Wen Tiren said: "I observe the Kun people's movement, and it may not be necessary to suppress them blindly. They are pirates and merchants. Xiong Wencan can be ordered to increase the number according to Zheng Zhilong's rules, and use both suppression and appeasement to eliminate military disasters.
You know..."
An hour later, Wen Tiren sat in the sedan chair with his eyes closed and meditative. The sedan chair was very stable, and there was a sense of leisurely rhythm in it, which made him feel sleepy. He felt that the empire was weak, but it was
Still retaining its huge size, Wen Tiren never thought about its collapse. Even with its huge frame, it could crush the provocateurs that kept appearing. Donglu could cross the border wall, but could not occupy the pass. Although the rogue bandits were raging,
It's just a locust plague passing through. Although the newly emerged bandits have occupied Guangdong, in Wen Tiren's view, they are just coastal bandits. He breathed a sigh of relief, as long as I am still sitting in this position, everything will be fine.
The concierge of Wen Mansion and the steward of Wen Mansion returned a gift list to Xiong Wencan's messenger and said: "My master has always been a Qingjie, and the etiquette is too heavy to bear. When your envoy goes back, he will only tell Governor Xiong that the entrustment has been fulfilled, and there is no need to come again. Please."
"
The side door of Wen Mansion slammed shut, leaving behind a group of people walking away on the street.
In Beijing, the flying sand is dancing, the sun is gray, and the dusty wind blows up the fallen leaves, bringing with it the loneliness and desolation of the city.
In the twelfth lunar month of the ninth year of Chongzhen (January 1637), one of the fiercest cold waves of the Little Ice Age rushed down from Siberia, and the mountainous areas of northern Guangdong ushered in another heavy snowfall. The Zhuji Lane on the side of Dayuling Mountain was already covered with silver.
Wrapping. Since Zhang Jiuling organized the construction of a new road in Dayuling during the Kaiyuan period of the Tang Dynasty, this has been the only way for merchants from the north and south to travel. From Guangdong to Jiangxi, there are two passages: Meiling Road on Dayuling and Northeast Nanxiong.
The Wujin Road on the side. Meiling Road is divided into Hengpu Road, Xiaomeiguan Road and Dayuling New Road. They all go to Nan'an (Dayu), while Wujin Road goes east to Nanye (Xinfeng).
A group of merchants carrying burdens, sitting in sedans, and leading donkeys and horses passed the Meiguan Ancient Road. They went to Zhongzhan Village to rest for a while and then hurried on the road again. They did not stop until Zhuji Lane. Some of them unloaded and handed over their goods here.
After returning to Meiguan, some of them continue to head towards the first city in Tiannan, where their wealth lies.
Zhuji Lane has flourished since the Tang and Song Dynasties. It originally had three streets and four lanes, and more than a thousand households, relying on the merchants and porters who came from the south to the north. Nowadays, it is in decline, far less than when it was in its heyday.
There are also many more soldiers patrolling with guns. Dayuling was originally the main land channel for trade between Jiangxi and Guangdong. The north transported mainly medicinal materials, grain, gold and silver to the south, while the south transported mainly Guangdong to the north.
Salt and ironware show the situation of "those who cross the south can only carry hundreds of loads per month, and those who cross the north can make thousands per day." Since the Senate opened the ocean route, Jiangxi's goods can go directly to Guangzhou by sea, and the price is half cheaper than land transportation.
As a result, the number of business travelers on this trade road has been greatly reduced. Many people who made a living by carrying goods and being porters have lost their source of food and clothing, and their lives have not been settled. Many people have been desperate and have fallen into bandits one after another. Together with the always prosperous South China
The city also gradually showed signs of decline.
After the Central Army of the Senate Army captured Nanxiong County, the troops passed Meiling, and it was said that the reconnaissance cavalry had arrived at the gate of Ganzhou City. However, although the Australian troops were fierce, they were already at the end of their strength when they arrived here. Within a few days, they all withdrew from Jiangxi Province. , occupying only two exits of Meiling Road: Nan'an and Nanye.
Although the Wuling area is now like two countries, the north and the south, the roads are not blocked, and people and merchants on both sides can pass smoothly. The reason is that both the Australians and the Ming Dynasty officials and gentry need this passage to maintain trade and People were moving. So soon after the troops retreated, the local Australian officials privately reached an agreement with the local gentry in Lingbei. The other party promised not to restrict trade in exchange for the Senate not to invade and harass Jiangxi.
At this moment, in a tea shed next to the newly renovated Guan Road, a scholar in Ming Dynasty attire looked sad. He remembered that his teacher Huang Gongfu had written a poem when he passed by, and he was inspired to say: "The way to Changting is Zhuji, here. I watch the wind and feel the millet leave. In the village of Bianhu, people gather together, and horses gallop on the shoulder-to-shoulder road."
"Sir, what does this poem mean?" asked the boy who was following him.
The scholar said: "Hey, it's just a sigh of relief at the prosperous scene in those days, so don't mention it."
The merchants who had passed through the border with him were resting under the tea shed. When they saw him sighing, they comforted him and said, "Old sir, there's nothing nice to say. Last year, during the war between the Song and Ming Dynasties, bandits were rampant and the trade route on Yuling Road was cut off for a year! Everyone is worried. We are almost out of food. Fortunately, the war calmed down quickly, and the Fubo army was able to suppress many bandits. Now that the ground is calm, we can return to our old business and make a living."
The scholar shook his head and sighed: "It's pity that the Ming Dynasty has been raising scholars for more than two hundred years. I didn't expect that all the cities in Tiannan would change hands in one day, and all I would raise would be wine bags and rice bags!"
The businessman rubbed his cold hands, then brought the hot air to his mouth to keep warm, and said: "I think Da Song is not bad at all, at least..."
The scholar snorted coldly, thinking that businessmen are indeed people who forget their loyalty when they see profit. Running around for profit and not serving their parents is unfilial, and failing to serve the country because of profit and forgetting the kindness of the king is disloyal.
When the businessmen saw him, they looked displeased, and one of them said: "You only know that business is prosperous, but you don't see how difficult people's livelihood is. This place is at the junction of the three provinces of Jiangxi, Fujian and Guangdong, with thousands of mountains and mountains, deep valleys and deep valleys, and political and religious alienation. Zhu Ming has been orthodox since In Chongzhen, for more than a hundred years, villagers rioted almost every other year. After the Song Dynasty came, the bandits surrendered, died and fled. Nowadays, although the trade between the north and the south is not as prosperous as before, making a living is easier than before. .”
Another person answered: "Yes, in the first year of Chongzhen, Su Jun, a bandit from the Xingning Mountains, gathered a crowd and raided neighboring counties in the three provinces of Jiangxi, Fujian and Guangdong. The governor of Southern Jiangxi first appeased the bandits and gave them several general officer titles. Soon after, they rebelled again. After Su Jun was killed, thousands of people including Zhong Lingxiu from the remaining party resurrected in the third year of Chongzhen. They robbed Huichang, Wuping, Chengxiang, and other counties and suffered serious harm. Since there were many bandits in Xingning, the villagers chose Those who can defend the land should build enclosures to avoid chaos. Thirty-six enclosures will be built and seventy-one forts will be built."
"In Nanxiong alone, there are more than ten passes used to guard against bandits."
The boy was a little curious and asked: "If that's the case, then... what secret technique did the Song soldiers use? Can they eliminate this banditry that has caused trouble for hundreds of years?"
"Little brother, you don't understand. Are there born bandits in the world? Zhu Ming suppresses bandits without using the fundamentals. It's like putting out a fire with firewood. The fire will never be extinguished until the firewood is exhausted."
"That's what you said." The boy reminded me.
The businessman showed a meaningful smile and whispered: "Most bandits are just people of the same clan who are surnamed by other clans because of their tyranny and unscrupulous do whatever they want. As a result, the bandits are rampant. After the Song Dynasty came,
Ah, to defeat the local tyrants and evil gentry, to pay off the blood debt, and to clear the land. Those who stubbornly resisted are either dead, and those who are not dead are said to have been exiled to Nanyang."
The scholar sneered and said: "Hahaha, I wonder why, it turns out it was Kun...Song Bing became the bandit leader here."
"Be careful what you say, be careful what you say." The businessman carefully looked around and only felt relieved when he was sure that there were no officials.
The scholar said: "Every man is not guilty, but he is guilty of carrying a jade. He seizes people's property and divides their fields. How is this behavior different from that of bandits?"
Another businessman said: "Since ancient times, 'when prosperity comes, people suffer; when death falls, people suffer'. You and I are living in troubled times. I must have heard the saying 'bandits are like combs, soldiers are like grates'. People are afraid of bandits and hate officers and soldiers even more."
.Only the Fubo Army of the Song Dynasty did not engage in rape, robbery, killing and defrauding the good. Along with the war, epidemics also became popular. In the past two years, pox was rampant in northern Guangdong, and every village wore mourning. Fortunately, the officials administered vaccines.
, now everyone in the border villages has been vaccinated and no longer suffers from the pain of death. If the bandits are like the Song Dynasty, what about being thieves?"
The scholar stopped talking. When he and the boy were checking in at Nan'an, they also went through the so-called "purification" quarantine. The short-haired woman in white poked her arm several times with a needle she had never seen before.
, he was allowed to enter customs only after acne appeared on his upper arm, and a "vaccination certificate" was issued.
The businessmen were still talking happily about the previous war.
"Fubo's army attacked Nanxiong, Nan'an and Nanye City like a ravaging force, and Ganzhou was shaken. At this time, the miners in Linwu also rioted in response, and the Ming Dynasty bandit soldiers were beaten until they ran away..."
Another person laughed and said: "Hey, the governor of Southern Jiangxi heard that 'the thieves are invincible if they are less than a thousand, and they are invincible if they are less than a thousand.' He was so frightened that he closed the city gate tightly and almost hanged himself."
"The city of Ganzhou is strong and easy to defend but difficult to attack. I have never heard that Fubo's army attacked Ganzhou. However, more than half of the area under the jurisdiction of the governor of Nangan was lost. Chongzhen's son was so angry that he was imprisoned in anger."
…
Listening to the businessmen's performance commentary, the scholar raised his head and closed his eyes. On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month three years ago, he and his friends rode drunkenly and rode horses through the lantern night market in Guangzhou.
He didn't have time to evade, and was yelled at by the government servants, but he refused to dismount. Huang Xi was very angry and ordered his horse to be taken away. He relied on his talent and arrogance, claiming to be a romantic and talented man, and sarcastically said: "It's just a matter of Huayin's order to ride a donkey. If you lose your horse, you will be killed."
Shang Weng." Therefore he offended the magistrate.
Huang Xi submitted a memorial to deprive him of his fame, and even wanted to punish him. His father-in-law pleaded with Liang Yuanzhu on the Yunnan Road to no avail, so he had no choice but to flee to Guangxi. From then on, he wandered around the world, leaving footprints all over Guangxi, Hunan, and Jiangxi. He also witnessed the wars of the Ming Dynasty.
scene.
Last year, he suddenly heard that the Kun bandits were causing a rebellion and had captured Guangzhou without a single blow. He was worried about the safety of his family and wanted to return to his hometown to organize volunteers to serve the imperial court, so he tried his best to return to Guangzhou. He only hated the Kun bandits for cutting off the trade route to Dayuling.
The interrogation was very strict, and they could not return. They were in a dilemma, and when they were worried and angry, they occasionally got help from noble people. Then they settled down temporarily. After Panheng for half a year, he heard that the Kun thieves seemed to have reached some kind of tacit agreement with the Jiangxi locals, and there would be no war if there was no peace.
The trade routes were reopened, and then they embarked on the road back home.