Chongzhen Daming: Starting from Coal Mountain

Chapter 405 The Great Harvest

After watching the express delivery, both Wang Xigon and Yang Weizhi looked as usual.

Before Ding Muyou, Wang Xigun was already the Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of Officials, equivalent to the executive deputy minister of the Organization Department of the Ming Dynasty. He was originally a third-rank official, and he was more than enough to be the governor of the four sides.

Yang Weizhi is the deputy envoy of Jin Cang's military preparation and Taoism, and a civil servant of the fourth rank.

Now he has been promoted to the censor of the fourth rank Youqin capital and the admiral of Yunnan military affairs, and he has only been promoted to one level.

Although the admiral Yunnan Military Affairs is a military officer of the first rank, the civil servants of the Ming Dynasty have never paid attention to the military position. A patrol censor of the seventh rank dares to serve as the admiral or the chief soldier at the same time with peace of mind.

Wang Xigun even resigned: "My lord, the system of ministers and mothers has not yet expired..."

"But today, when the imperial court is employing people, what kind of system do you still abide by?" Chongzhen said to his face, "The so-called country first has a country and then a family. If the Ming Dynasty is gone, you will be filial to your mother." What's the use?"

"What the Holy Majesty said is very true, I am ashamed." Chongzhen opened his mouth to win, and Wang Xigun stopped being hypocritical.

But if you change to a minister who is trying to gain fame, I am afraid that Chongzhen will have to ask for three, four, or even ten or eight invitations.

But then again, if it wasn't for Wang Xigun, Chongzhen wouldn't even be bothered to win the favor. If you want Ding Mu to be worried, then Ding Mu is worried. The Ming government can operate as usual without anyone.

What the Ming Dynasty lacks most now are scholars who want to be officials.

Chongzhen then told Wang Xigun: "Wang Qing, the intention of the cabinet to newly establish the governors of Yunnan, Guangxi, Sichuan and Guizhou is to coordinate and solve the reform of the four provinces, but for now, you only need to do a good job in the reform of Guangxi and Yunnan. Tuguiliu, the chieftains in Guizhou and Sichuan don't bother with him for now."

"The minister takes the decree." Wang Xigun said solemnly.

Food needs to be eaten bite by bite, and things need to be done one by one.

Reforming the land and returning it to the local people must be done step by step. If the steps are too big, it will be easy to tear the egg.

Chongzhen said again: "The policy of reforming the land and returning it to the locals has been determined long ago. I hope that when I come to Kunming ten years later, there will be no distinction between Tu and Han in Yunnan. Everyone will be the Qimin or town soldiers of the Ming Dynasty. Everyone can speak official Chinese and write Chinese characters, and everyone agrees that they are of Chinese ethnicity!"

"The minister accepts the decree." Wang Xigon once again solemnly agreed.

Chongzhen asked Yang Weizhi again: "Yang Qing, is the [-] town soldiers making trouble?"

Yang Wei knew: "My lord, before the land was divided, the local soldiers from Yunnan and the wolf soldiers from Guangxi made troubles. Fortunately, the new army and the local soldiers from Hunan and Hubei came to suppress them. After the project, the [-] native soldiers in Yunnan never made any troubles again, and they began to behave themselves."

"But Guangxi wolf soldiers still mutiny from time to time."

"So far, more than a hundred Tumu have been beheaded, but they are of little use."

After a while, he asked again: "My lord, when will the family members of Guangxi wolf soldiers arrive in Yunnan?"

"Soon." Chongzhen said, "When the new army suppresses the rebellion of Anlongsi and Shanglinsi, [-] family members of the wolf soldiers will be relocated to Yunnan, and they will definitely arrive before the Chinese New Year."

Chongzhen then instructed Tang Zhaoyuan, Wu Wenying and others respectively.

The main thing is to tell Yunnan officials to be united with sincerity and one mind.

Wang Xigun and other Yunnan officials were sent away, and Chongzhen asked Wang Chengen to call Lin Zhiyuan and Zhang Huangyan to Xingyuan.

Wang Xigun is the governor of Yunnan, Guangxi, Sichuan and Guizhou, and he is in charge of reforming the land and returning it to the people. Yang Weizhi is the admiral of Yunnan, who is fully responsible for the training and command of the [-] troops in the Yunnan town.

In other words, Yang Weizhi was not under Wang Xigun's control.

Yang Weizhi's ability is not a problem, but his loyalty still needs to wait the test of time.

For a side general with [-] soldiers in his hand, it would be foolish not to exercise any restraint. Yang Weizhi wouldn't have any ideas for a year or two. He might still be loyal in ten or eight years, but twenty or even thirty years what year?As Yang Weizhi has held a heavy army for a long time, who can guarantee that he will not have a different heart?
Therefore, it is necessary to control Yang Weizhi through Qin Wang Shizi.

Because Yunnan Zhentai will also be equipped with 750 Qin Wang Shizi.

These 750 Qin Wang Shizi will become the backbone military officers in Yunnan Zhentai.

As long as these 750 Qin Wang scholars are still loyal to Chongzhen and Daming,

Even if Yang Weizhi really has two minds, Prince Qin's scholar can take him away in minutes.

And Zhang Huangyan also has Lin Zhiyuan from Yunnan, who is the head of the 750 Qinwang scholars.

"Lin Zhiyuan, Zhang Huangyan." Chongzhen urged Yinyin, "I have handed over the Yunnan town to you, and you must firmly control the [-] town soldiers to ensure that no ambitious person can take this army away. "

"Your Majesty, don't worry." Lin Zhiyuan and Zhang Huangyan said solemnly, "Your Majesty, I will take care of Yunnan Zhentai on behalf of Your Majesty."

"You two still have the abilities of other scholars, so I'm not worried at all." Chongzhen nodded lightly, then changed the subject and continued, "I'm just a little worried, you will rely on your own status and don't want to share the same food with the town soldiers. Live together and go out for training, and the sons of King Qin who were assigned to the chieftains in western Hunan and Hubei have already shown signs of bad."

This is also what Chongzhen is most worried about, because with the improvement of the status of scholars, especially the improvement of remuneration, many scholars have shown signs of self-reliance, and their personal life has begun to become more particular. To put it bluntly, the idea of ​​privilege has begun to rise. , The style of hard work and plain living is gradually being abandoned.

If this trend cannot be stopped, half of the six thousand Qin princes will be abolished in a few years.

Lin Zhiyuan and Zhang Huangyan also broke out in a cold sweat when they heard the words. They asked themselves, since the period after the Shadingzhou Rebellion was quelled, they have also become extravagant and frequented restaurants.

And there is a lot of contempt for the Yunnan native soldiers and Guangxi wolf soldiers.

I always feel that these wolf soldiers are a group of uneducated barbarians.

But Chongzhen's words awakened the two of them like a blow to the head.

Chongzhen also said: "So, during the period of garrisoning Yunnan, I suggest that you still stick to collective life, and at the same time insist on eating, living and training with the town soldiers, and strive to win the recognition of the town soldiers as soon as possible."

"In this regard, the scholars from Xuzhou Township and Guide Township have done a good job."

"The town soldiers in Xuzhou and Guide also agree with the scholars of these two towns the most."

"Your Majesty, rest assured." Lin Zhiyuan and Zhang Huangyan said solemnly, "The ministers will continue to maintain a hard and simple style, and will never be out of touch with the town soldiers, let alone cause the town soldiers to have antagonism."

……

In late October of the [-]th year of Chongzhen, Chongzhen led his army to leave Yunnan.

Yan Yingyuan and Xu Yingwei did not leave with Chongzhen because they were still leading the army to quell the rebellion. They will lead the army to stay in Yunnan for a while.

When I came, I was carrying luggage, so I walked slowly.

But on the return journey, I packed lightly, and even 20 Hongyi cannons were left in Kunming, so I walked very fast.

In mid-November, the army went to Changde Mansion. Li Jiaozheng, the censor of Youqin capital and censor of water control, was in Changde. After hearing the news, he hurried out to meet Changde prefect.

"Minister Li Jiaozheng, please ask the Holy Spirit to go to Jin'an." Li Jiaozheng is the leader.

The magistrate of Changde and all the subordinate officials of the government also knelt down to pay their respects.

"Get up." Chongzhen said with a solemn hand, "Li Jiaozheng, how is the lake embankment going?"

"Qi Zuo Sheng, the lake embankment has already been completed." Li Jiaozheng replied, "The total consumption of silver is [-] million taels, and the extra processed rice is [-] million taels, which is much more than what I expected before. "

"As long as the lake embankment is strong enough, it's worth spending more money." Chongzhen said.

"Your Majesty, don't worry, the embankment is strong enough." Li Jiaozheng said with a straight face, "This year, the Dongting Lake area has suffered a once-in-[-]-year flood, but the lake embankment remains unmoved."

"Oh, really?" Chongzhen became interested, "Then I want to see it with my own eyes."

At present, Chongzhen ordered the army to temporarily station outside Changde City, and then led by Li Jiaozheng and the prefect of Changde, they rode fast horses to the edge of Dongting Lake.

A few miles away from the lake, we saw patches of rice fields.

It's just that the rice has been harvested, and there are only rows of rice stubble left in the field, and green wheat seedlings have grown between the rice stubbles.

Li Jiaozheng said proudly: "My Majesty, since the Dongting Lake area did not suffer from the summer flood this year, the people in the lake area have harvested two crops of grain, one Mecca and the other rice."

The magistrate of Changde immediately said: "Therefore, it is amazing that four stones of grain can be harvested per mu!"

"Oh, really?" Chongzhen said happily, "So the people in the lake area can have a good year this year."

While talking, he happened to see an old farmer walking over with a load of straw. Seeing so many officials, the old farmer was so frightened that he threw away the straw and knelt down on the side of the road.

Chongzhen immediately got off his horse and walked towards the old farmer.

Hu Guozhu and Wu Batan subconsciously wanted to keep up, but they were stopped by Chongzhen.

"Old man." Chongzhen helped the old farmer up with his own hands, and asked, "I heard that this year's harvest is quite good?"

"This high official is very polite." The old farmer bowed to Chongzhen somewhat restrainedly, and then said with a smile, "This year's harvest is quite good, and our family has harvested more than two hundred shi of wheat and rice. "

The old farmer was obviously really happy, smiling so much that his gums were showing.

I saw that there were less than six teeth left on the old farmer's yellow gums.

"We collected more than two hundred shi of grain." Chongzhen said, "How many acres of land does your family have?"

"More than [-] mu." The old farmer said more and more happily, "The small hometown originally allocated more than [-] mu of paddy fields, and later leased more than [-] mu of lake fields from the government, and planted a total of more than [-] mu of land."

"More than seventy acres, old man, can you be busy?"

"It's time to come over, little old man and two sons, no problem."

"There are three strong laborers in the family. You are lucky, old man. Maybe you can have a grandson this year."

"I have accepted the auspicious words of the high officials." The old farmer probably chatted with Chongzhen, and gradually lost the restraint just now, and said, "This year is a rare good year, but there are also bad things, that is, the price of food. So cheap."

"The food price is very cheap?" Chongzhen frowned, and asked again, "How much money?"

The old farmer sighed: "When the price of grain was the most expensive in the past, it was worth three yuan per stone, but this year it is only one yuan and five cents, which is half the price. Fortunately, the grain tax can be paid with grain, otherwise you have to eat it again." It’s a big loss, but Xiao Lao thought about selling the surplus grain and buying a cow back, but now it looks like it’s a waste.”

Chongzhen frowned and said, "Didn't the imperial court send anyone to buy it?"

"The imperial court also sent people to buy it, and the price was higher." The old farmer said quickly, "However, the imperial court refused to give cash for the grain purchased, and could only issue a white note. Who would dare to sell it?"

"Wai Tiao?" Chongzhen frowned more and more.

The old farmer carried the straw and left, generally very happy.

Chongzhen, however, had mixed feelings and anger. He was happy about the bumper grain harvest in Huguang. Even if calculated on the basis of [-] million mu, he could harvest [-] million shi of grain, at least half of which, or [-] million shi, could be transported to the south of the Yangtze River. Therefore, there is no need to worry about the food problem in Jiangnan.

What is angry is that someone picks peaches.

He actually wanted to take advantage of the great harvest to collect grain from Huguang at a low price.

When the water conservancy was repaired, you didn’t pay for it. Now that the water conservancy has been repaired and Huguang’s grain harvest is bumper, you jump out and want to pick peaches. How can there be such a good thing in the world?

If nothing else, most of these grain merchants have backgrounds.

Sure enough, when Li Jiaozheng was called to ask, he found out everything.

But things are a bit tricky, because one of the grain merchants is actually a faker in Rugao.

Maoxiang died heroically at the foot of Shanyang City. He was a hero of the Ming Dynasty. Chongzhen also personally wrote a plaque of "loyalty and integrity" and sent imperial envoys to Rugao Maojia. Maoxiang's old father Maoqizong came to Nanjing to thank him. Chongzhen also once Summoned before, but now it has become a hot potato.

Li Jiaozheng said again: "The other grain merchants also have their own backgrounds, such as Hengyang Wang Zihao, which is Wang Fuzhi's eldest brother, and the few grain merchants from Nanjing are either from Ge's hometown or are relatives of Gonghou's family."

"Don't talk about these annoying things." Chongzhen temporarily pressed the matter, and then asked Li Jiaozheng, "Li Jiaozheng, you said that after the lake embankment is repaired, at least four million acres of lake fields will be obtained. Where are the four million acres of lake fields? ?”

"Haven't you already seen it, Your Majesty?" Li Jiaozheng pointed to the paddy field in front of him and said, "This is it."

"Have you let the tenant out of Hutian?" Chongzhen asked, "How much grain per mu is the fixed rent?"

Li Jiaozheng said: "Because these lakes are extremely fertile, and the yield per mu can reach at least three shi, so the rent set by the minister is [-]%, and [-] million mu is reserved for Entian, and the rent is calculated to be [-] million shi!"

"I originally thought that I would sell it to the grain merchant at five qian per stone,"

"You can get at least [-] million taels. If you can make up for the cost of repairing the embankment."

"But I never thought that these unscrupulous grain merchants would only pay one cent and five cents. I was angry but didn't sell it. I also wanted to persuade my colleagues in various mansions to stop the people from selling grain. This time I came to Changde Mansion for this purpose."

The magistrate of Changde said: "I have asked the yamen servants to inform the village that cheap grain sales are not allowed."

Chongzhen couldn't bear it anymore when he heard this, and asked Li Jiaozheng, "What's the matter with the water conservancy and grain bank? Didn't I let them buy the surplus grain from the people in Huguang? Why do they use white strips to buy grain?"

Li Jiao smiled wryly: "My lord, this minister doesn't know either."

The affairs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs are not something that Li Jiaozheng can intervene.

[Kneeling for a monthly pass]

(End of this chapter)