Eighth year of Chongzhen

Chapter 29 Rectification
Three days later, just after the time of day, the square in front of the governor's office gradually became more crowded, and the commanders of the three guards in Xi'an, Tongzhi, Qianshi, Zhenfu, and Qianhu rushed over from the station one after another.

The first one to arrive was Zhang Runda, the Commander of the Xi'an Guards. He was in his thirties, with a round face and a white face, with a harmless smile on his face. A soldier came on horseback.

At this time, the generals who came along with Benwei gathered around him. It is not difficult to see from Zhang Runda's eating. Although he did not annex the property of the military households in the guard, he did not swallow it alone. Well, he doesn't treat his military households very harshly, and only charges [-]% of the rent, which is the kind of heart that is not dark.

Everyone was discussing in whispers, why the governor called the useless generals of the guard to come to a meeting.

My family knows their own affairs. Although the guards are also an armed force of the Ming Dynasty, there are frontier troops guarding the border in Shaanxi. As for the salary, in fact, even Zhang Runda himself can't remember the last time he drilled his soldiers. Basically, all the salary of the court went into the pockets of the generals.The soldiers below didn't even have a mouthful of soup, let alone a drill.

Since the soldiers in the guards do not have daily drills at all, they can't even beat the brave men in the county. Now that Shaanxi bandits are rampant, is it possible that the governor wants the guards to send troops to suppress the bandits?
Commander Gao Xunyou said: "My lord, for so many years, let alone the governor, we have not even seen the chief envoy or the inspector, let alone summoned our guard generals to discuss matters. The new governor suddenly remembered It is definitely not a good thing that our guards are closed. This is not a good person. He has been in office for less than a month, and the standard battalion in his hand has wiped out the bandits like King Qi. I heard that the left two tigers were killed. The horse is trampled into mud, and there are no bones left. We have to be careful when dealing with such a powerful person. We will agree to whatever he says, and we must not force it!"

Zhang Runda smiled and said: "Old Gao, we have been together for 20 years, have you seen me force myself with others? Don't worry, I am not a fool, we can do whatever the governor says, after all, we are all members of the imperial court. High and low still know!"

Wu Litong, the commander, said worriedly: "Could it be that the governor wants to investigate the emptiness of the guards? That would be troublesome, and it's just a formality. If the governor wants to be serious, what should we do? "

Another incident, Wang Shengcai, said: "I don't think it's about checking the vacancy rate. If the governor really wants to do it, he will offend a large number of officials. As an official, you should pay attention to face and do things seriously. Everyone will offend him. Why?" Go on? The second is that if he had checked the vacancy, he would have sent people to the guards, no matter which channel, I have not received any news about it, so I don't think it is a matter!"

Zhang Runda saw that his generals were looking at him eagerly, and said with a smile: "Don't guess, no matter what happens, it's not about one person. There are many officials involved. Civil servants are most afraid of losing their future. And reputation, if he really investigates it and provokes public anger, the big guy organizes the military households under him to make a fuss, is his future going? Let's just wait and see what happens. Well, isn't someone stronger than us coming? ?” After speaking, they raised their chins in one direction, and everyone looked back, only to see Liu Fuguo, the commander of the left guard, riding on horseback with twenty personal soldiers.

Zhang Runda rolled his eyes, walked forward with a smile, and greeted him loudly from a distance: "Brother Liu, I've been gone for a while, and my look is even better than before, I miss you little brother!"

Liu Fuguo got off his horse, and the horse was led aside by his own soldiers. He was in his forties, tall and thin, with a high-nosed horse face and an indifferent expression, giving off a rather gloomy and scheming look.

Seeing Zhang Runda approaching, Liu Fuguo looked like I know you very well. He smiled and said lightly, "Who did I think it was? "

He was very dissatisfied with Zhang Runda's reduction of rent, and felt that it was ruining the way for everyone to make a fortune. Because of this, the military households of Zuowei were extremely resentful towards Liu Fuguo. Twenty percent of the rent was enough to make the family a lot better off. The householders dared to be angry and dare not speak out, but they scolded him in private that his flesh stinks.Someone even made a small man out of paper, wrote Liu Fuguo's name on it, and pricked it with a needle every day, saying that he was imitating Lu Ya Taoist's book of seven arrows with nail heads, and he would be stabbed to death sooner or later.Liu Fuguo went crazy when he heard about it, but he couldn't find out who did it, so he had to give up.

Zhang Runda knew what he was thinking, and said with contempt in his heart: "I eat meat, at least let the people below drink some soup, otherwise who else will work hard for me? You old boy just took the pot away, and you deserve it." People hate you!"

He continued to smile calmly and said: "Brother Liu was joking, a certain is also a hereditary commander of the rear guard. He is at the same level as Brother Liu and has the same responsibilities. He is also considered a colleague in the court! Brother Liu likes to joke. When will you be free? I will inspect it in the guard, and let my younger brother and brother Liu have a drink!"

Liu Fuguo didn't want to talk to him, and even wanted to swell his fat face and kick him away.

He ignored Zhang Runda's words and walked directly to the governor's office. At this time, Sun Zuowang, the avant-garde commander, had also arrived. After Zhang Runda greeted him warmly, he walked into the yamen side by side with him, and his subordinates also followed.

When everyone entered the office, they saw eight tall and tall personal guards of the Governor's Biaoying standing on both sides of the hall in front of them, each with bright armor, standing with their knives on their hands, without looking sideways.All the people in the guard who exchanged pleasantries and chatted were suddenly silent, and felt a chilling air blowing towards their faces, which made people tremble. The three of Liu Fuguo walked in front, and their expressions also corrected.

After entering the spacious lobby, there is a huge desk at the front, a screen at the back blocks the line of sight, and there are rows of seats on both sides below. The three commanders look at each other. They are of the same level. No matter how they sit, one of them will always be in the lower position Zhang Runda went straight to the second chair on the left and sat down, and said with a smile: "Both adults are older than me in terms of age, so you're welcome!"

Sun Zuowang was still a little embarrassed, but Liu Fuguo unceremoniously sat on the first chair above Zhang Runda. Sun Zuowang sat down on the opposite side, and the rest of the people settled down according to their ranks. behind.

Not long after everyone sat down, a loud voice sounded: "The governor is here!"

Hearing a clear cough, the tall Sun Chuanting, who was wearing a scarlet robe and a black gauze on his head, turned out from behind the screen, glanced at everyone with a stern voice, and sat down behind the desk, Zhuang Yuanzhou stood beside him as an aide.

Liu Fuguo and others got up and gathered at the center of the Tang Dynasty to pay homage to the governor. Sun Chuanting ordered them to get up, and everyone got up and returned to their original seats.

After pondering for a while, Sun Chuanting said: "I was ordered by the emperor to be the governor of Shaanxi, and I have been in office for more than a month. Before I came here, I knew a little about the situation in Shaanxi. I know that there are many bandits here, the people's livelihood is dying, the government orders are not smooth, and the military discipline is lax. .Since taking office, this official and a group of entourages have made open and unannounced visits to prefectures and counties around Xi’an and guards in order to learn more about the people’s sentiments; Beyond my imagination! To put it bluntly, the undercurrent is surging, and civil uprisings are about to break out. Once all kinds of opportunities come together, the land in Guanzhong will become another northern Shaanxi, Henan! At that time, not only will I be ashamed of the Holy One If you trust in the entrustment, your current wealth and splendor will disappear, and even your family's life will be in danger!"

Everyone in the guard looked at each other in blank dismay, thinking, what is the purpose of the governor's words?There are indeed many thieves in Shaanxi, but most of them are concentrated in the northern part of Shaanxi, and there are officers and soldiers who are killing them. As for the civil uprising, the poor military households under my command have the courage to dare not rebel.The affairs of prefectures and counties have nothing to do with us. We are military generals, and civil affairs are handled by civil officials.

Sun Chuanting saw everyone's expressions clearly, couldn't help sneering, and said: "You all know that Shaanxi is the place where thieves started their family, but why? An excellent source of soldiers. Now years of severe drought, the fields are barren, and the people sell their sons and daughters to survive, and even change their sons to eat. It is a tragedy in the world. Under such circumstances, some rebellious people deliberately deceive As a result, there were frequent civil upheavals, and the hungry people broke the gentry's manor, captured the county seat, burned, killed, looted, and committed all kinds of crimes. From a simple farmer, he suddenly became a devilish bandit. In order not to affect his future, the local government concealed it and deceived the emperor and the court. After the court knows the truth, the bandits are already strong and hard to kill!"

Everyone in the guard is even more baffled. What the governor called everyone to come today has nothing to do with us. We are the guard, soldiers are not soldiers, people are not people, and we are just living our own lives.

When Sun Chuanting said this, he changed the subject: "Emperor Taizu Gao expelled the Tartars. After founding our Ming Dynasty, he felt that it was not easy to raise soldiers, so he imitated the military system of Li Tang's mansion and established guards in various places. The burden of the common people. Since the beginning of the implementation of the Weisuo system, its effect has been remarkable. The settlements are used as farmers in daily life and soldiers in wartime. They use their fields to support their soldiers. What has become? It has become a place for some people to harm the public and enrich private interests, embezzle and embezzle soldiers’ salaries, resell military funds, and even transport thieves, embezzling public land and military household registration land, enslaving military households like pigs and dogs, and hiding filth!”

Sun Chuanting's voice became stern, and he looked at the crowd coldly. The general of the guard said, finally came.

"A few days ago, I served the Zuowei in Xi'an in a humble manner. The military households I met were all poor and down-and-out people. When I asked why, they all pointed to the senior officials of the guard. They said that the more than [-] hectares of land in the guard were monopolized by someone. More than [-]% of them, the military households cultivated the fields under their name and became their tenant farmers, and the rent was as high as [-]%. Ordinary military households worked hard for a year, but it was rare to eat a few full meals! Their residences were all made of yellow mud thatch, and they did not shelter from the cold in winter. , summer does not cover the heat, some military households even have only one pair of trousers, and whoever goes out wears them! I have seen a man’s house, which is large in scale, carved with painted beams and painted buildings, and surrounded by servants. , It is enough to see its daily luxury! There are dozens of thugs under his command to suppress those who dare to resist. , his family property is increasing day by day, while the military households are becoming impoverished, and there are many refugees. The entire guard is filled with complaints and the people's sentiments are turbulent. The day when the whole family will perish!" At the end of the speech, Sun Chuanting slammed the table, and his voice suddenly became high-pitched.

Liu Fuguo's face was sallow, cold sweat was faintly visible on his forehead, and his body trembled slightly.Zhang Runda and Sun Zuowang were also pale, and their backs were soaked. The rest of the generals who were not clean under their buttocks were also fighting with each other. The gentle general applauded secretly.

Sun Chuanting's tone was cold, and he continued: "You three guards in Xi'an should have more than [-] officers and soldiers on the register. Although the imperial court did not allocate them in time, military salaries, uniforms, weapons and armour, are often distributed; I ask you, wait for your subordinates. How many soldiers are still capable of fighting? How many weapons are available? How many military households have fled and even joined the ranks of thieves? Do you know how many military households are eager to eat your flesh and drink your blood? When the official left the capital, he received a precious sword bestowed by the sage, and was about to test whether its sharpness was sharp, did you think that he would not dare to cut you off?!" Sun Chuanting yelled sharply.

The spacious lobby was silent, so quiet that even a needle could be heard when it fell on the ground. Everyone held their breath, not daring to breathe. The three leaders, Liu Fuguo, were steaming like a steamer.Zhuang Yuanzhou coughed, and a dozen guards outside the hall rushed into the hall with a clatter, all of them drew their knives in their hands, and scanned the people inside. Everyone in the guard felt their necks swishing cold, as if the knives had been placed on them.

Finally someone couldn't bear the strong pressure, only heard a thud, Zhang Runda stood up from the chair and fell to his knees, with sweat dripping down his face, he shouted hoarsely: "Your Excellency, even the lower officials can't embezzle you." There is less land, and a lot of military pay has been embezzled, but the officials did not treat their military households too much, and the rent is only [-]%. The officials are willing to return the occupied fields to forgive previous crimes! I also hope that the Lord will give the officials a chance !” After speaking, he kowtowed to Sun Chuanting.

Sun Zuowang and Liu Fuguo also knelt down one after another, swearing and saying something similar to what Zhang Runda said, and then all the generals in the guard knelt down, repeating roughly the same words loudly or softly.

Sun Chuanting did not let everyone get up, he glanced at the people in the hall, and said in a heavy tone: "Don't think that this official is alarmist, if the thieves enter Guanzhong, you and the military households in the guard will definitely respond. My official came to Shaanxi not only It is to put out fires everywhere, and it is necessary to prevent problems before they happen. For the stability of Shaanxi, for the country of Daming, for the sake of the Holy One, and for the people of Daming, this official will not hesitate to do so. Just let him become the object of the official's flag sacrifice!"

After speaking, he ordered everyone to stand up, and everyone in the guard stood up tremblingly and returned to their original positions. Zhuang Yuanzhou waved his hand, and the guards of the standard battalion drew back their swords and retreated.

Sun Chuanting said: "I still have a lot of important things to do, so the clearing of the land must be completed as soon as possible. You will be given one month to return the occupied land. The command envoy will reserve [-] mu of land, and [-] acres of common knowledge. There are one thousand things, five hundred mu for one thousand households, and the land under the name is reserved for those who have purchase certificates; the military households' koufen land is distributed to households according to the original number, and the rent of public land is reduced to [-]%. The imperial court has recruited new recruits, which will be directly under the governor. The matter of rectifying the guards was personally explained by the holy majesty, and he made it clear that the military salary embezzled by you before will not be recovered. This is the holy majesty's tolerance, and you should be grateful in your heart , if you follow my temperament, you will have to vomit as much as you eat! Alright, let’s go back and make arrangements as soon as possible, this officer once again warns those who harbor evil intentions, don’t make mistakes!”

Everyone in the guard station saluted and retreated one after another as if they had received an amnesty, and went back to their respective stations.

(End of this chapter)