Travel back in time and become Chongzhen, watch me turn the tide

"Did Hou Fangyu tell you everything?" Chongzhen did not respond to Shi Kefa's words, but raised the corners of his mouth slightly and asked with a smile: "Master Shi seems to have something to say..."

"Your Majesty, the Wang family of Puzhou is a very important family in Yangzhou. They are one of the largest salt merchants in Lianghuai..." Shi Kefa frowned slightly and said solemnly. He pondered for a moment, as if laying the groundwork for what he was going to say next.

"So what?" Chongzhen said lightly, his tone as calm as water, and he did not take the matter to heart.

"Your Majesty, the world is in chaos and war is raging. My Ming Dynasty needs money and food everywhere," Shi Kefa said anxiously, his voice slightly raised, and his face showed anxiety. "Now the four towns are running out of food and grain. I just persuaded these salt merchants to give some money and food, and now..."

Shi Kefa's words were full of helplessness and worry. The current situation in the Ming Dynasty court made him feel under great pressure.

"Master Shi, you're too straightforward," Chongzhen sighed, his eyes revealing a hint of helplessness and regret. "These people are just seeing through your character, so they dare to bargain with you. It's just like when I asked the entire court to raise funds. They just knew I couldn't take action against them... And what about Li Zicheng after he entered the city?"

"How?" Shi Kefa asked doubtfully.

"Li Zicheng used the 'funding' and 'stolen goods' provided by our Ming officials. Under severe torture, he actually extorted tens of millions of taels! Those officials who had cried poor in front of me at the time now obediently handed over the silver... My good father-in-law, Zhou Kui, I specially conferred the title of Marquis of Jiading on him, asking him to donate money as an example, but he cried poor to me, saying he had no money. Seeing that he couldn't escape, he finally gave me 10,000 taels of silver. In the end, it was his daughter, my Queen Zhou, who felt sorry for her father and gave him 5,000 taels of silver, asking him to collect another 5,000 taels, which would be the total of 10,000 taels to be handed over. Unexpectedly, my father-in-law was so greedy that not only did he not take the money himself, but he also withheld 2,000 taels from the 5,000 taels given by his daughter, and only handed over 3,000 taels... And what happened after Li Zicheng entered the capital? Under torture, he coughed up 500,000 taels of silver! 500,000 taels..."

Chongzhen's words were full of anger and helplessness, and his eyes revealed his disappointment with these people and his concern about the situation.

"This..." Shi Kefa didn't know what to say for a moment. His face showed shock and helplessness. He couldn't believe these things.

"This Yangzhou city looks prosperous, but it is just like a raging fire. It will be destroyed at any moment..." Chongzhen sighed, his eyes revealing a hint of worry and sadness.

As a later generation, Chongzhen naturally knew what happened in history. Shi Kefa defended Yangzhou City, and when the city was broken, the Qing army massacred the people in the city. After the "Ten Days of Yangzhou", only one in a hundred people in Yangzhou City survived.

The prosperous city of Yangzhou had been transformed into a living hell! The century-old salt reserves of the Lianghuai salt merchants naturally became spoils of war for the Qing army... His heart was filled with worry about the future and helplessness over the historical tragedy.

Chongzhen knew that the army went to war for money and food. Although he now nominally controlled the two towns, if he wanted to make them completely loyal, food and money were naturally indispensable.

In addition, the new army he asked Yan Yingyuan and Li Laiheng to train could not be short of food and wages! This was the most basic guarantee.

Where does the money come from? Is it just the taxes collected from the imperial court? That little tax revenue is not enough to cover the expenses.

Extorting money from the people? That would only alienate them from their loyalty!

The previous Chongzhen Emperor lived frugally, but with the little money saved, it was difficult to do anything. The most important thing was to increase revenue! The Ming Dynasty was not without money, but all the money went into the hands of the royal family, high-ranking officials and dignitaries.

In today's Ming Dynasty, the emperor and the people are extremely poor, while the civil and military officials are extremely rich!

Chongzhen has not figured out how to increase fiscal revenue yet, but he has some ideas about the most urgent matter of money and grain. His current target is the Lianghuai salt merchants in Yangzhou City!

Rather than waiting for history to repeat itself when he could no longer resist the Qing army, he might as well let them spit it out now to strengthen his own strength. As for their dissatisfaction? He didn't mind using a few blind sacrificial knives...

"Xianzhi, the Qing army has just entered the pass, and their main opponent is Li Zicheng. Because it happened suddenly, they are still arguing about whether to go south. That's why we have had peace during this period. Once they react, they may go south to graze horses at any time! And what about us? The four towns in northern Jiangbei seem to have many soldiers and generals, but most of them are defeated generals under Li Zicheng or the Qing army. They are good at internal fighting but not external fighting! We must reorganize to form combat effectiveness, and the enemy doesn't have much time left for us..." Chongzhen's tone became serious. From his words, Shi Kefa could hear his deep insight into the situation and his worry about the future.

"If we still get entangled in some trivial matters, when the Qing army marches south, half of our Ming Dynasty will be overthrown..." Chongzhen's words were full of urgency. He wanted Shi Kefa to recognize the current serious situation.

"Your Majesty is right, but what should we do?" Shi Kefa was so angry at Chongzhen's words that he broke out in a cold sweat. He asked hurriedly with an anxious and worried look on his face.

"Xianzhi, this time you just need to wait and see, I have my own arrangements!" Chongzhen smiled slightly, his eyes revealing confidence and mystery.

"Yes!" Although Shi Kefa still had doubts in his heart, he still responded respectfully.

Just as the two were talking, Hou Fangyu hurried in. His steps were hurried and there was a hint of anxiety on his face.

"Master Commander, the palace eunuch Qu Shangzhong, along with Wang Zheng and several salt merchants, has come to ask for a meeting..." There was a hint of nervousness in his voice.

"Why are there still people from the palace?" Shi Kefa frowned and said with a look of confusion and worry on his face.

"That Qu Shangzhong was sent by the Emperor to Yangzhou to select concubines," Hou Fangyu said with a wry smile, "The woman we rescued was someone the Wang family of Puzhou wanted to send to the palace. I guess... they're here to ask for someone..."

"This..." Shi Kefa smiled bitterly, looked at Chongzhen and said, "I didn't expect these people to arrive so quickly?"

"Who are they?" Chongzhen asked after pondering for a moment.

"That Wang Zheng is the head of the Puzhou Wang family. Also coming with him are the Sanyuan Liang family and the Puzhou Zhang family, both Shanxi merchants. Besides these three salt merchants, there's also the palace eunuch Qu Shangzhong..." Hou Fangyu said hurriedly, his speech speed slightly quickening, his face filled with anxiety. "These people are coming in a very aggressive manner, especially that eunuch Qu. I'm afraid they'll be difficult to deal with!"

"Hmph! The world is in chaos right now, and as the emperor, instead of thinking about how to rectify the government, train the army, and prepare to resist the Qing army's southward advance, he is actually engaging in large-scale construction projects and plundering women. How foolish..." Chongzhen shook his head and swallowed the last word. His eyes revealed anger and disappointment. After a moment of thought, he said, "Xianzhi, go and send them away..."

"This..." Shi Kefa was a little troubled, with hesitation and worry on his face.

"Mr. Zhu, these people can't be easily dismissed," Hou Fangyu said first when he saw Shi Kefa was in trouble. "Especially that Eunuch Qu. Even Lord Shi has to give him face. After all, he represents the emperor..."

Hou Fangyu was somewhat dissatisfied with Mr. Zhu at this time, and his words vaguely reminded Chongzhen of the seriousness of the matter.

"On behalf of the Emperor...hahaha," Chongzhen laughed and shook his head, his laughter was filled with a hint of sarcasm and helplessness.

"Right, right, right. These people grovelled like dogs in the palace, only to become arrogant once they emerged... Eunuch Qu wields such immense authority!... Lord Shi, please persuade them with kind words and send them back. When Liu Liangzuo arrives, I will definitely meet them in person!"

"That's... fine!" Shi Kefa hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Then I'll go talk to them and give them an explanation within the next two days!"

Shi Kefa stood up and took his leave, and Hou Fangyu followed him out. But before leaving, he couldn't help but glance at Chongzhen, thinking to himself, "Who is this Mr. Zhu? Mr. Shi is now second only to the emperor, so why is he treated with such respect?"