Chaos of Ming 1628

Song Xian trembled with fright and knelt on the ground with a thud: "Grand Commander, please don't misunderstand Lord Sun."

"Everything Lord Sun has done is for the sake of the people."

"Back in Jiahe County, I personally witnessed Lord Sun's efforts to save the county from freezing to death, starting from scratch."

"His arrival in Hejian Prefecture is nothing short of a fabrication. Lord Sun is not only seen as a god descended from heaven by the people, but also by us..."

He wanted to say that he was a wise ruler to be followed. But wouldn't those words confirm that Sun Qing was rebelling?

The words stuck in my throat, and I dared not continue.

Sun Chengzong snorted coldly, his face full of displeasure: "What else?"

Song Xian lowered his head and dared not utter a sound.

Sun Qing tucked the account book into his sleeve, ignoring Song Lian's words. He sat down in a chair, picked up the teapot on the table, poured himself a cup of tea (which had gone cold), took a sip, and then looked up at Sun Chengzong.

"Grandfather, I know what you're thinking. You're wondering how I dared to build a city, raise so many soldiers, mine kilns, weave cloth, and farm, all for the sake of survival. But living like this, what's the difference between this and a separatist regime?"

Sun Qing said each word clearly, "I'll say it again, I just want to live."

Sun Chengzong looked at him, his laughter brief: "You live a life where a city's people follow you wholeheartedly, and tens of thousands of soldiers are ready to fight on the battlefield. Is that what you call living?"

"Are you really so innocent? His Majesty's spies have come; why would you fabricate a story?"

Sun Qing raised his head, looked at Sun Chengzong, and his tone suddenly turned somber, as if he were a different person speaking.

"Grandfather, do you understand the current emperor?"

Seeing that he did not answer, Sun Qing slowly said, "But I understand."

"He ascended the throne at the age of seventeen and eliminated Wei Zhongxian in just one month. He was courageous and resourceful, but he was also suspicious."

"When he trusts someone, he can give all the power to that person. But when he doesn't trust someone, everything you do is aimed at seizing control of the government and undermining the emperor's authority."

Sun Chengzong's face was extremely cold.

Sun Qing continued, "Hejian Prefecture was the most severely affected by the disaster. He didn't touch me because this city was supporting tens of thousands of people for him and blocking the flood of disaster victims heading to the capital."

"But have you thought about what will happen after this year's autumn harvest, when the land is cultivated, the workshops are open, the displaced people become law-abiding citizens, and Hejian Prefecture becomes wealthy? Whoever sits in this prefectural position then will be holding a piece of fat meat in their hands."

"Would the Emperor be content to keep this piece of fat meat in my mouth indefinitely? He wouldn't."

He paused, his gaze falling out the window: "When the time comes, anyone in the court can impeach me, and the Emperor might not disbelieve it."

"What should I do then? I can't even guarantee that my actions won't implicate the entire Sun family!"

Sun Chengzong sat opposite him and remained silent for a long time: "So you renovated Hejian Prefecture like this just to have the right to negotiate."

Sun Qing neither nodded nor shook his head.

He simply looked at Sun Chengzong and said, "I just don't want to die someday without even knowing why. I don't want to die without anyone to collect my body."

"Throughout my life, I have upheld the four words: loyalty to the emperor and service to the country." Sun Chengzong's voice was not loud, but every word carried weight. "The students I have taught have all been taught in the same way."

"But I've thought about what you just said for a long time, and I can't find a single word to refute it."

Sun Chengzong remained silent for a long time before slowly asking, "If the Emperor doesn't make things difficult for you, what will you do?"

"If that's the case, then Hejian Prefecture will be the most reliable source of tax revenue for the national treasury. It will be more than before, if not more."

"Hmph!" Sun Chengzong snorted coldly and turned his face to the side.

"I can't learn your tricks. But I won't stop you," he said calmly. "But there's one thing: the Ming Dynasty is our root."

"We must be loyal to His Majesty!"

Sun Qing looked at him without saying a word.

He couldn't agree to that.

If he had transmigrated into the body of Emperor Chongzhen, he would have struggled and tried to turn the tide.

But he wasn't.

If not, then the Ming Dynasty was destined to have only one ending: destruction.

"Rest assured, Ancestor," Sun Qing said. "This city is for the living."

Just a few days.

Imperial decrees were issued one after another in the capital.

By abolishing the post stations, money and food can be saved.

The postmaster knelt in the heavy snow at the entrance of the government office. Seeing Sun Qing's sedan chair land, he immediately knelt down as well: "Lord Sun! I have been guarding this post station for twenty years. Every official document, military report, and rest stop for officials—which one hasn't I handled?"

"The court can just dismiss people like that! What will my family eat? I beg you, sir, give me a way to survive!"

Sun Qing bent down and helped him up. "Let them be laid off! I can't control what else is going on, but our Hejian Prefecture doesn't need post stations anyway."

Liu Yicheng's face turned pale instantly.

There are quite a few post stations in Hejian Prefecture!

Sun Qing turned to Song Xian and instructed, "We, the people of Hejian Prefecture, will naturally obey His Majesty's decree. All post stations will be converted into guesthouses."

Thus, the post stations were abolished according to Chongzhen's decree, but their nature remained unchanged; they were simply operated by Hejian Prefecture itself.

Liu Yicheng was stunned: "Entertainment...what?"

After a moment's thought, Sun Qing instructed Liu, the postmaster, "This place is in a good location, close to the main road, and bright and spacious both ways. From now on, remove the name of the post station and replace it with the sign 'Hejian Prefecture Guesthouse'."

"We welcome merchants, officials on business, and passersby who seek lodging. Lodging is free, and meals are provided according to the standard of communal dining: a bowl of porridge and two flatbreads per meal, all you can eat. Expenses are covered by the government's accounts."

Liu Yicheng opened his mouth, looking completely bewildered: "Then what should I do?"

"You're still the postmaster." Sun Qing glanced back at him, "but from now on you won't be delivering official documents anymore. You'll be in charge of hospitality. Registering guests, arranging rooms, and managing the kitchen to cook for the guests will still be your job. Your salary will remain the same, and your family can eat at the guesthouse."

Liu Yicheng stood there for a while, then suddenly bowed deeply. In his view, this was clearly a favor to be given to him.

Without Sun Qing, they would have no idea how to start a wildfire.

After everyone at the post station had left, Song Lian asked in a low voice, "Sir, the imperial court is closing down the post stations to save money. If we convert them into guesthouses, the expenses will still be the same. Doesn't that count as disobeying the imperial decree?"

Sun Qing said in a flat voice, "The post station has been shut down. I'll just change the sign and keep it open. What the court wants is for the words 'shut down' to be written in the report. As for what's going on inside, they don't care."

"Lord Song," Sun Qing suddenly spoke up, "do you know what abolishing the post stations means for the Ming Dynasty?"

Song Lian was taken aback for a moment. "Naturally, it's to save unnecessary expenses and raise funds for the border troops."

Sun Qing scoffed.

In his view, this move was the most foolish decision Chongzhen had ever made.

"The post stations were not just for delivering messages; they were the capillaries of the Ming Dynasty. Official documents were sent out from the capital and relayed to various places through the post stations."

"Military reports were sent back from the border and delivered to the emperor via post stations. Officials taking office, caravans traveling, disaster reports, and the transfer of money and grain... everything went through post stations."

"The money saved by the court's abolition of the post stations is at most enough to pay the salaries of officials in the capital for two months, but it cuts off the entire Ming Dynasty's communication channels. In the future, if something happens on the border, it will take ten days to half a month for the capital to find out. If there is a disaster in the local areas, the reports cannot be sent up, and by the time they find out, people have already starved to death."

Song Xian's face turned pale instantly.

He only sensed something was wrong, but he never imagined it would cause such great harm.

He muttered coldly, "Doing this is tantamount to cutting off the Ming Dynasty's legs..."

As he spoke, he quickly covered his mouth and looked around warily.

Sun Qing shook his head. Chongzhen probably never knew until his death how much trouble he had brought upon himself by doing this!

A large number of postal workers across the country lost their source of income. Most of these postal workers were young, strong men skilled in riding and archery. After their livelihood was cut off, they had nothing left but their strength and courage.

Just then, Shaanxi suffered a severe drought, leaving the land parched and barren. However, the government's taxes and corvée labor were not reduced at all. With nowhere else to turn, the post station workers simply joined groups of rebel armies in various places.

The imperial court originally intended to save the annual post station expenses of 685,000 taels of silver and use the money to fill the gaps in the Liaodong war. However, instead of plugging the loopholes at the border, these hundreds of thousands of taels of silver ignited the powder keg in the northwest.

Worse still, with the dismantling of the post stations, most of the Ming Dynasty's communication channels were severed. Military intelligence from the border could not be transmitted, and local disaster reports could not be sent up, leaving the imperial court deaf and blind.

It was precisely because of this that Li Zicheng began to distinguish himself.

More than a decade later, it was this very same former courier who led a massive army to conquer Beijing, forcing Emperor Chongzhen to hang himself on Coal Hill. The mere reduction of a few hundred thousand taels of silver ultimately cost the entire Ming Dynasty.

Sun Qing took two steps, then turned back and instructed, "Lord Song, post a notice at the city gate tomorrow."

"Hejian Prefecture is recruiting workers, requiring those with experience working at post stations."