Cutting over the end of the Ming Dynasty: a dog-leg knife at the beginning

Chapter 404
In Fan's study.

Fan Shangjing, the governor of Henan Province, walked back and forth restlessly with his hands behind his back, muttering and cursing from time to time, and he didn't know who he was scolding, maybe, he was scolding those who didn't give him good looks?
If this is the case, he will have more people to scold.

The first to be cursed by him must be the princes in power in Beijing.These guys stay away from personnel affairs all day long, only thinking about how to exclude dissidents, and then put their own people in the vacated positions, kicking stones that are not in the way.Thanks to their "efforts", Zhou Yanru, who was born in the Donglin Party, stepped down, and Wen Tiren, who claimed to not form a party or participate in party struggles, became the head of the government. The Donglin Party, which controlled the government, suffered a lot. Naturally, he was no exception, and Chaozhong's attacks on him became more and more violent every time.Unfortunately, as the governor, he has left too many grounds for others to attack, for example, refugees are everywhere, for example, taxes cannot be collected, for example, the Yellow River bursts its embankment, for example... there are too many to count.

Secondly, he must curse the refugees who made him uncomfortable.In recent years, natural disasters in Henan have continued. Droughts, floods, and locust plagues have swept across the Central Plains like a plague. The crops have been lost year after year, and the tax has been increasing year by year. Every time the tax is raised, a large number of farmers have gone bankrupt and become refugees. There are thieves in Henan. , the refugees are constantly fleeing, and in order to survive, there are countless people who have taken risks. Many landlords have to build their own fortresses.In June of this year, the Yellow River burst in Mengjin, Luoyang Prefecture, Henan Province, leaving countless people homeless, and the government could not provide money and food to relieve the disaster. As a result, the number of refugees set a new record.Fortunately, Nanyang absorbed part of it, otherwise it is not known what troubles will arise.As time went by, the momentum of Northwest bandits fleeing to the Central Plains has become more and more obvious, and he doesn't know how to fight, so how can he stand up to it!Why can't those damn untouchables just stay at home and starve to death, insist on cutting trees to fight for soldiers, and make trouble with the court and him?If you stayed at home honestly and starved to death, wouldn’t it be easier for everyone?
The last person to be cursed by him is Nanyang.Those fellows, who have so much money and property in their hands, refuse to use any of it to honor him as a superior, it's simply abhorrent!According to the figures announced by Fang Yizhi, the GDP of Nanyang this year has reached 3107 million taels of silver. What an astonishing figure this is, so Fang can't share [-]% of it!

Due to the ineffective suppression of bandits and disaster relief, the imperial court is already very dissatisfied with him. If this continues, he, the governor, will soon have to go home to sell sweet potatoes. He must make some achievements as soon as possible to keep his position!

At this juncture, the Bird Feather Games organized by Nanyang will give him a chance.The national policy of the Ming Dynasty was to weaken the people. This kind of sports meeting is not in line with the national policy of the Ming Dynasty. Isn't this encouraging the people to strive for strength and victory!According to the report of the eyeliner he sent to investigate the inside story, the common people who watched the competition looked crazy, as if they were possessed by evil spirits. After a game, some people were carried down covered in blood. It was really shocking to be so brave and ruthless.The most outrageous thing is that there is actually a woman who appeared on the stage to compete with the men amidst the cheers of the crowd, and won the championship!Be terribly obedient, the defense against the barbarians and the distinction between men and women are all gone, and the modesty, courtesy, and gentleness that the people of the Ming Dynasty should have are all thrown aside, what will happen in the long run!
Governor Fan returned to the desk, picked up the report handed in by several cronies, read it again carefully, and finally pondered for a moment, picked up the pen, scribbled vigorously, and began to write the memorial.

It's up to this time...

Chongzhen five years on December 28.

The weather in Beijing was gloomy, with snowflakes flying, and it was bitingly cold.

In the Jinchui Hall, all the ministers bowed three times and kowtowed nine times, shouting long live the mountain.

Chongzhen sat on the dragon chair, with a rare smile on his face.He is in a good mood today. The 100 million taels of silver that Yang Menglong respected him has entered the internal treasury without anyone noticing, and finally he can send some pocket money to the queen, princess, and prince. A great piece of good news: Dongjiang Township was unprepared and sent [-] troops to storm Gaizhou. After several days of fierce fighting, Gaizhou was razed to the ground, thousands of slaves were defeated, and more than [-] people were beheaded!Since the Bohai Sea was frozen, the warships could not go out to sea, and the heads could not be sent to the capital for a while, but the number of harvests reported in the Dongjiang Town newspaper was mixed, so there must be nothing wrong with it.This put Chongzhen in a good mood. Since he ascended the throne, the battles with Houjin have been almost undefeated. Even the Battle of Dalinghe, which was reported for more than [-] grades, was defeated. So many elite soldiers and powerful generals died. Linghe still couldn't keep it, it can be called a crushing defeat. This is the first time that the Ming army recaptured a city from Houjin. Although they couldn't hold on, they took away everything that could be moved and burned it down, but, After all, it was recovered, and Dongjiang Town must be credited with great service.With a large amount of money coming in and good news coming in, Chongzhen was naturally in a good mood, with a smile on his lips, he said: "All my lovers will play early if you have something to do, and you will leave the court if there is nothing to do!"

It is said that there is nothing to do, it is almost the Chinese New Year, is there anything that we can’t talk about next year?It's just going through the motions, don't take it so seriously.However, I saw a ghost today, and before the Son of Heaven finished speaking, a civil official came out of the class and called, "I have a book to play!"

Chongzhen saw that it was Ouyang Dong, and his mood suddenly became not so good.Ouyang Dong is in his fifties, and he is a celebrity at Yushitai... How did Yushi become famous?Of course, he scolded the emperor, ministers, and famous people. This man has a bad temper, and he will take revenge. Once he has his eyes on someone, he will never let go. Even if the emperor comes out to mediate, he is like a mad dog.It's Chinese New Year, why is this mad dog jumping out?He frowned and asked, "What's the matter with Ai Qing?"

Ouyang Dong said in a clear voice: "I want to join Fang Yizhi, the magistrate of Nanyang, to fight for the interests of the people. The governance is ineffective, and the defense of the Hua and barbarians has been broken, and the Chinese ethics have been disrupted!"

Chongzhen's eyelids twitched: "What!?"

This year, Nanyang Prefecture paid as much as 14 taels of tax, nearly double the amount compared to last year.This is a rather scary figure. If a government like Nanyang with a population of less than 7000 pays as much as 40 taels of tax, the emperor must send someone down to check to see if the magistrate has scraped the land too hard. There is no public complaint.But Jin Yiwei reported that Nanyang loved the magistrate very much, and wished he could hold him in his palm and mouth. The people of Nanyang were very calm about paying so much taxes, and the place was prosperous.Chongzhen is naturally happy. Taxes have been increasing every year these years. Every time tax increases are filled with public dissatisfaction. A large number of farmers have gone bankrupt and become refugees. , Such an official is his right-hand man!Now that Ouyang Dong actually wanted to impeach his right-hand man, the young emperor's face suddenly became gloomy.

Ouyang Dong turned a blind eye to the emperor's increasingly ugly face, and continued: "I still want to participate in Heluo Town's general Yang Menglong to recruit and accept rebels without authorization, forge military weapons, form cliques for private interests, invade people's fields, claim benefits from people, and reuse foreigners... ..."

Chongzhen yelled: "Have you said enough!" The young emperor couldn't help but get angry.Yang Menglong is the general who can give him the most face in the past two years. He rushed to help Dalinghe thousands of miles away. Went to Jiaodong to quell the rebellion, arrived in Jiaodong in less than a month, and killed Li Jiucheng, Kong Youde, Geng Zhongmin, Mao Chenglu and other rebel generals in just 20 days, wiped out the main force of the rebel army, recruited soldiers, pacified the refugees, and restored Denglai Production, and also dedicated him a whole 100 million taels of silver!Looking at the entire Ming Dynasty, how many such generals could there be?If Fang Yizhi is his right-hand man, then Yang Menglong is the pillar he relies on. This mad dog bit two of his most valued capable ministers at once, can he not get angry?

Ouyang Dong said proudly: "The Holy One doesn't know! Since Yang Menglong came to Nanyang, he bullied men and women, invaded the people's fields, insulted the gentlemen of the country many times, colluded with businessmen to make huge profits, and even used desperadoes to encourage military households to fight for power. I am eager to win, my Chinese virtue of humility and comity has been completely ruined by him!"

A censor went out to make up his sword: "What's more, he also reused the barbarians, vigorously promoted strange skills and ingenious techniques, despised the way of sages, and rejected scholars!"

The Shandong patrol said angrily: "After he took over Denglai, in order to make huge profits, he also privately issued military weapons such as crossbows to civilians, and implemented the strategy of all the people as soldiers. disaster!"

Chongzhen narrowed his eyes, feeling that something was unusual.Yang Menglong implemented the strategy of all people in Denglai, and he knew that the people were allowed to have powerful weapons such as crossbows. Wu Yong explained to him on behalf of Yang Menglong that the position of Denglai is really important. It is not only the rear of the Liaodong battlefield, but also the defense against the Jin The second line of defense, such an important town, must have a loyal and brave army, and a staunch people can hold it.The Denglai rebellion has proved that the Shandong Guards' combat power is extremely corrupt and completely unreliable. If you want to keep Denglai, you must train a strong force like the Heluo New Army, or even all the people.He also knew the power of those crossbows. Huang Long said in the victory report that the three thousand crossbows sent by Yang Menglong were indispensable for this victory in Gaizhou. In the beginning, what the folks can have is much weaker, but it is easy to shoot people who are [-] meters away.Sun Chengzong analyzed with him that the definition of Denglai is not just as simple as transshipment and distribution of military funds, but also has the ability to support Lushun by sea when necessary, and even cross the sea to conquer North Korea when the time is right, or simply in Liaodong. Landing on the peninsula will form a pincer attack on Houjin. To achieve this strategy, Denglai must have a strong army, and a place with a weak military style cannot have a strong army. Therefore, the strategy of all the people is very necessary. Yes, how come these censors say they have ulterior motives?

The censors' attacks on Nanyang continued.The names of the crimes they listed are shocking: Under the influence of Yang Menglong, Fang Yizhi, and a large group of inaction officials in Nanyang, the originally simple Nanyang people became aggressive, scorned the law, and ignored the norms. Men and women study in the same room, women and men compete on the same stage, men are superior to women and women are inferior; merchants run rampant in the market, and are worshiped as gods by ordinary people. Everyone in Nanyang is proud of doing business and ashamed of farming. It was used to build workshops, and the national policy of agriculture-based has been completely abandoned; Yang Menglong recruited even more prostitutes, and took dozens of women to march and fight, and the military discipline was completely corrupted; In a word, Yang Menglong and Fang Yizhi are greedy for money and lust, obsessed with strange skills and tricks, colluding with government and businessmen to exploit the place, and turning Nanyang into a hell on earth. It is really a heinous crime!Later, some ministers from Henan beat their chests and stamped their feet, filled with righteous indignation, knelt down on the ground and shouted in unison: "Please make a decision early, and send Jin Yiwei General Yang and Fang to strictly investigate and deal with it, so as to give the people of Henan a bright future! "

Shandong officials also had a sense of justice and kowtowed repeatedly: "Yang Menglong poisoned Denglai, and the people of Denglai are miserable. Please ask the Holy One to be the master for them!"

The last one who jumped out to make up the knife was the Donglin Party: "If you don't kill Yang and Fang, the people will not be angry!"

Well, the public anger has come out, and the common people have let them represent them!
(End of this chapter)