Obtaining the official edict of the imperial court to manage the affairs of the Shu king's house, colluding with Liao Daheng, and taking the initiative to take refuge in the Shunqing prefect are the biggest political achievements made by Zhu Pingjin since his crossing. These political achievements will inevitably be passed on through the military and economic lines, thus winning more benefits for Zhu Pingjin.

After successfully resolving the embattled crisis last time, Zhu Pingjin and his wife were ecstatic, ate a hot pot and pulled their stomachs for three days. But now that greater success is in front of him, Zhu Pingjin is sad and sullen. In addition to family reasons, the main reason is that Zhu Pingjin suddenly discovered that the Shu gentry, represented by Liao Daheng and Jiang Ding Town, had gradually lost confidence in the Ming court and today's son. They began to take a sharp turn in politics, looking for a new spokesman who could represent their interests and protect them.

This scene really happened in history, in Shudi, and also in all parts of the Ming Dynasty.

When the last elite mobile force of the Ming Dynasty, the Qin army led by Sun Chuanting out of the pass (Tongguan), was defeated by Li Zicheng, the Ming gentry had in fact acquiesced in the change of dynasty. When Li Zicheng was called Emperor Xi'an and Jianyuan Yongchang, the Ming officials and gentry rushed to take various measures to make Li Zicheng.

In Zhu Pingjin's memory, Li Zicheng ascended the throne on the first day of the 17th year of Chongzhen, and soon after (Note 1) took the oath in Xi'an and marched to Beijing. After crossing the Yellow River near Tongguan, Li Zicheng led the main force northward, and the general Liu Fangliang led the division to the east along the north bank of the Yellow River, forming a strategic encirclement (pincer) offensive. Li Zicheng's main force fought from Pingyang in the south of Shanxi to Datong and Yanghe in the north of Jin, and then from Xuanhua to Juyongguan, and finally occupied Beijing on 19 March, which took only about 70 days! Along the way, there are many passes, there are two lines of defense of the Great Wall inside and outside, Taiyuan, Datong, Ningwu, Yanghe, Juyong Pass, are all famous border fortresses with high and deep trenches, the fortification is tight, the armament is excellent, and it is second to none in the whole China. Even the Ming court thought that this road was worry-free, and instead handed over the last patchwork of troops to the supervisor Li Jiantai, and asked him to go south to meet Liu Fangliang's partial division.

What can surprise Emperor Chongzhen is that the defenders of Xuanhua Road in Datong, Shanxi, in addition to Zhou Yuji, the general soldier of Ningwu, swore not to surrender, the Ming Dynasty's Zongfan, nobles, civil officials, military generals, eunuchs, gentry and even ordinary soldiers and ordinary people, or "secretly write to welcome the thief", or "seize the horse to welcome the thief", or "welcome the suburbs for ten miles", or "obey the people on the chest", or "surrender when the thief is seen", and they never thought of serious resistance. As soon as Li Jiantai, who acted as the superintendent of heaven, came out of Beijing, he secretly discussed surrender; And Chen Yan, a bachelor who stayed in Beijing, did everything possible to delay in the face of one after another urging the Liao army to join the Beijing Division. Until the fall of the Beijing Division, the Liao Army Wu Sangui had just entered the customs (Shanhaiguan)!

"The winner is the king, the loser is the loser", that is a Chinese tradition. Once the gentry landlord group thinks that the Ming Emperor cannot represent their interests, and once the gentry landlord group finds the "Ming Lord" in their minds, then even if the Tartars come to be the emperor, they will not hesitate! Bow and scrape!

The Ming Dynasty's gas has been exhausted, and it is inevitable to change the dynasty. Among people from all walks of life in the provinces of Daming, I am afraid that a unanimous consensus has been formed. And Zhu Pingjin's biggest fear now is this consensus. Because once this consensus is formed, it means that the wind will fall! It means that the army is defeated! It means that any personal effort will be easily crushed by the wheel of history!

So when did this terrible consensus come about? Zhu Pingjin did not dare to assert. However, when the elite of the Ming border army was destroyed in Ningjin, and the important town of Kaifeng in the Central Plains was not topped by the yellow water, every military disaster sounded a death knell for the Ming Dynasty politically!

In view of this, Zhu Pingjin decided to advance the schedule of many tasks by one year. He was originally scheduled to end his dormant state in Shu after Chongzhen hanged himself, and then justifiably raised his troops to swear an oath, erected the banner of the Ming Dynasty, and competed with Li Chuang, Zhang Tu and the Manchu Tartars for the world, providing another option for those who were not willing to be slaves to the country. Not only to save the lives of himself and his wife, but also to save this precarious country and people!

But there is a practical problem that cannot be bypassed: if Chuang Xian or Tartar conquer the whole country soon, it is very likely that there will be an unfavorable situation of using the manpower and material resources of Sichuan Province to fight against the world. Even if Zhu Pingjin successfully won Hanzhong and Huguang as the main battlefields of contention, there are still great doubts about whether Sichuan's manpower and material resources can support a long-term war. Because at that time, Hanzhong and Huguang were bound to be full of devastation and emptiness, and they could only be used as a buffer zone for Sichuan, and their own strategic support role was completely lost, and it might even become a heavy economic burden for Zhu Pingjin.

……

There is not a glimmer of starlight in the sky, and there is silence all around. The candlelight in the East Pavilion of the Jinde Hall was still beating, and Zhu Pingjin was not tired, still lying on the desk and writing hard.

Army building must be accelerated again. From the field army to the local army, it is necessary to expand the scale as soon as possible and form a well-organized, well-staffed, well-trained, and well-equipped structural system. Fortunately, the conduct of the Shu examination, the rectification of the left guard, and the rotation training of a large number of junior officers have initially solved the problem of cadres in army building. A group of officers from humble backgrounds, such as Chen Youfu, Liu Sangen, Wei Chen, and Tan Sigui, who have firm beliefs, are gradually growing up and becoming the backbone of army building.

Political construction should also be accelerated. And political construction is inseparable from the recognition of the imperial court, the support of the clan, the Qing of the gentry, the obedience of the Tusi and the reputation of the people. In all these political constructions, the work of the propaganda mouth is the most important, and the Fuxing Bao is one of the most important positions and weapons. Through this Shu examination, a large number of middle- and lower-class scholars in Shu gradually discovered that serving the Shu Wangfu was not a political suicide, but a political and economic harvest. Their active participation, and their turn of opinion, will be beneficial in supporting the propaganda work of the Fuxing Newspaper. The open cooperation of Liao Daheng and other high-ranking officials in Shu gradually represented the orthodoxy of the Ming Dynasty in Shu and the traditional Chinese ideal of enlightened autocracy (Note 2) taking root in Shu. In the next step, Zhu Pingjin will continue to consolidate the basic situation in western Sichuan, and at the same time extend his hand to the whole of Sichuan, beyond Kuimen, and to Nanjing and Huguang, and he has already begun to act. "Before you see them, you hear them first" is just as useful in politics.

Economic construction is not only related to the national economy and the people's livelihood, but also to the destiny of the country and the nation. In addition to increasing grain production, it is also necessary to make renewed efforts in many fields such as industry, transportation, and foreign trade. And industry, including the handicraft industry, the prototype of modern industry, will play a greater role as a top-secret weapon that Zhu Pingjin is ahead of the Ming provinces, ahead of thieves, Tartars, and even ahead of the times. In the military industry, where the fortunes of the country and the lives of the people are at stake, it is necessary to make high-intensity and uninterrupted investment, even at the cost of deficit finance, to ensure the greatest demand for the improvement of the army's combat effectiveness.

Zhu Pingjin used a simple quill pen to write down his plans one by one. Some have to coordinate with their wives, some have to consult with their ministers, some have to prepare in advance, and some have to make personnel adjustments. In short, no matter how big or small, Zhu Pingjin is unwilling to leave it out, making this work a short board on the barrel. The candlelight was still beating, the tip of the pen was rustling, and the time was silent and it was already the middle of the night.

At this time, a white-robed female ghost with a cloak appeared in front of Zhu Pingjin silently, so frightened that he almost had a heart attack.

"If you don't sleep in the middle of the night, who will you write love letters to!" The female ghost spoke.

Ay! Zhu Pingjian's heart eased up, and it turned out to be his wife. He stroked his chest and breathed heavily.

"Scared? I didn't mean it, it was Li Sixian who saw that you refused to sleep, so he came to beg me! ”

"People are scary, they are scared to death!" Zhu Pingjin hated his wife, "I'm scared to death, you are a widow, no one dares to marry you in your life!" ”。

"What widow? Aren't we married? ”

"We're engaged, and we're registered!"

"Then why didn't you allow me to attend the ceremony today? ……”

Reasoning with women on these issues will never be clear. Zhu Pingjin handily changed the topic in time and talked about business with his wife.

"Haven't you always wanted to engage in township enterprises? I want to transfer Hong Qihui to Chengdu as the head of the economic department and be your deputy. ”

The wife yawned: "Okay, whatever you want!" Who guards Ya'an? ”

"Cao Santai, Wei Chen and Fu Yuanxiu are members of the Standing Committee, Cao is in charge of economy and trade, Wei is in charge of the army, Fu is in charge of Wang Zhuang and workshops, and Cao Santai is temporarily in charge."

My wife rubbed her eyes: "I thought you were going to let Fu Yuanxiu be the Nanpo bowl!" It's okay, Cao Santai is definitely more obedient than Fu Yuanxiu, and there are always roundworms in the stomach of readers! So how does Liu Daozhen arrange it? He is the teacher of Hong Qihui and Fu Yuanxiu, and he cannot be lower than them. Brother Yun saw that Mr. Tian was in a lower position than him, and he was uncomfortable. ”

"For Liu Daozhen, I looked away, and Hong Qihui also looked away. Liu Daozhen is not a simple character with high scores and low ability! Liu Daozhen and his son Liu Xuandu borrowed 500 troops from Tianquan Tusi without permission to bring them to Lushan, which scared Nazhi County like a pug! After taking Lushan, the trade routes from Ya'an to Dongbu Tusi and Zagu Tusi through Linguan were all opened, and we had another tea and horse channel. The horses on Songpan's side are better than Tianquan's horses. With war horses, we can expand the ranks of cavalry.

Make decisions on the spot, dare to take responsibility and dare to pick, that is the material of the number one! When Liu Daozhen straightens out Lushan, he will replace Cao Santai. Cao Santai shifted his focus southward. Sichuan Xingdu Division is very rich in mineral resources, we make guns and cannons, and we can't do without these things. ”

"What kind of project are you working on in the township enterprise?"

"Engage in silk first, put it under the weaving bureau, and now Shunqing's raw silk is very cheap."

"The production base of the Weaving Bureau is in Renshou, and now Nanchong has been added, how to manage ......"

"The maid was demoted to a deputy position and stayed in Renshou; Miss took the main job and went to Nanchong to develop the market. Save Liu Hongting from having nothing to do all day long, running around with you everywhere! ”

"People are getting married, and you are still unreasonable!"

"This son is not married, what is she married? Let Xiaohong wait too! ”

"So what does Hong Qihui do?"

"In addition to being responsible for fiscal and financial taxation, it is also responsible for industrial planning and formulating industrial policies, especially for heavy industry. That is, to mobilize social capital to invest in industry together. Otherwise, our little silver will be spent sooner or later! I want to use the form of equity investment to build an investment platform in addition to Huitong Bank, raise capital and inject capital into the industry. The shareholding structure is still open, and not only natural persons can become shareholders, but also firms, toasts, and government governments. ”

"Let the government use tax collateral to buy shares?" Seeing her husband nodding, Luo Yuhong glanced at Zhu Pingjin, "Count you ruthless!" With your hand, you kidnapped the people of Sichuan! ”

"This invention is not my originality. This is the pattern of Sichuan railway stocks in the late Qing Dynasty. Ordinary people paying taxes is equivalent to buying stocks, so the people of Sichuan are shareholders. Saying that, Zhu Pingjin couldn't help laughing, "As soon as the Qing government announced that the railways were state-owned, Sichuan even rebelled against the underworld!" Zhao Erfeng (Note 3) has a gun and someone has the ability, but he was also cut off from the skull. Why? The people around him are all shareholders! Sichuan Baolu Death Monument (Note 4) is a monument to the stock market crash! ”

Luo Yuhong didn't laugh. She suddenly sank her face, bent down and grabbed Zhu Pingjin's hands tightly: "You don't sleep in the middle of the night thinking about these vicious plans? Why are you suddenly in such a hurry? What do you think of again? ”

Seeing Zhu Pingjian's dodging eyes, Luo Yuhong's firm gaze shot directly into his eyes: "Look at my eyes!" All your smiles are illusions! Your hands are shaking, you're afraid! You're scared! Isn't the situation all the better? Tycoon Liao, as well as the Du Governor's Mansion, are all moving closer to us! Why are you afraid? ”

"It's because of Liao Tycoon and that Shunqing Mansion!"

In an instant, Zhu Pingjin's veil of hypocrisy was ruthlessly torn open by his wife, revealing his hideous true face.

He broke free from his wife's control, revealed his true form, clenched his fists and roared:

"They took refuge in me because they thought the Ming Dynasty was over! The Zhu family is finished! They're looking for a new master!

They can climb another branch! My surname is Zhu, who can I go to? Who can I climb?

Once they feel that the Zhu family is finished and the Ming family is finished, they will find another master! There are two capitals in the north and south, 13 provinces, so many officials, so many gentry, who can you control? If those officials and gentry climbed Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong, and the fourth elder brother, where would we win the battle with this little bit of soldiers? ”

"You're too deep into the play!" Luo Yuhong calmly commented on Zhu Pingjian, "There is often a saying in sales: sit for a long time, don't stick the chair to your buttocks!" Don't forget, you are you, and the Zhu family is the Zhu family. You are better than the Zhu family! You are better than all the officials and gentry in the world! Others don't understand, I know. When you see them for what they really are, you're one step ahead and you're one step ahead! ”

"Really?" Zhu Pingjin raised his blood-red eyes and asked.

"Really! I will never give up on you, but I have taken a fancy to your ability! Let's go, sleep with me, and think about it tomorrow. ”

Luo Yuhong stepped forward and buried Zhu Pingjian's bearded face in his arms.

Men are not as strong as they look.

As a married woman, Luo Yuhong knows it very well.

……

Li Sixian heard that Shizi and Miss Luo were arguing in the middle of the night, and his heart became more and more uneasy. Miss Luo was invited by him, but he didn't expect the prince to suddenly roar at Miss Luo. In his memory, the prince was obedient to Miss Luo and never blushed.

But Li Sixian was soon relieved. Because Miss Luo took Shizi's hand and led Shizi out of the office. Miss Luo also smiled and asked Shizi, why did she confiscate her night pearl.

Zhu Pingjin saw that Li Sixian was far away in front, so he lowered his voice and said, "Natural minerals have a certain degree of radioactivity. The sailors on the Russian nuclear submarine will shine at night. Think about it, why does the night pearl shine......"

Before Zhu Pingjin finished speaking, Luo Yuhong had already shouted loudly: "Li Sixian, quickly take out the Night Pearl and throw it into the river!" ”

"Wait!" A kind smile returned to Zhu Pingjian's face, "Li Sixian, put the Night Pearl back in the box." A few days later, the Qin mission set off, and this son used it to give a big gift! ”

Note 1: Li Zicheng swore in Xi'an on the 8th day of the first month of the 17th year of Chongzhen.

Note 2: Authoritarian and open-minded are not contradictory to each other. Autocracy is "great unification", and enlightenment is "co-ruling the world". Some people who cannot understand it can imagine "democratic centralism", of course, the connotation of which is very different, and I hereby declare it.

Note 3: Zhao Erfeng, the last governor of Sichuan in the Manchu Qing Dynasty.

Note 4: Sichuan Baolu Death Monument, now in Chengdu People's Park.