Before the world is in chaos, Shu will be in chaos first.
Chen Min complained in the yamen, and Qin Ke cursed a lot. Liu Chengzong believed what the two of them said was true, but they were from different angles, and what they saw was not the whole picture.
Liu Chengzong doesn't care about the grudges between the two. It's the sixth year of Chongzhen. The chaos that started in Shaanxi and spread throughout the country has lasted for four years. Any grudges will become a mess in the four years of chaos.
He just wants to solve the problem.
First of all, we need to know where the problem lies. Qin Keduo, who is only a teenager, cannot give him an accurate answer to this question. Only student Chen Min can help him.
But the Sichuan in Chen Min's mouth seems to be completely different from the fertile land of abundance in Liu Shizi's impression.
Chen Min only said four words: The land is small and the people are dense.
Liu Chengzong was outside and had limited knowledge of the situation in Sichuan in recent years. At most, he knew about Yang Yinglong's rebellion decades ago and She Chongming's rebellion, which he learned from Ah Liu.
Other than that, only the Songpan Guard Banner Army was bullied by the Qiang and the Yazhou officers and soldiers were slack in combat strength. These were just trivial matters.
People still believe that Sichuan is different from Shaanxi in that there is no severe drought and its interior should be stable enough.
But in fact, he talked with Chen Min, a scholar born and raised in Bazhou, all night long, and based on his memories, he asked his attendants to record seventeen pages of the situation in Sichuan.
It is indeed different from Shaanxi. Many problems in Shaanxi are caused by poverty; many problems in Sichuan are caused by wealth.
The chaos in Sichuan can make him, the anti-king of Shaanxi, stunned.
When Liu Chengzong analyzes things, he likes to look at it from the perspective of the contradiction between man and land, but the contradiction between man and land in Sichuan is not about land annexation at all, it must be called nationalization.
For example, in Chengdu Prefecture, seven out of ten acres belong to the King of Shu, and two acres belong to the army.
The remaining acre of land must belong to the master no matter what. As for other people being tenants, the problem in Sichuan does not lie with the tenants.
As long as there are no natural disasters, tenants are actually not a big problem, because tenants are not the bottom class of society, but the mainstream of society.
Except for some small landowners who have one or two hundred acres of land and no sons or relatives to work at home, large landowners have thresholds for recruiting tenants, and the thresholds are still very high.
Without oxen, farm tools, and the help of family members, we have to farm thirty to fifty acres of land. Even if it is as strong as an ox, we will be exhausted and unable to finish it.
If you don't have the skills to farm, and you can't pay the grain when it comes time, the landlord will suffer a loss; if you are a gangster who has no home and no land in the local area, he just gets up and runs away, the landlord will suffer a loss.
Therefore, if you want to be a tenant farmer, you must first be a well-informed local, have a cow, a full set of farm tools, have farming skills, and have family around you, all of which are indispensable.
Otherwise, only a fool will rent the land.
If you become a tenant and create value, you will give a small part to the emperor to pay taxes, a small half or even half to the landlord, and the rest is yours.
Although tenants may suffer oppression from landlords, they can rely on the prestige of landlords to avoid some local informal apportionments.
For example, Mr. Wang's family in the local area had friends come over, and there were not enough bearers. He asked two yamen servants to do the work. The yamen servants themselves did not want to do the work, so they went to the countryside to find a landowner and said: "Find me two sedan bearers from you. Mr. Wang wants to use them." The land security guard approached the farmer, and without any threats or sticks, he smiled and said he wanted to help him, but the farmer couldn't think of any good excuses and left.
If the landowner finds a tenant, and the tenant smiles and says he can't help, then if he goes to work on something else, Li Dashan's land will be left vacant.
There is no way to protect the land.
Unless you encounter an economic crisis, that is, a drought or flood, you will generally not starve to death. No matter how poor you are, you will still be considered a middle-lower class of society who are better off than above and below, and you will definitely not be reduced to the bottom.
There are so many people who work long-term and short-term, go around as peddlers, promote good matchmakers, get pedicures and shaves, and just make a living in a messy way. No matter how low-income people are arranged, they will never be able to get their turn as tenant farmers.
But in addition to the land owned by the kingdom, Sichuan also has another social phenomenon that is different from other places, that is, the local powerful are very powerful.
It is not easy for other provinces to enter Sichuan and for local people to leave Sichuan. In this relatively closed place, it is not easy. Before the Jiajing Year, officials from other places would find ways to escape if they heard that they would be transferred to Sichuan to serve as officials.
p>
I really couldn't escape it, so I tried my best to postpone my appointment. After a year and a half, it was normal for me to slowly take office, and nothing would happen anyway.
It was not until the Jiajing year that the Southern Japanese and Northern Japanese invaders were in serious trouble, and the atmosphere changed. The time for Sichuan officials to take office was shortened from half a year to two years to within four months.
Throughout the Jiajing and Longqing years, officials were basically promoted and demoted, and their successors could take office within the same month. This is also a symbol of the good operation of the state machine.
This state was maintained until the Wanli period. The deterrent effect of the imperial examination was still there, and officials could still maintain their succession within the same month, but... Wanli Lord failed.
The promotion of national bureaucracy is a complex and delicate matter. Senior officials are filled through recommendation and promotion, while middle and lower officials rely on unified elections.
Therefore, before every general election, the Ministry of Civil Affairs first recommends high-level officials to the emperor, and then mid-level officials move around to make room for lower-level officials. This chain is followed one by one to get the entire machine moving, and then the general election is held.<
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Those at the top were in ruins, and those at the bottom had no officials. The lack of administrative officials in various provinces, prefectures, prefectures, and counties caused the Ming Dynasty to basically fall into anarchy.
But anarchy means that the government is gone. In this case, the court needs local support to fight the war, and the power of the government to be responsible is still there.
Without a big government, Sichuan is still functioning well for the imperial court, and the battles that should be fought are still no problem, win!
It's nothing more than a transfer of power into the hands of wealthy families or those who originally held power.
But when the small government encountered the ownership of land lords, the situation became different.
The absence of homesteaders means that tenant farmers, who are the backbone of agricultural society and those who make a serious living, have no chance to change their destiny; the lack of local administrative power means that evil practices grow wildly, and powerful people rely on seizing public power to rapidly expand their wealth.<
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People compete for luxury and are no longer simple. They are rich and poor but have no standing. They trade at the expense of others to benefit themselves. They make a living by paying high interest and withdrawing debts. They make duplicitous friendships. They instigate and talk with each other. They indulge in lust, greed and adultery. They commit treachery and conspiracies. When they see others succeed, they are filled with jealousy.
, you will take pleasure in others’ misfortune.
In Chen Min's words, the harmonious scene in the village gradually disappeared, but the atmosphere became more and more prosperous, and people's hearts became increasingly dangerous, so that fathers and sons quarreled with each other, brothers harmed each other, and friends killed each other and couples harmed each other.
People's hearts are not kind, and the four evils known as Sichuanese people have also emerged.
The four evils are corrupt officials, powerful gentry, local tyrants, and government servants.
They collude with cats and mice and control local power. They are kind-hearted, spend money on other people's property, swindle people's children, deceive people's money, bad people's fame, kill people's lives, prostitute women, break up people's marriages, and occupy thousands of acres of brocade clothes.
Jade food makes good people cry with hunger and cold.
In such a situation, first She Chongming swept Jiangjin in Chengdu, Chongqing, then the White Lotus Sect in Guang'an rebelled in the seventh year of Tianqi's reign, and then the scholars in Dazhou clamored to beat dozens of government officials to death, cook them alive, and vowed to eliminate the four evils. p>
Now there are five evils, and the other one is the yellow stick thief.
They were the remnants of Daliang, the king of Hannan, who rebelled in the first year of Chongzhen. After Wang Daliang was killed by Liu Yingyu of the Shangluo Army in the second year of Chongzhen, the remnants of the party fled into the mountains. At that time, they were a group of bandits and robbers, and they could only use wood as soldiers.
, robbed business travelers, so they were called stick thieves by Sichuan people.
In March of the third year of Chongzhen's reign, they passed through Jianzhou from Long'an Prefecture and were attacked by the army. After that, the imperial court set up a garrison in Guangyuan and guarded it with Zhang Pengqi, who was also acquainted with them.
In the fourth year of Chongzhen's reign, the rebels became more powerful and captured Kaixian County in Kuizhou; in the fifth year of Chongzhen's reign, they captured Xinning of Kuizhou.
After finally surviving this year, the yellow bandits captured Daning County in Kuizhou. A flood occurred in Hanzhong, which made life difficult in the mountains. They also encountered Zhang Xianzhong, the Eighth King of Xiying, a big bandit with 500 men. I heard that there was no one in his hometown in Shaanxi last year.
There is a drought, and the governor of the imperial court is recruiting surrender again.
Yao Zhangru thought about it, and Liu Chengzong was not the first person he contacted.
It's just that the recruitment is a farce.
They surrendered, and Shaanxi officials let them collect wood in the mountains for cooking on the road. They also took bows and knives and stayed in the mountains for a month. Then the Sichuan and Shaanxi officers and soldiers entered the mountains from the north and south, preparing to kill them all in the mountains. p>
Here comes the funniest part. The yellow thieves noticed before the officers and soldiers encircled them, and used sticks and stones from their old friends to defeat the ambushing officers and soldiers.
The officers and soldiers were defeated, and they robbed weapons, armor, and firearms. Only then did the survivors form a loose alliance headed by Shake Tiandong and Huang Long, and assisted by the leader of the 13th Battalion.
There is no way home. If you enter Sichuan, you can defeat the officers and soldiers, but you cannot defeat the people in northern Sichuan.
The common people had firearms and armors, and built forts to trap them in northern Sichuan. Tens of thousands of people could build a fort, but hundreds of people would go out to look for food. Not only could they not conquer the fort, but they would also have to eat a lot.
Guns and guns.
Because of this, the village soldiers and the people will kill the yellow thief when they see him, and the yellow thief will kill the yellow thief when he sees the village soldiers and the people, regardless of where they come from.
After finally grabbing some food, their men were beaten by Zhang Xianzhong again.
Chen Min said that Yao Zhangru originally wanted to take Zhang Xianzhong to Sichuan and form a joint venture with them, but Zhang Xianzhong's troops were caught up in the flood in Hanzhong and could not go to their side. The two sides only exchanged envoys, and they thought the agreement was almost settled.
Unexpectedly, as soon as the flood receded, Zhang Xianzhong immediately turned against him.
Liu Chengzong always thought that Zhang Xianzhong's military discipline should be very poor, but in fact, according to Chen Min, the Eight Kings were particularly shrewd in controlling the army. Their troops only had 500 veterans, but their combat effectiveness was particularly strong.
They killed people without batting an eyelid. Several teams from the Yaohuang Thirteen Family who had laid down the fortress were wiped out without a sound. There were three consecutive battles within a hundred miles in one day, including thieves, aunts, and young wives.
They were all beheaded.
It looked like they had been suppressed by the army. Many of the leaders of Yaohuang did not even expect that Zhang Xianzhong was responsible for killing people at first. They also wanted to send people to inform Zhang Xianzhong that troops had entered the mountains, but they only found out after they sent people there. The Eight Kings have already run away!
All that was left on the mountain was a pile of grain and grass utensils that had been burned and smashed.
Then the Yaohuang group of thieves belatedly received news that the imperial court had transferred Qin Liangyu, the chieftain of Shizhu on the Liaodong front, back to Sichuan. Therefore, Zhang Xianzhong did not join forces with them and slipped to Huguang to take a detour into Henan to join Hengtian Wang Chuang and others.
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The gang of thieves were so angry that they couldn't do anything.
In the shadow of the famous tree, all those who have fought with Qin Liangyu in this world have been buried in the loess, and the gang of Yaohuang thieves were forced into a dead end.
"Big brother, please take a look."
In the yamen of the Marshal's Mansion, Liu Chengzong unfolded the map of northern Sichuan drawn by Chen Min, pointed at the mountains in southern Han Dynasty occupied by Yao Zhangru, and said: "If Qin Liangyu leads his troops back, they will be in a dilemma."
Liu Chengzu, who had just been recalled from Hekou in the hall, laughed: "They don't have enough soldiers and food, and their hearts are not unified. How can they fight with the Shizhu soldiers in the mountains?"
"It is true that Shizhuchuan soldiers are skilled in infantry fighting." Liu Chengzong said: "If Qin Liangyu is really transferred back to Sichuan, there is no need to fight with them in the mountains. As long as the white poles are stationed in Guangyuan, two in Bazhou, and one in Shaanxi
The army entered Hanzhong."
As he spoke, Liu Shishi opened his hands on the map to surround the mountainous area occupied by the yellow thieves: "In a year and a half, they will be able to eat up all the grass roots in the mountains and be suffocated to death in the mountains of Hannan."
Mr. Liu shook his head and said: "With so many mountains and rivers gathered together, it shouldn't be difficult for them to escape to Huguang."
"It's very difficult."
Liu Chengzong sighed: "They are not us. Wherever we go, the people who have benefited from it are all reporting to us."
"They are bandits who harm the people. Wherever they encounter people, they have to report to the government and the army. Thirty thousand of them are marching in the mountains. Wherever they can go, even if they run out under pursuit, only two or three will be left.
Thousands of people."
Liu Chengzong laughed out loud: "How dare you run to Huguang and bring money and beautiful women with you? Zhang Xianzhong can't turn back and kill them all?"
Mr. Liu looked surprised: "We are all Shaanxi Township Party members, so they are not at war with each other, right?"
Liu Chengzong shook his head and did not say more on this topic.
The Marshal's Mansion did not mention an army of 200,000, but only 30,000 soldiers. Yao Zhangru sent someone to send a letter and wanted the 30,000 traitors to return to the Marshal's Mansion. Liu Shizi had to weigh in his mind whether he could purge these people.
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Zhang Xianzhong's 500 soldiers come and go like the wind, and the size of the entire team will not exceed 3,000. This is also the most comfortable force to use. It can fight and run. How can he overwhelm Yao Zhangru and others?
What's more, just for looting, three thousand elite soldiers are enough to run rampant in the world.
Those who can defeat him cannot outrun him, those who can outrun him cannot defeat him, and a city that cannot be captured by three thousand people cannot be captured even by thirty thousand thieves.
Why share the same thing with 30,000 people?
Not to mention the enemy has already been made. According to Liu Shizi's idea, either don't make the enemy. If you make the enemy, you must kill the enemy when you seize the opportunity.
Liu Chengzong just said: "It is a good thing that they are in desperate situation. I plan to let Qin Ke go back more and let him tell Yao Zhangru that if he sincerely joins, there is no need to send gold and silver. Let him come to me and meet me."
Liu Chengzu shook his head, frowning and said: "Do you really want to appease these thieves? I think it is better to wait until the next two years. There will be big changes in central Sichuan. By then, we can send troops into Sichuan to suppress them, which will just win the hearts of the people." p>
"I'm afraid it won't be possible to win the hearts of the people. I thought so at first, but now Sichuan is too chaotic, and the temperament of the native people in central Sichuan is too strong."
Liu Chengzong said: "When the big and small bosses in Sichuan become the climate, people will not obey us, Lao Shaanxi. I am afraid that when we enter Sichuan, it will be even more chaotic than now."
"What's more, if we wait a few more years, the people from Sichuan will still suffer a lot. Regardless of whether they can enter Sichuan or not, my idea is to march eastward next year, capture Lanzhou, Hanzhong Guyuan, and advance to Ningxia, Guanzhong, and Sichuan. These people can help me capture Hanzhong." "We gathered these thieves and selected three to four thousand troops to form an army. The obedient ones were sent to their hometowns to farm, and the disobedient ones were sent to the underworld to be reincarnated. We got the best of both worlds."