"Have you started?" Zhu Shunming muttered to himself, a little excited.

He was a man who couldn't be idle, and he hadn't fought for nearly a year, and he felt that his whole body was rusty, and even the strength on the bed was a little lacking.

"The order is given, and the operation 'Captain' is to be carried out immediately."

"Yes."

Thinking about the next big action, Zhu Shunming was a little excited.

After moving from southwest Shaanxi, the career he conceived gradually came to fruition, and it was more perfect than he imagined.

This year's harvest in Huguang was bumper, and Zhu Shunming's tax collection went smoothly, and the amount of taxes was somewhat beyond imagination, which was enough to support his large-scale operation.

Once the set goal of the "school captain" operation is achieved, the two base areas, one south and one north, will be connected by the sea, and the rich land of the Ming Dynasty will be shrouded in the shadow of Zhu Shunming.

……………………

On the surface of the Yangtze River in Linxiang County, Yuezhou Prefecture, the entire Changsha Weidong Naval Division was dispatched to strictly inspect the ships going downstream.

"The Yuezhou government decrees that grain is not allowed to be trafficked without grain, and grain rice is not allowed to pass through Yuezhou."

The Changsha Weidong Water Division was formed on the basis of the original East Dongting Water Division. The original West Dongting Water Division formed the Changsha Weixi Water Division.

Zhu Shunming originally did not think about annexing the Dongting Water Division. However, the officers and soldiers of the Dongting Naval Division took the initiative to ask the Wugang Naval Division to merge them, and the officers would rather be demoted and transferred to Zhu Shunming's Naval Division. They are truly afraid.

The Ming court only attached importance to the army, and the sailors were dispensable, and the salaries issued to the sailors were often delayed and deducted, and the equipment was not updated for 10,000 years.

The sailors and soldiers are too poor to support their wives and children.

Zhu Shunming's Wugang sailor recruited soldiers around Dongting Lake, and after some brave or helpless young men joined, the money they brought back was enough for the family to live a decent life. The guys who hesitated and lost the opportunity regretted it.

Zhu Shunming entered Changsha Mansion, and the generals of the Dongting Water Division asked with a cheeky face to merge them into the Changsha Water Division. After Zhu Shunming considered it, he expanded the scale of the water division and set up two water division teams, the East Water Division and the West Water Division.

With the addition of skilled soldiers, the construction of Zhu Shunming's naval division team suddenly advanced by leaps and bounds, and it had a certain combat effectiveness overnight.

This is also the key and confidence for Zhu Shunming to formulate the "school captain" action.

"Grain? When does the grain need to be introduced? How I don't know. It's funny. Yuezhou Long Governor wants to go crazy for money! "Large-scale grain merchants are not easy to mess with, and they all have a certain backstage behind them.

The old officer was not angry, he urged: "Isn't it funny that you need salt to sell salt, you need tea to sell tea, and you need grain to sell grain?" ”

The grain merchant looked disdainful and said unceremoniously: "I have traveled all over the world with a horse face, and I have never heard that grain needs to be introduced." Do you know whose grain this ship belongs to? Nanjing guards Liu's father-in-law. Still out of the way? ”

The old officer's face turned sideways, his tone became cold, and he said with a straight face: "Whose food you eat, who you will listen to." In Huguang, I only know Boss Zhu. Boss Zhu said that grain sales need grain introduction, that is, grain introduction is needed. If there is no food to lead, dare to rush through the pass, and kill him. ”

Killing was like an order, and the soldiers behind him immediately prepared for battle. The bed crossbow lifted the gown, revealing sharp arrows; The cannon began to load, and the dark muzzle of the Fran cannon flashed with a dangerous aura; The weapons in the hands of the soldiers were unsheathed, and the swords pointed at the merchant ships.

The horse's face was still arrogant, and he sneered: "I think who dares to do it?" Is the surname of this Ming dynasty surnamed Zhu? What is Boss Zhu? ”

The horse's face did not choose to say anything, and made two mistakes. Of course, the surname of the Ming Dynasty is Zhu; Boss Zhu is not a thing, he is the guardian of the people under his rule, and he is the inviolable family in their hearts.

"Bang ......"

The Furlong cannon actually fired. The impact of the close-range shotguns was very amazing, the horse's face was hit by dozens of shotguns, and the whole person flew out a few feet, sticking to the bow canopy, soft like a pile of stinky meat.

The rest of the scattered bullets flew wildly, and several men next to the horse's face were hit, and for a moment they were not killed, and they fell on the deck wailing in pain, and blood soaked the deck.

"Who the told you to fire? Who? Know the law of martial arts? The old officer turned around and scolded.

"It's me." Shui Lao Wu replied: "I saw that this guy scolded Boss Zhu for not being a thing, so I was angry." How could Boss Zhu not be a thing? Boss Zhu is a good thing...... No, no, no, Boss Zhu is a good person. ”

The five families of Shui Lao originally had eight brothers, and the latter two did not feed. A large family of men has been eaten and eaten poorly. There was really no way, Shui Lao Wu secretly participated in the Wugang Water Division.

Shui Lao Wu's outrageous behavior made the families who fell into poverty immediately full of hope. The Anjia silver and the silver he took back were enough for the family to eat. The third brother also became close to Xiaolian, who was in love.

When it comes to respecting and worshiping Zhu Shunming, Shui Lao Wu is definitely a crazy fan.

Someone made disrespectful remarks about Zhu Shunming, and Shui Lao Wu was very angry, and decisively opened fire, which frightened both sides of the confrontation.

"I'll lock you up when I go back." The old officer said viciously. He turned around and shouted, "This cannon is just a warning, no matter how stubborn it is, you're welcome." ”

The people on the merchant ship were already trembling with fright, and when they saw that they could surrender, they immediately rushed to shout "Surrender, we surrender......

The people on the merchant ship laid down their arms and surrendered on their knees. The sailors skillfully jumped onto the merchant ship and controlled the grain merchants on the merchant ship.

"The ship, according to the report, was full of rice, no less than a thousand stones. According to the regulations, 500 grains are required. After counting the cargo on the ship, the soldier reported.

The old officer nodded and said to the second leader of the ship: "Now I will give you two ways, one is to unload the grain and go wherever you want; The second is to go to the Grain Transportation Department of Yuezhou Prefecture to handle grain introduction, and use grain to guide and transport grain. One grain lead tube and two stone millet. ”

The second leader was stunned, isn't it a confiscation? No need to go to jail? These soldiers look fierce, fire cannons at every turn, kill people like chickens, why do they act so civilized?

Listening to the old officer's guidance on two paths, the second leader asked timidly, "What's that...... What is the price of grain? ”

"Grain introduction is divided into coarse grain introduction and fine grain introduction. Coarse grains lead one lead five taels of silver, and fine grains lead one lead eight taels of silver. Yours is coarse grains, and you need to buy coarse grains. One grain leads to two stone grains. Your shipload of grain needs at least 500 grains. ”

The second leader was dumbfounded. So expensive? This shipload of grain will cost at least 2,500 taels of silver, which is nearly twice the purchase price of grain.

When this grain arrives in Nanzhili, it can't go up for five taels of silver? Grinding into rice, not eight taels of silver a stone?

At such a price, the second leader couldn't be the master, so he had to turn the bow of the boat and go back to Dongting Lake, and send a small boat back to Nanjing overnight to report to the master.

If the Yuezhou government does this, the price of grain in the entire Jiangnan must not soar? It is necessary to tell the master that large quantities of grain must be hoarded.

………………

Zhu Shunming set up a checkpoint in the Linxiang Yangtze River waterway in Yuezhou Prefecture, and grain rice was not allowed to go down, and the grain prices in the south of the Yangtze River were the same every day, from three taels of silver and one stone of rice all the way up to six taels, and the limelight of rising prices had not yet subsided, but was rising more and more intensely.

When merchants saw that food had skyrocketed, they all refused to sell, and the daily supply was limited, and the price was high. Those who have access to eat a large amount of grain from Jiangxi and northern Huguang are all hoarded and waiting for high grain prices; Seeing the sharp rise in grain prices in the south of the Yangtze River, grain merchants in the grain-producing areas also began to reduce grain shipments in anticipation of better prices.

The people buy up, not down. The more reluctant the merchants are to sell, the more crazy the people's desire to buy becomes. You can barely survive without salt, and you can't survive without food for a month.

The merchants, bureaucrats, and workers in Jiangnan (Jiangnan already had a large number of professional workers at this time, such as spinning mills, weaving factories, etc.), and peasants (peasants also need to buy grain, because most of the peasants in Jiangnan grow cotton, mulberry leaves, and other cash crops, and no longer grow grain) are all crazy about grain, and the whole Jiangnan was lightly stirred by Zhu Shunming, and it suddenly became a pot of porridge.

Only people like Zhu Shunming, who saw through the essence of the Ming Dynasty as just a paper tiger, dared to defy the world's disapproval and brazenly take Jiangnan to shake the foundation of the imperial court.

Jiangnan not only has a prosperous literary style, there are many court officials, but also Nanjing, a vice capital. For a time, the excerpts that impeached Zhu Shunming, Long Shenjiang (Yuezhou Prefect), Lei Qilong, and Fang Kongzhi flew into the Beijing Division like snowflakes.

Emperor Chongzhen had only recently seen Fang Kongzhi's recital on quelling the riots of the victims in Huguang and arranging agricultural production, and it was very strange that he had received so many impeachment recitals at this time.

After he finished reading the impeachment recital, Fang Kongzhi's self-defense was also here.

“…… The ministers worked hard to restore order in Huguang, guide agricultural production, and resettle the victims to save themselves. ”

"This autumn's grain has been put into storage, and the Huguang tax and three salaries have been raised in full, and the grain will be transported north to Beijing on the same day."

"However, the dragon turned over in the Guangwu Tomb of Suihu Lake, and there were countless casualties, and it still needs disaster relief and resettlement. The minister deeply felt the hardships of the emperor and the difficulties of the government, and wanted to save himself. Therefore, the temporary grain diversion strategy was carried out in the southern part of Huguang for the purpose of resettlement of the victims. ”

"Huguang affairs should be the emperor's dictatorship. However, out of interest, businessmen from other provinces ignored the general trend of the imperial court and secretly pushed officials from other provinces to comment on Huguang affairs, which was punishable. ”

Emperor Chongzhen put down the fold and sighed: "Fang Kongzhi, good man." Only he saw my hardships and understood my difficulties. ”

The twenty-two-year-old Emperor Chongzhen no longer had the enthusiasm and passion he had when he first became the emperor, but instead had deep helplessness and anger.

I am so diligent, why is the government not as good as day by day? I am so frugal, why are the merchants so lascivious? I work so hard, why do officials always neglect to take responsibility?

Emperor Chongzhen already had a few strands of white hair on his head, his young face looked dull, faintly wrinkled, his eyes were bloodshot, and there was a little dry white foam at the corner of his mouth. His liver fire is too strong.

"Wrapped around 100,000 yuan, riding a crane down to Yangzhou. Yangzhou is such a good place! Emperor Chongzhen sneered: "These salt merchants are so rich, but my treasury is so empty that even rats can starve to death." Salt has salt introductory, why can't grain have grain introduce? ”

Fang Kongzhi escorted part of the silver money collected from the grain to the Beijing Division, and the rest was used to rescue and resettle the victims. The victims of the disaster are also my people. ”

This is to legitimize the grain introduction system. Wang Chengen was secretly anxious. Food has skyrocketed, and there are even more people in the world who have no food to eat. If a person has nothing to eat, he must not rise up and rebel? Fang Kongzhi, the real chaos minister!

Emperor Chongzhen was still happy and said: "It's great to let the profiteers in the south of the Yangtze River eat high-priced grain, collect the grain from Huguang and attract silver money for the use of the country, and the local area can be self-sufficient and save itself, killing three birds with one stone." ”

"Big companion, do you think the grain introduction policy should be implemented throughout the country?" Chongzhen asked.

Wang Chengen smiled bitterly in his heart, and said carefully: "Back to the emperor, it is better to be careful in all court policies." Why don't you ask the elders what they think. ”

Chongzhen said angrily: "When it comes to silver money, these corpse vegetarian guys know that they are against me. If I don't compete with the people, I don't compete with the people, I am so poor that I can't afford to support the queen concubine, what else? ”

Immediately, Chongzhen deflated and said: "Forget it, let's try it in the south of Huguang first." Companion, the grain deported by Fang Kongzhi led the silver to me into the inner treasury. When you enter the household department, you will be filled by these guys. ”