The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 434 Devastated
In September of the first year of the Wuding reign, the mine owner Zheng from Qiu County launched this rebellion, which officially opened the curtain of the peasant association movement in Dongchang Prefecture and even in various prefectures in Shandong Province.

In September, Emperor Wu Ding took ruthless action, killing more than 180 members of the Zheng family and nationalizing all the Linqing mines, resulting in a large number of deaths.

The mine owners in Linqing miss the pre-Ming Dynasty and the Wanli Emperor who did not attend court for decades. Now they think that Zhu Xijun, who they once called greedy and lustful and competing with the people for profit, is a sage and benevolent monarch comparable to Yao and Shun compared to Liu Zhaosun, who burned, killed, looted and committed all kinds of evil.

When Emperor Wanli was in power, he simply sent a few eunuchs to act as tax collectors to collect mining taxes, and they were scolded by upright gentlemen, who complained that they were competing with the people for profits and imposing heavy taxes.

Not only were they cursed, but in Linqing, Yunnan, and Liaodong, the eunuchs in charge of the mines who represented the emperor's authority were also threatened by local mobs (some eunuchs were actually killed). Afterwards, the emperor did not dare to pursue the matter further.

During the Wanli reign, and of course the subsequent Tianqi and Chongzhen reigns, the power of local tyrants continued to expand.

In the mid-to-late Ming Dynasty, the gentry often colluded with wealthy merchants, and many of them were even wealthy merchants themselves or had merchant backgrounds, such as Ye Xianggao, Shen Shixing, and Wang Xijue. The expansion of merchant power and the involvement of merchants in politics far exceeded the influence of traditional scholars.

The first thing Emperor Wu Ding wanted to clean up were the large landowners and mine owners who had colluded with officials and businessmen to occupy local resources.

According to the laws of Qi, all mineral land in the world belonged to the emperor, and the people only had the right to use it, and no one was allowed to occupy it.

Liu Zhaosun abandoned the tax farming system that had been implemented since the Yuan Dynasty.

Commercial and mining taxes were collected directly by the Great Qi tax collectors, without the need for middlemen to profit from the difference. This tax model required strong policy enforcement, and the Kaiyuan Army had no shortage of such capabilities.

These big mine owners and landowners, regardless of whether they are guilty or not, regardless of their character, will be crushed to pieces under the rolling wheel of history.

Emperor Wu Ding ordered military and civil representatives to enter the mining area, and together with representatives elected from the miners, the three parties jointly managed the mining affairs.

This approach is also used to manage other types of industries such as lakes, forests, and salt fields.

At present, Da Qi is short of talents. Even students and private school teachers have become guests of honor. From civil affairs to commerce, all departments are short of people.

Therefore, only by mobilizing the largest number of people at the bottom can the order of the regime be maintained and the expansion of the empire be sustained.

The previous tactics of uniting the civil service elites to rule the middle and lower classes have been abandoned by Liu Zhaosun.

The faith of the Archbishop or Emperor Wuding was, after all, merely his tool.

No tool can threaten the imperial power itself.

In order to ensure that power truly belongs to oneself and to the Great Qi, it is necessary to maintain the flow of power.

In the name of anti-corruption or great etiquette, he would regularly conduct cultural and public activities for the middle and upper-level officials of Da Qi.

In early September, when the Linqing Qi army was charging into battle in the surrounding prefectures and counties and sweeping away all evil spirits, Liu Zhaosun was also busy attacking cities and strongholds in his palace.

Ever since she accidentally took the King Kong Powder that night, Chen Yuanyuan's attitude towards the emperor has gradually changed.

It may be because Chen Yuanyuan was intimidated by the domineering aura of Emperor Wu Ding, or it may be that she saw through Wu Sangui's true character. Of course, the most likely reason is that the emperor's handsome appearance made her fall in love with Liu Zhaosun at first sight, just like the heroines in other historical novels.

In short, after that night of passion and passion, Chen Yuanyuan became Wang's woman.

"Review opinions, strengthen discipline, emphasize imperial decrees, verify names and facts, strengthen the foundation of the country, and strengthen military preparations."

Liu Zhaosun sat on the bed, holding an old letter in his hand and reading it aloud softly.

"Could this be Zhang Taiyue's reform program from back then?"

Chen Yuanyuan, wearing a red bellyband, asked as she climbed onto Emperor Wuding's back.

"Is this a letter from Zhang Taiyue?"

The graceful Amber swayed her slender waist as she gently massaged the emperor's calves.

"Where would there be a handwritten letter from Zhang Juzheng? When Emperor Wanli confiscated the Zhang family's property, he took out all their belongings."

The one who spoke was the plump Du Juan, who came slowly with a cup of tea in her hand. Perhaps because of the heat or because of the heat, the beauty was only wearing a thin bellyband, revealing her breasts.

She did not shy away from the envious and jealous looks cast at her by the two women on the bed.

Chen Yuanyuan hugged Emperor Wuding's neck, raised her head and glared at Du Juan, saying:
"There is only one emperor in the world, and that is Emperor Wuding of the Great Qi Dynasty. There is no such thing as Emperor Wanli!"

As he said this, he put on a gauze and jumped down to slap Dujuan. At this time, Liu Zhaosun, who had been silent for a long time, finally spoke.

He cleared his throat.

The three women turned around at the same time and stared at Emperor Wuding.

Emperor Wu Ding looked at the letters and densely packed notes left by Yang Qing'er, and the past flashed before his eyes. He recalled the scene when the imperial concubine worked so hard to organize the Yellow Book. Tears gradually blurred his eyes. He hugged the slender waist of the amber beauty beside him, and while he touched her all over, he said sincerely:

"The country is broken, but the mountains and rivers remain. The city is covered with grass and trees in spring. The letter is still there, but the person is gone. I miss her."

~~~~~
In mid-September, Queen Yang Qing'er of the East went through many hardships and survived many dangers before finally returning to Linqing from Xiaoyan Mountain.

Emperor Wuding was overjoyed upon hearing the news and immediately led Chen Yuanyuan and others out of the city to greet the Empress. Seeing the dusty Consort ascend the moat's floating bridge, the onlookers on the city walls erupted in excitement. Following the Emperor's prearranged arrangements, the crowd chanted slogans like "Welcome the Empress back to the palace!" This truly frightened Yang Qing'er. In front of tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians, Emperor Wuding embraced the Empress.

More than two months of pastoral life transformed the pampered Queen Dong.

Yang Qing'er was a little thinner than before, her skin wasn't as fair, her bright eyes and white teeth were gone, but she had a more reborn aura.

The surrounding scene was filled with grand and boisterous activity, flags fluttering on the city walls, cheering crowds, and flowers flying in the air. September 19th, the first year of the Wuding reign, felt like the day of the Waking of Insects in the first year of the Taichang reign, the day Jin Yuji got married.

"Qing'er, let's go home."

Emperor Wuding reached out and held Yang Qing'er's hand, and his voice became gentle.

At this time, the emperor's gray hair had long turned black. Old Song was quite accomplished in treating hair loss and gray hair, but it was still unknown whether his Seven-Day Charcoal Black Soup had any side effects.

After all, that thing is a mixture of 81 precious medicinal materials such as Polygonum multiflorum, toad, centipede, Magnolia officinalis, and Vaccaria segetalis, and the final taste is almost the same as the arsenic and crested carmine in Dongfang Zhu's shop.

"Your Majesty seems even more majestic than before. Why is Empress Zhang also here? Didn't she die..."

Yang Qing'er saw the three beauties standing behind the emperor, one of whom was Zhang Yan who had been dead for more than half a year. Yang Qing'er's moved eyes suddenly turned into jealousy. The three women opposite her saluted the Queen Dong hypocritically, and there was murderous intent hidden under the women's smiles.

At a certain moment, Yang Qing'er realized that the people welcoming her on the city walls and outside the city were just puppets, or props of the emperor - Yang Qing'er's intuition was still so sharp. That's right, what the emperor needed now were just puppets.

Emperor Wu Ding embraced his wife and skillfully reached towards Yang Qing'er's waist:

"This is a long story, we will discuss it later. The Queen will know whether he is virile or not once she examines him."

The Queen is not used to this speed of carriage.

She was speechless for a moment, her face flushed.

Closer to home.

That day, Yang Qing'er returned to Chaoguan Palace.

One emperor, one empress, one concubine, and two maids.

The five of them embarked on a shameless harem life for three days and three nights.

On the morning of the fourth day, the slightly emaciated Emperor Wuding finally walked out of the palace, rubbed his aching waist, and said to Pu Gang and others who were waiting at the gate of the government office, who were almost going crazy with anxiety:

"The Queen has returned. To celebrate her return, I have decided to send out soldiers to fight against the local tyrants and distribute the land."

~~~~~
On September 20th, Pu Gang and Zhang Dong led 13,000 Qi troops from Linqing to attack from all sides and fiercely attacked other prefectures in Dongchang Prefecture.

On the 22nd, the main force of the Qi army, consisting of 7,000 soldiers, engaged in a fierce battle with the militia under the command of the powerful Huang Wulang and the soldiers from the garrisons in Dongchang Prefecture at the foot of Liaocheng City.

Huang Wulang's original name was Huang Batian. He started his business by selling illegal salt in his early years. Later, he got involved in the salt boiling and copper mining business in Liaocheng, and worked part-time, as a loan shark, and in the human trafficking business. He had been colluding with the state officials for a long time and embezzled official fields and farmlands. He was quite similar to the Henan tyrant Ma Hongqi, both of whom were among the most powerful local forces.

So Emperor Wuding decided to take action against him.

Because this battle is so boring, I will not describe it in detail and only talk about the result of the battle.

In the Battle of Liaocheng, the 14th Guards killed 8,500 local militiamen of Huang Wulang and soldiers of the Dongchang Prefecture Garrison in battle. The Qi army was injured in 57 cases, 5 of whom were seriously injured, but no one died in the battle.

Huang Wulang's impregnable fortress in Liaocheng was breached by Pu Gang in just half an hour.

Lu Xiangsheng brought out carts of gold, silver, jewelry, grain, and cloth with him, and after he ascended the throne and compiled a list, he filled the treasury of the Great Qi.

According to the decree of Emperor Wuding, more than half of the 50,000 shi of grain stockpiled by the royal family was used to provide relief to the farmers who were oppressed by him.

All the fields around Liaocheng, whether military fields, civilian fields, or farm fields, were included in the Daqi fields and handed over to local farmers for cultivation.

Of course, only farmers who joined the farmers' association were eligible to share grain and land. Moreover, the ownership of the land still belonged to the emperor himself, and they were only responsible for farming.

The Huang family's five-generation fortune was taken away by the Qi army. Huang Wulang and his family members were all beheaded in public for crimes such as treason and hoarding property.

After this battle, no resistance forces emerged, and the Qi army occupied the three prefectures and five counties of Dongchang Prefecture without bloodshed.

Emperor Wuding took full control of Dongchang Prefecture and continued to expand to other prefectures in Shandong. The population under the emperor's direct rule soared from the initial 200,000 to one million.

Liu Zhaosun personally went to various prefectures and counties to conduct on-site inspections of the conditions in each county.

War representatives and civil affairs representatives were organized from all over the place. Within just half a month, they organized more than 500,000 young and strong peasants in Dongchang Prefecture into a farmers' association. They killed local gentry, slaughtered unscrupulous merchants, distributed food and land, and their momentum was as fierce and swift as a storm.

The walls of Dongchang Prefecture were covered with the heads of local tyrants and evil gentry. Emperor Wuding brutally suppressed more than a dozen riots and built a Jingguan with the heads of local militia and servants, which were piled up in front of the county government offices for the people to visit.

(End of this chapter)