The Great Bandit in Kangxi Year

Chapter 255 Incognito
Just when the news of the Batavia victory reached Beijing, Jiang Tao received another mixed news, that is, the Mughal Empire took the initiative to intervene in the disputes in Burma, sending 25 troops directly into Burma, intending to confront the imperial soldiers.

And I don't know if their heads were kicked by donkeys, or what, they didn't care about the Zhou army and directly attacked the defensive positions of the empire.

However, the fate of the unknown is very tragic. Under the joint attack of the empire's artillery, muskets, and barbed wire, the Mughal army suffered heavy casualties. In less than half a month, there were more than [-] casualties. shocked.

And before that, the other party also detained the imperial envoy, Jiang Tao almost couldn't help but go crazy directly, Xing Dajun launched iron and blood revenge.

But Huang Zongxi and other important ministers stopped him: "The empire keeps fighting every year. Although the finances have improved now, the subjects of the empire are a little tired. If things go on like this, it will eventually consume the national power of the empire. Now we must first pacify Indonesia."

Jiang Tao finally calmed down. He knew the difference between defense and offense. After a long war, the empire used advanced tactics and weapons, and was not afraid of any enemy in defense, but the offense was different. The strength of the division cannot be victorious in this era. Logistics, terrain, weather, etc. still have a great impact on the war, and the consumption of the attacking side is several times that of the defending side. cost-effective means.

If the Dahua Empire wants to rise, it must not be achieved by a handful of people. Jiang Tao thought for a long time, and finally felt that the population of the empire is too small. Now the empire's territory is larger than the territory controlled by the Manchu Qing before, but the Dahua people only have 500 people. There are more than 9000 million people, and the Mongols are only more than [-] million. Of course, the population of North Korea and the special administrative regions of Vietnam are not counted.

This is far from enough, so I hurriedly ordered: "The order will continue, the empire will reward births. From this year onwards, the empire will award five catties of sucrose and five silver dollars to families who give birth to the first child, and one piece of cotton cloth and 10 silver dollars to families who give birth to the second child." Silver dollars, for families with a third child, the empire rewards 20 silver dollars, and there will be no rewards in the future.”

"Your Majesty, as the population increases, the per capita wealth of the empire will decrease. If things go on like this, when the population of the empire doubles, not only will the pressure on the empire's government increase, but the amount of land owned by the common people will decrease. I'm afraid it will be another catastrophe." Huang Zongxi said worriedly.

Jiang Tao sighed secretly in his heart, and said seriously: "What Huang Lao said is very true, um, it will be set as a ten-year period, and all rewards will be halved. If the people are unable to raise their children, they can hand them over to the Royal Orphanage."

"The emperor is merciful, by the way, the emperor wants to reward births for the sake of emigration?" Huang Zongxi asked along the way.

Jiang Tao nodded, and added: "Also, the empire has a small population and a vast land. Many places are completely uninhabited. It would be fine if the empire remained strong. If the empire was weak, how could it keep such a vast territory?"

"If the population is too large, it may not be able to keep it. Only if the country rises and falls, the sense of responsibility for everyone is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. As long as everyone participates in the empire's struggle for hegemony, relying on the hard work and perseverance of the people of the empire, the population of more than hundreds of millions , as long as the emperors of all dynasties are not particularly stupid, the empire will be prosperous forever." Huang Zongxi said righteously.

Jiang Tao believes that, in this way, it is necessary to vigorously develop education and give the people benefits and benefits that surpass those of other countries. In terms of education, the empire has formulated a ten-year education plan. Enjoy the treatment of free education, of course, if you want to go to university for free, you must be admitted to the university.

As for welfare, Jiang Tao is also improving the labor law and welfare law, so that all citizens have the minimum living security, and has built many nursing homes and orphanages in beautiful places.

Now that the country is in the midst of a waste of time, the construction of the army is particularly critical. Jiang Tao consulted the opinions of the cabinet ministers and revised the conscription system, changing the previous recruitment system to a compulsory military system.

Huang Zongxi nodded in agreement, but sighed: "Everyone has the obligation to serve in the military. It is good, but the existing system cannot be greatly changed. Without military pay, it is difficult for soldiers to fight with their lives. First, the compulsory military system must be established." Spreading the benefits of his ideas, strengthening patriotic education, and gradually reforming, it will be a matter of course after decades.”

Jiang Tao nodded, and asked again: "Does Elder Ge have any good strategies for governing the country?"

"In ancient times, the world was the main thing, and the king was the guest. Those who run the business for the whole life of the king are also for the world. What the emperor has done is beyond reproach, but the folk vulgar paralysis is still alive, and many people suffer from it." Huang Zongxi worried. road.

"Oh, come quickly." Jiang Tao was very surprised. To be honest, since he ascended the throne, he really rarely left the capital, and he didn't know much about the people.

Huang Zongxi sighed: "The main reason is that there are a lot of bad habits among the people. One is that women in the folk often bind their feet, which is extremely cruel to women. The other is that although the land is divided into households, the clan still has a lot of power. There are many domineering people in the countryside. The so-called people don't sue the officials and don't investigate, the government can't intervene."

"Hey, it's hard for an upright official to decide on family affairs. However, the imperial court can't be so inactive. It must take the initiative to govern the country. One is to put an end to the binding of feet until the decree is issued, and the other is that the empire's control over the countryside can't be so weak. The empire has been cracking down hard since today, but those who violate the law, no matter who they are, will be punished according to the law, and the huge clan power will be gradually disintegrated."

Jiang Tao sighed, although the empire has been vigorously developing industry, the agricultural population still accounts for more than 80.00% of the empire's population. If the rural areas are not well managed, the empire will not be able to stabilize.

"Your Majesty, there is no empire's armed force in the village now, only the county has hundreds of police forces. It is difficult to manage such a large county, and recently the empire has investigated and punished many village officials in evil places. This is very good for the development of the empire. Unfavorable." Wei Donglai said earnestly.

"Very good." Jiang Tao put on a poker face, and said decisively: "The empire wants to crack down on all aspects, especially in localities. I have a few things to add. You can set up a police force with an establishment of 20 people in each township, under the command of the county police force. , the weapons are hand guns and steel knives, and the law must be strictly enforced, but it must not disturb the people. The middle of the scale must be well balanced, and an anonymous reporting system should be set up in each post station and county government. No matter who it is, it has the right and obligation to report violators. , The empire will give appropriate rewards, including law enforcement personnel, if law enforcement personnel and officials break the law, the crime will be added to the crime, and the title will be deprived, and the empire will never hire them.”

The post stations have now become the hub of the empire. Each post station can not only transmit letters, but also serve as a link for the empire to convey orders. Moreover, the post stations can also rent out carriages and horses for civilian use, which greatly facilitates the going out of the people.

"Existing township officials and village officials will be inspected by the empire. The limit is half a year. If they are dedicated to the people and are selfless, they can be promoted to rank. If they harm the local area or favor those who cause disasters, they will all be dismissed and investigated, and they must be dealt with severely. Other officials also need to find out that the civilian guards and all intelligence agencies are closely cooperating with this matter, and whoever dares to shirk and cover up the report will be punished with a higher crime."

Jiang Tao was angry again. With such good conditions and policies, it is unforgivable that there are still people who deceive the upper and lower and cause harm to the place.

"The emperor appeases his anger, and my subordinates must handle this matter well."

Jiang Tao hummed and fell into deep thought. It seems that he overestimated the self-consciousness of the people. It is his own whimsy to cultivate people for a hundred years.

In the past, they suffered too much and did not have the awareness to be the masters of their own country. They had to inculcate legal knowledge to all citizens, understand the law, know the law, and use it...

In fact, there are still many traditional virtues in China. Jiang Tao left three people including Wang Fuzhi and Huang Zongxi, and ordered them to lead a group of Confucian masters to sort out Chinese Confucianism, remove the dross, keep the essence, and add it to the curriculum of compulsory education.

The three of them readily agreed that the education in the empire would gradually become comprehensive.

……

Just when the empire was cracking down, a group of dangerous people were hiding in the largest mansion in the market town outside the capital city.

One of them was already in his dying years, but he still shouted coldly: "After several years of operation, the tiger fighting organization has no effect. They are all a bunch of idiots."

The rest of the people shuddered, and one of them, a man in his forties, lowered his head and said, "Father, that fellow Heihu is too powerful. Recently, several armed forces in the mountains have lost contact. I'm afraid they have been poisoned. Crack down hard, shoot the first bird, we'd better play it safe."

"Hmph, the empire is too big. In fact, the old man also knows that we can't overthrow Heihu's country with our strength, but we have to avenge the hatred of exterminating the family. Hmph, in this case, we will target Heihu himself. As soon as he comes out Imperial City, immediately assassinate regardless of the cost."

That's right, this person is Luo Xiaotian. He has been controlling the entire tiger fighting organization in the capital for these years, but the strength of the empire is getting better and better, and the anti-riot troops are getting better and better. His subordinates have no chance of reaction in the city, so they have to hide In the mountains, they plundered everywhere, and although they gained a lot, they also suffered heavy losses.

The key is that it is very difficult to recruit people who dare to defy the imperial court, so the Tiger Fighting Organization has fewer and fewer personnel.

"Father, although Heihu is easy to recognize, he is always surrounded by a large number of guards when he travels. Our killers are not close at all, and it is said that he is a master." His son, President Luo Qian, sighed.

"It's okay, didn't we get some military firecrackers? Use these to deal with him." Luo Xiaotian smiled coldly, as if Jiang Tao had already been shot.

"Father, I'm going to pick an elite shooter right now, but the previous run on Huaxing Bank not only did not cause major chaos, but also lost tens of millions of silver dollars, which is really unlucky." Mr. Luo Qian said angrily.

"Small things, tell all Tiger Fighting members to immediately suspend all actions, except for the assassination of Black Tiger, now we have to wash all our assets. With the current development of the empire, as long as you have money, it is no different from being an emperor. Hmph, I never thought that Hei Hu, who was born as a bandit, could rule the country, and he has a big heart, it seems that we all underestimated this man."

Luo Xiaotian said in a somewhat despondent way, seeing that he was about to be buried, and his son was a dou who couldn't support him, as long as he killed Jiang Tao, he would die without regrets in this life.

"Father, there is something you can't say quickly, hey." Luo Qian always said in a difficult way, looking very hesitant.

"Everyone else has stepped down." Luo Xiaotian started from scratch, and said in surprise, "I'm your father, so if you have something to say, just say it."

"Father, although the black tiger is the great enemy of our Luo family, but he drove away the Tartars and established an unparalleled empire. I am really worried in my heart. In fact, as long as we keep our names incognito, we can rely on our wealth. After a few lifetimes of carefree life, why bother to take revenge?"

"You bastard, I worked so hard all my life back then, and was robbed of most of it by this bandit. I can't swallow this for my father, and if he finds us, will we have a way out? Silly boy, I don't blame you for being a father, just hand it over here." I am a father, you take a large amount of money and fly away, truly hide your name, live a good life, no longer think about revenge, and being a father is enough." Luo Xiaotian was also slightly moved, not only did not scold his son, but arranged for him to leave.

He secretly said in his heart: "If he can kill Heihu in his lifetime, he should die. If he dies of old age before then, that's all."

"Father..." Mr. Luo Qian burst into tears...

PS: Happy Dragon Boat Festival!

(End of this chapter)