Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 241: Transmission! The Ming Dynasty Crown Prince's Order!

In Zhu Cilang's concept, the governance method of ancient society has always been based on the principle that imperial power does not extend to the countryside.

Therefore, he felt that at the level of the county government, it would not take many people to complete the tasks assigned by the central government.

But what about the actual situation?

According to the senior officer, there were no more than 20 to 30 people in Dayu County who actually received salaries from the court. But if one included the yamen runners, constables, clerks, and aides who also received official salaries, the number would definitely be more than 400 to 500.

Zhu Cilang was naturally extremely surprised by this, but fortunately the older officer knew more, and after some chatting he roughly understood the reasons and connected it with some of his own experiences.

For Zhu Cilang, this kind of thing was not difficult to understand. It was just that the bureaucratic group was desperately trying to expand its influence, which resulted in more and more work being put on the grassroots.

With more work, there will naturally be more people needed to do the work.

But how can the court regulations be changed so easily?
Although there is a shortage of people to do the work below, the higher-ups don't care what you say and just push the work down as much as possible without increasing funding or adding staff. In the end, local officials have to think of workarounds in order to complete the tasks assigned by their higher-ups.

At this point, some people may think that they have understood why the number of non-staff staff is dozens of times that of regular staff, but in fact, this is just the beginning. To truly develop such a large team, other factors must come into play.

People have to eat, and adding staff means more funding. However, although the higher-ups turn a blind eye to the recruitment of non-staff members at the grassroots level, it is absolutely impossible for them to increase funding again.

As a result, local officials had to find ways to make money to support their people, and things like fire consumption, embezzlement, and exorbitant taxes naturally emerged.

Things are becoming increasingly out of control here.

I can get the money to maintain the operation of the government office from those things that have already turned from black income to gray income, so why can't I get a little more for myself?
I can recruit ten more people to complete the above tasks, so why can't I recruit a hundred more so that I can save some favors?
Based on this, more and more black income has gradually evolved into gray income, and the team of government offices has become larger and larger.

In the end, this system becomes increasingly unable to operate smoothly, and even becomes an obstacle to social development. The world becomes more and more chaotic, until some unmanageable crisis occurs, and a big empire collapses at an extremely fast speed.

Such things are actually not uncommon in Chinese history. It can even be said that they are unavoidable in almost every dynasty and generation.

note!

Almost!
Some people have avoided these things by relying on their strong prestige, firm beliefs and high sense of responsibility, but...
No more gossip.

In short, after talking with that group of officials for a while, Zhu Cilang finally had some superficial understanding of the operation of local government.

Afterwards, he stayed in Dayu County for a day according to Hu Maozhen's plan. He waited until the soldiers were tired from the long journey and the scouts had found out the situation in Ganzhou before he led his troops north again.

It is worth mentioning that when the army was about to arrive at Dayu, the county magistrate was so scared that he closed the four gates and only said that money, food and supplies would be sent down from the city to reward the troops, but he did not dare to send even half a man out of the city.

Hu Maozhen was naturally very angry about this. If the prince had not been by his side, he might have captured his own city before fighting the Tartars.

In comparison, Zhu Cilang behaved more indifferently.

After all, tigers don’t eat people, and their reputation is known outside.

With such a large army of unknown origin marching outside the city, any county magistrate would have to be cautious.

Moreover, due to various considerations, they did not deliberately publicize the news that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was in the army. With these two factors combined, it was reasonable that the army was locked up outside the city.

However, there are always various mistakes in such events. I don't know whether it was because the officers at the provincial border checkpoints returned to the city to report, or because the news leaked during the handover procedures with the county magistrate.

When the army had finished its repairs and was about to set out, the magistrate of Dayu County and a group of county officials knelt outside the camp gate.

Faced with such a situation, Zhu Cilang had some experience. After sending away the county magistrate in a few quick moves, the army finally headed for Ganzhou as originally planned.

At this point, Hu Maozhen finally demonstrated the abilities he had developed during his many years of military career.

It is not an exaggeration to say that he could command the five thousand soldiers as easily as with his own arms, but each of them performed their duties and followed the routine.

Don't think that this level is nothing.

You have to know that in that era when everyone was illiterate and communication depended on shouting, the biggest constraint on the army's ability to march only 20 to 30 miles a day was not the speed of movement, but the fact that if they marched any further the team would disperse.

Under such circumstances, Hu Maozhen's troops were not only able to maintain a roughly orderly formation during the march, but were also able to respond promptly to various messages from the scouts ahead. Hu Maozhen's ability must have been extraordinary to be able to train such a force.

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"Report~~~~~~! There is a battle between three armies ten miles ahead!"

Fighting?

Return the three armies?
Hearing this, not only Hu Maozhen looked incredulous, but even Zhu Cilang, who knew something about the situation in Jiangxi, was stunned for a moment.

"Speak more clearly, where did the three armies come from?"

"Reporting to the general, the warring parties are divided into three places, and..."

"And what?!"

"And they all carried the Ming Dynasty's military flag."

Seeing that the soldier was hesitant in speaking, Hu Maozhen urged him again anxiously. However, even after the answer came out, he felt even more puzzled. Seeing the helpless look on the face of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, he waved his hand weakly as if he had thought of something.

Zhu Cilang was naturally helpless.

In his impression, the biggest reason for the failure of the Ming army's counterattack in Jiangxi was the internal strife between the troops of King Yongning and King Luochuan.

Although it is not yet time for them to counterattack, the ice is three feet thick and it didn't freeze overnight. So why would it be strange for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to see their internal strife?

To be honest, although it was said that there was an internal conflict between the troops of King Yongning and the troops of King Luochuan, this was really not the original intention of the two kings.

It should be noted that after Prince Yongning retreated to Ganzhou, Wan Yuanji sent out a call for help to the surrounding provinces.

Everyone knows the principle of "the lips and the teeth are cold", and except for Fujian which did not send any troops, the other provinces all sent some troops to help. With the addition of the Dong tribe who came to recruit, the situation outside Ganzhou City immediately became a hodgepodge.

Under such circumstances, the two kings, who were not at an advantage in terms of power, naturally could not exert much control over the armies. "Probe again! Report again!"

"Yes."

The soldiers took the order and left. Hu Maozhen didn't know what to say for a moment. But when the atmosphere was already a little awkward, he suddenly heard His Royal Highness the Crown Prince say, "Are you sure you can beat three of us alone?"
-
Ten miles south of Ganzhou
In the first few days after arriving in Ganzhou, King Yongning was indeed overwhelmed, but in the following days, not only did reinforcements arrive from various places, but Wan Yuanji and others even managed to recruit the Shanzhongdong tribe.

Under such circumstances, not only was the huge pressure brought by the Qing army relieved a lot, but King Yongning even began to plan a counterattack.

But who would have thought that the good days had not lasted for a few days before the reinforcements began to have disputes over money, food and military supplies.

Faced with such a situation, King Yongning, who only had a remnant of his army left, could only appease the various tribes.

However, by the time he started the rebellion, most of his wealth had already been spent, and the Ganzhou treasury had almost become a rat's nest, so his appeasement did not have much effect, and the conflicts between the various groups eventually broke out in the form of fighting.

"General Cao, although the Tartars' offensive has slowed down in the past two days, the enemy has not retreated yet. How can you start an internal conflict first?"

Although King Yongning spoke with great sorrow, the generals in front of him only paid attention to the battle group not far away and did not give any response.

Seeing his performance, King Yongning was naturally annoyed, but in the final analysis, harsh words need strength to support them. Facing Cao Zhijian, who had two thousand experienced soldiers under his command, he really had no good solution.

"Cao Zhijian! You were sent by He Butang to come to our aid, but instead of engaging the enemy, you started a fight with your allies for some small sums of money. Aren't you afraid of being blamed by He Butang?!"

This was probably a combination of soft and hard tactics. Seeing that Prince Yongning's kind words had no effect, Wan Yuanji naturally resorted to threats.

just
"Don't mention that He guy! I, Cao, have made many military achievements, but he favored his trusted aides and sent me here. If it weren't for that, hum!"

At the end, Cao Zhijian probably felt that some things were difficult to say out loud, so he stopped talking. Wan Yuanji, seeing that the central battle group was getting bigger and more intense, left Prince Yongning to continue persuading Cao Zhijian, while he went to the other two places where the general flags were flying.

A moment later, he arrived under another general's flag, and the general under that flag saw him from afar and shouted, "Master Wan! You've come just in time. I was just about to send someone to look for you."

"General Hu, you are not a reckless and aggressive person, why?"

The general whom Wan Yuanji called General Hu was the general who came from Lin'an, Yunnan to rescue.

If you think about it carefully, they were heading to Yingtian, not specifically to support Ganzhou. They had just arrived in Jiangxi when they heard the news that Hongguang had been captured. Although there were various rumors afterwards, the road to the north from Jiangxi had been cut off, so they stayed in Ji'an. They only came to Ganzhou after Wanyuanji's letter for help was sent.

"Oh! Lord Wan, you don't know, earlier I saw General Cao and the bandits clashing and wanted to send people to separate them, but who knew that both sides were so unkind that they even beat me who was trying to stop the fight." At this point, General Hu was already very aggrieved. After calming down a little, he continued, "You should think of a way to stop the fighting between the two sides."

Stop the war?

Wan Yuanji naturally also wanted both sides to stop fighting.

But to stop the war, orders must be issued by several sides at the same time. If only one side retreats, it may be chased and beaten by the other two sides. Who is willing to suffer such a loss?

Let’s convince the Dong tribe first before making other plans.

With this in mind, Wan Yuanji urged his horse to go to the other side. However, as his figure gradually became smaller, a sturdy general beside General Hu said with some concern: "I think this trip will be in vain."

The general's name was Hu Yiqing, and he could be called the bravest and most powerful man in the late Ming Dynasty.

According to historical records: Yiqing was short and agile, and was particularly good at using a horse lance. He held two lances under his armpits and threw them thirty steps away, hitting heavy armor and causing them to fall into the cave. He would chase and seize the lances, throwing and seizing them repeatedly. Whenever he rushed into the battle array, he would kill dozens of people with his own hands as a rule.

When their army was first formed, Hu Yiqing was appointed as a lieutenant general by the local Yunnan officials in charge of recruiting soldiers. However, after a period of contact, the general and deputy general above him both attached great importance to Hu Yiqing's opinions because of his bravery.

In the original history, Hu Yiqing once served as a Duke during the Yongli period, but the Southern Ming Dynasty was already doomed by then, and he eventually became disheartened after the defeat and chose to become a monk.

Sure enough, about half a cup of tea later, Wan Yuanji ran back with a bitter face. But when a few people were about to ask about the situation, they heard the faint sound of waist drums. When they looked in the direction of the sound, they saw teams of soldiers in fiery red cotton armor coming from the south to the beat of drums.

Where did these people come from?

As the troops slowly approached, the three military commanders began to have the same questions in their minds.

Those coming from the south were either soldiers from Fujian or Guangdong. But as far as they knew, the land camps of these two provinces were mostly just for show. How could such a group of people who looked difficult to deal with suddenly appear?

"Captain, another group of Ming troops is coming! Why don't we stop them first?"

Upon hearing these words, the leader of the Dong tribe, Zhang An, immediately showed disdain on his face.

Their tribe has always been both bandits and civilians, and has had many dealings with the Ming army.

Due to the limitations of his knowledge and experience, he did not see how the new Ming army was different from the other troops, so naturally he would not stop fighting because of this.

"Why are you panicking? We are here to help the Han people fight the Tartars. Do they really dare to gang up on us and bully us?!"

In fact, Zhang An didn't take this internal conflict seriously at all. After all, in the mountains, the ownership of good things was decided by force. Even if there would be some hatred after the fight, it was just within the rules of the mountains.

But how could the Han people’s rules be so simple?
In his eyes, normal competition would not only lead to greater conflicts, but would also cause the anti-Qing cause to fail.

It seems that even if people with different customs come together, they may not be able to form a synergy.

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"Captain, the Ming army sent someone."

As the voice rang out, Zhang An, who had been focusing all his attention on the central battle group, immediately noticed the sound of horse hooves. When he turned around, he saw several knights with bright yellow flags coming towards several generals' flags.

Is this a message?

I am not under their jurisdiction. If they have orders, they can just pass them on to the Ming army. Why do they need to send people here?

Thinking of this, Zhang An planned to leave it alone, but when he turned his head, he was stunned where he was.

"Send! The Crown Prince of the Ming Dynasty has issued an order! All warring parties must withdraw to their main camps within the next incense stick. Those who disobey the order will be subject to military law!"

(End of this chapter)