Emperor Chongzhen was too extreme.

Chapter 67: Equal Distribution of Land, Imperial Audience

The saying "three men can make a tiger" perfectly illustrates this point.

Sun Chuanting naturally understood this principle.

Although he knew that the rumors he had heard must be exaggerated, they still kept him on edge for a long time.

For the saying "three men can make a tiger" to be true, there has to actually be a tiger in the picture.

What exactly did the emperor do at Tongguan?!

That's why, in just one day, public opinion in Puzhou County on the other side of the river became so exaggerated.
Moreover, Sun Chuanting noticed that even the government offices in Puzhou had changed drastically overnight.

They actually began to actively gather a small number of refugees who had successfully escaped from Shaanxi and fled here, but had no way to make a living.

Is this still the government office of the Ming Dynasty?!
Therefore, after resting briefly in Puzhou, Sun Chuanting immediately took a ferry to Tongguan.

at the same time.

Inside Tongguan City.

Zhu Youjian summoned some people from Tongguan City.

These people were mostly impoverished scholars or respected elders from the common people.

All the officials in Tongguan City have been killed, but the work in Tongguan City still needs to be done.

The subsequent decrees still needed to be implemented, so Zhu Youjian selected these people to handle government affairs.

As for whether this group of people will become corrupt like the officials who were killed before, it remains to be seen.

Zhu Youjian knew perfectly well that the answer was yes.

But with the recent killings serving as a deterrent, the new batch will absolutely not dare to do anything inappropriate in a short period of time.

For Zhu Youjian, that was enough.

Human strength is ultimately limited.

Zhu Youjian's purpose in coming to Shaanxi was to help Shaanxi recover first.

Instead of being unrealistic like before, attempting to turn the tide in a very short time.

Having already suffered a severe setback once, Zhu Youjian would not make the same mistake twice.

Because Shaanxi is currently far too weak.

Not only was the officialdom appalling, but the military and border defenses were also appalling.

Take Tongguan Garrison as an example.

Theoretically, the Tongguan garrison should have had 5,600 men on its border.

However, there were actually fewer than 500 military households in the entire Tongguan Pass, and more than half of these 500 people were old, weak, sick and disabled people who were just there to make up the numbers.

Therefore, Zhu Youjian's decree to Tongguan was very simple and not too difficult to implement.

All cultivated land belonging to Tongguan was divided equally among the population and households.

The rest of the laws were to be enforced as before.

For all the people in the city.

Upon hearing the news that all the land would be equally distributed among the people, everyone in the city was shocked, and then overjoyed.

It should be noted that previously, most of the farmland in Tongguan had been seized by the gentry and wealthy families in the city.

The wealthy households owned far more farmland than all the people in Tongguan City combined.

What is a field?
Farmland is the lifeblood of the people, and it is the hope for all their efforts.

Now, all the people have been given so much land for no reason.

This inevitably evoked a sense of fervor in them when they looked at the dragon banners that symbolized the emperor.

This fervor spread like wildfire among the people, eventually evolving into a collective unconsciousness.

This collective unconsciousness spread wider and wider within Tongguan City as the people spread the word.

They even said they were willing to die for the emperor if he gave the order.

After the edict was read aloud outside.

Inside the county government office, Zhu Youjian continued to instruct his subordinates: "Have someone continue to send the heads to the remaining counties of Xi'an Prefecture."

Xi'an Prefecture comprised thirty-one counties.

Yesterday, the news only reached about ten counties near Tongguan.

Today, all county governments in the entire Xi'an Prefecture will receive this message.

After a pause, Zhu Youjian continued, "Let's rest for a day today and set off for Xi'an Prefecture tomorrow."

The subordinate bowed and replied, "This servant obeys the decree!"

Xi'an Prefecture was not only the administrative capital of Shaanxi Province, but also the home of a colossal figure recorded in the imperial clan register—the King of Qin.

For Zhu Youjian

Whether they were members of the royal family or officials and gentry, they were all destined to die.

But how to make their deaths more meaningful for the empire is something that needs to be seriously considered.

Just as Zhu Youjian was pondering, a eunuch bowed and approached:
"Your Majesty, the Embroidered Uniform Guard just reported that there is a man outside the gate who claims to be a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) from the Tianqi era, named Sun Chuanting, and has important matters to report to you."

"Judging from his appearance, he is quite distinguishable and his words do not seem to be fabricated. I have come to ask you for your advice on how to deal with him."

Sun Chuanting.

Zhu Youjian did indeed have some recollection of this name.

While in the palace, he often looked through the official register.

That's why I remember this name.

This is because Sun Chuanting was a rare example of a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) who voluntarily resigned and returned to his hometown after only one year in office.

Judging from this action and his decision to follow the group to Shaanxi, Sun Chuanting is indeed a man of ambition.

And now.

Zhu Youjian did indeed need a capable deputy to help him handle some minor matters.

But what exactly are Sun Chuanting's abilities?

He needs to see it for himself before he can decide whether or not to use this person.

"Bring him here," Zhu Youjian said calmly.

"This slave takes the order."

Sun Chuanting, who was anxiously waiting outside the county government office, became uneasy when he heard that the emperor was willing to summon him directly.

Although this was indeed the ultimate goal of his long journey.

But this is an audience with the Emperor.

Moreover, the one who summoned him was a powerful ruler with immense strength.

After arriving at Tongguan, Sun Chuanting had roughly figured out what the emperor had done in just one day.

The gentry and wealthy families were all killed, and at the same time, all the land was distributed to the people in the city.

This method sent chills down even the wits of Sun Chuanting, who considered himself to have witnessed countless deaths.

After all, this is from Sun Chuanting's perspective.

He never imagined that someone would kill all the gentry and officials and then redistribute the land equally.

Or perhaps Sun Chuanting did fantasize about it, but such behavior could probably only be seen if the Taizu or Chengzu were resurrected.

The current emperor has only been on the throne for two months.
How could Sun Chuanting not be uneasy?
In this state of anxiety.

Led by the Imperial Guards, Sun Chuanting passed through the heavily guarded courtyard and finally arrived at a side room.

there.

He saw a young face with a calm expression but an overwhelming aura.

Unable to contain his excitement any longer, Sun Chuanting took a deep breath, knelt down, and shouted:

"Your Majesty, I, Sun Chuanting, humbly request Your Majesty's well-being!"

"The reason I risked my life to seek an audience with Your Majesty is because I recently traveled to Shaanxi."

"The people of Shaanxi are devastated, and in Yan'an Prefecture, the hardest-hit area, people have resorted to cannibalism."

"I cannot bear to see the people of my Great Ming Dynasty suffer such a miserable state, and I have already submitted a memorial to the capital explaining the advantages and disadvantages!"

"I never expected to hear that Your Majesty's imperial procession traveled all the way from the capital to Shanxi, so I followed you all the way from Daizhou in Shanxi."

"I humbly request Your Majesty to grant me an opportunity to serve Your Majesty in your presence."

As soon as Sun Chuanting finished speaking, he knelt quietly on the ground, not daring to move.

Just a few days ago, he was thinking that if he could really meet the emperor, he would offer some advice on how to govern Shaanxi.

But when he actually saw it, Sun Chuanting found himself unable to utter a single word.

In the presence of a truly great and wise ruler, his advice seemed like child's play.

The various stories he had heard in the past few days, coupled with the emperor's imposing presence, had completely captivated Sun Chuanting the moment he saw the emperor.

But to Sun Chuanting's surprise, the emperor's first words struck him like a thunderbolt.

"Sun Chuanting, in your opinion, if we want to save Shaanxi, should the Ming imperial family be killed?"

(End of this chapter)