Zhang Ximeng led his troops and set off from Zhenjiang towards Suzhou. In Zhang Ximeng's team, in addition to capable officials, elite soldiers and generals, there were also many special talents gathered in Zhang Ximeng's team.
Including Wu Datou, the leader of the folk art troupe who has long been famous in the world and is known as the number one red thief, Shi Boren, the husband of the famous talented girl Zheng Yunduan, whose family has fallen into decline, and Zhou Huiniang, a thousand-household official who was transferred from the Gongwei Division.
Zhang Ximeng's team is not only well-equipped in both civil and military affairs, but also has 360 talents in every field. The reason why they are so well-equipped is that the situation in Suzhou is special and they would not dare to break into this dragon's den or tiger's den if they are not fully prepared.
In addition, Lao Zhu was also afraid that Zhang Ximeng would be endangered, so he took every possible precaution and spared no expense.
All in all, everything that can be assigned has been assigned.
The rest depends on Zhang Ximeng’s methods.
"I've said military discipline a hundred times, so I won't talk nonsense. Another thing is to maintain a flexible and sharp heart. We are not looking for faults, killing people and setting fires, but we must understand a city, understand how it operates, and learn from each other's strengths to offset weaknesses.
.We must resolutely eradicate those inappropriate things without mercy."
"But we must also be clear that some good things must be preserved to help Ming Dynasty move forward."
No one dared to be negligent about Zhang Ximeng's words. Even if they didn't quite understand them, they tried their best to keep them in mind and ponder them carefully. After all, with Prime Minister Zhang's current status, everything he said was right.
If it's wrong, then it's because you are stupid and don't understand it clearly.
To be fair, Zhang Ximeng is very afraid of this situation.
The Ming army entered the city many times, from Chuzhou, to Jinling, and then to other cities. It can be said that they are familiar with it and have rich experience.
It’s just Suzhou, what’s the difference?
Not to mention, Suzhou today is just different.
Even cities like Yangzhou and Jinling, which have a large number of citizens and developed industry and commerce, are completely different from Suzhou.
Suzhou's textile workshops are not only large-scale, but also mainly sold overseas. Every year, more than 500,000 pieces of silk are sold overseas.
Among them, there are more than 30,000 weavers alone. In addition, there are more than 100,000 people involved in the entire industry chain including embroidery, printing and dyeing, sales, shipping, ticket numbers...
It is no exaggeration to say that Suzhou can be regarded as the city with the closest ties to the outside world.
The reason for this situation is also related to the Ming Dynasty.
From very early on, Zhu Yuanzhang rejected overseas trade. He wished that every field could be planted with grain. Wouldn't it be nice if all the merchants he wanted were farmers?
Fortunately, Zhang Ximeng was there and stopped Lao Zhu's crazy plan.
However, Zhang Ximeng also admitted that Lao Zhu’s idea had merit.
Therefore, although the Ming Dynasty had a special shipping department, it limited the amount of foreign trade. Moreover, the Ming Dynasty strictly controlled prices. If Hu merchants wanted to take advantage of the opportunities and buy some bargains, there was no need to think about it.
What Ming Dynasty did not do, Suzhou took over. Workshops expanded wildly and mulberry trees were planted on a large scale. Even Zhang Shicheng knew that food was important, but he could not stop the process of converting rice into mulberry trees.
Under the dominance of wealthy families, Suzhou has become more and more profit-seeking and has to calculate the benefits of everything.
Some people think that it is difficult to defeat the Ming Dynasty, so they should submit to the Ming Dynasty and become people of the Ming Dynasty to avoid war and disaster. However, some people firmly believe that once they fall into the hands of the Ming Dynasty, the good life will be gone, so no matter what, they must
Fight for your life and keep the current results.
With Zhang Ximeng's sharp ears and eyes, he naturally understood a lot.
If he had not intervened, according to Lao Zhu's character, he would probably have tried to equalize land, move to large households, restrain the powerful... He would have killed everyone in the city, completely blocked the development process of Suzhou, and forcibly corrected the tradition that Lao Zhu liked.
model.
It's hard for Zhang Ximeng to say who is right and who is wrong... He really wants to transform Suzhou. After all, it is very close to Yingtian and downstream of the river. It can be called the gateway to Yingtian.
Make Suzhou a success, set up a shipping department, develop overseas trade, and turn it into a production and trade center.
As long as it succeeds and is so close to Yingtian, Zhang Ximeng doesn't think anyone will propose a sea ban.
Although Zhang Ximeng also knows that there are complicated reasons for the sea ban, he does not want to lose the opportunity to develop overseas.
Suzhou is the best example that you really can’t miss.
Along the way, Zhang Ximeng thought too much, including how to control Suzhou, about the future development direction, how to formulate corresponding economic and foreign policies, and how to encourage technological development and progress...
He thought a lot, but when he really approached Suzhou, he had to put it away temporarily. He had to smooth out all the forces first!
Not surprisingly, Zhang Ximeng met Zhang Shicheng first. As a member of a family with the same surname Zhang, Zhang Shicheng was nearly fifty years old. His hair and beard were slightly gray, but he was energetic and had bright eyes. He did not look defeated and surrendered at all.
"I have met Prime Minister Zhang... It is really a blessing to the people of Suzhou that Prime Minister Zhang came here in person. I would like to express my gratitude to Prime Minister Zhang on behalf of the people of Suzhou."
Zhang Shicheng seemed polite and very polite.
Zhang Ximeng smiled slightly, "King Huai... I still call you King Huai. After all, my lord has not yet been punished, you are the King Huai of the Ming Dynasty. Moreover, King Huai also contributed to the important matter of supporting Guan Duo and jointly resisting the Yuan Dynasty."
Based on this, we are friends rather than enemies, and we can openly and honestly discuss how to accept it and how to restore people's livelihood."
Zhang Ximeng looked at Zhang Shicheng and said with a smile: "How about it? What do you think of King Huai?"
Zhang Shicheng said hurriedly: "Of course this is good. I have heard of Prime Minister Zhang for a long time. He is a sage and sage in this world. It is not a problem for me to govern Suzhou when I am alive."
Zhang Ximeng said with a smile: "King Huai is so complimentary... I would like to ask King Huai, are the silk workshops in Suzhou still in operation?"
Zhang Shicheng was startled. He didn't understand why Zhang Ximeng was the first to care about the workshop. He thought that Ming Dynasty also knew that silk was profitable and wanted to take it for himself immediately!
This is also human nature. It would be strange if they didn’t love money!
"Prime Minister Zhang, people's hearts are in a state of flux and the people are uneasy. There are too many people who cannot afford to eat, and food prices are increasing every day. I am really overwhelmed and have no time to take care of the silk workshop. Let's start with the most important things!"
"The most important thing?" Zhang Ximeng chuckled, "King Huai, I think the most important thing is these workshops. This is what makes Suzhou unique and the lifeblood of Suzhou. I want to go and take a look now!"
Zhang Ximeng's tone was firm. Behind him were the elite soldiers of the Ming Dynasty. The people who crawled out from the flames of war were all elites and full of murderous intent. How could Zhang Shicheng dare to refute?
But he couldn't wait to rob the silk workshop as soon as he came up. This Zhang Ximeng doesn't have much future!
With this idea, Zhang Shicheng no longer cares. On the contrary, he is happy to go along with the situation and make you, Zhang Ximeng, embarrassed.
With different thoughts in mind, Zhang Shicheng accompanied Zhang Ximeng to the front of the largest silk workshop in Suzhou.
This workshop has more than 2,000 looms, which is huge and dominates the industry.
Zhang Ximeng arrived in front of the workshop and saw that the door was closed and locked, but there was no one there.
"Open the door and let me take a look."
Someone stepped forward, removed the lock, and was finally able to step into a silk workshop that represents the most advanced industrial level in the world. It was worth looking forward to.
Just after entering, Zhang Ximeng was a little disappointed.
What comes into view is a row of wooden sheds, with air leakage from all sides and bare nothing.
He looked around and saw that many people in the Ming army had no idea what they were doing.
Zhou Huiniang, on the other hand, had traveled extensively and was well-informed. She came over with a deep look on her face.
"Xiang Zhang, if I guess correctly, this is the body-searching room."
"Body search room? What is it for?"
"Of course, the things on the weaver's body are searched. When you go in, you have to check it, for fear that you will bring something bad and damage the silk. When you come out, you also have to check it, for fear of stealing the raw silk and filling your own pockets."
Zhang Ximeng frowned and said in a deep voice: "Isn't this treating the weavers as thieves?"
Zhou Huiniang said rudely: "It's not just thieves! Most of the weavers are women, and those who search are all thugs. They take advantage of the opportunity, bully the female workers, beat, extort, and kill people. This is not new."
Zhang Ximeng's eyebrows were deep and twisted into knots.
"It's so excessive, maybe it has a more sinister intention?"
Zhou Huiniang said: "Please think about it, Mr. Zhang, anyone who can endure the humiliation of being searched every day and still come to work is from a poor family and a difficult livelihood. If he doesn't work for a day, he will starve. In this case, he can be squeezed in every possible way.
No matter how excessive the means, we are not afraid of the consequences."
Zhang Ximeng closed his eyes slightly. It was indeed true. In a body-searching room, he found the most helpless weaver. It was really a good trick.
"Someone, tear this place down!"
Zhang Ximeng gave an order, and the soldiers under his command took action after hearing the wind. After three strikes, five divided by two, the body copying room was destroyed.
Walking further inside, there is another row of rooms, which are still not weavers' workshops, but actually look like a torture hall. It is filled with torture instruments, whips, clamps, soldering irons, everything. It is no worse than a yamen court.
Many of the torture instruments were dark and shiny, and had a thick layer of coating. They must have done bad things, and even killed people!
"Take it out and burn it!"
The soldiers came over quickly, took these instruments of torture to the street, and burned them.
The diffuse fireworks alarmed some people, and they looked this way. Those who were more courageous actually came directly.
When they found out that the Ming army had burned the instruments of torture used to kill people, everyone clapped their hands and cheered.
Zhang Ximeng was still angry and glanced at Zhang Shicheng, "King Huai, this is your rule. Have you ever been here?"
Zhang Shicheng looked very unhappy. Why did he come to such a despicable place?
He is the prince!
"Xiang Zhang, I don't think there's anything wrong with being stricter on the craftsmen. It doesn't seem like we need to care!"
Zhang Ximeng sneered, simply ignored Zhang Shicheng, and said directly: "Post a notice and tell all the weavers to come to work tomorrow. The body copy room, torture tools, and foreman will all be abolished. The wages for each person will be calculated according to the grain, one month
Come down and break three stones of food!"
After the notice was posted, weavers came in the middle of the night and blocked the door, just to have a look. Is it true?
God is merciful, someone finally cares about them!
