Brother Zhu Youxiao

Chapter 314 The poor get poorer, the rich get richer
"One two one... one two one..."

"Beep--"

"Standing!"

At the Lihua Station in Lin'an Prefecture, Yunnan, accompanied by the familiar slogans and whistles of the Ming army, more than a hundred soldiers and horses immediately stood in place in unison.

There are hundreds of teams like this, and they are divided into various post stations and military camps along the Red River.

As an area adjacent to Annan, Wangnong County after the land reform has become an easier one among the few passages to enter Annan.

Because the terrain is long and narrow, it is stepped, high in the north and low in the south, gradually sloping to the southeast, and the Red River flows into Annan through the territory, so this place is one of the important sites for attacking Annan.

The love and hatred between the Central Plains Dynasty and Annan almost ran through the history of the Central Plains Dynasty since the Qin Dynasty.

The history of more than four rulings almost witnessed the heyday of the civilization of the Central Plains dynasty, and the subsequent separation process of Annan from the Central Plains dynasty itself was also at a key point in the transition from prosperity to decline of the Central Plains dynasty civilization.

"Annan's loss is not just a military loss, but more of a political and cultural loss. You have to take warning."

In Wangnong County's Temporary Economic Mansion, Hong Chengchou, who was standing in the meeting hall, sighed at the sand table in the meeting hall, while Mu Qiyuan, who was beside him, had red eyes and nodded slightly.

Seeing this, Hong Chengchou comforted him: "I have already reported to the imperial court about Duke Qian's death, and I think the imperial court will reward him."

"The Duke of the Little Kingdom should turn his grief into strength now, and start the matter of Dongyue's expedition."

"Don't worry, I will know what to do in the end." Mu Qiyuan bowed in response, and their topic also showed one thing.

Duke Mu Changzuo of Qian State died of illness...

However, the death of Mu Changzuo basically did not have much impact on the plan to conquer Annan. Although Hong Chengchou was a little embarrassed, he still cared more about the Annan campaign for his own future.

After a brief reassurance, he set his sights on the sand table.

Looking at the Indochina Peninsula on the sand table and the long and narrow Annan, Hong Chengchou cheered up.

Regarding Annan's problem, he studied it very deeply, because compared with other places in the Central Plains Dynasty, Annan actually has some specialties.

It seems that the sixteen prefectures of Yanyun in the same period were also separated from the Han Dynasty by more than [-] years.

However, Yan Yun was still able to return to the core of the Central Plains dynasty, while Annan was completely separated.

And the most important reason for this has a lot to do with the uncontrollable local forces in Annan.

Just like the last envoy of the Jinghai Navy selected by the Tang Dynasty, Dugu Sun was actually going to serve as the envoy.

As a result, due to political struggles, this position was stolen by local Qu Chengyu.

In addition, the Datang Center's control over the local area was deteriorating at that time.

As a result, the Jiedu envoy of the Jinghai Navy has been circulating among the generals and generals of the Qu family, and the localization of Annan's administrative system has been further strengthened.

In addition, due to the inconvenient land transportation in Annan, the main way to go to Annan in the Song Dynasty was still by sea.

Therefore, the control over Annan is also objectively limited.

Under such circumstances, the independent consciousness of the Annan region will naturally become stronger.

In addition, the central imperial court had an indifferent attitude towards Annan until the Northern Song Dynasty, and even suffered a major defeat when defeating Annan.

As a result, Annan's independence has naturally become an unavoidable reality.

For example, although the Ming Dynasty actually controlled Annan in the early stage, it was also due to the rise of local forces that the cost of ruling the center in Annan was frighteningly high.

In addition, once there is a human error in the center, the rule of the Ming court will not be able to continue.

"If you want to get to Annan, you should put transportation first."

"Only with smooth traffic can the grace of the Han family be conveyed to Annan."

"If there are changes in Annan in the future, the army can also plow the court and sweep the cave."

Hong Chengchou's words made all the officials nod their heads, and he also held a wooden stick and said softly:
"At present, the key to my communication with Annan lies in three points."

"First, the two provinces of Yunnan and Guangxi are located in the southwest, and they are the key to transportation and security, so the leveling of the official road in the southwest is the key."

Hong Chengchou looked at more than a dozen generals and officials in the meeting hall, and they all nodded, and Hong Chengchou also gave the answer sheet:

"In the past year, we have renovated the official roads along the way, built dozens of bridges, and dredged the waterways. Now the southwest is unimpeded, and only follow-up management and maintenance are needed."

After finishing speaking, he pointed his wooden stick at the mountainous area bordering Annan between Yunnan and Guangxi, and continued:

"Second, if you want to connect to Annan, you need to open up a few more mountain roads on the borders of Guangxi and Yunnan to connect to Annan."

"At that time, the army will be able to divide the troops and start from the mountain road, thinking of the forerunner and the alternative road, which will also be able to further meet the needs of immigrants in the future."

"The third and most important point is to emulate Qin Shihuang's cultivation of spiritual canals to defeat Baiyue."

"I, Ming, should also dredge the water systems of the Red River and the Xijiang River, and control the entire Annan with the advantage of water channels."

At the end, Hong Chengchou said firmly:

"As long as these things can be achieved, the [-] Annan prefectures, [-] prefectures, and [-] counties will naturally be able to return to my Ming Dynasty's control again, and further recover the three propagandas and six comforts."

Hong Chengchou wanted to win Zhu Youjian's favor, so he would check and study Zhu Youjian's foreign policies thoroughly, and finally he got a truth.

"If you want His Highness King Qi to remember you, you have to use the least money, do the most things, and get the best ending..."

Zhu Youjian's attitude towards the outside world has always been tough, and Hong Chengchou also adopted a very tough attitude to suit his liking.

"In this battle, His Royal Highness King Qi has been paying attention to Annan's affairs, and has been sending out handwritten letters to inquire about the progress..."

Hong Chengchou glanced at the generals, then said:
"Your Highness said, on the one hand, this battle is to announce to the common people that what I, Ming, have to do is to restore the glory of the Han and Tang Dynasties!"

"Secondly, it is to regain Annan's homeland!"

"How to fight this battle? How to fight? We can discuss it later. What needs to be paid attention to now is the issue of governance after the war."

"At the beginning, the Xuande Dynasty did not maintain its rule over the local area, because the governance was unpopular, and the local people were barbaric and did not know how to be kings."

"Therefore, in order to defeat Annan, but also to defend Annan, the most important thing is to balance the population of Annan, and this point was specifically raised by His Highness."

"His Highness has decreed that after Dongyue dispatches troops, Daming will begin to relocate people from Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangxi, Guangdong, Fujian and other places in the twelfth lunar month."

"Therefore, the provinces can announce the beginning of the autumn harvest in advance, and those who are willing to relocate, regardless of men, women, old or weak, can receive [-] acres of ripe land!"

"Your Highness is a thousand years old, and you are wise..." Hearing Hong Chengchou's words, a group of generals flattered Zhu Youjian and Hong Chengchou one after another.

Hong Chengchou enjoyed such flattery very much, but after the flattery, he stood in front of the long and narrow Annan sand table, Hong Chengchou pointed to the junction of Yunnan, Guangxi and Annan State and said in a deep voice:
"The area of ​​Annan is only one province, and it is divided into multiple forces, with a population of only a few million."

"The Zheng, Ruan, Mo, and Wu clans are weak and incompetent, and their available troops are only [-]."

"This battle, this battle of our army only needs Dudu Qi and two general soldiers from Lianzhou Prefecture, as well as general soldiers Ma and General Qin from Lin'an Prefecture and Guangnan Prefecture. They can capture the former army within ten days. Shenglong Mansion, the capital of Annan Kingdom!"

Hong Chengchou's words made Ma Xianglin and Qin Minping standing in the crowd feel very useful. They couldn't help but nodded slightly, and Ma Xianglin even said to Hong Chengchou:
"Thanks to Jinglue's trust, the Mo family and the Wu family in the northwest of Annan will be handed over to me!"

Seeing that Ma Xianglin was fine, Hong Chengchou also said softly:
"Although Annan's land is small and there are few people, it cannot be underestimated after all."

"Not only did Zhao Song suffer from them back then, but even Meng Yuan also suffered from them."

"Now that Annan is going to be recovered, it should not be underestimated!"

"I thought our troops had the right strength. We only needed to wipe out Annan completely with the momentum of Li Ting's sweeping acupoints, and then we could restore the Jiaozhi Cheng and declare the Political Envoy Division!"

Hong Chengchou's words made Ma Xianglin feel that the battle was very comfortable. He passed his finger across the long and narrow land of Annan and said:

"I also deeply think this is the case. It's just that His Highness said that you need to hit slowly and carefully. It's a little difficult..."

Ma Xianglin obviously didn't understand what Zhu Youjian meant by "beating slowly and finely", but Hong Chengchou glanced at him, didn't speak too carefully, but stretched out his finger to the sand table and said:
"The high mountains on the west side of Annan are suitable for hiding soldiers and horses. Don't worry about Zongbing Ma and Zongbing Qin. You just need to go south with Dudu Qi and the two Zongbing Qi."

"The rest of the matter can be left to Duke Xiaoguo and my commander-in-chief."

What Hong Chengchou was referring to was Mu Qiyuan and Wu Bikui, and the battalion of these two people had not been trained, in fact they were former soldiers.

Ma Xianglin and Qin Minping were a little worried about asking them to tidy up the rear, but Long Zaitian in the crowd was very clear about Hong Chengchou's purpose in doing so.

The so-called "beating slowly and carefully" requires brutal people like Mu Qiyuan and Wu Bikui.

"Okay, let's all get back..."

Seemingly unwilling to argue too much with Ma Xianglin about An Nan, Hong Chengchou waved his hand and signaled them all to back down.

Seeing this, Ma Xianglin could only bow to Qin Bangping and leave the meeting hall, and the rest of the generals did the same.

At the same time as they withdrew from the barracks, a beautiful place thousands of miles away from them also welcomed the announcement of the Ming Dynasty.

"Mr. Wen Ru, the imperial court has ordered that starting from this year, the price of grain harvested in Huangzhuang will be [-] Wen per stone for sweet potatoes, [-] Wen for potatoes, [-] Wen for wheat, and [-] Wen for rice."

"This year, Yunnan has a limit of [-] million mu, and Dali Mansion has [-] mu. The Master of Futai will give you a quota of [-] mu of sweet potato fields. I hope you will use it well..."

On the field ridge, when a clerk rode his horse to announce the sweet potato policy, the old man leaning on the back of a buffalo under the field ridge was covering his face with a bamboo hat, lying down and raising his hand to signal that he understood.

Seeing this, the scribe shook his head and left, and the old man also took off the bamboo hat on his head.

Under the bamboo hat was the fifty-five-year-old Yang Lian.

Compared with the demeanor when he was exiled, his skin is dark now, but his spirit is good.

He got up and moved his body, and the buffalo beside him also stood up slowly.

Yang Lian put his bamboo water bottle and things into a cloth bag, hung it on the horns of the ox, then sat on the ox's back, and rode the ox back home.

Along the way, Yang Lian saw a lot of familiar faces, such as Wan Yanyang, Feng Sanyuan and other party officials, all planting seedlings in the paddy fields, and the days were bitter.

Yang Lian had Zhu Youjian's special care. When he came to Dali, he led six acres of land, one cattle, three pigs, more than a dozen chickens and ducks, and two sheep.

In addition, it is his small courtyard located on the Erhai Sea in Cangshan Mountain.

Of course, a knowledgeable person like him cannot just be in charge of farming, including Wan Yanyang and the others.

Letting them farm is because Zhu Youjian wants these people who only know how to talk to eat the hard work of farming. Therefore, he stipulated that Wan Yanyang and other more than [-] officials who were distributed to Dali must each plant three acres of land. .

Two acres are eaten by oneself, and the remaining one is supplied to Qi Wangfu, so that Zhu Youjian can taste the rice grown by these talkative civil servants.

In addition to farming, they have another task, which is to teach the young people in western Yunnan to read and write.

Since the fourth year of Apocalypse, the officials who have been released have basically had such jobs.

Zhu Youjian set strict standards for them. People such as Wan Yanyang were sentenced to exile for ten years, and they were not allowed to use silver or copper coins within ten years, and they were also supervised by Jinyiwei.

The rice they eat is grown by themselves, and things such as salt, wine, tea, meat and miscellaneous books need them to teach the children of the minorities to read and write in Dali.

Every time a class is taught with Yanshan textbooks, one class hour will be accumulated, and a catty of pork, beef, and mutton are each ten class hours.

Twenty class hours for a catty of salt, twenty class hours for a catty of crude tea, thirty class hours for bad wine, and one hundred class hours for a miscellaneous book...

In short, Wan Yanyang said that if they wanted to eat meat, they had to take more classes, and any official who dared to cover them would become one of them the next day.

Therefore, compared to Wan Yan Yang them, Yang Lian can be said to be much more relaxed.

He can also sell grain to make money, and there are buffaloes to help farm. The chickens and ducks at home guarantee the protein, and the pigs and sheep are white and fat. Hundreds.

The buffaloes were walking on the ridge of Erhai Lake, with Cangshui as the background, and Yang Lian held a gourd in his hand, which contained some imperial wine that Zhu Youjian sent from time to time.

The buffalo walked for a quarter of an hour, and then saw a yard surrounded by earthen walls. When one person and one cow came to the door, Yang Lian pushed the door open. The door was not locked, so he was not afraid of being stolen.

The buffalo walked in, and Yang Lian also washed his face, and lay down on the rocking chair in the yard without closing the door.

Behind him is a three-room civil structure, the front of the main house is the meeting hall, the left side is a poor study room with only a dozen sheets of paper, and the right side is the bedroom.

There are side rooms on the left and right, the firewood room on the left, and the kitchen on the right. There is also a well in the courtyard that was dug by the prefect of Dali.

Compared to Wan Yanyang and others who are still living in thatched huts, Yang Lian is simply here for vacation.

Lying on the rocking chair, before Yang Lian could pack up his lunch, a well-proportioned young man in coarse linen came to his house on a donkey cart, got out of the cart and walked in, bowing to Yang Lian:
"Mr. Wen Ru, His Highness sent you Yanling Royal Wine and two taels of silver this time."

"Leave the wine, take the money yourself, the old man has no place to use the silver now... If he wants to, let the old man go back to Beijing."

Yang Lian spoke lazily, obviously he knew that Zhu Youjian would not let him go back.

With Yang Lian's temper, I am afraid that he will quarrel with Zhu Youxiao in a few days, and Zhu Youjian will have to be a peacemaker by then.

"His Royal Highness asked Mr. to go around more, look at some people's livelihood, and tell him what the people lack."

"What's missing...can he not know what's missing?" Although Yang Lian said so, he got up obediently and walked into the study.

A quarter of an hour later, he came out with his handwritten book folded, handed the book to Jin Yiwei with distress, looked at the two taels of silver handed over by the other party, and finally said with distress:

"Buy me some pen, ink and paper, and the rest is yours."

"Yes..." Jin Yiwei smiled, then bowed and left.

But after Jin Yiwei left, Yang Lian looked at Cangshan Mountain and Erhai Lake in the distance, sighed and said:
"You want everyone to be rich, but I'm afraid that the poor will get poorer, and the rich will get richer..."

After all, he closed the door, and this document was delivered to Zhu Youjian together with Hong Chengchou's memorial four days later in an expedited eight hundred miles.

Looking at Yang Lian's handwritten words "The poor get poorer, the rich get richer", Zhu Youjian put the handwriting on the table.

How could he not know that equalizing the rich and the poor is something that can never be done?It's just that he is in his place, even if things don't work, he has to make up for the deficiency.

"How much do the local gentry and tycoons get for this sweet potato policy?"

Zhu Youjian understood Yang Lian's meaning. The sweet potato policy does benefit the people, but the question is, can this benefit fall into the hands of the people?
The idea issued by the imperial court is good, but won't the local officials join forces with the gentry and tyrants and give all the places in the sweet potato fields to the gentry and tyrants?
He asked Lu Wenzhao, but Lu Wenzhao paused when he heard the words, then bowed cautiously and said:
"The officials below did give the sweet potato field as a gift to the powerful gentry, but they still left a lot for the common people..."

"How much is a lot?" Zhu Youjian frowned, and Lu Wenzhao hesitated, and after a while he said:

"About, one third..."

"Where do such things happen the most?" Zhu Youjian was grateful for Yang Lian's reminder when he heard this, but also felt a little helpless.

"Mostly in Fujian and Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Nanzhili, Shandong and other places..." Lu Wenzhao replied with a bow;
"The merchants in the south of the Yangtze River wantonly enclose land in various provinces, and then covertly bought officials, took the quota of sweet potato fields in their hands, and hired tenants to cultivate them."

"Your Highness... the purchase price of sweet potatoes and potatoes has become higher, and it is not surprising that merchants are chasing profit."

Zhu Youjian looked at Lu Wenzhao and said coldly:
"I know it's not surprising, but do you think it's appropriate to bribe officials like this? In addition, the policy is issued for the benefit of the people. Now the benefits are taken by the merchants. What benefits do the people get?"

"It's true that the common people have not benefited, but Your Highness..." Wang Chengen, who had been standing aside and remained silent, also said:
"The land was concentrated by gentry merchants to grow sweet potatoes, and then sold to Huangzhuang, which reduced a lot of shipping costs."

"The purpose of Cheng'en and Gu is not to reduce shipping costs. The purpose of Gu is to benefit the common people, followed by the court!" Zhu Youjian was a little angry.

Perhaps in the view of Lu Wenzhao and Wang Chengen, reducing shipping costs can buy more sweet potatoes and save more victims, but the problem is not calculated in this way.

The imperial court wanted to save the people, but it also wanted to benefit the people.

The dividends of the current policy are all eaten by the gentry and merchants. Although the common people seem to have lost a sum of money, in fact this behavior is damaging the economy.

Wealth is concentrated but not circulated, which is not good for the economy of the ruling and opposition parties.

Late Ming was not only a natural disaster, but also an economic debt.

At present, the prices of state-run salt, wine and tea in Ming Dynasty have risen, and the people have no benefits in the face of rising commodity prices, so it is tantamount to social inflation, and the money in the hands of the people has depreciated.

Zhu Youjian's policy of issuing sweet potato fields this time is to support farmers from this aspect, but in the end he was cut off by the gentry.

"It's really pervasive..."

Seeing that the money that he was supposed to distribute to the people fell into the hands of gentry and corrupt officials, Zhu Youjian tightened his hand with the ink brush, and finally said:

"The case of the three ladies can add another group of people!"

After all, Zhu Youjian lowered his head and picked up Hong Chengchou's memorial to read, while Lu Wenzhao and Wang Chengen looked at each other, helpless.

His Royal Highness seems to have an endless hatred with the gentry and powerful, and there is no moment to let it go.

It's a matter of perspective that the two think so, and Zhu Youjian is very clear that if the economic problem is not resolved, then Daming will be rich and weak, and the people will be weary, and the most fundamental problem has not been resolved.

If the policy is not effective, it is better not to issue it.

Issuing such a policy will only increase the burden on the people.

"I asked Bi Ziyan to make adjustments to the policy of the sweet potato fields, and the Jinyi guards from all over the country also strictly investigated me!"

Zhu Youjian said while flipping through the memorials, and at the same time saw the news that Mu Changzuo died of illness seven days ago.

"Mu Changzuo, Duke of the Qian State, died of illness. This memorial is sent to the palace. Brother Huang and the Duke of England should deal with it."

"..." Unlike Zhu Youjian's plainness, Wang Chengen and Lu Wenzhao were at a loss for words for a moment, and then stepped forward to take the memorial and took a look at it in disbelief.

After confirming that Mu Changzuo had indeed died of illness, Lu Wenzhao bowed and left the study, while Wang Chengen continued to stand obediently in the corner.

"Rats are beaten every year, and they can't be beaten every year. Corrupt officials are caught every year, and they can't be caught every year..."

"Cheng'en, do you think the Imperial Horse Prison needs to be cleaned up?"

Zhu Youjian flipped through the memorabilia with his hand in his hand, his face was flat, and Wang Chengen knelt down and bowed immediately when he heard the words:
"Of course we have to fight, but after the fight is over, there will be a shortage of manpower. I'm afraid the rats in the next position will eat more..."

"The mouse at the moment can at least do things..." Zhu Youjian took over the conversation: "Is that what you mean?"

"Slave..." Wang Chengen didn't know how to respond for a while, and Zhu Youjian also put down the memorial and said:
"Forget it, if you catch some, it will be used as an example to others."

"The maidservant takes orders..." Hearing Zhu Youjian's words, Wang Chengen bowed and stood up, not daring to speak any more.

In the study room, only the voice of Zhu Youjian reading the memorabilia and helping with government affairs was left...

(End of this chapter)