A century-old family that runs through the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 177 200 refugees? ? ?
Time goes back to a month ago, when Zhu Youtang was just born and the Forbidden City was in a state of joy.

On the edge of Hanzhong Mansion, there were several figures standing on a high mountain, looking from a distance.In their eyes, they saw only a long dragon heading southeast.

In that long dragon, there were all ragged people, carrying simple luggage, one foot deep and one foot shallow, marching towards a certain goal with the same goal.

Looking into the distance, you can faintly see countless green mountains and dense forests, with excellent natural conditions.

It is Xunyang, which is the Jingxiang area.

"Damn! That's Jingxiang. Why are these guys flocking there? Go to Henan or Nanzhi! Aren't those places rich?" Someone said angrily:
"There are already millions of refugees in Jing, Xiang, An, and Mian. If these guys continue to pour in, sooner or later something will happen!"

"There is a severe drought, and there is nothing they can do." The prefect of Hanzhong sighed softly:

"Henan and Nanzhi are also suffering from drought and are probably also in recession... There are no government offices in Jingxiang and there is no need to pay taxes. The land is fertile and the people are desperate. Where can they go?"

He turned his head and asked the master behind him:

"Approximately how many refugees have entered Jingxiang these days?"

"The number of people who entered Jingxiang from Shaanxi alone is hundreds of thousands. If we count the people from the whole country, there are probably millions." The master said this with a trembling tone, and when he heard his words , the people around him also turned pale.

"There are nearly two million refugees..." someone whispered, with a horrified look on his face.

This number of refugees is unprecedented.

"Report it to the court, Lord Mansion." The master said in a low voice: "This is no longer something we can handle."

"The current Jingxiang area is like a huge powder keg. It only needs a spark for it to explode."

"And our Hanzhong Mansion is the first to bear the brunt!"

……

The memorial from the prefect of Hanzhong soon arrived in Beijing.

The cabinet ministers did not dare to specialize in such a major matter, so they reported it to Zhu Jianshen.

Therefore, what happened before happened.

"How many???"

Emperor Chenghua's hands trembled, and he even picked out his ears in disbelief, and then motioned to the ministers to say it again.

"Your Majesty, according to provincial surveys, about 90 refugees have entered the Xunyang area. According to statistics from the fourth year of Chenghua, there were more than one million refugees there. Even if the refugees who entered in recent years are not counted, there are now There are nearly 200 million..."

Shang Ren's voice also trembled a little, and he felt horrified after seeing this number.

Jingxiang's problem has been around for a long time, and if this matter can be traced back, it goes all the way to Taizu.

The strategic location of Jingxiang is very important, and the mountains are high and the forests are dense. It is extremely easy to hide, which is not conducive to the management of the court. Once it is stolen by rogue bandits, it will become a serious problem for the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, after the Ming Dynasty occupied this area, Zhu Yuanzhang Then he moved all the people out, and then ordered the army to seal the place and strictly prohibit the people from entering or exiting.

However, the land in Jingxiang is fertile, and the continuous mountains and forests are filled with countless birds and beasts. It is really impossible for you to prevent the refugees who cannot survive without entering.

Before, the Ming Dynasty was relatively peaceful and nothing happened, but later on, more and more refugees gathered.In the second year of Chenghua, there was a rebellion in Jingxiang. At that time, there were about 20 refugees in this place, 4 of whom were thieves.

In just four years, the number of refugees in Jingxiang has reached one million!It can be seen that the natural and man-made disasters in the Ming Dynasty were becoming more and more serious at this time.

Shang Ren gave a brief explanation to Emperor Chenghua. After Zhu Jianshen listened, he nodded with a heavy face.It's not like he hasn't paid attention to it before, but there were only a few refugees in Jingxiang at that time, and the rebellion had been driven out before, so he didn't pay much attention to it. He didn't expect that it would suddenly grow into such a serious problem!

The main reason is that the Ming Dynasty has not been peaceful in recent years, and the number of refugees has increased faster than imagined.

He frowned and said in a low voice:

"Everyone, let's discuss this."

"There is no official government in the Jingxiang land, and the order is chaotic. The refugees are free to cultivate the land here. It seems peaceful, but in fact it is the law of the jungle and the strong." Peng Shi said:
"Now that another 90 refugees have entered, the number of refugees here is even larger, and the addition of new people will inevitably cause conflicts of interest."

"Once someone with ulterior motives arbitrarily stirs up the refugees to cause chaos, the consequences will be disastrous. I'm afraid I'm not lying when I say the situation is critical."

After his words fell, the hearts of everyone present became a little tighter.

200 million!Thinking about this number is heart-breaking. Even if only one-third of the people are thieves, it will be a terrible rebellion.

In the original history, when the bandit leader Li Yuan rebelled, as many as one million people joined the bandits, setting off the largest peasant uprising in the history of the Ming Dynasty. Even at the end of the Ming Dynasty, the total number of rogue bandits was probably too high. But this number!
The only advantage is that compared to the original history, this time the Ming Dynasty got the news in advance in September, and the rebellion would not break out until October, so it was still not too late!
"We need to send troops south immediately to prevent rebellion." Shang Ren said immediately.

Zhu Jianshen nodded immediately. With such a group of refugees in the heart of Huguang, he simply couldn't sleep well.

Just as he was about to open his mouth to issue an order, Yan Jingxiu also spoke at this time.

"Your Majesty, of course it is a top priority for the army to move south, but it is only a temporary solution rather than a permanent solution." Yan Jingxiu frowned and said while thinking:
"Your Majesty, the root cause of the refugees in Jingxiang is that the people are suffering from taxes and servitude, and are devastated by natural disasters and are forced to leave their homes. The land of Jingxiang is fertile and wild, so a large number of refugees gather."

"Even if Your Majesty sends troops to suppress this rebellion, as long as the land of Jingxiang remains and the natural disasters continue, the refugees will not stop. The court can't clean it up every few decades, right? It's a waste of time and effort but a waste of military pay. .”

After saying this, all the ministers nodded. Zhu Jian was deeply convinced, so he asked:
"In that case, dear, do you have any good ideas?"

Yan Jingxiu already had a draft at this time, and he said:
"Your Majesty, you need to know that blocking is worse than dredging. This is like regulating the Yellow River. If you just blindly raise the dam, there will always be a day when it overflows, and this time will be a time when life will be ruined. But if you use dredging, you can ensure that the Yellow River The people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait will have peace for dozens of years."

"What's more, the land of Jingxiang is now fertile and wild, and it would be a pity if it remains empty."

"Therefore, my suggestion is to select some of the people, especially those living in the mountains and forests, to return to their place of origin. The people who have reclaimed wasteland in the local area should settle there, and the Ming Dynasty will set up prefectures and counties in the area to manage and collect taxes. .”

"In this way, we will not only eliminate the serious trouble, but also increase the income for the court."

"Two million people are roaring in the mountains and forests. Will they really obey the imperial court's orders? Will it trigger a popular uprising?" Peng Shi frowned and asked.

"Yes. They have been living in Jingxiang for several years. They would rather farm than rebel. They have proven that they are just trying to survive. Otherwise, they would have done what Ye Zongliu did! As long as they are recruited properly, they will never change. Yan Jingxiu said with confidence.

"Of course, there will inevitably be unruly people and people with evil intentions among them, so the army is also indispensable." At this point, a cold light flashed across Yan Jingxiu's eyes:
"When necessary, use blood... to deter the lawless people!"

"Two-pronged approach!"

After listening to the words, Zhu Jianshen's eyes showed approval. It was obvious that Yan Jingxiu's method of using both soft and hard tactics won his heart.

He turned his head and looked at Yu Qian, the chief minister of the cabinet:

"My dear, what do you think?"

"Your Majesty, I have nothing to add. This is the way to bring peace to Jingxiang."

Yu Qian also had a faint smile on his face.

　Thanks to "OnoD" for the tip, thank you!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)