Chapter 169
The soldiers of the Beijing camp who were watching in the school field could not hear what was said on the general stage because they were far away from the general stage. However, when they saw Emperor Chongzhen coming down from the stage with a bow and arrow, they naturally knew what the emperor was going to do!
Although the 1 soldiers of the Beijing Camp who went south were reorganized and expanded, at least more than [-] soldiers had fought many wars with the emperor.In particular, most of the cavalry have followed the emperor in his expeditions from the very beginning.
They had seen those people shooting arrows one by one before, and they were already looking forward to the emperor showing off his skills.Because they believe that the emperor can definitely do it.
Not to mention, when he was at Ningwuguan, the emperor shot the rebel army's siege supervising team from a long distance.
Therefore, when they saw that the emperor was about to shoot an arrow, they all shouted excitedly: "Long live my emperor!"
In their eyes, without any hesitation, the emperor must be number one in archery!
Other soldiers had more or less seen the emperor take action. Even if they had not seen the emperor shoot arrows, the legend of the emperor's strength was well known in the army.In the first battle of Changping, the record of smashing the corpses of more than a hundred white-armored soldiers to death was extremely shocking.
Seeing the comrades around them shouting enthusiastically, they naturally wanted to join in the fun and shouted together: "Long live my emperor!"
The generals on the general stage really didn't expect that the emperor's appearance would be so grand!
Suddenly, everyone looked around in shock. Seeing tens of thousands of soldiers shouting feverishly, they couldn't help but sigh.
Not to mention the emperor's archery skills, the high morale of the army officers and soldiers supporting the emperor is very rare.
In this case, as long as the emperor leads the troops to fight, he will definitely be able to exert his full combat power!
The same is true. Some generals, such as Chen Yongfu, Huang Degong and others, have never seen the emperor take action, so they can't help but feel a little worried.
If the emperor's archery skills are not good, for example, if he fails to hit the target at a distance of [-] steps, it will definitely pour cold water on the soldiers.By then, I'm afraid the whole audience will be embarrassed, right?
However, when they saw that the emperor was calm and calm in the face of such high cheers, they began to wonder if their worries were in vain!
As a result, everyone's eyes on the stage and off the stage were focused on the emperor, staring intently at the emperor to see what he would do.
Emperor Chongzhen was seen standing in the shooting position, picking up arrows and setting up a bow as if it were a normal action. He did not take a stance and start shooting seriously like Chen Yongfu and Fang Zhenghua did before.
Chen Yongfu's eyes bulged out because he saw that the emperor actually used the shooting method of volley of arrows. With three "swish, swish, swish" sounds, he shot three arrows at almost the speed of his front and rear feet.
He was really shocked. You know, this was two hundred steps away, and the emperor actually dared to use the shooting technique of continuous arrows!
Shocked, Chen Yongfu immediately looked at the archery target in the distance. As a result, what he saw shocked him again, and his jaw almost dropped.
I saw three arrows nailed to the archery target in the distance. Not only did they hit the target, they also broke the armor!
The school field, which was originally shouting loudly, stopped shouting when the emperor was about to shoot the arrow, but there was some movement after all. However, after the emperor finished shooting the arrow, the school field was silent. It seemed that even the wind was shocked and forgot. Go blow the flag and make a noise.
Emperor Chongzhen was actually very confident about the two-hundred-step archery, because he usually used two arrows and two-hundred-step archery was his basic skill.If the distance is too short, it will be boring to practice. Only super long-distance marksmanship can have a foothold in this era of alternating hot and cold weapons, right?
At this time, after finishing shooting, he went directly back to the general station.
It was only then that the generals on the general stage came to their senses. They all looked at the emperor in shock, as if they had seen a god descending to earth, but they still forgot to speak.
The soldier reporting the target carried the target and ran to the general's platform. As he ran, he shouted: "Your Majesty's three arrows all broke through the armor, and the arrows were half-cocked!"
When the generals on the general stage heard this, they all turned to look at the target, with expressions of disbelief on their faces. All three arrows broke through the armor. They had expected it, but when the arrow hit half the feather, they were shocked again!
Is this true?
Your Majesty has so much strength?
Among all the people, there was only one person who was not surprised at all. That person was Mo Rigen in front of the general stage. At this time, he still had a proud look on his face, as if he was saying: Look, I am talking about His Majesty’s marksmanship. , is it true that you are number one in the world? Do you believe it now?
The officers who reported the target were also very excited. When they arrived in front of the generals' stage, they raised the target high so that the generals on the stage could see clearly what was happening on the target!
Chen Yongfu opened his eyes wide and saw that the three arrows had indeed broken through the armor, and only about half of the arrows that had been shot into the target were exposed outside.
At this moment, he was convinced.
He immediately turned around, knelt down on one knee facing Emperor Chongzhen, and said sincerely: "The general never understood why the slave chief's twenty or so personal guards fell under his majesty's arrows before. Now it is clear. It’s not that they are incompetent, it’s that His Majesty is the best in the world!”
It is not uncommon to challenge one another in front of the battle and shoot down the opponent with a bow and arrow. Chen Yongfu thinks he can do it too.However, he couldn't figure out how to shoot down about twenty slave chieftains' personal guards.
The personal guards of Prince Jianlu must be one of the most elite soldiers in the Jianlu army.Twenty or so people went to snatch their prince, but they were all shot off their horses by Emperor Chongzhen.To be honest, Chen Yongfu couldn't figure it out when he first heard it.
Since these are the most elite soldiers of Jianlu, they must know how to divide labor and cooperate, instead of just doing nothing and stupidly rushing forward to take arrows.The rumors must be exaggerated. Either there were only one or two personal guards who tried to rob someone and were shot down by the emperor, or there were others who stopped the slave chief's other personal guards, but all the credit went to the emperor!
But at this moment, Chen Yongfu finally understood that it was not that the slave chief's personal guards were few, nor that others were helping, but that the emperor's super long-distance shot left no room for reaction by the slave chief's personal guards!
Tang Tong and Ma Ke really knew the emperor's martial prowess. They came to their senses after Chen Yongfu, knelt down on one knee with Chen Yongfu, and played together: "Your Majesty's marksman is the best in the world!"
Huang Degong, Wu Sangui, Gao Jie and others were shocked when they saw the emperor take action for the first time.Especially Huang Degong, he thought he knew the emperor best, but unexpectedly, it turned out that he knew too little about the emperor!
At this time, all three of them were convinced. They also faced the emperor, knelt down on one knee and said: "Your Majesty is the best shot in the world!"
The captain of the Imperial Guard standing next to him, seeing this scene, also knelt down on one knee and said: "Your Majesty is the best shot in the world!"
Seeing this scene, the soldiers in the audience, as well as the soldiers watching, were like waves. They knelt down on one knee from near to far, and shouted wave after wave: "Your Majesty is the best shooter in the world." !”
At the end, except for Fang Zhenghua who knelt behind the emperor, all the soldiers on the campus, whether they were the highest-ranking military commander or ordinary soldiers, knelt down on one knee and expressed their admiration to the emperor.
Emperor Chongzhen was very happy. This feeling of being told the truth was really wonderful!
But on the surface, he just smiled and said: "You are also good. My soldiers are all good. You, please, follow me to conquer the world and restore peace to the people as soon as possible!"
On the general stage, Chen Yongfu, Huang Degong, Wu Sangui and other generals shouted in unison: "I am willing to die for your Majesty!"
Over the school grounds, deafening voices soon rang out: "I am willing to die for Your Majesty!"
Emperor Chongzhen showed off his amazing shooting skills, which once again improved the morale of the army!
Through this competition, it was also confirmed that Chen Yongfu was indeed the most powerful marksman in the current army under Emperor Chongzhen and Fang Zhenghua. In the end, Chen Yongfu was still the leader of the Longwei Camp.
Chen Yongfu also realized that Emperor Chongzhen and Fang Zhenghua were much more powerful than him, so when doing things, he strictly demanded himself and hoped that he could do his best, because he had no pride, so he could only work hard!
After the army stayed in Xuzhou for three days, it had to leave.
The reason is very simple. There is not much food and grass in the army, and part of it is allocated to the local government. If the army continues to stay in Xuzhou, it will have to starve.
Going down from Xuzhou is Huai'an Prefecture, and then Yangzhou Prefecture.
Due to the delay in Xuzhou, the news will inevitably spread.Emperor Chongzhen no longer kept a low profile and directly acted in a high profile.
Because to the west of Huai'an Prefecture is Fengyang Prefecture, where the Central Capital is located, and where the Governor of Fengyang is located. The military strength is relatively strong, and there has not yet been a wave of banditry.Therefore, Emperor Chongzhen did not have to worry about suddenly encountering the main army of Li Zicheng or Zuo Liangyu, so he dispersed all the cavalry.
In a very short period of time, through the mobility of the cavalry, they swept across the entire Huai'an Prefecture and wiped out the small group of thieves nearby.Most of them are bandits, water pirates and private salt dealers.
The main force of the infantry basically did not need to be dispatched and continued to move south along the canal.
After three days of delay in Xuzhou, some of the food problems in Xuzhou and Guide Prefecture were solved. The passing of the imperial army gave confidence to the refugees here, and the number of refugees heading north suddenly decreased.
This also allowed Zuo Maodi, the governor of water transportation, to finish the matter in Qufu faster, and then catch up with Emperor Chongzhen at the boundary of Huai'an Prefecture.
Regarding matters in Xuzhou, Commander-in-Chief Gao Jie put down the Silver Rat Rebellion with heavy losses. Not only did he offer the Silver Rat's head, but he also persuaded Chen Yongfu of Guide Mansion to abandon the dark side and surrender to the bright side, making Zuo Maodi think that Xuzhou was going to be a headache. Water transportation with Huai'an suddenly became no longer troublesome.
Therefore, he assured Emperor Chongzhen on the spot that he would stay in Huai'an and continue to rectify the public security in Xuzhou and Huai'an, which would definitely ensure the smooth flow of water transportation.
In this regard, Emperor Chongzhen said to him: "I still believe in Zuo Qing's ability. I can only rest assured if I leave the important task of water transportation to you. Over at Yangzhou Mansion, Shi Kefa, the Minister of the Ministry of War in Nanjing, is in charge. Judging from the reports we received before, water transportation will not be affected. In this way, water transportation of grain and grass supplies must be transported to the capital as soon as possible!"
"Wei Chen accepts the decree!" Zuo Maodi listened and quickly replied.
The emperor's words revealed a lot of trust, and he was actually smiling bitterly in his heart. Could it be because he handed in a "letter of surrender" in Qufu?
That Shi Kefa had also been the governor of water transportation before, so he could trust that the water transportation in Yangzhou Prefecture could ensure safety.
Zuo Maodi thought so in his mind, thinking that the emperor had finished explaining everything, and when he was about to say goodbye, he heard Emperor Chongzhen speak to him again: "I have heard in the early years that new grains have been planted in Fujian and Zhejiang provinces. It's called sweet potato. Xu Shaobao and Xu Guangqi once wrote to me, saying that they are also grown in his hometown of Songjiang Prefecture, and highly recommend this new food. Now that more than ten years have passed, there must be many places in the south of the Yangtze River where it is grown. Spring next year At that time, your Majesty was also inspecting both sides of the canal. If you saw any places where there were no plants, you reported to me and removed him from his official position!"
One advantage of top-down supervision is that it can link this matter to the appointment and removal of official positions.In this way, the local officials will definitely do their best.As long as it is stipulated not to be planted in farmland, the more promotion, the more guaranteed the food will be in the coming year!
Therefore, Emperor Chongzhen was always thinking about sweet potato all the way south, and he also explained it all the way.No matter what, he hoped that there would be no famine in the coming year. As for eating sweet potatoes until he vomited, he would just ignore them. It was better than not eating them at all.
After Zuo Maodi heard this, he quickly asked the emperor about the specific situation. Then he said in surprise: "If this kind of food is not restricted by the differences between the north and the south, it will be a blessing for the Ming Dynasty!"
Emperor Chongzhen nodded. He still didn't know what the sweet potato varieties were like in this era, but one thing was certain.These sweet potatoes are definitely different from oranges.Zhang Guowei is planting in northern Shanxi. If other places have excuses about regional differences, he will definitely not be lenient.
Then, Emperor Chongzhen nodded to Fang Zhenghua again, so Fang Zhenghua approached Zuo Maodi, handed him a list, and said: "This is what the soldiers from the Beijing camp found when they searched and suppressed the thieves in Huai'an Prefecture. The list The thieves above all confessed that they had connections with local officials and gentry, or were simply their people."
On the Xuzhou Prefecture side, there was a large group of thieves headed by Yin Shu, the kind that could capture Xuzhou; while on the Huai'an Prefecture side, they were all small groups of thieves.When the soldiers of the Beijing camp dispersed and were eliminated with thunderous force, some bandits quickly admitted their appearance, saying that they were connected with a certain official, or even simply said that they were from such and such. This was all a misunderstanding, so as to avoid The army's suppression.
But they didn't know that the officers and soldiers who suppressed them were not local officers and soldiers, but the soldiers of the Beijing camp directly under the emperor.Therefore, the soldiers in the Beijing camp would not care about their affairs with the local officials and gentry. They would arrest them all and report the situation at the same time.
Therefore, Emperor Chongzhen asked Fang Zhenghua to make summary statistics, and the list given to Zuo Maodi was related to the officials and gentry of Huai'an Prefecture.
Zuo Maodi was also an official in troubled times. He once governed Hancheng well and wiped out bandits. Of course he knew that in these troubled times, some people really killed officials and rebelled, which was very pure. But there were also some who fished in troubled waters. It is a chess piece for the powerful local officials and gentry.
Therefore, there was no surprise when he took over the list given to him by Fang Zhenghua.
Emperor Chongzhen looked at him and ordered: "Go and verify it. If it is true, all of them will be confiscated and thrown into prison and reported to me!"
When he said this, Zuo Maodi heard that the emperor had murderous intent, and immediately did not dare to neglect, and quickly replied: "I obey the order!"
After explaining this matter, Emperor Chongzhen was ready to lead his troops to continue south along the canal.
However, before leaving, Gao Jie hurriedly came to see the emperor.
After seeing the ceremony, he reported to Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, do those injured brothers... officers and soldiers of the last general still want to go south with the army?"
In order to put down the Silver Rat Rebellion before the emperor arrived in Xuzhou, Gao Jie really had to fight tooth and nail.As a result, his soldiers suffered heavy casualties.Although the camp was later occupied by Chen Yongfu, the wounded soldiers were not killed or driven away.
Therefore, except for a few who died of serious injuries, they all received better treatment after Lanling Camp arrived.
When they were about to leave, Gao Jie heard that the wounded soldiers, including the soldiers from the Beijing camp who were injured during the suppression of bandits, would follow the army south in the vacated canoes.
This situation surprised him.
Not to mention that these wounded soldiers are still recovering from their injuries. Even if their injuries are healed, many of them will no longer be able to fight with the army.Therefore, he was a little puzzled as to why the emperor took these wounded soldiers and continued to march south with the army.
Comrades in the Beijing camp have said that the soldiers who were injured in the northern war were arranged by the emperor to work in the Yamen after their injuries were recovered, and they could still receive salary.
At present, no one knows how to arrange these wounded soldiers, and there is some uneasiness. Therefore, Gao Jie came to see Emperor Chongzhen.
When Emperor Chongzhen heard him asking about this, he just smiled and said: "They were all injured while fighting the traitors for the country, and many of the soldiers may even be disabled. Therefore, I took them to the prosperous Yangzhou, where there are conditions for them." Better treatment of injuries. I will also make appropriate arrangements for the soldiers who cannot return to the army. In short..."
Having said this, he turned a little serious and said seriously: "I will never treat a loyal person badly!"
The emperor doesn't just say it casually, he has been doing it, and this is obvious to all.Although Gao Jie didn't know what the emperor's final arrangements were, when he heard the emperor's words, he said gratefully: "Then I will tell the good news to the soldiers so that they can rest in peace!"
After saying this, he left happily.
At the same time, Gao Jie also confirmed that his previous idea was right.If you follow the emperor to fight, you can feel at ease.If he goes to fight with other officials, it will be difficult for these injured brothers for the rest of their lives!
This situation is really very different.
More than 5 troops from the Beijing camp continued southward along the canal.
At this time, the time has reached the beginning of December in the 17th year of Chongzhen, and the New Year will be in one month.
However, the arrival of the emperor is destined to lead a troubled year for the officials, gentry and thieves in the south of the Yangtze River.
Huai'an Prefecture is the origin of Huai salt. Some of the smuggled salt traders captured by the soldiers in the Beijing camp admitted that they were actually trafficking smuggled salt for the big salt merchants in Yangzhou.
In fact, if salt merchants do business honestly, they will not make much money.They all got the salt quota from the government, and after they were qualified to buy and sell legally, they mixed it with private salt. As long as there was a backend, the profit would be high.
Of course, there is also a hereditary factor in the salt selling system.
In order to solve the food supply dilemma in the important towns of Jiubian in the north, the Ming Dynasty invented the Kaizhong method, which allowed people to transport food to the important towns of Jiubian in exchange for salt and sell it.
At the beginning, it only stipulated that grain should be exchanged for salt, which made it easier for Qin. After all, Shaanxi has [-] miles of Qinchuan and thousands of miles of fertile fields. It has been the main grain-producing area of China since ancient times.
During the Wanli period, among the 260 prefectures in the country, Xi'an Prefecture ranked fourth after Songjiang Prefecture, known as the granary, in terms of the amount of tax revenue.It can be seen that before the Little Ice Age, Qin was actually not short of food.
However, later, in the fifth year of Hongzhi, Ye Qi, the Minister of Revenue, revised this Kaizhong method and stipulated that silver could be used instead of grain, that is, silver could be used to buy salt directly.
This Ye Qi is from Huai'an Prefecture. This move obviously broke the inherent advantages of "border merchants" such as Shaanxi and Shanxi, and allowed the "internal merchants" who are geographically closer to the two Huaihe Rivers and mainly Hui merchants to enter the lucrative salt industry. A good business opportunity.Huai salt has the largest output and good quality, and Yangzhou is the transshipment place for Huai salt. Therefore, salt merchants concentrated in Yangzhou.
Then, in order to make money, the imperial court sold the salt at a low price, which caused the salt to overflow and exceeded the salt output of the salt farm.In this way, even if there is a salt guide, it cannot be exchanged for salt.If you can't exchange for salt, then who will buy salt?
This lasted for more than two years, but the court could not collect the salt tax, which made everyone in the court, including the emperor, anxious.
Then someone privately purchased Yanyin at a low price. In the court, Yanyin reform was also launched and the Salt Law was promulgated.
This Gang Salt Method divides the salt introduced by each merchant into ten gangs and compiles them into a gang book.Every year, one line is used to accumulate yin, that is, the old salt yin can be exchanged for salt, and the other nine lines are used for new yin, that is, the salt yin sold now can be exchanged for salt. Because the output is limited, the imperial court no longer operates salt trading.The rights to buy and sell salt to foreign countries belonged to merchants and were hereditary.Soldiers were also recruited to form defenses with the Zaoding Company Camp in the salt field. Each battalion had 30 people. The camps were two or three miles apart, specifically to capture illegal salt traffickers.
To put it in layman's terms, from now on, the government will no longer trade salt. It will be sold by specialized merchants, and it will be hereditary, with sons inheriting the father's business.In addition, salt cadres were set up to catch private salt dealers.It is tantamount to say that this kind of profitable business will belong to the salt merchants from now on.
To sum up, if salt merchants don't get rich suddenly, who else can get rich suddenly? And the salt merchants are concentrated in Yangzhou, the Huaihe salt transshipment place, which naturally creates the reputation of Yangzhou salt merchants as extremely wealthy.
The previous Emperor Chongzhen didn't know about this kind of innovation, but today's Emperor Chongzhen can see at a glance that there is something very fishy in it. It is simply playing with the imperial court in the palm of his hand, and the real retreat of the country and the advancement of the people.
Salt and iron were originally a government monopoly, but in the last years of the Ming Dynasty, starting from the Wanli period, merchants could actually take them away from the imperial court. It is really a strange thing!
In fact, in Emperor Chongzhen's view, the solution to the problem of salt accumulation was actually very easy, and that was to increase the production of salt.
Moreover, according to what Emperor Chongzhen learned, the sun-salting method with very high yields had already appeared in Fujian at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty.But everyone in the court turned a blind eye and always resorted to the very inefficient method of boiling salt in the stove.
In the end, the Ming Dynasty court actually lost the huge cake of salt trading. Every year, the salt merchants just leaked a little bit from the fingers of the salt merchants to the court, and it was just fooled by it!
You know, the price of salt sold by salt merchants is often ten times its cost price!
This point is recorded in Song Yingxing's "Tiangong Kaiwu": "In terms of salt, a person must have fifty kilograms of salt at the end of his life. When it is expensive, it will cost five yuan, and when it is cheap, it will cost four yuan, and it is cooked in the field. If the capital is divided into four parts, then one mouthful will boil the sea every year, and there will be four qian left in interest and children.”
The cost of making salt is one-tenth of the selling price. Even if transportation costs and salt import costs are added, the profit is ridiculously high.
In the old days, one pound was equal to 16 taels, and one tael was equal to ten qian. This price was high for ordinary people.Ordinary people cannot afford official salt at all, so they can only buy private salt and eat coarse salt, and try to save as much as possible every time.
When Emperor Chongzhen was still in the capital, he obtained these information from the factory guards. Therefore, when he set off from the capital, he had already made up his mind: chop off the heads of these big salt merchants in Yangzhou with a big sword!
But he didn't expect that when he marched to Huai'an Prefecture, he actually got some very reasonable evidence, which allowed him not to find other excuses to deal with the salt merchants, and also made it easier for him to rectify the salt industry!
The first city after passing Huai'an Prefecture and entering Yangzhou Prefecture was Baoying. When the team saw the city from a distance, Fang Zhenghua said to Emperor Chongzhen: "Long live the weather this year, it is still so cold. I will report from the rear. At this time The Yellow River is frozen, and the snow is knee-deep in many places in the north. Look here in the south, it seems like it’s going to snow soon!”
Emperor Chongzhen listened and nodded.The weather has been cold these days.Looking at the way God looks like this, it is indeed going to snow.
After looking at it for a while, he sighed again: "This kind of cold and abnormal weather will continue for a few more years!"
But it seems that the Little Ice Age is coming to an end soon.
After hearing this, Fang Zhenghua said with some emotion: "Long live the wise Lord, he asked them to dig more charcoal long ago without selling it at a high price. He also taught them how to use charcoal. The wise kings of ancient times are not as good as them!"
After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen couldn't help but turn his head and look at him. What he said seemed to be very pleasing to his ears.But on the surface, he didn't say anything, just turned his head and looked around.
Along the way, the people along the way stayed away when they saw the army.Of course, in addition to the large number of refugees in the Northland, you can see this situation. When you arrived in Xuzhou Prefecture, you could see very few people on the road. This was probably because of the Silver Rat Rebellion in Xuzhou.
By the time we arrived in Huai'an Prefecture, there were slightly more people, and not many people had left their homes and fled.But when he saw the army, he still stayed away.
When we arrived at the boundary of Yangzhou Prefecture, which was already close to the county seat, Emperor Chongzhen discovered that there were indeed many people in the wild. They still hid from the army at a distance and tried not to get close to the canal.
But this time, Emperor Chongzhen was surprised and said, "It's already December. Why are there so many people outside the city in such a cold weather?"
Generally speaking, in winter, ordinary people hide at home or even under their blankets, and it is impossible to come out into the wild.
Fang Zhenghua was more experienced. After hearing what Emperor Chongzhen said, he guessed: "You must have gone out of the city to find food, right?"
Emperor Chongzhen listened and nodded. Indeed, if there is no food at home, then no matter how cold the weather is, he still has to go out.
He wants to see how the people here in Yangzhou Mansion are doing?After all, it is one of the most prosperous state capitals in Ming Dynasty!
Looking up at the people in the distance, Emperor Chongzhen originally wanted the Jinyi Guards to bring them over, but when he thought that those people didn't have horses, he said to Fang Zhenghua: "Let's go and see the situation of those people! "
After he finished speaking, he clamped his legs between the horse's belly and urged the horse to run.
Suddenly, my uncovered face could feel the cold wind blowing against my face.But he was dressed warmly, so he was naturally not afraid of the cold wind.
Fang Zheng saw him and immediately followed him.Behind him, Jin Zhensun led a group of personal guards and quickly followed the guards.
Suddenly hundreds of horses ran away in the wilderness, and the sound of horse hooves could be heard.
The people in the distance first looked up after hearing the sound and saw cavalry heading towards them. After a moment of surprise, they all fled away.
However, how could they be faster than the war horses?There was an old woman running slowly with a child, and she was overtaken by Emperor Chongzhen.
Seeing that she couldn't escape, she quickly knelt down and kowtowed without saying a word.
Emperor Chongzhen reined in his horse and stopped, looking down and saw that in the basket placed beside them, there were indeed some wild grasses, or wild vegetables, tree roots and so on.
So, he got off his horse, walked slowly, and said as kindly as possible: "Madam, don't be afraid, we are officers and soldiers of the imperial court."
Having said this, he said to Fang Zhenghua who was following behind him: "Give me one or two new coins as compensation for the delay!"
When the old woman heard this, she put her head there and said quickly: "I don't dare, I don't dare. If the military master has anything to say, just ask. A bitch doesn't dare to ask for money!"
However, the child next to him heard the sound and raised his head to look at Emperor Chongzhen, with a little novelty in his eyes.
Emperor Chongzhen looked at the child, who was probably a little boy of seven or eight years old. His face was sallow and thin, and his face was still dirty. He smiled and said to him: "Help your grandma up. I'm asking you some simple questions. I won't ask them in vain." , there is money to give.”
Perhaps seeing Emperor Chongzhen's smile, the little boy lost some fear and immediately replied: "This is my mother, not my grandma!"
After saying that, he went to help his mother.
Emperor Chongzhen was dumbfounded after hearing this.He looked at the woman in front of him. She was probably in her fifties, and her hair was already white. Unexpectedly, she turned out to be the child's mother. She was probably in her thirties, right?
Sure enough, with the support of the child, the woman had to stand up, protect the child, and then looked at Emperor Chongzhen, with a worried look on her face, and just said: "If the general has anything to ask, just ask, no money is required!"
Seeing her face, Emperor Chongzhen could see clearly. It seemed that she was indeed a woman in her thirties, but she was dressed in shabby clothes, her body was dirty, and there must be frost on her hair?
At this time, Emperor Chongzhen couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. He shouted "Auntie", but she might not be older than him!
Putting aside this embarrassment, Emperor Chongzhen asked with a smile as much as possible: "What do you people eat on weekdays, just wild vegetables? I heard that Yangzhou Prefecture is very prosperous, is this enough to eat wild vegetables?" "
If even Yangzhou Prefecture has to live like this, the situation will be more severe than originally imagined.
Water transportation has been opened, but there is no food to transport?
Perhaps Emperor Chongzhen has always behaved kindly, and the others, headed by Emperor Chongzhen, were just scattered around and did not come close. There was one behind him who also smiled and looked harmless, so this woman became a little bolder. , replied Emperor Chongzhen: "I have some barley at home, but it's not enough to eat, so I have to go out and find some wild vegetables to mix with it."
Hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen was surprised again and immediately asked: "Jiangnan is a land of fish and rice, with many kinds of rice. Why does your family eat barley?"
After hearing this, the woman replied without thinking: "Barley is the cheapest, but it costs more than 4000 yuan per stone. The child's father does not often have money at home. It is the women who do needlework or something like that." Barely alive!”
When Emperor Chongzhen heard this, he was even more surprised, and asked: "Barley is the cheapest, more than 4000 yuan per stone, but what about other items, such as what is the price of rice?"
One tael of silver is about a thousand yuan, which is equivalent to four taels of silver per stone. It is really too expensive!
You know, in normal years, food is usually one stone and one tael. In good years, one tael of silver can buy two stones.
Over in the capital, Emperor Chongzhen had decreed the implementation of a food rationing system and food control since he traveled across time. Therefore, he had no idea that the price of food was so ridiculously high.
But looking back, it doesn't seem that surprising.
After all, there were continuous wars during the Chongzhen period. In the later period, the wars also spread to Jiangnan, Yangzhou Prefecture, Zhejiang and other places. There was no harm caused by Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong and others, but there were still many local bandits.
The woman continued to answer there: "Rice is even more expensive, costing 1 yuan per stone."
Emperor Chongzhen was stunned when he heard this.
As if she could see that the general in front of her seemed to be clean and gentle, and she spoke in a friendly manner, the woman added another sentence: "In terms of silver, it's five taels."
Hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen couldn't help but was stunned again. It seemed that in the chaotic times of the late Ming Dynasty, all order was broken, and the exchange ratio of silver and copper coins was also chaotic.
Probably because in troubled times, the gold and silver that people tend to carry are more valuable, so the exchange ratio of silver and copper coins is far from one to one thousand.
Without order, it is a disaster for ordinary people!
After a series of surprises and shocks, Emperor Chongzhen calmed down a bit and simply asked again: "What are the approximate prices of firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, and tea?"
The woman had already spoken, and seeing that Emperor Chongzhen, a general, was indeed easy to talk to, she let go and answered immediately.
In the past, when there was peace, she could have almost all of these. However, in recent years, her family has only been able to buy two essential items: rice and salt because there is not enough money.
As for salt, five pounds of coarse salt used to cost about four cents of silver, but now it costs almost six cents.
During the war years, it was difficult for ordinary people to make money, and prices skyrocketed. Life was really hard!
For a moment, Emperor Chongzhen's mood was affected.
After calming down for a while, he asked: "Where is the child's father a soldier? How is the situation?"
After hearing this, the woman did not hide anything and immediately replied: "Shi Ben was recruiting troops to suppress thieves. The child's father was a barbarian and had no other skills, so he joined the army. Now in Yangzhou Fucheng, the military salary was originally two taels of silver. , but the child’s father said that the imperial court could not provide military pay and only gave him one tael of silver and nothing else.”
The military pay of two taels of silver was generally a treatment only available to cavalry, or indeed to elite soldiers.
It is a common situation that the army is in arrears with pay. So far, Emperor Chongzhen has killed some big dogs in the north to pay off the pay arrears of the northern army.Then, when the situation stabilizes, new money will be issued to provide military pay.
But here in the south, it's still the same.
From this point of view, it is necessary to kill a group of big dogs in the south to reorganize the army!
With this thought in his mind, Emperor Chongzhen asked casually: "What is the name of the child's father?"
The woman hesitated for a moment and finally replied: "Hold it!"
"What?" Emperor Chongzhen didn't understand, but suddenly, he remembered that when Shi Kefa was guarding Yangzhou, there was indeed a person with this special name, because he was a Yiding, so he said again: "It should be him Bar!"
The name was very special, so it made an impression on him.
In the original history of defending Yangzhou Prefecture, the Manchu and Qing troops came to the city. The morale of the Yangzhou City defenders was low. One general after another, one after another, they surrendered to the Manchu Qing.At this time, a single warrior robbed the camp and attacked the Manchu army. He captured a horse and a first-level head, and successfully returned to Yangzhou City.Shi Kefa immediately rewarded him with a python veil and 100 taels of silver. This person's name was called Qizhu.
The woman heard this very strangely and immediately asked curiously: "Does the general know the father of the child?"
After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen smiled, shook his head and said, "I don't know him!"
After finishing speaking, he turned to look at Fang Zhenghua and said, "Give me the money!"
Then, he turned around and walked back to the war horse led by his personal guards. He got on the horse and saw the woman looking at the new money in her hand in surprise. He then said: "I have some good news for you. The army will soon be gone." Those who will default on their military pay will get better and better in the future."
After saying this, he turned and rode away.
Fang Zhenghua and others followed and drove away.
The little boy held his mother's hand, looked at Emperor Chongzhen's back, and said, "Mom, let dad follow this general. This general is a good man!"
The woman lowered her head to look at the money in her hand, then looked up at the retreating figures of Emperor Chongzhen and his entourage, and replied: "Your father is the Minister of War of the imperial court, in charge of these generals!"
In other words, I disagree.
Of course, this kind of thing is not something they can change if they want.
Emperor Chongzhen did not believe one side of the story, and sent someone to Baoying to inquire about the prices. After verifying that the woman was right, he believed it.
But he didn't do anything, he just continued to lead the army to Yangzhou Fucheng!
The price is not made up, historical records show that in the 15th year of Chongzhen’s reign in the Jiangnan area
(End of this chapter)
The soldiers of the Beijing camp who were watching in the school field could not hear what was said on the general stage because they were far away from the general stage. However, when they saw Emperor Chongzhen coming down from the stage with a bow and arrow, they naturally knew what the emperor was going to do!
Although the 1 soldiers of the Beijing Camp who went south were reorganized and expanded, at least more than [-] soldiers had fought many wars with the emperor.In particular, most of the cavalry have followed the emperor in his expeditions from the very beginning.
They had seen those people shooting arrows one by one before, and they were already looking forward to the emperor showing off his skills.Because they believe that the emperor can definitely do it.
Not to mention, when he was at Ningwuguan, the emperor shot the rebel army's siege supervising team from a long distance.
Therefore, when they saw that the emperor was about to shoot an arrow, they all shouted excitedly: "Long live my emperor!"
In their eyes, without any hesitation, the emperor must be number one in archery!
Other soldiers had more or less seen the emperor take action. Even if they had not seen the emperor shoot arrows, the legend of the emperor's strength was well known in the army.In the first battle of Changping, the record of smashing the corpses of more than a hundred white-armored soldiers to death was extremely shocking.
Seeing the comrades around them shouting enthusiastically, they naturally wanted to join in the fun and shouted together: "Long live my emperor!"
The generals on the general stage really didn't expect that the emperor's appearance would be so grand!
Suddenly, everyone looked around in shock. Seeing tens of thousands of soldiers shouting feverishly, they couldn't help but sigh.
Not to mention the emperor's archery skills, the high morale of the army officers and soldiers supporting the emperor is very rare.
In this case, as long as the emperor leads the troops to fight, he will definitely be able to exert his full combat power!
The same is true. Some generals, such as Chen Yongfu, Huang Degong and others, have never seen the emperor take action, so they can't help but feel a little worried.
If the emperor's archery skills are not good, for example, if he fails to hit the target at a distance of [-] steps, it will definitely pour cold water on the soldiers.By then, I'm afraid the whole audience will be embarrassed, right?
However, when they saw that the emperor was calm and calm in the face of such high cheers, they began to wonder if their worries were in vain!
As a result, everyone's eyes on the stage and off the stage were focused on the emperor, staring intently at the emperor to see what he would do.
Emperor Chongzhen was seen standing in the shooting position, picking up arrows and setting up a bow as if it were a normal action. He did not take a stance and start shooting seriously like Chen Yongfu and Fang Zhenghua did before.
Chen Yongfu's eyes bulged out because he saw that the emperor actually used the shooting method of volley of arrows. With three "swish, swish, swish" sounds, he shot three arrows at almost the speed of his front and rear feet.
He was really shocked. You know, this was two hundred steps away, and the emperor actually dared to use the shooting technique of continuous arrows!
Shocked, Chen Yongfu immediately looked at the archery target in the distance. As a result, what he saw shocked him again, and his jaw almost dropped.
I saw three arrows nailed to the archery target in the distance. Not only did they hit the target, they also broke the armor!
The school field, which was originally shouting loudly, stopped shouting when the emperor was about to shoot the arrow, but there was some movement after all. However, after the emperor finished shooting the arrow, the school field was silent. It seemed that even the wind was shocked and forgot. Go blow the flag and make a noise.
Emperor Chongzhen was actually very confident about the two-hundred-step archery, because he usually used two arrows and two-hundred-step archery was his basic skill.If the distance is too short, it will be boring to practice. Only super long-distance marksmanship can have a foothold in this era of alternating hot and cold weapons, right?
At this time, after finishing shooting, he went directly back to the general station.
It was only then that the generals on the general stage came to their senses. They all looked at the emperor in shock, as if they had seen a god descending to earth, but they still forgot to speak.
The soldier reporting the target carried the target and ran to the general's platform. As he ran, he shouted: "Your Majesty's three arrows all broke through the armor, and the arrows were half-cocked!"
When the generals on the general stage heard this, they all turned to look at the target, with expressions of disbelief on their faces. All three arrows broke through the armor. They had expected it, but when the arrow hit half the feather, they were shocked again!
Is this true?
Your Majesty has so much strength?
Among all the people, there was only one person who was not surprised at all. That person was Mo Rigen in front of the general stage. At this time, he still had a proud look on his face, as if he was saying: Look, I am talking about His Majesty’s marksmanship. , is it true that you are number one in the world? Do you believe it now?
The officers who reported the target were also very excited. When they arrived in front of the generals' stage, they raised the target high so that the generals on the stage could see clearly what was happening on the target!
Chen Yongfu opened his eyes wide and saw that the three arrows had indeed broken through the armor, and only about half of the arrows that had been shot into the target were exposed outside.
At this moment, he was convinced.
He immediately turned around, knelt down on one knee facing Emperor Chongzhen, and said sincerely: "The general never understood why the slave chief's twenty or so personal guards fell under his majesty's arrows before. Now it is clear. It’s not that they are incompetent, it’s that His Majesty is the best in the world!”
It is not uncommon to challenge one another in front of the battle and shoot down the opponent with a bow and arrow. Chen Yongfu thinks he can do it too.However, he couldn't figure out how to shoot down about twenty slave chieftains' personal guards.
The personal guards of Prince Jianlu must be one of the most elite soldiers in the Jianlu army.Twenty or so people went to snatch their prince, but they were all shot off their horses by Emperor Chongzhen.To be honest, Chen Yongfu couldn't figure it out when he first heard it.
Since these are the most elite soldiers of Jianlu, they must know how to divide labor and cooperate, instead of just doing nothing and stupidly rushing forward to take arrows.The rumors must be exaggerated. Either there were only one or two personal guards who tried to rob someone and were shot down by the emperor, or there were others who stopped the slave chief's other personal guards, but all the credit went to the emperor!
But at this moment, Chen Yongfu finally understood that it was not that the slave chief's personal guards were few, nor that others were helping, but that the emperor's super long-distance shot left no room for reaction by the slave chief's personal guards!
Tang Tong and Ma Ke really knew the emperor's martial prowess. They came to their senses after Chen Yongfu, knelt down on one knee with Chen Yongfu, and played together: "Your Majesty's marksman is the best in the world!"
Huang Degong, Wu Sangui, Gao Jie and others were shocked when they saw the emperor take action for the first time.Especially Huang Degong, he thought he knew the emperor best, but unexpectedly, it turned out that he knew too little about the emperor!
At this time, all three of them were convinced. They also faced the emperor, knelt down on one knee and said: "Your Majesty is the best shot in the world!"
The captain of the Imperial Guard standing next to him, seeing this scene, also knelt down on one knee and said: "Your Majesty is the best shot in the world!"
Seeing this scene, the soldiers in the audience, as well as the soldiers watching, were like waves. They knelt down on one knee from near to far, and shouted wave after wave: "Your Majesty is the best shooter in the world." !”
At the end, except for Fang Zhenghua who knelt behind the emperor, all the soldiers on the campus, whether they were the highest-ranking military commander or ordinary soldiers, knelt down on one knee and expressed their admiration to the emperor.
Emperor Chongzhen was very happy. This feeling of being told the truth was really wonderful!
But on the surface, he just smiled and said: "You are also good. My soldiers are all good. You, please, follow me to conquer the world and restore peace to the people as soon as possible!"
On the general stage, Chen Yongfu, Huang Degong, Wu Sangui and other generals shouted in unison: "I am willing to die for your Majesty!"
Over the school grounds, deafening voices soon rang out: "I am willing to die for Your Majesty!"
Emperor Chongzhen showed off his amazing shooting skills, which once again improved the morale of the army!
Through this competition, it was also confirmed that Chen Yongfu was indeed the most powerful marksman in the current army under Emperor Chongzhen and Fang Zhenghua. In the end, Chen Yongfu was still the leader of the Longwei Camp.
Chen Yongfu also realized that Emperor Chongzhen and Fang Zhenghua were much more powerful than him, so when doing things, he strictly demanded himself and hoped that he could do his best, because he had no pride, so he could only work hard!
After the army stayed in Xuzhou for three days, it had to leave.
The reason is very simple. There is not much food and grass in the army, and part of it is allocated to the local government. If the army continues to stay in Xuzhou, it will have to starve.
Going down from Xuzhou is Huai'an Prefecture, and then Yangzhou Prefecture.
Due to the delay in Xuzhou, the news will inevitably spread.Emperor Chongzhen no longer kept a low profile and directly acted in a high profile.
Because to the west of Huai'an Prefecture is Fengyang Prefecture, where the Central Capital is located, and where the Governor of Fengyang is located. The military strength is relatively strong, and there has not yet been a wave of banditry.Therefore, Emperor Chongzhen did not have to worry about suddenly encountering the main army of Li Zicheng or Zuo Liangyu, so he dispersed all the cavalry.
In a very short period of time, through the mobility of the cavalry, they swept across the entire Huai'an Prefecture and wiped out the small group of thieves nearby.Most of them are bandits, water pirates and private salt dealers.
The main force of the infantry basically did not need to be dispatched and continued to move south along the canal.
After three days of delay in Xuzhou, some of the food problems in Xuzhou and Guide Prefecture were solved. The passing of the imperial army gave confidence to the refugees here, and the number of refugees heading north suddenly decreased.
This also allowed Zuo Maodi, the governor of water transportation, to finish the matter in Qufu faster, and then catch up with Emperor Chongzhen at the boundary of Huai'an Prefecture.
Regarding matters in Xuzhou, Commander-in-Chief Gao Jie put down the Silver Rat Rebellion with heavy losses. Not only did he offer the Silver Rat's head, but he also persuaded Chen Yongfu of Guide Mansion to abandon the dark side and surrender to the bright side, making Zuo Maodi think that Xuzhou was going to be a headache. Water transportation with Huai'an suddenly became no longer troublesome.
Therefore, he assured Emperor Chongzhen on the spot that he would stay in Huai'an and continue to rectify the public security in Xuzhou and Huai'an, which would definitely ensure the smooth flow of water transportation.
In this regard, Emperor Chongzhen said to him: "I still believe in Zuo Qing's ability. I can only rest assured if I leave the important task of water transportation to you. Over at Yangzhou Mansion, Shi Kefa, the Minister of the Ministry of War in Nanjing, is in charge. Judging from the reports we received before, water transportation will not be affected. In this way, water transportation of grain and grass supplies must be transported to the capital as soon as possible!"
"Wei Chen accepts the decree!" Zuo Maodi listened and quickly replied.
The emperor's words revealed a lot of trust, and he was actually smiling bitterly in his heart. Could it be because he handed in a "letter of surrender" in Qufu?
That Shi Kefa had also been the governor of water transportation before, so he could trust that the water transportation in Yangzhou Prefecture could ensure safety.
Zuo Maodi thought so in his mind, thinking that the emperor had finished explaining everything, and when he was about to say goodbye, he heard Emperor Chongzhen speak to him again: "I have heard in the early years that new grains have been planted in Fujian and Zhejiang provinces. It's called sweet potato. Xu Shaobao and Xu Guangqi once wrote to me, saying that they are also grown in his hometown of Songjiang Prefecture, and highly recommend this new food. Now that more than ten years have passed, there must be many places in the south of the Yangtze River where it is grown. Spring next year At that time, your Majesty was also inspecting both sides of the canal. If you saw any places where there were no plants, you reported to me and removed him from his official position!"
One advantage of top-down supervision is that it can link this matter to the appointment and removal of official positions.In this way, the local officials will definitely do their best.As long as it is stipulated not to be planted in farmland, the more promotion, the more guaranteed the food will be in the coming year!
Therefore, Emperor Chongzhen was always thinking about sweet potato all the way south, and he also explained it all the way.No matter what, he hoped that there would be no famine in the coming year. As for eating sweet potatoes until he vomited, he would just ignore them. It was better than not eating them at all.
After Zuo Maodi heard this, he quickly asked the emperor about the specific situation. Then he said in surprise: "If this kind of food is not restricted by the differences between the north and the south, it will be a blessing for the Ming Dynasty!"
Emperor Chongzhen nodded. He still didn't know what the sweet potato varieties were like in this era, but one thing was certain.These sweet potatoes are definitely different from oranges.Zhang Guowei is planting in northern Shanxi. If other places have excuses about regional differences, he will definitely not be lenient.
Then, Emperor Chongzhen nodded to Fang Zhenghua again, so Fang Zhenghua approached Zuo Maodi, handed him a list, and said: "This is what the soldiers from the Beijing camp found when they searched and suppressed the thieves in Huai'an Prefecture. The list The thieves above all confessed that they had connections with local officials and gentry, or were simply their people."
On the Xuzhou Prefecture side, there was a large group of thieves headed by Yin Shu, the kind that could capture Xuzhou; while on the Huai'an Prefecture side, they were all small groups of thieves.When the soldiers of the Beijing camp dispersed and were eliminated with thunderous force, some bandits quickly admitted their appearance, saying that they were connected with a certain official, or even simply said that they were from such and such. This was all a misunderstanding, so as to avoid The army's suppression.
But they didn't know that the officers and soldiers who suppressed them were not local officers and soldiers, but the soldiers of the Beijing camp directly under the emperor.Therefore, the soldiers in the Beijing camp would not care about their affairs with the local officials and gentry. They would arrest them all and report the situation at the same time.
Therefore, Emperor Chongzhen asked Fang Zhenghua to make summary statistics, and the list given to Zuo Maodi was related to the officials and gentry of Huai'an Prefecture.
Zuo Maodi was also an official in troubled times. He once governed Hancheng well and wiped out bandits. Of course he knew that in these troubled times, some people really killed officials and rebelled, which was very pure. But there were also some who fished in troubled waters. It is a chess piece for the powerful local officials and gentry.
Therefore, there was no surprise when he took over the list given to him by Fang Zhenghua.
Emperor Chongzhen looked at him and ordered: "Go and verify it. If it is true, all of them will be confiscated and thrown into prison and reported to me!"
When he said this, Zuo Maodi heard that the emperor had murderous intent, and immediately did not dare to neglect, and quickly replied: "I obey the order!"
After explaining this matter, Emperor Chongzhen was ready to lead his troops to continue south along the canal.
However, before leaving, Gao Jie hurriedly came to see the emperor.
After seeing the ceremony, he reported to Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, do those injured brothers... officers and soldiers of the last general still want to go south with the army?"
In order to put down the Silver Rat Rebellion before the emperor arrived in Xuzhou, Gao Jie really had to fight tooth and nail.As a result, his soldiers suffered heavy casualties.Although the camp was later occupied by Chen Yongfu, the wounded soldiers were not killed or driven away.
Therefore, except for a few who died of serious injuries, they all received better treatment after Lanling Camp arrived.
When they were about to leave, Gao Jie heard that the wounded soldiers, including the soldiers from the Beijing camp who were injured during the suppression of bandits, would follow the army south in the vacated canoes.
This situation surprised him.
Not to mention that these wounded soldiers are still recovering from their injuries. Even if their injuries are healed, many of them will no longer be able to fight with the army.Therefore, he was a little puzzled as to why the emperor took these wounded soldiers and continued to march south with the army.
Comrades in the Beijing camp have said that the soldiers who were injured in the northern war were arranged by the emperor to work in the Yamen after their injuries were recovered, and they could still receive salary.
At present, no one knows how to arrange these wounded soldiers, and there is some uneasiness. Therefore, Gao Jie came to see Emperor Chongzhen.
When Emperor Chongzhen heard him asking about this, he just smiled and said: "They were all injured while fighting the traitors for the country, and many of the soldiers may even be disabled. Therefore, I took them to the prosperous Yangzhou, where there are conditions for them." Better treatment of injuries. I will also make appropriate arrangements for the soldiers who cannot return to the army. In short..."
Having said this, he turned a little serious and said seriously: "I will never treat a loyal person badly!"
The emperor doesn't just say it casually, he has been doing it, and this is obvious to all.Although Gao Jie didn't know what the emperor's final arrangements were, when he heard the emperor's words, he said gratefully: "Then I will tell the good news to the soldiers so that they can rest in peace!"
After saying this, he left happily.
At the same time, Gao Jie also confirmed that his previous idea was right.If you follow the emperor to fight, you can feel at ease.If he goes to fight with other officials, it will be difficult for these injured brothers for the rest of their lives!
This situation is really very different.
More than 5 troops from the Beijing camp continued southward along the canal.
At this time, the time has reached the beginning of December in the 17th year of Chongzhen, and the New Year will be in one month.
However, the arrival of the emperor is destined to lead a troubled year for the officials, gentry and thieves in the south of the Yangtze River.
Huai'an Prefecture is the origin of Huai salt. Some of the smuggled salt traders captured by the soldiers in the Beijing camp admitted that they were actually trafficking smuggled salt for the big salt merchants in Yangzhou.
In fact, if salt merchants do business honestly, they will not make much money.They all got the salt quota from the government, and after they were qualified to buy and sell legally, they mixed it with private salt. As long as there was a backend, the profit would be high.
Of course, there is also a hereditary factor in the salt selling system.
In order to solve the food supply dilemma in the important towns of Jiubian in the north, the Ming Dynasty invented the Kaizhong method, which allowed people to transport food to the important towns of Jiubian in exchange for salt and sell it.
At the beginning, it only stipulated that grain should be exchanged for salt, which made it easier for Qin. After all, Shaanxi has [-] miles of Qinchuan and thousands of miles of fertile fields. It has been the main grain-producing area of China since ancient times.
During the Wanli period, among the 260 prefectures in the country, Xi'an Prefecture ranked fourth after Songjiang Prefecture, known as the granary, in terms of the amount of tax revenue.It can be seen that before the Little Ice Age, Qin was actually not short of food.
However, later, in the fifth year of Hongzhi, Ye Qi, the Minister of Revenue, revised this Kaizhong method and stipulated that silver could be used instead of grain, that is, silver could be used to buy salt directly.
This Ye Qi is from Huai'an Prefecture. This move obviously broke the inherent advantages of "border merchants" such as Shaanxi and Shanxi, and allowed the "internal merchants" who are geographically closer to the two Huaihe Rivers and mainly Hui merchants to enter the lucrative salt industry. A good business opportunity.Huai salt has the largest output and good quality, and Yangzhou is the transshipment place for Huai salt. Therefore, salt merchants concentrated in Yangzhou.
Then, in order to make money, the imperial court sold the salt at a low price, which caused the salt to overflow and exceeded the salt output of the salt farm.In this way, even if there is a salt guide, it cannot be exchanged for salt.If you can't exchange for salt, then who will buy salt?
This lasted for more than two years, but the court could not collect the salt tax, which made everyone in the court, including the emperor, anxious.
Then someone privately purchased Yanyin at a low price. In the court, Yanyin reform was also launched and the Salt Law was promulgated.
This Gang Salt Method divides the salt introduced by each merchant into ten gangs and compiles them into a gang book.Every year, one line is used to accumulate yin, that is, the old salt yin can be exchanged for salt, and the other nine lines are used for new yin, that is, the salt yin sold now can be exchanged for salt. Because the output is limited, the imperial court no longer operates salt trading.The rights to buy and sell salt to foreign countries belonged to merchants and were hereditary.Soldiers were also recruited to form defenses with the Zaoding Company Camp in the salt field. Each battalion had 30 people. The camps were two or three miles apart, specifically to capture illegal salt traffickers.
To put it in layman's terms, from now on, the government will no longer trade salt. It will be sold by specialized merchants, and it will be hereditary, with sons inheriting the father's business.In addition, salt cadres were set up to catch private salt dealers.It is tantamount to say that this kind of profitable business will belong to the salt merchants from now on.
To sum up, if salt merchants don't get rich suddenly, who else can get rich suddenly? And the salt merchants are concentrated in Yangzhou, the Huaihe salt transshipment place, which naturally creates the reputation of Yangzhou salt merchants as extremely wealthy.
The previous Emperor Chongzhen didn't know about this kind of innovation, but today's Emperor Chongzhen can see at a glance that there is something very fishy in it. It is simply playing with the imperial court in the palm of his hand, and the real retreat of the country and the advancement of the people.
Salt and iron were originally a government monopoly, but in the last years of the Ming Dynasty, starting from the Wanli period, merchants could actually take them away from the imperial court. It is really a strange thing!
In fact, in Emperor Chongzhen's view, the solution to the problem of salt accumulation was actually very easy, and that was to increase the production of salt.
Moreover, according to what Emperor Chongzhen learned, the sun-salting method with very high yields had already appeared in Fujian at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty.But everyone in the court turned a blind eye and always resorted to the very inefficient method of boiling salt in the stove.
In the end, the Ming Dynasty court actually lost the huge cake of salt trading. Every year, the salt merchants just leaked a little bit from the fingers of the salt merchants to the court, and it was just fooled by it!
You know, the price of salt sold by salt merchants is often ten times its cost price!
This point is recorded in Song Yingxing's "Tiangong Kaiwu": "In terms of salt, a person must have fifty kilograms of salt at the end of his life. When it is expensive, it will cost five yuan, and when it is cheap, it will cost four yuan, and it is cooked in the field. If the capital is divided into four parts, then one mouthful will boil the sea every year, and there will be four qian left in interest and children.”
The cost of making salt is one-tenth of the selling price. Even if transportation costs and salt import costs are added, the profit is ridiculously high.
In the old days, one pound was equal to 16 taels, and one tael was equal to ten qian. This price was high for ordinary people.Ordinary people cannot afford official salt at all, so they can only buy private salt and eat coarse salt, and try to save as much as possible every time.
When Emperor Chongzhen was still in the capital, he obtained these information from the factory guards. Therefore, when he set off from the capital, he had already made up his mind: chop off the heads of these big salt merchants in Yangzhou with a big sword!
But he didn't expect that when he marched to Huai'an Prefecture, he actually got some very reasonable evidence, which allowed him not to find other excuses to deal with the salt merchants, and also made it easier for him to rectify the salt industry!
The first city after passing Huai'an Prefecture and entering Yangzhou Prefecture was Baoying. When the team saw the city from a distance, Fang Zhenghua said to Emperor Chongzhen: "Long live the weather this year, it is still so cold. I will report from the rear. At this time The Yellow River is frozen, and the snow is knee-deep in many places in the north. Look here in the south, it seems like it’s going to snow soon!”
Emperor Chongzhen listened and nodded.The weather has been cold these days.Looking at the way God looks like this, it is indeed going to snow.
After looking at it for a while, he sighed again: "This kind of cold and abnormal weather will continue for a few more years!"
But it seems that the Little Ice Age is coming to an end soon.
After hearing this, Fang Zhenghua said with some emotion: "Long live the wise Lord, he asked them to dig more charcoal long ago without selling it at a high price. He also taught them how to use charcoal. The wise kings of ancient times are not as good as them!"
After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen couldn't help but turn his head and look at him. What he said seemed to be very pleasing to his ears.But on the surface, he didn't say anything, just turned his head and looked around.
Along the way, the people along the way stayed away when they saw the army.Of course, in addition to the large number of refugees in the Northland, you can see this situation. When you arrived in Xuzhou Prefecture, you could see very few people on the road. This was probably because of the Silver Rat Rebellion in Xuzhou.
By the time we arrived in Huai'an Prefecture, there were slightly more people, and not many people had left their homes and fled.But when he saw the army, he still stayed away.
When we arrived at the boundary of Yangzhou Prefecture, which was already close to the county seat, Emperor Chongzhen discovered that there were indeed many people in the wild. They still hid from the army at a distance and tried not to get close to the canal.
But this time, Emperor Chongzhen was surprised and said, "It's already December. Why are there so many people outside the city in such a cold weather?"
Generally speaking, in winter, ordinary people hide at home or even under their blankets, and it is impossible to come out into the wild.
Fang Zhenghua was more experienced. After hearing what Emperor Chongzhen said, he guessed: "You must have gone out of the city to find food, right?"
Emperor Chongzhen listened and nodded. Indeed, if there is no food at home, then no matter how cold the weather is, he still has to go out.
He wants to see how the people here in Yangzhou Mansion are doing?After all, it is one of the most prosperous state capitals in Ming Dynasty!
Looking up at the people in the distance, Emperor Chongzhen originally wanted the Jinyi Guards to bring them over, but when he thought that those people didn't have horses, he said to Fang Zhenghua: "Let's go and see the situation of those people! "
After he finished speaking, he clamped his legs between the horse's belly and urged the horse to run.
Suddenly, my uncovered face could feel the cold wind blowing against my face.But he was dressed warmly, so he was naturally not afraid of the cold wind.
Fang Zheng saw him and immediately followed him.Behind him, Jin Zhensun led a group of personal guards and quickly followed the guards.
Suddenly hundreds of horses ran away in the wilderness, and the sound of horse hooves could be heard.
The people in the distance first looked up after hearing the sound and saw cavalry heading towards them. After a moment of surprise, they all fled away.
However, how could they be faster than the war horses?There was an old woman running slowly with a child, and she was overtaken by Emperor Chongzhen.
Seeing that she couldn't escape, she quickly knelt down and kowtowed without saying a word.
Emperor Chongzhen reined in his horse and stopped, looking down and saw that in the basket placed beside them, there were indeed some wild grasses, or wild vegetables, tree roots and so on.
So, he got off his horse, walked slowly, and said as kindly as possible: "Madam, don't be afraid, we are officers and soldiers of the imperial court."
Having said this, he said to Fang Zhenghua who was following behind him: "Give me one or two new coins as compensation for the delay!"
When the old woman heard this, she put her head there and said quickly: "I don't dare, I don't dare. If the military master has anything to say, just ask. A bitch doesn't dare to ask for money!"
However, the child next to him heard the sound and raised his head to look at Emperor Chongzhen, with a little novelty in his eyes.
Emperor Chongzhen looked at the child, who was probably a little boy of seven or eight years old. His face was sallow and thin, and his face was still dirty. He smiled and said to him: "Help your grandma up. I'm asking you some simple questions. I won't ask them in vain." , there is money to give.”
Perhaps seeing Emperor Chongzhen's smile, the little boy lost some fear and immediately replied: "This is my mother, not my grandma!"
After saying that, he went to help his mother.
Emperor Chongzhen was dumbfounded after hearing this.He looked at the woman in front of him. She was probably in her fifties, and her hair was already white. Unexpectedly, she turned out to be the child's mother. She was probably in her thirties, right?
Sure enough, with the support of the child, the woman had to stand up, protect the child, and then looked at Emperor Chongzhen, with a worried look on her face, and just said: "If the general has anything to ask, just ask, no money is required!"
Seeing her face, Emperor Chongzhen could see clearly. It seemed that she was indeed a woman in her thirties, but she was dressed in shabby clothes, her body was dirty, and there must be frost on her hair?
At this time, Emperor Chongzhen couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. He shouted "Auntie", but she might not be older than him!
Putting aside this embarrassment, Emperor Chongzhen asked with a smile as much as possible: "What do you people eat on weekdays, just wild vegetables? I heard that Yangzhou Prefecture is very prosperous, is this enough to eat wild vegetables?" "
If even Yangzhou Prefecture has to live like this, the situation will be more severe than originally imagined.
Water transportation has been opened, but there is no food to transport?
Perhaps Emperor Chongzhen has always behaved kindly, and the others, headed by Emperor Chongzhen, were just scattered around and did not come close. There was one behind him who also smiled and looked harmless, so this woman became a little bolder. , replied Emperor Chongzhen: "I have some barley at home, but it's not enough to eat, so I have to go out and find some wild vegetables to mix with it."
Hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen was surprised again and immediately asked: "Jiangnan is a land of fish and rice, with many kinds of rice. Why does your family eat barley?"
After hearing this, the woman replied without thinking: "Barley is the cheapest, but it costs more than 4000 yuan per stone. The child's father does not often have money at home. It is the women who do needlework or something like that." Barely alive!”
When Emperor Chongzhen heard this, he was even more surprised, and asked: "Barley is the cheapest, more than 4000 yuan per stone, but what about other items, such as what is the price of rice?"
One tael of silver is about a thousand yuan, which is equivalent to four taels of silver per stone. It is really too expensive!
You know, in normal years, food is usually one stone and one tael. In good years, one tael of silver can buy two stones.
Over in the capital, Emperor Chongzhen had decreed the implementation of a food rationing system and food control since he traveled across time. Therefore, he had no idea that the price of food was so ridiculously high.
But looking back, it doesn't seem that surprising.
After all, there were continuous wars during the Chongzhen period. In the later period, the wars also spread to Jiangnan, Yangzhou Prefecture, Zhejiang and other places. There was no harm caused by Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong and others, but there were still many local bandits.
The woman continued to answer there: "Rice is even more expensive, costing 1 yuan per stone."
Emperor Chongzhen was stunned when he heard this.
As if she could see that the general in front of her seemed to be clean and gentle, and she spoke in a friendly manner, the woman added another sentence: "In terms of silver, it's five taels."
Hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen couldn't help but was stunned again. It seemed that in the chaotic times of the late Ming Dynasty, all order was broken, and the exchange ratio of silver and copper coins was also chaotic.
Probably because in troubled times, the gold and silver that people tend to carry are more valuable, so the exchange ratio of silver and copper coins is far from one to one thousand.
Without order, it is a disaster for ordinary people!
After a series of surprises and shocks, Emperor Chongzhen calmed down a bit and simply asked again: "What are the approximate prices of firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, and tea?"
The woman had already spoken, and seeing that Emperor Chongzhen, a general, was indeed easy to talk to, she let go and answered immediately.
In the past, when there was peace, she could have almost all of these. However, in recent years, her family has only been able to buy two essential items: rice and salt because there is not enough money.
As for salt, five pounds of coarse salt used to cost about four cents of silver, but now it costs almost six cents.
During the war years, it was difficult for ordinary people to make money, and prices skyrocketed. Life was really hard!
For a moment, Emperor Chongzhen's mood was affected.
After calming down for a while, he asked: "Where is the child's father a soldier? How is the situation?"
After hearing this, the woman did not hide anything and immediately replied: "Shi Ben was recruiting troops to suppress thieves. The child's father was a barbarian and had no other skills, so he joined the army. Now in Yangzhou Fucheng, the military salary was originally two taels of silver. , but the child’s father said that the imperial court could not provide military pay and only gave him one tael of silver and nothing else.”
The military pay of two taels of silver was generally a treatment only available to cavalry, or indeed to elite soldiers.
It is a common situation that the army is in arrears with pay. So far, Emperor Chongzhen has killed some big dogs in the north to pay off the pay arrears of the northern army.Then, when the situation stabilizes, new money will be issued to provide military pay.
But here in the south, it's still the same.
From this point of view, it is necessary to kill a group of big dogs in the south to reorganize the army!
With this thought in his mind, Emperor Chongzhen asked casually: "What is the name of the child's father?"
The woman hesitated for a moment and finally replied: "Hold it!"
"What?" Emperor Chongzhen didn't understand, but suddenly, he remembered that when Shi Kefa was guarding Yangzhou, there was indeed a person with this special name, because he was a Yiding, so he said again: "It should be him Bar!"
The name was very special, so it made an impression on him.
In the original history of defending Yangzhou Prefecture, the Manchu and Qing troops came to the city. The morale of the Yangzhou City defenders was low. One general after another, one after another, they surrendered to the Manchu Qing.At this time, a single warrior robbed the camp and attacked the Manchu army. He captured a horse and a first-level head, and successfully returned to Yangzhou City.Shi Kefa immediately rewarded him with a python veil and 100 taels of silver. This person's name was called Qizhu.
The woman heard this very strangely and immediately asked curiously: "Does the general know the father of the child?"
After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen smiled, shook his head and said, "I don't know him!"
After finishing speaking, he turned to look at Fang Zhenghua and said, "Give me the money!"
Then, he turned around and walked back to the war horse led by his personal guards. He got on the horse and saw the woman looking at the new money in her hand in surprise. He then said: "I have some good news for you. The army will soon be gone." Those who will default on their military pay will get better and better in the future."
After saying this, he turned and rode away.
Fang Zhenghua and others followed and drove away.
The little boy held his mother's hand, looked at Emperor Chongzhen's back, and said, "Mom, let dad follow this general. This general is a good man!"
The woman lowered her head to look at the money in her hand, then looked up at the retreating figures of Emperor Chongzhen and his entourage, and replied: "Your father is the Minister of War of the imperial court, in charge of these generals!"
In other words, I disagree.
Of course, this kind of thing is not something they can change if they want.
Emperor Chongzhen did not believe one side of the story, and sent someone to Baoying to inquire about the prices. After verifying that the woman was right, he believed it.
But he didn't do anything, he just continued to lead the army to Yangzhou Fucheng!
The price is not made up, historical records show that in the 15th year of Chongzhen’s reign in the Jiangnan area
(End of this chapter)
Tap the screen to use advanced tools
Tip: You can use left and right keyboard keys to browse between chapters.
You'll Also Like
-
80s: The Farmer’s Wife Is The Boss
Chapter 271 2 hours ago -
Comprehensive Comics: Become The Yellow-Haired Me And Join The Chat Group
Chapter 88 2 hours ago -
Starting Hashirama Template, Kaido, You Are Too Dangerous
Chapter 88 2 hours ago -
Villain_ The heroine does not play her cards according to the plot and breaks off the engagement at
Chapter 578 7 hours ago -
Rebuilding Uchiha starts with Lafugaku stepping down
Chapter 196 21 hours ago -
I, the last Yin-Yang embroiderer
Chapter 295 21 hours ago -
Moba: No one in this era can understand his operations.
Chapter 99 21 hours ago -
Become a tyrant from awakening the black hole fruit
Chapter 95 21 hours ago -
Comprehensive manga: Playing as Zoro starting from Sword Art Online!
Chapter 70 21 hours ago -
I was sponsored by Boss Yang, and I went to repay him 18 years later
Chapter 198 21 hours ago
