He did not stay in Ningxia for long, and the emperor continued his journey westward.
It was already December, the west wind was blowing, but the emperor still went to Lanzhou.
Marching along the Yellow River, it was freezing and snowy, but they were all the elite of the royal camp, and they did not bring any palace officials, eunuchs, or concubines, so there was no problem in marching. The emperor also rode on horseback.
The emperor is riding on a horse, his whip pointed at the Yellow River.
"It is winter now. When spring comes, it will be navigable from Liujiawan in the upper reaches of Lanzhou to Hekou Town in Qiantao Zhenwu. The 3,200 miles in the middle reaches of the Yellow River will be navigable. By then, Gansu and Suiyuan will be connected, and the upper reaches of the Yellow River will be navigable.
Hehuang and the three downstream areas can be self-sufficient in food, and there is no need to transfer food to the Guanzhong Plain."
Wen Anzhi also very much agreed with the emperor's plan for shipping in the middle reaches of the Yellow River. It was 3,200 miles from Lanzhou to Guihua. It was of great significance to build shipyards and docks along the route to connect Ningxia, Jiuyuan, Baotou, Suiyuan, etc.
"Between Yongjing in the upper reaches of Lanzhou and Wufang Temple in Jingyuan County, there are dangerous places such as the Grand Gorge, the Small Gorge, Five Brothers, and Yi Laolao. Only rafts and rafts can be used in this section of the river, and wooden boats cannot be driven. Wufang Temple Sutra
From Zhongwei, Jinji, Lingwu to Ningxia, there are dangerous obstacles such as Heishan in between, and the passage of ships is also very difficult. It is necessary to build docks to transport ships in sections. The only way is to go further north from Ningxia, pass through Luo and reach Shizuizi.
Only then did the river open up further."
Navigation is possible from Ningxia to Guihua, but from Ningxia to Lanzhou, there are many dangerous gorges, but it is also possible to use rafts, wooden rafts and other segmented shipping. As long as the dock is built and the segmented transfer is carried out, the efficiency
It is still far superior to land transportation, but it can only be carried down the river, not against the river.
From its source to the Liujia Gorge in Yongjing, the upper reaches of Lanzhou, Gansu Province, the Yellow River winds its way between numerous mountains. The length of the river, which is about more than 2,000 miles, varies greatly.
What is the value of water transportation?
The main stream of the Yellow River from Yongjing to Lanzhou, and the lower reaches of the two larger tributaries Huangshui and Tao Rivers, have the convenience of primary navigation. However, these river sections are only limited to rafts, and rafts cannot travel from top to bottom.
Passage up and down.
This section of the Hehuang Valley is the Hehuang Valley in the northwest, which is smaller than the Guanzhong Plain and the Hetao Plain. It is very fertile and is connected to the south of the Yangtze River. In the Ming Dynasty, grain, green oil, wood and coal were transported under the Huang River.
Those who are lucky are mostly wood.
Huangshui River can be connected with rafts and rafts from below Xining to Lanzhou for 500 miles, which can not only transport grain, fur, wood, coal, but also carry passengers.
Shizuishan Mountain is in the north of Ningxia. The Yellow River to the north is very flat and wide and can be navigable up and down. Therefore, Zhu Yihai specially proposed to Ordos Khan to establish Shizuishan Town here, build a shipyard and a shipping center here, and it became an important mutual market transaction.
center.
Later, wool from Ordos, medicinal materials, and salt from Ningxia were all traded and concentrated here. They were transported to Hekou via Dengkou and Baotou. From the beginning of winter to the Qingming Festival of the following year, it could be navigable for seven months.
Hekou Town in Suiyuan can be directly connected to Datong, which is connected to Taiyuan or Zhangjiakou, and connected to Beijing and Tianjin.
On the other side, Shizuishan Mountain leads to Ningxia, Lanzhou, and even Xining and Qinghai.
The emperor attaches great importance to the water transportation of the Yellow River. In the final analysis, if it is connected, it will be prosperous. If it is connected, it will be rich. It is a slogan that everyone in later generations will know. If you want to be rich, you must first build roads. And the water transportation of the big river is a highway to get rich. It is a highway to get rich, and it does not need to be repaired.
of.
River terminal towns have been built along the river, which are not only transfer and distribution centers for inland waterway shipping materials, but also can be connected to land transportation.
Goods are exchanged all over the world, and what is needed is exchanged. If a place wants to develop, it is unrealistic to rely solely on isolation and self-sufficiency, and it will not make it rich.
Especially places like the northwest are relatively backward. Although there are Hetao Plains, Guanzhong Plains, Hehuang Valley, Hexi Corridor, etc., most other places are actually Loess Plateau, desert, Gobi and other places. It is necessary to
To connect.
Ordos is a semi-arid grassland sandy land, where grazing is the main area. It produces fur, dairy products, mushrooms, etc. Another example is northern Shaanxi, which is short of water and drought and has few grain fields, but there are many salt ponds and even coal in northern Shaanxi.
Very famous.
Similarly, the Hehuang Valley not only has its own fertile river valley and is connected to the south of the Yangtze River, it is also an important passage to Qinghai-Tibet. It was a branch line of the Silk Road during the Sui and Tang Dynasties, and the development of trade was the focus.
Not to mention the Hexi Corridor, which is the main line of silk transporting the Western Regions.
After the construction of the Grand Canal in the Central Plains, many towns and docks emerged along the canal. On the canal line in the Ming Dynasty, Yangzhou, Linqing and other large cities along the river even exceeded those of provincial cities.
Today's Shizuishan, Dengkou, Baotou, and Hekou places were designated by the emperor to build cities, station troops, and build wharves. Previously, because the Mongols occupied these places, many places were just wastelands. But as long as shipping is opened, then now
With the unified northwest of China, these docks will soon flourish.
It was during the Qing Dynasty that Baotou became a fur distribution center on the upper reaches of the Yellow River. It transformed from a small village into a large town with more than a thousand shops and an annual trade volume of more than 5 million.
Rivers can become not only cargo channels, but also information channels. They can not only connect and distribute goods, drive upstream and downstream, but also bring tax revenue. Tax revenue can enrich the people and support the army, forming a good closed loop.
In the final analysis, if the imperial court wants to control and stabilize the northwest frontier, it must station a large number of troops. However, garrisoning and raising troops requires a lot of military expenditures. If it cannot provide supplies and even military pay on the spot, it will not last long.
From the Han Dynasty to the Sui and Tang Dynasties and then to the Ming Dynasty, it was always difficult to control the Western Regions for a long time. The biggest problem was that it was too far away and beyond our reach. And the most critical thing about this remoteness was the inconvenience of transportation and the difficulty of delivering materials. It was difficult to transport materials quickly, so there were restrictions.
The projection of military power also affects military control.
Although the Hexi Corridor is a natural passage, it is still thousands of miles away by people and horses, which is not as convenient and fast as river transportation.
If we can be completely self-sufficient in the Western Region, we can supply more troops and ensure adequate food and wages, which can still be maintained.
The small oases in the Western Region are not enough to maintain a large-scale garrison. Unless the Yinli Valley is captured, even if the Yinli Valley is not captured, even if the major oases in the south of the Tianshan Mountains are controlled, it will not be enough.
Take the basin.
By choosing one of the two in the Fergana and Yinli Valleys, the Central Plains Dynasty can maintain a strong garrison in the Western Regions, and even move a large number of immigrants, so that the Han people can surpass other indigenous peoples and become the dominant ethnic group. Only in this way can real long-term peace and stability be achieved.
It is not enough to rely solely on the food supply in the Hexi Corridor. And oasis basins such as Hami and Turpan cannot support large scale.
Now the Yarkand Khanate occupies various oases south of the Tianshan Mountains. They also once occupied the Fergana Basin, and once occupied the Yinli River Valley, but now they are occupied by the Heshuote tribe.
Zhu Yihai wants to take over the Western Regions, and also plans to control Yinli and Fergana in the future. However, now he must first stabilize Shaanxi and Gansu, and then advance westward step by step. The most critical thing to truly control the Western Regions is not military success, but also military success.
There must be enough Han people to immigrate there.
From Shaanxi and Gansu to Yumen, Dunhuang, then to Hami, Turpan, and then along the Tarim River, Korla, Kuqa, Aksu, Wush, Kashgar, Hotan, etc., we want to immigrate and colonize.
From the Han Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty, the Central Plains Dynasty actually made great efforts to immigrate to the Western Regions. The Long March athletes of the Tang Dynasty, etc., but in the end, as the Central Plains Dynasty weakened, those Han children in the Western Regions were eventually ruled by the Hu people, and even
They assimilate.
After all, the quantity is still too small.
Mainly relying on military camps. When the main force of the garrison returned to the Central Plains, the small number of garrison troops and immigrants could not resist the nomadic people. During the Anshi Rebellion in the Tang Dynasty, the Anxi Army returned to the Central Plains and never came back. The Hexi Corridor was lost and news was cut off from the Central Plains. Decades later
, those troops who stayed behind in Anxi have become gray-haired veterans, struggling to support one settlement after another, and still looking forward to the return of the Central Plains Tang Dynasty to Anxi.
They didn't even know that the Tang Dynasty changed emperors and titles.
In history, Junggar once unified the Western Regions and Qinghai-Tibet, but after decades of fighting against the Qing Dynasty, they were finally defeated. In the final analysis, their population was too small, with a total population of only 700-800,000. How could they defeat the Qing Dynasty and occupy the Central Plains with hundreds of millions of people?
What about the Qing court supported by the Han people?
If Zhu Yihai can immigrate one million people to the Western Region in the future, it will basically guarantee the stability of the Western Region. If he can immigrate two million people, no one will be able to rob him. By then, he will be able to dominate the Western Region and even conquer Kazakhstan and other places.
Dry service.
······
"Your Majesty, please call me urgently from Beijing."
Pang Tianshou, deputy eunuch of the Internal Memorial Affairs Department, brought over a box of memorials that had just arrived.
Zhu Yihai motioned for him to put it down.
I made a pot of tea and then started reviewing the memorial.
These memorials were memorialized by the Prime Minister who stayed behind, the Cabinet who stayed behind, the Crown Prince and officials from the East Palace, and naturally there were also memorials from the Sixth Ministry, the Governor's Office of the Fifth Army, etc.
There are all matters big and small.
The emperor was still paying attention to the prince's memorial and read it carefully several times.
The prince dealt with the Henan exam strike incident. He first killed Fan Xun and Ding Qixiang, and also killed Ding Qirui, Ding Kuichu, Ding Qiguang's uncle and nephew, and even convicted and punished Zheng Sanjun, Hou Xun, and Hou Fangyu.
Somewhat beyond his expectation.
He asked the prince to deal with it and wanted to see the prince's ability. Unexpectedly, the prince not only dared to kill people, but also dared to directly attack the elders of Donglin Fushe.
The fifteen-year-old crown prince is really surprising.
After drinking a pot of tea, Zhu Yihai called over the cabinet and prime ministers who were accompanying him.
"I support the prince's decision."
The emperor spoke directly.
"Your Majesty, Ding Kuichu and Ding Qirui have both served as governors-general of several provinces, and Ding Qiguang is also an admiral. Do you want to be more generous?" The speaker was Wu Yi.
"Zheng Sanjun and Hou Xun also served as bachelors, ministers, and governors. They wrote letters to plead for these students. Although there was something wrong, it was not a big mistake."
Zhu Yihai chuckled, "Ding Qixiang is the nephew of Ding Kuichu, the cousin of Ding Qirui and Ding Qiguang. He is also the student of Hou Fangyu, who is also the disciple of Zheng Sanjun, the son of Hou Xun, the chief envoy of Henan to participate in politics, Zhang Shixia, the counselor of Chen Tinglu, and the inspector
The deputy envoy Fan Jinsi was both their student and from Henan, and they were even married to each other.
Do you dare to say that these people did not conspire to collude with each other regarding the Henan exam strike? Do you dare to say that Ding Qixiang and Fan Xun did not receive their instructions?
How can we tolerate these people openly defying the imperial court?"
Wu Yi insisted, "Your Majesty, although they are related to each other and even the troublemakers are their children, it cannot be said that they were the instigators. Without evidence, it can only be said that the discipline was poor."
The emperor looked at Wu Yi coldly.
"You want evidence? Do they use the so-called alliances to form parties for private gain, become officials when they join, and become gentry when they leave, interfere in the court and local policies, safeguard their private interests, want to regain tax-free privileges, and also annex and occupy fields?
Mr. Wu, please pay attention to your position!"
The emperor's words made Wu Yi panic, "I am neither Wanli nor Chongzhen. I will never allow the Donglin Party to reestablish society in the court and in opposition, and interfere in the country's affairs. It is also impossible to restore their tax-free privileges."
"It is my basic national policy for the government and the gentry to receive food from one body and to raise troops to restore the world. It is also my basic national policy to prohibit alliances, establishment of societies, and prohibition of forming parties for private gain."
The emperor was reminding Wu Yi that it was not important whether Ding Qixiang was instructed by brothers Ding Kuichu, Ding Qirui and Ding Qiguang to sabotage the imperial examination. It was not important whether Zheng Sanjun, Hou Xunhou Fangyu and others participated in the plan. What was important was what they did after the incident happened.
Ding Qirui and others openly defended their cousins and those candidates, and even began to attack the imperial court's policy of migrating gentry into the capital. Zheng Sanjun, Hou Xun, and others used the topic to attack the basic national policy of the gentry receiving food from one body, and even proposed to restore the gentry's privileges.
exemption policy, and then attacked the policy of integrating officials and gentry into responsibilities that was being implemented.
This is a counterattack by some noble landowners. They want the court to return to the system before Chongzhen was hanged. They want to continue to maintain their privileged interests, continue to control the court policies at the top, control the fields and common people at the bottom, and even intervene.
Monopolizing industry and commerce formed a special class of gentry lords in the Ming Dynasty.
They also wanted to restore the aloof status in which they had casually formed alliances and established societies, casually published public reports and written broadsheets to attack the government, and even casually published books and newspapers to criticize current affairs and criticize the imperial court.
How is this possible?
When Zhu Yihai started to raise his army, he was on guard against these people. Therefore, he recruited former officials from the imperial court and hired local gentry. But at the same time, he relied more heavily on the imperial camp that he created. The composition of the imperial camp was complex, and they came from all walks of life and all walks of life.
With his full support, the martial arts class and the Conglong faction among the bureaucratic gentry can be regarded as tearing apart the original gentry class.
It is precisely these people who can truly break the old rigid system.
Now that the Ming Dynasty was restored, some people felt that they could do it again, and began to test the emperor again and again. Last time, the emperor did not magnify the incident between Chen Zilong and Zuo Guangxian, and even deliberately minimized the big issue. As a result, these people did not know how to restrain themselves, but became more and more bold.
Now that he is out on tour in the west, they are actually making such a move. Is this to threaten the young prince or to overthrow the remaining cabinet?
Whether the emperor is now moving the gentry into the capital, or the previous unified grain payment, clearing and restricting land, etc., he is dividing the gentry landlords, supporting a group of new nobles and suppressing a group of old nobles. This kind of purge itself is also to enhance control, and also
The key to centralizing power.
The emperor has always been careful. Under attack from both inside and outside, the precarious nobles and bureaucrats did not dare to make troubles. Now they have started to make troubles, getting bigger and bigger each time. In the end, they are still unwilling to accept it.
For Zhu Yihai, whoever dances happily will be killed, especially those who are on the wrong team. He will never be polite when suppressing them.
Ding Kuichu's family was originally a loser, but now they still dare to dance so happily. The prince dares to attack them. Zhu Yihai agrees with both hands. He doesn't care about the evidence or not.
The emperor forms cliques for personal gain, deceives the emperor and ignores his superiors. He will not be able to redeem himself even if he dies a hundred times.
This is just like the big scandals that Zhu Yuanzhang made after the founding of the People's Republic of China. Those corruptions were just leads, not the real reasons. The emperor just took the opportunity to clean up and achieve the results.
Wu Yi is still here asking for evidence from the emperor. Isn't this because he is confused about the situation?
What evidence do you want? They attack the emperor's basic national policy in this way. Isn't it enough for the emperor to deal with them?
"Fan Xun and Ding Wenxiang will be executed immediately without the need for Qiu Hou. The rest who participated in the strike and riots will be expelled from their honors and will never be allowed to participate in the imperial examination again. Since they are unwilling to go to the capital, they will all move to Gansu to guard the border and colonize."
"The remaining candidates who did not participate in the riot will be given make-up exams."
"Ding Kuichu, Ding Qirui, Ding Qiguang, Hou Xun, Zheng Sanjun, Hou Fangyu, Zhang Shixia, Chen Tinglu, and Fan Jinsi were all killed. Three generations of their family had meritorious status. All those with official titles were expelled from their citizenship, their property was confiscated, and the entire family was exiled to Anxi Prefecture in Gansu Province."
Zhu Yihai's punishments were very harsh, unprecedentedly severe. In the past, officials such as Chen Zilong and Zuo Guangxian were at best exiled. Earlier, some officials were dismissed, demoted, or fined. But now they are more and more severe.
, from being demoted to being dismissed, to being deported and exiled, and now to direct execution, and also to implicate the family.
The emperor took direct action against those gentry and bureaucrats who were still trying to restore the old system, especially those who did not contribute to the resistance to the Northern Expedition, or even surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, but now came out to oppose the imperial policies.
.
Kill chickens to scare monkeys. If the chickens don't scare the monkeys, then kill a few more chickens, and kill a few big ones.
The emperor also used this to show his strong support for the prince.
Do they think this is still the past, that scholar-bureaucrats can kidnap the emperor and control the court? Although Zhu Yihai dismissed the eunuchs and did not need any eunuchs, he was still not afraid of those who dared to jump out.
The emperor has the sharpest knife, which is the hundreds of thousands of imperial troops, as well as the newly aristocratic officials of the Conglong gentry clan, Ding Qirui and others cannot represent all gentry gentry.
Just like Hou Fangyu, one of the four great princes, was executed mercilessly by the emperor this time, the emperor once looked highly upon him, especially appreciated and reused him, and even gave them a chance after they made mistakes before, but this opportunity would not
Always give, especially when he is on the wrong team at the wrong time. After making a serious mistake, the emperor does not care that he is the fourth son of Fushe.
The Fourth Young Master of Fushe was once his shining feather, but now he was an inducement for his murder.
Wu Yi looked pale and did not dare to say anything. The emperor was really angry.
"Chen Qianfu wanted to build the Yellow River embankment in Henan. As a result, there were not enough laborers, so he had to work with officials and gentry. I don't object to this, but he did something wrong. Now in the market, since hiring workers to build the river costs at least two silver dollars a month, what about the government?
You should give two silver dollars instead of fifty pence a day.
As for saying that there is not enough money, that is another matter. You can apply for more funds from the court, or issue special bonds to repair the river. You can borrow money first and pay it back later. Instead of actually hiring workers for two silver dollars a month, you only get one and a half.
.
Repairing the river is a major event that is closely related to everyone on both sides of the Yellow River. The repair of the river also protects the safety of everyone's life and property. Although everyone has paid land rent, the construction schedule of the river repair is now tight and the project is large and there is a lack of labor. Then the court will assign river workers to the fields.
That's right, as long as you pay the hired workers."
"It is fairest to allocate ding per mu. If there is a lot of land, you can hire people to do the work. The Henan government must ensure that no additional ding is allocated for the construction of the river in addition to the allocated land, and it is also not allowed to deduct labor, material costs, food expenses, etc.
Then the Henan gentry should work together."
Building a river is a big deal and no one dares to be careless.
Chen Qianfu is a person who does practical things. Although this policy has some flaws, Zhu Yihai feels that it is better to reward and encourage him. If there are shortcomings, he can make improvements.
To repair the river in Henan, the fixed Ding Yin is far from enough. The court can issue river repair bonds, or borrow money from the Ministry of Accounts Bank or the Royal Bank first. After all, the Yellow River does not need to be repaired every year. Later, the court will draw money from the special funds for river repair.
Repay the loan or pay it back in local installments.
The people paid Ding Yin as a substitute, and now they have to send Ding to repair the river. Although it is unreasonable, nothing is perfect. The river repair project is huge and there are not so many people to recruit, so the only option is to send Ding. As long as
Just pay the workers according to the normal market employment rate.
"If other projects can be canceled or adjusted and repaired slowly, but the Yellow River embankment in Henan cannot wait now and must be overhauled, then everyone will have to suffer, and it affects everyone. If anyone wants to cause trouble and oppose it at this time,
That is because the river embankment cannot be repaired well. When the flood comes, the embankment will burst, just like the Tongwaxiang breach, causing more than forty prefectures and counties to be flooded, tens of millions of people affected, and this has happened for several years.
It was not until the imperial court invested heavily in renovating new river channels in the past two years that the problem of flooding and flooding was solved every year. Do the people of Henan also want this?
Forgot about the breach of Kaifeng? It turns out that Kaifeng City is still buried underground!"
Wen Anzhi also agreed with the emperor's method. Although this would increase a large amount of expenses, it could not be saved.
"I suggest that the censor of the river patrol be sent to Henan to supervise the construction of the river. In addition, the governor's office of the river, as well as the admonition and procuratorate should send personnel to supervise. The Ministry of Industry should also send personnel to guide and supervise, etc., and the Ministry of Household Affairs should send people to solve the problem.
Regarding payment issues, all ministries must work together and supervise comprehensively, the river must be repaired, and corruption must be prevented, and the exploitation of the people must be prevented.”
"Mr. Wen is right. Chen Qianfu and Yang Wencong are responsible for this matter together. All ministries and agencies work together to demolish the private fairs in the embankment when necessary, and the villages in the embankment must be relocated. If there is no place for resettlement in Henan, just relocate
Go to Suiyuan, Gansu.
Anyone who dares to incite the troublemakers will be severely punished."
"Tell Chen Qianfu and Yang Wencong that the imperial court fully supports the construction of the Yellow River embankment in Henan. It will be repaired if necessary, and there will be no major problems for fifty or one hundred years. Make plans in advance. Just like the new Yellow River embankment in Shandong, it cannot be repaired in one year.
Just plan for two to three years. If Henan itself does not have enough human and financial resources, neighboring provinces should also provide people and money to provide counterpart support."
Zhu Yihai personally decided on the matter of officials and gentry working together, raised the wages of hired workers, and then officially implemented it.
