"It's too much."

Zhang Zhun shook his head gently.

Five million taels of silver to cure yellow" is too sharp. The financial revenue of the Ming Dynasty in a year is probably just such a little silver. In other words, "it is absolutely impossible to put more than 90 percent of the state's fiscal revenue into the project to control pornography." The money and food are all used to cure pornography, "Do you still have to deal with other military and political affairs?"

Moreover, this is still an upfront investment, "and there will be a large amount of expenditure every year in the future." God knows how many years it will take" to completely eradicate the flooding of the Yellow River. Alas, "When did the Yellow River, the mother river of the Chinese nation, become so unruly?" Isn't there a better way?

With this question, Zhang Zhun arrived at Huai'an Mansion and stayed at the Yamen, the governor of the river. Before Zhang Zhun arrived, Cao Wenheng ordered the preparation of the highest-grade residence. Regarding Cao Wenheng's reception, Zhang Zhun really didn't mean to shirk at all, and he completely deserved to "live in the same way."

Huai'an Mansion originally had a lot of Caoding stationed in it, which belonged to the private armed forces of the Caoyun Governor. In addition, Huai'an Mansion also has the army of Huai'an Wei and Dahewei. However, they all took a wait-and-see posture towards Zhang Zhun's arrival. Just kidding, the Tiger Ben Army even drove away the Tartars, and they still dare to go up and touch Zhang Zhun's moldy head? Think you've lived too long?

Those Cao Ding even knew the power of the Tiger Army. They in Dezhou and Linqing "have seen the strength of the Tiger Ben Army with their own eyes, and some have even witnessed the battle between the Tiger Ben Army and the Tartars." Knowing the arrival of the Tiger Ben Army, "Cao Ding completely cowered in the barracks, and he couldn't come out after being killed."

Yang Yipeng, the governor of Caoyun, was trapped in the capital and couldn't return to Huai'an Mansion" Caoyun was also cut off, and the interior of Caoding was actually scattered. Without luck, there is no income, and many people are looking for their own way out. Cao Wenheng is the governor of the river, and without the power to control Cao Ding, "he can only let Cao Ding be careless."

To say that Zhang Zhun went south this time, it is really different. If you want to say that you came to participate in the Yangzhou Chamber of Commerce, and you are accompanied by thousands of troops and gunboats, it is completely like you are going to fight. But the war" Zhang Zhun didn't seem to have the intention of fighting, and the bayonets of the Tiger Ben Army didn't stab anyone, which made people look a little frightened.

On the surface, Zhang Zhun is completely a high-ranking official inspecting posture, and he is going down from the southeast of the mountain to inspect the Yangzhou area. The former ministers of the Qin Mission and the like, the momentum is like Zhang Zhun. It's just that "Zhang Zhun's momentum" is more powerful. Others came with the aftermath of defeating Huang Taiji.

"Alas" what is this...... "......"

When there is no one," Cao Wenheng couldn't help but sigh quietly.

He really couldn't imagine that he would encounter such a strange thing in his life" and meet a strange person like Zhang Zhun. Nominally, Zhang Zhun is the Metropolitan Governor of the Tiger Army, and the Metropolitan Governor of the Metropolitan Mansion is also an official of the imperial court, and he is with them. Zhang Zhun has too many official titles, and each grade is above them" They must show respect.

But "the vast majority of people know very well that Zhang Zhun is a rebel and an enemy of the imperial court" is what Emperor Chongzhen wants to eradicate. Fundamentally speaking, there is no difference between Zhang Zhun and Shaanxi Liukou, "He both wants to overthrow the imperial court."

Why can such a contradictory association actually appear in Huai'an Mansion with swagger? And let everyone respect him? I'm afraid Cao Wenheng himself can't explain it. Cao Ding of Huai'an Mansion and the army of the guard house "usually bully the common people and seize the power of the car, which is quite murderous", but as soon as the Tiger Ben army came, they immediately withered.

Such a scene "is very reminiscent of the Ming army in the north." The Ming army in Liaodong, Jizhen, Xuanfu, and Datong was usually arrogant and domineering, "dare to do anything." Heavenly King Lao Tzu is the first, "they are the second." But as soon as the Tartars came, they immediately retreated into the stronghold and "didn't even dare to put a fart" for fear of alarming the Tartars.

What made Cao Wenheng feel even more speechless was that "Zhang Zhun, the murderous tiger, swaggered south, but Nanjing didn't even let out a fart, God knows what they were planning." Or maybe they don't dare to plan anything at all. Zhang Zhun dared to go south to bombard Nanjing City two years ago, and now he is no longer what it used to be, "I'm afraid that the bigwigs in Nanjing City don't dare to have any bad thoughts about Zhang Zhun at all."

Without clear instructions from Nanji, Cao Wenheng had no choice but to honestly hold a banquet to welcome Zhang Zhun's arrival. But "he didn't dare to be too high-profile and leave a handle on people." The officials of the Ming Dynasty had the best skill to carry the black pot for others. They don't have the ability to deal with Zhang Zhun, and they don't dare to say a word to Zhang Zhun, but they have the ability to get him Cao Wenheng down, or even go to prison to be punished.

Those who appear at the banquet are only big officials in Huai'an Prefecture. Different from previous banquets, "these big officials, when they are drinking and eating", all of them seem to be nervous in their hearts. God knows what Zhang Zhun will do. Fortunately, "Zhang Zhun didn't say anything from beginning to end, and the banquet ended smoothly.

"Call the prefect of Huai'an Mansion."

After the dinner, Zhang Zhun returned to the funeral and said casually to the people around him.

The prefect of Huai'an Mansion is called Liu An, who has the same name and surname as the author of "Huainanzi", but his grades are far worse. Although he has some ability to govern, "it's a pity that in a complex place like Huai'an Mansion", there are several major yamen above the governor of Caoyun, the governor of the river, and the governor of Fengyang.

Regarding Zhang Zhun's arrival, officials at all levels in Huai'an Mansion were "like fifteen buckets of water," and they were still waiting for news after the banquet was successfully concluded. Hearing that Zhang Zhun had summoned him, Liu An didn't dare to slack off, and hurriedly ran all the way over" saluted Zhang Zhun in a proper manner: "Xiaguan Liu An knocked to see Lord Dudu." ”

Zhang Zhun didn't give him a chance to sit down at all, and said straight to the point: "You will tell me briefly about the situation in Huai'an Mansion, the population, the fields, and the famine." ”

Liu An didn't dare to slack off, and hurriedly explained in detail.

Fortunately, as the prefect of his, he is not completely confused, and he is "still relatively clear" about the situation under his jurisdiction, and most of the data is memorized in his mind, and the answers that Zhang Zhun needs can basically be provided without thinking.

When it comes to wealthy Cheng, "Huai'an Mansion is better than any province in Shandong, after all, it is the Lianghuai region!" If it weren't for the influence of the Yellow River seizing Huai into the sea, "the richness of Huai'an Mansion should be ranked in the top three in Nanzhili." Of course, not so much now. Yangzhou Mansion, Changzhou Mansion, Suzhou Mansion, Songjiang Mansion and other places are all ranked in front of Huai'an Mansion. But in the whole country, Huai'an Mansion can definitely rank in the top ten.

Huai'an Province has a total registered population of about 3 million people, "deducting some empty households that have fled, plus some refugees who have fled, the total population must be more than 3 million." This is quite a large number, and the most populous Yanzhou Mansion in Shandong "is only more than 1.5 million people, and Huai'an Mansion is fully twice the size of Yanzhou Prefecture."

At present, the cultivated land area of Huai'an Province is about 20 million mu, which is almost equivalent to 40% of the cultivated land area in the entire A, and east. However, these fields are now concentrated in the hands of big bureaucrats and big landlords, and ordinary people have no more land.

Zhang Zhun asked quietly: "How many acres of land are the fields for which taxes are paid?" ”

Liu An didn't dare to hide it, and said honestly: "A total of 130,000 mu." ”

Zhang Zhun stretched out his hand.

Liu An didn't dare to slack off, and hurriedly bent down to send the relevant information.

Zhang Zhun flipped through it seriously, his face was a little mocking. The prefect did not lie: "Of the more than 20 million mu of land in Huai'an Prefecture, only more than 100,000 mu of land needs to be taxed, and even half (5%) is not even half (5%)." The rest of the fields are exempt from tax.

No wonder Chongzhen will shout that there is no money, and all the taxes have fallen into the pockets of private individuals. If all the fields are taxed, "the taxes of Huai'an Mansion alone" will be hundreds of thousands of taels of silver every year, which is enough to support the daily expenses of the two military towns of Xuanfu and Datong. I don't know if Emperor Chongzhen knows these data, "If you know, what kind of expression will you have?"

With more than 20 million acres of fields, Zhang Zhun felt that his saliva was about to flow down. To be honest, now he is "in need of silver" and "very much in need of silver". This Huai'an Mansion is so rich, since Zhang Zhun is eyeing it, he will definitely not let go. However, if you think of a way to get a sum of money first, you still need to think about it.

After pondering for a while, Zhang Zhun said slowly: "Is today's flood serious?" ”

Liu An replied honestly: "It's quite serious" In the suburbs and Suqian, a large number of fields have been flooded, and 50,000 or 60,000 people have been affected. ”

Brigadier Zhang put down the information and asked quietly: ...... Who is the person who has the most fields in Huai'an Province? ”

Liu An suddenly felt a little chilly behind his spine. Zhang Zhun must have a purpose in asking this. What purpose? Of course it won't be a good thing.

However, in the face of Zhang Zhun's butcher's knife, he really didn't dare not say it. After hesitating for a moment, Liu An took out another document from his sleeve and sent it to Zhang Zhun's hand, and said in a low voice: "My lord, please take a look." ”

Zhang Zhun nodded with satisfaction, "Satisfied with his obedience." He opened the information, and the record on it was indeed very detailed. It seems that this prefect of Liu An still has a very clear grasp of the situation in Huai'an Mansion.

According to Liu An's statistics, "the three largest landlords in Huai'an Mansion are Liu Handa, Zhang Dabao, and Lin Shuen. The fields of these three big landlords are "all more than 50,000 mu," and Liu Handa's family even exceeds 100,000 mu, which is really a veritable big landlord. The rest of the various landlords "have tens of thousands of acres in the majority, and thousands of acres in the few." Liu An's list of "only more than 1,000 acres" and as for hundreds of acres, it is even more.

At first glance, there is nothing special about these names, "they all seem to be strangers", but "if you think about it carefully, you will see that behind these strange names" there are countless secrets. These big landlords "are all local heroes in Huai'an Prefecture, and there are quite a lot of family thugs who are copied" and the government does not dare to offend them at all. The common people "dare not offend them even more."

Among these three heroes, the most high-flying and domineering is obviously Liu Handa. Liu Handa's fields are all in the Muyang area. In Muyang County, all the fertile land belongs to his Liu family. The power of his arrival home even crossed the yamen of the county government. Liu Handa's words: "It is much more powerful than the words of the county magistrate." Basically, the Liu family is in the local area, which is the law.

In order to protect his own interests, Liu Handa raised a team of several hundred family members, well-armed, and even equipped with muskets. Because of this, almost everyone has taken a blind attitude towards this Liu Handa's behavior, even Yang Yipeng and Cao Wenheng. Because, this Liu Handa has to donate 10,000 taels of silver in the first year to decorate the façade of the two governors' yamen.

The most important thing is that "they have a very close relationship with all the high-ranking officials in the imperial court, as well as the officials in Nanjing." It seems that the former assistant Zhang Juzheng, the former assistant Shen Shixing, the former assistant Zhou Yanru, the former assistant Wen Tiren, the current assistant Liu Yuliang and others have their own forces in Huai'an Mansion. For example, this Liu Handa is Wen Tiren's cousin. With Wen Tiren's care, Liu Handa is naturally lawless.

Zhang Zhun put down the list and said with a cold face: "Is the silver for river control this year?" ,, Liu Anxin thought, "You should ask Cao Wenheng about this, why do you ask me?" However, he didn't dare to question Zhang Zhun, so he had to say euphemistically: "In previous years, the gentry all donated" There are about thirty or forty thousand taels a year. This year's donation figures "have not yet been distributed. ”

Zhang Zhun shook his head and said: "Thirty or forty thousand taels" is a fart. ”

Liu Anxin thought, you said it lightly, it was donated by someone else. I, the prefect, "don't know how much face I have", can only raise 30,000 or 40,000 taels a year.

Even if the two governors came forward in person, they might not be able to raise much. Those rich families "are all supported by big forces, so they won't take the initiative to dig out the money."

Zhang Zhun pondered for a moment and said coldly, "You help me issue a notice, all fields under your name of more than fifty acres of each acre of land must pay one or two taels of silver as the cost of river control!" I give them ten days! If you don't pay the money within 10 days, you will do the same!" ”

Liu An's legs were weak, and he couldn't help but kneel down with a pop, and shouted in a lost voice: "Lord Dudu" is unacceptable! Otherwise! ”

Zhang Zhun said coldly, "What do you want?" ”

Liu An's forehead was full of sweat and he stammered and couldn't speak. He knew in his heart how to do it, but he didn't dare to tell Zhang Zhun bluntly. Zhang Zhun is simply asking for the lives of those people by doing this! One tael of silver per acre of land is tens of thousands of taels of silver at once, which is like robbery! This announcement was posted, and it was strange that Huai'an Mansion did not rebel.

It seems that Liu Handa, Zhang Dabao, and Lin Shuen, these big landlords, "are all copied by a lot of family thugs." Their family is "basically similar to Cao Ding." In doing so, Zhang Zhun "will inevitably provoke them to resist with force." Once they unite and take violent confrontation, "Huai'an Mansion will be in chaos."

Let me ask, who of the officials at all levels in Huai'an Mansion has not received the benefits of these big landlords? It is he, Liu An, "who also has a few hundred taels of silver every year." Once these big landlords are in chaos, the Caoding, garrisons, and military households in Huai'an Mansion will also be instigated. At that time, Huai'an Mansion will become a real battlefield.

After a long while, Liu An stammered and said, "Lord Governor, you can't do it" or not, if you force the apportionment like this, something will happen. Those people are luxuriant, and they move their whole bodies, "Please think twice!" ”

Zhang Zhun stared at Liu An and said coldly, "You don't care about this" You just need to post a notice and leave. The money is what I Zhang Zhun wants to collect, and it has nothing to do with you. ”

He certainly knew what the consequences would be if he did. However, such consequences are exactly what Zhang Zhun needs. If Huai'an Mansion is not chaotic, how can the Tiger Ben Army take advantage of the fire? If Huai'an Mansion does not become a battlefield, how can the butcher's knife of the Tiger Ben Army find the target to attack? If you don't get rid of those big landlords, how can Huai'an Mansion fall into the hands of the Tiger Ben Army?

Liu An breathed a sigh of relief. There is a sentence from Zhang Zhun: "His responsibility can be reduced a lot." However, after a while, "Liu An still felt frightened. Those people didn't dare to be angry with Zhang Zhun, "But they can still be angry with him, Liu An!"

Zhang Zhun stared at Liu An and said coldly, "Are you afraid of Tajia, aren't you afraid of me?" ”

Liu An suddenly felt that the bone marrow of his spine was cold, "as if he was going to suffocate." For this murderous Governor, "Liu An didn't dare to resist at all. He hurriedly said, "Don't dare" Don't dare, the lower official immediately made an announcement, immediately. ，”

Say it," Liu An hurriedly saluted and said goodbye. It wasn't until he went out of the door that he secretly wiped the cold sweat on his forehead, feeling that his whole body was wet, it was all cold sweat! This Zhang Zhun is really terrible.

Liu An really didn't understand, "Didn't you say that Zhang Zhun was going to Yangzhou and participate in the Yangzhou Chamber of Commerce?" Why did you make a big move in Huai'an Mansion and start killing? Is it to kill chickens to show monkeys, and deter and deter the people in Yangzhou Mansion? If so, the "people of Huai'an Mansion" would be really unlucky.

But "what can they do?" Zhang Zhun came with an army, unless they have a stronger army than Zhang Zhun In this world, "Isn't there an army stronger than the Tiger Army?" Maybe there is", but Liu An didn't see it.

Alas, forget it, in this era of war and chaos, it is better to take one step at a time. It really didn't work, so I had to hug the thighs of the tiger army. Even Lu Xiangsheng is said to have given his life to the Tiger Ben Army, and his own prefect "What is it?"

Having made up his mind, Liu An quickened his pace and hurriedly went. In the early morning of the next day, relevant notices were posted in many places in Huai'an Prefecture. All the prefectures and counties under their jurisdiction have also received relevant official documents. For a time, "one stone stirred up a thousand waves, and the entire Huai'an Mansion was boiling."