Beijing ushered in the spring of the second year of Kangxi's reign in gloom and mist. Due to the overall corruption of the world and the fall of Jiangnan, the Qing government ordered Kangxi to reduce meals, withdraw entertainment, and ban all civil and military officials from feasting and entertainment. The entire capital was full of expressions.
Blue and white, with a dead look on their faces, people looking for food everywhere.
Due to the cutoff of grain transportation from the south, Beijing cannot be self-sufficient in grain and rice, and grain prices have skyrocketed. Ordinary civilians have long been unable to feed themselves, and even the Manchus' hardcore crops cannot sustain them for long. In addition to recapturing Jiangnan, the only remaining option is in the north.
Increases in taxes and levies made the Qing Dynasty's decline more obvious, and anyone with a discerning eye could see it.
Let’s talk about recapturing the south of the Yangtze River first. The Qing government continued to increase its troops, but Jingxiang posed a threat to Henan and Shaanxi, so it had to be guarded against. The Ming army gathered several troops in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, so the Qing army had to beware of its land and water advance along the canal;
As well as Sichuan, the governor Gao Mingzhan also urgently called for more troops, otherwise there would be a risk that the Ming army would capture Baoning and advance into Hanzhong. The defenses along the northern coast should also be strengthened, especially in Tianjin. For example, the Ming army would use the power of its navy to amphibious
Once you log in, you can threaten the capital...
Under such a situation, seizing the south of the Yangtze River has become a slogan and has no possibility of being realized. Amid the clamor of the fierce and internal dissatisfaction, the Qing army began to quietly block the canal, making it difficult for the Ming army to use its navy. In Tianjin, the Qing garrisoned
The strength of the army is increasing, and forts and fortifications are being built nervously to protect the capital.
"The south of the Yangtze River returned to the Ming Dynasty, and Emperor Zhaowu ascended the throne."
"Emperor Zhaowu is much stronger than Yongli. It seems that he has never lost a battle. Looking at the state of the Qing Dynasty, he will probably be in trouble in a few days."
"I don't know when Emperor Zhaowu will make his northern expedition. Let's not wait here to starve to death. Let's go south. Maybe we can meet the Ming army sooner!"
"I heard that as soon as Emperor Zhaowu came to the throne, he reduced taxes and taxes in the Guangfu District and distributed land. He provided relief to the poor and everyone can have enough to eat!"
"Go to Shandong, go to Huainan, the Ming army will counterattack soon."
…………….
Various discussions are circulating in the city of Beijing, some of which are people's speculations. Some are news deliberately spread by the intelligence bureau. More and more people are despairing about whether they can survive in Beijing, and they are slowly dying after leaving this city.
city, fleeing towards Shandong and Huainan.
In the Manchu court, a fierce debate was going on. Contraction was already certain, but how to shrink it, how to stop the Ming army from attacking, and how to buffer it in time were all difficult to solve.
question.
"Those who say they want to move the capital can be killed. The capital is the foundation of the world. If it moves, great things will happen." Sony dragged his seriously ill body and tried to express his determination in a stern tone, but he was already out of breath.
"What Suo Gong said makes sense. We still have half of the Qing Dynasty and the brave Eight Banners. Although we are temporarily defeated, we still have the opportunity to turn defeat into victory." Obai is a hardliner, and shrinking is certainly due to the situation. But being too timid still makes him
Unbearable.
Jiangnan has been lost. But judging from the actual losses, the Manchu and Mongolian Eight Banners only number tens of thousands, and the rest are just Green Banner Han soldiers. Originally, there were not many Eight Banners garrisoned in Jiangnan, and the repeated reinforcements were mostly from the northern Green Battalion and a small number of Manchu and Mongolian troops.
Eight Banners. As for the slaves of the Banners, they should not be considered the real strength of the Eight Banners.
Liaodong, Xuanda, and the Eight Banners generals in the entire north, together, can still make up more than 100,000. The northern Green Banners have more combat effectiveness than the southerners, and are much more loyal to the Qing court than the southerners. Furthermore,
The north is empty. It is most suitable for mounted warfare. The Eight Banners are proud of their riding and shooting. They are obviously more confident in fighting in the north.
And it may not be a big deal to back off a little at this time. If it gives in too much, it will appear that the Qing government is too weak and is irreversibly declining, and people's minds will change. Not to mention the northern green camp, even the Mongolian tribes may have other thoughts.
, no longer obey the orders of the Qing court respectfully. Therefore, the Qing court must hold on, at least on the surface, to show momentum, so as to prevent the tree from falling and the monkeys to scatter, the wall from falling and everyone to push it, causing the situation to completely collapse.
"Although there is a crisis at this time, if we work together, we will be able to turn the crisis into peace." Suk Saha hesitated for a moment, then asked Soni and Ao Bai: "Sou Gong, Ao Gong, in order to calm people's hearts, recuperate the people's strength, and increase taxes, whether
The "land enclosure order" can be abolished and the land can be transferred to the people for cultivation; in addition, the policy of renaming the land can be introduced in time so that the people do not have to pay the land price and can farm as usual. Those who have paid the transaction price can be washed away from the regular taxes in the coming year.
.”
Oboi snorted coldly and said: "Inviting people to buy people's hearts may not work, right? Those Nikans will feel that the Manchus are desperate, so they will show weakness to them to please them."
Ye Bilong came here with his ears, but at this time he agreed: "It is indeed not appropriate to be too relaxed when it comes to promoting rice and fighting against rice. Besides, the enclosure of land has been stopped long ago, so why should we abolish it?"
In the first year of Shunzhi, the Qing government promulgated the "Enclosure Order", and then ordered land enclosures three times. By the fourth year of Shunzhi, large-scale land enclosures had stopped, but sporadic land enclosures and land exchanges were still heard from time to time. Previously, Obai updated
On the grounds that the land in Xianghuang Banner was sparse and barren, they proposed to exchange land with Zhengbai Banner. This was actually another round of land encirclement.
"When the land is enclosed, the landowner immediately evicts him and everything in the house belongs to him. Those who have ugly wives and children take them with them, but those who want to keep them dare not take them with them. Those whose tenants have no livelihood will rely on them to cultivate the land."
Later, many farmers' fields were occupied and displaced. Some landlords or farmers moved to the Eight Banner Manor to become tenant farmers, or fled to other places, resulting in a large number of refugees and beggars. The enclosure of land made some farmers who made a living participate in the anti-Qing movement.
Among them, the instability in the early Qing Dynasty increased.
The suggestion put forward by Suk Saha was originally very good, but when Obai heard it, it was an insinuation that he wanted to exchange land with Zhengbai Qi, so he ridiculed him out of displeasure.
Sony thought for a while and felt that the enclosure had basically stopped in fact, and the enclosure was a measure to accommodate the Manchu kings and ministers who entered the customs, and to solve the livelihood of the Eight Banners officers and soldiers. If it was suddenly abolished with an explicit order, wouldn't it mean that he had done something wrong before?
, what should the Eight Banners officers and soldiers think?
"It is not advisable to abolish the express order, but it is feasible to change the name of the field." Sony had already thought about it and felt that this was enough, so he said: "The hypocritical emperor is good at buying people's hearts, so he will be exempted from taxes in future years. We will also be exempted.
I’ll waive it for the next year first. What do you think?”
"Yin eats maoliang?" Ao Bai was stunned for a moment, then nodded and said: "It's feasible, who can tell what the situation will be like in two years' time? Maybe the pseudo-emperor will live in the south of the Yangtze River, enjoy the enjoyment of fine wine and beautiful women, and our Qing Dynasty will be able to sweep the south of the Yangtze River again.
.Redefining the world!"
"The important thing is not to be discouraged, not to be afraid of the enemy like a tiger, and not to be frightened by the news." Sony glanced at the other three ministers and said: "At the time of Taizu and Taizong, we Manchus only occupied Liaodong, and we had no water transportation to the south of the Yangtze River.
But isn’t it better to conquer the world directly? What we lose is not a disaster, and what we gain is not a blessing. As long as we work together and can overcome the current difficulties, in the overall situation of the world, we still don’t know who will win!”
After encouraging the three ministers, Sony insisted on discussing military affairs with them. There are currently three defense focuses: one is the canal, the water transportation has been cut off, and the Ming army's navy is strong. They can block the river as much as possible, and only use the army to strengthen the river.
Defense; one is Jingxiang, you can mainly use the Green Banner of Henan and some of the Eight Banners of Manchu and Mongolia to station in Nanyang; then use the Green Banner of Gansu and Shaanxi and the Eight Banners of Xi'an to station at Baitu Pass to form an angle with Nanyang to resist; the other
The place is Tianjin, and the Eight Banners can be mobilized to garrison. They are supplemented by Zhili Green Flag soldiers to act as a barrier to the capital. As for Baoning, Sichuan, Gao Mingzhan and others can only be strictly ordered to defend to the death, and for the time being, no soldiers can be sent to support.
After some arrangements, the four auxiliary ministers discussed various matters about calling on Mongolian tribes to send troops to assist in the war, mainly Monan Mongolia, which had already surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, and Mobei Khalkha Mongolia and Moxi E, which had close relations with the Qing Dynasty.
Various tribes of Lute Mongolia.
In this way, if all the plans were realized, tens of thousands more Mongolian cavalry would be added to support the battle. Only then did the four auxiliary officials feel that the matter was still feasible. They did not know if they were comforting themselves or if it was really that simple.
"The thieves have powerful firearms. Unless you use firearms to defeat them, it will be difficult to win." Suk Saha suddenly frowned and opened his mouth to remind.
"It can be used to make artillery and shotguns." Sony frowned after saying this. This must be a lot of money. Where should we raise the money? To say that the Qing army has the most firearms, it should belong to the San Francisco, but the San Francisco is exhausted.
Destruction, heavy losses!
"There are many rich people in various places, so let them donate." Obai sneered: "Without the skin, how can the hair be attached? They don't understand this truth."
Enclosing land and increasing taxes have already offended the common people, but will this offend all the rich and gentry? Sony was silent, but he had no other way. He couldn't help but cough violently, and his face turned purple from holding it in.
………………..
Compared with the gloom and gloom in Beijing, the festive atmosphere of Nanjing and even the entire Guangfu District has not completely faded away from the new emperor's enthronement.
The southern and northern regions are usually bounded by the Qinling Mountains-Huaihe River line. In the north, the ripening system of crops is once a year or three crops every two years, while in the south, the ripening system of crops is two to three crops a year. The newly restored land is basically
Belonging to the south, Zhu Yongxing suddenly exempted these areas from half of the money and grain this year in order to recuperate the people and recover from the wounds of the war as soon as possible. And the official document stipulates that "in future years of disaster, the landlords will be divided into seven percent of the tenants and the households will be divided into three percent." This made the tenant farmers
You can also get benefits.
Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Huguang, and some areas in southern Zhili were no longer burdened with grain supplies, and half of the official tax was suddenly reduced. No matter the gentry, landlords, or ordinary people, they were all happy and praised the Holy Spirit.
Be kind, love and care for the people.
The old Guangfu areas such as Yunnan, Guangxi, Fujian, Guangdong, and Sichuan were exempted from half of the taxes in the third year of Zhaowu, and were exempted from the head tax in the first year of Zhaowu, that is, this year, and each household was rewarded with ten catties of meat or fish and one dou of rice.
Starting from the first year of Zhaowu, all Guangfu districts have abolished Jiafu, Liwu, miscellaneous labor, Lichai and other items. The corvees needed by each prefecture and county every year will be hired by the government from the taxes collected.
Civilians will be mobilized for free. In other words, the time-honored corvee system will disappear, and farmers will have more personal freedom and less free recruitment and exploitation.
The craftsman registration system in Xinguangfu District was abolished, and all types of handicraft craftsmen were included in the civil register. In other words, the system that required craftsmen to perform labor service according to government regulations or pay labor service as a class worker was abolished. This freed the handicraftsmen from
Personal control is conducive to promoting the development of handicraft industry.
Officials whose salaries are doubled, whose tenure lasts for more than fifteen years, and who are free from corruption, dereliction of duty, or dereliction of duty, will continue to receive their salaries after retirement until they are old. This is to support integrity.
In recognition of military merit, soldiers on active duty were rewarded with ten acres, five acres, and three acres of land according to their years of service. If each acre of land was converted into silver taels, it would cost at least two or three taels of silver. That is to say, each soldier received at least six.
A reward of seven taels. This does not include the additional rewards received by some soldiers who have achieved military merit.
The generals in the army also received rewards, whether they were gold, silver, money, titles, official titles, or houses. Anyway, everyone was very happy.
These are just the benefits and discounts that can be cashed in immediately. The imperial court has issued an imperial edict that after the land measurement and inventory are completed, the policy of "release of public lands" will be implemented. That is, unowned fields or "public lands" received from officials of the Qing Dynasty will be implemented.
"Sold to farmers. The price of the land is twice the annual harvest of the main crops on the cultivated land, and the farmers will pay it back evenly over ten years without having to bear interest.
Zhu Yongxing also issued an order to extend the tax-free time for reclamation. Initially, it was stipulated that reclamation would be tax-free for three years, and later it was changed to five years. It is expected that this policy will stimulate farmers' enthusiasm for reclamation and rapidly increase the area of cultivated land.
Have financial resources and confidence. In other words, we should take a long-term view and slow down first. These policies have already been formulated, but during the war, there was still room for mercy, so they have not been officially launched until now. Naturally, the effect and impact are extremely
Okay, Zhu Yongxing immediately won countless praises.
Although the government's taxes have been reduced, the enthusiasm of the people has increased. Zhu Yongxing has won the blessing of Mingjun. The potential of war will be better stimulated.
"It is short-sighted and stupid to fish in the lake, just like the Manchu Tartars. How can it last long and win the hearts of the people?" Zhu Yongxing, wearing a sky crown and a crimson gauze dress, waved his hand on the throne to signal to the cabinet ministers, and continued: "Excellent
It is also my family law to pay homage to ministers in the cabinet. I will come to see you in the future. I will not name you, and I will not bow to you. I will give you a seat. You don’t need to refuse."
"I would like to thank Your Majesty for your kindness." The cabinet ministers saluted and thanked him, and sat down respectfully on the chairs that had been arranged.
Although the organization has basically adopted the previous name and has not changed much, it is also to avoid causing too much negative impact. Of course, there will be increases or decreases in the future. At present, the cabinet of the Ming government is composed of nine people, which is different from the ancient six ministries and nine ministers.
It's the same number of people.
The Ministry of Rites: temporarily includes the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Department of Education, the Department of Civil Affairs, and the Department of Nationalities; Secretary of State: Chen Shaoyu;
Ministry of War: There is no minister, and the subordinate staff headquarters temporarily recommends Wu Sangui or Pi Xiong to attend cabinet meetings; the Ministry of War temporarily includes the Military Industry Department, the Army Department, the Navy Department, the Logistics Department, and the Veterans Placement Department;
The Ministry of Personnel: temporarily includes the Personnel Department, the Examination Department, and the Academy; the Secretary: Liu Zuochen;
The Ministry of Accounts: temporarily includes the Accounting Department, Statistics Department, Branch Office, Customs, and Bank; Shangshu: Shi Yicheng Jianba, the former head of the palace, serves as the head;
Ministry of Justice: Temporarily includes the Department of Justice and the Department of Public Security; Minister of Justice: Zhang Huangyan;
Ministry of Industry: renamed as Ministry of Agriculture, Industry and Commerce; temporarily includes Department of Construction, Department of Transportation, Department of Water Conservancy, Department of Commerce, Department of Posts and Communications, and Department of Agriculture; Shangshu is Cai Ming;
Supervision Department: The minister is Zhou Liangfu;
Ministry of National Security: Shangshu is Ye Hu;
Dali Temple: The chief minister is Guo Zhiqi.
This is Zhu Yongxing's idea of starting with the most recognized government agencies and then gradually subdividing them in the future. In his mind, the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Rites can be divided into the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, and the Ministry of Commerce.
Independent agencies such as the Ministry of Water Resources, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Public Security can be divided into the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Public Security... In the future, there will also be a first assistant and a second assistant to make the cabinet have more complete functions and greater power.
But now, the agencies are temporarily merged, firstly to streamline them, and secondly because some affairs have not been enlarged and the system has not been perfected, so there is no need to separate them separately.
In fact, Zhu Yongxing felt that this morning court was of little use and was very troublesome. According to the Ming Dynasty Huidian: During the morning court, the ministers must get up at midnight. At three o'clock in the morning, the ministers arrived outside the Meridian Gate and waited. When the drum on the Meridian Gate tower sounded,
At about five o'clock in the morning, the ministers would line up in line; when the bell rang at about five o'clock in the morning, the palace gate would open. Then, the officials would enter in order, cross the Jinshui Bridge and form a queue in the square. Usually, when the emperor arrives at the Gate of Supreme Harmony or the Hall of Supreme Harmony, all officials will
Officials knelt down and kowtowed three times. Only officials of fourth rank or above had the opportunity to talk to the emperor. Ministers reported government affairs to the emperor, and the emperor asked questions or gave answers.
This is like a leader convening a meeting with his subordinates every day. Whether there is anything to do, he has to waste time to gather together, meet each other, and listen to praise. But Zhu Yongxing thinks it is impossible to say that he can make the right decision immediately after hearing the problem in person.
.
In the early dynasty, if the emperor did not visit the officials, he would be regarded as lazy, tired and irresponsible. Zhu Yongxing disagreed with this. Look at Chongzhen, he should be regarded as the most diligent emperor in the Ming Dynasty.
According to historical records: Chongzhen was ambitious and determined to be the master of the ZTE. It was common to correct memorials in various places until one or two o'clock in the morning every day. He also had to go to court every morning and was more diligent than Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty.
As a result, the more diligent he is, the more chaotic the country will be and the worse the government affairs will be. It can be seen that diligence is not necessarily correct, and having to do everything by hand does not necessarily mean that things will be done well.
Therefore, after Zhu Yongxing ascended the throne, although he did not cancel the morning court, he defied opposition and postponed the time to eight o'clock in the morning. Even for a meeting, you have to have breakfast to feel energetic, right? If there is an emergency, Zhu Yongxing will
If the palace ban is not implemented and the Prime Minister's office is guarded day and night, can it still be delayed? I wonder if people are sleepy in the early morning. How can they handle political affairs well if their brains are slow to react?
"Although the country currently focuses on agriculture, promoting agriculture, industry and commerce simultaneously is also the way to achieve peace." Zhu Yongxing saw the cabinet ministers sitting down and continued: "Just like the coastal fishermen, whose main business is fishing by boat; Su Song weavers, whose main business is fishing,
They make a living by spinning and weaving. Do they have to be allowed to cultivate the fields in order to be considered as doing their jobs? Excluding the craftsmen is to get rid of the bad government and reduce their burden. You must be clear about this. So, the Ministry of Industry
I won’t allow the memorial.”
Cai Ming, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, hesitated for a moment, bowed and said: "Your Majesty, since we have been exempted from being a craftsman, the weavers in Su Song are grateful. However, if the silk industry prospers, every family will turn to sericulture. From then on,
Wives and wives weave, and after they accumulate money and add silk machines, the more weavers there are, the fewer the cultivators are." (To be continued, please search Piaotian Literature, the novel will be better and updated faster!