When the war subsides, the struggle for power begins.
However, for the newly born Ming Dynasty, everything is under control. The dissatisfaction of the cabinet and the impulse of the generals are all inevitable products.
In a blink of an eye, the cabinet wrote to the emperor, suggesting that the governors of Gansu and Shaanxi, Yunnan and Guizhou, and Xuanda should be added to supervise the grain and grass and control the local areas.
This was an obvious attempt to seize the power to lead the army, but the emperor directly refused.
Under such circumstances, the balance within the court cannot be interrupted.
If a military commander has too much power and a strong desire to start a war, then let him control it and hold on to the food and fodder.
Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Guizhou assigned governors to be responsible for raising military rations.
Theoretically speaking, as the highest officer of each town, one of the key responsibilities of the governor of each town is to also manage food and wages, but the specific management and distribution are handled by full-time officials. According to the rank from high to low, they are: Household Supervisor Pay Langzhong/Chief Supervisor, Supervisor (
Dao), Department Officer (General Judge).
Pan Huang, the Secretary of the Ministry of Household Affairs during the Jiajing period, clarified the responsibilities of paying officials in this way: "With a supply of money and grain, the Chief Secretary will be responsible for supervising the grain consultation on the outside, and will be responsible for all parties on the inside, and will supervise the salary minister and take charge of matters."
Although the governor's salary doctor is in the border town, he is still from the Ministry of Household Affairs and belongs to the "Beijing official expatriate", so he is also called "inner".
During the Wanli period, the Governor of the Ministry of Revenue became a permanent border official, serving a three-year term. After completing his duties, he returned to the Ministry of Households for inspection. His duties were as follows:
Review and issue monthly rations;
Manage farms and warehouses;
Recruit food and grass;
Participate in military decision-making during special periods.
The position of governor-general is a traditional one, and he has a lower position and more power, so he is much more suitable than the governor-general.
The cabinet is barely satisfied, as long as it can act as an informant in the military and prevent indiscriminate waging of war.
Using culture to control military force and coercing martial men has become a habit in highly centralized feudal societies like the Ming and Qing Dynasties. It is obviously difficult to rebel within the system.
However, Nanjing's struggle for power is just a luxury expectation for Beijing at this time.
He has not been in the capital for more than a year, and there is no emperor in charge, and he cannot talk about the interesting stories of the officials. This makes the people of Beijing very uncomfortable.
June.
Summer in Beijing has come earlier than in previous years. The streets are dusty and countless people are busy carrying hoes, bricks and mud.
A horse-drawn carriage with a green curtain drove quietly through the streets, carefully leaning on the roadside for fear of disturbing the energetic working people.
Zhou Shixian opened the curtains, saw the busy crowd, and felt the scorching heat of the sun. He couldn't help but sigh:
"Beijing is very different from previous years."
The braided hair on the back of his head was cut off, and miscellaneous hair grew on his bare forehead, but compared to before, it was still too short, which made him quite uncomfortable.
Although it is indeed much cooler, it’s still a shame to dry your scalp without wearing a hat!
"That's right!" the horseman driving the carriage said, "Master, after we regained control of Beijing, things have changed a lot."
"Let me tell you, in the western suburbs, an incineration ground has been built there. From now on, all the filthy and dirty things in our 49th city will have to be sent there to be burned..."
"Hey, don't tell me, the ground was clean for a few days, but then they demolished the house, built a house, and dug a deep ditch. I heard it leads to the Haihe River!"
"We have to dig in our house, so we don't want to disturb Master Sun."
Zhou Shixian was not bothered by the verbosity along the way. From time to time, he would look through the gaps and look at the dusty and busy Beijing, and his mind would turn over and over again.
When the Ming Dynasty came back, Jiang Yueguang, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, came to Beijing and directly provided work for relief, feeding countless people.
Afterwards, a general cleaning was carried out in Beijing, and all the filth and dirt, especially rats, were swept away.
Otherwise, Jiang Shangshu directly stated that the plague and smallpox were caused by rats because of too much filth.
As a result, the entire Forty-Nine City was in great turmoil, and they were consciously cleaned inside and out. The filth they sorted out piled up like a mountain and burned for nearly a month.
As the driver chattered, the carriage gradually slowed down, and soon it reached the inner city.
The originally bustling inner city had only a few households left after Li Zicheng's torture and the departure of the Manchus.
And more of them are craftsmen.
I heard that the nobles of Nanjing were rewarded with a mansion and specially sent servants to repair it in preparation for moving the capital in the second half of the year.
"Creak——"
The side door opened, and Zhou Shixian came into the mansion. He was a little uncomfortable with the sudden departure from the dust.
After taking a bath and changing his clothes, Zhou Shixian went to the backyard and met his wife, the former Princess of Changping, Zhu Ainao, who was taking his son to enjoy the shade.
At the age of eighteen, she gave birth to a baby boy last year. Although he was a little weak, he finally managed to save it.
At this time, Zhu Ainao was sitting on a lounge chair under the shade of a tree, with her son nestled in her arms, tugging at the fan randomly. The woman also let him, her eyes upward, looking up at the sky through the layers of leaves.
.
Her right arm hugged her son tightly, and her left arm's sleeves were empty, telling her extraordinary story.
When they retreated outside the customs, the Zhou family did not participate. Fortunately, Princess Changping was only a woman and was not taken into consideration, so she luckily stayed.
"Zhou Lang, you are back."
Noticing Zhou Shixian's footsteps, Zhu Yuyao raised her head, with a smile on her thin face.
"Nothing happened today. It's just the old ministers' wishful thinking. They came back in the middle of the conversation."
Zhou Shi showed a sarcastic smile: "Emperor Shaowu has a decisive personality, how could he like these softies?"
Hearing this, Zhu Aao said calmly: "Who is willing to give up the wealth and honor of the once noble family?"
After hearing this, Zhou Shiwei approached and whispered: "Princess, I have found out the whereabouts of some princes, and it seems that the man in the hands of the Qing Dynasty is not the real prince."
"A servant who once served the false prince was found. The appearance he described is not the prince in our eyes. It seems that this was intentional by the Manchus."
"real?"
Zhu Aao looked surprised, but then said disappointedly: "The prince is not here, and I don't know whether he is dead or alive. I hope he will remain anonymous, no longer belong to the imperial family, and live a good life as a commoner."
"Now that the Ming Dynasty has been revived, there is no need for him as a prince..."
Speaking of this, Zhu Ailao turned around and said: "Zhou Lang, please don't inquire about the prince in the future. This is not good for you and me."
"Yeah!" Zhou Shi showed a smile: "Princess, it would be great if you could understand."
As he said that, he sat aside and said affectionately: "You know what? Although I will be happy when the Ming Dynasty recovers, it will not be as good as your recovery."
"I am only happy that the revival of the Ming Dynasty can bring you joy, and I am happy that we no longer have to be cautious and live a compromised life."
"Yes!" Zhu Ailao agreed, smiling brightly: "I am the princess, and you are also the consort. We are upright and aboveboard. There is no need to look at other people's faces."