I, the Ming Dynasty, can still save me

Chapter 339 Give the People a Way to Live

"Shilang Yang, please come this way."

Under the leadership of He Ning, Yang Sichang anxiously crossed the Huiji Gate and couldn't help but look to the right. There was Wenyuan Pavilion, the seat of the cabinet, a place where all the important officials of the imperial court did not want to enter.

It's just that the purpose of his trip today is not Wenyuan Pavilion, but the Wenhua Hall opposite Wenyuan Pavilion.Following He Ning, he continued walking to the left, and soon heard bursts of lectures coming from the Wenhua Hall.

"Shilang Yang, please wait for a moment outside the palace. His Majesty is still speaking the day before and it will be over soon."

"It doesn't matter. I have nothing to do with you, father-in-law."

When Yang Sichang heard this, he quickly handed over his hand. Even in the outer court, he knew that He Ning was the emperor's personal eunuch, and he must not offend him unless absolutely necessary.

"Please wait for a while, Sir."

After hearing this, Yang Sichang waited peacefully outside the palace.Speaking of it, this was also his first time coming to the Wenhua Palace. He was full of curiosity about everything, but due to the rules, he never dared to look up and look around. He just lowered his head and pondered about the emperor's edict later.

Although he received the appointment not long ago, he has also been referring to relevant papers and reports in the past few days, and he already has a rough plan in mind.

After a while, the sound of reading in the hall suddenly stopped, and then an old man over sixty years old, wearing a red robe and official uniform, walked out of the hall.When Yang Sichang saw this, he bowed and saluted him. Naturally, he was familiar with this person. He was Ding Shaoshi, a scholar at the Hanlin Academy.

"Shilang Yang, His Majesty has finished his speech and asked you to come in."

As soon as Ding Shaoshi left, He Ning came out immediately and led Yang Changsi to the side hall of Wenhua Hall.

"Your Majesty, Yang Sichang has arrived."

"Well, let him in."

Zhu Youxiao, who had just finished class, put down his books, stood up and looked at the civil servant next to He Ning. He saw that this man was about thirty years old, his face was round and energetic, and he looked rich. He must be the famous Yang Sichang in history. .

"Yang Sichang, the left minister of the Ministry of War, comes to see Your Majesty."

"Well, get up. It's too messy here. Go over there and talk."

Zhu Youxiao immediately waved his hand and walked away. Yang Sichang and others also followed the emperor towards the inner hall.

"Yang Sichang, some time ago I also issued an edict to your father, Yang He, the imperial censor of Youqiandu. When Yang Hao was defeated in Salhu, he spoke out and recommended Xiong Tingbi, Li Changgeng, Xue Guoyong and others to the court to be prudent to the court. The situation in Liaodong is of great benefit. I still rely on these people. It seems that your father is really good at understanding people.

Later, I met with your father. He told me that the imperial court is currently suffering from internal and external troubles, and it is necessary to rectify the administration, recuperate, and restore vitality. I deeply agree with this. "

When Yang Sichang heard that the emperor praised his father, Yang He, Yang Sichang's nervous mood was slightly relieved.

"If Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty had not been able to tolerate people, Wei Zheng would not have been able to speak out and give advice. It is because His Majesty listens to advice and accepts advice, and is open to all rivers, that the court can see a change in everything."

Zhu Youxiao took the tea from He Ning and laughed while listening to Yang Sichang's compliments.

"Renovation of all things requires collective efforts, and it is useless for me alone. Therefore, I want to arrange some errands, which is why I asked you to come here. Have you received the appointment from the cabinet?"

As soon as the emperor was talking about business, Yang Sichang immediately sat upright, bowed and said:
"Three days ago, I received the appointment from the Cabinet and the Ministry of War to supervise and suppress the traitors. I have been feeling deeply terrified these days, fearing that I will betray the great love of the Holy One. I can only repay Your Majesty by working hard to eliminate the traitors."

Zhu Youxiao was still very satisfied with Yang Sichang's attitude. He nodded directly and said:

"You are right, just do your job well. Since I have given you this opportunity, it is not because of your father Yang He's reign, but because of your ability. Nowadays, there are many rumors about evil spirits in Hebei and Shandong. , coupled with frequent droughts in Shandong last year, many people were displaced and had no choice but to place their hopes in evil cults and heresies.

Alas, the people are ignorant and have turned to evil spirits. This is actually because the court has neglected its responsibility to provide relief and education, so I don't blame them.It’s just that these demonic cults used prophecies and sorcery to confuse the people, plunder their money, and coerce them into treason, which is an unforgivable crime.

So I sent you this time to complete the mission in one battle, and to seize this opportunity to wipe out all these evil cults. Even if they cannot be uprooted, they must be severely weakened. "

Yang Changsi deeply agreed upon hearing this. He came to Beijing last year to take up his post and also passed through Shandong and other places. He was very familiar with the situation of refugees and secret societies in Shandong, Huaihe and other places.He even wrote a letter to Emperor Shenzong to remind him at the beginning of last year, but because there were too many troubles in the palace at that time, there was no news of the title of the letter, which made him very helpless.

But now I know that the current emperor has been paying attention to this hidden problem for a long time. He heard that the Beijing camp took the initiative to capture the leader of the White Lotus Demon Sect alive a few days ago, which made him admire the emperor very much, and he was even more interested in appointing him to eliminate these demon sects. Take heart. "Your Majesty is right, and I also believe that the people are ignorant but not delusional. They may only be seeking a way out by doing this. However, these cults that take advantage of the suffering of the people and coerce the public to cause chaos are heinous crimes, and they should be punished for their crimes.

Therefore, I had a plan before I came here. I should focus on suppressing these rebel parties and destroy them as soon as possible to destroy their foundations so that they will not dare to cause chaos.

But what is more important is that after wiping out these rebellions, we must also help the people, work with the people, recuperate, and find a way to make a living for thousands of people.The people are in hardship, and as long as they are given a way to survive, they will naturally not cause chaos at will. "

After hearing this, Zhu Youxiao finally understood why Emperor Chongzhen trusted Yang Changsi so much in history.

This person looks at problems very accurately and often analyzes them objectively and to the point.

Historically, it has been suggested that in order to resist foreign aggression, one must first settle the internal affairs. It was suggested that Emperor Chongzhen first negotiate peace with Hou Jin, and then use heavy troops to annihilate Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong and others in the country.

If Qingliu hadn't felt that the peace negotiation was too embarrassing and tried his best to block it, he would have refused to agree to the peace negotiation.Emperor Chongzhen was also irresponsible and hesitant in doing things and did not dare to openly express his support. It is entirely possible that the Ming Dynasty negotiated peace with Hou Jin and then freed up his hands to deal with Li Zicheng and others.

Even later, in order to eliminate rebels such as Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong, he proposed the plan of "four righteousnesses, six corners, and ten sides of the net", which killed Li Zicheng and 17 people and fled into Shangluo Mountain to survive.

Had Xiong Wencan not blindly recruited Zhang Xianzhong to surrender, allowing Zhang Xianzhong to recuperate and then rebel again, ruining the good plan, it would have been possible to put down the peasant army uprising.

"What Yang Aiqing said is true. It is easy to exterminate the rebels, but it is important to save the people from the fire and water and give them a way to live. Otherwise, the spring breeze will blow again. But I don't know what Yang Aiqing thinks about appeasing the people of Shandong and recuperating afterwards. ?”

Yang Changsi was stunned when he heard this. He didn't expect that the emperor didn't mention much about his plan to annihilate the rebels. Instead, he was particularly interested when he mentioned letting the people recuperate.

However, he had some thoughts on this matter, so he thought about it for a while and then handed it over.

"Your Majesty, the people's livelihood is nothing more than agriculture, industry and commerce. Fortunately, your Majesty's wisdom in the world has already started to do this.

One is to encourage farmers to cultivate mulberry trees, reclaim wasteland, and reduce taxes.I even proposed that in order to reduce the tax burden on the people, although the one-whip law is now implemented, the people are also allowed to pay grain in lieu of silver, which can alleviate the pain of the people exchanging silver.

In addition, I also heard that Xu Shangshu has planted sweet potatoes and other crops in Tianjin and other places. I heard that they have high yields, do not eat the soil, are cold and drought resistant, and can encourage people to cultivate and increase yields.

The second is the method of revitalizing industry and commerce. In fact, the imperial court has already implemented it, and now it is just expanding the scope.One is to lift the mining ban and encourage mining, and the other is to encourage people to go to the coast to seek livelihood, and even encourage people to migrate to Liaodong.

Liaodong has a vast territory, sparsely populated areas, and fertile land. The people can allocate land for self-cultivation.People have always valued land. As soon as such a policy is issued, even if the court does not encourage it, many people will go.

The third principle is to equalize land and labor and reduce the burden on the people.But this matter cannot be rushed. We must wait until the Shuntian Prefecture pilots it. But this matter is the most important. Only by doing this can we reduce the burden on the people, and the people will not be desperate and fall into evil ways. "

Zhu Youxiao nodded silently after listening to Yang Sichang's words.Everything Yang Sichang said makes sense, but many of them are difficult to put into practice and take time.

Zhu Youxiao himself also analyzed the current situation of the Ming Dynasty. In fact, the core problem is that there are too many people. Not only do they not have enough to eat, but many people have no jobs and no livelihood.This phenomenon is not bad in Jiangnan, where the commodity economy is relatively developed and the remaining rural population can go to cities and towns to work.

However, the economy in the north is backward, and the remaining rural people find that they cannot farm in the countryside and have no work to do in the city. After entering the city, they will naturally become heretics and join gangs, gangs, and even the White Lotus Demon Cult.

Therefore, all the things the court wants to do, such as farming, sea bans, mining bans, etc., to put it bluntly, are to increase jobs so that these people have jobs, so they will naturally not cause trouble.

It's just that it's impossible for Zhu Youxiao to do and execute all these things alone.Therefore, he needs many people to do it for him. There are many such people in the court. Now it seems that Yang Sichang is such a talent.

"Yang Aiqing, what you said is indeed what the imperial court is doing now, but many policies are either on trial basis, are facing many obstacles, or have not yet achieved results at the beginning. If you want to do it, you must be fully prepared. .”

"Your Majesty, there are so many difficult things in the world that we call cultivating one's moral character, harmonizing one's family, governing the country, and bringing peace to the world. If you are afraid of the difficulties and don't do them, wouldn't you be violating the teachings of the saints? I'm afraid you will have read the books of the saints in vain."

When Yang Sichang heard this, he immediately stood up anxiously. In his opinion, this was exactly his duty as a minister. How could he retreat due to difficulties?

"Hahaha, that's great. I know what you said, and I will keep it in mind. You do the work of suppressing rebellion first, and I will leave these difficult tasks to you when the time comes."

"Please rest assured, Your Majesty, I will definitely do my best to serve you with all my heart and brains."

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(End of this chapter)