Saving the Ming Dynasty: I can exchange bodies with Chongzhen

Chapter 217: A method to solve the problem of both the vassal and the clan

The "worsening situation" in the four provinces is like darkness rushing towards us.

"Someone is attacking the city!"

As the shouts rang out, flames suddenly exploded in Changde Prefecture, followed by the shouts of the soldiers.

The sound of armor, the neighing of horses, and the flash of fire across the eyes, reflecting the scene before them.

"Those who are not flagged with the word 'Xin' on them and are not Prince Xin's men, should not be many. Don't be afraid." The general guarding Changde Prefecture shouted to everyone.

Changde Prefecture is very close to Wuchang Prefecture, and with Prince Xin's 200,000 troops at his side, all the prefectures were terrified.

"General Lu, I will leave these three thousand men to you. You must defend Changde Prefecture."

The one who spoke was Prince Rong from Changde Prefecture.

As a vassal of the Ming Dynasty,
First, Prince Fu was boiled in water, and then various bandits attacked and seized cities. Almost all the vassal states of the Ming Dynasty finally paid attention to the decrees issued by the emperor again.

"Princes and non-county princes of the same clan are allowed to have a total of 3000 guards and servants to defend the city together with the local people. County princes with fiefs are allowed to have 1000 guards and servants."

The eldest son of a prince inherits the title of prince, and the other princes are demoted to a prince of a county. The eldest son of a prince of a county inherits the title of prince of a county, and the rest are generals who protect the country. The eldest son of a general who protects the country inherits the title, and the rest are generals who support the country...

There were 28 princes in the Ming Dynasty and 16 dukes with fiefs, distributed in 8 provinces.

Take Prince Rong as an example. As a prince, he can have 3000 guards and servants, but his son has no fiefdom, so his entire line of Prince Rong can only have these guards and servants.

If it were before, they would definitely not be willing to spend this money, and even wanted the emperor to pay for it, but now the situation is completely different.

Lose the vassal state and be demoted three levels?
Compared with the previous public beheading, this is just a scratch. He can continue to serve as an official or a general, and will be reinstated soon.

All the princes and vassals were in a panic. Without the emperor urging them, they all assembled their own personal guards and servants, and began to contribute to the defense of their cities and began to take it seriously.

"Don't worry, Prince Rong. We will live and die together with Changde Prefecture." Lu Chengwan clenched his hands, and before he could finish his words, there was a loud bang.

The sound of artillery fire rose up, and the shells smashed into the bandits, instantly creating trenches one after another.

Several bandits who were rushing forward were smashed to pieces by the huge impact force, their bones were broken, their flesh and blood flew far away, and thick blood splattered everywhere.

"kill!"

"Kill~"

Amid shouts and cries of killing, the peasant army's siege broke out.

……

News from the south continued to flow into the capital, and even Zhu Changgan had to admire, "These two are both talented!"

Historically, it is no exaggeration to say that Huang Zongxi described Sun Kewang's ability as "unprecedented in the prosperous world since the Wanli period." He "trained his soldiers day and night, doing the three, six, and nine major exercises," which was in stark contrast to most of the Ming army's generals of the same period who were indolent and lived a life of drunkenness and debauchery.

After he captured Anqing and Changde Prefectures, his ability to distribute land and win people's hearts made Zhu Changgan look at him with a higher regard. He dared to say that there were no more than a handful of people in the court who could achieve such a level.

After all, providing strong material guarantees is the basis for an army's victory.

As a frontline general, Li Dingguo's vision, courage, and perseverance were all remarkable. Even without intelligence like the Jinyiwei, he was still able to keenly seize opportunities in battle, which is indeed worthy of praise.

"Your Majesty, Prime Minister Sun has arrived." Wang Chengen said in a low voice.

"Let him in."

"Yes!"

Wang Chengen walked out of the door quickly, shaking his head as he walked. The south was in such chaos, but the emperor was not in a hurry and instead invited Sun Chengzong to have lunch together?
"His Majesty!"

Sun Chengzong walked in from outside and saluted the emperor.

"Lord Sun, take a look at this." Zhu Changgan placed the memorial handed over by the Ministry of Revenue in front of Sun Chengzong.

The latter picked it up and took a look at the signature. It turned out to be handed over by the Ministry of Revenue. He then pushed the memorial back before he could see it clearly.

"This year, the salary of the vassal states exceeds 10 million dan..."

During the Ming Dynasty, it was stipulated that the amount of salary for the vassal states was:
The prince had 10,000 dan of rice, the prince of a county had 2,000 dan of rice, the general guarding the country had 1,000 dan of rice, the general supporting the country had 800 dan of rice, the general serving the country had 600 dan of rice, the lieutenant guarding the country had 400 dan of rice, the lieutenant supporting the country had 300 dan of rice, and the lieutenant serving the country had 200 dan of rice.

The princess and her husband's wife were given 2,000 dan of rice, the county princess and her guest of honor were given 800 dan of rice, the county princess and her guest of honor were given 600 dan of rice, the county lady and her guest of honor were given 400 dan of rice, the county lady and her guest of honor were given 300 dan of rice, and the county lady and her guest of honor were given 200 dan of rice.

After the crown prince's second legitimate son and his concubine's son are granted the title of a prince of a county, they must wait for the marriage to take place and receive the title of a prince of a county every year, the same as the title of a prince of a county.

When a girl is ready to get married, she will be given an annual allowance, the same as that given to married girls of the native land.

The eldest son of a prince who inherits the title of prince shall have his annual allowance halved compared to when he was first conferred the title of prince.

"Your Majesty, what are you doing?" Sun Chengzong raised his head, with a complicated look in his eyes.

As the Prime Minister of the Ming Dynasty, how could he not understand that the number of vassal states of the Ming Dynasty was increasing. According to statistics, the number of vassal states had exceeded the limit that the court could bear.

But he also understood that before this, Emperor Wanli and Emperor Tianqi had both thought about solving this problem, but all ended in failure.

Zhu Changgan seemed to understand what he was thinking, and said while eating: "I asked you to come here to discuss a feasible method to solve the problem once and for all."

According to the records of the 2285st year of Jiajing alone, the total national tax grain revenue was 853 million dan, while the annual salary expenditure of the various royal palaces was as high as 37 million dan, accounting for % of the total national tax grain revenue and becoming the largest expenditure of the national funds.

During the Chongzhen period, the expenses of the royal family and vassal states accounted for almost half of the court's tax revenue. In addition to the bulk of the salary, there were other expenses such as the construction of the royal palace, temporary expenses for weddings and funerals, corvee labor in the royal palace, farms, commercial encroachment, and other expenses.

Ten million shi, conservatively speaking, at the price of one tael of silver per shi, that would be ten million taels.

If the imperial court had used all this money to support the army, the Liaodong battlefield would not have been so corrupt.

Sun Chengzong was startled at first, and then he paused for a moment before saying, "It's not that there is no way..."

“Oh, what’s the difficulty?”

"Xu Guangqi once proposed a very appropriate suggestion, which is to change the fiefdom into divided land, and no longer divide it among descendants..."

To put it simply, it means buying a certain amount of land and distributing it to these vassal states, and after distributing the land to you, your descendants will no longer be granted fiefdoms.

"As a perpetual inheritance."

Originally this policy was extremely good, but when a country is about to perish, evil will surely appear.

At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, there were more than 400 million mu of military farmland, but by the Chongzhen period, almost all of them were occupied by local tyrants. The number of people was reported to the higher authorities, and the Zhu family could not afford to offend these people. Once they started making trouble, the Ming Dynasty would be in chaos.

Zhu Changgan nodded, "I heard about this method. In addition to the concerns mentioned above by Lord Sun, are there any other options?"

"Your Majesty, have you made up your mind?" Sun Chengzong asked tentatively.

"My mind has been made."

Zhu Changgan had been concerned about the cancer of the Ming Dynasty's vassal states from the very beginning.

It’s not that he didn’t want to do it, but he was more clear that the biggest problem during the Chongzhen period was not that there was no solution, but that there was no execution and no ability to do it.

It can be said that from the beginning of the East Factory, Jinyiwei, and Beijing Camp to the current five camps, the purge of more than half of the officials in the court is to prepare for the current eradication of the cancer of the royal family.

There were princes and dukes with fiefs in the Ming Dynasty. There were five in Shaanxi, eleven in Shanxi, eight in Henan, eleven in Huguang, five in Shandong, one in Sichuan, and one in Guangxi.

The provinces where these vassal states were located happened to be Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan, and Huguang, where people were living in dire straits.

On the contrary, the prosperous provinces such as Jiangxi, Nanzhili and Zhejiang did not have any vassal states.

Zhu Changgan's purge of the gentry in Jiangnan must have required the clearance of a large amount of land, and a portion of the land he seized would be just enough to solve these vassal issues.

"As a perpetual inheritance"!
In one fell swoop, the etiquette of Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di to keep the royal family members in captivity was broken.

"Your Majesty, this is an ancestral rule. Do you want to discuss this with the ministers in the court?"

Sun Chengzong wanted to continue talking, but was stopped by Zhu Changgan, "I don't have that much time, Lord Sun, please draw up a charter as soon as possible. You should also understand that the financial situation of the Ming court is also stretched.

If we compare the Ming Dynasty's money and grain to a pie, everyone will share it. No matter how much is saved, it will only be used in more important places. Money is a lever to check and balance the local government. It will not be distributed to anyone at will. If you miss this opportunity, you will never get it again. "

Sun Chengzong pondered for a while, and seeing that the emperor had made up his mind, he finally nodded.

……

After leaving the palace, Sun Chengzong took a sedan chair back to his mansion.

"Where's Sun Quan?"

The butler stood up from the steps and said, "Master, I am in the room. As you said, I will keep my eyes on the young master all the time and not let him out of my sight."

"Okay, you go down first." Sun Chengzong sent the housekeeper out, lifted the curtain and walked in.

As soon as he walked into the room, he saw the untouched lunch on the table. His face instantly turned pale. "Your father entered the palace today. Do you know what the emperor said to me?"

Seeing his son lying motionless on the kang, he continued, "Your Majesty is going to take action against the Zongfan."

"Ok?"

Sun Quan turned around suddenly and asked, "What do you mean? Your Majesty, why are you doing this to the royal family?"

"Your Majesty must solve the issue of the royal family and vassal states once and for all..." Sun Chengzong picked out the important news from the palace today and told Sun Quan.

"No... that's his old Zhu family. How could the emperor be so cruel?"

Sun Quan's eyes widened with a look of disbelief.

"This is something I never expected. Your Majesty is so cruel that he doesn't even show mercy to his own clan members, let alone the tribes in the southeast." Sun Chengzong's eyes were burning. "On the other hand, Your Majesty can even kill the clan members of the royal family."

"You are still so close to the Qi Party, the Zhejiang Party, and the Donglin Party. Do you think His Majesty will let you off because you are my Sun Chengzong's son?"

"Your Majesty has been planning this for a long time. Once he takes action, it will not just be a matter of chopping off a few heads, but of confiscating the property and exterminating the clans of every family in Jiangnan."

Sun Chengzong only recently figured out these things, and at the same time he gained a new understanding of the emperor's ruthlessness.

"..." The expression on Sun Quan's face froze. He was silent for a long while and couldn't utter a word.

"The era when scholars and officials overshadowed the imperial power has passed. People must adapt to the current situation. When you understand what your father said, your future achievements will not be limited to this."

"But I am only a scholar."

"So what if he is a juren? Isn't the director of the Anti-Corruption Department in the court also a juren?" Sun Chengzong pointed at the food on the table, "A real man lives between heaven and earth, how can he be depressed in the world? Eat quickly, and after you finish eating, let's discuss the plan of dividing the land with our father."

Sun Quan's eyes suddenly brightened, and he stood up and said, "Son, remember my teachings!"

The Director of the Department of Integrity, Xu Cifu, was born into a juren family and has now reached the fifth rank. Now the emperor is formulating a policy of dividing land among royal families and vassal states.

This is not a national policy that can be completed in a day or two. Even after the land is divided, there will be some friction for a long time, which requires a department to coordinate.

If you can get in touch with these first, you will have the upper hand.

By then, there will be no need to worry about not getting an official position.

Sun Chengzong also took a deep breath when he saw this. None of his sons became Jinshi.

The eldest son, Sun Quan, was a juren; the second son, Sun Xun, was a juren; the third son, Sun Qin, was a zengguang student; the fourth son, Sun Xun, was a stipend student; the fifth son, Sun Yao, was a stipend student; the sixth son, Sun Ce, was a student; and the seventh son, Sun Hao, was a student.

If it were before going to Beijing this time, he would definitely not provide any convenience to his sons and nephews, because he knew that even if he provided convenience, his sons would not be able to serve as officials in the court.

At most, he could be a minor official below the seventh rank in the local area.

But now it is different. The emperor uses a large number of new people, and is not limited to Jinshi. Juren and even Xiucai can serve as officials in the court. This makes his sluggish heart move.

Putting aside Sun Chengzong's selfish motives, his predictions about the emperor and his understanding of the court situation were truly top-notch.

There had long been complaints about the affairs in Jiangnan both inside and outside the court, but as the prime minister, he was able to stop these Jiangnan officials from getting angry. The balancing role of this shrewd and comprehensive old man was fully demonstrated at this moment.

This was also Zhu Changgan's original intention in choosing Sun Chengzong as the prime minister, so that there would be a buffer in between.

Even if the emperor adopted high pressure on the court and forced them to fight hard, the censors and civil servants in the court frantically submitted memorials to the emperor, but with the prime minister in the middle, the pressure faced by the emperor would be much lighter.

In addition, they had no control over the situation. The civil officials in the court were divided and scheming, and were still thinking about fighting for power.

When the pressure from these court officials and gentry was passed on to the emperor, it became even smaller.

After Sun Quan finished his meal, Sun Chengzong called together his other six sons, seven grandsons, three nephews, and eight great-nephews and announced his decision.

"Except the eldest and second son, I want all of you to join the army. His Majesty is busy clearing the four southern provinces. It won't be long before he sends troops to Liaodong. Take advantage of this east wind. You like to wield swords and sticks on weekdays. Maybe our Sun family can't produce another civil official in the court, but maybe we can produce a military official in the court."

The younger generation of the Sun family was immediately excited.

……

There were more than one people like Sun Chengzong in the court, and they all made decisions at the first opportunity.

They tried every possible means to send their sons and nephews into the army and the Independent Commission Against Corruption.

Even if he cannot gain the upper hand in this wave, he must create opportunities for his children and nephews.

Among them were those who had always followed the emperor's banner, as well as civil servants who had previously gone against the emperor and who were now "guilty ministers" who had finally come to their senses.

The former is to take a further step, while the latter is to try to establish bloodline and leave a descendant for the family.

"Don't be afraid. When you get to the Beijing camp, you must be brave enough to fight. With military merit, our Qian family will really take off."

"Your father no longer has much room to maneuver. His Majesty has completely taken control of the court. Your father has already been labeled. With His Majesty's ruthlessness, he will definitely not let me go. If you can gain some military merit, our family lineage can be preserved."

"Don't cry..."

……

ps: In history, in the 11th year of Chongzhen, the Qing army launched a massive attack. Sun Chengzong, who was unemployed at home, led his family to defend the city. When the city was broken, he was captured and hanged himself. His five sons, six grandsons, two nephews, and eight great-nephews died in the battle. More than a hundred people in the Sun family were killed. Judging from the little information, the Sun family was actually quite capable of fighting.

(End of this chapter)