In the thirteenth year of Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty, Ding Yunyi, the Marquis of Wu Lie, went on an expedition to Luzon. In the same year, he surrounded the Ming Dynasty.
The nightmare that can never be dispelled, the catastrophe has appeared again!
In the spring of this year, Zhang Xianzhong was surrounded at the junction of Sichuan, Shaanxi and Hubei, and everyone could see clearly. However, Emperor Chongzhen was besieged in the Forbidden City, but no one could see clearly. He only knew how to fight with all his strength. Struggling, but not understanding the situation of being besieged.
One night in early March, it was already after the second watch. Chongzhen was not sleepy and was walking around in the courtyard of Qianqing Palace. Two palace maids held two silk palace lanterns and stood silently on both sides of the Danqi while others on duty waited on him. The eunuchs and maids stood far away in the shadows, not even daring to breathe. Occasionally, a sharp cold north wind blew by, and the iron horses on the eaves of the palace made a tinkling sound, but Chongzhen seemed not to hear it. His thoughts Thinking about the terrible situation that made him very worried, he sighed from time to time. After hesitating for a long time, he lowered his head and walked heavily back to the East Nuan Pavilion of Qianqing Palace, and sat down slumped in front of the Imperial Case again.
At present, Jiangbei, Huguang, Sichuan, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan, Shandong, Hebei... half of China is suffering from famines and rebellions everywhere, with tens of thousands of people in large numbers, thousands of people in second place, and hundreds of people in second place. Small stocks are everywhere. There are also famines and riots in places south of the Yangtze River, Hunan, Jiangxi, Fujian and other places. Even the so-called land of plenty like Suzhou and Jiaxing are experiencing droughts, locust plagues, soaring food prices, and thousands of people are constantly dying. They gathered in groups, openly grabbing food and causing trouble. Since he took charge of the country, the situation has become worse and worse. Nowadays, there is almost no quiet land. Although Yang Sichang recently had a victory in the Agate Mountain, Zhang Xianzhong still never killed or captured Zuo Liangyu. He Renlong and others were unwilling to take advantage of the victory and held back their troops. According to Yang Sichang's repeated reports, the army was in serious payment arrears and the morale of the army was very unstable. Although there has been a turnaround in the military, if the military pay Failure to raise funds may result in the failure of the great campaign against bandits, and the good opportunity will never come again. He thought, "Only when the soldiers' pay is secured, can we strictly supervise the troops to carry out the suppression, so that Zhang Xianzhong will not have a chance to breathe." , surrounding him at the junction of Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Hubei and annihilating him can also encourage the soldiers to sweep Shangluo Mountain in one fell swoop. But where will the pay come from? The increase in training pay has caused commotion across the country, and it continued in the court. Some people objected that now there is nothing more to do. He asked himself in his heart: How can it be good to have "the national treasury is clean"?
Moreover, Yang Sichang was not the only one who was in dire need of food and wages. For several days, he received urgent documents from various provinces every day, either asking for wages or asking for troops.
"Rates, ah, rates, how can we survive this day without wages?"
That night, he slept very uneasily and had many nightmares. After retreating from the court the next morning, he was like an ant on a hot pot. After thinking about it, he came up with a more effective solution. The way is to ask the royal relatives to lend some money to the country. He thought that the royal relatives "receive the country's favor" and "share weal and woe" with the country. The country is currently in great difficulty and others are unwilling to contribute money, so they should Spending money and being an advocate can also let the people of the world know that he has no selfish motives in being a king and father. But which royal family should be asked to set an example?
Chongzhen often heard that there were three richest families among the royal relatives: one was the queen's natal family, one was Concubine Tian's natal family, and the other was the Marquis Li family of Wuqing. The first two families were newly deceased and relied on the royal relatives.
The status, queen, and concubine Tian were all favored by the emperor. "They annexed land and ran businesses in the Gyeonggi area." After more than ten years, they accumulated a large family fortune, surpassing many old royal relatives.
The Marquis of Wuqing family is the natal family of the Empress Dowager Xiaoding, the mother of Emperor Wanli. The current generation of Marquis Li Guorui is Chongzhen's cousin. When Wanli took charge, Wanli took charge personally. When Wanli Emperor Zhu Yijun came to the throne, he was only ten years old and was under the guardianship of his mother.
After he got married at the age of sixteen, his mother no longer took care of her. It was not until Zhang Juzheng died of illness in the tenth year of Wanli that he directly took charge of the government. Before, state affairs were presided over by the Empress Dowager Xiaoding and the powerful Prime Minister Zhang Juzheng. It is said that the Empress Dowager Xiaoding often took care of the affairs of the palace.
Gold and silver treasures were shipped to the natal family, some of which were publicly rewarded, and some were not publicly rewarded. Therefore, to this day, the Wuqing Hou family is still very wealthy, second to none among the old and new royal relatives. Among these three royal relatives, one family can set an example for the rest of the family.
The emperor was so convinced that he followed up and offered the money. However, he was unwilling to hurt the hearts of the Queen and Concubine Tian, so he could not ask Zhou Kui and Tian Hongyu to set an example first. After much deliberation, it was more appropriate to ask Li Guorui to set an example. He also thought about asking everyone to set an example.
When a family member asks for money, it may not go smoothly. If there is resistance, he will be severely punished and even use national laws. But this is not an ordinary event. There has never been such a story among ancestors in the past. Stories are synonymous with "precedent". This was the rule of the imperial court at that time.
idiomatic words.
, would the ancestors in heaven be surprised? What would all the royal relatives and nobles say? After thinking about it repeatedly, he suddenly hesitated.
The next day, all parts of North China, especially the Gyeonggi area, were covered with dark yellow thick clouds, strong winds and gray sand. The sun was pale, fading in and out, and the shops on the streets were closed, and there were shops a few feet away from each other.
People's faces cannot be seen clearly. In broad daylight, every house must light up lamps and candles. Everyone thinks this is a terrible disaster, which is an "earth disaster" in the Five Elements. Chongzhen himself was even more afraid, thinking that this disaster was a "heavenly disaster".
He was restless in the Qianqing Palace and went to the Fengxian Hall to burn incense and pray to his ancestors, asking his ancestors to ensure that his country would not fall. He also explained to his ancestors the reason why he wanted to ask the emperor for help. He was lying on the ground.
Praying silently, he suddenly heard a click in the courtyard, which made him jump. He quickly turned back and asked, "Is that the noise outside?"
A eunuch knelt outside the curtain and played: "A branch was broken by the strong wind."
Chongzhen continued to pray to his ancestors. He was filled with sorrow and tears filled his eyes. He could hardly help but cry bitterly in front of his ancestors. After praying, he walked out of the palace door and saw an ancient locust branch as thick as the mouth of a bowl falling on the ground.
His Majesty Dan had not moved away yet. He thought that this must be because his ancestors were not happy with his plan to raise money, otherwise it would not have been such a coincidence that the strong wind broke the branches while he was praying silently. It was neither early nor late.
This accident shocked him as much as a harrier's kiss that blew down the Fengxian Temple in strong wind two years ago.
The sky was dark and the ground was dark, and the ancients called it a strong wind haze. It lasted for two days, and on the third day the wind stopped and the sky became clear. The temperature suddenly dropped to cold, like a severe winter.
All the red baskets of charcoal prepared in the winter were moved into the palace to supply the palaces with fires to keep out the cold. During the previous dynasty, Chongzhen went up to heaven and his ancestors to send disasters one after another as a warning, asking the ministers to live a good life and save the country, and restore the heart of heaven. Then he asked
What can the ministers do to pay for the army? When it comes to raising military pay, everyone is either speechless or makes some empty remarks. There is a new censor named Xu Biao who came from Nanjing. Not only can he not contribute an idea to the emperor
Instead of worrying, he knelt down and "risked his own life to tell the story," saying that he came from the south of the Yangtze River and saw that the villages along the road were in ruins, often with no human habitation for dozens of miles and swarms of wild animals. He cried while talking and advised the emperor to issue an imperial edict as soon as possible.
If you lose training wages, you must not force the remaining people to rebel. Then several officials and Taoist officials knelt down to report the serious disasters in Henan, Shandong, Shaanxi, Huguang, and Jiangbei, explaining that they wanted to raise tens of millions more from the people in wages.
No. After Chongzhen listened to the lectures and the kneeling performance of the Taoist officials, he was at a loss and very distressed. "At the same time, he was also very scared. He thought, now he has no choice but to cruelly ask the royal relatives for help, even though his ancestors' "spirits in heaven"
He was not happy about this, and he would understand his difficulties later. As long as he could raise several million dollars to make the "suppression of bandits" a success and protect his family's empire, his ancestors would not criticize him severely.
He planned to summon several ministers at the Wenhua Palace to study his plan. But when he arrived at the Wenhua Palace, he hesitated again. He was worried that the imperial relatives would use all hard and soft methods to fight against him, and he would be hopeless.
The country's difficulties actually made the emperor's relatives feel cold towards him.
He stayed in the Wenhua Hall for a long time, unable to make up his mind. The Wenhua Hall was originally the place where the emperor of the Ming Dynasty listened to lectures by Confucian officials, so there were several couplets hung on the pillars of the front and back halls, all of which had something to do with the emperor's study.
, at this moment, it almost seemed like a satire on Chongzhen. When he was resting in the Wenhua Hall during his "diligence" on weekdays, he liked to stand in front of the pillars and admire these couplets, but today when he walked in front of the couplets, he no longer
It depends on his mood. He walked from the back hall to the front hall, and finally stopped in front of a couplet, as if out of habit. Not only did he like this couplet, it was written with full ink and round strokes, dignified and vigorous, and was the most popular in the pavilion style.
It was excellent, and he also liked its well-written couplets. Now he couldn't help but read it again. The couplet read: The world is prosperous, the green hills are graceful, Tan Liu Ji Wan Ji Wan Ji Xi Yao compiled Pi Lan Xi San Yu after reading it, he
He couldn't help but sigh and said: "Now there is no such thing as "peace in the world" and "tens of thousands of free time." He shook his head and walked to the back hall of Wenhua with his hands behind his back. Just as he was about to step on the white jade steps of the back hall, a
I looked up and saw the horizontal plaque hanging above the door of the palace, which read: "To learn from the two emperors, three kings, two emperors, three kings, one and two emperors refer to Yao and Shun, and the three kings refer to Xia and Yu.
Tang of Shang, King Wen of Zhou, and King Wu of Zhou. These are the ideal ancient monarchs of Confucianism. The great scripture of governing the world." These twelve characters are divided into six lines, with two characters in each line. They are the royal pen of the Empress Dowager Xiaoding, the mother of Emperor Wanli.
.She was the aunt of Li Guorui, Marquis of Wuqing. Chongzhen felt ashamed, lowered his head and walked into the Dongnuan Pavilion in the back hall. He sat in silence for a long time and canceled summoning the cabinet ministers to ask Qi Wan for help.
Chongzhen returned to the Qianqing Palace with a very conflicted and anxious mood, and sat down slumped in front of the imperial case. He did not bother to read the documents and did not speak. He even felt upset when he heard the slight footsteps of the palace maids and eunuchs outside the curtain.
He wrote the word "rate" twice on the imperial desk with his index finger and sighed.
When he was anxious and desperate, Wang Chengen came to him with a document, bowed and whispered: "Let's start with the emperor, someone has written a copy."
"Who got this degree?"
"It's a student named Li Mi."
Chongzhen said boredly: "I don't want to read it. I don't have the time to read the memorials of an imperial student."
Wang Chengen said in a low voice: "What is written in this memorial is a suggestion for raising military pay."
"What? A construction project to raise military funds?"
Read it to me quickly1"
Li Ban expressed his deep concern about the current situation in Jiangnan in his essay. He first said that Jiangnan has not suffered from wars for many years. Large households have annexed land and engaged in commerce. They only know how to live in luxury and live in luxury, and they do not consider the country's difficulties at all.
He pointed out that the root cause of the great chaos in Qin, Jin, Henan, Chu and other provinces was that the big households only knew how to exploit the small people and annexed the land, resulting in an excessive disparity between the rich and the poor. Even in good harvest years, the small people could not help but cry out about hunger and cold: 1
When faced with famine, the weak had no choice but to starve to death on the roadside, while the strong rose up to rebel. He said that Jiangnan seems to be very stable today, but in fact there are crises lurking everywhere: If the rich and big households are not restricted from annexing land as soon as possible, the small people must be rescued as soon as possible.
The hardship of the people, then Qin,
The catastrophe of the disintegration of Jin, Henan, and Chu would also occur in Jiangnan. In his book, he asked the emperor to resolutely issue an edict, ordering the large households in Jiangnan to voluntarily report their properties and pledge military salaries. If anyone disobeyed, his property would be confiscated.
, do not tolerate it at all. In addition, he also suggested that mergers and acquisitions by large households should be strictly prohibited, and the land should be cleared carefully to equalize the burden on the people. This memorial is very long, and it also mentioned that many dynasties in history had caused problems due to long periods of peace and powerful mergers.
There are examples of chaos in the world leading to the destruction of the country, and the words are full of loyalty to the emperor and concern for the country.
When Chongzhen heard Wang Chengen read this memorial, he was very moved and took it over to read it carefully in person.
As for the suggestion of clearing the land, he believed that delaying the proposal would not solve the problem urgently, and that it would be more difficult. He did not give it much thought. He only thought that asking the big households in Jiangnan to lose their wages was feasible and a good solution for the current emergency.
When the Manchurian soldiers threatened the capital in the previous winter, Lu Xiangsheng suggested that he persuade the wealthy officials and gentry in the capital and Jifu to lose military pay. He was also moved, but it was not as touching as it is now. Jiangnan has indeed been at peace for many years and is extremely wealthy.
Unlike the Gyeonggi area, which had been repeatedly destroyed by Qing troops and suffered from natural disasters year after year. He thought that the current country was in such difficulty and critical condition that it was reasonable to ask the big families in the south of the Yangtze River to donate a few dollars to prevent the country from disintegrating. But.
, thinking calmly, he had to hesitate.
He expected that this matter would be opposed by courtiers from Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and that the big gentry households living south of the Yangtze River would oppose even more fiercely. Nowadays, most of the country's annual income relies on the Lumi Lumi from Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and the capital.
Dai rice and food for the civil and military officials, as well as food for the people, as well as military rations in Kinki, Ji, and Liao, are almost entirely supplied by Jiangsu, Zhejiang and other places. Unless there is no way out and it is absolutely necessary, it is best not to disturb Jiangsu and Zhejiang.
The big officials and gentry in the province objected in an uproar and turned away from the imperial court.
But he was really reluctant to give up Li Jin's suggestion. After thinking about it again and again, he wrote in Zhubi: Li Jin's report to the big households in Jiangsu and Zhejiang to persuade them to lose military pay will be feasible, and the cabinet and household ministers will discuss it in detail.