Autumn of the 17th year of Chongzhen

Chapter 226
Hong Chengchou didn't know Hou Fangyu's real identity. He intended to support Hou Fangyu, so he brought him to Duoduo's mansion so that he could have a chance to be appreciated by Duoduo and obtain a high position.

At this time, although Hong Chengchou was the governor of the south of the Yangtze River, he seemed to have a high position and authority, but in fact he had no control over many things. He could only make suggestions, and then let Duoduo, the Supreme Emperor, make the decision.

Chinese civilization has been developed for thousands of years. Since the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the Son of Heaven has deliberately planned to strengthen the power of the monarch, weaken the power of the prime minister, and weaken the rights of the localities. After hundreds of years of reforms, the system was basically perfected by the time of Zhao and Song Dynasties.

At this time, the power of the monarch and the power of the prime minister have reached a relatively ideal state. The individual prime minister has changed into a group of prime ministers, and the power of the prime minister has been weakened and dispersed, which is not enough to threaten the imperial power.

After the Mongolian Yuan invasion, from a backward nomadic civilization, it controlled such a vast and vast territory at once, but it did not have the advanced means to rule the country. It turned the clock back in history. They were gathered together, and the land was divided into large provinces, returning to the Eastern Han Dynasty.

The result of this is that there were a large number of powerful officials in the Yuan Dynasty. In less than 100 years, there were twelve emperors, most of whom died abnormally.

The political construction of the Mongol Empire was in a mess. Among the twelve emperors, only Yingzong was fluent in Chinese. He dismissed the Song system and adopted the most backward family rule model. The country became a family, and the monarchs and ministers became masters and slaves.

During the reign of Emperor Shizu of the Yuan Dynasty, there was a minister of Han nationality surnamed Dong, who was in charge of political affairs in an official residence, equivalent to a deputy prime minister. Kublai Khan favored him very much and let him handle political affairs in the palace, often unable to go home.

One day, after Kublai Khan woke up, he found that the minister had fallen asleep next to his bed. He was very annoyed.

The concubine saw that the minister was a first-rank official, but she trembled and dared not move her feet, but Kublai Khan said anxiously, "He is the same as the horse breeder, he serves me, but he is just a domestic slave, why don't he dare to move?" !"

In the eyes of Emperor Meng Yuan, the majestic prime minister has become a domestic slave. This is really a retrogression of barbarism over civilization and Chinese history.

After the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, because the Song Dynasty had died for more than [-] years, many problems immediately appeared due to the inheritance of the Yuan system. Therefore, the Taizu used cruel methods to massacre heroes, reformed the system, and went to the extreme of imperial power. With the emergence of the cabinet system, the Chinese system gradually returned to its original track.

It's just that when such a system changes, it is inevitable that there will be ideological confusion, so there will be a phenomenon of confusion such as hundreds of officials scolding the emperor, small officials scolding high officials, etc., but at least it shows that the ministers are no longer the emperor's servants, and the relationship between the emperor and his ministers , after nearly a hundred years of devastation by the Mongolian and Yuan Dynasties, it has returned to the direction of the monarch and his ministers co-ruling the world.

The Ming Dynasty was an era of ideological change, economic change, and cultural change. Unfortunately, change meant turmoil, ideological confusion, and the change was not complete, but the country was already destroyed.

Since the Qing Dynasty entered the customs, it has inherited the Ming system, but it only learned the Ming system on the surface. The power is not in the cabinet, but in the hands of the regent ministers' meeting.

Hong Chengchou is the governor of the south of the Yangtze River, and his status is not low, but when facing Duoduo, how should he kneel or how to kneel, without the dignity of a big official in the frontier.

Hou Fangyu was the fourth son of Jiangnan back then, and he didn't bow down when he saw an official. Even if he met a royal family member, he would just bow to him. Now he can't afford to kneel with Hong Chengchou.

At this moment, Duoduo glanced at the two of them, and then asked directly: "The land in the south of the Yangtze River is a rich land in the world, and the taxation should be the best in the world, but the tax paid to the court is less than one-tenth of the previous court. Hong Your Excellency Governor Jiangnan, with some time, is there any way to help me restore Jiangnan's taxes and serve the Holy Dynasty?"

Hong Chengchou couldn't help breaking out in cold sweat on his forehead when he heard the words, "My lord, the land in the south of the Yangtze River has experienced military disasters. In Jiangyin, Jiaxing, Kunshan, and Wusong alone, more than one million people have been killed, and people's livelihood has long been destroyed. , coupled with unstable people, and Taihu rebels harassing everywhere, it is very difficult to restore taxes. I think that if I can wipe out the Chen and Wu rebels, and live with the people for a while, it may provide millions of dollars for the Holy Dynasty. money."

"The two thieves Li and Wu, I have sent troops to attack several times, but they all returned in vain. It is really hateful. However, the Eight Banners don't know how to fight in water, and the green camp doesn't go all out. They still can't catch the bandits. It's really hateful."

Duoduo paused, and asked again: "By the way, how is the investigation of the Tiandihui?"

The Qing court was investigating the Tiandihui, but he didn't hear the wind, which made Hou Fangyu, who was kneeling beside him, feel tight.

At this time Hong Chengchou replied: "I have sent secret agents to investigate the matter of the Tiandihui, and I got some news."

"Oh~" Duoduo became sexually interested when he heard the words, and pretended to be listening, "What are the identities of these traitors? Tell me quickly, this king will catch them all."

"According to the news sent back by the spies, the Tiandihui was built by the Nanming Duke of Chu, Wang Yan, under the instruction of his general Hu Weizong. , combined with the remnants of Jinyiwei during King Fu’s regime, and with the support of many gangs in the water transportation, set up branch halls and rudders all over the south of the Yangtze River, and now the congregation is afraid that there will be no less than [-] people.”

"There are tens of thousands of people in the congregation?"

Doduo's complexion couldn't help being heavy.

"This Wang Yan is really my mortal enemy of the Qing Dynasty! Back then, I should have trapped him to death in Yangzhou, otherwise it wouldn't be such a trouble now. By the way, since Mr. Hong sent spies into the Tiandihui, we can find out who he is. Where the rudder is, this king will definitely wipe out these traitors in one fell swoop."

Hong Chengchou heard the words, but kowtowed, "Forgive me, the Heaven and Earth Society is well-organized, and the low-ranking spies have not penetrated into the core, so they can't get the secrets of the Tiandihui. Such an organization can not only deal with the Tiandihui, but also spy on Nanming's news, wouldn't it be beautiful!"

After hearing Hong Chengchou's words, Hou Fangyu's heart was agitated. If it wasn't for getting news from Hong Chengchou, he would have made the congregation kill the thief at any cost.

Duoduo nodded immediately, "I will report this matter to the Regent, but before that, I have to do nothing in the south of the Yangtze River. Then Wang Yan has already entered Chu, and the Longwu court wants to make a breakthrough in Huguang It is obvious that now I am trapped in the south of the Yangtze River. Once Wang Yan gains an advantage in Huguang, and then goes down the river to block the Yangtze River, my Qing Dynasty will be in great danger in the south of the Yangtze River. I don’t know what Master Hong has to say about this opinion."

Hong Chengchou heard the words, thought for a moment, and then said: "I agree with the prince's words, and my Qing Dynasty must do something in the south of the Yangtze River. I think that since Nanming can use Huguang's superior soldiers to launch the battle of Jingchu, then my Daqing The Qing can completely rely on the 20 soldiers and horses in the south of the Yangtze River to sweep up eastern Zhejiang and push into Fujian."

"Actually, no matter whether it is the two thieves Chen and Wu on Taihu Lake, or the Tiandihui, even Wang Yan, they are all just scabies. In the south of the Yangtze River, the world is easy to settle!"

(End of this chapter)