Chapter 340: Do you want money or brains (please give me a monthly ticket)
Ming Dynasty Law: Anyone who harvests, cuts or mutilates a human being shall be put to death at a very young age and his property shall be forfeited to the family of the deceased.
Although his wife, son and family members did not know about it, they fled two thousand miles away and were killed by his followers.
In fact, throughout the past dynasties, those in power have undoubtedly imposed very severe penalties on these human traffickers.
It's just that money and silk are attractive to people's hearts, but there are still a very large number of people who violate their conscience and engage in this business.
They are no longer human, so there is no need to treat them as human beings.
This trip to observe the sentiments of the people ended quickly. The most unhappy person among them was Zhu Yunxi. He finally made the trip out of the palace and ended it in less than two hours with a sesame cake.
"If I had known better, I wouldn't have eaten this sesame seed cake." Zhu Yunxi muttered on the way back.
Hearing this, Zhu Ying said: "I don't know how many people in this world will thank you for this sesame seed cake."
Zhu Yunxi was a little confused, but the eldest brother's tone was a little cold. It seemed that what happened to the little beggar just now made the eldest brother feel bad.
So I didn’t dare to ask any more questions.
Returning to the palace, Zhu Ying immediately summoned Song Zhong and asked about the beggar gang in the Ming Dynasty.
"What is the situation of this beggar gang? Please tell me in detail."
Faced with the inquiry from His Highness Taisun, Song Zhong naturally did not dare to hide anything and told all the information he had learned.
The Beggar Gang is known as the largest gang in the world, covering all dynasties in the world. There are all people who have become beggars. They gather into gangs and fight against injustice. Their behavior is somewhere between good and evil.
The beggar gang in the Ming Dynasty came more violently than before. The reason for this finally turned around and was related to Zhu Yuanzhang.
Zhu Yuanzhang was lonely when he was young and was sent to Yuanjue Temple to become a monk. However, the ill-fated Zhu Yuanzhang was expelled from the temple and fell into begging from door to door. It was he who started the practice of beating cow bones that is now popular among beggars.
As a result, more and more beggars worshiped Zhu Yuanzhang, and the emperor of the dynasty seemed to be the spiritual leader who established the beggar gang of the dynasty.
Fengyang Flower Drum is very famous, but it only appeared after Zhu Yuanzhang founded the country.
People from Fengyang in my hometown suffered heavy losses because they followed Zhu Yuanzhang in the war.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, many people with connections came to Nanjing with their families to settle down.
As a result, Fengyang and its surrounding areas have become increasingly deserted.
In order to restore vitality to his hometown, Zhu Yuanzhang moved 140,000 wealthy households from the south to Fengyang, and strictly enforced the law to punish those who returned privately.
Due to years of wars and desolate fields, many people in Fengyang were displaced and became beggars. Therefore, the wealthy families from the south of the Yangtze River who immigrated here would disguise themselves as members of poor families every winter and sneak back to their hometowns by begging. Over time, they turned to begging as a career.
Among them, Fengyang Flower Drum is even more popular: Fengyang was originally a good place, but since Zhu Yuanzhang came out, there have been nine droughts out of ten years. He carries the flower drum and travels everywhere.
Among them, it is naturally impossible for all the old Fengyang people to come to the capital, and most of them choose to stay in their hometown.
Rural feelings exist in ancient and modern times.
This has resulted in many real Fengyang people becoming one of these beggars.
Then a problem arises. Even the government has to be careful about beggars in Fengyang.
Why?
Because many of these beggars are related to Zhu Yuanzhang, or the Huaixi civil servants and generals group, commonly known as the Fellows Association, they are all related.
At the grassroots level, magistrates and officials dared to oppress them. After a while, beggars came to the capital to complain.
This kind of thing is not just talk, but there are many real cases.
For example, the civil servants and generals of Huaixi who live in the capital, how would they feel when they heard that their childhood friends or acquaintances not only became beggars, but were also bullied?
Especially if you are just a small county magistrate or even a government official, you still have the slightest scruples.
Once such a thing spread, it naturally became more and more serious, and the beggars became more and more unscrupulous, and many even used Zhu Yuanzhang's name.
Not to mention the big local households, the government had to stay away to avoid losing money and disaster.
When everyone looks at it this way, good guys, it’s okay to be a beggar. Not only can you travel around the mountains and rivers, but you can also eat and drink.
If you can't do it naturally, then join.
In many places in Fengyang, there is even an upsurge of beggars, especially after the previous rebellion in Fengyang was suppressed.
As the team grows, there will naturally be more rules.
A few of them who could read followed the beggar gang in the novel and began to learn it in a decent manner.
In many cities, there are even beggar’s stickers.
The so-called beggar's sticker refers to a yellow paper posted on the right side of the door of a large household or shop facing the street who has paid protection fees to the beggar gang.
There is an article on it: Brothers are not allowed to cause nuisance.
When a beggar sees this piece of paper, he immediately looks at it and leaves. A yellow paper with black characters on the beggar's note is posted on the door to prevent beggars from coming to the door to extort money. It is as effective as sticking a door god to drive away ghosts.
If you encounter someone who refuses to pay the beggar's donation, the beggar leader will incite a group of beggars to come to the door all day long to demand it, making the house uneasy and the chickens and dogs restless, forcing you to compromise.
Often even if we go to the government, it won't work.
These beggars were caught and kept in jail, eating and drinking together. There were so many of them that sometimes the county government dungeon couldn't even contain them, and it was difficult to arrest the real leader.
Therefore, the beggar head and his disciples went from house to house to collect beggar donations on a quarterly basis, and when they encountered weddings or weddings, they would ask for money. The number of gang members became more and more dense, and the big beggar head became the leader of the gang, drawing boundaries and dividing the territory to prevent outsiders.
Hungry and poor people came to occupy the dock.
In order to maintain good public relations with the local government, it is customary to divide the beggar's donation into five parts: one for the head beggar, three for the group of beggars, and the remaining part is of course used to honor the local government.
Of course, there is no such thing as unification among the real beggar gangs. If they really formed a large-scale unification, they would probably have to recruit a large army to suppress them.
Depending on whether the government acts or not, the climate will generally only be formed locally.
It may be a county, a prefecture, or a state.
Everyone cares about their own land and their own way of making money.
With money, these originally poor beggars would still think about living in rags all day long, begging for money from everywhere.
Of course you don’t want to, so you can only let others do it.
Among them is the harvesting and cutting of raw materials, which has been passed down for a long time. This picking and breaking of raw materials has even become a family tradition, which is simply shocking.
"The filial piety of the Beggar Clan in the capital, how are your Imperial Guards and the Five Cities Military and Horse Division divided? Now tell me if the Public Security Department is involved."
After Zhu Ying heard this, he asked directly without expression.
When Song Zhong heard this, he fell to his knees on the ground. Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead, and his back was instantly wet.
"There is no need to be so afraid. You must know something about my origins. Naturally, you are aware of these silly things. If you tell the story clearly, I will let it go."
Seeing this, Zhu Ying asked calmly.
Song Zhong gritted his teeth, knowing that at this time, concealment was no longer possible, so he gritted his teeth and said frankly: "I would like to inform Your Highness that the beggar sect of the capital is mainly located in the southwest area, and the income from it will be divided into three parts, one share will be shared by the Jinyi Guards and the Military and Horse Division.
Come on Qi San."
"The Department of Public Security is not involved at the moment. Most of the new recruits are children from wealthy families. Most of them disdain to deal with the Beggar Clan. Some of the Beggar Clan went to give gifts and were beaten out directly."
After hearing this, Zhu Ying said: "Send the message to Jin Yiwei, silver or head, choose one yourself."
"All beggars in the capital will be arrested, and the old, weak, sick and disabled will be taken care of and managed uniformly. The remaining ones who are related to the collection and harvesting of raw materials will be directly executed."
"Those who are not related will be sentenced to twenty years of hard labor. There is a shortage of people in my palace to set up factories and build factories. This is a good place to go."
"Also, if you don't get anything from it, it will all go to your internal funds."
Having said this, Zhu Ying looked at Song Zhong and said, "Don't keep anyone with unclean hands and feet."
Song Zhong said quickly: "I obey your Majesty's order."
Whether it is the Jin Yiwei or the Five Cities Military and Horse Division, the oil and water in it is very rich, at least several times or even ten times higher than the salary.
There is a huge network of relationships here. In fact, to a large extent, the Beggar Clan also provides Jin Yiwei with a large number of sources of information.
But as for this, Zhu Ying has decided to give it up completely.
Clean up all the filth in the Beggar Clan.
The existence of the Beggar Clan is inherently cancerous. They do not engage in production and are indolent in work. They may have had some sad past, but this is not the reason why they are freeloading now.
The Ming Dynasty is now in a desperate situation. With the emergence of a large number of grains such as sweet potatoes, and a sufficient national treasury, it can begin to support the initial infrastructure construction.
Nowadays, we lack a large number of manpower and it is time to clean up this gang of beggars.
Just as Zhu Ying had just issued an order, a large number of Beggar Gang elders gathered in the southwest of the capital.
"What's going on? Why was someone just summoned? Something big is going to happen to the gang, and it seems like it's going to be annihilated!"
The leader of the Beggar Clan in the capital is a scholar who is dressed in fine clothes and looks quite literary. He is about forty years old and has a strong build.
If anyone saw him and said he was a beggar leader, how could anyone believe him?
In this somewhat dilapidated house, there are more than a dozen people who are high-ranking members of the Beijing Beggar Clan. None of them are shabbily dressed, and there are a few who are white and fat, and smile as kindly as Maitreya Buddha.
"Gang leader, is there any action from the Public Security Department? A few days ago, Liang Guogong went on a large-scale arrest. Many of the best members of my gang were also arrested. Their whereabouts are still unknown. The Soldiers and Horses Department did not give them anything.
reply."
"Compared to heroes like Duke Liang, our gang's connections in the Military and Horse Division are not worth mentioning. I'm afraid no amount of money will be of any use."
A lean man with narrow eyes spoke clearly and logically.
He also has a long beard, like the Three Kingdoms Guansheng style.
Look carefully, there is still half of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms exposed in his arms.
These words also caused a wave of discussion in the house.
"I've said it before, how could someone like Duke Liang fall in love with me?"
"It's just Duke Liang. Those government officials are all well-off and arrogant. They don't deserve to be the sons of men."
"Elder Zhang was beaten so badly that his left eye is swollen. No wonder he is so resentful. I see, maybe he didn't spend enough money. How can those little bastards understand that this world is difficult."
"There is a way of saying that money is a horse that makes life difficult. Wealth can guide gods and can also drive demons and monsters. As long as there are enough, they will naturally pay attention to us."
"Today's world is really difficult, so just go to the Imperial Guards and the Military and Horse Division, and you will be divided into 30% of the gang. Now there is a Public Security Division, which is directly under the grandson. When the General Liang Guogong is in front of him, I am afraid that I will have such an appetite.
It’s not small.”
When we talked to this point, there was a sigh in the room.
The expenses turned in are really not small, and obviously the money received will have to be reduced a lot.
Seeing this, the gang leader frowned and said, "Quietly, this gang leader is joking with you. This time I am calling you all because there is a secret message from the Jinyi Guards."
"Around noon today, some dignitaries from the capital came to the shop to investigate. It seemed that they were being provoked."
"Hurry up and tell me who provoked the nobleman and even implicated our gang."
Upon hearing the name Jin Yiwei, everyone immediately became quiet.
Although the Jinyiwei took over Xiaojing's majority, the relationship between the Beggar Clan and the Bingma Division was actually much warmer. The slightly powerful ones on the Jinyiwei side were all at the level of 100 households, making it difficult to hook up.
When talking about the Jin Yiwei, everyone's eyes couldn't help but turn to the left side of the gang leader, an older man with half-closed eyes.
"Mr. Chen, we have to ask Mr. Chen to come forward and inquire about the news from Jinyiwei. I am afraid that our status will not be able to get into the eyes of Jinyiwei."
At this time, the gang leader also bowed slightly and said to the old man next to him.
This behavior shows that the old man's status in the gang is unusual.
The old man opened his eyes slightly, pondered for a while and then said: "In the past few years, whenever the Jin Yiwei sent a message, it was no small matter, and it is no small matter this time."
"Although the place is noisy, it is where we live. Therefore, rabbits do not eat grass beside their nests. There are more activities in our gang than on the northeast side of the capital, where merchants gather."
"The people who work here are probably the people below Elder Li."
"Elder Li, please tell me what happened at noon today."
The elder Li who was named was a thin man with a sharp mouth and monkey cheeks, and he looked rather wretched.
Even wearing those gorgeous clothes gives people the feeling of wearing a monkey's head.
Before Elder Li could reply, a strong man stood up and shouted: "Is it possible that your dirty deeds have been discovered by others? I have told you a long time ago that there is someone under the feet of the emperor of the capital after all." Something's going to go wrong one day."
As soon as these words came out, several people looked at him unkindly.
However, most people still watched indifferently and did not make any comment.
When the skinny Chinese character known as Elder Li heard this, he said in a slightly angry voice: "Butcher Zhang, what does this have to do with this person? The gang got a lot of money from the business proceeds from this person."
"Don't take someone's money and humiliate someone."
"Furthermore, those who can stay in the capital to earn a living are basically easy to deal with, and the key points have been sold long ago."
The gang leader shouted: "Okay, don't make any noise."
"Elder Li, the news this time is that it happened at the dyeing house. The dyeing house is indeed your territory. If you think about it carefully, there is nothing unusual."
"Jin Yiwei's message has never been trivial. If something happens to you, I will skin you."
Elder Li suddenly shuddered.
The gang leader said it easily, but the peeling was really peeling, and he was not joking.
Following the example of Your Majesty, the beggar gangs today punish traitors and violate gang rules. They like to skin people for grass, execute them in a hurry, and light lanterns in the sky.
Elder Li immediately prepared to refute.
However, suddenly a picture flashed through his mind. It was a certain disciple who complained to him today.
It happened to happen in the dyeing workshop, and it seemed to have something to do with the noble person mentioned by the gang leader.
Thinking of this, Elder Li said in a trembling voice: "The noble person mentioned by the gang leader is one person or two people."
When the gang leader heard this, his eyes suddenly became sharp and he shouted: "Li Laosan, is it really you?"
"Tell me, did anyone discover what I was doing next?"
As soon as these words came out, the atmosphere in the room suddenly changed. Most people's faces were gloomy and terrifying, and they looked at Elder Li, that is, Li Laosan, as if they were choosing someone to eat.
In the Ming Dynasty, the punishment for harvesting and cutting was extremely serious. Once it happened, no one could protect it, and there was no possibility of lenient punishment.
The entire beggar gang will be implicated, and they are the first to bear the brunt.
Even if they can escape from this matter by then, according to the temperaments of the Jinyi Guardsmen, Ma Si, they may have to plunder all their family wealth in order to survive.
Seeing this, Li Laosan hurriedly explained: "I guarantee with the head on my neck that it has absolutely nothing to do with harvesting and harvesting. It has just entered winter and we are not accepting goods outside for the time being. I just dealt with that batch of goods briefly. It’s just dumb, we won’t deal with it until spring tomorrow.”
The gang leader asked: "Then why were you hesitating just now?"
Li Laosan did not dare to hide anything and continued to explain: "It is true that two young men in Chinese clothes passed by the dyeing workshop at noon. They had contact with a little baby and just ate a sesame seed cake. There was nothing serious and no conflict."
"This kind of thing is too ordinary. I thought to myself that it has little to do with what the gang leader said."
Hearing this, everyone's momentum dropped a little. It is true that such a thing is a bit unsatisfactory in the industry.
The gang leader also breathed a sigh of relief, but his frown deepened.
"I'd better send someone to investigate. If something is done about this matter, it won't be a trivial matter." The old man known as Mr. Chen said slowly with his eyelids raised.
After hearing what Mr. Chen said, the leader of the gang bowed like a scholar and said: "Everything has been done, Mr. Chen. These reckless little guys in the gang have offended noble people who don't know where they are. If you need anything, please speak up."
Mr. Chen nodded slightly. He understood the gang leader's intention of losing money and avoiding disaster. At the same time, he was thinking about how much benefit he should get from this matter.
Just as he was thinking about what to say, suddenly there was a loud noise outside the door, and a group of people broke in and shouted in a panic: