The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 574 New Route

The spark that was ignited on the Liaodong plain in the autumn and winter of the fourth year of Taichu was quickly extinguished by Deng Changxiong and the Second Corps before it had time to spread like wildfire.

In October, the rebellions in Tieling, Qinghe and other places were all put down, and some farmers who participated in the rebellion were arrested and some were killed.

Several major "bandit leaders" were executed, and the rest all surrendered.

Thousands of people died, tens of thousands of acres of land were left barren, and thousands of families were wiped out.

After the rebellion, the gap between the different classes in the empire (although the emperor did not acknowledge the existence of classes in his empire) widened further.

Like a seed of hatred and division, it takes root in the hearts of many people, waiting for the future, to sprout and thrive one day.

On the seventh day of October, the retired emperor summoned the intelligence chief Zhang Dong and asked him in detail whether there were any officials behind the Liaodong rebellion who were fanning the flames.

"Your Majesty, the Mino Guard has secret agents in Tieling and Qinghe. Based on the intelligence we've gathered so far, we haven't found any officials from the imperial court involved in this matter."

Zhang Mazi paused for a moment and added, "Except for the veteran who joined in the riot, no one else participated."

"Old soldier?" Liu Zhaosun's face darkened.

"I have always treated my soldiers well. Farmers have no food to hand over, so it's understandable that they rebel. Veterans have food coupons, food, and receive annual state subsidies. Why would they also rebel?"

According to the military service system of the Great Qi Dynasty, all males, regardless of their background, were required to serve in the military twice (each for three years) after they turned sixteen. After the service period, the soldiers would decide whether to stay or leave on a voluntary basis.

In addition to enjoying half-pay benefits, veterans also receive military food coupons, cloth coupons, and oil coupons. Compared to ordinary bills used by civilians, the bills issued to veterans have greater purchasing power...
"Your Majesty doesn't know something."

Zhang Dong hesitated to speak, raised his head and glanced around quickly.

The retired emperor waved his hand, and the palace maids and eunuchs standing beside him immediately retreated. Dongfang Zhu walked at the end and carefully closed the palace door.

"Your Majesty, the food coupons issued by the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue to veterans have, for some reason, been transferred to the hands of various chambers of commerce, who are then forwarding them. Some chamber of commerce managers have under-issued or missed payments, and have even withheld the veterans' monthly salaries."

Liu Zhaosun gestured for Zhang Mazi to continue.

"Lord Sun and his men's original intention was to simplify the procedures and get the money and grain to the veterans sooner. Unexpectedly, the Chamber of Commerce was so bold as to collude with outside merchants, using military bills to buy grain and cloth at low prices, and then selling them to the people at high prices, bargaining with both sides and making profits on both ends."

The Emperor slammed the table and stood up: "Why didn't you report it to the court? What are the military stations doing here?"

Zhang Dong gritted his teeth and sighed:
"Your Majesty, you may not know that Liaodong has been in chaos for the past two years. Most of the wounded and veteran soldiers are scattered in the bitter cold, and it's hard to make a forest out of a single tree. Even if they complain, no one will care. Those military stations have long been in cahoots with the Chamber of Commerce and the Civil Affairs Bureau to make money together. I even heard in Kuandian that the military station commanders are replacing Han Chinese with Koreans, and each new recruit can earn five dou of rice..."

Liu Zhaosun was surprised to see such a thing happening right under his nose.

"Forget it. I can't care about so much anymore. First, I need to appease the people, pay the pensions to the veterans and wounded, and punish corruption. I'll talk about it later. I'm tired."

~~~~
The imperial court urgently allocated a portion of the military rations from various parts of Liaodong to distribute to farmers. At the same time, it stopped the grain collection policy that had lasted for many years. All the soldiers who collected the surplus grain were withdrawn, and some retired soldiers who had caused trouble were resettled.

With the combination of kindness and force, the turmoil in the fourth year of Taichu was temporarily settled.

Although there is no evidence to prove that there was someone behind the scenes fanning the flames, it is hard not to make other associations since this incident happened after the officials forced the emperor to abdicate.

Under the successive blows, Emperor Wuding was exhausted and had deep doubts about himself, Da Qi, and everything he saw.

On October 20th, the retired emperor summoned the Prime Minister Sun Chuanting alone in the Dazheng Palace. After a series of harsh reprimands, the retired emperor announced that Sun Chuanting would be dismissed from his position as Prime Minister and ordered to return home to await punishment.

Sun Chuanting laughed, and in a trance, he saw the scene of using civilians to fill the trenches to attack Hetuala in the second year of Taichang.

In the blink of an eye, fifteen years passed, and Ping Liaohou became the emperor, ruling the world. However, he was still used to letting others take the blame for him.

It should be noted that whether it was the surplus grain collection system, the pensions for veterans, or the "Land System of the Qi Dynasty", all were formulated by the retired emperor alone.

If the retired emperor is the mastermind behind all the changes that happened today, then Sun Chuanting and others are the knives held by this black hand.

The sword is innocent. However, as the highest ruling authority of Da Qi and the actual helmsman of the empire, the emperor will never and cannot be wrong.

The only one who is wrong is someone else.

Sun Chuanting did not make any other excuses and silently took it all.

He didn't even say, "I do this for the sake of Da Qi, without any selfish motives."

This cruel official of the Great Qi Dynasty, who was a Jinshi, finally came to the end of his political life in the fourth year of Taichu.

Compared to Yuan Chonghuan, Sun Chuanting's ending was much better. At least, he survived. He luckily escaped the more brutal purge that followed and became one of the few old heroes...

This is all for later, let’s not mention it for now.

Sun Chuanting remained silent, but his former students and officials were unwilling to sit idly by, and memorials impeaching the various corps flew towards the emperor's desk like snowflakes.

The memorial said, Your Majesty has been conquering all corners of the country, building post roads, repairing the capital, and developing steam engines and hot air balloons. Tens of millions of taels of silver and millions of dan of grain have been spent and eaten. In this way, taxes are levied everywhere, sucking the people's bones and marrow. How can the people not rebel? Therefore, I ask the Emperor to disband the various military corps and close the workshops and schools to save the people...

The retired emperor kept all the aggressive memorials in his possession without sending them out, neither agreeing nor rejecting them.

Disbanding the army is a big deal. If you are not careful, it will lead to chaos and it will be too late to regret.

When Ma Shiying saw that Sun Chuanting was demoted, he immediately wrote a petition to apologize, saying that the trust was ineffective, he felt guilty towards the retired emperor, and he was unable to assist the young emperor to become a wise and holy ruler. He begged to retire and return to his hometown to rest in peace.

The retired emperor was displeased and confirmed again whether Ma Shiying really wanted to leave. After receiving a positive reply, he immediately nodded in agreement without even saying any superficial courtesy or making any attempt to keep him.

The successive resignations of Sun Chuanting and Ma Shiying actually declared the complete failure of the "Qi Dynasty Land System" and the economic system that abolished private property implemented during the Taichu period.

This failure was not only a failure of the economic system attempt, but also marked the complete failure of the time traveler's attempt to forcibly establish a utopian plan in the seventeenth century where everyone would be treated unequally and everyone would be well fed and clothed.

It is impossible to run into utopia. If you take too big a step, you will hurt yourself. Everything must follow the will of nature, that is, the law.

So, what about entering capitalism?

It doesn’t seem to work either.

The empire now lacks even the foundation for industrialization. The country lacks high-quality coal mines, technicians skilled in steam machinery, and a business class...
For the first time, the time traveler felt unprecedented despair.

The Eight Banners colonial model of the Qing Dynasty, which he once scoffed at, has now become one of the few viable paths before the chariot. Should he follow Huang Taiji's example?

Or, let's go back to the early Ming Dynasty, when eunuchs were in power, civil officials ruled the country, nobles desperately tried to make money, and merchants exploited the people. After two or three hundred years, the cycle was over, and everything returned to dust.

Whether you go left or right, it will be a problem.

Lu Xiangsheng and Kang Yingqian, whom Emperor Wuding was thinking about, had not yet arrived in Shenyang.

Liu Zhaosun was a little worried about the safety of the two people, and began to seriously reflect on whether he had really adapted to this land after several rounds of training.

The answer is obvious. Power leads to corruption. Without effective supervision, even the commander of a military station on the border of the empire has to ask the people for money.

Relying on human rule and brainwashing alone is far from enough. The mind can change, but human nature will not change.

All Liu Zhaosun can rely on now is to improve this war machine step by step to adapt to changes in the external situation. Only by constantly modifying and optimizing it can the survivability of the Great Qi Empire be enhanced. As for whether the black dragon flag is black or red, it is actually not important.

He needs Kang Jianjun, he needs Old Kang.

Kang Yingqian is the best ferryman between the new world and the old order.

(End of this chapter)