After what happened just now, Shen Zhanran knew that Zhu Yuanzhang was extremely intelligent and far-sighted, so he became more cautious.
He thought for a while and then said slowly: "The second thing is reinforcements. Master Li is right to choose the direction of reinforcements, but the means still need to be discussed."
"Because the imperial court has been encircling and suppressing the rebels for more than ten years. Not only has the rebels become more cunning, but it has also allowed some generals to become bigger and become the overlords of one party. If they want them to obey orders, a strict decree may not be enough."
"I feel that we should target each of their weaknesses in a targeted manner, so that they can quickly enter the capital to serve as King Qin."
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said, "Then tell me what their weaknesses are and how to deal with them?"
Shen Zhanran thought for a while and said: "I heard that Wu Sangui, the commander-in-chief of Ningyuan, is greedy and lustful, so I might as well grant him a false title in accordance with the strict decree."
"And sealing Shanhaiguan and other places he already controlled to him, and at the same time making some fuss about his concubine Chen Yuanyuan, will definitely make him come here at night."
"As for Zuo Liangyu, he is greedy and timid, and most of his subordinates have surrendered. Your Majesty might as well give him some false titles, and at the same time give his five subordinates titles, so that even if he doesn't want to, his subordinates will People will definitely urge him to move forward."
"Finally, there is Fengyang Governor Ma Shiying. Although this person nominally commands Gao Jie, Huang Degong and others, he is actually unable to control them."
"On the contrary, Shi Kefa, the Minister of War in Nanjing, has a reputation of loyalty and filial piety. Gao Jie and others also admire him very much. Your Majesty might as well order him to command the reinforcements. He should be more effective than Ma Shiying..."
Zhu Yuanzhang was also surprised when he saw that he knew the generals well.
However, he did not show it, but tried again: "The rebels have occupied Shanxi, and Liu Fangliang has besieged Baoding, and arranged for Ren Jirong, and Ma Chongxi to be in Zhending. I'm afraid it will not be easy for the southern army to go north, right?"
Shen Zhanran shook his head and said: "Thieves Li have only occupied Shanxi for more than a month, and it is simply impossible to set up an effective defense."
"Liu Fangliang seems to be maneuverable, but in fact it is a dead end. Because the Baoding defenders are not weak, Liu Fangliang will not be able to capture the city in the short term, so there is no mobility at all."
"As for Ren and Ma who are really determined, the story is false. They are not famous generals under Li Thief. I believe that the rebels they command do not have much fighting power."
"What's more, the key to this battle lies in the capital. Ma Shiying's army is in Zhengyang, Henan, and Zuo Liangyu is in Wuchang. There are more than a hundred roads leading to the capital. As long as your majesty gets the law, there is no need to worry about reinforcements not arriving!"
When Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, he nodded approvingly and said with a smile: "Okay, your suggestions are all good, let you and Xin Lehou start to deal with them!"
When Shen Zhanran heard this, he shook his head repeatedly and said: "This is absolutely impossible. Although Xin Lehou is loyal, he is far away from the government and is not familiar with the generals of all parties."
"And Wei Chen only looked through the files and memorials of these people in the afternoon, and made inferences based on previous rumors, so he was unable to complete this task independently."
After hearing Shen Zhanran's explanation, Zhu Yuanzhang admired him even more and said with a smile: "Then who do you think is the right person to do this?"
Shen Zhanran was silent for a while and said: "I think this matter must be done by Master Fan Jingwen, the great scholar!"
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said: "Fan Qing is indeed a suitable candidate, but if we choose him, you can only be a deputy at most. Isn't this wronging you?"
Shen Zhanran quickly knelt down and said, "Today, I only wish that the capital is safe and that your Majesty's country is stable. I have no other thoughts than this!"
Zhu Yuanzhang laughed and said: "Okay, we get it. Get up. We know you still have something to say, so let's say it all!"
After Shen Zhanran stood up slowly, his expression became more reserved, completely different from his behavior on the city wall today.
He bowed slightly and said: "Your Majesty, I do have one thing that I haven't said yet, which is how to deploy reinforcements and recover the lost territory after the siege of the capital is lifted."
At this time, a young eunuch came in to report that Wei Zaode, Zhang Jinyan, Zhu Chunchen and others were outside the door asking for an audience.
Zhu Yuanzhang smiled slightly, asked Shen Zhanran to stand aside, and then asked the young eunuch to bring them in.
When Wei Zaode and others saw that Shen Zhanran was also there, a look of surprise flashed across their faces, and then they hurriedly saluted Zhu Yuanzhang.
After Zhu Yuanzhang signaled them to level up, he asked them their purpose of coming.
Wei Zaode and others said that there was nothing important, but because the rebels suddenly attacked the city, they were afraid of disturbing Zhu Yuanzhang, so they hurried in to say hello.
After Zhu Yuanzhang praised their loyalty, he asked Zhang Jinyan about tracking down the eunuchs selling firearms and whether he had obtained evidence of the purchases by wealthy households.
Zhang Jinyan was stunned for a while after hearing this, and then said awkwardly that everything had been arranged, but because it was too late, the result might not be available until tomorrow.
Zhu Yuanzhang saw that Zhu Chunchen and others were secretly dissatisfied with Zhang Jinyan, smiled and encouraged him to deal with it quickly, and then let them all go back.
Not long after Wei Zaode and others left, the young eunuch came in again and reported that Fan Jingwen, Ni Yuanlu, Li Jing, Meng Zhaoxiang and others wanted to see him.
Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at Shen Zhanran, and then asked the young eunuch to bring them all in.
After Fan Jingwen and others came in, they were as surprised as Wei Zaode and others when they saw Shen Zhanran.
Only Li Jing looked happy and smiled and congratulated Shen Zhanran.
The reason why they entered the palace was the same. They were worried that the sound of rebel artillery would disturb Zhu Yuanzhang, so they came in specially to say hello.
After Zhu Yuanzhang also praised their loyalty, he asked about Ni Yuanlu's donations and Li Jing's salary raising.
Li Jing saw that Ni Yuanlu looked troubled, so she first told her about raising money from the emperor's relatives and wealthy households.
According to his story, about 50,000 taels of military pay have been raised so far, but most of it is paid at shops in the city. The royal relatives and honorable men either have no money or are not at home, so it is quite difficult to raise the pay.
Therefore, he suggested that merchants directly collect 10% of the commercial tax based on the transaction income, and the royal relatives and nobles could also receive a fixed rate based on the number of acres of land to avoid mutual blame.
Zhu Yuanzhang did not express his position after hearing this, but looked at everyone present.
Seeing that no one spoke, Shen Zhanran took the initiative to stand up.
He pointed out that the deadline for commercial tax is difficult to define, and there are problems with the collection base, which can easily lead to disputes.
Moreover, taxes have been nominally paid on the acres of land owned by the emperor's relatives and relatives. If this is used to raise wages again, I am afraid it will also cause dissatisfaction.
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded approvingly and suggested that Li Jing increase his efforts to raise wages, record the specific situation, and report to him later.
When he said this, he also deliberately looked at Fan Jingwen and others, and then asked Ni Yuanlu again about the silver donations from officials.
Ni Yuanlu said with a look of shame that he had only received about 15,000 taels of silver so far, but fortunately, he had received millions of silver during the inspection of wealthy households in the afternoon, which had solved the problem of feeding the soldiers.
As for the remaining silver, the Ministry of War proposed to repay the arrears. However, because the arrears reported by the Ministry of War were too large, he withdrew it and asked Zhu Yuanzhang to judge it.
Zhu Yuanzhang did not express his position after hearing this, and Li Jing stood up again and said that the list of the Ministry of War was extremely watery.
It would be a waste of money for the generals and exploiting the soldiers. He suggested going directly to the city gates to distribute the money on a per-person basis to boost morale.
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and agreed to his plan and asked him to assist Ni Yuanlu in handling the matter.
Fan Jingwen was slightly startled, then frowned in thought.
At this time, Meng Zhaoxiang reported the execution at dusk, and suggested tactfully that the killing today was too heavy. In the future, similar incidents should only be executed by the leader, so that everyone in the city would not be in danger.
However, although he was subtle, Zhu Yuanzhang made it clear.
Zhu Yuanzhang believed that it was precisely because people in the city were in panic at this moment that he had to use the heads of rebels and surrenderers to bring order to the chaos.
As for the family members of those who surrendered, they seemed innocent, but in fact they were not.
Firstly, most of them supported or acquiesced in surrendering, and secondly, they often enjoyed ill-gotten gains, so it was not an exaggeration to kill them.
Finally, he also pointed out that if law enforcement is not strict at this moment, it will inevitably lead to all kinds of rhetoric, and officials will be involved in endless human rights and disputes, and they will not be able to conduct normal affairs at all.
At the same time, it will also allow some lawless people to feel lucky and continue to help the rebels.
Therefore, all those who surrender will be beheaded, but the crime of involvement will not be carried out.
After hearing Zhu Yuanzhang's words, Meng Zhaoxiang retreated thoughtfully.
At this time, Fan Jingwen, who had been silent, suddenly spoke and brought the topic to retreating from the enemy.
He tactfully pointed out the shortcomings in Li Jing's plan, and the solution was roughly the same as Shen Zhanran's just now.
So Zhu Yuanzhang told Shen Zhanran's suggestion, and appointed him full-time responsible for urging reinforcements, and also asked Shen Zhanran to assist him.
After Fan Jingwen respectfully accepted the errand, he glanced at Shen Zhanran in surprise, and then left with everyone.
After Zhu Yuanzhang waited for Fan Jingwen and others to leave, he looked at Shen Zhanran and said, "Shen Qing, do you think anyone will come soon?"
Shen Zhanran was shocked when he heard this, and his expression changed drastically.
Then he said respectfully: "I don't know much about the princes in the court, but I think that Xin Yuehou should be on the way here."
As soon as he finished speaking, he saw the young eunuch running in again to report that Liu Wenbing, Gong Yonggu and others were outside seeking an audience.
Zhu Yuanzhang pointed at Shen Zhanran and said with a smile: "You, you, are still literati in nature. We just asked casually to see how scared you were!"
After that, he said to the little eunuch: "Go and invite Xin Lehou and others in."
