On the tenth day of May, after sending Liu Xuanchu away, Zhu Cixuan's life returned to its original rhythm. He buried himself in paperwork every day, carefully coordinating and handling affairs of all parties, and ensuring that the entire Chengdu administrative system operated in an orderly manner under his will. Later generations
The experience and lessons learned in the late Ming Dynasty made Zhu Cixuan always wary of bureaucrats. It was not uncommon for monks to read crooked scriptures with crooked mouths. He was afraid that if he was negligent, his original good play would be distorted by his group of poor actors.
.
"Sir, General Yang would like to see you."
Zhu Cixuan, who was worried about Tan Hong's suggestion, rubbed his brows when he suddenly heard Wang Tonghe's announcement. He nodded, put down the case file, and said with a smile: "Yang Jing is not slow in coming, let him in."
Not long after, Yang Jing rushed into the lobby carrying a big wild boar leg. Zhu Cixuan raised his head and said casually: "Okay, don't be pretentious. Well, I'm a little thinner and darker, but I'm in good spirits now.
When you go back to Kunming, I guess not many people will recognize you... Uh, what are you carrying?"
Yang Jing giggled and said: "I met a big wild boar on the way back to Chengdu. I thought that His Highness might not have eaten it before, so I brought a leg here for His Highness to have a taste."
Zhu Cixuan laughed dumbly and waved his hand: "If you are interested, Wang Banban will ask the kitchen to make it tonight, and the three of us will try it together." After Yang Jing sat down, Zhu Cixuan said seriously: "How is the situation over at Jianmen?"
"It's not optimistic, it's very troublesome." Yang Jing stopped joking and spoke in a serious tone, "I haven't seen the Tatars, but it's not safe. The area around Jianmen is almost deserted for hundreds of miles, Jianmen Pass is also dilapidated, and the defenders are even worse.
They have no fighting spirit. When I led the troops there, the defenders dispersed as soon as they saw us, and many of them have not been recovered to this day."
He shook his head with a wry smile and sighed: "I originally thought that the campers in Guizhou were suffering enough, but when I went to Jianmen, I realized that although Sun Kewang was hateful, he still left some way for the campers to survive. Jianmen, the guards there
The army can no longer be regarded as soldiers. The imperial court has been without supplies for several years. They are lucky to survive. Their combat power is not at all. Fortunately, the Tatars have been keeping an eye on Chongqing these years. Otherwise, I am afraid that Jianmen would have changed hands long ago.
.”
Zhu Cixuan also sighed and said: "It's rare that the imperial court can still carry the banner of the Ming Dynasty, so there is no need to criticize them harshly. In your opinion, how much investment is needed to repair Jianmen Pass and make it the northern gate of Chengdu again?"
"
Yang Jing thought carefully and replied: "The main body of Jianmen Pass is still there, but the various defense facilities are seriously damaged. With five thousand civilians, the repairs can be completed in one month. Jianmen Pass is naturally dangerous, and only two thousand people who dare to fight can do it."
But the defense is impregnable, but there is no one on the way from Jianmen to Chengdu, so supply is a problem."
"Weapons and armor can be transported from Chengdu. Food is not available, and Chengdu cannot afford the losses on the road." Zhu Cixuan thought for a moment and made up his mind, "Wang Banban, call Tan Hong and Tan Yi over."
Yang Jing laughed at the side and said: "Your Highness is really good at it. Last time I went to Jianmen from Chengdu, there were not even a few ghosts in Chengdu. Come and take a look this time, hey, it's even more lively than Kunming. I heard that Your Highness also helped
The men are getting married, Your Highness, when do you think you can get me some young wives?"
Zhu Cixuan smiled and scolded: "If you want your wife to go back to Kunming to find your father, you can't help but choose among the ladies in Kunming." After a pause, he continued, "I asked Liu Yao to come back for you this time because he has a serious business."
"His Royal Highness orders."
"Wu Sangui has made frequent moves, and his coveting of Chongqing has become obvious." Zhu Cixuan said worriedly, "Chongqing controls the two rivers, connecting Bashu on the top and Xiangchu on the bottom. If Chongqing is lost, the Tatar armies from the south, middle and north will be integrated into one.
Wu Sangui is no longer in danger of supply shortages. Therefore, the gain or loss of Chongqing is related to the survival of our Ming Dynasty."
After Yang Jing digested it, Zhu Cixuan continued: "Originally, I had an agreement with the King of Jin and the King of Shu. When the King of Jin returns to Guiyang, the King of Shu will be in charge of Chongqing. However, the King of Shu is ill and cannot afford it. The guard general of Chongqing, now
There is no where to go. But the war is imminent, and Wu Sangui will not be kind enough to wait for the King of Shu to recover. Therefore, Chongqing needs a general who dares to fight to buy time for the King of Shu."
Yang Jing blinked and said with a smile: "Of course I'll go for it. When it comes to daring to fight, in the imperial camp, I say second, who dares to say first?"
Zhu Cixuan originally also liked Yang Jing, and was very happy when he saw that he did not refuse, but pretended to be worried and said: "The opponent is Wu Sangui, are you confident?"
Yang Jing was so excited that he jumped up and patted his chest and said: "That old traitor was born a few years before me. He shows off his power by licking ditches for the Tatars. How can I be afraid of him?" He was so excited that he even
I jumped out of my skin.
Zhu Cixuan didn't take it seriously and continued to laugh: "Guan Ning's cavalry has a great reputation. Are you really not afraid?"
"You are a loser who doesn't even have the courage to fight the Tatars head-on." Yang Jing said disdainfully, "Your Highness, there is no need to provoke me, I will definitely be able to defend Chongqing."
"Okay." Zhu Cixuan nodded and said, "Don't be afraid of battle, let alone underestimate the enemy. Strategically despise your opponent, and tactically you must pay enough attention. I will give you ten days to expand your battalion to 10,000, and then set off for Chongqing.
Bring as much ordnance and food as possible, so that the poor family and the road are rich, and it will be difficult to find out that there is not enough when you arrive in Chongqing. Wu Sangui will definitely go to Chongqing by land and water. After going to Chongqing, he will send someone to see Inspector Wen and ask him to organize the Zhongzhen Camp.
The naval forces gathered together to assist in the battle..."
After warning for a while, Tan Hong and Tan Yi arrived, and then Zhu Cixuan waved his hand and asked Yang Jing to make preparations.
"I have called you here for two things." Zhu Cixuan rubbed his swollen head and said tiredly, "Tan Hong, I have read your suggestion. You want to forcibly move the people living on Chunxi Road to other places. I
No. There are only about 500,000 people in Chengdu now, and many of them still live outside the city. Why are you driving all the people working in agriculture out of the city in such a hurry? There are natural laws of population migration, and people would rather get up early every day to go there.
They are farming outside the city and are unwilling to live outside the city. There must be threats outside the city that they cannot solve. If you don't eliminate their concerns, what's the use of driving them out? Can you stop them from coming back?"
Tan Hong was a little dazed by the accusation. He hurriedly explained: "Your Highness, the first few groups of people arrived in Chengdu relatively early. The houses they occupied were all in good locations, which greatly affected the development of industry and commerce..."
Zhu Cixuan also knows what Tan Hong said. With Zhu Cixuan's strong support for industry and commerce, a lot of various workshops and businesses have sprung up like mushrooms after a rain. The workshops are okay and have no requirements for location, but the businesses are swarming.
They all came to the bustling areas like Chunxi Road. Unfortunately, the space on Chunxi Road was limited, and many of the houses were used as private houses by some people. This made the business owners unable to sit still and came to see Tan one after another.
Hong requested that private houses be expropriated for commercial use, and this was how Tan Hong's petition came about.
Tan Hong was also aggrieved. Zhu Cixuan's emphasis on industry and commerce was obvious to all. He thought that his proposal would be approved with certainty. Who knew that Zhu Cixuan's first consideration was the convenience of the people.
He said clearly: "Your Highness, Chunxi Road is becoming more and more prosperous day by day. Various businesses are vying to open stores on Chunxi Road. In His Highness's plan, Chunxi Road is also designated as the future commercial center of Chengdu. I have been ordered to take charge of it."
Industry and commerce have always been sincere and fearful. We have kept in mind His Highness's words and regard the development of industry and commerce as a top priority. Today's suggestions may be slightly inconvenient to ordinary people, but they will be of great benefit to the development of industry and commerce in Chengdu. I have no favoritism in this matter.
Your Majesty, please take a closer look."
Zhu Cixuan shook his head and said: "When did I say that you were showing favoritism? What I am angry about is your way of handling it. I ask you, what is the purpose of developing industry and commerce?"
Tan Hong replied: "Of course it is to save money and food and build soldiers and armor to drive out the slaves."
"Heh." Zhu Cixuan sneered and asked again, "Why do we need to expel the Jian slaves?"
"This, establishing slaves invades my country and plunders my people..."
"Is the purpose of developing industry and commerce to drive away the Jiannu slaves? Yes and no." Zhu Cixuan said coldly, "The Jiannu slaves are a foreign race. They regard us Chinese people as pigs and dogs. They willfully humiliate and trample on them in every possible way, so I am determined to fight against the Qing Dynasty.
It is the Ming Dynasty, and it is also the people of the world. Industry and commerce can provide our army with elite soldiers and armor, money, food and equipment, but more importantly, it can enrich the people."
"Driving away the Tatars is a big deal, but just to drive away the Tatars, how short-sighted you are!" Zhu Cixuan snorted, "If the people plow the fields, their income in a year will not be enough to survive. If they work in a workshop, their income will be ten times that of farming.
! Prosperity of industry and commerce can absorb a large amount of field labor and prevent land annexation from becoming the cause of the collapse of the dynasty. It can also make the people rich and prevent it from being a source of chaos."
Tan Hong lowered his head and said: "Your Highness's opinion is that I am not thinking carefully. But Your Highness, since industry and commerce are so important, why don't you agree to my suggestions?"
Zhu Cixuan hated the fact that iron cannot be made into steel and said: "You, you, are you a fool? I am promoting industry and commerce in order to make the people peaceful and prosperous, and the focus is on the people. If you want to force the people away for industry and commerce, aren't you putting the cart before the horse?"
"It's just a minor inconvenience." Tan Hong was still unconvinced.
"You know better than me why a dike of a thousand miles collapses in an ant's nest." Zhu Cixuan glared at Tan Hong and said displeasedly, "Today you dare to forcibly relocate the people for the sake of shops. Tomorrow, you dare to forcibly demolish the people for the sake of the workshops."
His house has been destroyed? No matter how small it is, you can’t do anything that hurts the people! People’s hearts are easy to lose but hard to gain. I work hard every day for fear that what I do will disappoint the people. Do you want me to break trust with the people?”
"How dare I?" Tan Hong wiped his sweat and asked cautiously, "Then, Your Highness, you will continue to let the common people live on Chunxi Road?"
"Chunxi Road is a great place, wouldn't it be a waste to use it as a residence?" Zhu Cixuan glared again, "Don't you know how to find a way to get the best of both worlds?"
Tan Hong Khan said: "I am incompetent, I really didn't expect it." He felt that there was no other way except sending troops to drive people away, and sending troops to drive them away obviously couldn't have the best of both worlds.
Zhu Cixuan also knew the virtues of bureaucrats in this era, so he no longer talked about it and directly pointed out: "Chengdu is becoming more and more prosperous, and many unreasonable aspects of the original urban planning need to be redesigned. You go and set up a planning department to be responsible for urban development planning. Where?
Where is industry, where is commerce, and where is residential, all are planned clearly, and must be clear and reasonable to be convenient for the people.”
Tan Hong bowed to accept the order, and Zhu Cixuan continued: "Establish another project agency. In the future, whether the government wants to purchase weapons and armor, build bridges and pave roads, including the conversion of residential houses into shops this time, the project agency will take the lead in facing various workshops.
The commercial firm invites bids, and the one with good quality and low price wins the bid.”
Tan Hong didn't quite understand the meaning of winning the tender, so he thought about asking someone to ask, and he immediately agreed.
"It's okay to move the people on Chunxi Road. First, we must give them appropriate compensation on a per capita basis. Second, we must build good houses for them. Third, we must absolutely volunteer. I don't want to receive the people in a few days. All I hear is about
You are complaining about forced demolition!" Zhu Cixuan warned.
"I understand." Tan Hong made up his mind to make every family negotiation absolutely voluntary.
"And you." After arranging this matter, Zhu Cixuan said to Tan Yi again, "Jianmen is dangerous and must be defended. However, the road is not repaired and it is difficult. You should immediately select a group of people who have recently migrated and let them go.
We chose a place to settle under Jianmen Pass, and everyone was allocated two hundred acres of land." After all, he was far away from Chengdu, so Zhu Cixuan decided to give more land this time.
Tan Yi, who thought he would also be scolded, breathed a sigh of relief and quickly agreed.
"Farm tools, cattle, grain, seeds, and other related materials must be prepared in place. After these people have settled in, let them go to Jianmen Pass to help repair the wall." Zhu Cixuan warned, "Remember to pay wages.