Longwu six years, the twenty-eighth day of the first lunar month.
Zhu Shuren rode on a tall and divine horse. He wore a rare set of silver full-body plate armor with gold-chiselled patterns on the surface. He appeared outside Yongding Gate with thousands of cavalry.
He is cautious by nature and usually goes to the battlefield to supervise battles. He wears black steel armor with a frosted surface, which does not reflect light and is very low-key.
But today is different. This is a big day to announce the complete restoration of the world's Zhengshuo. It is to show the power of the Ming army in the world. Of course, it must be as gorgeous as possible.
Although silver is still 20 to 30% heavier than steel, it is still half lighter than gold. As long as the size is thinner, it can still be worn.
On both sides of the Yongding Gate in the outer city, all the way to the Zhengyang Gate in the inner city, the main force that had regained the capital a few days ago had already been closely guarding the route, with flags and flags, and rifles and bayonets standing everywhere.
The soldiers who participated in the military parade entering the city spent a few days changing and cleaning their crimson uniforms. If there were any damaged ones, they first borrowed them from short robes that did not participate in the military parade.
I also polished the forged steel breastplate, polished the rusty and scratched areas, and polished the bayonet, and then I participated in the ceremony in high spirits.
Zhu Shuren came to the Yongding Gate, took a deep breath, glanced left and right, and felt very passionate in his heart. Outside the Yongding Gate in front of him, there were at least 3,000 cavalry lining up to greet him. From inside the Yongding Gate to the Zhengyang Gate, there were estimated to be 20,000 soldiers.
Welcome along the street,
The might of the Ming Dynasty's military has reached a new height, but who would have thought that just a few years ago, the situation in the Ming Dynasty was still so dangerous.
"Enter the city!" Zhu Shuren made a casual move, and the guard behind him immediately tilted the big banner forward slightly, and the thousands of troops behind him naturally marched in in an orderly manner.
The crisp sound of horses' hooves stepping on the blue stone was confusing for a while.
After passing through the Yongding Gate, the real scene of Beijing's outer city finally unfolded before Zhu Shuren's eyes. Even though Zhu Shuren was mentally prepared, he couldn't help but be moved by the scene.
It’s so dilapidated! There are broken walls and ruins everywhere, and there are several huge piles of corpses that are still burning as far as the eye can see. They are all Ming troops who destroyed the city a few days ago. According to the experience and health requirements of plague prevention formed in the past few years,
, dealt with proactively. If the military's awareness of hygiene had not improved, this level of damage would have spread the corpse stench throughout the city for at least several months.
It’s no wonder that in the past seven or eight years, the city of Beijing has changed hands three times, and the original social governance system has completely collapsed.
Li Zicheng went into the city and burned it once, but the Tatars didn't burn much when they entered the city, because at that time Dorgon still expected to rule in Beijing for a long time.
But in the end, Hauge knew that the Central Plains could no longer be held, and the capital was destined to be thrown back to the Han people, so his bestiality grew stronger, and he followed Li Zicheng's example of killing, looting, and destroying for a while. After all, the city of Beijing suffered a heavy blow every time it changed hands.
disaster.
The last time Zhu Shuren had an impression of this city was in the 14th year of Chongzhen, when he returned to Beijing for the last time from being the magistrate of Huangzhou to report on his duties. Then he served as a local governor and never visited Beijing again.
By this calculation, it has been almost ten years.
"Sure enough, the prosperity of the people is suffering, and the destruction of the people is suffering. Now that the customs have been restored, I will go to the meeting to report to His Majesty and request that the people of Henan, Hebei, Shandong, Shanxi, Shaanxi and Gansu be exempted from taxes for three years."
Zhu Shuren trusted the horse and let the reins rest, and walked slowly while pressing the bridle, giving instructions casually. The accompanying civil servants next to him naturally praised the prince's benevolence and his plan for the lives of the world.
However, the three years of tax exemption mentioned by Zhu Shuren must include the current year. It is only the end of the first year and agricultural production has not yet started. Although the city of Beijing has been taken back, the remaining enemies must be eliminated in remote areas and those who have collapsed and escaped must be hunted down.
It will take at least several months to build up the remaining Manchu armed forces.
Therefore, it would be good if the north can be completely settled within this year. Taxes should not have been paid this year. If there are remnants of the Qing army who turn into bandits in an organized way, they may not be able to wipe them out within a year.
Nowadays, after the Ming Dynasty recuperated in the first five years of the Longwu Dynasty, paying equal attention to merchants and farmers, the fiscal structure has been reversed, and the proportion of commercial taxes has been increased repeatedly. Before the seizure of the northern provinces, the southern provinces were already more than self-sufficient in finance, and could still squeeze out money for the Northern Expedition.
Therefore, as long as the capital is not moved back to Beijing within a few years, and no additional financial burdens are artificially created, including losses in water and sea transportation, the South's finances will definitely be sufficient, and the status quo can be maintained.
Another advantage of not levying taxes from the six northern provinces is that the localities can be required to be self-sufficient, and the imperial court will not collect taxes. It is still appropriate to let them support themselves, and they cannot ask the imperial court for money and food relief.
After repeated purges by the Qing army and these years of war, the population in the north has been declining sharply every year. Now the total population of the above-mentioned six provinces is only seven or eight million (not taking into account the imperial court's move from the south to Henan in recent years).
For the part of new immigrants, only the natural population is calculated).
The most intense years of the Little Ice Age have passed. Even if the land is still barren and the output is not high, there are fewer people and more fields. There is enough land left fallow for rotation. You can definitely support yourself by planting as much as you want.
During the tax holiday for the next three years, what Ming Dynasty has to consider is how to find those people who originally fled from the north and go south, and let the government subsidize a little start-up capital and seed rations for the first year to allow them to return to their hometowns.
Rebuild the North.
Those people who had been exiled to the south had, after all, experienced the good days of the Longwu Dynasty and received favors from Emperor Ming and Prince E, so they were more grateful for Ming's rule.
Letting them return to their hometowns to mix in the sand can further announce the new atmosphere of the imperial court, so that the people in the north who insist on staying in their hometowns can feel the changes of the Ming Dynasty as soon as possible. At the same time, it will also facilitate the promotion of the policy of permanent tenant rights and change the policy of permanent residence.
The people in the north's production method of fishing from the lake made them aware of the importance of building water conservancy and sustainable development.
After all, during the reign of Tianqi and Chongzhen, and even later during the rule of the Qing court, the economic order in the north had been disrupted. Everyone, down to the common people, had a day-to-day mentality.
Farmers don't even bother to protect their rented farmland, wishing that the fertility would be depleted and the water conservancy system in disrepair. Anyway, who knows whether the land rented this year will be available for farming next year? There is no system to protect the people from having a stable life for a long time. How can the people be willing to give up?
What about investing in the future?
Zhu Shuren estimates that the number of refugees fleeing from the south and returning to the north in the future will exceed at least seven to eight million. In this way, the number of people who have stayed in the north and the people who have been to the south and returned to the north are basically the same.
The ratio can be one to one, and the number of people returning to the north can even outnumber those who have stayed in their hometowns. In this way, after reintegration, the proportion of people who aspire to the Ming Dynasty can account for the majority.
And even if 7 to 8 million people return to their hometowns, the total population of the six northern provinces will only return to 15 million, which is definitely affordable by cultivated land and productivity. For a long time in the future, there will not be a population explosion due to childbirth.
, and fell into the Malthusian trap again.
…
Entering the inner city from Zhengyang Gate, and then all the way into the Forbidden City, everywhere he looked, Zhu Shuren saw several places where the fire had been extinguished shortly after, and the smoke still lingered.
Even within the Forbidden City, many palaces were burned by Hauge when he left. But fortunately, most of the places he burned had no cultural relic value.
Because many palaces were rebuilt by the Qing people themselves in the past six years, Li Zicheng had already burned them once before. Only those parts left over from the early Ming Dynasty are of relatively high cultural relic value.
There are still some escaped palace maids and eunuchs left in the palace, and they probably didn't have time to take them away. The palace maids in the front palace had already been captured by the Ming army soldiers when they first entered the city, so there are only some women left in the inner palace.
Huang Degong, Li Fuming and others also knew the importance and did not dare to divide it privately. They had people guard the palace gate to strictly observe military discipline until Zhu Shuren arrived.
Zhu Shuren rode his horse all the way to the foot of Danqi, then dismounted and walked up the stairs to the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
Huang Degong stood by and guided, waiting for Zhu Shuren to stand still. Then he reported some details of taking over the Forbidden City, and also asked Zhu Shuren to atone for his sins. He said that some soldiers who had been chasing the remnant enemies in the palace would inevitably have unclean hands and feet.
.
However, Huang Degong also emphasized that when the Tatars evacuated, they tried to move as many valuable items as possible. Many items were scattered and could easily be trampled and damaged if not picked up.
Zhu Shuren also knew that one should not be too serious when it comes to military achievements, so he generously ordered: "If you find gold, silver, jewelry, and utensils, you should deal with them according to military discipline. Don't worry about the scarcity but the inequality."
If you are willing to present calligraphy and painting monuments back to the imperial court, the imperial court will also give you a price as compensation, and you will never take them for free. You must make it clear to the soldiers."
Huang Degong quickly agreed, and then asked whether the prince needed to see the woman left behind by the Tatars first.
Zhu Shuren raised his eyebrows. He didn't want to behave in such a domineering manner, so he scolded Huang Degong a few words, and then said: "Let there be old and stable maids in the palace, and let these maids have their bodies tested first.
Anyone who has been defiled by the Tatars must not stay in the palace, and will be awarded to meritorious soldiers according to their rank. Those who have not been defiled by the Tatars will be locked in the inner palace for several months, and no outsiders are allowed to enter or exit.
Please give me your Majesty’s will.”
After taking over the palace affairs, Zhu Shuren asked about the massacre and looting losses in the capital before the Tatars withdrew. Huang Degong and others were unable to make detailed statistics. They could only make a rough estimate based on the corpse collection data.
It is said that there are about 200,000 to 300,000 dead, and the population of Beijing has dropped sharply by at least 70% to 80%. Now there are not even 100,000 people alive in the city.
Zhu Shuren: "When the Tatars withdrew, did they take away traitors and fake officials? How were these people dealt with? What about other tycoons such as imperial merchants who took the initiative to rebel?"
Huang Degong: "Those hard-core traitors and fake officials, especially those who raised the flag and had high grades, all followed them to the outside of the customs. However, some of them were not reused. It was originally because the Tatars gave some high-ranking idle posts in order to win people's hearts.
There are also those who don’t like it, so I left them all behind.”
When the Qing army entered the customs, as long as the Ming Dynasty officials who stayed in Beijing survived Li Zicheng's torture and survived, they would be given official positions to win over people's hearts.
It's just that some people don't have much ability, and they are useless in terms of talent. It's just that their ranks in the Ming Dynasty were already very high, and the Qing government couldn't suppress them too low, so they only gave them ranks but not real power. Now they want to escape.
Of course the traitors with real talents and practical skills must be taken away, but those trash that are just used to whitewash peace are all left behind.
Zhu Shuren touched his beard and decided the fate of these people: "Anyone who has served the Ming Dynasty before and who voluntarily surrendered when the intruders and Tatars entered the capital will be jailed and punished.
If the late emperor retired to live idle after his death, and was forced to serve as an official by the Tatars, he will be exempted from crime.
If the former emperor was an official during the dynasty, but has insisted on not pursuing an official career since then, find them, and give them all the salary and titles according to their original grades. In the future, we will gradually look for them, and then hire them when there are real vacancies. If they are already old,
Or if someone insists on not being an official and dies of old age within the past seven years, he will be allowed to have one heir to show his loyalty.
Of course, the above-mentioned strict order is only valid for civilian officials. Military generals can be pardoned as long as they participated in the killing of Tatars in the end and did not actively rebel in the first place.
As for civil servants, if there are technical civil servants who are proficient in arithmetic and skilled in craftsmanship, they can also be kept in office to perform meritorious service according to the immunity standards of military generals. Those who can only write and write, so be happy."
Zhu Shuren knew very well that in such a world, it was enough to stabilize the hearts of the generals. In the future, he would need to pursue the bandits and completely eliminate the Manchu and Mongolian threats.
After hundreds of years of baptism in the imperial examination, civil servants have already become overcrowded and have a surplus of talent hundreds of times. Who can’t read the Four Books and Five Classics? Who can’t do what can be learned by reading the Four Books and Five Classics?
If you don't give those traitors a chance, there are enough old-style talents. Why leave the good job to those trash to win people's hearts? There are better options worth buying to bribe Zhu Shuren.
After Huang Degong and others heard this, they were really moved. They felt that Prince E's kindness and benevolence were deeper than those in the Ming Dynasty.
After explaining these general disposal opinions, Huang Degong revealed another news to Zhu Shuren, saying that when the Ming army took over the Ministry of Punishment and other departments a few days ago, they also discovered that some prisoners were detained there. Some of them may need Zhu Shuren to personally deal with them.
Give processing opinions.
Zhu Shuren didn't care about Hu, so he took the time to go to the Ministry of Punishment, and unexpectedly saw Hong Chengchou there.
Zhu Shuren was also a little emotional. Corporal Li Xian stood across the cell door and asked with his hands crossed: "Isn't this Governor Hong? Are you okay? I heard that you wanted to ask for a night at the last moment, so that I could tell the historian who compiled Chongzhen's records to
Have all subsequent records about you been deleted?"
In the cell, there was a decrepit old man with pale hair and a withered appearance. When he heard Zhu Shuren's voice, he was a little unfamiliar and slow at first. It took him a long time to react:
"You are the surnamed prince of the country? Prince E? You are truly a talented person with great knowledge of the world. The great emperor of the Han Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty were the great strategists. The Ming Dynasty has fallen into extreme decline, but you have brought it back with ten years of hard work. I have never seen such an ancient person in my whole life of studying."
Hong Chengchou had met Zhu Shuren twelve years ago, but it was only a few times and he had no impression. At that time, Zhu Shuren had just won two imperial examinations and stayed in the capital for the first few months to work as an imperial editor. It was during that time that he met him. Second
Zhu Shuren went south to serve as a local magistrate when he was young, and Hong Chengchou went to Liaodong to supervise the army, and he was never seen again.
Zhu Shuren had an impression of the other party because he had assumed the position of high authority twelve years ago. At that time, Hong Chengchou could not take a small Hanlin seriously.
At this moment, one person has all the power in the world, looking down from a high position outside the prison, while the other person is extremely depressed. The contrast between good and bad fortunes is so strong that one cannot help but lament the changes in the world.
Zhu Shuren observed the old traitor playfully, and then asked: "Is it because that time you secretly communicated military information to Brother Cangshui, and Hauge discovered it, so you were imprisoned here?"
Hong Chengchou smiled bitterly: "If he had been discovered, he would have been martyred for his country long ago, so that would be fine. It would be over once and for all. I didn't understand it at the time, and felt that the Ming Dynasty must be hopeless, and there was nothing to say.
This time, it was just Hauge who wanted to massacre and plunder the city. Seeing that there were still so many old things in Beijing, I couldn't bear it, so I advised him to pay attention to the people's hearts. Hauge thought that I was going to be two-faced, and I wanted to dedicate the city after he left, and let people
We were temporarily detained and interrogated, but before we could find out anything, the imperial master came into the city, so the matter was dropped."
Hong Chengchou finally persuaded Hauge not to massacre and plunder the city. This was not necessarily out of kindness, but because he had been an official in Beijing for so many years and had many old friends among the Han gentry. In order to prevent his own people from suffering, he had to persuade him.
However, Zhu Shuren finally gave him some advice and spared his life.
"For the sake of informing Brother Cang Shui about the Tatar military situation before the war in Naihuang, it's okay to spare your life! Don't you want the history books not to write about your deeds after Chongzhen fifteen years?
Haha, it is impossible for me to tamper with false history. The most I can write for you is, "In the fifteenth year of Chongzhen...it is said that Hong Chengchou died in the rebellion, but since then there have been many folk legends about his clean officialdom, and it is difficult to tell the truth." As for the truth
Anyway, let future generations judge for themselves!
If you want to keep your reputation, you have to expose many other traitors who were demoted or hidden in the Qing government. After all, they have worked with you. If those people are still alive and running around outside, it will not be easy for you to hide your affairs.
As for you, you are already a dead person in the history books anyway. Seeing that you are old, I will give you a cleaner yard and imprison you for life!"
Even if Hong Chengchou does not die, his treatment is equivalent to life imprisonment. Moreover, Hong Chengchou himself needs life imprisonment, otherwise he will not be able to continue to show his face.
Zhu Shuren gave him extrajudicial mercy, which was nothing more than better food, clothing and accommodation conditions during his life sentence, similar to the sanatorium-style prisons that were used to detain high-level prisoners in later generations.
Hong Chengchou kowtowed as if he were pounding garlic, thanked him repeatedly, and said that he would cooperate with the court to confess the inside story of the Qing court, and fight against other traitors.
…
After dealing with the traitor's demotion, Zhu Shuren continued to ask about the situation of the traitor's wealthy merchants and gentry in the next few days.
Later, I was told that the eight imperial merchants in Beijing had been controlled.
But the main members of their tribe are still in the Datong and Zhangjiakou areas of Shanxi Province. Jiang Guan in Datong detained those people when he raised his troops, while those in Zhangjiakou had to wait and be sent back to the capital later.
Zhu Shuren was not in a hurry, so he just waited slowly and let the generals keep an eye on him.
Later, after more than half a month of struggle, the traitor Shanxi merchant groups in Datong, Zhangjiakou and other places were finally sorted out as carefully as Gua Manzhao, and they were all captured in Beijing.
Of course, there was nothing to say about the eight major locust merchant families, including the Fan Yongdou family. They were all taken to the vegetable market outside Xuanwu Gate and lined up to be executed. The eight major locust merchants themselves were all sentenced to death by Lingchi, and their direct parents and descendants were sentenced to be cut in half.
The side branches are ordinary beheadings.
They were executed together with a bunch of famous traitor officials who had just been cleared out. They all took the initiative to advise the Tatars and had irrefutable evidence of harming their compatriots. Depending on the severity of the crime, they ranged from being tortured to being hanged.