Where did the bandits in Shanxi come from?
In the Yunlong Mountain Palace outside Xuzhou City, General Councilor Chen Qiyu, Academician Zhou Yanru, Prime Minister Zhang Guowei, Governor of Huaibei, Luo Sigong, Commander-in-Chief of Huaibei, Luo Yangxing, Commander-in-Chief of Huaidong, Cao Wenzhao, the general commander of the Zhangqian Army, and others, Jinyiwei Commander Xu Xianchun, factory minister Liu Chao and others were all shocked when they heard the news that the bandits had entered Jin.
After Zhu Youjian personally conquered Fugu in August of the second year of Chongzhen, Shanxi deployed heavy troops along the Yellow River to prevent blockage. And because a large number of young people from northern Shaanxi either joined the army to serve the country or went south to beg for food, they are no longer in northern Shaanxi. Therefore, although northern Shaanxi has been plagued by disasters every year in recent years, the public security situation has not deteriorated, but is still improving, and we have not heard of any activities by giant thieves. However, the prefectures and counties around Liupan Mountain have reported sightings of Gao Yingxiang, Luo Rucai and other Western bandits.
How could these Western thieves fly from Liupan Mountain to Shanxi in one go without wings?
Besides, the three towns of Gansu, Lintao, and Guyuan are currently besieging the bandits on Liupan Mountain, but they have no intention of launching a large-scale attack. Those bandits and bandits are well fed in the Liupan Mountains, so why bother going down the mountain to Shanxi?
"I have received a secret report," Zhu Youjian said seriously, "The two thieves Gao Yingxiang and Luo Rucai have led 3,000 rats out of Liupan Mountain and sneaked into Taiyuan Prefecture and Datong Town in Shanxi Province, where they are preparing to launch a rebellion to welcome Donglu Huang Taiji Invading the invaders."
What? Is there such a thing?
Gao Yingxiang and Luo Rucai are two gangsters who are very capable, right? He accidentally drifted from Liupan Mountain to Shanxi, and even hooked up with Donglu!
However, such a confidential matter was actually discovered by Jin Yiwei and Dongchang... Jinyiwei and Dongchang are very capable!
The civil servants and military officers present all cast complex eyes on Xu Xianchun and Liu Chao, and Xu Xianchun and Liu Chao were also confused - they did not know about Gao Yingxiang and Luo Rucai's entry into Shanxi. On the contrary, the intelligence sent back by the spies they sent to gather information around Liupan Mountain said that the two thieves had already taken root in Liupan Mountain and had become the king of the mountain. They had no intention of becoming rogue bandits anymore.
Where did this long live master get the news?
Shouldn't the traitor be deceived?
The two treacherous officials of the factory guard were about to speak to remind the emperor, but they found Zhu Youjian's sharp eyes, and they quickly shut up, not daring to say more.
Zhu Youjian withdrew his gaze, and then said: "In order to fight against the outside world, we must first make peace at home! So I plan to set off immediately and go to Taiyuan to take charge... The two thieves Gao and Luo have been causing trouble to Shaanxi for many years. This time they left Shaanxi and entered Shanxi. , once it leaves the nest, it is a big disaster, but it is also easy to catch.
Last time we were in Shaanxi, we didn't catch the two thieves. This time in Shanxi... I want to finish my work in one battle, kill the two rats, and get rid of this great harm to the world! "
Of course there are no Gao Yingxiang and Luo Rucai in Shanxi, but there are really many rats in Shanxi - real rats, or rats infected with diseases, and they can also cause serious harm!
That's right, the purpose of Zhu Youjian's visit to Shanxi was not to suppress Gao Yingxiang and Luo Rucai, but to control the imminent outbreak of the plague!
The plague during the Chongzhen period, like drought and locust plagues, were all major disasters that shook the foundation of the Ming Dynasty.
The plague began in Datong Town and the northern part of Taiyuan Prefecture in Shanxi Province, then gradually spread, and finally swept almost the entire country.
Although the lethality of this plague cannot be compared with the Black Death in Europe, because the plague appeared together with drought, locust plagues, civil uprisings, and Donglu, there was a situation where several natural and man-made disasters were superimposed and the destructive power was doubled.
And unlike floods, droughts, and locust plagues, these three disasters mainly harm the working people at the bottom, and the direct harm to the middle and upper classes is not too great... And the plague does not distinguish between classes!
And it is especially easy to cause damage to densely populated towns! The ruling center of the Ming Dynasty was the city, and most of the officials and troops of the Ming Dynasty gathered in the city. In other words, the plague had a greater impact on the ruling class of the Ming Dynasty!
When the plague came, the officials and troops of the Ming Dynasty suffered heavy losses. Even the officials and generals who survived by chance were all physically weak, panicked, and unable to resist the enemy.
Before the Jiashen disaster, Beijing was ravaged by the plague, and at least a quarter of the population died of the disease in a short period of time!
Although most people survived, for the people of the Ming Dynasty who believed in the theory of the unity of heaven and man, this terrible plague was undoubtedly a disaster sent by heaven to the Ming Dynasty!
This is God's deprivation of the legitimacy of the Ming Dynasty, at least Zhu Youjian's legitimacy... Otherwise, how could Li Zicheng easily invade Beijing, and how could Zhu Cixiang easily seize power?
What made Zhu Youjian even more speechless was that as soon as he lost power, the natural disasters immediately began to ease!
Therefore, for the current Emperor Chongzhen, Huang Taiji, the great Jin Tiancong Khan, is not as dangerous as the rats in Shanxi Province!
If Zhu Youjian could control the plague within the two prefectures of Taiyuan and Datong...then no matter how severe the disaster in Chongzhen ten years later was, Zhu Youjian could still bear it with the help of his troops. Because no matter how serious the disaster is, it will not starve to death Zhu Youjian's hundreds of thousands of trusted troops.
As long as they exist, Yanshan and Liaoxi can be defended, and the Ming army will still have the power to suppress the rebellious hungry people.
If the plague gets out of control and all the troops in front of the tent, in front of the palace, and in front of the imperial court are defeated, what else will Zhu Youjian have to fight against the Eastern and Western invaders?
To control the plague in Shanxi, only the emperor Zhu Youjian took action personally!
Because there are only two ways to control the plague, one is to spread rat poison... Zhu Youjian had already asked Widow Xu to prepare rat poison, but it was hard to say how many rats could be killed with these rat poisons.
The second is to carry out a military blockade. This method is more effective!
Datong Town and the northern part of Taiyuan Prefecture must be completely sealed off before the plague breaks out. Not only are people from Datong Town and the northern part of Taiyuan Prefecture not allowed to come out, but also the transportation between states, counties, sanitation centers, and hospitals must be cut off.
Without the emperor personally taking charge of this kind of thing, how could anyone else do it? And Zhu Youjian couldn't tell him clearly about the plague, so the people wouldn't be so scared that they would run away? Didn’t the plague spread? Once the plague spreads, there is no way to control it!
After listening to what Emperor Zhu said, the ministers below also believed it... Although there are many doubts about this matter, although Zhu Youjian has done a lot of ridiculous things since he came to the throne, in terms of using troops to fight, But never ambiguous.
Now he is going to Taiyuan to suppress bandits, which must make sense. Even if the two thieves Gao Yingxiang and Luo Rucai are really not in Shanxi, Long Live Master must be playing some big game.
Seeing that the people below raised no objections, Zhu Youjian coughed and began to make arrangements: "Mr. Zhang He, Luo Fuzhi, and Chief Luo Bing."
"I'm here!"
"Old minister is here!"
"The general is here!"
Zhu Youjian looked at the three of them and said with a smile: "Huaibei was originally a good place. In the Northern Song Dynasty before the Yellow River changed its course to the south, although Huaibei was not as wealthy as Jiangnan, it was far more wealthy than Huguang. But what is it like now? Everywhere. It’s just a land of water! And many places have been flooded for several years. Before the water recedes, new floods come again. It’s really hard for people to live!”
Xuzhou is such an unlucky place! During the Northern Song Dynasty, Xuzhou was known as a good place for the "germination of capitalism" - the iron smelting industry in Xuzhou was very developed at that time, with large-scale employment and large-scale production. However, when the two Song dynasties met, the Yellow River burst its mouth and flowed southward, taking the Huaihe River and flowing into the sea. Xuzhou became a miserable place that was often flooded.
It was even worse during the Tianqi and Chongzhen years. There were droughts everywhere, but Xuzhou was flooded twice in ten years, and each time it lasted for several years... I don’t know where the water came from?
Zhu Youjian paused and then said: "I have to give the millions of people in Huaibei a way to live... so the canal must be diverted to the sea, and the Yellow River can no longer take the Huai River and flow into the sea. It must be opened in Huaibei A new river channel dug into the sea. As long as the Yellow River flows through Huaibei and into the sea, the Huaihe River will no longer flood and cause disasters. The tens of millions of acres of land in Huaibei can become a land of fish and rice... The yield per mu is eighty-nine dollars, and one With 30 to 40 million dan per year, there can be tens of millions of people alive!
This is a project related to the national destiny of the Ming Dynasty. I will leave all the power to you three. If you need money, give money, if you need food, give food... If it is done well, I will knight you! "
