"Ni Qing, go back and tell the clan members who fled south that we don't have any salary. If they want military pay, we can raise some for them."
"We made... Taizu made them vassal kings to let them guard the border, not to make them slaves, drink maids, eat and wait for death."
"We are worried about the current chaos in the north. It's just that they don't want to serve the country. Instead, they blindly ask for it and ignore the safety of the country. They are simply bastards."
"If they don't know how to advance or retreat, we will definitely..."
As Zhu Yuanzhang spoke, he saw the surprised expressions on everyone's faces, and immediately realized that his current identity was Chongzhen, and some of his words just now were indeed too much.
So he suppressed the anger in his heart and said to Ni Yuanlu: "Ni Qing, just embellish what we just said and tell them."
"If they are dissatisfied, let them come to us and we will give them an explanation."
Hearing this, Ni Yuanlu hesitated for a while and then said: "Your Majesty, I know that you are angry, but the number of clan members is huge, nearly 200,000."
"They are intertwined with each other and rely on each other. If your Majesty does not pay the salary, I am afraid that the clan in the south will cause trouble and the world will be in chaos. Please think twice."
When Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, he remembered that the mysterious ten thousand rebels must be the soldiers and horses of one or more vassal kings in the south, and he was immediately furious.
He snorted coldly and shouted angrily: "You think... this is a matter of salary. Now the people are hungry and mourning is everywhere."
"If we don't hesitate to use our people's resources and continue to let our clan members live in luxury, won't we chill the hearts of people all over the world?"
"Once the people's morale is weakened, how can we quell the rebellion and stabilize the country?"
When Ni Yuanlu saw Zhu Yuanzhang angry, she didn't dare to say anything at the moment and had to stand aside.
Fan Jingwen, Wang Jiayan, and Jiang Dejing were also shocked by Zhu Yuanzhang's words and deeds, and they all fell silent.
At this time, Shen Zhanran suddenly said: "Your Majesty, the clan is related to the dignity of the royal family after all. If they have no food and clothing, the people will lose confidence."
"In my humble opinion, I might as well follow the previous practice and allocate a quarter's salary first, and at the same time call on the clan members to train troops to quell the rebellion. What do you think, Your Majesty?"
As soon as Shen Zhanran finished speaking, Wang Jiayan immediately objected: "No, the reason why Taizu asked his clan members to guard the border was because the Beijing army was strong at that time."
"There is a war in the north now, and most of our clansmen are in the south. Once they join forces and separatist power, the disaster will be greater than the rebels. This is definitely not feasible."
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the two of them and said solemnly: "It is imperative for clan members to train their troops, but they must do so in the original place."
"If the fiefdom has not yet been recovered, troops will be trained closer to the fiefdom. In short, the court will not raise useless people."
"In addition, officials from various states are ordered to pay close attention to the movements of clan members and provide appropriate support if they are indeed in difficulty."
"But for able-bodied people who are unwilling to serve the imperial court, they will not be given salary. If any clan members dare to gather a crowd to rebel, they will be beheaded immediately."
"Those who have rebelled for more than three generations will have their names removed from the genealogy, and their descendants will not be allowed to have the surname Zhu..."
When everyone heard this, their expressions changed.
"Qing Jiang, regarding the unclear land property, you should immediately organize people to measure it. Back then, Taizu was able to measure the world's land, but we didn't believe it. We couldn't even check this part of the capital!"
When everyone was surprised, Zhu Yuanzhang said again: "If you take the initiative to hand over the excess land before you conduct an inventory, you can forget about it."
"For those who maliciously conceal information and are stubborn, they must pay the taxes they owe and be punished in accordance with the law. We cannot tolerate them!"
Jiang Dejing heard this and said with some worry: "Your Majesty, the world is not at peace now. If the punishment is too excessive, I am afraid that it will trigger a civil uprising, which will be detrimental to the overall situation!"
Zhu Yuanzhang sneered: "Civil uprising? Are they our people?"
"Don't worry, you can do this. We will ask the Ministry of War to station troops later. Even if you give them ten courages, they will not dare to rebel."
"In addition, when you recruit people, you must do a good job in registration management. After they stabilize, you must strictly implement the Lijia system."
"Especially the road guide regulations for the refugees must be implemented. All the people who have settled down after being allocated fields are not allowed to leave without permission if there is no road guide. Anyone who disobeys the order will be punished for collaborating with the enemy!"
"Then again, the matter of complaining about grievances must be implemented effectively. If something happens again where the grievances are not heard and the people have no way to complain, we will be the first to hold the county magistrate accountable!"
As he spoke, he ignored the surprised Jiang Dejing and looked at Ni Yuanlu and Shen Zhanran again.
Then he continued: "Ni Qing, Shanxi is more chaotic than the capital. We hope you will deal with it and try to complete the land and other matters within a month."
"Furthermore, there are more plagues in Shanxi. You must be prepared when you go. Don't let farm production, plague, etc. affect the farming."
Ni Yuanlu was stunned when he heard this, and looked at Zhu Yuanzhang in surprise.
You must know that the Ministry of Household Affairs is the top priority now that Beijing is resuming production.
At this moment, Zhu Yuanzhang asked him to leave the capital, which meant that he would be dismissed from the post of Minister of Household Affairs.
Although Ni Yuanlu has a noble nature, she doesn't care much about fame and fortune.
But at this moment, he was dismissed without charge, and he was filled with anger.
"Shen Qing, we remember that you once studied medicine with Wu Youxing. You will also go to help this time. Of course, it would be better if you can find your master!"
Just when Ni Yuanlu was angry, Zhu Yuanzhang's voice sounded again.
When Ni Yuanlu heard this, she was shocked again.
Because he knew that although Shen Zhanran was only a bachelor of the Imperial Academy, he had won the trust of Zhu Yuanzhang and seemed to have the tendency to become the next chief minister.
At this moment, seeing that Zhu Yuanzhang actually sent Shen Zhanran to Shanxi, he was a little confused for a moment, not knowing what medicine the other party was selling in his gourd.
After hearing Zhu Yuanzhang's words, Shen Zhanran first showed an expression of relief on his face.
Then he pretended to be frightened and knelt down to thank him and said, "I accept the decree!"
Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at Shen Zhanran, then turned to Fan Jingwen and said, "Fan Qing, you have to work harder these days since Ni Qing leaves the capital and shoulder the burden of the household department for us!"
"Regarding tax matters, what we mean is that all those who have newly obtained land will be exempted from taxes this year. You can leave the specific affairs to Shen Weibing, the left minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, and others..."
Fan Jingwen was stunned when he heard this, then bowed and responded.
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at everyone again and said: "Okay, this matter has been settled. You will all sort out the affairs at hand and perform your duties as soon as possible."
"This matter is related to the fate of our nation. I hope you will go all out. If we hear of you being bullied and buck-passing again, we will never be lenient."
"Do you remember them all?"
When everyone heard this, they felt a sharp murderous aura coming towards their faces, and their bodies could not help but tremble slightly.
However, when they saw Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes, they suppressed their fear, bowed and responded, and then slowly left Dongnuan Pavilion under the urgent urging in their hearts.
After Zhu Yuanzhang waited for everyone to leave, he stood up and came to the case again. He checked Kun Yutu repeatedly, and at the same time kept calculating the time in his mind.
In fact, he had been thinking about those plans just now for a long time, but he had not implemented them because the war was still pending.
And this morning, he received a secret report from Wu Mengming that Zuo Liangyu had captured Taiyuan with the help of Fan Beidou and others.
What happened was as he had expected. In order to gain the support of Fan Beidou and others, Zuo Liangyu not only failed to resettle the people, but instead helped the Eight Families to deprive many good people of their land.
Although the local people were very angry about this, they finally tolerated it because Zuo Liangyu had soldiers.
But Zhu Yuanzhang knew that this was just the calm before the storm.
Because when such anger reaches a certain level, it will inevitably start a prairie fire.
Therefore, his plan to stabilize the people must be implemented as soon as possible.
He was still hesitant at first, but just as Jiang Dejing and others were quarreling over this today, he announced the plan in advance.
It's just that although what he just said was tough, he was actually not calm in his heart, because there is still a hidden danger, and that is the war situation in Liaodong.
If Liu Wenbing cannot contain the Jurchens, war will break out again in the capital, Shanxi and other places, and his plan to calm the people will also be hindered.
Once the peace of the people is not good, the harvest of this season will be missed, and the transportation of grain from the south to the north will last for a year, and the changes in the meantime will be huge.
Thinking of this, Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes were firmly fixed on Kun Yutu's Liaodong territory.
