Before hanging himself, Chongzhen lifted the table
Chapter 165 Dealing with the Kong Family in Qufu
Chapter 165 Dealing with the Kong Family in Qufu
As far as Fan Jingwen knew, the emperor brought 16 troops to the capital camp, but left more than 3 troops on the front line of Jizhen to defend against the barbarians in the north, guarded by Marquis Zhongyong. On the capital side, there were only 13 troops, and more troops arrived one after another. Tang Tong, Huang Degong and other troops probably had about 14 troops.
If he goes to clear Shandong and takes away 5 troops, the capital will only have [-] troops.
It's impossible for the capital to have no troops left to guard it. How many troops can the emperor bring with him after this?
To be honest, if Li Thief's army and Zuo Liangyu's rebel army unite, they have 60 million troops. Even if the emperor brings all the troops, at least he will suffer a big loss in terms of military strength!
He was calculating in his mind, but he heard Emperor Chongzhen say calmly: "You don't need to postpone the time of the expedition. The sooner we can arrange for the people who are going north, the sooner they will be separated from each other due to hunger and cold! I will go south to quell the rebellion, and I will only bring 5 people with me." Ten thousand people and horses are enough.”
When he heard this, Fan Jingwen was shocked and said quickly: "Your Majesty, although soldiers are expensive and not expensive, once there are enough soldiers, they still have a great advantage. And on the battlefield, there is no absolute certainty of victory or defeat. Your Majesty is determined." Don’t be careless, it’s better to bring more elite soldiers!”
Other ministers of the cabinet, six ministers, and even the Supervisor of Ceremonies also began to admonish him.Never before had the ministers behaved so unanimously. They were really worried that the emperor would become arrogant after leading his troops to win a few battles. If he lost, the good situation they had just had would fall apart again.
Suddenly, the Wenhua Hall was filled with voices of admonishment.
Their persuasion was all well-founded, and they even quoted historical examples of arrogant soldiers who were bound to be defeated, and they were just short of saying plainly, Emperor, you are in trouble!
Emperor Chongzhen knew that they were doing it for his own good, but he still interrupted the advice of his ministers, and then asked seriously: "If I lead more men and horses south, where will the food and grass needed for the army come from? Will it be enough for me?"
Upon hearing this, Fan Jingwen and others were speechless.
Food issues have always been a serious problem.Why did Fan Jingwen lead the troops to quell the chaos in Shandong? It was to have a place to resettle refugees and solve part of the food problem.
The capital also has to implement food control, also because there is not enough food.
If the army wants to fight, the food must be freely eaten. If it is not full, it will definitely not be able to fight. The more troops there are, the more food will be consumed.For now, the Gyeonggi area simply cannot withstand a large-scale military expedition!
Seeing that all the ministers below were silent, Emperor Chongzhen was not done yet and continued: "If we really take away all the troops to suppress the rebellion, what if the bandits take advantage of me to lead the troops south and come to the capital again? What should we do if the Gyeonggi area, which has rarely regained peace, is in trouble again?"
Many officials in the Wenhua Hall were speechless again after hearing this.
The reason why the bandit army is suppressing more and more people is because they are causing harm to the place.At least at the beginning, it was very easy for the imperial officers and soldiers to defeat the bandits. However, they could not resist the bandits and the imperial officers and soldiers played hide and seek. After A was pacified, the bandits harmed area B. The imperial officers and soldiers rushed to area B. The rogue thieves went to bring disaster to Land A again, which ultimately led to the devastation of people's livelihood everywhere and the people's livelihood was in dire straits!
The land of Gyeonggi has finally come to peace, and it is a time when everything is in ruins. When we are rebuilding our homeland, if the bandits come again to cause trouble, we will really want to die. It is simply impossible to have peace in the world. Something happened!
Seeing that they were silent, Emperor Chongzhen said seriously: "Therefore, I will lead the troops south to open up water transportation, but a certain amount of troops must be left in the capital to prevent bandits from coming and leaving as they please. It has brought disaster to the capital city again."
Having said this, he looked at Fan Jingwen and said: "You should lead the troops to pacify Shandong quickly, and then you can lead the troops westward and station troops on the front line of Daming Prefecture to guard the gates of the capital and threaten the flow of rivers in Henan. The thieves' territory. Before that, Zhending Prefecture must be defended, and heavy troops must be stationed to support Daming Prefecture and the central Shanxi region to prevent further chaos in the Jin Dynasty. By going south along the canal, I can clear up a safe water transportation The river can transport food and supplies to the north. I have brought 5 horses, and I have brought as many as possible!"
The southernmost prefecture of Beizhili is Daming Prefecture, which grows into a strip between Henan and Shandong, and is very close to Kaifeng Prefecture in Henan.Today's Henan area, including parts of southern Shanxi, belongs to Li Zicheng's sphere of influence.Therefore, Emperor Chongzhen had this explanation.
At this time, after hearing Emperor Chongzhen's analysis, Fan Jingwen suddenly felt that the burden on his shoulders was also heavy, and immediately said seriously: "Wei Chen must settle down in Shandong as soon as possible, and then return to the Normal University to station along the Daming Mansion to prevent The bandit army rushed into the capital area again."
After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen nodded and said: "Instruct Shao Zongyuan, Governor of Baoding, to move to Zhending Prefecture and allocate 3 troops from the capital to strengthen the war preparations of Zhending Prefecture and Daming Prefecture, focusing on defense."
After a pause, he then ordered: "Local government offices should also pay attention to training the people to be strong, and at least conduct city defense drills. If there is a bandit army coming to attack, the local government must stand firm and wait for reinforcements. The bandits army cannot get any advantage, so they will We will not go further into the Gyeonggi region.”
His plan was to use the elite of the Beijing camp as a mobile force and station them at key locations.At the local level, militia groups are trained to mainly defend the city.With this combination, we can protect the capital to the greatest extent possible.If you only rely on the regular army, it will be impossible to defend such a large area!
The military strength is indeed tight. If the arrangement continues like this, the capital will only have [-] elite soldiers.
However, Zhou Yuji's 3 troops were guarding the north, preventing the enemy from breaking through the Great Wall. The Tumut tribe in northern Shanxi had been wiped out, leaving a buffer zone, and it was impossible for the enemy to come in from northern Shanxi. .Even if they come in, Datong and Xuanfu have always been important towns in the Ming Dynasty, and they cannot kill them casually.
On the southern side of Shanxi, combat readiness is slightly weaker. The defenders at Yanmen Pass have moved forward to deploy on the front line of defense in Taiyuan.If there is a warning signal, the elite troops from the Beijing camp in Zhending Prefecture can pass through the Guan Pass to provide reinforcements.
Judging from this deployment, it should be enough for the capital to retain [-] elite troops from the capital camp.
Based on this calculation, the maximum number of troops Emperor Chongzhen could bring to the south was only 5 troops.
The military affairs were almost finished. Emperor Chongzhen's expression became serious. He glanced at all the officials in the Wenhua Palace and said sternly: "The world is still in chaos and the people are in dire straits. This is the failure of the imperial court. Now I have pacified the capital." Land, when all the officials work together to maintain the hard-won situation. No matter where the people flee to the north, they are all my people and must be taken care of like family members. They must not be separated by life and death again and repeat the tragedy of the world. You may understand. ?”
"Wei Chen accepts the order!" Fan Jingwen and others responded in unison after hearing this, not daring to disobey.
Emperor Chongzhen stared at them and continued: "If I find that there are officials and gentry who only care about their own selfish interests and do not care about the life and death of others, they are not worthy of being appointed officials of the imperial court, and they are not worthy of being officials of their parents. Tell the world, please remember my will!"
After hearing this, Fan Jingwen and others had nothing to say, so they naturally responded: "Wei Chen accepts the order!"
Before Emperor Chongzhen finished, he warned them: "Winter is coming. In addition to food problems, there are also heating problems. The mining of charcoal must be increased, and private sales are not allowed. It should be controlled like food, and win over all people. We can all use pebbles, and we’ll talk about it after this winter and the production increases!”
Before the ministers below could speak, he ordered again like a nagging old father: "Also, remember that charcoal heating must be ventilated, and the waste gas from burning charcoal will be discharged through the chimney, otherwise it is very likely to Dead people. This is because there are harmful things in the charcoal exhaust gas, and people cannot inhale too much..."
The ancients actually realized that carbon monoxide kills people, but they didn't understand why.In fact, even in later generations, people still died of carbon monoxide poisoning. Emperor Chongzhen felt it was necessary to remind him, so as to show that he, the emperor, loved the people very much!
In addition, it is also laying out the layout.This will pave the way for him to get angry and do something for the sake of ordinary people.
Therefore, at this time, Emperor Chongzhen did not mind spending more words to create an image of an emperor who loved his people like a son!
Care was given in terms of food, clothing, housing and transportation.Of course, things are actually being done, not just words.
Fan Jingwen and others listened and wrote them down one by one, not daring to violate them.After all, this is justice!
The factory guards also deliberately spread the emperor's love for the people through their channels, which immediately made everyone in the capital express gratitude to them for having a good emperor.
In particular, the more than 1 family members of Kong Youde, Geng Zhongming and others were deeply touched and actively participated in praising the emperor's benevolence.
In mid-October of the 17th year of Chongzhen, Emperor Chongzhen announced that he would personally conquer the bandits in the south.
Prince Zhu Cixi still supervises the country and continues to implement a series of recuperation policies formulated by Emperor Chongzhen.
The troops under Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming, plus those with titles such as He Zan, Wei Shizhen, Liu Jiuqing, and Ning Long, totaled 5 troops. They accompanied Fan Jingwen, the chief assistant, to conquer the Shandong bandits, and were accompanied by a large number of civilian officials selected in the capital.
After these civil servants arrive in Shandong, they will take up their posts in the local area and do a good job in stabilizing local affairs.Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming will stay in Denglai and reopen the shipyards to attract a group of refugees to work in the shipbuilding industry chain.
Emperor Chongzhen himself took Huang Degong, Wu Sangui, Tang Tong, Gao Yigong, Li Laiheng, and Ma Ke who had recovered from their injuries in Xuanfu and others, with a total of 5 cavalry and [-] infantry, and a total of [-] horses heading south. .
The other generals led 3 troops to Baoding to join the governor of Baoding, and then went south to station in Zhending Mansion.
All of a sudden, the imperial court's elite Beijing camp continued to leave the capital and left in a mighty manner.
In the fields, the people who were still busy stopped to watch.
They didn't know the court's deployment, they just saw the emperor leading the army to the expedition.I already have enough confidence in the emperor's leadership to fight the war, so I can work with peace of mind without fear.
Emperor Chongzhen only brought the grain and grass for the road and went south along the canal. If there were ships to transport them, he could save a lot of effort.
From the capital to Tongzhou, then to Jinghai, to Hejian Prefecture and then to Shandong.Wherever the army passed, the governor of water transport, Zuo Maodi, followed him and immediately rearranged the water transport matters to ensure that the water transport could be used when it was needed.
Zuo Maodi was a Jinshi in the fourth year of Chongzhen. He then served as a county magistrate in Hancheng and made great achievements in governing the local area. Then he was promoted to the court. When he was in charge of household affairs, he wrote a letter stating that there were four disadvantages in the current situation: poverty of the people and war. Weak, ministers and workers shirk their duties, and the national economy is wasted.These four points are indeed relevant to current problems, but they cannot be solved at all if they are brought up again and again.
When he became the governor of water transportation in the 14th year of Chongzhen, he reported to Emperor Chongzhen: "I arrived at Linqing from Jinghai and saw three people died of hunger, three died of epidemics, and four were thieves. Twenty-four taels of rice, stone, and silver were taken from the dead. To eat. Only the Holy Ming will remember you."
The compassion for the world comes alive on the page.
In the original history, he was sent as an envoy to the capital occupied by the Manchus. Dorgon tried his best to make him surrender to the Manchus, but Dorgon was unmoved and compared himself with Su Wu.During his period of house arrest, a couplet reading "I was born a loyal minister of the Ming Dynasty and died a loyal ghost of the Ming Dynasty" was posted on the door.In the end, Dorgon had no choice but to take him to prison and torture him, but he remained unyielding. In the end, Zuo Maodi was killed and was known as "Wen Tianxiang in the late Ming Dynasty".
Emperor Chongzhen definitely wanted to use such a talent, so he called him back from the south and re-appointed him as the governor of water transportation.
The Governor of Water Transport was not just a freight forwarder. Especially in the late Ming Dynasty, during the troubled times, he had to lead troops to maintain the stability of the canal.Not only do you need to know the military, but you also need to know the civil affairs.How to ensure the smooth flow of the canal is a great test of the official's ability.
When Emperor Chongzhen led his troops south along the canal, they could first plow both sides of the canal.But the subsequent water transportation matters are also very important and cannot be done by ordinary people.Zuo Maodi had this talent and had experience as governor of water transportation. Therefore, Emperor Chongzhen did not hesitate to let Zuo Maodi serve as governor of water transportation again.
As we headed south along the canal, the further south we went, the more we saw more and more refugees fleeing north.
Regarding this, Zuo Maodi lamented to Emperor Chongzhen: "There is more food in the south and there is less famine. But the north is desolate, and if you are not careful, it will be famine. But now, people from the south are fleeing north, but they don't care. The worry about having less food in the winter in the north should be caused by military disasters rather than famine!"
We don’t know when the military disaster will come. It may be that you and I are in peace today, but suddenly the thieves come in the middle of the night. It’s good to steal property, but it’s not necessarily to kill people and set fires.Not many people can bear this kind of life of being on tenterhooks and not knowing what will happen next.
Although famine means starvation, because you have foresight, you have peace of mind. Whether you are planning for a rainy day or looking for food, in short, it is better than worrying about it every day, not knowing when your wife and children will be separated, and your family will be destroyed.
This means that war disaster is worse than famine.
Emperor Chongzhen certainly understood this truth. He sighed with emotion, and then said: "I cannot guarantee peace in the world, and I am really ashamed of the people. If I find that the officials and gentry are not kind to the people, I will definitely not spare him!" "
The emperor could not be guilty. After hearing this, Zuo Maodi quickly said: "It's all because of corrupt officials. Your Majesty loves the people like a son, and everyone knows it!"
In fact, Emperor Chongzhen had been deceived and issued several sin-self edicts, admitting that he had not done well.The emperor's authority has long been overturned by civil servants.
Without authority, who would take the emperor seriously?
It was also thanks to Emperor Chongzhen who led the troops to fight and won the battles, defeating powerful enemies one after another, that the emperor's authority was reestablished.This is the only way to reestablish authority.At this time, no one dared to say that the emperor was in trouble!
If the emperor really couldn't do it, how could the emperor turn the tide?Since the emperor himself has no problem, then the previous problems must have been caused by corrupt officials!
At this time, when Emperor Chongzhen heard Zuo Maodi's words, he just smiled slightly but said nothing. He pointed at the fields on both sides of the road with the hand holding the riding crop and said: "Since entering Lu Di, I have been observing why this place is here." The fields are all deserted and uncultivated?"
In the North Zhili region, the people are very enthusiastic. Even in the autumn and winter, they are still looking after the land, waiting for the next spring to save more labor or gain more fertility.
Emperor Chongzhen frowned and said: "If you want to talk about war and chaos, at least it should be okay here. Why don't you see people working? Whose fields are these?"
Zuo Maodi had been the governor of water transportation before, so he knew something about the situation on both sides of the canal.
At this time, upon hearing the emperor's words, he quickly said: "Your Majesty, these grain fields all belong to the Kong family in Qufu."
In order to deal with the Kong family, Emperor Chongzhen had already conducted an investigation, so he naturally knew about it. He deliberately raised it at this time, which was a prelude to dealing with the Kong family.
When he heard Zuo Maodi's words, he was deliberately surprised and said: "This is Dongchang Mansion. Isn't the Kong family in Qufu not in Dongchang Mansion?"
After hearing this, Zuo Maodi smiled bitterly and said: "Back to Your Majesty, the grain fields of the Confucius family in Qufu are not only in Qufu, nor just in Yanzhou Prefecture, but also in North Zhili, the entire Shandong, South Zhili, and Henan, and nearby Every province has grain fields owned by the Confucius family in Qufu."
"Oh?" Emperor Chongzhen heard this and pretended to hear it for the first time. He was very shocked and said: "The Kong family actually has so many grain fields. This is more than me!"
The emperor's grain fields, that is, the emperor's village, actually didn't have much.Legend has it that Prince Fu, who was cooked by Li Zicheng, was given so much grain fields by Wanli that the entire Henan Province was covered.In fact, it’s not true at all!
The land that the emperor could reward could only come from official land, and it was impossible to give away private land.Moreover, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty was a pig farmer. He had to obtain the approval of local officials even before he could go out of the city to worship his ancestors. How could he manage so many grain fields?
In fact, it was the rent collected from the grain fields, which was collected by the local officials, and then converted into silver and given to Prince Fu, which was about 2 taels a year, for the expenses of Prince Fu's palace.
Of course, King Fu also has other ways to make money, such as shops in the city, etc., which are not included.
Emperor Chongzhen knew this after reading Huang Renyu's works in later generations.If you want to say that the one with the most fields is the Kong family in Qufu!
Originally, there was no need to pay taxes on the sacrificial land allocated by the imperial court to the Confucius family in Qufu.But in the era when Chao Gang was corrupted, it was impossible to pay taxes on private land, not to mention sacrificial land.It’s just that the land annexation of the Kong family in Qufu caused countless losses to the court!
From all aspects, the Kong family in Qufu must be defeated.
However, it is not easy to overthrow the Kong family in Qufu in this era.
Emperor Chongzhen already has evidence in his hands that proves that the contemporary Yanshenggong flatters Li Zicheng. In the current context, if he wants to govern the contemporary Yanshenggong, it is estimated that there will be no objection from his officials.
However, what Emperor Chongzhen wanted to do was not to replace Yan Shenggong, but to overthrow the Confucius family in Qufu, which would be very difficult.
For civil servants, it is okay to replace Duke Yansheng, but it is not possible to abolish Duke Yansheng!
This is where the conflict lies.
Therefore, what Emperor Chongzhen wants to do is to make the entire Kong family in Qufu stink. Then he can say, look, I can't even change someone to be the Holy Duke Yan!
Only in this way can Duke Yansheng be abolished!
At this time, Zuo Maodi heard Emperor Chongzhen's emotion and had nothing to say.
Who allowed the Confucian family in Qufu to be passed down for thousands of years? Is it any wonder that they have so many fields?
While they were sighing, suddenly, there was a noise from the front, which even affected the march of the army, which surprised both Emperor Chongzhen and Zuo Maodi.
The imperial court did not have many ships in the north of the canal, so the ships were used to carry grain, grass, baggage and armor. The army marched along both sides of the canal on foot.The side where the trouble happened happened to be where Emperor Chongzhen was. He frowned and said to Fang Zhenghua who was accompanying him: "Send someone to see what's going on?"
Normally, ordinary people are afraid of the army, so they will stay away from the army when they see it coming.Not to mention, in the late Ming Dynasty, officers and soldiers were like bandits, and their military discipline was very poor, which made the people fear them like tigers.As the Beijing camp moved south, although Qiu made no mistakes and the troops were well organized, no one dared to collide with the army.
Therefore, Emperor Chongzhen was a little curious.
After a while, the team moved forward again, but the noise in front was still there, but it was moved to one side.
The captain of the Jinyi Guards who went to check on the order quickly came back and reported to Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, many common people knelt down when they saw there were female soldiers in the army. Many women, as well as their daughters and so on, The earth begged for shelter and stopped the march of the army.”
The main responsibility of Lanling Camp is to treat wounded soldiers, and then to play a certain propaganda role.This time while he was resting in the capital, Emperor Chongzhen ordered the Lanling Camp to expand and recruit female soldiers from the Jiaofang Division. Therefore, the Lanling Camp has been expanded to more than 600 people.
This time when we went south to fight, the Lanling Camp naturally took them with us.
They were all female soldiers, with heroic looks, and marched in a long queue, which was naturally very eye-catching.
After hearing the report, Emperor Chongzhen rode forward to see the situation.Zuo Maodi was naturally accompanying him, following behind him.
Not far ahead, I saw at least a hundred women kneeling.Behind them were their family members, who were also kneeling there.There are many people gathering here, including women, who are also kneeling.
Emperor Chongzhen discovered that these were all refugees who had fled north, bringing their families with them, and they all looked very haggard.
Liu Yulan, the commander of the Lanling camp, saw the emperor coming, so he hurried over and reported: "Your Majesty, they are all hungry. When they saw there were female soldiers in the army, they wanted to join the army and work as a stammer, so as to save some food for the family. However, those with yellow faces and skinny muscles like them couldn’t keep up with the team even if they stopped, so they all knelt down.”
Preferring boys over girls is naturally a normal phenomenon in this era.When these refugees fled north and found that there was not enough food, they would sell their daughters first.If there are female soldiers in the army, at least they have something to eat.It is not surprising that this situation occurs when there is no other way out.
Emperor Chongzhen went south to quell the rebellion, so naturally he would not raise a banner and tell the traitors that I was coming.Therefore, the people along the way did not know that this army was led by the emperor himself.
At this time, when they saw a man who looked like a general and seemed to be a bigger official, they wanted to rush to Emperor Chongzhen to ask for help.However, the emperor was not something that ordinary people could get close to, so they were immediately stopped by the imperial guards in imperial robes.
Emperor Chongzhen did not show up, but turned to look at Zuo Maodi, the governor of water transportation.
Zuo Maodi understood the idea and went over to persuade these people, saying that the emperor had arranged for them and told them what to do.
As for Emperor Chongzhen, of course he continued his march.
It is not realistic to take in these people.He went to fight, not to travel.And as long as this is started, there will be a steady stream of people placing their hopes on this army. In the end, I am afraid that there will not be enough food and grass for the march.
While Zuo Maodi was still behind, Emperor Chongzhen saw Li Laiheng returning from the front quickly. He suddenly felt something in his heart and knew that his arrangements were in order.
Sure enough, when Li Laiheng arrived in front of the emperor, he got off his horse and reported: "Your Majesty, everything has been arranged. You can see it after passing Dongchang Mansion."
After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen nodded slightly and said, "Well done!"
Seeing that he had no other orders, Li Laiheng turned back to his troops.
This matter must be done by Li Zicheng who surrendered, so that there will be less restraint and it can be done smoothly.
Qufu Kong family, just wait!
After a while, Zuo Maodi caught up with Emperor Chongzhen and said with some emotion: "The thieves in the south are more violent. Many places are fleeing and people are selling their sons and daughters. It's really... the people It’s bitter!”
He originally wanted to say that the people were in dire straits, but it didn't feel right, so he changed his words slightly to express what he saw.
Emperor Chongzhen nodded after hearing this, with a stern expression on his face, obviously feeling very unhappy.
Three days later, we passed Dongchang Mansion and continued southward along the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal.
Emperor Chongzhen "discovered" a strange phenomenon while walking, and immediately said to Zuo Maodi: "Did Zuo Qing notice? It seems that there are fewer people fleeing north."
Zuo Maodi also noticed it and was very surprised. He guessed: "Could it be that the thieves from the south have slowed down?"
From his perspective, he could see that the number of refugees fleeing north had not yet reached the peak he estimated.It should be that as time goes by, more and more people will flee north. Until the army led by the emperor appears in the south, and there is hope of quickly quelling the chaos, the people will not leave their homes and flee.
Or there is another possibility, that is, some forces stopped the people fleeing north.
After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen pretended not to know, and said happily: "It would be best if the rebellion in the south could be slowed down."
After entering the boundaries of Yanzhou Prefecture, the number of refugees heading north has further decreased. Even the dullest person can notice this.
But then, when the army arrived in the Anshan Lake area, Zuo Maodi found that more refugees were heading north, and many of them seemed to be very excited.
Emperor Chongzhen knew what was going on and asked immediately, "It seems a little strange. Come on, please send a few people over to ask about the situation."
As soon as he gave his order, the captain of the Imperial Guard went to stop some people from coming.There were probably three families or about ten people.Judging from their clothes and temperament, it seems that two of them are farmers and one is a scholar.
When they arrived in front of Emperor Chongzhen, they were all a little scared when they saw generals and high-ranking officials in scarlet robes.
Emperor Chongzhen naturally wanted to control the scene, because this was the trigger, so he heard him say: "You don't have to be afraid, we are the imperial army, the elite of the Beijing camp, we have defeated Li's army, and even killed several people." Wan Jianlu's. Have you ever seen any harassment of the common people?"
After hearing this, the three families looked at each other, and their faces turned better.
So, Emperor Chongzhen began to ask questions: "I saw a lot of people going north before, but there seem to be a lot less people this time. I don't know why. Do you know?"
Hearing this, one of them, who looked like a peasant woman, hesitated for a moment before speaking: "What else could it be? All the way here are the fields of the Kong family in Qufu. After they say that the Kong family in Qufu are saints, I always feel The good guys all went to Qufu to see if they could get some food."
After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen smiled and immediately took over the topic and said: "Yes, the Confucius family in Qufu is the successor of the sage Kong. They advocate etiquette, justice, integrity and shame, and are an example for the world..."
I heard him praising the Kong family in Qufu. This peasant woman must have a bad temper. She actually interrupted Emperor Chongzhen and said: "What a role model, they..."
When Fang Zhenghua heard this, he was immediately furious. He even said obscene words in front of the emperor, and immediately shouted: "Don't be so presumptuous, how can you allow it..."
The peasant woman was furious and spoke in her usual manner, but when Fang Zhenghua shouted, she was immediately frightened.
After all, Fang Zhenghua was a eunuch in the palace, he was in charge of the army, and he also followed the emperor in the north and south. Although he usually smiled and smiled, once he showed his power, he had such power that few people would not be frightened. .
When Emperor Chongzhen heard that Fang Zhenghua wanted to do something bad, he immediately became dissatisfied and said, "Are you ever so mean here?"
Although Fang Zhenghua was his personal eunuch, the less people knew about the Kong family's affairs, the better. Fang Zhenghua didn't even know that he had laid out the plans for the Kong family in Qufu.
When Fang Zhenghua heard the emperor's words, he was shocked and quickly retreated.
Then Emperor Chongzhen smiled and said to the peasant woman: "Don't be afraid, tell us what you know, and give us a bag of rice as reward!"
After he finished speaking, he signaled that the captain of the Imperial Guard went to fetch a small bag of rice.
When the peasant woman saw it, she immediately ignored Sanqi21 and immediately said, "After we heard about it, we also went to Qufu and wanted to ask for something to eat. But we didn't expect that those Kong people were really useless and wouldn't give us anything to eat." Forget it, they beat us and told us to get out. I was beaten by them..."
Having said this, he also pulled a little boy hiding behind him, turned his left face to the side so that Emperor Chongzhen could see it, and said angrily: "Look, even children are beaten, this face It’s been two days and the mark is still there!”
When Emperor Chongzhen heard this, he pretended not to believe it and said, "Isn't it possible? This must have been done by someone in the Kong family?"
When he said this, he also glanced at Zuo Maodi, who was standing silently behind him.
Zuo Mao's first face was solemn, as if he had thought of something.
Emperor Chongzhen didn't care about him. He turned back and looked at the three families in front of him.
When the peasant woman heard that he didn't seem to believe it, she immediately said angrily: "How could it be someone from the Kong family? They all blocked the road, blocked it with a bunch of people, and beat anyone who dared to go; then many of us also thought It’s only a small number of people who do this. Real saints are definitely not like this. They don’t go to Qufu through official channels. As a result, people from the Confucius family are everywhere. They don’t let people go to Qufu, and they fight when they go..."
At this point, she pointed at the other two families and said, "If you don't believe it, ask them two and see. They all have injuries on their bodies. They are covered in mud. They must have been pushed into the ditch, right?"
Seeing her accusing the Kong family in Qufu, the generals and officials in front of her were not embarrassed. Another farmer also followed suit, proving that the Kong family in Qufu went out collectively to intercept her everywhere and prevent people from going to Qufu.
The scholar in that family didn't complain, but just sighed.
Emperor Chongzhen became angry after hearing this. He immediately turned to look at Zuo Maodi and said, "I didn't expect that the Kong family in Qufu would be such a person?"
Zuo Maodi was a little silent, and after thinking for a moment he replied: "Perhaps there is something unspeakable?"
In fact, he guessed right. The Confucius family in Qufu really had something unspeakable.
A large number of refugees are going to Qufu. Even if they went to beg for food in peacetime, the Kong family in Qufu would not be able to release food for disaster relief, let alone in this time of war and chaos!
In addition, Li Zicheng led an army to visit the Kong family in Qufu once. Although he did not kill anyone, he also took away a lot of food and grass with stolen goods, which greatly reduced the savings of the Kong family in Qufu.In this way, it will be more difficult for the Kong family in Qufu to provide food for disaster relief.
Moreover, when Li Zicheng's army was at the Kong family in Qufu, they discovered that the Kong family had hidden food wealth, so later on, they searched house to house.Again, although no one was killed, every family named Kong in Qufu was inevitably angry.
However, they did not dare to do anything to Li's army, they could only hold back their anger.
When the refugees went to Qufu, the Kong family vented their anger.If you can’t cure the bandits, how can you cure the refugees?
If you want to come to Qufu to grab food, no way!
Of course, at the beginning, they might just stop people, telling them that there was no food, and asking them not to go, but they couldn't handle the steady stream of refugees who went to Qufu, which consumed the little patience that the Kong family had. Naturally, Punches and kicks were given.
However, Emperor Chongzhen didn't care about this background, because he asked Li Laiheng to create this situation.Guide the refugees to know that the grain fields of the Kong family in Qufu stretch across several provinces. How can they run out of grain?Moreover, as a saint, he pays attention to benevolence, justice, propriety, wisdom, trustworthiness, propriety, righteousness, integrity, and is an example for the world. He will definitely provide disaster relief, right?
Based on this logic, when the refugees heard about it, they naturally rushed to Qufu.As long as there is a glimmer of hope, it is possible for them to survive.
At this time, I heard Emperor Chongzhen say with hatred: "The fields everywhere are the fields of the Confucius family. How can the Confucius family have less food? They enjoy the favor of the court and are granted the title of Holy Duke, but they do not want to serve the country and are in danger. How can we serve as an example to the world if we always work together in the same boat and forget the teachings of our ancestors? This is how we treat the suffering people like Confucius..."
Facing his questioning, Zuo Maodi was speechless. At least based on what he knew so far, it was indeed difficult to explain.
When Emperor Chongzhen saw him like this, he shouted sternly: "Come here, go find out and report!"
"My slave obeys the order!" Fang Zhenghua, who had been reprimanded, did not dare to neglect at this time. He quickly agreed and then immediately directed some people to verify it.
The three families nearby were very angry when they saw the general, especially the peasant woman, who was very happy. Finally, someone could stand up for them.However, the scholar next to him was frightened.
He was naturally more knowledgeable than the two farmers. He was surprised when he saw that the high-ranking official in the scarlet robe was only standing one step behind the general. When he saw the posture, it was the general who took the lead.
When Fang Zhenghua spoke, he heard that the voice was different and seemed to be that of a eunuch. However, he had never seen a real eunuch and was not sure yet.
But later, Fang Zhenghua said, "I obey the order," and everything was clarified for him.
There is nothing else but one possibility, that is, the person dressed as a general in front of him is actually the current emperor!
The story that the emperor personally led the troops to fight with unparalleled bravery had already spread to the south of the Yangtze River.In the same way, they realized that the north was at peace, so they fled to the north.
But the key point is that in the legend, the emperor rode alone to overcome the barrier, and also challenged the slave chiefs alone in front of the battle. In their imagination, he should be a big northern man with a heavy back and a strong waist, very powerful, and very powerful at first sight. kind of.
But Emperor Chongzhen didn't actually have such a figure, so he couldn't immediately think of it.
Now that Fang Zhenghua calls himself a "servant" and "obeys the decree", it is certain that the emperor has not escaped.
So, his knees weakened, and he immediately led his family to kneel down and kowtow: "The common people pay homage to our emperor, long live, long live, long live!"
Others were a little dumbfounded and confused when they heard it.
It sounds like the person in front of them is the emperor, but they never dreamed that one day they would be face to face with the emperor and even have a conversation!
When Emperor Chongzhen saw this scene, he smiled and said: "I will lead the troops south to quell the chaos, so please don't make any noise. I will make the decision for you regarding the affairs of the Kong family in Qufu!"
Hearing this, the peasant woman was dumbfounded. It turned out that the person she was talking to just now was actually the current emperor!
(End of this chapter)
As far as Fan Jingwen knew, the emperor brought 16 troops to the capital camp, but left more than 3 troops on the front line of Jizhen to defend against the barbarians in the north, guarded by Marquis Zhongyong. On the capital side, there were only 13 troops, and more troops arrived one after another. Tang Tong, Huang Degong and other troops probably had about 14 troops.
If he goes to clear Shandong and takes away 5 troops, the capital will only have [-] troops.
It's impossible for the capital to have no troops left to guard it. How many troops can the emperor bring with him after this?
To be honest, if Li Thief's army and Zuo Liangyu's rebel army unite, they have 60 million troops. Even if the emperor brings all the troops, at least he will suffer a big loss in terms of military strength!
He was calculating in his mind, but he heard Emperor Chongzhen say calmly: "You don't need to postpone the time of the expedition. The sooner we can arrange for the people who are going north, the sooner they will be separated from each other due to hunger and cold! I will go south to quell the rebellion, and I will only bring 5 people with me." Ten thousand people and horses are enough.”
When he heard this, Fan Jingwen was shocked and said quickly: "Your Majesty, although soldiers are expensive and not expensive, once there are enough soldiers, they still have a great advantage. And on the battlefield, there is no absolute certainty of victory or defeat. Your Majesty is determined." Don’t be careless, it’s better to bring more elite soldiers!”
Other ministers of the cabinet, six ministers, and even the Supervisor of Ceremonies also began to admonish him.Never before had the ministers behaved so unanimously. They were really worried that the emperor would become arrogant after leading his troops to win a few battles. If he lost, the good situation they had just had would fall apart again.
Suddenly, the Wenhua Hall was filled with voices of admonishment.
Their persuasion was all well-founded, and they even quoted historical examples of arrogant soldiers who were bound to be defeated, and they were just short of saying plainly, Emperor, you are in trouble!
Emperor Chongzhen knew that they were doing it for his own good, but he still interrupted the advice of his ministers, and then asked seriously: "If I lead more men and horses south, where will the food and grass needed for the army come from? Will it be enough for me?"
Upon hearing this, Fan Jingwen and others were speechless.
Food issues have always been a serious problem.Why did Fan Jingwen lead the troops to quell the chaos in Shandong? It was to have a place to resettle refugees and solve part of the food problem.
The capital also has to implement food control, also because there is not enough food.
If the army wants to fight, the food must be freely eaten. If it is not full, it will definitely not be able to fight. The more troops there are, the more food will be consumed.For now, the Gyeonggi area simply cannot withstand a large-scale military expedition!
Seeing that all the ministers below were silent, Emperor Chongzhen was not done yet and continued: "If we really take away all the troops to suppress the rebellion, what if the bandits take advantage of me to lead the troops south and come to the capital again? What should we do if the Gyeonggi area, which has rarely regained peace, is in trouble again?"
Many officials in the Wenhua Hall were speechless again after hearing this.
The reason why the bandit army is suppressing more and more people is because they are causing harm to the place.At least at the beginning, it was very easy for the imperial officers and soldiers to defeat the bandits. However, they could not resist the bandits and the imperial officers and soldiers played hide and seek. After A was pacified, the bandits harmed area B. The imperial officers and soldiers rushed to area B. The rogue thieves went to bring disaster to Land A again, which ultimately led to the devastation of people's livelihood everywhere and the people's livelihood was in dire straits!
The land of Gyeonggi has finally come to peace, and it is a time when everything is in ruins. When we are rebuilding our homeland, if the bandits come again to cause trouble, we will really want to die. It is simply impossible to have peace in the world. Something happened!
Seeing that they were silent, Emperor Chongzhen said seriously: "Therefore, I will lead the troops south to open up water transportation, but a certain amount of troops must be left in the capital to prevent bandits from coming and leaving as they please. It has brought disaster to the capital city again."
Having said this, he looked at Fan Jingwen and said: "You should lead the troops to pacify Shandong quickly, and then you can lead the troops westward and station troops on the front line of Daming Prefecture to guard the gates of the capital and threaten the flow of rivers in Henan. The thieves' territory. Before that, Zhending Prefecture must be defended, and heavy troops must be stationed to support Daming Prefecture and the central Shanxi region to prevent further chaos in the Jin Dynasty. By going south along the canal, I can clear up a safe water transportation The river can transport food and supplies to the north. I have brought 5 horses, and I have brought as many as possible!"
The southernmost prefecture of Beizhili is Daming Prefecture, which grows into a strip between Henan and Shandong, and is very close to Kaifeng Prefecture in Henan.Today's Henan area, including parts of southern Shanxi, belongs to Li Zicheng's sphere of influence.Therefore, Emperor Chongzhen had this explanation.
At this time, after hearing Emperor Chongzhen's analysis, Fan Jingwen suddenly felt that the burden on his shoulders was also heavy, and immediately said seriously: "Wei Chen must settle down in Shandong as soon as possible, and then return to the Normal University to station along the Daming Mansion to prevent The bandit army rushed into the capital area again."
After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen nodded and said: "Instruct Shao Zongyuan, Governor of Baoding, to move to Zhending Prefecture and allocate 3 troops from the capital to strengthen the war preparations of Zhending Prefecture and Daming Prefecture, focusing on defense."
After a pause, he then ordered: "Local government offices should also pay attention to training the people to be strong, and at least conduct city defense drills. If there is a bandit army coming to attack, the local government must stand firm and wait for reinforcements. The bandits army cannot get any advantage, so they will We will not go further into the Gyeonggi region.”
His plan was to use the elite of the Beijing camp as a mobile force and station them at key locations.At the local level, militia groups are trained to mainly defend the city.With this combination, we can protect the capital to the greatest extent possible.If you only rely on the regular army, it will be impossible to defend such a large area!
The military strength is indeed tight. If the arrangement continues like this, the capital will only have [-] elite soldiers.
However, Zhou Yuji's 3 troops were guarding the north, preventing the enemy from breaking through the Great Wall. The Tumut tribe in northern Shanxi had been wiped out, leaving a buffer zone, and it was impossible for the enemy to come in from northern Shanxi. .Even if they come in, Datong and Xuanfu have always been important towns in the Ming Dynasty, and they cannot kill them casually.
On the southern side of Shanxi, combat readiness is slightly weaker. The defenders at Yanmen Pass have moved forward to deploy on the front line of defense in Taiyuan.If there is a warning signal, the elite troops from the Beijing camp in Zhending Prefecture can pass through the Guan Pass to provide reinforcements.
Judging from this deployment, it should be enough for the capital to retain [-] elite troops from the capital camp.
Based on this calculation, the maximum number of troops Emperor Chongzhen could bring to the south was only 5 troops.
The military affairs were almost finished. Emperor Chongzhen's expression became serious. He glanced at all the officials in the Wenhua Palace and said sternly: "The world is still in chaos and the people are in dire straits. This is the failure of the imperial court. Now I have pacified the capital." Land, when all the officials work together to maintain the hard-won situation. No matter where the people flee to the north, they are all my people and must be taken care of like family members. They must not be separated by life and death again and repeat the tragedy of the world. You may understand. ?”
"Wei Chen accepts the order!" Fan Jingwen and others responded in unison after hearing this, not daring to disobey.
Emperor Chongzhen stared at them and continued: "If I find that there are officials and gentry who only care about their own selfish interests and do not care about the life and death of others, they are not worthy of being appointed officials of the imperial court, and they are not worthy of being officials of their parents. Tell the world, please remember my will!"
After hearing this, Fan Jingwen and others had nothing to say, so they naturally responded: "Wei Chen accepts the order!"
Before Emperor Chongzhen finished, he warned them: "Winter is coming. In addition to food problems, there are also heating problems. The mining of charcoal must be increased, and private sales are not allowed. It should be controlled like food, and win over all people. We can all use pebbles, and we’ll talk about it after this winter and the production increases!”
Before the ministers below could speak, he ordered again like a nagging old father: "Also, remember that charcoal heating must be ventilated, and the waste gas from burning charcoal will be discharged through the chimney, otherwise it is very likely to Dead people. This is because there are harmful things in the charcoal exhaust gas, and people cannot inhale too much..."
The ancients actually realized that carbon monoxide kills people, but they didn't understand why.In fact, even in later generations, people still died of carbon monoxide poisoning. Emperor Chongzhen felt it was necessary to remind him, so as to show that he, the emperor, loved the people very much!
In addition, it is also laying out the layout.This will pave the way for him to get angry and do something for the sake of ordinary people.
Therefore, at this time, Emperor Chongzhen did not mind spending more words to create an image of an emperor who loved his people like a son!
Care was given in terms of food, clothing, housing and transportation.Of course, things are actually being done, not just words.
Fan Jingwen and others listened and wrote them down one by one, not daring to violate them.After all, this is justice!
The factory guards also deliberately spread the emperor's love for the people through their channels, which immediately made everyone in the capital express gratitude to them for having a good emperor.
In particular, the more than 1 family members of Kong Youde, Geng Zhongming and others were deeply touched and actively participated in praising the emperor's benevolence.
In mid-October of the 17th year of Chongzhen, Emperor Chongzhen announced that he would personally conquer the bandits in the south.
Prince Zhu Cixi still supervises the country and continues to implement a series of recuperation policies formulated by Emperor Chongzhen.
The troops under Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming, plus those with titles such as He Zan, Wei Shizhen, Liu Jiuqing, and Ning Long, totaled 5 troops. They accompanied Fan Jingwen, the chief assistant, to conquer the Shandong bandits, and were accompanied by a large number of civilian officials selected in the capital.
After these civil servants arrive in Shandong, they will take up their posts in the local area and do a good job in stabilizing local affairs.Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming will stay in Denglai and reopen the shipyards to attract a group of refugees to work in the shipbuilding industry chain.
Emperor Chongzhen himself took Huang Degong, Wu Sangui, Tang Tong, Gao Yigong, Li Laiheng, and Ma Ke who had recovered from their injuries in Xuanfu and others, with a total of 5 cavalry and [-] infantry, and a total of [-] horses heading south. .
The other generals led 3 troops to Baoding to join the governor of Baoding, and then went south to station in Zhending Mansion.
All of a sudden, the imperial court's elite Beijing camp continued to leave the capital and left in a mighty manner.
In the fields, the people who were still busy stopped to watch.
They didn't know the court's deployment, they just saw the emperor leading the army to the expedition.I already have enough confidence in the emperor's leadership to fight the war, so I can work with peace of mind without fear.
Emperor Chongzhen only brought the grain and grass for the road and went south along the canal. If there were ships to transport them, he could save a lot of effort.
From the capital to Tongzhou, then to Jinghai, to Hejian Prefecture and then to Shandong.Wherever the army passed, the governor of water transport, Zuo Maodi, followed him and immediately rearranged the water transport matters to ensure that the water transport could be used when it was needed.
Zuo Maodi was a Jinshi in the fourth year of Chongzhen. He then served as a county magistrate in Hancheng and made great achievements in governing the local area. Then he was promoted to the court. When he was in charge of household affairs, he wrote a letter stating that there were four disadvantages in the current situation: poverty of the people and war. Weak, ministers and workers shirk their duties, and the national economy is wasted.These four points are indeed relevant to current problems, but they cannot be solved at all if they are brought up again and again.
When he became the governor of water transportation in the 14th year of Chongzhen, he reported to Emperor Chongzhen: "I arrived at Linqing from Jinghai and saw three people died of hunger, three died of epidemics, and four were thieves. Twenty-four taels of rice, stone, and silver were taken from the dead. To eat. Only the Holy Ming will remember you."
The compassion for the world comes alive on the page.
In the original history, he was sent as an envoy to the capital occupied by the Manchus. Dorgon tried his best to make him surrender to the Manchus, but Dorgon was unmoved and compared himself with Su Wu.During his period of house arrest, a couplet reading "I was born a loyal minister of the Ming Dynasty and died a loyal ghost of the Ming Dynasty" was posted on the door.In the end, Dorgon had no choice but to take him to prison and torture him, but he remained unyielding. In the end, Zuo Maodi was killed and was known as "Wen Tianxiang in the late Ming Dynasty".
Emperor Chongzhen definitely wanted to use such a talent, so he called him back from the south and re-appointed him as the governor of water transportation.
The Governor of Water Transport was not just a freight forwarder. Especially in the late Ming Dynasty, during the troubled times, he had to lead troops to maintain the stability of the canal.Not only do you need to know the military, but you also need to know the civil affairs.How to ensure the smooth flow of the canal is a great test of the official's ability.
When Emperor Chongzhen led his troops south along the canal, they could first plow both sides of the canal.But the subsequent water transportation matters are also very important and cannot be done by ordinary people.Zuo Maodi had this talent and had experience as governor of water transportation. Therefore, Emperor Chongzhen did not hesitate to let Zuo Maodi serve as governor of water transportation again.
As we headed south along the canal, the further south we went, the more we saw more and more refugees fleeing north.
Regarding this, Zuo Maodi lamented to Emperor Chongzhen: "There is more food in the south and there is less famine. But the north is desolate, and if you are not careful, it will be famine. But now, people from the south are fleeing north, but they don't care. The worry about having less food in the winter in the north should be caused by military disasters rather than famine!"
We don’t know when the military disaster will come. It may be that you and I are in peace today, but suddenly the thieves come in the middle of the night. It’s good to steal property, but it’s not necessarily to kill people and set fires.Not many people can bear this kind of life of being on tenterhooks and not knowing what will happen next.
Although famine means starvation, because you have foresight, you have peace of mind. Whether you are planning for a rainy day or looking for food, in short, it is better than worrying about it every day, not knowing when your wife and children will be separated, and your family will be destroyed.
This means that war disaster is worse than famine.
Emperor Chongzhen certainly understood this truth. He sighed with emotion, and then said: "I cannot guarantee peace in the world, and I am really ashamed of the people. If I find that the officials and gentry are not kind to the people, I will definitely not spare him!" "
The emperor could not be guilty. After hearing this, Zuo Maodi quickly said: "It's all because of corrupt officials. Your Majesty loves the people like a son, and everyone knows it!"
In fact, Emperor Chongzhen had been deceived and issued several sin-self edicts, admitting that he had not done well.The emperor's authority has long been overturned by civil servants.
Without authority, who would take the emperor seriously?
It was also thanks to Emperor Chongzhen who led the troops to fight and won the battles, defeating powerful enemies one after another, that the emperor's authority was reestablished.This is the only way to reestablish authority.At this time, no one dared to say that the emperor was in trouble!
If the emperor really couldn't do it, how could the emperor turn the tide?Since the emperor himself has no problem, then the previous problems must have been caused by corrupt officials!
At this time, when Emperor Chongzhen heard Zuo Maodi's words, he just smiled slightly but said nothing. He pointed at the fields on both sides of the road with the hand holding the riding crop and said: "Since entering Lu Di, I have been observing why this place is here." The fields are all deserted and uncultivated?"
In the North Zhili region, the people are very enthusiastic. Even in the autumn and winter, they are still looking after the land, waiting for the next spring to save more labor or gain more fertility.
Emperor Chongzhen frowned and said: "If you want to talk about war and chaos, at least it should be okay here. Why don't you see people working? Whose fields are these?"
Zuo Maodi had been the governor of water transportation before, so he knew something about the situation on both sides of the canal.
At this time, upon hearing the emperor's words, he quickly said: "Your Majesty, these grain fields all belong to the Kong family in Qufu."
In order to deal with the Kong family, Emperor Chongzhen had already conducted an investigation, so he naturally knew about it. He deliberately raised it at this time, which was a prelude to dealing with the Kong family.
When he heard Zuo Maodi's words, he was deliberately surprised and said: "This is Dongchang Mansion. Isn't the Kong family in Qufu not in Dongchang Mansion?"
After hearing this, Zuo Maodi smiled bitterly and said: "Back to Your Majesty, the grain fields of the Confucius family in Qufu are not only in Qufu, nor just in Yanzhou Prefecture, but also in North Zhili, the entire Shandong, South Zhili, and Henan, and nearby Every province has grain fields owned by the Confucius family in Qufu."
"Oh?" Emperor Chongzhen heard this and pretended to hear it for the first time. He was very shocked and said: "The Kong family actually has so many grain fields. This is more than me!"
The emperor's grain fields, that is, the emperor's village, actually didn't have much.Legend has it that Prince Fu, who was cooked by Li Zicheng, was given so much grain fields by Wanli that the entire Henan Province was covered.In fact, it’s not true at all!
The land that the emperor could reward could only come from official land, and it was impossible to give away private land.Moreover, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty was a pig farmer. He had to obtain the approval of local officials even before he could go out of the city to worship his ancestors. How could he manage so many grain fields?
In fact, it was the rent collected from the grain fields, which was collected by the local officials, and then converted into silver and given to Prince Fu, which was about 2 taels a year, for the expenses of Prince Fu's palace.
Of course, King Fu also has other ways to make money, such as shops in the city, etc., which are not included.
Emperor Chongzhen knew this after reading Huang Renyu's works in later generations.If you want to say that the one with the most fields is the Kong family in Qufu!
Originally, there was no need to pay taxes on the sacrificial land allocated by the imperial court to the Confucius family in Qufu.But in the era when Chao Gang was corrupted, it was impossible to pay taxes on private land, not to mention sacrificial land.It’s just that the land annexation of the Kong family in Qufu caused countless losses to the court!
From all aspects, the Kong family in Qufu must be defeated.
However, it is not easy to overthrow the Kong family in Qufu in this era.
Emperor Chongzhen already has evidence in his hands that proves that the contemporary Yanshenggong flatters Li Zicheng. In the current context, if he wants to govern the contemporary Yanshenggong, it is estimated that there will be no objection from his officials.
However, what Emperor Chongzhen wanted to do was not to replace Yan Shenggong, but to overthrow the Confucius family in Qufu, which would be very difficult.
For civil servants, it is okay to replace Duke Yansheng, but it is not possible to abolish Duke Yansheng!
This is where the conflict lies.
Therefore, what Emperor Chongzhen wants to do is to make the entire Kong family in Qufu stink. Then he can say, look, I can't even change someone to be the Holy Duke Yan!
Only in this way can Duke Yansheng be abolished!
At this time, Zuo Maodi heard Emperor Chongzhen's emotion and had nothing to say.
Who allowed the Confucian family in Qufu to be passed down for thousands of years? Is it any wonder that they have so many fields?
While they were sighing, suddenly, there was a noise from the front, which even affected the march of the army, which surprised both Emperor Chongzhen and Zuo Maodi.
The imperial court did not have many ships in the north of the canal, so the ships were used to carry grain, grass, baggage and armor. The army marched along both sides of the canal on foot.The side where the trouble happened happened to be where Emperor Chongzhen was. He frowned and said to Fang Zhenghua who was accompanying him: "Send someone to see what's going on?"
Normally, ordinary people are afraid of the army, so they will stay away from the army when they see it coming.Not to mention, in the late Ming Dynasty, officers and soldiers were like bandits, and their military discipline was very poor, which made the people fear them like tigers.As the Beijing camp moved south, although Qiu made no mistakes and the troops were well organized, no one dared to collide with the army.
Therefore, Emperor Chongzhen was a little curious.
After a while, the team moved forward again, but the noise in front was still there, but it was moved to one side.
The captain of the Jinyi Guards who went to check on the order quickly came back and reported to Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, many common people knelt down when they saw there were female soldiers in the army. Many women, as well as their daughters and so on, The earth begged for shelter and stopped the march of the army.”
The main responsibility of Lanling Camp is to treat wounded soldiers, and then to play a certain propaganda role.This time while he was resting in the capital, Emperor Chongzhen ordered the Lanling Camp to expand and recruit female soldiers from the Jiaofang Division. Therefore, the Lanling Camp has been expanded to more than 600 people.
This time when we went south to fight, the Lanling Camp naturally took them with us.
They were all female soldiers, with heroic looks, and marched in a long queue, which was naturally very eye-catching.
After hearing the report, Emperor Chongzhen rode forward to see the situation.Zuo Maodi was naturally accompanying him, following behind him.
Not far ahead, I saw at least a hundred women kneeling.Behind them were their family members, who were also kneeling there.There are many people gathering here, including women, who are also kneeling.
Emperor Chongzhen discovered that these were all refugees who had fled north, bringing their families with them, and they all looked very haggard.
Liu Yulan, the commander of the Lanling camp, saw the emperor coming, so he hurried over and reported: "Your Majesty, they are all hungry. When they saw there were female soldiers in the army, they wanted to join the army and work as a stammer, so as to save some food for the family. However, those with yellow faces and skinny muscles like them couldn’t keep up with the team even if they stopped, so they all knelt down.”
Preferring boys over girls is naturally a normal phenomenon in this era.When these refugees fled north and found that there was not enough food, they would sell their daughters first.If there are female soldiers in the army, at least they have something to eat.It is not surprising that this situation occurs when there is no other way out.
Emperor Chongzhen went south to quell the rebellion, so naturally he would not raise a banner and tell the traitors that I was coming.Therefore, the people along the way did not know that this army was led by the emperor himself.
At this time, when they saw a man who looked like a general and seemed to be a bigger official, they wanted to rush to Emperor Chongzhen to ask for help.However, the emperor was not something that ordinary people could get close to, so they were immediately stopped by the imperial guards in imperial robes.
Emperor Chongzhen did not show up, but turned to look at Zuo Maodi, the governor of water transportation.
Zuo Maodi understood the idea and went over to persuade these people, saying that the emperor had arranged for them and told them what to do.
As for Emperor Chongzhen, of course he continued his march.
It is not realistic to take in these people.He went to fight, not to travel.And as long as this is started, there will be a steady stream of people placing their hopes on this army. In the end, I am afraid that there will not be enough food and grass for the march.
While Zuo Maodi was still behind, Emperor Chongzhen saw Li Laiheng returning from the front quickly. He suddenly felt something in his heart and knew that his arrangements were in order.
Sure enough, when Li Laiheng arrived in front of the emperor, he got off his horse and reported: "Your Majesty, everything has been arranged. You can see it after passing Dongchang Mansion."
After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen nodded slightly and said, "Well done!"
Seeing that he had no other orders, Li Laiheng turned back to his troops.
This matter must be done by Li Zicheng who surrendered, so that there will be less restraint and it can be done smoothly.
Qufu Kong family, just wait!
After a while, Zuo Maodi caught up with Emperor Chongzhen and said with some emotion: "The thieves in the south are more violent. Many places are fleeing and people are selling their sons and daughters. It's really... the people It’s bitter!”
He originally wanted to say that the people were in dire straits, but it didn't feel right, so he changed his words slightly to express what he saw.
Emperor Chongzhen nodded after hearing this, with a stern expression on his face, obviously feeling very unhappy.
Three days later, we passed Dongchang Mansion and continued southward along the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal.
Emperor Chongzhen "discovered" a strange phenomenon while walking, and immediately said to Zuo Maodi: "Did Zuo Qing notice? It seems that there are fewer people fleeing north."
Zuo Maodi also noticed it and was very surprised. He guessed: "Could it be that the thieves from the south have slowed down?"
From his perspective, he could see that the number of refugees fleeing north had not yet reached the peak he estimated.It should be that as time goes by, more and more people will flee north. Until the army led by the emperor appears in the south, and there is hope of quickly quelling the chaos, the people will not leave their homes and flee.
Or there is another possibility, that is, some forces stopped the people fleeing north.
After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen pretended not to know, and said happily: "It would be best if the rebellion in the south could be slowed down."
After entering the boundaries of Yanzhou Prefecture, the number of refugees heading north has further decreased. Even the dullest person can notice this.
But then, when the army arrived in the Anshan Lake area, Zuo Maodi found that more refugees were heading north, and many of them seemed to be very excited.
Emperor Chongzhen knew what was going on and asked immediately, "It seems a little strange. Come on, please send a few people over to ask about the situation."
As soon as he gave his order, the captain of the Imperial Guard went to stop some people from coming.There were probably three families or about ten people.Judging from their clothes and temperament, it seems that two of them are farmers and one is a scholar.
When they arrived in front of Emperor Chongzhen, they were all a little scared when they saw generals and high-ranking officials in scarlet robes.
Emperor Chongzhen naturally wanted to control the scene, because this was the trigger, so he heard him say: "You don't have to be afraid, we are the imperial army, the elite of the Beijing camp, we have defeated Li's army, and even killed several people." Wan Jianlu's. Have you ever seen any harassment of the common people?"
After hearing this, the three families looked at each other, and their faces turned better.
So, Emperor Chongzhen began to ask questions: "I saw a lot of people going north before, but there seem to be a lot less people this time. I don't know why. Do you know?"
Hearing this, one of them, who looked like a peasant woman, hesitated for a moment before speaking: "What else could it be? All the way here are the fields of the Kong family in Qufu. After they say that the Kong family in Qufu are saints, I always feel The good guys all went to Qufu to see if they could get some food."
After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen smiled and immediately took over the topic and said: "Yes, the Confucius family in Qufu is the successor of the sage Kong. They advocate etiquette, justice, integrity and shame, and are an example for the world..."
I heard him praising the Kong family in Qufu. This peasant woman must have a bad temper. She actually interrupted Emperor Chongzhen and said: "What a role model, they..."
When Fang Zhenghua heard this, he was immediately furious. He even said obscene words in front of the emperor, and immediately shouted: "Don't be so presumptuous, how can you allow it..."
The peasant woman was furious and spoke in her usual manner, but when Fang Zhenghua shouted, she was immediately frightened.
After all, Fang Zhenghua was a eunuch in the palace, he was in charge of the army, and he also followed the emperor in the north and south. Although he usually smiled and smiled, once he showed his power, he had such power that few people would not be frightened. .
When Emperor Chongzhen heard that Fang Zhenghua wanted to do something bad, he immediately became dissatisfied and said, "Are you ever so mean here?"
Although Fang Zhenghua was his personal eunuch, the less people knew about the Kong family's affairs, the better. Fang Zhenghua didn't even know that he had laid out the plans for the Kong family in Qufu.
When Fang Zhenghua heard the emperor's words, he was shocked and quickly retreated.
Then Emperor Chongzhen smiled and said to the peasant woman: "Don't be afraid, tell us what you know, and give us a bag of rice as reward!"
After he finished speaking, he signaled that the captain of the Imperial Guard went to fetch a small bag of rice.
When the peasant woman saw it, she immediately ignored Sanqi21 and immediately said, "After we heard about it, we also went to Qufu and wanted to ask for something to eat. But we didn't expect that those Kong people were really useless and wouldn't give us anything to eat." Forget it, they beat us and told us to get out. I was beaten by them..."
Having said this, he also pulled a little boy hiding behind him, turned his left face to the side so that Emperor Chongzhen could see it, and said angrily: "Look, even children are beaten, this face It’s been two days and the mark is still there!”
When Emperor Chongzhen heard this, he pretended not to believe it and said, "Isn't it possible? This must have been done by someone in the Kong family?"
When he said this, he also glanced at Zuo Maodi, who was standing silently behind him.
Zuo Mao's first face was solemn, as if he had thought of something.
Emperor Chongzhen didn't care about him. He turned back and looked at the three families in front of him.
When the peasant woman heard that he didn't seem to believe it, she immediately said angrily: "How could it be someone from the Kong family? They all blocked the road, blocked it with a bunch of people, and beat anyone who dared to go; then many of us also thought It’s only a small number of people who do this. Real saints are definitely not like this. They don’t go to Qufu through official channels. As a result, people from the Confucius family are everywhere. They don’t let people go to Qufu, and they fight when they go..."
At this point, she pointed at the other two families and said, "If you don't believe it, ask them two and see. They all have injuries on their bodies. They are covered in mud. They must have been pushed into the ditch, right?"
Seeing her accusing the Kong family in Qufu, the generals and officials in front of her were not embarrassed. Another farmer also followed suit, proving that the Kong family in Qufu went out collectively to intercept her everywhere and prevent people from going to Qufu.
The scholar in that family didn't complain, but just sighed.
Emperor Chongzhen became angry after hearing this. He immediately turned to look at Zuo Maodi and said, "I didn't expect that the Kong family in Qufu would be such a person?"
Zuo Maodi was a little silent, and after thinking for a moment he replied: "Perhaps there is something unspeakable?"
In fact, he guessed right. The Confucius family in Qufu really had something unspeakable.
A large number of refugees are going to Qufu. Even if they went to beg for food in peacetime, the Kong family in Qufu would not be able to release food for disaster relief, let alone in this time of war and chaos!
In addition, Li Zicheng led an army to visit the Kong family in Qufu once. Although he did not kill anyone, he also took away a lot of food and grass with stolen goods, which greatly reduced the savings of the Kong family in Qufu.In this way, it will be more difficult for the Kong family in Qufu to provide food for disaster relief.
Moreover, when Li Zicheng's army was at the Kong family in Qufu, they discovered that the Kong family had hidden food wealth, so later on, they searched house to house.Again, although no one was killed, every family named Kong in Qufu was inevitably angry.
However, they did not dare to do anything to Li's army, they could only hold back their anger.
When the refugees went to Qufu, the Kong family vented their anger.If you can’t cure the bandits, how can you cure the refugees?
If you want to come to Qufu to grab food, no way!
Of course, at the beginning, they might just stop people, telling them that there was no food, and asking them not to go, but they couldn't handle the steady stream of refugees who went to Qufu, which consumed the little patience that the Kong family had. Naturally, Punches and kicks were given.
However, Emperor Chongzhen didn't care about this background, because he asked Li Laiheng to create this situation.Guide the refugees to know that the grain fields of the Kong family in Qufu stretch across several provinces. How can they run out of grain?Moreover, as a saint, he pays attention to benevolence, justice, propriety, wisdom, trustworthiness, propriety, righteousness, integrity, and is an example for the world. He will definitely provide disaster relief, right?
Based on this logic, when the refugees heard about it, they naturally rushed to Qufu.As long as there is a glimmer of hope, it is possible for them to survive.
At this time, I heard Emperor Chongzhen say with hatred: "The fields everywhere are the fields of the Confucius family. How can the Confucius family have less food? They enjoy the favor of the court and are granted the title of Holy Duke, but they do not want to serve the country and are in danger. How can we serve as an example to the world if we always work together in the same boat and forget the teachings of our ancestors? This is how we treat the suffering people like Confucius..."
Facing his questioning, Zuo Maodi was speechless. At least based on what he knew so far, it was indeed difficult to explain.
When Emperor Chongzhen saw him like this, he shouted sternly: "Come here, go find out and report!"
"My slave obeys the order!" Fang Zhenghua, who had been reprimanded, did not dare to neglect at this time. He quickly agreed and then immediately directed some people to verify it.
The three families nearby were very angry when they saw the general, especially the peasant woman, who was very happy. Finally, someone could stand up for them.However, the scholar next to him was frightened.
He was naturally more knowledgeable than the two farmers. He was surprised when he saw that the high-ranking official in the scarlet robe was only standing one step behind the general. When he saw the posture, it was the general who took the lead.
When Fang Zhenghua spoke, he heard that the voice was different and seemed to be that of a eunuch. However, he had never seen a real eunuch and was not sure yet.
But later, Fang Zhenghua said, "I obey the order," and everything was clarified for him.
There is nothing else but one possibility, that is, the person dressed as a general in front of him is actually the current emperor!
The story that the emperor personally led the troops to fight with unparalleled bravery had already spread to the south of the Yangtze River.In the same way, they realized that the north was at peace, so they fled to the north.
But the key point is that in the legend, the emperor rode alone to overcome the barrier, and also challenged the slave chiefs alone in front of the battle. In their imagination, he should be a big northern man with a heavy back and a strong waist, very powerful, and very powerful at first sight. kind of.
But Emperor Chongzhen didn't actually have such a figure, so he couldn't immediately think of it.
Now that Fang Zhenghua calls himself a "servant" and "obeys the decree", it is certain that the emperor has not escaped.
So, his knees weakened, and he immediately led his family to kneel down and kowtow: "The common people pay homage to our emperor, long live, long live, long live!"
Others were a little dumbfounded and confused when they heard it.
It sounds like the person in front of them is the emperor, but they never dreamed that one day they would be face to face with the emperor and even have a conversation!
When Emperor Chongzhen saw this scene, he smiled and said: "I will lead the troops south to quell the chaos, so please don't make any noise. I will make the decision for you regarding the affairs of the Kong family in Qufu!"
Hearing this, the peasant woman was dumbfounded. It turned out that the person she was talking to just now was actually the current emperor!
(End of this chapter)
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