Invincible Zhengde

Chapter 474

Hangzhou City, Zhu Houzhao's residence.

Although there are still disturbances outside, Hangzhou City seems relatively quiet.

Although the big households had already fled, the people in the city still lived as usual. Although there was some influence, they soon discovered that the influence was actually not that great.

On the contrary, there are many more patrolling soldiers on the street, and the safety is guaranteed.There are no more rogues and thieves on the street, and the law and order has improved a lot. It can be said that they do not pick up lost items on the road and do not close their doors at night.

The price of goods that everyone was worried about has not risen at all.It's not that merchants don't want to raise prices, but that they really don't have the courage.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince arrested so many people before, and the blood of beheading at the gate of Hangzhou City has not been drained. Who would dare to tease the Crown Prince at this time?Are you not afraid of being caught and beheaded?

Therefore, none of those big merchants dared to sit on the ground and raise prices, and none of them were hoarders, and each of them did business honestly.

Some people even went out of the city to escape and chose to close the door. They were arrested the next day and told him directly that they could go out, but they were not allowed to close the door. The business that should be done had to be done.

This frightened people.

As for the issue of grain, the waterways in the south of the Yangtze River are well developed, and transportation is not very difficult. Zhu Youxiao has already mobilized grain from the grain depot in Nanjing.

Although there has been a lot of corruption there, after all, they dare not blatantly empty all the grain in all the granaries, so there is still a lot of grain in Nanjing, especially the grain in the past few years.

After Zhu Houzhao had the final say, the food reserves of the Ming Dynasty continued to rise because the court was rich.

For the officials and emperors of the Ming Dynasty, food is always the most important thing, so they are also very careful about storing it.

This led to enough food in Nanjing, anyway, there is no problem in coping with this rebellion.

The only thing that makes people worry is what to do in the future, because once the incident is over, there will be no place to grow food in Zhejiang, so there will be a food crisis.

Zhu Houzhao doesn't care about these. Since Jiangxi can provide enough food for Zhejiang, he can also provide enough food for Zhejiang.

No matter how Jiangxi got it, I have the confidence to get it in their way.Zhu Houzhao was not worried about this at all.

What's more, Zhu Houzhao already knows the way. All these grains are shipped from overseas, and it is obvious that grains are used as trading items in maritime trade.

For Zhu Houzhao, this is not a big deal, and he just took this opportunity to take down Jiangxi and take over the foundation laid by King Ning and the others.

Anyway, this time I came to the south by myself, and I was originally going to prepare for maritime trade.

Now that the north has settled down, the Mongolian tribes on the grasslands are lingering.Zhu Houzhao doesn't know how long they can last. As the Little Ice Age approaches, life in the north will become more and more difficult.

When it really came to that time, they would have nowhere to go, because now many places are occupied by Da Ming.Unless they move south, or surrender, there is no other way to go.

They couldn't beat Daming either, so they had to surrender, so Zhu Houzhao had enough time and energy to set his target in the south.

This reform is just the beginning. The tax department will take over the taxation of the whole country, clean up the land of the whole country, and find out all the hidden land.Let all gentry pay taxes.

Of course, it is not that the officials and the gentry pay the food as a whole, but let them pay all the taxes that should be paid.After all, each gentry's tax exemption has a quota, not to say that all their land must be tax-free.

Of course, this is just a pretentious thing, because it is impossible to check all the land by myself, it is too time-consuming.

Zhu Houzhao did this, in fact, to allow the tax department to take over the taxation of the whole country. The next step is to pay the government and gentry together.

He has no time and energy to entangle with people on this matter. As long as this order is issued, their family's fields will have to pay taxes, and no one will continue to discuss with them, and they will no longer hide the land. As long as they have money To pay taxes.

Of course, this will increase the burden on the people at the bottom, because the gentry will pass the tax on to the tenants, which will make the life of the common people even more difficult.

If there is no productive crop, they will rebel; otherwise, they will die.

The way out Zhu Houzhao found for them was business, either going to sea, or going to Liaodong or Northwest.Only in this way can the development of foreign trade of the Ming Dynasty be promoted.

As for the supply of food, Zhu Houzhao developed the Northeast on the one hand, and the Southwest on the other hand.

The grain in Southeast Asia can be cooked several times a year, and it is completely possible to transport grain from there.At the same time, promote high-yield crops in Daming.

These are some ideas of Zhu Houzhao, but it needs to be done step by step.

The incident in Jiangxi this time actually gave him a surprise, which could save him some effort.

Sitting in the rocking chair and thinking of these things, Zhu Houzhao sighed slightly inwardly.

Originally, he wanted to clean up King Ning, and he didn't want King Ning to make a fuss like he did in his previous life. After all, it was quite a big fuss that time.

It's just that he didn't expect King Ning to develop so fast, and this was created by himself.This made Zhu Houzhao feel a little complicated.

I secretly rejoice at the foundation laid by King Ning, but at the same time resent King Ning for making things so big.

"Your Highness." Liu Jin walked cautiously to Zhu Houzhao's side, and then said respectfully: "The news just came that King Ning of Jiangxi has sent troops. It is said that there is a rebellion here in Zhejiang. He brought people to rescue him."

Zhu Houzhao slowly opened his eyes, looked up at Liu Jin, and asked, "How many people?"

"Back to His Royal Highness, the details are not clear, but King Ning claims 20." When Liu Jin said this, he was very careful, for fear of offending Zhu Houzhao.

In fact, it did not surprise Zhu Houzhao.Because in the previous life, King Ning said that he dispatched 10 horses, and it is not surprising that he claimed 20 in this life. After all, his current strength should be stronger than his previous life.

However, such things as marching and fighting do not mean that you have a large number of people; it does not mean that you take it for granted, especially in the era of cold weapons.

Zhu Houzhao was actually skeptical about the combat effectiveness of King Ning's army.Because the number of people made up the army, without actual combat, their combat effectiveness is not much higher.

Zhu Houzhao waved his hand and said, "Don't worry about that, when will Zhu Fu arrive in Hangzhou?"

This is what Zhu Houzhao cares about.

Before King Ning arrived in Hangzhou, he had to clean up the affairs here, and then lead the soldiers to deal with King Ning.

It is impossible for him to let a powder keg be buried here, and then just leave.Otherwise, it will easily cause a fire in the back garden, which will not be worth the candle.

"Back to His Royal Highness, the news over there came relatively quickly. In three days, Duke Cheng will arrive in Hangzhou." Liu Jin said hastily.

Zhu Houzhao nodded and said: "The day after tomorrow, let people go to spread the news, and then let Hangzhou be under martial law. Wait until the night after tomorrow, let Zhu Fu appear outside the city of Hangzhou."

"Yes, His Royal Highness, the servant will pass the order immediately." After Liu Jin finished speaking, she turned and walked outside.

Hangzhou City, Shunchang Cloth Store.

Wang Huai looked at Zhou Lao Er excitedly, and asked, "Did King Ning send troops?"

"Yes, troops have been dispatched. It is said that 20 troops have been dispatched, and they are heading directly towards Hangzhou. They will advance by land and water, and I believe they will reach Hangzhou City soon." Zhou Laoer said hastily.

Wang Huai stood up excitedly, and said loudly: "It's really great!"

After finishing speaking, he turned his head to look at Zhou Laoer again, and asked, "Where is Li Zhong?"

"It's time to arrive in Hangzhou City in these two days." Zhou Laoer thought for a while and said, "However, because of the frequent wars, our news transmission is not smooth, so we can't figure out the specific time."

"It doesn't matter, tell the people in the city to get ready." Wang Huai said with a big smile, "After Li Zhong arrives in Hangzhou City, we should join forces inside and outside to take Hangzhou in one fell swoop. Then I will go to meet the prince. Back then he When the killing spree started in Yangzhou City, I'm afraid I never thought of today."

When Wang Huai said this, he gritted his teeth, and his tone was full of resentment.

Glancing at Wang Huai, Zhou Laoer didn't say anything.

Because he knew it was too late to say anything at this time, so he nodded and said: "Sir, don't worry, our affairs have already been arranged. Our people in Hangzhou Guard are also ready to attack at any time, and they will kill Liao Zhong at that time." , Let the Hangzhou Guards stir up chaos."

"Once the city of Hangzhou is in chaos, we can take the opportunity to open the city gates and let Li Zhong in, and then the whole of Hangzhou will be ours." Zhou Laoer said hesitantly, "It's just that we really don't want to wait for King Ning?"

In fact, Zhou Lao Er and Wang Huai had discussed this matter before.

In Zhou Laoer's opinion, although Li Zhong's men are getting more and more, it's better to wait.After King Ning's men arrived, it was the best idea for the two parties to cooperate internally and externally.

But this proposal was rejected by Wang Huai. He didn't want to wait for King Ning, he wanted to take Hangzhou by himself.

"Don't wait for him." Wang Huai shook his head directly and said: "Why do we wait for that idiot? If we can take Hangzhou, Hangzhou will be our place in the future. Why should we give it up to him?"

Wang Huai said with excitement in his tone: "As long as we take Hangzhou, we won't give it back to him."

Zhou Laoer also knew Wang Huai's plan, but he still felt that it was inappropriate, but he really couldn't persuade him.

Originally, what he wanted to say was that there was no news about his third brother, so we have to wait.

Now he can only settle for the next best thing, and wait for King Ning to arrive.

But Wang Huai obviously couldn't wait any longer. Under such circumstances, Zhou Laoer knew that his persuasion failed again.

So he said, "Then I'll make arrangements right away."

Time flies, and the city of Hangzhou is closed again in a blink of an eye.

This time is different from the last time. Last time, His Royal Highness ordered the city to be closed; this time, His Royal Highness also ordered the city to be closed, but last time it was because His Highness wanted to arrest someone, this time it was because of someone rebelling.

Everyone started to really panic.

At sunset, an army finally appeared outside the city.

No one knows how many people came, only know that it is boundless and crowded.

At the very front, a large flag was erected, with a big "Li" written on it.

Everyone knew that this was Li Zhong's banner, and the reputation of this traitor had been great during this time.

At this time, Zhu Houzhao had already put on his armor, and walked up to the top of the city holding his long knife.

The wind in Hangzhou city was also turbulent. Everyone knew that the rebels were coming, and all civil and military officials were very nervous.

Zhu Houzhao stood on the top of the wall, looking at the military appearance outside, with a very indifferent expression on his face.

Turning his head and glanced at Zhang He who was standing beside him, Zhu Houzhao asked, "Has everything been arranged?"

"Go back to His Royal Highness, I'm ready. Duke Cheng will launch an attack tomorrow morning." Zhang He said without knowing the expression on his face.

Because tomorrow's rush is a farce, just to put on a show.

As for whether you are worried about being discovered by the enemy.Then there is no need to worry at all, because there are no enemies here at all.

Ordinary people can't go to the top of the city, and they can't see whether there are traitors in the army.

Because it is the Black Dragon Army that is guarding the top of the wall now, and the soldiers in other places have been driven down.

As for the reason and reason given, it is also very simple, that is because His Royal Highness the Crown Prince despises them.

So in a situation like this.It is impossible to leak information at all.

Tomorrow's battle is arranged as follows:

Zhu Fu would make people rush to the top of the city. Of course, there were mostly shouts of killing, and then there would be people who rushed up, but they would not be killed.They just climbed up from the bottom of the city, and then they would be taken directly down.

It can be said that it is a fantastic idea that they will transport troops to the city in this way.

Hearing that Zhang Yun said that the arrangements were made, Zhu Youxiao nodded and said, "Then I will leave this place to you. I will go back to the city and have a look. I believe the city will be more lively than here."

"Yes, Your Highness the Crown Prince." Zhang He quickly agreed.

In the early morning of the next day, there was indeed a shout of killing outside the city, and at the same time there were horns and cannons rumbling, which made the city of Hangzhou tremble.

Everyone knows that the rebels have attacked the city.It's just that they shouted and killed for a long time, but they couldn't get in.

However, the tragic situation of the battle was still witnessed by people, because people were carried down from the top of the city with blood all over their bodies, obviously these were the wounded.

Some people just lifted it up straight, without moving at all, obviously this person was already killed in battle.

All this was seen by the people in Hangzhou, and everyone knew that the battle was very fierce, and it could even be described as tragic.

The news naturally reached Wang Huai.

He looked at Zhou Laoer who came to report the letter, almost jumped up with excitement, and said with an excited look on his face: "I really didn't expect that Li Zhong is so capable. It's really beyond expectations, but it's also a surprise. gone."

(End of this chapter)