Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 348 It’s a nice thought
"Old minister Qian Qianyi, congratulations to Your Majesty on another great victory~~~!"

Looking at the "Prime Minister" who slowly bowed before him, Zhu Cilang's heart was as clear as a mirror.

He received Qian Qianyi's memorial a few days ago.

In that memorial, Lord Qian believed it was necessary to make a special report to His Majesty on recent state affairs, so he requested to come to Guangzhou.

Zhu Cilang thought this was reasonable.

After all, a lot of things have happened during this period, and he also wanted to hear the reactions of all parties from the cabinet ministers.

But at the same time, he also knew that Lao Qian’s real purpose was not to report.

So Zhu Cilang was a little curious about what method these old ministers wanted to use to urge him to go back.

"Thank you for your hard work, please take a seat."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Qian Qianyi took a seat as ordered, and after some formalities he brought the topic directly to the point.

This time he wanted to welcome His Majesty back to Yingtian, but from a practical point of view, there were indeed many things in the court that needed to be reported specifically.

For example, let’s take the issue of reclamation.

After several reorganizations, there were more than 100,000 soldiers who were laid off in the entire Jiangnan area.

According to what Your Majesty said, no matter whether these people were previously surrendered soldiers or righteous citizens, the court must find a way out for them.

But it is obviously unrealistic to classify them as military households. Not to mention that many of these people were originally military households in the north and already hated the garrison system. The lack of land in Jiangnan alone has become an unavoidable problem.

At first, according to the idea of ​​the cabinet ministers, these laid-off soldiers would be supported by the court first, and after Jiangxi was recaptured and the connection between the east and the west was opened up, they would be resettled in the form of garrisons in Hunan, Jiangxi and other places where the population losses were relatively large.

This was a proper method, but to their surprise, Zhu Cilang wanted to set up an organization called the Tunken Group and included all the land confiscated from Jiangnan and the ownerless lands in Hunan and Jiangxi into it.

In the eyes of some people, although this military settlement corps did not classify soldiers as military households like the garrisons, nor did it restrict their exchanges like the garrisons, it was actually the same thing as military settlements in essence.

But who is Mr. Qian?

He had been following Zhu Cilang since Yingtian was besieged. He had been criticized and praised afterwards, so he had a very clear understanding of His Majesty's methods.

Therefore, even if he had some guesses in his mind, how could he not treat it seriously before he actually received the imperial decree?
"This guardhouse is rotten to the core."

After explaining all the relevant matters concerning the reclamation group, Qian Qianyi finally hesitated and asked a question. However, Zhu Cilang did not hide anything when he saw that his prime minister asked him, and he stated his ultimate goal directly.

"It's useless for fighting and farming. This garrison is useless except for letting those generals exploit the soldiers and ruin the reputation of the court."

"Your Majesty is wise, but..."

"Why?"

"It's just that this method is taking a while to be effective."

Zhu Cilang also agreed with Qian Qianyi's statement.

If he were to do it piecemeal like he was doing, it would take him several years to turn all the garrisons into agricultural reclamation groups.

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Governing a big country is like cooking a small fish.

At this time, the garrison had developed into a serf manor. Not only was there a very serious problem of ghost soldiers, but even the soldiers who were still in the garrison had low combat effectiveness and were almost like zombies.

But to be frank, this is just what we see on the surface. If we investigate more deeply, which general in the entire army is not involved?
Take the garrison stationed in Yingtian for example. That night Zhu Cilang captured more than ninety thousand households in one go.

If calculated at full strength, the more than 90 thousand households would have at least 110,000 or 120,000 troops under their command. However, in the end, the total number of soldiers who climbed onto the city walls was only 50,000 to 60,000 old and weak.

What about the rest?

Did he disappear from the face of the earth?
At the beginning, Zhu Cilang had no ability and dared not to pursue the matter, but he knew with a little thought that these vacant staff were either being paid without working or serving as slaves for the powerful.

In a situation like this, if he really issued an order to change the existing interest structure, those confused garrison soldiers might be instigated by the military generals to cause trouble in no time.

Therefore, according to his plan, he would set up the framework first, and then reform the garrison after the soldiers saw the benefits of the agricultural reclamation group.

In this way, the momentum will be from the bottom up, and the court will not only be able to save a lot of effort, but also be able to carry out things more safely.

"Governing a big country is like cooking a small fish. I can wait."

This idea was somewhat imperial in nature, so Zhu Cilang would not explain it to Qian Qianyi in detail. When he saw that the other party seemed to understand, he smiled and asked, "Anything else?"

"Your Majesty, there is also the matter of the Sea Trade Group."

"Go ahead."

"Yes, Your Majesty, the 35 rules you set are well thought out. After studying them for a long time, I feel that they have covered all aspects. However, Qian Qianyi paused for a moment, and then seemed to have made up his mind. He gritted his teeth and continued, "I still don't understand the meaning of real-name registration and prohibition of buying and selling."

"Tell them to take it easy."

"I apologize, sir."

Such an answer was obviously beyond Qian Qianyi's expectations. After hearing the words, he was stunned at first, and then he bowed to the ground.

He had absolutely no intention of getting involved in such matters.

No matter what, His Majesty did not take certain groups into consideration at the time of this share raising. If he were to get involved without knowing the consequences under such circumstances, who knows whether he would end up in a bad situation?
But there is always a limit to what one can bear regarding pressure.

Before leaving Yingtian, a group of representatives of the princes and relatives came to visit. When they docked in Hangzhou, Zhu Guobi said something else on behalf of the nobles.

If these two parties came separately, he would be able to deal with them with his status as the Prime Minister, but if these two sides attacked at the same time, he would find it difficult to withstand it.

"What crime are you asking for? We only met once or twice. Do you think I would still suspect you because of this?"

"Your Majesty."

But with just these few words, Qian Qianyi felt a chill running down his waist and back all the way to his head.

He felt it was wrong before only because the matter of the Sea Trade Group had already been settled, and it was somewhat inappropriate for him to sound out His Majesty on behalf of those two gangs.

But at this moment he suddenly thought that the emperor was no longer in Yingtian, but he was secretly meeting with clan relatives and nobles. If someone really wanted to use this to do something, how could he escape the charge of plotting against his will?

Fortunately.
"Don't kneel down. I'm not a suspicious person. Besides, now is not the same as before."

"Your Majesty! I, your humble servant, really have no other thoughts, but..."

"You just don't want to offend anyone at once, right?"

"Your Majesty is wise!" Looking at Qian Qianyi who bowed again, Zhu Cilang was speechless.

Apart from his cowardice and lack of political sensitivity, he was actually quite satisfied with Qian Qianyi as the Prime Minister.

In essence, he was already a very powerful emperor in the Ming Dynasty.

Even though his style of doing things in domestic affairs is not that of a tough and reckless person, it would be more appropriate to choose someone who is a little softer as the prime minister.

It's just that this old man was fooled once in history because he failed to see the true nature of the Tartar regime, and now he has done such a sensitive thing again.

The Prime Minister who is so confused about the situation
Alas~~~~, this butt still needs to be wiped.

With this in mind, Zhu Cilang pulled Qian Qianyi up. Seeing that Qian Qianyi looked very grateful for the emperor's grace, he continued, "Ask them for me, if there were no merchants from the four provinces paving the way, would they pay to buy shares?"

"I have noted it down."

"Alas~~~, let them wait. I only have those 200 shares, and Ming Dynasty will not only have that one company. You can just deduct half a year's salary."

If others were to think from their perspective, since his salary had been fined, no matter what Qian Qianyi thought in his heart, he had to show some expression of regret and remorse on his face.

But who would have thought that as soon as Zhu Cilang finished speaking, he actually showed joy on his face, and then, regardless of whether he had just been helped up or not, he bowed to the ground again.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your consideration, old minister."

This was not because of the saying "Thunder, lightning, rain and dew are all grace from the emperor", but because he felt the protection of His Majesty from such an arrangement.

To be honest, it was not easy to be the Prime Minister in the Jingwu Dynasty.

It would be fine if there was a wise ruler above who could see everything, but the key was that there was a group of fierce and covetous ministers below who were eyeing him covetously.

Qian Qianyi's every move could become a reason for his property to be confiscated and his crimes to be brought against him in the eyes of someone with ulterior motives.

Fortunately, His Majesty finally kissed him.

This time, not only was it pointed out that he had secretly met with clan relatives and nobles, but he was also "fined half a year's salary" afterwards.

In this way, even if some people are still angry with Qian Qianyi for failing to successfully acquire shares, what can they say openly to the Prime Minister who has been implicated?
"I know your difficulties, and I will protect you if I need to." Zhu Cilang said halfway, but he saw that the old minister's eyes were red. Then he changed the topic and said, "Okay, you have other things to do on this trip, let's talk about something else."

"I understand, your servant."

After all, Qian Qianyi was not a young girl, so he would not lose his composure in such an occasion. After Zhu Cilang finished speaking, he calmed down in a moment and then reported as if nothing had happened.

"Your Majesty, although I want to persuade you to return to heaven as soon as possible, I do have reasons to ask you to go back."

"Oh? Is there anything else besides the Tartars who came to negotiate peace?"

According to Zhu Cilang's thinking, Old Qian must have come south to call him back to negotiate peace, but looking at the other party's current appearance, it seems that it is not that simple, which makes him curious.

After the battle in Jiangxi, the three groups of troops that the Tartars sent to enter the pass were either crippled or destroyed.

The only western route that was still alive was dealing with Zhang Xianzhong on the Sichuan-Shaanxi border. Zhu Cilang really couldn't think of any reason that Lao Qian could come up with to persuade him to go back.

But then again, since they have already made such a bold move, they will certainly not be mysterious.

After thinking for a while, Zhu Cilang could only wait for Lao Qian's response with great curiosity.

"Your Majesty, it's time for you to get married."

"."

It is obvious that this matter really needs to be done by him personally, and no one else can replace him.

But according to his thinking, he would only be eighteen next year, so there was no need to rush into matters like marriage. It was really a bit misleading for Qian Qianyi to use this reason to persuade him to go back.

"Besides, you still have to perform the coming-of-age ceremony. It would be a bit hasty if the two things were put together."

Ok.

Zhu Cilang naturally didn't care much about these things, but at the same time he also knew how important such things were in this era.

In the final analysis, things like etiquette and law are of utmost importance at the moment, and cannot be taken lightly.

It's just the three southwestern provinces.
The three southwestern provinces are actually Sichuan and Yunnan.

He was naturally salivating over the Dashi Army in Sichuan, but he had to consider the specific means and circumstances to subdue them.

No matter what, even if every member of the Dashi Army could fight ten enemies at once, Li Dingguo was the best in the world. Zhu Cilang would rather let them be wiped out than have another group of people who would only follow orders and not declarations emerge in the Ming Dynasty.

In this way, the room for maneuver in how to deal with the Dashi Army will be compressed to the limit, and the power and responsibilities of the person in charge will also be heavy to a certain extent.

Zhu Cilang was not very sure whether Fan Yiheng could complete this task.

As for Yunnan
Judging from the enemy's combat power alone, ten Sha Dingzhous are no match for Zhang Xianzhong and Hauge.

But in the past few hundred years, troubles have occurred frequently in Yunnan, and he naturally wanted to take this opportunity to eliminate all the unstable factors in one fell swoop.

But then again, does Mu Tianbo have this ability?

He has been attacking the chieftains in Yunnan since he inherited the title, but after so many years, the Ming Dynasty's power in Yunnan has not increased at all, but it has given rise to a traitor like Sha Dingzhou who took advantage of the situation to rob.

For this reason alone, Zhu Cilang would never dare to hand over such a task to the contemporary Duke of Qian.

Alas~~~~ I started too quickly and have no one available.

After thinking for a while, Zhu Cilang finally sighed.

As the saying goes, you can't have your cake and eat it too.

Since he came to power, he has devoted most of his attention to the military, leaving all domestic issues to the cabinet.

This behavior naturally allowed him to train many capable military commanders. It was not an exaggeration to say that he had many military commanders.

But on the other hand, this also meant that he didn't know much about the civil officials, and the few that were there were all placed in key positions.

Otherwise, with so many civil servants south of the Yangtze River, how could he not find the right person to handle such problems?
This is probably a common problem among emperors.

"Let me think about it for a while, and first tell you what the Tartars mean."

After a while, Zhu Cilang stopped hesitating and after sorting out the pros and cons, he turned the topic to the Tartars.

"Your Majesty, the Tartars want to divide the country by the river, and secondly, they want to..." At this point, Qian Qianyi, who had previously acted like a king and his subjects, glanced at Zhu Cilang furtively, "to use Princess Kunxing and the princes of the royal family to exchange for the Qing troops captured in Ji'an."

(End of this chapter)