Jingnan Strategy

Chapter 422 New Year’s Weather
"Yes, yes, a little further to the left... yes! Right here!"

In the early morning of the second grade of junior high school, with a young man's hearty nod, two red lanterns were hung on the gate of a courtyard in Donghe Village amidst his shouts.

The young man was wearing a round-collar robe. Although it was just ordinary silk, it looked very decent.

Behind the red lantern, the word "Lu Yuan" behind the lintel made a smile appear on his face.

"Brother, does this lantern cost a lot of money?"

Carefully descending from the bamboo ladder, the young man asked his eldest brother, and his eldest brother was Lu Yu, who brought his family and a bunch of younger brothers and sisters from the almshouse to settle down in Donghetun, Luzon two years ago.

"It's not expensive. Not many people take to the streets on the second day of the first lunar month, so lanterns are cheap."

Lu Yu answered with a smile, and some farmers passed by on the street behind them. They laughed and joked: "Lu Tongsheng, at your age, are you hanging lanterns to find your relatives?"

"What are you talking about, sister? Who in this country doesn't know Lu Tongsheng's reputation? The women who come to visit him almost break the threshold."

"Yes, yes, Lu Tongsheng, my daughter..."

"What are you..." Lu Yu couldn't laugh or cry, while his second brother and his third brother picked up the bamboo ladder and pulled their eldest brother back to the courtyard.

Before closing the door, the second eldest son of the Lu family stretched out his head and swore: "If my eldest brother wants to marry, he will also marry a beautiful girl. Don't even think about it."

"Hey! How can Lu Hunqian talk? I..."

Before the two women finished speaking, Lu Hun closed the door, and Lu Yu could see everything clearly.

The young man who was once sallow and skinny has now, after two years of hard work, not only supported his younger brothers and sisters, but also attended a government school in the town and ranked among the best. This year, he is preparing to register for the imperial examination and take the opportunity to take part in the children's examination.

A person who did not go to formal official school until he was sixteen years old and was preparing to apply for the children's examination at the age of eighteen would definitely be laughed at if he were placed in other places.

However, in a place like Luzon where almost all poor people migrate to seek a living, this represents a certain ability.

Since Luzon is only the Xuanwei Department, it is still relatively difficult to hold the children's examination. It is not possible to register for each town and county official school to participate in the child examination. Instead, you must first take the assessment at the local official school and then be recommended before you can participate in the child examination.

Generally speaking, the number of places for children's examinations in official schools in each town is very limited. Therefore, for someone like Lu Yu, who can obtain the qualifications to participate in the children's examination after two years of study, it is not an exaggeration to say that he is a talented student from all over the country.

"These women really love to talk."

Lu Hun patted the non-existent dust on his hands, and Lu Yu smiled warmly when he heard this.

In the courtyard where the two brothers were standing, the Lu Yuan, which once had only one main house, now had side rooms on the left and right, as well as two side rooms near the courtyard door.

The land in the courtyard was paved with concrete and enough cement dust was sprinkled to smooth it.

There are stone tables and stone piers beside the patio, and there are many expensive furniture in the main house.

These things were all given by the town and county to reward Lu Yu after he showed his abilities.

Today, the Xuanwei Division of Luzon has jurisdiction over three counties, namely Jinshan, Luzon, and Dongming counties from north to south, with a population of more than 100,000.

Donghetun belongs to Gaoshan Town under the jurisdiction of Luzon County. Gaoshan Town has seven villages under its jurisdiction, and Donghetun is one of them.

"Brother, after the Lantern Festival, you have to go to town to take the children's exam, right?"

Lu Hun asked his eldest brother, and Lu Yu nodded when he heard this: "We will set off on the twentieth day of the first lunar month. After all, the children's examination only starts on the first day of the second lunar month."

"After the exam, I guess I can go home. After finishing the farm work with you, I will go to the official school to study and check my results at the same time."

Lu Yu said everything with a smile, but Lu Hun was nervous when he heard this: "Brother, are you nervous?"

"I think you are nervous." Lu Yu joked, and then heard a female voice from behind:
"Eldest brother, second brother, you go to the vegetable garden to get some vegetables, and then go to the fields to find Lao Wu and the others!"

"Okay!" After hearing his sister's words, Lu Yu responded and went out without any pretense.

Lu Hun was about to follow, but Lu Yu raised his hand and said comfortingly: "You help Third Sister cook at home."

"Okay..." Lu Hun nodded, and after watching his eldest brother leave, he went to the backyard to help.

After closing the door, what appeared in front of Lu Yu was a rammed earth road and a concrete courtyard built along the street.

The architecture of the entire village has no style at all. After all, all the people who came here back then just needed a place to shelter from the wind and rain.

Therefore, their houses are basically concrete walls and bungalows.

Except for the architectural pattern and furniture that are consistent with this era, nothing else matches the aesthetics of this era.

"When I have money in the future, I'm afraid I will move away from here."

Standing at the door of his house and looking around Donghe Village, Lu Yu had this idea in his mind.

Of course, the place he wants to move to is not Guangdong or Fujian, but Gaoshan Town, Jinshan County or Luzon County.

After all, living and studying are much more convenient in those places.

Although Donghetun helped him start a business, it was too remote after all. Even to go to town, he had to walk twenty miles, which was extremely inconvenient.

So many of his younger brothers and sisters, except him, are not studying.

The reason for this is also because the situation at home could only accommodate one person studying.

He chose to study by himself because he knew that he was the oldest and could change the situation at home only after studying, instead of leaving the pressure to his younger siblings.

He only slept for three hours a day and spent the rest of his time reading.

Except for the busy work of farming and harvesting, he would return home to help. At other times, he would leave things at home to his second son, Lu Hun.

Because of this, everyone in Donghetun and Gaoshan Town said that he was selfish and ignored his younger brothers and sisters.

But all this started to change since last year when he became the first in his grade and was recommended to participate in the children's examination.

People who once said that he was selfish all changed their tune after learning about his current situation and praised his decision.

If he had not had this previous experience, he would probably feel like he was surrounded by good people at this moment.

Walking on the rammed earth road out of the village, the scenery in front of Lu Yu gradually broadened.

What was once a land of ashes has now been opened up into acres of mature fields, with no edges as far as the eye can see.

The Lu family's farmland is not far from the entrance of the town. Since there are cattle and there are not many rocks in the area, the brothers cultivated six acres of farmland in two and a half years. With the grain distributed by the court, they also cultivated six acres of farmland. Enough to eat.

Of course, life like this is not easy, and it is still tight, otherwise it would not be possible to afford only one person to attend a government school.

But now it's better. As long as Lu Yu can get results in the children's examination, more people will support their family.

Although Lu Yu knew that all the support needed to be repaid, in order for his family to live a better life, he could only accept all the support, and then work hard to be admitted to the Juren Examination, or even the Jinshi...

"Lao Wu, let's go home for dinner!"

When he reached the edge of the field, Lu Yu saw his brothers pulling weeds in the field.

When he called, several younger brothers and sisters immediately stood up and trotted towards him.

"Let's go home and eat."

After giving the explanation, Lu Yu took his brothers on the rural road home.

When I walked into Donghe Tun, I happened to run into Liu Quan, an official who was leaving with a bunch of things.

"Mr. Liu..."

When Lu Yu saw Liu Quan, he immediately bowed respectfully.

He still respects Liu Quan very much. In the past two and a half years, Liu Quan has taken care of them and reminded him to go to Murakami to study in the official school. Only the official school can change the fate of their family.

At the same time, Liu Quan also participated in the imperial examinations in recent years, and would often answer his questions in his spare time.

It was precisely because Liu Quan felt that he was qualified to participate in the children's examination that he dared to register in the official school.

Now that Liu Quan's term has expired, it will probably be very difficult to see him again in the future.

"Get up, there's no need to be so respectful."

Sitting on the donkey cart, Liu Quan nodded and signaled Lu Yu to get up, and at the same time said:

"I will go to Luzon to report on my duties immediately. New officials will come after the Lantern Festival."

"I will also participate in this imperial examination. I hope to hear good news from you."

Liu Quan spoke concisely as always. After saying everything he wanted to say, he sat in the car and watched Lu Yu quietly.

Lu Yu hesitated to speak, but finally started by bowing.

"Thanks to my husband's care, if I can embark on an official career in the future, I will be more willing to keep my husband's company."

"If you stay with me, then I will look down on you." Liu Quan shook his head. He saw Lu Yu approaching and knew that it was not easy for him.

He walked out of the almshouse and had to support a bunch of younger brothers and sisters at home.

With these constraints, he was able to qualify for the child examination in just two and a half years.

Under this kind of performance, as long as he performs normally, Liu Quan even thinks that Lu Yu is likely to be the first Jinshi from Luzon.

Of course, even if you become a Jinshi in high school, it will only be a few years later.

But as long as he can pass the exam, his life will be the same in heaven and on earth.

"Let's go, you should go home and celebrate the New Year."

Shaking the reins, Liu Quan drove the donkey cart away from Donghe Tun where he had been accompanying him for two and a half years. Lu Yu and his younger brothers and sisters bowed to his back and slowly stood up until they could no longer see him. Walking towards home.

A few days passed by, and when Liu Quan returned to Luzon City, he handed over all the "Yellow Album" and "Fish Scale Album" in Donghetun to the county government.

The county government summarized it and finally sorted it out and submitted it to Xu Chailao's desk.

"One hundred and thirty-nine thousand and five hundred people, um... not bad!"

In the Xuanwei Si Yamen, Xu Chailao looked at the growing Lu Song and couldn't help but feel happy.

In particular, the "Fish Scale Atlas" which recorded the amount of land made him so happy that he couldn't stop smiling.

"More than 517,600 acres, this achievement is enough for me to get another first-class rating this year, right?"

Xu Chailao smiled and showed off to Jiang Gui who was sitting in front of him. Jiang Gui frowned when he heard this and said: "The chaos in Huangshan a few days ago was quite commotion."

"Don't even think about being rated A. Just be thankful if you can get rated B."

Jiang Gui saw clearly that the impact of the Huangshan Rebellion was very bad, and even affected the immigration situation.

Under such circumstances, it was impossible for the two of them to get any good results last year. Getting a B grade was already pretty good.

"These barbarians are really bad!"

When Jiang Gui mentioned the matter of the Huangshan natives, Xu Chailao felt very unlucky, and at the same time he couldn't help but feel a sense of revenge. "I heard that Cochin received a ship from the advance team of the East Asian voyage, and there was a medicinal material on it that could cure malaria."

"Do you think that if we have these medicinal materials, can we go deep into the mountains and forests and deal with all these barbarians?"

Xu Chailao did not reflect on himself because he felt it was not necessary.

Instead of reflecting on yourself, it would be better to wipe out all the barbarians in the south.

"If it really works, then I should be able to lead my troops to drive them to the southernmost point bit by bit, and then eliminate them together."

Jiang Gui thought for a moment and gave a definite answer.

Hearing this, Xu Chailao was very happy: "Then I will go to Shu and ask the court soon. If it is really there, let the court transfer some to us first."

"There's no rush." ​​Jiang Gui interrupted Xu Chai Lao, leaned forward and asked with a frown: "How is the situation at Jinshan?"

Jinshan is a seaport city where gold and copper mines are mined in northern Luzon. The difference is that it is stationed by Luzon guards and is mainly managed by Xu Chailao. The number of Han people is sparse, and most of them are native prisoners of war.

There are more than 100,000 prisoners of war. If something happens, even Jiang Gui will find it a bit difficult.

"Don't worry. After the Huangshan Rebellion, I lowered the standards for their naturalization and gave each of them two cents a day as wages."

"Now they are busy saving money and waiting to live a good life after becoming naturalized citizens."

When Xu Chai Lao talked about two cents a day per person, a look of pain appeared on his face.

Obviously in his heart, the labor of the natives is only worthy of being free, and any money spent is a huge expense.

“How about gold, silver and copper mining?”

Jiang Gui nodded and leaned on the chair when he heard this, and absently asked about the mining of gold, silver and copper mines.

"There are quite a lot of gold mines. Currently, we can produce more than 800 taels of gold every month. It is estimated that we can produce 10,000 taels of gold this year. The accompanying silver output is relatively small, at most 30,000 taels."

"As for the copper mine, it can smelt 50,000 jins of copper ingots every month. The quantity is too small. At least fifty more mines must be opened to reach the million jins of copper ingots promised to the court."

"Fifty mines will require at least another 20,000 to 30,000 people."

"In addition, at least 7,000 natives will be naturalized as citizens this year, and preparations must be made in advance."

The preparation Xu Chailao said was nothing more than to let Jiang Gui capture more natives.

The current rapid development of Luzon is based on the gold, silver and copper mines that these natives contribute worth tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars every year.

Once the mining speed slows down, the development of Luzon will also slow down.

In the mines in Jinshan County, the surface of each mountain is covered with mine caves, which are so densely packed that it makes one’s scalp numb.

Although reinforced with concrete and wooden piles, no one knows when it will collapse.

Mr. Xu Chai doesn't care about this. He just hopes not to waste his opportunity to be promoted. You must know that he is already fifty years old this year. This age has entered old age in this era. It is considered good to live to sixty. Seventy is what I want. I dare not even think about it.

Because of this, he planned to finish his work in Luzon. After being promoted, he proposed to become an official and receive a casual rank to return to his hometown in Fujian to retire.

"I will find a way, and you can also find a way to see if you can get the kind of medicine that can treat malaria."

"I'll do the work, don't worry."

Jiang Gui stood up and walked out, not forgetting to explain.

When Xu Chailao heard this, he answered him with a smile. After he left, he quickly wrote a memorial to Nanjing.

At the same time, Jiangnan, thousands of miles away from here, became lively.

"Oh!"

"Jinyiwei is investigating a case. May I ask who is the former Revenue Department Secretary Zhang Kuang?"

In Jintan County, Changzhou Prefecture, as the door of a mansion was violently knocked open, guards with sinister looks on their faces poured into the front yard of the mansion, numbering dozens of them.

Although it is just the front yard, the yard covers an area of ​​​​acres, and there are many Taihu stone sculptures as decorations.

This kind of environment is not something a seventh-rank official can afford to live in.

The servants in the mansion were so frightened that their faces turned pale. Not long after, an old Confucian scholar in his sixties with a gray beard walked to the front yard with a cane.

"I am Zhang Kuang. I don't know what I have done..."

Zhang Kuang's expression was ugly, but he was trying his best to suppress his temper.

He had been in office for nine years, during which time he had not made any major mistakes, and he believed that he had no leverage in Jin Yiwei's hands.

"In the 30th year of Hongwu, Zhang Kuang and Ni Yan, the head of the household department, privately modified the household registration in Jintan County and changed the thirty-seven upper households to middle households. Can you plead guilty to this matter?!"

Jinyiwei Baihuguan took out a post, and this post was the driving post issued by the Criminal Division.

With it, Jin Yiwei can arrest people without restraint.

"Absurd, this is just a false accusation!"

Zhang Kuang was panicked, but he still retorted forcefully.

"Since it is a false accusation, please accompany us."

The officials from Baihu put away their driving posts, and then the royal guards on the left and right stepped forward to lift Zhang Kuang up.

"What are you doing?!"

"How dare you treat me like this? I will tell your Majesty to punish you!"

"Put me down! Put me down..."

The scene of Zhang Kuang being lifted up and locked in a carriage was seen by his neighbors, and the people who lived in his neighborhood were all powerful people in Jintan County.

Seeing Zhang Kuang being taken away, many people who were related to Zhang Kuang couldn't help but feel guilty.

This guilty conscience is not without reason, because since the comprehensive new policy of Jiangdong Six Prefectures, most of the people taken away by Jinyiwei have confessed, and many people involved have been confessed.

For a time, a large number of rich families were arrested in Jiangnan. The books handed over to Zhu Gaoxu's desk were updated at a rate of dozens to hundreds almost every day.

This situation naturally caused dissatisfaction among the officials.

"There are many unjust cases in the six prefectures of Jiangdong, and they are widely implicated. Jinyiwei abused lynchings, causing many officials who became officials to die unjustly..."

"Ma Ying (Censor Chen Mengxu), the head of the Ministry of Household Affairs, implores Your Majesty to punish crimes and stop the New Deal!"

Outside the west corner gate, more than a hundred officials knelt down and bowed, their voices booming.

Looking at their righteous expressions, those who didn't know thought they were all saints.

Facing their pressure, Wang Yan slowly walked out of the west corner gate with more than ten royal guards.

He held the imperial edict in his hand. After a while, he unfolded the imperial edict and immediately sang:
"Ma Ying, the head of the Ministry of Household Affairs, inspected the household registration in Jiangnan and secretly reported the paddy fields of 72 wealthy households including Gao Meng of Changzhou Prefecture. He secretly tampered with the documents and in accordance with the Ming Dynasty Law, Man Mo was exiled!"

"Censor Chen Mengxu took bribes, violated the law, concealed the murder of Li Zhao, a wealthy man in Zhenjiang Prefecture, and secretly stole silver taxes. According to the "Ming Dynasty Law", Man Mo was exiled!"

"Wang Yan, have you also deceived Shengting?!"

When Wang Yan finished reading the imperial edict, Ma Ying and Chen Mengxu pointed at him and began to curse. However, their curses had no impact on Wang Yan.

Under Wang Yan's gaze, they were carried out of the palace by the Jin Yiwei, while the remaining officials were like frightened birds, anxiously waiting for Wang Yan to speak.

"What are you still kneeling here for? Aren't you on duty?"

Wang Yan said these words with a gloomy face, and the next second the group of ministers stood up one after another, lowered their heads and dispersed.

Such weaklings have always been looked down upon by Wang Yan. After all, he was also someone who had followed Zhu Di in the north and south.

After settling the farce, Yi Shiha turned around and walked into the west corner gate tower.

In the gatehouse, a huge sand table with a length of two feet and a width of two feet was placed in the middle, and as the emperor, Zhu Di was looking at everything on the sand table.

At this moment, he was fully immersed in it, and Wang Yan did not disturb him immediately after returning.

After a moment, Zhu Di came back to his senses and asked, "Is everyone gone?"

"Your Majesty, they were all driven away." Wang Yan replied respectfully, while Zhu Di stroked his beard.

"Well, these people are really bullying the weak and afraid of the strong. They don't dare to go to the second son to ask for mercy, and they come to me to force me to have a wife."

Zhu Di seemed to be saying that he was the soft persimmon here, but Wang Yan laughed after hearing this:

"They were frightened by His Highness, but they forgot that Your Majesty, you are also a man who walked out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of ​​blood."

"Haha! You are right!"

Wang Yan's words made Zhu Di happy. It is true that he has become accustomed to being a good man over the years, but this does not mean that he has a good temper.

Most of the people Ji Gang and Chen Ying killed were killed under his orders.

It's just that in front of a guy like Zhu Gaoxu, who would implicate hundreds, thousands or even tens of thousands of people at every turn, Zhu Di actually seemed amiable and amiable.

"Your Majesty, these people are expected to come again tomorrow. Look..."

Wang Yan suggested cautiously, but Zhu Di interrupted him and said, "Don't worry about them. Tell Li Shi and Wang Zhong that the army will go north tomorrow."

“During the Northern Expedition, memorials from the Ministry of Household Affairs, the Ministry of Works, the Ministry of Punishment, and the Ministry of Rites were all sent to the Chunhe Hall. The memorials from the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of War, and the Sixth Army Governor’s Mansion were copied into two copies. One was sent to the Chunhe Hall, and the other was sent to the Chunhe Hall. "In the army."

"In addition, we summoned the academicians Jin Youzi, Hu Guang, Huang Huai, and Yang Rong, together with the six ministers from the left, to accompany the army on the northern expedition."

"Yes!" Hearing what Zhu Di said, Wang Yan quickly agreed, and then said: "Then, please go and talk to His Highness so that His Highness can be prepared."

"Well, let's go!" Zhu Di waved his hand, and Wang Yan also went to Chunhe Hall in person.

But after he left, Zhu Di glanced at the eunuch on duty beside him.

The eunuch was about thirty years old, fat, and looked harmless.

Looking at him, Zhu Di said, "Go and tell Ji Gang and let him take the opportunity to deal with those people from the Metropolitan Procuratorate."

"Servant, take your orders!" The eunuch on duty quickly bowed and exited the Chunhe Hall. When Zhu Di saw this, he also stroked his beard and said as if to tease:
"Second brother, you can't be too comfortable these days. You have to take care of some things for me."

　Today's second update will be between 4 and 5 pm.

　　I have to be busy with my grandma’s burial tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. As promised before, the update for these two days will be one chapter per day. In addition, the update time is somewhat uncertain.

　　This is also the first time that I am busy with these things, so it will probably be quite procrastinating. I will probably update it either in the afternoon or in the evening.

　　After the burial, two updates will be resumed on the 22nd. Thank you for your understanding.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)