I really don't want to be emperor at the end of Ming Dynasty

Chapter 374: Things have changed dramatically in western Liaoning

Chapter 374: Things have changed dramatically in western Liaoning
Emperor Chongzhen is now very self-blame. He doesn't think about food and drink, and is getting thinner day by day. Emperor Chongzhen, who was already thin, is now even thinner. This makes Lu Xiangsheng worried.

Huang Taiji led an army of 10,000+, but did not kill Emperor Chongzhen. Wu Sangui and Zu Dashou turned against each other in the battle, but still did not kill Emperor Chongzhen. But what if Emperor Chongzhen died of starvation because he did not eat or drink, wouldn't that make Huang Taiji How many years will it last?

This is a lesson learned from the past. When Yuan Chonghuan was guarding Ningyuan, on the 26th of the first month of the sixth year of the Apocalypse, the soldiers of the Eight Banners who were good at riding and shooting were blocked in front of a deep ditch and a high fortress. Under the fire of arrows and artillery, they were unable to use their special skills in cavalry and suffered heavy casualties. Forced to withdraw.On August [-] of the same year, Nurhachi died of illness, but Yuan Chonghuan could still live for several years.

If Chongzhen died of starvation, wouldn't he be frightened to death by the power of the heavenly soldiers who built slaves?

No matter how much Lu Xiangsheng hated Emperor Chongzhen, not only could he not be allowed to die, but he must also be allowed to live well.

Lu Xiangsheng looked at the food that had already cooled down in front of Emperor Chongzhen, and quickly asked someone to heat it up again. When the food was served again, Emperor Chongzhen didn't even look at it.

Lu Xiangsheng was very helpless. Where could Emperor Chongzhen have the right face to show off?

But Lu Xiangsheng couldn't say this, so he could only comfort him patiently: "Your Majesty, the matter is over. Don't think about it anymore. It's better to eat something quickly and regain some strength. The battle is not over yet. Who knows what will happen next?" What will happen when you come down, how can you cope with it if you don’t have the strength.”

Emperor Chongzhen was silent, like a sulky little daughter-in-law.

Lu Xiangsheng had no choice but to pour a glass of wine. He had no other choice and he was under great pressure. He raised his head and drank. When the wine entered his mouth, it was actually bitter, so bitter that it was difficult to swallow.

After a long time, Lu Xiangsheng said angrily: "Your Majesty, Guan Ning's army did us terrible harm this time. If it weren't for them..."

Before Lu Xiangsheng could finish speaking, Emperor Chongzhen seemed to have come back to his senses when he heard the words "Guan Ningjun". His face twitched slightly, as if he had been stabbed hard by a needle.

"If I can return to the capital one day, I will kill all the generals in western Liaoning. No chickens or dogs will be left alive, and all the officers and men of Guan Ning will be relegated to lowly status. Otherwise, I will not be able to eliminate the resentment in my heart!"

Emperor Chongzhen roared like a fierce ghost.

Instead, Lu Xiangsheng was shocked.

From the perspective of Emperor Chongzhen, it was understandable for the bandits to rebel because the imperial court had failed them. In order to collect taxes, the imperial court had forced their families to die. In order to survive, they had to rebel.

But the problem is, Guan Ningjun is different. The imperial court is worthy of Guan Ningjun!After spending all the national assets to support those 10,000+ proud soldiers and allowing them to live a prosperous life, they actually betrayed the Ming Dynasty and Emperor Chongzhen.This is simply unreasonable. It would be better if they could destroy the Ming Dynasty in one fell swoop. If not, they would just wait to die!

Emperor Chongzhen continued to roar, cursing Guan Ningjun in the most vicious words.At this time, Emperor Chongzhen's anger and hatred for Guan Ning's army far exceeded that of the Qing army. It was natural for the Qing army to plot against them. Since ancient times, soldiers have never been tired of deception, and the Qing army could deceive them to show their military ability.

But the plot against them by the Guan Ning Army made Emperor Chongzhen unbearable. No army could tolerate such betrayal and plot!On the way to break out of the siege, Guan Ning's army pursued them the hardest, even harder than the Qing army. Emperor Chongzhen couldn't even remember how many people died in the hands of Guan Ning's army. Such a blood feud, let go The blood of the generals in Qian Liaoxi cannot be healed!
In fact, Emperor Gao Gao also knew that Guan Ningjun was very unsatisfactory, but he did not expect that Guan Ningjun would be so shameless. The Ming Dynasty spent all its national assets to support these proud soldiers for decades. For decades, even if it was cold It was time for the stones to be melted, but they betrayed the Ming Dynasty without hesitation.He went to Ming Dynasty and slapped Zhu Youjian so hard on the face that he was hit with stars in his eyes!

When Emperor Chongzhen was cursing Guan Ning's troops, Lu Xiangsheng felt that Emperor Chongzhen brought the blame on himself, because it was Emperor Chongzhen who insisted on using Guan Ning's army as the main force of the Northern Expedition and directly sent 30 troops to hell. Thinking of his original treatment of Guan Ning's army, Trusting him, he really felt like he was sincerely feeding the dog.

After scolding for half an hour, Chongzhen finally felt a little better. He felt cold all over. He was stunned for a long time before he smiled miserably and said, "I didn't expect that I have lost people's hearts and reached this point!"

Lu Xiangsheng sighed, he wanted to say: "I had known this, why did I do it in the first place?"

Of course, Lu Xiangsheng really didn't dare. He felt that Emperor Chongzhen was very fragile. Once he collapsed and broke the jar, the consequences would be very fatal.

In the Hot Spring Valley, Lu Xiangsheng uniformly allocated the food, dried meat and supplies for the troops, but faced with the limited supplies, Lu Xiangsheng was helpless.

Fortunately, Huang Taiji did not want to go head-to-head, but wanted to use the weather, severe cold, and lack of food and grass to trap the Ming Dynasty's Northern Expeditionary Army. The Manchu and Qing army did not attack the Hot Spring Valley, but used nearly 4 troops. The hot spring valley was tightly blocked in front and back, in order to prevent the Ming army from breaking through again.

Just like he did in Dalinghe City, Huang Taiji began to build fortifications outside the valley, using scattered stones to build stone walls, preparing to starve the Ming army to death.

Although there was nothing he could do about the main force of the Ming Dynasty's Northern Expedition, he did not show any mercy to the Lei Shi Sheng tribe and Chen Yongfu's tribe who were waiting for reinforcements in Erendabsan Nur City. After accurately judging that the main force of the Ming Dynasty's Northern Expedition had hid in Hot Spring Valley, he made his original deployment. In the south, the Qing troops who had prevented the Ming Dynasty's Northern Expedition from going south were transferred back, preparing to destroy the Leishi tribe first.

It was precisely because of the retreat of the defeated troops and civilians gathered by Lei Shisheng that they attracted the main energy of Huang Taiji, which gave the main force of the Ming army in the Hot Spring Valley a chance to breathe.

However, Emperor Chongzhen, who finally got a chance to breathe, now hates Lu Xiangsheng again, just like he hated Cheng Shijie at the beginning. Emperor Chongzhen's logic, Lu Xiangsheng, whether it is reorganizing troops, arranging personnel, or allocating supplies, will never follow him. The emperor greeted.

He began to doubt again whether Lu Xiangsheng wanted to be Wang Mang or Cao Cao. Of course, Emperor Chongzhen had not shown it now. He needed to endure it and wait until Cheng Shijie arrived before he could settle accounts with Lu Xiangsheng.

At this time, Emperor Chongzhen had no imperial decree for Lu Xiangsheng, and he still felt resentful about killing Zhu Chunchen.

It can be said that Emperor Chongzhen had a knife in his heart, and he slashed at the loyal ministers of the Ming Dynasty. He would kill anyone who was loyal to Emperor Chongzhen.

Emperor Chongzhen's first sword was actually Yuan Chonghuan. To say whether Yuan Chonghuan was loyal to him or not, he was definitely loyal. At most, it was just a little self-interested. Therefore, Yuan Chonghuan was delayed.

His second sword cut was Sun Chengzong. Who could turn the tide in the open battle?That was definitely Sun Chengzong. Who was trying his best to maintain the Battle of Daling River?That was still Sun Chengzong, but he didn't kill Sun Chengzong, he just drove Sun Chengzong out of the capital, and then it was Cheng Shijie.

It can be said that until last year, when Cheng Shijie had a rift with Emperor Chongzhen, Cheng Shijie actually had no objections. He was just practicing reforms and wanted to lead the Ming Dynasty into the steam age. However, Emperor Chongzhen was still plotting against his industry and preparing to disrupt it. Ning Haijun.

Now, Lu Xiangsheng tried his best to turn the tide, but Emperor Chongzhen did not see his efforts, but only saw Lu Xiangsheng's domineering and arrogant attitude toward him.

……

In Jinzhou, officials and generals at all levels arrived in front of the General Military Mansion. At this time, the door was closed tightly, and there were only dozens of Ning Haijun soldiers standing at the door. The weather was already a bit cold, but of course, it was not uncomfortable.

The officials from western Liaoning who arrived in Jinzhou looked at the closed door of the Governor's Office and thought that they would not be able to escape if they showed off their power. They should be mentally prepared to stand at the door for two or three hours in the sun!

Who would have thought that just as this thought flashed through his mind, the door opened, and Hou Si, a handsome man in military uniform, walked out, bowed to the officials, and said: "My lords, thank you for your hard work coming all the way. The commander-in-chief is already inside." Wait, generals, please stay back, you are under the charge of the General Staff, my lords, please follow me."

All the officials and generals were stunned. Where was the planned attack?I heard that my past experience didn’t work!Forget it, it's best if you don't get punished, just follow this Housi in quickly.

At this time, in the lobby of the Guan Ning Army General Military Mansion, the conference hall has been decorated. Rows of tables are arranged neatly. There is a sign on each seat with their name written on it. All you have to do is take a seat.

This was a novelty. Everyone found their seats and sat down, which saved them a lot of humiliation and trouble.After they were seated, Cheng Shijie, Sun Zhiman, Zhou Ning, Chang Yu, Li Xin and others came hand in hand, and everyone quickly got up to prepare to see them.

"Meet the governor!"

Cheng Shijie smiled faintly and said: "This is the first time. Those who don't know about it are not guilty. Kneeling ceremony has been completely abolished in Liaodong. When encountering such meetings in the future, just stand up. No need to kneel. I am not used to others kneeling at every turn." , please sit down, please sit down.”

The officials who came to Liaodong were accustomed to sitting down naturally, while the officials from western Liaoning looked at each other and felt uncomfortable. They were really not used to not kneeling.In fact, if you kneel for a long time, you will develop a habit and it will never be easy to stand up again.

But their immediate superiors had spoken, so they had no choice but to sit down.Wait for everyone to sit down.

Sun Zhiman said: "As for me, there is no need to introduce me. I believe everyone is familiar with it. It doesn't matter if you don't know me. I am currently the director of the Liaodong Management Committee. Our Liaodong used to be bounded by the Liao River, but now this border is gone. , whether it is the original Ming Dynasty Daming Dusi, Liaodong Dusi, Liaozuo, or Nurgan Dusi, they are all under the jurisdiction of the Liaodong Management Committee, including civil affairs, official appointment and removal, assessment and promotion, do you have any opinions?"

Naturally, everyone present had no objections, and if they had any, they did not dare to raise them. They were all human beings and knew very well that in the past few days, officials from the Liaodong faction had taken over all the cities in Liaozuo. They only had official titles but no real power. .

Cheng Shijie said: "Since there are no objections, let's get into the topic of the meeting."

Officials from the Liaodong department were very familiar with Cheng Shijie's rhythm, but those officials from the western Liaoning department below were not used to it.He went straight to the topic without any foreshadowing. Marshal Cheng was really quick enough to cut through the mess!

According to the old habit of official circles, shouldn't we talk about non-nutritive nonsense for a long time before getting to the topic? Cheng Shijie, you don't follow the rules!

Cheng Shijie coughed and said, "First of all, I must explain that I am quite satisfied with you guys."

As for the dissatisfied officials, they are not qualified to come to Jinzhou. They have been hung on trees in various cities, and now they have almost become human beings.

Regarding corrupt officials, Cheng Shijie has no intention of letting go of the past. If he makes a mistake directly, he must accept the consequences. Of course, there is some corruption, but the amount is not large and does not arouse public anger. Cheng Shijie still raises his hand and lets it go, because according to Zhu Yuanzhang, corruption of 60 taels Money is peeled off and stuffed into grass. All officials in western Liaoning should be killed.

But the problem is that this is definitely not possible. Without familiar people to hand over, there must be a transition. Therefore, Cheng Shijie screened officials in western Liaoning in the same way as he screened prisoners of bandits. If it is corruption according to the Ming Dynasty officialdom, for example, Acts of filial piety, or the sharing of Guan Ning's military expenses according to official positions, this part is not considered corruption. If they don't take this money, Zu Dashou will kill them.

The targets are people with lives on their hands, and people are extremely angry. Since then, there are only more than 20 officials left in the entire western Liaoning, and most of them are new officials. Most of them have been officials for less than two years and have not really integrated into western Liaoning. General!
Cheng Shijie continued: "In the past two years, you have also worked hard and done your best to do practical things for the people. You are better than most officials."

Many officials looked proud, and some had helpless smiles.How can they be so noble?It's not that they don't want to get some benefits, but they are actually outsiders. Guan Ningjun is guarding them, just like guarding against thieves. As long as they stretch out their hands, they will be discovered immediately, and then they will be severely punished!

In fact, not all officials in Liaodong are honest officials. After many bloody lessons, they discovered that basically everyone they met automatically and consciously acted as Cheng Shijie's spy to monitor their every move. Wrong thoughts will be discovered soon!
Because Cheng Shijie has a policy that as long as the official is reported for corruption and bribery, the whistleblower can get half of the amount of corruption reported by the official. Since then, it has stimulated countless petty officials to act as eye candy, because even if they want to embezzle, they have no power in their hands. You can eat some cold soup with residual juice, but there are risks.

There are rewards for reporting, and you can also get promoted, so why not?As for being retaliated by officials, the horrific scene of Cheng Shijie hanging the city's corrupt officials on the treetops is still before his eyes, and there is no way to take revenge.

Of course, unlike the Ming Dynasty, Cheng Shijie gave Liaodong officials much more salary than the Ming court, at least five or six times more. Their salary could allow them to live a good life, so they restrained themselves. My own evil intentions.To put it bluntly, it’s not that they are noble, it’s that Cheng Shijie’s knife is too sharp and they are afraid of losing their heads!

Cheng Shijie has always believed that human nature is inherently evil, and corruption can be reduced only by relying on the system.

Cheng Shijie continued: "Of course, I also know that a few of you are officials just to make money, and I understand. I don't object to you getting rich, but I hope you can make money through formal means. , otherwise there will be a place for you on those big trees where corrupt officials were hanged,”

A group of officials shuddered. If Emperor Chongzhen said this, they might not take it seriously. The problem is that it was Cheng Shijie who made the harsh words. In the Battle of Baihe last year alone, he cut down nearly [-] to [-] Tuxie Tuhan Tatars. head, Cheng Shijie’s warning, whoever dares to ignore it is seeking death!
Sun Zhiman continued: "As long as you do your best to serve the people, Mr. Cheng will not treat you badly. Don't worry, everyone. Okay, let's get to the first topic. Everyone knows that people's livelihood in western Liaoning is in decline. It is really sad that a piece of fertile land has been left in such dilapidated condition."

"What Mr. Sun said is absolutely true. The New Deal must be implemented to restore Liaoxi's vitality!"

"It's true, if the New Deal is not implemented, western Liaoning will continue to be poor!"

“The prosperity of Liaodong is really enviable!”

All the officials rolled their eyes helplessly, shouting that the new policy must be implemented immediately, almost shedding tears. Those who fail to see it when it is so obvious are fools, and this is how their future will look like in this life!
Cheng Shijie slapped the table: "In troubled times, we should use strict regulations. The old ways will no longer work. New policies must be implemented, otherwise there will never be peace in western Liaoning!"

"What the Governor said is absolutely true!"

Sun Zhili said with a smile: "Then let's discuss the contents of the New Deal. First, the chaos of abolishing currency in western Liaoning!"

Having said this, Sun Zhilan took out a small bag and poured it on the table. Suddenly, golden and silver lights flashed randomly, dazzling everyone. Everyone stretched their necks involuntarily. This was a gold coin issued by Liaodong Bank. , silver coins and copper coins.

The biggest difference of this kind of coin is that there is no fire loss. Fire loss is the small treasury of officials and their money bag. When the oxidized silver is recast, there will be a certain loss, but this loss is really not big. When Liaodong Bank minted silver coins, it added [-]% tin, which is how it made money.

"In the past, everyone used broken silver, which could be cut as needed, which was really inconvenient. Moreover, the broken silver collected from taxes had to be remelted into silver ingots, which was another big waste!"

Sun Zhidao said: "Liaodong Bank issues gold and silver coins uniformly. Whether doing business or doing business, these currencies are used uniformly. It is convenient for counting and carrying. What do you think?"

Almost everyone shouted in unison: "Agree! Agree!"

In fact, under normal circumstances, no official would agree to such a reform. You must know that fire consumption is an important source of income for officials, and it is also tacitly accepted by the court. Those with a conscience will receive [-]%, and those with a black heart will receive [-]%. Receive [-]% or even [-]%.

The imperial court added one tael of silver in taxes, and the common people had to pay at least one, two, three, to one, two, or four cents. The extra money would naturally go into the pockets of the officials. This was a large amount of income. The issuance of gold coins and If silver coins are uniformly used as a currency that does not need to be remelted, Huohua will lose the reason for its continued existence. Wouldn't that cut off other people's financial opportunities?
How does this work?

However, Cheng Shijie's purge of officials in western Liaoning was so thorough that it almost completely wiped out the officialdom in western Liaoning. It was easy to make money but no life to spend.So they all raised their hands in approval.

"The second agenda item is whether to adopt the policy of Liaodong in western Liaoning to promote industry and commerce!"

"Yes!"

Cheng Shijie and Sun Zhili were simply the best partners. They sang and harmonized so seamlessly that they deceived these officials so much that they couldn't figure it out. In fact, whether they agreed or disagreed was just a formality, nothing more.

A mascot must have the awareness of a mascot.

Following the decree issued by the Governor-General's Office, Cheng Shijie began to appear on the streets of cities and towns in western Liaoning.

"The governor's office stipulates that the people are allowed to practice martial arts and possess bows and crossbows, re-determine commodity prices, crack down on hoarding of rare goods, demobilize all guards, change guard soldiers into field soldiers, exempt people from corvee service, change corvee service to paid labor, and abolish The head tax, the officials and the gentry all pay the grain, and the commercial tax is raised to one in ten taxes..."

There are various contents of more than 100 decrees, letting people in western Liaoning know that things in western Liaoning have changed greatly.

At this time, a group of ragged Jinyi guards came from outside Jinzhou City. Under the escort of hundreds of Ning Haijun, they arrived at the Liaoxi General Military Mansion.

"Commander, please save your majesty!"

Cheng Shijie looked at Wang Chengen who was like a beggar and didn't recognize him for a long time. It wasn't until Wang Chengen revealed his identity again and again that he realized that the beggar in front of him was actually Wang Chengen.

(End of this chapter)