Saving the Ming Dynasty: I can exchange bodies with Chongzhen

Chapter 183 Red Lady: Is it him?
Ma Shiwei walked in from outside, bowed and said, "Your Majesty, the matter with the Shanxi merchants has been dealt with."

"Some shops that sell well are worth about 6 million taels of silver after conversion."

Zhu Changgan nodded, took the list and took a look at it.

It has to be said that Shanxi merchants were so wealthy in the late Ming Dynasty that most of the top 20 money houses in the country were from Shanxi. The Shanxi merchants in the late Ming Dynasty were not as wealthy as a country, but they were not much inferior to the salt merchants in Jiangnan.

Zhu Changgan did not ask them to sell all the shops, such as the money houses.

During the Ming Dynasty, due to the large number of private money and the different weights and fineness of copper coins, the exchange rates between the official money, private money and white money were very different and fluctuated frequently. Under such circumstances, a number of financial organizations specialized in currency exchange emerged, which were called money shops, also known as money shops, money houses and exchange shops.

The business operated by money houses also diversified from a single currency exchange to mainly deposits, "account transfers" and loans.

The deposits at this time were different from those in the Tang Dynasty. Money houses already paid interest to depositors, and the objects of lending were not ordinary people, but mainly merchants. The so-called "account transfer" was similar to the current transfer business, which could reduce the use of cash.

Lending money is simple, to put it simply it is a lending business.

It can be said that money shops are very similar to modern commercial banks.

Zhu Changgan ordered the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot to take over these banks and use them as imperial banks.

On the basis of the original business, the bill exchange business was added, which mainly engaged in foreign exchange, that is, the merchant entrusted the bill exchange to pay the money to the payee, and there was no need to use the escort agency to transport the cash.

It was extremely popular once it was launched.

Zhu Changgan had thought about modern commercial banks, but the Ming Dynasty's current economic system was very fragile, with banditry in the south and powerful enemies in the north. Any drastic changes to the original economic system would most likely cause the people to lose confidence and lead to a currency collapse.

The Piaohao system was verified by Shanxi merchants, who used the Piaohao to dominate the Qing Dynasty's business world for two hundred years. It was for this reason that Zhu Changgan dared to run the Piaohao system.

After the Shanxi merchants were eradicated, there were more than 300 money houses in Xuzhou, Lanzhou, Taiyuan, Tianjin, Beijing, Liaodong, Jinzhou, Siping, Zhangjiakou and other places.

The ready-made channels fell into Zhu Changgan's hands, saving a lot of time.

This operation not only provides eggs, but also chickens to lay eggs.

The Military Equipment Department, the Agricultural Department, a hundred thousand soldiers and horses... all of these cost money. In just two months, millions of taels of silver had been spent.

"These six million taels come at the right time."

Now that Mongolia south of the desert has surrendered, the next step must be Jiangnan.

If we take action against Jiangnan, we cannot rely on taxes in a short period of time, but these several million taels of silver can help us get by.

"How's the situation at the ICAC?"

"Your Majesty, the Integrity Commission has already been established in various places, but... there is a lot of obstruction in various places." Ma Shiwei lowered his head and replied: "The ministers in the court have also submitted memorials one after another, expressing their strong opinions on this matter."

A cold light flashed in Zhu Changgan's eyes, "Of course they don't want the Anti-Corruption Bureau to move in."

Internal strife seems to be a hurdle that feudal society cannot avoid.

In history, when many dynasties were first founded, the emperor was wise, the ministers were obedient, and there was harmony between the upper and lower classes, creating a peaceful and harmonious scene.

Then internal fighting began.

The biggest reason is profit, and the most valuable thing is land.

What civil servants and nobles are most keen on is buying land, buying large tracts of land. Official positions cannot be inherited, but the land belongs to whoever buys it.

It can be passed down from generation to generation, so at the beginning of each dynasty, there was a lot of work to be done and the atmosphere was naturally harmonious.

But after being passed down for several generations, problems will arise.

After Wanli, the financial situation began to deteriorate, and the root cause was the land issue.

Zhang Juzheng's reforms saved the Ming Dynasty once, but then it returned to its original track. During the Chongzhen period, it finally became completely stagnant and out of control.

It is naturally impossible to carry out Zhang Juzheng's reforms again, because Zhu Changgan is not Chongzhen.

The bureaucrats and landlords were no longer the emperor's right-hand men in governing the country. Chongzhen's "dividing land and grain" and Hongniangzi's "equal distribution of land and exemption of grain" were all attempts by Zhu Changgan.

The results look pretty good today.

Of course, the bureaucrats and landlords are not meat on the chopping board, not cattle or sheep. There are policies from the top and countermeasures from the bottom.

If you take action against them, they will quibble, obstruct and resist.

Wang Anshi failed, and Zhang Juzheng also did not have a good end. They would form cliques, create public opinion, coerce the emperor, and even if they were pushed to the limit, they would abandon the emperor and find other new organizations.

Zhu Changgan twisted the teacup in his hand and said in a low voice, "But if they don't want it, do they think they can easily change me?"

The dynasty was about to collapse, but the emperor and his ministers, and the ministers themselves, were still fighting.

He picked up a pile of memorials on the imperial desk and said, "Many officials and gentry from all over Jiangnan have requested the court to send troops to suppress the bandits."

"I have agreed to their request. Half of the four camps will remain in Beijing, and the rest will all go south."

This is the day I've been waiting for.

You think you can still wrestle with me, but in my opinion, you don't even stand a chance of getting at the table.

……

In the areas of Nanzhili, Jiangxi, and Zhejiang, those scholars who went to Beijing have already returned to their hometowns one after another.

Each of them held the sun and moon flag and pinned the medals awarded by the emperor on their chests. After finishing their meal, they set out to the county town and organized a team together with the scholars from that time.

"Have you heard that the establishment of our provincial anti-corruption department has been hindered?"

"Then we have to go. If the provincial anti-corruption department can't be established, it's even more impossible for the prefectures to be established!"

"That's right. These bastards are secretly disobeying your Majesty's policy of clean governance. I think they have been corrupted by the money."

"Before we came back, Commander Ma of the Embroidered Uniform Guard said that if the anti-corruption department of a province or prefecture is in trouble, we should do our best to help. Now is the time for us to serve the Ming Dynasty."

"go!"

"Walk!"

"."

The scholars, who had just returned home not long ago, carried dry food and water and set off for their respective provincial capitals.

The emperor told them in the capital that they had to first establish an Integrity Bureau in the provincial capital before setting up branches of the Integrity Bureau in each prefecture in the city. The Integrity Bureau would be established in a few days, so they naturally had to hurry over.

However, the establishment of the Anti-Corruption Bureau is unacceptable to local authorities.

During the Ming Dynasty, the three offices of the Military Commandery, the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and the Ministry of Criminal Justice were used in the middle period to divide the military and judicial powers of each province. Later, they were gradually replaced by the system of governors. After the Jingtai Dynasty, the governor-general was used to manage military affairs, and the governor-general was in charge of civil affairs.

In other words, the governor often became the highest official in each province.

They were doing well, but suddenly a tight restriction came down from above. No matter they are civil servants or military officers, they would not be willing?

To the extent that while the Independent Commission Against Corruption's office was still under construction, huge conflicts broke out with local government offices, "common people" and even "scoundrels".

Everyone knows exactly who these so-called "people" are. They do nothing but interfere with the establishment of the Independent Commission Against Corruption, and they are not afraid even if bloodshed breaks out.

It was obviously organized and premeditated.

But after the conflict broke out, the governor and governor of Huguang Province discovered that things were not as simple as he had imagined.

In the first few days, there were not many people from the Independent Commission Against Corruption, and the "common people" could still resist, but they soon found that scholars kept coming and blocking outside the Independent Commission Against Corruption's office.

August 3rd, several hundred.

August 4th, several thousand.

On the fifth day of August, tens of thousands of scholars not only from Huguang, but also from Zhejiang, Nanzhili and other places came.

These scholars held hands and shouted: "For the Ming Dynasty!"

"Establish an independent corruption department and bring down all corrupt officials!"

"Long live the Ming Dynasty!"

"Long live your Majesty!"

"Blocking the ICAC, what are you afraid of..."

Many of these scholars were also skilled in the use of swords, guns, sticks and clubs. They formed an advance team and fought bravely and fearlessly with those who came to interfere.

The "people" who were gathered together to cause trouble never thought that they would encounter such a tough guy.

In just less than two days, several clashes broke out between the two sides, dozens of people were killed or injured, and they no longer dared to move forward.

The Governor of Huguang, Gou Youquan, had already dispatched troops to surround these people, but when he saw this situation, he stopped. These people were scholars and readers, and many of them were sons and nephews of bureaucrats and gentry.

The only thing we can do is ask the people from each family to persuade their sons and nephews to go back, but how can these arrogant scholars just go back like that?
No matter how the elders from each family came to persuade them, all failed.

Each of them vowed to shed their blood on this Ming Dynasty land.

"Come on, kill me!" A scholar lifted his clothes and pointed at his chest, "Stab here!"

"We are not afraid of you." Another prince stood up, "His Majesty has personally received us and spoke highly of us. If you dare to kill me, I dare to die. Let's see how you explain to His Majesty then!" "That's right, we are not afraid of you. Whoever opposes the establishment of the Anti-Corruption Department has something to hide."

As one person spoke out the words from the "Quotations of the Ming Emperor", someone soon followed suit and shouted: "Eliminate the cancer of the Ming Dynasty and restore a bright and clear world to the Ming Dynasty."

"All those who fight for the Ming Dynasty are my comrades-in-arms."

"Sacrifice for the Ming Dynasty. We die gloriously for the Ming Dynasty!"

"For the Ming Dynasty~"

The scholars roared, their shouts shaking the heaven and earth, their faces flushed, and rushed towards the soldiers holding swords and guns.

The noise was so intense that it seemed to be boiling, causing everyone on the opposite side, from the governor to his soldiers, to change their expressions drastically.

Fanatic, too fanatic.

"Bang, ping, pong."

The sounds of shouting, screaming, blood, and dust suddenly intertwined together.

Governor Gou Youquan of Huguang didn't know how the fight started, but it did start. The group of crazy people in front of them actually charged towards them.

"retreat!"

“Don’t hurt anyone!”

He shouted to his soldiers, but at this moment there was chaos. It was not the soldiers who wanted to kill people, but the scholars with red eyes who wanted to "eat people".

Things got out of control, from harassment and obstruction at the beginning to a bloody fight.

When the Huguang Governor Gou Youquan led his troops to evacuate and took inventory, they found that 675 people had been killed or injured in such a short period of time.

"Damn it!" Governor Gou Youquan angrily slapped one of his soldiers in the face, "I told you to retreat, why are you doing this? They are scholars, they are educated people, do you know how powerful they are?"

These soldiers, who were wearing armor, suffered so many casualties, so I'm afraid that there were also many casualties among the scholars.

Before this, whether they sent "scoundrels" to block or not, the emperor could not blame the officials like them.

But once a person dies, and dies at the hands of soldiers, the nature of the matter is completely different.

"What a waste!" Gou Youquan was so angry that his face turned blue. "The emperor was just trying to find something to hold against us, but now we've handed it over to him ourselves."

"What should we do now?" The beaten lieutenant general asked in a low voice with his head down.

"What should I do? How do I know what to do?"

At this moment, a messenger came running in from outside, "Report!"

"Governor, Xiangyang Prefecture has reported that Gucheng, Nanzhang, Yicheng, Zaoyang and other places have been attacked by the bandit "Prince Xin". The county magistrates of several provinces have been killed, the granaries in the city have been looted, and hundreds of gentry have been beheaded."

Gou Youquan's eyebrows jumped up, "Didn't I send 3,000 people over there? How come three counties were breached again?"

"Reporting to the Governor, this beast is very cunning. Every time he breaks into a city, he will open the granary to release the grain, kill the officials and gentry, and distribute the property and grain to the people. As a result, before they even arrive, the people in many counties are already waiting for them. Now he is said to have 50,000 bandits under his command, and they are rolling forward and unstoppable."

"Fifty thousand?" Gou Youquan's face twisted with anger, "If that's the case, then isn't this beast even worse than Lady Hong?"

"Can anyone tell me how this 'Prince of Faith' came about?"

In the Governor's Palace,

The faces of the people present were all gloomy and no one responded.

No one can tell where he showed up. Compared to Hongniangzi and the others, they know that he ran over from Siwang Mountain and is now in Anqing Prefecture, Jiujiang Prefecture, and Raozhou Prefecture.

With the slogan of "equally distribute land taxes and no grain payment", it won the support of many people.

The government troops sent large armies to encircle and suppress the enemy several times, but each time the enemy fled to other prefectures.

The biggest reason is that when the attack in Huguang was severe, they ran to Zhejiang. When the situation in Zhejiang was unfavorable, they would flee back to Huguang.

Gou Youquan wiped his old face vigorously, "What happened to me this year? Is it because of the Tai Sui? Before I could put down the ladle, another gourd popped up."

Two large groups of bandits entered Huguang, completely disrupting his previously peaceful life.

In the past, he only had to lie in his mansion and wait to collect money, but now bureaucrats and gentry from all over the country are clamoring for him to suppress bandits every day, and many even submit memorials to the court privately.

Impeach him as governor for his incompetence.

The matter of the bandits is not over yet, and the people from the Independent Commission Against Corruption are here again.

Gou Youquan couldn't understand why the situation had suddenly become like this?
Anqing, Yuexi Mountain.

This place is full of mountains and lush vegetation. The hazy mist reflects the small river flowing below. Rows of wooden houses are built among the rocks.

This place is one of Hongniangzi's bases.

At this time, the third boss came to a wooden house and knocked on the door, "Boss, this is the latest news."

"Okay, put it there!" A female voice that was neither cold nor harsh came from the room.

If Chongzhen were here, he would definitely be able to recognize that it was Hongniang's voice.

Ever since she came out of Siwang Mountain, she has been walking towards the southeast and finally chose here. To the east, she can enter Zhejiang, to the south she can enter Nanzhili, and to the west she can enter Huguang.

Relying on the slogan of "Great Harmony in the World", the team has developed rapidly and now has more than 50,000 soldiers under its command.

If she hadn't tried her best to control the number of people, there would probably be more than it is now.

Hongniang came out of the house while bunning her hair. Her eyes were like a clear lake, with a hint of indifference in them, and she looked very heroic.

Most married women in the Ming Dynasty tied their hair up in a bun. Even though Zhu Changgan had already run away, she still insisted on wearing her hair up in a bun.

“Hoo~Hoo~”

A flash of silver light appeared, and the move was as fast as lightning. Under the glow of the rising sun, it was like a dream.

I have experienced a lot from Siwang Mountain to where I am today.

Li Yan ran away, and the sixth in command Shentu Qian also ran away, but Hongniang's state of mind became more mature than before. She calmly put down the iron gun, picked up the newspaper from the desk, looked at the information on it, and frowned slightly.

"There's a 'Prince Xin' in Xiangyang Prefecture? He has 50,000 men under his command?"

After so many battles with the Ming army, all the bandits were transforming into regular troops, such as Tang Bao.

Hongniangzi realized the importance of information and sent out a large number of people to collect intelligence.

"Old Third, when did this person appear?"

The Third In Command scratched his head and said, "They appeared recently. I heard that they were Zhang Xianzhong's men. In the battle of Gucheng, Zhang Xianzhong was captured. Of his four adopted sons, one died and one was captured. We don't know where the remaining two are now.

Now, a 'Prince of Faith' suddenly appeared, which is indeed surprising."

"But this man's development was even faster than ours. In just a few days, he captured four counties and killed hundreds of corrupt officials. The people all welcomed him back."

"What is their program?"

The Third Master was stunned for a moment, "What they are shouting is: to enforce justice on behalf of heaven and distribute the land and grain equally!"

Ok?
Hongniang suddenly raised her head and asked, "Equally distribute the land and grain?"
Why do these four words sound so familiar?

It seemed that she had been thinking about it for a long time. Although that person did not explicitly say these four words to her, to sum up, all the connotations seemed to be these four words.

"Carry out justice on behalf of heaven and distribute the land and grain equally!"

She read it again, and it was easy to remember and catchy.

There is only one word difference between "equal distribution of land and exemption of taxation" and "equal distribution of land and exemption of taxation".

"Go and find out more about this person's name."

"Boss, do you know this person?"

Lady Hong looked at him coldly, "Just ask me if I ask you to find out. Why are you asking so many questions? Am I the boss or are you? Otherwise, who are you going to manage this village?"

"The big boss is joking." The old face of the third boss turned red, "I'll go right away!"

joke!

Not to mention that he doesn't want to be the boss, even if he were asked to be the boss, he wouldn't be able to do it.

Sixty thousand people!
That’s right, now Hongniang’s team is no longer just a few thousand people, but more than 60,000 people. The Third in Command is still clear about his own strengths and weaknesses.

After the others left, Hongniang continued to deal with the matters at hand, although with more guidance than when she was at Siwang Mountain.

There are many times more things to do than before, and I am busy from morning to night. Only when I am busy can I forget those people and things.

"is it him?"

ps: The first volume is finished, and the next is the second volume: Bloodbath in Jiangnan.

(End of this chapter)