Saving the Ming Dynasty: I can exchange bodies with Chongzhen

Chapter 201: Cutting off the ties between civil servants and capital in a strange way!

After taking two detours from Wuchang Prefecture, Li Shuangxi finally returned to Henan and met King Chuang again.

"How is it? Can I see Prince Xin?"

"Prince Xin didn't see us, but General Han under his command did."

"Then you gave the King of Rebellion's handwritten letter to the other party, but you didn't even meet him?" Niu Jinxing frowned and asked, "This person is too arrogant. He didn't even show up."

Li Zicheng sighed, "In fact, if it were me, I would understand. Now they have hundreds of thousands of troops, but I haven't shown up. They also have their own things to do. How can I put aside my own affairs and meet with everyone just because this rebel king's subordinates arrive today and that rebel king's men arrive tomorrow?"

"But the banner of King Chuang..." Niu Jinxing wanted to say something, but was stopped by Li Zicheng, "Where is your uncle Li?"

"Uncle Li said he wanted to stay and learn more." Li Shuangxi said excitedly: "You don't know how much the people of Wuchang Prefecture admire Prince Xin..."

He recounted everything he had seen along the way, and everyone present was amazed.

"I have only seen such a capable person in my uncle, King Gao Chuang." Li Zicheng kept rubbing his fingers, and it was obvious that he was uneasy.

Gao Chuangwang is the first Chuangwang Gao Yingxiang.

He was good at riding and shooting, and had extraordinary arm strength. He led the people in an uprising and called himself King Chuang.

Later, he led his troops across the Yellow River and fought in Henan, Hubei, Shaanxi, Sichuan and other places. He participated in the Xingyang Conference and became the leader of the Thirteen Families and Seventy-two Camps uprising team.

He led Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong and tens of thousands of people on the eastward expedition, entered Huguang through Zaoyang and Dangyang, broke Kuizhou, attacked Guangyuan, forced Sichuan, and then broke through Fengyang and destroyed the ancestral tomb of the Ming Emperor.

But he was eventually captured and killed by the Ming court, and it was because of this that he became Li Chuangwang.

Li Zicheng was shocked and said: "It's not necessarily a bad thing. After Zhang Xianzhong's death, less than half of the original thirteen families in Xingyang are still fighting.

Our uprising was about to fall into a trough, but now a Prince Xin has suddenly appeared and has revived the game."

The Thirteen Families of Xingyang, Gao Yingxiang (death), Zhang Xianzhong (death), and Luo Rucai (surrendered).

Ma Shouying, He Yilong, He Jin and Xu Kebian were defeated and are now missing.

Hui Dengxiang (died), Li Wanqing is still alive, but his influence is much smaller than before.

Ma Jinzhong, who led an army of 100,000 men, surrendered to Zuo Liangyu this year. Wang Zishun, the King of Hengtian, joined forces with Ma Jinzhong and also surrendered to Zuo Liangyu.

Nine dragons (already dead),

King Shuntian (has died, the troops are led by King Gaishi).

In just two years, more than half of the people had been killed or injured.

The rebel army had also entered its most difficult time. Unexpectedly, such a figure would appear at this moment. This gave Li Zicheng, who had been somewhat disheartened, a sudden surge of motivation.

Li Zicheng looked at Niu Jinxing and said, "I agree with your point of view. You said that there can't be two tigers on one mountain. That was when the Ming court was defeated. But now the Ming court is powerful, like a hunter holding a musket. If there are two tigers on the mountain, they need to unite and kill the tiger hunter first."

"It's alive. Everything is alive again."

"Liu Zongmin, come with me to Wuchang Prefecture."

Li Zicheng's hope

"King Chuang, isn't it too risky to go there alone?"

"We have to take risks. Last time we went to find Zhang Xianzhong, we were half a day late and he was already dead. Now we have such an opportunity. If we shrink back, the situation will not wait for us..." Li Zicheng was very bold. "I want to follow the example of Gao Chuangwang and hold another Xingyang meeting, nominate Prince Xin as the leader, and discuss the strategy against the enemy together."

He did not have good intentions. To put it bluntly, he just wanted to raise the flag of Prince Xin completely, thinking that it would be better to take advantage of the big tree to provide shade.

With "Prince Xin" supporting them from the front and holding back the government troops, they had the opportunity to develop rapidly.

How Gao Yingxiang died depended on whether Prince Xin fell into the trap or not.

But Niu Jinxing's words made everyone stunned.

"Chuang Wang, Li Yan highly respects this man. If we go there, it will be like throwing meat buns at a dog. What will we do if we don't come back?"

He had passed the imperial examination, which showed that he was somewhat educated. Although he passed the imperial examination, he was stripped of his honors because of a crime, which was a great shame and humiliation. He therefore hated the Ming Dynasty and was recommended by Li Yan to join Li Zicheng.

Although he had been in the camp for a short time, Niu Jinxing had done well under Li Zicheng. There were few educated people in the army, and even fewer like Niu Jinxing who had passed the imperial examination. In addition, he was good at observing people's expressions, flattering others, and had some insights, so he was highly valued.

"Impossible, how could the King of Chuang not know who Li Yan is?" Song Xiance stepped forward and said, "I was just a few days late, but you slandered me like this."

"Don't forget, it was Li Yan's recommendation that allowed you to join King Chuang's camp."

What the hell, if it weren’t for Li Yan’s recommendation, would you have your current position?

Song Xiance sneered at people like Niu Jinxing. Why didn't he realize that he was such a person before?
"Don't forget who recommended you to join King Chuang's camp." Niu Jinxing's words left Song Xiance speechless, because it was Niu Jinxing who recommended him to join King Chuang's camp.

King Chuang stretched out his hand and said, "Okay, stop talking. Now the most important thing is to write letters to other rebel kings and ask them to join the uprising. This way the chances of success will be greater."

Song Xiance looked at Li Zicheng, the King of Rebellion, and suddenly felt that Li Yan might be right. Li Zicheng attached so much importance to a person who could read people's expressions and flatter them.

How can you accomplish great things if you trust people who are jealous of one's talent and ability?

How could he be the wise leader that I should assist? !

……

When Hongniang opened the letter from Li Zicheng, the King of Rebellion, she felt a little sad, thinking back to when she almost joined the King of Rebellion's team. But after the battle at Siwang Mountain, she made up her mind to come to the southeast, which led to the current scale of the team.

"Do you want Prince Xin to be the leader?"

After Hongniang pondered for a moment, she asked Guining to grind ink and wrote a reply.

"Boss, are you willing to nominate Prince Xin as the leader?" Gui Ning couldn't help but ask.

Lady Hong smiled and said, "Why would you be unwilling if someone holds an umbrella?"

"But... now that we have acknowledged him as the leader of the kings, if he becomes really powerful in the future and the two sides go to war, he will be in the upper hand."

"Let him hold on until then."

The current situation is treacherous and unpredictable. The five major camps of the Ming court have not taken action yet, but the peasant army has been beaten into this state. If the Ming court's artillery and muskets come over, can they withstand it?
This is also a good opportunity to take a look at who this "King of Faith" is.

She always had a feeling that she knew this person.

……

Not only Hongniangzi, but also the rebel kings in several provinces and dozens of peasant uprising forces all responded as Li Zicheng's letter was sent out.

They all agreed to nominate "Prince Xin" as the leader of the anti-king movement.

Now that the situation is low and difficult, they will naturally be willing to accept someone holding the flag.

……

But when it came to Chongzhen, the situation was completely different. "Ah? Am I going to become the leader of the many rebel kings?"

He had agreed to lead a team to Zhu Changgan just to experiment with placing a court team among the peasant army, but he never imagined that he would become a leader in the industry by doing so.

This situation was a little hard for him to believe. "What should I do? Should I carry this flag?"

"How do you carry it?"

He quickly called King Xiang, Old Han, and the old blind man to discuss the matter. These people all knew his background.

"If you ask me, you should naturally carry this banner." The old blind man was the first to stand up and said, "Other rebel kings might refuse, but you are a vassal of the royal family and have the will of His Majesty. If you can unite all the rebel kings, it will be a great achievement."

The old blind man was certain that his ancestor would not lie, and that the person in front of him must be the emperor, so he assisted him sincerely.

King Xiang opened his mouth several times, and the worry in his eyes became even more intense, "Son, will you get into trouble if you play so big?"

Others are not afraid, but he is. He has only this one promising son. If something goes wrong, he won't even have time to cry.

On the other hand, Zhu Yiming didn't want his son to show too much ability. He was already a vassal king. If he made great contributions, how would the emperor reward him?

The look that Old Han gave King Xiang was full of meaning.

"I also support the prince in carrying this banner. Now that the five battalions of Huige Zuo have surrendered, if you attract a few other peasant armies, everything will be under the control of Your Highness."

King Xiang, you don't understand. Your son will be the emperor in the future. If he can accomplish such a great feat, his chances of ascending the throne will be much better.

Therefore, Old Han is trying his best. If he succeeds in the future, he will be the one who helps the dragon.

After hesitating for a moment, Chongzhen finally made up his mind, "In this case, I will take up this banner."

Just as he was about to grind ink to write a reply, someone ran in from outside, "Report, there is a man outside who claims to be the third leader of the Red Lady Army, and he wants to see Prince Xin again."

"No!" Chongzhen waved his hand, turned his head but paused, "By the way, I have seen this Lady Hong before. If she comes too, won't she be exposed by anger?"

The old blind man and Old Han were both silent for a moment, "This is indeed a problem."

"How about asking His Majesty to send someone to beat Lady Hong?"

"Use soldiers to hold her back? This is one way to do it, but... forget it." Chongzhen just felt a little bit of pity for Hongniang, but it quickly disappeared.

……

Zhu Changgan in the court also had a constantly changing impression of Chongzhen.

"When a man has been away for three days, he should be looked at with new eyes. He is not good at governing a country, but he is so skilled at being a rebel?"

It seems that some things can only be implemented with his help.

whats the matter?
Naturally, it is a matter of collecting taxes. If the country cannot collect taxes and cannot solve the financial problem, it will turn to put pressure on the farmers. The farmers cannot bear the taxes and either rebel or flee from the land to become vagrants. The unemployed vagrants run around everywhere and become bandits, pirates, ruffians and hooligans, which are full of instability.

In the late Ming Dynasty, the entire society was filled with violence, with people beating and killing each other at the slightest provocation and widespread violence.

As Liu Zongchu said in the late Ming Dynasty, the whole society was in a state of distortion, and it was common for women to fight on the streets.

The people do not believe in the authority of the government, they only believe in rumors. They believe the words of bandits and traitors, but they do not believe in the government.

Everyone is in a state of high tension and mutual distrust.

For example, in Wuchang Prefecture, the notices posted by "Prince Xin" were more effective than those posted by the imperial court. So when Zhu Changgan wanted to collect commercial taxes, he thought about it and decided to start from Wuchang Prefecture where Chongzhen was.

As a rebel, I do not collect agricultural taxes from the people, but only industrial and commercial taxes from bureaucrats and gentry.

There is no need to pay attention to the party struggles in the court, or the struggles between civil officials and imperial power. Whether you are from the Donglin Party, the Chu Party, the Zhejiang Party, the Xuan Party, or the Kun Party, to me, it makes no sense for you to be tied to the gentry capital of Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

You, the civil service group, have no right to interfere with me, the traitor. If you don’t pay industrial and commercial taxes, I will kill you directly.

Hiding wealth among the people?
The ones I’m going to beat are you “people” who are crying and shouting.

We are targeting you, the Jiangnan industrial, commercial and trade gentry capital groups and the bureaucratic capital groups within the Ming court.

……

"The key to saving the Ming Dynasty is industrial and commercial taxes? Not agricultural taxes?"

Although Chongzhen had some doubts about Zhu Changgan's national policy, after so many verifications, he still resolutely implemented it.

Tens of thousands of soldiers entered through the Wuchang city gate and rushed into the mansions of wealthy mining merchants and other wealthy families in Wuchang City.

The army was so massive, like rolling waves, that the officials and the people were all shocked. They all wondered what the king was going to do.
Soon, they learned that Prince Xin was going to take action against the wealthy merchants because they exploited the people's money and grain, made a lot of money, but did not want to pay taxes.

The common people only had a few liters of rice throughout the year, yet they had to pay taxes and perform labor service.

"Welcome Prince Xin, congratulate Prince Xin, Prince Xin has come but we won't pay any grain..."

The people's cheers were overwhelming.

Chongzhen looked at his troops and felt infinite confidence in his heart. Now he suddenly understood what the capital of an emperor is and what it takes to establish a political power.

If you want your ministers to obey you, you still need to have an army in your hands.

"Mineral resources should be taken from the people and used for the people. How can they be used for your own personal gain?"

"kill!"

“Kill, kill, kill~~”

The people's shouts were deafening, and as they watched heads fall to the ground one after another, an inexplicable atmosphere was released in Wuchang Prefecture.

Part of the anger comes from the lower class people, and part of it comes from the suppression of the self-important "arrogance" of the bureaucrats and gentry.

Chongzhen looked at the blood that had formed a pit on the ground, his eyelids twitching, and said in a voice that only he could hear: "Kill people. If I want to save the Ming Dynasty, I have to kill people!"

If we want to save the Ming Dynasty, we have to cut off this rotten flesh.

As an emperor, Chongzhen naturally knew what to do.

He would kill one group first, and then kill another group at regular intervals. In this way, the entire tax collection process would become highly conscious.

Only in this way can we break the alliance between the civil service group and commercial capital, eliminate the revolving door between politics and business in its infancy, and make the Ming Dynasty less laborious and more stable.

……

When the news reached Kyoto, all the court officials who had been resisting the emperor's tax reform were stunned.

They could never have imagined that the imperial court had not yet collected taxes in this way, but the rebels had set a precedent? !

It has been mentioned before that the gentry in Jiangsu and Zhejiang hoped that the imperial court would send troops, but they, the officials, had actually always resisted the imperial court sending troops to Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

Because the imperial court sent troops, it meant that officials at all levels would most likely be liquidated by the Integrity Commission. Their assets were all in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, so a large portion of them would inevitably be cut off, and they might even be thrown into jail.

But if they don't send troops, the rebels will become so violent that they won't be able to keep their property in their hometown.

A large number of civil servants from Jiangsu and Zhejiang gathered together to discuss countermeasures.

"Why don't you say something? What should we do now?" Wen Zhenmeng, a member of the Donglin Party, asked everyone angrily. The Donglin Party had an unclear relationship with the mining tycoons in Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

Now that all of them have been confiscated by the rebels, how can we not be anxious?
(End of this chapter)