In mid-June of the 19th year of Chongzhen's reign in the Ming Dynasty, Li Zicheng was still pretending to be alive, while Li Guo had already captured Wu County and began to attack Qutang Pass, a dangerous place in Kuimen. Gao Yigong and Luo Hu had already broken into Kuizhou from another direction, occupied Taiping County, and advanced to the banks of the Tongchuan River. Zhang Xianzhong, the elder of the Daxi Kingdom, went north after plundering Chengdu, preparing to take the Yangping Pass-Dashang Pass route to realize his dream of Guanlong.
As for the Great Wuhan Prefecture, which is located at the junction of the Yangtze River and the Han River and the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, and controls the thoroughfares of nine provinces, it is now a time when everything is waiting to be revitalized and its vitality is gradually recovering.
The decree to establish Jiangdu Wuhan Prefecture was jointly issued by the Cabinet Office and the Generalissimo's Office in Nanjing on the 10th day of June a few days ago, and was announced to the world.
The reason why Zhu Cixiang's edict was jointly issued by the Cabinet Office and the Generalissimo's Office is that the current Ming Dynasty has returned to the model of the prime minister assisting the emperor in the early years of Hongwu, and it has become more mature. The name Zhongshu Sheng was not restored, but the name of the Cabinet Office was used.
Because the first chief minister of the cabinet, Wei Zaode, also served as the minister of the Ministry of Personnel, in order to facilitate management, the Cabinet Office and the Ministry of Personnel were merged into one. In the future, the chief assistant of the cabinet will also serve as the minister of the Ministry of Personnel. In addition to the Ministry of Personnel, there are three departments under the Cabinet Office: Zuotong Government Department, Money Industry Department and Ordinance Department.
Among them, the Zuotongzheng Division was responsible for the transmission of edicts, memorials, and writings. All edicts, memorials, and writings within the civil affairs system of the Ming Dynasty were all delivered by the Zuotongzhengsi.
In addition, there is a Youtong Administration Department under the Generalissimo's Mansion, which is responsible for the delivery of orders, military reports and documents within the military system.
Among the six ministries, the Ministry of War is now under the dual jurisdiction of the Generalissimo's Office and the Cabinet Office. Therefore, edicts, memorials and writings related to the Ministry of War are also transmitted by Youtongzheng.
The Money Industry Department is an office similar to the China Banking Regulatory Commission and the Central Bank, responsible for supervising the banking industry and coin minting. Among them, coin casting is divided into two types: official casting and official-supervised merchant casting. The former is cast by the coin foundry operated by the Qianye Department. The latter authorized the Maritime Bank and the Salt Merchant Bank to cast coins, but they were limited to silver coins and could not cast copper coins privately.
The Ordinance Department is an agency that plans the national economy, changes old laws, and formulates new laws. Similar to the Song Dynasty, there were three departments, the Ordinance Department. However, the Ordinance Department itself does not have the power to issue decrees. All civil affairs decrees must be promulgated in the form of decrees and co-signed by the Cabinet Office. As for laws and regulations involving military affairs, they will be issued in the form of an edict and a joint signature of the Grand Marshal's Office, or an edict and a double signature of the Cabinet and the Grand Marshal's Office, depending on the situation (whether it involves civil affairs).
For example, the decree to establish Jiangdu Wuhan Prefecture and revoke the status of Fengyang Prefecture as the central capital was jointly signed and issued by the two governments because it involved military and civil affairs.
Beginning in mid-June of the 19th year of Chongzhen's reign, the northern and southern capitals of the Ming Dynasty (or the three southern, central and northern capitals) were officially transformed into the eastern and western capitals.
Although in the eyes of many people with lofty ideals who are determined to restore the country, Prince Zhu's move to change the northern and southern capitals into the east and west capitals is very much in favor of the southeast. However, the Huguang officials and gentry summoned to the Wuhan Mansion by Prince Zhu clearly felt the pressure of the approaching power of God.
From now on, the Ming court was not two or three thousand miles away, but directly on top of the Huguang gentry officials.
The happy days of everyone are probably gone forever...
After the decree was officially issued, Prince Zhu boarded the official ship heading east. Because Wuhan is already the capital of Jiangsu, he will return here soon.
In mid-June, Wuchang Prefecture entered the midsummer with heavy rains for several days, which not only washed away the heat, but also made people in this new capital of the Ming Dynasty feel the rare coolness in summer.
Inside the doorway of Wenchang Gate in the southwest of Wuchang City, there were several carriages and a group of soldiers taking shelter from the heavy rain. The soldiers guarding the carriage stretched their necks, anxiously waiting for the sudden heavy rain to pass, so that they could continue to complete the last journey and safely see off the two great men who had just seen off the Prince of Fujun. He was safely escorted to the residence in Wuhan Prefecture, the Western Capital of the Ming Dynasty.
It’s just that the rain is raining like weaving, when will it stop?
But at this time, on one of the particularly spacious carriages, two eldest men who had put on wide and thin robes were chatting enthusiastically, not in a hurry.
"Is our Prince Fujun trying to rule the country from outside and rule the gentry with thieves? This commotion in Nanjing has given him a step up."
The person who spoke was clearly the top leader in Hunan Province, He Tengjiao from the border area. In his view, even if Zhu Cixiang did not have the strength to enter Sichuan in a large scale, he should still take over the mountainous areas of Yiling Prefecture, Guizhou, Yidu County, Changyang County, Badong County and Xingshan County in the west of Jingzhou Prefecture, a total of two states and four counties. Get off!
How could tens of thousands of thieves be allowed to divide the land and enjoy debt-free and interest-free lives there? what does this mean?
"Hunan is different from Hubei. Hubei has always been stable and has entered China as early as the Qin and Han Dynasties. However, many places in Hunan were still Jingman lands in this dynasty, which may not be easy to govern!"
The person who replied was Du Yinxi. He was now promoted to the chief envoy of Hubei.
"The prince must have a way. The prince is a wise master. He knows that measures should be taken according to local conditions and will not be a one-size-fits-all approach in Huguang."
He Tengjiao sighed.
"Sigh... No matter how we adapt to local conditions, we always have to compete with the people for profit. How much was the total land tax in Huguang in the past? It was only more than two million shi. How many will there be in the future? It will be 10 million shi. You're welcome! What about the land in Hubei that was once occupied by Li Zichengjun? It should be returned to its original owner, but..."
Du Yinxi is obviously not a supporter of Prince Zhu - he is indeed a capable person, but he is also the successor of Donglin, a gentry in the south of the Yangtze River, and a sect of Jinling!
His teacher Ma Shiqi was a disciple of Ye Maocai, one of the Eight Gentlemen of Donglin, and belonged to the same party as Zhou Yanru. When Beijing was conquered by Li Zicheng, he happened to be a candidate in Beijing (when Ding You returned to Beijing, he happened to meet Zhou Yanru, so he was not awarded the official post). Later, he ran away with Zhu Cixiang, and now he is sent to Guangdong as the prefect, which can be regarded as a good job. Useful, but can't be said to be part of the prince's party.
Du Yinxi's ancestors were heroes who conquered the world with Zhu Yuanzhang, and were hereditary commanders. However, his grandfather's generation was defeated due to a dispute over family property (the dispute was actually about military land), so he moved from Jinling to Yixing. But he is still a gentry. As Du Yinxi studied and became an official, his family gradually prospered. Now he is also a big landowner in Wuxi (Du Yinxi later moved to Wuxi). There are many relatives and friends in the family, all from southern Jiangsu. Gentry. There is no doubt that they are all victims of Zhu Cihong's New Deal!
Which side of Du Yinxi's butt is that is a question.
Although He Tengjiao, known as the "Pig Teammate" by later generations, is also close to Dong Lin, he is from Guizhou after all and does not come from a famous family. There is no conflict of interest between him and Zhu Cixiang.
Zhu Cihong's hands are not that long. If the new policy he is currently implementing can be implemented in Southeast and Huguang, it will be considered very successful. Yunnan and Guizhou are really beyond our reach... If we can't manage it well, we can't control it!
During the reign of Zhang Juzheng in the Wanli Dynasty, the total land tax in Guizhou Province was only 50,807 shi. Yunnan is better, with 142,690 shi. These two numbers not only show how poor Yunnan and Guizhou are, but also illustrate the actual control ability of the Ming Dynasty in Yunnan and Guizhou. Even if the land tax of less than 200,000 shi in the two provinces could be collected, it would not be enough to maintain the Ming Dynasty's rule of officialdom.
In other words, Ming Dynasty's rule in Yunnan and Guizhou was "lossy", and it must have been a lot of money. Considering the actual situation in Yunnan and Guizhou provinces, it is impossible to turn around losses in the short term. If it were a peaceful and prosperous time now, Prince Zhu might spend money on Yunnan and Guizhou to strengthen his rule and forcibly speed up the social progress of Yunnan and Guizhou.
But now, how can Zhu Cihong have the energy to torment Yungui? I would be very satisfied if I could maintain Ming's rule safely.
Therefore, there is no conflict of interest between He Tengjiao and Ma Shiying, the two big bureaucrats and landowners in Yunnan and Guizhou, and Prince Zhu. Not only is there no conflict, but there is also a lot of room for cooperation. After all, the more stable the Ming Dynasty is, the more they will rule Yunnan and Guizhou. It is also more secure.
Seeing that Du Yinxi fell into silence, He Tengjiao spoke again: "How can we just take the land that has been taken away? If we really do this, how can the tens of thousands of new troops here in Huguang be enough? If we need to increase the number of troops, Who will pay for the food and salary? The scholar-officials in Hubei have been wiped out by Li Zicheng. If they can't pay, how can they ask the scholar-officials in the southeast to provide this money?"
Du Yinxi shook his head: "That's right... money and grain are both rare and easy to consume. There are bottomless pits everywhere. Just think about it, I feel embarrassed for the Prince of Fujun!"
