Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

Zhang Shuye was also promoted and transferred back to the central government from Shandong to serve as a minister of the Privy Council.

During this year's military reform, the Grand Marshal's Office and the Privy Council were officially merged.

Privy Envoy: Zhu Ming.

Deputy Privy Envoy: Zhang Bor.

Known about Privy Council matters: Zhang Shuye.

Tongzhi Privy Council Affairs: Wang Zhen, Wang Yuan.

Signed by Privy Councilors: Yang Weizhong and Yang Zhi.

Although Yang Zhi was transferred back to the capital and had sufficient military exploits and qualifications, he still struggled with the task of handling documents and had to learn more and experience from his seniors.

Zhang Guangdao and Li Bao are both on the front line. If they return to Beijing, they will definitely be ranked high in the Privy Council rankings.

As for Zhang Shuye, if he had not lacked qualifications in the Ming Dynasty, he would have been qualified to directly serve as Privy Councilor.

This person has served as a local chief official and an assistant officer, as well as an official in three provinces, a general officer and an official in the six ministries. He has also served as a frontier governor and promoted six archers. He not only suppressed bandits in Shandong, but also fought against Jin soldiers. He even built the city of Xi'an to guard against Xixia.

It can be said that Zhang Shuye is familiar with all aspects from the central government to the local government, from civil affairs to the military.

A pure military general like Yang Zhi is actually more suitable to serve in the Twelfth Chamber of the Privy Council.

For example, the north room of the Privy Council is now responsible for military affairs in Shanxi and Hebei. Another example is the Hexi Room of the Privy Council, which is now responsible for military affairs in Shaanxi. The chief officers of these offices are equivalent to the central ministers who have overall control over a war zone.

There is also the Privy Council Teaching Room, which is responsible for the recruitment and training of soldiers and horses across the country, and is also in charge of the Cajun Army, inns and delivery stores across the country.

After Zhang Shuye entered the Privy Council, the first suggestion he made was to transfer Zhe Yanzhi to Goryeo to take charge of the two Ming armies stationed in Goryeo and serve as the direct superior of Li Cheng and Zhao Li.

The reason is simple. Li Cheng and Zhao Li have a personal grudge, and Zhang Shuye, who has been the leader in Shandong for a long time, knows best.

And Zhe Yanzhi knew both of them, and the clan girl married the prince as a concubine, which was enough to suppress and ease the conflict between the two.

Ju Ming really didn't expect this kind of thing and quickly agreed with Zhang Shuye's proposal.

As a result, Zhe Yanzhi became the highest military commander of the Ming Dynasty stationed in Goryeo, and he happily took his wife and children to Pyongyang by boat.

After seeing Xu Kangzong and exchanging greetings, Zheyan asked, "May I ask Mr. Xu, what are the details here?"

Xu Kangzong recounted in detail: "From here to the Yalu River, there are three largest cities, namely Pyongyang, Anzhou, and Baozhou. Pyongyang and Anzhou were looted by the Jin soldiers, and they starved to death everywhere, with no one to help them. They also revolted. , but without soldiers and armor, after being defeated by the Goryeo court, most of them fled into the mountains and became bandits, living by digging grass roots and chewing tree bark."

"As for Baozhou and the six cities in Jiangdong, more than half of the people are of the Bohai ethnic group. These Bohai ethnic soldiers and civilians were taken to Liaodong by the Jin soldiers to enrich the population of Liaodong."

"Pyongyang, Anju, and Baozhou are all suitable for farming. After this battle, the population was sparse."

"I have already submitted my suggestions. The first step in the strategy of Korea is to mobilize tens of thousands of grains of grain to provide relief to the surviving people of Pyongyang and Baozhou."

"The second step is to divide the troops and station them in Anzhou to rescue the surviving Anzhou people. It is estimated that by the time the troops are divided, 60 to 70% of the Anzhou people will have died of starvation."

"The third step is to move the family members of the troops stationed in the three places and distribute the land. They are all fertile lands. The fields will be divided according to the population. Each person should have at least thirty acres. The higher the military rank, the more land will be allocated to the family members. Four families With a home starting from one hundred and twenty acres, even a small soldier can become a landlord.”

"The fourth step is to recruit immigrants from Shandong. As long as they are willing to come and settle down, each person will be given fifteen acres of land."

"With these four steps, we can ensure that there are 100,000 Han people around the three cities, and all of them have fertile land for cultivation."

"Of course, we must also appease the local wealthy families, confirm the division of their lands, and give them some business privileges."

"The other thing is to win over the hearts of the common people. Most of the common people here have no surnames. Without surnames, they have no land and can only work as tenants, serfs and domestic servants."

"The imperial court can use the surnames of His Majesty, Queen, and Crown Princess to bestow these unsurnamed people, and then give them an acre and a half of land at will. The local people will inevitably settle down and consider themselves citizens of the Ming Dynasty. Because they left the Ming Dynasty, their The family name and the land are gone."

Not to mention the current Goryeo Dynasty, even the later Joseon Dynasty only had surnames on a large scale in the late Ming Dynasty.

At that time, the Japanese army invaded first, and then the Manchu army invaded. From the south to the north, countless landowners were killed and kidnapped, and the local order was in chaos. As a result, the lower class people in North Korea pretended to be relatives of the local wealthy families, took on the surnames of the wealthy families and occupied unowned land.

It couldn't be easier for Ming Dynasty to win over the hearts of the common people.

Giving them a surname makes them happy. It is not only a surname, but also an improvement in social status. With a surname, they are eligible to obtain land. Otherwise, even if they open up wasteland themselves, they will not be able to obtain land deeds from the government.

The process of granting a surname was the process in which the people of Goryeo gathered friends and registered with Ming officials to settle down!

Only when you settle down can you be given a surname.

Once settled, they became citizens of the Ming Dynasty and had to pay taxes to the Ming Dynasty and break away from the Goryeo Dynasty.

When they settled down, they were given half an acre of thin farmland, and they became even more grateful.

If the Goryeo court sent troops to kill them, these people who had obtained their surnames and land would probably respond to the call and actively help the Ming army fight in order to preserve their surnames and land.

The premise of Xu Kangzong's series of plans is that enough people have died in Pyongyang, Anju, and Baozhou, and enough unclaimed land has been vacated!

Fortunately, Jin Bing and the Goryeo court teamed up to provide the prerequisites.

Zhe Yanzhi exclaimed: "If this is accomplished, Mr. Xu will be the first to expand the territory of Goryeo."

Xu Kangzong was also quite proud. He stood with his hands behind his back and said with high spirits: "The four counties of the Han Dynasty have been away from China for thousands of years. They will return in our hands!"

The strategy of giving surnames to common people was actually proposed by Zheng Zhichang.

The most talented person in Goryeo, who was born as a champion, is now determined to become a Chinese, and dreams every day about joining the cabinet and worshiping the prime minister.

…

Wen Gongren held Zheng Zhichang's hand and sighed with emotion: "Xian brother, the last time we said goodbye, things really changed!"

"Thank you brother for secretly sending the message, otherwise I might not be able to escape capture." Zheng Zhichang said gratefully.

The two reminisced about old times, and Wen Gongren asked: "Why did my dear brother become an envoy of the Ming Dynasty?"

Zheng Zhichang half-truthed and half-falsely said: "After I escaped to the Ming Dynasty, I was appreciated by the Ming Emperor. His Majesty heard that I was the number one scholar in Korea, so he asked for my old poems and admired them after reading them. He also learned about my experiences in Korea. , he took pity and gave me an official position, and allowed me to live in a mansion and a beautiful woman in Kaifeng. Although Kaifeng was a good place, it was not my hometown, so he asked me to accompany the envoy back to China. His Majesty, the Ming Emperor, loved talents and was afraid that I would never return to China, so he made me the deputy envoy of the envoy. .”

Wen Gongren praised: "The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty is really thirsty for talents. Only a talented man like a good brother can be appreciated by His Majesty."

Zheng Zhichang showed sadness again: "I returned to my hometown, but it was devastated. Pyongyang was already empty out of ten houses. The vegetation around the city was dug up and peeled to satisfy hunger. All the surviving people fled into the mountains for food. Poor Pyongyang Liu family, with their The slaves, food and property that entered the mountains escaped the plunder of the Jin soldiers, but were looted by the hungry people. All the Liu clan members were killed by the rebels!"

Many such clans have been wiped out. Otherwise, how would Xu Kangzong have the land to carry out the plan?

Zheng Zhichang said angrily: "The princes in Kaijing are really hateful. There are hungry people all over Pyongyang, but they don't give out a grain of food for relief. It was half a month ago that the Ming army used half of the military rations they brought to help the people. Otherwise, I don’t know how many more people will starve to death.”

Wen Gongren was silent. He came from a poor family and relied on being the son-in-law of the Cui family to make a comeback. He also hated the nobles who founded the capital.

If the Ming Dynasty did not send troops, the nobles of Kaijing would have already taken action. Their abacus was very loud, and they planned to divide some small family clans over, take the opportunity to occupy the fertile land in Pyongyang and Anju, and give them some food to lure the hungry people into farming.

Then achieve the goal of opening the capital to control the north!

Zheng Zhichang cursed angrily and asked, "Brother, what are you doing here?"

Wen Gongren sneered and said: "Exonerate me from the crime, allow me to be reinstated, and then let me inquire about Ming Dynasty's intentions. In fact, they understand very well, and Brother Yu also understands very well that Ming Dynasty intends to annex the West Road. But they are lucky. , thinking that they can pay the price and send the Ming army out of the country as gifts."

Zheng Zhichang's thoughts changed: "What's my brother's status in the Cui family?"

Wen Gongren said unhappily: "Why bother to ask? It's not a son-in-law, it's comparable to a son-in-law."

Zheng Zhichang said: "The Cui family has countless disciples and former officials, and it may be possible to revive it soon. But if my brother wants to use the Cui family to revitalize the Wen family, I am afraid he will have to work harder."

If we use the metaphor of the clans of the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the Cui family is one of the top clans who have lost power. They have been temporarily silent due to their defeat in political battles, but they can fight back in minutes.

Wen Gongren, on the other hand, came from a poor family and became the son-in-law of the Cui family simply because he was handsome and knowledgeable when he was young. He was appreciated by the Cui clan leader (the prime minister twenty years ago) as if he had won a big prize.

Among the aristocratic class of Beijing, although he appeared to be beautiful, he was actually discriminated against, so he made friends with the Xijing faction who were also unsuccessful.

Zheng Zhichang suddenly imitated Prince Zhu's tone: "Brother, do you want to be Chinese?"

"What?" Wen Gongren didn't understand.

Zheng Zhichang said: "Prince Zhu has promised to let me join the cabinet and become the prime minister within ten years. According to the existing system of the Ming Dynasty, I should be one of the deputy prime ministers of the cabinet. If my brother helps the Ming Dynasty annex Goryeo, although he cannot be the deputy prime minister of the Ming Dynasty, he can Being the prefect of Kaizhou is more than enough. When the time comes, all the wealthy and aristocratic families in Kaizhou will look up to my elder brother and look at his face!"

For the time being, Ju Ming only wanted to annex the land north of the Datong River, but Zheng Zhichang planned to let Ming annex the entire Goryeo.

Wen Gongren was greatly surprised and asked: "Does the Ming Dynasty really have the intention to annex Goryeo?"

Zheng Zhichang asked: "When the Ming Dynasty soldiers arrive, can the Goryeo army stop it? This is not the Sui and Tang Dynasties, and Goryeo is not Goguryeo. The Ming army can come across the sea, and the army can land on the seaside. When the capital is opened, there will be no danger."

"Where can we stop it?" Wen Gongren knew the Goryeo army very well.

More than half of the 150,000 troops on paper were lost due to empty pay. The remaining local armies have been reduced to serfs, and only the Central Army in Beijing can still fight.

The problem is that not long ago, the king sent troops to the Northern Expedition and destroyed most of the Central Army!

Today, there are at most two to three thousand decent soldiers in the whole country of Goryeo, and the rest are all weak armies that are about to collapse at the drop of a hat.

Zheng Zhichang continued to draw the pie: "The Ming Dynasty court designated the Gyeonggi area as Kaizhou Prefecture. What if my brother becomes the prefect of Kaizhou? All the nobles of Kaizhou will be under your control. At that time, will the Cui family dare to dislike you? You are a powerful person in Kaizhou. Do you still dare to despise you? They will kneel before you and beg you to forgive them for their past disrespect."

Wen Gongren swallowed and couldn't help turning around and looking south.

Zheng Zhichang added: "My brother is very knowledgeable. When he was young, he even alarmed the prime minister and married the noble daughter of the Cui family with a poor family. But after twenty years, what kind of official position is he now? He is just a member of the household department. Those children of wealthy families, with them, Their meager knowledge is not even worthy of carrying my brother's shoes. But all of them are in high positions, and all of them are important ministers of the central government. Why is this?"

"Yes, why?" Wen Gongren murmured to himself.

Zheng Zhichang continued: "Both the emperor and the prince of the Ming Dynasty are wise kings who appoint people based on their merits. The stupid brother is stupid and shallow, and was promised by the prince to join the cabinet and worship the prime minister. With my brother's talent and moral character, if he becomes an official in the Ming Dynasty, I am afraid he will also have the opportunity to join the cabinet and worship the prime minister! "

As a scholar from a poor family in Goryeo, he entered the imperial court to worship the prime minister in the Ming Dynasty...

Wen Gongren had never been to the Ming Dynasty, but he was very confident in his knowledge and ability. He felt that even in the Ming Dynasty, he would be one of the best talents, and maybe he could really become the prime minister in the Ming Dynasty.

"What should I do?" Wen Gongren's expression became serious and firm.