Chapter 1063 Killing multiple birds with one arrow
No one can count how many landlords there are in the Ming Dynasty, and no one can guess how much surplus grain the landlords have. And sometimes, it doesn’t matter how many landlords there are, just one or two who are fat enough will be enough.
Are there any big landowners on the way south?
have!
"King Jinan?" Chunxiang's eyes lit up.
Although the five northern provinces have been in constant war in the past few months, and Shandong has also been affected, Jinan miraculously escaped both the rebel and Qing armies, passing by without being harmed.
"But the new king of De, Zhu Youju, has been on the throne for four years. How much wealth can he have? You must know that when the Qing army entered the pass for the fourth time five years ago, they broke into the city of Jinan and looted it. Even the king of De, Zhu Youshu, was also captured.
He was killed, and the palace was almost burned down by a fire."
"Four years of interest is enough to make a fortune." Chang Yu smiled slightly: "You never know how sophisticated these feudal kings are at amassing money. If nothing else, they can easily earn tens of thousands of acres of fertile land in a year.
It is already considerable, even in a disaster year it is still a lot of money, and besides him there are other big landowners in Shandong.”
"Prince Lu of Yanzhou Prefecture?" Chunxiang's jaw dropped in shock: "You even want to stroke a hairless chicken?"
Two years ago, the Qing army entered Shandong and re-entered Shandong. Although they did not attack Jinan City, they went deep into the hinterland to plunder. Yanzhou was not spared, and the King of Lu did not plucking a hair. In the end, the soldiers resisted and the city was defeated. Almost everyone in the King of Lu's palace was killed. Zhu Yihai died by luck.
He had just escaped, he had just attacked the title at the beginning of the year, and now he is an empty shell... "Brother, you are trying to kill Prince Lu's Mansion." Chunxiang was startled as he spoke, looked around and asked mysteriously: "No
Could it be that the emperor wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to do it?"
Chang Yu laughed loudly and shook his head slightly: "He's a guy like that. Even the emperor doesn't look down on him. It's just that I don't like him. I have to knock him a little bit when I pass by to relieve my hatred."
.
"I can see that there are not many vassal kings that you can please, except for your brother-in-law in Taiyuan." Chunxiang chuckled and said: "You can't knock the empty shell of King Lu now."
Three or five taels, you can only get a few thousand dan from King De to survive. This is far from enough. There are no big players all the way south to Nanjing to help you, but what should you do?"
"In your eyes, there is no such thing. I can see a lot here." Chang Yu said with a smile: "Octopus now has food in Xuzhou. Do you know who owns the territory in Xuzhou?"
"Gao Jie!" Chunxiang's eyes lit up: "It just so happens that Gao Jie has something to fall into your hands now. Are you going to... Brother, don't you be afraid of pushing him into a hurry..."
Chang Yu chuckled and shook his finger: "Suppressing and intimidating will eventually lead to bitter consequences, so we should give him some benefits appropriately, a slap in the face and a piece of candy. If he is happy, I will be happy too."
"Candy? Brother, what kind of candy can you give him?" Chunxiang was curious. As he was talking, Cao Cao arrived, and someone outside the door announced that Gao Jie was here.
"You are watching what kind of sweets your brother gives him." Chang Yu smiled sinisterly and asked Gao Jie to come in.
Gao Jie's face was solemn and haggard, and he was very scared inside. One of his subordinates actually caused trouble during the emperor's military parade. As his immediate boss, he could not escape the blame. To put it more seriously, giving him a plan and ordering him would be a serious crime of confiscating the family and destroying the ancestors.
, this is by no means a trivial matter.
But Liu Zeqing and Liu Liangzuo are actually like a disaster, and no matter how serious the investigation is, they can escape unscathed.
Maybe, this head will be revealed in the capital. Gao Jie has been on pins and needles for the past two days. He always feels that someone is deliberately trying to mess with him, but there is no evidence. Now that the disaster is imminent, if he escapes outside the city, he can't escape, but he is
Being under house arrest in the city is like meat on the chopping board, ready to be chopped into pieces.
He must save himself. Gao Jie has made many contacts in the past two days, but he is still unable to do anything. Many people avoid this kind of thing. Even if they want to help, they are unable to help because they are suspected of assassinating the emperor and rebelling. He is directly handed over to Dongchang.
Full authority to handle.
So, in the end, we have to find a little eunuch.
Damn Li Chengdong, why the hell did you drag me with you if you want to die? Why is it me and not Liu Zeqing and Liu Liangzuo? Gao Jie almost hates him to death.
But he was almost worried to death, and also scared to death, for fear that Dongchang's boss would suddenly come to lock him up.
No matter what you are afraid of, the fan from Dongchang did come and said that the owner of the factory wanted to invite me. Fortunately, he didn't bring any chains.
Gao Jie entered the lobby and wanted to greet Chang Yu and Chunxiang: "The factory governor has summoned me, but there is a letter from the emperor?"
"Has General Gao had lunch?" Chang Yu didn't answer him directly, but asked casually. Gao Jie was startled: "I'm in a hurry for this humble post, and I haven't eaten yet."
"That's just right. Our family hasn't eaten either, so let's eat together." He asked Fang San to serve the wine and food. The wine was specially prepared for Gao Jie, and he drank one glass after another without being polite.
"Factory Supervisor, let's be honest. Can this humble man still keep his head?" Seeing that Chang Yu didn't speak for a long time, Gao Jie finally couldn't help it anymore.
"Whether I can save it depends on how you choose?" Chang Yu smiled faintly, put down the bowl and chopsticks and stared at Gao Jie: "The road is at your feet, it depends on how you walk."
Gao Jie's brain was not that flexible and he couldn't understand it at all, so he bowed and saluted: "Master, please give me a good time. What's going on? Does the emperor really want to punish me to death?"
Chang Yu waved his hand for Gao Jie to sit down, and then said: "I respect you as a straightforward person, so I won't beat you around the bush. Li Chengdong and his cronies are now dead and have no evidence. The rebellion can be big or small. It all depends on the emperor's mood."
”.
Gao Jie was not so stupid that he couldn't be saved. He raised his eyebrows when he heard this: "What do you mean, the factory governor, that the emperor wants to take advantage of me? Although Li Chengdong is responsible for causing chaos in his humble position, he cannot shirk his responsibility, but in the past, he did not go too far in his humble position. Your Majesty..."
Before he finished speaking, he was interrupted by Chang Yu with a wave of his hand: "The emperor indeed wants to take advantage of the opportunity, but he is not trying to take advantage of you."
"It's not about pinching me, it's..." Gao Jie's face was startled: "Liu Zeqinghe and Huama Liu!"
Chang Yu nodded slightly and smiled without saying a word. Gao Jie said doubtfully: "But Li Chengdong caused trouble and the two of them were just implicated, so they won't be found out."
"So this is why the governor called you here alone." Chang Yu straightened his expression: "To tell you the truth, Liu Zeqing was unruly, disobeyed orders and even resisted orders. General Liu Liangzuo robbed the people and even pretended to be a traitor to attack the city.
, The emperor has already endured it, and now he has no time to go south to deal with the two of them. You have been too close to the two of them recently and gained their trust... Mr. Gao, this is a good opportunity for you to atone for your sins. As long as you bring down the two of them.
People, the matter of Li Chengdong has been written off."
Ah! Gao Jie was stunned on the spot. No matter how stupid he was, he understood that the little eunuch was trying to kill someone with a borrowed knife. If he wanted to use his power to deal with Er Liu, he would also weaken his own strength. It was like killing three birds with one stone. It was a good plan.
But Liu and Liu each have tens of thousands of soldiers and horses. How can they be easily dealt with if they are so powerful? What's more, once the three of them fight among themselves, will the little eunuch spare him?... Unless he is like Zhou Yuji and Huang Degong.
Stand by his side and listen to his orders.
Seeing his hesitation, which showed how intense his inner struggle was, Chang Yu said: "Although this matter is somewhat difficult, it is not in vain."
Huh? Gao Jie looked up at the little eunuch with a confused look on his face.
"Afterwards, all the troops, horses, food and grass will be yours!" Chang Yu smiled faintly, and Gao Jie snapped the case and said, "Done!"
"I'm so glad! I really saw the right person," Chang Yu was overjoyed and poured the wine for him personally. Gao Jie raised his glass and drank: "Mr. Factory Supervisor, what do you think we should do?"
"This matter is not urgent. Let's discuss it in the long term." Chang Yu poured wine for him again.
Some people may ask, isn't it just to seize military power? Just kill Liu Zeqing and Liu Liangzuo. If this is the case, it will be a mess. Let alone the fact that we can't find a suitable crime to kill them, let alone the Southern Expedition.
In the past, the ominous killing of generals was more likely to destabilize the army's morale, and Er Liu's troops would blow up the camp at any time. The 10,000 troops outside the city might still be under control, but those thousands of miles away would be dispersed.
What's more, the Southern Expedition is the time to recruit people, so Chang Yu has to make his two brothers work hard. This is the best way to quietly seize power while working hard, and at the same time, he can be kind to Gao Jie and win over him, so why not do it.