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Early the next morning, not long after Zhao Junchen got up, he was about to take Liu Zimin and several staff to the Xingzhou Tongzhi Hall to continue to uphold justice for the people, when he received a reply from Zhang Su, the commander-in-chief of Jizhen.
Last night, the defenders of Ji Town suddenly broke into major grain stores and various granaries to "search" for thieves. It was at Zhao Junchen's request. In fact, they wanted to take the opportunity to find out how much grain the Xingzhou gentry had hoarded.
The result is... there are about 80,000 shi of grain stored in the major grain stores and granaries in Xingzhou City alone!
The total number of people in Xingzhou City is less than 100,000!
This also includes the large number of suburban people who poured into the city to escape the riots!
In other words, the grain hoarded by the Xingzhou Jin gentry is enough for all the people in Xingzhou City to receive more than eight buckets of rice!
During the Ming Dynasty, one stone of rice weighed more than 150 kilograms in later generations, and eight buckets of rice weighed more than 120 kilograms, which was enough for an ordinary person to survive for half a year.
[In view of the general environment,
After hearing this number, Zhao Junchen couldn't help but sneer and said: "Obviously, the Xingzhou Jin gentry started hoarding food before the civil unrest broke out in the territory, and they had already planned the civil unrest. They just calculated the civil unrest. After the outbreak, Xingzhou will face the dilemma of food shortage, and they want to hoard and make a fortune, so they have such an amazing amount of food!
It’s true that the wine and meat of the wealthy family stinks, and the roads are frozen to death. Before the porridge shed was opened in this pavilion, people in Xingzhou City starved to death on the streets every day, but the grain stored by the Jin gentry was almost overflowing the granary! But he is still greedy and keeps raising food prices... He really deserves to die! "
Li Chuanwen had extremely rich experience in civil affairs. After hearing this, he slowly shook his head and disagreed with Zhao Junchen's statement.
"Ever since I joined the Cabinet, I have often looked through the account books of the Ministry of Household Affairs, and have also calculated relevant figures in detail. In terms of per capita grain production, our Ming Dynasty can be said to be the highest in history. If all grains are evenly distributed to all people , each common person can receive as much as four to five stones every year!
But grain is not only used to satisfy hunger, but is also used as seeds, feed, wine making, by-products, etc. It is consumed everywhere, coupled with the uneven distribution of wealth and wealth, and the extravagance and waste of wealthy families. It is extremely shocking. Ordinary people can only stay at most 30 to 40%, which is just barely enough to eat...
Therefore, considering the current situation of food shortage in Xingzhou, the 80,000 shi of grain hoarded by the Xingzhou Jin gentry is not only not too much, but actually too little! Because this batch of grain will eventually be sold to the people only 30% to 40% of the amount! Perhaps the gentry deliberately wanted to starve a group of people to death, or perhaps they wanted to force a group of people to leave their homes and become refugees! "
Zhao Junchen nodded to express his acceptance, but his attitude became more firm and said: "What Mr. Li said is reasonable, but thinking about it this way, the Xingzhou officials and gentry are even more hateful and deserve to die! And I know very well that I Only in the face of the shortcomings of the government's agricultural and grain policies can we resolutely implement the new agricultural reform policy. Even if we know that there are many obstacles in the future, we still dare not back down!
Merchants must be restricted from making wine! We must thoroughly investigate the real land holdings of the Jin gentry in various places! We must promote the cultivation of sweet potatoes, corn and other crops to replace the consumption of feed and non-staple food! We must expand the grain growing area and increase food supply! Otherwise, if there are more natural and man-made disasters in the next few years, the situation in the entire Ming Dynasty will be completely out of control. By then, the building will not be affected, but I will also bear the responsibility! "
After a pause, Zhao Junchen turned his head and glanced at Liu Zimin, and continued: "Although this change in Xingzhou caught me off guard, it is also an opportunity! Since we implemented the new agricultural reform policy, It has been overtly or covertly resisted by officials and gentry all over the world. So far, it has only made slight progress in Shanxi. However, Northern Zhili, Shandong, Shaanxi-Gansu and other places have suffered setbacks, and there is no progress in the south!
However, Shanxi is divided and surrounded by several mountain ranges. External transportation is inconvenient and internally fragmented. Even if the New Agricultural Policy has significant effects, it cannot spread its influence quickly. That's why this cabinet attaches so much importance to Xingzhou! It is adjacent to the capital and radiates to Liaodong, Shandong and other places. It also has convenient transportation and caravans.
Continuously, if the new agricultural policy in Xingzhou is effective, it can quickly spread its influence, echo with Shanxi, and trigger farmers all over the world to follow suit. It can be said to be a top priority! "
Of course, Liu Zimin understood that Zhao Junchen's words were to warn him, and he quickly nodded with a serious expression, indicating that he would go all out.
Zhao Junchen ignored Liu Zimin and said coldly: "So, even if we resort to all means, we must win this round in Xingzhou! No matter what the Xingzhou Jin gentry's grain hoard is used for, this Food batches will soon have nothing to do with them!
We have completed the layout, all the chess pieces are in place, and we are just waiting for Xu Qingyan to complete the last step in eastern Xingzhou! I also believe that Xu Qingyan can complete the task soon! Wait until the day after tomorrow, when the people in the city rush to buy low-priced grains with their vouchers, we can take the opportunity to comprehensively rectify the Xingzhou officials and gentry, and we must make them pay a heavy price! "
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Just as undercurrents are surging in Xingzhou City and great changes are about to happen, in the past few days, the villages and villages in eastern Xingzhou have been experiencing turmoil and chaos.
Under Zhao Junchen's instigation, the people in eastern Xingzhou who returned to their hometown from Shanhaiguan quickly took action, contacting their fellow villagers everywhere, openly exposing the sinister intentions of the Jin gentry for plundering, and constantly publicizing Zhao Junchen's various promises. The impact is getting bigger and bigger.
According to Zhao Junchen's promise, as long as the people in the eastern part of Xingzhou are willing to unite against the Jin gentry and go to the government to file a complaint, then Zhao Junchen will not only be willing to stand up and make decisions for them and help them keep their existing property, but he is even willing to help them regain it. The property was robbed by the gentry in the past.
Such temptation is not small.
The bustle in the world is all for the benefit of coming; the hustle and bustle of the world is all for the benefit of the future.
Faced with such temptations, even ordinary farmers who have always been submissive and honest can't help but feel tempted.
Under normal circumstances, farmers may still be wary. After all, the elders, small landowners, clan leaders, etc. in each township and village are all accomplices and minions of the gentry. These people have great influence in each township and village, and often As long as they jointly express their stance, the farmers will not dare to continue making troubles, fearing that they will be isolated and excluded.
Although there is a saying that "a single spark can start a prairie fire," in fact, there have been countless "sparks" throughout the ages. However, the vast majority of "sparks" have not yet formed the power to start a prairie fire, and have been killed by the accomplices and minions of the gentry class. It was snuffed out easily.
Under normal circumstances, even if someone actively encourages farmers to unite to resist, they will not be able to cause trouble in a short time.
Especially since a civil unrest had just ended in Xingzhou, the Jizhen garrison was in full force while suppressing the civil unrest, which further frightened all the people of Xingzhou.
But this time the situation is different.
Zhao Junchen rescued thousands of people from eastern Xingzhou in Shanhaiguan. Their hometowns were relatively concentrated, and under Zhao Junchen's instigation, they all had a relatively firm stance, so they directly bypassed the "spark" stage, and soon It quickly turned into a small flame, caused a big stir, and soon aroused the herd mentality of other farmers.
The most important thing is that Zhao Junchen also arranged for three hundred Forbidden Army soldiers to return home with these people. In name, it was for surveillance and escort, but in fact, he wanted to support and embolden these people.
These Forbidden Army officers and soldiers under Zhao Junchen are all elite guards at the feet of the emperor. They have experienced the great victory of Shaanxi-Gansu and the Liaodong Revolution with Zhao Junchen. They are all used to seeing big scenes. How can they treat those elderly people in remote areas like this? , small landowners, and clan leaders take it seriously?
Therefore, after seeing that the farmers under their control wanted to cause trouble, the elders, small landowners, and clan leaders in each village and village originally thought that they would just stand up and reprimand a few words harshly and give some gentle words of comfort as usual. You can easily scare these honest and humble people.
Who would have thought that just when they wanted to stand up and express their attitude this time, the Forbidden Army soldiers directly pressed down. The most they could do was protest a few words in anger, but as the Forbidden Army soldiers showed their blades one after another, this protest was also It quickly disappeared without a trace.
After farmers lost the suppression of elders, clan leaders, and small landowners,
, became more and more fearless, and the villages and villages in the eastern part of Xingzhou quickly united. In just two or three days, three to four thousand people joined one after another, which can be said to be a huge momentum.
After Xu Qingyan rushed to the east of Xingzhou under Zhao Junchen's instructions, he found that a large number of people were gathering under the organization of the Forbidden Army soldiers, preparing to go to Xingzhou City to file a lawsuit with the Jin gentry.
*
"...The current situation is like this. Zhao Gechen's plan is going very smoothly. Because of the support of our colleagues in the imperial army, the people in the eastern part of Xingzhou are no longer timid and have participated in it. Now they are gathering quickly, and the number of people is getting bigger and bigger. The more we have, the more we can gather tomorrow afternoon at the latest, and then we can go to Xingzhou City to sue the Jin gentry to the government..."
Tao Xiongnai was a flag officer of the Forbidden Army and one of the leaders of the Forbidden Army sent by Zhao Junchen to organize people to cause trouble in eastern Xingzhou. He had also participated in the secret plan to kidnap He Yu and witnessed Xu Qingyan and He Yu desperately fighting for their lives. scene, he greatly admired Xu Qingyan's perseverance and courage, so when Xu Qingyan arrived in eastern Xingzhou, he took the initiative to give up command to Xu Qingyan, and also reported to Xu Qingyan in detail the current situation in eastern Xingzhou.
After hearing Tao Xiong's report, Xu Qingyan pondered for a moment and suddenly said: "Not enough!"
"Not enough? More than three thousand people have gathered. Isn't this momentum enough? Master Xu, you don't know how difficult it is to manage these people! With such a large number of people gathered together, everyone is a hater. We are suffering deeply and full of resentment. If we are not careful, we will cause trouble. If we want to gather more people, we will not be able to control it... Zhao Gechen specially ordered that our action this time is just to make a splash. But we must not cause civil unrest again..."
Xu Qingyan shook his head and said: "The momentum and scale are enough, but we still lack a decisive evidence! The Xingzhou officials and gentry are so bold that they have completely angered the Zhao cabinet, so the Zhao cabinet is no longer interested in exerting pressure and negotiating with them, but wants to use Thunderous methods are used to completely rectify the Jin gentry in the east of Xingzhou, headed by the Li family, and they are also the primary target of Zhao Gechen, so we need to find a serious enough crime, completely pin it on the Li family, and let Zhao Gechen drive out the Li family and kill them all!"
Tao Xiong couldn't help but raised the question again, saying: "These common people we gathered have all been oppressed by the Li family. Some people were robbed of their property, some were robbed of their wives and daughters, and some common people were robbed of their property. My family members died tragically at the hands of the Li family, aren’t these crimes serious enough?”
Xu Qingyan shook his head while thinking: "Not enough! These crimes are not serious enough. The Li family still has a chance to make excuses... But we can't leave the Li family even the slightest chance!"
Speaking of this, Xu Qingyan suddenly thought of something and asked, "Is there a Li family mansion nearby?"
Tao Xiong nodded and said, "Yes! There is a Li family mansion in Shexiang, more than ten miles to the west."
"How big is the mansion? Does it have a cellar?"
"I haven't seen it with my own eyes, but I heard that the mansion is one of the ancestral residences of the Li family. It has been expanded many times and has more than thirty large houses in total. A mansion of this size must have a cellar."
Xu Qingyan sneered and said: "Let me ask you one more thing, how many crossbows and muskets do the three hundred Forbidden Army soldiers who are on duty in the east of Xingzhou have in total? How many of these crossbows and muskets can be scrapped and discarded? You will not be subject to the Beijing camp afterwards. Doubts and investigations?”
Tao Xiong had roughly guessed what Xu Qingyan was thinking. After his expression changed slightly, he replied in a deep voice: "I have a total of ten flying guns, more than thirty hand-held guns, and about fifty long and short bows and crossbows..." …Since this period of time, my colleagues and I have been following Zhao Gechen. We all participated in the Liaodong Rebellion and encountered several battles. Anything can happen on the battlefield, so even if we scrapped and abandoned half of the crossbows and guns , and will not be subject to any investigation or suspicion!"
Xu Qingyan said sadly: "Very good, then you collect half of the number of crossbows and muskets, erase all relevant traces that can prove their origins, and then claim that someone reported that the Li family hid the crossbows and muskets, and led people to forcefully break into the Li family's ancestors In the house, and then take advantage of the search to throw all the worn-out bows, crossbows and muskets into the cellar of the Li family's ancestral house!"
Although he had already vaguely guessed, after hearing this, Tao Xiong still
Ran was dumbfounded: "Is this okay? Isn't the technique too rough?"
"For things like frame-up, the rougher the method, the harder it is to get over it! What's more... with this crime as a primer, other things will be easier to handle!"
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PS: First update.
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