Saving the Ming Dynasty: I can exchange bodies with Chongzhen

Chapter 186: Cleansing up Shaanxi and Shanxi

In the capital, cicadas are chirping loudly and the woods are dense, but they cannot block out the noise outside the imperial city.

A group of people entered the capital from Anding Gate on the north side in a mighty procession. As the Mongolian tribes south of the desert submitted their surrender letters, princes from the sixteen tribes south of the desert, including Ezhe and Sutai, also entered the capital one after another.

I am not coming to Kyoto for a visit, but to live here permanently.

As princes of the Mongolian tribes, Zhu Changgan naturally could not allow them to continue to accumulate strength and stir up trouble in Mongolia, so he asked them all to move to the capital.

This will completely bind them to the Ming Dynasty's chariot.

If you don't want to enter Beijing, then we will continue to send troops until you are forced to do so.

On the first day in Beijing, the emperor did not summon them, but instead had people from the East Factory teach them the rules.

When it comes to the Ming Dynasty, there must naturally be Ming Dynasty rules.

The people from the East Factory gave each of them an ivory tablet. For ranks one to five, the tablets were all made of ivory... For ranks six to nine, the tablets were all made of locust wood.

A special etiquette officer led them, "I will lead you to perform it once, and after you enter the hall, someone will shout worship."

"Just like that, first stand and bow, then hold the tablet horizontally and step back."

"Then bow again... and insert the tablet into your waist."

"Kneel!" The old eunuch who was in charge of teaching them put his hands together, placed them on the ground, and knocked his head on the back of his hands, "Bow again... Stand up!"

The Mongolian kings south of the desert looked at the old eunuch with their facial muscles twitching, but they did not dare to get angry.

There was no other reason. Before entering Beijing, they saw the troops of Lu Xiangsheng, the governor of Xuanda. Compared with before, their soldiers were fatter and their horses were stronger, and they had black cannon muzzles.

Let them not dare to make any changes.

……

After two hours of hard work, the old eunuch was finally satisfied and reported to the inner court, and Zhu Changgan summoned them.

After the formalities, Zhu Changgan chatted with them about some light topics and invited them to have lunch. The guests enjoyed the meal very much.

"Your Majesty, let me pour you some wine." Su Tai frequently made eye contact with the emperor. Just as she stood up and took a few steps, she was glared back by Wang Chengen.

How can the emperor's safety fall into the hands of a foreign woman like you?

Su Tai returned to his seat awkwardly, took a few sips from his wine glass, and his face flushed.

After the banquet ended and they returned to the mansion built for them by the Ming Dynasty, Su Tai said to his son, "This is all that mother can do for you."

There was disappointment in his words.

I thought that the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty would win him over into the palace like the Emperor of the Qing Dynasty did, but now it seems that I was overthinking.

"Mother, don't worry. Let's look for it again. If the emperor doesn't want it, maybe other royal nobles will have the same idea. Then we will have some say in the Ming court."

Ezhe's idea of ​​trying every possible means to send his mother away would certainly have been met with criticism in the Ming Dynasty, but it was very common among the Manchus and Mongols in the late Ming Dynasty.

"That's all we can do." Su Tai sighed.

In fact, she was only less than 35 years old, only a few years older than the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, and she could still bear children.

Why didn't the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty even look at me?

"But the Ming Dynasty is different from the Qing Dynasty. Their vassal kings are all in other places. Where can mother find them?" Ezhe's fat neck was wrinkled with worry.

"I heard that the emperor summoned Prince Xiang to the capital a few days ago. I heard that this man is highly valued by His Majesty. This may be an opportunity." said one of Ezhe's aides.

Su Tai's eyes lit up. "Oh, Prince Xiang Zhu Yiming? Where is he now?"

The corners of Ezhe's staff's mouth twitched, "I heard that he was taken away by bandits and is still in Huguang..."

……

Zhu Changgan actually didn't look down on Su Tai. This woman was good-looking, with a straight body and a round butt, and she still had some charm, but she had a smell.

Body odor!

Not to mention that there was no custom of marrying widows in the Ming Dynasty, so Zhu Changgan's idea was nipped in the bud before it even came up.

Let's leave it to the right person.

If someone in the Ming Dynasty was willing to marry Su Tai, Zhu Changgan would not object.

"His Majesty!"

A eunuch came in from outside, and Wang Chengen stepped forward to interrupt Zhu Changgan's thoughts.

"What's the matter?"

"Liaodong intelligence." Wang Chengen unfolded the intelligence, and then placed another book on the imperial desk.

When I opened the Jinyiwei intelligence, it was filled with numbers. Only by looking at the book, the code book, could I see the real information:
Kong Youde took advantage of North Korea's unpreparedness and captured Pi Island.

Dorgon rebuilt the Firearms Battalion and appointed Shang Kexi and Duoduo to jointly manage the Firearms Battalion. After this rebellion, the status of the Han people was greatly improved and was on par with that of the Mongols.

Not only the Han people, but also the Korean soldiers were treated equally.

This surprised Zhu Changgan a little. In the history of their previous lives, the heights that the Han people had never reached from beginning to end were actually raised because of this rebellion.

I have to say that the situation is stronger than people.

Dorgon's reaction was much faster than expected, and the news sent back by the Embroidered Uniform Guard was that the artillery of the Qing Firearms Battalion was progressing smoothly and that wheat grain gunpowder had been used again.

The range is much improved than before.

In addition, the Jinyiwei also mentioned a piece of information that they instigated a Niulu Zhangjing of the Bordered White Banner to rebel. This man's wife was defiled by Duoduo many times, and now he doesn't know whether the son he gave birth to is his own or Duoduo's.

"I understand." Zhu Changgan lit the note handed over by the Jinyiwei with a candle and said, "Just let them act according to the plan."

"Yes, Your Majesty!" The eunuch took the order and left.

Today, the Jinyiwei and Yebushou are on the right track. Zhu Changgan's attitude is to try not to micro-manage them and let them operate according to the rules.

Zhu Changgan was not too worried about the Qing Dynasty's wheat-grain gunpowder.

Because the Armory has already started to produce nitric acid and is experimenting with "guncotton," or "nitrocellulose."

The next step is to dissolve them in ether or alcohol to stabilize them, which will usher in the era of smokeless gunpowder.

As an ideal propellant for guns.

Not only is the explosive power of smokeless gunpowder greater than that of black powder, it can also increase the range of the projectile, improve the straightness of the trajectory and shooting accuracy, and there is no residue after burning, only a small amount of smoke is produced.

Right now, the Armory is trying to find a way to make a stabilizer.

Everything is going on in an orderly manner...

……

"The other side of the river is full of paddy fields. Whose land is that?"

"Replying to the Governor, that is the military farm of Hanzhongwei."

Starting from the Hongwu Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang, the Ming Dynasty drew on the experience of military farming in various places and set up more than 300 military garrisons. Each military household had 50 acres of land, and they farmed in peacetime and fought in wartime.

"Maintaining a million soldiers does not cost the people a grain of food."

But the system always needs to keep pace with the times. Take the military farming as an example. It was fine in the early stage, but after a few generations, the military fields were occupied by military officers, and the sons and nephews of these officers developed into local landlords and gentry.

The poor military households not only lost their land, but also had to bear the military service in wartime and pay taxes in peacetime.

Not to mention the end of the Ming Dynasty, during the Hongwu period alone, the number of refugees exceeded 100,000. In the third year of Zhengtong, the cumulative number of refugees exceeded 1.6 million.

The imperial court had no choice but to start the conscription system.

The Ming Dynasty court had thought about changing this situation. The solution they came up with was somewhat similar to the high-salary system in later generations, which was to give generals "land to maintain integrity."

Unfortunately, what they got in return was even greater greed, and they swallowed up all the bones of the generals.

Sun Chuanting frowned, "Military land? If it is military land, why haven't you reported it to me?"

"Call over the people who have occupied the land."

"This..." The subordinate was a little embarrassed.

Sun Chuanting drew his knife and said, "So you are involved in this?"

"No, absolutely not. I will go and call him over right now."

Soon the manager of Hanzhongwei was called over. He was a fat and big-eared country gentleman.

"Who are you?"

"Your Excellency, my name is Lai Lai Wenbing."

Sun Chuanting looked at the landlord in front of him and said, "I heard that the land on the other side of the river belongs to you?"

"My Lord, it is mine."

"But I clearly remember that this should belong to Hanzhongwei. How come it became yours?"

The squire was at a loss for words.

Sun Chuanting ordered his men with a cold face, "Give him a pen and paper, and have him sign and seal, and return the general's land."

"Sir, we bought this with silver. How can we..."

“Plop~”

It was the fat and big-eared landlord who knelt on the ground, with the back of his head hitting the ground. Sun Chuanting's eyes flashed with coldness, and he stepped on his chest, "Your Majesty has ordered that those who occupy military land must return the land unconditionally. Those who dare to resist will be killed without mercy."

"Someone, drag him out and chop him up!"

"Yes!" Two people immediately ran in and dragged the landlord out.

quickly,

With a "click" sound, dust floated on a thick pool of blood on the ground.

Sun Chuanting spat, "The world is corrupt, the people follow the bandits, all because of hunger, the people are hungry, because there is no land to farm, they don't know what the human heart is, so we will teach them what the human heart is!"

"Tell all the landlords and gentry who have occupied the military land to hand over all the military land within one day, otherwise don't blame me, Sun, for being shameless."

"Your Majesty told me that Li Zicheng can lose eight or ten times, but the Ming Dynasty cannot lose even once. That's the difference."

"Today, let's recover all the occupied lands of Hanzhongwei!"

With his order, the troops moved and rushed towards the mansions of all the wealthy gentry who had occupied the land of the Hanzhongwei army.

"do not move!"

"Anyone who dares to resist will be killed!"

"be honest!"

"..."

Early the next morning,
All military fields of Hanzhongwei were thoroughly investigated.

Sun Chuanting clutched the account book in his hand and said, "I never thought that you would not only seize the military land, but also use other people to pretend to be dead military households to offset the taxes. You deserve to be killed."

"Put it down!"

"It's easy to find a pretext to accuse someone of a crime. You are just talking nonsense. What right do you have to kill people... Are you more powerful than the court?" The gentry pointed at Sun Chuanting, "My wife's nephew is in Beijing and is the head of the Ministry of Revenue. Just wait and see how I impeach you."

"Well said, what right do I have to kill people?" Sun Chuanting took out a golden order from his waist, "This is a gift from His Majesty. Killing you is like killing a dog."

"cut!"

The night wind was howling, black smoke was emitting from the corpse lying in the courtyard, a burning smell filled the air, and blazing flames floated on the landlord's courtyard wall.

Your earthworm-like blood is flowing slowly on the ground.

Outside the squire's courtyard, soldiers were posting notices that read:

"After investigation, it was found that the local squire Kong Huairong colluded with the commander of the Hanzhong Guards and occupied 1,200 mu of military farmland. His entire family resisted stubbornly and shall be executed!"

"Reclaim the land, confiscate all the property, and seize it all."

Sun Chuanting kicked away a local squire who came to plead for mercy, his eyes sharp as a sword, "The Neijing says that to deal with the chaos after it has already occurred is like digging a well when you are thirsty, or casting a cone when you are fighting. Isn't it too late?"

"You guys come to beg me now? It's too late..."

His actions immediately caused cheers from the people and loud drums and gongs.

They all knelt down and cried out, "Great Lord!"

"God of Heaven, please accept our greetings!"

Whenever he arrived at a place, Sun Chuanting would first check the military farms and return the land to the military households. If there was no one to claim the land, it would be directly nationalized and given to the landless tenants to cultivate. The annual rent was much less than that paid to the landlords.

Sun Chuanting also recruited soldiers aged 16 to 28. When they joined the army, they were allowed to own acres of land, and the government would provide them with seeds and farm tools. After serving in the army for three years, all the land would belong to the soldiers. If the soldiers were injured or killed, they would also be given pensions.

As soon as this notice came out, the people of Shaanxi were in an uproar.

"Did you see it? There is the seal of the Three Border Governor's Office on it. How could it be fake?"

"This matter has also been reported in the Ming Times. It cannot be false."

"What are you waiting for……"

The people joined the army enthusiastically.

You are given acres of land, seeds and farm tools for free, and they become your private property in three years. Why not give it a try?
Land and acres are the deepest desire of the common people. They are willing to give it a try, let alone three years, even five years.

So wherever the governor of the three borders went, the people were crowded and scrambled to join the army.

The problem of manpower was solved at once, both in terms of quality and quantity.

In just a few days, more than 30,000 soldiers were recruited, and these 30,000 people were carefully selected and Sun Chuanting had high hopes for them.

After several fierce battles, the troops led by Sun Chuanting, together with the generals from Sun Yingyuan, Shandong, Baoding and other places, further compressed the space for the bandits.

The areas of Shaanxi and Shanxi have almost been completely cleared.

After wiping out the bandits, Sun Chuanting did not continue to pursue them immediately, but began to rectify the military and political affairs in various places, especially to investigate the military farms.

Training troops in Qingtun on the one hand, and encircling and suppressing the bandits on the other hand, this was exactly the strategy he and the emperor had agreed upon.

Those who need to be conquered should be conquered, and those who need to be killed should be killed.

Zhu Changgan would not tolerate the powerful and evil gentry, and anyone who dared to resist would be killed without mercy.

The biggest problem with the persistent banditry is that the people have no land and no means of livelihood. Once a disaster occurs, they lose the means to survive.

What Sun Chuanting did was to check all the military farms, and then give these fields to the refugees to cultivate. He would keep a portion of the harvest for the military households and keep the rest for himself.

In addition, due to famine and war, many places in Shaanxi and Shanxi were left with hundreds of miles of barren land, and there was too much wasteland.

Those gentry and landlords who wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to acquire land at a low price, or even get it for free, were also the areas that Sun Chuanting conducted a thorough investigation of.

Build water channels for them.

In a nutshell, it can be summed up in one sentence: do your best to comfort the refugees.

Let the refugees live and work in peace and give them a motivation to survive.

In addition to this, the system of collective responsibility was further deepened. If one family rebelled, all the lands obtained by all the descendants and nephews within the nine generations would be taken back and they would be exiled.

Fundamentally cut off the source of nourishment for the bandits.

Sun Chuanting is indeed a ruthless man. Now, most of the more than 300 guards have become useless and are in name only. The reason why he dared to do this is because he received an imperial decree from the emperor, "Disarmament!"

"Three days later, we will enter Henan."

……

In the Qianqing Palace, Zhu Changgan announced an edict at the morning court.

"One hundred and ninety-two garrisons in Shanxi, Shaanxi, Sichuan and other places will be abolished. All military households below the 100-household level will no longer have to perform military service. If they are still cultivating land, half of the land will be retained, and the rest will be returned to the court."

"Investigate all matters concerning military farming..."

In addition, six major war zones were established.

"The Liaodong Theater in the northeast, the Mongolian Theater in the north, the Suzhou Theater in the northwest, the Sichuan Theater in the southwest, the Yunnan-Guizhou Theater, and the Jiangsu-Zhejiang Theater in the southeast."

A unified conscription system is implemented.

As soon as the imperial edict came out, there was an uproar in the court.

Although the military farming system was already in name only and the conscription system had been implemented long ago, this was the ancestral system and no one was willing to break this status quo. However, it was now proposed by the emperor himself.

The entire court of civil and military officials was extremely shocked.

They knelt outside the palace one by one and asked to see the emperor.

However, the emperor ignored it.

Ancestral system?

Zhu Changgan was almost immune to this thing that Lao Zhu used to maintain long-term stability for future generations.

If Zhu Yuanzhang's "ancestral system" design was really effective, there would not have been a situation where Emperor Wuzong toured around, played various roles, neglected government affairs, and played games with state affairs.

It would not have happened that Emperor Shizong of the Ming Dynasty did not attend court for many years, indulged in Taoist poetry, and ignored the disasters in the world.

There would be no Ming Xizong who indulged in play, or was obsessed with mud, tile, wood, and lacquer work... These were all strict constraints of the "ancestral system", which caused the emperors who maintained the status quo to develop a rebellious mentality.

The civil officials knelt outside for a day and a night, and finally waited for the imperial gate to open, and it was Wang Chengen who walked out.

"Go back. His Majesty said, don't carry the banner of 'ancestral system'. If you hadn't been so stubborn and stubborn, the Ming Dynasty wouldn't have fallen to this point today."

When these words were spoken, all the civil officials were indignant.

"Your Majesty does not respect the ancestral system. How is it our fault?"

"Your Majesty, the court employed Sun Chuanting and spent millions of taels of silver, but he has not been seen going south to suppress the bandits for a long time. What is his intention?"

"Your Majesty, who among the civil and military officials in the court is not better than Sun Chuanting, a third-place Jinshi?"

"..."

Just when they were discussing excitedly, they suddenly heard footsteps and the people from the Jinyiwei and Wucheng Bingmasi were in place.

The hearts of all the civil and military officials were pounding and their throats felt like they were on fire, burning with pain.

I felt a great fear in my heart, and sweat kept flowing down my forehead and cheeks.

Finally, a few ministers struggled to get up, their faces turned purple, and they left in disgrace, ignoring the looks of others.

"Master Liu, no...you are...don't leave!"

"Master Zhang?"

"Master Huang..."

……

(End of this chapter)