Back to Daming to be a genius

Chapter 308
(PS: It’s February [-]st, please don’t ask for a February monthly ticket for the dog who is about to end the civil war.)
After the three decrees of Young Master Zhang spread throughout Shaanxi, Gansu, and prefectures, counties and townships through all levels of government, a tornado as strong as a twelfth magnitude was set off on the land of Shaanxi and Gansu - after all, since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, Young Master Zhang was still the first A bandit-suppressing commander who violated the rules and made a must-kill list that would never accept surrender!The eight thieves, Shen Yiyuan and Buzhanni, who were lucky enough to be on the list, were furious and clamored to show Young Master Zhang a little color, and let Young Master Zhang know whether Lord Ma has three eyes or not!But having said that, in view of the fact that Mr. Zhang's decree is extremely wicked, even if the eight thieves' brothers and sons hand over their heads to the government to make contributions, they can all be pardoned and rewarded. It is still unavoidable to be a little bit muttering - is the trusted brother by my side really reliable?

Whether the appeasement decree will have any effect, and how much effect it will have, the key is to see how much food Young Master Zhang can provide to help the people, so that the people in Shaanxi and Gansu who are on the verge of starvation will have a bite to eat and will not starve to death—— It is also a critical moment to test the financial strength and mobilization strength of the entire Ming court.Fortunately, Young Master Zhang has a good godfather who governs the country with an iron fist. In order to provide Young Master Zhang with military expenses for suppressing bandits and relief money and food, Wei Zhongxian transferred all the money obtained from confiscating illegal profiteers in the past two years to Young Master Zhang, and strictly ordered all parts of the country to Li Shi, the great eunuch in the south of the Yangtze River who had frequent correspondence with Master Zhang and had a close relationship with him, also gave him enough face and ordered the tax and mining supervisors in various places in the south of the Yangtze River to do their best to buy the surplus grain of the people in the south of the Yangtze River for Master Zhang and send it through the canal. To Xuzhou, and then from Xuzhou to Shaanxi by land to distribute disaster relief.

At the end of May, the first batch of 50 shi of grain was sent to Xi'an. To the surprise of Master Zhang, the actual price of the grain purchased by Li Shi was nearly [-]% lower than the previous estimate. After inquiring carefully, Young Master Zhang finally understood the specific reason - it turned out that this was another immoral thing done by Young Master Zhang.The first immoral thing is that Young Master Zhang killed the eight major locust merchants in Zhangjiakou, and the grain smuggling activities on the northern border were also hit hard. Change, of course, the price will fall.The second immoral thing is what young master Zhang did to promote the planting of dog potatoes. Master Zhang’s family, who holds nearly [-]% of the land in Linqing Prefecture, took the lead in planting dog potatoes. The harvest has been bumper year after year, which has driven the entire Shandong to grow special dog potatoes, High-yield plants such as potatoes and corn, and a bumper harvest in the face of widespread drought in the north, have also made Shandong the first province in the north to achieve food self-sufficiency in recent years, and there is still a small amount of food that can be exported for profit, helping neighboring provinces to survive. famine.With the role model in front and Wei Zhongxian's iron fist to promote, the northern states and governments have also started a vigorous campaign to promote high-yield crop planting, and generally achieved good harvests. Although the promotion time is not long, and the food shortage situation in the entire north has not been completely reversed, but It also greatly alleviated the embarrassment of food famine and reduced the food demand for grain-producing provinces in the south of the Yangtze River.Putting the two major objective reasons in front of us, if the grain price in the south of the Yangtze River does not drop, it will be a ghost.

50 shi of grain traveled across Henan Province by land, employing more than 10 people. Henan is also a hard-hit area of ​​drought. The food shortage situation is only slightly better than that of Shaanxi and Gansu. People eat horse chews and wages are paid, and when the 50 shi of grain arrived in Xi'an, only 45 shi were left, which was a full 94.4% less than [-]%.However, in the face of such a huge loss, Wei Zhongxian and Mr. Zhang, who really knew the hardships of the people's livelihood, not only did not have a headache, but secretly felt a little happy, because the pair of dogs who worked together knew very well that the so-called road loss of [-] shi of grain was actually tantamount to In Henan Province, [-] shi of grain was distributed in a disguised form (one shi of grain was equivalent to [-] kilograms in the middle and late Ming Dynasty), and the [-] migrant workers who received the grain and the hundreds of thousands of family members behind them will no longer be without food for a long time Worrying about crossing the famine not only transported food but also stabilized the situation in Henan, which can be said to kill two birds with one stone.And things were just as Wei Zhongxian and Mr. Zhang and Mr. Dog had expected. After the first batch of grain passed through Henan, the law and order in the prefectures and counties along the way improved greatly. At the same time, a large number of poor people flocked to the official road from remote places. I only hope that I can have the opportunity to be a farmer who transports grain and earn some grain to support my family. Many signs of chaos in Henan have also been nipped in the bud.

On the tenth day of June, under the personal supervision of Young Master Zhang, Xi’an Prefecture in Shaanxi Province took the lead in distributing food relief to the hungry people, and distributed food for 20 days at a time according to the quota of one liter of rice per person for four days—although the amount is not a lot, but it is sure You can't starve to death.When the food distribution began at the beginning of Chenshi, the 21 food distribution points outside Xi'an were crowded with people, and the line to receive the food was lined up for seven or eight miles. The scene was as spectacular as the [-]st century Spring Festival travel queue Buying a train ticket forced Young Master Zhang to use [-] troops to maintain order.But fortunately, because Young Master Zhang gave the people food for free, and the kind-hearted people did not intentionally make trouble for Young Master Zhang, the whole distribution process of the relief food was generally very smooth. Under the eyes of Young Master Zhang, big fights were exchanged for small fights, embezzlement and embezzlement, and the hungry and cold victims really received life-saving food.As a result, there were unavoidable voices of praise and virtue in the scene, and the hungry people were all grateful and respectful to Young Master Zhang, but Sun Chengzong was extremely depressed-if he had such sufficient military funds as Young Master Zhang to buy food to help the people in the past few years, Shaanxi, Gansu, and Gansu How could the situation collapse like this in his hands?
"Thank you, Mr. Zhang. Thank you, Mr. Zhang. Thank you, Mr. Zhang. Mr. Zhang, you are a living Bodhisattva." Riding a tall white horse and leading a group of soldiers, no matter where he went, the people who greeted Mr. Zhang were the gratitude of the hungry people. In the voice, Shi Kefa, the honest teacher of Young Master Zhang, also praised constantly: "My lord's action is to live ten thousand people and save the common people. Such a kind deed is rare in ancient times." However, Young Master Zhang is not a good character in the first place, so he is praised by everyone. , inevitably began to feel ecstatic, but it was a pity that there were too few beauties present, and the beauties all over the world could not witness the spectacular scene of a handsome and handsome self being worshiped by tens of thousands of people.

After carefully inspecting the circle, no officials were found to embezzle and embezzle relief food and grass to create opportunities for themselves to sacrifice swords. After enjoying enough praises from the hungry people, Young Master Zhang finally rode his horse back to the awning where the prison relief officials gathered. Erlang was sipping fragrant tea on his legs and supervised the release of relief. At this moment, a fast horse suddenly came galloping, and the soldiers of Young Master Zhang immediately shouted: "Young Master, someone is coming from the capital. Li Yingliang, godson of Eunuch Li Qinmeng, said that he was reading an imperial decree about the political situation in Shaanxi and Gansu, and he is waiting in your temporary yamen." Young Master Zhang counted and felt that this imperial decree might be related to Hong Chengchou's killing of prisoners. He hurriedly ordered officials of the fourth rank and above to be summoned to his temporary yamen to listen to the order.

Leading several high-ranking officials including Sun Chengzong and Hong Chengchou to the original Xi'an government office, they entered the hall. Li Yingliang, who was counted as the nephew of Young Master Zhang according to his seniority, was indeed having tea in the hall. On the incense case, he led all the officials to kneel in front of the incense case, while Li Yingliang stood behind the incense case, took out an imperial decree and said: "By God, the emperor's decree said: Check that the governor of Shaanxi, Hong Chengchou, led the army to kill thieves without authorization, and killed [-] people. The thieves and their families were slaughtered, the methods were cruel and horrifying, and I was horrified when I heard it. I wanted to send you to prison for questioning, but Nian Er was still loyal, and he did little work in suppressing the thieves. Zhang Haogu and other officials and ministers pleaded for your kindness. I decided to show you extrajudicial favors. I will demote you to three ranks and fine you a salary of one year. You will be appointed as a counselor of the Shaanxi chief envoy. , kill the common people less, create more welfare, remember it carefully. I respect this.”

"Sinner Hong Chengchou, thank the emperor for his grace." Hong Chengchou took a long breath of relief and kowtowed to thank him.Li Yingliang handed the imperial decree to Hong Chengchou, and said in a deep voice: "Lord Hong, thank you Jiuqiansui and Master Zhang. If they hadn't interceded for you, most officials would have asked the emperor to remove you from all positions and cut you down for the sake of the people." Yes, there are a few censors who simply say that since the rebels have surrendered, they are the people of Ming Dynasty. If you kill people indiscriminately, you should be imprisoned and questioned. Thanks to the nine thousand years old ancestor who knew that you were thinking about the country and the country, and brought the ceremony All the father-in-laws in prison tried their best to plead for you in front of the emperor, so the emperor didn't listen to them."

Hong Chengchou respectfully agreed, and thanked Young Master Zhang again.Li Yingliang took out the second imperial decree and began to read: "By God's fortune, the emperor's edict said: During the tenure of Sun Chengzong, the governor of Shanxi and Gansu, he did not listen to loyal advice and attacked rashly, resulting in the defeat of Liupanshan, loss of troops and loss of generals, and [-] officers and soldiers. [-]% off Ninth, it also led to the fall of Xi'an, the people in the city were brutally poisoned, the official treasury of grain and grass, and the arsenal were all emptied, which greatly humiliated the military's prestige and lost the state! Today, Sun Chengzong was dismissed from the post of governor of Shaanxi and Gansu, demoted to three levels, and reassigned as capital The censor of the right capital of the procuratorate, the governor of Shaanxi, was fined for one year. This is my honor."

"Old minister Sun Chengzong, thank you for your grace." Sun Chengzong kowtowed respectfully, and then said in a deep voice: "I am troubled and sent back to the sage. common people."

"Stubborn old man, do you think I don't want you to be dismissed from all official positions? The emperor's nostalgic temper is here, what can I do?" Young Master Zhang, who was used to authoritarianism, snorted coldly in his heart, wishing that Sun Chengzong would leave early.Li Yingliang over there replied with a wry smile: "Master Ge, the emperor has asked the supervisor of ceremonies and the cabinet to reject the memorial that you asked to be dismissed from office, and he also said in a golden eloquence that Tan Hualang is too young to be separated from you, who is mature and prudent, to help him preside over it." The overall situation, so you should not insist on it, old man." Sun Chengzong agreed sullenly, and when Young Master Zhang and others were about to get up, Li Yingliang hurriedly said: "Uncle Gan, don't get up in a hurry, there is another imperial decree for you .”

"The emperor also has a will for me? Wouldn't it be to punish me for the crime of implicating me?" Young Master Zhang, who thought he had nothing to do, was taken aback, and had to bring all the officials to kneel down again.Li Yingliang took out the third imperial decree and read: "Following the heavens, the emperor ordered: Zhang Haogu, the governor of the five provinces, has not been in office for three months. Captured and beheaded more than [-] rebel leaders, large and small, and their meritorious service to the heavens cannot be erased, so Zhang Haogu was specially appointed as the crown prince Shaobao, and entered the Eastern Palace of the Curtain, as a token of commendation. This is yours."

"Prince Shaobao?" Eldest Young Master Zhang was taken aback, then immediately came back to his senses, and hurriedly raised his head and asked, "Eunuch Li, did Concubine Wei give birth to a prince?" Li Yingliang was also taken aback, and then replied with a smile: " Uncle Gan is really wise, yes, when my nephew left the capital and arrived in Guide, news came from the capital that Concubine Wei gave birth to a dragon son for the emperor and named him Ciwei, and later the palace sent someone to hurry Ma caught up with my nephew and handed over the third edict to my nephew." After finishing speaking, Li Yingliang cautiously reminded: "Uncle Qian, you haven't thanked me yet."

"My humble minister, Zhang Haogu, thank you for the grace of God, my emperor, long live, long live!" Young Master Zhang kowtowed vigorously, respectfully thanking you, and smiled wryly in his stomach: "Okay, Lao Wei's granddaughter really gave birth to a son. This time there is excitement in the capital, it is estimated that Zhu Chunchen's life will start to hang as the eldest grandson in the palace."

"Congratulations to Zhang Shaobao, congratulations to Zhang Shaobao." Young Master Zhang is definitely not the only one who is smart. Young Master Zhang first realized that it was Wei Zhongxian's granddaughter who gave birth to a son, and the imperial court hastily named him Prince Shaobao. Although the officials from Shaanxi and Gansu present did not have Young Master Zhang He has a keen sense of smell, but this time everyone will wake up - Wei Zhongxian is paving the way for his great-grandson to inherit the throne. It is estimated that when Young Master Zhang completely puts down the chaos of the Shaanxi-Gansu rebels, Young Master Zhang should also change his title to Prince Taibao.More far-sighted officials concluded that once Wei Zhongxian's great-grandson succeeds to the throne, Young Master Zhang, a rookie of the eunuch party with both civil and military skills, will surely become the leader of the eunuch party and will be reused by the new dynasty!Hong Chengchou was even more ecstatic, knowing that he had hugged the right thick thigh, so after Young Master Zhang thanked him, all the officials present, except Sun Chengzong, ran to Young Master Zhang to flatter him, wishing Young Master Zhang his promotion and prosperity.Young Master Zhang thanked him modestly on the surface, but secretly worried in his stomach, knowing that in the not-too-distant future, he would definitely be pushed to the forefront, making a choice that was a hundred times more difficult than whether to slaughter [-] rebels and prisoners of war.

After reading the imperial decree, Young Master Zhang asked Sun Chengzong and other officials to go out of the city to continue to supervise the release of relief, and asked the soldiers to host a banquet, and personally accompanied Li Yingliang to clean up the dust. It was also at the banquet that Li Yingliang took out another secret letter from Wei Zhongxian and handed it to Young Master Zhang .In the letter, Wei Zhongxian not only asked Hong Chengchou whether the killing of the captives was due to the secret order of Young Master Zhang, but also briefly introduced the current situation in Liaodong to Young Master Zhang-according to the report of the spies arranged by Dongchang and Zhenfu Division in Liaodong, Since Wei Zhongxian quietly cut off the supply of food and salaries in Ningyuan and Jinzhou, Yuan Chonghuan appeared on the surface to ask for food and salaries twice in three days, but secretly accelerated the pace of surrender and slavery, cut off the connection inside and outside the pass, and trained troops in the fields. The south of Jinzhou suddenly became Yuan Chonghuan's private land.At the same time, enslavement envoys openly went to and from Ningyuan, taking away many Han cannon-casting craftsmen controlled by Shanzong, and secretly provided Yuan Chonghuan with a batch of gold, silver and jewelry looted from North Korea, allowing Yuan Chonghuan to smuggle food, grass and military supplies through inland relations. , Actively prepared for war to resist the conquest of the Ming army.

What surprised Young Master Zhang was that Jiannu and Yuan Chongyu also had the idea of ​​high-yield crops. In order to solve the food shortage problem caused by natural disasters and droughts in Liaodong, not only the Ningyuan army planted a large number of high-yield plants such as dog potatoes, potatoes, and corn. The slave-building army, which regarded farming as a scourge, also began to promote the planting of high-yield crops in Liaodong and North Korea in order to be self-sufficient in food.As for the source of grain for Ningyuan's army and Jiannu, the powerful Jinyiwei and Dongchang Fanyu couldn't find any clues. They can only infer that traitor merchants purchased in the interior of Daming and smuggled them to Liaodong through Mongolian grasslands or by sea.At the end of the secret letter, Wei Zhongxian asked Young Master Zhang to put down the rebellion in Shaanxi as soon as possible, so that the Ming court would be free to concentrate all manpower and material resources to get rid of Shanzong, a cancer of the Ming Dynasty, and restore the entire territory of Liaodong.

"Bang!" After reading the secret letter, Young Master Zhang was so angry that he punched the table with his fist, and said angrily, "Just after we got rid of the eight big profiteers in Zhangjiakou and the Li family brothers, there are also profiteers who smuggle food, grass and military supplies to Liaodong, and even smuggle high-yielding grain It was also smuggled in the past, what happened to the Ming Dynasty? What happened in the end?" After finishing speaking, Young Master Zhang asked Li Yingliang: "Eunuch Li, since it was discovered that there were profiteers smuggling food, grass and military supplies to Jiannu, there are probably nine out of ten. Yuan Chonghuan's brother Yuan Chongyu is related, have Dongchang and Zhen Fusi investigated him?"

"There is no way to check, he ran away." Li Yingliang replied helplessly: "Before coming here, the ancestors knew that you were going to ask this question, Uncle Gan - the ancestors also sent someone to investigate Yuan Chongyu, but that Yuan Chongyu was too slippery. In the first month, he went out to sea from Tianjin Wei. It is reported that he fled to Fusang, and his family property and cash were also transferred. Careful investigation by the Zhenfu Department shows that Yuan Chongyu may have been ready to escape long ago. , so when our people rushed to Dongguan and Teng County to search, the family property and floating wealth had already been transferred.”

"Did you really escape?" Young Master Zhang said with a sneer, "Although Nagasaki Port on Kyushu Island in Fusang has a direct route to Liaodong, Fusang's small country is short of food, and the sea route is also windy and choppy, so the risk is extremely high. It's not that easy for his brother and Jiannu to do logistics work, I bet Yuan Chongyu just played a trick to get rid of his shell, he must still be in the Ming Dynasty, hiding his name and doing logistics for Jiannu."

"Really? After the nephew returns to Beijing, he must report the truth to the ancestor, and ask the ancestor to send someone to investigate carefully." Li Yingliang replied doubtfully, and then asked: "Uncle Qian, do you have any letters or messages to tell me?" The nephew brought it to the ancestor?"

"Of course there is, but you have to wait. I will write the letter tonight and ask you to take it back tomorrow." Young Master Zhang replied with a smile: "Also, Eunuch Li, you rarely come to Shaanxi, so I have someone prepare some for you." Souvenir, let you try something new, please take it with you when you leave."

The existence of Shanzong, to Young Master Zhang, Wei Zhongxian, and some Ming officials who knew the inside story, was undoubtedly as disgusting as eating flies, and what was even more disgusting was that Young Master Zhang, Wei Zhongxian and others all knew about Shanzong. Everyone deserves to be killed, but they just cast the mouse and say that they can't catch the opportunity to cut off this Daming tumor. After all, there is Jiannu as the backstage behind Shanzong, and the manpower and material resources of the Ming court have been mainly invested in the Shaanxi-Gansu battlefield. Once the Shanzong is attacked, the Shanzong will inevitably fall to Jiannu, and the front line against Jiannu will also be pushed to Shanhaiguan. Big problem now.Therefore, for the Ming court, maintaining the status quo is undoubtedly the best choice for the time being. Only by solving the problem of the Shaanxi-Gansu rebellion can we fully solve the Liaodong issue. To solve the Liaodong issue, it will be like the Chongzhen Dynasty in history, hold down the gourd and float the ladle, and finally be consumed by the gangsters and Jiannu to die alive!It is precisely because of this that Young Master Zhang had to remind Wei Zhongxian in his reply letter that it is best to buy time now. As long as we buy another one to two years to solve the Shaanxi-Gansu issue, it will be much easier to solve the Liaodong issue. up.

When Song Xiance was asking Song Xiance to write a reply letter for himself, the soldiers outside the door reported that Hong Chengchou asked to see him, and Young Master Zhang agreed to meet him. After a while, Hong Chengchou was led into the room by the soldiers. Gui Zhien, hesitantly proposed to Young Master Zhang that he wanted to lead the troops alone to go to Pingliang Mansion to distribute food relief, and by the way cooperate with the Mangui cavalry to annihilate the big bandits who had been expelled by the Mangui army to the Jingning area. Brother Shen Yikui - and by the way, get yourself some oil and water and military exploits.Master Zhang only thought for a moment, and immediately agreed to Hong Chengchou's request, agreeing that Hong Chengchou would lead an army of [-] troops to fight, and cooperate with Mangui to kill the enemy. Hong Chengchou was overjoyed and thanked him and left.

After Hong Chengchou left, Song Xiance said with a smile to Young Master Zhang: "Boss, Hong Chengchou took the blame for you this time. Not only did he not get the post of governor of Shaanxi and Gansu, but he also lost the post of governor of Shaanxi. I haven't regretted my original decision to kill the prisoners, will I continue to kill the thieves like I did in Feiqiu Pass this time?"

"Master Song, you are good at conspiracies, but you are not good at schemes—do you think that Hong Chengchou really didn't see that I pretended to be sick to make Hong Chengchou take the blame? If so, then you really underestimate Hong Chengchou!" Zhang Da The young master said surprisingly, "Even if Hong Chengchou didn't understand at the time, he must have understood when he hesitated whether to slaughter the prisoners of war. I pretended to be sick because I had expected the dilemma at that time, so I pretended to be sick." Hand over the command of the entire army, and push the problem and the scapegoat to him!"

"He has already seen it? Then why does he still want to take this big black pot for you?" Song Xiance was surprised and asked: "At that time, his smartest way should be to pretend that he didn't dare to make decisions without authorization, and wrote to him. You report, please make a decision, and kick the problem back to you."

"Because he is ambitious and greedy!" Young Master Zhang said darkly: "Master Song, you should have heard the saying that there are people in the court who are easy to be officials! There is Zhang Ruitu, the Minister of the Ministry of Officials who is the chief assistant of the cabinet. Who is Hong Chengchou? He was a Jinshi in the Bingchen Division in the 44th year of Wanli. Before becoming the governor of Shaanxi, he had to wait ten years to get to the fifth rank of a Qingshui Yamen. If this goes on, if there is no particularly good chance, he will be called Amitabha if he survives the third rank in this life and retires!"

"That's why after he found out that he had been fooled by you, his boss, for his future and future, he bit the bullet and jumped into the trap set by you, your boss." Song Xiance also came to his senses, and added: "He knows very well that your boss For the sake of the overall situation of Shaanxi and Gansu, you really hope to kill the prisoners of war in your heart, but you don’t want to take the big blame, so he took the initiative to take the big blame for you for the boss—because he knows very well that the boss, you In the future, someone will continue to take the blame for you and work hard for you, and you will never ignore him. Even if you are demoted to three levels now, you can be promoted to four, five, or even higher in the future! And even better, hug Boss, your thigh is equivalent to hugging Jiu Qiansui and Wei Dang's thigh, how beneficial it will be to his future, it is definitely not something that can be bought by a mere one-year salary!"

"Smart, Xianzhi will never see this." Young Master Zhang nodded, then smiled and said: "But I didn't say it completely. There is another point. In order to avoid Sun Chengzong's restraint, Hong Chengchou got very close to Sun Chengzong a few years ago. After he arrived in Shanxi and Gansu, he wanted to abandon Sun Chengzong and join my sect, but he was afraid of being reprimanded for changing his sect and abandoning his old master, so he took this opportunity to let the old stubborn Sun Chengzong abandon him, and he also justifiably joined me. Under the door. This kid is also smart."

"Excellent." Song Xiance spoke yesterday, admiring and contemptuous of young master Zhang and Hong Chengchou and other cunning official bitches, so he had better ask curiously: "Boss, how do you plan to treat this ambitious bitch in the future?" Where is Hong Chengchou?"

"Of course, make good use of him." Young Master Zhang lay straight on the couch and said lazily, "I'm not afraid of being ambitious. His life is not as good as mine. No matter how ambitious he is, he has no chance to climb on my head. He is indeed very talented, and it is no problem to use him to suppress the rebellion in Shanxi-Gansu. Anyway, I don’t like civil wars. This time in Shaanxi-Gansu, I will serve him as a good supporter and let him show his strength and charge forward. Besides, I estimate that there will be fewer and fewer Shaanxi-Gansu territories in the future. The most important thing is how to relieve the hungry people, turn swords into plows, and promote the cultivation of high-yield crops. The chaos can be regarded as completely calmed down.”

(End of this chapter)