Dashun Yongchang

Ruan Dacheng looked at Li Zicheng in confusion and asked, "What does Your Majesty mean?"

Li Zicheng looked at him and said solemnly: "My Dashun is a new dynasty after all, and the new dynasty should naturally have a new look. The Ming Dynasty ruled the world with loyalty and filial piety, and I rule the world with justice. Justice is the truth that everyone agrees with.

If in the hearts of the people, the Eunuch Party is a treacherous group that has brought disaster to the country and the people and led to the demise of Ming Dynasty, then how can I use you?I have used you, isn't it just for those gentlemen to call on the people to rebel against Dashun's rule?

Why do countries exist?Because of the army?Because of the government?Because of etiquette?I thought neither.The basis for the existence of a country is consensus. Without a consensus recognized by the people, the country cannot survive.

The demise of the Ming Dynasty was due to the loss of consensus. The Ming that the gentry wanted, the Ming that the emperor wanted, and the people wanted were not the same Ming.Therefore, if I, Dashun, want to replace Daming, the first thing I need to do is to find a new consensus that can be recognized by everyone.If you, Mr. Ruan, cannot provide assistance to the consensus that Dashun wants, we will not be able to reach any cooperation.Do you understand what I mean? "

Ruan Dacheng seemed to understand a little, but he didn't seem to understand. After pondering for a few breaths, he carefully asked Li Zicheng: "Then what does Your Majesty think is the Dashun consensus? What should I do to satisfy His Majesty?"

Li Zicheng leaned back, the back of the hardwood chair was still somewhat comfortable, after all, the back of the sofa of later generations is more comfortable, he quickly dismissed the thought that flashed through his mind, and then looked down at Ruan Dacheng Said: "My Dashun consensus is actually very simple: everyone is for me, and I am for everyone.

To put it more clearly, rights and responsibilities must be equal.There is no right without responsibility, and there is no responsibility without right.In my opinion, the biggest problem of the Ming Dynasty is that the upper class enjoys all political and economic rights, but does not have to bear any responsibilities; while the lower class, which has assumed all social responsibilities, does not enjoy any political and economic rights.

The so-called gentlemen like Donglin and Fushe enjoy many political and economic privileges granted by the state, but refuse to bear any responsibilities granted by the state.Speaking of this, we must first clarify the fact that the imperial examination is not an agreement between the state and the gentry, but an agreement between the emperor and the gentry. The gentry assists the emperor in ruling the country and then gets paid from the emperor.

But many gentry in modern times didn't understand this. They regarded their privileges as rewards from the state, and regarded the emperor as the object of violating their privileges.Therefore, a group of gentry who obtained privileges from the emperor claimed to control the emperor's power on behalf of the people.Do you think this is correct? "

Ruan Dacheng opened his mouth slightly, but for a moment he didn't know how to answer Li Zicheng's question, because he felt that no matter which side he stood on, he would eventually fall into a deep pit.After deliberating over and over again, he replied somewhat vaguely: "Your Majesty's words are absolutely true. If you are a minister for a day, you will be a minister for life. It is indeed wrong to criticize your majesty's right and wrong."

Hearing Ruan Dacheng's evasive answer, Li Zicheng raised the corners of his mouth, and then said more directly: "This is not a question of criticizing the emperor, but a question of not being clear about one's own position.

These gentry criticize the emperor not from the standpoint of the people, but from their own interests. They feel that their privileges are innate, so the emperor's attempt to restrain their privileges is to compete with the people for profit.

However, when the emperor is overthrown by them, the people will also wake up and lose the monarch representing the country, so is it necessary for the gentry class to continue to exist?Why can't the people govern themselves?

As a result, the gentry class, who claim to be the representatives of the people, panicked in front of the awakened people. In order to suppress these awakened people, they could not wait to invite a new emperor, and once again let the country shroud under the control of imperial power, so as to maintain own family business and status.

Therefore, the so-called gentlemen of Donglin and Fushe are just a group of reactionary gentry who can't figure out their own class interests. Once their interests are threatened, they will become more shameless and indecent than the so-called eunuchs, and they will not hesitate to Selling the interests of the people, the nation, and China, and begging for mercy from foreign monarchs, only asking the other party to help them suppress those mobs, as long as they can continue their family.

On the contrary, the eunuchs mentioned by these gentlemen are actually sensible people who are really willing to maintain the imperial power-gentry system. They clearly know that their privileges come from the emperor's reward, and their responsibility is to help the emperor suppress the people's resistance, and Safeguard the integrity of the country and the nation.From the latter point of view, the villain of the eunuch party is undoubtedly more responsible than the gentleman of Donglin. "

Ruan Dacheng really didn't know what to say. Li Zicheng's words were harsh and mean. He felt uncomfortable when he heard it, but after he felt uncomfortable, after thinking about it carefully, these words were so true.For him who had been depressed for more than ten years, these words were like enlightenment, and immediately made him understand what was boycotting between him and those gentlemen.

Ruan Dacheng swallowed a mouthful of saliva, and then replied: "Could it be that Your Majesty asked the ministers to refute those gentlemen with these words? Although what Your Majesty said is very true, the common people probably don't like to hear it."

Li Zicheng shook his head at him and said: "No, what I just said is just to let you understand your own position. Of course it is not enough to refute these gentlemen. Although gentlemen say they represent the people, they only have their own interests in their hearts. , but the general public is not aware of this, and they will not believe it, so we have to start from other aspects.

Whether it is Donglin or Fushe, they all began to unite with colleagues from the research and exploration of knowledge.Therefore, if you want to attack them, the best way is to defeat the academic ideas they advocate..."

Chapter 193 New Deal Eight

Ruan Dacheng, who was too nervous, swallowed a mouthful of saliva and almost choked himself. Li Zicheng's words were indeed a little scary to him. He had enmity with the gentlemen of Donglin and Fushe, but they still had the same values, otherwise He wouldn't have to resign under Donglin's pressure and go home, and he wouldn't try his best to reconcile with Donglin afterwards.

However, Li Zicheng's remarks made it clear that he would challenge the academic views advocated by these gentlemen, which was also a very impactful suggestion for Ruan Dacheng.

In order to conceal his somewhat panicked behavior, Ruan Dacheng turned to Li Zicheng for advice and said, "Your Majesty's thoughts do have unexpected insights, but the academic opinions of Donglin and Fushe may not be easily refuted.

Moreover, these academic theories are too difficult, not to mention ordinary people, even scholars with little knowledge may find it difficult to explain clearly for a while.And Donglin is connected with the same family with teachers and students, and there is a friendship of sympathy, and if you provoke one, a group will come out. This is also the so-called secrecy of the family.Although the minister is not afraid, but in the end, two fists are no match for four hands, and I am afraid it will be difficult to gain the upper hand. "

Li Zicheng can understand Ruan Dacheng's explanation. As long as there are enough disciples, even Hu Shi, who plagiarized foreign literary theories, can become a master of a generation.On the other hand, Guo Kaizhen, who really has masterpieces and academic works, because he has no disciples and respects his revolutionary mentor, what kind of result was he hacked in the end.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help feeling a little bit of sympathy for Ruan Dacheng. Although the bearded Ruan was not without talent, his talent was not enough to start a sect. Facing the two literati groups of Donglin and Fushe Under continuous suppression, it is very difficult for him to stand up both politically and academically.It's no wonder that in the end he would be so angry that he couldn't make a clear vote, because he couldn't turn around if he didn't make a clear vote.

And even so, those disciples and grandchildren of the gentleman still didn't let him go, let him be a villain to death.The reason why someone can remember Ruan Dacheng's death is that some literati wrote too vividly, portraying a ridiculous villain vividly.

Someone still remembers how Ruan Dacheng's death was described in the history of the Ming Dynasty. The biography of treacherous ministers: In June, the Qing army crossed Qiantang, and Ruan Dacheng surrendered to the Qing Dynasty.The Qing court granted him the title of the Inner Court, and then entered Fujian with the Qing soldiers. Suddenly, his head and face swelled on Wutongling. Baylor advised him to stay and recuperate.

Dacheng was surprised and said: "What's wrong with me? Although I am sixty years old, I can ride a raw horse, draw a strong bow, and a man of iron clank! I have many enemies, so the traitors of Donglin and Fushe must be hiding here. I wish you all Don't listen!"

Ji said again: "The governor of Fujian is already under my control. Do you have any objection to what you say?"

So Dacheng marched south with the army, crossing Xianxia Ridge, all the generals got on their horses and walked slowly up the mountain, but Dacheng got off his horse alone, and walked forward, leading the horse with his left hand, pointing to the rider with his right hand and saying: "I have a hundred times more energy than the younger generation!"

Gai Shizhuang believes that he is disease-free.After saying that, bravely go up first, and soon the horse throws the road, sits on the stone, and falls stiffly on the stone to die.

Well, it was Wan Sitong, a descendant of Donglin who wrote the history of the Ming Dynasty. Originally, the Qing court invited his teacher Huang Zongxi. Huang Zongxi refused to go because he was afraid of ruining the reputation of his survivors, but he was also worried that letting other people compile the history of the Ming Dynasty would destroy the Southern Ming Dynasty. He blamed Donglin for his crimes, so he recommended his own disciple to replace Shangjing.

Therefore, Wan Sitong, who claims to be rigorous in his studies, adopted rumors about the deaths of Ma Shiying and Ruan Dacheng, completely concealing the real circumstances of their deaths.But for those Ming surrendered ministers who were born in Donglin and surrendered to the Qing court, they justified and shirked in every possible way, as if their surrender was a burden of humiliation.

Li Zicheng withdrew his distracted thoughts, looked at Ruan Dacheng and said with a smile: "Why do you have to debate with them in the knowledge that everyone in Donglin is familiar with? In my opinion, the knowledge of Donglin and Fushe is in the final analysis just one point of view. To restore the rule of the three generations.

But the rule of the three generations is the public world, not the family world.Therefore, in order to carry out the rule of the three generations, one must first overthrow the family.But they lack the courage to break the last brick, so the so-called revival of the classics can only talk about the practicality of the world, but not the public. This is the biggest weakness of Donglin and Fushe.

Because to talk about the world being public, it is necessary to criticize relatives and concealment, and to overthrow the principles of ethics, because the public is selfless.Hypocrites like Yidonglin and Fushe obviously couldn't do it.Because they are nothing more than Ye Gong and good dragons about the rule of the three generations, it's okay to shout verbally, but if they really want to let them put the public first and then private, how can their family property be preserved?

Therefore, I think that the theory of Donglin and Fushe is just a tree without roots. If there is a debate, they can only throw away their armor and flee.Isn't the defeat of Donglin and Fushe the victory for you, Mr. Ruan? "

Ruan Dacheng was very flustered, he didn't know what Li Zicheng was thinking, was this still going to hit Donglin and Fushe?I still want to use this opportunity to uproot the gentry class.

After all, he is not a fool. Li Zicheng understood it with just a light click. He really wanted to argue like this. Donglin and Fushe are going to be ruined, but how can the well-clothed clan that relies on moral order to maintain a decent existence survive? ?Li Zicheng's ax cut down did not break the roots of Donglin and Fushe, but even the foundation of the entire gentry class.

He tossed and turned several times in his heart, and finally replied to Li Zicheng with flickering eyes: "Your Majesty's words are indeed bold. As the saying goes, there will be a big stand after a big break, but, isn't your majesty worried that he will come back against him in the future? It is true that the Duke can tear through the external disguise of the gentlemen of Donglin and Fushe, but it may also be disadvantageous for His Majesty to govern the world."

Li Zicheng stared at Ruan Dacheng for a long time before he said quietly: "I have heard such a sentence from those Western missionaries. After my death, even if the flood is overwhelming.

Or you can put it this way, Mr. Ruan thinks, if you don't seize the present opportunity, will you still have a future?My situation is actually similar to yours. If you can't defeat those Jiangnan gentry who are selfish, Dashun doesn't need to think about the future.

What I need now is a helper who can extract money, food and materials from Jiangnan for me. If Nanjing can't help me do this, then what else can I talk to you and Nandu?I might as well trade the crown prince directly with those Jiangnan gentry, at least it can solve the urgent need, isn't it? "

Ruan Dacheng looked at Li Zicheng in shock and asked, "Your Majesty, Nanjing can still exist?"

Li Zicheng tilted his head slightly and looked at him and said, "It depends on Nanjing, not on me. If Nanjing has the value to survive, then why can't it survive?"

Ruan Dacheng asked subconsciously: "Then what should the prince do?"

Li Zicheng spread his hands and said: "In fact, I don't think that Cihong is capable of controlling a country now. Referring to what Emperor Lie has done since he ascended the throne, I think it's better for Cihong to learn for a while. Being yourself is a good thing.

Of course, I think Cihong’s right to inherit the Ming Dynasty’s throne is unshakable. King Fu should issue an edict to remove him from the throne, but he can continue to supervise state affairs, but I will supervise King Fu’s behavior on behalf of Cihong. "

Ruan Dacheng finally understood that Li Zicheng wanted to be the Supreme Emperor of Nanjing, well, this is also a feasible idea.If the prince is not in a hurry to announce his succession to the throne, King Fu should agree to return to the position of supervisor, so that he is still the highest-ranking person in Nanjing.This was also the best result he had considered with Ma Shiying before he came. They could continue to wait and see for the next time, waiting for Li Zicheng and Beibing to decide the outcome.

Although he had already planned to join Dashun before coming here, if he could wait and see for a while, he would not refuse. After all, Dashun and Beibing have not yet decided the outcome, and it is actually a risk to invest in Dashun at this time , he will naturally choose a more secure solution.

After weighing repeatedly in his heart, Ruan Dacheng decided to test Li Zicheng's appetite. He cautiously asked Li Zicheng, "I wonder how much food your Majesty intends to levy from Jiangnan?"

After thinking for a while, Li Zicheng raised a finger and said, "The first thing is, the money and food from the four towns in Jiangbei will be distributed to the Marshal's Mansion from now on, and then the Marshal's Mansion will distribute it. Is there any problem with this?"

Ruan Dacheng knew that agreeing to this would be tantamount to selling Gao Jie, who was still loyal to Nanjing.However, under the joint opposition of the Jiangnan gentry, Gao Jie's army could not cross the river, and Gao Jie's army, who was surrounded in the corner of Guazhou, had become a lone army. No matter how unfortunate it was, he could only bite the bullet and reply: "As long as the four towns agree, there will be no problem in Nanjing. It's just that half of the money and food for this year have been distributed, and the rest will not be shipped across the river until at least October. However, after I go back, I can persuade Mr. Ma Ge to send it to His Majesty first." 10 shimi to meet urgent needs."

The smile on Li Zicheng's face became wider, so he raised his second finger and said: "Second thing, I ask Nanjing to reform the current business tax. All Dashun merchants who have a license issued by the Marshal's Mansion cross the river Purchases can only collect tax once, and the tax rate is between 3.5-5%. I will send someone to negotiate with you about the specific tax rate for goods. In addition, an organization should be established to manage the Yangtze River waterway to crack down on river pirates and smuggling merchants, and to The Yangtze River will be governed, and the two sides can jointly send people to form this institution.”

Ruan Dacheng breathed a sigh of relief, and hurriedly agreed: "If the two families are friendly, this is nothing more than a trivial matter."

Li Zicheng then raised his third finger and said: "Nanjing must issue a statement to protect the people together with Dashun, and condemn the massacre of Chinese by Dafo Langji in Manila in the 31st year of Wanli and the 12th year of Chongzhen in Manila, and together with Dashun Defeat the Big Buddha Langji in Manila.

To this end, Nanjing and Dashun jointly issued a war bond in Jiangnan for the crusade against Dafo Langjiren. The total amount of the bond is 1500 million, with an annual interest rate of 3%. The ten-year period is mortgaged by salt tax and customs duties.In addition, after defeating the Dafulang robot, this bond can give priority to buying land on Luzon Island, and it will be discounted by one or two for every six acres..."

Chapter 194 New Deal Nine

Is it more than 1500 million taels?It is indeed an astronomical figure compared to ordinary people, but it is actually not a big figure compared to the gentry class in Jiangnan.Even in Jiangnan, which was ravaged by the Qing army in the future, more than 1 gentry and students who were sent down and punished were exempted by a single cancellation case. Those who eat hardly participate in any labor on weekdays.

As for Huai'an Mansion alone, Marshal Du's Mansion has absorbed 700 million taels of silver deposits through the shares of the salt industry company and water conservancy bonds. The local wealthy households have not yet exhausted their financial resources. The funds are used for local construction, thus maintaining the local capital flow.

Yangzhou salt merchants claimed to have a capital of 3000 million taels in Wanli, with an annual income of 900 million taels.Although this is a bit exaggerated, with a capital of 2000 million, there is still a profit of several million taels a year.In addition, Yangzhou is located at the starting point of the Jiangbei Canal, and the food, bamboo and other businesses here are also very developed. Therefore, the capital of the entire Yangzhou business exceeds 3000 million taels, which is not an exaggeration at all.

However, Yangzhou is nothing compared to Suzhou.Suzhou at this time can be said to be the most prosperous place in the world, not only the commerce and handicraft industry, but also the number of gentry.Unlike the imperial examinations for gentry in the north, which are for becoming officials, the imperial examinations for gentry in Jiangnan are only for preferential treatment. Therefore, after a few years of being an official, the gentry in Jiangnan returned to their hometowns to live idle.

These officials living idle in the countryside, together with the students and subordinate staff, are called the three evils by the people in the south of the Yangtze River.Because they usually rely on their privileges to suppress people outside the village, and they also rely on their status as township officials to bully local officials.There are already a large number of gentry in the south of the Yangtze River. There may be only one or two imperial examination families in a northern county, and some even have none in a county, but there may be two or three Juren families within a mile in the Jiangnan countryside. The mutual marriage between the Jiangnan gentry has become an extremely large interest group.

Don't look at Ruan Dacheng being suppressed miserably by the gentlemen of Donglin and Fushe, but there is also a group connected by regional in-laws behind him, otherwise Ruan Dacheng would have been beaten to death long ago, how could he have colluded with Ma Shiying to help him? Li Hongguang Emperor.

There are tens of thousands of big gentry families in the south of the Yangtze River, each of whom pays 2000 taels of silver, and the 1500 million taels of public debt has been apportioned.And Mao Pijiang spent 3000 taels to marry Dong Xiaowan home. Although Dong Xiaowan is a famous prostitute, this price is not commonly used, but Huizhou merchants who have no reputation marry a singing prostitute from the Qinhuai River, and 300 taels is also the current price.It can be seen from this that asking those Jiangnan gentry to pay a few thousand taels of silver will not hurt them. This is not a high asking price.

If Li Zicheng directly asked Nanjing for 1500 million taels, no, even if it was 150 million taels, Ruan Dacheng could only shake his head and refuse, because Nanjing couldn't come up with so much money.Giving 160 million taels of silver and 80 shi of rice a year to the four towns in Jiangbei has already gone to the south for more than one-third of their annual fiscal revenue. The rest has to support the officials and garrisons of the southern provinces, which is already stretched. up.

Therefore, Ma Shiying discussed with him that if it comes to the issue of money and food, they will only pay 100 million taels of silver and 120 million shi of rice at most.The first and second items Li Zicheng gave were within their bottom line, so Ruan Dacheng agreed without hesitation.But when it comes to the third point, although Li Zicheng didn't directly ask Nanjing for so much money, Ruan Dacheng also felt embarrassed.

Jiangnan is rich, not only Li Zicheng thinks so, even Emperor Chongzhen saw it this way during his lifetime, so Emperor Chongzhen also sent people to Jiangnan to collect donations, but the money collected was not enough for the travel expenses of the eunuchs around him to travel to Jiangnan.The gentry and big households in the south of the Yangtze River can spend 1500 million taels, but they will not be shaken by the salt tax, customs mortgage and overseas land pre-emption rights promised by Li Zicheng. After all, good fortune is hard to give up.

In fact, even Ruan Dacheng himself felt that the public debt that Li Zicheng created looked more like a scam. Dashun was established less than a year ago, so it is not certain how long it will last. Speaking of which, even if the Ming court issued this Public bonds are more creditworthy.For example, after thinking about it himself, he decided that he would rather donate less to Dashun than buy government bonds that might be waste paper.

After thinking about it several times in his heart, Ruan Dacheng said to Li Zicheng hesitantly: "It shouldn't be a big problem to condemn Dafo Langjiren, but I don't want to object to this 1500 million taels of public debt, but I think it may not be possible for people to pay for such a debt." many."

Li Zicheng did not put pressure on Ruan Dacheng directly, but pointed his fourth finger at him and said, "The death of Ming Dynasty was in Wanli. It was precisely because Emperor Wanli abolished Zhang Juzheng's reform that Daming was on the road to extinction. Therefore, today's Ming Dynasty must restart the Wanli New Deal.

The core of the Wanli New Deal is the reform of the economic system, but it is not thorough enough.Therefore, this time Nanjing should announce all-round changes to Ming Dynasty politically and economically in order to save the nation and survive.

Politically, I hope that Nanjing can support the establishment of local councils, so that major national affairs can be put to public discussion; economically, we must promote the distribution of people into acres, credit for fire consumption, reduce customs duties, establish a systematic tax collection agency, and carry out Currency recast.

Although the current Ming Dynasty did not stipulate the silver standard by law, it actually implemented the silver standard, and the money standard used by the people, due to insufficient currency issuance and rapid fluctuations in the silver-to-money price ratio, the copper-coin standard tended to collapse.

Therefore, in order to make Jiangnan's economy develop stably, it is imperative to reform the currency.The copper coin standard is no longer suitable for the economic scale of Jiangnan. Buying copper with copper money is undoubtedly encouraging private casting for copper that is now easy to obtain.Therefore, copper coins can only be used as a secondary currency to express the value of silver coins, so that the public can give up their desire to destroy money and cast utensils, and then increase the crackdown on privately minted coins, thereby reducing the number of privately minted copper coins and maintaining them worthy of national customization. Copper coins circulated in the market.

In addition to currency recasting, the southern provinces also have a difficult problem, that is, tax arrears.I heard that the land tax owed by a county in Wuxi is as high as hundreds of thousands of shi, and some of the owed money is even left over from the Jiajing Dynasty.If this problem is not resolved, it will lead to more and more arrears, which will eventually lead to the collapse of the entire imperial court's fiscal revenue..."

Hearing this, Ruan Dacheng had no choice but to defend the gentry in the south of the Yangtze River: "Actually, Jiangnan has no choice but to default on money and grain. Where the dynasty was founded, the land tax in the land of Su Song was three times higher than that in other areas. After that, the capital was moved to the north. However, the land tax that was originally sent to Nanjing had to be sent to Beijing again. The increased transportation cost of this item alone was several times higher than the regular tax.

And even if there is some arrears, the land tax paid by the Jiangnan region is much higher than the total amount of other provinces based on eight points of the finished grain.Of course, the minister is not saying that it is right to default on money and food to the court, but the excessive land tax in the Jiangnan area is actually the main reason. "

Li Zicheng nodded and said: "The excessive land tax in the south of the Yangtze River can be reduced. How to reduce it can be discussed and negotiated after the establishment of the council. But the problem of arrears cannot be delayed forever, otherwise it will damage the authority of the imperial court. If the power of taxation cannot be guaranteed, what orders can the court issue in this area?

What I mean is to combine the money and food owed by the South and the funds needed for currency reformation. I roughly calculated that it is between 1500 and 2000 million taels. This fee can also issue a public bond to In exchange for the elimination of all arrears of money and food.Then, Nanjing can renegotiate the land tax and commercial tax of each province with the council. The Marshal's Office is happy to help Nanjing design and issue public bonds and establish a council.

What I mean is that these public debts should be apportioned to the gentry and big households everywhere in exchange for their qualifications to participate in the election of members.In addition, those gentry and big households who refused to buy government bonds should be dismissed from their official positions, and they should be prohibited from participating in the imperial examination and participating in any commercial activities related to the imperial court within three generations. "

Ruan Dacheng felt his back was wet. He was also shocked by Li Zicheng's words. It's no wonder that Li Zicheng wanted to talk to him alone. These words really cannot be said publicly, otherwise, not to mention Jiangnan, even the gentry in the north can't stand it.

He understood a little bit in his heart that Emperor Yongchang wanted him and Ma Shiying to make a knife and cut it on the gentry in the south of the Yangtze River.Although Ruan Dacheng hated Donglin and Fushe deeply, he felt a little guilty at this moment when he wanted to slash the knife against the entire Jiangnan gentry group. After all, he himself was also a member of the Jiangnan gentry class.

But since Emperor Yongchang has been honest with him to this point, he can't just say nothing. After hesitating for a long time, he responded to Li Zicheng: "Remove the official position and prohibit them from taking the imperial examination within three generations. , is this too harsh?"

Li Zicheng said disapprovingly: "These wealthy gentry spend hundreds of taels in the brothel without even frowning, asking them to pay to defend their privileges, but still pushing back and forth, then they don't want privileges.

The purpose of promoting this batch of public bonds this time is not to collect money, but to make a clear distinction between those who support the alliance between Dashun and Daming, and those who do not.Those who are not, naturally should give up their positions and let those who support us take the stage.

The coexistence of Dashun and Daming will not last long, now is a transitional period, what I want now are supporters, not some moral gentleman.Besides, a moral gentleman who only wants benefits but refuses to take any responsibility is really moral? "

Ruan Dacheng was silent for a long time before he said in a low voice: "I am worried that the gentry in the south of the Yangtze River will not obey the orders from Nanjing, which will cause turmoil in the south of the Yangtze River. This may not be beneficial to Your Majesty."

Li Zicheng laughed a few times and said: "After we conquered Luzon Island, we have enough land to house these rebels. You tell Ma Shiying not to be afraid. If it doesn't work, I can lend him troops. Some troops and Jiannu It might not be possible to fight, but it is still possible to suppress the rebellion of those gentry families in the south of the Yangtze River.

In addition, Mr. Ruan can go to Meihualing with me tomorrow to see how the council is used.As long as you can make good use of the council, what is the gentry?After all, isn't the gentry's greatest housekeeping ability to rely on the authority of the court to suppress the common people, and then incite public opinion to hold the ministers of the court hostage.

As long as the court and the people stand on the same side, what storms can the gentry, who are few in number compared to the people, cause?If Ma Shiying can't even do this, then I have to reconsider whether Nanjing is of any use to me. "

Ruan Dacheng opened his mouth, but he didn't say anything in the end. Only then did he realize that they had no room to bargain in front of Li Zicheng, because Li Zicheng could not only choose them.

Chapter 195 New Deal Ten

Plum Blossom Ridge is actually the mound that Wu Xiu, the prefect of Yangzhou, cleaned up the silt of the ancient city river outside the north gate in the 20th year of Wanli. Later, Wu Xiu planted plum blossoms on this silt mountain, thus forming a new landscape outside Yangzhou City.Every early spring, the plum blossoms on the mountain are in full bloom, and the fragrance is overflowing, which naturally covers up the smell of mud.

However, this silt mountain had a history of 17 years in the 52th year of Chongzhen. Naturally, the stench from the silt had long since disappeared, and after years of settlement, the silt mountain has gradually become solid and has become the city of Yangzhou. There is a low hill outside the storage gate.After years of renovation, it has become a scenic spot for Yangzhou people to appreciate plum blossoms and enjoy the scenery of Baobao Lake.

Therefore, not only a stone path up the mountain was built on the mountain, but also a huge platform, which is enough to accommodate thousands of people to gather.After Li Zicheng ordered the assembly at Meihualing, not only Yangzhou council members came here, but even some Yangzhou citizens followed up the mountain, wanting to hear what Emperor Yongchang and these councilors had to say.

On the stone road up the mountain, soldiers from the Shun Army stood aside every ten steps to maintain order, but now the people of Yangzhou were not so afraid of these soldiers from the Shun Army.For more than a month, Shunjun has won the trust of Yangzhou people with his good military discipline. After ensuring the supply of supplies and formulating a military law that can be implemented, even Liu Zeqing's subordinates can now obey the Shunjun in peace. The discipline lived.

In the past, the Ming Dynasty’s attitude towards its own army was either to use it as a craftsman who didn’t spend money, or to be wary of it as a criminal. Therefore, the officials of the Ming Dynasty had no guilt or guilt at all for deducting the military salary of these troops and taking various insulting punishments against them. Meaning of worry.

As for the commanding generals, the seventeen prohibitions handed down from the Han Dynasty were still adopted, but they could not guarantee the soldiers' daily food standards and military pay.So at the end of the Ming Dynasty, the soldiers of the Ming army were generally very resentful. Those who could escape joined the peasant army, and those who could not escape were unwilling to work hard for the court that owed their wages.

In the end, the generals of the Ming army could only stimulate the soldiers' desire to fight by plundering the people. Therefore, the strict control in the battalion before became an opportunity for the soldiers to vent their dissatisfaction when it came to local chaos.Unlike peasants who looted people's property just to survive, these officers and soldiers killed civilians to vent their dissatisfaction with the court.

But under the rule of Li Zicheng, someone directly abolished the 54 beheadings. For non-wartime mistakes, unless they go out to kill or rape women, the other highest punishment is to fight for responsibility. In addition, when the death penalty is usually imposed, three people need to be selected. Representatives of the soldiers came out to vote, otherwise the death penalty would not have been imposed.However, military judges can directly execute those who violate military discipline and flee in battle during wartime without trial.

In fact, after being revised by someone, the current military regulations of the Shun Army are much milder than those formulated by Li Zicheng before.The military law adopted by Li Zicheng before was also a variant of the 54 cuts brought by those frontier troops. He even set a surrender time for the civilians who resisted in the city, otherwise a few percent would be massacred.

It's not that someone changed these military laws only for a moment of soft-heartedness, but someone feels that the Shun Army and the Peasant Army are different now.In the past, the Peasant Army had a large number of hungry people as supplementary troops. As long as these hungry people had something to eat, no matter how strict the military discipline was, they would accept it.

But after breaking through the city of Beijing and taking over a large number of Ming troops, such strict military discipline is no longer suitable for the Shun army, because the Shun army is no longer fighting for survival.

After Chongzhen was martyred, the soldiers of the Peasant Army no longer felt the threat of death.In the eyes of these peasant army officers and soldiers, they had a sworn hatred with Zhu Ming's royal family, so unless Daming was overthrown, the imperial court would not let these rebels go.But when they faced the Manchus, they didn't have such a sense of urgency. They felt that they were not enemies of life and death. After all, they were allies against Ming Dynasty before.

As for those former Ming soldiers who surrendered to the Shun Army, they turned to the Shun Army to show their allegiance to the lord of the new dynasty and to occupy a good position for themselves in the new dynasty. They did not mean to put shackles on themselves.During the war at the end of the Ming Dynasty, these surviving Ming troops have long been tired of the strict military regulations formulated by the Ming court. Now they are used to living a free life, so the Shun army wants to apply the strict military regulations again. When it comes to them, they will naturally be dissatisfied.

This can be seen from the fact that after the Manchus entered the customs, the Ming army at the border turned their backs.The Shun army tried to incorporate these Ming troops into the military discipline of the peasant army, but failed. These Ming troops were unwilling to be restrained by the Shun army, so they turned to the Manchus who promised them preferential treatment.

Facing this situation, someone naturally couldn't ram down like Li Zicheng, but he didn't intend to let these surrendered Ming soldiers continue their lax style of work, that's why they abolished the extremely insulting insults of many death sentences and shooting arrows. big punishment.In fact, 54 cuts are only deterrent to those new recruits, and for those veterans, 54 cuts will only arouse their dissatisfaction.

Therefore, even in the Peasant Army, the death penalty for soldiers is rarely implemented in peacetime.A certain person is very open about this point. Since it is a law that cannot be enforced, it should be abolished and a law that can be enforced should be established.Otherwise, the seemingly strict military law will become a piece of waste paper, so how can it deter those soldiers?No matter how light the punishment is, it is better than not being punished for making mistakes.

In addition, it is a large number of demobilization and surrender to the Ming army, especially those young men who have just joined the army for a few years.Like the Republic of China, a large number of strong men in the Ming army were forced into the army. At first, it was to let them pick up supplies, and then it became a source of supplementary troops.

These strong men don't want to fight for anyone at all, and they can easily become tools for those generals who surrendered in exchange for establishment and military pay.Someone would rather dismiss these restless young men, and then recruit a new group of soldiers. These recruited soldiers will inevitably go to the Marshal's Mansion, thus diluting the prestige of those surrendered Ming army generals in the army.