Zhang Ximeng put forward his own suggestion. Dividing provinces is indeed not a simple matter. In addition to what this group of people are arguing about, financial resources must be balanced so that each province has relatively abundant financial resources.
Especially in wealthy areas, it is impossible to allocate them all to one province so that one family can focus on beauty.
At the same time, it is necessary to break down regional barriers and form exchanges between different cultural regions even within the province to avoid the formation of groups that are difficult to manipulate.
The Ming Dynasty had just been founded, and both the Red Scarf Army and the Yuan Dynasty had the problem of local separatism, which must also be taken into consideration.
Zhang Ximeng proposed to establish Huaixi Province and Huaidong Province, and to have the two provinces straddle the Yangtze River and complement each other from the north to the south. He immediately received the approval of many people, and the most satisfied one turned out to be Zhu Yuanzhang!
That's right, Lao Zhu is from Haozhou, and his hard-core brothers are all from Huaixi.
Although he is now the master of the world, he still thinks about his fellow countrymen.
Moreover, just in the past two years, floods and droughts have occurred in Huaixi. Last year, 80% of the land in Huaiyuan County, the granary, failed to harvest. If there had not been some grain stored before, something big would have happened.
The reason why this is so is still a matter of river management.
Although Lao Zhu has spared no effort, the floods that have lasted for hundreds of years since the Northern Song Dynasty cannot be solved in a few years.
Even if you encounter a bad year, there will still be recurrences.
If you want to completely solve the flood problem, continuing to increase investment is almost an inevitable choice.
This investment requires both funding from the court and local financing.
It is definitely a very good idea to merge the prosperous areas in the south of the Yangtze River and the flood-stricken lands in the Huaihe River and Huaihe Rivers to help the rich and the poor, provide assistance to the north and the south, and provide counterpart support...
Therefore, after Zhang Ximeng made the suggestion, Zhu Yuanzhang ended up personally.
Lao Zhu included Anqing, Luzhou, Suzhou, and Sizhou into Huaixi Province, and at the same time added Chizhou, Huizhou, Wuhu, and Taiping in the south of the Yangtze River... Basically, Anqing and Huizhou were put together to create a new province.
Ready to come out.
It's just that at this moment, it can't be considered complete.
Because there is Huaidong Province to the east of Huaixi Province.
This Huaidong Province includes Taizhou, Gaoyou, Xinghua, Huai'an, Yancheng in the north of the Yangtze River, and Susongchang Town in the south of the Yangtze River. It was basically Zhang Shicheng's original territory.
Although the area is small, the economic potential of this area is endless. Suzhou's silk, Songjiang's cotton, Liujiagang's shipbuilding, Jiangbei's salt, and the canal... Not to mention the right time and place, it's God who holds the rice spoon.
, chasing after him to feed him.
It doesn't matter if you don't develop well.
Faced with this situation, even Zhu Yuanzhang was scratching his head.
What to do!
If you continue to split it, it will break into pieces. If you don't split it, what should you do?
Old Zhu thought about it and found that there were only two areas left to make a fuss about.
One is Xuzhou and the other is Yangzhou.
Yangzhou in the early Ming Dynasty was extraordinary, because it was the first big city that Lao Zhu occupied, with a population of 800,000... Zhang Ximeng spent a lot of effort planning Yangzhou.
Yangzhou now has a huge military workshop and a large number of iron smelting workshops. Half of the firearms of the Ming Dynasty came from Yangzhou.
If Yangzhou is merged into Huaidong, then the province will take off from the same place and have everything it wants.
After Zhu Yuanzhang thought about it, he looked at Zhang Ximeng and said: "Let's take the canal as the boundary, Yangzhou Prefecture is to the west of the canal, and it will be merged into Huaixi Province, and Xuzhou will be included in Huaidong Province."
Zhang Ximeng thought for a while and could only agree. Although it was slightly different from later generations, it was acceptable.
After all, a huge Southern Zhili disappeared in advance.
Zhang Ximeng also proposed that Zhenzhou in the north of the Yangtze River, as well as Lishui, Liyang, and Jurong, be merged into Yingtian Prefecture, so that Yingtian would add two more states and two counties in addition to Shangyuan and Jiangning counties. Although he was trying to create a small southern straight
scribe.
In addition, Haozhou should be upgraded to Fengyang Prefecture. After all, it is the land of Longxing, and the standards should be higher.
Lao Zhu adopted all these suggestions one by one, and Zhu Yuanzhang was in a good mood.
"Huaixi, Huaidong, Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong, Jiangxi...these key provinces have been divided, and there will be Shandong, Henan and other places next. You should also go back and weigh and think about how to divide them specifically. Be sure to
We must be public-minded, consider the long-term interests of the Ming Dynasty, and pay more attention to the peace of the world."
After Lao Zhu made his explanation, he let the officials disperse.
It turns out that this discussion has taken almost a day.
Zhang Ximeng also felt thirsty after talking. He returned to the mansion, had a simple meal, and then went to see his son. Zhang Shuning, a child, was practicing calligraphy, stroke by stroke, writing very seriously.
Zhang Ximeng didn't have much to say. His handwriting was never very good. He could only say that he was quite decent. He had nothing to teach his children. He just watched in silence for a while and then told his son to go to bed early.
Then Zhang Ximeng went to the study room again. The division of provinces was naturally not just a simple division on the map. There would be complex handovers and even long-term adjustments.
Zhang Ximeng looked through some files and wanted to study this issue carefully.
But just as he was getting ready to work, someone from below suddenly reported that Xu Da was here.
Zhang Ximeng was shocked and quickly asked people to invite Xu Da in.
After sitting down, Zhang Ximeng smiled and said: "As expected of General Xu, he is so well-informed."
Xu Da quickly said: "Thank you very much, Mr. Zhang. If Mr. Zhang hadn't spoken for us today, I don't know how we would have been bullied!"
Zhang Ximeng said with a smile: "That's enough for you. Which civil servant has the courage to bully you, the founding heroes? Do they not want to live? Not to mention you, even the lord will not agree. In the end, it is for the sake of the future.
Make preparations and set the rules, so that future generations will have less trouble."
After a pause, Zhang Ximeng added: "Of course, if future generations fail to live up to expectations and insist on corrupting the national code, then we will all stand up and stare, and there is nothing we can do."
Xu Da couldn't help but laugh, "Mr. Zhang is too polite. I'm planning to let the prince enter martial arts. There are so many young talents in it. When they grow up in the future, whether in the palace or in the court, there will be someone to replace them."
When a warrior speaks, it will not be that easy no matter how much he wants to bully a warrior."
Zhang Ximeng smiled and nodded. Xu Da could indeed understand the purpose of these arrangements.
"You came here in such a hurry at night, maybe it's not just to thank me, right? Is there something wrong?" Zhang Ximeng said with a smile: "Is it related to the division of provinces this time?"
Xu Da was startled, and suddenly said: "Mr. Zhang, it is indeed related. I can't say whether there is a problem now, but I think it is best for Mr. Zhang to prepare in advance to avoid being in a hurry."
The twitching of Zhang Ximeng's brows made Xu Da feel serious about the matter. He came to remind him that it was definitely not a trivial matter. He pondered over and over again and suddenly realized something.
"You are worried about Yangzhou?"
"right!"
Xu Da nodded quickly, "Zhang Xiang Ruizhi... When he crossed the river to occupy Jinling, the troops who stayed in the north of the Yangtze River were mainly Marshal Peng and Miao Daheng. They were stationed between Sizhou and Yangzhou. Marshal Peng was mainly responsible for the defense of Yuan Dynasty.
Soldiers, and Miao Daheng has been in Yangzhou for a long time, in charge of military affairs, producing weapons and military supplies. He has also been awarded many times by superiors, and he is a capable official."
Zhang Ximeng nodded, "That's true. However, three years ago, Miao Daheng suddenly died of illness. Otherwise, he would be rewarded based on his merits. This man has some skills in running the army and the people!"
Among generals, there are very few people who can be evaluated like this by Zhang Ximeng.
Except for Xiliang King Feng Guoyong, there were only a few people such as Kang Maocai.
It is not difficult for a person to lead troops and fight in wars, but if he can manage a place well and do a good job in development and construction, then he is considered a genius.
Seeing Zhang Ximeng praising Miao Daheng, Xu Da pondered for a moment, and then said: "Prime Minister Zhang, Miao Daheng is indeed talented, but, I heard that his personal records are not like this, especially his two sons, one of whom controls several
There were ten iron smelting workshops, and the other had many farms under his name. In addition, Miao Daheng's brother-in-law was also involved in the salt affairs. He was one of them who opposed the sale of salt in Changpingcang. In the end, Yangzhou
The prefect and others were killed."
When Xu Da said this, he stopped.
As the most outstanding general in command, he would never talk nonsense. He was almost 100% sure that the problems faced by the Miao family were not small and even shocking.
Zhang Ximeng also fell into deep thought, "This time the provinces were re-demarcated and Yangzhou was handed over to Huaixi Province. Naturally, we had to come over to take stock of the family assets. The government-run workshops must also be classified into the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Industry. If the Miao family is involved,
There are huge drawbacks. I’m afraid that when the time comes, the national laws will be ruthless and no one will be able to save them!”
Xu Da nodded slightly, "As long as Mr. Zhang knows what's going on, I'll take my leave first."
Zhang Ximeng nodded and sent Xu Da off. He pondered for a moment and immediately called for a provincial official.
This person's surname is Ma, and his name is Ma Junze.
Yes, he was the one who wrote Song Lian's article. He lived up to Song Lian's expectations, studied hard, and passed the scientific examination. Not long ago, he passed the provincial examination, which is said to be the most difficult in history.
Became Zhang Ximeng's subordinate.
"You go to Yangzhou now... At the beginning, Yangzhou had too many people to support. I once arranged for the people of Yangzhou to farm in Chuzhou and other places. If someone wants to embezzle the land, they can only take advantage of these farms... You go and investigate
No matter what the outcome is, you must tell me the truth."
Ma Junze bowed to accept the order, and then left Yingtian under the cover of night... Zhang Ximeng was not kept waiting for too long. Ten days later, Ma Junze came back with the news.
As expected, he is a Dongyang Ma student, and his ability to do things is strong!
"Prime Minister Zhang, based on preliminary estimates from my humble position, almost 150,000 acres of land has fallen into the hands of the Miao family. Here is the list!" Then Ma Junze took out several more blood letters and handed them to Zhang Ximeng.
"This is handed over by the people whose fields have been usurped."
Zhang Ximeng took it over and looked at it carefully. The more he looked at it, the more deeply he frowned. Finally, he took a deep breath and said helplessly: "It looks like there is going to be another bloody storm!"
He asked Ma Junze to rest first, then packed up all the evidence and put it in the box handed to Zhu Yuanzhang...