Chapter 683 Asking for a Monthly Pass on the Sichuan and Sichuan Issues
Chapter 683 The Sichuan-Sichuan issue (please vote for me)
Zhu Hongyu casually flipped through the good news sent back from Sichuan and Sichuan, but his face didn't look good.
the reason is simple!
Today’s Sichuan and Shu are really dilapidated!
The population was decimated by the war, a large number of fields were abandoned, business travel was cut off, and the markets were deserted. Even in big cities like Chengdu and Chongqing, tigers, wolves and wild beasts were openly seen...
This shows how bad the situation in Sichuan and Sichuan is!
It is estimated that this is one of the reasons why Wu Sangui abandoned Sichuan and Shu so decisively and retreated to Guanzhong.
The terrain of Sichuan and Shu is indeed easy to defend but difficult to attack!
Since ancient times, there has been a saying that Shu was in chaos before the world was in chaos, and that Shu was in peace before the world was in peace.
However, no matter how easy it is to defend and difficult to attack in Sichuan and Sichuan, you still have to have troops, money and food to defend it.
Sichuan and Sichuan are basically blank now!
They could neither provide soldiers nor money or food to Wu Sangui.
Wu Sangui would stick to Sichuan only if he was sick!
Zhu Hongyu looked at the report in his hand, his face full of distress. He was worried about how to restore the people's livelihood in Sichuan.
Based on the current loss of population in Sichuan and Shu, to be honest, Zhu Hongyu, let alone engaging in light corvee and small taxes, even completely exempted Sichuan and Shu from taxation and corvee.
In just a few decades or two or three generations, Sichuan and Shu will not be able to recover!
If you want to restore the people's livelihood in Sichuan and Shu, you still have to rely on tough administrative measures, such as filling up Sichuan with Huguang and moving people into Sichuan and Shu from the outside world.
Otherwise, Sichuan and Shu will never be able to recover!
The Qing Dynasty massacred Chuan, and the killings were really ruthless!
Can you believe that the fertile Chengdu Plain has been completely abandoned?
Can you believe there are wild beasts nesting in Chengdu?
Zhu Hongyu summoned the members of the Ming Dynasty cabinet to discuss matters. After everyone arrived, he spoke.
“Everyone must be aware of the situation in Sichuan and Sichuan!”
"It is really a pity that the once land of abundance has turned into what it is today!"
"For me, Ming Dynasty, the most important thing next year, besides the Northern Expedition, is to find ways to restore the people's livelihood in Sichuan and Shu."
Zhu Hongyu was sitting at the top position, holding a teacup in his hand, tapping his fingers lightly on the table, making a crisp and rhythmic sound.
Everyone fell into silence without saying a word.
Because the current situation in Sichuan and Shu is really difficult.
After a while, Finance Minister Wen Zhaolun stood up and said.
"Your Majesty, I think that our Ming Dynasty may be able to move a certain number of people from other places with rich populations to Sichuan and Shu."
"For the people who enter Shu, the imperial court can provide a certain degree of subsidies! This will attract people to immigrate spontaneously."
Zhu Hongyu nodded slightly when he heard this. What Wen Zhaolun thought was similar to what he thought.
"Well, the imperial court can select the poorest classes from across the country, organize these poorest classes, and send them to Sichuan and Shu for centralized farming."
It is unreliable to expect Chinese people to immigrate spontaneously!
Unless people are about to starve to death and really can no longer survive, otherwise, it is really impossible for people to spontaneously immigrate on a large scale under the constraints of the thought that they cannot leave their homeland.
And now the Ming Dynasty will not be able to starve to death in any case!
Years of war have caused extremely serious population losses across the world, and social conflicts have been greatly alleviated.
From more people and less land, to less people and more land.
Coupled with the development of industry and commerce, it provides a large number of jobs at the social level!
As long as you have arms and legs, you won't starve to death.
Therefore, if you want to immigrate to Sichuan and Shu, you can only force it from the imperial court!
The idea is still that of Huguang and Sichuan, but Zhu Hongyu's handwriting is much greater than that of the Manchu and Qing Dynasties.
Just one Huguang is not enough!
Nowadays, there is no shortage of extremely poor people in the southeastern provinces under the Ming Dynasty.
As long as they are willing to invest money and food, it is not difficult to move these extremely poor people into Sichuan and Shu.
As for whether large-scale immigration will lead to serious population losses on the road!
There will definitely be losses, but no matter how serious they are, they won’t be serious!
The areas where immigrants will really lose a lot because they cannot adapt to the environment are undeveloped and wild lands.
Like a high official, like Nanyang...
Rather than a familiar place like Sichuan and Shu!
Don't look at the current population decline in Sichuan and Shu, which has left a large amount of land abandoned.
But the foundation of the Kingdom of Abundance is still there. Those roads, water conservancy buildings, etc. can still be used as long as they are slightly repaired.
Moreover, the local natural environment has long been developed to the point where it can adapt to human survival.
Even if there is large-scale immigration, there will not be much loss.
So, this kind of thing can be done!
Not to mention, if this thing can really be done, it will not only restore the people's livelihood in Sichuan and Shu.
More importantly, it can greatly alleviate the social conflicts that Ming Dynasty is facing now.
Zhu Hongyu then spoke.
"The Ministry of Finance will make corresponding plans, calculate the costs required for immigration, and submit the report to the cabinet for review in advance."
"What I want to do in Ming Dynasty is immigration, not forced relocation!"
"We must try our best to ensure the relevant interests of the relocated people!"
"..."
Zhu Hongyu's meaning is very clear: immigration must be done, even if it is forced relocation.
However, compensation must be in place and must not cause too much public outrage!
After Zhu Hongyu finished speaking, Minister of Finance Wen Zhaolun stood up and took the order.
"Please rest assured, Your Majesty, I understand!"
"The Ministry of Finance must make corresponding plans!"
Suddenly, Zhu Hongyu thought that he could set up a recruitment camp in Sichuan and Sichuan to recruit Tibetans on the plateau into an army.
Place the family members of those Tibetans who joined the army in Sichuan!
In this case, he can use the population of these Tibetans to restore the livelihood of the people in Sichuan and Sichuan.
Secondly, it can lay the foundation for the Ming Dynasty to regain the plateau in the future!
Based on the natural environment of the plateau, if the Ming Dynasty really wanted to incorporate the plateau into its territory, it would be impossible without an army that could adapt to the plateau environment.
If you want to train an army that can adapt to plateau operations, Tibetans must be the best soldiers!
As for bringing Tibetans into Sichuan, are there any hidden dangers?
Zhu Hongyu doesn’t think so!
Tibetans are not Negotiators. They are compatriots with the same culture and race as the Han people. As long as we make good use of religious issues, assimilating them will not be a problem.
In two or three generations at most, the two sides will be indistinguishable from each other!
What hidden dangers could there be?
Zhu Hongyu is still very confident about the ability to assimilate Chinese culture.
Besides, Zhu Hongyu wanted to be more than just the emperor of the Han people.
But the emperor of the world!
All young people are also his subjects!
Zhu Hongyu expressed his thoughts and asked the Fifth Army Commander's Office for his opinions.
The Commander-in-Chief of the Fifth Army has also made a statement that they will make a plan and submit it to the emperor as soon as possible!
…
Zhou Tianxu stood on the bow of the boat, looking at the wide Yangtze River in front of him, and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
He is finally back!
After crossing the river and handing over the belongings he had escorted, his contribution to leading the team north to Shandong would be fully realized.
"Go down with the order and prepare for crossing the river!"
The Daming Navy, which was responsible for escorting the people along the way, began to prepare to cross the river.
The ships were hung with sails, and seals were affixed one by one, and the locked boxes were carried aboard.
The Jin Yiwei and the Ming Navy soldiers who were responsible for carrying the box were very cautious in their movements!
Because they don't know what these suitcases actually contain.
It would be better if it was silver!
What if there is valuable jewelry or porcelain inside? If it were to fall, the consequences would be unimaginable.
I can’t afford to lose even if I sell them!
As the boxes were transferred one by one to the ship, the ship also pulled anchor and headed towards the south bank of the Yangtze River.
Chen Shu held an embroidered spring knife in his arms, standing on the bow of the boat, looking at the south bank of the Yangtze River, his face full of longing.
Counting the days, it was time for his mother-in-law to give birth.
After this mission is over, he can get a month's leave, just in time to go home and see his wife and children.
Thinking about the mission he had performed this time, Chen Shu was full of expectations for what reward he could get this time.
As a Jinyiwei, he was an eyewitness to what happened in Qufu.
This time the imperial court took action against the Kong family in Qufu and gained so much wealth at once. According to the generosity of His Majesty the Emperor, these royal guards who are responsible for carrying out specific tasks will definitely receive a lot of rewards.
Chen Shu couldn't help but think of the fact that when he married his wife, the so-called wedding ceremony was very simple because his family was poor.
It's just that the two families sit together, eat a table of noodles, and then bow to heaven and earth, and that's it.
There is no big fuss at all!
It can be said to be extremely poor!
But even so, his mother-in-law did not dislike him and lived with him steadily for so many years.
She has children, does housework, and takes care of her parents. She works hard without any complaints.
If the reward issued by the court this time is generous enough, Chen Shu would like to organize a make-up wedding for his wife.
Just when Chen Shu was imagining how his wife would look like wearing a red wedding dress and a phoenix crown and harem, his subordinate Shang Yang walked up to him.
"Chief flag, what are you thinking about on the bow of the boat? Be careful of falling into the water!"
Today's Yangtze River flows rapidly and the water temperature is still very low.
If you accidentally fall in, if you are unlucky, you may not even be able to save your life.
Chen Shu took back his thoughts, looked at Shang Yang angrily, and said.
"I miss your sister-in-law. She's about to give birth!"
Shang Yang's eyes lit up and he spoke.
"Then this time the General Flag is holding a full moon banquet, I have to join in the fun and drink a few glasses of water and wine to feel happy!"
Chen Shu nodded and said.
"Okay, come when the time comes and I'll entertain you!"
After speaking, he said nothing more.
Although the Yangtze River is wide, it does not take long to cross.
An hour later, the fleet arrived at the south bank of the Yangtze River.
The Zhenjiang Pier on the south bank was blocked by Zhu Hongyu's imperial guards, and boxes of property were taken off the ship and shipped to Nanjing.
On this day, a Nanjing city gate was blocked!
The people watching the excitement all around saw large boxes being transported into Nanjing City, but what exactly was contained in the boxes was unknown.
After Zhou Tianxu got off the ship, he went directly to see Zhu Hongyu to report his merits.
Large boxes were moved into Zhu Hongyu's internal funds one by one, and the relevant personnel from the internal work supervisor began to make detailed statistics and valuations.
Many master craftsmen in Nanjing who were well versed in antique artifacts were invited to the palace to begin valuing those antique artifacts.
Of course, there are many cultural relics here whose value cannot be estimated in terms of money!
Such a priceless treasure will not be sold at all, but will be collected in the palace.
After the boxes of gold and silver were counted, they were transported to the Ming Dynasty Royal Bank in Nanjing.
These gold and silver will be minted into gold and silver coins by the Royal Bank of the Ming Dynasty, which will be used to fill the imperial treasury and ensure that the Royal Bank of the Ming Dynasty has sufficient reserves to deal with the risk of runs.
Zhu Hongyu looked at that shocking figure and felt that he had done the right thing by ordering the Confucius Mansion to be confiscated and the family exterminated.
I don’t know how much wealth the Confucius government exploited to accumulate such a lot of wealth!
Now, Zhu Hongyu takes it from the people and uses it for the people, which is just right!
Looking at Zhou Tianxu standing in front of him, Zhu Hongyu gently patted his shoulder and said.
"You did well this time!"
"I'm very satisfied. After this time, you can rest for a while."
Zhou Tianxu bowed down excitedly and said.
"Working for Your Majesty will never be hard!"
Zhu Hongyu nodded with satisfaction again, and then announced that Zhou Tianxu's title would be raised one level.
The earl in him changed from a wandering lord to a hereditary one.
He was also rewarded with a house in Nanjing City, as well as a certain amount of land and money.
Zhu Hongyu is still very generous to ministers like Zhou Tianxu who dare to do his dirty work for him.
He will not delay the reward that is due!
Just highlight one principle, follow me, Zhu Hongyu, to save face, glory and wealth, no one can be missing!
…
On Zhu Hongyu's side, he was rejoicing over the large amount of money he had received.
As the men escorting the Confucius' property crossed the river and arrived in the south of the Yangtze River, the news of Qufu was also leaked.
The entire escort team, including the navy troops escorted by brocade uniforms and guards along the way, numbered thousands of people.
As we all know, as long as there are more people, it is impossible to hide the news!
Not long after the escort team crossed the river, a piece of gossip spread in the south of the Yangtze River.
No one dared to directly say that the Ming Dynasty was responsible for the extermination of the Kong family in Qufu, but the Ming Dynasty transported a large amount of property across the river from Shandong, so the news could not be concealed.
Everyone is curious, where did this large amount of property transported back from Shandong by the Ming Dynasty come from?
After contacting each other, the Kong family in Qufu was exterminated...
Are things connected?
Many people suddenly realized that the Ming Dynasty might have done what happened in Qufu.
Well, it’s not possible, but there is a high probability that Daming did it!
The moment they realized this, the whole Jiangnan was stunned.
Good guy, are Ming’s ways so wild?
They still remember how a few days ago, the Ming Dynasty Daily, as the mouthpiece of the imperial court, sternly rebuked Ao Bai for killing the Confucius family, which was a crazy thing.
I still remember the great drama in which hundreds of officials cried in the palace, performed by the Emperor of Ming Dynasty and the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty.
The result, is this?
This raking operation is so impressive!
All I can say is that it’s you!
Almost everyone who realized this was stunned by the Ming court's saucy operations.