Win the Ding 1617

Zhang Xianzhong once again raised the banner of rebellion, and once again beat the face of officials advocating for security. When the news came, Wang Bao, Chen Tianhua and others were busy running around the capital.

In the street pattern of the inner and outer cities of the capital, the streets leading to each city gate are the widest and the main roads of the whole city.These streets leading to various city gates are also mostly named after the city gates, such as Chongwenmen Street, Chang'an Street, Xuanwumen Street, West Chang'an Street, Fuchengmen Street, Andingmen Street, Deshengmen Street, etc.Neizhong residential area is commensurate with the square, and the square is called the shop.There are 33 squares in the whole city, more than one hundred and six tiles, and more than seven hundred and five shops. (Many place names are still in use today. If you are interested, you can look them up on the city map of Beijing, such as Baizhifang.)

The streets in the city are full of dust, garbage and excrement, especially the ditches are seriously congested, and many streets are collapsed and potholed, which is obviously in disrepair.The streets and alleys in the city are dense, and many streets are not straight. Compared with the clean and orderly Nanzhong towns that Wang Bao and others are used to, it makes them feel disgusted.

Ever since Cheng Zu Zhudi moved the Great Ming capital from Nanjing to Beijing, there were six officials from six ministries and five city soldiers and horses to manage all kinds of road repairs, ditches, and even the sanitation of each street and square. They even stipulated that scatter along the streets And littering, it takes a month to issue the shackles. At least in the Wanli period, the capital was still famous for its cleanliness.

Since the Year of Apocalypse, all this has changed.As the consequences of the Whip Law emerged, a large number of self-cultivating farmers donated their land to officials, nobles, and eunuchs who could be exempted from taxes according to national laws to avoid taxation.As a result, the country's finances are empty day by day, tax revenue is getting less and less, and the urban environment is getting worse day by day.Whenever it rains heavily, the whole city will be flooded with water.Difficult to move through the mud.Whenever the weather is sunny and dry, the dust will fly and flies will fly.In such a hygienic environment, it is no wonder that various infectious diseases broke out again and again, and countless soldiers and civilians died of epidemic diseases.

After entering the city along Chaoyangmen Street, which is full of shops and full of people, the streets in the city are also full of refugees and beggars.Because no one takes them in.They could only sleep under the eaves on both sides. It seemed that many of them were already stiff and had obviously died of illness and hunger.

Daming once set up various nursing homes, canteens, and porridge factories to distribute money and rice to the hungry.Aid medicine.Buried and abandoned corpses, etc.However, it is clear that the ability to provide relief is seriously insufficient, and the relief is only a drop in the bucket.

Wang Bao couldn't help but let out a long sigh immediately, he also came from such a death line.And Chen Tianhua and others looked at the situation on the street, they also frowned and said nothing, their faces were full of pain.

Compared with the refugees all over the street, there is another different situation, that is, the rich and powerful merchants and rich family slaves on the street, they go in and out, hugging each other, and what they wear and what they use are all Luxurious and extravagant, looking at these people, some refugees on the street are numb, some are envious, and some have hatred in their eyes.

As the capital city of the Ming Dynasty, the capital deserves to be the number one city in the world, even the largest city in the world at this time, the Forbidden City on Saturdays, the imperial city on eighteen miles on weekdays, and the inner city on the outside surrounded by 45 miles a week.In the Jiajing period, due to the expansion of the population, a heavy city was built in the south of the capital, with a circumference of 28 miles.

It covers an area of ​​nearly 50 square kilometers and has a population of more than one million. In the West at the same time, by the beginning of the eighteenth century, the population of London and Paris was less than [-].The capital of the Ming Dynasty was once the most prosperous place in the world, attracting countless people yearning for it. After a period of prosperity, the capital at this time has already shown the decline of the last days.

However, when they and their group were inside and outside the capital, they could see everywhere the refugees and disaster victims, with all kinds of clothes and knots on their bodies. They had no livelihood to find inside and outside the city, and they were just waiting for relief from the government.There are also children crying from hunger and cold, or their voices are mournful, or they are weak.

"These people can only be a burden in the eyes of officials in the mainland, or even a source of banditry. As everyone knows, bandits also start from goodness. If they have enough food and clothing, why should they take risks?"

"What Master Huiban said is that in the past few days, the number of people who eat porridge in the porridge field we opened every day has multiplied. Not only near the capital, but also in places as far away as Zhuozhou, Bazhou, and Jizhen. Move the barracks."

"Tianhua, how many people are willing to go to sea with the boat to make a living? Remember, according to what the lord said, anyone who is willing to go to sea will be registered in the register, and some thick ones will be given to them to do some work outside the camp to recuperate their bodies. .”

"My subordinate understands!"

"The officials of the imperial court deceived Wu Biao away from the lord's subordinates with sweet words. How is the movement of his team?"

"My lord, from the day when the Ministry of War and the Rites and Supervisors came to the camp to pass the decree, the hearts of the guard brigade were fluctuating. About a thousand people went to various barracks to seek refuge with their relatives and friends, and they were unwilling to stay in the capital. The regiment officers are also quite critical. Today, Wu Biao has only 2000 people under his command, most of whom are the children of his Wu clan in Chaozhou. It is said that these people are also dissatisfied."

"Oh?! Why? They are regarded as the Son of Heaven's pro-army now, why are they dissatisfied?"

"My lord, since they were changed to belong to the Horse Supervisor, our army will no longer provide them with food and salaries. Their food expenses are provided by the Horse Supervisor and the Ministry of War. Our soldiers and horses are used to eating meat and drinking. How can the soldiers of the Beijing camp have such treatment?"

"It deserves it! The one who wants them to be anti-bones?! Eat noodles at the bottom of the bowl!"

"Old Huang! Don't talk nonsense!"

Wang Bao scolded Huang Yishan, signaling him not to talk nonsense.

"My lord entered the palace with the order, just to talk to the emperor about these refugees from the capital, and leave by the way. If the order comes down, we can go home!"

"Leave it alone! If the emperor gives this bullshit decree, those refugees in the capital area will follow us by themselves!"

What Chen Tianhua and Huang Yishan said was correct. In fact, when those refugees found out that after registering with the Southern Guangdong Army, they would be guaranteed half a catty of grain and two meals a day, and they had long been determined to join the Southern Guangdong Army.

For this reason, Huang Yishan took thousands of refugees as an excuse to hunt grass for war horses, quietly sent thousands of refugees to Nigu, handed them over to the grain ship, and ordered them to transport these people to Tamna Island to raise horses.Prepare to meet a large number of cattle from the Liaodong and Mongolian grasslands in the near future.

If the hundreds of thousands of refugees and refugees on the ground in Gyeonggi passed through Nigu, Miaodao Islands, Tamna Island, Taiwan, Nanzhong, and Luzon to Shizhou, they gradually migrated south.The wilderness everywhere will soon become alive and popular, and a large number of villages and towns will be connected by roads.At the same time, a large number of people will be sent to various factories and mines.Responsible for cultivating countless fields.

"As long as there are people, our food and meat are enough to feed these workers!"

Wang Bao looked at the haggard-looking people with empty eyes in the streets, and waved the cane in his hand, drawing a circle in the air in a vague way.

"That's right! If more people come, we will reclaim more land, build more ships, and transfer the products and population of the various islands to various places!"

"Well said!"

This group of officers waved their long whips and spurred their horses across the long street, leaving a series of bold words on the street.

At this time, in the Huayuan Pavilion in the Cuihua Garden in the palace, Emperor Chongzhen Zhu Youjian was hosting a banquet for Li Shouhan.

It is said to be a banquet, but the table is extremely simple.Even by the standards of the emperor, it was a bit shabby.There are only eight dishes and one soup.and. "My lord, look, many of them are your tributes. Only the emperor can make up these eight dishes!"

Wang Chengen, who was standing by, wiped his eyes and pointed to some dishes on the table.

indeed.Judging from the wind chicken, cured meat, cured duck, mushrooms, etc., they are all things he paid tribute to Chongzhen.

However, even if they only ate four dishes and one soup, all of which were vegetarian dishes, such a feast made the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty rack their brains to come.Because, the host is Chongzhen, and the only guest is Li Shouhan.

"My lord, please take a seat."

Under Wang Chengen's invitation to take a seat, Shou Han took his seat with a little restraint, "Why doesn't your father-in-law sit?"

"My lord was joking. Today is the emperor's lord's banquet. It is a great grace for us servants to be able to wait on the sidelines."

Eight dishes, one soup, no wine.The rice is Nanzhong Japonica rice sent by the same Shouhan.Look at the emperor's side, the same food.Shou Han picked up his rice bowl, dazed in a daze.

Seeing his appearance, Chongzhen felt a little strange: "Aiqing, why is this so?"

Shou Han narrowed his eyes again, carefully studying Chong Zhen's clothes.He found that the hem of Chongzhen's bianfu fluttered with his stride, and there were several patches inside.It was rumored in Beijing that Emperor Chongzhen was very frugal, and he didn't expect to be so frugal.

According to the street talk reported by Nanzhong merchants daily, Chongzhen’s clothes are worn out on weekdays, and they are all mended by Empress Zhou herself, and the food is also simple tea and light food, and the utensils used are even simpler, in order to prepare for military pay.He even sold his own silver chamber pot.I'm afraid that the quality of life in Chongzhen is not as good as that of the county magistrate in Wanping County.

Think about the ending of Emperor Chongzhen in history, and then think about Li Zicheng's entry into Beijing, the organization of Biju Town Fusi copied 7000 million taels of silver from rich officials and households in the capital, and the Qing soldiers under the leadership of Duoduo broke into Jiangnan At that time, the silver that was randomly looted from the house of a landlord and gentry was also 20 to [-] taels.

He sighed deeply and shook his head. For such an emperor, regardless of his ability to govern the country, at least his personal virtues are acceptable.

"My lord, please don't dislike it. This is because the lord was entertained by the lord, and he specially ordered the servants to make an exception for the lord. On weekdays, the lord eats four vegetarian dishes to satisfy his hunger!" Wang Chengen wiped his slightly red and swollen eyes, and looked down. Tell the guard.

"Your Majesty, Eunuch Wang. I would like to ask some young eunuchs to go outside to find the subordinates of the ministers, and ask them to bring the gifts that the subordinates brought to the emperor and empress, several concubines, princes and princesses."

A few young eunuchs went out for a while, and came in with several huge wooden trays in their hands.

Shou Han got up and left, "Please make amends, Your Majesty. The Lord is worried about the humiliation of the ministers, and the Lord humiliates the ministers to death. The ministers see that the emperor is so hard-working, and he has sinned deeply. I implore the emperor to change the clothes made by the emperor. Please forgive me for the overreach. crime!"

In the hands of several young eunuchs is a set of casual clothes that the emperor usually wears in the palace.Compared with Chongzhen's patched clothes, I don't know how much better it is.

"Ai Qing, this?"

"This is made of fine cotton cloth produced in Nanzhong, not a special clothing material."

Wearing it on the body, Chongzhen's new clothes fit exceptionally well.

"Aiqing really has a lot of capable people under her command, and she has never seen me making clothes that fit like this."

Chongzhen compared the new clothes on his body, quite pleased.

Shou Han secretly laughed in his heart, although he had never measured Chongzhen's body size, he did.Among the officers of the Southern Central Army who met the emperor several times, there were quite a few who were good at measuring. They used themselves as a reference, and when the emperor came over to drink wine one by one, with a little care, Chongzhen's clothes would be in size.

"Your Majesty, these are dedicated to the Queen and all the concubines."

Shou Han pointed to the dazzling pile of objects among the other wooden trays.

Dadongzhu, lapis lazuli, emerald, ruby, etc., which were over an inch in size, were randomly placed on the wooden tray in a disorderly manner.It also created a breathtaking effect.Countless people saw this scene.There will always be such a thought in my mind, "If I take away one or two yuan, I'm afraid I won't be found out!"

"A queen's mother honors the world, how can words and deeds be taken lightly? It is also necessary to prepare some head jewelry!" Shou Han explained.There is also a raw material for making high-end palace jewelry.It is dedicated to Chongzhen's sister-in-law.Queen of the Apocalypse.Today's Empress Yi'an Zhang Yan.

As for other people in the palace, Shou Han patted his chest and assured, "I dare not say anything else. The clothes of the princes, princesses, and palace family members in the palace all year round, according to the rules of the ancestors, should be provided by the ministers." That is, you must not lose your royal dignity!"

When Shou Han said these words, he tried his best to recall the demeanor of those nouveau riche and township entrepreneurs deep in his memory.The performance is extremely vulgar and uneducated, but it is also loyal.

Seeing Li Shouhan like this, Wang Chengen couldn't help but finally couldn't control himself, and burst into tears. His crying caused all the eunuchs and maids serving in Huayuan Pavilion to cry.

"Your Majesty, my servants have long said that among the civil and military courts, only Uncle Ning Yuan is truly loyal to the Emperor!" While crying, Wang Chengen could not help but choke.

"Nowadays, all the generals in the towns fear the enemy like a tiger and the thief like a tiger. There are even folk songs among the people that thieves pass like a comb and soldiers pass like a grate. The imperial court gave them an edict, but they only obeyed it. Asking the imperial court for food and pay, but the lion opened his mouth! This, in the final analysis, is because of the imperial court. The emperor has no money, food, or elite soldiers. They have tens of thousands of followers in their hands, and thousands of followers. The emperor ordered Zu Kuan If you hadn't sent someone to lead a team to follow the imperial envoy, I'm afraid he would dare to mutiny on the spot!"

"Aiqing, Wang Daban and Yang Aiqing worked together to poach a brigade of teachers from you. I always think about this in my heart, and I owe you a lot. However, it is urgent to follow the power, and the state is so difficult. Aiqing, you also You have to be more considerate of me!"

Chongzhen put down the chopsticks in his hand and let out a long sigh.Seeing Chongzhen's face much older than his own, Shou Han suddenly understood.The emperor, who was much younger than his biological age, was far from thinking of killing donkeys and crossing rivers to tear down bridges.Even if he had, the pitiful strength in his hands was not enough to kill his own donkey. (Bah, bah, bah! What a donkey!) Destroy your own bridge!For himself, the most powerful faction in the Ming Dynasty at the moment, the emperor can only win over and appease him.

"The current state affairs are difficult. In order to urge all places to wipe out the rogues as soon as possible, I have no choice but to rely on the power of Aiqing. With the elite of the Southern Guangdong Army, I will suppress the supervising formation and make the generals of all the military towns move forward bravely. At the same time, I must follow suit. Cheng Zu, tidy up the capital camp and train a team of elite soldiers! To deter the Xiaoxiao from all over the world, and to suppress all rebels!"

"If Uncle Ningyuan can complete this matter with the power of Uncle Ningyuan, and rejuvenate the Ming Dynasty, not only can I comfort the ancestors of the Taimiao, but also feel relieved when I see the second ancestors in the ground. I will not hesitate to reward Aiqing with the land and borders! Xu You are crowned king with a different surname! There is no hereditary succession! Follow the story of Duke Qian, forever town Nanzhong, and take charge of Guangdong and Guangdong!"

Emperor Chongzhen offered an unprecedented price, which made Shou Han's heart jump wildly.

"Your Majesty! I don't dare to say anything else. This time I was ordered to go south to manage the coastal defense of the three provinces of Fujian, Guangdong, and Zhejiang, and to deal with anti-smuggling matters. If I am not kind, I can clean up the seas of Fujian, Guangdong, and Nanzhili, and stop smuggling and rape at sea. After the pain of the older generation was suppressed, I asked your Majesty to remove the title of Uncle Ning Yuan!"

"I will boast about Haikou in front of your majesty and the prince today. From the day I start to clean up the sea, if everything goes well, I will hand over at least 20 silver dollars to the internal treasury every year for your majesty to compile. Use it to train the new army and tidy up the Beijing camp!"

An illusory errand can bring no less than 20 silver dollars to his own treasury every year, which makes Li Shouhan's position in the heart of Emperor Chongzhen even more important.And Wang Chengen at the side also had a gleam of light in his eyes.

"However, I also want to ask for a grace in front of the emperor."

"Aiqing, just say it! As long as it does not violate the ancestral system, I will allow it!"

Right now, in Chongzhen's eyes, Li Shouhan was seeing silver dollars shaking one by one.Every word he uttered was naturally all ears.

"One, since slaves were established in Zhili of Gyeonggi, the cities were dilapidated, the fields and cottages were burned, and the victims of disasters were displaced everywhere. Wherever they went, it was also a source of thieves. I request an order. Let all these people be sent out. Settle in the south."

"Second, if you are responsible for anti-smuggling at sea in the three provinces, you will inevitably offend the wealthy families in Nanzhili. In the future, the memorials to impeach ministers will be piled up like a mountain. By then..."

"Stay in the middle and never send out!"

"They also want to see what happens when they slander heroes!"

Chongzhen and Wang Chengen, master and servant, spoke in unison.

"Your Majesty, then I can use my fists boldly. If the emperor has no other orders, then I will request an order to leave Beijing. Go south along the canal to stay in the capital and arrange coastal defense matters!" (To be continued) ..)