Chapter One Hundred and Forty-fifth: Attacking the Heart
Yanzhou Prefecture
In the past few days, since the army brought by Dong Chuan sent by Liu Zeqing was completely surrendered, the bandits scattered around Yanzhou Prefecture also fled. When they heard that tens of thousands of troops had gathered nearby, they all fled. Even some who did not want to leave
They were also wiped out by the cavalry led by Meng Zhangming and Fan Xianchao.
Furthermore, all the edicts to be promulgated before were also issued. The provinces occupied by Li Zicheng such as Shanxi and Shaanxi were all exempted from tax, and even the taxes owed previously were exempted. Of course, they did not know how the people in those provinces felt, but at least
Maybe I can feel a little better about the imperial court, even if it's only in hindsight.
All the taxes owed around the Yanzhou Prefecture were exempted, and tax collection was suspended for three years. Naturally, everyone was happy when this came out. Moreover, under the auspices of Wang Jiayan, the land that had previously belonged to King Lu was also divided.
Naturally, the objects to be divided among the land were Guan Ning's army first, then the imperial camp, and then the local people.
This is also to prove to the soldiers that following the emperor has its benefits, and the benefits will only increase. Of course, they also thought of a problem, that is, if the land is given to the soldiers, once they leave during the war, no one will cultivate it.
.And this land is not allowed to be occupied by others, so it is likely to become wasteland.
The solution was for Zhu Ling to directly lobby the soldiers to sell the land to the court according to the method of later generations. The court then gave the use rights to the people, and the use rights belonged to the people, but the ownership still belonged to the court. Of course, the first three
There is no tax in the year. According to the price of fifty taels per acre of land, the expenditure this time has directly increased to one million.
Of course, fortunately, Prince Lu's palace still had quite a lot of money, so it was not very distressing to take out the one million. As a result, both Guan Ningjun, who had already tasted the benefits, and the 20,000 soldiers who had just received the settlement allowance, became more loyal.
Yu Zhuling. After all, the Ming Dynasty is still the orthodox dynasty in the hearts of the people.
After Gu Zhien blew up the grain depot that day, most of the officials and merchants in Baoding Prefecture were massacred, and even his friend Li Xiang's family was beheaded. And all the officials and merchants in the surrounding Fuzhou County that had not been completely occupied by the intruders fled, fearing that
Naturally the people were the happiest when their lives and property were robbed by thieves.
That incident had a chain reaction. More and more people knew that the intruders were targeting officials and merchants. Some people also found out that Yanzhou Prefecture had tens of thousands of troops from the imperial court. They were said to be elite. Therefore, many officials and merchants entered the city almost every day these days.
, some people learned that His Majesty was traveling here and wanted to meet His Majesty.
Zhu Ling refused them all. After all, he couldn't see hundreds of people at once. He only summoned a few magistrates, governors and some higher-ranking officials from the prefecture. He casually asked about the situation in the north and comforted them, but they all dismissed.
Those who didn't have much money were asked to give Wang Guoxing some money according to the number of their family members, while those who had money were persuaded to rush to Nanjing.
At this time, the number of people in Yanzhou Prefecture had risen to nearly 800,000 within half a month!
"We are not discussing state affairs today, let's talk about something else." In the garden of Prince Lu's Mansion, Zhu Ling was pacing back and forth, looking at the flowers that were already in bud, and said.
Following behind were Wang Jiayan, Wang Chengen, King Lu, Huang Bodang, Zu Xiangyang and Yanzhou Prefecture Magistrate Liu An, who all looked confused and didn't know what His Majesty was going to say. People were so nervous these days that they hardly had a good rest.
After a few nights, many people even have nightmares these days.
Putting aside poems, songs, entertainment and games, a few deep sleeps have become the most anticipated thing for everyone. The degree of depression is no less than that of the Southern Song Dynasty Emperor Zhao Gou when he led hundreds of officials to escape. These days,
He is somewhat similar to the Emperor Zhao Gou of the Southern Song Dynasty.
"Wang Qing, don't you like going to the theater?"
Stopping next to a flower and looking at its delicate buds, Zhu Ling didn't like it at all. He had never been interested in flowers.
"I watched it by chance, but I haven't watched it much since the fifteenth year of Chongzhen." Wang Jiayan was also startled. His Majesty suddenly asked, so he had to answer nervously. He was not a person who liked theater, but when he was in office at that time, he might follow his superiors.
, or my subordinates strongly invited me, so I watched a few shows, but they all felt boring.
"The Ming Dynasty has been on the verge of collapse since the fifteenth year." A lonely word by chance made Wang Jiayan feel ashamed. However, such words, which were taboo in the eyes of officials, did not matter to Zhu Ling. After all,
At this point, if you are still so secretive, it will be a bit artificial.
"Your Majesty has brought great blessings to the heavens, and our Ming Dynasty has only suffered a setback. The ancients often said that if you survive a catastrophe, you will be blessed later, and the Ming Dynasty will surely revive again in the future." King Lu saw some silence in the scene, and immediately stepped forward and said a few words
Flattery. These words could not be said in the past, but naturally they can be said endlessly when given the opportunity.
Hearing this, Zhu Ling took it as a way to ease the situation and did not answer.
"It's not that the Ming Dynasty cannot defeat the intruders, but it's because we have no intention to fight. Even more people were bewitched by the intruders and became bandits. Therefore, if we want to completely stabilize the situation, we must first not lose Shandong, so as to stabilize the hearts of the northern Ming Dynasty.
, it can also suppress some people's dissatisfaction!" With the last sentence, he directly broke off the flower buds that had not yet bloomed and threw them to the ground.
Everyone behind them was also shocked, and they all guessed who the Majesty was talking about. However, most people still believed that the people His Majesty was talking about were Liu Zeqing, Zuo Liangyu, and those people who were unwilling to obey the imperial edict.
It is a cancer for the imperial court. But some people think that what your majesty is talking about is Wu Sangui who guards Shanhaiguan.
After all, in order to let him lead the army and serve the emperor, His Majesty even directly crowned him king. Such a move that shocked the world was really a difficult move for His Majesty. This also just shows His Majesty's resentment and helplessness towards him.
And what Zhu Ling himself said was talking about all the people in the Ming Dynasty who had different intentions, not just one person. After all, there were so many traitors in the Ming Dynasty that they could not be counted. Just talking about the traitor Hong Chengchou, in order to avoid being cursed by the world.
, planned the great cause of defeating the Ming Dynasty for Dorgon and forced countless Ming officials and people to death.
"If we want to stabilize Shandong, we must have the strength to defend Shandong. With our current strength, not to mention defeating the intruders, it is probably difficult to defend the city." Huang Bodang said behind him, thinking for a long time but still unable to come up with a solution.
"Ask for help from Nanjing, and then send documents to the generals in various places. If there are no bandits or bandits in the area, all of them will lead their troops northward to jointly defend Shandong." Fan Xianchao thought about it and said, but obviously this plan was not feasible.
"The current predicament of the court is that it has no money, no one, and no power. Money can slowly solve it. With money and people, power will naturally come. But this person has some difficulties. Many people are not willing to take refuge in the Ming Dynasty. It is not an escape.
I surrendered to the intruders. If this continues, my Ming Dynasty will be defeated by my own people." Wang Jiayan also sighed and said that he had already seen the current predicament to a large extent.
But it’s difficult. It’s even more uncomfortable to see it but not be able to solve it.
"Attack the heart first."
Zhu Ling suddenly turned around to face the crowd and said in a solemn tone: "We have to let the people accept the imperial court again and let the common people believe that the imperial court is for the people again!"