It turned out that the Ming Dynasty had never captured so many real Tatars. Therefore, the hatred of the people of the Ming Dynasty towards the Tatars was accumulated.
This time, King Qin's army captured so many prisoners in the Battle of Tianjin. In addition to dying of serious injuries, less than a hundred survived and were imprisoned in the prison of the Ministry of Punishment.
As for the prisoners in the prison of the Ministry of Punishment, some of their relatives and friends died at the hands of Jianlu, or some fields outside the city were ruined by Jianlu. It can be said that almost everyone has hatred towards Jianlu. Therefore, these guards took advantage of the convenience of their positions and began to take out their anger on the captured prisoners.
Although the court has given instructions, these Jianlu Tatars cannot be killed. But this kind of thing is not a problem at all for the prison guards. Not only could they not kill them, but they could not even see them and tortured the Tatars.
After I was happy, I went home and said, why did the Jianlu Tatars taste the pain today? It can be regarded as a revenge for that one.
Then, you told me about this matter, and I told you about it. Within a few days, it spread.
As a result, the prisoners' neighbors and even other people came to ask the prison guards of the Penal Department Prison to let them be taken in, and they also personally gave the prisoners a taste of pain, which was a different kind of revenge.
But not everyone can enter the prison of the Ministry of Punishment. Therefore, it was natural to start giving some money to the jailer, and then the jailer took the people in, and even gave instructions on how to make these Tatars suffer more and torture them.
What is unexpected is that as word of mouth spreads about this matter, more and more people are asking for personal revenge. The prison of the Ministry of Punishment is a little crowded.
Later, a prison guard came up with an idea and gave a rule.
They tied all the Jianlu Tatars inside the cell, and then placed many small sandbags outside the cell. If you want revenge, you can line up, go in and throw sandbags, one penny for each sandbag, throw it as hard as you can, you won't hit anyone, and you won't be seriously injured, but you can sit on the ground and collect the money.
In this way, the prison guard only needs to watch from the side, and at most he can pick up the sandbags and easily earn money. However, it was also to blame that the hatred value of the Jianlu Tatars was too high, so the supply was still in short supply, and the price finally increased, from one cent to ten cents per sandbag. In this way, there are still many people queuing up every day. Some people even hire someone to do it when they are tired of doing it themselves.
After hearing Cao Huachun's report, Emperor Chongzhen couldn't help but ask: "Does the Minister of Punishment know about it?"
"Everyone knows about this." Cao Huachun quickly reported, "But saying this is a good thing. It is to vent the anger of the people of the Ming Dynasty. There is no need to stop it. As for the matter of collecting money, it is just to prevent the prison of the Ministry of Punishment from We were overwhelmed by the people of the capital, so we had to do it as a last resort.”
Having said this, he added with a smile: "The money was finally confiscated and belonged to the Penal Department Yamen."
After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen immediately shook his head and said: "This kind of thing is still against the rules. However, the people's anger against the Jianlu in Liaodong is huge, and it is a good thing to let the people vent their anger. So be it, this kind of thing will not happen again."
In fact, humiliating prisoners was very common in ancient times, which is the so-called public display. However, this one goes a step further and uses money to buy the opportunity to do it yourself.
In Emperor Chongzhen's view, this kind of thing should not happen to ordinary criminals. However, there is no need to be polite to Jianlu and can be treated as a special case.
After hearing his words, Cao Huachun immediately accepted the order. But then, Emperor Chongzhen ordered him again: "The voices of the people also need to be listened to, so move all the treasonous main criminals in Dongchang and Jinyiwei prisons to the prison of the Ministry of Punishment!"
Cao Huachun listened and agreed, but he still looked a little hesitant, as if he had something to say but didn't dare to speak.
When Emperor Chongzhen saw it, he asked with a smile: "Why, you can't bear to part with me?"
After hearing this, Cao Huachun quickly said with a flattering smile: "Your Majesty is wise, the salaries of my subordinates are not high, and now I strictly prohibit them from taking money that they shouldn't take, so I thought... I thought about giving them some money. This opportunity can... subsidize the family income!"
He said this several times before he could finish it. Obviously, Emperor Chongzhen still had some concerns about his previous methods. In other words, at least he had to behave like this to let the emperor know that he was still a little worried and didn't know whether it was okay or not. The emperor had to make a decision.
When Emperor Chongzhen heard this, he was stunned for a moment and immediately remembered that since the anti-corruption campaign against officials' salaries had begun, he had to mention it to them. At this time, the salaries of officials at all levels set by Zhu Yuanzhang flashed through his mind.
The monthly salary of a first-grade official in the Ming Dynasty was eighty-seven dan, and the gross estimate was eighty-seven taels, which is equivalent to more than 40,000 yuan in later generations. This money sounds like a lot, but how many servants, wives, concubines, and children are there in the family of a first-grade official? Calculating it this way, it’s really not much.
The local magistrate, the fifth grade, had a monthly salary of sixteen dan, which was equivalent to eight thousand yuan in later generations. This salary is probably enough to live on for a family of three, and they have to live on a tight schedule. But will the local magistrate be a family of three?
Then there is the county magistrate, the seventh rank, whose monthly salary is seven stones and five dou, which is equivalent to 3,750 yuan in later generations. Needless to say, this little money is worth it!
The chief registrar in charge of household registration, arrests, and document processing was only in the ninth rank, and his monthly salary was five stones and five dou, which was equivalent to 2,750 yuan in later generations. With such great power but only such a small salary, under the pressure of life, even if a few are very honest and can farm their own land to support themselves, for most people, the consequences can be imagined.
Therefore, it is very necessary to raise the salary of Ming officials. At least those who are honest and honest officials should have no worries. As for how much, we have to discuss with the ministers to set a basic standard.
In addition, the two yamen, Jinyiwei and Dongchang, are too special and have no restrictions on their power. It is easy to rely on the power in their hands to make money. Therefore, their financial sources must not take many forms. Even if it is in the form of bonuses, it is better than letting them make money like those in the prison of the Ministry of Punishments.
Thinking of this, Emperor Chongzhen shook his head and said: "No, let's hand it over to the Ministry of Punishment!"
After hearing this, Cao Huachun couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed. If this is done, his reputation in Dongchang will be even higher.
Even so, on the surface, he immediately bowed down to accept the order and said: "I'm confused, I'm going to hand over the main culprit of the rebellion."
When Emperor Chongzhen saw it, he stopped him with a slight smile and said, "But my eldest companion reminded me that whether they are Dongchang Fanyi or Jinyi Guardsmen, they are my eyes and ears, so naturally I cannot treat them badly. I am going to raise my salary." Now, in addition, at the end of each year, there will be rewards for those who perform well in the East Factory or the Imperial Guards. These are extra and do not involve promotion due to merit."
"Your Majesty is kind, I would like to thank your Majesty for your kindness." When Cao Huachun heard this, he couldn't help but be overjoyed and quickly knelt down to thank him.
This time, the capital inspected many mansions. Adding in the money from previous nobles, the amount of silver alone amounted to more than five million taels, and there were many other valuable real estate shops. In addition to the rewards from King Qin's army, Emperor Chongzhen currently has about four million taels on hand, which is equivalent to more than the annual income of the treasury. In addition, the eight major Shanxi merchants and other second-tier Shanxi merchants are estimated to be able to extract hundreds of millions of silver, which is another large sum of money.
Emperor Chongzhen thought about the money and felt that he could straighten out many things. At least, there is no problem in giving factory guards a salary increase. In addition, severe crackdowns and increases in salaries for officials in the capital and across the country must be carried out simultaneously.
Of course, the source of all this money is from one-stick transactions, and you must be able to make money by making money. The Royal Bank of Ming Dynasty is one, but this is far from enough. Fortunately, remembering some knowledge of later generations can become a source of money in this era.
But there are too many things to do, and we must do them step by step.
The most important thing now is the resettlement of refugees, and the other is to strengthen the combat effectiveness of the three major battalions as soon as possible.
If a worker wants to do his job well, he must first sharpen his tools. The reform of the craftsman system must be carried out first. It can be said that this is actually the foundation of the country!
As a result, the people in the capital were waiting for the emperor's powerful army to escort the eight major Shanxi merchants back to the capital, while Emperor Chongzhen was thinking about the innovation of the craftsman system.
At the same time, in Anping Town, Fujian, in the city built by Zheng Zhilong himself, a young man looked calm and walked quickly into the lobby of the backyard of Zheng's mansion. When he saw the man sitting on the main seat, he shouted He said: "Brother, are you looking for me?"
"Fourth brother, come on, come on, I have something to do for my elder brother." The man in the main seat was also in his prime, but he was a shrewd man at first glance. When he saw the person coming, he said with a bit of seriousness.
This person is naturally the master of the Zheng Mansion, Zheng Zhilong, the overlord of the southeastern coast of the Ming Dynasty.
And this fourth brother is Zheng Zhilong's fourth brother. His original name was Zheng Zhifeng, but he changed his name to Zheng Hongkui when he passed the martial arts examination.
At this time, when Zheng Hongkui heard Zheng Zhilong's words, he quickly said: "What's the matter? My brother just ordered me. Is it some merchant ship that doesn't want to pay the money?"
"No, those people have their own people to do it." After hearing this, Zheng Zhilong immediately shook his head, looked at Zheng Hongkui and said, "It was Master Zhongcheng who sent someone to say that he has something to discuss with me..."
Hearing this, Zheng Hongkui couldn't help but said in surprise: "Brother, although our Zheng family doesn't have a good relationship with the new Zhongcheng, we shouldn't embarrass eldest brother, otherwise, his official position will be over!"
In Fujian, the land belongs to the Zheng family. Anyone who dares to offend the Zheng family will not end well.
Zheng Zhilong shook his head after hearing this and said: "An angel has arrived, and then Master Zhongcheng sent someone to send a message. The eldest brother guessed that it was someone who was quick to talk and let the court know that we had made some money and was interested in our family wealth, right? It's not easy for me to refuse this kind of thing in person, so you can go for me and tell me that I'm not at sea, so what do you mean by the Prime Minister's side? Let's talk about it first."
His people are everywhere in Fujian, so they naturally know the situation on the governor's side clearly. With Zheng Zhilong's shrewdness, he immediately guessed that the governor's visit to him was probably related to the imperial edict. But now in the north, the Liaodong rebels are raging, and the court must be in urgent need of money. Zheng Zhilong guessed this reason.
Hearing this, Zheng Hongkui agreed, but hesitated and said: "Brother, if you want money, then just give it to me. We are not short of this money!"
Upon hearing this, Zheng Zhilong frowned and immediately lectured: "How much money do we have? Don't we need to support so many brothers under us? If the emperor opens his mouth, can we spend dozens of taels of silver? Don't be nagging, let's go and find out. Let’s talk about the words!”
Obviously, he didn't actually want to give the money. In the original history, a large part of his money went to the Manchus. After the Qing Dynasty invaded Fujian, he wanted to be a wealthy prince, but refused to listen to his son Zheng Chenggong's advice and surrendered to the Qing Dynasty. As a result, the Manchus directly sent troops to loot Anping Town, and also forced his wife, Zheng Chenggong's mother, to commit suicide. Later, even he himself was "clicked" by the Manchu Qing Dynasty.
At this time, Zheng Hongkui heard what Zheng Zhilong said, so he could only agree and rush to the Fujian Governor's Mansion. Zheng Zhilong himself was still drinking tea and thinking about things.
The original governor of Fujian, Xiong Wencan, was the benefactor who surrendered him, and the two had a very harmonious relationship. They all came to the court and wanted to promote Xiong Wencan to an official position. However, Xiong Wencan also gave the reason of "five difficulties and four impossibles". Anyway, he didn't want to be promoted and just wanted to stay in Fujian.
Zheng Zhilong naturally knew the reason for this. It was not because of the deep relationship between the two, but because he, Zheng Zhilong, always gave Xiong Wencan heavy gifts during every new year and festival. Anyway, hello, hello, hello to everyone.
However, the emperor finally made the decree, and Xiong Wencan had no choice but to be promoted and transferred. The new governor of Fujian, Xiao Yifu, has a different style of work from Xiong Wencan. Especially after he took office, he became wary of Zheng Zhilong when he learned about his huge power in Fujian and at sea. I will not accept any gifts from Zheng Zhilong. As a result, the relationship between the two was not harmonious.
Zheng Zhilong guessed that it was Xiao Yifu who secretly informed the emperor and revealed the situation here. Therefore, when the North happened to be short of money, they sent people to ask for money.
He was thinking about it, but he didn't know when he heard movement outside. When he heard the sound, he saw that it was Zheng Hongkui who was back.
"Brother, you guessed wrong!" As soon as Zheng Hongkui entered the door, he loudly said to Zheng Zhilong: "I didn't mention the matter of our family wealth. I want to give you a promotion, brother!"
Upon hearing this, Zheng Zhilong couldn't help but be stunned. But in his heart, he felt vaguely uneasy, so he frowned and asked, "Don't be happy yet, tell me the specific situation in detail!"
When Zheng Hongkui heard this, he immediately nodded excitedly, and then told him all the details about how he went to see the governor on behalf of Zheng Zhilong.
