Begging in late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 410

"Marshal, great news! Mr. Wang's affairs have been settled. This time, Lu Daqi, Minister of the Ministry of Officials in Nanjing, made us pinch him to death. He had to compromise with us. The list of officials appointed by Qiu Wei this time has come down. , the first name Zhang Fusheng and other five waited to rush to Beijing to participate in the palace examination, and the rest entered the Nanjing Metropolitan Procuratorate to serve as Zhaomo and secretary affairs. Eleven experienced, and 39 entered Nanjing Six Departments, and were assigned to Nanzhili Dang County There are 52 of Lingxian Cheng's, and the remaining ones will have a chance to be inspected in Beijing next year!"

With a happy face, Sun Chuanting ran in excitedly holding a list of redskins.

This is really a big harvest. Although they are all sesame officials with seventh rank, eighth rank or even ninth rank, not all tribute officials can become officials these days. There are only so many official positions in the world. People even have to wait for more than ten years and can't wait for a position. This time Lu Daqi also helped his disciples to cheat.

Regardless of the smallness of these officials, the system of the Ming Dynasty, small officials can kill cabinet ministers. In this officialdom, apart from the protective umbrella of the Shanxi merchant families, Song Qingshu has fostered a large number of his cronies in the officialdom, and This is still Jiangnan with a lack of power.

Especially for these scholars who grew up under the influence of the Taizhou School, among many Confucian theories, only the Taizhou School, which has been slandered as heresy, is the most radical and most in line with the interests of the bourgeoisie!

This is a very good thing, and it is not in vain that Song Qingshu was sweating against Emperor Chongzhen, but he was only happy for a moment, and Song Qingshu waved again worriedly.

"Mr. Boya came just in time. Come here, call that kid Zhang Huangyan, and you can help me with my advice!"

…………

With the two letters in front of them, Zhang Huangyan and Sun Chuanting, who read completely different contents, couldn't help but scratch their heads.

Lu Xiangsheng's official document is quite formal, and it is sent to Song Qingshu in the form of an order, asking him to immediately send troops to maintain the order of the water transport, resume the work of the Jiangnan transshipment envoy, ensure the smooth flow of food and pay in the north, and reorganize the army as soon as possible. The writing is also full of enthusiasm, and those who read it can't wait to serve the battlefield now.

Yang Sichang's letter was much more secretive. In the letter, he suggested that Song Qingshu continue to drag the water transport, delay the time for the south-to-north grain transfer as much as possible, and stick to the Huaihe River and the Huaihe River, not to go north easily.

Logically speaking, Yang Sichang is Song Qingshu's backer, and it is best to follow Yang Sichang's words at this time, but Song Qingshu knows who Yang Sichang is, he will only start from his own interests, and will not really consider For Song Qingshu's interests, the relationship between the begging army and the imperial court has become a little stiff. If the disturbance continues, Song Qingshu doesn't know where the imperial court's bottom line is.

But if Lu Xiangsheng listened to his order, he would have torn his face with Yang Sichang. Yang Sichang could still be favored for at least two or three years, and the power would be in the hands of the government. It would be hard for the army to fight against him, and the restoration of water transport would have nothing to do with it. Well, sending troops to the north is also not in the interests of the begging army. Neither of these two choices is a good choice for Song Qingshu. What he is thinking about now is which one is less harmful.

"Marshal, this probably represents the two attitudes of the court. A while ago, there was news from the Jingshi Jiaduobao branch that Yang Sichang wanted to negotiate peace with the Qing court. Yang Sichang wanted to create a weak state. , forcing the courtiers to agree to make peace with the Eastern Captives, and Lu Xiangsheng has always been the main combat faction, the emperor appointed him as Minister of the Ministry of War, and the King’s Army Supervisor under Heaven, so he naturally wanted to accumulate strength to fight the Eastern Captives."

"According to the students, Yang Sichang's suggestion cannot be listened to!"

After pondering for a while, Zhang Huangyan was the first to open his mouth to analyze. He stretched out his hand and pulled the map away, pointing to the detailed layout on it. .

"What can hinder Lu Xiangsheng's decisive battle the most is the strength of the army. The north and south bandit suppressing armies are still entangled in Huguang. The Central Plains, especially Hong Chengchou's troops, have moved like Lianghuai a few days ago. A political compromise has been achieved, and they will not let go. Water transportation, the emperor will definitely not tolerate it any longer, when Hong Chengchou and Xiong Wencan march eastward, they will hit us, and the two battlefields will be based on this, so we can logically negotiate a peace with the eastern captives!"

"Damn it, Yang Sichang is betraying me?"

Although he had considered the disadvantages, Song Qingshu really didn't think about it. He couldn't help cursing when he heard it, and couldn't help picking up Yang Sichang's letter and throwing it into the brazier, which burned into a pile of ashes in a blink of an eye. Seeing the flying ash floating, Sun Chuanting still couldn't help showing some embarrassment.

"Marshal, if you go against Yang Sichang this time, I'm afraid he will cause more trouble in the future. Now that Yang Wenruo is trusted by the emperor, it is not a good strategy to fight against him. Why don't you listen to each other halfway, let go of the Yangtze River, and let the emperor go against him. The water transportation is going well, so we don’t send troops, just sit and watch the factional struggles in the northern court.”

"No! No! Commander, the students think that the soldiers still have to be dispatched! And they have to be skillful. This time is the time to give the court another false impression! I am afraid that when Lu Xiangsheng sent the official document to the commander, Governor Lufeng Lord Ma Shiying will also receive the order from the governor to go north, let us refuse first, and when Lord Ma supervises the army, it will give the court the illusion that Governor Lufeng can always control us."

"The imperial court trusts the governor. As long as it can be controlled, even if the Eastern Captives are repelled, the imperial court's efforts to settle accounts with us will be reduced. At least now Cao Cao in Fangxian County and the eight kings of the ancient city are in a commotion. If they are not resolved, the imperial court will not deal with us again. Do it."

Shaking his head and thinking, Zhang Huangyan's unattractive little black face had a strange expression, and he sneered disdainfully: "Even if Yang Sichang is favored, he is only a cabinet minister. This time he negotiates peace with Donglu, his reputation will definitely decline. Quite a few, this time going north, as long as we watch the excitement on the outside like the army, it won't be too exciting for him."

"The plan to spread the net on all four corners and ten sides is Yang Sichang's political core. To drive back the Eastern captives, he still has to go back and solve the civil uprising issue. This year is a severe drought across the country, and there will be a sharp increase in salaries and salaries. I am afraid that next year Once again, the thieves are raging and making a comeback, and the Ming Dynasty will not be peaceful, as long as we are still useful, Yang Sichang will not dare to kill us! He even needs to rely on the commander in chief."

On this side, Zhang Huangyan looked at Song Qingshu with piercing eyes, pondered for a moment, and Song Qingshu finally nodded.

"Mr. Boya, go back and mobilize the troops. This time, the commander-in-chief will bring the three divisions of Anqing, two divisions of Fengyang, and the third, fifth, and sixth divisions of the Qihuo Army. Most of these troops are new troops. Recruited and trained for too long, it would be good to let them go to the battlefield to see blood!"

Song Qingshu said so, and Sun Chuanting had to agree, but the scale of Song Qingshu's troops this time was a bit beyond the past, and his poker face also showed a lot of embarrassment, and he finally nodded.

"Don't worry, Marshal. In the end, the Marshal will take care of the rear and supervise the logistics!"

…………

Just like Zhang Huangyan's decision, Lu Xiangsheng's Gongwen Qihuo Army was half implemented, and water transport was released. The water gangs in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River that had been annexed by the expanded Jiangnan Transportation Company also resumed work. They were transported from Huguang, Sichuan, and Zhejiang, and squeezed in Yingtianfu. The food and pay finally flowed to the capital at a normal speed, supporting the war against captives in the north.

However, Lu Xiangsheng passed on the order of begging the living army to go north to King Qin, but was postponed by Song Qingshu's random excuse of kidney deficiency.

However, the preparations for the begging army are in full swing. This time, nearly 1000% of the strength of the Jiangnan begging army, as many as eight divisions, will be sent to the battlefield. With less than 6 taels, Song Qingshu didn't expect the imperial court to be so shabby. In order to transfer food and pay, the logistics troops dispatched from Lianghuai would cost at least [-] taels, and together they were almost [-] horses.

To support such a large army and maintain its combat effectiveness, the logistics required are huge. One person needs at least three catties of food a day, and even if there is such high-protein food as canned food, it still needs about two catties. Based on three months of combat, at least 20 dans of grain and 620 million cans are needed, which is not a small amount.

Fortunately, in August, the early rice in the south of the Yangtze River also started the autumn harvest. It happened to take advantage of the refusal of the order to send troops to start purchasing and accumulating materials.

During this time, Sun Chuanting and Liu Zongmin stayed busy in Anqing, but Song Qingshu stayed in Yingtian all the time, and there was another matter that bothered him quite a bit.

Last time, Shi Lang returned to Yingtian from Manila in three months, but this time, with five large ships and thousands of soldiers and sailors of the First Division of Anqing, Shi Lang had been away for half a year and hadn't heard from him. None, Song Qingshu is not worried.

On this day, Song Qingshu was still anxiously staying in the Longjiang Shipyard office, waiting for news from Shi Lang, while reviewing the transfer of personnel and materials from various places. After approving and approving, there was a sudden noise outside, and Song Qingshu, who heard it, immediately strode through. In front of the window, there were indeed more than a dozen large boats slowly entering the port, but they were fishing boats returning from the sea. Seeing the barrels of fresh fish being carried off by the dock workers, Song Qingshu immediately walked back disappointed.

But at this moment, the door was suddenly pushed open roughly. Cao Sanxi and Zhang Mingxing, the two major shareholders of the company, walked in with gloomy expressions. Their expressions startled Song Qingshu, and he couldn't help being astonished. asked.

"What happened? You two, have you even forgotten the etiquette for entering the door?"

Song Qingshu was obviously a little unhappy, but Zhang Mingxing immediately turned sad when he heard it, and clasped his fists hastily.

"Boss, the matter is in a hurry! Something big happened!"

Coming out of the city in a hurry, they arrived at the suburbs, near Yingtian, where a large amount of early rice had been harvested into bundles. All were packed into trucks, but they were transported north of the Yangtze River.

"what happened?"

Seeing this scene, Song Qingshu's face also became gloomy. Now the beggar army has to support the army and workers, and the grain business has shrunk. I don't know how much. grain, but the grain could not be harvested.

It's not just Yingtian's side, Cao Sanxi and the others have already become anxious like this, which shows that this phenomenon is probably common, Song Qingshu asked hastily, full of anxiety.

"Go home!"

The shopkeeper's face was about to cry, and he bowed sadly.

"I don't know why this year, all the rents collected by the landlords require grain, and the tenants are not allowed to sell it privately, and they seem to have reached an agreement that all the grain will only be sold to those guys in Yangzhou!"

Now things get a little tricky.

(End of this chapter)