My father is Chongzhen? Then I have no choice but to rebel.

Chapter 128 The 'Heroes of Liangshan' of the Ming Dynasty rebelled!
As they spoke, they each took out the silver bills they had prepared long ago.

Soon, a stack of silver bills was placed in front of Sun Chuanting. At first glance, the number of silver bills was considerable, which should be considered a large sum of money.

But after careful calculation, there was only a mere five thousand taels of silver.

Sun Chuanting didn't say a word from beginning to end, but just calmly tasted the wine in front of him.

Seeing this, the wealthy businessmen and landlords were a little embarrassed for a moment, and had no idea what Governor Sun meant.
Is it because the money is too little?

joke!

This is already a lot!

If we ask them to pay more money, it would be like asking for their lives!
At this moment, Sun Chuanting finally spoke.

He asked with a strange smile on his face:

"I remember you all gave me some gifts last night. I wonder how much they are worth in silver?"

A guard standing behind him heard this and said loudly:
"Your Excellency, I have sent someone to calculate the amount, and it is approximately thirty thousand taels of silver."

"Good good."

Sun Chuanting clapped his hands and said with a smile:

"The gift you gave me, Sun Chuanting, was worth thirty thousand taels, while the military pay you gave to the Ming Dynasty was only five thousand taels."

"So, my reputation as Sun Chuanting is actually greater than that of the Ming Dynasty?"

When the wealthy businessmen and landlords present heard this, their faces turned pale.

You know, giving gifts to officials is something that cannot be made public, but they didn't expect Sun Chuanting to bring this up directly, which made them a little at a loss.

For a moment, the situation became awkward again.

Just when everyone didn't know what to say, Sun Chuanting spoke again:

"Everyone, I hope you understand one thing: I am not here to beg for food, but to collect the taxes you owe the Ming Dynasty over the years."

"Of course, I don't ask for much. I only want half of your property."

"You have to pay this money whether you want to or not!"

Having said that, the relationship has been completely broken.

When the wealthy businessmen and landlords heard this, they could no longer remain calm.

Someone stood up and said angrily:

"Master Sun, what do you mean by this? Are you going to rob me?"

"Although I'm just a businessman, I do have some connections in the court. Aren't you afraid that I'll sue you?"

When Sun Chuanting heard this, his expression remained calm. He just winked at a guard next to him.

The guard drew his sword and slashed without saying a word.

The next second, the head was separated and fell on the table. The bright red blood instantly dyed all the dishes on the table red.

Everyone was so frightened that they stood there in a daze. They never thought that Sun Chuanting in front of them would dare to kill someone directly at the dinner table. This was completely beyond their expectations.

"what!!!!!"

Immediately afterwards, the dancers who were dancing suddenly screamed, and the scene became chaotic.

But the chaotic scene did not last long and was brought under control by the people brought by Sun Chuanting.

Those who were disobedient were also knocked unconscious.

Then, Sun Chuanting pointed at the head on the table and said:
"Remember this man and accuse him of colluding with the thieves. Confiscate all his property and throw all his family members into prison."

The next second, Sun Chuanting looked at the other people present.

"So everyone, are you willing to hand over half of your family property, or are you willing to have your property confiscated and your family exterminated? Choose one."

Everyone was a little at a loss for a moment.

But someone still asked:

"Master Sun, why are you doing this? The Ming Dynasty abides by the law. What's the difference between you and those bandits?"

Sun Chuanting sneered and said nothing.

Then, the door suddenly opened, and a group of Jinyiwei in Feiyu uniforms rushed in. The leader shouted loudly:

"I want to see who dares to talk to Lord Sun about the law. Lord Sun came here this time in accordance with the will of His Majesty. His words are the law. If you disagree, please speak to me."

After he finished speaking, a group of Jinyiwei had surrounded everyone.

Seeing the team of Jinyiwei suddenly appearing before them, the faces of these wealthy businessmen and landlords instantly lost all color.

Even if they have never seen the world, they know how powerful the Jinyiwei are.

However, they did not expect that Sun Chuanting could actually command the Jinyiwei. This was completely beyond their expectations.

After a moment, Sun Chuanting continued:

"Everyone, the Jinyiwei have thoroughly investigated the evidence of your crimes, including how much property you own, how much military farmland and land you have occupied over the years, and how many lives you have taken."

"If you insist on going against the imperial court, then these evidences are enough to have your property confiscated and your clan exterminated."

"By then you'll lose your money and your life. Is it really worth it?"

"I don't want to kill you all, so now you just need to hand over half of your property, and all that happened before will be written off."

"Think about it, what should I choose?"

"But I will only give you one stick of incense to consider. If you still haven't made up your mind after that, don't blame me for being impartial."

After saying this, Sun Chuanting asked someone to light a stick of incense and then placed it on the table in front of everyone.

And the location is right next to the previous head.

Sun Chuanting was not joking, everything he said was true.

Before he arrived in Baishui County, the Jinyiwei had already understood the situation in Baishui County clearly.

Including these people's property, the military fields and lands occupied over the years, and the dirty deeds behind them.

To put it bluntly, none of these people are good!

According to Sun Chuanting, it would not be excessive to simply confiscate their property and exterminate their clan.

But he couldn't do that, because the impact of doing so was too great. Even though Zhu Cilang gave him enough power over life and death, he was still afraid that if he killed too cruelly, he would get into trouble in the future.

So as far as the current situation is concerned, as long as we can raise enough military pay, it will be fine.

As for these people, we will deal with them slowly when the land-based tax system is implemented in the future.

At the same time, these wealthy businessmen and landlords also realized that Sun Chuanting was serious. If they continued to be stubborn, there would be only one outcome waiting for them, and that was the confiscation of property and the extermination of their clans!
Thinking of this, one person hurriedly said:

"Sir, I am willing to give up half of my property."

After someone took the lead, the rest of the people followed suit:

"Sir, I am also willing to give up half of my property."

"I am willing to do so."

Soon, the wealthy businessmen and landlords present expressed their willingness to hand over half of their property.

At this time, the incense on the table had burned less than one-third.

If you think that's the end of it, you'd be naive.

Because Sun Chuanting never gave them the opportunity to hide the family property!
At that moment, he sent teams of personal soldiers and Jinyiwei to accompany them home and take away their money and food.

If they meet someone who cooperates, they will take half and keep half. As for how much of the half is, it is entirely up to these personal soldiers and Jinyiwei. In any case, they will not take it all.

If anyone refuses to cooperate or hides property, they will be killed and their property confiscated without any hesitation!
Of course, this was not ordered by Sun Chuanting, but by Zhu Cilang.

Zhu Cilang knew that Sun Chuanting might be soft-hearted, so he specifically instructed the Jinyiwei to act according to Sun Chuanting's orders when they met people who were willing to cooperate.

But if you meet someone who is sneaky and cunning, just kill him and confiscate his property!
Moreover, the Jinyiwei have always been good at confiscating property. No matter where the landlords and wealthy businessmen hide their money, the Jinyiwei will find it.

After working for half the night, boxes of silver and carts of grain were brought to Sun Chuanting.

Some of the silver and grain were stained with blood, and Sun Chuanting knew what had happened without having to think about it.

But he didn't care too much.

Because he knew in his heart that this must be what Zhu Cilang meant.

According to a rough estimate, this time they received 300,000 taels of silver and 100,000 shi of grain.

Although this number is not large, you should know that this is just the silver obtained by one county, and in Shaanxi, there are dozens of counties like this!
Of course, this is not the first time Sun Chuanting has done this. He has "visited" several counties before.

And what he did in those counties was exactly the same as what he is doing now!
By using this method, Sun Chuanting has currently obtained 1.8 million taels of silver and 500,000 dan of grain.

At the same time, Sun Chuanting also knew the amount of land owned by these wealthy businessmen and landlords, but he did not rush to take action. Instead, he kept all the evidence.

He planned to wait until Li Zicheng was defeated before conducting the final settlement.

Sun Chuanting’s next target is naturally the Qin Palace in Xi’an!
After sending someone to deliver the silver and grain back to the base camp, Sun Chuanting set off for Xi'an the next day. He wanted to meet the King of Qin.

If you ask who is the richest person in the whole of Shaanxi, it is undoubtedly the King of Qin!

The Qin Wang lineage has been passed down from the time of Taizu to the present, and has never been interrupted for almost three hundred years. Basically, the entire land around Xi'an belongs to the Qin Wang Mansion.

You have to know that it covers hundreds of thousands of acres of land!

What a huge fortune this is!

When he thought of the silver that the King of Qin might contribute, Sun Chuanting couldn't help but sneer.

In the past, no matter what the reason was, Sun Chuanting would not dare to attack a prince directly.

But now it’s different, because before he set out, Zhu Cilang specifically told him not to let the King of Qin go, and even taught him how to get money from the King of Qin.

It can be seen that Zhu Cilang's attitude towards these vassal kings is not so friendly, and he even wants to take action against them.

So it was naturally impossible for Sun Chuanting to let King Qin go.

Beijing.

Zhu Cilang actually always knew about what Sun Chuanting did in Shaanxi.

Firstly, it was because Sun Chuanting would submit a memorial every few days, and secondly, it was because the Jinyiwei would also continue to pass on information.

So even though Zhu Cilang was in the capital, he was well aware of the situation in Shaanxi.

Overall, Zhu Cilang was very satisfied with Sun Chuanting's performance in Shaanxi.

As expected, after delegating power, Sun Chuanting's efficiency in doing things was much higher than in history.

If Zhu Cilang had not given Sun Chuanting enough power, even if those wealthy businessmen and landlords did not pay, Sun Chuanting would probably not be able to do anything to them.

But now, if they don’t pay, they will be killed until they pay.

Besides this, good news also happened in the capital: the teams that had been sent to the south to confiscate property had returned one after another. In addition to the 30 million taels of silver that had been confiscated, there were also hundreds of boxes of rare treasures and 1.3 million acres of land!
Of course, the land cannot be taken back, so it is temporarily handed over to the local government for management.

Originally, hundreds of thousands of dan of grain were seized during the house search, but Zhu Cilang did not allow them to transport the grain back to the capital. Instead, he distributed it directly to the disaster-stricken areas for use as disaster relief.

In his opinion, there is no shortage of food in the capital at present, so it would be more appropriate to use this food in the disaster-stricken areas.

That night, Zhu Cilang was about to rest when Ma Bao suddenly came to report that Xue Guoguan was seeking a meeting outside.

Xue Guoguan?
Zhu Cilang was a little puzzled. What was this guy doing here in the middle of the night?
Did something big happen again?

Feeling puzzled, Zhu Cilang immediately said:

"Let him in."

Soon, Xue Guoguan came in front of Zhu Cilang.

Without waiting for him to salute, Zhu Cilang asked directly:

"No need to be polite, tell me, what's the matter?"

Xue Guoguan handed over a memorial without saying a word.

"Your Highness, this is a memorial from the Governor of the Grand Canal. After reading it, I felt that this matter was of great importance, so I sent it directly to you."

A memorial submitted to the Governor of Grand Canal?

When Zhu Cilang heard this, he immediately became interested and hurriedly took it to check.

But soon, his brows furrowed.

Because this memorial talks about the peasant uprising in Shandong.

That's right!

Following Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong, another peasant uprising broke out, and this time it took place in Liangshan Lake, Shandong.

Um.
It is the Liangshan Lake in "Water Margin", one of the four great classic novels of later generations.

According to the Governor of the Grand Canal, not long ago, a farmer named Li Qingshan led a group of farmers in an uprising, and the team quickly expanded to 30,000 people.

Not only did they fight against the government troops and capture cities, they even controlled the grain transport.

At present, all the surrounding counties and prefectures have been captured by the rebels, and the whole of Shandong is shocked.

In addition, they also controlled the waterways along the canal, and all government grain and merchant ships passing through had to pay three-tenths of the goods before they would be allowed to pass.

As a result, their team grew stronger and stronger, and some people even regarded them as heroes of Liangshan.

At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the novel "Water Margin" was extremely popular and the stories in it were deeply loved by people. In addition, the literacy rate was very high at the end of the Ming Dynasty, so the novel circulated even more widely.

Zhu Cilang closed the memorial and pinched his eyebrows with a look of headache.

In fact, he had also heard of the Li Qingshan Uprising in Shandong in history.

It is said that this incident shocked the entire court at that time. Chongzhen was furious when he learned about it. He sent tens of thousands of troops and tens of thousands of navy to encircle and kill Li Qingshan.

In the end, Li Qingshan's troops were completely wiped out.

It took only about half a year from the uprising to its complete elimination.

Although it seemed that the Ming Dynasty won in the end, its grain transport was completely destroyed and did not recover until the end of the Ming Dynasty.

Moreover, according to historical records, Li Qingshan actually wanted to surrender at first, but for some reason Chongzhen refused his surrender and eventually killed him.

Zhu Cilang came back to his senses, looked at Xue Guoguan and asked:
"Is there anyone else in the court who knows about this?"

Xue Guoguan replied:

"I don't know for now. I only know that only the Minister of War and I have seen this memorial so far."

"But I think this matter will spread quickly. After all, I'm afraid it won't be concealed anymore in Shandong."

"I feel this matter has a huge impact, and I'm afraid it will affect the grain transport, so I'd like to ask His Royal Highness how to deal with it."

Originally, this kind of thing could be discussed in the court, but the Ming Dynasty now had to deal with the Jiannu in Liaodong, organize the navy to fight the Jiannu navy, and fight against the peasant army led by Li Zicheng.

Xue Guoguan knew in his heart that it was not appropriate for the Ming Dynasty to mobilize troops again at the moment, so he did not bring the matter up in the court, but instead sought Zhu Cilang's opinion first.

Zhu Cilang first breathed a sigh of relief, then said:

"You did a good job on this matter. There's really no need to bring it up in the open."

After hearing this, Xue Guoguan hurriedly asked:
"Your Highness, how do you think this matter should be handled?"

Zhu Cilang did not answer this question, but asked in return:

"From what you see?"

Xue Guoguan hesitated for a moment, and finally said:
"I believe it is more appropriate to focus on appeasement, because if the court directly sends troops to eliminate Li Qingshan, it will consume a huge amount of manpower, material resources, and money."

"Secondly, because most of the troops under Li Qingshan's command are pirates, if we want to eliminate them, we have to mobilize both infantry and navy. Mobilizing these forces is indeed a bit troublesome."

"Of course, the most important point is that they now control the canal transportation. If we push them too far, they might destroy the canal transportation, which would endanger the safety of the Ming Dynasty."

"After all, the canal transport affected tens of millions of people on both sides of the strait and millions of canal workers."

Zhu Cilang felt somewhat relieved after listening to Xue Guoguan's analysis, thinking that it was not in vain that he promoted Xue Guoguan to the position of Prime Minister of the Ming Cabinet.

Because what Xue Guoguan thought was basically the same as his.

During the Ming and Qing dynasties, grain transport was undoubtedly an important economic measure of the imperial court.

Because at that time, the imperial court had different ways of collecting taxes in the south and the north.

The people in the north paid taxes mainly in silver, while the people in the south paid taxes mainly in grain, that is, rice.

The confiscated grain had to be transported to Beijing via the Grand Canal to ensure Beijing’s food supply and the rice salaries of officials.

It can be said that the canal transportation was related to the national lifeline of the Ming and Qing dynasties.

Because of this, the imperial court had to invest huge manpower and material resources in grain transport every year.

There were millions of canal workers who made a living from canal transport alone, and the people living on both sides of the river also relied on canal transport for their survival, and their number was as high as tens of millions.

However, the transportation cost of one stone of grain through the canal was at least two stones of grain, and the canal transportation had actually been in deficit for a long time.

At this time, some people may ask, since canal transportation is so difficult, why not switch to sea transportation?
After all, sea transportation is more convenient than canal transportation and does not require regular maintenance like canal transportation. Were the ancient people all fools?

In fact, the ancients were never fools!
Zhu Cilang had consulted some historical materials on this matter. It turned out that as early as the mid-Ming Dynasty, some people had considered using sea transportation, but the plan was abandoned before it was implemented.

First of all, if sea transportation is used instead, millions of canal workers who make a living from canal transportation will instantly become unemployed.

The imperial court was unable to provide them with other jobs, and when these millions of people lost their livelihoods, it would become a major hidden danger.

It may even trigger an uprising of millions of peasants!

Secondly, the grain transport was mainly carried out within the territory of the Ming Dynasty, so no matter what happened, there would be traces to follow.

But if it is shipped by sea, the situation will be unpredictable.

If someone with ill intentions were to take advantage of the grain and cause a shipwreck, the court's tax revenue for the year would be wasted.

The imperial court simply cannot afford to take the risk!
Even if there is no deliberate sabotage, shipwrecks at sea are common, and once a shipwreck occurs, a year's taxes will still be wasted.

Furthermore, the weather at sea is difficult to control. If there is a delay for some reason, the people in the capital will have no food to eat, and famine will inevitably occur. What should we do?
Due to these reasons, canal transportation has not been able to be converted to sea transportation.

Moreover, this situation was not only unchangeable for the Ming Dynasty, but also for the Qing Dynasty.

Even after the fall of the Ming Dynasty, the Qing Dynasty continued to use the canal transportation system until the end of the Qing Dynasty.

It can be said that the Grand Canal Transport accompanied almost the entire process of the Ming and Qing feudal dynasties.

Zhu Cilang was not a stupid man. He would never easily touch the canal transportation until he had thought of other ways to resettle the people who depended on it for their livelihood.

Therefore, the current situation is clear, that is, to resolve Li Qingshan’s rebellion at the lowest cost, maintain the normal operation of the canal transportation, and ensure that there is no chaos in Shandong area.

Thinking back, Zhu Cilang looked at Xue Guoguan and said:

"Then this matter is settled. Remember, this matter cannot be spread to anyone for the time being. I will find a way to resolve this matter at the lowest cost."

"Besides, I will be away for a few days, so I will leave the important matters of the court to you."

Xue Guoguan was slightly stunned when he heard this, and then asked curiously:
"Your Highness, you don't want to go to Shandong, do you?"

Zhu Cilang nodded and said:

"Yes, I feel it is necessary to make this trip."

Xue Guoguan's head suddenly became big, and he quickly spoke to dissuade him:

"Your Highness, if you want to recruit Li Qingshan, all you need is an imperial decree. There's no need for Your Highness to come in person!"

Zhu Cilang smiled and said:
"I understand what you said, but I can't do this."

Xue Guoguan was confused when he heard this and really couldn't understand what Zhu Cilang meant.

Immediately afterwards, Zhu Cilang stood up, his tone instantly turning cold:
"If faced with a rebellion, the imperial court could simply issue an imperial decree to make them surrender and then appoint them as officials."

"Wouldn't that be telling everyone in the world that from now on, if they want to be an official, they can just raise an army and rebel, and then just wait for the court to recruit them?"

"If that were true, wouldn't everyone in the world rebel against each other just to get a seat at the top?"

"By that time, where will the dignity of the Ming Dynasty be?"

When Xue Guoguan heard this, he didn't know what to say for a moment.

Because he found that what Zhu Cilang said was absolutely right. If those who rebelled in the future could become officials, then what was the point for them, the scholars, to study?

Why would a general go to the battlefield to kill the enemy?
Why not just rebel directly?

Anyway, you can become an official in the end!
Sure enough, he thought the matter was too simple!

Then, Zhu Cilang continued:

"Of course, they need to be recruited, but the court won't take the initiative to recruit them. Instead, they will be forced to kneel down and beg for it."

"I have made up my mind on this matter, you don't need to say anything more!"

"During my absence, you must take good care of the affairs of the court."

"Also, I will secretly leave the capital for Shandong, so this matter must not be known to others."

When Xue Guoguan heard this, he knew that he could not persuade the former prince, so he could only bow helplessly and said:

"I understand. I'll take my leave!"

After saying this, Xue Guoguan left immediately.

After Xue Guoguan left, Zhu Cilang sighed helplessly.

He really didn't expect that he would meet the "Heroes of Liangshan" at this time in the Ming Dynasty.

I just don't know if there is a character like "Wu Song" among them.

If there is one, he really wants to see it!
(End of this chapter)