Chongzhen and eight hundred Yiding worked hard all the way, and it took only three days to arrive at Caowan Town in Huai'an Prefecture, which was only separated by a river from Shanyang City, Huai'an Prefecture.
Fu Shan and other four scholars who fled south could be regarded as seeing Chongzhen's ruthlessness.
The Holy Master is really ruthless, not only can he ride horses for several hours without rest like the Yiding, but he can also eat the same food as the Yiding, including black bean sauce, vinegar steamed cakes and hard salt cubes.
Such things are hard for them to swallow.
But the Holy Emperor, the Prince, and Prince Ding were very happy with it, so they couldn't accept it.
"Hu Guozhu." Chongzhen reined in his horse gently and waved to Hu Guozhu to come forward and speak.
Hu Guozhu then gently urged his horse to take two steps forward, bowed on its back and said, "Your Majesty?"
Today, Hu Guozhu has completely become Chongzhen's loyal lackey, at least on the surface.
Chongzhen said: "You and eight hundred Yidin are temporarily stationed outside Caowan Town. You are not allowed to cross the Yellow River without an order, and you are not allowed to lead your troops into Caowan Town without permission."
"I accept the decree." Hu Guozhu solemnly agreed.
Chongzhen said again: "Wutang charcoal, you pick twenty barbarians to put on old cloth clothes and follow me across the river."
Wu Baoqian scratched his head and said: "Your Majesty, I only carry armor and jackets with me, and no common clothes. What should I do?"
Fu Shan then volunteered and said: "Your Majesty, the common people are willing to go to the clothing store in the market to buy cloth."
Sun Fanzhi and the others said in unison: "The common people and others will go together as they wish."
"Okay, then I'll help you." Chongzhen agreed happily.
The four great scholars received two taels of silver and went straight to Caowan Town.
Chongzhen was also very stingy. He only paid 2 taels of silver when he sent an imperial envoy to do things, and he was not afraid of being laughed at.
At this time, Caowan Town had long since restored order, but traces of the war could still be seen everywhere, such as the ruins of burned houses and the large number of refugees begging along the streets.
When the four great scholars entered Caowan Town, they went straight to the food shop.
"Staff, here are eight steamed cakes!" Fu Shan greeted him as he sat down.
The steamed cakes of the Ming Dynasty were steamed buns, which were made by fermenting the dough and then steaming it, without fillings.
"Okay." The store owner opened the drawer quickly and took out eight hot steamed cakes. He also filled four large bowls of soup for Fu Shan and the four of them for free.
The four of them wolfed down the eight steamed cakes, still wanting more.
After eating the food for three days, dry vinegar cloth and black bean sauce, I suddenly felt that steamed cakes were also a delicacy in the world.
"No more." Fu Shan finished his account, spread his hands and said, "The few big bucks left are only enough to buy eight steamed cakes."
As for the two taels of silver given by Chongzhen, they were used to buy clothes. Who dares to touch them? Do you think your life is too long?
"That's all, I'll treat you to a nice meal when we get to Yangzhou." Fu Shandao said, "I have a friend in Yangzhou, and his family seems to be a salt seller. It is said that he has quite a lot of money."
"Brother Fu, it's settled." Sun Fanzhi and the other three said in unison.
"A gentleman's words are hard to follow." Fu Shan agreed and walked along the main street to ask about the clothing store.
"Everyone, I have something to say, and I won't be happy if I don't say it." Ji Yunhong, a member of Qu Zhousheng, couldn't hold it in anymore and said, "Now that I eat chaff and enjoy it as sweet as glutinous rice, can I be called a holy emperor?"
"The True Holy Emperor." Fu Shan and the three of them agreed deeply.
They all said in unison: "There is hope for the Ming Dynasty to be revived this time."
Well, scholars who have not yet entered officialdom are so simple.
In their view, officials who are honest and self-responsible are good officials. Officials who eat like dog food every day are great upright officials. As for the emperor who eats dog food, they have never heard of it.
None of the emperors can be called the Holy Emperor. Which emperor dares to call him the Holy Emperor?
The four great scholars quickly bought dozens of old cloth clothes and returned.
Chongzhen and his party of more than 20 people immediately changed their clothes and crossed the Yellow River.
When I came ashore from the canal pier, I almost couldn't get ashore.
Because there were so many merchant ships parked inside and outside the dock, they even lined up on the canal.
The ferryman smiled bitterly and said, "Sir, I'm really sorry. I'm afraid I won't be able to take you to the pier. I have to find a nearby place to put you ashore. I'm really sorry."
"No problem." Chongzhen waved his hand and asked, "Shipman, why are there so many merchant ships on the dock?"
"Hey, it's not all the fault of the Hecao Yamen." The boatman said angrily, "Hecao Yamen first spread the word that they would purchase large quantities of grain at a price of one or two and a half yuan per stone, but when the grain merchants in various prefectures in the south of the Yangtze River waited,
You really brought grain to Huai'an Prefecture, but then changed your words and said you won't collect grain anymore. What do you mean by this?"
"Why doesn't Hecao Yamen stop collecting grain?" Chongzhen asked with a frown.
"Who knows." The boatman spread his hands and said, "I also want to know."
While they were talking, the ferry had already docked, and the boatman put down the sampan to send Chongzhen and others ashore.
After landing on the shore, Chongzhen did not rush into the city, but found a high ground to wait and see.
As a result, as soon as the group reached the high place, they saw a sudden commotion outside the east gate of Shanyang.
I saw thousands of topless and dark-skinned boatmen holding boat oars and holding pennies gathered outside the city gate. It seemed that they wanted to ask for an explanation from the Hecao Yamen, but they started to quarrel while talking.
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Wu Batan immediately became alert and asked Yi Ding to surround Chongzhen and his son.
"It doesn't matter, these grain merchants are keeping their discretion. They are just asking for explanations and will not rebel." Chongzhen's eyes were still poisonous, and he saw that the boatmen who caused trouble were actually instigated by grain merchants.
Of course, even if the grain merchants really wanted to rebel, Chongzhen was not afraid at all.
With just a word of mouth, the 800 Yiding from Caowan Town can arrive quickly. There are only a few thousand boatmen here, but they are probably not enough for each of the 800 Yiding to charge.
"Father, these grain merchants are so bold!"
Zhu Cijiong said in a deep voice: "Why don't we call the Yiding to arrest them all? The grain they sold will be confiscated and used as grain for the canal. In this way, won't the problem of the grain for the canal be solved?"
Hearing this, Fu Shan and the other four people all looked at Zhu Cijiong in astonishment.
Wu Batan and more than twenty Yiding had ferocious expressions on their faces, because they thought so too.
Chongzhen's face fell instantly, but he looked at Zhu Cixiang and asked, "Xian'er, do you think so too?"
"I think this is inappropriate." Zhu Cixiang frowned and said, "These boatmen just gathered to make a noise, and didn't even use violence against the movement troops in Hecao Yamen. I'm afraid it's inappropriate to arrest people rashly and confiscate food." ."
"Is there anything wrong?" After these days of getting along with Chongzhen day and night, Zhu Cijiong became bolder and dared to say anything. "Back then, Emperor Taizu Gao had no money to repair the city wall of Nanjing, so in the end he resorted to confiscation It took Shen Wansan's family property to build the city of Nanjing, and there were only a few hundred grain merchants, so what's the harm in killing them?"
Co-author In Zhu Cijiong's eyes, these grain merchants are no different from fat pigs.
Hearing this, the eyes of Fu Shan and the other four scholars changed from astonishment to horror.
They were both scholars and businessmen, so they were extremely frightened by Zhu Cijiong's view. His Highness Prince Ding actually thought this way, so what about His Majesty?
The four of them looked at Chongzhen again.
"Shut up!" Chongzhen scolded Zhu Cijiong sternly.
"Boy, this idea of yours is dangerous! Very dangerous!"
"Why?" Zhu Cijiong said with a confused look, "What's so dangerous about your idea?"
"Jong'er, Xun'er, you must remember that power is not limitless." Chongzhen taught his two sons a lesson in front of Fu Shan and others. These contents can be taught face to face.
"The higher one is, the more one must know how to be respectful."
"Revere the way of heaven, respect the rules, and use the power in your hands with caution."
"A king who does not abide by the rules and a court that abuses power is unpopular and is destined to suffer the backlash of heaven. Aren't the lessons of so many tyrants throughout the ages enough to illustrate the problem?"
"Jiong'er, you just mentioned that Emperor Taizu Gao confiscated the Shen family's property to build a city wall."
"But what you don't know is how much harm Emperor Taizu Gao's actions caused to the Ming Dynasty."
"Since ancient times, there has been no stability without farmers, and no wealth without business. Taizu's move directly led to hundreds of years of commercial suppression in the Ming Dynasty, and a lack of state supplies. Our Ming Dynasty's regular taxes plus three wages were less than one-fifth of those in the Southern Song Dynasty. One, do you dare to think about it?"
"Ah this?" Zhu Cijiong was stunned when he heard this. His father actually said that Emperor Taizu Gao was wrong?
Fu Shan and the other four people were both shocked and relieved. They were shocked that the Holy One dared to criticize Emperor Taizu Gao, but they were happy that at least the Holy One abided by the rules.
Chongzhen continued with serious words: "Xun'er and Jiong'er, you two must remember that you must be political and abide by the rules. Even if you have the ability to break through the rules, you must never abuse your power!"
Zhu Cijiong said with a bitter face: "Father, wouldn't this mean that we have to follow the rules in everything?"
"That's not necessarily the case," Chongzhen said. "When you can gain the support of a majority of people, you can break through the constraints of the rules."
After speaking, he pointed to the boatmen gathered in front and said: "For example, these boatmen must be dealt with according to the rules. If they dare to cause trouble, let the Hecao Yamen arrest them. Only if they truly rebel, can you and I send troops to suppress them. Then we can confiscate their food, otherwise even the emperor cannot plunder the food on their ships without authorization."
"My lord, I understand." Zhu Cijiong seemed to understand. Whether he really understood or not, only he knew.
While the father and son were talking, the noise outside the east gate of Shanyang had been calmed down, and the gathered boatmen dispersed and returned to the ship one after another, but some people were also invited into the city.
Chongzhen immediately said: "Let's go, it's time for us to enter the city."
The group of people arrived at the city gate, but were blocked by the transport army.
"Shanyang City is under martial law today." Yun Jun said with a dark face, "No idlers are allowed in or out!"
The accompanying Jin Yiwei commander Li Ruolian stepped forward and showed his Jin Yiwei waist badge.
Seeing the Jin Yiwei waist tag in Li Ruolian's hand, the commander of the transport army at the gate turned pale with fright. He quickly signaled the transport army behind him to remove the antlers and let Chongzhen and his party into the city.
