The entire western coast of the Pacific Ocean has become boiling!

Shouhan's ability to control the Southern Yue military system is more than how many streets the imperial court has over the military leaders of the local provinces and towns. As orders were conveyed, the behemoth of the entire Nanyue Army system seemed to have been whipped fiercely and began to slowly and terrifyingly enter a state of war.

Zhang Xiaohu, commander of the left wing fleet of the naval division stationed at anchorage on Tamna Island, Chongming Island and other islands, was the first to receive the order due to geographical convenience. After opening the briefcase sealed with fire paint and translating the order corresponding to the military password, Zhang Xiaohu, the former pirate leader with a slightly bald head and gray temples, couldn't help but show his signature smile.

"Boys, go to work at sea!"

The Left Wing Fleet began to requisition ships in various coastal ports along the long coastline stretching from Ningbo, Hangzhou, and Shanghai in the south to the mouth of the Yellow River in the north to the mouth of the Yellow River in the north. At the end of the day, it's about arresting the ship.

(The estuary of the Yellow River in this era was still in the Huai River Basin, the so-called seizure of the Huai River into the sea.) The Yellow River that we are familiar with in Shandong was formed after the Yellow River burst in Tongwaxiang during the Xianfeng period. That breach not only formed the situation that the Yellow River went out to sea from Dongying, Shandong, but also formed the Pufan water loop in the Heze area. This geographical environment even took the life of the prince of Horqin, Seng Greenqin, and buried the last strong army of the Qing government. ）

As long as there is no certificate issued by the Nanyue Army and the Nanjing Garrison Yamen, the group of wolf-like soldiers under Zhang Xiaoliuzi will be merciless and immediately detain the ship! In a short period of 10 days, thousands of large and small sea vessels were escorted south by the left-wing fleet from the above-mentioned areas. For a time, chickens and dogs were tossed all over the coast.

The ships, which had been imprisoned by the left flank fleet with cannons and rockets, all the way to the waters of Liangguang and Fujian, were soon loaded with soldiers, baggage, cannons, mules, horses, and sails north.

In order to transport mules and horses, Zhang Xiaohu even detained the fleet used by the North Korean Kim Zidian family to smuggle grain, oil, cloth, silk, satin, mirrors and other commodities. Thousands of horses, horses, pack horses, and mules were transported to Yangma Island off the coast of Denglai.

These are not counting, what really disturbed the entire interior of the Ming Dynasty was the transportation of grain and other bulk materials stored in Shanghai, Guangzhou and other places by sea and inland waterways.

Every time these grains are connected and transferred, a large number of ships and people are needed, and this gives a glimmer of hope to the bankrupt peasants, displaced people, and hungry people in the hinterland, whose burden of fire consumption has become several times heavier because the government collects money and grain taxes and only collects silver dollars, and they have flocked to the various wharves along the way. Serve as a porter, porter. I hope to use my own body to give food and clothing to my family.

The Yancao and Cao gangs, which have had a good cooperative relationship with the Nanyue Army for many years, have taken advantage of this once-in-a-century opportunity to expand their power on a large scale. The influence that was originally confined to the canal basin was spread to the hinterland of the canal, Yangtze River, Yellow River, Huaihai and Hanshui basins. The co-opters have the exclusive power to connect and transfer, and in just one month, they have successively annexed hundreds of large and small gangs, and opened incense halls on the corpses of these gangs to collect disciples. Those hungry people in order to have a full meal, naturally which family has a guarantee to put into the door of that family, the so-called "dry dock filial piety" is from this.

Behind the huge momentum, there are surprising discoveries made by local governments. The number of fights and homicides has risen in a straight line, and weapons have rapidly upgraded from wooden sticks, iron rulers, and lime to long knives, sharp axes, and short spears.

However, during the troubled years, some dead people appeared in the streets and alleys, which was no longer normal in the eyes of local magistrates. It's not normal for people not to die! Moreover, these dead people were obviously killed by swords and guns. All the officials adopted the tactics of night owls, turning a blind eye.

But. There are some things that you can pretend not to see, but there are some things that the court and Chongzhen can't pretend not to see.

After Shouhan went north, he followed the sea route that had been ripened for escorting grain and rice over the years, and after arriving at Nigu, he entered Tianjin through the Ziya Hebei Canal, and set up the Tianhou Temple in Tianjin.

With the arrival of a large number of men and horses and an overwhelming amount of supplies and weapons. Tianjin has become bustling.

Not to mention the Tianjin Acropolis, it is both sides of the North Canal, the Ning River, the Military Grain City, and the Jinghai area, which is densely packed with the banner camps of the Southern Guangdong Army. The three brigades of the Nanyue Army and more than 20,000 troops directly under the Han Dynasty accompanied the Han Dynasty to the north. There are also tens of thousands of Qinwang troops from all over the country under the control and command of the president of Shouhan, and the local soldiers and horses in Tianjin, all gathered here, forming an endless sea of flags and camps.

However, most of the officers and generals in these armies came here with the purpose of trying to follow the Nanyue army and share some military exploits, and the purpose of ordinary soldiers was even more simple and direct. With the Nanyue army, you can eat a few days full of oil and water. Who to eat with is not eating?

On the one hand, the troops were ordered to rest and recuperate, and at the same time, the battalion office was asked to check the Ming troops of all departments who came to report for moderation, distribute grain and rice, and prepare to go out of the customs to fight. Shouhan even ordered someone to write a question book, asking to enter Beijing to play the saint, and Chen said the strategy.

This question book was put up, and it immediately made it difficult for the adults in the cabinet, the celebrant supervisor, and the Ministry of Rites, and even Chongzhen himself was also uneasy in his heart.

The details of Tashan's defeat had already been learned from the transcripts of Wu Sangui and others. In order to appease Li Huamei, Chongzhen even asked her daughter Princess Changping, who had a good personal relationship with Li Huamei, to take dozens of imperial doctors from the Tai Hospital to go to Tianjin, where Li Huamei was recuperating from her injuries, to show comfort.

On the one hand, the imperial court lost troops and lost generals, and on the other hand, Ning Yuanbo's brigade went north. Tens of thousands of horses and horses are obeying orders in Tianjin, at this time, this uncle who supports soldiers with his family wealth played the imperial court and said that he wanted to enter Beijing to face the saint, how can this make the imperial court and Zhu Youzhen's classmates rest assured?

Are you going to enter Beijing to face the saint, or are you going to do something that the masses like to see in the history books under the banner of the Qing monarch's side? Who can say for sure? Even if you, Li Shouhan, want to be a loyal minister of the Ming Dynasty, God knows if among your subordinates, those brigade commanders, battalion officers, and the troops under your control, the chief soldiers, deputy generals, etc., do you plan to be the first righteous and meritorious hero of the founding of the country? Once you enter the capital, someone climbs up and shouts, and a yellow robe is draped on your body, so what should we people do? Are we going to be sent to Guazhou too? And then create a shipwreck?

muttered in his heart, and his face couldn't show it yet. The bigwigs of the court had no choice but to make a decree and reprimand Ning Yuanbo.

"This person has the great trust of the imperial court, and he thinks about the current difficult state affairs. At this time when the military situation in Liaodong was urgent, he didn't think about how to settle Liaodong and win the merit of being a marquis. Leave history in the name of the picture. However, he stopped his troops at Jinmen and wrote to the court to enter Beijing to play. If the member has the heart of public loyalty to the country and the selflessness of the public, what can not be played? ”

The little eunuch who came to read the decree tried his best to read it in a soothing tone to prevent irritating Ning Yuanbo and his subordinates, and at the same time scolded in his heart, greeting the female relatives of the Ministry of Rites and cabinet officials with his own organs that no longer existed. Mother sells! You can grab things that are good faster than anyone else, and all this kind of work that offends people is hidden!

But. Li Shouhan, who was kneeling in front of the incense case dragon card, still had a pale face, and after listening to the eunuch read out the will, his face did not change, and he kowtowed to the head in accordance with the etiquette.

"Please take a break in Jinmen. After the official writes the seal of the Majesty, please submit it to the little father-in-law. ”

The little eunuch didn't even dare to call the guilt in his mouth, but the uncle was sent, so he just commanded. The senior ancestors and great eunuchs in the palace have long regarded the uncle as the benefactor and confidant of our wasted people.

Someone held a wooden plate, and on the plate were more than a dozen rolls of silver dollars wrapped in red mulberry paper. "A little scattered silver, please ask the little father-in-law to reward his subordinates. As a pocket use in Jinmen. When I returned, a certain family had some other intentions and asked my father-in-law to forward it to my father-in-law on my behalf. ”

The little eunuch couldn't stop thanking him with a smile, knelt on the ground and thanked his uncle for the reward, and left with the silver dollar.

Shouhan's face suddenly changed.

"Don't let Lao Tzu enter Beijing, that's good, Lao Tzu will write out everything he wants to say. Let's take a good look! ”

The cold north wind howled across the entire Jingshi, occasionally rolling a few snowflakes flying, and in the blink of an eye, they fell onto the garbage heaps that can be seen everywhere in the streets and alleys. It was already the month of the month, and the trading shops began to collect the debts owed by customers for the past year, preparing to return them to the end of the year. There are poor families and poor Beijing officials who owe a lot of money and are everywhere. Prepare the money to pass this year. However, with the unfavorable situation in Liaodong and the news of the defeat of Tashan, the entire Beijing officialdom fell into a depression.

The north wind swept through the corners of the temple and clanged the hanging iron horses. In the Qianqing Palace, although there is a stove and a fire wall, Zhu Youzhen, the emperor of Chongzhen, sometimes feels cold and biting, and sometimes he is very hot. In a word, irritability.

He frowned and carefully read the inscription book sent to the palace by Shouhan, compared to the day when he admired the snow, in just half a month, his complexion returned to a haggard state, and his cheeks, which were originally a little ruddy, returned to dry yellow and thin again, two cheekbones were prominent, wrinkles on his forehead, and more white hair on his sideburns.

In front of the table, the two confidant eunuchs, Wang Dehua and Wang Chengen, the pen and palm print of the celebrant eunuch, just looked at the inscription that was thrown into the basket by Chongzhen at their feet, but they were secretly happy in their hearts. In that basket was a transcript of the impeachment of Li Shouhan's subordinates for being arrogant, lax in military discipline, harassing the localities, and plundering the people. Since the news of the defeat of Tashan came, these transcripts flew like snowflakes, and among them were a letter of complaint from the Shenggong Mansion in Qufuyan, Shandong. Impeachment of Li Shouhan for raising self-esteem and arriving at the enemy.

Regarding these impeachment scripts, Chongzhen's classmates and the chief eunuchs of the ceremonial eunuch all threw them aside with a sneering attitude. It is necessary to issue an edict in the name of the emperor to severely reprimand the inscription. Sue them, Ning Yuanbo's army is strictly disciplined, and he will definitely not do what you say! Then there are those who dare to frame me, the dry city of the country, and the three-foot national law is being set up for you!

For the emperor's attitude, the two princes were extremely comfortable and happy. Originally! Uncle's army has always been known for its own food and salary, and strict military discipline, since it is its own food and grass supply, how can it harass the place and plunder the people? This group of dogs, when they saw Zuo Liangyu and others slaughtering prefectures and counties and looting people's property, they didn't dare to let out a fart, for fear that when the Nanyue Army asked them about the road, they would talk louder and harass the place.

Such a criterion is consistent with the ideas of future generations. The king of the Min pig country killed countless civilians and pushed countless families into misery, which is also wise and correct, because the king sent the Min pig to these people, even though the Min pig fell with the bomb. And on the other hand, you evacuate from the earthquake-stricken area those who originally went to "Waiting for the Wind" but waited for the earthquake to come when the young people and literary youth. If they are not allowed to leave first, and they are not provided with free air tickets, they will eat hot pot and sing songs after arriving in China, and at the same time, they will also say on the media that they have not eaten or drunk for several days and nights in the disaster area, and there are only two embassy people at the airport to maintain order, piggybacking on and creating some irresponsible rumors.

What's more, whether it's the 3,000 battalion or the Shenji battalion. In the past few months, he has also grown a lot, for Chongzhen, who wants to have a strong army in his hands, the Nanyue Army is undoubtedly his coach and sparring partner to build a strong army, how can he be offended at this time?

"Two big companions, take a look at Ning Yuanbo's inscription." Chongzhen leaned back very tiredly, and threw the thick inscription book that Li Shouhan sent into the palace to the two princes. Wang Chengen took this question book, but he was not busy reading, and handed it to Wang Dehua, but when he arrived behind Chongzhen, he used the fingers of his thumb to massage Chongzhen's temples evenly. to relieve the pressure of the emperor.

Wang Dehua glanced at Wang Chengen with jealousy, so he had to open the question book and read it carefully. He glanced at it twice, and immediately his hand was like holding a ball of coal, full of burning and pain. Frightened, he almost threw out the question, which was only a few thousand words.

He instinctively looked outside the Qianqing Palace, fortunately, the people on duty outside today were all his and Wang Chengen's henchmen, and several of them were their godsons. Wu Liangfu, who has recently become popular, is also one of them.

"Two great companions, you are all my confidants. You say, what Ning Yuanbo played. How do I do that? ”

Seeing Wang Dehua's blue and red complexion, Wang Chengen knew in his heart that there must be something earth-shattering in it. Otherwise, Ning Yuanbo would not spare the cabinet and directly sent this inscription to the emperor. Could it be that the first and second assistants of the cabinet are to be impeached? Or do you want to impeach the Liaoxi military town for its ineffective operation? Otherwise, how could this be?

Suspicious, he took Shouhan's inscription book from Wang Dehua's trembling hand and glanced at the page. But he didn't notice the things he originally thought, but some words were hot, and his eyes hurt, and he couldn't help but look up at the outside of the hall.

"Spread into acres!"

"The officials and gentry are one and the food is one errand!"

"Tariffs!"

"VAT!"

"A business tax!"

"Personal income tax will be levied!"

No wonder Wang Dehua was almost so frightened that he threw this question book out, no wonder the emperor was so indecisive! I see!

In this inscription, Shouhan poured out all his thoughts.

These taxes are introduced. The purpose of abolishing the privileges of scholars and gentry was to quickly pacify the rogues who roamed all over the Central Plains and the Eastern slaves who had plagued Liaodong for decades.

When the imperial court has money and food, it can provide relief to the victims, or work for relief, so that the hungry people everywhere will not take risks to join the rogue when they have a bite to eat. The local officials, gentlemen, scholars, and nobles paid the money and grain taxes in one piece, and the treasury could be filled, and there was no need to squeeze the already pitiful homesteaders, and turn these peasants, who had been overwhelmed by natural disasters, into reserve soldiers for King Li Chuang and the Eight Kings.

The second part of the inscription is that the Emperor Jianyi used the money and grain collected by the above measures to train a new army, which was no longer under the military department or under the control of the governors of various places, but was personally led by the emperor himself. The Nanyue army could sell everything this army needed to the imperial court at cost price, and was willing to send personnel to help the emperor train them, and once the army was formed, it would withdraw all its personnel.

Because of the dominance of the military leaders in various places, the corruption and erosion of the soldiers and horses in each town, and the unbearable battle, Chongzhen had an elite army of 20,000 to 30,000 people who were completely obedient to him. This is the dream of Chongzhen, Wang Dehua, and Wang Chengen's master and servant for many years, otherwise Chongzhen would not have been criticized by the ministers and opened the so-called internal exercise.

For this reason, Chongzhen has been with the two princes more than once to count all kinds of income and whether this army can be established.

Although there is a famine everywhere at present, the children of innocent families are willing to be thieves for a mouthful of food, and there is naturally no shortage of recruits. But these two or thirty thousand people from training to the army, including the military salary maintained in the future, is a headache for Chongzhen, in short, the emperor can't take it.

Although since Shouhan appeared in the field of vision of the Ming Dynasty, Chongzhen has a lot more money, at least he doesn't have to pawn things secretly to live. And all kinds of money, food, and financial support from Shouhan are not a small amount, but the officials of the Ming Dynasty are too powerful, so that most of Zhu Youzhen's money and food are used to fill the holes of officials.

"Emperor, now the annual service property from Ning Yuanbo is about 800,000 silver dollars, of which 500,000, 200,000 in Nanzhili, and 100,000 in customs revenue. In addition, 500,000 stone grains and rice were transported to Beijing and Nanjing for use, and when converted into market prices, it was at least three or four million yuan. ”

It sounds like a lot, but if you look at the documents asking for food and wages in various places, even many times the amount of silver and food is not enough! (To be continued......)