Chapter 336 Chongzhen, it is wonderful to be respectful and far away
"Living for grain" and "clearing villages to pay wages" are not policies that require repeated weighing of pros and cons, but are good ways to govern the country with immediate results in practice.
But that was the case. First, under the clamor of Yang Sichang and other ministers, Chongzhen slapped his forehead and changed the "because of food" to "all loses", that is, regardless of the rich and the poor, all were levied together.
As a result, the people who were already on the verge of life and death had no way to survive. They had no choice but to rebel and survive, and the flames of the peasant uprising became a prairie fire.
Later, Sun Chuanting offended Emperor Chongzhen due to his strategy to quell the rebellion. The officials and gentry he offended immediately added insult to injury, and Sun Chuanting was imprisoned. The "Qingtun camp to pay wages" also ended without any cure.
I don’t know what Chongzhen was thinking. Instead of blocking his way to life, he kept running forward on the road to death. If we say that he was a spy of Jianlu, we can indeed find a lot of evidence to accuse him.
Of course, this is impossible. There is no emperor who makes fun of the dragon throne, so it can only be attributed to the fact that Chongzhen and Governor Yuan are equally stupid and confused.
All in all, Guo Dajing had lost confidence in Chongzhen, let alone loyalty.
For a long time, the best policy was to keep a respectful distance. Guo Dajing was very afraid of Chongzhen's capriciousness and cruelty.
Accompanying a king is like accompanying a tiger. Guo Dajing believed in this rare saying summed up by his ancestors: one must stay away from Chongzhen. This is called meeting rather than being famous.
Moreover, it was difficult for Guo Dajing to accept the fact that he had to kowtow when meeting the emperor. You know, since he was reborn through time travel, he seemed to have never kowtowed before him, and the same was true for Mao Wenlong.
Nowadays, the Dongjiang Army is also undergoing subtle changes. The most important courtesy is to kneel down to greet someone. Usually it is just a bow and a hand, or a fist to the chest and a bow.
Mao Wenlong also accepted this kind of military etiquette, and preferred the kind of fist to the chest. He believed that this could show the strength and bravery of soldiers, and could reveal the style and spirit of the army.
The autumn wind is bleak, fallen leaves are swirling in the wind, and withered yellow is becoming the main color that can be seen everywhere.
Mao Wenlong stood in front of the window, gazing into the courtyard with his hands behind his back, his eyes sometimes deep and sometimes smiling.
The war is imminent, and the Dongjiang Army is nearly a centaur on an expedition across the sea. It is impossible not to worry.
But Mao Wenlong also knew that if he won this battle, Jianlu would be weakened, and the strategic initiative in Liaodong would fall into the hands of the Dongjiang Army.
Risks and opportunities coexist. Mao Wenlong believes in Guo Dajing's ability and believes that his preparations over the past year are sufficient and that he has a great chance of winning.
This year's harvest data gave Mao Wenlong confidence. This means that the foundation of Dongjiang Town has been solidified, and the large number of Shatou Liao people gathered and resettled, giving the Dongjiang Army the ability to expand its army again.
Mao Wenlong walked back to the desk, and while waiting for Guo Dajing, he flipped through the documents that had been reported.
After all-out efforts to fight drought and disaster this year, although the average yield has dropped by one-quarter to one-third, the amount of cultivated land has nearly tripled compared to last year, making the total output still hit a new high.
With food in hand, there is no panic in the heart. The people's requirements are not high, and they can live a comfortable life with a basket of food and a scoop of drink. And the stability of social order has enabled the smooth implementation of various plans in Dongjiang Town.
This was an achievement on the surface. The secret sales of silk and green cloth to Jianlu were all over. After considering the cost and the profit to the Lin family, a total of 1.67 million taels of silver were earned.
Money and food were abundant, which made Mao Wenlong feel rare and relaxed. Even if the court cuts off food and salary next year, with the current accumulation, Dongjiang Town can still support it for nearly two years.
And this, as expected, was also the key factor that made Mao Wenlong dare to break up with Yuan Chonghuan.
Hearing the familiar footsteps approaching from far outside, Mao Wenlong smiled slightly, relaxed his posture, and leaned on the armchair.
Guo Dajing signed up, bowed and saluted, "I will finally meet the commander-in-chief."
"Sit down!" Mao Wenlong stretched out his hand and said with a smile: "The troops will leave tomorrow, and you don't have time to reunite with your family."
Guo Dajing laughed, sat in the chair, and said, "After this battle, it's not too late to rest in peace."
The troops to be dispatched have already been determined. Except for Guo Dajing's Left Association, the other three associations each sent a battalion to form a mixed association to participate in the battle.
Since it is a mixed job, there must be running-in. In the past two or three months, Guo Dajing has basically devoted all his energy here.
Although it took some time to do so, these three battalions were all elites drawn from each association to fight for the three associations, and their combat effectiveness was satisfactory.
Everyone knows that the "King of Qin" operation is of great importance and is also a good opportunity to make contributions. Conflicts can easily arise between who is allowed to go and who is not allowed to go. Mao Wenlong and Guo Dajing made such a decision after repeated discussions.
Guo Dajing was already a deputy general. During the retraining and integration process, he would mercilessly drive away anyone who dared to disobey orders or even complained. This was the power given to him by Mao Wenlong.
The mixed association is temporarily led by Guo Dajing, and the commanders of each battalion were also appointed by Guo Dajing after inspection. They are not old people from Guanglu Island, but Shang Kexi, Shen Zhixiang, and Xiang Zuolin.
As for the Zuo Xie, Guo Dajing only commanded in name, and the actual command power was handed over to Liu Xingzhi and Zhang Pan, who led and directed them one by one.
The rank of the officers was almost two levels lower than that of Guo Dajing. Mao Wenlong considered that this would make it easier for Guo Dajing to command without any constraints.
Therefore, people like Mao Chenglu, Kong Youde, and Li Weiluan all wanted to follow Guo Dajing on the expedition, but they were all rejected by Mao Wenlong.
The expansion of new troops has also begun. By the end of the month, 6,000 troops will be added to each association; before the end of the year, each association will have its full strength.
To put it bluntly, next year's Dongjiang Army will be organized into five associations, with each association having a total of 12,000 infantry, cavalry and artillery troops. Of course, after Operation Qinwang, more troops will need to be recruited to make up for the casualties lost in the battle.
"Judging from the recent intelligence, Jianlu has already started taking action." Mao Wenlong said thoughtfully: "After you go to Lushun, the intelligence will be forwarded. If time is urgent, you don't need to ask for orders, you can deal with it on the fly."
"The general understands." Guo Dajing bowed and said: "If the information about Jianlu's entry into the pass and the imperial order from the imperial court are not available, the general will never send troops."
It is impossible to set off in advance. Although there is a 90% certainty that Jianlu is called to conquer the Chahar tribe and is actually a detour to enter the pass. However, the troops cannot set off without confirmation.
Moreover, each military town has its own flood area. Without the imperial court's order, leaving the flood area without authorization and breaking into the capital is tantamount to rebellion.
Even so, in Guo Dajing's opinion, there was enough time. At most, the Dongjiang Army could attack Zunhua in more than a month and cut off the Jianlu's retreat route out of the pass.
If there are no major changes in history, according to the timeline calculated by Guo Dajing, when the Dongjiang Army recaptured Zunhua, the Jianlu should have just arrived at the gates of Beijing.
As long as he knew that Zunhua had been lost, Huang Taiji would definitely withdraw his troops and go back. This was also what Guo Dajing wanted to achieve.
How could Guo Dajing allow such a tragedy to happen when the Jianlu captives were allowed to wreak havoc in the capital for four months, plundering, burning and killing them calmly?
Although many people in the Gyeonggi area will be tortured by the war and their families will be destroyed, Guo Dajing has tried his best. Who makes him not the emperor, he can only find favorable opportunities in the cracks!
Moreover, the choice of the Three Tun Camps in Zunhua to intercept the Jianlu was not only to rescue the vast majority of the captive people, but also to minimize the casualties of the troops on the expedition, but they did not take into account the frightened Emperor Chongzhen in the capital.
This is also a sin. For Emperor Chongzhen, he is worth a thousand gold, and all the troops of King Qin will surround him. Who cares about the thousands of people who were robbed by the rebels?
Therefore, even if Chongzhen was dissatisfied after re-establishing the captives in Zunhua and taking back all the people, he would still punish him.
Even though he made up the excuse that the sea was unpredictable and the sea was drifting, no one could say for sure how much the emperor could believe it, and whether the civil servants would criticize it.
"After the fight, withdraw the troops and return as quickly as possible. I will calculate the time and compile false information to cooperate with you." Mao Wenlong warned with worry: "If you don't accept the order, it is not a big deal. I am here.
Can be suppressed."
A central edict is an edict issued by the emperor directly without going through the cabinet. This is not in line with the procedures and can be rejected. Of course, most civil servants will do this to show their integrity.
"Thank you for your concern, Marshal." Guo Dajing said: "I will save my time. Even if the order is not fulfilled, I will find excuses to refuse to accept it."
Mao Wenlong nodded slightly. He believed in Guo Dajing's cleverness and easy excuses. If he pretended to be injured and sick, lying on a stretcher, could he still go to the capital to face the saint?
"Commander, you should also take care of yourself." Guo Dajing bowed and said: "It is not important to contain the Jianlu. It will not be too late to launch another attack when the general returns with his army."
Mao Wenlong said with a smile: "I will sit here, put some restraints, and let the young people do it. The results will be reported afterwards, and we will talk about it when you come back."
Containment and feints had already been done. The troops of the two associations, as well as new soldiers, were pushed to Beijinzhou and built many siege equipment with great fanfare. The purpose was to enable the Jianlu to leave enough troops to defend their home base.
As for Guo Dajing's cross-sea expedition, Mao Wenlong also wanted to make some achievements in southern Liaoning.
The strongholds and territories vacated by Jianlu after shrinking the defense line are good targets.
It doesn't require too many men and horses, and it won't resettle the people. If a team of 180 people occupies it, it can be reported to the court and said that it has been recovered after a battle.
This is what he learned from Yuan Chonghuan. The cities of Jinzhou and Dalinghe were demolished like ruins, but he picked them back as if they were treasures, asked the court for a huge amount of money and food to repair them, and took it as his own merit.
"Next year we will strive to turn Fuzhou into a stable area." Mao Wenlong pondered for a moment and said: "The outpost will be pushed to Gaizhou Acropolis. With land, more people can be settled, and Dongjiang Town will have a foundation for development and growth.
"
It doesn't matter if you are short of money, land is a valuable asset. At this point, Mao Wenlong's understanding has been raised. After land comes population, the benefits of output, and the conditions for the expansion of troops.
This is a virtuous cycle, which has finally been formed through Guo Dajing's efforts in the past few years. As long as it can continue to be maintained, Dongjiang Town will be invincible.
In fact, the principle is the same. Although the Ming Dynasty had many shortcomings, it could still bring down the Jianlu.
It is a pity that such a huge country as a behemoth was dragged to destruction by Jianlu. It is really unbelievable.
Dongjiang Town was able to compete with Jianlu not only by relying on its own resources, but also by the many channels opened by Guo Dajing, which was the most critical.
"We must occupy and stabilize Fuzhou at least next year." Guo Dajing was relatively confident in this. As long as the cross-sea operation was successful, the Jianlu, who had been weakened in the great famine, would lose the strategic initiative, "and asked the imperial court to allow the expansion of North Zhili and Shandong
Liao people return home."
There is obviously a limit to increasing the population by relying solely on the Liao people who escaped from the Jianlu-controlled areas, and the speed is also very slow. And during the war in Liaodong, there were more than hundreds of thousands of Liao people who fled into the interior?
The Liao people who left their hometowns had a very difficult life in the war-free hinterland. The imperial court and the government did not have much energy and financial resources to resettle and take good care of them.
As long as Dongjiang Town takes the initiative in the Liaodong war and reassures the Liao people with continuous victories, I believe they will still want to return to their familiar homeland and live a good life.
Moreover, on the one hand, the Liao people have returned home, and there are also the refugees who have been displaced in major disasters. If the court cannot resettle them, Dongjiang Town can also provide them with a place to live.
Of course, this may have to wait a few more years before the disaster spreads from the northwest to Henan, Zhili and other places before such conditions are met.
It's not that the natural conditions in Liaodong are better than those in the Central Plains, but there are no such heavy taxes in Liaodong, and there is no cruel oppression by the landlords, gentry and the government.
If the cultivation of potatoes, corn and other drought-tolerant crops is promoted in the interior, and the government effectively organizes the people to build water conservancy projects, the harvest should exceed that of Liaodong.
Unfortunately, the old machine of the Ming Empire has been severely corroded, and its top-to-bottom mobilization and execution capabilities can no longer withstand the invasion of major disasters.
As for Liaodong, if it can be recovered from the Jianlu, it will be a blank piece of paper that can be freely sketched; the efficiency and vitality of this emerging group in Dongjiang Town cannot be compared with that of the Ming Dynasty.
Guo Dajing is very lucky to be in Dongjiang Town, and through his own efforts, he can become increasingly vigorous and upward.
If it were in western Liaoning, under the suppression of interest groups, where would he have room to display? If it were in the mainland, he would be trapped in a big dye vat, unable to extricate himself.
Lu Xiangsheng and Sun Chuanting, don't they have the ability? Guo Dajing felt that apart from his familiarity with history, he was inferior to them in terms of military command, cultural literacy, and bravery and ferocity.
But so what the outcome was, Lu Xiangsheng and his Tianxiong army resisted the Jianlu invaders on their own and died bravely, but they were denied the favor of the court for several years.
Sun Chuanting and his Qin soldiers were defeated in the face of the peasant uprising army who suffered repeated defeats but became more and more defeated. The cold-blooded and suspicious Chongzhen also refused to show mercy.
In the late Ming Dynasty, these two pillar-like figures died not from their enemies, but from the interest groups they offended.
Because of "grain" and "clearing the villages to pay", they have become enemies everywhere. Although it is a good strategy to save the country, it has touched the interests of officials, landlords and gentry.