Chapter 118
The night was already very late, and Emperor Chongzhen, the young emperor of the Ming Dynasty, was still sitting in the side hall. He was very angry at this time. The civil and military ministers in the dynasty were all useless, but no one could understand his mind.
At this time, he began to think of Sun Chengzong who was driven away. Sun Chengzong was a very smart man. During the Battle of the Breach, he, the emperor, lost face. It was Sun Chengzong who led his troops to recover the four cities of Yongping. It was Sun Chengzong who In order to regain face for himself, he launched the Battle of Daling River.
Emperor Chongzhen, who was belatedly aware of the situation, now vaguely understood that the Battle of Daling River was a little anxious. The Ming Dynasty was not prepared enough and should wait, even if it waits for another two and a half months, until the autumn grain is stored in the warehouse.
At that time, the weather was already cold, and Zu Dashou would definitely prepare firewood and coal for burning, as well as sufficient food and clothes. More importantly, Jiannu would not be able to hold on for long in the cold wind outside the city. It's really two and a half months too late, maybe the outcome of the Battle of Daling River will be rewritten.
Unfortunately, he was too impatient and forced Sun Chengzong to send troops, leaving Sun Chengzong to take the blame.
Of course, the emperor cannot make mistakes, and only capable ministers can make mistakes.
Emperor Chongzhen looked at the eunuch Wang Chengen beside him and said: "Wang Banban!"
"The slave is here!"
"Go pick some precious medicinal materials from the inner palace, take the imperial doctor with you, and go to Gaoyang..."
Wang Chengen asked with some uncertainty: "What does the emperor mean..."
"Please comfort Mr. Sun Ge for me!"
"Yes, this slave takes the order!"
Emperor Chongzhen can only use this method to appease his old ministers. Hopefully others can see his intentions. The current Emperor Chongzhen is like some scumbags on campus. When he likes someone, he can completely tolerate all her shortcomings and treat her infinitely well. When he has a new target, he will punish her to death.
At first, when Yuan Chonghuan was in the emperor's heart, he made a big deal for the young emperor. Emperor Chongzhen believed Yuan Chonghuan's lies. Yuan Chonghuan asked Zu Dashou to serve as the commander-in-chief of Ningyuan and Jinzhou, and Chongzhen agreed. He Kegang was asked to replace Zhu Mei in guarding the distance, and Zhao led the army to guard Shanhaiguan. Chongzhen also agreed directly without hesitation.
Yuan Chonghuan failed to mobilize Mao Wenlong, so he ordered to kill Mao Wenlong, the general of Pingliao, the governor of Zuo, and the commander-in-chief of the Dongjiang Army. Mao Wenlong was an upright man, wielding Shang Fang's sword, and acted cheaply. This power was given to Mao Wenlong by Emperor Chongzhen, but Yuan Chonghuan killed Mao Wenlong, and Emperor Chongzhen also held his nose and recognized it.
It was not until the Jisi Incident that Huang Taiji sent hundreds of thousands of troops into Longjing Pass and Da'ankou respectively, and tens of thousands of soldiers and horsemen came to the capital. Emperor Chongzhen finally realized that he had been tricked by Yuan Chonghuan.
At this time, Emperor Chongzhen was like a little virgin who had been cheated on. His love for Yuan Chonghuan was as deep as his hatred. Of course, Yuan Chonghuan was cheated.
Although there are countless people on the Internet complaining about Yuan Chonghuan and calling out his injustice. Just ask, as the governor of Ji, Liao, Tianjin, Baoding, Deng, Lai, and other places, he was also the commander of the largest military region in the Ming Dynasty. He allowed hundreds of thousands of slaves to swarm in and march to the capital. , built slaves and plundered more than ten cities in Shuntian Prefecture, Yongping Prefecture, and Zunhua Prefecture. Liangxiang, Gu'an, Xianghe, and Sanhe were massacred. Hundreds of thousands of people were killed, and two to three hundred thousand people were arrested. Let’s go, we will lose more than 10 million taels of money...
In this case, is Yuan Chonghuan still innocent?
What if this is innocent? So what is malfeasance? Is this the most serious crime of malfeasance?
What is the logic of those Yuan fans who aggrieved Yuan Chonghuan? At this time, what Yuan Chonghuan of the Ming Dynasty did was similar in nature to Marshal Zhang and Han Fuqu. They were afraid of the enemy and avoided fighting, so they killed Yuan Chonghuan. This was the reason enough.
Now Chongzhen finally found a capable minister and wanted to reuse Cheng Shijie, but these ministers pretended to be deaf and dumb...
Of course, Emperor Chongzhen could never know how much effort the civil servants and bureaucracy put into suppressing military generals and having the right to speak. After the Tumubao Incident, they wiped out all the military heroes in the dynasty. How satisfying it was. , they suppressed the military attaches for more than a hundred years, how could they make the military attaches raise their heads?
When Emperor Chongzhen wanted to reward Xu Guangqi, the civil servants and bureaucracy immediately agreed, and Xu Guangqi served as the chief minister of the cabinet. If he promoted Sun Yuanhua, a scholar, to serve as governor of Shandong and Liaodong, there would be no problem.
No matter how bad Sun Yuanhua is, even if he is not a Jinshi, he is still a fellow Confucian scholar.
Who is Cheng Shijie?
A martial artist, born into a hereditary military family.
Of course, if Cheng Shijie is willing to study conscientiously and pass the Jinshi exam like Yuan Keli of Guide Prefecture, he can become a feudal official even if he is a candidate.
It's a pity that he is just a martial artist.
The meanest warrior.
"His Majesty!"
Queen Zhou walked into the imperial study with ginseng soup.
"Your Majesty, it's late at night. You need to take care of yourself. It's time to rest!"
Emperor Chongzhen turned and looked at Queen Zhou: "Queen, tell me, Cheng Shijie...how should I reward him?"
"Your Majesty, the harem is not allowed to interfere in politics!"
In the Ming Dynasty, there was only one queen who had served in politics, and that was Zhu Yuanzhang's Queen Ma. This queen could escape with Zhu Yuanzhang on her back in the rebel army, and when she was angry, she dared to chase Zhu Chongba with her shoes and beat him up.
Emperor Chongzhen thought about the ancestral system and sighed: "I am an emperor, it is too difficult!"
On the vast sea, the sky is clear and the sun is shining brightly, making the sea bluer and bluer.
A fleet of more than a dozen large ships was sailing against the wind. When a sailboat is facing a headwind, it can only take a zigzag route and move forward slowly. The huge sea wind will bulge the sails of the ship, and the ship sails towards the Liaodong Peninsula across the sea at a speed of seven knots.
According to this speed, it would take about eight to nine days to travel from Shanghai to Liaodong when the wind is favorable. But now the wind is against the wind and the journey is two-thirds longer, and it will take more than 20 days at the fastest.
At the head of this fleet was a very ornately decorated Qianliu Guangfu ship. A group of young men and women stood excitedly on the deck and cheered, admiring the beautiful scenery of the sea.
In the distance, groups of elegant elves spread out their tail fins and leaped high, flying far away before plunging into the sea like bullets. This caused a tall girl to exclaim: "Look, they can fly." fish!"
As expected, this girl is Xu Guangqi's fourth granddaughter and the only unmarried granddaughter of the Xu family, Martina. Because of Xu Guangqi's aura, Xu Guangqi's granddaughters all married into wealthy families.
The husband of Xu Guangqi's eldest granddaughter is Ai Tinghuai, the grandson of Ai Kejiu, the general ambassador of Nanjing; the second granddaughter married Xu Yuandu, the grandson of Xu Leshan, who also served as the general ambassador of Nanjing; the third granddaughter married into the Qu family in Shanghai, and her husband Qu Ye was the supervising student. , his grandfather Qu Yin once served as the magistrate of Haicheng County, and was also among the squires of Shanghai.
In the whole of Shanghai, those who can rival Xu Guangqi in family status are Pan Yunduan, the owner of Yuyuan Garden, Pan En and his younger brother Pan Zhong, who were awarded the first grade. Pan En had three sons, the eldest son Yunzhe and the second son Yun Duan, both of whom were Jinshi. Therefore, Pan's father and son were known as "three Jinshis in one family".
At this time, Xu Erlu, the fifth grandson of Xu Guangqi, married the daughter of Pan Yunlong, son of Pan Yunduan, a foreign minister from the Ministry of Industry. The Xu family was already a top wealthy family in Shanghai.
Following Maldina's exclamation, a large group of young men who wanted to marry Xu came forward one after another, including Pan Xiaona, Maldina's husband in history.
In order to win the heart of the beautiful woman, Pan Xiaona said to his servant: "He's coming, hurry up, take the blunderbuss and let him run away..."
At this moment, a sailor said seriously: "Stop, don't hurt the divine fish!"
"Sacred fish..."
Pan Xiaona felt that a despicable sailor actually dared to lose his face. He walked towards the sailor: "Godly fish, Godly mother..."
Pan Xiaona kicked the sailor. The sailor seemed to have roots under his feet and was motionless. However, Pan Xiaona fell to the deck, causing a group of young men to burst into laughter.
It's not that this sailor is highly skilled or a master. In fact, he was just a solid player, but Pan Xiaona was a weak scholar. In a real fight, Sailor could beat Pan Xiaona ten times.
"you…………"
Pan Xiaona didn't have time to speak. He gasped in pain. At this time, a group of Pan's servants pounced on the sailor and caught the sailor.
"Throw it down and feed him to the fish!"
"Plop..."
The sailor was thrown into the sea and disappeared instantly. Not long after, the sailor came out of the sea, and the magical fish was pressing against the sailor.
Everyone exclaimed: "It's really magical!"
"This is the divine fish!"
Other sailors introduced: "It is the patron saint of the sea, the incarnation of Mazu. I don't know how many times it has brought ships lost at sea back to the channel, or rescued ships trapped in reefs! It is our The patron saint!"
Martina also felt magical and shouted: "You are not allowed to hurt it!"
The sailor was rescued, but Pan Xiaona still wanted to take care of the sailor.
At this time, Chen Zilong came out of the cabin: "Mr. Pan, can you give Chen some face? This matter has been revealed!"
"snort……"
Pan Xiaona was too embarrassed to stay on the deck and returned to the cabin.
Although Chen Zilong was not a few years older than Martina and about the same age as her third brother Xu Erdou, Chen Zilong was a student of Xu Guangqi and the same generation as her father Xu Ji.
Facing Chen Zilong, Maldina bowed obediently: "Uncle Chen!"
"Um!"
Chen Zilong nodded slowly. The sea breeze was very soft at this time. Chen Zilong asked someone to bring a soft couch and a small table. There was a small red clay stove on the small table. The servants were making tea and someone also brought a fruit plate. dessert.
Martina asked with some curiosity: "Uncle Chen, the letter from our ancestors mentioned Cheng Shijie many times. What does Uncle Chen think of this Cheng Shijie..."
Chen Zilong was reciting preserved fruit in his mouth, a little unclear: "How? I don't know how high the sky is, and I don't know how thick the earth is. Such an arrogant young man, it's a shame that the teacher treats him as a treasure..."
Chen Zilong didn't have a good impression of Cheng Shijie at this time. He was just a disciple of his senior brother Sun Yuanhua and a martial artist, nothing more. In the Di Bao, he once ordered Cheng Shijie of the Ning Navy to be awarded the title of Commander-in-Chief, and then regain Liaonan. It just happened.
Chen Zilong gave Cheng Shijie an arrogant evaluation because a relative of Chen Zilong returned to Shanghai from Dengzhou. When Chen Zilong asked about Ning Haijun in Dengzhou, the relative replied that Ning Haijun only had more than two to five hundred people, a new army.
"Arrogant person?"
Martina was puzzled.
Chen Zilong sighed and said: "Cheng Shijie was originally a Qianhu of Dengzhou Guard Zuo. He was good at martial arts and wiped out dozens of bandits. He didn't know how high the sky was and how deep the earth was. He actually crossed to the south of Liaoning with the intention of regaining it. It's really Do you think he is Huo Qubing's resurrection? The key to the question is that he actually succeeded. Such a person must be even more arrogant!"
In Chen Zilong's view, Cheng Shijie's military exploits were largely due to luck.
In fact, Chen Zilong's judgment was very correct. Cheng Shijie's military success was not only a matter of luck, but almost entirely dependent on luck.
Chen Zilong was even worried that once Jiannu reacted, Cheng Shijie would not be able to defend Liaonan.
This time. Xu Guangqi asked him to lead the Department of Agriculture to southern Liaoning, and Chen Zilong had to obey Xu Guangqi's order. But the problem was that he didn't believe Cheng Shijie. Even though five ships could carry more than a hundred agricultural scholars, their servants, food and supplies, he chose a dozen ships because if something went wrong, He can retreat at any time.
Mardina was even more confused. She believed in Xu Guangqi's vision and even more believed in Xu Guangqi's judgment. She could be called a young talent by Xu Guangqi, and no one in Jiangnan could match him.
This is a very high evaluation. Simply put, no one in Jiangnan can compare with Cheng Shijie.
But Chen Zilong’s attitude...
Let Martina not know who is right and who is wrong.
The setting sun disappeared little by little behind the sea level, the flaming clouds were swallowed little by little by the boundless darkness, flying fish, dolphins, seagulls... all of them disappeared, and the sea temporarily took back its extremely beautiful garden, leaving it to everyone A black face.
After looking at the sea all day, the young men and women were a little tired of it and returned to the cabin one after another.
…
People's desires and goals are constantly improving with the improvement of living standards.
When there is no food to eat, it is enough to have food to eat.
When you have no clothes to wear, you can be satisfied with clothes to wear.
When the basics of life are satisfied, you will start to pursue higher levels of enjoyment.
Just like the current Zhang Chen of the former Dengzhou Guard, she was originally the daughter-in-law of Zhang Dongfang, a former military household in Dengzhou Guard. After Zhang Dongfang was killed in the battle guarding Qianhu Station, Cheng Shijie gave her twenty shi of grain and Ten taels of silver. She lived with Zhang Saihu in Dengzhouwei.
Later, Ning Haijun was established, the military regulations were changed, and she was rewarded with another hundred acres of land. Before the one hundred acres of wasteland could be reclaimed, Ning Haijun later moved from Shandong to Liaonan. She felt sorry for her land, so she took her son to Liaonan.
After arriving in Liaonan, because she was a martyr's relative, she was among the first batch to be sent to the homestead.
Originally, the Zhang Chen family could only own one acre of land and the population was small. However, because her husband was a martyr, the homestead became two acres. Because Zhang Saihu was too young, the Zhang Chen family did not have to work and could be rewarded with three liters of grain. Some daily necessities.
Zhang Chen had ten taels of silver and food. She took advantage of the refugees flocking to southern Liaoning and used the food in her hands to hire refugees to build her a house.
If it were somewhere else, a young widow like her in her twenties with a seven or eight-year-old son would definitely be a fat sheep in the eyes of the refugees.
But the problem is that Liaonan is the territory of Ning Haijun. As the widow of the martyr Ning Haijun, whoever dares to harm her will just have to shout and a large group of military households or Ning Haijun soldiers will rush out to replace her. Town place.
A few years ago, Zhang Chen built a nine-room house on her homestead, with five main rooms and two side rooms on the left and right.
Later, Mrs. Zhang Chen discovered that the road in front of her house was getting wider and wider, forming a main road. Ms. Zhang Chen, who did not have to work, was also afraid of sitting on the road for nothing. According to the system, she did not have to work and could enjoy basic living security.
Zhang Chen didn't want to be idle, so she set up a stall in front of her house. At first, she just boiled water and provided it to the military households in Ning Haijun for free. Later, at the request of the military households, she began to expand her business scope. Selling steamed buns and noodles.
She cooked, and Zhang Saihu helped her after school. Unexpectedly, the business was very good, or Ning Haijun soldiers took care of this martyred family member. In short, when the New Year was about to come, she actually earned more than 4,000 copper coins and a few more. Broken silver, almost ten taels of silver.
This made Zhang Chen stunned.
At the same time, it also allowed Zhang Chen to get his first pot of gold.
After the Chinese New Year, Mrs. Zhang Chen hurriedly had seven front houses built in her front yard. She also recruited two widows like herself, with children.
Zhang Chen herself is a widow, and she knows very well how difficult it is to raise a child. She is lucky to have the soldiers of Ning Navy and military households to help. It will only be harder for widows like them without men.
Zhang Chen's restaurant has expanded in size. In addition to providing noodles, steamed buns and steamed buns, it also provides procured dishes. Since the business is independent, the business is still booming.
Zhang Chen also recruited professional cooks, professional shopkeepers, and professional waiters from the newly arrived immigrants. From seven front rooms, he slowly expanded his business.
Although there are many poor people in southern Liaoning, there are also some rich people who can make money as long as they have hands and feet. Although the major factories in Ninghai Navy did give out grain as wages at the beginning, gradually many people stopped asking for grain. Yes, they want money.
Now Dongfang Restaurant has become a famous restaurant in Jinzhou Nancheng. If you want to dine here without making a reservation, you won't get a seat at all, unless you are willing to spend half an hour or even longer in line.
By February, Mrs. Zhang Chen calculated that in addition to four chefs and more than 20 waiters, plus the shopkeeper's salary, she actually had more than 60 taels of silver.
At this time, more and more people have built their own houses, and many people's houses are empty. It's really shameful that the house is empty, so they are thinking of finding someone to fill up their houses with some empty furniture.
But the problem is that the production tasks of the woodware factory are too heavy. Especially during the spring plowing period, they need to build a large number of farm tools and have no time to build furniture.
Zhang Chen discovered this problem. She took a carriage and ran to Tiantang Station, looking for the carpenter in the crowd.
Don't tell me, Zhang Chen really found him. This carpenter was nicknamed Old Deaf. In fact, he was not deaf, but his hearing was not very good. When the refugees were allocated, he did not hear the steward's call, so he was mixed in with the ordinary refugees. .
Zhang and Chen used the wages of one dou of grain per person per day to hire an old deaf man and his family of four to build furniture, and the Dongfang Furniture Factory was opened.
Zhang Dongfang exchanged his life for Zhang Chen's ten taels of silver. In just four months, these ten taels of silver became more than one hundred and sixty taels in Zhang Chen's hands, an increase of sixteen times. .
The most important thing is that Zhang Chen's current two-acre homestead has been built with more than 50 houses. She owns a family with seven fronts. With two entrances, it can accommodate more than 60 tables of guests at the same time.
He also owns a furniture factory, and production orders have been scheduled for six months.
Zhang Chen is just a microcosm of the development trend in southern Liaoning. She is lucky, but she is definitely not the only one in southern Liaoning. In time, Zhang Chen will become the most famous rich woman in southern Liaoning.
"Master, this is today's account, please correct it!"
Chen Zhang was originally blind and illiterate, but as a mother, Zhang Sai studied in school, and when he returned home, he told her what he had learned, and she gradually learned to read a lot, especially hired Shopkeeper.
The shopkeeper is an old man in his fifties. He manages the store and teaches at the same time. Mrs. Zhang Chen can actually understand the accounts...
No one can succeed casually. Behind Zhang Chen’s success is her hard work and dedication.
"Shopkeeper Lu, I can rest assured of your accounting!"
After shopkeeper Lu left, Zhang Chen checked the accounts one by one, very seriously.
Sun Yuanhua came to the outside of Jinzhou City and found that it was very lively. The woodware factory had been expanding again and again. The current woodware factory had heavy production tasks and worked day and night. In addition to making farm tools, furniture, doors and windows, it also took some private orders. A day's work I was almost exhausted when I came down.
Originally, Cheng Shijie planned to hold an opening ceremony for Jinzhou Academy in February, but after learning about Sun Yuanhua's arrival, he changed the opening date until the day after Sun Yuanhua arrived in Jinzhou, which was the fifth day of March in the fifth year of Chongzhen.
The opening ceremony was officially held.
With bursts of firecrackers, rows of students wearing brand-new clothes stood in Jinzhou Academy, the former Jinzhou Guard Zuo Qianhu Military Camp. Jinzhou Academy was expanded from Zuo Qianhu's military camp.
These students, carrying schoolbags, not on their shoulders, of course, but on one shoulder, lined up in a neat queue, and accompanied by deafening ritual music, began to worship Confucius and Mencius.
Confucius and Mencius are both saints with extremely high status. For thousands of years, the first lesson of countless students has been to worship these two saints, and they have been passed down from generation to generation without exception.
With more than 6,000 students and the leaders of the Jinzhou Guard gathered together, such a festival was a bit too exaggerated. Not to mention those old scholars, even Sun Yuanhua who came here was dizzy.
Sun Yuanhua looked at Cheng Shijie with a strange look.
Xu Dacheng was a little puzzled: "Master Futai!"
"Why don't I have a daughter?"
Sun Yuanhua is now dead of regret.
Cheng Shijie's generous work meant that these students were not traditional Confucian students, but rather had Western-style education, literature, art, craftsmanship, and even farming, which were closer to the ideas of the Western French Party. The categories were quite complete.
PS: A guest is here today, so I will start with this for now, the next chapter may come later.
(End of chapter)
