The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 575 I also have three strategies

It rained heavily for months, and it was the rainy autumn in Liaodong again. The carriage creaked as it passed through the post road, and the dry grass on the roadside was crushed in the mud.

Kang Yingqian drew aside the curtains and looked worriedly at the difficult land of Liaodong.

The first thing that caught my eye was a foggy curtain of rain. A large number of soldiers were lined up in a queue, and the front and the rear could not see each other. I didn't know how many people were still marching in the rain.

They were wearing thin clothes, with nothing to cover their bodies, and did not even have the most rudimentary weapons. They were driven by the pacification soldiers and struggled forward in the bitter wind and rain.

From time to time, people in the team fell down and were whipped by sharp whips.

"Jingxiu, do you still want to join the army?"

Kang Yingqian sighed, lowered the curtains, and rubbed his old hands, which were like dead branches, vigorously.

Kang Jingxiu, who was sitting next to him, shivered like a frog waking up from hibernation, opened his mouth wide, and was unable to speak. He pushed the charcoal copper stove in front of his uncle so that Kang Yingqian could keep warm.

"Uncle, what's going on outside the Great Wall? Are they going to war?"

The uncle and nephew had just passed Shanhaiguan yesterday and had been walking on the wide and straight post road of the Liaoxi Corridor for three consecutive days.

Just yesterday, Kang Jingxiu was still amazed at the width of the Liaoxi Post Road, which could accommodate four carriages running in parallel. The road was paved flat and smooth. The young man was immersed in the grand narrative of the powerful empire, but he did not expect that today, he would catch a glimpse of another side of the Great Qi.

"Eunuch Cao said these are new recruits, and they will be assembled in Korea and Shandong."

"The pitiful bones by the Wuding River are still the lover in the spring girl's dream. I wonder how many more people will die this time."

The young and energetic Kang Jingxiu heard this and said angrily:
"The people in Guannei are almost starving, yet the imperial court still wants to go to war. Are they going to attack Japan?"

Kang Yinggan ignored his nephew and took out an ancient book from his luggage. In the dim candlelight, he read very hard with his old eyes close to the book.

"Uncle, can you see clearly? How about I read it to you?"

The convoy suddenly stopped, and a commotion was heard in the rain. Several young eunuchs accompanying them shouted at the groom in front, asking what was going on. In the wind and rain, an urgent voice was heard:

"Gentlemen, the front has been damaged by the flood. The wheels are too heavy to pull. Please come down and give us a hand."

A young eunuch stuck his head out of the carriage in front, pointed at it and cursed:
"Do you know what's in this carriage?"

"This is our ancestors' grand gift to the retired emperor for his birthday. It's large yellow duck cabbage, large radishes, large onions, and large pears. Our ancestors said that the best of these five thousand kilograms of yellow duck cabbage, five thousand kilograms of large radishes, five thousand kilograms of large onions, and five thousand kilograms of large pears must be sent to Shenyang before October 20th. If you miss the deadline, you'll be beheaded!"

"Sir, if you miss the deadline, you will be executed. The road is blocked, and even killing my whole family will be useless. If you delay any longer, you might run into bandits..."

Kang Jingxiu opened his mouth wide when he heard this in the car: "Uncle, who is this ancestor?"

Kang Yingqian looked out the window and said casually:
"Dongfang Zhu, a Linqing medicine merchant, was later castrated by the retired emperor and became a eunuch. However, due to circumstances, he became a figure like Wei Zhongxian, wielding immense power in the court."

Kang Jingxiu was surprised and asked, "Uncle, how do you know all this?"

There was chaos outside. Cao Bianhun jumped out of the car angrily, stepped on the muddy road, and shouted at the eunuchs to push the cart to the front.

Kang Yingqian waved to his nephew, indicating that he should go over and help.

Kang Jingxiu rolled up his sleeves and was about to jump out of the car when he stopped at the door.

Kang Yingqian had no choice but to explain: "Dongfang Zhu and I are old friends, and the Vajra Powder was purchased from Linqing."

~~~~~
On October 19th of the fourth year of Taichu, in the bitter wind and rain, the convoy arrived at Shenyang City along the empire's well-connected post roads.

On the 20th, the retired emperor summoned Kang Yingqian alone in the Dazheng Palace.

The two had not seen each other for twelve years since Kang Yingqian was deposed and left Liaodong.

Now Old Kang is already in his twilight years, and Liu Zhaosun is no longer the young man he used to be.

By the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month of this year, Emperor Wu Ding would have been thirty-seven years old. As the saying goes, at forty one is free from doubts.

However, the closer they get to forty, the more confused the time travelers become.

"General Kang is looking increasingly gaunt. Is he doing well in Jize County?"

"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. Everything is fine except that the Diamond Powder cannot be sold."

The emperor and his minister exchanged pleasantries, but there was no sign of genuine affection between them. The retired emperor asked Amber to give Kang Yingqian a seat and dismissed his attendants.

There were only two of them left in the empty hall.

"Lu Xiangsheng, Qiao Yiqi, there's been a change in our route, so we'll be delayed for a few days and arrive in Shenyang a few days late. Now that Supervisor Kang is here, please tell us everything you know. What should Da Qi do next?"

Kang Yingqian was quite shocked by Liu Zhaosun's frankness, but he still spoke cautiously.

"I would like to ask, what happened to Lu Xiangsheng and Qiao Yiqi along the way?"

The emperor blurted out, "Bandits."

"Bandits?"

Liu Zhaosun ignored Lao Kang's surprised look and continued:
"Yes, in fact, they are some retired veterans. Their money was embezzled by some corrupt officials in the civil affairs department. They have no way to make a living, so they took this risk..."

"Oh."

Kang Yingqian said "oh" and didn't ask any more questions. When he was unemployed in Jize County, he had imagined the current difficulties of the empire countless times.

However, he did not expect that it would come to this point where even the normal transfer of officials would be threatened.

"General Kang, let's not discuss this today. Let's talk about the countermeasures first."

The time traveler is still as anxious, impatient and anxious as ever.

Kang Yingqian shook his head and sighed, and said after a long while:

"I have wasted my time in Jize County these past few years, wasting my time. Moreover, I am old and not as good as the likes of Lord Sun. How can I have any solutions?"

The Emperor said anxiously, "The situation is critical now. Supervisor Kang must not refuse!"

Seeing the emperor's sincerity, Kang Yingqian proposed his three strategies: the best, the middle, and the worst.

"Oh?"

Liu Zhaosun, like a dying man grasping at a life-saving straw, hurriedly said, "Tell me about it."

"The best policy: stop issuing food coupons and restore the circulation of silver and copper coins; gradually abolish the Qi Dynasty's Land System and enact laws to protect private land and property; allow the people to engage in commerce and maritime trade; allow land to circulate; allow some people to get rich first, paying first and then paying later; stop fighting with neighboring countries; restore trade with Ming, Japan, and Western countries; reduce the army and lower the status of combatants; cancel the landing in Japan and the northern expedition against the Rakshasa Kingdom; take back the financial and corvée power of the provinces, prefectures, and counties; establish Yingkou, Penglai, Hankou, Yangzhou, and other places as trading ports..."

Middle Strategy: Issue a self-criticism edict, continue to exploit farmers, and support Your Majesty's so-called industrialization. This will likely delay the rebellion in the provinces, and the several armies within the Great Wall will betray Great Qi, slowing down their progress in seeking independence.

Liu Zhaosun was not interested in either of the above or the middle strategies, so he continued to ask:

"So, what's the next best option?"

Kang Yingqian said murderously:

"Continue a new round of purges, confiscate corrupt officials, and eliminate a few recalcitrant military leaders, such as Qin Jianxun. Plunder the people internally, exploit the peasants, and wage wars abroad, plundering foreign vassal states. Invest more troops in the Southern Ming and Japan, using war to support war, using billions of civilians as fuel to illuminate your so-called great path. However, given the current situation, the Great Qi is at the end of its rope. If this worst-case scenario is implemented, within three years, the world will be in turmoil, with unruly people everywhere, and every province will have its own Chen Sheng and Wu Guang."

Liu Zhaosun shook his head and said, "I don't want to reduce the army, nor do I want to reverse the course of events."

(End of this chapter)