The six-dimensional pictures of emperors of all dynasties were exposed, and the ancestors panicked

Chapter 676 Chongzhen’s Achievements

Chapter 676 Chongzhen’s Achievements (End)
[Diplomatic strategy: None.]

【Based on the unspoken rules of Ming Dynasty politics, peace talks with Qing Dynasty are absolutely impossible.】

[We were also unable to respond to requests for help from Mongolia and North Korea.]

[Evaluation level E·Zero points]

……

Great Song.

Zhao Kuangyin covered his heart again.

This is because of whom and why, doesn’t he understand?

"The Song Dynasty must never follow in their footsteps again!"

"Youyun must be recaptured!"

He looked at his hands and clenched them into fists.

From today on, I will also deploy troops!

……

【People's Livelihood and Economy: Since Wanli, in order to raise military funds, he ordered the country to increase the land tax by 9 cents per mu, and obtained 5.2 million taels of silver each year, which was called "Liao Xiang". 】

[In the tenth year of Chongzhen (1637), on the basis of the old land tax, an additional six hectares of grain were added per mu, and nearly two million taels of silver were obtained each year, which was called "suppression salary."]

[Chongzhen stated that this additional tax was temporary and "will only be imposed in accordance with the court's opinion and will temporarily burden our people for one year."]

[Then half of it was collected in the 11th year of Chongzhen. In the 12th year of Chongzhen, because 730,000 soldiers needed to be trained, an additional tax of one cent of silver was added to the land in the country, totaling more than 7.3 million taels, which was called "training pay". The three were collectively called "three additional taxes".]

[By the first month of the seventeenth year of Chongzhen, the military pay arrears had reached several million taels, while the taxes from the south were only tens of thousands of taels. The country's granaries were empty.]

[Under the huge climate ice age in the first half of the 17th century, not many countries in the northern hemisphere from west to east could withstand it, and the Ming Dynasty was no exception.]

[Under the combined force of natural disasters and man-made disasters, the Ming Dynasty is heading towards its end]

[Evaluation level E·Zero points]

……

{The temperature changes during the so-called Little Ice Age are mainly reconstructed based on historical data from outside Asia.}
{Later, based on the test of carbon isotopes in the glaciers on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau west of Sichuan, it was found that the glaciers began to advance in the second half of the 13th century, which confirmed that the Little Ice Age in Asia was roughly the same as that in Europe.}
{The records of extreme weather in official history and local chronicles also confirm this description.}
{Beginning around 1270, the Earth became cooler than during the previous Medieval Warm Period.}
{Around 1370, it was the lowest point of the first cooling stage.}
{For example, during the entire Yuan Dynasty, there was only one year, the third year of Yanyou (1316), when the climate was warmer than in previous years. Other records show that the climate was either normal or abnormally cold.}
……

Great Yuan·Shizu Period
Kublai Khan was half-confident and half-understanding.

But I also roughly understood one thing. No wonder the grassland has been much colder than before in the words of the elders in recent years.

So it was because of this ice age?

"Do you think this is a last resort?"

Everyone looked at each other.

Forced to do so? Where to start?
When does it snow on the grasslands, does it not move south? It is not just in the past two years.

……

{By the 1394th year of Hongwu to the 1438rd year of Zhengtong (-), the weather gradually returned to normal, but in the following years it turned cold again.}
{In the winter of the fourth year of the Jingtai reign (1453), heavy snow fell from Shandong in the northeast to Jiangxi in the middle.}
{The Ministry of Revenue reported that "countless people froze to death" in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. 1,800 people froze to death in Changshu County on the south bank of the Yangtze River, and even more people were killed and injured north of the Yangtze River.}
{The following winter, the Yangtze River Delta was covered in heavy snow, with the snow reaching a depth of one meter. The ports along the Taihu Lake were frozen over, and all ships were grounded.}
{In the winter of the 1477th year of Chenghua (), there was a severe cold weather, and the Grand Canal was frozen over with ice several feet thick, disrupting transportation in the south of the Yangtze River for several months.}
{For the next forty years, waves of cold waves continued to hit. They did not stop until the fifteenth year of Jiajing (1536), when the weather warmed up again.}
{In the fifth year of the Wanli reign (1577), a cold wave struck again. In the following winter, all the lakes in the Yangtze River Delta region froze over. The cold winds could carry the ice on the lake surface up to ten-meter-high hills.}
{Such low temperatures continued until the end of the Ming Dynasty, and the low temperatures from the second to the sixteenth year of Chongzhen (1629-1643) were unprecedented.}
{The Ming Dynasty was doomed to fall. The Little Ice Age and land annexation were two-pronged. The Ming Dynasty, which was based on agriculture, could not withstand it. You have a lot of land, but it doesn't grow food. What can you do? }

{But Chongzhen may have accelerated this process by more than a dozen years or even decades.}
{Hardworking but incompetent and suspicious, often causing more trouble.}
{Chongzhen could be a vassal king or a wise king, but as a vassal king who became the emperor halfway through, in terms of being a good person, he could not compare to Emperor Jingtai who trusted Yu Qian unconditionally, and in terms of imperial tactics, he was far inferior to Emperor Jiajing who played tricks on his ministers for decades.}
……

Ming Dynasty - Tianqi Period
"Your Majesty, I have this memorial."

In the courtyard, Zhu Youxiao, Xu Guangqi and others were discussing the purchase and reproduction of overseas cannons.

When Xu Guangqi saw that food could not grow in the sky, he suddenly thought of something.

"What do you want to say, Mr. Xu? Feel free to tell me."

The first thing a wise ruler should do is not to obstruct speech.

Well...given that freedom of speech in the Ming Dynasty was already too open, Zhu Youxiao followed the second thing.

Employ people without doubt.

Xu Guangqi saluted and replied:

"In the 21st year of the Wanli reign, Fujian merchant Chen Zhenlong discovered a grain crop on Luzon Island."

“It has high yield, is drought-resistant and easy to survive.”

"Then he evaded border inspection and secretly brought back the vines of this plant, and successfully planted them. With the support of Governor Jin Xuezeng, he promoted it vigorously in Fujian, saving many starving people, so people called it golden potato."

"Golden potato..."

Zhu Youxiao always felt that this title was strange.

Xu Guangqi bowed again and said:

"Your Majesty, do you still remember the rewards that came with the performance evaluations by Emperor Wen of Han and Emperor Taizong of Tang?"

Zhu Youxiao was embarrassed.

How can I say that when you ask me this?
You said I was sawing wood at that time and didn't know anything?
Then the image of wise rulers, which was not rare to begin with but almost impossible to come by, would be further damaged?
Zhu Youxiao twisted his body and glanced behind Xu Guangqi.

Wei Zhongxian was lip-syncing to the emperor frantically.

What's the word with that pouting mouth?

Pig? You're scolding me?!

Oh no...it's...book...potato!

Then he said:

"There are so many things going on. I just vaguely remember what they were."

Xu Guangqi had no hope, so he was overjoyed!
"Your Majesty is wise!"

"I once asked a Fujian merchant to bring me this potato seed. After trial planting, I found that it is drought-resistant, heat-resistant, and barren-resistant. It has low soil requirements and is easy to cultivate. It can survive by cuttings, and its yield is indeed very high."

"And according to my observation, this thing is exactly the same as the potato seeds in the hands of Emperor Wen and Emperor Taizong!"

Zhu Youxiao was stunned for a moment, and then he was overjoyed!

"Do you have any potato seeds?"

Xu Guangqi bowed and said:

"Yes, I wanted to present it to Your Majesty."

Zhu Youxiao couldn't bear it any longer, so he stood up from his seat and paced back and forth.

"Xu Qing, I will set aside a piece of land in Wansui Mountain for you to plant the potatoes."

"But this matter must not be made public in advance."

He looked at the other four people in the courtyard and said sternly:
"If I hear any news about potato seeds outside the palace, I will settle accounts with you."

Several people responded and then retreated.

Looking at the figures walking away.

Zhu Youxiao whispered to Wei Zhongxian:

"Send someone to protect Xu Guangqi."

At the emperor's signal, Wei Zhongxian nodded and withdrew.

Zhu Youxiao continued to look at the sky.

If this thing is really as Xu Guangqi said... then the promotion of this thing must not go through the hands of ministers.

Otherwise, not a single seed will reach the people.

Rubbing the ring on his thumb, Zhu Youxiao fell into deep thought again.

Since Emperor Wen has potato seeds, given his temperament, this thing may have grown soon...

This is an excuse to start a conversation.

Zhu Youxiao knew that he was not a genius, but he could seek help from a genius!

"I guess Emperor Wen wouldn't reject some advanced planting experience, right?"

……

Qing Dynasty Yongzheng Period
Hongli suddenly slapped his thigh!
"I see! No wonder..."

Yongzheng was concentrating on reading the memorial, and was frightened by him! His glasses almost fell to the ground!
"What a fuss! How disgraceful!"

Hongli smiled and pointed at the sky:
"Khan Ama, did you know that the Ming Dynasty loved to depict snow scenes the most?"

Yongzheng snorted coldly.

"I spent the whole day caring about useless things." "Dai Jin's "Returning Home in the Snow""

"Snowy Mountains by Wen Zhengming"

"Eight Views of Yan and Wu by Dong Qichang"

"Zhao Zuo's "Snow on a Cold Cliff""

As Yongzheng was speaking, he suddenly fell silent.

He slowly took off his glasses with a solemn expression.

"Returning Home in the Snow" was created in the sixth year of the Jingtai reign.

"Snow Covered Mountains" was created in the 11th year of the Jiajing reign.

"Eight Views of Yan and Wu" was created between the 23rd and 26th year of the Wanli reign.

"Snow on Cold Cliffs" was created in the 44th year of the Wanli reign.

"In that case, it does match the year."

Read more latest popular novels at 6.9*shuba!

“This kind of natural disaster…”

Yongzheng hesitated to speak.

Hongli scratched his smooth head.

Natural disasters...are beyond human control.

Instead of worrying about this, think about how to increase crop yields.

Speaking of harvest...

Thanks to the fact that I read a lot of miscellaneous books.

Hongli suddenly remembered that Xu Guangqi of the Ming Dynasty had written a book on agronomy.

It's called "Sweet Potato Diary"

……

[Employing and identifying people: During the 17 years that Emperor Chongzhen ruled the Ming Dynasty, the cabinet chief ministers changed 20 people, the number of university scholars reached 50, the number of ministers of the Ministry of Justice changed 17, and 7 governors-general and 11 provincial governors were killed. ]

[The positions of the Prime Minister and the Governor-General are very high and their power is very great. Not many people can reach such positions.]

[But in Chongzhen's case, they were all so bad and incompetent. ]

[If they are all so incompetent, how did they become the Prime Minister and the Governor? ]

[If they were not so incompetent, why were they all demoted, killed, and imprisoned? ]

[During his 17 years in office, Chongzhen was a hundred times more diligent than his grandfather, Emperor Wanli, and did a lot of things. Just the constant personnel adjustments, appointing this, dismissing that, as well as exiling some and executing others, were enough to keep him busy.]

[Very busy, but everything he does is sloppy.]

[Evaluation level E·Zero points]

……

｛The main responsibility of the Ministry of Justice is to judge cases, but most of the crimes of these 17 ministers were "deliberating on the case". This means that the emperor was dissatisfied with the results of the Ministry of Justice's deliberations, and then dismissed them for deliberating on the case.｝
{What the hell is the Minister of Justice for if he doesn't "discuss the case"? He does the job he is assigned to do, but as long as the decision he makes is different from the emperor's, the emperor will hold him accountable?}

{What? It's not possible? Do you know what an emperor at the pinnacle of power is?}
{As for this person, his attitude is totally unpredictable. If you make a judgment like this, it will anger him, but that doesn’t mean he will agree if you make a judgment in the opposite direction.}
{Because the main way he uses power is to express his disagreement.}
{He is above everyone else's judgment, and imposes disproportionately harsh punishments for what he deems wrong.}
{He is not only picky and demanding, but he also dislikes everyone...}
{I really admire him...}
{As the saying goes, "in troubled times, heavy punishments are used." During the Chongzhen period, society began to become chaotic, but the bureaucracy was not in chaos. The emperor used heavy punishments not against bandits or Jurchens, those whom he could not catch or deal with. He punished or even killed his own ministers.}
{If there are indeed many unruly ministers in his court who must be strictly disciplined or they will abuse their power and cause chaos, then this method is indeed necessary to intimidate and restrain them.}
{However, what Chongzhen faced was a group of people who had been deeply brainwashed under the absolute imperial power.}
{It was precisely because they had been deeply brainwashed that Chongzhen could replace and kill people whenever he wanted, so frequently and killing so many high-ranking officials.}
……

The period of Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty
"During the 17 years of Chongzhen's reign, he was always wandering in contradictions."

"What's scary is not lazy governance, but working hard in the wrong direction and firmly believing that the direction you're working hard in is the right one."

It was also the first time that Liu Bingyi met such an awkward person.

Sometimes he looks determined, and sometimes hesitant.

Sometimes he looks confident, and sometimes he looks like a shadow.

Tolerance and suspicion, enthusiasm and coldness, arrogance and inferiority, self-confidence and hypocrisy, rationality and paranoia, caution and impulsiveness are all embodied in this emperor.

"It tortures both itself and the Ming Dynasty."

Liu Bingyi really didn't know what the emperor was trying to do.

Not only does it make no sense in terms of state governance, it also makes no sense from the perspective of consolidating rule.

Chongzhen never experienced any crisis of ruling power, nor was there any factor that threatened the emperor's absolute power.

Therefore, his behavior can only be explained from the perspective of his personal status.

What he insisted on was absolute right and wrong, and he must be on the right side.

No one is allowed to deny or resist.

……

[Later influence: The Ming Empire was burdened with too much baggage, and this was not the responsibility of Chongzhen alone.]

[Because all the rigid policies were determined at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty. ]

【By extension, it was already established during the "Jingkang Incident". 】

【To extend this further, it was already established during the An-Shi Rebellion. 】

【Chongzhen did not understand this.】

[You can’t overcorrect, but not overcorrecting is not enough to correct. After overcorrecting, you have to continue to correct in the years to come.]

【During the 276 years of the Ming Dynasty. 】

[No marriage, no compensation, no peace talks, no cession of territory, no tribute.]

[In the end, Chongzhen won a tough image by being the emperor who guarded the country and died for the country. ]

[Evaluation S level, 5 points]

……

Tang Xuanzong Period
"Ouch! What are you doing!"

Li Longji is so annoyed!

Let’s talk about Ming Dynasty!
Why are you dragging me down again?!

Anything can be thrown on my head!

Li Mi totally agreed!
If this guy hadn't made such a big mistake, there wouldn't have been the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, there wouldn't have been the suppression of military power by culture, and subsequent events wouldn't have been so restrictive.

So, it’s all Xuanzong’s fault!
……

Ming dynasty.

Zhu Yuanzhang watched the changing clouds in the sky.

He stood up and tightened his wrist guard.

"It's finally our turn!"

Empress Ma adjusted the armor on Zhu Yuanzhang's body.

Somewhat worriedly,

"Are you sure about the time?"

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded, and then said loudly:
"Fourth!"

Little Zhu Di, wearing a small iron armor, jumped out from the side!

He adjusted his helmet, which was a bit too big.

"here I am!"