In the first month of the eighth year of Chongzhen, Liu Chengzong took his entire family back to the Marshal's Mansion in Lanzhou.
He stayed in Xincheng for seven days during the Chinese New Year. During those days, apart from going hunting with his wives, he was not idle at all. He also secretly did some minor things.
On the morning of the tenth day of the first lunar month when I returned, I was having dinner with my parents and wives in the side hall, when Yu Lin rode outside the hall and said, "Commander, Xining has sent some books."
"I know, leave it in the study and go eat quickly."
It's not that Liu Shizi cares about his subordinates, but his schedule is already full. Today, the Huangshui Dragon King Temple on the west bank of the river mouth is completed. He has to go over and meet the Dragon King to explain the next precautions and reward and punishment measures to the Dragon King. There will be more in the evening. In Xigu to help the flood victims, Yu Linqi could have a full meal this morning, but he would have to eat fried noodles on the road later.
In fact, Liu Shizi doesn't believe this, but who said that respecting the people's beliefs is the foundation of the Marshal's Mansion? If the people need it, they have to repair it, and he has to go.
In fact, people may not all believe it. After all, there is no Dragon King Temple anywhere. The previous Dragon King Temple in Hehuang was smashed by angry mountain people because it didn't rain last year, so the Marshal's Mansion built another Dragon King Temple.
Liu Chengzong felt that it was not good for the people to smash the Dragon King Temple, and he had already reprimanded the people: When asking for help, you have to use soft and hard tactics. If you are too tough, you just smash the Dragon King Temple. In the future, if you ask for rain instead of rain, this is how you ask for help. Attitude in doing things?
So not only did he have to meet the Dragon King today, he also had to apologize to the Dragon King.
An apology is an apology, and the rewards and punishments must be agreed upon in advance. If the weather goes well, no one else will tell. Liu Chengzong personally goes to the Dragon King Temple to offer incense to the Dragon King. When he should kowtow and bow, the incense will continue to be offered to the Dragon King. Even if he repairs another Big temples are not a problem either.
But if you take the benefits and don't work, then there will be ugly stories ahead.
The Dragon King Temple is built at the mouth of the Yellow River downstream of the Huang River. It is a specially selected location. The terrain is very low. If the Dragon King rains and causes flooding, flood the Dragon King Temple first.
If it doesn’t rain when it’s supposed to rain, there’s a saying: pull you out to dry in the sun when it’s time to dry. If it doesn’t rain even if the clay-body golden statue is cracked by the sun, Liu Shizi will have someone put a big guillotine in the Dragon King Temple. , the leader will give you a blow.
Our Marshal's Mansion does not raise idle gods!
As for relieving the victims, it was Liu Chengzong's responsibility. After two locust plagues last year, the autumn grain was not harvested, and most of it was damaged. The people had a bad year, and Liu Shishi had to worry about the next year.
Xining Prefecture implements the tax law of equalizing land to buy grain and military garrisons. This brings great help to the Marshal's Mansion in peacetime, but when trouble occurs, it also places higher demands on the administrative capabilities of the Marshal's Mansion.
Last year, the summer grain was very good, but the autumn grain production was reduced by more than half, and Xining Mansion could not buy anything. Only the army farmland, because it was in the Yaoshui River Basin, avoided the locust plague, and could still afford 150,000 dan to store grain, but this grain was not in the Marshal's Mansion. To cover up the heat, we have to use it to help the people.
After planning, Yang Dingrui, the prefect of Xining, planned to provide relief to Xining Prefecture with 160,000 shi of rice and 120,000 taels of silver. The money and food were not much, but when they were divided among the people of Xining and Lintao, it was not even enough for one person and one shi. rice, one tael of silver.
But to say less is still a lot. Liu Chengzong is the only person in the world at this moment who can spend this money and food on the people.
It's not that Liu Shishi is a kind person, he can't help it. The tax laws of the Marshal's Mansion are different from other places. Essentially, this monster relies on dividing the land to break the influence of clans, landlords, and nobles. Banning smuggling makes the people isolated and helpless. , further use silver to buy grain, and collect the grain from the hands of the people; finally, use the materials produced by the Baigong Bureau to recover the spent silver.
This set of things allowed him to support a large army with a small population and create a huge amount of military resources, but the consequence was that he had to take care of it when something happened, because it was he who caused the people to be isolated and helpless. The more power you take away from people, the more things you have to manage.
A system is a machine in which all key components work well together. If one part breaks, the machine stops allowing it, and the system is broken.
At the dining table, Liu Xiangyu saw that he was mysterious and had almost finished the meal, so he asked: "What books did Xining send me?"
Liu Chengzong smiled and said, "Come with me to see it. It's a treasure."
The two went to the study together. As soon as Liu Xiangyu entered, he saw the red cloth package on the table. When he opened it and saw several thread-bound books, he frowned immediately.
Because these books were all the same, they were printed with engravings, and the cover showed a beautifully painted snowy river, called Zhongyi Zhiyong Hexi Zhuan. Mr. Liu was confused: "This is... an embroidered comic strip?"
Liu Shishi smiled and nodded. He also took a volume and flipped through it. While reading, he said, "I compiled the storybook. I specially asked a painter to draw the embroidery. The painting is pretty good... What do you think of this?"
He had written the story, and the plot was very familiar. He just looked at the painting skills, nodded with satisfaction, and asked Liu Xiangyu his opinion on this matter.
Liu Xiangyu didn't understand.
In his opinion, Liu Chengzong should focus on more meaningful things. It is a troubled time right now, and the dignified generalissimo actually wrote a storybook. You are not a scholar who has not even passed the exam!
Of course, taking a step back, the backgrounds of scholars, juren, and jinshi who came from the imperial examination have long been meaningless to Liu Chengzong. In peacetime, the imperial examination was a means to win over talented and learned people, giving these people a chance to get ahead, lest they They rebelled, so the questions became more and more confusing and pragmatic.
But now that the Ming Dynasty is at a critical stage, Emperor Chongzhen’s palace examination is extremely pragmatic, just to select talents who can reverse the situation...those talents, so what if they are number one, they are not as good as his second son!
The topic of last year's palace examination was widely circulated, and Liu Xiangyu knew it. Chongzhen asked eight questions, namely, the scholar-bureaucrats' improper behavior, Guan Ningdenjin heavy troops to defend the captives, the spread of rogue bandits to support the people and the army, the salt law in the field was not effective, and the military Food and war horses were cut off and owed, how pirates and northern pirates united to work outside the border, how frequent floods and droughts were eliminated, and why the separation of civil and military families was unbreakable.
It can be said that Master Chongzhen threw out all the doubts in his mind and formulated these eight questions, each of which is a bombshell, in order to select a talented person with great experience in the world.
Isn't this a joke? Who can answer this kind of question in a 2,000-word exam paper?
People who can solve these eight problems will never take part in the palace examination, because without exception, they are the problems themselves.
Huang Taiji himself is one of the problems. He can solve other problems, such as the improper style of scholar-bureaucrats, and solve them easily by playing the Eight Flags of Manchuria card.
Liu Chengzong himself is also one of the problems. For example, the problem of the alliance of pirates and northern pirates does not exist. It is the very respectful lord of our Generalissimo's Palace who unites around Liu Dahan. How can it be a problem? As for other problems, Except for floods and droughts, which cannot be solved, other problems are not big problems.
But it is unrealistic to expect a Jinshi to solve this problem. This is not an exam, but a wish.
Last year, the emperor finally selected an old champion named Liu Lishun who failed to pass the examination in ten years. He was originally ranked 273, but was selected as the champion by Chongzhen. There was nothing meaningful in the answer sheet, and there were eight questions in one None of it has been solved, it's all correct nonsense, very consistent with Master Chongzhen's simple and crude fantasy, and it can be considered a successful wish.
This is not to blame for the lack of talent of the old number one scholar. When it comes to the palace examination, everyone is a great talent in the world, but the manpower is limited. The eight problems of Emperor Chongzhen cannot be solved by one person at all.
Mr. Liu had too high expectations for his second son. Now he saw that Liu Shishi was actually focusing on making comic books. He frowned and said, "Lion, I know I like reading, but now is not the time. You should wait and see when you can give it to yourself." Get promoted."
Liu Shizi smiled when he heard this. His father said that asking him to promote him was a matter of becoming king.
Years ago, Yang Qi sent many long letters involving the war in Monan. The information was very detailed. The Marshal's Mansion compiled the information into a book and had a clearer understanding of Hou Jin's strength.
The troops of the Three Khans of Mobei fought several battles with the Mongolian armies of Harashen and Horqin. There were not many direct confrontations between the Monan Governor's Palace and the Hou Jin Army. Only He Huchen's troops fought one battle with Kong Youde's troops, which was regarded as suppressing Kong Youde. Beaten up.
But that was all. The Jin army retreated in a hurry and was pursued by the Chusai Ming army. In order to seize the victory, the Monan Governor's Office fought several battles with the Chusai Ming army.
The army in Mobei mobilized troops and failed to seize the war profits; Tumut in Monan successfully rebelled against Houjin, but suffered excessive losses due to internal strife; Harashen's tribe was frightened away, and all military supplies in the camp were lost; Houjin's army suffered a loss of troops and horses Returning empty-handed would give you the honor of going deep into the three broken cities of Ming Realm.
The Ming army pursued Hou Jin and obtained many heads, but the spoils were taken away by Yang Qi again, which was a loss of face and dignity.
As for Yang Qi, he robbed Harashen and the Ming army's belongings, but failed to achieve his mission of fighting the Eight Banners. However, he still had to deploy 100,000 Mobei troops and faced the resentment of the Ming border troops. The finishing work was also very troublesome.
Overall, this was a battle in which all forces failed.
Of course, there are some who insist on winning from the fire. The Ming army's generals who performed well in field battles and defending the city were rewarded after the war. Among them, the one who shined most was Pingyang General Fu Renxi.
In fact, Fu Renxi's role in the war was not as great as that of Quan Ying of Shoulongmen. He forced the Eight Banners to cremate thousands of corpses, but he himself also lost more than half... But in fact, this was how the Ming army dealt with the Eight Banners. The best method is that it doesn't matter whether you lose or win, just seize the opportunity to fight one by one, or even two by one. If you win 20,000 in glory, the Eight Banners themselves will be afraid of fighting.
But Lord Chongzhen likes things that boost his energy.
He killed more than a thousand others, and Zhong Quanying himself suffered casualties of a thousand and five, which is not a big deal.
Fu Renxi died more than a hundred times himself, and killed more than 600 others. Don't care whether he was a man in armor or not, cheer up!
Mr. Fu was directly promoted from an inland battalion to a general, commanded the general affairs when he entered the army, was promoted to deputy commander-in-chief of Datong, and was awarded the title of Shiyin, who was a member of hundreds of royal guards, just like celebrating the New Year.
After the war, this guy Yang Qi led his troops to kill Hukou. The villain first complained. Afterwards, the Jin army was obviously afraid of him and was scared away, but the Ming army went out to snatch his trophies and planned to have a big fight with the Ming army at the Datong border. At the scene, Fu Renxi, who had just taken office, did not know what was going on and led his troops to the border to send envoys to confront Yang Qi.
After a chat between the two sides, Fu Renxi said, "I was very grateful to Marshal Liu back then."
Yang Qixun thought that it was his own family, so he led his troops away in despair. Fu Renxi even received a commendation from the court for this matter.
Of course, Yang Qi, the Three Khans of Mobei and even Tumote's Omubu later received commendations from the emperor for sending troops.
No matter how confused Chongzhen was, he could see at this moment that Liu Chengzong was indeed helping him deal with foreign enemies. With Yang Qi's army stationed in Monan, the activities of the Later Jin Army could be limited to Shanhaiguan and Jizhen. It will not spread outside Xuanda.
What's more, he always wanted to get back together. Now that the Hetao has been recaptured by Liu Chengzong, and the Monan Governor's Mansion is so far away from the Qinghai Marshal's Mansion, communication between them is not smooth. This is an opportunity. As long as Yang Qi is brought over, the Hetao will be back. ?
At this juncture, Chongzhen didn't even take the loss of land in the northwest seriously.
He even wanted to reward Liu Chengzong... Mainly because he discovered that Liu Shizi was making such a big fuss in the northwest, beating him here and there, beating him here and there, and beat the Ministry of Household and Military Affairs from a sad face to a happy face.
Since the fourth year of Chongzhen's reign, the imperial court's tax collection has entered the most difficult period. There are wars and disasters everywhere, so that the tax collection is not going satisfactorily, with only a 30% completion rate.
After all, the whole of Shaanxi is a large tax arrears, so it is impossible to complete the collection; the grain collected by Gansu was eaten up by the Gansu border troops without even having to be shipped, and they even had to go to the Ministry of War to ask for grain.
Liu Shizi made such a fuss and cut out Gansu and Lintao Gongchang. The imperial court's completion rate increased to 40%, which increased its performance.
From Chongzhen's point of view: My taxes have dropped by a small amount, my expenditures have dropped by a lot, and the balance has actually increased!
But in the end he was not shameless enough to reward Liu Chengzong, so he could only think about it in his mind and let it go.
For Liu Xiangyu, what concerned him most about the letter sent by Yang Qi was that Huang Taiji's army could enter and leave Xuanda, and drive the Han soldiers to fight without damaging the roots. This meant that Liu Chengzong sent Yang Qi to fight for hegemony in the desert. Nan, ruined Huang Taiji's big event.
The next struggle between the two sides around Monan will become more intense. They must open up Ningxia as soon as possible and provide support to the Monan Governor's Office.
If we continue to act in the name of Qinghai Generalissimo and Daiqing Khitan Khan, it will be somewhat unfair.
Liu Chengzong knew what his father meant, but he did not intend to proclaim himself king or emperor. Proclaiming himself king meant little to him, and proclaiming emperor was putting the cart before the horse. He even wanted to urge Huang Taiji to proclaim himself emperor quickly.
Chongzhen is alive, and I have no nose or eyes for him. If you, Huang Taiji, help send Chongzhen Lord Long Yu Bintian, I, Liu Shizi, will immediately transform into the sword of the landlord class. As the most loyal general of the Ming Dynasty, Xingyi Division will avenge my father!
Facing his father's confusion, Liu Chengzong smiled and said: "You'd better open this comic and read it. I want to use this to establish the General Affairs Department. This is a powerful tool for us to enter Guanzhong."
good afternoon!
(End of chapter)
