Chapter 305: Chongzhen's Anger and Self-Deprecation
Xujiazhuang's fourth round of manor expansion went extremely smoothly.
In mid-April, preliminary preparations were basically completed.
In late April, the training of 1,100 working groups and more than 100,000 managers began.
By early May, Xujiazhuang had dispatched hundreds of land acquisition and survey teams to delineate the general scope of land acquisition to facilitate the next step of estate construction.
This time, the land acquisition work was the most troublesome and difficult task in the preliminary preparation stage, and there were countless complex situations encountered.
certainly!
The difficulty encountered this time is not the difficulty of land acquisition, but the problem of a large number of uncooperative households.
But I want to add the problem of too many people.
Except for a very small number of landowners who are unwilling to cooperate, more than 99.9% of the people in Jiangnan hope that their fields can be merged into collective estates and fall within the scope of land acquisition.
Even though there is no compensation for the land expropriation this time, and they can only contribute for free, and at most they can arrange for a better job, there are still many people who want to join, and there are countless applicants.
Many wealthy businessmen in the city suddenly went to the countryside, spent tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of silver dollars, and hoarded some fertile farmland in a good location that was likely to be within the scope of land acquisition. They paid exorbitant prices to buy it, but those in the countryside
Farmers are not stupid either. Very few are willing to sell their land, and no matter how tempting you are, it will not work.
Most of the landlords and gentry have figured it out and welcome the Xujiazhuang land expropriation. Even though they may suffer huge losses and give up the hard work accumulated by their ancestors for generations, they still feel that joining Xujiazhuang is a good deal, not to mention that all they lose is just land and their family’s wealth.
The property is still there, and after being merged into Xujiazhuang, they will get some preferential treatment. They can consider investing in the factory and opening a store to do business. There are still many opportunities to make a fortune, and the starting point is still higher than most ordinary people.
even!
Among the government officials, such as some county magistrates and magistrates in Nanzhili, many of them also hope that their hometown's fields will be favored by Xujiazhuang and become one of the land expropriation households.
Therefore, the most common question that officials from the Jiangnan area ask each other when they meet recently is "Has your family landed in the village?"
Some officials even resigned after learning that their hometowns were within the land acquisition scope of Xujiazhuang's village expansion. They quickly took their wives and children back to their hometowns, fearing that they would be late and would not be able to enter the villagers' register and become members of Xujiazhuang.
Already.
Wait wait wait.
This shows that the people in Jiangnan were very enthusiastic about joining the Xu family manor, and even the upper class were extremely enthusiastic, and were even willing to give up their power and wealth.
but……
The total area of South Zhili is only 240,000 square kilometers.
The cultivated land area is about 180 million acres.
In this round of expansion of Xujiazhuang, there are 1,100 manors. Even if each manor covers an area of 50,000 acres, the maximum enclosed land is 55 million acres. Adding the 6 million acres in Yangzhou Prefecture, the total is only 61 million acres.
At most, only one-third of the land will be acquired.
There are still two-thirds of the area that is not within the enclosure and cannot be added to Xujiazhuang.
But those who want to join the Xu Family Manor, except for a small number of city dwellers and a handful of landlords, all the rest want to join. And the more remote the people living in poverty, the more eager they are to change their destiny by joining the Xu Family Manor, but most of them want to join the Xu Family Manor.
Not within the scope of land acquisition.
what to do?
So some people took out money and tried to bribe the land acquisition and survey team members.
Some take the initiative to send their wives and daughters to seduce them with their beauty.
There are also all kinds of stalkers, who have no moral integrity, are willing to be slaves, and even set traps to get the hands of the land acquisition staff, so as to intimidate them.
In short, all kinds of chaos occurred in a short period of time. There were also many land acquisition workers who could not withstand the temptation and fell into depravity. They were all severely punished. Some of them committed crimes and were even expelled from Xujiazhuang. They were then widely publicized.
, which has a clear deterrent effect on other land acquisition workers.
But it also caused the progress of land acquisition to be affected to a certain extent and even delayed.
Of course, this is not a big problem. With the rules and regulations of Xujiazhuang as a guarantee, it doesn't matter even if some Jiangnan people have taken all measures, spent all their wealth, and given away their wives and daughters for seduction, as long as they are not within the scope of land acquisition.
, no matter how hard they try, it's all in vain, they just don't have this life! Xujiazhuang doesn't owe them anything. If they want to blame, they can only blame their own bad luck.
But doesn't Xujiazhuang always talk about "putting people first, treating people as treasure"? This time when expanding the village in Jiangnan, why can it only take care of one-third of the area at most, but instead treat the two-thirds of the majority?
Is it appropriate to ignore it and say so? Does it violate my original intention and purpose?
Faced with such reasonable criticism and accusations, Xujiazhuang can only put forward a 'limited liability theory', that is, Xujiazhuang can only 'put people first and treat people as treasure' towards the people in his manor and city.
It really can't be controlled, because the population of Ming Dynasty is 230 million, growing by nearly 10 million every year, and the world's population is about one billion, and it is also growing. If we want to take care of them all, no matter how many resources Xujiazhuang has, it will not be enough.
In recent years, the development speed around Xujiazhuang is not bad, with an average annual economic growth rate of more than 20%. Shandong, Shanxi and even the distant Beizhili have all followed suit. As long as you work hard, you can change yourself.
There is no need to join Xujiazhuang.
As for those people who cannot improve their lives for various reasons but like to complain every day, they can blame themselves for not working hard enough, blame the corruption and darkness of the Ming Dynasty government, blame the rich and powerful for monopolizing most opportunities, but they have no right to complain about Xujiazhuang because of oppression
It was not Xujiazhuang who exploited them, they hated the wrong person.
but!
By mid-May.
When Xujiazhuang expanded its village on a large scale in the south of the Yangtze River and the land acquisition and enclosure activities were carried out vigorously, it began to arouse the envy and heated discussion of people all over the Ming Dynasty.
The relevant news finally reached the capital, the court, and the palace with a slight delay.
It aroused discussions among ministers and officials.
It even aroused the anger and dissatisfaction of Emperor Zhu Youjian, and it was unprecedented anger and dissatisfaction that could no longer be tolerated!
Xujiazhuang plans to expand the village. For such a big thing, have you informed him in advance? Have you sent someone to notify him in advance?
Have you asked for his opinion and sought his consent?
It was another silent and crazy expansion, occupying the most important land in the south of the Yangtze River for the Ming Dynasty, the source of more than 70% of the Ming Dynasty's tax revenue, and this time Xujiazhuang built 1,100 collective estates, a sudden increase in number.
Increased tenfold!
What to do?
What does Xujiazhuang want to do?
When this round of expansion is over and the expansion continues in a few years, will the entire Ming Dynasty be swallowed up, the Ming Dynasty usurped, and the Zhu family dynasty reduced to history?
Has his worries and feelings been taken into consideration?
Moreover, Fengyang Mansion, the place where the Ming Dynasty royal family started, is also within the expansion range of Xujiazhuang this time. That is, the Zhu family's ancestral tombs and dragon veins may be controlled by Xujiazhuang. In the future, the royal family will have to go through the ancestral tombs if they want to visit them.
Xujiazhuang’s consent?
Liar, liar!
Xujiazhuang always releases false information, saying that he is not interested in changing dynasties. This is obviously a paralysis tactic, because his Ming Dynasty is only one step away from the next round of expansion. The Ming Dynasty, which lasted for more than two hundred years, is about to be completely destroyed.
It's over!
How could this make him not feel angry?
stop.
All means must be taken to obstruct and stop it.
It is even possible to use military means to attack.
Anyway, it is impossible for him to remain silent this time and be indifferent to Xu Jiazhuang's actions. Even if the two sides are at odds, the relationship between allies is broken, or even a war breaks out that the royal family has no chance of winning, Zhu Youjian will not acquiesce to Xu Jiazhuang's completion of this move.
The expansion of the village.
However, relying solely on the strength of the royal family's 50,000 new troops (he originally planned to increase it to 100,000, but it would mean consuming at least three to four million more money and food every year, so after thinking about it, he gave up), against the Xu family's army, it would be to attack the stone with an egg.
He is actively seeking death.
It is necessary to win over a force that can barely compete with Xujiazhuang.
For example, the civil servants, military officers and nobles in the court.
For example, the gentry in the Jiangnan area and Xujiazhuang have their lifeblood, land, taken away. If they can't tolerate it, then when the time comes to unite and spend all their wealth to fight against Xujiazhuang, the court will definitely stand on their side.
On their side.
So at the court meeting the next day.
Zhu Youjian took the initiative to bring up the topic of Xujiazhuang's expansion, and his words became extremely harsh and murderous. He asked the civil and military officials in the palace how to stop Xujiazhuang's expansion.
cold.
The reaction of the civil and military officials, especially the civil servants, was very cold, not at all as intense as he expected, and they immediately made sharp remarks.
"My dear friends, do you have any ideas on how to defeat Xujiazhuang?" Zhu Youjian had no choice but to ask again.
"Your Majesty, the expansion of Xujiazhuang is just an ordinary matter. Why should we defeat the opposition?"
At this time, an official came out and said: "The expansion of Xujiazhuang means that the land south of the Yangtze River will soon get better development. The people will live a richer life, and the money and grain collected by the court will also increase. The benefits are so
If there are too many, there will be no loss. I really don’t understand why I want to stop and oppose it.”
"Yes, Xujiazhuang's expansion is in line with the people's wishes and has been welcomed by countless people. They didn't even ask for compensation for land expropriation. They all joined Xujiazhuang voluntarily. If our court opposes it, wouldn't it go against public opinion and not be supported by the people in Jiangnan?
, if strong measures are taken, it is even worse. Your Majesty, the army currently available to the court is only tens of thousands, and there are tens of millions of people in Jiangnan. Not to mention that it cannot defeat Xujiazhuang, even the people in Jiangnan cannot stop it. It is better not to make unnecessary objections.
act.”
"Xujiazhuang has won the hearts of the people in the south of the Yangtze River. It is impossible to make the people turn to the imperial court with swords, guns and soldiers. Our only way is to avoid Liao Xiang, reduce the people's burden, increase their income, improve their living standards, and crack down on those who
Greedy and corrupt officials... Only in this way can we regain the support of the people and get the people to leave the Xu Family Manor and return to the Ming Dynasty. As a result, the population of the Xu Family Manor will become smaller and smaller. Over time, those manors will be abandoned and disintegrated one by one.
We will win without fighting. This is the most correct way to defeat Xujiazhuang and win with dignity."
"Yes, we can't even defeat a Xujiazhuang manor by using force. Only by competing for development and governance, learning from Xujiazhuang's successful experience, and following the righteous path of winning the hearts and minds of the people can we achieve the final victory. No need to fight or kill again."
carry."
Hear these words.
Zhu Youjian's nose was almost crooked with anger. He pointed at these ministers angrily and asked: "What do you mean, no matter how Xujiazhuang expands, the court will ignore it and acquiesce in Xujiazhuang's expansion. It will do nothing and still have to provide benefits."
With welfare, please the people of Jiangnan, so that they will not be too attached to Xujiazhuang, and start a war of attrition with Xujiazhuang in terms of resources?"
"Uh...that's pretty much what it means."
"I didn't say that, but if you want to defeat Xujiazhuang and win back the hearts and minds of the people, this is the only way to do it."
"Your Majesty, Xujiazhuang's expansion of 1,100 houses is estimated to absorb more than 20 million Jiangnan people, which means that the population under Xujiazhuang's control has doubled, resulting in the per capita annual income being reduced to less than 200 silver dollars. Suddenly, the life of affluent people has dropped to a big one.
Healthy life, this is actually not a good thing for Xujiazhuang. On the contrary, there are many internal objections, thinking that a lot of benefits and resources will be taken away. Xujiazhuang’s senior management is facing a lot of internal pressure this time, so there is news
He said that this should be the last expansion of Xujiazhuang in the Ming Dynasty. There will be no next round. Your Majesty does not need to worry. And within the Ming Dynasty, except for the land south of the Yangtze River, Xujiazhuang is somewhat attractive.
In the eyes of Xujiazhuang, it is a burden and useless, and it is impossible to continue to expand."
"Yes, this is the last round of expansion. From now on, the imperial court and Xujiazhuang will no longer have disputes. Instead, they will live in peace and develop together, and the two will not interfere with each other."
"You bastards!"
Zhu Youjian was furious when he heard this. He stood up and pointed at them and cursed: "What benefits did Xujiazhuang give you to say good things for Xujiazhuang like this? You are still my ministers, is this how you share my worries? What you said
These bastard words, even if I ordered you to be executed, you deserve it. Say! Are you loyal to me now, or have you been bribed by Xujiazhuang and become a traitor planted in the imperial court? "
Seeing that the emperor was angry and had a murderous look on his face, some officials knelt on the ground and begged the emperor for forgiveness.
But there are also some officials who, although they kneel down, still hold their necks and insist on their views:
"Your Majesty, the imperial court is weak and its strength is only one percent of Xujiazhuang. You cannot be hostile to it."
"If you insist on resisting, the only one who will be destroyed is the imperial court."
"Your Majesty, please think again!"
"Xujiazhuang is not a threat to the imperial court, but a huge opportunity that must be seized! If your Majesty cannot listen to these suggestions, please remove us."
"If your Majesty insists on having your own way, please resign and return home!"
This made Zhu Youjian even more angry. He dismissed these people on the spot and expelled them from the court.
…
The attempt to win over North Korean and Chinese officials failed.
And relying solely on the power of the royal family, it is impossible to be Xujiazhuang's opponent, and Zhu Youjian will not be stupid enough to commit suicide.
But in the court, there were so many reasons why the noisy civil servants who often yelled and killed Xujiazhuang suddenly disappeared. Why were there so many reasons for the officials who were confronting him, the emperor, and defending and defending Xujiazhuang? Zhu Youjian sent
Many elite Jin Yiwei quickly investigated clearly.
List.
Jinyiwei Qianhu Shen Tie handed a list to Zhu Youjian and said:
"Your Majesty, the officials on this list are the officials who tried their best to become land expropriators during the expansion of Xujiazhuang. There are 58 ministers, county magistrates, prefecture governors and other officials in the list. More than 300 officials, and at least 50 to 60% of the officials from South Zhili planned to merge into the Xujiazhuang estate. For this reason, 268 people resigned, and there were 32 officials whose hometowns were not included in the Xujiazhuang land acquisition scope. , but in order to achieve the purpose of joining, they actually sent people to kill dozens of households, occupied their quotas and land, and committed unscrupulous things! The most popular greeting among these Jiangnan officials recently is "Your home is here" Has the village come ashore?'... This is why they try their best to protect Xujiazhuang."
"Haha, hahaha~"
Looking at the list in his hand, Zhu Youjian couldn't help but laugh, and he smiled very sadly and desolately: "Has your family entered the village and landed? No wonder, no wonder, they are all Xujiazhuang people. If they don't safeguard the interests of Xujiazhuang, how can it be difficult?" Are they going to protect my interests? I actually thought they would be on my side, haha, I was so stupid and naive!"
He said mockingly to himself, he figured everything out in an instant, but his heart felt cold, and he was hit and hurt a lot.