Below Jiaxing City is a plain.
But the plains in the south are very different from those in the north.
Because of abundant rainfall, the plains in the south are often accompanied by a large number of rivers and ditches for drainage.
Under normal marching conditions, it is easy to pass through these places because there are many bridges.
Even if there are no bridges, most of the rivers and ditches are not too wide, so it is not difficult for the army to cut down trees and build temporary bridges.
However, when the army collapses, the ditch two to three feet wide will also become a fatal chasm.
The bridge that was originally erected soon became the center of chaos when everyone was crowded together.
In order to escape before their companions, many people picked up their weapons and waved them at others who were crowding the road.
Killing each other.
Many people were hacked to death.
More people fell into rivers and ditches.
There are still pursuers behind.
They are originally a mob, and when they win a battle, they show off their power and show their arrogance.
The collapse at this moment was disorganized and a mess.
Everyone is heartbroken.
He didn't dare to turn around and fight, but he showed no mercy when killing the other people who were escaping together.
The Ming army at the back with weird costumes and weird weapons was too scary.
They just want to get ahead of others and escape, and cannot even think of turning around to fight.
The wind roared and the cranes roared, and the grass and trees were all in war.
In contrast, the New Army's pursuit seemed to be all over the mountains and plains, but in fact it was very organized.
During the training, Zhu Yunzhen had already thought about how to pursue the defeated army in the future and formulated a training plan.
Not a single soldier of the New Army got separated, but pursued in a group of at least three people.
In this way, even if you occasionally encounter deserters who are stubbornly resisting, you can quickly deal with them.
It is impossible to attack anyone suddenly.
For the defeated soldiers who were injured and fell to the ground, the new army soldiers would use bayonets to make up for it.
They also ran faster than Japanese pirates and rebels.
If the three-person team occasionally encounters dozens or hundreds of defeated troops gathered in front, they will fire first to intimidate them.
The defeated army, which had long lost its fighting spirit, fled as soon as it heard the sound of gunfire.
As for resistance, I didn’t even think about it.
The sky quickly darkened and the pursuit continued.
This night is destined to be sleepless.
Both the Japanese pirates and the traitors who relied on them were in constant fear.
They only care about escaping for their lives and don't think much about it.
Little do they know that this is just the beginning, and that the real end for all of them is coming soon.
…
…
…
When the fighting in Jiaxing City was fierce, Jinling City was also in turmoil.
On the same day that Zhu Yunxu led the troops to the expedition, Lao Zhu also ended his "vacation" and went to court in person.
Because of the sudden attack by Japanese pirates and their occupation of Songjiang Mansion, many more officials came to court today than usual.
In the spacious hall, all civil and military officials bowed down together.
"Long live my emperor! Long live!"
"Everyone loves you!"
Lao Zhu's spirit has improved a lot and he no longer looks sick.
As soon as he came to court, officials immediately came to give advice.
"Your Majesty, the Japanese pirates colluded with Zhang Shicheng's old men, private salt dealers, and some rebels to occupy Songjiang Mansion."
"I believe that the biggest reason for the Japanese pirates' rebellion was that the imperial court imposed additional commercial taxes, which aroused dissatisfaction among the wealthy merchants, who secretly funded the Japanese pirates and provided them with bridges, which allowed several groups of people to gather together, leading to the fall of Songjiang City. The tragedy of the breach.”
"Improving commercial taxes to compete with the people for profit is something that should not be done. Now it has caused a terrible disaster."
"It is not too late to mend the situation. I am requesting Your Majesty to stop imposing additional commercial taxes. I also declare to the world that this dynasty will never impose additional commercial taxes in the future."
"In this way, the people's hearts can be calmed down. No one will collude with the Japanese pirates anymore, the war can be quelled, and such disasters will not happen again in the future. Please follow this, Your Majesty."
As soon as he finished speaking, a second official followed him to give advice.
"I also believe that the top priority is to immediately stop the increase in commercial taxes."
Later, officials came forward one after another.
"I second the proposal."
"I also second the proposal."
"I also second my opinion."
…
There were not many officials in the court who supported the increase in commercial taxes.
The civil servants felt that this was competing for interests with the people and strongly opposed it.
Most of the servants of the military commanders and nobles were businessmen who made huge profits for them, so they were naturally opposed to it.
Due to the situation, I had no choice but to hold my nose and admit it.
Now that we have seized the right opportunity, everyone will stand up and openly oppose it.
"The additional commercial tax increased the court's tax revenue by a full 30%. With this money, the court was able to alleviate the financial crisis. I believe that this move should be continued and should not be abandoned halfway."
Zhao Jing, Shangshu of the Ministry of Punishment, made a comment.
He had been the Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs for several years. He knew the financial difficulties of the country and always demolished the east wall to pay for the west wall, unable to make ends meet.
If no commercial tax is levied, will officials still be paid their salaries? Do we still need to pay the military pay to the soldiers at the front? What about the country’s engineering construction? Where does the money for famine relief come from?
All kinds of things are useless without money.
In the past, it could be solved by printing treasure banknotes.
Nowadays, more and more Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes are being printed, and ordinary people have begun to disown the treasure banknotes and only recognize silver and physical objects.
If this continues, Ming's financial crisis will become even more serious.
What should we do in the future?
"That's right. It was the increase in commercial taxes that allowed the national treasury's silver balance to recover. Otherwise, we wouldn't know where to raise military expenditures to pacify the Japanese pirates this time. I wouldn't be able to be a minister in the household department."
Zhao Mian, the Minister of Household Affairs, also hurriedly came out to speak.
These people are not rich enough to know how expensive firewood and rice are.
But he was in charge of the household department of the Ming Dynasty, and all parties came to him for money.
However, where does the money come from?
"That's nonsense."
Huang Zicheng immediately retorted: "If we had not levied commercial taxes, this disaster would not have happened. Why would we need to raise military expenditures?"
"The little money gained from levying additional commercial taxes was used to supplement the military expenditures to quell the Japanese pirates' rebellion. Apart from making the people suffer and endure the Japanese pirates' rebellion, what benefit did it have to the court?"
"Your Majesty, I think that those who are still talking nonsense about continuing to levy commercial taxes are neglecting the imperial court, Your Majesty, and the country of Ming Dynasty. They should be immediately removed from their official positions, sent to the border areas, or even beheaded in public to rectify people's hearts."
Other officials immediately followed suit.
"That's right. Using money from increased commercial taxes to subsidize military expenditures to quell chaos. Is there anyone in the world who would settle accounts like this?"
"I think some people have ulterior motives, right?"
"Rebellious ministers and traitors will be punished by everyone. How can the world allow them to cause chaos?"
"Immediately repeal the increase in business taxes."
…
All the civil and military officials were excited.
At this moment, Lao Zhu said coldly: "Are you done with the quarrel?"
The hall suddenly became quiet.
All the officials looked at their noses, their noses and their hearts, not even daring to breathe harder, let alone say another word.
"The human heart is not enough for a snake to swallow an elephant."
Lao Zhu's voice was not loud, but the palace was extremely quiet at the moment, and Luo Er's voice was particularly loud.
"The wealthy merchants have amassed huge amounts of wealth."
"If the imperial court doesn't collect taxes from them, will it still collect taxes from the poor people who are already extremely poor?"
"After receiving a few taels of money from them, they dared to secretly finance the Japanese pirates' rebellion."
"If the court does not impose severe punishment and instead retreats towards them, what else are they going to do in the future?"
"What else do you want to use to blackmail the court?"
Lao Zhu's tone suddenly became sharp: "This wind must not last long."
"The Ming court must not retreat to a group of businessmen and Japanese pirates."
"They want to rebel, okay, then let us see what they are capable of."
"We have just conferred the title of "Mighty General" on the emperor's grandson to lead the troops to put down the Japanese pirate rebellion."
"Anyone who colludes with the Japanese pirates will be killed without mercy if the court does not accept their surrender."
There was silence in the hall, and the officials who had been so impassioned just now did not dare to say anything anymore.
Lao Zhu kept his word, but no one dared to touch his reverse scale.
at this time.
There were bursts of rapid footsteps outside.
An eunuch came in and reported: "Your Majesty, something big has happened. Your Highness the Grand Sun has beheaded Duke Cao Li Jinglong."
The time of going to court was very early, which happened to be the time when Zhu Yunxu led the troops to go on an expedition, so the news was not transmitted until now.
"What?"
In the court, all the civil and military officials were dumbfounded.
Although Li Jinglong, Duke of Cao State, and Chang Mao, Duke of Zheng State, were both Dukes of the State, the status of the former was much higher than that of Chang Mao.
In addition to being the Duke of the country, Li Jinglong is also a famous general. He also serves as the censor of Zuodu and is in charge of the Zuojun Dudufu. He is a military boss who truly holds real power.
"Why did Taisun want to kill him?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked in a deep voice.
His voice also changed drastically.
This time, five people including Feng Sheng, Fu Youde, Li Jinglong, Chang Sheng, and Sun Ke were transferred back to Beijing. In addition to responding to the Japanese pirates' rebellion, Zhu Yuanzhang had other thoughts.
Fu'er is already the grandson of the emperor, but he has not yet arranged his own team.
Lao Zhu plans to use these five people, together with Lan Yu, as the new team of the Prince's Mansion.
Li Jinglong is his preferred candidate for the crown prince and tutor.
Unexpectedly, Li Jinglong was beheaded by Zuo'er?
No wonder even Lao Zhu suddenly changed his color.
The eunuch quickly told what happened in detail.
Lao Zhu's expression changed again and again, and gradually calmed down.
below.
The officials could no longer hold back.
"How could His Highness Taisun kill a duke and censor of Zuodu at will?"
"Your Majesty granted him the right to act expediently to facilitate the command in front of the battle. But the incident happened in Jinling City. Why didn't he ask for your Majesty's instructions but made his own decision?"
"Cao Guogong also has a heart for the country. Even if there is something wrong, the crime will not lead to death."
"The new army is strange. It has no armor, no bows and arrows, and no swords or axes. It is only equipped with short daggers. Such an army has never been heard of since ancient times. Cao Guogong is the leader of the army, so he naturally knows it, so he questions, What's the crime in seeking to prove the truth?"
"His Royal Highness Taisun killed Cao Guogong without permission. It was really an act of madness. I ask your Majesty to issue an order to punish him severely."
"Yes, it must be severely punished. Otherwise, who will dare to ask for orders for the country in the future?"
In the court hall, the voices of civil and military officials gathered together, and the momentum became louder and louder, all demanding that Zhu Yunxian be severely punished.
Huang Zicheng, Qi Tai and others were even more overjoyed.
Although Li Jinglong was one of his own, if his death could exchange for the downfall of Zhu Yunzhen, his grandson, it would be so worth it.
These people always think that it is worthwhile to sacrifice others to achieve their goals.
I originally thought that Zhu Yunxuan would have to suffer a huge defeat before he could be brought down.
I didn't expect him to be so bold.
Can he kill Li Jinglong at will?
Not to mention that he was in Jinling City, where he could ask for orders at any time, but he didn't.
Even if you lead the troops outside, you can't just kill them.
How could they miss such an opportunity?
For a time, the crowd was furious.
The civil servants had long disliked Zhu Yunzhen.
He was not the emperor's eldest grandson, so making him the crown prince was not in line with the wishes of the civil servants.
The policies he implemented after that, especially the various measures to establish the Advisory Office, made many civil servants resent him.
It's just that he was intimidated by his status as the emperor's grandson, and he dared not speak out when he was angry.
As for generals, the same is true.
The people whose interests will suffer the most from the increase in commercial taxes are the military commanders and nobles who like to let their servants open shops and make money in business.
And Zhu Yunzhen used to defeat Chang Mao to establish his power, and now he killed Cao Guogong Li Jinglong. These are all their people, how can he not be angry with the enemy?
Previously, because of Lan Yu's attitude, the generals and nobles did not dare to act rashly.
Now that Lan Yu is not here, everyone has no worries anymore.
As a result, the military generals and civil servants filed impeachment reports against Zhu Yunzhen, requesting His Majesty to severely punish him.
However, neither the civil officials nor the military officials mentioned that they wanted to depose him as the crown prince.
Although this is what everyone is thinking.
But no one said it.
The position of Crown Prince is too sensitive.
Whoever spoke could get into trouble.
Even if he succeeds in getting His Majesty to abolish Chu, he may suffer backlash.
What's more, as long as Zhu Yunzhen is severely punished by decree and his majesty is completely lost, it will be difficult for him to keep his position as crown prince, so why bother?
"Where is he now?" Lao Zhu asked.
The eunuch said: "After His Highness Taisun killed Cao Guogong Li Jinglong, he ordered the entire army to speed up the march and rushed to the front line of Jiaxing."
When Lao Zhu heard this, an imperceptible smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
The voice contained anger.
"Yun Chen was good at killing Li Jinglong, which is really wrong."
"We should have called him here to inquire about the truth and then issue an edict to punish him."
"But the military situation ahead is urgent, and he has already led the army to fight."
"At this time, it is not appropriate to recall the coach, nor to punish him, so as not to shake the morale of the military."
"This matter will be dealt with after the army commander returns to the court."
All civil and military officials saluted together: "Your Majesty is wise."
Although they all wished that Lao Zhu would convict Zhu Yunxuan immediately, he had already led his army away and the military situation was urgent, so there was really no reason to pursue the coach back.
The punishment afterwards was reasonable and reasonable, and none of the civil and military officials could find fault with it.
However, none of them noticed the subtle expression change on Lao Zhu's face.
"You brat, you can actually kill even Zuodu Yushi and Cao Guogong Li Jinglong at any time, and you can actually frighten the three armies. We really didn't misjudge you!"
That's right.
Lao Zhu's current mood is quite good.
Who is Cao Guogong Li Jinglong?
Although Lao Zhu valued him somewhat, he just wanted to kill him.
In contrast, Zhu Yunxuan's performance brought Lao Zhu a huge surprise.
What Lao Zhu is most worried about is that Zhu Yunxuan is too young, unable to control the situation, and cannot subdue the civil and military officials.
Li Jinglong dared to stop him, which was also an important reason.
Otherwise, if Zhu Yunzhen was an adult prince, even if what he did was more ridiculous and outrageous, and if Li Jinglong had ten more courage, he would not dare to provoke a prince like this.
It was precisely because he was only seven years old that he didn't take him seriously and dared to intercept the army when they set out for war.
Zhu Yunzhen's punishment for this matter was also very straightforward, killing him directly.
In Lao Zhu's opinion, this is the best way to deal with it.
What to do if you don't kill him, but let the army stop and ask for orders from yourself, then Lao Zhu will be really disappointed.
After all, Lao Zhu didn't know how many years his body could last.
If he died suddenly, who would he ask for orders from?
Without anyone asking for an order, could he still be able to suppress all the civil and military officials, as well as those military officers and nobles who once conquered the world with him?
Zhu Yunzhen killed someone directly without asking for an order, thus giving Lao Zhu a perfect answer.
Tell Lao Zhu, he can!
He can suppress the most arrogant military commander.
Even if he doesn't ask for an order, even if he doesn't have Lao Zhu to back him up, he can do it.
Even if Li Jinglong said he would kill him, who else could not kill him?
Who else can't suppress it?
Because of this, Lao Zhu felt very happy.
This was an unexpected surprise.
The child has grown up.
The Ming Dynasty can be left to him with confidence.
There is nothing more gratifying for Lao Zhu than this.
As for Li Jinglong.
If his death could mean that no one in the court would dare to be disrespectful to Zhu Yunxian, then it would be worth cutting off ten of his heads, let alone one.
"You brat, you know how to leave right away. We don't have to worry about protecting you. As long as you win a big victory and return triumphant, who dares to say that you will be punished? Hahaha..."
Lao Zhu smiled proudly in his heart.
And the officials below were all overjoyed.
His Majesty said that he would be held accountable, so Zhu Yunzhen must be doomed this time!
(End of chapter)
