Crazy at the end of the Ming Dynasty

Chen Yongfu sat in the corner and watched with cold eyes. He knew that such an argument would not be fruitful.Not to mention that I have already argued about such a thing several times before, and every time it is "Postponed!".Just talking about the fact that the Peasant Army is approaching the city, the officials in the city can still spend so much time and energy arguing without solving any practical problems. This shows how "not doing business properly" those officials are.

Fortunately, unlike other vassals in the Ming Dynasty, King Zhu Gong of Zhou was a vassal who was willing to spend money and food and cooperate with the government to suppress thieves.Several times when the city of Kaifeng was in crisis, Zhou Wang Zhu Gongyun used the money and food in the palace to pay the army's salary and rewards.

Although the main purpose of King Zhou's doing this was for his own wealth and life, but his "generosity", after all, allowed Chen Yongfu's army to have basic food and wages. In the labor, the food and certain remuneration paid by Zhou Wangfu were obtained. Therefore, Zhou Wangfu did feed a large number of people in the city, and it played an indispensable role in stabilizing Kaifeng City.

But in this way, it encouraged the officials in the city to do nothing.Because relying on the big tree of Zhou Wangfu to enjoy the shade, the officials in Kaifeng city happened to be quiet.Those officials who don't do anything but are not bad are still good. I am most afraid of those officials who don't do anything but show their existence in everything.And there are quite a few such officials, no!In the chamber, such officials were divided into two factions and quarreled.

……

"Now that the price of rice in the city has risen to one or two buckets of rice, where did the common people get their surplus money? Where did they collect it? What Lord Wang said is nothing more than a castle in the air!"

"The magistrate's yamen has also issued an order to let the rice shops in the city sell rice at a fixed price. The price of rice that Mr. Li said was set by unscrupulous profiteers in the black market. Now it is precisely to let the government use its life and stop arresting day and night. This is The right way. How can there be no reason why the right way should not go astray?"

"The right way? The wrong way? Does Mr. Wang want to say: Why don't you eat chyme? Although the government has set the price of rice, the rice shops in the city don't sell it at all. Where can the people get the rice? Isn't it just spending huge sums of money to buy it from the black market? Behind those rice shops and black markets, there are big households in the city behind them, if you don’t get food and wages from them, where else can you get it from?”

"Does Lord Li mean to rob the big family? How is that different from the thieves outside the city?"

"Hugh was so bloody, now it's the truth in Yicheng, but you come here to confuse the public with ulterior motives."

……

Seeing that the anger in the meeting hall was getting bigger and bigger, finally an official came forward and said: "Take care and don't be impatient. But the lower official has a question: since there are two months of food in the city, then there are two months During this period of time, the surrounding government troops have already come to help. As long as Kaifeng City is defended, the besieged city will be destroyed by itself. Why are the two adults arguing?"

Hearing this, even Chen Yongfu, who was sitting in the corner preparing to be a "sister-in-law", couldn't help frowning.That official has no common sense.If the people in Kaifeng know that there is a shortage of food in the city.They are bound to hoard at home, and as soon as they have hoards, they will have as much as they can.If there is no government to force the centralization of food and quota distribution.In the city, it is definitely less than a month.Right now.In fact, some poor families in the city are short of food.

And it can also be heard from the official's words that he doesn't understand the situation of the imperial court and the peasant army at all.Now the army of Supervisor Ding Qirui has been completely wiped out.In Beizhili, only the troops of the Beijing camp can be used, but because the entire army of Hong Chengchou in Liaodong was wiped out, the Beijing camp has to repair the battered northern Great Wall-Shanhaiguan line of defense. How can we mobilize excess troops? .How about crossing the Yellow River to aid Kaifeng?

And Liu Zeqing's Lu army in the east is even more hopeless. After camping against the water on the bank of the Yellow River last time and resulting in a disastrous defeat, Liu Zeqing just didn't come out of the cave.As for Sun Chuanting's Qin army to the west, the journey was far away.It's hard to get there in time.There are only Zuo Liangyu's troops in the south and Wu Shigong's Runing Army.

But will these two people come?Chen Yongfu was discouraged just thinking about it.Relatively speaking, Chen Yongfu knows more about the situation of the surrounding friendly forces than the civilian officials.He also understood very well: Zuo Liangyu was willing to come, but his troops were also mobs, and they were totally vulnerable, unable to save Kaifeng City.

And the closest to Kaifeng City is Wu Shigong's Runing Army.But if the Runing army wanted to save them, they would have dispatched troops long ago.It will not wait until now, when the peasant army outside Kaifeng has made arrangements to come to the rescue.So Chen Yongfu's attitude towards whether the Runing Army sent troops?That's pretty pessimistic.

"Chen Zongbing! Chen Zongbing!"

The sound of calling woke up Chen Yongfu from the state of trance.He looked up and saw that the governor Gao Mingheng was talking to him, so he immediately bowed his fists and said, "The last general is here!"

"Chen Zongbing! Do you think Kaifeng can be defended until reinforcements arrive?" Gao Mingheng asked.

"With His Royal Highness King Zhou and all the adults presiding over the city, it should be impenetrable. The only possible reinforcement is Wu Runing. The general will send Gouzi to swim out of the city with ten warriors tonight, and then ask Wu Runing for help. I also hope that His Highness and All the adults sent a letter together, asking Wu Runing to take care of the people in the city and send troops to help as soon as possible." Chen Yongfu replied.

"It's okay to write a letter!" Gao Mingheng squinted at Guan Kesong who was sitting here while speaking.

But Guan Kesong found that all the officials present were staring at him, and he also complained in his heart.Can Wu Runing control himself?I have no influence at all in front of him.

But at this time, it was impossible for Guan Kesong to back down.So instead, he agreed in a very bachelor way: "I will write a letter as an official. First go to the prison to find a death row prisoner, and use his blood to write a seal of blood! But you can't do things without proof. Last time Wu Runing came to help, we Tens of thousands of taels are still being deducted from them. Whether he comes to help this time, the next official will just..."

When Guan Kesong said this, the officials looked unnatural.What happened last time was really unreasonable.If the initial delinquency was to drag Yao Liangbu to Kaifeng City, then the remaining tens of thousands of taels of silver should be sent to Runing afterwards.But at that time, they felt that the danger had been resolved, and Kaifeng City did not pay. Instead, they lost all the money, and the officials present got a share afterwards.

But after so many years of practice in the officialdom, how could the face skills here not be in place?After only being embarrassed for a while, Henan Supervisor Xiao Yuegui said: "The miscellaneous family also has some old friendship with Wu Runing, and we also went to write letters together!"

Gao Mingheng coughed a few times, and said: "I will also write a letter from Fu, and everyone here who has an old relationship with Wu Runing should write a letter! Your Highness! Do you see...?"

Zhu Gongyou, the King of Zhou, quickly echoed, "Gu can also write." Then he looked at Chen Yongfu, and said, "Tell your son, whatever Wu Runing wants, Gu agrees to everything, and let him fight to get to Kaifeng as soon as possible. Why--!"

No one here is more aggrieved than Zhou Wang Zhu Gongfang.He is the tallest in name, but he can't get any actual benefits.The recruited soldiers were not under his command, but he was responsible for the bulk of the food and pay, and now the bounty given to the Runing Army seemed to fall on his head again.What a good prince who only gives and doesn't ask for anything!

"But what if Wu Runing doesn't come?" Finally, an official couldn't help but express his worries.

After hearing this, all the officials present looked at each other. They were not willing to be that crow's mouth and talk about the worst place.

But suddenly, there was a burst of shouting at the door of the meeting hall, and it was Huang Peng, the promotion official of Kaifeng Mansion.Huang Peng shouted with angry eyes: "If things can't be done, then the officials will lead the dead to dig the Yellow River dam and drown the rebels and the Seventh Army."

The officials in the chamber immediately looked at Huang Peng in shock.After a while, an official murmured to retort: ​​"But in this way, Kaifeng City will not be able to keep."

"At that time, is there any other way to think about it? The only thing is to burn everything!!!"

Seeing Huang Peng's crazy expression, the officials in the chamber were speechless.

……

Kaifeng City is going crazy here, and Jinling City is also staged a scene of madness.

"I am recruiting soldiers and paying according to the imperial decree. The matter of recruiting soldiers will be resolved by me. I plan to recruit 10 soldiers first. The matter of food and salary will depend on everyone. First, I need [-] taels of silver and [-] stones of grain." Yu Zilian said loudly.

After receiving the imperial edict, Yu Zilian acted immediately.Today, under his initiative, the eunuch Lu Jiude, the guarding eunuch of Nanjing, officials above the level of Minister of the Six Departments of Nanjing, Wei Guogong Xu Hongji and other Nanjing city nobles gathered together to discuss the specific implementation of the edict of recruiting soldiers and paying salaries.

"But a few days ago for the disaster relief, there was no silver or grain left in the warehouse in Nanjing. At most, I could squeeze out five thousand silver and one thousand five hundred shi for Mr. Yu. No matter how much more, there would be nothing left." The Minister of the Nanjing Household Department said hastily.

"I also know that the imperial treasury is very tight, so I won't embarrass the big treasurer." Yu Zilian said, while bowing to the Minister of the Ministry of Households in Nanjing, "The matter of raising salary can't be delayed. It will be resolved within a month."

"One month!?" The officials present immediately became agitated, and one official raised a question: "Master Yu! Military and state affairs are not a trifling matter. You have to complete the salary collection within a month. The nearby counties and counties will go all the way." It’s too late to circle! Don’t talk nonsense.”

Because Yu Zilian's qualifications are very low, and Yu Zilian's Minister of the Nanjing Military Department is a title, not a real award, so few officials present took Yu Zilian's words seriously.So what this official said did not save Yu Zilian's face.

Unexpectedly, Yu Zilian's next words fell like a thunderbolt from the blue sky: "This official is going to collect food and salaries in Jinling City, and the recruitment of various counties in the south of the Yangtze River will be discussed later."

"Ah!?" (To be continued...)