In addition to this bad thing, there was also good news that made Zhu Youxiao happy.
The pure concubine Su Qin, who was ten months pregnant, gave birth ten days ago in the palace. Everything went very smoothly.
Zhu Youxiao's first daughter, the eldest princess of the Tianqi Dynasty, was born on December 1.
Zhu Youxiao held the good news in his hand and couldn't suppress the sudden joy. His hands were trembling slightly.
Zhu Youxiao, who originally wanted to wait until the end of the year to return to Beijing, can no longer delay. Whether it is from a national or personal perspective, the current situation is beyond his control.
Although the Southwest has been stabilized, some aftermath matters have not been truly implemented, so he has never returned to the country.
But now he couldn't care so much anymore. After careful consideration, Zhu Youxiao decided to return to Beijing early.
There is still more than half a month left. As long as he rides a fast horse and travels day and night, he can still make it back before the end of the year.
He ordered Qin Liangyu, Zhu Xieyuan, and Li Sheng into the big tent overnight. As the chief civil and military officer staying in Sichuan and the governor of Guizhou, Zhu Youxiao still had some things to tell them and remind them.
The focus was still on the issue of the chieftain. He repeatedly emphasized that the policy of reforming the native land and returning it to the local people must be strictly implemented in accordance with his will and there should be no mistakes in the slightest.
In order to ensure the authority of the two of them and facilitate their work, Zhu Youxiao gave each of them a Shangfang sword.
Zhu Xieyuan and Li Sheng had a very heavy burden because they were governors and the chief officials of a province. They had to deal with post-war reconstruction and distribute the confiscated land to the people in an alternative way.
Especially in southern Sichuan and northern Guizhou, various ethnic groups have begun to integrate. During this sensitive period, the outbreak of conflicts is inevitable. It depends on how they handle it appropriately.
After he leaves, those officials, gentry and wealthy nobles will inevitably be unable to contain their rebellious and arrogant hearts, and they will continue to make small moves behind his back.
These are extremely brain-burning things, but Zhu Youxiao can only choose to leave this bunch of messy things to them.
Although the two of them are not in charge of the same province, they cooperate in power and implement the same policy plan, so conflicts are inevitable.
In order to avoid such a situation between the two governors, Zhu Youxiao also named Zhu Xieyuan the premier of Sichuan and Guizhou provinces. He could have jurisdiction over all political and civil affairs, as well as the transfer and distribution of money and grain.
As for the military aspect, Zhu Youxiao had already made arrangements. The remaining soldiers and horses in Sichuan were naturally taken over by Qin Liangyu's right guard army.
He divided this elite army of more than 10,000 people into two, with half of the troops stationed in Chengdu and the other 10,000 stationed in Chongqing.
Although these two cities are not strategic centers or important military towns, they have a very high status and reputation, and from an overall perspective, they are in the center of the southwest and have a good geographical location.
Whether there is unrest in central Sichuan or something goes wrong in the surrounding provinces and regions, they can learn and respond in time and send troops to assist as soon as possible.
Then he integrated all the battalions in Chengdu and Chongqing and incorporated them into Zhu Xieyuan's 5,000 standard battalion, totaling more than 20,000 people.
This army will be dispersed to various key roads and dangerous places in Sichuan, as well as to defend strategic towns, assist the Right Guards in town, and suppress the entire Sichuan.
Then he appointed Lu Qin as the commander-in-chief of the capital of Guizhou, and appointed him as the governor-general of military affairs in Guizhou, taking charge of the entire garrison and the various camps in Guizhou.
Then several generals were transferred from the Baigan Army to assume important positions in the army to assist Lu Qin.
Although what he issued was a central edict, which did not have the supreme and unquestionable authority of an imperial edict, it was still effective.
As long as the person who was entrusted with the edict is willing to accept it, it will have the legal effect of the imperial court. Of course, they can also refute it. If they don't accept the edict, there is nothing the emperor can do.
Those court officials in the capital were like this. They clearly had the same content, but they only accepted the imperial edict but not the central edict. They were clearly against the emperor and wanted to limit the emperor's power and strengthen their power.
After arranging this series of personnel appointments, Zhu Youxiaocai said to them earnestly:
"The affairs in the southwest depend entirely on you. When I have calmed down the slave trouble, stabilized the northern border, and purged the court, I will patrol the southwest again."
"I hope that by then, I can see a different scene than now. People are no longer displaced, and food and clothing cannot be solved."
"I will not disgrace the emperor's kindness!"
"Remember, whenever you encounter something that is undecided or not done, no matter how big or small, you must promptly prepare a memorial and submit it to the capital. I will always pay attention to this."
Zhu Youxiao immediately waved his hand, indicating that they could retreat.
Early the next morning, he ordered all generals above the Qian Commandery of the Yulin Army to record their accounts and discuss military plans.
His 20,000 troops will return in three groups, and he will be the first group.
In order to return to the capital quickly, Zhu Youxiao did not join the main force this time. Instead, he took the Yulin Army and the Xiaoqi Battalion's two thousand escort cavalry to set off first and rush back to the capital at full speed.
The second group is Chen Guang's Shenji Battalion. They will escort nearly ten million taels of gold and silver back along the original route.
The third group consisted of sergeants from the Huben and Taishan battalions. More than 2 million shi of food and supplies were all handed over to them for escort, following behind the Shenji battalion.
In order to escort all the money and grain back to Beijing at once, Zhu Youxiao collected horse-drawn carriages throughout Sichuan and recruited young and strong laborers to carry out loading and unloading along the way.
Because he had made a fortune, Zhu Youxiao was very generous this time and offered extremely high prices to levy carriages and recruit laborers.
The price per person was fifteen taels of silver, and food was included along the way. Three meals a day were all dry, with broth from time to time.
It was the same when they came back, and an army was sent to escort them home safely. Moreover, the message was issued in the name of the emperor. Basically no one would say it was false.
This kind of treatment is unheard of for ordinary people. Not only does it have a high salary, but it also provides adequate management and security protection. It is really unimaginable.
Therefore, after the common people learned about the emperor's recruitment notice, they ran directly to the government office to sign up without caring about anything else.
In just two days, the quota of 10,000 people planned by Zhu You School has been filled up. All of them are young men in their twenties and thirties, and they are very powerful.
As the most important tool for pulling goods, the price of a carriage is naturally much higher. The price Zhu Youxiao offered them was thirty-five taels of silver for a horse and a person.
But even if the price is high, the collected carriages are far from enough. In places like Sichuan, there is no place suitable for raising horses. Horses are a rare species here.
Finally, he ordered that not only horse-drawn carriages, but also donkey-carts and ox-carts could be used, as long as they could pull goods.