Zhu Yuanzhang's decision surprised even Zhang Ximeng and banned the brothel. This was something that had not been done for thousands of years and all dynasties. Although Zhu Yuanzhang was quite courageous and could do similar things, shouldn't he be so hasty? No
Should we think deeply, carefully consider, and determine the strategy before we can implement it?
Why did you just give the order directly?
"Lord, this order is of immeasurable merit and will shine through the ages. From now on, I... will have a glorious chapter in the annals of history!"
Zhang Ximeng was so excited that he almost said "I am a great Ming"... Fortunately, he swallowed it back.
Zhu Yuanzhang didn't think so much. He said with a smile: "This matter was mentioned in a letter sent by Mr. Li. He suggested that we close the brothel, or at least cut it down by 80%."
"Mr. Li?"
Zhang Ximeng was stunned. "He also knows about the brothels in Yangzhou?"
"How could he not know?" Lao Zhu said: "He was an official in Chuzhou and had money. Isn't it reasonable to come to Yangzhou to enjoy it?"
Zhang Ximeng took a deep breath. If Li Shanchang noticed this, it was absolutely impossible for him to have some lofty ideals and sympathize with the poor people, so he wanted to ban brothels. He was not such a person.
It would be interesting to know why Li Shanchang had such suggestions.
Zhang Ximeng's brows were twitching and his mind was spinning. He noticed that Lao Zhu relayed Li Shanchang's suggestion to either ban it or reduce it by 80%... Zhang Ximeng touched it a little and suddenly had an idea.
This matter is indeed related to the brothel, but it is not a matter of the brothel... How important is the location of Yangzhou? I have analyzed so much before, so there is no need to talk nonsense.
This place has both rivers, connecting the north and the south, the benefits of salt and grain, and beautiful scenery. In other words, all the benefits in the world are poured into Yangzhou, and this nourishes a place of wealth and gentleness that is the first in the world.
There are courtesans who spend a lot of money and years to train, and there are unparalleled thin horses... But now, do they still meet this condition?
No more!
Gaoyou in the north is still in the hands of Zhang Shicheng, and further north is the territory of Yuan Ting.
Today's Yangzhou has fallen into the hands of Zhu Yuanzhang. Across the Yangtze River, it is the area of the Yuan army... The whole world has been torn into pieces and shattered into pieces.
Yangzhou, which originally gathered the benefits of the world, suddenly became the forefront of several forces and the first line of the war.
Needless to say, can the talented people from the south of the Yangtze River still come to Yangzhou to listen to music? Can the salt merchants from Yancheng and other places still come to drink? Can the officials and merchants who used to travel north and south through the canal still come to Yangzhou for consumption?
All is impossible.
Without the infusion of these funds, can Yangzhou’s brothels and brothels still be able to sustain themselves?
Li Shanchang has his own thoughts. How many brothels and boats were there in Yangzhou in the past?
A rough estimate is that there are twenty or thirty well-known ones, and if you include those who operate secretly, it will be even more numerous. All in all, there are thousands of women.
Among these women, some of the outstanding ones were paired with more than one maid, and there were also bands, dancers, cooks, grooms, boatmen, guards... There were twenty to thirty thousand people gathered in the brothel alone.
In addition, there are also many scholars and celebrities who hang out in brothels... And in order to satisfy the luxurious life of these high-quality men and women, they have clothing, food, housing, transportation, pens, inks, paper and inkstones, and jewelry, not to mention, skilled craftsmen gathered from all over the world.
Just a thousand people.
If we also count the little girls raised in the brothels, the apprentices of various craftsmen, and the merchants and common people who rented houses to them, then there is no need to say more.
The industries that can be involved around brothels and boats will never be less than 100,000 people.
In the past, these 100,000 people relied on wealthy businessmen and celebrities from all over the world to work together to support them, so it was naturally very easy.
But now that it has fallen into the hands of Zhu Yuanzhang, we can't continue to live peacefully and let everything be business as usual, right?
Even if Zhu Yuanzhang wants it, does Zhang Shicheng want it? Will Yuan Ting agree?
In Li Shanchang's letter to Zhu Yuanzhang, there is one sentence that is the most crucial... Can Chuzhou with 300,000 people support Yangzhou with 800,000 people?
Brothel houses are different from other places. They do not generate wealth themselves, but they also have to be magnificent and full of originality. They do not have to rely on those high-rollers who spend a lot of money to foot the bill!
At this time, look at Lao Zhu’s men. Even if everyone from top to bottom works day and night, sleeplessly, and devotes all their efforts to support, they still can’t support this industry!
Therefore, based on the simplest common sense of arithmetic, Li Shanchang also made a suggestion to ban brothels.
Lao Zhu thought it made sense, and when Zhang Ximeng proposed it, he naturally agreed.
To be honest, they really didn't think it was that complicated, and it had nothing to do with whether they could completely ban brothels. They didn't want to surpass the times, they just simply couldn't afford it.
Of course, you can also ignore them. Without customers, these brothels and boats will naturally decline, and the people will flee to death, and the prosperity of Yangzhou will no longer exist.
Historically, a few years later, Zhu Yuanzhang sent Miao Daheng to occupy Yangzhou. At that time, only eighteen households were registered!
What happened to the people of Yangzhou is something that no one knows or can even imagine.
Therefore, at this time, it is a more cost-effective policy to ban brothels, provide a way out for these people, and make full use of these human resources.
Again, there are too many policies that do not consider the problems that need to be solved hundreds of years from now, and are nothing more than imminent problems.
Zhang Ximeng couldn't help but laugh when he thought of this.
"Mr. Li is indeed a veteran, he is much more powerful than me."
Zhu Yuanzhang just smiled and said, "You can think of anything he can think of, but we don't believe it. You don't have a way to settle these people?"
Lao Zhu was still smart, and Zhang Ximeng also considered the carrying capacity of Yangzhou. He started by banning brothels and gradually cut off those industries that did not generate wealth, turning Yangzhou into a city dominated by workshops, so as to cooperate with Chuzhou and other places.
, forming an urban-rural economic cycle.
If we follow Zhang Ximeng's idea, we will turn Yangzhou from a canary in the hands of high-ranking officials to a production base for Zhu Jiajun. It can only be said that the two people have reached the same goal by different paths, and it is difficult to distinguish between them.
Now that we’ve all agreed, let’s get started!
It is not only the brothels that need to be banned, but also the casinos, the numerous beggar gangs, and the canal workers, all of which are temporarily out of use and unable to support them.
"Lord, it is true that people must be placed in villages and military camps, and let them be responsible for farming and supporting themselves. But it is best to conduct trials and severely punish those villains who have committed many evil deeds. Of course we cannot sweep away all the smoke and dust and make the world completely clean.
However, it is better to do our best and to take the general trend to get rid of some scum and give the people some hope than to let the evil people go unpunished! You cannot do nothing just because you will die in a hundred years. What do you think, my lord?"
Zhu Yuanzhang smiled, stretched out his hand, patted Zhang Ximeng's shoulder, and whispered: "Sir, this is what makes you better than Li Shan!"
Zhang Ximeng's face can't help but turn red, so hurry up and do something!
This time, Zhang Ximeng was completely sure. With an order, Zhu Jiajun dispatched and quickly seized all the brothels and boats in Yangzhou, including some famous prostitutes.
Just when Zhu Jiajun was killing them, some brothels thought they were customers! The wars these days have seriously affected their business.
Some unlucky ones, such as the brothel where Zhou Huiniang worked, could no longer operate and were completely closed. There were also many brothels that were struggling to survive and almost closed down.
When they discovered that Zhu Jiajun was coming, someone named Le Dian Dian came out to greet him.
"Master Jun, we have all kinds of girls here, I'll keep them to your satisfaction!"
Guo Ying glared, "Get out of here!"
The woman was shocked, how could this happen? She had been running a brothel for more than ten years, and had been working in this business for decades. How had she ever seen such a posture before?
Do you want to learn from the unreasonable salt workers from earlier? That won’t work!
"Master Jun, tell me what kind of girl you want. It doesn't matter if you give me money or not. Let's make friends. Master Jun is a noble man, and we are bitches. Even noble people can be useful in places where bitches are useful... For thousands of years,
We open the door to welcome guests and serve all directions..."
"Shut up!"
Guo Ying drew out his saber and put it directly on the woman's neck, "If you dare to say another word, I will chop you down immediately!"
The woman was so frightened that she dared not speak. Soon, everyone inside, including the girl and other waiters, more than a hundred men and women, were pulled out and squatted on the ground.
At this time, a man from a hundred households ran up to Guo Ying and muttered a few words. Guo Ying was shocked and immediately stepped in.
They walked to the back and found a cellar under a warehouse... to be precise, it was a dungeon with more than thirty little girls imprisoned in it.
The place that each person can be allocated is not as big as a table. The strong sour smell stings the nostrils. The girls are as skinny as a stick. They stare at them with big eyes and look at them. When they hear someone coming, they all curl up in fear.
To the extreme.
Just when Guo Ying was at a loss, Xiao Ju came over. She was very familiar with it. In fact, every brothel has such a dungeon. The size may be different, but the function is the same. It is used to imprison the dungeon.
Bought, or a disobedient girl.
The various instruments of torture and cruel methods are no weaker than a real prison, or even worse.
It's just that although every brothel has it, the fact that there are so many people in one dungeon still surprises Xiao Ju... It was only after she patiently chatted with the little girls and asked about it that she finally figured it out.
I am very thoughtful about this brothel. I feel that no matter what time of year, food or sex, the brothel business will never be pornographic.
So I took advantage of the bargain price, bought a lot of girls, and stocked up.
In addition to the dungeons, stables, and warehouses, there were almost fifty people in total.
It happened that there was a shortage of food, and they were reluctant to let these little girls go. They kept them there without giving them enough food. More than a dozen girls had died in the past few days.
The oldest of them is only ten years old, and the youngest is only five or six years old!
Facing this situation, Guo Ying's eyes turned red!
"These beasts!"
He personally carried a little girl on his back, and other soldiers followed suit. They took off their outer cloaks, wrapped the girls, and carried them to the military camp to settle down.
Along the way, these rough military men were extremely careful, as if they were carrying treasures on their backs, speaking softly and constantly comforting them.
"Don't be afraid. When you get to the military camp, there will be food and clothing, and there will be people to treat you. Don't worry!"
Many little girls were already crying, and their tears fell on the soldiers' backs.
More and more Yangzhou people came out and looked at the roadside. When they saw this scene clearly, many people gritted their teeth and were furious!
"Beasts, they are all beasts!"
"No matter what happens in other places, we can no longer have brothels in Yangzhou!"
"Yes! This is a devil's cave, it's so harmful!"
"Whoever did this has no conscience and deserves to go to the 18th level of hell! He will not die a good death!"
"Why don't you die! Kill them now! No mercy!"
"Let's go to the higher authority! Ask the higher authority for justice!"
The people of Yangzhou, filled with indignation, mobilized and in one day completed the sealing of all brothels and rescued more than 80 prostitutes.
There were more than 2,000 little girls who were rescued from inside, had no business, and were in the training stage! In addition to these survivors, there were no fewer than dozens of corpses, some dumped in abandoned wells, and some
It was hastily buried in the cellar.
Mainly because of the war, they couldn't be sent outside the city.
According to many common people, there are dead people every day in these brothels... There are young ones who are disobedient and beaten to death, and there are also old ones who are sick and die. They don't even have a coffin, so they are rolled up in mats and thrown into the city.
Something happened outside.
And what’s even more shocking is what’s behind, how long can a girl with beautiful looks last?
The answer is less than a year!
That’s right, it’s that short!
Once a girl is trained and started doing business, she is anxious to get back her money, the sooner the better, so she makes crazy arrangements. After a few months, she is exhausted physically and mentally, haggard and withered. Those who can survive a year or two are rare.
Only people like Zhou Huiniang, who stand at the top, are reluctant to waste them because it costs too much to train them, and they want to keep them as treasures. But in the end, they don’t have ten years. In three to five years, they will be replaced by the next generation.
Replaced by new people.
Of course, there are exceptions in any industry, but the vast majority are so cruel.
So don’t think that there is anything to long for in this dusty land. Anyone with any conscience should deeply hate it!
"cut!"
After Zhu Yuanzhang heard Zhang Ximeng's report, he gritted his teeth as he looked at each shocking example.
At first, I just thought that I couldn't afford it, and it was closed, but now I opened it, and there were so many sins!
"We will oversee the execution ourselves!"
After searching, it was found that there were seventeen brothels in total where girls had been murdered, and there were still too many that had not yet been fully investigated.
But Lao Zhu no longer wanted to wait.
The first batch of villains were pushed to the execution ground!
Fully 300,000 Yangzhou people walked out of their homes and came to watch. There were people on the three floors inside, three floors outside, on the houses, and on the trees. Everyone stared at it, for fear that they would change their minds.
Before three quarters of noon, Zhu Yuanzhang went straight to the altar with great enthusiasm. Zhang Ximeng was caught off guard. What was Zhu Yuanzhang going to do?
"Folks, we can't wait any longer! Such villains don't deserve to live in the world for a moment! Even if they turn into evil ghosts and let them come to us, Zhu Yuanzhang will be waiting for them!"
After speaking, Lao Zhu personally grabbed a ghost-head knife, glanced at the plump middle-aged woman in front of him, and dropped the knife. Immediately, the head flew out and blood spurted out.
Under the leadership of Zhu Yuanzhang, the other executioners did not wait any longer and directly wielded their ghost-headed knives to kill the heads of these scum, which rolled around like watermelons.
The crowd was a little stunned, and then they burst into cheers and shouts of "Long live!", which was earth-shattering! It lasted forever!