Mount Wutai, Qingliang Temple.
Emperor Kangxi finally walked into the small building where the "Shunzhi Bodhisattva" was eating fast and chanting Buddha. Looking at the back of Amma in the Buddhist hall, he became angry!
What kind of things is this Emperor Ama doing?
Emperor Chongzhen's son didn't know how to kill him, so he left a third prince, Zhu, hiding in Suzhou to study rebellion! Although he was already dead, he had written and disseminated two anti-book books, "The World is Public" and "The Land and Acre System of the Heavenly Dynasty" before his death, and also established a professional rebel Tiandihui.
In the southwest, Wu Sangui, the king of Pingxi with ulterior motives, became a powerful figure in Yunnan. He also colluded with Prince Zhu San, and obtained from him the right to rebel, the "Tianxia Weigong Lun" and the "Celestial Land Acquisition System". Now it’s even more dramatic! Not only did they defeat the Eight Banners Heavenly Soldiers led by Yue Le, they swept across Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan, they also captured two prefectures in southern Shaanxi. Recently, they began to develop into Huguang, Guangdong, and Gannan.
As a result, Kangxi himself could not stay well in Beijing, so he had no choice but to go to Xi'an to fight against Wu in person!
But before Kang Mazi arrived in Xi'an, another Li Zicheng appeared in Hunan. It was probably true!
This really means that he only killed half of Li Zicheng, and the half-dead Li Zicheng, like this Ama, found a temple to hide and practice. Now he has finally been trained to become a spirit, and he has become an "anti-spirit"!
Li Zicheng is becoming more and more sophisticated!
When he rebelled last time, he was just a rogue bandit who didn't know where he was operating. He looked very powerful and claimed to be a million people, but in fact, the direct lineage camp that could fight was only tens of thousands. They were all destroyed in the battle of Shanhaiguan. It was going downhill all the way, without even a base where he could take a break.
And this time, Li Zicheng, who became a master, was also impressive. He captured Lizhou at the beginning, and he no longer became a rogue, but began to divide the fields and build base areas. Although Lizhou was remote, it was There are mountains, rivers and plains. To the north is the southern part of Jingzhou, to the east is Dongting Lake, to the west is the Kuidong mountainous area, and to the south if you can capture Changde, there is also the Yuan River to rely on!
It seems to be a base area surrounded by mountains and rivers, with abundant products and a large population. If this Li Zicheng is real, then he must have spotted this good place and worked hard there for more than 20 years, just waiting. What a shocking turn of events!
So Kangxi went to Qingliang Temple today just to ask Shunzhi clearly, and whether Li Zicheng's death was revealed?
Thinking of this, Kangxi didn't talk nonsense to his Ama who liked to give up on everything halfway, and directly opened his mouth and said: "Emperor Ama's son Xuan Ye went to Mount Wutai this time to see you. One face, not the other way around. !
The second is to tell you about the current general trend of the world. Our Qing Dynasty is now in a state of turmoil!
Wu Sangui rebelled in the southwest, defeated Prince An in Xuzhou Mansion, and then fought all the way to the south of the Qinling Mountains. Now he is preparing to leave Qishan and cross the Qinling Mountains. The boy left Beijing this time just to go to Xi'an to take charge!
But as soon as I got to Wutai Mountain, I got a 800-mile courier from General Jingzhou and Governor of Huguang... They reported to me that Li Zicheng had rebelled again in Lizhou! "
"What? Li Ziguo is not dead after all..."
When he heard that Li Zicheng had rebelled in Hunan, the great monk Shunzhi, who had turned his back to his son and chanted in silence to pretend to be a great monk, could no longer hold back!
He stopped worshiping the Bodhisattva and quickly turned around to face his son, whom he had not seen for many years, had a "successful career" (became the emperor) and had recently been in big trouble.
This son's face... is indeed still so "numb"!
Although he has grown up a lot, the outline and other features are still there. It is obvious that he is the real Kangxi and has not been betrayed by others - but when he was a child, he looked very smart, how come he thinks of him as an emperor now?
First, he destroyed the Great Wall and beat away Obai who was left to protect his family - all the old guys under Obai can fight!
If they were still there, Wu Sangui wouldn't dare to rebel at all!
Although Yue Le and Obai look similar, both are so-called veteran generals... But what is Yue Le's background? What is Obai's origin?
Yue Le is the only remaining senior prince in the clan. Half of his veterans relied on reincarnation and half on surviving smallpox!
Although Obai is the founding hero of the country, there are too many Manchus who are better at reincarnation than him! His veteran is truly made with one sword and one gun!
Now Ao Bai was actually persuaded by this kid to seek refuge with Wu Sangui...
This kid is so outrageous... If I had known earlier, I should have made Fuquan the emperor! That boy Fu Quan has been kind since he was a child. If he is allowed to be the emperor, he will definitely not upset Ao Bai, let alone force Wu Sangui to rebel.
I really made a mistake...
"Amma, is Li Zicheng really not dead?" Kangxi had already asked about Li Zicheng's life and death at this time.
He was also sure that the slender middle-aged monk in front of him was his irresponsible emperor Amma. Although Shunzhi had been a monk for many years, he had left a portrait before he became a monk. Kangxi often took it out to look at when he was a child and missed Amma. of.
Now this monk Ama looks similar to the emperor Ama in the portrait...
Hearing this question, Shunzhi could only sigh: "Xuan Ye, Li Zicheng probably faked his death... He was a man who never saw his body when he was alive and never saw his body when he died! At that time, the Jiugong Mountain area was in chaos, with people from the Qing Dynasty and Can Ming. People, intruders, and local tycoons are all fighting each other. When we got the news, the dead man was already dead! Although the gold-seal dragon robe was handed over, picking up those things can't explain it. Li Zicheng must be dead."
It’s over!
After hearing what Shunzhi said, Kangxi knew that Li Zicheng in Lizhou was probably true!
Real ones are much harder to deal with than fake ones!
It is assumed that Li Zicheng rebelled for the first time and must be inexperienced. Moreover, it is impossible for the fake Li Zicheng to control a group of veteran elites who have been beaten to death for half their lives, let alone to plan carefully for many years.
Kangxi frowned and muttered: "Since you can't figure out the situation, why do you think Li Zicheng is dead?"
Shunzhi smiled bitterly and said: "Dorgon, who was in power at the time, thought it would be more advantageous to treat Li Zicheng as dead... Once Li Zicheng dies, the merits of our Qing Dynasty's revenge for the Ming Dynasty will be complete.
Secondly, without the banner of Li Zicheng, the intruders would be leaderless... at least in appearance, they would be leaderless, and it would be easy to suppress or appease them. "
"That's no problem, but what happens afterwards?" Kangxi asked again, "After Huguang is pacified, why don't you conduct an undercover investigation?"
Is this blaming you, Amma? Shunzhi's face sank, obviously a little unhappy, but he was not the emperor now, so he could not reprimand Kangxi, who had been the emperor for many years, so he could only say calmly: "I also knew about this after I took charge, but at that time the world was already dominated by us. The Qing Dynasty and the remnants of the Can Ming Dynasty were fighting. So they didn't care much and just treated him as a dead person.
I thought to myself, as long as I can defeat Can Ming and rule the world, am I still afraid of Li Zicheng, who cheats his own life and steals his own life? As long as the world is stable and everything is fine, let alone Li Zicheng, even if Zhu Yuanzhang is resurrected, it will not change the world. So I didn't want to cause any trouble or commit any more crimes. I didn't expect this thief to be so forbearing, and only now did he rebel again. "
How come you, the emperor, don't understand such a simple principle as eradicating evil? Besides, haven't you and Dorgon done enough killing? Wouldn't it be okay to kill hundreds of thousands more?
Kangxi was so angry!
If the monk in front of him hadn't been his Ama, he would have turned against him and cursed him.
"Huang Ama," Kangxi said to the great monk Shunzhi, suppressing the anger in his heart, "In your opinion, should I destroy Wu Sangui first or attack Li Zicheng first?"
The great monk Shunzhi was stunned, looked at his son and asked: "Xuan Ye, do you have the strength to destroy Wu Sangui now?"
Of course there is no such thing!
When Shunzhi exposed the lie, Kangxi looked unhappy - it was all because of you, Ama, who was so confused, couldn't you get rid of Wu Sangui while the famous Manchu ministers and generals were still there? Wouldn't it be okay to send people to Huguang to search for Li Zicheng after the personal expedition?
"Amma, although I don't have the strength to destroy Wu Sangui at once, I am sure to block Qishan and Qinling Mountains!" Kangxi said confidently, "As long as Wu Sangui can be blocked in Yungui River, there is no problem in killing him slowly. .only."
Shunzhi saw that Kangxi was hesitant to speak, so he continued what he was saying: "But once Li Zicheng becomes big, he may turn into a rogue bandit again, cross the Yangtze River and Han River, and fight his way into the Central Plains?"
Kangxi nodded: "What Ama said is absolutely true. What the child is worried about is the road to revitalizing the Han Dynasty planned for Liu Bei in Zhuge Liang's "Longzhong Dui" when Li Zicheng grew up and went north to the Central Plains. Isn't it Liu Bei taking Guanzhong and Guan Yu? Entering Zhongzhou? As long as one of the two groups succeeds, Cao Wei will be doomed. If Guan Yunchang hadn't accidentally lost Jingzhou, this Longzhong matchup would most likely come true!"
Kangxi's worry was not unreasonable. Although Li Zicheng now showed his intention to slowly run the "Northern Hunan Base Area" as a sitting bandit, he was an old man after all and could run it for another ten or eight years. , there was no need for Kangxi to suppress it, he would be cold on his own.
If he still wants to enjoy the pleasure of ruling the world in his lifetime, he must make it bigger and gather a hundred and eighty thousand rebels to cross the Yangtze River and march north. As for the current situation, even if Kangxi could block Qishan and Qinling, he would not be able to destroy Wu Sangui. Wu Sangui could not make it out of Qishan, but he could still go out two, three and four. If Li Zicheng charged into the Central Plains and went on a rampage, the situation would not only be similar to what Longzhong said to Li, but also similar to the Ming and Qing Dynasties. It's just that Chongzhen replaced Kangxi, Huang Taiji replaced Wu Sangui, and Li Zicheng returned to Li Zicheng.
Shunzhi already understood Kangxi's thoughts, but he did not make a choice between Wu Sangui and Li Zicheng. He just said lightly: "Li Zicheng can cause trouble to the world for more than ten years. He is definitely not a thief who can be easily wiped out. Otherwise, Emperor Chongzhen would have been there long ago. If this thief is eliminated, there will be no more trouble from hanging on Jingshan Mountain."
He was reminding Kangxi not to underestimate the enemy and not to think about sending an army of ten thousand or eight thousand to destroy Li Zicheng in one go!
If Li Zicheng is so easy to destroy, how can there be a Qing Dynasty? To destroy Li Zicheng, we must be prepared for a protracted war!
Of course Emperor Kangxi could understand Shunzhi's words. He had been hesitating before whether to proceed steadily or to go all out. Now after listening to what his father said, he finally made up his mind. He nodded his head seriously and said: "Amma, my child understands your teachings! What you mean is that only General Jingzhou and the Governor of Huguang can fight the lion with all his strength. Only by going all out can they wipe out the thief Li Zicheng in one fell swoop!"
What? How can you, a little kid, understand me so well? The great monk Shunzhi was dumbfounded.
Just when he was about to explain it to his son again, Kangxi had already spoken first: "Amma, are you still used to living in Wutai Mountain these years? Do you want to change a place? My son is going to Shaanxi in person this time, and only two people are left in Beijing. Fu Quan and the Empress Dowager are really worried, Amma, can you go back to Beijing and become a Supreme Monk?"
Go back to Beijing and become a monk?
what does this mean?
Shunzhi was stunned for a moment. In this world, there are people who are emperors and monks, but who are these monks? What does this little pockmark mean? That’s not right. There is no father or son in the heavenly family!
However, Shunzhi didn't stand still for too long, he had already reacted, immediately put on a look of no desire, shook his head and said: "Xuan Ye, as long as the Empress Dowager is here, the city of Beijing will not be in chaos. Don't worry. . I won’t go back, and I can’t go back, because the Queen Mother doesn’t want to see me, an unfilial monk, again, Amitabha!”
After reciting the Buddha's name, the great monk Shunzhi slowly closed his eyelids and began to recite the mantra: "Mummy, Mummy, coax, Mummy, Mummy, coax."
Seeing that the great monk Shunzhi looked like he only loved the Buddha but not the country, Kangxi breathed out, clasped his hands together, and made a Buddhist salute to his Ama, and then turned around and left to order Eza and Cai Yurong to suppress the enemy. The imperial edict of "Xianbei Base Area"!
Li Zicheng must be suppressed!
However, at this time, Kangxi probably would not have thought that he would soon receive new "rebellion". Someone in Guangdong was about to rebel again!
There are rebels in the Qing Dynasty every year, and there are especially many this year!
"Your Majesty, Wang Fuchen and Wang Datou have turned against each other!"
"My lord, you can't ignore them! You have to ignore them. After they finish dividing the land in the three counties of Xiangshan, Xinning, and Xinhui, and then finish dividing the land in the eleven counties of Zhaoqing, they will come to attack Guangzhou City! "
"Your Majesty, the father and son named Wang are now acting according to the "Celestial Land Acquisition System". They must have joined the Tiandihui!"
"Your Majesty, many officers and soldiers in the Wang Family Army have already had their pigtails cut off!"
"Your Majesty, they are really rebelling, please send troops quickly!"
Outside the Great Buddha Temple in Guangzhou City, this time it became a gathering place for run-down landlords to file complaints and call for troops. The run-down landowners who came to Guangzhou to complain and call for troops were all from Xiangshan, Xinning, and Xinhui counties. They were all big landowners whose land had been "forcibly exchanged" by Wang Zhongxiao, regardless of whether they had obtained the "Macao Portal" and "Xiangdao household registration", this case must always be reported.
Moreover, their lawsuit was quite reasonable, because Wang Zhongxiao's land equalization in Xiangshan, Xinning, and Xinhui counties strictly followed the methods of the "Chinese Land Acre System".
What Wang Datou implemented in these three counties was not Wu Sangui's "guard system" or Li Zicheng's "mansion army system", but the most friendly to the poor and lower-middle peasants and the easiest to maintain, "divided land" plus "rural soldiers". The plan of "five measures of rice tax (this is the standard for paddy fields in Guangdong)".
In fact, the taxes of most dynasties in China were not high. Even the "regular tax plus three rates" in the late Ming Dynasty was actually not much. However, the three shortcomings of labor, unfair taxation and excessive space for grassroots operations have always existed.
Because the labor was free, local officials often did not care about the laborers and would even abuse the civilians who served.
And tax injustice is divided into injustice between regions and injustice between gentry and common people. For example, Guangdong had a serious problem of unfair taxation during the Ming Dynasty—Guangdong people paid too little tax! So unfair!
The total land tax determined by Zhang Juzheng in Guangdong during the Wanli year was less than 1 million shi, but Shaanxi had 1.75 million shi!
Moreover, there are three important towns in Shaanxi: Ningxia, Yulin, and Gansu (Shaanxi and Gansu were not divided into provinces at that time). The land and population under the jurisdiction of these military towns were not included in the total land tax of each province. And the amount of taxes borne by military households in the guardhouse far exceeds that of civilian households!
In addition, after Wanli in the Ming Dynasty, most of the tax revenue in various provinces could be collected in silver. And Guangdong is a sea trade center, and the money is much easier to earn than the one in Shaanxi! Foshan Iron Industry, Chaozhou Ceramics, as well as silk, tea, and sugar. If you pick up any of them, you can exchange them for boatloads of silver from the foreign devils.
With more silver, agricultural products will naturally be more expensive, and the tax pressure on farmers will be lighter.
Therefore, the pain suffered by Cantonese people in terms of taxes is incomparable to that of Shaanxi people. In history, this is probably the reason why Cantonese people love Ming Dynasty more, right?
The Ming Dynasty's tax revenue was so low, smuggling was not a concern (could not be controlled), it was easy to go to Nanyang, and there were no vassal kings in Guangdong. I once sent Zhu Zhanxi to Shaozhou, but he didn't like Guangdong very much, so he went to Shangrao, Jiangxi to harm the people of Jiangxi within a few years.
In addition, tax inequity between regions does not only exist between provinces. Within a province, or even within a prefecture and a state, different counties will also have different tax collection standards.
In addition to the unfair taxation between regions, the tax preferences given to gentry and landlords are another great injustice!
And the more injustice there is, the greater the room for manipulation by grassroots officials and gentry! The greater their operating space, the greater the injustice will be. This is basically a vicious circle. In the end, it will definitely cause a large number of bankruptcies of small farmers and accelerate land mergers!
In order to maintain the results of land equalization for as long as possible, Wang Zhongxiao formulated a tax and military service plan of "high tax rate", low military service, no corvee (mercenary service), no assessment, and no preferential treatment as a supporting package for land equalization.
And no matter what he did, it was not only the local landlords and gentry who were harmed, but also the subordinate officials who controlled the countryside were also very dissatisfied! In addition, his system of land equalization, taxation, and military service are all different from the Qing Dynasty's system.
So it is not surprising that a large group of people came to Guangzhou to accuse the Wang family and his son of rebelling!
(End of chapter)
