In the autumn and winter of the fourth year of Taichu, a spark of fire was ignited in the plains of Liaodong. Before it could become a prairie fire, the warrior Deng Changxiong led the Second Corps to quickly extinguish it.
In October, all rebellions in Tieling, Qinghe and other places were put down. A number of farmers who participated in the riots were arrested and killed. After several big "thief leaders" were killed, all the followers surrendered.
Thousands of people died, tens of thousands of acres of land were abandoned, and thousands of families were wiped out.
The gap between the various classes (although the Emperor did not admit the existence of classes in his empire) further widened up and down the empire.
Like a seed of hatred and division, the impact of the farmers' riot in the fourth year of Taichu has taken root in the hearts of many people, waiting to sprout and thrive one day in the future.
On the seventh day of October, the Supreme Emperor summoned Zhang Dong, the intelligence chief, to inquire in detail whether there were any traces of officials adding fuel to the flames behind the Liaodong riots.
"Back to Your Majesty, the Coil Guards have hidden stakes in Tieling and Qinghe. Judging from the intelligence collected so far, no officials from the DPRK or China have been found to be involved in this matter."
Zhang Mazi paused for a moment and continued to add: "Except for the veterans who made trouble, no one else participated."
"Veteran?" Liu Zhaosun's face darkened.
"I have always treated my soldiers well. Farmers have no food to hand over, so rebellion is justifiable. Veterans have food stamps, food, and national sympathy every year. Why should they follow in the rebellion!"
According to the Daqi military service system, all men, regardless of origin, as long as they are in good health and have no disease, are required to serve in the military twice (three years each time) after reaching the age of 16. After the military service expires, the principle of voluntariness is adopted. It is up to the soldiers to decide whether to stay or not.
In addition to half-pay treatment, veterans will also receive military-specific food stamps, cloth stamps, fuel stamps, etc. Compared with ordinary bills used by ordinary people, the bills issued to retired sergeants have stronger purchasing power...
"Your Majesty doesn't know something..."
Zhang Dong hesitated to speak, raised his head and quickly looked around.
The Supreme Emperor waved his hands to the left and right, and the palace maids and eunuchs standing next to him immediately withdrew. Dongfang Zhu did not dare to stay. He walked at the back and carefully closed the palace door.
"Your Majesty, in the past two years, the food stamps issued to veterans by the Ministry of War and Household Affairs have been transferred to various chambers of commerce for unknown reasons, and are forwarded by the chambers of commerce. Some chamber lords have been underpaid and even deducted their monthly salary."
Liu Zhaosun's eyes were bright and he motioned for Zhang Mazi to continue speaking.
"At first, Mr. Sun Ge wanted to simplify the procedures so that the money and food could get to the veterans as soon as possible. Unexpectedly, the guys from the Chamber of Commerce were so courageous that they actually colluded with outside merchants to buy food and cloth at low prices using military bills. Selling to the common people at high prices on the black market, bargaining on both sides, and making money on both sides.”
The Supreme Emperor stood up and said, "Why don't those veterans report it to the imperial court! Also, what do the chief officers of various military stations do for a living? Why don't they report such a big thing!"
Zhang Dong gritted his teeth and sighed:
"Your Majesty, you don't know. In the past two years, there has been a lot of chaos in Liaodong. Most of the wounded and veterans are in the bitter cold land. They are scattered among each other. It is difficult for a single tree to grow into a forest. No one will care about it. Those military stations have long been in cahoots with the Chamber of Commerce and Civil Affairs. , make money together, I also heard in Kuandian that the commander of the military station recruited Koreans instead of Han people to join the army, and a new recruit could earn five buckets of rice..."
He didn't expect that such a thing would happen under his nose. Liu Zhaosun opened his eyes today.
"That's all, I can't control that much anymore. Let's appease the people first, reissue pensions for veterans and wounded soldiers, and punish corruption. We'll talk about it later. I'm tired."
~~~~
The imperial court urgently allocated part of the military rations from various parts of Liaodong to farmers. At the same time, it stopped the grain requisition operation that had been going on for many years. The soldiers who collected the surplus grain were all withdrawn, and some of the veterans who had made trouble were resettled.
With the combination of kindness and power, the riot in the fourth year of Taichu was temporarily suppressed.
Although there is no evidence that there was anyone behind it, it happened after hundreds of officials forced the palace, so it is difficult not to have other associations.
Under the repeated blows, Emperor Wu Ding was exhausted mentally and physically, and he had deep doubts about himself, Da Qi, and everything he saw before him.
On October 20, the Supreme Emperor summoned the Chief Assistant Sun Chuanting alone in the Dazheng Palace. After a hoarse rebuke, the Supreme Emperor announced that he would remove Sun Chuanting from his position as the Chief Assistant and order him to go home to face his crime.
Sun Chuanting chuckled, and in a daze, he saw the scene in the second year of Taichang, when people filled trenches to attack Hetuala.
In the blink of an eye, fifteen years have passed. Marquis Pingliao has become the Supreme Emperor and is on the verge of death. However, he is still used to letting others take the blame for him.
It should be noted that whether it is the surplus grain collection system, the pension for veterans, or the "Qi Dynasty Land Acquisition System", everything was formulated by the Supreme Emperor alone.
If the Supreme Emperor is the mastermind behind all the changes that happened today, then Sun Chuanting and the others are the knives held by this black hand.
The sword is not sinful.
However, as the highest ruling authority of Da Qi and the actual helmsman of the empire, the Supreme Emperor will never and cannot make mistakes.
It can only be someone else who is wrong.
Sun Chuanting made no other excuses and silently shouldered everything.
He didn't even say, "I'm doing this all for the sake of Da Qi, and I have absolutely no selfish motives."
This cruel official of Daqi who was a Jinshi finally came to the end of his political life in the fourth year of Taichu.
Compared to Yuan Chonghuan, Sun Chuanting's ending was much better. At least, he survived. Fortunately, he escaped a larger, more brutal and bloody purge in the next few years, and became one of the few surviving veterans around the emperor... This is all for later, let's not mention it for now.
Sun Chuanting did not speak, but his disciples and old officials were unwilling to sit back and wait for death. The snowflakes of impeachment memorials of various regiments seemed to fly towards the Supreme Emperor's imperial case.
The memorial said: Your Majesty has conquered all directions, built post roads and built the capital city, and also wants to reward the soldiers. Tens of millions of taels of silver and millions of stones have been spent on food, and there is no food. If you levy taxes everywhere and suck out the marrow, how can the people not do the same? Reasonable, so please ask the Supreme Emperor to abolish all the corps to save the people...
The Supreme Emperor ignored all the aggressive memorials, neither agreeing nor explicitly rejecting them.
Dismantling the army is a big deal. If you are not careful, it will lead to chaos, and it will be too late to regret it.
When Ma Shiying saw that Sun Chuanting had been demoted, he also went to court to plead guilty, claiming that his entrustment was ineffective, that he was ashamed of the emperor, and that he was unable to assist the young emperor to become a wise and sage. He proposed to retire and return to his hometown, begging for the return of his bones.
The Supreme Emperor was a little unhappy and once again confirmed whether Ma Shiying was really going to leave. After receiving a positive reply, the Supreme Emperor immediately nodded in agreement without even saying any superficial courtesy or making any attempt to stay.
The resignation of Sun Chuanting and Ma Shiying actually declared the complete failure of the "Qi Dynasty Land Acquisition System" and the economic system of abolition of private property implemented during the Taichu period.
This failure was not only a failure in the economic system attempt, but also marked the failure of the time-travelers' attempt to establish a totalitarian utopia in seventeenth-century China where no one was uneven and no one was without food and warmth.
Facts have proved that it is impossible to enter communism by running. If you take too big a step, you will lose your temper. Everything must follow the laws of heaven, which is the law.
If you can’t enter communism, then what about capitalism?
It doesn’t seem to work either.
Daqi now does not even have the foundation for the industrial revolution. It lacks high-quality coal mines, technicians skilled in steam machinery, and...
For the first time, the time traveler felt unprecedented despair.
The Manchu Eight Banners colonial model, which he once scorned, has now become one of the few feasible paths in front of the chariot. Do you want to take a step like Huang Taiji?
Or, go back to the pre-Ming Dynasty, when eunuchs had exclusive power, civilian officials ruled the country, nobles worked hard to make money, and merchants exploited the people. After two or three hundred years, the cycle has come, and everything will return to dust.
Whether you go left or right, this will be a problem.
Lu Xiangsheng and Kang Yingqian, whom Emperor Wuding was thinking about, have not yet arrived in Shenyang.
Liu Zhaosun was a little worried about the safety of the two of them, and began to seriously reflect on whether the totalitarian model was really suitable for this land.
The answer is obvious. Absolute power leads to absolute corruption. Without long-term effective supervision, even the commanders of military stations on the border of the empire have to ask for money from the people.
Expecting people to govern, brainwashing alone is not enough. Brains can change, but human nature will not.
All Liu Zhaosun can rely on now is the industrial revolution led by workshops, and technological progress has won over people's hearts.
and the castration and demonic reform of the existing system.
This war machine is improved step by step to adapt to changes in the external situation. Only by continuous improvement and optimization can the survivability of the Daqi Empire be improved. As for whether the Black Dragon Flag is black or red, it actually doesn't matter.
He needs Kang to supervise the army and Lao Kang.
Kang Yingqian is the best ferryman between the new world and the old order.
Lewen
