Jingnan Strategy

Chapter 537 Suzhou Parade
"Woo-"

In February, with the piercing whistle sounding, a train braved the billowing heat waves of steam and drove on the Gobi Desert.

Not long after the steam floated out of the boiler, it turned into frost and clung to the top of the train.

Of course, more frost fell on the Gobi Desert on both sides of the railway tracks, nourishing the land.

The train pulled the cargo forward, and soon thousands of people appeared in front of it. Some of them were planting trees, some were laying out grass squares, but most of them were laying rails in front.

The train gradually slowed down and finally stopped about thirty steps away from the end of the track.

"Every shift picks up the goods, don't waste time!"

A supervisor shouted loudly, and in an instant, more than two thousand people around him started queuing up according to the numbers on the train boxes.

Rails, rivets, tools, grain, livestock, fresh water, saplings, straw and other supplies were transported by train.

The workers carried these supplies out of the car with laughter, and then watched the train pass the locomotive at the rear and drive eastward with the whistle blowing.

"Stop talking nonsense!" the worker replied, while the farmer's boy continued:

The population of the north north of the Qinling Mountains and the Huaihe River is as high as 40 million, while the southwest of Yunnan, Guangxi, Sichuan and Guizhou has more than 15 million people, and overseas areas such as Huguang, Guangdong, Jiaozhi, and Nanyang have about 20 million.

This is not because he is out of kindness, but because he really wants to be accused. As the ambassador of comfort, Liu Yongcheng will also be accused, but his generals. Moreover, Liu Yongcheng reported the local officials' illegal behavior long ago, and the palace did not deal with it. The affairs of the palace.

Many people frowned when Wang Ji said this, but from the perspective of the court, this was also the most effective way to manage Ceylon.

"So what if you look down on me? You're still working on the same construction site as us idiots!"

"It's really stupid..."

Zhu Zhanhe turned his gaze towards Wang Ji and Chen Chang. Chen Chang bowed and said, "Liu Yongcheng is a brave warrior, and he has more than 5,000 elite soldiers under his command."

"Hey, what you said is interesting. The food everyone eats now is rice from Jiangnan. How many people still eat wheat?"

Only some farm boys who had not returned home immediately retorted after hearing this: "Without Wang Zhuo pulling them back to farm, where would you get food to eat?"

Otherwise, Jiangnan's population proportion may become higher and higher with the opening of trains.

The war and economic potential brought by the population inevitably make many officials think highly of themselves. This attitude is not a problem in Central-Continent, but it is very serious overseas.

In mid-February, news came from the Ceylon Xuanwei Department. Some officials sent by the imperial court earlier aroused public anger. Millions of natives began to rebel under the instigation of thoughtful people. However, Liu Yongcheng, who was stationed at the Ceylon Xuanwei Department, only had five people. Thousands and six hundred soldiers.

Compared with the Northeast, where the soil is relatively moist and difficult to cultivate in spring, the dry Northwest does not have so many concerns.

Due to emotions and reasons, Liu Yongcheng cannot be blamed for this. After all, he did not have the power to directly abolish the Xuanwei officials.

Yang Rong and others remained silent because the Ceylon Xuanwei official who caused the trouble was the one recommended by them. At this time, being quiet was better than anything else.

Most of the people who work here are people from urban areas such as Guazhou and Suzhou. The farmers had already organized groups to go home by car more than half a month ago to prepare for spring plowing.

Seeing that they were silent, the farm boys wanted to take advantage of the victory and pursue the victory, but when they saw the supervisor walking towards them not far away, they immediately lowered their heads and started working seriously.

Facing Zhu Zhanhe's gaze, Wang Ji bowed and said: "The Ceylon barbarians have rebelled not once or twice. I looked through the files and found that the Ceylon barbarians rebelled fifty-four times in more than twenty years, and they all pursued the restoration of the country. It can be seen that they Extremely disapproving of the imperial court.”

"You said that Wang Zhuola and the others are right. They work here for only fifty cents a day. They go home and plant a few acres of land. After two months of hard work, they can only harvest three or four shi of grain. At most, they can sell it for two guan."

"Okay!" Zhu Zhanhe looked at Wang Ji. Although Wang Ji was a scholar, sometimes he was more murderous than a general.

You must know that when Japan, next door to the Ming Dynasty, was intimidated by the fleet led by Zheng He and joined the vassal system, its total population had reached 12 million.

Holding the memorial in his hand, Zhu Zhanhe, as the supervisor of the country, sat in the main seat under the golden platform of Wuying Palace, frowning slightly and giving orders to the seven palace scholars.

Farces like this are very common in the north today. After all, the reason why the population in the north has increased so much is actually closely related to several major court cases.

In the following twenty years, Japan also solved many famine problems through grain trade with the Ming Dynasty.

But even so, Japan's current population is only about 13 million, and the population has only grown by more than one million in more than 20 years.

"Only by killing the barbarians into submission can the imperial court's rule in Ceylon last long!"

"Ha ha ha ha……"

The railway they are currently laying is the railway from Guazhou to Hami. It is now less than 150 miles away and will be open to traffic in August at most, which is more than four months faster than expected.

"Can Liu Yongcheng suppress the rebellion?"

Compared with the two provinces of Jiangnan and Beijing that accounted for half of the world's population during the Hongwu period, today's population share of Jiangnan and Beijing has dropped to 40% of the world's population.

Some workers responded back to the farm boys, who were also angry when they heard this: "Huh, you're still thinking about the same old things, right?"

On the construction site, people who came to work in the city talked and laughed at the farmers who had returned home, thinking that they were not smart enough.

"Aren't your family just corrupt officials who were exiled by the Supreme Emperor and His Majesty? They failed the imperial examination and then became workers. Now you actually look down on us idiots."

The laughter spread across the Gobi Desert, and the group of people blushed, and even lowered their heads and stopped talking.

"I believe that we should send Xiao Xiyang and Xihaiwei to help Liu Yongcheng, and order Liu Yongcheng to kill the rebels."

In comparison, during the thirty-three years of the Ming Dynasty, the population increased by at least 40 million. Especially with the continuous popularization of medical care and policies to benefit the people, the population growth rate of the Ming Dynasty has become increasingly terrifying.

"Expedite the establishment of prefectures and counties, and severely punish the officials who provoked this rebellion!"

"Although there are many natives in the rebellion this time, they are no match for him. Judging from the fact that he did not ask for support from the guards such as Xiaoxiyang and Xihai in his memorial, he should be sure to put down the rebellion."

He did not discuss who recommended these officials, nor did he hold the recommenders accountable.

With the popularization of railways, medical care, and policies that benefit the people, the population of Ming Dynasty grew faster than any other country in this era.

"With that kind of strength, I could earn three guan of money by working here for two months, not to mention food, accommodation, meat and wine."

Even Jiang Huai, who was born in Shaomin, cannot deny this.

"In that case, then issue an edict and tell Liu Yongcheng secretly, asking him to kill the barbarian into submission."

"In addition, this year's prisoners, regardless of the number, will be sent to Dongshan Mansion to open up wasteland first. Dongshan Mansion has already found gold mines."

In a few words, Zhu Zhanhe announced another piece of good news to the public.

However, no one was surprised by this. The emperor's method of inspecting Shandian Mine was already known to the entire Ming Dynasty.

Although after returning from Nanjing, the emperor had been staying in the Daming Palace with the Supreme Emperor to wait for the spring in the Northeast and Mobei, but the memorials he dealt with every day still had to be sent to the Daming Palace for him to read.

Everyone had their own thoughts here, and at this time, the sound of rapid footsteps also came from outside the hall.

An eunuch in his thirties walked into the palace and bowed to Zhu Zhanhe:

"Your Highness, the Suzhou Provincial Examination is causing trouble!"

"What's the fuss about?" Zhu Zhanhe and the ministers frowned, but they had a bad feeling in their hearts...

"Today's population has doubled, and the number of officials is far greater than during the time of Taizu and Emperor Gao. However, there are many vegetarians in the corpse position, and the imperial examination only selects 300 candidates each year. How unfair!"

"Unfair! Unfair! Unfair!"

At the same time, people in the northwest were still happy to have enough to eat and to earn a few more coins.

When the rebellion of the overseas natives continued and the court was about to wield the butcher's knife, Jiangnan was really in trouble.

This kind of commotion was different from the commotion in the past when Confucian scholars knelt down to worship the government, and civil and military officials knelt down at Qianqing Gate and Wuying Square. Instead, the commotion started in the form of a parade.

At first, it was just a dozen students who failed the provincial examination, but later the crowd became more and more popular, and finally it turned into a demonstration of hundreds of people.

Hundreds of students who failed the exam clamored for injustice, and while shouting, they walked towards the Suzhou Prefectural Educational Office.

Such a move quickly attracted the obstruction of the Military and Horse Division.

Hundreds of troops blocked both ends of the long street and surrounded the failed students.

For a moment, the whole long street was in a state of uproar, and hundreds of officers from the Military and Horse Department also walked up to the team and angrily shouted: "Who told you to gather in a crowd to cause trouble!"

"We are not causing trouble, we just feel that things in the world are unfair. If I don't speak out, then when will the court know the suffering of the students at the bottom like us!"

Among the crowd, some people shouted about their so-called suffering. Upon seeing this, the official of Baihu did not intend to pursue him seriously and just scolded:
"Disperse quickly now. If you don't disperse, everyone present will kill the mighty stick with ten sticks first!"

"We are all honorable soldiers. As a military attache, who allowed you to torture yourself privately?"

There was a voice in the crowd, and the officials from hundreds of households became angry when they heard the words. They directly raised their hands and said: "Just rely on the "Da Ming Law"!"

Seeing that he was really going to take action, some students also started to waver, and they lowered their heads and left along the alleys on both sides of the street.

In just a few breaths, the number of students making trouble was reduced by half.

When the remaining people saw that so many people had left, they felt guilty and prepared to leave, but someone in the crowd still shouted:

"It is precisely because of your cowardice that the imperial court has not changed the imperial examination for many years. How unfair it is!!"

"Jie Niangtou, let me catch the person who yelled!"

Hearing that the shouting voice was always the same person, Baihuguan immediately ordered the soldiers of the Bingma Division to forcefully break into the group of students.

During the pushing and shoving, the crowd suddenly became chaotic.

The shouting person also took advantage of the chaos and began to run away, while the soldiers of the Army and Horse Division searched for a group of people, but their voices couldn't match them.

In desperation, hundreds of officials could only report the matter to Nanjing, but Nanjing also felt that it could not be decided, so it directly reported it to the court, and this was how the scene just happened.

After understanding the cause and effect, Zhu Zhanhe seemed to have a headache. This incident was artificially instigated, so he immediately turned his attention to Yang Shiqi.

Yang Shiqi lowered his eyes. If he hadn't blinked his eyelids from time to time, Zhu Zhanhe would have thought he was a statue.

"Your Highness, this matter needs to be investigated strictly!" In order to clear away the suspicion, Yang Pu took the lead in speaking out and hoped to investigate the case strictly. Zhu Zhanhe was slightly confused after hearing this.

The incident happened in Suzhou. If it was said that it had nothing to do with Sanyang, he would never believe it.

Compared with Zhu Zhanhe's disbelief, Jiang Huai believed that this matter had nothing to do with Sanyang. After all, the Jiangnan Railway was still under construction, and the three of them would not cause trouble for no reason. This would not be good for them.

It’s just that there must be a driving force behind this matter, and the power is destined to not be small.

"Your Highness, I would like to request an investigation."

Jiang Huai bowed and saluted, but when Zhu Zhanhe heard this, he was not prepared to deal with the matter directly. Instead, he said:

"This is a serious matter, and this matter needs to be reported to His Majesty."

When they heard that Zhu Zhanhe was going to report this matter to the emperor, everyone's hearts suddenly tightened.

Let the emperor handle this matter, which is a bit of a big deal.

"Your Highness, if I trouble Your Majesty with everything, then how can we, the ministers, have the dignity to govern here."

"I am willing to request an order to investigate this matter!"

"Your Highness, I am also willing to request an order to investigate this matter."

When Zhu Gaoxu was mentioned, Yang Shiqi, Yang Rong, and even Xue Xuan and others all came forward to express their opinions.

Although they all knew that the emperor would not initiate a major case so quickly, who knew whether the emperor would take the opportunity to take action.

"Ten days. If the investigation is not clear within ten days, then I will have no choice but to report to Your Majesty."

Zhu Zhanhe glanced at the people standing on the left and right of the long table, and there was some dissatisfaction in his eyes.

He stood up and walked to the side hall. When the officials saw him leaving, Yang Shiqi took the lead and said after making eye contact:

"The three departments of Dali Temple, the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and the Ministry of Punishment should be dispatched to investigate."

"Good!" Everyone nodded, and Jiang Huai saw this and followed Zhu Zhanhe's footsteps holding the wat board.

He followed Zhu Zhanhe into the side hall and was seen by everyone. Before they could follow him, Jiang Huai and Zhu Zhanhe walked into the side hall.

After entering the palace, Jiang Huai bowed and said, "Your Highness, I'm afraid this matter has nothing to do with Sanyang."

"Suzhou is Jiangdong. If it doesn't have anything to do with them, could it possibly have something to do with you?" There was a strong smell of gunpowder in Zhu Zhanhe's words, but Jiang Huai did not panic, but bowed and analyzed:
"Although Sanyang is related to Jiangdong, Sanyang is mainly based in Jiangxi. Jiangdong and western Zhejiang mainly operate overseas. The sixteen merchant gangs in Kunlun Continent are basically from here."

"Therefore, I believe that this matter may have something to do with the establishment of offices and counties for the Overseas Propaganda and Comfort Department."

"Isn't it good to set up prefectures and counties?" Zhu Zhanhe frowned and Jiang Huai nodded:

"For the imperial court, this is a great thing, and for the people of the overseas Xuanwei Division, this is also great, but for the overseas business gangs, it is not so good."

"I have just thought carefully about the establishment of prefectures and counties overseas. I am afraid that the reason why Your Majesty agreed is not to rectify overseas officialdom, but to reduce the living space of overseas business gangs!"

Jiang Huai never thought about why the emperor would so easily agree to His Highness's so-called establishment of overseas propaganda and comfort departments in counties. From the perspective of the time, the establishment of overseas propaganda and comfort departments in counties was just a matter of official corruption caused by Dongzhou. .

But if we look at the overall situation, Dongzhou is certainly important to the Ming Dynasty, but what about Kunlunzhou?
"Last year, according to the customs duties collected by the Malacca Customs, the customs duties of the private trade zone in the Western Ocean reached more than 435,000 guan. If the tax rate was calculated according to the imperial court, the market would be 4.35 million guan."

"Among them, the amount of gold handed over by Japan, Korea and various vassal states was more than 23,600 taels. Based on the tax rate, it is more than 236,000 taels."

"The overseas dependent countries have made such contributions, but what about the private business gangs within the country?"

"I thought about it carefully, and it seems that it does not exceed 5,000 taels of gold. According to the tax rate, it is less than 50,000 taels."

"Don't your Highness find this number strange?"

Jiang Huai asked Zhu Zhanhe, and Zhu Zhanhe nodded when he heard the words: "It is indeed a bit small. The sixteen merchant gangs rely on the Kunlun Continent Xuanwei Division. They should not only have this little gold."

"Exactly!" Jiang Huai nodded, and then said:

"I feel that the reason why His Majesty agreed to be so decisive in the first place was that he was clearly referring to Dongzhou and implicitly referring to Kunlun."

Jiang Huai reminded Zhu Zhanhe, and Zhu Zhanhe could no longer sit still. He stood up and walked back and forth before asking:
"According to your statement, this matter was led by sixteen business gangs in order to get the imperial court to stop the overseas propaganda department from setting up prefectures and counties?"

"No!" Jiang Huai shook his head and rejected this possibility, and explained:
"Merchants are merchants after all. Even if they form a merchant gang and have a certain amount of force, they are no more difficult to deal with than the pirates compared to the court."

"If they want to hinder the imperial court, they can stir up trouble in the Kunlun Xuanwei Department. There is no need to stir up trouble in Suzhou with the topic of the provincial examination."

"I believe that their purpose is to increase the number of Jinshi admitted every year, and this also shows that they are very dissatisfied with Sanyang's governance."

Jiang Huai told Zhu Zhanhe the analysis of the matter, and Zhu Zhanhe nodded after hearing the words.

If the Jiangnan Business Gang was dissatisfied because of other issues, Zhu Zhanhe would still need to investigate, but if he was dissatisfied because Sanyang was in power, Zhu Zhanhe would believe it.

Among the three Yangs, Yang Shiqi is the leader, and Yang Shiqi has been with Jiangxi officials in his early years, often competing for resources with western Zhejiang and Jiangdong.

Later, after the restriction of Nanjuan, Jiangxi occupied more and more Nanjuan Jinshi seats, but Jiangdong and Zhejiang became increasingly insignificant due to the migration of many well-established families due to several major cases.

Although compared with other places, Jiangdong and Western Zhejiang are still the best in imperial examinations, but compared with before, they are indeed on the decline.

In addition, Sanyang did not stop Wang Hui's "sabotage" of Jiangdong and Zhejiang in the Yan Li case, so it is strange that the two have a good impression of Sanyang.

"How should this matter be handled?"

Zhu Zhanhe asked Jiang Huai, but Jiang Huai shook his head and said: "The details of this matter depend on whether your Majesty knows about it, but judging from His Majesty's previous actions, His Majesty should know it in his heart."

"It is precisely because of this knowledge that in order to embolden them, His Majesty ordered you to supervise the country and deliberately acted like an old man."

"Understood!" Zhu Zhanhe nodded, and then carefully arranged:
"If I ask Your Majesty personally about this matter, they will definitely be put off. In that case, let me send you there."

"Yes..." Jiang Huai was speechless. He originally wanted Zhu Zhanhe to send a capable eunuch to question the emperor, but he didn't want Zhu Zhanhe to send him directly.

Compared to Yang Shiqi and others, he is not afraid of the current one.

But since Zhu Zhanhe had already spoken, he couldn't refuse, so he had no choice but to accept the job.

"Go back quickly."

Zhu Zhanhe patted Jiang Huai on the shoulder and said deliberately: "In this situation, you are the only one I can trust."

"Yes..." Jiang Huai sighed in his heart, and finally could only turn around and leave the side hall, walking towards the outside of the hall.

When Yang Shiqi and others in the main hall saw him leaving, they already had the answer in their hearts.

Not long after, Jiang Huai walked out of the palace city and took a carriage to the Daming Palace.

For an hour, he had been thinking about how to communicate with that person. Until the carriage arrived at Daming Palace, he did not get out of the car in a hurry. Instead, he got out of the car and headed to Daming Gate after sorting out his thoughts.

In just a quarter of an hour, the result of the communication had been conveyed back, and the emperor summoned him to the palace to report on matters.

He walked towards the Changchun Palace under the leadership of the eunuch. After sorting out his thoughts for a while, he heard a familiar howling sound.

"Your Majesty, you are old and it is bitterly cold in the north. You cannot go!"

"His Majesty……"

The familiar wailing sound made Jiang Huai stunned. When he followed the leading eunuch through the corridor, he saw a familiar figure.

"This...Master Xia, what are you..."

Jiang Huai looked at Xia Yuanji kneeling in front of the Changchun Palace, wondering why this old minister, who had been in office for more than a month, was here.

"Wenqing, you came just in time. The Emperor is going to Mobei and Jilin. You and I can persuade the Emperor and His Majesty."

Xia Yuanji is now sixty-five years old and has become an official. He only retains the empty title of Prince and Young Master, so he can naturally enter and leave the palace.

It's just that at his age, where the Emperor and the Emperor go has nothing to do with him. As for crying so sadly?

"Master Xia, this junior has something to report, so I'm afraid I can't advise you to remonstrate with the Supreme Emperor."

Jiang Huai was ashamed and felt that today's almanac was wrong. He should be on vacation and not on duty.

"Xuandiange University Scholar Jiang Huai!"

The eunuchs of the Changchun Palace sang the ceremony, Jiang Huai could only bow and apologize, and then quickened his pace and walked into the Changchun Palace.

Entering the palace, Jiang Huai saw Zhu Gaoxu sitting on the main seat and holding a memorial.

Zhu Di was not in the main hall, probably playing with the emperor's grandson in the side hall.

"Jiang Huai, the great scholar of Chen Dian Pavilion, comes to see your majesty. Long live your majesty..."

Jiang Huai knelt down and bowed five times and kowtowed three times. After all, he was in the main hall and the proper etiquette was still required, and Zhu Gaoxu did not stop him.

He sat on a high seat and kept looking at the memorial in his hand.

"I already know about the incident in Suzhou. Xichang and Jinyiwei have also gone to handle the case and captured the thirteen culprits."

He explained the matter clearly without looking at Jiang Huai from beginning to end, which made Jiang Huai punch the cotton and felt very uncomfortable.

He thought he would have to talk to the emperor a lot before he could find out what the emperor would do.

But he didn't expect that the emperor already knew about the matter and had sent Xichang and Jinyiwei to solve the case.

But since the matter has been settled, why did the emperor agree to enter the Daming Palace to perform affairs?

For a moment, Jiang Huai's heart was in his throat, and Zhu Gaoxu's voice sounded like thunder on the ground a moment later.

"I think the prince has almost become a puppet in the hands of the three of you, right?"

(End of this chapter)