Chongzhen's domineering

Chapter 45 Taking Land and Seizing Farmland Still Requires Loyalty and Virtue
Wei Zhongxian brutally beat over a hundred officials who dared to speak out, leaving them all bedridden and unable to move!
If anyone else dared to do this, the entire court of civil officials would be in uproar.

Chen Hong during the Jiajing era was no match for Wei Zhongxian because he lacked Wei Zhongxian's reputation.

Wei Zhongxian was notoriously treacherous and ruthless; he killed at least eight hundred, if not a thousand, civil officials.

The key point is that this guy, in order to curry favor with the current young emperor, also likes to throw people into the imperial prison to hand over their ill-gotten gains.

Most civil officials couldn't stand this tactic.

Few could endure the tortures in the imperial prison, and the real problem was that if a person was alive but had no money, how could they survive?
The officials in the outer court originally thought that this fellow would have to restrain himself after the emperor was replaced.

Who would have thought that this scoundrel would come up with such a vicious plan to curry favor with the young emperor?

The current young emperor seems to really like money. No matter what methods this guy uses to make money, the young emperor turns a blind eye and pretends not to see it.

Wei Zhongxian also liked to go out with a bunch of thugs. In the past, he always had tens of thousands of imperial guards by his side, and now he had tens of thousands of embroidered guards acting as his thugs.

The civil officials in the outer court had absolutely no way to deal with this fellow.

When a scholar encounters a soldier, he can't reason with him.

When a civil official encounters a rogue like Wei Zhongxian, who comes from a humble background, it's like meeting their nemesis.

The officials in the outer court were truly helpless against Wei Zhongxian.

Will they give up?

That's impossible!
The struggle for power has always been a matter of life and death.

If we can't break through from the inside, then we'll try to find a way from the outside, a coordinated attack from within!
That's how it was in history. Chongzhen wouldn't listen to them, and they couldn't get rid of him, so they led the Jurchens from Jizhou Town into the capital region. They fought their way in and out seven times, driving Chongzhen to the brink of despair, until he hanged himself!

However, these external forces are not something that can be summoned at will. Historically, it took them more than two years to lure the Jurchens into the capital region, so they naturally cannot bring them in immediately now.

Therefore, they all seemed to have calmed down.

While the civil officials in the outer court were temporarily relieved, Wei Zhongxian was busy again.

He had just brutally beaten over a hundred officials who dared to speak out against him when he led his Imperial Guards out of Chaoyang Gate and sped off towards the stage more than twenty miles away.
Fortunately, the stage was still there, and no one dared to touch the command flags they had planted.

This opera troupe was really unlucky. They were performing when their stage was suddenly taken over and used for several days, leaving them nowhere to perform.

Wei Zhongxian didn't care about any of that. He ordered the Imperial Guards to bring over the magistrate of Daxing County and begin taking over the land.

When it comes to seizing land and seizing fields, this fellow is truly a master.

This is all because this guy is shameless and obsequious to his superiors, showing no respect to anyone.

He arrested more than twenty officials from the outer court, and they are currently being tortured in the imperial prison. Their land has been confiscated, they have been beaten, and they have to hand over their stolen goods!

Now who would dare not sell the land to him?

If even the officials of the outer court dared not, then ordinary people and garrison soldiers would certainly dare not either.

Actually, there's another big problem with acquiring land.

Human nature is inherently greedy, and ordinary people are no exception.

If someone else were to pay to acquire the land, ordinary people would also demand exorbitant prices, only wanting to seize the opportunity to make a killing.

For Wei Zhongxian, however, this problem did not exist.

It's already quite generous of him to pay for the land; who would dare to ask for an exorbitant price?

Anyone who dares to ask for an exorbitant price will be robbed. Not only will he not pay, but he will also grab them and beat them up. Who dares to do that?

This guy is really capable of doing things, so no one dares to ask him for exorbitant prices.

When the common people and the garrison soldiers heard that this fellow was coming to take over their land again, they hurriedly called their friends and family to harvest rice and wheat and move their belongings, fearing that if they were slow, this fellow would burn everything down!

Then, another miracle occurred: the rice and wheat on the west bank of the Chaobai River, stretching for more than ten miles, disappeared as if swept away by a great flood.

However, this time a small problem arose.

The next morning around 7 a.m., Zhu Jue was reviewing memorials in the main hall of Yuxi Palace when Tian Hongyu suddenly strode over, cupped his hands and bowed, saying, "Your humble servant greets Your Majesty."

Has the Jingying Tunwei garrison finished harvesting all the rice and wheat?
That can't be happening that fast, can it?
Zhu Jue put down the memorial and asked sternly, "What is it?"

Tian Hongyu quickly explained, "Eunuch Wei has already acquired more than 100,000 mu of land. There are more than 20,000 households of common people and military households in these lands. They heard that not only do artisans get paid, but the old, young, women and children are also fed. So they asked someone to ask me if they can also work there?"

Oh, so it turns out that the common people and garrison soldiers whose fields were confiscated wanted to work and earn money, or rather, they wanted to have enough to eat.

That's not right. It's only been a day. Even if Wei Zhongxian were a god, it's impossible for him to have taken over all the land within a radius of more than ten miles.

Zhu Jue asked in surprise, "Did Wei Zhongxian really take over all the land in that ten-mile-long area?"

No, not that.

Tian Hongyu shook his head slightly and said, "Wei Zhongxian only told them to hurry up and harvest the rice and wheat, pack their things, and prepare to leave. If they didn't pack them up within three days, Wei Zhongxian would order them to be burned."

Therefore, when these ordinary people and garrison soldiers heard that Wei Zhongxian was going to take away their land, they began to consider how they would live after their land was taken away. "This guy's methods are a bit crude, but the effect is quite good."

When it comes to work, the more people the better, but the question is, why so many people?

Zhu Jue asked with some curiosity, "You mean, there are more than 20,000 households of ordinary people and garrison soldiers, so that's 40,000 to 50,000 households in total?"

Tian Hongyu nodded repeatedly and said, "Yes, Your Majesty."

Zhu Jue then asked, "Didn't Wei Zhongxian only seize more than 100,000 mu of land? Where did so many ordinary people and garrison households come from? Do they each only have two or three mu of land?"

How could two or three acres of land possibly support a family?

Tian Hongyu quickly explained, "Your Majesty, most of them don't own land. They usually farm for others or do manual labor."

Oh, so those without land make up the majority.

This means that if the land they used to cultivate for others is harvested, they will have nothing to eat.

No wonder these people are in such a hurry to find work.

They didn't own any land to begin with, but they still profited from having their land taken away. Now that the land they helped cultivate has been taken away, they have no work to do and can't earn money to support their families.

He couldn't let these people go hungry.

Zhu Jue pondered and said, "Well, let them dig the foundation of the north city wall. That way, once the Jingying Garrison troops have finished harvesting the rice and wheat, they can start building the city wall directly. As for wages, they will be paid the same as the craftsmen. The able-bodied men will receive one tael of silver a month, and the elderly, women and children who help will be fed."

Upon hearing this, Tian Hongyu nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty, I understand."

Once you understand, go and do it right away.

Why don't they show any sign of leaving?

Zhu Jue then asked, "Is there anything else?"

How do you say this?

Tian Hongyu asked cautiously, "Your Majesty, they also asked around to see if it's true that they were promised new houses. When will they be built for them?"

What's the rush?
Zhu Jue asked in confusion, "Didn't I tell them to stay with relatives and friends first?"
We need to build the city walls first. Otherwise, it will be a huge problem if the Jurchens receive the news and come to attack. The Beijing garrison only has 10,000 men right now. Without the city walls, we simply cannot stop the Jurchens.

If the Jurchens were to storm into the still-unfinished eastern city, all our hard work and money would have been wasted.

Uh, this.

Tian Hongyu explained helplessly, "Your Majesty, this time we have taken all the land within a range of more than ten miles west of the Chaobai River. Most of them spend their whole lives within that range and have no relatives or friends outside."

Well, I'm looking at this era from the perspective of people from later generations.

The household registration system in the Ming Dynasty was very strict. If someone left their place of residence without a travel permit or official title and was caught, they would be in big trouble.

If people cannot leave their place of residence within a radius of ten miles, then naturally they cannot make friends or relatives more than ten miles away.

The problem is, building a house isn't something that can be done in a day or two.

Zhu Jue thought for a moment and then simply asked, "How long does it usually take to build a house for private residence?"

There's no certainty about that.

Tian Hongyu pondered and said, "Your Majesty, it depends on whether we have enough manpower and materials. If we can get help from two or three families and have enough materials, then the house we live in should be completed in about a month."

That shouldn't be a big problem.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Jue nodded slightly and said, "Alright, let them dig the foundation first. We'll see how fast the northern city wall is being built. If it's being built quickly, we'll send some of the garrison soldiers to help them build houses. If it's not being built quickly enough, we'll recruit more people from nearby areas to help them build houses."

As for the materials, you should immediately order people to prepare them; make sure they have enough timber, stone, and coal for firing bricks.”

Tian Hongyu nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty, I understand."

Is everything alright now?

Zhu Jue thought for a moment, then waved his hand.

Tian Hongyu quickly cupped his hands, bowed, and took his leave.

Perhaps I should leave the palace and take a look.

His understanding of the common people all stemmed from his past life experiences.

The problem is that the Ming Dynasty is different from the previous life he lived in.

The reason he hadn't left the palace to check was because he was worried about his safety. There were countless traitors in the capital of the Ming Dynasty at that time, and if he rashly went to the palace and people found out, he could really be in danger.

Perhaps he could consider disguising himself and going out to take a look.

(End of this chapter)