Brother Zhu Youxiao

Chapter 663 Extra Story ([-]) Gold and Jade Outside
On the fifth day of June in the 38th year of Tianqi, Sun Chuanting, the second assistant of the cabinet, retired and returned home. Emperor Zhu Youxiao remembered his meritorious service and promoted him to be the Duke of Dai.

After Sun Chuanting retired and returned to his hometown, as expected, the former cabinet minister Jin Xuan was promoted to the cabinet's second assistant.

At the same time, the cabinet minister Zhou Yanru also retired and returned to his hometown on the tenth day of the lunar new year, but for Zhou Yanru, the reward from Emperor Zhu Youxiao was much lower, and he only added the vain title of Prince Taibao.

Two cabinet ministers withdrew from the cabinet, which made many people pay attention to the empty cabinet position.

But before they waited for the meeting of the ministers' proposal, the inner court suddenly decreed that Li Dingguo, the governor of the Shangzhi Governor's Mansion, would be the governor of the Southern Conquest, personally lead the Shangzhi four cavalry guards, restrain the Western Army, and recover the lost land of the Ganges.

This is the first time since the 23rd year since the apocalypse that Ming has waged a battle with more than 5 people.

The lineup for this battle was also quite luxurious in the eyes of the people of Ming Dynasty at that time.

Li Dingguo, governor of the South Conquest, Wu Sangui, the left general of the conquest of the South, Ma Xianglin, the right general of the conquest of the South, Mu Yi, the former general of the army, Ma Wanchun, the general of the Chinese army, and Qin Gongming, the general of the rear army.

In addition, there was also Zheng Chenggong, the commander-in-chief of the South Western Ocean, who joined forces at sea, and a total of [-] troops from land and sea began to assemble.

At the same time, in order to share the pressure, the new Northern Army Governor Zhu Cixuan sent the Northern Army Deputy Governor Zhu Fuju to lead the Fourth Battalion of Cavalry, with 1 people to conquer the Kaibor Pass.

Siqi Wulong, the inspector of Xiaoxiyang, commanded [-] soldiers from all feudal clans to attack northward and disperse the Mughal forces.

In July, Shah Jahan and his eldest son led 20 troops to garrison the Khyber Pass, and Aurangzeb led an army of [-] to deploy defenses along the Ganges.

On October [-]th, Li Dingguo arrived at the front line in Bengal, and the army was assembled.

On October 27, Zheng Chenggong, the commander-in-chief of Xiaoxiyang, commanded the three guards and horses of the navy, and 72 steam gunboats entered the Ganges River, annihilating [-] Mughal sailors and occupying important water conservancy routes.

On October 28, Li Dingguo led [-] Ming troops across the river, and naval gunboats bombarded the Mughal city.

In this battle, the 120mm gunboat artillery of the Ming army did not fire solid bullets as before, but fired shells that would explode.

Not only the gunboats, but even the shells fired by the 70mm battalion guns of the Ming Army began to explode.

After more than [-] years of possessing mercury fulminate, the Ming army was finally equipped with impact-fired shells.

Although it is far less powerful than the impact-fired shells of the late nineteenth century, it still shows unparalleled power against the walls of the seventeenth century.

Sima Zhu Heyin, who accompanied the army, wrote in his report to the Governor's Mansion of the Five Armies:

[The southern captives heard the sound of guns and shells, and saw the walls of the city collapsed, the houses collapsed, the city was full of screams, and the corpses were strewn with pillows. Therefore, when our army entered the city, the southern captives fled early. 】

The Sima who accompanied the army was an official who recorded the military newspaper in the army, and Zhu Heyin participated in the war as the grandson of the emperor. It is hard to say that it was not instructed by the prince Zhu Ciran.

As for Zhu Heyin's records, they are also biased towards reality. In the "Battle of the Ganges", Aurangzeb's 20 troops hardly fought against the Ming army.

They often encountered the shelling of the Ming army's artillery positions before they saw the Ming army.

When the bombardment started, all the Mughal troops and people fled, and the Ming army did not rush to catch up.

The Ming army always appeared when they tried to stop and build a defensive line, which kept driving them westward.

On the 27th of the twelfth lunar month, before Zhu Cihong, Zhu Cixuan, Zhu Cijiong and Xia Yunyi returned to Qi, Aurangzeb's 20 troops fled across the Ganges River and into Delhi with more than 800 million refugees.

However, it is worth mentioning that in order to allow the army to cross the river first, Aurangzeb ordered the refugees to cross the river by themselves.

Because many refugees did not know how to swim, and there were several heavy rains on the Ganges River a few days ago, it is difficult to count the number of people who drowned to death.

According to the records of Sima Shilang, a naval follower, Aurangzeb’s atrocities caused a large number of corpses to be washed down from the upper reaches. The Ming army on the north bank was busy stacking and burning the corpses that washed up on the shore. Destroyed by piles of corpses.

These corpses flowed down for more than ten days in a row, and the statistics of the Ming army on the north bank alone were no less than 60. Sima Zhu Heyin even said in the records that Aurangzeb regarded the people as livestock...

"The southern captives are so cruel, if they can treat the tens of millions of people under their command as their own people, they will not be like this."

On the wharf of Yingzhou City in the island's prefecture, when Zhu Cihong walked down the street holding a newspaper and sighing, the two people behind him couldn't help but nod their heads in agreement.

Behind him were two young men in their early twenties, five feet seven or eight inches tall.

The facial features of the two young people are somewhat similar to Zhu Cihong's. Although they are not as beautiful as him, they are also rare and handsome in the place.

"Brother, what is there to do in Yingzhou City?"

When the one who was more jumpy among the young people spoke, Zhu Cihong also turned around and said with a smile:

"Guochao has recovered Yingzhou for nearly [-] years, and Yingzhou is the place with the largest number of native people in all provinces. Isn't such a place worth our visit?"

"What the elder brother said is that the second elder brother usually doesn't care about these things. Don't you remember that there are nearly 2000 million natives in Qi?"

As soon as Zhu Cihong opened his mouth, Zhu Cijiong, who was the third child, agreed, but Zhu Cixuan, who was deflated, did not dare to speak of Zhu Cihong, so he could only stare at Zhu Cijiong:

"The boy always relies on his elder brother, pretending to be a tiger."

"When the eldest brother was away, the second brother bullied me a lot. Now I just ask the second brother to pay back some interest."

As Zhu Cijiong said, his eyes were still looking at Zhu Cixuan's waist, which was where he put the banknotes.

"The second brother has won so many bonuses at school, it's time to buy something for the younger brother."

"You don't want to talk nonsense!" Zhu Cixuan immediately retorted when he heard it, and looked at Zhu Cihong at the same time, flattering:

"What does it matter if I pay? Today, the elder brother is here, so naturally we must follow the lead of the elder brother."

"You say yes, brother..."

"You two boys..." Zhu Cihong didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and could only shake his head and walk forward.

Seeing this, the two boys hurriedly followed, and the streets they passed by no longer had a trace of the shogunate.

Although Daming's cement production capacity is already very high, but for the vast territory of Daming, that amount of cement production is still not enough.

Therefore, even though cement has flowed into the construction market, the price of cement has not come down.

This has also led to the fact that most of the buildings in Ming Dynasty are still dominated by a small amount of concrete and wooden buildings.

As the prefecture of Yingzhou Prefecture, Yingzhou City has a permanent population of no less than 50, so it occupies a large area.

Even without entering the city, the square market outside the city alone is enough for three people to hang out.

Moreover, compared with the bustling and lively city, the outside of the city can better reflect the situation of Yingzhou.

On the cement paved street, on the left and right sides are small two-story buildings made of concrete and wood. The first floor is a shop, and the second floor is a resting place.

Behind the invisible small buildings is often a small yard with only one floor, which is the case for most of the houses facing the street in the Daming neighborhood.

Similar to Qi, Yingzhou's immigrants are mainly from the three provinces in the south of the Yangtze River, and the style of the houses built is naturally similar to that in the south of the Yangtze River.

Outside the city of Yingzhou, the courtyards and doors of every household are connected to each other, even in some shops, with walls next to walls and eaves to eaves.

Under the eaves of the second floor, there are some hanging wooden signs with various paintings on them.

This point is very inconsistent with Jiangnan. Zhu Cihong randomly asked a commoner to ask, but he didn't think that the streets were basically Han people.

According to the explanation of the local people, tourists can tell from the paintings on these wooden signs whether the owner of the house is studying literature or martial arts, or whether he is in business or an official, joins the army, works in agriculture, or serves the people.

After listening to the local people's explanation, when Zhu Cihong and the others looked at the wooden signs again, they could roughly understand what the owners of these houses were doing.

"I think these streets are full of farmers, and they are considered lucky. I asked just now. If such a door-to-door shop is rented out, it can earn two taels of silver a year."

Zhu Cixuan said it off the top of his head, but Zhu Cihong didn't care about it.

He is more concerned about the proportion of the people in Yingzhou.

He took the two boys to walk around the streets, but the voices that caught his ears were all mandarin, and the things that caught his eyes were all wearing Hanfu.

It is difficult to understand the local situation in this way, because Daming has educated Yingzhou from top to bottom.

Fortunately, he learned from Xia Yunyi before he set off that there are more than 700 million people in Yingzhou, of which there are more than [-] million citizens and married Han women who have been granted nationality, and the remaining [-] million are basically local people in Yingzhou .

He didn't believe it at first, but now it seems that the facts are really the same as what he saw.

If you just look at language, writing, clothing, and habits, all the people in Yingzhou have been educated by the court.

"Father once said that the people of Yingzhou have practiced the following things since ancient times."

"Although the 800 million people in Yingzhou have been educated, and millions of people overseas are also dependent on the vassals of our country, we must guard against it and be cautious."

Zhu Cihong expressed his opinion to Zhu Cixuan and Zhu Cijiong, and at the same time looked around and said:

"Although I haven't been to the fields yet, I heard from Xia Changshi that there are more than 4000 million people in Yingzhou, but only [-] million arable land."

"Almost 4000% of the [-] million acres of land are in the hands of immigrants and their families, while the more than [-] million natives of Yingzhou own only [-] million acres of land."

"If things go on like this, is there any reason why this Yingzhou will not be chaotic?"

As Zhu Cihong spoke, he paused at the same time, and then said full of worry:
"The Guochao has always been strict with the local people. When I played chess with the emperor's uncle in the palace a few days ago, I once read the "Yellow Book" and "Fish Scale Atlas" handed over by the household department."

"Although the country has 14 billion mu of land, the country's 13 million natives have only [-] million mu of land, and the country's citizens own more than [-] billion mu."

Speaking of this, Zhu Cilang spoke with sincerity:

"On average, the per capita of the nationals is almost seven mu, while the average per capita of the natives is less than four mu."

"It's just a gap of three acres. What's the matter?"

Zhu Cijiong was puzzled. In his opinion, more than three acres per capita was enough for the local people to live well, but as soon as he opened his mouth, Zhu Cixuan next to him said:
"Brother Jiong has never been in the fields, and he seldom goes to the countryside. I don't know what it means for this person to have three more acres."

"Take the situation when you and I were farming and studying at Suncheon University. Three mu of land can produce five shi of grain, and five shi of grain can feed two more people."

"The fields in the hands of the natives can only make themselves better off. Once they want to reproduce, then..."

Zhu Cixuan didn't continue, but Zhu Cijiong, who had experienced farming and studying, immediately understood what he meant.

"So what Big Brother and Second Brother mean is that in the future the natives will..."

"Okay, we can see these things. It's impossible for eldest brother, father, and uncle Huang not to see them. You and I should think about how to deal with the natives of Qi."

Zhu Cilang interrupted Zhu Cijiong's words, and brought the topic to Qi Guo.

But Zhu Cixuan and Zhu Cijiong lost their minds when he said that.

Both of them came out of Suncheon University, so they naturally knew that compared with the natives who had formed a cultural system in Da Ming, the natives in Qi who did not have a system were not easy to manage.

What they were worried about was the natives in Daming, after all, they had lived in Daming for more than [-] years.

Therefore, even though Zhu Cihong took them back to Yingzhou Port, their minds were not on it.

Due to the excessive supplies of the fleet and the overhaul of the ships, the fleet had to stay in Yingzhou Port for three days.

Therefore, on the second day, Zhu Cixuan and Zhu Cijiong traveled together.

The actions of the two were seen by Zhu Cihong, but he didn't say anything.

Just as he expected, the two brothers went shopping for two days, and finally found Zhu Cihong the night before the fleet set off, and told Zhu Cihong about the wealth and poverty in Yingzhou.

"Every household in Yingzhou eats enough food every day, and eats some meat dishes for two meals a day. They live very comfortably."

In the dimly lit room, Zhu Cixuan and Zhu Cijiong were talking about the situation of the people in Yingzhou, while Zhu Cihong was listening quietly.

"However, compared to them, there are almost no meat dishes on the table of the natives."

"Eating a full meal with a few plates of sea vegetables is already a good time."

After Zhu Cixuan finished speaking, Zhu Cijiong also said:

"I see that although they have learned Mandarin, wear Ming Hanfu, and speak respectfully, they are very against us in their hearts."

"When I talk to them, I can always feel that they keep a little distance from us, not only from us, but also from the people who have lived in Yingzhou for a long time."

"In my opinion, the people of Yingzhou probably never gave up the idea of ​​rebellion."

"It's just that no one has raised the pole right now, otherwise, I'm afraid this place will be a pile of dry firewood, which will burn instantly when it is ignited."

Zhu Cihong was also taken aback by what the two boys said, and he comforted the worried two:
"I'll write a handwritten letter later, and I'll send the letter to the East Palace before departure in the morning. I think my eldest brother will make good arrangements when he hears the news."

After all, he rubbed his brows: "Go down and rest earlier."

"it is good……"

Seeing what Zhu Cihong said, Zhu Cixuan and Zhu Cijiong could only get up and leave the house, and went back to their respective rooms to rest.

On the second day, with the whistle of the steam engine ship, three steam ships left Yingzhou Port.

At the same time, the letter written by Zhu Cihong to Zhu Ciran was also sent to the capital.

When the letter was delivered to the capital, it was already the evening of the seventeenth day of the first lunar month in the 39th year of Tianqi.

Different from Qi State, the Lantern Festival in Ming Dynasty is still on the [-]th, [-]th and [-]th day of the first lunar month.

Therefore, when Zhu Ciran got Zhu Cihong's handwriting, the people in the capital were celebrating the Lantern Festival.

This night, the sky in the capital was like daytime, and the fireworks almost never stopped, blooming over the capital every second.

Zhu Ciran finished reading the letter, took off the glasses on the bridge of his nose, and rubbed his eyes.

Years of dealing with government affairs, coupled with his growing age, inevitably made him suffer from myopia.

He got up and walked to the window of the Hall of Harmony, watching the fireworks blooming over the capital, with a forced smile on his face.

"Your Highness, the Minister of the Golden Pavilion of the cabinet seeks an audience."

Li Yongzhen's voice appeared in the hall, Zhu Ciran said without thinking: "Biography"

Li Yongzhen bowed in response, turned around and summoned Jin Xuan.

After a while, Jin Xuan, who was already in his forties, appeared in the hall.

Compared with the high spirits when he was in Qi State, he is already too old at this moment.

Not to mention that the hair is much grayer, and the shape alone also looks a lot fatter.

His obesity can be seen as the result of long-term hard work, and Sun Chuanting's resignation from the official position also made him gradually unable to do what he wanted in the court.

"Your Highness, there is good news from the Commander's Mansion of the Five Armies that the entire Ganges Mansion has been recovered."

"Governor Li Dingguo of the Southern Expedition said that there are more than [-] natives left in the area. Do you want to expel them?"

Jin Xuan brought good news, Zhu Ciran answered without hesitation:
"Leave it. The job of the immigrants is to take over tens of millions of acres of arable land. It would be too wasteful to use them for projects."

"It's not bad for these eight 10,000+ natives to stay and work as workers. According to three acres per person, they will be given fields, and Qimin will register as households."

Zhu Ciran responded without looking back, and at the same time changed the topic and said to the non-stop fireworks in the sky:

"The fireworks have been blooming this year, and it seems that they have never stopped. Is it run by the Yamen of Shuntian Prefecture?"

"Return to Your Highness..." Jin Xuan bowed:
"The Yamen of Shuntian Prefecture only set off fireworks for one hour on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month this year. After finding out that the people were setting off more fireworks, they stopped their actions and sent the servants to the fire department in the city to help with fire prevention."

"In recent years, the common people have become rich and the price of fireworks has dropped. Even people in the countryside are willing to buy more than ten catties to take home, let alone the capital."

Zhu Ciran heaved a sigh of relief at Jin Xuan's words, he turned around and walked towards the desk, and at the same time said:
"It is always said that the people are doing well, but I don't have time to look at it, and I don't know if it is really what you say, the people are really doing well."

Zhu Ciran's words expressed his helplessness, he thought about it carefully, he hadn't left Beizhili for almost three years.

As Zhu Youxiao grows older, although he looks in good health on the surface, if Zhu Youxiao is really forced to worry about state affairs, I am afraid that Zhu Youxiao's health will not be able to bear it.

Zhu Ciran is no longer the impulsive young man he was back then, even in middle age, even he can't help being a little hesitant.

Of course, apart from this change, the bigger change is that he gradually became suspicious of all officials, just like Zhu Youjian.

Thinking that the Ganges Mansion has been defeated and the Ganges Province is about to be established, Zhu Ciran also talked about the business to Jin Xuan:

"Now that the Ganges Mansion has been recovered, the Ganges Province should also be established."

"It's not enough to have a province alone. Tell the Migration Department, Huangdian, and the officials of the National News Bureau to vigorously recruit immigrants to the Ganges province."

"The immigration policy for the Ganges Province is mainly to grant [-] acres of land to each person."

"In addition, Guanlifang passed Enke last year, and the [-] officials waiting to be dispatched can also be dispatched to Ganges Province."

"Yao Qisheng, the inspector of the salt department, was transferred to Ganges, and he was appointed as the governor of Ganges, and Chen Tingjing, the magistrate of Xiangshan County, was the magistrate of Ganges."

After Zhu Ciran finished making arrangements, Jin Xuan bowed back to express his acceptance.

He thought that the matter was almost over here, but Zhu Ciran looked straight at him while sitting back in his seat, squinting his eyes:
"Li Dingguo, the governor of Shangzhi, joined the cabinet as a scholar of Wuyingdian, and Yan Yinshao of the Metropolitan Procuratorate joined the cabinet as a scholar of Huagaidian."

"The Commander of Yiluan Guard made Zhang Xiu the governor of the Shangzhi, and the official Chengde returned to his post. He will organize the Metropolitan Procuratorate to conduct a Beijing inspection today, expanding the scope of the Beijing inspection from officials to civilians..."

"..." Hearing that his friend who had been imprisoned for nearly 20 years was released, Jin Xuan was stunned for a moment, then reacted, and bowed his hands together: "Minister, lead the order..."

After all, seeing that Zhu Ciran had no other arrangements, he slowly withdrew from the Spring Harmony Palace.

Zhu Ciran didn't stop him, nor did he say too much.

He is no longer the prince Zhu Ciran who followed Jin Xuan and Cheng De's buttocks and called him teacher.

Now he... is the supervisor of the Ming Dynasty!

(End of this chapter)