I

"Is there a suitable candidate?" Chongzhen asked again.

Wen Tiren said: "Li Shangshu is in the pocket, there should be someone who can do it."

Li Changgeng, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, immediately retorted: "If a minister is neither party nor selfish, how can there be a person who has a bag?"

"Tell me." Emperor Chongzhen said.

Li Changgeng said: "Chen Qiyu, governor of Yansui, may be able to take on this important task."

Chongzhen immediately had an impression, and he also praised this person. During Chen Qiyu's tenure as the governor of Yansui, he killed more than 170 people, including Jieshanhu, Liu Robaozhi, Golden Chipeng, Xue Rengui, Yilong, Diamond Diamond, and Fanshan Harrier. A thief.

In fact, they were all thieves who were recruited by the imperial court and returned to their hometown to plow the fields.

But the actual problem was not solved. Although the rebels returned to their hometowns to farm, they could not bear the heavy taxes and labor.These former thieves naturally did not want to be oppressed again, so they did many illegal things, and some even rebelled again.

Chen Qiyu suppressed or cheated, beheaded more than 170 thieves, and beheaded more than a thousand old thieves, and sent all ordinary thieves back to work in the fields.

Emperor Chongzhen was very satisfied with this, nodded and said: "Promote Chen Qiyu, the right servant of the Ministry of War and the censor of the capital of Youqian, and the governor of the five provinces of Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan, Huguang, and Sichuan. All armies must listen to their restraint. Let the rebels continue to flee!"

This appointment almost wiped out the thieves from the Northwest, and the rebels escaped narrowly and narrowly by relying on bribes and false surrenders.

Including Gao Yingxiang, Zhang Xianzhong, Luo Rucai, and Li Zicheng, they were all blocked in the carriage gorge by Chen Qiyu.As long as Chen Qiyu was more cold-blooded and decisive, the history of the late Ming Dynasty would be different.

Emperor Chongzhen suddenly asked again: "Is the food and salary enough for the five provinces to suppress bandits?"

Hou Xun, Minister of the Household Department, replied, "Your Majesty, I'm afraid it's not enough."

"The Ministry of Households should raise funds as soon as possible." Emperor Chongzhen said.

Hou Xun bowed and said, "I will do my best."

Emperor Chongzhen suddenly remembered: "Nanzhi and Zhejiang Jinhuayin still owe a few 10 taels, let them deport to the capital quickly!"

Hou Xun said: "Your Majesty, please leave gold flowers and silver to suppress the bandits."

"No!" Chongzhen flatly refused.

Gold flowers and silver belong to the income of official land, and they are directly sent to the emperor's private treasury. How can they be used for war?

After Hou Xun retreated, he didn't speak any more, and he didn't dare to persuade him any more.

The Ministry of Household Affairs and the Ministry of Industry have almost broken their cans.

Especially the Minister of the Household Department, there was already another minister in charge of the warehouse, and Chongzhen hired an eunuch to manage it.

After Hou Xun took charge of the household department, he didn't bother to do anything, didn't bother to take care of anything, and couldn't take care of so many things.

Moreover, Hou Xun resolutely opposed the addition of factions, after all, money and food were no more than his hands.If taxes and taxes were increased, Hou Xun would not get half a dime of benefits, but he would also be accused of harming the people. He was not willing to blame the emperor.

The six ministries in the cabinet are unwilling to take care of things.

With the emperor and the chief assistant as role models, all the important ministers in the cabinet have become pot throwers and non-stick pans.

The scene suddenly turned cold because no one spoke.

Under Emperor Chongzhen, important ministers did not even dare to attack political opponents directly.If two or three ministers attack one person at the same time, they will be suspected by the emperor of forming a party, and their political future can basically be declared over.

"Cough cough!"

Chongzhen coughed twice, breaking the awkward atmosphere in Wenhua Palace.

Wen Tiren immediately said: "There is a traitor in Jiangxi, Zhao Yan, who is rumored to be a scholar of Jishui. He stole Ji'an Fucheng a few days ago. Dozens of Ji'an and Luling officials died for the country. Jie Xuelong, the governor of Jiangxi, died in the battle when he regained the Fucheng. Zhang Yin, the eunuch in charge of Ji'an , led the troops to attack, was seriously injured, and took back the capital. The appointment of rewards and punishments here still needs to be discussed by colleagues."

Chongzhen said with a blank expression: "I have already learned about this matter. All loyal ministers who died for the country should be commended."

Li Kang, Minister of the Ministry of Rites, bowed first and said: "Governor Xie Xuelong, prefect Xu Fusheng, can posthumously give three grades, and one son from each shade will be the son of the Imperial College."

"Quite." Chongzhen said.

Zhang Fengyi also said: "There are reports of thieves in Pingxiang and Duchang in Jiangxi. I suggest that we can assign [-] pacesetters to the governor of Jiangxi, ordering him to quickly quell the civil unrest."

"Yes," Chongzhen actually agreed to assign two thousand pacesetters to the governor of Jiangxi, and asked, "Who can be the governor of Jiangxi?"

Shoufu Wen Tiren, shut up and don't speak.

Zhang Yandeng, the censor of Zuodu, suddenly said: "According to the inspector Lu Xiangsheng, he can be the governor of Jiangxi."

Wen Tiren moved his footsteps lightly, as if he was tired from standing for too long.

The etiquette department gave Xue Guoguan the matter, and immediately retorted: "Lu Douzhan is very beneficial in suppressing bandits in the north. He is obviously a man who knows the soldiers. He can be transferred to the governor of Yunyang to help suppress the bandits who have rushed into Huguang!"

Lu Xiangsheng belonged to the Donglin Party, and Wen Tiren didn't want him to take over as governor of Jiangxi.

Chongzhen had a very good impression of Lu Xiangsheng, and immediately nodded: "The danger of the bandits is worrying, so let Lu Xiangsheng go to Yunyang to suppress the bandits."

Zhang Yandeng could only re-recommend the candidate: "Shen Youlong, Shaoqing of Taipusi, can be the governor of Jiangxi."

Shen Youlong is also a man who can suppress bandits. Historically, he was defeated and died for the country because of his resistance to the Qing Dynasty.

Xue Guoguan said: "Jiangxi is a land of prosperous civilization, and the troubled people can be educated. Su Song supervised Li Maofang, who has both virtue and conduct, cleans himself and keeps integrity, so he can be the governor of Jiangxi."

Zhang Yandeng was furious, and said: "Your Majesty, the Jiangxi bandits have not been wiped out, even the Zhao bandits fled into the mountains, and someone who knows the soldiers must suppress them!"

In fact, many ministers know the truth about Jiangxi.

Because there were too many officials in Jiangxi, any servant who came to Beijing to report the news would quickly spread throughout the central court.

But this matter involves the eunuch, so it is inconvenient to expose it directly.

In the situation between North Korea and China, the first assistant Wen Tiren is the big boss, and the Donglin Party is making trouble with eunuchs.

They succeeded in history. The Donglin Party borrowed a knife to kill people, and let Cao Huachun and Wen Tiren dog bite the dog.A eunuch holding a pen, and a cabinet minister, both of them suffered a loss, and they all resigned and returned to their hometowns.

The two sides quarreled over the candidate for the governor of Jiangxi, and the quarrel made Emperor Chongzhen's head hurt, so he had to say: "Stop arguing again, the court will push for a decision!"

When the court election was held on a certain day, Shen Youlong naturally got the most votes, while Li Maofang only had a few votes.

Then the result is obvious, Chongzhen chose... Li Maofang.

Zhang Yandeng, the censor of Zuodu, resigned in anger.

He wants to do things, but the situation in the court does not allow him to do things, so he might as well resign and return to his hometown for retirement.

The emperor refused, Zhang Yandeng had no choice but to continue to be an official and suffer.

Fortunately, this summer, Nanjing Dongchang found a letter.One official asked another official to seek help from Zhang Yandeng.

The letter was not sent, and Zhang Yandeng didn't know about it, but he was implicated in it.

After three requests and three resignations, Zhang Yandeng finally left.

But Chongzhen knew that he was capable, so he only allowed Zhang Yandeng to go home for recuperation, and then return to the court to serve after he recovered from his illness. Among the ministers of the cabinet, all the officials who dared to do things finally left.

In the spring of the seventh year of Chongzhen, Li Maofang set off from Suzhou and went to Jiangxi by boat to serve as governor.

how to say?

Wen Tiren was wrong, and Li Maofang was also disobedient.

Although Li Maofang impeached Zhou Yanru (Wen Tiren's political opponent), it was purely out of personal grievances.Although Li Maofang is not a member of the Donglin Party, she is not in the same pot as Wen Tiren, and she has been close to the Donglin Party during Su Song's supervision.

This man is also capable of leading troops to suppress bandits!

However, compared to Xie Xuelong, Li Maofang is weaker in fighting, and more serious in corruption and bribery.

Chapter 120 [From Thief]

The four townships occupied by Zhao Han were soon abolished. Anyway, "township" is just a geographical concept.

All sites were changed to eight towns.

Each town has a central village and four natural villages. Zhao Han ruled a total of fifty villages.

These villages have also been redefined and their areas have been enlarged.A large surname is mixed with many small surnames to prevent a certain surname from gaining an absolute advantage in a certain village.

Try to break the clan influence!

Although the landlord was either killed or forced to separate.But the same surname dominates the village for a long time, and a new clan force will inevitably form over time. Zhao Han cannot avoid this kind of thing from happening, but he can try his best to delay its appearance!

The number of grassroots officials was insufficient, and they had to be busy clearing up the land and dividing the land, as well as making administrative divisions, and the whole winter was chaotic.

The candidate provided by Xiao was originally unwilling to be a thief, and he was suffering from high-intensity work, so he simply quit.He felt that he was overqualified, that he had to deal with mud legs all day long, and even deal with women. This was an insult to him.

Li Banghua and Ouyang Zheng walked around the villages and towns every day, accompanied by a few soldiers.

"Stop it quickly, you have something to say!"

Several missionaries ran quickly, passing Li Banghua and Ouyang Zheng, because there was a fight in the field ahead.

During the division of fields, there will be fights every three to five times.

Sometimes it is suspected that there is a problem with the division of land, and villagers beat public officials.

Sometimes because of field boundary disputes, villagers fight each other.

Ouyang Zheng gloated at his misfortune, and sneered, "Tie Zhao is messing around. Many villages and towns have been messed up these days."

Li Banghua has been just watching but not talking, and at this moment he couldn't help it: "Xianwen, you are a child prodigy, do you really think that Bandit Zhao is carrying out disorderly government?"

Ouyang Zheng was dejected, buried his head in silence for a long time, and sighed: "Oh, Wan Sheng can only think this way, do you still want to applaud?"

The two continued on and soon came to the troubled place.

However, the villagers suspected that there was a problem with the division of the land, and the missionaries took the villagers to re-hold the land.

Of the two people in charge of Zhangtian, one is from the Xiao family and the other is from the Liu family.The two cheated together, giving more points to their respective tribes and less points to other villagers, bullying the villagers beyond counting.

"take away!"

The missionaries directly arrested the people and handed them over to criminal officials.

"Good catch!"

"Catch them back and chop off their heads!"

The villagers clapped their hands and cheered, and they stopped watching the division of the fields, and escorted them back for inspection.

The missionaries couldn't stop them at all, and after only a few dozen steps, some villagers beat people up.By the time they returned to the town office, the two cheaters had already been beaten black and blue.

Tired from walking, Li Banghua sat cross-legged on the field ridge: "Xianwen, will you follow a thief?"

"I'd rather die than obey." Ouyang Zheng said.

Li Banghua smiled wryly: "I've been watching politics for so many days, I want to be a thief."

Ouyang Zheng said in surprise: "Sir, you can't think like this, how can you help the evildoers?"

Li Banghua looked at the boundless fields, and said with a bit of resentment in his tone: "The affairs here are impartial, impartial, and vigorous, and you can't help but want to join them. If you have been an official in the court, if you have been constrained by politics, you know that this kind of feeling is not good. How wonderful."

Ouyang Zheng suddenly had tears in his eyes: "What's wrong with this Ming Dynasty, gentlemen, are you not even as good as a rebel?"

"Ugh!"

Li Banghua sighed: "It's hard to get back, the building will collapse. The old house will collapse, and no one who lives in the house is innocent. Including me, the house has been demolished."

"Mr. is upright for the country, and even dismissed because of this, how can you be so self-pitying?" Ouyang Zheng was really afraid of Li Banghua's thieves.

Li Banghua pulled out a piece of dry grass from the ridge of the field, held it in his hand and played with it, saying, "Before I passed the Jinshi exam, my family sold the land year after year, leaving only six acres of land left. My grandmother passed away, and there was no coffin, so she wrapped her in straw and buried her secretly." Now, my family has thousands of acres of fertile land, how did they get it? I resigned from office and returned to my hometown, and I took the initiative to hand in the land tax, and was shocked to learn that the county personally sent the grain back to my home."

Ouyang Zheng couldn't help but smile, and put away his smile again: "Even if Mister is dismissed from office, he's still a first-rank official. How dare the county magistrate accept the food from Mr.'s family."

"In the past few days, I have inquired about it," Li Banghua said, "The thief Zhao donated tens of thousands of acres of land to the Wuxing Town Hall, but left a hundred acres. Is he reluctant to part with the one hundred acres of land? Also. He has to reserve a hundred acres of land and pay the land tax to the town hall on time, so other bandit officials will not dare to evade taxes."

Ouyang Zheng lamented: "Wan Sheng has been scolding that thief Zhao, but he still admires him in his heart."

Li Banghua said: "Ginggi Huangtian, when Emperor Chengzu had to pay the land tax every year. Chengzu set an example, the emperor also had to pay the grain, and the officials all over the world naturally had to pay the grain. But after Chengzu passed away, Huangtian never paid any grain. .Which one is willing to pay for the honorable civil and martial arts?"

"Therefore, reforms should be made. Daming needs a Zhang Taiyue (Zhang Juzheng)." Ouyang Zheng said.

"You don't understand that Zhang Taiyue's reforms were mainly aimed at Jiangnan, and the people died and the government died," Li Banghua shook his head. "The people in the northwest, the small people in the south of the Yangtze River, are now suffering from a whip. If there is no whip, the Northwest thieves may be There can’t be such a big mess. As for Jiangxi, there are too many gentry. My family doesn’t pay food, but other families do? If the gentry don’t pay food, how can the treasury not be empty?”

Ouyang Zheng said: "So we still have to change the law, completely change it."

"From top to bottom, we can't change it," Li Banghua pointed to the land that had been expelled by Qingzhang. "We have to go from bottom to top, so as to reverse the situation. If Bandit Zhao can persist for two or three years, half of Jiangxi will belong to him." Yes, at that time, it will become a trend that cannot be lost!"

Ouyang Zheng said: "Thieves Zhao will kill landlords indiscriminately, and nothing will happen."

Li Banghua said with a smile: "The landlord who is willing to donate land, he did not kill indiscriminately. If he really killed indiscriminately, I don't have to worry about it."

Li Zicheng has been unable to recruit scholars because he has no grounds to speak of as a thief.Everywhere they go, they will inevitably copy their salaries, kill the landlords to grab food, and coerce the people to flee.

How does this make scholars rely on?

Abandon your own property and run away with Li Zicheng?

Zhao Han is different, he has grounds, and he refuses to leave.