Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

This year's eighth day of the twelfth lunar month was even more lively than last year.

Last year was the first time the Laba Festival was held, and many people were unprepared and could only buy game to worship their ancestors and heroes.

This year, these people were much better prepared, especially those whose families had participated in the Liaodong War. They prepared their prey early and wished their fathers or brothers a safe journey.

However, some homes were rather desolate. They had received their death notices and learned that their fathers, husbands, and sons had died on the front lines.

Although the imperial court provided compensation, it quickly established hereditary military status for the descendants of martyrs.

But this still couldn't make up for the grief of losing their loved ones, and they had no heart for celebrating the holiday.

If it weren't for the fact that the ninth day of the twelfth lunar month is the anniversary of martyrs' memorial day, these families would not have planned to celebrate the Laba Festival at all.

The Feng family was one of them. Feng Dazhu's father, Feng Tieshan, was a soldier of the Beijing garrison who went to Liaodong to fight and unfortunately died in battle there.

At the tender age of sixteen, Feng Dazhu had no choice but to shoulder the responsibility of upholding the Feng family's honor.

The once cheerful Feng Dazhu has become much more taciturn. He took the hunting rifle left by his father and went to the Western Hills to hunt early in the morning.

They even started hunting for others after discovering that some people were buying prey for ancestral sacrifices.

That day, he had just returned from the Western Hills and intended to use his pension ration coupons to buy a shi (a unit of dry measure) of grain at the Sihai Grain Store when he suddenly saw the centurion in charge of his street approaching and saying very warmly:

"Dazhu, we need to go buy some grain!"

"Why didn't you tell Uncle Wang? He would have helped you transport the grain back."

His face was beaming with a smile, something I'd almost never seen before.

Feng Dazhu was puzzled, because Wang Baihu had never acted like this before.

He was worried that there might be a trick involved, and said helplessly:

"What is Commander Wang doing?"

"I have hands and feet, and I can even kill a wild boar."

"I don't need anyone's help."

Wang Baihu was startled when the young man shook the hunting rifle hanging at his waist, not expecting that the boy was carrying a weapon.

He suppressed his fear and said in a gentle tone:
“Dazhu! Uncle Wang treated you well before, didn’t he? He never withheld your pension.”

"When you get to the Emperor, don't speak ill of your uncle, especially about the Wei family."

"Also, put away your muskets. Do you intend to bring weapons to the emperor?"

Without saying a word, he helped Feng Dazhu remove the musket and took him to training.

After asking around for a long time, Feng Dazhu finally understood that the emperor was going to review the martyrs' families on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month and invited them to attend.

On the ninth day of the anniversary of the martyrs' memorial, we will take them to the martyrs' cemetery to pay our respects.

When that time comes, the emperor might ask questions, and Wang Baihu is worried that Feng Dazhu might say something he shouldn't.

Feng Dazhu understood; he did indeed have grievances to express. His father served as a civilian under the military, and now, after sacrificing his life and becoming a martyr, he had not been allocated any land.

He had asked Commander Wang before, but Commander Wang had only made excuses. Because Fuyuwei, which was in charge of Jintai Ward, didn't have any extra land to distribute to soldiers and civilians.

Upon hearing that he might have the opportunity to see the emperor, he mustered his courage and asked:

"Uncle Wang, I understand what you're saying."

"Now all I want to ask is, where is my ancestral land?"

“My father died in battle in Liaodong, and he also had two merits for beheading people.”

"According to regulations, I can become a first-class hereditary sergeant. So tell me, where is my land?"

Upon hearing this question, Commander Wang hurriedly answered him:

“Aren’t you a military-civilian household? Where is there any land to be allocated?”

"Only hereditary soldiers are allocated land; you need to join the army first."

Feng Dazhu said:

"Then why won't you agree to let me join Fuyuwei?"

"Do you look down on us, the children of martyrs?"

Wang Baihu dared not bear such a reputation, and sweat beaded on his forehead as he pulled Feng Dazhu aside, saying:

"Fuyuwei is fully staffed and is not recruiting at all."

"If you want to join the army, Uncle Wang can tell you that you can go to the Daning Grassland."

"Once you arrive on the grasslands, as a first-class hereditary soldier, you will truly own a piece of grassland and forest."

"If there were river valleys or plains, we could also get a few acres of farmland."

They kept saying how wonderful the Daning Grassland was, and that Fuyuwei was originally from there.

Feng Dazhu, however, didn't believe it at all. He wanted fifty acres of land near the capital. Even 375 acres of land on the grassland couldn't compare to fifty acres of cultivated land in the capital.

However, the land around the capital had long been divided up by the original hereditary officials and soldiers of the garrisons, so where could it be freed up?

Wang Baihu was sweating profusely, but he couldn't solve the problem.

He could only say when pressed:

“If you think one li is too little, then go to the Jinning Protectorate.” “They allocate more land there; one li can become four li.”

“If you insist on joining the army in Fuyuwei, we have no way to settle you down.”

Feng Dazhu ignored these reasons and planned to ask the emperor when he met him.

He simply nodded in agreement to Wang Baihu's instructions, but he had already made up his mind.
-
On the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, Feng Dazhu and a group of martyrs' families were carried by horse-drawn carriages through Chang'an Avenue in a grand procession.

Listening to the shouts of the people on both sides and the drums and music playing in front of the city gate, a surge of pride welled up in his heart, and he felt that this was how a true man should act:

I must carry on the glory left by my father.

"I'm determined to be a soldier, and nobody can stop me!"

Looking at the emperor on the city gate tower, he felt both curiosity and awe.

Like many others, he regarded the emperor as a god-like figure. Now that he had seen him in person, how could he not be excited?

Zhu Youjian watched the martyrs' families pass by and said with great emotion:
"These are the families of soldiers who sacrificed their lives for the country; we must remember them well."

"The Military Supervisory Office, the Five Military Commissions, and the local agencies of the Ministry of War should all send people to offer their condolences at the end of the year."

"If they are in trouble, then provide them with relief and assistance."

"We must not let our soldiers bleed and weep; we must ensure their livelihood."

Yuan Keli and others readily agreed and decided to organize officials to visit these people's homes again to offer their condolences.

The number of soldiers killed by the Jing garrison in Liaodong was not large. Most of them used firearms to shoot from a distance, making it difficult for the Jurchens to hit them.

Every family of martyrs could be counted, which is why Wang Baihu could tell that Feng Dazhu was dishonest, but dared not detain him.

After the military parade, Zhu Youjian allowed the families of the martyrs to meet with him, and Feng Dazhu happened to be among them.

Upon hearing that Feng Dazhu was about to join the army in Fuyuwei and acquire hereditary land in the capital, Zhu Youjian asked Yuan Keli:
"How should we arrange things for someone in his situation?"

Yuan Keli remained silent for a moment before speaking:
“There is really no land to be allocated around the capital.”

"However, if only one acre of mountain forest or grassland is allocated in Daning, its value is far less than fifty acres of land near the capital."

This was clearly an oversight in the Privy Council's work; they had failed to properly calculate the land's value.

If the current allocation method is still used, no hereditary soldier will be willing to go to the grasslands.

Zhu Youjian did not blame Yuan Keli; instead, he said to Feng Dazhu:
"Are you determined to join Fuyuwei, or do you think the land allocated to Daning is of low value?"

"If it is the latter, I believe it can be resolved, and the Privy Council will come up with a proper solution."

"If it's the former, I cannot agree. Do you know who those people who remain in Fuyuwei are? How many merits did their ancestors accomplish?"

Feng Dazhu was unaware of this, but Zhu Youjian knew that the reason there was no land to distribute around the capital was because there were too many soldiers left behind, and each of them had ancestors who were martyrs and had rendered meritorious service.

The Ming Dynasty, which had been established for over 260 years, carried too many historical burdens, and Zhu Youjian dared not unload them.

Although Feng Dazhu's father had made contributions, it was impossible for him to obtain land around the capital.

Even those meritorious officials who were appointed by Zhu Youjian could only be granted fiefdoms in the border regions or overseas.

If he were to forcefully take care of Feng Dazhu, the soldiers in the garrison would become resentful.

Why should their ancestors' achievements of hundreds of years be replaced by a martyr from the Feng family?
Faced with the emperor's question, Feng Dazhu, who had just mustered the courage to ask the question, had no idea how to answer.

He never expected the emperor to take his question so seriously, and even to ask him a question in return.

In the solemn atmosphere of the Wuying Hall, he could only stammer:
"I have no idea……"

"I...I will obey the Emperor's every word!"

Zhu Youjian nodded in satisfaction and pointed at Feng Dazhu and the others, saying:

“Bring out the military’s compensation policies and let them make their judgments.”

"See which option they would most like to choose, and the reasons for their choice."

"While soldiers are obligated to obey orders, they also have the right to choose not to carry out orders."

"We must give them even the most limited choices; we can't force them to choose."

Present the conditions for going to Jinning Garrison, Liaoning Garrison, and Liaoxi-Liaodong Garrison, and let the families of these martyrs choose on the spot.

Zhu Youjian wanted to see what flaws existed in the compensation system, so that the issue of inverted values ​​could not recur.

Yuan Keli immediately adjusted the land allocation for the Daning Grassland, deciding that the minimum would be 60 mu of arable land per 1 li, or 15 mu of arable land per 2 li, so that the Daning Grassland would not lose its appeal.

Zhu Youjian realized from Feng Dazhu's case that the system for providing relief to military and civilian families needed to be improved. Leaving aside the selection of military personnel based on their garrison post, even if some were unwilling to join the army, other forms of support were necessary.

In his capacity as emperor, he granted the children of martyrs the status of public servants. He also instructed enterprises in both the inner and outer courts to give priority to hiring the children of martyrs as workers.

Hearing the emperor's words, Feng Dazhu and the others felt his care and protection. They all chose their preferred destinations, with most willing to join the army and guard the capital.

Feng Dazhu chose to go to Jinning and obtain 1,500 mu of land in Sifangli. This was the most favorable location, as the area urgently needed people to move there. Even if he were allocated 1,500 mu of mountain forest, he could survive by hunting.

Zhu Youjian attached great importance to the development of Jinning and praised Feng Dazhu's choice.

He was also told that Jinning was currently short of population, and that 1,500 mu of land might not be able to be developed. Feng Dazhu could recruit tenant farmers to go there, or capture slaves in Jinning.

To promote the development of Jinning and other areas, Zhu Youjian immediately formulated policies to exempt wasteland in these areas from taxes for five or ten years. (End of Chapter)