Zhang Xianzhong raised the banner of rebellion again, and once again slapped the little faces of the officials who advocated Zhao'an, and when the news came, Wang Bao, Chen Tianhua and others were busy inside and outside the capital.

The street pattern of the inner and outer cities of Jingshi, with the street leading to each gate being the widest, is the main road of the whole city. These streets leading to various city gates are also mostly named after city gates, such as Chongwenmen Street, Chang'an Street, Xuanwumen Street, West Chang'an Street, Fuchengmen Street, Andingmen Street, Deshengmen Street, etc. The residential area in the inner is commensurate with the square, and the square is called the shop. There are 33 squares in the city, more than 100 6 cards, and more than 700 5 shops. (Many place names are still in use today, and if you are interested, you can look them up on the map of Beijing's urban areas, such as Baizhifang.) ）

The streets of the city are full of dust, garbage and feces, especially the ditches are seriously congested, and many streets have collapsed and potholes, which are obviously in disrepair. The streets and alleys in the city were dense, and many of the streets were not straight, compared with the clean, neat and orderly Nanzhong towns that Wang Bao and others were used to, they felt a burst of disgust in their hearts.

Since Chengzu Zhu Di moved the Ming Jingshi from Nanjing to Beijing, all kinds of road repairs, ditch dredging, and even the sanitation of each street and square have been specially managed by officials of the six ministries and the five city soldiers and horses, and even stipulated that the filth and garbage dumping along the street should be flailed for a month, at least in the Wanli period, the Beijing division is still famous for its cleanliness.

That all changed since the apocalypse. As the consequences of a whip law became apparent, a large number of yeoman farmers surrendered their land to officials, nobles, and eunuchs who were exempt from tax under the laws of the country. As a result, the state finances are empty day by day, tax revenue is getting less and less, and the urban environment is deteriorating day by day. Every time it rains heavily, the whole city is flooded. It's muddy and hard to walk. Whenever the weather is sunny and dry, the dust is flying and the flies are flying. With such a hygienic environment, it is no wonder that various infectious diseases have broken out one after another, and countless people have died from the epidemics, including soldiers and civilians.

After entering the city along Chaoyangmen Street, which is lined with shops and full of people, the streets in the city are full of homeless people and beggars. Because no one is contained. They could only sleep under the eaves on either side, and it seemed that many of them had become stiff and apparently died of illness and starvation.

The Ming Dynasty set up all kinds of nursing homes, canteens, and porridge factories to distribute money and rice to the hungry. Aid in medicine. Burying the corpse and abandoning the corpse, etc. However, it is clear that the capacity for relief is seriously insufficient, and the relief is only a drop in the bucket.

Wang Bao couldn't help but let out a long sigh on his horse, he also struggled from such a death line. And Chen Tianhua and the others looked at the situation on the street, the same frowning and silent, their faces full of pain.

Compared with the street homeless people, there is another different situation, that is, the street is all brightly dressed rich businessmen, rich family slaves, they go in and out of the front and back, everything they wear is luxurious and extravagant, looking at these people, some of the street homeless people are numb, some are envious, and some eyes are full of hatred.

As the capital city of the Ming Dynasty, Jingshi deserves to be the first city in the world, and even the largest city in the world at this time, the Forbidden City on Saturday, the Imperial City on the eighteenth mile of Zhou, and the inner city of fourteen miles on Thursday and fifteen miles outside. In the year of Jiajing, due to the expansion of the population, a heavy city was built in the south of the capital, with a circumference of 28 miles.

It covers an area of nearly 100 square kilometers and has a population of more than one million, while in the West at the same time, by the beginning of the eighteenth century, the population of London and Paris was less than 500,000. Daming Jingshi was the most prosperous place in the world, I don't know how many people yearn for it, after a period of prosperity, the Jingshi at this time, has shown the decline of the last days.

However, inside and outside the capital, they could see everywhere the overwhelming number of displaced people, covered in quail clothes, and they had no livelihood to find inside and outside the city, just waiting for relief from the government. There are also children's hungry and cold cries, or their voices are mournful, or they are weak, and their conditions are so miserable that people can't bear to witness.

"These people can only be a burden in the eyes of the government in the mainland, and even the source of banditry. As everyone knows, thieves also start from good. If they have food and clothing, why should they take risks? ”

"What the meeting manager said is that in the past few days, the number of people who eat porridge in the porridge field we have opened every day has increased exponentially, not only in Beijing, but also in Zhuozhou, Bazhou, Jizhen and other places.

"Tianhua, how many people are willing to go to sea with the ship to make a living? Remember, according to the lord's words, whoever is willing to go to sea should be registered, and given some thick ones, so that they may do some work outside the camp and recuperate their bodies. ”

"My subordinates understand!"

"These officials of the imperial court deceived Wu Biao with rhetoric from the lord's command, how is the dynamics of his brigade?"

"My lord, since that day the military department and the celebrant came to the camp to deliver the decree, the morale of the garrison brigade has been fluctuating, and about 1,000 people have gone to various barracks to join relatives and friends, unwilling to stay in the Beijing division. The officers of the battalions and regiments also had a lot of complaints. Today, Wu Biao has only 2,000 people under his command, most of whom are the children of his Chaozhou Wu clan. It is said that these people are also disgruntled. ”

"Oh?! Why? They are now considered to be the pro-army of the Son of Heaven, how can they be dissatisfied? ”

"My lord, after they changed to subordinate to the Imperial Horse Supervisor, our army no longer supplies them with food and salary, and their food and drink are provided by the Imperial Horse Supervisor and the Military Department, our soldiers and horses are used to eating meat and drinking oil, how can the soldiers of the Beijing camp have such treatment?"

"Well deserved! The one who wants them to be anti-bones?! Eat the bottom of the bowl and reverse the bowl noodles! ”

"Lao Huang! Don't talk nonsense! ”

Wang Bao scolded Huang Yishan and signaled him not to talk nonsense.

"The lord entered the palace by order to talk to the emperor about these Gyeonggi refugees, and resigned by the way. If the will comes, we can go home! ”

"Leave it alone! If the emperor doesn't give this bullshit decree, those displaced people in the Gyeonggi region will follow us by themselves! ”

Chen Tianhua and Huang Yishan's words are not bad at all, in fact, when those displaced people found out that after registering with the Nanyue Army, they could have the guarantee of half a catty of grain and two meals a day, they would have already died to join the Nanyue Army.

For this reason, Huang Yishan quietly sent thousands of displaced people to Nigu on the pretext of war horses and grass, handed them over to grain ships, and ordered them to transport these people to Tamluo Island to raise horses. Prepare for a large number of ploughing cattle from the Liaodong and Mongolian steppes in the near future.

If hundreds of thousands of refugees from Gyeonggi have passed through Nigu, Miaodo Islands, Tamnado, Taiwan, Nanzhong, Luzon all the way to Shiju, and gradually migrated south. The wilderness quickly became alive and popular, and a large number of villages and towns were connected by roads. At the same time, a large number of people will be sent to various workshops, mines. Responsible for cultivating countless fields.

"As long as there are people, our food and meat are enough to feed these workers!"

Wang Bao looked at the people in the streets and alleys with withered expressions and empty eyes, waving rattan in his hands, and drawing a circle in the air emptily.

"Not bad! If more people come, we will cultivate more land. Build more ships. Transfer the products and people of each island to each place! ”

"That's a good point!"

The group of officers waved their horses and spurred their horses across the long street, leaving a series of bold words in the streets.

At this time, in the Huayuan Pavilion of Cuihua Garden in the palace, Zhu Youzhen, the emperor of Chongzhen, was giving a banquet to Li Shouhan.

It is said to be a banquet, but the banquet is very simple. It's even a bit shabby by the standards of the Son of Heaven. There are only eight dishes and one soup. And. "Look, sir, many of them are your tribute. The emperor can make up enough for these eight dishes! ”

Wang Chengen, who was standing on the side, wiped the corners of his eyes and pointed to a few dishes on the table.

Truly. Judging from the wind chicken, cured meat, cured duck, mushrooms, etc., they are all things he paid tribute to Chongzhen.

However, even if he only eats four dishes and one soup, all vegetarian dishes, such a banquet also makes the Manchu Dynasty civil and military hollow out their minds and want to come. Because, the host is Chongzhen, and the guest is only Li Shouhan.

"Sir, please take a seat."

Under Wang Chengen's invitation to take a seat, Shouhan sat down with a little restraint, "Why doesn't my father-in-law sit?" ”

"The lord laughed, today is the emperor's banquet for the lord, and it is a great grace for us slaves and maids to be able to serve on the side."

Eight dishes, one soup, no wine. The rice is the same Nanzhong japonica rice sent by Shouhan. Look at the Emperor's side, the same meal. Shouhan picked up the rice bowl, a little stunned.

Looking at his appearance, Chongzhen was a little strange: "Aiqing, why is this so?" ”

Shouhan narrowed his eyes again and carefully examined Chongzhen's clothes. He found that the hem of Chongzhen's jacket floated up with the swing of his stride, and there were actually a few patches inside. It is rumored in Beijing that Emperor Chongzhen is very frugal, and he doesn't want to be so thrifty.

According to the daily street discussions reported by Nanzhong businessmen, Chongzhen's clothes are worn out on weekdays, and they are all sewn and mended by Queen Zhou herself, and the food is also coarse tea and light rice, and the utensils used are even simpler, in order to prepare for military salaries. He even sold the silver night pot he used. I'm afraid that Chongzhen's quality of life is not as good as that of Wanping County.

Think about the ending of Emperor Chongzhen in history, and then think about the fact that after Li Zicheng entered Beijing, he organized the Biyu Zhenfu Division to loot 70 million taels of silver from the officials and wealthy households in Beijing, and when the Qing soldiers broke through Jiangnan under the leadership of Duoduo, the silver that was casually stolen from the house of a landlord and gentry was also 100,000 or 200,000 taels.

He sighed deeply and shook his head, such an emperor, no matter how good his ability to govern the country is, at least his private virtue is still okay.

"Don't dislike it, this is still the emperor's banquet for the lord, and he specially ordered the slaves and maids to make an exception for the lord. On weekdays, the emperor fills his hunger with four vegetarian dishes! Wang Chengen wiped his slightly red and swollen eyes on the side and whispered to Shouhan.

"Your Majesty, Princess. Please ask a few little fathers-in-law to go outside to find the subordinates of the ministers, and ask them to bring the gifts that their subordinates brought to the emperor and queen, several concubines, princes, and princesses. ”

A few little eunuchs came out for a short while, and came in with several huge wooden plates in their hands.

Shouhan got up and left, "Please atone for your sins." The Lord is worried about the humiliation of the ministers, and the Lord is humiliated by the death of the ministers. His Majesty saw that the emperor had worked so himself, and he had committed a lot of sin. I implore the emperor to change the clothes made by his subordinates for the emperor. Where there is transgression, please forgive the emperor! ”

In the hands of a few little eunuchs is a set of civilian clothes worn by the emperor in the daily palace. Compared to Chongzhen's set of patched clothes, I don't know how much better Lu Dao is.

"Aiqing, this?"

"This is made of muslin cloth produced in Nanzhong, not a special fabric."

Wearing it on the body, Chongzhen's new clothes turned out to fit abnormally.

"Aiqing really has a lot of capable people, and he has never seen me make such a fitting garment."

Chongzhen looked left and right with the new clothes on his body, quite happy.

Shouhan smiled secretly in his heart, although he had never measured Chongzhen's body size, but. Among the officers of the Nanzhong Army who met the monarch several times, there were quite a few people who were good at measurement, and they used themselves as a reference, and when the emperor came over to drink wine one by one, with a little attention, Chongzhen's clothes size was available.

"Your Majesty, these are the ministers who pay tribute to the queen and the concubines."

Shouhan pointed to the dazzling pile of things in the other wooden plates.

The size of the large eastern pearl, lazurite, emerald, red and green gem, etc., was placed in a wooden plate in a disorderly manner. It also creates a breathtaking effect. Countless people saw this scene. The thought that comes to mind, "If you take one or two pieces, I'm afraid you won't be discovered!" ”

"The queen mother is the world, how can words and deeds be contemptuous? A little preparation of head and face jewelry is also a must! Shouhan explained. There is also a raw material for the manufacture of high-end palace jewelry. It is dedicated to Chongzhen's sister-in-law. The Queen of the Apocalypse. Today's Queen Yi'an Zhang Yan's.

As for the other people in the palace, Shouhan patted his chest and promised, "Don't dare to say anything else." The year-round clothes of the princes, princesses, and palace dependents in the palace should be according to the rules of the ancestors, and they should be served by the subordinates, and the royal dignity must not be lost! ”

When Shouhan said this, he recalled as much as possible the behavior of the nouveau riche and township entrepreneurs in the depths of his mind. The performance is unusually vulgar and uncivilized, but it is also loyal.

Seeing Li Shouhan like this, Wang Chengen on the side couldn't help but be uncontrollable, and cried loudly, his crying caused the eunuchs and palace maids who were waiting in Huayuan Pavilion to cry.

"Your Majesty, the slave maid has long said that among the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty, only Uncle Ning Yuan is truly loyal to the emperor!" While crying, Wang Chengen couldn't stop choking.

"Today, the generals of all towns are afraid of the enemy like a tiger and a thief like a tiger. There are even more folk ballads where thieves are like combs and soldiers are like grates. The imperial court edict was given to them, and they only disobeyed the yang and the yin. In the war, they cowered one by one, and reached out to the court to ask for food, but the lion opened his mouth! This, in the final analysis, is because of the imperial court, the emperor has no money and food and no elite soldiers. They have tens of thousands of henchmen and more than 1,000 henchmen. On that day, the emperor ordered Zu Kuan's army to be corrected, if you hadn't sent someone to lead a team to follow Qin Cha, I was afraid that he would dare to mutiny on the spot! ”

"Aiqing, Wang Daban and Yang Aiqing joined hands to poach a brigade of divisions from under you, this matter, I think about it in my heart, and I also owe you a lot. However, things are in a hurry, and national affairs are so difficult, Aiqing, you have to be more considerate of me! ”

Chongzhen put down the chopsticks in his hand and sighed. Looking at Chongzhen's face, which was much older than himself, Shouhan's heart suddenly understood. This emperor, who is much younger than his biological age, is far from having the idea of unloading the mill and killing the donkey, crossing the river and demolishing the bridge. Even if he had, the pitiful strength in his hands was not enough to kill his donkey. (Phew!) What a donkey! Tear down the bridge yourself! For himself, the biggest powerful faction in the Ming Dynasty at the moment, the emperor can only focus on wooing and appeasing.

"At present, the state affairs are difficult, in order to urge all places to exterminate the thieves as soon as possible, I have no choice but to rely on the strength of Aiqing, with the elite of the Southern Guangdong Army, to suppress the supervision array, so that the generals of the military towns everywhere can move forward bravely. At the same time, I also want to follow the example of Chengzu, organize the Beijing camp, and train an elite army! In order to deter the Quartet, in order to level the thieves from all walks of life! ”

"If you have the power of Ning Yuanbo to complete this matter, Zhongxing Daming, not only can I comfort the ancestors of Taimiao. When you go underground, you can be relieved to see the two ancestors. For Aiqing, I will not hesitate to reward the territory of the territory! I wish you the title of king with a different surname! Hereditary replacement! Follow the story of Qianguo Gong, Yongzhen Nanzhong, and manage the two Guangdong! ”

Emperor Chongzhen offered an unprecedented price, which couldn't help but make Shouhan's heart beat wildly.

"Your Majesty! Don't dare to say anything else, this time he was ordered to go south to manage the coastal defense of Fujian, Guangdong and Zhejiang provinces and take care of the anti-smuggling matter, if Wei Chen is not kind to Fujian, Guangdong, and Nanzhili The sea is good and cleansed, and the sea smugglers and treachers are painfully washed, and the minister will ask His Majesty to go down to the title of Ning Yuanbo! ”

"The minister will boast in front of His Majesty and the prince today, from the day the minister begins to clean up the sea, if everything goes well, from next year, the minister will hand over at least 200,000 silver dollars every year to the inner treasury, for His Majesty to train the new army and organize the Beijing camp!"

An illusory messenger can exchange no less than 200,000 silver dollars into his treasury every year, which makes Li Shouhan's position in the heart of Emperor Chongzhen more and more important. And Wang Chengen on the side also radiated a trace of light in his eyes.

"However, the minister also has to ask for a favor in front of the emperor."

"Aiqing, just talk about it! As long as it doesn't violate the ancestral system, I'm not allowed to do it! ”

Right now, Chongzhen is looking at Li Shouhan in his eyes, and the silver dollars are shaking one by one. Every word he said was naturally pervasive.

"First, since the establishment of slaves in various parts of Gyeonggi Zhili, the city has been destroyed, the fields and acres have been burned, and the people who have been affected by the disaster have been displaced in various places. Everywhere you go, it is a source of tears, and it is also a source of thieves. Petition for Minister's Request. Send this generation club to Nanzhong for resettlement. ”

"Second, the burden of maritime smuggling in the three provinces will inevitably offend the giant rooms in Nanzhili. In the future, the impeachment of the ministers will surely be able to pile up like a mountain, and by that time ......"

"All of them will be left in the middle and will not be sent!"

"They also want to see what happens to slandering heroes!"

Chongzhen and Wang Chengen's master and servant spoke in unison.

"Your Majesty, the minister can rest assured that he can boldly show his fists and feet. If the emperor has no other will, then the minister will ask to leave Beijing. Go south along the canal to stay in the capital and arrange coastal defense matters! (To be continued......)