Zhu Yuanzhang in the cellar

Chapter 194: Rectifying Sichuan
How rich is the Shu Palace?
According to historical records, the Shu Palace was the richest among all the kings in the world since it was enfeoffed in the 11th year of the Hongwu reign of the Ming Dynasty until the last Shu King Zhu Zhishu.

The royal palace had many sources of finance. In addition to the huge annual salary from the King of Shu, the emperor also gave large rewards from time to time.

In addition, in his early years, Zhu Yuanzhang also "granted" Chengdu's commercial taxes to the Shu Prefecture.

Furthermore, the fields of the Prince of Shu’s Palace are spread all over the Chengdu Plain. The Prince of Shu’s Palace owns 70% of the fertile land in the eleven counties of Chengdu. How much must the rent income be?

If the Prince of Fu's Mansion is just a nouveau riche, then the Prince of Shu's Mansion is a true long-standing aristocratic family with a profound heritage.

As for how much gold, silver and jewelry the Shu Palace has, this is still unknown.

All we know is that Zhang Xianzhong proclaimed himself emperor in the Shu Palace in Chengdu in the winter of that year. Two years later, he was forced to withdraw from Chengdu and was defeated in Pengshan County. More than a thousand warships loaded with gold, silver and jewelry sank into the mud at the bottom of the river near Jiangkou Town.

Later generations unearthed more than 3 cultural relics including gold, silver and jewelry in the first phase of underwater excavation in Jiangkou Town. According to archaeological evidence, most of these gold, silver and jewelry came from the Shu Palace.

There is also a record by Wang Peixun of the Qing Dynasty: During the Shunzhi period, Qing soldiers hunted in the jungle above the ruins of the Shu Palace in Chengdu, and often found gold and silver in the abandoned houses, "sometimes thousands or hundreds, or tens of gold"; this situation lasted for two or three years.

From this we can see that the property of the Shu Palace cannot be said to be impeccable. It can be said to be as rich as a mountain and as wealthy as a country. Even the land of one palace is more than enough to feed millions of people in Shu for one or two years.

However, Zhu Zhishu was a stingy miser who was unwilling to spend a penny when Zhang Xianzhong attacked Shu. As a result, when Zhang Xianzhong captured the city, all the money went to him.

When Zhu Yuanzhang learned about this, he hated Zhu Zhishu's short-sightedness, stupidity and ignorance, so he abolished the Shu Prince's fiefdom, moved into the Shu Prince's Palace, and opened the Sichuan Command Post.

The command post camp was located in the palace of the King of Shu. Outside, the palace was being emptied in a bustling manner. The guards in the Chengyun Hall of the palace brought in Zhu Yuanzhang's favorite marching table, spread out a map on it, placed a radio, and put out a computer tablet and a blackboard.

Dozens of senior Sichuan officials gathered here, respectfully waiting for Zhu to give orders.

After the command post was set up, Zhu ordered a few chairs to be set up and asked Tang He, Sun Chuanting, Qin Liangyu, Chen Shiqi and others to sit on them, while he himself looked at the map in deep thought.

After a while, Zhu Yuanzhang said to everyone: "My lords, I know very well that the young Emperor Chongzhen in Beijing will not believe in my identity, and he will not come to Changsha to see Hongwu, so I can only send troops to attack Beijing or recover the south."

"But if I send troops to attack Beijing, everyone will think that I am a rebel who calls myself Zhu Yuanzhang, not the real Zhu Yuanzhang. Therefore, I decided to take Huguang first, then Sichuan, and after I take Nanjing and control half of the country, I will go north."

He looked around at the officials and said, "The most urgent task now is to convince the people of my identity and that I am Zhu Yuanzhang. I have already considered this. Do you have any additional comments?"

Sun Chuanting stood up and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, I think it is easy to convince the people of your majesty's status, but it is difficult to reassure the people and bring peace to the local areas."

"You go on."

"Your Majesty has now obtained Sichuan and Huguang, and will then go east along the river. We, the officials of Sichuan and Huguang, will agree to take Yingtian. If Yingtian surrenders, the rich lands in the south will all be yours, and you can replicate the founding of the country by Taizu. Who doesn't have a few good friends in the capital? All you need is for all the officials in the south to believe that your Majesty is the Emperor Taizu and spread the news. Three or five people may not be enough, but if tens of thousands of officials in the south believe in your Majesty, then you are the Emperor Taizu. However, at this time, people's livelihoods are in decline all over the country, natural disasters and man-made disasters continue, and refugees are homeless and crying for food."

Sun Chuanting pointed outside the hall and said, "I have been here all this time and have seen many people in Shu who have poor food. However, Shu is already considered pretty good. In Shaanxi, nine out of ten houses are empty. There are bones scattered along the roadside and no roosters crow for a thousand miles. I think this is the most important thing."

"Ah."

Old Zhu pondered and said, "You are right."

After thinking for a while, he asked again: "Do you know why the Ming Dynasty has come to this point?"

"Forehead"

"Your Majesty, I think it is due to the rampant corruption of officials."

"Yes, local officials are corrupt and oppress the people, and generals are withholding food and salaries. The relief food and military salaries issued by the court are mostly embezzled by these people."

"Those local tyrants bully the weak and seize land. Who among the Sichuan landlords doesn't have countless acres of land?"

"At that time, Emperor Jiajing sent Yan Maoqing to manage the salt administration of Liangzhe, Lianghuai, Changlu and Hedong Salt Transport Offices, collecting millions of taels of salt tax, most of which was embezzled by Yan Song and himself, and only one million taels was turned over to the national treasury, which shows how greedy they were."

Among the many officials, there were many upright ones. After all, most of those present died for their country later, and their deeds were also recorded in historical materials.

For example, when faced with Zhang Xianzhong's recruitment, Chen Shiqi, Wang Xingjian and Wang Xi not only refused sternly, but also denounced and scolded him. Even when Zhang Xianzhong threatened them with death by slicing, they remained fearless and finally died bravely for their country. The people of Chongqing therefore built a temple for them.

Therefore, there naturally existed officials who were not afraid of death and were upright. Some of them immediately stood up to explain the pros and cons, and even complained to Zhuge Liang about how rampant the corrupt officials in the Ming Dynasty were after the death of Emperor Taizu.

"Ah."

Old Zhu was very pleased to see this scene. Although most officials remained silent, or even because it concerned themselves, it was good enough if even a few of them could see the problems and dared to speak out.

He nodded with satisfaction and said, "You are all loyal ministers who can point out the shortcomings. This world has been plagued by evil for too long, and I am also wrong. Although the purpose of enfeoffment was to fill the nine borders and fight against the Mongols and Tatars, it has become a disaster for the country and the people over time. The Ming Dynasty should be rectified. I don't need to resist the army of bandits in the south, but I need to sort out the swords and guns of the parasites, not only the corrupt officials, landlords and gentry, but also my descendants."

As he spoke, Old Zhu lowered his head with a slightly sad look on his face, but only for a moment. Compared to the Ming Dynasty, his descendants could only take second place. What's more, these were the descendants of his sons and he had no feelings for them. So he just gave up.

He said: "I am going to start a fight, and the first blow will be to my descendants. Those princes in Sichuan who are rich and unkind should be deposed. If there are wise princes, let them come to Chengdu to see me. I will encourage them and let them cooperate with the government.

"The palace has too much land, and it needs to be distributed to the people. You are all Sichuan officials, and I think you know clearly which ones are corrupt and which ones are treacherous and cunning. Send all the memorials to me, and I will judge whether you will die for your country or surrender in the future."

"You don't need to worry about me killing good officials at will. History will record it clearly. When Zhang Xianzhong attacked Sichuan, some people died for their country, and naturally there were also traitors who surrendered. The innocent are innocent and the wicked are wicked. I know all of this. The heads of you and all the officials in Sichuan are all recorded here."

"Next, you must do your job well, check the land in your jurisdiction, arrest the corrupt officials and landlords in your jurisdiction, confiscate their property, distribute the land and money and grain to the people, so that the people can live and work in peace and contentment, and Shuzhong will be quickly restored to governance."

"If you do a good job and are clean, I will not be stingy. Even if you have been corrupt, but you work hard now and will be a martyr for the country in the future, I will forgive you and give you rewards."

"Because I know that the salary I set in the early Ming Dynasty was indeed too low. It is not easy to be an honest official and support a family. Either the family is already rich and there is no need to be corrupt. Or you can only live a miserable life. I heard that Hai Rui in the Jiajing period was an example."

"So I don't ask all of you to be honest. From now on, your salaries will be increased tenfold. The Sichuan Governor's Office will centrally coordinate the salaries of officials and transfers and penalties. I will leave Tang He in charge of Sichuan, and he will handle everything impartially."

"From now on, you only need to remember one thing: work hard for me. I will not mistreat my loyal subjects. But you also know how I deal with corrupt officials. I will forgive past mistakes, but if they do it again in the future, don't blame me for being ruthless."

By the end of his speech, Old Zhu's face had calmed down, and he looked indifferently at the dozens of senior officials from the Sichuan Governor's Office, the Provincial Government Office, the Metropolitan Government Office, the Censorate Office, and the provincial government offices.

Although his eyes were calm, it was this calmness that made people feel the fear coming from deep within their hearts.

After all, who doesn’t know about Taizu’s deeds?
When killing officials, they don't just kill one or two at a time, but cut them like leeks, starting with tens of thousands. I'm afraid that in Zhu's eyes, these lives are no different from leeks.

For a moment, the officials below felt intimidated by Zhu's threatening look. Their joy at having Emperor Taizu come down to earth to save the world was dampened, and they all trembled like quails.

"We, the ministers, will work hard for the country, will not be corrupt, will rectify the administration of Sichuan, and make Sichuan a peaceful and prosperous place."

Chen Shiqi had sent people to move things before, and now he is back. He was the first to stand up and express his opinion.

Liu Zhibo, his deputy, also said immediately: "In the past, the officialdom was complicated and entangled. Although we wanted to change it, we were powerless. Now that we have the imperial order of Taizu and the imperial sword, we will not refuse even if it means death!" "We will not refuse even if it means death!"

The other officials below also immediately bowed and expressed their opinions.

"it is good."

Old Zhu was very satisfied.

However, this raises a new problem.

Sun Chuanting said: "Your Majesty, we need manpower to investigate corruption, sort out the land, and arrest officials and corrupt officials. The Sichuan Guards and the Jinyiwei are already corrupt, and the censors have no troops. What can we do?"

"All the garrisons in Sichuan should be abolished, and the garrison lands should be distributed to the soldiers there. The best and strongest among them should be selected, and they should be given adequate food and wages to form a new army and the Imperial Guard."

Zhu Yuanzhang said without hesitation: "I will leave 500 guards to Tang He, who will be in charge of this new army and the Jinyiwei. Qin Liangyu will be under Tang He's command. You can select elite soldiers from Shizhu to join the ranks to assist Tang He in suppressing the rebellion in Sichuan and arresting corrupt officials and landlords."

This is equivalent to setting up a small court in Sichuan. Tang He is like a local emperor. He is given troops and the Embroidered Uniform Guard to re-govern the internal affairs of Sichuan.

In fact, internal political management is a very easy thing.

When Zhuge Liang ruled Shu, he ensured that the laws were fair, and the people had fields to farm and Shu brocade to weave. The officialdom was well-ordered, the administration was fair, and every household lived and worked in peace. Shu was peaceful, and he was able to use only one state to launch a northern expedition against Cao Wei.

However, for Ming officials, this was easier said than done.

The power in the officialdom is complicated and intertwined, and there is also the constraint of the emperor in Beijing. Everyone has different minds and interests. If you want to do something, countless stakeholders will jump out to stop you.

Just talking about the Sichuan vassal king, who dared to touch Zhu Zhishu?
There are also guards.

The soldiers in the garrisons are all slaves of the generals above them. If you attack the garrisons, you will attack these generals too. It would be strange if they don't fight you to death.

As for the rest of the corrupt officials, they all have protectors above them. If you touch them, you may even be dismissed from office in a couple of days.

So faced with such a complicated situation, even Chongzhen couldn't handle it.

Old Zhu is different.

What does it mean when a hunk falls from the sky?
No matter whether you are a vassal king, a guard, or a corrupt official.

Cut the Gordian knot and take care of it all for you.

Because Lao Zhu doesn't need to care about the complicated forces in the officialdom, nor does he need to care about the human relationships.

By the end of the Ming Dynasty, it was no longer about human relationships, but a car accident.

They drove trucks weighing hundreds of tons, beat the corrupt officials to death, ran over them, and whipped their corpses repeatedly.

So Lao Zhu’s approach is the most effective.

First, he took money from the Shu Palace to form an army that could suppress the rebellion in Sichuan, and then he set up the Jinyiwei to arrest those officials and landlords who should be arrested.

In this way, the army and the Jinyiwei would clean out the pests, and the Sichuan government headed by Chen Shiqi could carry out governance work, distribute land to the people, check the land, register the population, and so on.

In this way, Sichuan will be able to recover quickly.

In fact, it was already being done in Huguang, but because Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng had plowed the land several times, in many places there were no landlords or gentry, and even the government had disappeared, so it was much easier to do and less troublesome.

But it was not a big deal. It was just what Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng had done. Zhu Yuanzhang would do it again. Anyway, he had a knife in his hand.

Just hearing that Zhu Yuanzhang had given Tang He 500 guards, Chen Shiqi wondered, "Your Majesty, isn't 500 too few? Although Sichuan has not experienced too much banditry, there have been frequent uprisings in various places."

"Five hundred people are enough."

Old Zhu smiled and said, "Ask Sun Chuanting if it's enough."

Sun Chuanting smiled and said, "His Majesty Taizong brought only 800 men, but he defeated Li Zicheng's army of hundreds of thousands, causing countless casualties. Don't underestimate him. His Majesty brought heavenly soldiers and generals. One of them is enough to easily kill hundreds of people. If you don't believe it, you will know it later."

"Forehead."

Everyone looked at each other and scratched their heads.

Is there really a general who can fight against hundreds of people alone?
"Beep beep."

At this moment, the radio rang.

The signalman said, "Your Majesty, the King of Yan called."

"Ah."

Lao Zhu came over, put on his headphones and said, "Old Four."

"Father."

Zhu Di's voice came from the other side.

"How is it?"

"Li Zicheng was defeated in the battle of Shangqiu, and he fled to Xuhuai."

"Oh, I see."

After hanging up the radio, Zhu Yuanzhang looked around at everyone and said, "Old Four has already defeated Li Zicheng, and he is now fleeing to Xuzhou and Huaihai. I can't stay in Chengdu for long. After ten days or half a month, I will tidy up Sichuan and select a few people to follow me. You all should do your best in Sichuan and obey Tang He's orders. You must be attentive. Do you understand?"

"Sir, you understand!"

Upon hearing that Li Zicheng had been defeated, the officials were delighted and bowed in response.

With the arrival of Emperor Taizu, the bandits, corrupt officials, landlords and vassal kings, who had been helpless against them before, were quickly dealt with. The Ming Dynasty was saved!
(End of this chapter)