Yongle Emperor's grandson: Zhu Yuanzhang with cheats, Zhu Di went crazy

Chapter 56 The First Step to Control the World

"Your Highness."

"See Your Highness."

"Your Highness Jin An."

Zhu Zhanjun walked in front of the team, and the injured soldiers greeted him in nervous and anxious tones.

They really don't want to lose this precious job opportunity, so they are extra careful.

Although the imperial court provided subsidies to these disabled military households, very little of the money ended up in their hands due to the requests of officers at all levels.

Some were arranged to go to sanatoriums. On the surface, the imperial court provided funding for their care, but everyone there was very reluctant to go.

There they were like puppets, without hope of life. The two meals a day consisted of thin porridge to ensure that they would not starve to death, but nothing else.

They have families, they have children.

This is the only way for them to live, and they would rather die.

Even if they stay at home, they are a burden to the family as they are unable to do heavy labor.

There is no filial son by the bedside of a patient who has lived for 100 days. This saying is not only applicable to the elderly, but also to people like them.

It's okay for one or two days, but it will last for a long time.

Their wives’ nagging and their children’s dislike make them live in torment every day.

Some even couldn't bear it and chose to end their lives quietly in order to save food for their families.

"it is good."

Facing these soldiers who had given everything for the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Zhanjun responded to every greeting with the gentlest tone.

After scanning everyone, Zhu Zhanjun stood on a tree stump and said loudly to everyone:
"I'm sure everyone knows who I am. I'm sure the person who called you here today has already explained the reason."

“The fact that you are here proves that you have voluntarily joined the Veterans Chamber of Commerce.”

"The main purpose of establishing our Veterans Chamber of Commerce is to provide a home for all of you brothers who have sacrificed your blood and sweat for the Ming Dynasty. Provide you with an income to support your family and a guarantee of safety."

Everyone listened in silence, with mixed emotions in their hearts.

It turns out that the imperial court still remembers them, and the Ming Dynasty still remembers them.

Looking at the silent soldiers, Zhu Zhanjun sighed in his heart.

The Ming Dynasty's follow-up measures for these wounded soldiers were still too poor.

Although these military households were initially allocated 50 acres of land, in theory, these 50 acres were enough to support them.

But that’s not how the accounts are calculated.

Those who received fifty acres of land were the military households when the land was first established. For the military households that joined later, it would be good if they could get twenty acres or even ten acres.

And they are not eunuchs who can't have children.

Their identities meant that they wouldn't have much entertainment. Apart from working every day, they would just have sex as a couple in the evening.

In this era when there are few contraceptive measures, a family of two or three children is considered a small number. There are three or four, five or six, or even seven or eight. Even if the mortality rate is high, it is normal for a family to have four or five children.
The ancients believed in having many children and a better life, and believed that there is strength in numbers.

In the major rural military households, whoever has more male members in the family has the final say and no one dares to bully them.

Having more male offspring is a good thing, but it also brings disadvantages.

There are only so many fields in the family, and when my son gets married, has children and starts a new family, he must have a guaranteed livelihood.

Expecting the imperial court to go to Xinfatian is pure dreaming.

Those big guys don’t even have enough land to divide among themselves, and they are just thinking too much about giving it to these stinky peasants.

It has been several decades since the Hongwu period, and the fastest-growing military households already have three generations living under the same roof.

Fifty acres of land were divided among several sons, and each of them would be lucky if he could get ten acres.

Zhu's plan to support a million soldiers without consuming a single grain of rice from the people had actually begun to show signs of collapse at this point.

If subsequent emperors do not make changes, the military household system will completely collapse over time.

In the space, Old Zhu, who was sitting side by side with Zhu Qizhen and looking at the scene outside, listened to Zhu Zhanjun's analysis and sat on the chair in a daze.

He didn't expect that the perfect military household system in his mind was full of loopholes after being discovered by Zhu Zhanjun.

He felt somewhat unconvinced, but then he thought about it and combined it with Zhu Zhanjun's conversation with the soldiers. It seemed that the garrison system he had established was really on the verge of collapse.

In fact, there was a phenomenon of evading military service during the Hongwu period, and the problems of the Wei Suo system had already emerged at that time.

But Lao Zhu and others, whether they didn't take it seriously or what, punished the officer in charge, thinking that killing a chicken to scare the monkey would work.

But from now on, it seems that killing the chicken to scare the monkey did not work.

Zhu Zhanjun stood on the wooden block and chatted with the soldiers for a long time.

He was away from home for two years and stayed in the palace for a long time, so most of the knowledge he gained came from history.

But history is ultimately recorded by superiors and scholars, and those who recorded it probably don’t know how much of it is true and how much is false. In ancient times when information was blocked, most of the information was passed on by letter and spread, and it was considered good if half of it was true.

No one knows the current situation of the military household system better than the military households themselves.

After learning about the situation, Zhu Zhanjun and Lao Zhu both felt equally heavy-hearted.

The area where Gyeonggi is located is relatively better. Several disabled military households came from the northwest and told us about the situation there.

Worse than expected.

The system of inheritance from father to son established by Zhu Yuanzhang made those remote garrisons almost become the private property of military officers.

Because of these rules, most officers lacked the path to advancement, so they gradually changed their pursuit of power to money.

If military officers want to get money, it is naturally impossible for them to do business, after all, their identities are restricted.

So they set their sights on these military households who fought for their country and seized their land under various pretexts.

Not only did most of the military households’ land have been occupied, but they also had to work for the officers for free, otherwise they would be disobeying military orders.

Military households were forbidden to appeal to higher authorities, so these oppressed military households had no way to get justice.

They either chose to escape or grit their teeth and work for these officers.

"Bastards, we must kill them, we must kill them, these termites are going to destroy the roots of our Ming Dynasty."

Old Zhu became furious after hearing this and picked up the hoe next to him and started smashing things around.

Zhu Qizhen ran away and hid behind the house, looking at the angry Old Zhu cautiously.

When he came to this strange place, he was very honest, mainly because he wanted to observe first.

After talking with his great-grandfather and his second uncle, Zhu Qizhen discovered many strange phenomena.

For example, this strange space, the high-yield crops, and this second uncle whom I have never heard of.

He wanted to ask Lao Zhu, but the problem was that he was afraid. He could only observe and pretend to be invisible, and then make plans for the next step after figuring out the situation.

If possible, he still hopes to go back, after all, the Ming Dynasty there is his territory.

He didn't want to stay here. Besides being afraid of Lao Zhu, more importantly, he didn't want to work like a dead dog every day.

Working is not as good as being an emperor. When he is an emperor, he can do whatever he wants. Not only is working here tiring every day, but he also has to accept Lao Zhu's teachings and beatings every day. This life is really not a life for a human being.

"Everyone." After roughly understanding the situation, Zhu Zhanjun said loudly: "I have listened to your thoughts and experiences just now. I will find a time and opportunity to tell these things to His Majesty and give justice to my brothers."

"Thank you, Your Highness."

The military households were pleasantly surprised that someone was finally willing to stand up for them and report the darkness of these garrisons to His Majesty.

After a brief exchange, Zhu Zhanjun asked people to sign contracts with these soldiers.

He did not speak any empty words or make any grand promises. These soldiers had heard enough of that and had already developed a resistance and distrust in their hearts.

Instead of talking useless nonsense, it would be better to let these military households get actual benefits.

In order to reassure these soldiers, Zhu Zhanjun gave high rewards to those soldiers who were willing to join the Chamber of Commerce.

In addition to the resettlement fee for joining the association, members can also receive corresponding food and meat subsidies every month.

Overall, the monthly income of these soldiers is not much worse than that of those able-bodied people who go out to work.

For this reason, when Xiaohu Liangzi and others went to recruit people, these people chose to join without hesitation.

After all, considering their physical condition, it is good enough for them to have something to eat. Being able to get such a high monthly salary is a job they could never have imagined in their dreams.

Without giving much explanation to the soldiers, Zhu Zhanjun would still give the disabled officers who were in charge of leading them a reprimand.

The imperial study.

Zhu Zhanjun sat on a chair, looking at the dozen or so disabled officers in front of him.

The highest rank among these people was a centurion, and the others were small flag officers.

"I am really pleased that you chose to come here, which proves that your friendship with those injured comrades is still deeply in your hearts."

"I will not forget your choice, and I will not let you down either."

The officers smiled; Zhu Zhanjun's assurance proved that they had made the right bet.

"but……"

Zhu Zhanjun changed the subject, looked at everyone, and said sternly: "I will make every brother rich, but I don't want you to do something to let me down, to let all the brothers down one day in the future."

"In one hand I hold the hope of enriching all my brothers, and in the other I hold the knife to behead them."

"I hope you will work together with me to make all brothers rich, instead of letting me swing a knife and chop your necks."

The officers were shocked, and all knelt on one knee and shouted: "We are willing to die for your Highness, even if it means death!"

Thanks: Boss Xingguangl for the reward of 588. Thank you for your generosity. I love you, muah!


(End of this chapter)