The most powerful patriarch in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 172

Chapter 170

Fiscal revenue soared, the gentry class was also willing to spend money to prevent disasters, and the common people also benefited.

It can be said that everyone is happy,
Soon, the method of atonement silver was promoted in Fujian,

With the money received, Hufang was asked to set up a department dedicated to reconstruction,

Building bridges, repairing roads, building houses, dredging water conservancy, etc.,

Directly employ those people who need help to work,

Not only can they rebuild their homes, but they can also earn some money for living expenses,

Work hard naturally,
People in coolie camps also invested in post-war reconstruction,

This time, more than [-] people were captured and surrendered, which suddenly filled up the somewhat empty coolie camp.
Free labor is unnecessary.

When fighting against the Zheng family, the performance of the coolie camp exceeded Lu Changle's expectations, and a large number of coolies were able to leave the camp.
If you are promoted to ordinary people, you can divide the land and the house,
I don't know how many people are grateful to Lu Changle.

Taking advantage of both kindness and power, Lu Changle took the opportunity to firmly control the eight prefectures and one prefecture of Fuzhou in his own hands.

Visiting the wounded, caring for the dead, allocating talents, expanding the size of the rural protection team and navy,

Take over the checkpoints and health stations in various places, and formulate various tasks to stabilize people's livelihood,

Lu Changle is very busy every day,
There is no way, the territory is getting bigger, and there are more and more things,

No matter how busy Lu Changle is, he has not forgotten two things.
One is to expand blacksmith shops and firearms workshops,
In the battle with the Zheng brothers, flintlocks and grenades shine brilliantly,
Especially hand grenades, which are small in size and powerful,

It is simply an invincible artifact when charging into battle.
The flintlock is not as good as the rifle, but it is much more advanced than the current firecrackers and shotguns.
It's a pity that the rifle hasn't been made yet, otherwise it would be easier to deal with the Zheng brothers,
Not so many casualties.

During the defense battle of Changle City, the number of deaths from militia groups and civilians can be counted at more than [-].

Severe and minor injuries,
Even young women and children went up, so the casualties can be small.

The second is that crying children have milk to drink. After winning the Quanzhou and Zhangzhou prefectures, contact Cheng Liye as soon as possible.

Let him operate in the imperial court at any cost,
To make their own control of Fujian a reality on the official side,
Changle City suffered great damage in the defense battle and is being rebuilt intensely.
Not suitable for office work, under the persuasion of everyone, Lu Changle,

Officially moved to Min County for office.

Fuzhou Prefecture has long been the political center of Fujian, and Min County is the center of Fuzhou Prefecture.

When Lu Changle arrived in Min County, he directly moved into the government office to work.

Since the establishment of the rural protection team, Lu Changle did not pay attention to Zheng Xingtai, the prefect of Fuzhou.
After controlling Fuzhou Mansion, directly lift him up,
It is not an exaggeration to say that Zheng Xingtai's order cannot leave Fujian County,
No one listened to him, and the yamen servants didn't dare to mess with the township protection team.
When Zheng Du led his troops to march eastward, Zheng Xingtai fantasized that Lu Changle would be eradicated,

Looking for an opportunity to hug Zheng's thigh tightly,

Unexpectedly, Zheng Duzhong was useless, so he set fire to Changle City.

Did not hurt Lu Changle's fur, but died in Fuzhou Mansion instead,

Lu Changle didn't want to see him, and he didn't know if Zheng Zhilong would blame himself for Zheng Du's death,

As soon as he was cruel, Zheng Xingtai simply sealed and hung the seal, and returned to his hometown to take care of the elderly.
No one was there anymore, so Lu Changle was not polite and directly requisitioned.

When entering the mansion, Lu Changle stood at the door and watched for a while,
Pointing to the plaque of "Mian County Government Office" at the door, he said, "Chang Fu, take this plaque off."

"Okay, Patriarch, may I have someone make a gold plaque of the General's Mansion and hang it?" Lu Changfu's heart moved, and he quickly offered advice.

In public, everyone in the clan calls Lu Changle a general,
In private, everyone is more willing to call the patriarch, which makes them feel closer.

Lu Changle's heart moved, and just about to agree, he quickly shook his head: "No hurry, first hang up with the office of the rural protection team, maybe you will have to change it later."

Lu Changle has already seen the capabilities of Cheng's firm and Huizhou merchants,
I have taken all Zheng Zhilong's territory by myself, so I naturally want to replace him.
Based on Lu Changle's understanding of Chongzhen, there is a high probability that Chongzhen will agree.

Chongzhen was a very complex person.

When he trusts a person, he will give you the greatest trust and tolerance,
When you fail to meet his requirements or fail his trust, he will turn from love to hate again,
Wield the butcher's knife without mercy,

There are too many important officials and generals who have died in his hands these years,
Take the words of companions like companions to the extreme,
But Chongzhen will also see what people order, and he will never be soft when he can handle it.
He will be extremely tolerant of those that cannot be moved temporarily or are still valuable,

Zuo Liangyu, a self-respecting soldier, plundered many times, obediently obeying the imperial court's orders,

Memorials to impeach Zuo Liangyu piled up like a mountain, but Chongzhen still endured,

The main reason is that Zuo Liangyu has heavy soldiers in his hands, and they are worth using.

Lu Changle reckoned that nine out of ten the official positions of Fujian General Soldier fell on him.

"Yes, patriarch, I understand." Lu Changfu quickly agreed.

What the patriarch says is what he says.

After moving into the government office, Yang Xuan was not satisfied with the layout and belongings inside.

Lu Changle let her torment,

I took my second uncle, Yang Zhengbao, Qing Erye, Yang Zhengpu and others to visit around,

Second Uncle, Yang Zhengbao and others were very interested,
Looking east and west, commenting on the flowers in the mansion for a while, and discussing the feng shui pattern for a while,

Even the pattern of doors and windows, I am also very interested in studying it for a long time,
For many ordinary people, the government is a sacred and mysterious existence.
The important place of the government office that can only be looked up to from a distance on weekdays, can now patrol like a master,
That kind of satisfaction is hard to describe in words.
Lu Changle didn't disturb them, but chatted with Liu Rufeng in the small gazebo in the back garden.

The more inconvenient the information, the more important the information is,

Lu Changle's investment in the intelligence team is very generous, asking money for money, asking for people to give,

Now the intelligence team led by Chen Qi and Liu Rufeng,
No longer limited to Fujian, Guangdong, Jiangnan, Suzhou and Hangzhou, etc.,

Beginning to extend to the area north of the Yangtze River,
This time Chen Qi didn't come back, just to form a team to collect intelligence about Jianlu.

After discussing with the two, Lu Changle decided to divide the work.

Liu Rufeng is in charge of the south of the Yangtze River, and Chen Qi is in charge of the north of the Yangtze River.

Overall, things are pretty stable now.
Neighboring Jiangxi, Guangdong, Guangxi, Anhui and other places are relatively stable in Ming Dynasty.
Especially Jiangxi, blocking Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong, He Yilong and others,
Even when Fujian was at its most chaotic, there was no disturbance from foreign enemies.

After chatting for a while, Lu Changle suddenly asked, "Uncle Feng, how is Li Dingguo doing recently?"

"It's not bad, he's very clever, and his team can complete the task very well every time"

Liu Rufeng thought for a while, and quickly said: "At the beginning, I was uneasy, and I tended to win people over. I secretly sent out a letter in the first ten days, but now the frequency is obviously less, and I am no longer keen on trying to win people over. My heart seems to be loose."

The intelligence team's surveillance of Li Dingguo has never been relaxed, this is Lu Changle's request.

Lu Changle was happy in his heart: "Oh, is it finally loose? It's good. Keep watching him closely. It's nothing serious, so don't disturb him."

Faith collapsed, and it was only a matter of time before the heart was shaken.

"Yes, General"

"By the way, Uncle Feng, are there still many people entering Fujian recently?"

Plague, gangsters are everywhere, and Zheng's big cleansing,
Fujian's population has dropped sharply, and now there are enough fields, but the population gap is a bit big.
Relying on Fujian alone, it will be difficult to make significant improvements in 30 or [-] years.

The fastest way is to accept refugees, but recently the number of refugees has decreased significantly.

"After so many years of chaos, most of those who want to leave their hometowns have already acted. The government will not let the people leave without restriction. Many places have tightened checkpoints. The general wants a large population. It is estimated that it will be difficult."

Lu Changle sighed, and said with a wry smile: "It's just like this. Good things and bad things happen later. Other places lack food, but there is no shortage of people. Here we are short of people, but there is no shortage of food."

"That's" Liu Rufeng said with admiration: "The general vigorously promotes the cultivation of sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes are really a magical crop. They don't take up good land. They can be planted on the edge of the house, in the mountains, on the rice fields, and in the corners, without much effort. Management, the output is so high that many old farmers who have been cultivating fields all their lives are also amazed.”

Every time Lu Changle controls a land, in addition to dividing the fields and land,
Also vigorously promote the value of sweet potatoes, for the people of the new land,

Even forced them to take part of the sweet potatoes,
The sweet potato harvest is abundant, and many people say that they can have a full year,
In Fujian, I haven't heard of people starving to death for a long time.

Seeing that Lu Changle seemed to be in deep thought, Liu Rufeng thought for a while, and quickly said: "General, there is no shortage of people in Fujian, but someone has hidden them."

"Oh, Uncle Feng, continue to talk, there are no outsiders here, so what to say."

Liu Rufeng nodded, and continued: "Fujian has outstanding people, rich products, and good harvests. Even when the plague was encountered, it was controlled in a timely manner. The number of people listed in the government's fish scale list is small. In fact, the population is quite considerable."

"Let's not talk about the Feikou of the various gentry clans. Now that the land is divided according to the population, those Feikou will come out to ask for the land on their own initiative."

"A large number of unregistered people are hidden in the houses of the country gentry"

"Some of them are servants sold by meritorious families, and some of them can't survive, and have signed work contracts for decades."

"There are also righteous men and daughters who have become wealthy households of the country gentry for various reasons."

"Take a middle-class wealthy family as an example. It is very common for maids, handymen, cooks, nurses, grooms, bearers, etc. to accumulate twenty or thirty strong strength."

"Like some squires with a solid foundation and strong backing, they have at least accumulated a few hundred strong strength"

"If all these people are released, why worry about insufficient population."

After Lu Changle heard it, he couldn't help but slapped his thigh: "Yeah, why did I forget this, Uncle Feng, fortunately you reminded me."

In the Yuan Dynasty, there were too many people who sold themselves as slaves. As long as ordinary people were not bankrupt, they might have a slave.
The minister's family may have thousands or hundreds of slaves,

Zhu Yuanzhang was born in a poor family and experienced the sufferings of the world.
Knowing that this is not good for social development, especially bad for the rulers,
Keeping too many household slaves is not conducive to government management,
When the People's Republic of China was founded, it was stipulated that ordinary people were not allowed to raise slaves, except for meritorious officials.

No more than 20 people in the first rank, no more than 12 people in the second rank, no more than eight people in the third rank, no slaves below the third rank unless there are special circumstances,
It's just that there are policies at the top and countermeasures at the bottom.
At the beginning, the investigation was strict, and officials, gentry and wealthy households hired people to work,
One sign is for decades, that is, the so-called long-term workers,

The sons and daughters of noble family slaves are called servants, also called house slaves, they are also slaves,
Some nobles are in trouble or have too many servants, and they will be sold,

In the middle and late Ming Dynasty, there were more and more natural and man-made disasters.

Many people who can't survive can only sign long-term contracts to work for those officials, gentry and wealthy households,
Later, the policy was relaxed and the control was not so strict, and more people kept slaves.
They call the slaves "recognized sons",
Male slaves are called "righteous men" and female slaves are called "righteous women".

Fujian has a large group of gentry and wealthy households, and they keep a large number of righteous men and righteous women in their houses and farms.
In fact, they are private slaves.

Liu Rufeng cupped his hands and said to Lu Changle: "General, there are still many poor domestic slaves waiting for you to rescue in Fujian. If you rescue them, it will definitely be a great thing with immeasurable merit."

When wandering in the rivers and lakes, Liu Rufeng also met many people at the bottom of society,
Including those righteous men and righteous women, knowing that their lives are miserable,
In the eyes of the master, the value of private slaves is not as good as that of livestock.

Lu Changle nodded thoughtfully and said, "It is indeed necessary to save, but this matter needs to be discussed in the long term."

"General, now Fujian is in your hands. It is not an exaggeration to say that Fujian will tremble three times when you stomp your foot. It is just a matter of your words."

"No." Lu Changle shook his head and said, "Chapter 60 of the "Tao Te Ching" says that governing a big country is like cooking a small fish. Some things should not be rushed. If you are in a hurry, accidents will happen. I don't want them to tear their faces for the time being."

Did not forcibly expropriate the land and property of wealthy gentry households,
Come up with a criminal bill, and set the upper limit at [-]% of the family's wealth,
The main thing is to leave room for the gentry stage and maintain the relationship between the two as much as possible.
I don't expect them to support me, at least I won't be ruthless to fight myself hard,

Although they say that they are domineering and domineering, they are very good at packaging themselves and buying people's hearts.

Like many things, the government's decree is not as good as their words,

Forcing the abolition of private slaves will definitely arouse their resistance,
It is not easy for Fujian to have a peaceful life.

Many people and refugees are waiting to rebuild their homes, and there is a lot of waste everywhere.
Now it is really not announced to start with those squires.

The most typical example is the Three Kingdoms,

Cao Pi adopted the advice of Minister Chen Qun and launched the Nine-Rank Zhongzheng System, which was supported by the gentry, and his strength rose steadily.
Whether it is Liu Bei or Sun Quan, it is difficult to balance the contradiction between the upstarts and the gentry,

Both the Kingdom of Shu and the Kingdom of Wu were eventually annexed and submerged in the long river of history.

"The general is right, the little one is too impatient." Liu Rufeng also knew that he was impatient, so he quickly apologized.

"Uncle Feng, you are being polite. If you hadn't reminded me, I would have forgotten about it."

While talking, there was a sudden noise outside,

Faintly heard cries and screams,

"These people are getting more and more unruly, General, I'll go and have a look." Liu Rufeng volunteered.

Lu Changle just moved here, so someone came to make trouble so soon?

Lu Changle persuaded: "Uncle Feng, no need, Changhe is here."

Lu Changhe, who was in charge of guarding the gate, ran over quickly. When he saw Lu Changle, he said anxiously: "Patriarch, something has happened. People from the Zhang family in Min County have arrested more than 20 servants, all of whom are righteous men and women of the Zhang family. Let us do justice."

"What's going on, talk slowly." Lu Changle comforted him.

"It's like this. Ming Shan, the rich man in Zhangjia Village, Min County, ordered his servants to kill all seven members of his family. After the members of the Zhang family found out, they tied up all the servants. The patriarch strictly ordered that no one should be executed privately. Others, so they sent them here, wanting to ask the patriarch to agree to kill them to sacrifice the souls of the seven members of Zhang Mingshan's family."

"When they set off, the local Baozheng knew about it and reported it first. It is said that Zhang Mingshan forcibly took possession of a righteous woman named Luman. Yang Da, the righteous man who entered Zhang's house with Luman, was also Luman's husband. Afterwards, he got entangled with several adoptive men who were also working in the Zhang family, and killed everyone in the Zhang family."

"It is said that the Zhang family has always been very mean to their servants, beating and scolding them frequently, and killed two of them the year before last, and buried them secretly."

"There are quite a few servants who hate their family. When they saw someone taking the lead, they couldn't help but do it."

After Lu Changle listened, he and Liu Rufeng looked at each other, and there was a hint of surprise in each other's eyes.

(End of this chapter)