Dashun Yongchang

However, the literati at this time did not understand this. In their view, everything Li Zicheng did now strengthened the power of the gentry.Ma Shiying, for example, was very happy. The Chief Assistant of the Ming Dynasty was actually more like the emperor’s assistant, responsible for helping the emperor formulate government policies. The right to advise the emperor remains.

Under Li Zicheng's reorganization, the position of the prime minister of the cabinet is much stronger than that of the first assistant of the Ming Dynasty, because the prime minister of the cabinet has a certain right to make suggestions on personnel.In the past, this power was distributed to hundreds of officials, that is to say, all departments can make suggestions on personnel matters, it only depends on whether the emperor is willing to listen.But now, court personnel affairs have become a matter of discussion between the prime minister and the emperor, and have little to do with other officials.

For a prime minister who is planning to form a new cabinet from scratch, it is wonderful to have the right to advise on personnel, which means that Ma Shiying does not have to be hindered by those clean officials like he was in Nanjing.

Although Ma Shiying defeated Shi Kefa, Lu Daqi and other Donglin party members in the political struggle of the Hongguang Dynasty, but because he used the power of the nobles and the army to suppress the civil officials and broke the unspoken rules of the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty, it directly led to his being the chief assistant. The order cannot leave Nanjing City.In the end, it was only by relying on Li Zicheng's military deterrence that the gentry in the south of the Yangtze River made a concession.

As long as there is a right way to go, Ma Shiying will not engage in these crooked ways. It is not that he does not know that there will be many sequelae of conniving the army to seize power, but the political struggle after the apocalypse is life and death. Ma Shiying has to support it even if he does not think about himself. Thinking about his own people, he must know that he was not the only one who was unlucky when he fell.

But it’s different now. Ma Shiying, who was sitting in Tianning Temple, was discussing with Ruan Dacheng how to arrange the cabinet of the new government. Ruan Dacheng took himself out after thinking about it. Just don't write my name."

Ma Shiying looked at the other party in amazement and asked: "Brother Yuanhai, what does this mean? Does Brother Yuanhai think I am the kind of hypocrite who crosses rivers and destroys bridges? If it weren't for your great help, I would not be able to leave a good one in front of Your Majesty." Impression, then even if there is this opportunity, His Majesty will not consider me. I will never forget Brother Yuan Hai's kindness."

While adding charcoal to the charcoal basin beside him, Ruan Dacheng replied with a calm expression: "I don't talk to Yaocao anymore. In the past, when I wanted to get back together, I was mainly unwilling. To be honest, if it weren't for I can't swallow this breath, so why should I ask for trouble, can being an official in this troubled world be more comfortable than being at home in Yanju? My family is rich, and I can live without being an official."

After hearing this, Ma Shiying had nothing to say.Because he also feels that there is really no need for his old friend to get back together. If he and the other party change their identities, then he would rather enjoy the rural life at home, arrange a little song every day, and then let the house prostitute perform it for himself , who doesn't envy these days?

But who made Ruan Dacheng offend the Donglin Party members, whether he can recover has become a question of whether Ruan Dacheng is an eunuch or not, and Ruan Dacheng naturally bites the bullet and wants to recover, because he cannot allow the Donglin Party members to slander and slander like this For his own reputation, he needs to set the record straight.

Ruan Dacheng went on to say: "Da Ming has died, and being an official of the new dynasty can't wash away my humiliation. And now that the Donglin party members have gathered in Nanjing again, if I join the cabinet, I'm afraid it will make it difficult for you. On the contrary, If I stay in the council, I can still help you. Moreover, I don't want the council to be occupied by Donglin Party members in the future, but the cabinet cannot interfere with the composition of the council. Therefore, I don't want to join Court."

After thinking for a while, Ma Shiying said: "Brother Yuanhai is so high-minded, so naturally I have nothing to say. But if Brother Yuanhai doesn't want to join the cabinet, can anyone recommend it?"

After thinking for a while, Ruan Dacheng said: "To be honest, I don't advocate Yaocao recommending too many of his own people to join the cabinet. After all, this is the first time for the new central government to be formed. The two branches of Xi'an and Nanjing, if they don't listen to you, won't your new government be suspended?

Your Majesty has given you so much power, but you still can't balance the two branches. Do you think His Majesty will support you?Don't forget, the Prime Minister of the Cabinet has a seven-year term, but if the Imperial Council feels that the Cabinet is unreliable and proposes a motion of no confidence, then His Majesty can order the dissolution of the Cabinet and reorganization. "

Ruan Dacheng didn't want to join the cabinet. This was part of the reason. He didn't have to be afraid of those Donglin party members when he was a member, but if he entered the cabinet, he might be blocked by Donglin party members.He doesn't want the first cabinet of the new government to be dismissed because of his own reasons. That would be a real joke.

Ma Shiying guarded against being poured a basin of cold water on his head, and immediately became sober.Indeed, he defeated Qian Qianyi to get the position of Prime Minister of the new government, but the battle is not over yet.After waking up, Ma Shiying immediately realized that something was wrong, because there were too few people in his pocket. To be honest, Ruan Dacheng was one of the few who could handle it.

His current situation is actually no different from that of Li Zicheng. He has too few talents or insufficient qualifications. Although he has seized power by using his own people, it will make all forces regard him as an enemy, because their way forward was blocked.But blindly using outsiders will lead to the loss of power.

So Ma Shiying abandoned the original personnel list, and began to re-discuss the personnel list of the new government with Ruan Dacheng. Ruan Dacheng thought for a while and said: "Although I don't know what your Majesty thinks about Xi'an, the Marshal's Mansion The few people in charge obviously need to be considered. Since His Majesty can appoint them, it means that they can at least talk to Xi'an.

Don't count on Chen Mingxia over there in Nanjing. This man is very ambitious. Even Shi Kefa and Lu Daqi don't show face. He probably just wants to sit in your chair right now.On the contrary, Qian Qianyi has a docile personality. If he can establish contact with him, at least the Donglin Party will not be monolithic. "

Ma Shiying nodded again and again, Ruan Dacheng's analysis was indeed reasonable.The two chatted until dusk, and at this time Ruan Dacheng took advantage of the opportunity to get up and leave.

After sending Ruan Dacheng away, Ma Shiying also heaved a sigh of relief. If the other party hadn't proposed it himself, he would be really embarrassed to say so.Then it is almost certain that the new government will be attacked by Qingliu.This is really a big problem for Ma Shiying who wants to start over in the new dynasty.But now, the old friend finally did him a favor again, and then he thought, maybe it's time to ask some of his cronies in Nanjing to help him.

Chapter 555 New Government II

Looking at the list of cabinet personnel that Ma Shiying submitted to him, Li Zicheng felt that Ma Shiying did know how to advance and retreat, at least he did not try to make a statement, otherwise he would not mind letting the Imperial Council exercise the power he just acquired.

He is not Chongzhen, he has a special hobby for gentlemen.But speaking of it, what ability does the most selfish emperor who regards the world as his private property have a group of honest gentlemen as his slaves?The real gentleman is not on the road of rebellion, at least he is a person who opposes the imperial power and safeguards civil rights among the people, so the only ones who can serve the emperor are a group of hypocrites.

A hypocrite or a real villain, who is more noble than the other?Therefore, as an emperor, it is enough to see whether the ministers are useful, and there is no need to care about the morals of the ministers.People who stole the fruits of the people's revolution, but brazenly want to fight corruption, think they are cats, but in fact they are nothing more than the biggest mice in the world.

He needs Ma Shiying, because Ma Shiying can do things for him, which is enough. If the other party knows how to advance and retreat, then he is a very rare talent.

After thinking for a while, he modified and added a few words to the cabinet list, and then handed it to Ma Shiying and said: "Although the new government has followed the cabinet system of Ming Dynasty, the cabinet of the new government and the cabinet of Ming Dynasty There is still a fundamental difference.”

Ma Shiying immediately sat up straight and listened carefully to Li Zicheng's political philosophy.For him, this is the first time he has had a real exchange of thoughts on governance with Li Zicheng, which can only be said to be contact before.As a courtier, if you don't understand Junfu's thoughts, you will not be able to do anything smoothly.Such communication is naturally very important.

After thinking about it for a while, Li Zicheng said: "The cabinet of the Ming Dynasty is the emperor's assistant. Simply put, it is an extension of the imperial power. So after leaving the emperor, the cabinet has no power. But the cabinet of the new government is the main manager of state affairs. The parliament is the supervisor of the exercise of cabinet power, and the emperor is just a balancer between the two. This is my vision for this new country. Maybe in my generation, the emperor will still interfere in political affairs, but from the next generation onwards, I hope the emperor is just a symbol of this country, not the master of some country."

Ma Shiying looked at Li Zicheng in surprise. He didn't quite believe what he heard. He searched Li Zicheng's expression repeatedly with his eyes, and found that the other party didn't seem to be joking. Some do not agree with it, and being a courtier to make the king stand up, this is probably not the way to long-term stability..."

Li Zicheng looked at him and smiled and said, "Long-term peace and stability? If an emperor who rebelled and came to power only pursues long-term peace and stability for his own wealth, I think this dynasty will not live long. I am quite content, as long as I live my life well." This is why I chose you instead of Qian Qianyi, because he still thinks about the future, and you, like me, only have this life.”

Ma Shiying found that he couldn't refute Li Zicheng's words at all, because what Li Zicheng said was the truth, and now he only had this life left.After all, he is now an out-and-out villain in Qingliu's eyes. If he can't make any more achievements, he will have no good end.

Seeing that Ma Shiying fell silent, Li Zicheng turned the topic back to the organization of the cabinet, "Because the main task of the new government is to manage the country instead of assisting the emperor in managing the country, the organization of the cabinet needs a more detailed division of labor.

I think that the cabinet setting of the Ming Dynasty in the past was too general, and it was completely unable to clarify powers and responsibilities, and it was also unable to connect with the six ministries, and the six ministries are no longer enough for the current country.Therefore, the entire organizational system needs to be changed.

This is your top priority right now.In short, what you need to do is to establish a new rule for this new country.When this new rule is established, at least future generations will no longer regard you as a traitor and villain. "

Ma Shiying looked at the list in his hand, and found that what Li Zicheng had crossed out was not the names of the people, but some notes on the responsibilities of the cabinet ministers. As Li Zicheng said just now, he didn't really care about who would be the cabinet ministers. What he cares about is what kind of work these people are responsible for.

Ma Shiying accepted Li Zicheng's idea of ​​governing the country. This time he really did not submit, but sincerely agreed, because he felt that this road was the most suitable for him.After putting down the list, he said to Li Zicheng: "Your Majesty is right. I will think about it carefully after I go back, and then I will report to Your Majesty about the cabinet organization."

Li Zicheng ended this topic, and then asked Ma Shiying: "Then, regarding the conflict between Wang Yingxiong and Ma Tigan in Sichuan, how do you think it should be handled?"

After thinking about it for a while, Ma Shiying slightly modified his previous opinion and said to Li Zicheng: "Sichuan is surrounded by mountains, and it can be said that it is self-contained.

After Zhang Xianzhong entered Sichuan, Sichuan became a confrontation between two forces. If the strength of our army in Hanzhong is added, then Sichuan should be said to be a three-point force.Although our side had integrated the forces of the Ming Dynasty before, the local forces of the Ming Dynasty in Sichuan did not quite agree with Dashun.Therefore, they are vigilant against both the Daxi Army and our army.

But when our army gave up its intention to enter Sichuan, Sichuan became a dispute between the Ming forces and Zhang Xianzhong.For our army, it is most beneficial for the two sides to maintain a balance. Either side is dominant, and Sichuan may become a local force of the separatist side, which is actually a headache.

The dispute between Wang Yingxiong and Ma Tigan seems to be nothing more than an internal strife among local forces in Sichuan, but for us it is an opportunity to infiltrate local forces in Sichuan.Whether it is Wang Yingxiong or Ma Tigan, there is actually no difference to us, but Wang Yingxiong asked us for help, but Ma Tigan has been trying to keep away from the Marshal's Mansion.

Therefore, I think that we should support Wang Yingxiong and warn Ma Tigan, then the local forces in Sichuan will be torn apart, and we can reintegrate them and put them under the management of the new government. "

Li Zicheng did not express his opinion immediately after hearing this, but only asked him a question: "Wang Yingxiong said that Ma Tigan sent troops to plunder the people. Do you think this is true?"

Ma Shiying was not surprised and said: "Judging from the usual style of the officers and soldiers, this kind of thing should be inevitable. After all, the officers and soldiers are not our army, they don't have such strict military discipline, and they can't pay their food and salaries on time. When they were earning extra money, it was strange not to plunder the officers and soldiers. This is also the root cause of His Majesty's ability to gain the world, because only His Majesty does not talk about the people, but puts them in his heart. "

I have to say that it is quite comfortable to work with people like Ma Shiying, who can do things without forgetting to praise you. If you encounter those Qingliu, in addition to directing you to do things, they will always criticize you for not doing well enough .

Li Zicheng smiled and said to Ma Shiying: "Mr. Ma compliments me so much, so I would like to say a few words for the people of Sichuan. Is the current new government considering Sichuan's personnel affairs? I don't think so. The current new government should consider The question is how to inform the people of Sichuan about the establishment of the new government.

Only when the people know about the country can the country be truly established.If the country doesn't know its people, and the people don't know its country, then what difference does it make to the people of Sichuan whether the emperor's surname is Zhu or Li? "

Ma Shiying really couldn't figure out Li Zicheng's thoughts now. As a bureaucrat of Ming Dynasty, he was thinking about personnel affairs all day long, although he also knew the famous saying, "Water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it", But he has never been able to understand how water thinks, and he does not think that water can determine the direction of the ship.

After pondering for a long time, Ma Shiying still asked Li Zicheng frankly how to deal with the matter in Sichuan.Li Zicheng thought for a while and said: "Since the people have been looted, isn't the most important thing now is to help the people? Whether Wang Yingxiong or Ma Tigan, apart from attacking each other, what did they do to the people who were robbed?" Has it been rescued? I have never seen it in the memorials of both parties.

What the new government has to do, isn't it first asking both sides to rescue the looted people?Although this was done by the officers and soldiers of the Ming Dynasty, since we have merged with the Ming Dynasty, we naturally have to shoulder the responsibility.Wang Yingxiong and Ma Tigan should be warned together to let them help the people in distress. The money can be paid from the treasury, but we should send people to the local area to investigate and let the people know who paid the money. "

Ma Shiying understood in an instant that Li Zicheng's move was really poisonous. Once the new government compensates the officers and soldiers for their looting actions, neither Wang Yingxiong nor Ma Tigan can claim to be the protectors of Sichuan people's interests. .

Wang Yingxiong attacked Ma Tigan before, in fact, he wanted to portray himself as the protector of the people in Sichuan.According to his method, Ma Tigan was suppressed. Although the local forces in Sichuan were torn apart, the centripetal force for the new government would not be established.

But following Li Zicheng's way, the hearts of the people in Sichuan were immediately drawn to the new government's side, because only the new government really thought about them.In this way, neither Wang Yingxiong nor Ma Tigan could continue to gain the support of the local people in Sichuan, and Sichuan could be slowly brought under the central government system.

Ma Shiying nodded to Li Zicheng and said: "Your Majesty is far-sighted and far-sighted, and it is indeed beyond the reach of my minister. I think this is the most appropriate way to deal with it..."

Chapter 556 New Government III

Li Zicheng later said to Ma Shiying: "Sichuan is only a problem for the new country, and the real problem lies in the south of the Yangtze River. This time our army can defeat the Qing army in the northward battle, although it depends on the soldiers and the support of the people. The most important thing is the wealth from Jiangnan. If the people in Jiangnan did not buy a large amount of public bonds, the Marshal's Mansion would have collapsed due to financial bankruptcy.

In this battle, the Qing army was not defeated by the force of our army, but by the financial resources of the Marshal of the capital.The reason why I want to place the center of the new government in Yangzhou instead of Xuzhou is to ensure the stability of Jiangnan.

Back then, Ming Chengzu moved the capital from the south to the north because the remnants of the Mongolian and Yuan dynasties in the north were the main enemy of the Ming Dynasty. The reason why the capital is located in Yangzhou today is the same. The stability of the country lies in the stability of the south of the Yangtze River. If the south of the Yangtze River cannot If it stabilizes, it will be difficult for the country to stabilize.

There are actually several factors that lead to instability in Jiangnan: too many people and too little land, too few people paying taxes, and too many gentry.Without solving these problems, it will be difficult for me to make up my mind to launch the Northern Expedition. "

Ma Shiying's heart was also tense, but he quickly calmed down, and said to Li Zicheng respectfully: "What your majesty said is very true. I have also written a memorial to your majesty before. There are too many gentry and scholars in the south of the Yangtze River. There are too many sticks, so it is difficult for the government in Jiangnan to have authority. Those gentry and scholars rely on the privileges granted by the court to bully the subordinates and officials while colluding with the city sticks to oppress the people. They have become a cancer in Jiangnan. I think that only by screening and disposing of the gentry and scholars in the south of the Yangtze River, and exempting some of them from the title of scholar, can we kill the local atmosphere..."

Li Zicheng listened for a while, and there was no big difference between the answers Ma Shiying gave and the ones reported to him. He still advocated using tough methods to deal with those disobedient gentry and scholars.

He nodded and shook his head again and said: "Toughness means toughness. If you don't use tough methods, you can't deter those people with ulterior motives, but you can't just be tough. After all, we want to rectify the atmosphere in Jiangnan, not to destroy it. The economy of the south of the Yangtze River.

I think, first of all, the focus of the government's crackdown should be on those who are organized and collude with the black and evil forces, such as colluding with the market gangsters, persecuting and oppressing the good, in order to seek benefits.These people must also be disgusted by the local people. Attacking them can not only gain the support of the people, but also clean up the seeds of local instability and violence.

Secondly, in troubled times, heavy codes are required. Except for the chief culprits who have great public grievances, they must be executed first, and those accomplices cannot be allowed to stay in the local area, and they are sent to Taiwan or other overseas places, which can be used to colonize overseas desert islands.

Finally, the education system should be reformed, and government schools should not become a place to support idlers.Aren't the elementary schools and normal schools in Yangzhou well established?I think it should be extended to other regions.Schools should be changed to an academic year system. Middle school students who have received scholarships and failed to enter higher-level universities after graduation should be assigned to the countryside to teach, and they should not be left idle.

All privileges and exemptions for scholars will be cancelled, subsidies will be given to poor students, and scholarships will be given to top students.Both students and teachers are exempt, but only themselves.The privileges and exemptions for officials and retired officials will be retained, and all other privileges and exemptions for the country gentry will be cancelled..."

After listening to Li Zicheng's proposition, Ma Shiying asked several doubts, and then wrote them down one by one. The conversation lasted until dusk. Li Zicheng asked Ma Shiying to have dinner on the mountain before he was sent out of the temple gate.

The third year of Yongchang is coming soon, and the homes of the people in the south of the Yangtze River have begun to hang the new Chongzhen calendar produced in Yangzhou. This new calendar edited by Xu Guangqi was finally published after the death of Ming Dynasty, but the year printed on it became Yongchang. Three years, but the common people don't care about this. They also changed their minds in their daily life at this time, saying that it is now the year and month of Yongchang, and they no longer talk about the year of Daming.

Of course, not all people in Jiangnan have forgotten Daming. Some gentry still use the calendar year of the Ming Dynasty to calculate the time at home, but some use the Chongzhen calendar, and some use the Hongguang calendar.It's just that the former generally look down on the latter, thinking that the latter is a complete nonsense, Hongguang has been on the throne for less than a year, how can it be considered orthodox?Although the number of the latter is not large, they are also adherents, because these people are generally supporters of Emperor Hongguang.

However, the reason why these people dare to insist on using the Da Nian Hao so boldly is because the Imperial Council has stipulated that as long as they do not advocate the Da Nian Hao in public and instigate opposition to Da Shun, they will not be held accountable at home.According to someone, as long as you are entertaining yourself in your own home, it is not illegal to call yourself the emperor behind closed doors, but it is illegal to force or lure others to call yourself Your Majesty, Your Highness, or Your Excellency.

Although the dynasties have changed, the atmosphere of political freedom in Jiangnan has not changed. Shi Kefa, Lu Daqi, and Fushe ran a Qingyi newspaper in Suzhou, criticizing the government every day, mainly for the election of Ma Shiying as the prime minister. No one cares about them.Li Zicheng didn't bother to talk about it, and Ma Shiying was too busy to take care of it.

On the contrary, the Qingyi Daily criticized Chen Mingxia, who was also a party member, thinking that after he went to Nanjing to take over Ma Shiying's position, he did not set things right. A group of Fushe juniors came to make things difficult for him.

Facing Chen Mingxia's accusation, Shi Kefa was also speechless, but Lu Daqi was quite aggrieved. Lu Daqi said to Shi Kefa: "Chen Baishi and Qian Muzhai lack character, yet they actually cooperate with Li Zicheng. We should draw a clear line with him on this."

But Shi Kefa did not agree, because after Emperor Hongguang abdicated, the prince said that the Donglin Party behaved suspiciously during Hongguang's ascension to the throne, which directly led to a split within the Donglin Party.Lu Daqi, Shi Kefa, Qian Qianyi, and Chen Mingxia are divided into three factions.

Because the Qian Qianyi and Chen Mingxia factions were accepted by Li Zicheng, the Donglin party members went to the vassal one after another, and Lu Daqi and Shi Kefa were in the wrong team, and it was difficult to recover, so the party members who followed them It has become less and less.Although Shi Kefa is a bit pedantic, he has not reached the stage of stubbornness. He knows very well that once he breaks with Chen Mingxia, it will not be that they will expel Chen Mingxia from the Donglin Party, but Chen Mingxia will expel them from the Donglin Party.

Under Shi Kefa's objection, Lu Daqi had no choice but to give up. After all, this newspaper was run by Shi Kefa and not himself, because Shi Kefa was more popular than him, and those Fushe members came to the door for Shi Kefa.

However, after the first lunar month, the atmosphere in Jiangnan began to change again, and the Dashun Times suddenly began to publish long letters from people in Jiangnan who were dissatisfied with the evil forces.At the beginning, the Qingyi Daily followed suit and published several articles to support it, because the Qingyi Daily was in Suzhou, and many of the cases published in the Dashun Times happened here.

Shi Kefa and Lu Daqi felt that it would be a good thing to rectify the social atmosphere, but they soon sensed that something was wrong with the limelight, because the Dashun Times was no longer satisfied with criticizing those superficial villains, and began to dig out who was really The umbrella of these villains.And this excavation pointed the finger at the gentry and scholars, which is also very realistic. Without the protection of these gentry and scholars, these villains would have been arrested by the government long ago.

Although Qing Yi Bao is a newspaper run by a group of Qingliu, Shi Kefa and Lu Daqi are actually not good at management. They run this newspaper mainly to have a voice channel.Since the Dashun Times was established by the Marshal's Mansion, the newspaper as a tool of public opinion has quickly gained the favor of scholars.

After Shi Kefa and Lu Daqi resigned, they wanted to maintain their influence among scholars, so running a newspaper was the most effective way.However, the newspaper they want to run is mainly aimed at scholars and gentry, because the articles in the newspaper are still very serious, which makes the Qingyi newspaper a bit high-spirited, except for some high-status gentry, others They don't like to read it, because they can't find what they like on it.

Under the guidance of Li Zicheng, Dashun Times has become a fairly popular newspaper, which not only contains novels and news, but also various business information.Even scholars are willing to buy a copy of Dashun Times instead of Qingyi newspaper for entertainment, so Qingyi newspaper still needs the sponsorship of some businessmen to continue running.

And these businessmen have some evil forces criticized by Shi Dashun Times.When the Dashun Times pointed the finger at the gentry and scholars who shielded the evil forces, the Qingyi News had to defend these people, because almost all of them were supporters of Qingliu.

This behavior of Qing Yi Bao did not bring him any help, on the contrary, it made many citizens feel disgusted.Because it was difficult for them to understand why Shi Kefa and Lu Daqi, who were so famous, would stand up for those evil forces behind the scenes.

After all, the Qingyi Daily is just a tabloid with little reputation, and it is difficult to resist the Dashun Times, which has become a channel for the people in the south of the Yangtze River to receive social news.Soon, the dissatisfaction of the citizens of Jiangnan began to concentrate more and more on the evil forces around them.At this time, the councilors who were building councils at all levels also received the wishes of many citizens, so they made a request to Li Zicheng.Please crack down on these evil forces and return society to peace.

At the same time, the procuratorate and the Supreme Court, which are completing the construction of judicial independent organizations, also received a letter from Li Zicheng, requesting the judicial department to send personnel and troops to the Jiangnan area to carry out a special campaign against evil forces.

So starting from mid-February, cities and towns across the south of the Yangtze River began a large-scale anti-crime operation.This time, the difference from the past is that the imperial court adopted a joint approach, that is, when attacking the target, it also cleaned up the targets in the surrounding area to ensure that no one was spared.

Although Li Zicheng did not mobilize the troops directly under him to cross the river, the army transformed from the former Ming army could easily deal with the loosely armed Jiangnan.At the same time, the speed of judging cases in the yamen is also accelerating, and a large number of arrested people are almost immediately sentenced to exile in Taiwan. There are almost no other lighter punishments except exile.

Chapter 557 New Government IV

Jiangnan is the source of wealth of the Ming Dynasty. In a broad sense, Jiangnan refers to the eight prefectures in the south of the Yangtze River. In the narrow sense, there are only five prefectures in the south of the Yangtze River: Yangzhou, Songjiang, Changzhou, Zhenjiang, and Suzhou. The core of Jiangnan is actually Suzhou.Except for Yangzhou, which seems to be independent from the Suzhou economic circle because of the relationship between the Lianghuai salt industry and Jiangbei, the economies of other Jiangnan provinces are actually subordinate to Suzhou.

The reason why Suzhou will become the economic core of the south of the Yangtze River is that it is located at the junction of the South Canal and the mouth of the Yangtze River, and the second is the richness of the Taihu Lake Plain.Since the Tang Dynasty, the continuous development has turned the Taihu Plain from a swamp area into the most fertile agricultural area in the world. Suzhou has contributed less than [-]% of the country's land to one-tenth of the country's land tax, which is the result of this development. result.

Due to the development of agriculture and convenient transportation, Suzhou naturally quickly built the largest city on the Taihu Lake Plain.Once the population of the city increases, the handicraft industry will develop. In the middle and late Ming Dynasty, Suzhou not only became the number one city in the world, but also the area with the most developed handicraft industry in the Ming Dynasty.

After Jiajing, Suzhou City could no longer accommodate the urban population, and began to expand to the countryside outside the city. The original small villages around the city gradually turned into professional markets and handicraft concentration areas. The Migu Market alone is located in Suzhou. There are more than a dozen cloth dyeing workshops concentrated in one village, and it immediately becomes a small town with thousands of people.

The urban blocks extend radially along several major navigable rivers, and the furthest distance is more than 10 Li from the city gate (Changmen).It is said that "everything that is hard to find in the four directions is not available... all the wealth and goods in the world are prosperous in Suzhou".

Such a large city with a population of more than one million will inevitably bring about many problems in urban management, so Suzhou Prefecture has become a first-class and difficult-to-manage area in the world.As a county magistrate in other places, there may be less than 3000 people living in the city, but there are more than 3000 people living on a single street in Suzhou City.

The more people there are, the more disputes there will be. What's more, Suzhou is still a production and commercial center with a concentration of handicrafts and commerce, which makes the contradictions among citizens even more complicated.The interpersonal relationship in the agricultural society is actually very simple, because if it is not a particularly big event, there will be basically no economic relationship between people, but in the handicraft industry and commercial society, the relationship between people starts from the economic relationship If there is an economic connection, it is impossible not to have economic disputes.

Therefore, feudal bureaucrats who are used to being quiet and quiet feel that Suzhou people like litigation too much, and sometimes economic disputes will not only involve one or two people, so it will become quite complicated. For those who have only studied the Four Books and Five Classics For feudal bureaucrats, this kind of economic case is the most difficult to judge, because they have no such experience, it is naturally difficult to make a satisfactory judgment, and thus let themselves be blamed by both parties in the case.

The reason why later generations do not allow the police to directly intervene in economic disputes is actually the same principle.Powerful but unprofessional police officers are easy to get involved in economic disputes, and in the end they become the fuse that sparks conflicts between the government and the masses.

Therefore, although Suzhou is the wealthiest place in the world, few people like to come to Suzhou to be an official, because being an official in this place is not only tiring, but also easy to capsize.Once an official begins to shirk his responsibilities, the power he possesses will not simply disappear, but will be stolen by others.Because power represents interests, for Suzhou, a city with a developed commercial culture and a large number of scholars, there is no shortage of smart people who want to speculate and make profits.

Those who are smart but fail to pass the Jinshi exam will become lawyers, and those who are stupid will start to form gangs to engage in gangsters. According to Daming, they are gangsters and street gangsters.These people have established a set of civil order outside the government, which can be regarded as filling the place that the public power cannot control.Of course, this kind of civil order will not be positive. Just as the government collects taxes to support officials and the army, the people who organize this civil order naturally also need to collect taxes to support themselves and their helpers.

The subordinate staff who help the government collect taxes are not willing to give up the opportunity to exploit the ordinary people, and these social people who rely on violence to collect fees from merchants and handicraftsmen are naturally even less amiable.Therefore, when the new government launched an anti-crime campaign, the citizens of Suzhou were still on the sidelines at the beginning, because they didn't know what the new government wanted to do.

The people in the south of the Yangtze River hated the thieves at the beginning. Although the imperial court was not good, it desperately raised taxes on the south and persecuted the scholars in the south.The struggle between the Eunuch Party and the Donglin Party, the reason why the people in the south of the Yangtze River sided with the Donglin Party, is of course not the so-called fantasies of supporting honest men and gentlemen. How could such lofty ideas come about in such a highly commercialized area? .

The reason why the people in Jiangnan support the Donglin Party is because the Donglin Party members gave Jiangnan tax cuts.Donglin party members are officials in the south of the Yangtze River, and the business tax is only a dozen taels a year, so they don’t want to compete with the people for profit; How much tax... There are so many things to talk about.

And the eunuch party represented by Wei Zhongxian is going to raise taxes on Jiangnan at every turn. Can the people in Jiangnan not support the Donglin party members?As for the suffering of the people in the north, they don't care, because it is the responsibility of the imperial court.

But no matter how bad the court is, at least it has maintained the interests of Jiangnan. The water transportation in a year has fed countless people, not to mention that during the period of peace, Jiangnan’s goods were sold all over the country, and everyone’s business was very comfortable. of.However, when the war broke out, the commercial routes in the north were cut off, and the handicraft industry in the south of the Yangtze River began to decline.Therefore, compared with the thieves, they still support the imperial court.

With this in mind, when Emperor Hongguang first came to the throne, the people in the south of the Yangtze River still celebrated with each other, thinking that at least the war would not spread to the south of the Yangtze River.

It's just that they didn't expect that wars required money, food and people. In the past, the imperial court ruled the north and the south, so there was at least one north that could share these expenses with them.But now that the north is finished, the burden of this war falls on them. Not only has their burden not been lightened, but it has become heavier than before.

To make matters worse, after Emperor Hongguang came to power, he really had the idea of ​​using the Yangtze River as a natural danger, but the people in the south of the Yangtze River found that the Yangtze River was completely unreasonable as a war zone between the north and the south, because Nanjing cut off the Yangtze River route and the north-south shipping of the canal. It was the Jiangnan area that hit first.

Jiangnan, whose economy has begun to move towards commercialization, cannot bear the way of warfare in the agricultural era. At this time, the people who once cheered for Emperor Hongguang to come to power are greatly relieved that Emperor Hongguang has abdicated.So when the news came that Dashun had annexed Daming, the people in the south of the Yangtze River basically maintained a nonchalant attitude, because the previous big incidents had exhausted their enthusiasm, and now everyone only wanted to live their lives well. Days, don't care what the emperor's last name is.

However, when the new government began to deal with the evil forces in Jiangnan, and began to set up a separate judicial system, set up a council of people's voice agencies, and allow citizens to participate in the management of the city, the citizens who had been on the sidelines immediately voted for the new government. side.Even if Qing Yi Bao, representing the Donglin party members, refuted the actions of the new government, it failed to change the views of these citizens.

Because the actions of the new government protect the interests of the burghers and civilians, as a group without the ability to speak out, they have to endure the oppression of these city sticks who have a relationship with gentry officials.And these city gangsters have almost monopolized the transportation industry and the trade intermediary industry, adding a lot of burden to Suzhou people for no reason.

For example, after the anti-crime operation started in February, the rice in the Suzhou market, which had exceeded 2 taels a stone, quickly fell back to below 3 taels, because after the monopoly in the transportation industry and the intermediary industry was suppressed, some fees were exempted, and grain transportation It also became smoother, and food prices naturally began to fall.

Of course, the new government has made a lot of efforts. Ma Shiying still knows the temperament of these Jiangnan gentry, and knows that if these people are hit, they will not fight back, and there are only a few ways for them to fight back, not to write a letter of impeachment I am just inciting the people to make trouble.

The way of impeaching himself by writing a letter is now unfeasible, because they have nothing to do with the new government, and Li Zicheng obviously will not pay attention to these people.However, inciting the people to make troubles will happen nine times out of ten, and the best way to incite the people to make troubles is to raise the price of food, and describe the increase in food prices as the new government's anti-crime campaign.