A small soldier of the frontier army in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 741 The Torrent of the Wave

Of course, apart from these things, they walked in the town these days, and what happened along the way was an eye-opener for everyone.
Xuanfu Town is already very prosperous. Although the capital is big, beggars are everywhere, refugees are everywhere, people are starving to death everywhere, especially garbage is everywhere, and the city is full of dust, but here it is full of vitality, full of vigor and vitality, with a special expression Ruddy people are everywhere.
And what do the people here say?
It always gives people a weird feeling, or they have a distinctive aura, which is a mixture of self-confidence and high spirits, and they all walk with their heads held high and their strides, nothing like Li Banghua's usual See the kind of numbness, humbleness, fear and pity.
It seems that the people waiting here, up and down, all have a hope, or a dream.
Li Banghua observed carefully. After entering Xuanfu Town, the wide gravel road surface was very smooth. On the main road, there was still some lime mud mixed with it, spreading all the way to the distance.
Although the road is wide enough for several horse-drawn carriages to walk side by side, it implements a driving method called "traffic rules" by the locals. No matter how many carriages and horses there are, there is no need to give way, and it will not be crowded. in Apple pie order.
Tunpu villages are densely packed along the way, and the planning is well-organized without any mess.
Prosperity can be seen everywhere in these settlements, with various shops lined up, and the people and businessmen communicate constantly.It's really heard of each other, and the population is dense, if this is not the land of Ming Dynasty, but another beautiful country without disasters and wars.
Li Banghua also observed that the drought here is not as severe as that in other parts of the capital, but there are complete water conservancy everywhere.In particular, the gathering of well irrigation water trucks can ensure the harvest of grain, which makes Li Banghua awe-inspiring about their grassroots organizational strength.
In fact, natural disasters have occurred in all dynasties. In the early and middle periods of Ming Dynasty, all kinds of catastrophes were common, especially during the Wanli period, but they all survived in the end. Even at that time, the power of grassroots organizations was still there, and the central government also had the ability to execute.
However, due to the abolishment of the Lijia system, especially after Zhang Juzheng’s reforms, grain was converted into silver, and all Lijia chiefs in the Ming Dynasty were made low-level labor, and the localities became controlled by the gentry. As a result, the real imperial power did not go to the countryside. This is the real cause of financial bankruptcy.
As the censor of Zuodu of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, Li Banghua vaguely understood the accumulated disadvantages, but it was impossible to turn back now.
All kinds of situations on the road also amazed the attendants. They had heard that Xuanfu Town was prosperous, and saw it with their own eyes. It was far richer and more prosperous than imagined.
In particular, the tranquility here makes many people's hearts flutter.
Perhaps many people in the group lived better than ordinary people here, but that sense of security was far from being available elsewhere. No wonder so many people yearned for Xuanfu Town and moved their clansmen here.
Li Banghua looked even more solemn, thinking: "This is the career of a king and hegemony!"
What particularly surprised him was that martial arts was very strong here, and many passers-by wore swords, but they were not cadets and scholars, nor inspection soldiers, but ordinary people.
Although the Ming Dynasty and the previous Han Dynasty tacitly allowed the people to have five soldiers, only armor, spears, crossbows, and strong bows were not allowed, but it was actually an unspoken rule, and Wang Dou did not openly allow it.
Doesn't this mean that if Wang Dou has a different heart, he only needs to climb up and call out, and adding tens of thousands of strong troops is just a breeze?
Li Banghua also heard that people in Xuanfu Town were allowed to buy or own firearms, and that the most prominent symbol of the Jingbian Army was the sharpness of their guns. If this was true, when they joined the army, they didn't even need much training to become excellent gun soldiers.
How amazing is this?The more Li Banghua thought about it, the heavier he felt!
……
On this day, the guard of honor with chariots and horses went to Huailai City. Ma Guoxi led the officials out of the city to welcome them ten miles out of the city.
In fact, when the horses and horses passed through Yulin Castle earlier, Wu Zhi, the magistrate of Yanqing Prefecture, Yu Gui, the general of Nanshan Road, and Chen Jiugao, the general soldier behind the mausoleum, also sent Yijin to some extent. Although not much, it was enough to make people cry. I finally met my own family, it's better to be my own family.
According to the old practice, when the imperial envoy came down, the attendants blackmailed the place all the way just for leisure, and the officials who fawned on them came in a flood. It was the first time that everyone encountered such aggrieved thing in Xuanfu Town.
Fortunately, there are still loyal people in Xuanfu Town, unlike Wang Dou's faction, who have no king and no father.
Even Li Banghua was moved for a while. Although he still refused to accept money and politely rejected the money from all parties, the kindness of everyone still made him feel respected. This is the dignity that a court official should have.
Rites cannot be discarded!I don't charge money, this is my strength of character, but how can I not want the minimum dignity?
After all, Wang Dou started out as a small soldier, and he was uncouth and unruly. This background is just bad.
Of course, he doesn't take money himself, but it's hard to control the people below.
In particular, there were a few eunuchs and Jin Yiwei accompanying him, but considering Li Banghua's status as an imperial envoy, the court sent someone to escort him, and he didn't take this abandoned member seriously.
The old official system in Xuanfu Town actually says that there is no money and no money, and that there are still rich people who have money.
The population of civilian households in Xuanfu Town continues to be lost, and the remaining people are applying to change to military households. Ma Guoxi and others have to pay taxes. It all depends on Wang Dou's face and whether he will transfer some money over, otherwise , How can they turn over taxes and food to the treasury?
The imperial court's distribution of food and salaries to these officials was also intermittent. If they relied on the imperial court's salary, they would have been drinking the northwest wind.
Fortunately, snakes have ways of snakes, and rats have ways of rats. Many officials still "rather die than submit." For example, Wu Zhi is tough enough to fight Wang Dou to the end, but his family members have already transferred to Wang Dou's system, at least in hand The above is also a naturalized nationality.
Then they opened shops and set up shops, but they continued to receive money and food every day. Of course, their shops had to pay taxes.
After all, even Wang Dou himself has to pay taxes, which is enough to silence many people, and his tax collection department is too powerful. It is still the Department of Civil Affairs, and now it is the Ministry. Like a wolf like a tiger.
Wang Dou seldom uses violence in the town now, but soft violence is also terrible, just blocking any one, or Donglu Commercial Bank, or Sanjin Commercial Bank with a little finger, is enough to make your small shop go bankrupt and close down .
And if they don't pay taxes, they have no credit. They can't participate in various profitable businesses in Xuanfu Town, and they are excluded from the high-end class. Therefore, outsiders don't understand that the concept of paying taxes is more and more popular. Inside is no exception.
So their lives are very strange now. On the one hand, as Wang Dou becomes more prosperous, the officials have less gray income, the official treasury is getting cleaner enough to run away mice, and the official government is even more dilapidated to the point of tears.
On the one hand, the children of the family have extensively participated in business and benefited from the development of Xuanfu Town, and their personal family life has become more and more prosperous.
Now these old officials and officials, especially the officials on the East Road, don't care whether they go to the government or not, and whether they do things or not, because there are too few things to do.
Everyone even went to the government office, and usually lived a daily life with a newspaper and a cup of tea, idling around for another day, and even more officials resigned and went to work in the Tunbao under Wang Dou's rule, making the officials more and more flustered.
Many people have become an important source of customers for various teahouses and restaurants.
Yijin paid out of pocket for a private person, Ma Guoxi and the others were full of pride, but the entertainment expenses were collected, and finally [-] silver dollars were squeezed out, mainly because there was really no money in the official account.
The moment they saw Li Banghua, Ma Guoxi and others felt like crying. How long has it been since this familiar feeling?Even the eunuch, with a few Jinyi guards, secretly extorted money and food from Ma Guoxi and others afterwards, which made everyone feel a sense of familiarity and intimacy.
Just recalling the past years, unconsciously, the world has changed.
Now everyone is drifting with the tide according to inertia, but where will the torrent of the tide eventually lead them to?
……
Like Ma Guoxi and others, Li Banghua almost choked up when he saw this familiar official style. The sky never forsakes Daming, and there are still loyal ministers and righteous men left in Xuanfu Town full of tigers and wolves. This is the luck of the court.
He and Ma Guoxi had a very happy conversation. Although one of them was from the Donglin Party and the other from the Eunuch Party, there was no estrangement in the background.
And although the factions are different, Ma Guoxi admires Li Banghua's integrity very much. He also knows about the affairs of the court. Although he thinks that Li Banghua's way of doing things is open to question, he is determined to serve the country and act recklessly, so he can't do it himself.
In that case, he would only be wise to protect himself, unlike Li Banghua who would not hesitate to do so.
In the same way, Li Banghua also appreciates Ma Guoxi's adherence to the righteousness in Xuanfu Town and his heart to the imperial court.
After the banquet, the two got together in the living room and talked about the journey of the imperial envoys.
Ma Guoxi pondered and said: "It's not that Marquis Yongning made things difficult on purpose, that's what the decree of Xuanfu Town is, and it's his father-in-law... When Governor Xuan Daji entered the town, he also needed to check his documents. Governor Ji was dissatisfied at that time, but Yongning Hou still doesn't change...Xuanfu Town is like this, the law is very strict."
Ma Guoxi has his own principles of life, and he also thinks that Wang Dou has done a good job in this regard, and he is unwilling to talk against his will, but...
According to what he knew about Wang Dou, in fact, this person is very tactful, he insists on big joints, but he is tolerant in small details.It seems that what Li Banghua did not only follow the rules, but also seems to be faintly hostile, and Wang Dou may not even know about this matter.
He secretly sighed in his heart: "Master Li has provoked the anger of everyone."
What Li Banghua said in the cabinet is a secret?At least he, Ma Guoxi, knew it clearly.
And what is Xuanfu Town?In the hearts of many soldiers and civilians, Wang Dou is regarded as the Buddha of ten thousand families and the rebirth of parents.Li Banghua proposed to transfer Wang Dou away. It is no wonder that the townspeople have a good impression of him. The cold reception and even gossip he received along the way is understandable.
It is not surprising that any violence occurred.
Fortunately, the laws of Xuanfu Town are strict, so this kind of thing will not happen, but it is perfectly normal for the soldiers and civilians to make things difficult.
At the same time, I was in a trance for a while, the former general in the East Road had already stood at a height that I needed to look up to in the blink of an eye.
Li Banghua got up slowly, the meaning in Ma Guoxi's words was not exhausted, but how can he not understand that he is a high-ranking official in the Zuodu Yushi of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and an extremely intelligent person?
He said calmly: "I know that the matter of Xuanfu Town, and even the matter of the future Dufu, is not what Yongninghou thinks, but what the people under him think and do!"
He said coldly: "From a selfish point of view, I admire Marquis Yongning, and I have no personal enmity or great hatred with him!"
He recalled that when he was rectifying the Beijing camp, he was painstaking and single-minded, only for the country's abuses, but the losers complained a lot, and Zhang Daoze, who was a confidant of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, took advantage of the occasion to slander, and finally spoke to the official After handing over the chapters, he was dismissed and lived idle.
This is not the first time. I have been dismissed before and after, and I have been living at home for 20 years. How many 20 years are there in this life?
And after he left, the future generations of the Beijing camp also took it as a warning, and the Rong government did not dare to ask because of tolerance.
Whenever he thinks of these things, he feels pain in his heart and lungs, worrying about state affairs.
The various things Wang Dou did were no less difficult than rectifying the Beijing camp, especially the post station, which was rectified at the beginning of Chongzhen, and finally the intruder Li Zicheng was rectified. It is really rare to consciously safeguard the interests of each station, especially Wang Dou who leads by example.
He said slowly: "The Marquis of Yongning is like this in Xuanfu Town, it is very remarkable, and this official is far inferior."
"It's just that, because of this, it's terrifying..."

(End of this chapter)