Ming Zuo

Chapter 43 Relief for Work
Liu Hongxun's downfall was not even a splash in the turbulent political arena in the late Ming Dynasty, let alone the study of historiography in later generations.

But this incident is a dangerous signal in today's court.

He was the first senior Donglin Party official to fall.

The occurrence of this incident indicates that the Chongzhen Emperor, who has just ascended the throne, has only maintained his trust in the Donglin Party for less than five months.

Originally, under the situation that the Eunuch Party was destroyed and the Donglin Party occupied the court, other forces could only be low and small, retreating, and panic all day long.

Now, after discovering that the new emperor does not trust the Donglin Party so much, their courage and pace will inevitably increase.

Obviously, the political disputes are brewing in the blink of an eye.

People of insight, such as Liu Zongzhou, Hou Xun, Cao Wenheng, etc., were all worried.

Those who have fallen into the whirlpool of power, such as Qian Qianyi, are only thinking of selfishness, ignoring the overall situation.

Liu Zongzhou and Hou Xun deliberately stayed in Linqing for many days, just to wait for Qian Qianyi, hoping to bridge the contradiction between him and Zhou Yanru, unite Donglin forces, and control the court situation.

It now appears that the idea is bankrupt.

The chief banker sent by the Ministry of Household came very quickly.

Zhang Jimeng arrived in Linqing four days after the change of Chaoguan, and the principal arrived on the fifth day.

This person's name is Wu Daochang, and he was a top-ranking scholar in the second year of Apocalypse.

Formerly the head of the Huguang Qing Bureau of the Ministry of Housing, this time he was sent to serve as the head of the Linqing Banknote Pass.

This is definitely a good thing.

After all, one is a petty official of the Ministry of Household, the other is the head of the world's first banknote clearance, and there is no mother-in-law above his head.

Wu Daochang came here in high spirits and ran to the Chaoguan Wharf to see it, and his heart was instantly chilled.

There are countless shipwrecks in the river, half of the wharf has collapsed, and the local government has not finished organizing people to retrieve the dead bodies.

"My lords, when the lower official came, His Majesty and Shangguan urged it urgently, and the millions of people in the capital were waiting to feed. It was really impossible to delay."

Wu Daochang bowed in groups, as anxious as ants on a hot pan.

He arrived in Linqing in the morning, and arrived at the urging of Beijing in the afternoon.

There is no other meaning, it is to order him to clear the canal as soon as possible to ensure the supply of the capital.

But Wu Daochang saw the situation on the ground and knew that there was absolutely nothing he could do about this matter alone.

Liu Zongzhou asked, "When will the money and grain in the capital be distributed?"

In fact, everyone here has already made an assessment of the situation at the Chaoguan Wharf.To dredge and rebuild, it must be a big project, and it is absolutely impossible without thousands of people dispatched.

But if you want to drive thousands of people to work, you must have enough money and food, otherwise, the people will have to rebel.

Wu Daochang's face was even more ugly.

"When the lower official was about to leave the capital, His Majesty said that the local area of ​​Linqing is rich, and it should share the worries of the imperial court."

The faces of the people were extremely ugly.

This is to want the horse to run, but not to let the horse graze.

Qu Shi Si exploded on the spot.

"This official has just taken over as the prefect of Linqing, and the government's account books have not been cleaned up. There is not a cent of silver in the treasury, and if it is empty, you can run horses. Where can there be money to support?"

Since the predecessors of Linqing Zhizhou and Tongzhi are members of the eunuch party, corruption can be imagined.

What Qu Shiqi connects is not a fat poor, but a big hole.

Wu Daochang's mouth bubbling anxiously.

"In any case, I can't afford to wait for the safety of the capital. If there is a slight error, your Majesty and the court will blame it, and no amount of heads will be enough to chop off."

Who doesn't know what he said?

Hou Xun and Liu Zongzhou looked at each other and became even more pessimistic about the future.

A major event related to the safety of the capital, the emperor is actually reluctant to pay, but also let the following quickly complete, how can there be such a reason in the world?

Zhang Jimeng thought for a while, and suggested to Cao Wenheng: "Mingfu, I wonder if I can ask the governor and chief envoy for help?"

It's okay not to mention this, Cao Wenheng slapped the table as soon as he mentioned it.

"The change of the wharf is in an uproar. To this day, can the province have a share?"

Big guy got it.

The governor of Shandong and the chief envoy are pretending to be deaf and dumb, pretending they don't know.

With such a big trouble, who wants to be involved?

Anyway, Linqing is a vital place, and if there is any trouble, the capital will directly interfere. Why should the governor and governor of Shandong jump into this fire pit?
Is it uncomfortable to hide in Jinan honestly?

Now, the situation is clear.

The emperor and the court did not give money, but demanded that the canal be cleared as soon as possible.

The local government in Linqing has no money, and the banknotes are not enough, but they must do things well.

Shandong governors and chief envoys should not know if they know it, and don't think there will be any support.

All the Linqing officials present here are sitting in the city of distress, helpless.

Zuo Menggeng was a junior, so he didn't have the qualifications to speak on such occasions.He was able to participate because he was brought by Liu Zongzhou.

In the past few days, when Liu Zong had free time on Monday, he was studying "The Wealth of Nations".

Gradually, the boss had a different attitude towards Zuo Menggeng, and even urged him to study.

This change made Zuo Menggeng's status soar.

At this time, seeing the big bosses being stumped, Zuo Menggeng felt that this was his chance.

His biggest trouble now is that he is too young and his status is too low.

In order to do something, you have to be recognized.

The best way is to show the results and let these bigwigs know his abilities.

"According to the opinion of the younger generation, there is no solution to this matter."

When everyone is trapped in darkness, even a little bit of Mars can be hope.

Immediately, everyone stared at Zuo Menggeng.

Wu Daochang was the most excited, and hurriedly asked, "Can my little friend teach me?"

Zuo Menggeng didn't speak, but looked at the others.

Wu Daochang is just a little shrimp and doesn't help him much.What he wants to gain is the approval of Hou Xun, Liu Zongzhou, Cao Wenheng, Qu Shisi, Zhang Jimeng and others.

After all, these people are the sky over his head.

How he can toss with this little monkey in the future depends on how well he covers it up these days.

Hou Xun didn't think Zuo Menggeng could do anything, he just thought it was a young man's grandstanding.

But anyway, the big guy has no idea, you might as well listen, it doesn't get in the way.

"If you have any idea, just say it."

This is what Zuo Menggeng is waiting for.

"To clear the river and rebuild the wharf, two things are the most important. One is money, and the other is manpower..."

Everyone couldn't help but be disappointed, thinking who doesn't know?

Zuo Menggeng continued.

"Everyone may think that it is easy to handle with human resources. In fact, it is not. Although there are many people in Linqing, they can do their own business and run around day and night. I am afraid that all walks of life will be affected."

Where will the labor to rebuild the wharf come from?

The people are only corvée.

Although it is early winter now, and the people are slack in farming, it seems that there is nothing wrong with recruiting corvée.

However, here in Linqing, there are only a few people who live by farming.

As a big city with a population of one million, it is also a business center, and many people live around business.

Once these people are allowed to serve, many industries will be shut down immediately, and the loss will definitely not be small.

Except for Zhang Zhenxiu and Zhang Zongmeng, all of the officials present here are from other places, their time is short, and they do not know the situation in Linqing.

As soon as he heard his analysis, the color changed, only to realize that it almost caused a catastrophe again.

If the big city with a population of one million shuts down, I am afraid it will be another capital chaos.

At that time, the canal was not dredged, and Linqing was in chaos again. They really couldn't escape the blame.

"But now there is an opportunity. The number of refugees gathered outside the city is afraid that there are more than [-] people, who are not clothed, have no food to eat, and die from freezing and starvation every day. It's convenient."

Hearing that Zuo Menggeng's idea was to use refugees, many people nodded silently, thinking that this method was good.

The refugees have nothing to do and have nothing to do. To organize to work can not only reduce the local burden, but also avoid chaos. It is indeed a good idea to kill two birds with one stone.

Qu Shisi did not think so.

"Even if you call homeless people to work, you still have to feed them. In the end, you still have to pay for the money and food. If this matter is not resolved, everything will be in the mirror."

The crowd nodded yes.

No matter what you do, money is the foundation.

Without this, there would be no recruitment and no jobs.

Zuo Menggeng didn't think it was so difficult, it just depends on the courage of the people present.

"Actually, it's not difficult to raise money and food. I wonder if you adults dare to set a precedent and establish new regulations? Also, how did the court respond?"

Seeing Zuo Menggeng talking openly in the face of many bigwigs without stage fright, the most gratified person is Liu Zongzhou.

He originally thought that this young man was only better than Wen Si, but today he saw his good side.

"What plan do you have, come quickly. If it is feasible, you will be credited for your credit."

Zuo Menggeng was instructed to not hide it.

"Linqing is a fertile land, that's true. The local wealth is more than enough to dredge the canal and repair the wharf. The most difficult thing is how to dig out this wealth and use it."

Before others did, Zhang Zhenxiu was anxious first.

The Zhang family is a big family in Linqing. If they pay out, the Zhang family will bear the brunt.

He looked at Zuo Menggeng with dissatisfaction, why did he still turn his elbows out?
"For no reason, the gentry and the village elders are asked to pay. This is the way to bring disaster."

He had misunderstood Zuo Menggeng.

"Uncle Zhang, don't worry, little nephew hasn't finished speaking yet."

He simply stood up and said as he walked.In this way, everyone doesn't want to see him.

Really became the center of attention.

"It doesn't make sense to ask the villagers to pay for no reason, and it will be stabbed in the spine. But what if this is not money for nothing, but an investment?"

(End of this chapter)