Chapter 126
The salute officer came forward and said loudly: "Jinzhou Civil and Military, all the soldiers of the army respectfully welcome the emperor to write the document!"
In such a solemn occasion, there is no need to kneel down. From Cheng Shijie on down, all they have to do is bend down and listen to orders.
Fu Zonglong took the imperial edict from the ceremonial official and read out: "On Bingchen in the fifth month of the fifth year of Chongzhen, the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty said: The important events of the country are in the army and in sacrifice. I inherit the order of heaven and show off the grand plan. The sea is in chaos. The establishment of slaves is rampant. Rampant, thieves and bandits plundered wildly, and false flags were raised indiscriminately. The difficulties could not be overcome without conquests, and the border could not be determined without crusade. The establishment of generals was used to control the sergeants in the three generations. The Yuan Rong was appointed, and the Han and Tang Dynasties attacked Di Rong. Sacrifice was used to rule. Scholars were awarded titles. Conquests were measured with thatched soil, and military achievements were rewarded to the princes. Therefore, Yu the Great built nine tripods, Duke Zhou discussed the five nobles, white flags and yellow stones, and worked hard to reward and punish..."
Song Xiance and Lin Xuzong were fine, and could barely understand. Cheng Shijie was already dizzy. As for Shen Mingyu, Chang Yu, Zhou Yandong, Chen Guodong, Li Zhixiang and others, they stared at each other and had no idea what was being said. What means.
However, Zhou Yandong and others are very pious.
"The general who conquered the captives, the governor of the left, and the commander-in-chief of the Ning navy, controlled the Dongjiang army, Cheng Shijie, defended the enemy and banished the invaders, and the slaves of the establishment were frightened by the news, and patrolled the border to guard the border, which inspired the three armies. According to the system, the right minister of the Ministry of War is also the censor of the capital. Fu, the governor of Jimen, Liaodong, and Baoding military affairs, with the Dragon Banner and Tiger Festival, gold seal and purple ribbon, entrusted all the feudal territories to serve as a manager. The soldiers and civilians of Liaodong all obeyed the orders, and the civil and military ministers were responsible for rewards and punishments. Territory, suppress and establish slaves to show great virtue, so that the young and old in Liaodong can live in peace and prosperity, and the common people can live happily, inherit the Haotian, and show their grace and righteousness! It is your honor to rule to the end..."
Cheng Shijie could understand almost all the words, but when the questions were put together, he had no idea what they meant. While Cheng Shijie was still in a daze, Song Xiance lowered his voice and said: "My lord, hurry up and obey the order!"
Cheng Shijie raised his hands with joy and shouted: "My lord, Cheng Shijie is here to thank you."
Sun Yuanhua and others followed and said: "I accept the order and thank you!"
Huang Long led the generals above the rank of general of the Dongjiang Army and said unevenly: "I have received the order, thank you!"
It was the turn of the more than 6,000 officers and soldiers of the Ning Navy who were in the audience, and they all said in unison: "I am here to thank you!"
At this time, Cheng Shijie said: "Long live my emperor!"
Liu Qianning's naval officers said: "Long live my emperor!"
Fu Zonglong held the imperial edict in front of Cheng Shijie and gave it to Cheng Shijie.
Cheng Shijie reached out to take it and handed it to Cheng Shi behind him.
Only then did Cheng Shi hold the imperial edict.
The Liaodong Economic Envoy can also be called the Liaodong Economic Envoy. This is actually a military official position, because there are no civil institutions in Liaodong and all are under military control. In the entire Liaodong region, there are no state capitals, only health offices.
However, since the Ming Dynasty, Cheng Shijie was the first person to serve as a high-ranking military official as a military minister.
After accepting the imperial edict, the praise officer gave Cheng Shijie the official seal and banner that symbolized the envoy: "From now on, from now on, as high as the sky and as low as the spring, the general will control it."
Since Cheng Shijie, an official with a bad record, beheaded a scholar who had committed the "Flower Case" when he was in possession of the Shangfang Sword, officials from the Ministry of Rites had to re-teach Cheng Shijie the use of the Shangfang Sword.
"The Jingjie ax and ax are the authority of the emperor. The master gives it to his ministers to reward and punish Haotian. Therefore, it must not be disrespected, and it must not be used wantonly..."
"yes"
The commending officer added: "Jings are reserved for rewards. All titles below the fifth rank are not conferred. The general can do it himself. Those who are below the third rank and above the fifth rank are promoted to the Jin Dynasty. The general must report to the Taige and give orders to his disciples."
Cheng Shijie said: "Yes!"
"If there are no exceptions, the Taige will not reject the general's petition... If the Taige refutes the general's petition, the general can directly report it to His Majesty. The cabinet has no right to interfere with the general's memorial. The memorial will go directly to the Holy Auditor through the Supervisor of Ceremonies..."
"yes!"
The official title is a famous weapon of the imperial court, not a general who governs the people. Don't give it lightly; don't take it away without permission unless you are incompetent and mediocre! "
"yes!"
"Jie specializes in killing. If an official below the seventh rank is guilty, the general can kill him immediately. If he is below the fifth rank and above the seventh rank, he can be beheaded first and then report to the police. If he is a general below the third rank and above the fifth rank, he can be impeached. It will be reviewed by the Taiwan Pavilion. conviction!"
Officials from the Ministry of Rites told Cheng Shijie more than a hundred things, including who could and could not be killed. In fact, Yuan Chonghuan had the power to directly kill a third-rank general, let alone Mao Wenlong, who was a first-rank officer. None, even if you kill a third-grade general, you need to impeach the court, and the cabinet will reconsider and then convict.
Under normal circumstances, the cabinet will not refute Yuan Chonghuan's request.
After the ceremony was completed, Cheng Shijie held another banquet in Jinzhou City to entertain Fu Zonglong and his party.
Sun Yuanhua looked at Cheng Shijie and said solemnly: "Although it is a good thing to have power in your hands, you must use it well to turn it into a good thing in the end. Does Beiping understand what I mean?"
Cheng Shijie bowed and said: "I understand that playing with power will only harm others and yourself!"
"It's good that you can understand. In today's world, those who have power tend to use their power in every possible way. There are very few people who can make good use of their power!"
Sun Yuanhua was also observing Cheng Shijie during this time.
Although it is said that Cheng Shijie has not been successful for a long time, the more at this time, the easier it is to see the problem. Just like when the poor suddenly become rich, they are most likely to consume in revenge. People like Cheng Shijie who suddenly gain power are most prone to nepotism.
Sun Yuanhua has observed that there are many people around Cheng Shijie, such as Song Xiance, Zhou Yandong, Chen Guodong and others. They are all Cheng Shijie's original team. It is said that the most important thing for Cheng Shijie is military power, and Zhou Yandong, Chen Guodong, Song Xiance and others should be allowed to lead the army.
But the problem is, Cheng Shijie's approach makes Sun Yuanhua a little confused.
Zhou Yandong, the second person from Ning Haijun below Cheng Shijie, was in charge of everything but the army. But Chen Guodong was only in charge of military law. In Sun Yuanhua's view, Chen Guodong was actually a military judge.
In fact, Chen Guodong was Cheng Shijie's greatest help in effectively controlling the army, followed by Yang Yunniang and Liaonan Bank. Because of the existence of the bank, officers are unable to intervene in the pay of all soldiers, preventing officers from having a hand in deducting military pay.
The Ning Navy is different from other armies. Ordinary generals do not have the power to recruit soldiers. All recruits are recruited through the Military Training Bureau. After passing the training, they are uniformly assigned to each division, each general office, each bureau, and each division. From then on, additional recruits will be recruited. The irregular transfer of generals can prevent officers from having too much influence in an army.
Cheng Shijie is not a saint, nor can he avoid clichés. The people he uses are all the original team around him, such as the Dengzhou Zuoqianhu clan who was born as a servant soldier, or the military households of Dengzhou Weizuo Qianhu. As long as No matter how stupid you are, at worst, you can become an official of hundreds of households in the field. This is a sixth-grade official position.
If others want to become officials of hundreds of households, they need to show extraordinary ability and strong loyalty. In comparison, the more than 10,000 military households in Zuoqianhusuo, whether in the military unit or in the In the field system, even if you are managing a factory, you can be promoted relatively quickly.
In accordance with the management methods of later generations, Cheng Shijie divided the factories under his name into different levels according to size, that is, factories with less than 300 employees were at the company level. Factory directors and managers enjoy general-level treatment, with an annual salary of 36 shi of grain and 60 taels of silver.
Those with more than 300 people and less than 800 people are at the general bureau level. Enjoy seventy-two stones of food every year, plus one hundred taels of silver. If there are more than 800 people but less than 1,500 people, they are the general level of the general. The annual salary is one hundred and twenty stones of food, plus two hundred taels of silver and corresponding dividends.
For companies with more than 1,500 people, factory directors and managers enjoy capital-level treatment. So far, Cheng Shijie's factories in southern Liaoning are only military-affiliated units that have reached this scale, such as steel plants, gun factories, ordnance factories. Factory, carriage factory. The Agricultural Tool Factory is the only private factory with more than 1,500 people, reaching more than 2,800 people. However, not long ago, the farm implement factory was divided into two parts, namely Jinzhou Factory and Gaizhou Factory.
During the five years of spring plowing in Chongzhen, the main reclamation area was concentrated in Jinzhou. While developing Jinzhou next year, it will also be dumped in the direction of Gaizhou, Fuzhou, and Haizhou. A factory will be set up in Gaizhou to reduce transportation pressure.
"By the way, Beiping, what are you going to do about entering Beijing?"
Sun Yuanhua continued: "The Holy One now intends to call you to the court to report your duties to His Majesty, but for fear of arousing suspicion, he made it clear that it depends on your own wishes. If you are not willing to go, just send an envoy to accompany Mr. Fu to the court!"
Under normal circumstances, the governors of various provinces had to go to Beijing to meet the emperor when they took office or were transferred. This is because the emperor needs to conduct a face-to-face inspection, there are some important matters that need to be explained in time, and he will be encouraged and supervised. In other words, if a governor has been serving in other places for a long time, and his political achievements have been recognized by the emperor, then under normal circumstances, there is no need to go to Beijing to meet the emperor. This situation is very common, especially among governors in inland provinces.
Cheng Shijie's situation is quite special. His political achievements have been affirmed by Emperor Chongzhen. According to the convention, he does not need to go to Beijing to meet the saint. But the problem is that Cheng Shijie has become the idol of Emperor Chongzhen invisibly. Therefore, the young emperor wants to meet him very much. Meet Cheng Shijie, the Ming Dynasty's "Changshan Zhao Zilong!"
Cheng Shijie also knew that if he delayed going to the capital, Emperor Chongzhen might have some ideas, and he would definitely go to the capital. But now, the spring plowing work was basically over. Although it had not rained for more than 20 days, waterwheels were passing through the ditches. It can irrigate crops. Cheng Shijie doesn't really have much to do, and he will also go abroad in later generations and will need to leave temporarily for a while.
More than a hundred officials from the capital came to Liaonan. The military households and workers in Liaonan were so surprised that they even spoke much softer. Fu Zonglong was in great spirits. Facing the banquet provided by Cheng Shijie, the fried duck was browned, the chicken was fat and oily, the mutton was burnt on the outside and tender on the inside, the green vegetables were stir-fried, and the thick broth. A meal is considered a luxury wherever it is placed.
Fu Zonglong, the Minister of War, only drank three glasses of wine before pretending to be drunk. Cheng Shijie couldn't figure out Fu Zonglong's drinking capacity and did not persuade him to drink. As a result, Fu Zonglong returned to the guest room where he stayed and wiped his face with a towel. His eyes were clear and there was no hint of drunkenness.
Fu Zonglong changed into a long gown and took his personal entourage around the entire Jinzhou City. He was full of praise for Ning Haijun's free bathhouses, free drug stores, free medical clinics and bustling factories.
Although southern Liaoning has achieved free medical care for all, in fact, this free medical treatment makes Cheng Shijie feel helpless because there is a field hospital in Ninghai Navy in Jinzhou, five pharmacies, 11 medical clinics, and 15 cooperative hospitals. The number of doctors in the hospital is relatively high even in the capital city, not to mention Shandong.
But the problem is that in order to make money, those cooperative medical centers began to mobilize their staff to find patients everywhere. After the patients were treated in the medical center, they did not need to get money, but only needed to press their fingerprints. After three months, the cooperative medical centers The embassy settled accounts with Ning Haijun's Military Affairs Administration.
Since then, every medical clinic has been overcrowded. According to the theoretical standards of traditional Chinese medicine, there are few normal and healthy people in the Ming Dynasty, especially those with kidney deficiency. There is also the saying that nine out of ten people are deficient. This has created a new problem. People who are really sick have no chance to be treated, while idle people with no serious problems occupy limited medical resources.
Cheng Shijie originally decided to expand cooperative medical clinics, but finally had to propose that kidney-tonifying herbs, aphrodisiac herbs, and tonic herbs were no longer free.
Fu Zonglong only took one look at the so-called free medical center and asserted: "Cheng Jinglue has been cheated!"
Cheng Shijie also knew that he was a little naive.
When there are insufficient medical resources, it is purely uncomfortable to forcefully launch free medical care for all.
Fu Zonglong came to Jinzhou Academy. In the spacious classroom of Jinzhou Academy, he saw sixty or seventy children wearing neat and uniform Confucian shirts. They were sitting upright, holding books and shaking their little heads as they read along with the teacher: "Heaven and Earth" Xuanhuang, the beginning of the universe..."
I came to another class again and found that these children were shaking their heads and reciting: "Three three make nine, three forty-two, three fifty-five, three sixty-eight..."
Originally, there were not many teachers in Jinzhou Academy. Since Xie Zongze became the dean of Jinzhou Academy and enjoyed the treatment of a ninth-rank official, he wrote letters to his classmates and friends, asking them to come to Jinzhou Academy to teach and study while doing so. Without wasting money and food at home, you still have the opportunity to take the entrance examination. How good is this treatment?
Soon, there were more teachers in Jinzhou Academy, and Jinzhou Academy made a great contribution by having nearly one million books. What these poor scholars are looking for is not the salary or treatment given to them by Cheng Shijie, but the opportunity to write sincerely for free.
Fu Zonglong came outside the city and saw the cattle farm in Jinzhou City. The cattle farm at this time was located in a huge ravine, filled with mountains and plains, and there were cows grazing leisurely everywhere.
Fu Zonglong's long follower Fu An was stunned and said: "Oh my God, how many cows are there here?"
"So-so tiger, more than seven thousand!"
Fu Zonglong followed the sound and saw Cheng Shijie and Sun Yuanhua coming hand in hand.
Since Fu Zonglong announced the decree to Cheng Shijie and Cheng Shijie accepted the strategy, his official position has actually been higher than that of Fu Zonglong.
Although it is said that in the Ming Dynasty, the highest level of governor was generally held by the Minister of War, followed by the governor, who would be the governor of one or several provinces, but the official position of governor was where the military threat was the most serious. When the time comes, a strategy will be established. When Sun Chengzong served as the economic and strategic envoy of Liaodong, he controlled the military and political affairs of Liaodong, and all wars with Hou Jin Dynasty were under his control.
Fu Zonglong's title of Minister of the Ministry of War is the third rank, and his highest official position is Governor, which is only the official position of the second rank. Cheng Shijie is the second-rank commander of the Liaodong Capital Commander's Department, and the second-rank military envoy of Liaodong, but Cheng Shijie has a gold seal and purple ribbon.
This is the standard equipment of Doctor Guanglu. Of course, Cheng Shijie has not actually been awarded the first-grade Guanglu Doctor now, but he has been given the gold seal and purple ribbon of the first-grade doctor.
This is equivalent to the deputy section chief in later generations, presiding over the company, and righting it is just a matter of time and seniority.
"Cheng Jinglue!"
Fu Zonglong smiled and asked: "Where did Cheng Jinglue get so many cows?"
"Of course I bought it!"
Cheng Shijie smiled bitterly and said: "When Cheng first came to Liaonan, there were only more than 1,700 cows and more than 5 million acres of fertile land. What use could more than 1,700 cows do? So Cheng took out a With the money, I bought more than 5,000 strong cattle from a cattle dealer."
At this point, Cheng Shijie grimaced, "The price of cattle is too high. It costs ten taels of silver per head. Five thousand cattle cost me fifty thousand taels of silver. It's simply a money grab!!"
Fu Zonglong could only smile bitterly. The price of cattle has continued to rise over the years, from 5 taels of silver per head in the Wanli period to 8 taels of silver per head.
Cattle are an indispensable aid for farming. As a large agricultural country, the Ming Dynasty never has enough cattle, and there is no surplus. Therefore, the more you buy, the more expensive it becomes, because even the most resourceful cattle dealer wants to get it all at once. It is not easy to get hundreds of strong cattle.
Who would be willing to sell a strong cow unless absolutely necessary? He pointed to the two calves that were kneeling on their forelimbs and struggling to stand up, and said: "Everything is difficult at the beginning, but after this level, it will be smooth. Look, two calves were just born. There are a few calves on the side. The herd will continue to give birth next year, and your herd will become more and more abundant. In a few years, you will no longer have to worry about the lack of cattle. The most important thing is that you don’t have to worry about the lack of cattle. Worried about lack of fertilizer.”
Speaking of this, Sun Yuanhua's face became even more bitter.
Cheng Shijie's first destination for buying cattle was Dengzhou Prefecture, Laizhou Prefecture and Qingzhou Prefecture in Shandong Province, because Cheng Shijie's price was high and he did not pay for it separately, but also used grain. Now the price of grain in Shandong has exceeded one tael of silver, and even reached one or two taels of silver per stone. But Cheng Shijie is lucky. He bought good rice from Jiangnan, and the cost of transporting it to Dengzhou was less than seven taels of silver. per stone.
Those people who were too poor to survive had to sell their cattle for food. After all, one cow can be exchanged for more than a thousand kilograms of good rice.
There are only a few sources of fertilizer these days. The first is silt with a lot of humus, such as pond mud, the second is plant ash, and the third is livestock manure.
Silt is free of charge, but it also requires a pond. Without a pond, there are only ditches. Cheng Shijie overhauled the ditch, which required digging silt and hiring people, which also required costs. If there was no money, he would have to wait for floods to wash away the silt, which would be a disaster.
Plant ashes are also free. Just burn the wheat straw and straw. The problem is that wheat straw and straw are firewood in farmers' homes. It depends on them for cooking and boiling water. It is impossible to burn them all at once. There are not many plants and trees that can be burned in Jinzhou now, and the fertility of plant ash is relatively poor, so it is impossible to rely solely on it.
Poultry and livestock manure is the best farm fertilizer, with strong fertility and stable supply. With such good fertilizer, crops will naturally have good harvests, but raising a large number of livestock requires a large amount of food.
This leads to a strange cycle: if you want to get a good harvest, you must have sufficient manure. If you want to have sufficient manure, you must raise a large number of poultry and livestock. If you want to raise a large number of poultry and livestock, you must have a large amount of surplus grain. If you want to have a large surplus of food, Food must have a good harvest...
This is an unavoidable circle. If any link goes wrong, a vicious circle will be formed. But if one link can be untied, a virtuous circle can be formed.
It's easy to see how ordinary people are living. You don't have to read official articles. You can get it all clear by just taking a look at a farmer's chicken pen or cattle pen. Just like in later generations, if you look at people's recipes, you will know how much people's living costs are. Last year, Lao Cheng bought beef five times in total, because it was too expensive and he couldn't afford it. Lao Cheng is a fat man, but last year he lost more than 30 pounds and successfully lost weight.
Because Cheng Shijie was rich, he successively purchased more than 4,000 cattle from Shandong, while Xie Jinglin purchased more than 1,000 cattle and more than 2,000 horses from Jiannu.
Now Cheng Shijie has more than 5,000 war horses and more than 8,000 cattle. However, as for the cultivated land in southern Liaoning, it is actually not enough. On average, there is only one cattle on more than 600 acres of land. , also because Cheng Shijie had a large number of large animals such as mules, horses, and donkeys.
Especially donkeys. Although donkeys are not as fast as horses, nor as tall and majestic as horses, in fact donkeys have very strong endurance. They eat less and have good endurance, so they are relatively easy to feed. Throughout southern Liaoning, Cheng Shijie alone owned more than 23,000 donkeys, most of which served major factories and were used as power for animal-powered machinery.
In addition, there are also many donkeys among the people.
Because Cheng Shijie was rich, he had enough manpower to dredge the ditches and use the silt in the ditches to compost. Now he had enough grass and grain to feed a large number of cattle and livestock such as donkeys, mules and war horses. There were only more than 8,000 cattle, which could be used every day. Produce 300,000 to 400,000 kilograms of cow dung.
In addition, Cheng Shijie also owns tens of thousands of pigs and hundreds of thousands of sheep. There are piles of manure outside the farm, and the irrigation problem has been solved. The foundation for a virtuous cycle has been laid.
In fact, many people think why Cheng Shijie didn't allocate the fields to the people. In fact, it would be useless. Ordinary people have no money and have no ability to feed their livestock or obtain enough fertilizer.
PS: Lao Cheng continues to write. If the twelve and a half has not been released, there is no need to wait.
(End of chapter)
