Dashun Yongchang

But officials deal with problems differently from soldiers. As long as they can attack in a detour, no official will attack from the front, because what officials face is not an enemy that can be eliminated, but the people under their rule.You may be able to beat the people in one matter, but you cannot beat the people in everything. This will only make the people accumulate personal dissatisfaction with you, and eventually cause even greater disturbances in the local area.

The commander-in-chief of the army will not punish the enemy because of his hatred for his subordinates, but the emperor or those in power will deal with a group of cruel officials in order to appease the people. Therefore, officials will always try to use unofficial power to deal with ordinary people unless they have to. , so that the promises they made can be fulfilled or not. Anyway, the officials will be transferred every three years, and this is the trouble left for the successor.

Although he only worked for a few months, Zhang Nai felt that he had benefited a lot, because this was the first time he realized that there were so many ways to deal with a matter.Take for example the issue of Huang Degong Ministry. If he had dealt with this matter a few months ago, his conclusion would not be much better than that of Liu Zeqing and Liu Liangzuo. He also wanted to use force to solve these forces that do not obey Dashun.

Of course, the premise of doing this is that he also believes that Huang Degong and the subordinates below are one, and there is no possibility of fierce conflicts between the two parties.However, with the issuance of a series of policies on the army by the Marshal's Office, Zhang Nai suddenly discovered that in fact, whether it was Huang Degong, the officers under him, or the soldiers below him, the Statistics Department's investigation report on the officers and soldiers of Huang Degong's department, The respective ideas are completely different.

In fact, Huang Degong has no greater ambitions, but he just wants to control the army in his hands and regards this army as his own private property.And the officers below actually didn't mean to follow Huang Degong all the way to the black. After all, they were also assigned by the emperor to Huang Degong, not the army pulled up by Huang Degong from scratch, so their obedience to Huang Degong was actually to Daming Loyal transfer.

If Huang Degong wants to go further, there may be a few ministers who follow the dragon, but Huang Degong wants to be a local emperor, and the hearts of the people below will be scattered, because no matter who becomes the emperor, it is impossible to tolerate the existence of a military leader like Huang Degong of.

As for the soldiers below, although they admire Huang Degong's martial arts and character, they still serve as soldiers for food. Without money and food, they can't go to war hungry. What's more, after the death of Ming Dynasty, this army no longer knows who it is for. And fought.Therefore, when Huang Degong first responded to the Marshal's Mansion and said that he would support the prince, the morale of this army recovered a lot, because they were from the Beijing army after all, so they were naturally close to the prince.

However, Huang Degong's relationship with the Marshal's Mansion became cold for his own selfish desires, which directly caused them to lose a lot of benefits. This made the soldiers who originally supported Huang Degong now feel resentful towards the general.

Facing such a Huang Degong army full of internal conflicts, there was no need to fight them. Zhang Nai felt that if the army did not mutiny before the end of the month, Huang Degong could be regarded as a good leader in the daily management of the army.

Now if he sends troops to attack Huang Degong's department, or buys Huang Degong's subordinates to rebel, he is actually helping Huang Degong out of the siege. At that time, he will give the outside world the notoriety of Marshal Du's government's rebellion, and the political loss will be huge.If Huang Degong is smart enough, he should take the initiative to come to Yangzhou to be recruited by the Marshal's Mansion, so as to avoid a mutiny.

For the Marshal's Mansion, it is the most dignified and upright to recruit Huang Degong's troops at the initiative of Huang Degong, or to send people to appease and accept them after the mutiny of his troops, and it is the least likely to leave any sequelae.Therefore, Zhang Nai naturally rejected the proposal of the two, but he also hinted that if they wait a little longer, there may be a new turning point.

After sending Liu Zeqing and Liu Liangzuo away, Zhang Nai turned around and went to a small courtyard in the east. This courtyard has three main rooms and two rows of side rooms on the left and right. Ordinary people, this is the real operating core of the Yangzhou Left Behind Division, the Military Supplies Office.

This core is not talking about. The main task of the Yangzhou Left Behind Division is to cooperate with the Military Supply Office to ensure that this office can work smoothly.When Zhang Nai walked up the steps of the main room, Wu Yiqing, Tang Diaoding, and Zhang Xinbiao, the three heads of the military supply office in the main room, were also discussing the work content they were responsible for.Zhang Nai couldn't help but stop on the steps when he heard the discussion going on inside, and didn't allow the guards around him to go forward and report.

"...according to the summary of the data I have, excluding Shaanxi and Shanxi, and the expenditure before May last year, the total expenditure of the Marshal's Mansion from May last year to early January this year was about 2160 million Taels of silver, and the income of the Marshal's Mansion last year was 1550 million taels, which was a deficit of 610 million taels.

Last year, we issued about 1000 million taels of various types of public bonds. After deducting the expenses, we actually got 970 million taels. After filling this hole, there are about 360 million taels left, but now the monthly expenditure of the Marshal’s Mansion is more than 330 million Ten thousand taels, that is, just enough for one month, this battle really cannot continue, otherwise the Marshal's Mansion will go bankrupt first. "

Zhang Xinbiao sighed bitterly to his two colleagues, completely ignoring Zhang Nai outside the room.Tang Tiaoding, who had his back to the door, was not as pessimistic as he was, but said: "The monthly expenditure of the Marshal's Mansion is indeed a bit higher, but this is not just caused by the war. The new waterway from Yangzhou to the Yangtze River has also repaired lake embankments, river embankments, canals, and roads in Huaiyang. This part of the expenditure cannot be left over, otherwise once the rainy season arrives, the losses caused by floods in these places will be even greater. big.

Moreover, although we have spent so much money, the price of grain in Jiangnan has finally stabilized now.For example, here in Yangzhou, three months ago we stipulated that the median daily wage of workers was 100 standard Wen, which is about 200 Wen in Chongzhen money, which can buy 5 liters of rice.

From last month to the beginning of this month, the median daily wage of workers rose to 130 standard ren, which is about 123.5 ren in Chongzhen money, and can buy 8.4 liters of rice.In other words, the price of copper coins began to rise, and prices began to stabilize.

Under such circumstances, business has begun to recover, which means that we can continue to borrow money from those merchants and then order supplies from them, nothing more than moving the payment date back and paying some interest.Compared with the north, I don't think we can't support the Manchurians, they are always more difficult than us. "

"That's right, indeed, if we can't hold on, then the North will only be able to hold on even more." Zhang Nai clapped his hands and walked into the main room, and praised Tang Tiaoding greatly.

Seeing Zhang Nai coming in, Wu Yiqing and the other three quickly got up and saluted him.Zhang Nai returned the salute to the three of them and sat on the chair in hand, then said to the three of them, "I came here just to ask about the supply situation ahead, it seems that I came at the right time..."

Chapter 459 Yangzhou Nine

Taohuawu, east of Tianning Temple, was originally a private garden of a salt merchant surnamed Han. Although it is not as good as other famous gardens, because it is close to Baobao Lake, a large number of peach trees are planted in the garden. It is also a grand sight.

However, the situation was chaotic last year, and Yangzhou, a place that had been peaceful for more than 200 years, was also hit by military disasters, so the Han Garden outside the city was also looted and destroyed by the army. The rectification of the Lianghuai salt industry made the salt merchant surnamed Han unable to repair the garden, so he put it up for sale.

At this time, after the establishment of the Yangzhou Council, there was an urgent need to find a fixed meeting place. After all, Qionghua Temple was not suitable for large-scale reconstruction to meet the daily needs of the council, so the Yangzhou Council decided to purchase this garden for reconstruction. It is used for daily office work of the council.

In order to make up for this expenditure, the representatives of the council proposed to tax the citizens for the first time, rejecting donations from certain businessmen.These citizen representatives who advocate taxation said to the people of Yangzhou: "Since the council is the place where the people discuss, the expenditure of the council should naturally be paid by everyone. If the expenditure of the council comes from donations from some people, So in the future, can the council still discuss matters involving these people fairly?

If the council cannot speak out on behalf of the people, how can we discuss grain price control in the future?How to discuss the expenditure of urban construction?Therefore, we pay this small amount of money now in order not to pay a lot of money in the future.Has everyone forgotten the pain caused by the soaring food prices in the past few months? "

Although the people naturally don't like the court to tax themselves, as long as they can clearly explain how these taxes are collected and spent, most people are still willing to pay, and those who refuse to pay are regarded as saboteurs. molecular.In order to prevent those who are unwilling to pay for their own advantages, the council also passed a decree announcing that these people who refuse to pay taxes will not enjoy the rights of Yangzhou citizens, they cannot be representatives of citizens, and they cannot serve as various officials under the Yangzhou council. public office, and shall not be included in transactions related to affairs related to the council.

In fact, some local gentry and merchants tried to refuse tax payment to foreigners in Yangzhou because they did not want them to have their voice heard in the council.It hasn't been long since the council was established, and many people have realized that this local self-government management agency is actually encroaching on the power of the original county government.

However, Marshal Du's Mansion took a tacit attitude towards this, and the reason why Marshal Du's Mansion did this was because the power of the county government encroached by the council does not completely belong to Marshal Du's Mansion.Because from the establishment of the system of prefectures and counties by the first emperor to the Ming Dynasty, behind the fact that the imperial power did not go down to the counties was the autonomy of the gentry, not the co-government of the gentry.

This sentence means that although the imperial power does not come down to the county, the power structure in the county is not that the gentry sit down and decide public affairs on an equal footing, but the same level of obedience. The squire Zhang said on the territory he controlled Forget it, but it is not his turn to speak in the land of the squires surnamed Li. The squires, large and small, in a county are actually the emperors, large and small, and there is no common value.

This kind of political ecology in the county makes it almost impossible for public morality to survive, because everyone only pays attention to the affairs within their own land and family, and no one will take care of other affairs as long as they have nothing to do with their own family.Therefore, the chaotic times at the end of the Song Dynasty and the end of the Ming Dynasty made some gentry start to wake up, and put forward the idea of ​​"family affairs, state affairs, and everything concerned". idea.

But in feudal dynasties, it is very difficult to form this kind of public morality, because the yamen, which represent the imperial power, don't care about you being the emperor behind closed doors, but if you make some township conventions and regulations, and gather the local people to unify the values, it will be a big problem. It threatened the continuation of the imperial power, and naturally became the target of suppression by the court.

Therefore, the county magistrates sent by relying on the force of the Shun army in the north were captured by a few gentry after the Shun army was defeated and sent to the Qing army, because the people did not really agree with the new dynasty of Dashun, so naturally they would not To assist the county magistrate to fight against the local gentry, as for those places where the old officials remained, even where the Shun army withdrew, they immediately changed their banners and voted for the new master.

The devolution of power by the Marshal's Mansion is essentially to transfer some of the power in exchange for the people's approval of Dashun. After all, it is impossible for the Manchus or the Ming gentry to give them any power.

For those counties in the north with a population of several thousand, the council may not play much role. At most, the small and medium-sized landlords can restrain the local big gentry, and it is almost impossible to create a voice against the gentry class.However, the north has such an advantage. After years of wars, many of the big gentry in the north have been eliminated, so it is unlikely that a single family's dominant voice will appear in the council.

However, for counties in the south with a population of tens of thousands or even more than [-], a citizen class that does not represent landlords is rapidly forming politically. These citizens pay more attention to public morals and social order than the villagers, because The environment in which they live fully benefits from the improvement of public morals and the stability of social order.

Especially some educated people in the civic class. Although their education level cannot pass the dragon gate of the imperial examination, they have enough influence in the local area, but this influence cannot bring them economic and political benefits. On the contrary, they were regarded as troublemakers by the government and gentry. The Xudu Rebellion in Jinhua is a typical example.

Xu Du was actually from a rich family in Jinhua. When he was young, he studied in Jiaxing and had contacts with Chen Zhilong. Although Chen Zilong recommended him to the imperial court but did not get any response, Xu Du returned to his hometown to form an association to prepare for the troubled times. However, he was feared by the local gentry and officials. So he spread rumors that he rebelled, and finally forced Xu Du to rebel.

The tragic ending of Xudu actually shows one thing, as long as you are not from a gentry family and did not pass the imperial examination, even if you love this country and the court, this country and the court will not love you, because you are not from this country The ruling class is not the court's own people.Therefore, the upper-middle class of this part of the citizen class has fallen into such a predicament in this era. They can only watch the country rot day by day, but they can't do anything.

When the Marshal's Mansion gave these people a way out, this part of the citizenry immediately seized the opportunity and began to seek to make their own voices heard in the council and try to build "our" interests.

This "we" refers to the depressed citizens among them, neither the upper-class gentry nor the bottom-level people. It is easy to understand the rejection of the upper-class gentry's control over the council, because once the gentry takes power, they will There is no chance for people to stand out, and the rejection of the bottom-level people is because they think the bottom-level people are too stupid to discuss major issues. Of course, it would be better if outsiders can also be isolated.

Therefore, the upper echelons of these citizens support tax collection as a normal expenditure of the council to ensure the normal operation of this institution, but they also hope to isolate some people who do not fit in our circle from becoming citizen representatives.

At the beginning, the gentry in Yangzhou felt unreasonable about the intrigue of these citizen representatives. In their opinion, no rules are as great as the emperor's rules. It's so difficult that there will be people in Yangzhou who will follow these representatives to resist the orders of the Marshal's Mansion?

However, the Yangzhou gentry, who focused on Dashun and the Manchu Qing war in the north, suddenly came to their senses after the news of the great victory in Henan came from the north. However, with the possibility of the Marshal's Mansion winning the battle against the Manchus going south, the Marshal's Mansion's acknowledgment of the rules formulated by the council made the gentry suddenly feel like they had one foot in the air.

Especially those salt merchants and officials living in Yangzhou found that the representatives of Yangzhou citizens were pushing for a resolution to prohibit non-Yangzhou natives from being council representatives.They thought that the meeting was just a pet cat kept by the Marshal's Mansion, but they didn't expect that the cat wanted to turn into a tiger, and it attacked gentlemen like them.

The gentry were angry about this, and they could wait and see the upper-level personnel arrangements of the new dynasty, because there were too many problems at the beginning of the new dynasty, if Li Zicheng's pulse was not grasped, there might be a case of three major cases in the early Ming Dynasty , then everyone will eat dirt.

But they cannot give up their influence on local affairs, because the root of gentry lies in the locality.Can a gentry who has no local influence still be called a gentry?How can their family still compete with other families locally?

So, with the news of the great victory in Henan, Taohuawu suddenly became lively. Those gentry who usually only sent some servants to listen to the news, now began to come to listen in person, and see what the representatives are trying to do. The citizens were incited to fight against the gentry class.

In addition to these local gentry appearing in Taohuawu, some scholars from other places or former Ming officials also began to come to observe the process of the study meeting.The Marshal's Mansion in the capital previously ordered the various local gentry to propose committees, but it was not taken seriously by the local gentry. What is remarkable is that the local gentry organized one themselves, and then reported the list to the Marshal's Mansion.

However, after the news of the great victory in Henan came, scholars and officials from all over the country realized that the Marshal's Mansion might really unify the world, so the new government had to learn about it.

Not only the scholars and gentry in the south have this kind of awareness, but also the scholars and gentry in the north under the control of the Manchu Qing Dynasty. Some scholars wrote to Dorgon saying that in the future, all officials should add the word "uncle" in front of the regent in letters to the regent to show their respect for the regent.Although Dorgon didn't give any instructions, he handed over the letter to other officials. His intentions were naturally clear at a glance.

Chapter 460 Yangzhou Ten

When Yao Qisheng walked into Taohuawu, he found that the residence of the Yangzhou Council was not as chaotic as he imagined.Originally, he thought that there would be a mixture of good and evil in places where people were not prohibited from observing the proceedings. After all, although the trial of the yamen had to be made public in court, people without identity and who had nothing to do with the case were still not allowed to enter the yamen to observe.

However, after entering the gate of Taohuawu, he discovered that although there were no yamen servants here, there were some people with red sleeves maintaining order. He bought two sugar canes from a peddler, and asked about the origins of these people by the way. The peddler said without raising his head while peeling the sugarcane: "Oh, they are volunteers. This Taohuawu is a vast place, and many places are being rebuilt. In order to avoid people coming in and stealing sheep, the council recruited some volunteers to serve. The reward is nothing more than food and shoes."

Yao Qisheng asked in amazement: "What's the point of such a voluntary offer? I think these people are well dressed. It seems that the family doesn't lack a few meals, right?"

"This gentleman, Chenghui ten elders." The peddler held a part of the sugar cane and motioned for Yao Qisheng to take it, then cut off the part neatly, and then took the money and said, "They all want to be citizens. Representatives, the family does not lack these few moneys, but they are short of contacts. Being a volunteer here can get to know those representatives and the people of this city. When the next time you elect a representative, you will have a chance. ?”

Yao Qisheng subconsciously thought of the Tang Dynasty's Xingjuan. Before the imperial examination system was fixed, scholars who wanted to get ahead had to be the servants of the powerful first, and then be recommended by the powerful to have a chance to show their talents.It's just that he didn't expect that the number of representatives of a council would be so valued, which made him a little dumbfounded.

The peddler looked at Yao Qisheng, and suddenly asked him, "Is this your first time here, sir?"

Yao Qisheng held the sugarcane and said with a smile, "Yes, I came from Tongzhou. Does this little brother have any advice?"

The peddler hurriedly waved his hands and said, "I don't dare to teach you, sir. If you have trouble, just ask the volunteers, and they will solve it for you. After all, this is where we Yangzhou people discuss public affairs. Someone is allowed to cause sabotage here. However, if this is your first time here, sir, you must not have an exclusive seat."

Yao Qisheng was stunned for a moment and asked, "What is an exclusive seat?"

The peddler saw that there were no other guests, so he chatted enthusiastically with him: "Before, the meeting place was not fixed, so many meetings were not open to the public, except for the public meeting held by His Majesty in Yangzhou.

But now that the council has bought Taohuawu, the people of Yangzhou have demanded that all meetings be made public, but now there are too many people who want to attend the meeting, except for the more than 100 seats at the front of the venue, the people behind are almost hard to hear Knowing exactly what the delegates said, there were several fights over who could sit in the front row.

In order to avoid the recurrence of seat snatching, the council marked the first fifty seats for sale, and the best ten seats cost 300 taels a year.As for the next 100 seats, it is first-come-first-served every day. If you want to sit in, sir, you may have to buy a seat. "

Yao Qisheng said in astonishment: "Didn't it mean first come first served? Why are there still deals?"

The peddler said straightforwardly: "In the beginning, it was first-come-first-served, but there are gentlemen from other places who want to listen carefully, and have no friendship with the local gentry. Some people bought a seat. So some local idlers came early in the morning to grab the seat, and then sold it to those who needed it.”

Yao Qisheng asked curiously, "How much does such a seat cost?"

The peddler said: "There are few people in the morning, and one or two renminbi is enough. In the afternoon, there are usually more people. Sometimes, a place can be sold for three or four renminbi. Today, you can buy a good place for about 2 renminbi." .”

Yao Qisheng was born in a big family in Kuaiji, so naturally he would not take this little money to heart, but he is not an aristocrat who does not eat fireworks in the world, so he naturally knows that if such a position can earn three or four coins a day, it is indeed a big deal for those idlers. It's a good business, but to be able to do such a business in a place where Yangzhou people discuss public affairs, he doesn't know whether Yangzhou people are too good at doing business, or the meeting is too childish.

Yao Qisheng smiled, asked his followers to give the peddler another ten cents, and said to him, "Since you can sell sugar cane in this garden, you must be familiar with selling seats. Why don't you introduce me to someone?" It's reliable, I don't want to get angry with the idlers here."

The peddler happily called his younger brother, who was helping him, and asked the teenager to take Yao Qisheng to the venue.After passing through a peach grove, Yao Qisheng finally saw a garden, but even the garden gate was full of people, and after passing through the moon gate, the garden was surrounded by crowds of people. The entourage around him was a little shocked and said: "Today is Yangzhou What holiday is it?"

Hearing this, the idle man standing beside him with his arms folded turned back to him and said, "What kind of festival is this? There are not many people here today. If the tax collection is discussed in those few days , it’s hard to even turn around in this garden.”

Yao Qisheng followed the children and walked northward from the passage beside the crowd, and soon it became clear that the garden was divided into two parts by a half-person-high wooden fence. On the north side of the fence is the seating area, which is divided into two parts. There are tea tables beside the front three rows of seats, while there is only a wooden chair in the rear rows.

Yao Qisheng saw the children who led the way and said a few words to the volunteers guarding the fence, and the person put them into the seating area. Soon someone got up from their seats and asked Yao Qisheng where they wanted to sit.Yao Qisheng thought for a while, and he still spent three coins to sit in the place connected to the exclusive seat, which was worth the money, so that his entourage would not have to wait outside, but could also stand on the edge of the seat area.

When Yao Qisheng was brought to the front, someone made room for him, and someone brought him a cup of hot tea, which was an added bonus.However, Yao Qisheng was most concerned about what the people on the stage in front of him were talking about.This is indeed the stage in Taohuawu, and there is a pool between them and the stage. The east and west sides of the stage and the corridors to the north are full of representatives of the council, estimated to be about a hundred people.

Yao Qisheng noticed that these representatives took turns to speak on the stage, and the one who decided the order of their speeches was a person who was sitting higher than everyone else on the northern porch. It’s high, it’s like a general raised his account.”

Unexpectedly, a person in the seat to his left replied to him in Mandarin with a Jiangxi accent, "Brother Tai's words are quite appropriate. This person is the speaker, and he can be regarded as a general in this council. It's just that he The general can only decide who to speak first and manage the guards, but he can't push people out for questioning."

Yao Qisheng answered subconsciously: "Guards? Didn't you say they were volunteers?"

The neighbor on the left turned his head to look at him, then pointed to the man in blue arrow clothes under the opposite moon gate and said: "There are guards over there, we are only volunteers here. If the representatives in the venue fight, the speaker will If you can order the guards to drive them out of the moon gate, that is, to drive them out of the meeting place."

Yao Qisheng was a little stunned. He looked at the neighbor sitting in disbelief and asked: "These representatives will still fight? Fight here? With so many people watching, they can fight too?"

The person sitting next to him turned his head to look at him again, and said just now: "My brother, it seems that he has just arrived in Yangzhou not long ago. Listen to what they say, and you will know why they are fighting."

Yao Qisheng subconsciously listened carefully, and a citizen representative on the stage said emotionally: "...the Marshal's Mansion and Nanjing have already issued an order to abolish the various tax customs on the Yangtze River waterway, and adopt a one-time taxation on goods. , but there are still local officials on the Ganjiang River who insist on refusing to revoke the customs duties. Are those places independent of China? I think we should petition the Marshal’s Office and request that these local officials be punished...

Although not all the porcelain from Jiangxi and the cotton and hemp from Huguang are sold in Yangzhou, since they pass through Yangzhou, they will naturally be used in the docks, warehouses and other places that we Yangzhou people paid for. Of course we have The power collects city construction fees from them...Of course I agree with the tax policy of the Marshal's Mansion, but what we collect is city construction fees, not taxes..."

Yao Qisheng was finally stunned when he heard this. He said to his friend sitting next to him, "Does he mean that people from Yangzhou can collect taxes on goods from Jiangxi, but people from Jiangxi cannot collect taxes on goods from Yangzhou? This is not a contradiction." words?"

The person sitting next to him looked back, and then replied to him: "Look at those people in the back? They don't feel that this is a self-contradictory statement at all, and they are still applauding him."

Yao Qisheng looked back and found that the friend sitting next to him was right, and the people in Yangzhou behind were applauding the representative's speech just now, as if they didn't realize how absurd the representative's remarks just now were.

Then the person sitting next to him sneered and said: "These representatives don't care how absurd their remarks are, and they don't care whether their face is damaged. They only care about two things, whether their own interests are safeguarded, and the people of Yangzhou support them. I don’t support myself. The representative who just spoke was selling cloth to Jiangxi, so he desperately opposed the tax card on the Ganjiang River.

As for the later statement that Yangzhou has the right to tax goods in transit from other places, it was said in order to please the people of Yangzhou present, because collecting more taxes from outsiders is equivalent to collecting less taxes from Yangzhou people.So even if the two things are contradictory, the people of Yangzhou don't hear it harshly. Only us Jiangxi people feel harsh. "

Yao Qisheng came out from home this time to see the world. Although he didn't go out of the south of the Yangtze River, he could clearly see the decline behind the prosperity of the south of the Yangtze River. Even Nantongzhou, the heart of the Yangtze River, has the power to bully outsiders. Wang Fa was completely ignored.But none of these experiences left him speechless like what he heard at this moment.

Chapter 461 Yangzhou Eleven

Although Yao Qisheng is a young and vigorous man of chivalry, he couldn't help imitating the mantra taught by his elders at the moment, shaking his head and saying: "There are no rules like this, isn't it messed up? The Marshal's Mansion will support their absurdity." claim?"

The person sitting next to him replied indifferently: "Why did the Marshal's Mansion object? This is a problem between the people of Yangzhou and Jiangxi. The people of Yangzhou made a request. If the people of Jiangxi didn't object, why did they come out to be this villain? "

Yao Qisheng suddenly said in puzzlement: "How can this be a villain? Since the Marshal's Mansion now represents the imperial court, we need a bowl of water to make peace..."

Yao Qisheng stopped talking suddenly, and he suddenly remembered that although the Marshal's Mansion regards itself as a new court, it is really hard to say whether the people and gentry everywhere recognize this court. The government orders issued by the Marshal's Mansion, but all affairs are still handled according to the previous rules, and the decrees of the Marshal's Mansion are completely ignored. Even if those Jiangnan officials are transferred here and there by the Marshal's Mansion, the local gentry cannot be transferred. of.

Seeing Yao Qisheng's thoughtful expression, the people sitting next to him felt that he could have a conversation with him, so he smiled and said clearly: "You have also thought of the key point. If people from Jiangxi make a statement to the Marshal's Mansion, they will It has to be brought under the decree of the Marshal's Mansion. If the Jiangxi people ignore it, it will just let the Yangzhou people take advantage of the Jiangxi people. This will only make the Yangzhou people closer to the Marshal's Mansion. So, why does the Marshal's Mansion need a bowl of water? flat?"

Yao Qisheng also nodded and agreed: "Yes, when everyone hopes that Marshal Du's Mansion will come out to uphold justice, then Marshal Du's Mansion is the imperial court. There are indeed wise men."

The people sitting next to him felt that talking with Yao Qisheng was very pleasant, so they reported their family background: "I am

Peng Shiwang, whose name is Gong'an, is from Nanchang. I don't know how to call this brother? "

Yao Qisheng hurriedly clasped his fists in return and said, "Yao Qisheng in Kuaiji, his name is Xizhi. He just arrived in Yangzhou yesterday, and this time he went out for the purpose of broadening his knowledge. According to Brother Gong'an, you have been here for a while? I don't know why you came to Yangzhou. Study tour or visit with friends?"

Peng Shiwang nodded at him and said: "So it's Brother Yao. If you want to increase your knowledge, you are right to come to Yangzhou. In today's world, in terms of rapid changes, Yangzhou is the only place. Other places are a stagnant pool, so it's worth noting." I came to Yangzhou originally to see the measurement of that person, and I also paid homage to the late emperor and asked to see the prince, and now I have received a job as a book editor in the Wenhua Palace."

Yao Qisheng was immediately in awe when he heard this. The purpose of his coming to Yangzhou was also to meet the Prince of Ming Dynasty. For a big family like them, he had to bet on the right person before placing a bet.So he couldn't help bowing his hands again and said: "It turns out that brother Gong'an is disrespectful to work beside the prince. I heard that the prince is smart and kind. It's a pity that it's a pity to be in this troubled world."

Peng Shiwang was stunned for a moment, then nodded and sighed and said: "The prince is indeed smart and kind. If the late emperor had made a decision earlier, the south would not have been in such chaos."

Yao Qisheng frowned slightly, glanced around and saw that no one was paying attention to their conversation, and asked tentatively in a low voice: "But is the prince's situation very bad?"

Peng Shiwang took a wary look at the young man he had just met, and saw that the other party's eyes were clear and there was no intention of dodging. Thinking about the other party's accent and the first time he came here, he relaxed and shook his head and said: "Based on history. Judging from the story, the current situation of the prince can only be said to be too preferential, have you seen any former prince who can come out to lead and do things, and have a group of old officials around him."

Yao Qisheng suddenly asked in confusion: "Why are you sighing?"

Peng Shiwang was silent for a few breaths and then replied: "Because there is no way to break the situation. His Majesty Yongchang treats the prince too generously. If the prince repeats, he is afraid that the whole world will think the prince is wrong and Yongchang will be right.

Although Yongchang acted cruelly in the past, he still agrees with one sentence: it was not that the people abandoned Daming, but that Ming abandoned the people first, so the demise of Daming was his own fault, not the result of the disaster of exiles and slavery.

Look at the people around here. A year ago, they were not obedient citizens of Ming Dynasty, but how did the court treat them?In order to keep half of the south of the Yangtze River, the princes of Nanjing donated Yangzhou to the four towns. As a result, the four towns not only did not appreciate the Nanjing court, but instead killed each other for Yangzhou. The people of Yangzhou were also completely disappointed in Nanjing, so Yangzhou was saved. The Marshal's Mansion in the capital was accepted by the people of Yangzhou.

This is the best example of the imperial court abandoning the people of Yangzhou, and the Marshal's Mansion took them.As for the people in the north, Nanjing doesn't care even more, so will the people in the north still be loyal to Daming?There is no shortage of loyal people in the world, what the world lacks is a court that can make loyal people serve to death.

Although the prince is smart and kind, he is too immature after all. What the previous emperor could not do, the prince can't do either.If it was the Taiping Festival, the prince would be a wise king, but now it is not the Taiping Festival, and the destiny has been far away from the Zhu family after all. "

For Daming, Yao Qisheng cannot say that he has no feelings, but what he has heard and seen since he was a child and what he saw during this trip told him that Daming may really be doomed, because even at this moment when the country is in peril, the gentry in the south of the Yangtze River What they pay more attention to is to build a garden for themselves. Their so-called loyalty to Daming means that they will not enter the city after the establishment of the new dynasty, so they have to build a good garden in the countryside to support their lives.

And those officials in the south of the Yangtze River are still not conscious of helping the crisis. Even if Li Zicheng defeated the Yangtze River, the officials in Nanjing and the local officials in the south of the Yangtze River are still fighting for power and profit, attacking political opponents for their own camp, as if they are in court. The failure of the political struggle scares them more than the Shun army's crossing of the Yangtze River.

On the other hand, Jiangbei Tongzhou under the rule of Marshal Du's Mansion, although Marshal Du's mansion devoted all its energy to dealing with the Manchus in the north, it did not let go of local governance.The local tyrant he met in Tongzhou tried to humiliate himself as an outsider. In fact, he was jealous of the belongings he carried and wanted to take advantage of this chaotic period to blackmail himself as an outsider, so he went to the local Shunjun barracks to recommend himself.