"It's incredible that Jilin City can develop like this..."
At night, in a small courtyard in Jilin City, three middle-aged men wearing mandarin duck jackets gathered together under the candlelight and lamented the situation in Jilin City.
These three people were selected by Zhu Yunqi last year from among the children of military attachés in the university.
After selecting the three of them, Zhu Yunwen just waved his pen, and these three people inherited his father's duties, and were then sent to Deng and Laizhou in Shandong. After recruiting three thousand military households, they went north after the spring of this year.
On the way north, they also learned about the death of the late emperor and the accession of the emperor's grandson to the throne, so they became even more concerned about what the people in the East Palace told them.
The three of them had only been outside the customs for two months, and had only been in Jilin City for more than half a month. However, even this little time was enough for them to figure out a lot of things.
"The King of Bohai is indeed very talented. He can actually use such a foreign land to raise an army of sixty thousand."
One of the Qianhu spoke slowly, and the other nodded in agreement: "Judging from the news from Nayishiha today, the King of Bohai wants to form an army with us and the other thousand military households. "
"When we were in Shandong, even the preparations for Japanese troops along the coast were only three battles and eight plows. Now here it is actually a full war."
This person was surprised by Bohai's strength, and another person also added: "Not only that, they are also armored soldiers."
"Even the Shandong Dusi only has 18,000 armored soldiers, but there are actually so many here."
"After all, this is outside the customs. We need to guard against Wu Liangha and Beishan Jurchens. It is normal to have many soldiers." The person who spoke first explained, and further said:
"What we need to find out now is how much grain is stored in Bohai's treasury and how long it will be enough to support this army."
"Only after we figure this out can we discuss with the one in the south when to take action."
"This matter can only be accomplished by the three of us working together."
As he said this, the other two people also nodded, but after nodding, one of them also said: "How many Jinyi guards are left in Bohai by the late emperor?"
"About seven hundred people, among whom the person with the highest official position is already the Qianhu Official." Another person replied:
"I have been negotiating with them during this period, but they are always vague. The most important thing now is to see if they can hand over the information from the Bohai Treasury. If they are not willing, it means that they are also complicit. .”
"King Bohai is indeed cruel. He even gave land to every military household..."
At the mention of Juntian, the three thousand-household officials all showed displeasure on their faces.
The inland guards were seriously corrupted, and the military camps were undoubtedly the best source of their soldiers' blood.
Although it is still the Hongwu period, there is always petty theft.
A thousand-household station can have as few as five or six hundred households, or as many as one thousand, two, or three hundred households. The military farmland they are responsible for can range from ten thousand to tens of thousands of acres.
As long as the officers of the guard station deduct a little per acre, the accumulated amount will be a huge amount. Therefore, for some military attachés who had the idea of drinking the blood of the soldiers from the beginning, equalizing the land to the military households is simply cutting off their livelihood, and even more Not to mention that the equal land of Jilin Guards was allocated by the officials and did not go through the military attaches at all.
For military households, this kind of land equalization is more fair, but for military attaches who want to drink the blood of soldiers, the entire land equalization system has nothing to do with them, so it is strange that they don't hate Zhu Gaoxu.
"Let's take a look at the group of royal guards first. If things change, then report to His Majesty."
"good!"
While the three were plotting, a group of anxious people also came to the Bohai Palace a mile away from them.
They walked into the Chengyun Hall under the guidance of Yi Shiha, and Zhu Gaoxu was sitting in a high position, seeming to be writing something.
"Everyone is here?"
Hearing the footsteps, Zhu Gaoxu put down the pen in his hand and looked up at the group of people behind Yi Shiha with a smile.
In his eyes, he saw many familiar people, but he was not surprised. After all, he had long known that Lao Zhu was adding sand to Jilin City, so on the surface he was full of trust in all the brothers of the Bohai Navy, but privately He only trusted Yishuha and a few of them.
"Your Highness, I will never be ashamed of your kindness!"
"I'm so ashamed..."
Hu Lun, the leading Qianhu official, knelt down in shame. Behind him, dozens of Baihu officials, chief flag officers and others also knelt down to express their guilt to Zhu Gaoxu.
Faced with their shame, Zhu Gaoxu stood up, left his position, and walked to them.
"You didn't harm me. As for spying on information, that was my grandfather's responsibility. As subjects, you must be loyal to my grandfather."
He helped Hu Lun and others up, and then asked: "How many brothers in the army are willing to stand up?"
"A total of 749 people entered Jilin City in three groups. Everyone is willing to stand up. However, among the 4,000 newly arrived military households, there may also be new Jinyi guards. If His Highness needs it, the general can picket them. come out."
Hu Lun dared to say this, which showed that he was confident and capable.
Regarding Hu Lun's surrender, Zhu Gaoxu's face was full of smiles, but in his heart he did not dare to believe Hu Lun easily, so he chuckled and said: "If those people want to investigate, let them investigate. Anyway, the things I have here Sin does not lead to death.”
"Your Highness, please rest assured!" After hearing Zhu Gaoxu's words, Hu Lun didn't know that Zhu Gaoxu was testing him, so he quickly explained: "The general and others never mentioned those things in their letters to the south."
"The only thing that I, the general, and others have done wrong to His Highness is that they handed over the military strength, farmland, and number of people in the Bohai Sea, except Heishui City, to the south."
Hu Lun revealed his progress. If Zhu Gaoxu had chicken intestines, then these things would be enough for Zhu Gaoxu to kill him.
But for Zhu Gaoxu, these things are not his most important things. His most important things are always in Heishui City. Therefore, when he heard that Hu Lun didn't know the information about Heishui City, he couldn't help but feel sorry for him for letting Meng Meng Zhang and Xu Sheng's decision to lead the Jurchen soldiers to guard Blackwater City felt right.
"Have the three incidents been reported?"
When Zhu Gaoxu asked about the three events, Hu Lun lowered his head in shame: "The report was submitted, but the specific output was not disclosed."
Hu Lun originally thought that Zhu Gaoxu would be unhappy, but he didn't expect that Zhu Gaoxu chuckled and said, "In this case, I have nothing to worry about."
He stretched out his hand and grabbed Hu Lun's hand: "You and the more than 700 brothers were organized into a separate house, and they were called..."
Zhu Gaoxu pondered for a few seconds, then seemed to think of something interesting, and blurted out: "Call me Xichang. You will be the commander of Xichang. In the future, you will be responsible for spying on information for me in the Bohai Sea."
"Of course, I don't have anything to assign at the moment. If so, can you get the location of the Shuici warehouse along the canal and the storage warehouses of Su, Song, and Yang through trusted colleagues? , the amount of grain stored in Changping warehouse?"
"This..." Hu Lunwei said, "Your Highness, at least you have to command the generals to know these things. The last general is now in the Jinyi Guards and is just an official of a hundred households."
"Are you just an official from a hundred households?" Zhu Gaoxu was a little surprised. After all, he was familiar with Hu Lun.
Hu Lun was able to reach the position of one of the sixteen thousand-household officials in Bohai, so he naturally had two brushes in his hands. Therefore, it was not surprising that Zhu Gaoxu was surprised that someone like him was only an official of one hundred households in Jinyiwei.
"It seems that the military officer in the Jinyi Guard is ignorant of people."
Zhu Gaoxu patted Hu Lun on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Is there anything else you want to tell me?"
"Yes..." Hu Lun nodded, and then told him about the three Qianhu officials who came to him these days and asked him to inquire about the information of the Bohai treasury.
"Those three people are Liu Wu, He Zun, and Li Hui. They are all Qianhu officials who inherited their father's position. Their specific abilities are unknown. Among the people they brought, at least a thousand were from Shandong. Brought to prepare Japanese soldiers."
Hu Lun dared to come to Zhu Gaoxu, so he naturally brought information that was enough to forgive him.
This information allowed Zhu Gaoxu to have a basic judgment on the strength of Liu Wu and the others, so Zhu Gaoxu told Yi Shiha: "The armors of the four thousand households are slowly being made and stored in the house. When I deal with Liu Wu and the others, we will Give them armor slowly."
"Yes!" Yi Shiha agreed, and Zhu Gaoxu turned to Hu Lun and the others and said, "If you choose to be honest, then we will still be brothers. You don't have to feel burdened. As long as the court doesn't take action against me, I will still keep my peace."
"As for the treasury matters, I will ask Yishiha to compile a book for you later."
"I am ashamed..." Hu Lun and others looked guilty, and Zhu Gaoxu comforted them a few more words, and then asked them to go back to rest early.
It was only after they left that Yi Shiha looked at their backs and asked, "Does Your Highness believe them?"
"It's not trustworthy for the moment. We have to see how my eldest brother treats me for details." Zhu Gaoxu responded softly, but Yishi Haye said: "Since it's not trustworthy, why did His Highness say this to them?"
Yishiha's question made Zhu Gaoxu silent. After a moment, seeing that he didn't speak, Yishiha tried to ask: "Your Highness, do you still have illusions about the one in the south?"
"No!" Zhu Gaoxu said firmly, but in fact he still had a bit of luck in his heart. After all, once Zhu Di gave up the military power of Sandu Division, their chances of winning would be very small.
Of course, Zhu Gaoxu also wondered whether Zhu Di would hold on to the military power of Sandusi because of his reminder.
Although this possibility is very small, if it is possible, coupled with the military power in his hands, the combination of the two will make Zhu Yunwen use the rat weapon, and then dare not reduce the vassal.
History has changed a lot, and even Zhu Gaoxu himself did not dare to completely follow the historical script, so he revealed his thoughts to Hu Lun and the others.
As long as the court doesn't take action against him and Zhu Di, he can indeed keep his peace.
Zhu Yuanzhang was right when he said that he was indecisive on major matters, and Zhu Gaoxu himself admitted that after all, rebellion was a matter of keeping your head in your belt.
In the eyes of future generations, the rebellion of a certain person in the history books seems to be a matter of one sentence.
But history is not a story, they are all flesh and blood people.
When Zhu Gaoxu was personally on the scene, he realized that it was not that easy to decide to rebel.
Revealing the news to Hu Lun and the others, firstly, Zhu Gaoxu was telling everyone that he did not want to rebel, and secondly, he also wanted to gain time from Zhu Yunwen.
He has only recruited less than one-fifth of the Jurchens outside the Pass. If he could recruit them all, then he might be able to recruit an army of 40,000 to 50,000 people and have a greater chance of winning.
He did not consider himself a genius, otherwise he would not have thought of forging cannons and making matchlocks and flintlocks.
He did these things because he did not trust his own strength, because he did not think that he could defeat hundreds of thousands of Confederate troops with 10,000 or 20,000 people.
"How many military achievements did Hu Lun and the others have in Jilin?" Zhu Gaoxu asked Yi Shiha, wanting to know how many valuable things he had unknowingly given to Hu Lun and the others.
"My servant has checked and found that Hu Lun alone has more than 370 acres of land rewarded by military merit. Although the 749 people under his command have not checked carefully, we can estimate the total number and it should not be less than 30,000 acres."
There is no arrears in the Bohai military reward land. The total benefit of more than 30,000 acres of cultivated land is very large for this group of Jinyi guards, but the actual division is not much. This is why Zhu Gaoxu dare not trust Hu Lun and the others.
"Send a message to Wang Yi, Chen Chang, Xu Sheng, and Meng Zhang. From then on, you will contact Jilin City every ten days. If something goes wrong, they can lead their own troops to Jilin City."
Zhu Gaoxu gave instructions to Yishiha, and also made arrangements for Hu Lun and others' previous questions about the treasury documents: "For the treasury documents, you compile a half-truth and half-false book for Hu Lun and ask him to give it to Liu Fight them."
"There is little or no preparation for other things, only food. You need to prepare enough to eat until the autumn harvest."
"Yes" Yi Shiha agreed as always. He just followed Zhu Gaoxu's arrangements.
"How many armors are there in stock in the treasury? How many reserves have been recruited in Blackwater City? How many armors are still missing?"
Zhu Gaoxu asked questions one after another, and Yishiha started to answer them one by one after hearing them.
"There are 2,427 sets of armor in stock in the treasury."
"There are already more than 9,600 reserves in Blackwater City, and there is still a shortage of 6,916 sets of armor."
"There are already 17,600 large clay molds in reserve over there. Even if there is only 10% of the finished product, it will be enough for the subsequent forging of no less than 1,700 large pieces."
"As for small items, parts and tubes, in addition to 15,000 pieces, we have an additional 7,400 pieces in reserve."
"The large-scale iron car parts have also been forged and can be assembled at any time. The number is 500."
After Yishiha finished answering everything, Zhu Gaoxu also nodded and asked again: "How was the output in the three games?"
"Both the coal yard and the iron yard have dug out the outermost and most difficult areas. Together with the cement yard and its supporting limestone yard, a total of more than 3,400 workers have been recruited, producing 300,000 kilograms of coal every month. Around 36,000 kilograms of iron are produced, cement employs the most people and produces the most output, with a monthly output of 1.5 million kilograms."
Yi Shiha told Zhu Gaoxu the results of the three games, and Zhu Gaoxu was very satisfied with the output.
Even an iron smelting yard that produces less iron can produce 36,000 kilograms of iron. When used to forge artillery, you can get at least no less than 200 field cannons and no less than 800 sets of armor.
According to this progress, plus the amount of iron in the palace that Zhu Gaoxu knows, as long as he is determined to rebel, Jilin City can forge no less than 700 field cannons in about a month.
However, Zhu Gaoxu did not use that many field guns. According to his configuration, three hundred artillery pieces were actually enough.
What he lacks mainly are siege guns and naval guns that can quickly destroy the city.
"Let Wang Yuan and the others prepare clay molds for the large pieces used in sieges and ships in advance. The large pieces for field use can be quickly forged after drying in the shade."
Zhu Gaoxu explained to Yi Shiha, and then walked out of the hall.
After Yishu Ha Zuo bowed in agreement, he also left the Bohai Palace after Zhu Gaoxu left.
Zhu Gaoxu went to the former palace to find Guo Yan. Ever since Guo Yan knew that Zhu Yunwen had passed away and Zhu Yunwen came to the throne, she had been very worried about Guo Ying's situation, so Zhu Gaoxu had been comforting him.
Zhu Gaoxu was very relieved about Guo Ying's situation.
Although Zhu Yunwen was arrogant, he still took great care of the veterans left behind during the Hongwu period, especially veterans with outstanding martial arts skills like Guo Ying and Geng Bingwen.
He has evil intentions, but he is not stupid and knows how to deal with whom.
Facts have also proved that Zhu Gaoxu's idea was correct. At this time, Zhu Yunwen in the south did not harshly criticize the old officials of Hongwu who were related to the vassal king, but instead treated them with kindness.
When Guo Ying and other talents arrived in Guangning, they received Zhu Yunwen's decree to reward him, and nearly 2,000 guan of money was allocated to him. It can be said that Zhu Yuanzhang was too generous.
But for Guo Ying, he clearly remembers Lao Zhu's policy on Baochao.
After Zhu Gaoxu proposed the "Money Banknote Law", Zhu Yuanzhang never used treasure banknotes as rewards. Instead, he recycled treasure banknotes as much as possible so that the treasure banknotes on the market could maintain a certain value.
Now Zhu Yunwen has only been on the throne for less than a month and a half, but he has already begun to use the treasure coins recovered back then.
Although Guo Ying didn't understand how to manage money and food, he remembered that Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Gaoxu both said that the treasure banknotes recovered from the treasury should not be used lightly.
Thinking of this, Guo Ying gradually felt strange to the emperor's grandson who ascended the throne.
"If you follow what Mr. Wang said, then exempting the world from taxes is the only way to bring harmony to society, and restoring the "Zhou Rites" is the way to bring the world back to the heyday of Yao, Yong and Xi of the Tang Dynasty."
In early July, when the whole world was discussing the Jianwen New Deal, Zhu Yunwen in the capital of Yingtianfu was discussing "Zhou Rites" with an official in his early forties.
The two of them were sitting in Wuying Hall. Although Zhu Yunwen was the emperor, he faced the man in front of him like a student.
In this regard, the man sitting opposite him was very helpful, and at the same time he also expressed his own ideas: "I believe that the knowledge of literary writing cannot be used to govern the country. A king must always rule the world by declaring benevolence and righteousness in order to achieve the goal of governing the country. The scene of great harmony in the world."
After he said these words, Zhu Yunwen was deeply convinced. He nodded and asked again: "Nowadays, there are many talks about reducing vassal status in temples. What do you think, sir?"
"Only by accumulating the utmost sincerity and using great virtues to tie up with Heaven's heart can the court stand on the righteousness." This man talked eloquently: "To eliminate vassals, we must first start with those who have sinned in the past. In this way, the court will occupy righteousness, and all the vassals in the world will No one dares to disapprove."
"Students also agree!" After hearing what this person said, Zhu Yunwen nodded, and asked again: "Emperor Daxing has passed away, and there is no one available to compile the "Records of Taizu". Yunwen would like to ask you to compile it, how about it?"
"You have your orders, and I will do my best!" The man bowed in response, and Zhu Yunwen also spoke to Li Quan next to him, who was promoted to the eunuch of the Chief Ceremony Supervisor: "Mr. Fang was granted a doctorate in literature, the president's "Records of Taizu" and "Records of Taizu". "Lei Yao" many classics."
"My slave takes the order..." Li Quan agreed, and the person Zhu Yunwen called Mr. Fang was naturally the Jiangnan scholar Fang Xiaoru who had previously cheered him on among the people.
Hearing that his official position was promoted to a doctor of literature, Fang Xiaoru felt relieved, and Zhu Yunwen also turned around and asked again:
"Recently, students have merged with state and county health offices, which has caused a lot of discussion among civil and military officials in the temple. What do you think, sir?"
"Why did Your Majesty want to merge the state and county health offices?" Fang Xiaoru did not answer directly, but instead asked Zhu Yunwen.
When Zhu Yunwen heard this, he was not angry, but directly stated his reasons for merging the prefecture and county health offices.
"Students believe that among the chief secretaries, prefectures, prefectures, and counties, the existence of the state is too redundant, so merging the states and counties will make it easier for the court to sort out the local areas."
"As for the merger of the counties established by the garrison, it was a move discussed by the students with Emperor Gao during his lifetime."
"At that time, the students and Emperor Gao felt that there were many guard posts in the world, especially in the provinces in the mainland, which caused a heavy burden on the people."
"If some of the guard posts in the interior can be merged into counties, converted from military households to civilian households, and the generals' farmland is given to them as civilian land, it will undoubtedly reduce the burden on the guard posts and make the local area more stable."
Merger of the counties established by the guards was a pretty good policy among Zhu Yunwen's many policies in Jianwen's New Deal. After all, it was a policy approved by Zhu Yuanzhang, and there was generally no problem.
However, the current reason is that because there are too many proposed mergers of guard posts, the Fifth Army Governor's Office and local military attachés are very opposed to it. Such opposition makes Zhu Yunwen somewhat reluctant.
"Since this government is a benevolent government, why should your majesty worry?" Fang Xiaoru said eloquently.
"Throughout the ages, many powerful people have obstructed the imperial court's actions, all because the imperial court has touched their interests."
"The reason why the military attachés of the guard station objected was simply that they had a guilty conscience and were worried that their past violations in the guard station would be exposed, so they opposed it with all their strength."
Fang Xiaoru labeled all the military attachés who opposed the New Deal as criminals. After hearing this, Zhu Yunwen also nodded and said: "The warriors are vulgar, and many of them are able to live a life of fine clothing and fine food by exploiting their subordinates."
"With these words from sir, students will know what to do."
"Not only that." After hearing Zhu Yunwen's words, Fang Xiaoru also went further: "After merging the guard posts, how will your Majesty plan to deal with the military farmland?"
"Every military camp can be distributed to the people." He first agreed with Zhu Yunwen's policy, and then put forward his own opinion: "Dividing land is a trivial matter, and your Majesty should be worried about the affairs of the world."
"When I read the "History of the Song Dynasty", I found that the cultivated land in the previous Song Dynasty was twice that of the previous dynasty, but the reason why it cannot be reached today is because there are too many wastelands in the north."
"Therefore, I thought that we could move military households to the north, let them reclaim wasteland, and implement the ancient well field system."
"Well field system?" Zhu Yunwen frowned slightly, but Fang Xiaoru became interested and took the initiative to say: "There are many waste fields in the north, and a lot of land is abandoned, so the court can take back the land in these places, and then summon military households from the south of the Yangtze River to implement the well field system in the north. "
"This..." Zhu Yunwen hesitated. The problem Fang Xiaoru said existed and the solution was feasible. But according to what he said, the money and food from the south must be used to help the north.
In addition, since the land belonged to the court and not to individuals, allowing military households to go to the north to implement the well field system would undoubtedly be a jump from one guard system to another, which was completely unnecessary.
Moreover, if all the military households in the south of the Yangtze River were transferred to the north, without the supervision of the military households in the south of the Yangtze River, would the gentry and wealthy households in the south of the Yangtze River still be so honest?
Zhu Yunwen wanted to borrow their power, so he exempted them from taxes, but this did not mean that Zhu Yunwen could give up monitoring them. Therefore, after thinking about it, Zhu Yunwen smiled awkwardly and said: "Sir, this move is indeed a good idea, but at the moment the vassals are still in power." , this strategy is difficult to implement.”
"Your Majesty..." Fang Xiaoru wanted to say something else, but he heard singing and singing outside the hall.
"I, Huang Zicheng, Minister of Taichang Temple (Qitai, Minister of the Ministry of War), ask to see Your Majesty..."
"Pass!" Zhu Yunwen said to the outside of the hall. Not long after, he saw Huang Zicheng and Qi Tai walking into the hall, bowing five times and kowtowing three times to him.
When they took their seats, they first looked at each other with Fang Xiaoru, and then looked at Zhu Yunwen.
"How?" Zhu Yunwen's interest suddenly became high, and he was obviously looking forward to something.
In response to his expectations, Huang Zicheng also smiled and bowed: "Your Majesty, please rest assured that the affairs of Zhou Fan have been arranged. Now we are just waiting for your Majesty to dispatch troops and horses."
"Okay!" After hearing Huang Zicheng's words, Zhu Yunwen's eyes lit up, and he looked at Qi Tai: "Who do you think Mr. Qi should send to Henan?"
Faced with the inquiry, Qi Tai seemed to have been prepared for it, and said without thinking: "You can send Duke Cao to Kaifeng in the name of military training. This will not only make Duke Cao stand on your majesty's side, but also allow the military attachés around the world to understand the situation clearly."
After he said what he said, Zhu Yunwen nodded with satisfaction and raised a smile at the corner of his mouth.
"In this case, let's send Duke Cao to Henan."
(End of chapter)
