weaving

Chapter 1233 Who goes to hell?

Outside Shanhaiguan, in Ninghai City, near the sea, in the governor's office of Hong Chengchou, the governor of Ji and Liao, Sun Chuanting also fell into silence...

Indeed, after going to Xi'an to take up the post of Governor of Shaanxi, the difficulty of rectifying the garrison affairs alone is not small. The obstruction of various local gentry is secondary. The most important thing is whether he can find suitable talents and the future pressure in Beijing.

  Why did the Ming Dynasty have such poorly trained soldiers?

The biggest reason is the lack of food and wages!

Without food, the newly recruited soldiers can’t even solve the basic problem of food and clothing, so how can they train?

  Without day and night training, how can we have elite soldiers?

In order to train an elite force, a large amount of meat is needed. Otherwise, if the training is forced, the physical strength of the newly recruited soldiers will not be able to keep up, and it may even be counterproductive.

Another thing is that if you want to reorganize the old troops, you must also pay them severance pay, otherwise it will only cause mutiny among the soldiers.

Why are there servants in each army?

  It was because of the lack of food and wages that they had to divide the food and wages of some people to feed some elite troops. Most of the others were starving and barely able to survive. How could they have any fighting power!

Once these elite soldiers become servants of various generals, they may play a very important role at first. However, over time, they will become the private army of each general, and even the imperial court will be helpless about it.

  The prerequisite for rectifying military affairs has always been sufficient money and food, otherwise all previous efforts will be wasted!

What is more important is that you must have an army that can completely obey your orders, and it must be a strong army. Only in this way can you deter the villains.

Hong Chengchou also thought of this, and he pondered, "It's a pity that most of the elite Qin troops who followed me into Liao were killed in battle. Now there are only a thousand left, all of whom are in the camp of Zuo Guangxian, the general of the militia.

You are now going to be the governor of Shaanxi, so you must have soldiers. You should leave first. I will ask the Ministry of War for permission and then have Zuo Guangxian's son bring these 1,000 Shaanxi soldiers back to help you. This will prevent you from being alone and having difficulty controlling the arrogant and powerful Shaanxi soldiers...

As a teacher... this is all I can do for you."

Sun Chuanting bowed and said, "Thank you, Master, for your far-reaching plan for me!"

In fact, Sun Chuanting had some ideas in his mind. That is, now that the Liao situation has eased a little, he wanted to ask his teacher Hong Chengchou to release Cao Bianjiao, Wang Tingchen and other brave generals to return to Shaanxi to serve, or even just transfer only one of them to him.

After all, they had worked together before and there was a basis of trust between each other. Moreover, Sun Chuanting was aware of the bravery of Cao Bianjiao and Wang Tingchen, and believed that they were far more useful than Zuo Guangxian.

However, at this moment Hong Chengchou had already agreed to order Zuo Guangxian's son, the deputy general Zuo Xian, to lead the remaining 1,000 Shaanxi soldiers to return to Shaanxi with him. This move completely shut him up, so how could he appeal again?

At this time, Hong Chengchou looked at Sun Chuanting with a serious face, and said pointedly: "Bai Gu, after you arrive in Xi'an, if things can be done, you should try your best to appease them. If things can't be done... don't act rashly, which will lead to a mess..."

Sun Chuanting remained silent, but a very sharp cold light flashed in his eyes...

Looking at Sun Chuanting's expression, it was obvious that he did not take his words to heart. Hong Chengchou sighed inwardly. Although Sun Chuanting had become much more restrained in recent years, he was still as stubborn and arrogant in his bones.

"I hope everything goes well for his trip to Shaanxi!" Hong Chengchou prayed silently for him in his heart.

The two then talked about many other things, such as the Jiannu incident in Liaodong and the bandit incident in Henan Province, which were all topics they talked about. Of course, because Sun Chuanting was about to take up his post in Shaanxi, the two bandits Chuang and Cao were the focus of their discussion.

The experience of suppressing bandits over the years made Hong Chengchou deeply realize the truth of the saying "civil unrest arises from hunger and cold"...

Therefore, he thought that if there was sufficient food in hand, the bandits would not be able to rise again and again after being wiped out in one place and settled in another. Therefore, he could not help but ask Sun Chuanting with a serious expression: "I wonder if Bai Gu has any good plan for suppressing the bandits?"

With a resolute face, Sun Chuanting expressed his idea of ​​"asking the Yongyi Army to join him in entering Shaanxi, to check the land and population, to rectify the military affairs in Shaanxi, to levy commercial taxes like Xuanzhen, and to recruit soldiers and train the army again."

He also said to him in person: "If the local officials and nobles refuse to cooperate in clearing the land and paying taxes during this trip to Shaanxi, he will not show them mercy. As for the refugees who have joined the bandits, there is no need to settle them, and there is no way to settle them. You can just follow the method I used to deal with the old bandits..."

Finally, he said resolutely: "I don't mind shedding blood, but I can only save the Ming Dynasty. Even if I die, or even lose my reputation, I have nothing to fear!"

Hong Chengchou was horrified when he heard this. He said in a trembling voice: "Your actions... go against the principles of benevolence and forgiveness of our holy sect. You must not do this..."

He was extremely anxious and continued, "Bai Gu, if you really do this, you will be condemned by all the people... and your reputation will be ruined. Just think about it... when there will be so many people impeaching you, and so many impeachments, you... you..."

He was so anxious that he was speechless. Suddenly, something fishy and hot surged up his throat. Hong Chengchou tried hard to swallow it. His old face turned red and his body trembled as he pointed at Sun Chuanting and managed to utter one sentence: "...Absolutely...Don't do that!"

"Why not?"

Sun Chuanting suddenly raised his head and roared. He stared at Hong Chengchou with his red eyes, which were full of coldness. He spoke in a cold voice, "These people who have no king or father, who have no intention of being loyal to the king and serving the country, are no different from accomplices to the enemy. Why not kill them?"

Hong Chengchou was so angry that he felt dizzy. He supported himself on the table with his hands and said hastily, "Officials and nobles are intertwined and intertwined. How can we kill them without a final verdict? And there are countless people who followed the bandits. You should know that 'excessive killing will be punished by God'.

You can’t…you absolutely can’t do that!”

Sun Chuanting's eyes flickered with a faint light, and he said in a resolute tone: "There is a saying that goes 'If I don't go to hell, who will?' For the sake of the Ming Dynasty and to repay the emperor's grace, even if I, Sun Chuanting, die lying in the wilderness, or even bear eternal infamy, what do I have to fear?"

…………

After bidding farewell to Hong Chengchou, Sun Chuanting did not dare to delay for a moment. He rode his horse at full speed, passed the capital without entering, and headed straight to Henan.

At this time, Sun Chuanting was surrounded by only two servants, three trusted aides, and ten guards selected by Emperor Chongzhen from the Beijing camp. These three aides had served under Sun Chuanting in his early years, and now that they heard that he had been reinstated by the current emperor, they came to him again.

Naturally, their vision cannot be compared with that of Sun Chuanting, and they cannot see the world and the current situation clearly. That is why they often point fingers at Sun Chuanting. Looking at their inspiring writings, it seems that everyone has great ambitions.

But these people were all old aides who had followed Sun Chuanting before he was imprisoned. They were trustworthy in both character and loyalty, and were not those who curry favor with the powerful.

Therefore, Sun Chuanting also regarded them as his own shogunate and often discussed matters concerning entering Shaanxi with them along the way.

Sun Chuanting was in a hurry to go to Xi'an to take up his post. He rode quickly with his servants, staff and guards in order to find time to meet Zhang Cheng, the Earl of Yongning.

His other two aides are still in Beijing. After they have taken care of some follow-up affairs, they will slowly rush to Xi'an with their ceremonial guards under the protection of the remaining thirty guards.

Of course, Sun Chuanting did not dare to meet with Zhang Cheng too blatantly. The pretext he raised was also very high-sounding. He first went to Kaifeng City to meet with Bao Du Zhang Fuzhen, Henan Governor Gao Mingheng, and King Zhou, in order to understand the details and strengths of the rebels and to plan ways to restrain them.

His excuse and pretext were naturally enough to deceive people.

When they entered Wu'an County, Zhangde Prefecture in northern Henan Province, they encountered the "Xiao Yuan Camp" and Li Jiyu's "Xuanwu Camp" which were undergoing reorganization and training.

Sun Chuanting immediately sent someone with his business card to visit the camp and handed over his business card. Li Jiyu couldn't believe it at first. How could the Governor-General of the Three Borders have only a dozen followers?

Fortunately, He Biao and Wang Yuanjing, the general governors of the Yongyi Army, were both here. Although they were also surprised, they still led everyone to greet them personally. After a conversation and confirmation, they immediately sent a troop to escort them to Kaifeng.

Since the Earl of Yongning had already sent Wang Yuanjing to serve as the pacification officer of "Xiao Yuanying", He Biao quickly completed the handover with him and returned to Kaifeng with Sun Chuanting.

On the way, whenever Sun Chuanting asked He Biao about the affairs of Xuanfu, he would never hide anything and tell him everything truthfully. This was because he himself was not good at lying, and secondly, there was nothing secretive about the affairs of Xuanfu.

Of course, there are many dark operations involved, but these things are beyond the control of the upright He Biao, so he has no way of saying anything even if he wants to!

When I heard He Biao say that "even the small garrisons under the thousand households in Xuanfu Town were all appointed by Yongning Earl himself, and only then were they effective. Even in Yanqing and Baoan Prefectures, Yongning Earl also appointed many clerks to serve as village heads in various forts and townships. It was precisely because of this that Yongning Earl's military and political orders were carried out unimpeded in Xuanfu Town."

Regarding this matter, Sun Chuanting and his staff had a discussion while they were waiting for the ferry in Chenqiao Town that night. The staff said that Yongning Earl's actions might lead to a large number of redundant government officials in Xuanfu.

However, Sun Chuanting categorically denied this and praised the policies implemented by Yongning Earl...

He said to several of his staff members: "Since ancient times, there has been a saying that 'imperial power does not extend to the countryside'. This is also the root cause of the lack of financial resources in our country!"

He looked at the confused faces of his staff and continued, "The imperial court has little control over the local areas. It has no choice but to rely on local gentry and elders to take charge of taxation.

These people often collude with local clerks both inside and outside the government to shift the burden onto the landless common people, and even conceal the number of people and land. The less tax revenue the government collects, the heavier the burden on the common people.

Just like when Emperor Taizu founded the country, the tax revenue was nearly 40 million dan of rice and wheat, but how much is it now? This is all because the Lijia system is in name only, and the Fish Scale Atlas and the Yellow Book have become empty talk! "

Sun Chuanting's eyes moved to the window, and he continued, "Nowadays, although our Ming Dynasty is great, it is weak and powerless, just like a patient with paralyzed limbs. In addition, the clans are in control, the powerful are getting stronger, and the government is becoming weaker and weaker.

On the other hand, in Xuanfu Town controlled by Yongning Bo, the Baojia system is strict at every level, and the political orders and military orders of Zhenshuo Prefecture are passed down layer by layer as if they were an arm. No officer or gentry can evade taxes. This is a small but solid town, all because of the capable local officials! "

At this moment, Sun Chuanting had already vaguely realized that rural self-government had become the source of all the ills facing the Ming Dynasty.

As local forces gradually grew stronger, the power of the imperial court inevitably retreated, which in turn led to the decline of the country's financial and taxation machinery and less and less tax revenue.

In this era, if the money and grain taxes cannot be collected, the imperial court's finances will be unable to make ends meet, and it will be unable to provide disaster relief or maintain the army. It will be a truly fatal matter!

Therefore, Sun Chuanting also realized that when it comes to local affairs, it is better to be too strict than too lenient!

At the same time, he also fully realized that there was no financial center that coordinated the overall situation, which was one of the reasons for the current financial chaos in the Ming Dynasty. Local governments had local finances, and the central government had central finances. They were intertwined, and a lot of money and taxes were either wasted during transportation or lost by various parties. These things could not even be investigated.

However, if we look at Xuanfu Town, because there is only an independent financial department that manages the entire Xuan Town, and with the Yongyi Army as its strong pillar, such a thing as loss will not happen. As a result, every ounce of silver can be used where it should be used, avoiding these meaningless losses.

Sun Chuanting also said to his staff: "As the saying goes, 'take from the people and use it for the people'. Although Xuanzhen seems to have many officials, its tax source is endless. In particular, the large-scale construction of workshops in various places can not only make the people work hard, but also ensure a stable tax source every year, which is enough to pay the expenses of many officials."

An aide who was familiar with the local situation also said: "Indeed, in addition to the regular officials in various places of the country, there are also many non-regular officials. Although they do not occupy the country's taxes, their wages and food are also paid by the local government.

Calculated in this way, the number of people supported by the provinces, prefectures, cities and counties is actually not much less than that of the local clerks in Xuanfu. "

  Although there are not many officials on the internal registers in government offices at all levels in various places in the Ming Dynasty, due to the heavy workload at the moment, which government office has, in addition to a large number of clerks and three shifts of yamen runners, also a large number of idle clerks, white-service assistants, etc.?

There are often hundreds of them in small counties and even thousands in large counties. These people are no different from temporary workers in later generations. They do not receive salaries from the court, but are supported by local officials.

In order to support these temporary workers, local government offices had to greatly increase their retention, so the amount of money and grain turned over to the national treasury became less and less.

Moreover, most of these people are local young men and other idle people with even worse character. They are unscrupulous in doing many things that the clerks and the third-shift servants are embarrassed to do, and they are capable of doing all kinds of evil things. The local people suffer even more from these people.

In comparison, it would be better to recruit some regular officials, at least there will be a unified assessment.