Be the emperor from the postman

Chapter 335 Money and Food Are Not Enough for the Common People to Make Up for (Fourth Change)

Hearing Cao Wenzhao's words, Shanxi governor Xu Dingchen was angry.

How can he have money and food in his hand, let alone he has not yet arrived.

Song Yintong, the former governor of Shanxi Province, was reprimanded by Emperor Chongzhen when he saw that he could not wipe out He Jinzhao's hammer bandits and Gao Yingxiang's trespassers.

He simply killed himself, and then ran back to his hometown Ding You before He Jinchao's soldiers surrounded Taiyuan City.

The timing was just right.

No one is willing to come to Shanxi to be the governor, so Xu Dingchen was pushed out by force.

It is normal for Cao Wenzhao to ask about food and pay, because the emperor did not give him money and food!

Emperor Chongzhen really had no money. In addition to military expenditures, there were huge bureaucratic administrative expenditures, the largest imperial family consumption expenditures, and royal court expenditures.

Since Chongzhen came to the throne, he has been very frugal, cutting out all items that can be cut, and eliminating delicacies from mountains and seas in food.

It's a pity that Emperor Chongzhen himself was frugal. One day he suddenly wanted to eat the Lantern Festival sold in the market, so he sent someone to buy it.

Emperor Chongzhen also ate it, but said that when he was a prince, a bowl of Yuanxiao was only [-] cents.

These words frightened the eunuch, but they still deducted and reimbursed more.

Because the emperor ate the Lantern Festival, he had to pay one tael of silver for a bowl. Who would make the emperor noble!
A bowl of Lantern Festival for five cents is only worthy of the poor.

But even if Emperor Chongzhen was frugal, his monthly food expenses would be upwards of 1000 taels of silver, plus the queen, concubine and prince.

Their monthly food expenses are 2000 taels of silver, which is roughly equivalent to the consumption of an ordinary family of seven in Ming Dynasty for several lifetimes.

Instead of gold and silver, the food utensils were replaced by porcelain and lacquerware (wooden body). He wanted to be frugal, but the porcelain was all Jingdezhen's top-quality porcelain, and even the Guan, Jun, Ge, and Ding kilns of the Song Dynasty.

Wooden wares are heavily dyed and carved, and the value of these two items is actually higher than that of gold and jade.

Emperor Chongzhen was not only frugal in food, but also frugal in clothing. He did not wear the clothes in his words, but only plain robes.

Logically speaking, the emperor's coat and underwear cannot be used after being worn once, especially the underwear, which has to be worn many times after washing.

However, the Weaving Yamen of the Neifu has always only provided disposable clothes, and the appearance is important, and the quality has never been emphasized.

As a result, after Chongzhen wore it several times, the clothes were easily damaged, and the inner government still only provided disposable clothes to the emperor.

This is all formal and superficial frugality. The emperor wanted to be frugal, but his subordinates refused to agree.

However, the huge financial crisis can't be solved in any case by such trivial methods as laying off postmen and saving palace fees.

What's more, the expenses saved in the palace still fell into the emperor's own pocket, and not a cent was withdrawn for state financial expenditure.

In the early years of Chongzhen, some officials had the idea of ​​using the emperor's private money, and Chongzhen always cried poor:

"I tried my best to save money in the palace, but I still can't make ends meet. If I really have extra money, how can I be stingy?"

Chongzhen was naturally not a fool, and he was beating the eunuch if he said [-] Wen Yuanxiao.

He will not be too strict with the people in the palace, otherwise the situation of the late Tang Dynasty will be staged if it is far away, and the old story of his brother falling into the water will be close.

Even Emperor Jiajing was assassinated by court ladies, the Daming Palace is really not very safe.

Therefore, Chongzhen has been trying to find ways to increase the faction, but it is still in the process of brewing.

As for the money and food for the suppression of bandits and rebellion, he asked Wang Chengen, the commander-in-chief, and Cao Wenzhao, the deputy commander-in-chief, to raise money by himself, because the court could not afford the money.

Cao Wenzhao is also short of money and food, and now that the opportunity is in front of him, he has to ask for it.

As long as the three thousand Guan Ning army under him are fed, all hammer bandits and high-ranking thieves will be killed.

Cao Wenzhao looked at Xu Dingchen, the governor of Shanxi. If he refused to pay even this little money and food, then I would go directly to Shaanxi.

At least when he got there, Hong Chengchou prepared money and food for him.

Moreover, this is the task given to him by the emperor, if he didn't let him wipe out the thieves in Shanxi, if the emperor finds out that he is disobedient, he will definitely have a bad impression.

Cao Wenzhao is not an idiot. Once he was fooled by the civil officials of the Ming Dynasty, he would do anything to eradicate the bandits in Shanxi.

There was silence in the tent for a while, and Xu Dingchen, the governor of Shanxi, finally spoke:

"General Cao, I heard that the summer harvest in Shanxi is good this year, and you can take the grain with you."

Cao Bianjiao is Cao Wenzhao's nephew. He was just 21 years old. He followed his uncle through life and death for many years. Now he is a guerrilla general.

Hearing this, he said in disbelief: "Master Xu wants us to plunder Shanxi?"

"Instead of falling into the hands of thieves and allowing it to develop and grow, it is better to fall into the hands of our officers and soldiers to pacify the place."

The more Xu Dingchen said, the more reasonable he became: "In extraordinary times, we should do extraordinary things."

It is normal for the guest army to fight and plunder the place.

In Xu Dingchen's view, short-term pain is worse than long-term pain. Being captured by the army can at least help the court.

Being robbed of money and food by hammer bandits will only make them bigger and bigger!
"There are gold mines and silver mines in Fanzhi County, the general can distribute silver rewards here."

After Xu Dingchen finished speaking, he looked at Cao Wenzhao.

"Go ahead." Cao Wenzhao did not refuse.

"In this way, money and food will be settled." After Xu Dingchen finished speaking, he took out a map and said, "General Cao can enter Shaanxi along this route."

Cao Wenzhao took it over and took a look. It was starting from Zijing Pass, passing Lingqiu, Fanzhi, Daizhou, Yangqu, and heading straight to Taiyuan City, after breaking the siege.

The whole army followed Qingyuan, Fenyang, crossed Qinglongdu, arrived at Wubao, and finally entered Suide County, Shaanxi.

Going north, you can go to Yulin Weihuihe, Yansui Town, prepare the army for war, and contact Yang He, the governor of the three sides.

Cao Wenzhao put away the map and said with a smile:
"Master Xu, please go and rest for the night, and you have to write me a letter asking for assistance, so we can set off with the army tomorrow morning."

Xu Dingchen, governor of Shanxi, heard this and knew that Cao Wenzhao was not easy to fool, but he was also much stronger than the commander-in-chief Wang Chengyin.

If His Majesty knew that he, the governor of Shanxi, would not be in office for a long time, something might happen.

In any case, you have to enter the Shanxi political arena first, and together with the left and right political envoys and the Shanxi Town Commander, wipe out the hammer bandits and high-ranking thieves in the territory.

"it is good."

Xu Dingchen responded immediately, and was led to write letters in other tents.

"Uncle, why did you promise him?"

Cao Bianjiao couldn't understand it very much. The military achievements of their uncle and nephew were all promoted by cutting their heads.

But I have never killed the good and taken the credit!

"We don't agree, wait for Wang Chengyin to agree?" Cao Wenzhao looked at the map in his hand: "He is more greedy than us."

Cao Wenzhao once commanded general Wang Chengyin by leapfrogging, and later promoted him to the general army after he was rewarded.

Cao Wenzhao could only succumb to him as a deputy commander in chief.

"But the majestic governor of Shanxi actually took the initiative to let us send troops to plunder the people?"

Cao Bianjiao couldn't even imagine it. He knew that civil servants were dark-hearted, and this time really opened his eyes.

"Okay, let's send someone to find out about the Hammer Bandit. No matter what he does, we have to go this way when we enter Shaanxi."

(End of this chapter)