"Shandong cotton is fighting for wheat land, and a certain noble relies on the power of military merit to fly and dominate, forcing the people of Dongying and Rizhao in Shandong to plant cotton for personal gain. As a result, the wheat fields on which the people of Shandong depend for their livelihood have plummeted, the price of grain in the province has soared, and the small people are miserable! ”

"Shandong's cotton and wheat land grabbing is a move that harms the people? The struggle for rice fields in the south of the Yangtze River has been going through nearly 200 years. Why don't you mention it? ”

This kind of text that refutes and accuses each other is circulated everywhere in Beijing.

After several turmoil in the court, the literati and the officials have learned a lot and no longer carry out organized joint impeachment activities, which are easy to get caught. in

However, the minds of literati are naturally good at exploiting loopholes and creating public opinion. Now they found another area where they could make the most of their talents.

Newspaper!

Among the Beijing divisions, in addition to the several newspapers run by Long Shengxing, there is also the Shuntian Times. As a result, a large number of insinuations accusing Li Shouhan appeared in the newspaper one after another.

In the face of this accusation, the stewards of Long prevailing naturally could not stand idly by and organize firepower to counterattack!

In the newspaper, those wagging lips and puffing up the writers and penners provided full spokesperson services for the financiers behind them, and when they accused a certain newly promoted noble cotton of fighting for wheat fields, they completely forgot that Jiangnan had been fighting for rice fields for 200 years.

The newspapers of the Longsheng system published texts in the newspapers, listing the location, area, and output of the cotton plantations opened up in various parts of Shandong since the eleventh year of Chongzhen, and the owner of these lands was heavily noted in the column of the owner of the land, and the owner of the land was either Ning Yuanbo himself or the disabled and honored sergeant of the Nanyue Army.

Although not as straightforward as it is said. However, as soon as the newspaper reader in the teahouse interpreted it, everyone immediately realized, "What is Lao Tzu planting in his own field, do you care about birds?!" ”

Although there were a lot of cotton plantations, less than half of the land purchased from the Tokuwang and other clans was used. on these lands. Similarly, many wheat plantations have been intercropped (although there is no shortage of grain in Nanzhong, but wheat is not produced, but the demand for wheat and wheat bran is extremely great, and we have to import wheat from India as a last resort), so that the wheat output has increased greatly under the combined action of various agricultural technologies, iron farm tools, primitive pesticides, and fertilizers. Coupled with the grain imported from outside Shandong, Shandong's grain prices have dropped sharply.

And because of the plantations, a large number of displaced people have disappeared. And because Ning Yuanbo took the initiative to give up the right not to pay taxes that he should enjoy as a nobleman of the imperial court and a commander of the army, and handed over the taxes. Shandong's taxes increased during the famine year.

"The people who are entangled in the public are nothing more than the taxes paid by Ning Yuanbo, which do not go through the prefectures, counties, and provinces, but go directly to the inner treasury for the Son of Heaven, and they have never been in the hands of you!"

This is said more explicitly, but every time the newspaper is read aloud by the gentlemen. But it can resonate with bursts of energy. Everyone knows what the current officials of the imperial court are, if Ning Yuanbo didn't directly hand over the grain tax to the emperor and then distribute it by the emperor. It did not go through the hands of officials at all levels and household departments. Then it is a great conscience that one of ten catties of grain can reach the emperor. The grain distributed from the emperor's hands could be distributed to the soldiers and the victims of the disaster, and the officials were even more kind.

Which of these ordinary people who listen to people reading newspapers in teahouses does not understand the methods of court officials? When collecting tax grain, pour sharp kicks and buckets, and increase fire consumption. In recent years, the silver has not been collected, and the change to silver dollars has made the small people miserable. When distributing military salaries and food, it is not floating or consuming, you are embarrassed!

In the East Warm Pavilion in the Qianqing Palace. Emperor Chongzhen also looked at these words attacking and accusing each other in various newspapers with great interest.

On the table, two pots of daffodils are blooming, the branches and leaves like hibiscus with clear water, and the pale yellow stamens emit bursts of dark fragrance into the room, which makes people feel refreshed.

Wang Dehua looked at the slight smile on Chongzhen's face, and hurriedly took a mandarin orange produced in Zhangzhou Mansion from the high-legged silver fruit plate, cut it with his fingernails, gently broke it, and handed it to Chongzhen.

"Emperor, this thing is sweet and juicy, and it is the most cool and fire-free. Please ask the emperor to taste one or two. ”

"There is a lot of noise in several newspapers, what is Li Aiqing doing now?" put a petal of mandarin orange in his mouth, and Chongzhen asked Wang Dehua about Li Shouhan's current situation very comfortably.

According to people's impressions in the past, if any official becomes the center of public opinion and is accused by scholars all over the world, he is afraid that he will have already petitioned for guilt, and then resigned and went home to eat old rice. Strictly, there is only one way to commit suicide.

is Emperor Chongzhen's favorite minister, Yang Sichang, who is known as General Yanmei, because Li Zicheng broke Luoyang and killed King Fu, Zhang Xianzhong broke Xiangyang and killed King Xiang, and under the attack of those mouth cannon experts who can only find fault with others' faults and mistakes, he committed suicide with hatred. This group of experts completely forgot the credit of Yang Sichang for beating Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong and others to death. But they only blamed him for his faults. (The unkind author imagines that if the famous man on the Qinhuai River, the master and apprentice of Donglin Kui, commanded Zuo Liangyu and others to encircle and suppress Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong and others, would Chongzhen have to go to his brother to cry without waiting until 1644?) ）

"Back to the emperor's words, Uncle Ning Yuan is still in Ningyuan City, organizing and dispatching people. It seems that there is little attention paid to public opinion in the capital. ”

Wang Dehua carefully organized his vocabulary, lest he could say a word badly and bring big trouble to himself and Li Shouhan.

Chongzhen snorted in his nose, "This Li Aiqing is sitting firmly in Diaoyutai!" After that, he continued to read the words in the newspaper.

A text in the Longsheng system newspaper attracted Chongzhen's attention.

"Daming is still a disaster everywhere this year, that is, the Huzhou Mansion in the south of the Yangtze River, the same locust plague is a great work, the people cut the bark and sawdust mixed chaff to eat, or dig the white mud in the mountains for food, called Guanyin powder.

In Wu County, Suzhou Prefecture, the price of rice is as high as 323 yuan per stone of silver, and 222 yuan of wheat stone, and the urban and rural houses are dumped in mid-air, and the dead bodies are pillowed. Hangjiahu Su Songtai, known as the world's anointed place, how can there be such a scene? ”

First, a button was made, and then the article began to be analyzed for the reader in detail.

From the year of Longqing. Until now, the Jiangnan area, which has always been known as the rich place in the sea, has often suffered famines, or soaring food prices, and the people are miserable. This strange phenomenon has also plagued Chongzhen for many years. But in this article. He seems to have found the reason, it is in Suzhou and Hangzhou, which have the reputation of "Suhu is ripe, the world is full", and the crops in the fields are replaced by raw silk, raw cotton and other things! The folk song has also quietly changed from "Su Lake is ripe, the world is full" to "The lake is ripe, the world is full"! Jiangnan has changed from a grain export area to a grain import area.

There was a Ming person who wrote: "In Suzhou, there were still few people who were at the end of the past, and now there are three times as many people who go to agriculture and change their careers to become businessmen." In the past, there were no wanderers. Now go to the farm and take advantage of the food, and two or three out of ten. In the words of about 10 people, 6 or 7 points have gone to farming. ”

The temptation of commerce has made the local people switch to cash crops and rely on the sale of raw silk, cotton yarn, cotton cloth, etc. to buy grain. It was the wealthy Jiangnan region, which was also hit by extremely severe zhòng.

Zhu Yuanzhang period. The price of a stone of rice is two coins and five cents of silver, and the copper coin is two hundred and fifty wen, and it rose to five coins in the middle of the Ming Dynasty, and this price was maintained for about a hundred years, until the end of Wanli before the first year of the apocalypse. The price of rice in the Ming Dynasty, unless it encountered a catastrophic disaster, never exceeded one tael per stone.

Since the twelfth year of Chongzhen, the price of rice in Suzhou and Hangzhou has been hovering between two and three. According to the price of rice in ancient times, if one tael of silver can buy two or three stone of rice, it will be a peaceful and prosperous year, one tael of silver to buy one stone of rice, for a normal year, a little nervous, if one stone of rice exceeds one or two of silver, there is often a famine.

In the past few years, a large number of people have starved to death, and many mansions have been sold at low prices without anyone caring about them.

"Alas! Otomo, what is the price of grain in Shandong? What about the price of food in Beijing these days? Can there be a report of the incident everywhere? ”

"Back to the emperor, the price of brown rice in Jingshi has been two, three, two and one stone in recent days. The situation in Shandong varies, and the price of grain on both sides of the canal is cheaper, and the state capitals that are a little farther away are more expensive. Because of the proximity to the sea, the provinces of Denglai are easy to transship and the price is cheaper. ”

"What is the price of grain in Shandong, Denglai and other places?"

"Pull it down, the japonica rice in various parts of Shandong is about two taels of silver and one stone, and the prefectures of Denglai are about one tael and five yuan to eight yuan and one stone."

In order not to make Chongzhen too angry, Wang Dehua carefully changed a concept, comparing the price of brown rice in Jingshi with the price of japonica rice in Shandong and Denglai.

However, this little trick still can't be hidden from Chongzhen.

"Why have the price of grain in Beijing soared in the past few days? Is there a profiteer hoarding, ready to make a big profit during the spring famine? ”

"Emperor, it's not that there are traitors hoarding Juqi. Please take a look at the weather outside! ”

Pushing open the window, the snowflakes were falling outside, and inside the palace, the eunuchs who were used for sprinkling and sweeping kept sweeping the snow aside with brooms in their hands, so that the road was exposed.

"This snow has been falling for several days, and there is snow in various places from Xuanda, Jimen, and Liaodong. Roads are difficult to navigate, and natural grain transshipment is difficult. The Governor of Tianjin's notebook said that it was difficult for sea ships to dock due to the freezing of mud, not to mention that sea ships went straight into the north-south canal as usual. As a last resort, use a small boat to connect and transfer, which naturally consumes Chenguang. ”

"It's good! Ruixue Mega Year! When this heavy snow falls, the drought in various places can be alleviated, and it is only necessary to survive the beginning of spring, and when it is time for the summer grain to be harvested, it is the beginning of peace in the world! ”

Chongzhen was very optimistic, took two deep breaths in the cold air, and looked forward to the bright future of being the master of Zhongxing.

But will it really be as he wants? At this time, Li Shouhan, Wu Sangui, Shi Lang and others, who were outside Ningyuan and Liaoyang City, looked at the large snowflakes flying in the sky, and their eyes were cold.

It snowed heavily for seven or eight days in a row, and there was no sign of stopping. In several harbors, the roads were muddy and slippery, and large ice cubes appeared in the harbor, making those wooden sea boats afraid to approach.

Sea ice isn't the worst of all.

The natural rubber tires used in a large number of equipment in the Nanyue Army are a great help for the personnel who transport materials on weekdays, and you can walk on any potholes and rugged roads. However, the disadvantages of natural rubber in low temperature and cold weather are also revealed at this time.

The rubber tires that had been wrapped around the iron wheels were frozen hard and shattered. The heavy wheels were crushed on the muddy and snowy road, and the walking speed was predictable.

"Shouldn't we shrink the line for a while and let the troops stop attacking? Wait until the snow stops? ”

Looking at the number of reserve materials in the army that is decreasing day by day, as well as the secret letters sent by Wang Chengen, Li Guozhen and others in the capital, they are all silently reminding the Han guard, not only that the supply of materials on the front line in Liaodong is difficult. It's in the capital. Food is also becoming increasingly scarce.

It's just that if the attack is stopped at this time, I am afraid that the crows in the court and the central government will immediately shout and scream like a woman who has become beautiful day by day, and keep accusing the guards of the Han, and any delays in the fighter plane and cowering, raising the self-respect of the prisoners, and so on, will fly like snowflakes. Although you are not afraid of these people, but a cloud of flies flying in your ears all day long, what else can you do?

"It seems. I can only wait for the news from the eldest uncle and the honorable waiter to come, and then decide whether to stop the attack! ”

Now they have hit Wu Sangui and Shi Lang near Liaoyang, and they have become the vane of Shouhan's decision on the next strategy.

However, he was full of hope and attacked Liaodong and forced Huang Taiji's main force to return to help, so as to achieve the goal of mobilizing the Qing army, but it was impossible to achieve it at present.

Huang Taiji really held on. In the face of the urgent documents that continue to be sent from Shengjing, there is only one attitude. If you feel that you can't hold it, you will withdraw. As long as there are people, I don't blame you!

It's not that he saw through the actions of Shouhan, but he really didn't dare to withdraw his troops to go back to Liaoyang!

It's fair that the snow is heavy.

The severe cold weather not only brought a large number of non-combat attrition such as frostbite and frostbite to the army guarding Han, but also created great trouble for Huang Taiji's army.

Although the main force and core of the army defending Han are mainly soldiers from tropical and subtropical regions, the northernmost areas are only Fujian, Liangguang and other areas, and soldiers who can live a year in straw shoes and shorts are naturally facing difficulties in the face of ice and snow. But don't forget jì either. Comparatively speaking, although the Jiannu soldiers can be regarded as fighting on the inside line of their hometown, and their ability to adapt to the environment and climate is much stronger than that of the southern soldiers under Shouhan, they do not have the terrible material support foundation of Shouhan!

There was frostbite in the Shouhan camp. Among Huang Taiji's subordinates, there were not a few soldiers whose combat effectiveness was severely reduced by the wind, snow, cold and lack of food.

In such a situation, not to mention whether the transfer of troops will give the Ming army an opportunity, it is to transfer smoothly, these soldiers and horses who are troubled by hunger and cold can return for thousands of miles, how effective it can be, it is also unknown, and it may even be sent to the door in vain!

"Mr. Fan, you have drafted a will to Prince Li who stayed in Shengjing. Sue him, as long as Shengjing is not lost, Liaoyang is lost, and I will not blame him. However, let him give Chen Banda of Liaoyang an order, if he can't hold Liaoyang, he will quickly withdraw to Shengjing to defend the city with Prince Li! His craftsmen are the treasures of me and the Qing Dynasty! Don't lose anything! ”

After saying this, Huang Taiji felt as if his whole person had been evacuated, and he was dizzy for a while. The fat body shook twice, almost falling to the ground. Hauge, who was kneeling beside him, hurriedly stepped forward to support him.

Fan Wencheng also walked a few steps to the front, "Master, why don't you let Prince Rui send people back to Shengjing to guard Tokyo?" ”

Looking out through the doors and windows, the flags, vehicles, and equipment in the camp were all covered with a thick layer of snow. Together with the Kabush soldiers who were more valuable outside the big tent, their eyebrows and beards were covered with a layer of snow and frost. The armor and weapons were covered with snowflakes, and the hand holding the weapon was almost frozen in one place with the hilt. From time to time, the officers shouted a few times in a low voice, so that these soldiers on duty would move their hands and feet, so as not to freeze to death.

When this is the case outside the big tent, how strong is Huang Taiji's temporary residence? The inkstone ink that had just been ground had condensed in the sea of ink after a while. It is the wolf hair that Fan Wencheng is used to, and the tip of the pen is also frozen hard.

Regarding Fan Wencheng's construction, Huang Taiji didn't bother to answer at all.

Not to mention whether Dolgon's withdrawal of the troops around Tashan and Songshan would allow Zu Dashou and others, who were trapped in Jinzhou, to break out of the siege, even if Dolgon would not take this opportunity to bargain with him and secretly break his wrists. Taking 10,000 steps back, even if Dolgon did not hesitate to lead the two elite white flag main forces to return to the division for reinforcements in the wind and snow, Huang Taiji would definitely not know that Dolgon would go back! He would rather go back to the rescue with the two yellow flags and the positive blue flag of his son Haoge, and hand over the fat meat of the surrounded Hong Chengchou to Dolgon to swallow in one bite!

"Dolgon, this minion, if he enters Shengjing, who will not be able to do it!"

At that time, there was a strong Ming army in front, and Dolgon who had entered Shengjing and controlled the overall situation. At that time, I am afraid that Huang Taiji's situation will be much colder than the current heavy snow!

"Is there any news from Rao Baylor?"

Suddenly, Huang Taiji remembered his seventh brother. This guy he sent to attack the hinterland of the Ming army has been interrupted for some time. I wonder what his situation is? If he can stab Li Shouhan's henchmen, will he also be able to make the pressure on the Qing soldiers better?

"A few days ago, the slave saw from the battle report of the Ming army that the Ming Guojing battalion fought a big battle with Rao Yu Belle in the territory of Qinghe, killed Rao Yu Belle, and captured his dragon coffin, armor and other things. However, the minions were not convinced. It is not a new thing for the Ming army to lie about its military exploits. If it is true that Yu Baylor is lost, Chongzhen Xiaoer will not celebrate it in a big way? ”

Huang Taiji snorted, which can be regarded as agreeing with Fan Wencheng's statement, but he also gave up the idea of relying on Abatai to stab Shouhan in the back. (To be continued......)

PS: It's starting to snow heavily, and an extremely important natural phenomenon has arrived!