Saving the Ming Dynasty: I can exchange bodies with Chongzhen

Chapter 224: Hangzhou Falls, Corpses Pile Up

In Wuchang City, Chongzhen read the report on confiscation of property and extermination of the clan submitted by Sun Kewang several times in succession, and he was completely stunned.

"The rebels counted the gold, silver, farmland, golden gourds, silver winter melons, jade ruyi, and countless antiques. However, since there were so many things, it took four days and four nights to count them... In total, the total was more than 18.3 million taels of silver."

His chest heaved and the veins on his forehead popped.

Prince Xiang took it and examined it, and he could not help but yelled in anger: "The Ming Dynasty was destroyed by these bastards into what it is today..."

During the Ming Dynasty, after the Tianqi Emperor, more than 200 million shi of grain were collected from the five provinces in the south of the Yangtze River, which was equivalent to million taels and a little silver.

In other words, the amount of silver seized exceeded the eight-year harvest of the five provinces in the south of the Yangtze River.

You should know that since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, although the territory was vast, many places did not levy taxes. There was the Nurgandusi outside the Great Wall and the U-Tsangdusi in the southwest. These were dusi covering large territories. Dusi meant that only troops were stationed there, but no officials were sent, and of course no taxes were levied.

The only places where money could be collected were the two capitals and thirteen provinces, but there were differences among them.

For example, Guizhou was not developed before, and after it was developed, the tax per mu was never increased, so in the end no taxes were collected from Guizhou Province.

Yunnan has always been a chaotic place, and since there are few people there, there is not much taxation.

There are also very few in Guangxi because there are many ethnic minorities. Although it is the same as in other provinces, the number is greatly reduced.

Therefore, the provinces that were most likely to collect taxes were actually the two capitals and ten provinces. The provinces that collected the most taxes were Nanzhi, Zhejiang, Huguang, Henan, Shandong, and Sichuan; the provinces that collected relatively less taxes were Jiangxi, Shanxi, Guangdong, Beizhi, and Shaanxi; the provinces that collected even less taxes were Fujian, and the provinces that collected the least taxes were Guangxi. Outside the Great Wall, only Liaodong collected taxes. There was still some in the early days, but there was none at all in the middle and late Ming Dynasty.

More than two million taels of silver were confiscated from the Suzhou Weaving Factory alone, which was equivalent to the annual harvest of five provinces. According to the confession of the Suzhou Weaving Factory, Prince Rong was actually behind it?

In addition to the Weaving Bureau, the most confiscated items were salt smugglers and large grain and mineral producers.

The three most important supplies are salt, iron and grain.

"Under such strict control by the Ming Dynasty, they were able to collude like this. I thought the privatization of salt would solve the people's livelihood problems, but unexpectedly it all became a heavy sword that hurt the Ming Dynasty?"

"Officials protect each other" and "Officials and the people protect each other."

Private salt and private mines became a big cake. The court voluntarily gave up part of its share to take care of the livelihood of the poor, and all the money went into the pockets of the gentry. After tasting the sweetness, they gradually became greedy.

As the saying goes, "greed must have a backlash." The more they wanted, the more the court became a mere decoration as the princes, officials, and gentry cannibalized each other. They ate so much that they could barely walk, while the court's finances deteriorated to the brink of collapse.

"kill!"

"He deserves to be killed!" Chongzhen turned his head and stared at the map of Jiangnan with a burning gaze, "Using part of the land of the gentry in Jiangnan to settle the vassal states of the Ming Dynasty? This seems to be feasible!"

Chongzhen has been thinking about the feasibility of this issue these days.

To sum up the political structure of the late Ming Dynasty in one sentence, there are three forces: the royal family, civil servants and local officials.

These three forces are the most comfortable, but the emperor above them is a common people and it is extremely difficult.

The emperor and the common people lived a hard life caught in the cracks of this millstone.

The imperial court was controlled by civil servants, while sea travel, minerals, and land were monopolized by royal families and wealthy civil servants. Local officials sucked up all the people's wealth and gave the money back to the wealthy civil servants.

The vassal states among these three waves of forces were like festering sores. He had thought about solving them before, but there was no solution.

Now Zhu Changgan proposed this method, a one-time deal. Although he was not happy about it, he had no better way.

Once and for all!
It is equivalent to throwing away the burden of the Ming Dynasty's vassal states at once. What will happen in the future depends on their abilities.

The civil service group and local officials depended on each other and colluded with each other like leeches, and would not stop until they had sucked all the blood out of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Changgan's method not only solved the cancer of the Ming Dynasty's vassal system, but also solved the problem of civil servants controlling the government and monopolizing all resources.

"Then let them fend for themselves!" Chongzhen gritted his teeth, "The Ming Dynasty can't always cover for them. From now on, it all depends on their luck."

"In the past, the Ming Dynasty backed up the Ming princes and vassals, but now it suddenly doesn't care anymore. Have you ever thought about what if the princes and vassals are unwilling?" King Xiang asked with a frown.

"It's treason."

Prince Xiang's face instantly turned pale, and he angrily scolded: "Have you forgotten that you are also a vassal of the Ming Dynasty? It's only been a few days, and you're already turning your elbows outward and attacking inward?"

"..." Chongzhen was silent for a long time, "Since you want to rebuild the Ming Dynasty, how can you not feel pain?"

Just at this moment, Old Han walked in from outside and said, "Prince Xin, today I found that someone had borrowed Wei Zhuang's poems and posted them on the door of the Governor's Mansion in Wuchang Prefecture.

Chongzhen took it and saw that it read:

"The blood of the Three Qins has become a river, and the yellow clouds on the frontier are idle. Only weak soldiers fill the Wei River, and nothing extraordinary can come out of Shangshan. The countryside has been lost in the world of mortals, and the brother and nephew meet in the sword. I am melancholy that Cuihua has not returned, and my tears are dripping in vain on the sword."

"Is someone calling me Huang Chao?"

He narrowed his eyes. As the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, he naturally knew that these words came from Wei Zhuang, and he also knew that he was satirizing Huang Chao's poems.

Chongzhen took a deep breath and said, "Go ahead and curse me. I'll take all the blame."

“Nothing is black and white in politics!”

"Uh..." King Xiang was stunned for a moment. His son suddenly said this to him, which made him a little confused. He turned to look at Old Han.

Old Han also spread his hands, indicating that he didn't know.

But only Chongzhen himself knew that he had driven Wei Zhongxian to Fengyang to guard the tomb and gradually eliminated his influence.

You supported the Donglin Party without limits. You said that the mining taxes, farmland, and private salt were controlled by eunuchs and were all embezzled by eunuchs. Now, you civil servants are in control of them all.

At this critical moment when our country is facing extinction, it is time for you to return.

……

Hangzhou Prefecture,
Shi Daoshen has already cleared out Qiantang and Renhe counties under the jurisdiction of Hangzhou Prefecture as well as all the villages and towns outside the city. Now he leads more than 150,000 troops and his rebel army is very powerful.

No government troops dared to engage them in a field battle.

The officials and gentry in Suzhou City had also heard the news that all the gentry in Suzhou City were killed or injured, so they adopted the strategy of not fighting outside the city and defending the city.

The defense was extremely fierce, and the outer city of Hangzhou changed hands several times.

Shi Daoshen sent out spies to incite middle and low-level officials in the city to rebel, but they were discovered and all the brothers he sent in were killed.

Shi Daoshen gradually lost the desire to persuade these people in Hangzhou to surrender.

September 25th.

Shi Daoshen learned from previous lessons and adopted the strategy of concentrating superior forces to attack one point fiercely. He sent more than 50,000 people to attack the city. The governor of Hangzhou, Mu Youzhi, was hit by artillery and died in battle while defending the city.

The morale of the outer city defenders was sluggish, and Shi Daoshen seized the opportunity. At this moment, peasant army generals such as He Wanyi and Lu Jinfa also arrived, and the defenders of Hangzhou City could only retreat to the inner city.

Lu Jinfa proposed a plan to Shi Daoshen, "The soldiers and civilians in the city have no water and firewood. We have been besieging them for eight days. They must be panicking. Let us sneak into the city by water, and maybe we can shake the people."

Shi Daoshen knew that this trip would be a life-threatening one, but he still agreed because the five days would pass quickly.

On the third day, at midnight, a huge fire suddenly broke out at the city gate.

The defenders in the city were already under great pressure, like frightened birds. Suddenly they discovered that the city was on fire and immediately fell into chaos.

Then the peasant army's accomplices in the city also launched an attack, and the defense of Hangzhou city walls unsurprisingly loosened.

Shi Daoshen ordered the artillery to clear the way, and he personally mounted his horse and led his troops to charge.

The soldiers defending Hangzhou fled, and the peasant army continued to chase them. The prefect of Hangzhou could not resist and began to take off his clothes, but before he could take off his clothes, he heard a huge roar in his ears.

It turned out that another group of peasant soldiers, led by He Wanyi, attacked from behind.

At this time, the shouts were loud and the drums and gongs sounded!
The peasant army rushed into Hangzhou city like the tide of Qiantang River. Shi Daoshen ordered a "cleansing of the city" against officials, gentry, and wealthy businessmen.

Not only these people, but also those who helped defend the city were all within the scope of the city cleansing.

Those wealthy businessmen and officials were so frightened that their scalps numbed and they tried their best to move out of the wealthy areas.

With Prince Xin's order, Shi Daoshen skipped the trial process of these officials and gentry and killed them on the spot.

……

Shi Daoshen led his troops into an official's house. When he entered the door, he saw two plaques with the words "Jinshi Jidi" and another plaque that read "Family inheritance is our responsibility!"

"Bah, what family inheritance? Corruption of millions of people's money?"

"You even raised assassins and private soldiers. These two points alone are courting death. It's the Ming Dynasty that's rotten. Otherwise, people like you should have been chopped off long ago."

There is a network of relationships between senior officials and families in the court.

The family inheritance of this wealthy family is a classic example. If the sons and nephews study, and one of them can become a juren, the people in the court can make arrangements for him, and if he is lucky enough, he can become a jinshi.

Then the next few decades will be another peak. If you have outstanding abilities, it may not be impossible for you to enter the cabinet.

As for wealth and land, those were just incidental. As for whether blood was involved, the senior officials in the court did not care about these at all.

"Kill~"

Blood rushed into the sky.

It spurted out like a fountain, splashed on the walls, seeped into the floor, and dyed the bluestone floor black.

After the peasant soldiers checked and found no fish that had escaped the net, Shi Daoshen waved his hand and said, "Next household!"

……

In the dim city of Hangzhou, there were occasional lights coming from far away, which turned out to be a few peasant soldiers holding swords and guns. The sharp cold light created a suffocating atmosphere.

The sounds of rage and threats continued.

The response was not loud, nor intense, and even a little trembling, but soon... the sound of splashing water spread, freezing one's blood.

A mine owner had just escaped from his house with trembling teeth when he heard someone outside shouting, "Oh no! The bandits have started a killing spree. Anyone wearing silk will be killed..."

"Quick, change your clothes!"

The mine owner hurriedly took his family to hide under a bridge. There were more than a dozen people in the family. In late autumn, the freezing cold river water was up to their waists, but they dared not make a sound.

Because the sound of the bandits killing people was right above.

When the peasant army arrived, they crawled out from under the bridge and suddenly found that the dead man was their neighbor, a legal advisor from Hangzhou Prefecture, lying on the ground.

They tiptoed and carefully moved aside the bodies on the ground, but there were too many bodies along the way.

It was not until they reached the slums that they cried with joy, "It's safe, it's safe now..."

But just when his family was excited, they found that the poor people around them surrounded them with green eyes, like hungry wolves.

"What are you doing?"

"Are you officials? Go and inform the rebels."

"Capture them and hand them over to the rebels, so we can divide the land among them."

"That's right..."

Ignoring the mine owner's pleas, the crowd dragged several people out and handed them over to the peasant army.

After a few screams, everything returned to calm.

Such a scene is played out from time to time in Hangzhou.

Of course, some bureaucrats and gentry also escaped. Those officials and gentry who were usually kind to their servants or poor people hid in the poor areas under the protection of these people.

You have done me a small favor, and I will repay you with a spring of gratitude. This is not within the scope of the peasant army's revenge.

It was getting dark.

On the streets, the fire was shining as bright as day, flames were everywhere, and many houses were burning. The people who were still hiding in the houses were forced to run around, but as soon as they came out, they were immediately massacred and no one was spared.

The streets were littered with corpses, lying on top of each other.

The accumulation is as dense as fish scales.

The huge city of Yangzhou was like a purgatory on earth. Once those who tried to hide were caught by the peasant army, officials would be killed, those wearing brocade would be killed, and those with fat heads and big ears would be killed.

Only by coming out and waiting by the roadside honestly and confessing that you are not an official or gentry can you have a glimmer of hope.

The wind was howling, the sun was bleak, and a great scholar seemed to see countless Yakshas and demons from hell chasing and killing gentry. He was so frightened that he felt dizzy from time to time. He was in a trance and didn't know whether his body was still in the world.

"Is this really our Ming Dynasty?"

"How could such a tragedy happen?"

"Alas..."

An official abandoned his family and children, hid under a mat, and walked in a winding way until he came to a ruin with old tiles and bricks, which had been deserted for a long time. He squatted among the weeds, hiding behind a coffin, holding his breath and not daring to make any sound.

He waited until nightfall, when the number of soldiers and cavalry on the street thinned out a little, before he dared to get off the ground and tiptoe out.

However, he was tripped by corpses several times and had to lie down and use his hands to move. At the slightest movement, he would lie on the ground pretending to be a dead body. Although he was extremely hungry and thirsty, he did not dare to enter places where people were during the day. The place he went most often was to hide in coffins in the wasteland... He crawled like this for a long time before reaching the moat outside the city gate and crawling into it.

Fortunately I escaped this incident and cried with my face covered.

He had no time to feel grateful, let alone care about his dead family members. He swam quickly into the water, trying to escape from this sad place.

"Buzz~" A feather arrow suddenly pierced his back.

On the bridge, several peasant army generals squinted their eyes and looked at the scarlet color rising from the water.

"If you had been hiding, you might have survived, but you had to run now. And you're so white, like a white pig, so conspicuous in the water, it's hard not to be noticed!"

"Continue patrolling. If you find anyone trying to escape, kill them on the spot."

"Yes!"

Team after team of peasant soldiers were searching and killing people in Hangzhou city...it was so brutal that it could not be any worse.

……

Chapter 2 is here, thank you all for your monthly votes!

(End of this chapter)