang Buli has gone to some extremes again and scared his father?
"Dad, are you okay?"

Zhu Yuanzhang immediately looked at his son and shouted, "Hurry up and call the imperial physician to go to the Jiangning County government office to visit Wang Buli. You go in person and make sure to save him!"

(End of this chapter)