Saving the Ming Dynasty: I can exchange bodies with Chongzhen

Chapter 199 The gentry in the southeast are complaining!

The influence of "Prince Xin" was not only reflected in Wuchang Prefecture, but also had a great impact on other rebel kings.

This situation is just like the car dealers in later generations. Once one of them lowers the price, other dealers have to follow suit, otherwise they will not be able to sell their cars.

The same is true for the rebel king. "Prince Xin" distributed his gold and silver, and gave land to the people and exempted them from grain taxes. If other rebel kings did not follow suit, the hungry people would all flock to "Prince Xin" for help.

Who would come to you for help?

As a result, hundreds of thousands of active peasant armies in Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan, Huguang and other provinces also raised the banner of "dividing land and exempting grain taxes".

Use the power of the times to win people over to your side first.

……

Yuexi Mountain, light shines from the treetops onto the ground. A heroic woman in red clothes holds a spear in her hand that flies like a dragon.

In addition, there is a row of female soldiers, all wearing armor, with strong and tall build, and broad backs.

After practicing with her spear, Lady Hong walked into the pavilion and asked her subordinate, "Has the third brother come back?"

"To reply to the eldest master, the third master has not returned yet, but the messenger has returned and has entered Wuchang Prefecture, but Prince Xin did not see him."

Hongniang's eyebrows moved slightly, "I didn't see it? Why is that?"

"That's right... our sincerity is not enough. Since you want to see Prince Xin, you should talk to him. How can you let me talk to you?"

"..." A cold light flashed in Hongniang's eyes.

She was already very heroic, and she had been fighting a series of battles in recent days.

Now she has 80,000 men under her command. She defeated all the government troops in Anqing Prefecture and its surrounding areas in one fell swoop, and used Yuexi Mountain, Anqing and Luzhou Prefectures as her base, radiating the area within hundreds of miles.

Compared with the past, it is more majestic and murderous.

But the murderous intent flashed away and soon turned gentle. She took a deep breath and said, "King to King... Prince Xin wants me to go over?"

The female soldier didn't say anything. Lady Hong pondered for a moment and asked, "How is the land distribution in Luzhou Prefecture going?"

"Reporting to the boss, we are making steady progress, but Luzhou Prefecture is far away from us after all, and the troops there are not as many as those in Anqing, so we will always encounter some resistance."

"Don't be afraid of that. As long as we distribute the land, the people will naturally help us fight against corrupt officials and evil gentry." Hong Niangzi took the bowl of tea and drank it all.

Now she has deeply understood Zhu Changgan's meaning, and also understood the reason why Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, succeeded by saying "Store up food, build high walls, and slowly claim the throne."

Focus on developing your own base, improving your strength, and defending your own territory.

Reserve sufficient food and grass and enhance economic strength. Economy is the foundation of everything.

Don't rush to declare yourself the "rebel king". If you rashly declare yourself the king when your own strength does not allow it, you will only attract the attention of the government army and encircle and suppress it.

Wait for the right time, and then everything will be there.

This is also the reason why she occupied Yuexi Mountain and Anqing Prefecture. She could attack or defend, and could develop either to the east or to the west.

The reason why her power developed so quickly was due to the distribution of land and exemption of grain taxes.

They distributed the land of bureaucrats and gentry to the poor people. Of course, they did not give it away casually. Instead, they required that the family send a young and strong man to serve in the army for five years before the ownership of the land would belong to them.

In addition, they were also provided with water wheels for irrigation, oxen, etc., which were also distributed according to the number of people who joined the rebel army.

For example, if two people in your family join the rebel army, you will be given an extra 30 acres of land and an ox. Anyway, these things were all looted from the bureaucrats and gentry.

This move can not only attract people to join the army, but also turn these places into their own bases.

Once these lands start to produce, the people will firmly support themselves in order to protect their own farmland, and at that time, they will be able to provide them with food, fodder, and manpower.

Just like wheat, a new crop grows every year.

As long as it is managed well, it will be no problem to feed hundreds of thousands of troops within these hundreds of miles.

It was this strategy that created a huge wave in the Southern Zhili region, like a spark that completely set these areas on fire.

When the people saw that they did not have to pay rent, they naturally became interested and joined the rebels.

So wherever the Red Lady Army went, the bureaucrats and gentry were all terrified.

Hong Niangzi suddenly asked the subordinate a question, "Guining, do you still remember my son-in-law?"

The official was stunned for a moment, with a strange look in his eyes. Didn't you say that no one is allowed to talk about your son-in-law anymore?

Of course, she didn't dare to say this, "Of course I remember it. His calmness, indifference, temperament and demeanor are all so impressive."

Lady Hong rolled her eyes at her, "I didn't expect you to think so highly of him?"

"That's what it is!"

Hong Niangzi did not speak, but paused for a while. The reason why she asked the Third In Command to meet Prince Xin was that she had a feeling that this person was extremely familiar to her.

She herself couldn't explain why she felt a sense of familiarity, but she just had this intuition.

Now the news brought back by the third in command was that he didn't even meet her, which made her feel uneasy.

Gui Ning bit her lip and said, "Although the son-in-law is a nobody, his theories and programs are very powerful. Otherwise, we would not have been able to develop to such a large scale now."

"Yes, his previous theory has allowed us to develop to our current point, but the battlefield is changing rapidly now. What to do next cannot be solved step by step..." said Hong Niangzi with a worried look on her face.

She didn't say the second half.

But Gui Ning knew what the boss wanted to say: If the son-in-law were still alive, perhaps the situation would be much clearer than it is now.

"Forget it, let's not talk about him. Rebellion is like hanging your head on a belt. You have to put your head on the line and survive. What's more, there is a Prince Xin watching us. Even if the government troops want to attack, they will attack him first. It is most important for us to continue to develop our own strength."

"I will go to meet the new recruits who have just joined the team. Now we have a constant supply of soldiers, but the overall combat effectiveness is declining, which needs to be solved urgently." Hong Niangzi stepped out heroically with an iron spear in hand.

……

There were bandits in front, but the situation of the scholars behind was becoming more and more intense.

The Anti-Corruption Department of Southern Zhili intervened and began to investigate the corruption and private taxation of previous bureaucrats and gentry.

With the example of Xiong Wencan, the scholars no longer had any fear of corrupt officials. No matter which government office they belonged to or who backed them, they would be arrested directly. If anyone dared to resist, the scholars would rush forward.

They are really ruthless and will beat you to death as long as they don't kill you.

The officialdom of Southern Zhili had become a complete mess.

The country gentry also complained bitterly.

Life is really sad.

They had never hoped so much that the imperial court would send officers and soldiers to drive away the bandits.

Zhu Dazhuang, the governor of the grain transport system in Nanzhili, not only did not send anyone to collect rent, he even ran to the capital to complain to the emperor.

"Your Majesty, please transfer me back to the capital. I can't stand it any longer." Zhu Changgan looked at him, "Huh? As a high-ranking official of the imperial court, how can you leave your post without permission? Someone, take him down and put him in the imperial prison."

"Hula~"

People from the Eastern Depot came in, took off Zhu Dazhuang’s official hat, and dragged him out.

Zhu Changgan knocked on the imperial desk and said, "It's good that things are in chaos. It means that Jiangnan is not far from stability."

This was the track that he had designed for Jiangnan. So far, everything was as he had imagined. The impact on the common people was not that great, and only the officials and gentry were feeling uncomfortable.

Go ahead and keep making noise, and when the situation becomes unbearable, it will be time for the five major camps to move in.

Now is not the time.

"Someone is coming."

Wang Chengen ran over and said, "Your Majesty, what do you want me to do?"

"Send a message to Han Qianhu of the Imperial Guards, asking him to make more trouble and add more fuel to the fire in Jiangnan."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Before Wang Chengen left, Zhu Changgan suddenly became interested and asked, "What has Chen Yuanyuan been doing these past two days?"

"Your Majesty, it seems like she is embroidering a folding screen."

"Embroidered screen?" Zhu Changgan was stunned for a moment, "Let's go and take a look."

……

As August approached, the weather in the capital city became colder day by day. The misty autumn rain covered the entire palace with a hazy veil, as if tinged with a touch of sorrow.

Although Chen Yuanyuan lived in a side hall of Chenghua Palace, because it was the future East Palace, the houses, rockery, courtyards and lake scenery were all unique.

Seeing the emperor suddenly arrive, the palace maids in Chenghua Palace hurriedly saluted, but were stopped by Zhu Changgan.

He stepped lightly in and saw Chen Yuanyuan's watery face pouting outwards, staring at the screen with sharp eyes, very absorbed.

Following the line of sight, there is a beauty screen.

There were many screens of beauties in the palace, but this one made Zhu Changgan's eyes light up suddenly. The exquisite materials were one thing, but the key point was that the beauties on it were not wearing clothes...

It was not until she felt something was wrong with the maid who was helping her that Chen Yuanyuan suddenly reacted and quickly stood in front of the emperor, "No... I haven't finished the painting yet."

Zhu Changgan's eyes were as big as cow eggs. He asked in amazement, "I didn't expect Chen Zhaoyi to be able to embroider such an elegant thing. Such skills, such lines, every detail is visible... By the way, what are these beauties doing?"

The two beauties in the picture are crossing their legs...

Chen Yuanyuan's face flushed. She covered the screen with her round fan and said coquettishly, "I won't talk to you!"

This screen was originally used to liven up the boudoir, and its function of "polishing the mirror" can only be understood but not described.

Now that the emperor asked her so bluntly, she wished she could find a gap to crawl into.

Her face was extremely ashamed and blushing...but the more she was like this, the more excited Zhu Changgan became.

"I'll come out and try this screen too."

Seeing this, Wang Chengen hurriedly called the other eunuchs and palace maids out. After thinking for a while, he called another palace maid over and said, "Go, call the new concubine Liu over."

"Yes, Eunuch Wang!" The palace maid ran to the next room with a red face to call Concubine Liu.

Ever since Concubine Chen became pregnant and moved into the harem, the Queen selected another beautiful girl to be added to the harem.

Concubine of Ming Dynasty.

The ranks from highest to lowest are: Empress; Imperial Noble Consort; Noble Consort; Virtuous Consort, Virtuous Consort, Zhuang Consort, Respectful Consort, Hui Consort, Shun Consort, Kang Consort, Ning Consort; Virtuous Consort, Virtuous Consort, Zhuang Consort, Life Consort, Hui Consort, An Consort, He Consort, Xi Consort, Kang Consort; Zhaoyi, Jieyushi, Beauty, Talented Lady, Selected Consort, and Fair Lady.

Although the pregnant Concubine Chen became a consort, she was actually just a concubine. Only if she gave birth to a son could she be promoted to a consort by virtue of her son's status.

Chen Yuanyuan was only a Zhaoyi, and the new ones who entered the palace were only selected concubines.

Even concubines have to work hard to climb up the social ladder, let alone those of them who are not even concubines, so they can only work harder, like this screen.

This is what Chen Yuanyuan wanted to come up with by getting the newly selected concubines to enter the palace.

Soon, Concubine Liu was brought in. Wang Chengen closed the door and drove all the palace maids and eunuchs away. He sat on the steps and took out a small hourglass in his hand.

Look up at the sky,

The sky was gloomy and the clouds were low, as if they were about to swallow up the entire palace at any time.

The raindrops hit the roof, making a "patter" sound, as if playing the rhythm of time.

On the streets, rainwater and soil mixed together to form a muddy patch.

Pedestrians hurriedly walked on the mud, leaving footprints of varying depths, but they were quickly washed away by new rain, as if nothing had happened.

The wheels rolled over, splashing water and mud, like a chaotic and disordered picture.

The vendors held up colorful umbrellas, and their raincoats looked particularly bright in the rain. Their hawking voices seemed long and powerful in the rain, interweaving with the raindrops to form a symphony of the common people.

In the alleys, rainwater overflowed the stone pavement and formed small streams.

On both sides of the alley, the dilapidated walls were covered with mosses, making them look even older and more weathered. Occasionally, one or two stray cats ran by, stepping carefully through the mud for fear of getting their feet dirty.

However, in this wet gray, you can occasionally see a warm light. It is a small shop on the corner. The proprietress hangs red lanterns, which are brightly lit, bringing some warmth and hope to passers-by. The whole world becomes soft and slow in the rain.

People no longer rush on their way, but slow down their pace and enjoy the tranquility and coolness brought by the rain.

Feeling that the time was almost up, Wang Chengen stood up, straightened his clothes, and whispered, "Your Majesty, it's getting late. Elder Sun and Minister Yang of the Military Affairs Office are still waiting."

After a moment, a voice came from inside the room, "Got it, let them wait a little longer."

Wang Chengen advised earnestly: "Your Majesty, please take care of the dragon's body."

"roll!"

“……”Wang Chengen could only shut up.

He frowned and stared at the hourglass in his hand, "Your Majesty, could this illness have an impact on this aspect as well?"

In the past, the emperor would come out when the hourglass was only half full, but this time it was almost full and the emperor was still inside. There was obviously something wrong.

But he couldn't tell what the problem was.

"No, I'll ask Imperial Doctor Zhang later. Your Majesty's lack of self-control may not be a good thing for the Ming Dynasty."

……

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(End of this chapter)