After watching the urgent delivery, Wang Xigan and Yang Weizhi both looked normal.
Wang Xigun was already the Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of Civil Affairs before Ding Muyou, equivalent to the executive deputy director of the Organization Department of the Ming Dynasty. He was originally a third-rank official, and he was more than enough to serve as the governor of the four sides.
Yang Weizhi was the deputy envoy of Jincang Military Preparation and a fourth-grade civil servant.
Now he has been promoted to the fourth rank as the censor of Youqiandu and admiral of military affairs in Yunnan, but he has only been promoted one level.
Although the admiral of Yunnan's military affairs was a first-grade military attache, the civil servants of the Ming Dynasty never took the military position seriously. A seventh-grade patrol censor dared to concurrently serve as admiral or commander-in-chief with peace of mind.
Wang Xigun even declined: "Your Majesty, the term of the maternal system has not yet expired..."
"Today, when the country is in chaos and the court is employing people, what rules do you still adhere to?" Chongzhen said to his face, "The so-called country has a country first and then a family. If the Ming Dynasty is destroyed, you will serve your mother and then be filial."
What’s the use?”
"What the Holy One said is absolutely true, I am ashamed." Chongzhen opened his mouth to win over love, and Wang Xigun stopped being pretentious.
But if it were a minister who was looking for fame and reputation, I am afraid that Chongzhen would have to ask for three requests, four requests, or even eight requests out of ten.
But then again, if it weren't for Wang Xigun, Chongzhen wouldn't even bother to fight for his love. If you want Ding Mu to worry about, then just let Ding Mu worry about it. The government of the Ming Dynasty can run as usual without anyone.
What the Ming Dynasty is most lacking now is scholars who want to be officials.
Chongzhen then told Wang Xigun: "Wang Qing, the purpose of establishing the new governors of Yunnan, Guangxi, Sichuan and Guizhou in the cabinet is to coordinate the reform of the four provinces, but for now, you only need to do a good job in the reform of Guangxi and Yunnan first.
Tuguiliu, the chieftains of Guizhou and Sichuan don’t need to worry about him for now.”
"I accept the decree." Wang Xigun said solemnly.
The meal must be eaten one bite at a time, and the tasks must be done one by one.
Changes from the old to the new should also be done step by step. If you take too big a step, it will easily lead to trouble.
Chongzhen said again: "The policy of reforming the natives and returning them to the locals has been decided a long time ago. I hope that when I come to Kunming again in ten years, there will be no distinction between natives and Han in Yunnan, and everyone will be a citizen or a soldier of the Ming Dynasty.
Everyone can speak Mandarin and write Chinese characters, and everyone identifies themselves as of Chinese ethnicity!"
"I accept the decree." Wang Xigun solemnly promised again.
Chongzhen asked Yang Weizhi again: "Yang Qing, are there any troubles among the 200,000 soldiers in the town?"
Yang Wei knew: "Going back to the Holy Land, before the land was divided, the Yunnan native soldiers and the Guangxi wolf soldiers were making trouble. Fortunately, the New Army and the western Hunan and Hubei native soldiers were there to suppress it. However, after the land was divided and a dozen of the native soldiers who took the lead in making trouble were killed.
After the war, Yunnan's 120,000 native soldiers never caused trouble again and began to behave themselves."
"But the Guangxi wolf soldiers still mutiny from time to time."
"So far, more than a hundred earth eyes have been killed, but they are of little use."
After saying this, he asked again: "Your Majesty, when will the family records of Guangxi Langbing arrive in Yunnan?"
"It's almost time." Chongzhen said, "When the new army suppresses the rebellion of Anlongsi and Shanglinsi, they will move the family volume of 80,000 wolf soldiers to Yunnan. They will definitely arrive before the Chinese New Year."
Chongzhen then warned Tang Zhaoyuan, Wu Wenying and others respectively.
The main thing is to urge Yunnan officials to be sincere and united and work as one.
After sending away Wang Xigun and other Yunnan officials, Chongzhen asked Wang Chengen to call Lin Zhiyuan and Zhang Huangyan to the camp.
Wang Xigun was the governor-general of Yunnan, Guangxi, Sichuan and Guizhou, and was in charge of the land-returning movement. Yang Weizhi was the admiral of Yunnan, and was fully responsible for the training and command of operations of the 200,000 soldiers in Yunnan's Zhentai.
In other words, Yang Weizhi was not controlled by Wang Xigun.
There is no problem with Yang Weizhi's ability, but his loyalty still needs to wait for the test of time.
A frontier general with two hundred thousand troops would undoubtedly be foolish if he did not exercise any restraint. Yang Weizhi would not have any ideas in one or two years, and he might still remain loyal in ten or eight years, but in twenty or even thirty years
What about the year? As Yang Weizhi has been holding heavy troops for a long time, who can guarantee that he will not have any alien intentions?
Therefore, Yang Weizhi had to be controlled through Qinwang Shizi.
Because Yunnan Zhentai will also be equipped with 750 Qinwang scholars.
These 750 Qinwang scholars will become the backbone officers of Yunnan's Taiwanese army.
As long as these 750 Qinwang scholars remain loyal to Chongzhen and the Ming Dynasty,
Even if Yang Weizhi really had second thoughts, Prince Qin could evade him in a matter of seconds.
Zhang Huangyan and Lin Zhiyuan, who was from Yunnan, were the chiefs of these 750 Qinwang scholars.
"Lin Zhiyuan, Zhang Huangyan." Chongzhen Yin Yin warned, "I will hand over Yunnan Zhentai to you. You must firmly control the 200,000 Zhentai soldiers to ensure that no ambitious person can take away this army.
"
"Don't worry, Your Majesty." Lin Zhiyuan and Zhang Huangyan said solemnly, "I will watch over the Yunnan Zhentai for Your Majesty."
"You two have the ability of other scholars, I'm not worried at all." Chongzhen nodded lightly, and then changed the topic and continued, "I'm just worried that you will rely on your status and are unwilling to share the same food with the soldiers.
The Qinwang scholar who lives and trains together and is assigned to the chieftainship in western Hunan and Hubei already has bad signs."
This is also what Chongzhen is most worried about, because with the improvement of the status of scholars, especially the improvement of treatment, many scholars have shown signs of self-reliance on their status, and their personal lives have also begun to become more particular. To put it bluntly, the idea of privilege has begun to rise.
, the style of hard work and simplicity is gradually being abandoned.
If this trend cannot be stopped, half of the more than 6,000 Qinwang scholars will be wiped out in a few years.
Lin Zhiyuan and Zhang Huangyan broke into a cold sweat after hearing this. They asked themselves that since the Sha Dingzhou Rebellion was put down, they have become arrogant and extravagant, and frequently go out to restaurants.
And they also have a lot of contempt for the Yunnan native soldiers and Guangxi wolf soldiers.
I always feel that these wolf soldiers are just a bunch of uneducated barbarians.
But Chongzhen's words woke them up like a wake-up call.
Chongzhen added: "So, while you are stationed in Yunnan, I suggest you stick to collective life, and at the same time insist on eating, living and training with the town soldiers, so as to win the recognition of the town soldiers as soon as possible."
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! "In this regard, the scholars of Xuzhou Zhentai and Guide Zhentai did a very good job."
"The soldiers in Xuzhou and Guide also recognized the scholars in these two towns the most."
"Don't worry, Your Majesty." Lin Zhiyuan and Zhang Huangyan said solemnly, "I will continue to maintain a hard and simple style of work, and will never be out of touch with the soldiers, let alone make the soldiers feel antagonistic."
…
In late October of the nineteenth year of Chongzhen, Chongzhen led his army to leave Yunnan.
Because Yan Yingyuan and Xu Yingwei were still leading their troops to put down the rebellion, they did not leave with Chongzhen. They would lead their troops to stay in Yunnan for a while.
When I arrived, I was walking relatively slowly because I was carrying a lot of luggage.
But when we returned, we were lightly armed, and even 20 Hongyi cannons were left in Kunming, so we walked very quickly.
In mid-November, the army arrived at Changde Prefecture. Li Jiaozheng, the censor of Youqian City and the censor of flood control, was in Changde. After hearing the news, he hurriedly went out with the Changde prefect to welcome them.
"Your Majesty Li Jiaozheng, please bow to the Lord Jin'an." Li Jiaozheng bowed his head.
The Changde prefect and all the subordinate officials of the government office also knelt down to pay their respects.
"Everyone, get up." Chongzhen raised his hands and said, "Li Jiaozheng, how is the construction of the lake embankment going?"
"Your Majesty, the lake embankment has been completed a long time ago." Li Jiaozheng replied, "A total of 11 million taels of silver were consumed, plus 1 million taels of processed rice, which was a lot more than Chen expected.
"
"As long as the lake embankment is strong enough, it's worth spending more money," Chongzhen said.
"Don't worry, Your Majesty, the lake embankment is strong enough." Li Jiaozheng said with a straight face, "This year the Dongting Lake area suffered a flood that only happens once in fifty years, but the lake embankment remains firm."
"Oh, really?" Chongzhen became interested, "Then I want to see it with my own eyes."
At that time, Chongzhen ordered the army to be temporarily stationed outside Changde City. Then, under the leadership of Li Jiaozheng and the prefect of Changde, they rode fast horses to the Dongting Lake.
About ten miles away from the lake, we saw patches of rice fields.
It's just that the rice has been harvested, and there are only rows of rice stubble left in the field, and green wheat seedlings have grown between the rice stubble.
Li Jiaozheng said proudly: "Your Majesty, since the Dongting Lake area did not suffer from floods this year, the people in the lake area have harvested two crops of food, one in Mecca and one in rice."
The prefect of Changde then said: "Therefore, it is surprising that four kilos of grain can be harvested per mu!"
"Oh, really?" Chongzhen said happily, "So the people in the Lake District can have a good year this year."
While he was talking, he happened to see an old farmer walking over with a load of straw. Seeing so many officials, the old farmer was so frightened that he threw away the straw and knelt down by the roadside.
Chongzhen immediately got off his horse and walked towards the old farmer.
Hu Guozhu and Wu Batan subconsciously wanted to follow, but were stopped by Chongzhen.
"Old man." Chongzhen helped the old farmer up with his own hands and asked, "I heard that this year's harvest is pretty good?"
"This high official is so polite." The old farmer bowed to Chongzhen in a somewhat restrained manner, and then said with a smile, "This year's harvest is quite good. Our family has harvested more than 200 shi of wheat and rice.
"
The old farmer was obviously really happy, smiling so much that his gums were exposed.
I saw that there were less than six teeth left on the old farmer's yellowed gums.
"We harvested more than two hundred shi of grain." Chongzhen said, "How many acres of land does your family have?"
"More than seventy acres." The old farmer said more and more happily. "My little hometown was originally allocated more than fifty acres of paddy fields. Later, we leased more than twenty acres of lake fields from the government, and we planted more than seventy acres of fields in total."
"More than seventy acres, old man, can you handle it?"
"It's a busy job. With the little old man and his two sons, it's no problem."
"There are three strong working men in the family. Old man, you are very lucky. Maybe you can have a grandson this year."
"I accept the good news from the official." The old farmer probably started chatting with Chongzhen, and gradually lost his previous restraint, and said, "This year is a rare good year, but there are also bad things, namely the price of grain.
Too cheap."
"The price of food is very low?" Chongzhen frowned and asked again, "How much money?"
The old farmer sighed: "In previous years, when grain prices were at their highest, each stone was worth three yuan, but this year it is only one yuan and five cents, which is half the price. Fortunately, the grain tax can be paid with grain, otherwise we would have to eat again."
It’s a huge loss, but the old man’s plan to sell the extra grain and buy a cow seems to be in vain now.”
Chongzhen frowned and said, "Didn't the imperial court send anyone to buy it?"
"The imperial court also sent people to buy it, and the price was higher." The old farmer said quickly, "But the imperial court refused to give cash when purchasing grain, and could only give me a white note. Who dares to sell it?"
"Baitiao?" Chongzhen's brows furrowed even more.
The old farmer walked away carrying straw, and overall he was very happy.
Chongzhen, however, had mixed emotions. He was happy that Huguang had a bumper grain harvest. Even based on 40 million acres, 160 million shi of grain could be harvested, of which at least half, or 80 million shi, could be trafficked to Jiangnan.
Therefore, there is no need to worry about the food problem in Jiangnan.
Angry because someone picked peaches.
They actually want to take advantage of the great harvest and harvest grain from Huguang at low prices.
When we first had money to build water conservancy projects, you didn't contribute money. Now that the water conservancy projects have been built and Huguang has a bumper grain harvest, you jump out and want to pick peaches. How can such a good thing happen in the world?
If nothing else, most of these grain merchants have backgrounds.
Sure enough, when Li Jiaozheng was called and asked, everything became clear.
However, things were a bit tricky because one of the grain merchants was actually from Rugao.
Maoxiang died heroically at the foot of Shanyang City. He was a hero of the Ming Dynasty. Chongzhen also personally wrote a plaque with the words "loyalty, chastity and martyrdom" in handwriting and sent an imperial envoy to Maoxiang's family in Rugao. Maoxiang's old father, Maoqizong, came to Nanjing to express his gratitude. Chongzhen also once
I have been summoned, but now it has become a hot potato.
Li Jiaozheng added: "The other grain merchants also have their own backgrounds, such as Hengyang Wang Zihao, who is Wang Fu's eldest brother, and those grain merchants from Nanjing, who are either from Ge's hometown or are relatives of the Gonghou family."
"Don't talk about these troublesome things." Chongzhen suppressed the matter for the time being and asked Li Jiaozheng, "Li Jiaozheng, you said that after the lake embankment is repaired, at least four million acres of lake land will be available. Where are these four million acres of lake land?"
?”
"Your Majesty, haven't you already seen it?" Li Jiaozheng pointed at the paddy field in front of him and said, "This is it."
"Have you tenanted the lake fields?" Chongzhen asked, "How many shi of grain per acre are the rents set for?"
Li Jiaozheng said: "Because these lake fields are extremely fertile and can yield at least three shi per mu, the tenant rent set by the minister is 60%. Four million acres of reserved land are reserved for land, and the total rent is 7.2 million shi!"
"I originally thought of selling it to a grain merchant at five cents per stone."
"You can get at least 3.6 million taels, if you can make up for the cost of building the embankment a little bit."
"But I never thought that these unscrupulous grain merchants would only give me five cents per cent. I was so angry that I didn't sell it. I also persuaded my colleagues in the government to prevent the people from selling grain. This is why I came to Changde Mansion this time."
The prefect of Changde said: "I have asked the government officials to inform the countryside that grain is not allowed to be sold at low prices."
After hearing this, Chongzhen could no longer bear it and asked Li Jiaozheng: "What's going on with the Water Conservancy and Grain Bank? Didn't I ask them to purchase the surplus grain from the people in Huguang? Why do they buy grain with white strips?"
Li Jiaozheng smiled bitterly: "Your Majesty, this minister doesn't know either."
Li Jiaozheng was not in a position to interfere with the affairs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
