Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 362 Your Majesty is wise
Regardless of whether Zhu Cilang was trying to win people's hearts or not, the Ming army in Sichuan did face extremely difficult conditions before he came to power.

There is no way around this.

Although the Ming army in central Sichuan had Guizhou at its back and the land of abundance in front of it, Guizhou was a place with no flat ground at all. The grain produced there could not even supply the local population. After experiencing several wars, the population in central Sichuan had already been greatly reduced, and even most of the cities were empty.

According to historical records, Sichuan had a population of more than six million during the Wanli period, but by the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, there were only more than 16,000 households left.

Such a huge population loss naturally would not have occurred out of thin air.

To put it bluntly, if there was just one family among the Tartar bandits, government troops and bandits who treated ordinary people as human beings instead of treating them as tools to produce money and grain or food for emergency use, Sichuan, a place that feeds people, would not have only one in a hundred survived.

Fortunately, the final melee had not yet fully unfolded, and Zhu Cilang still had a chance to prevent the situation from getting too bad. So when he was welcomed into the lobby by the grateful Sichuan Civil and Military Officers, the first thing he said was about this.

"Lord Fan, when I was in Guangdong, I heard that the cabinet was planning to allow the money and grain transported to Sichuan to be transported by water?"

"Your Majesty, the first batch of money and grain arrived ten days ago, but Chongqing is still in the hands of Zhang Xianzhong, so the grain ships have to transfer to Zishui River after arriving in Hunan, and then transported to Guizhou by land." At this point, Fan Yiheng paused, obviously waiting for his majesty to form an idea in his mind: "Although this is also very wasteful, it saves a lot compared to going purely by land."

After the words fell, the expressions on everyone's faces were as harmonious as before, but if you were there, you could clearly feel that the temperature in the hall seemed to have suddenly become a little colder.

It is obvious that Fan Yiheng is taking this opportunity to plant an important impression of Chongqing in His Majesty's mind.

But if we look at the facts, there is nothing wrong with what he said.

In essence, the cost of land transportation can be more than twenty times that of water transportation. If you want to transport a cart of grain by land to the center of Sichuan, the cost can even be as much as three or four carts.

Under such circumstances, taking control of Chongqing would mean that one cart of grain shipped to central Sichuan would become four or five carts. The Ming army, with sufficient money and food, would be able to gain an advantage in subsequent battles.

"Well, now that the grain route has been opened, the army should have no shortage of money and grain."

"Your Majesty, after such a long period of time, our army is now well-trained and well-fed. As long as you give the order, we will be able to conquer Sichuan in one battle!"

When saying this, Fan Yiheng deliberately raised his voice slightly, just to let His Majesty see his confidence.

But who would have thought that His Majesty, who was extremely kind to his subjects, did not get too excited by this. Instead, he put away his smile after he finished speaking.

"All the generals in the army are here today."

"Your Majesty, they are all here."

"Since you are all here, I will set some rules for you."

Damn!
As soon as the words fell, not only Fan Yiheng, but also Wang Yingxiong, who was anxiously standing by, felt a sinking feeling in his heart.

Establishing rules means there is a problem, and establishing rules so solemnly means there is an extremely serious problem.

But where exactly does this problem lie?
Is it because the two governors don’t get along?

With this in mind, Fan and Wang glanced at each other inadvertently, and before they could think about it again, the young voice of His Majesty came over.

"Because of the special circumstances earlier, I will not pursue the matter. But from today on, if anyone dares to harm the people, don't blame the military law for being ruthless."

Zhu Cilang's tone became increasingly calm, but except for a few people in the hall, everyone was silent.

Some of them cannot be brought to the table, but tens of thousands of troops were able to hold out for more than a year in this barren land at the junction of Sichuan and Guizhou. They must have tried all the possible methods.

Everyone present knew this, but after hearing this, they couldn't help but wonder: Now that the army has enough food and grass, who would do such a thing? Is His Majesty trying to establish his authority?

As the thoughts turned, all the civil and military officials present had a new understanding of their own Majesty.

First he made them understand with emotion, then he moved them with reason, and with the addition of the remnants of the rebel army and the imperial guards, who in Sichuan would dare to disobey the emperor's order?
But they were wrong in the end.

If these words were spoken by anyone else, they would probably be meant to establish authority, but now Zhu Cilang not only has hundreds of thousands of lions who have won battles in succession, but he has also firmly occupied the orthodoxy.

With such strength and power, even if he really wanted to establish his authority, he could have used the heads of his enemies, but there was no need to scare his own subjects here.

Zhu Cilang was not very concerned about the thoughts of the generals in Sichuan.

As the saying goes, a journey of a thousand miles tests a horse's strength, and time reveals a person's true character. At this moment, even if he talks himself hoarse and thinks that he is using this to establish his authority, he will not change his mind.

Instead of wasting words, it would be better to let the facts prove that he really doesn't want the people to suffer from war anymore.

"I will receive the order."

As all the ministers knelt down to accept the order, the smile returned to Zhu Cilang's face. But when he was about to say something else, he saw Wang Yingxiong stand up first.

"Your Majesty is compassionate to the people, just like the ancient sages," said Old Commander Wang, bowing and kowtow. After he stood up, he continued, "It just so happens that we met today, so I want to report the matter of Hunan's military farming in detail."

Hunan military farming?

Seeing Wang Yingxiong's incoherent words, the generals in the hall felt a little puzzled.

But there is still another Fan Yiheng in this place. Their status and qualifications are similar, so they can naturally understand the real meaning of this sentence.

"Your Majesty, I have heard that General Li and his troops have established a settlement in Hunan, but I do not know the specific results. It is a good opportunity for Wang Zhitai to report the details to Your Majesty, so that I can learn from it."

They were all civil officials capable of leading troops in battle, so they naturally knew that military discipline was easier to loosen than to tighten.

But at the same time, they also knew that His Majesty's words would probably make the military generals think that he was just trying to establish his authority, and they would not pay much attention to the imperial order itself.

Therefore, when Wang Yingxiong used the reclamation of Hunan to prove that His Majesty truly loved the people, Fan Yiheng, who had always wanted to enforce strict military discipline but had no idea where to start, would naturally cooperate.

"Okay, since one of you wants to speak and the other wants to listen, I'll also listen to the situation in Hunan."

"Reporting to your Majesty, when General Li and his troops entered Hunan, many of them were accompanied by their families and refugees. In addition to the old and weak who were laid off, there were a total of 360,000 people."

As Wang Yingxiong spoke, the entire process of settling the people in the ownerless land appeared in everyone's mind.

When the military generals were surprised at His Majesty's generosity towards the people, they naturally understood that "Don't blame the military law for being ruthless" was not just for the purpose of establishing authority.

".According to your majesty's order, sweet potatoes, potatoes, and corn were not forcibly promoted. They were only planted a little in each county. When I left Hunan, I had some potatoes dug out. The big ones were as big as a child's fist."

"Well, you've done a good job. One acre of that thing can produce 3,200 to 3,000 kilograms. If combined with some other food, it can provide a living for the people."

What is racial talent? It means that no matter whether you are engaged in this industry or not, you will instinctively be interested in this industry.

When they heard the words "two or three thousand pounds", everyone, including Fan Yiheng, was stunned where they were.

"Oh, yes, there is also the matter of seed breeding. When we harvest this year, Lord Wang will recruit some people to keep all the good ones as seeds. If we repeat this for a few years, I think the yield will be higher."

"Old minister accepts the order."

Although Zhu Cilang usually leads troops to fight, he attaches much more importance to agriculture than anything else.

He knew very well that there were many reasons for the chaos in the late Ming Dynasty, but hunger was one of the root causes of peasant uprisings.

It just so happened that high-yield crops such as corn, potatoes, and sweet potatoes had been introduced to the Ming Dynasty for some years, but due to various reasons, their planting area was still pitifully small.

So when he decided to settle and cultivate land in Hunan, these three things naturally became the objects of long-term cultivation.

It can be imagined that with the gradual warming of temperatures and the popularization of high-yield crops, the people of the Ming Dynasty will be able to have enough food and clothing within a few years.

By then, not only will the population that has dropped sharply due to the war be able to recover quickly, but the national strength of the Ming Dynasty will certainly far exceed that of the Han and Tang Dynasties, and the prosperity that the Tartar has achieved due to the times and circumstances will naturally be given the name of Jingwu.

At this point, it should be time for all the ministers to take their leave and for His Majesty to rest, but the previous problem had not been resolved yet, and Fan and Wang were unable to utter the words "Your old ministers, take your leave."

"What? Is there anything else you want to say?"

Seeing the expressions on everyone's faces, Zhu Cilang knew that there was still something to be said. After hearing his question, the two governors looked at each other and then cast their gazes on Xiang Rensheng.

It was obvious that whoever reported the matter would be the first to influence His Majesty, but the foul dispute between the two of them was only caused by official business, not any personal grudge.

What's more, it was really difficult to judge the right measure for this report, so they tacitly handed this task to the emperor's "imperial envoy" who was in a neutral position.

"Your Majesty, Zhang Xianzhong's troops have already abandoned Chongqing. Before you came, we were discussing whether we should send troops to occupy the city."

"Oh? Did you come to a conclusion?"

"not yet."

Since someone had taken the lead, Ministers Fan and Wang had no more reservations. After they had each reported their opinions and reasons in detail, the two old ministers quietly waited for His Majesty's decision.

“That’s a difficult thing.”

With a groan, Zhu Cilang frowned, and after seeing the emperor's expression, Fan and Wang, the two ministers who had been looking forward to the arbitration, couldn't help feeling a little guilty.

They knew very well that whether to send troops or not was a dilemma, and no matter which choice they made, they would have to face the possible adverse consequences.

His Majesty had just arrived in Zunyi, and these two old ministers had thrown such a difficult problem in front of him.
It would be better to attach himself to Fan Yiheng, so that the benefits of taking over Chongqing can be realized immediately.

With sufficient money and food, even if Zhang Xianzhong surrenders to the Tartars, our army will still be able to fight.

With this in mind, Wang Yingxiong decided to change his course at the risk of leaving a bad impression on His Majesty. However, when he took a step forward, he saw Fan Yiheng beside him making the same move. They were both stunned at the same time, and then they heard His Majesty speak slowly.

"We can't send these soldiers. If Zhang Xianzhong mistakenly thinks we are going to take advantage of the situation, there will be more trouble. But it's not a good idea to leave such a big city empty."

When the voice came, everyone could hear the difficulty of His Majesty, but when the two old ministers were about to bow and report, His Majesty's voice came again.

"How about this, send some police officers and constables to maintain order in the city, and then we can talk about other things after we figure out the whole thing.
Um. Send more."

Cover your ears and steal the bell.

This is obviously an attempt to cover up one's own mistakes.

But at the moment, everyone has to admit that this is a pretty good decision.

In the absence of a garrison, sending police officers and constables was equivalent to controlling Chongqing, but due to their different identities, it seemed unlikely that these people would pose much of a threat to Zhang Xianzhong.

If everything goes well, after these people enter Chongqing, they will definitely be able to find out the real reason why the Dashi Army withdrew.

By then, the Ming army will be able to make corresponding arrangements based on the internal situation and will not be completely passive.

"Your Majesty is wise. We have been discussing this for a long time, but I didn't expect you to solve our problem with just one word."

"What Wang Zhitai said is wrong. Your Majesty is so wise and brave that the world rarely sees you. Even Emperor Guangwu may not be able to compare with you. When I saw your Majesty coming, I knew that this difficult problem would be solved."

When things got to this point, the natural thing to do was to flatter the emperor to ease the situation. While all the civil and military officials present were trying their best, Li Guo, who seemed to be out of the matter, had another worry.

After all, he is different from Hao Yaoqi and others.

When those people surrendered to the Ming Dynasty before, they did so either because they were disheartened or because they were looking for a way out, but he was truly forced into it and even had other thoughts.

After the meeting in Xiangyin later, he made up his mind, but this decision was only to observe more under the roof of other people, but it did not mean that he really intended to serve the Ming Dynasty for the rest of his life.

Later, the remaining troops of the rebel army received orders to reorganize one after another.

No matter what others thought, Li Guo was quite resistant. If all the military supplies and money had not depended on the support of the imperial court at that time, it was hard to say what decision he would make.

Fortunately, the imperial court did not take the opportunity of reorganization to seize his military power. Instead, it simply resettled his family members, refugees, the elderly and the weak in various ownerless lands.

However, when he learned that the imperial court did not treat these people as animals as it had done in the past, his mind underwent a subtle change.

Going back to the roots, it seems that these people were forced to take up arms just for a bite of food.

Although there were quite a few people who suffered from their harm later, they couldn't help but feel touched when they saw that the court had fulfilled its responsibilities, and they naturally developed some recognition for Emperor Zhu Cilang.

"Your Majesty is Your Majesty after all. The two governors and governors-general can at least distinguish between good and evil. It's like us, a murderous man, who has only come to our senses now."

Just after the two governors finished flattering them, a group of military generals joined the team.

Seeing this, Li Guo seemed to have made some decision. He nudged Gao Yigong with his elbow and then joined the team with him.

"Your Majesty is wise! I, Li Guo, am truly convinced!"

(End of this chapter)