The end of the Ming Dynasty swept the world

Chapter 784 Not short of money, very short of food

Zheng Zhilong selected [-] elite soldiers trained by Hong Xu, but [-] of them were in Huangshi's hands. (Ding Yi's person).

In December, Zheng Zhilong brought a large amount of wealth and troops to Tianjin, and the other [-] soldiers were immediately transferred away by Ding Yi's order, in exchange for Ding Yi's [-] navy in Lushun.

So far, Zheng Zhilong's [-] naval forces in Tianjin are all Ding Yi's troops.

Yu Liangtai, a senior member, took over as the commander-in-chief of Quanzhou and the commander-in-chief of the Fujian Navy, and tens of millions of flag silver fell into Ding Yi's hands every year.

In mid-December, Zheng Zhilong brought [-] carts of belongings and went to Beijing to meet Ding Yi.

Ding Yi summoned him in the Hall of Martial Arts.

Under the leadership of the eunuch, Zheng Zhilong stepped into the Hall of Martial Arts cautiously, saw Ding Yi sitting in the hall, and vaguely remembered the appearance of Ding Yichu who came to Quanzhou to ask to see him that day.

However, the world is unpredictable and the changes are endless. I didn't expect that the current status of the two is actually completely opposite.

"Cough" Shi Daxuan, the only one next to him who followed into Beijing, coughed softly, reminding Zheng Zhilong.

Zheng Zhilong suddenly reacted: "Chen Zheng Zhilong, I pay my respects to the King of Zhenbei, the prince is a thousand years old——"

He took a step forward and wanted to kneel down without saying a word.

"Brother Zheng." Ding Yi laughed loudly, took the first step, and helped him up.

Zheng Zhilong was taken aback for a moment, and wanted to kneel down forcefully, but was held tightly by Ding Yi.

"Brother Zheng." Ding Yi stared at him deeply, and the two looked at each other with moist eyes.

"Let's erase the past, no matter what, you will always be my big brother in Ding Yi's heart."

"Without the support of my elder brother back then, I, Ding Yi, would not be where I am today."

"Brother Zheng, please trust me. In Ding Yi's heart, he will always regard you as the eldest brother."

Ding Yi repeated it more than once, and Zheng Zhilong almost burst into tears.

He lost one brother and gained another?
"My lord --" Zheng Zhilong choked up.

Before he came, he was actually quite scared. Back then, Shi Yong made a plan to kill Ding Yi. Zheng Zhilong felt ashamed and could only let him go, but he was always afraid that Ding Yi would settle the old score now. Unexpectedly, when Ding Yi opened his mouth, he said "Brother" on the left, "Brother on the right" The word "big brother" really made Zheng Zhilong feel ashamed.

What happened back then must be Shi Yong's fault. Of course Zheng Zhihu's death must be blamed on Shi Yong. This incident damaged the relationship between the two brothers. Zheng Zhilong was still quite afraid that Ding Yiqiu would settle the score.

As soon as they met now, he knew that Ding Yi really meant what he said.

He has no soldiers around him now, only endless wealth. If Ding Yi wants to settle accounts, he doesn't need to see him at all, just deprive him of all his wealth.

Brothers outside, all the soldiers and horses belonged to Yu Liangtai, Zheng Hongkui's soldiers were all under Ding Yi's subordinates, and neither the Zheng family nor the Shi family could afford to turn the tide.

For Ding Yi, of course he also meant it sincerely. Zheng Zhilong's younger brother died, and now the family property is handed over to him. Wouldn't it be unconscionable for him to settle accounts after the fall.

"I won't mention the past, and an official will always treat the prince as a brother. We should look back together." Shi Lang's father Shi Daxuan said with a smile at this time.

"Sit down, Brother Zheng, Mr. Shi, sit down." Ding Yi asked them to sit down.

Shi Daxuan immediately took out a piece of paper from his bosom, and knelt down on the ground: "General Zheng is willing to send 500 million taels of silver, dozens of treasures, 460 war merchant ships, and elite soldiers to support the prince in defeating Jiannu. 12 people."

Zheng Zhilong did not support Ding Yi's fight against slavery back then, and he must regret it now, so this time he went to Beijing and prepared 500 million silver and various treasures.

As for the so-called war merchant ships and elite soldiers, they were handed over to Ding Yi's Yu Liangtai in Quanzhou.

Before Ding Yi started his business, the 500 million taels of silver was a big deal to Ding Yi, but now Ding Yi is not short of money, only food.

He's running out of money.

Ding Yi thought for a while, then waved his hand to signal him to get up: "I don't want Yinzi and Zhenbao."

Zheng Zhilong's face changed slightly, thinking that Ding Yi was too young.

"Over the years, this king has gradually pacified the world and obtained a large amount of silver, which is enough for the time being. Brother Zheng handed over the warships and soldiers, and Ding Yi asks for your silver again, so he is still a human being?"

Zheng Zhilong's face turned red again, and he didn't know what to say.

"My king has [-] soldiers and horses training near Tianjin. This year, he has consumed a lot of food to pacify the peasant army and clean up various places. If Brother Zheng is willing, he can buy some food nearby and sponsor [-] soldiers and horses. How long, a year will do."

With 30 elite soldiers, the food consumption for a year including men and horses would be as high as [-] shi. To Zheng Zhilong, this was simply child's play.

"Don't worry, my lord, I will leave this matter to the ministers." Zheng Zhilong said one by one, and also regarded Ding Yi as the emperor, not the prince.

Ding Yi confiscated his money and asked him to handle the matter of raising a [-]-strong army, which finally made him let go of a big stone in his heart.

That night Ding Yi stayed with Zheng Zhilong for dinner at the Hall of Martial Arts. The two brothers hadn't had a good chat for a long time, and now they have a lot of things to talk about. Ding Yi said directly that Zheng Sen would train him well. He will study first and wait for the imperial examination to be confirmed next year. Let's talk about the matter, in short, I guarantee that Zheng Sen can become an official.

Shi Daxuan insinuated, can we take the exam now?

Ding Yi said, "My imperial examination is not guaranteed. You can take it, but there is one person who cannot take it."

Zheng Shi and Zheng Shi looked at each other, of course they knew who Ding Yi was talking about.

To be honest, Ding Yi didn't kill him, it was considered as a face to Zheng Zhilong.

To be honest, Ding Yi was relieved when Zheng Zhilong obeyed the order so happily this time.

Because Ding Yi is really short of food now.

Wang Weizhong from the northwest has not yet returned to the army. Their 10,000+ soldiers and horses are away all year round, and they consume a lot every day.

There are garrisons all over the country, recruiting new soldiers, all need food, and the people need to relocate and resettle, and the refugees need to arrange to stock up on land, and they also need food.

In the past, he was only in charge of Shandong, but now he is in charge of the whole country. If you think about the scene of Chongzhen, the whole country came to ask for money and food every day, you know that he is also having a headache now.

Now he has money, but in many places, he can't buy food if he has money. If he hadn't stored a lot of food and grass in Shandong and Lushun for more than ten years, there would be support for his soldiers and horses to pacify and build the country.

After Zheng Zhilong responded to the edict, Ding Yi lost one place to mobilize troops.

Wang Weizhong continued to lead troops to suppress the surrounding provinces. In October, Guangdong was settled, and Shi Kefa was appointed governor of Guangdong.

Chang Jiangang, Shi Lang, and Hong Xu are the general soldiers of Guangzhou, the general soldiers of Chaozhou, and the general soldiers of Leizhou respectively.

Zheng Zhilong also sighed in his heart when he heard it. If he didn't follow the order, it is estimated that Wang Weizhong's 10,000+ army would be the next one to fight in Fujian.

Guangxi is set in November, and Guizhou is set in December.

By the end of the 17th year of Chongzhen (1644), except for Yunnan Province, the Ming Dynasty had been replaced by the governor sent by Ding Yi, and the new generals of the provinces were also being deployed.

Only in Yunnan, the Duke of Guizhou and Mu Tianbo, the commander-in-chief of Yunnan, have the power over the whole province, but they do not move.

In the original history, after the death of Chongzhen, the Nanming court sent people to ask him for food and salary, but he never gave up.

Then next year, the Shapu Rebellion broke out, Mu Tianbo was driven out of Kunming, lost his power, and all the wealth accumulated by the Duke's Mansion for hundreds of years was also plundered.

The specific amount of wealth is described in the history books as follows: "Mu's family is in Yunnan, and the mansion has a surplus of treasures. The Buddha's top stone, green arrowhead, cinnabar, Luohong, amber, horseshoe, and red gold are all packed in suitcases, and the suitcases are all a hundred catties. Hidden with high boards, fifty boxes of boards, a total of more than 250 storages, his treasures are innumerable. Dingzhou was transported into this cave, and it was endless for months."

There is no mention of silver here, only gold, amber, Buddha capstones, etc., with a hundred catties per box and fifty boxes in each warehouse, a total of 250 warehouses, which is 120 catties.

I won't say anything about the other silver treasures, and they haven't been shipped out after several months.

The total value far exceeds the more than 7000 million silver Li Zicheng obtained in the capital.

After all, the Mu family has been the king of Yunnan in Yunnan for nearly 300 years, and this is also a big treasure house that Ding Yi fancyes.

After Ding Yi took over the administration, he sent envoys to summon Mu Tianbo to Beijing within a few days.

Mu Tianbo flatly refused.

After that, Ding Yi didn't have the time to take care of him, so let's calm down the world first.

He vaguely remembered that there seemed to be a rebellion in Yunnan immediately, which directly shook Mu Tianbo's rule and drove Mu Tianbo out of Kunming.

It would not be too late to deal with Mu Tianbo at that time, and he could take the opportunity to take away all the wealth of the Mu family.

So throughout the 17 years of Chongzhen, Ding Yi deployed in various places, recruited troops, appointed governors and general soldiers, consolidated the territory, cleaned up the chaotic soldiers, and prepared for the later stage of land measurement and tax collection.

After entering 1645, the imperial court continued to use the reign title of Chongzhen after discussion.

For Chongzhen 18 years.

Historically, when a new emperor ascends the throne, the Yuan will be changed.

Some emperors even changed the Yuan twice or more during their tenure.

However, there are also those who have not changed their Yuan since the new emperor ascended the throne, and use the former emperor's.

For example, Zhou Shizong Chai Rong, known as the first Mingjun of the Five Dynasties, always used Xiande (Xiande was the second title of the former emperor Guo Wei) when he was in power. De, this family is really easy.

Therefore, after discussion among the ministers of the court, they continued to use the title of the first emperor and remained Chongzhen on the grounds that King Ding Yongwang had not been found and the crown prince was too young and ignorant to be emperor.

Chongzhen 18th year, March.

A large number of soldiers and various materials gathered in Yunnan from all directions.
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The early March in the capital is still a bit cold, and the temperature difference is relatively large. Sometimes it can be below zero at night, but it can be more than ten degrees during the day.

During this period of time, the capital was a bit lively, and the common people were discussing the important affairs and strategies of the imperial court.

In the past, most ordinary people did not care about the important affairs of the court, only scholars and officials would.

But in October last year, the imperial court announced the establishment of a "Propaganda Department" in the Metropolitan Procuratorate. In the Metropolitan Procuratorate, there were originally the Experience Department, the Secretary Affairs Office, the Zhaomo Institute, and the Prison Division. Wait.

After the Propaganda Department appeared, it ranked first, and the chief officer called it Propaganda. (The head of the Experience Department is experience, and the head of the Department of Affairs is the Secretary)
The first publicity officer was Ruan Wenlong, who was the fourth rank, and Du Shi, who was the fifth rank.

The role of the Propaganda Department is to publish the Beijing News "World Affairs".

"World Affairs" is a monthly magazine, which goes on sale on the third day of each month. The first issue has issued [-] copies.

At that time, the selling price was one coin and one silver, which was already considered ridiculously expensive, but it was not enough to sell. By the middle of the month, the second-hand ones on the black market were sold at one or two coins, a tenfold increase.

The World Affairs is about the size of a modern newspaper, and it is about the size of a book when folded.

(End of this chapter)