Of course Zhang Mingwei would not whet Emperor Chongzhen's appetite, so he replied with a serious expression: "After Sun Chuanting arrived in Qin, he was short of money and food, so he raised the ancestral banner and declared, 'Not one acre of land can be lost, and not one grain of food can be lost'." For a time, the original land records of Qin were seized, and then the land for military settlements was recovered according to the records, in order to pay for the Qing settlements. In this way, Taizu's idea of raising troops without spending money and food from the court was realized again. ”
Emperor Chongzhen's eyes lit up when he heard that, yes, Taizu was very proud back then, why didn't I think of that!
While he was thinking about it, Zhang Mingwei changed the subject and said: "However, the original military land and grain fields were actually occupied by generals at all levels of the guards and local powerful people. Sun Chuanting wants to take back the land, Your Majesty Think about it, will you be hated to death by those people?"
Although Emperor Chongzhen had never been outside the capital and did not understand many ways of the world, he still understood that killing people's money was like killing their parents. Therefore, when he heard this, he immediately felt why Zhang Mingwei said before that Sun Chuanting's fate was doomed.
Sure enough, I heard Zhang Mingwei continue: "Those guards officers and local powerful people are all rich and powerful, and they also have many connections in the court. They must not be reconciled. In the local area, Sun Chuanting has military power and cannot move. He will definitely find a way in the court. I believe that the revenge of people like them was indispensable behind Sun Chuanting's imprisonment! Because after Sun Chuanting was imprisoned, the plan to clear the villages and pay them would naturally come to an end. "
After hearing these words, Emperor Chongzhen's face became a little ugly. Because one of the most important people who impeached Sun Chuanting was Yang Sichang. Of course, there were others, but Yang Sichang was the most important.
Although Zhang Mingwei said nothing just now, it proves from one aspect that Yang Sichang is a traitor to the country. This person was the person he trusted the most back then!
Thinking of this, Emperor Chongzhen was a little bit shocked.
Zhang Mingwei did not stop here, and continued to say: "Let's talk about Lu Xiangsheng, he should have seen that the common people were dying of hunger, but the local powerful had a surplus of food, so he proposed a strategy to equalize food. That is to say, paying taxes in five No additional tax will be levied on farmers who pay less than 5 taels. However, for wealthy households who pay more than 5 taels, grain taxes will be levied to varying degrees according to the amount of property. When he was the governor of Xuanda, he highly recommended this grain tax. Ce. Your Majesty should still have an impression of this matter, right?"
After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen looked very bitter and nodded slowly.
The reason for this is that he does remember this. In the end, it was Yang Sichang who took the lead in opposing, saying that the grain policy was too unfair and would cause the court to lose popular support. As a result, the grain policy was changed to equal losses, that is, all grains were levied together, regardless of the rich or the poor.
At that time, Lu Xiangsheng's father, who strongly advocated the food policy, suddenly passed away. As usual, he had no choice but to go home and observe filial piety. In this matter, in the end, both losers win.
Zhang Mingwei turned serious, looked at Emperor Chongzhen and concluded seriously: "It's all the same! Whether it's Sun Chuanting or Lu Xiangsheng, although their strategies are beneficial to the people and the court, they have offended too many rich and powerful people. Those who are in power will not end well after all.”
Emperor Chongzhen lowered his head and remained silent.
After a while, he raised his head and looked at Zhang Mingwei, obviously a little decadent, obviously shocked. If he had the ability to recognize people, such a thing should not happen!
Emperor Chongzhen sighed and said to Zhang Mingwei sincerely: "Sir, you came a little late, otherwise, I would have made fewer mistakes. In this way, maybe... maybe the situation in Ming Dynasty would not be so bad! "
In the words, anyone who listens can hear the meaning of self-blame.
Zhang Mingwei also sighed secretly, thinking to himself, I also want to come here early to see what kind of person Lu Xiangsheng, who is the most knowledgeable among military generals and the most powerful among civil servants, is like!
Looking at Emperor Chongzhen in front of him, he thought again: The emperor in front of him really worked harder than most emperors. It's just a pity that the Ming Dynasty he inherited is already rotten.
When Emperor Chongzhen ascended the throne, the situation in Liaodong had already deteriorated, and the rebellion in the southwest also spread to many provinces. Also, with floods in the south and drought in the north, bandits in northern Shaanxi have also begun to overrun. Corruption among officials and constant party strife have reached very serious levels. What's even worse is that the treasury no longer has any money, and the increased Liao wages imposed since the Wanli Dynasty have aggravated social conflicts.
It is said that Jiajing was not groomed for the position of prince and was pulled into becoming emperor halfway. However, at that time in Jiajing, the country was taken over from Emperor Zhengde. At that time, the Ming Dynasty was in such an unbearable situation. But even so, Emperor Jiajing was scolded by Hai Rui, saying that every family in Jiajing was clean.
Therefore, Emperor Chongzhen certainly had subjective reasons for the fall of the Ming Dynasty, but there were also huge objective reasons.
Thinking that Emperor Chongzhen worked hard and worked harder than most emperors to revive the Ming Dynasty, in the end, Emperor Chongzhen found that everything he did was led by others, and in the end he became the king of the country. I have to say that realizing this was really cruel to Emperor Chongzhen himself. No wonder he had such a decadent expression.
Thinking of this, Zhang Mingwei showed a smile and said to Emperor Chongzhen in a firm and powerful tone: "Even time travel can be encountered by your Majesty. Maybe God saw your majesty's efforts, so he sent me to your majesty. From now on, we will work together and do our best to change the future and revive the Ming Dynasty!"
When Emperor Chongzhen heard this, his eyes suddenly lit up and his face became angry. He immediately nodded vigorously and said, "I knew you were sent by God to help me. From now on, I will definitely work harder to live up to God's will." Pity!"
The dead cannot be resurrected, so we must cherish the people in front of us even more!
Seeing that Emperor Chongzhen had regained his fighting spirit, Zhang Mingwei was also happy and said to him: "Your Majesty, Sun Chuanting didn't want him to kill He Renlong to demonstrate the law of the country? Why not take this opportunity to emphasize the discipline of the officers and soldiers and not to disturb the people?" Win the hearts and minds of the people. Correspondingly, His Majesty will give Sun Chuanting support, let him continue to implement the policy of clearing the villages and replenishing wages, and give him more time to train elite soldiers. Only with enough money and food can he not disturb the people and become a popular force. We need real imperial officers and soldiers!"
After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen remembered what he had said before, and asked, "What if the thieves attack Kaifeng?"
"Wouldn't it be possible to provide local governments with money and power to strengthen city defenses? In this way, it will definitely not be easy for thieves to break through Kaifeng." Zhang Mingwei immediately replied, "If Sun Chuanting sends troops before he is ready, it will be like Hong Chengchou's Just like the Battle of Songshan, it is likely to lead to defeat, but the losses will be even greater, and Kaifeng will not be saved, so it is better to be prepared first!"
The tragic defeat of Songshan was still before his eyes, which made Emperor Chongzhen nod his head immediately. He even couldn't wait and wrote a personal edict to Sun Chuanting, explaining some of Zhang Mingwei's suggestions.
As soon as he sent out the decree, he heard a voice coming from outside the palace door: "Servant Xu Gao has come back from the Jiading uncle's house to reply to the decree!"
