During the Chinese New Year in the 18th year of Chongzhen's reign, Emperor Chongzhen led his army and happened to pass by Yangzhou. For this reason, he specially spent a day in Yangzhou to rest. Therefore, this Chinese New Year in Yangzhou is very different from previous years.
In addition to the local government organizing food and supplies for the army, the emperor also came here, of course to have an audience. When the surrounding people heard that the emperor was passing by with his army, they were naturally very curious, and they all rushed over to watch the excitement.
Instead of being dissatisfied with the emperor's appearance and breaking their New Year reunion, they were filled with emotion.
"I didn't expect that a majestic emperor would not be able to survive for several years. It is really rare to personally lead the troops to put down the rebellion!"
"No, the chieftain rebellion in Yunnan, no matter how powerful it is, is still in a corner. But the emperor is worried about the suffering of the people in Yunnan, and he even personally leads the army to conquer it. In the past dynasties, there have been several emperors Can you be so considerate of the people?”
"You don't need to tell me that when Yangzhou suffered from floods before, the emperor had strict orders and dispatched the army to help. Otherwise, many people would definitely die!"
"When you said that, I remembered again. Since the twelfth year of Chongzhen, although our Ming Dynasty still suffered from floods in the south and drought in the north, the emperor paid the most attention to disaster relief and disaster prevention. He has never heard of large-scale starvation. It’s a human thing!”
"..."
This is mostly the emotion of ordinary people. As for those who have read books, whether they are scholars, craftsmen, or others, their concerns are different.
"Tell me, what does the emperor look like? Why is the emperor so knowledgeable?"
"Yes, the line of natural knowledge created by the emperor is really simple. How do you know so much! All kinds of knowledge can be said easily, and most of them are things that have never been noticed before, but they can be said by the emperor. It makes sense."
"Not to mention, when I first came into contact with those Western Yi monks, I was impressed by their profound knowledge. But I didn't expect that our emperor is the most powerful. Those Western Yi monks don't know as much as the Emperor. A drop in the bucket!”
"Yes, I am in Shili Baxiang, and my strength is here. But when I delve into the emperor's knowledge, I have to lament that my previous knowledge was too shallow. I don't know how many times I have read about the hot water kettle, but I don't know how many times I have seen it. I never thought that a steam engine could be built based on this principle. I heard that after the prince built the steam engine, the efficiency of the glass factory was greatly improved, and all kinds of mines used that kind of steam engine. It’s all money!”
"When you said that, I remembered that the emperor named the prince a machine master. How can I say that? In the Ming Dynasty, the titles were not for military merit or for royal relatives. Now they are related to craftsmen. The emperor is obviously not a child's play with titles, as long as it has significant benefits to people's livelihood, the emperor will never be stingy."
"The people who will benefit in the end are the people of Ming Dynasty. By the way, have you heard about the Yichun Courtyard?"
"Are you talking about our Yangzhou courtesans?"
"Yes, I heard that our oirans here in Yangzhou used to compete in playing music, chess, calligraphy, painting, and reciting poems. But now, they also compete with each other in natural knowledge to see who knows better!"
"I know this too! The customs of our Ming Dynasty used to be here in the south of the Yangtze River. Su and Yang took the lead and then became popular all over the world. And the customs of Su and Yang started from those romantic places. But now I didn't expect that they Everyone is learning this natural knowledge one after another, thinking that it will be used to attract literati. It seems that the culture of our Ming Dynasty is really going to change!"
"Haha, yes, the Eight Beauties of Qinhuai know, right? I was talking about it in the past. I heard that they had gatherings to discuss this natural knowledge. Some of them even said that they wanted to be the first emperor of our Ming Dynasty. There’s a baroness!”
"How is it possible that the emperor would give a woman a title? This is impossible!"
"What's impossible? The emperor will do things you can't think of, don't do too many! From my point of view, if they can really invent something that has a great impact on people's livelihood, maybe the emperor will really knight them. Otherwise , did you think the emperor would confer the title of prince before?"
"That's true. Those ladies are all smart people. Maybe they will invent something. Well, if that happens, we, the scholars, will be embarrassed!"
"..."
Basically, on the Jiangnan side, as Emperor Chongzhen led his troops, discussions like this would reach a climax. Almost all the people, regardless of men, women, old or young, were discussing matters related to the emperor.
However, Emperor Chongzhen paid no attention to these public opinions. Instead, he paid attention to the situation of the troops in various garrison stations all the way here. Although in the past few years, starting from the restructuring of the Beijing camp, the reform of the garrison and the army across the country has also been carried out one after another. However, he was not very satisfied with the situation of the troops in various military stations.
The Ming Dynasty has a history of nearly three hundred years. In the south, whether it was the Japanese pirate rebellion during the Jiajing period or the bandit disasters in previous years, it has been proved that the garrison army has completely lost its combat effectiveness. Even if it is just disaster relief and prevention, it has not achieved the expected effect. Probably because these garrison troops have been accumulated for so many years, they are actually already dead.
It seems that the garrison army still needs to make great efforts to rectify it. Emperor Chongzhen thought so and began to consider this matter in his mind.
After celebrating the New Year in Yangzhou Mansion and meeting with several officials headed here, on the third day of the Lunar New Year, Emperor Chongzhen continued to lead the army on their way.
By the time Zheng Chenggong regained Taiwan, Emperor Chongzhen had already arrived at Yingtian Mansion.
Here, the army rested again, and Emperor Chongzhen met with another management team of the Ming Dynasty. The most important ones were Lu Jiude, the eunuch of Nanjing, Sun Chuanting, the official minister, and Yang Tinglin, the censor of Nanjing Zuodu.
These three confidants were stationed in the south of the Yangtze River, assisting Zhang Pu in verifying the quota of privileges and exemptions for officials and gentry and calling in arrears. Although they were not as dazzling as Lu Xiangsheng, in terms of credit, they were still very great. Anyone who passes by here should be personally interviewed and encouraged no matter what.
Regarding the interview between Yang Tinglin and Lu Jiude, it was nothing. Everything ended just like Emperor Chongzhen thought. However, when meeting Sun Chuanting, something unexpected happened to him.
Just after Sun Chuanting reported the matter and Emperor Chongzhen encouraged him, he heard Sun Chuanting say to him, "Your Majesty, I am from the north. I have been in the south for many years and I heard that many of my former colleagues have made military exploits." , I am very envious in my heart. I am still thinking about it. It is better to put down the rebellion of Yunnan Chieftain this time. I am willing to obey your orders under His Majesty!"
Hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen was really stunned. But when he came back to his senses, he could understand why Sun Chuanting thought so.
Unlike the other two, Sun Chuanting's rise in the Ming Dynasty was actually to lead troops to suppress bandits. His ability to lead troops in war has also been tested. Previously, he was even appointed as the governor of Jiliao, and was used to deal with the Liaodong rebels. However, because he implemented his method in Guanning and forcibly took back the farmland, it aroused the dissatisfaction of the Guanning warlord.
At that time, in order to prevent Guan Ning from causing trouble, of course, more importantly, it was necessary to have a powerful official who had nothing to do with the officials in the south. Not only was he selfless, but he was not the kind of confidant official who was good at dancing, he should be there to clean up the rotten things. In the officialdom, Sun Chuanting was transferred to the south to serve as Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and he stayed there for five or six years.
It is estimated that Sun Chuanting was used to leading soldiers. When he heard that Hong Chengchou and especially Lu Xiangsheng led troops to fight against Japanese invaders and Japanese pirates, he would be very touched every time there was good news! In addition, Lu Xiangsheng eventually became the second civil servant in the history of the Ming Dynasty to be knighted because of his merits in leading troops in battles. This may have stimulated him even more.
Among the civil servants of the Ming Dynasty, Wang Yangming should be the most outstanding. He not only pioneered the theory of mind learning, but also reached the pinnacle of civil service and was awarded a title. Now, there is another Lu Xiangsheng. Although he has not yet joined the cabinet in the civil service position, there will be absolutely no problem for him to join the cabinet in the future.
Listening to Lu Xiangsheng's story, Sun Chuanting, who also possesses literary and military skills, must be very restless and thinking about fighting for a title!
In response to this, Emperor Chongzhen smiled slightly in his heart. He liked motivated subordinates.
Nowadays, in Jiangnan officialdom, after years of rectification, that is, verifying the quota of privileges and exemptions for officials and gentry and calling for payment of arrears, the atmosphere of the officialdom has been greatly cleaned up. In addition, the local procuratorate in Jiangnan has been successfully established, and factory guards are secretly supervising officials. It is indeed much better than before. Keeping Sun Chuanting here any longer feels like he is overqualified!
Thinking of this, Emperor Chongzhen immediately remembered the restructuring of the guard station. But after thinking about Sun Chuanting's style, I felt it wasn't very suitable. The military is different from the officialdom, and it is even more important when it involves the reform of the garrison military system in the south. Sun Chuanting did not know how to adapt and was easy to impose force. Although he was not afraid of their rebellion, if it caused unrest, it was not what Emperor Chongzhen wanted to see.
As for Yunnan, I want to solve the problem of Yunnan chieftains once and for all. If there is still a chance, I can get through Dongwu and gain access to the Indian Ocean. If these things are not backed by my own golden finger and are just Sun Chuanting, it is probably very difficult. It is difficult to achieve this goal.
Thinking of this, Emperor Chongzhen couldn't help but feel a little worried, how should he arrange Sun Chuanting?
Suddenly, an idea flashed in Emperor Chongzhen's mind, and he suddenly thought of how to arrange Sun Chuanting. So, he smiled and said to Sun Chuanting: "On the Yunnan side, since I have personally conquered it, and I have arranged for the governors of the three sides and the governors of Yunnan and Guizhou in advance, I already have enough manpower..."
Hearing this, he could see that Sun Chuanting's face was obviously a little disappointed. This person is indeed not one of those high-ranking officials in the city. It was also for this reason that in the original history, he was angered by Yang Sichang's actions and was imprisoned.
Seeing this, Emperor Chongzhen smiled slightly and said to him again.
