The mighty fleet sailed on the East China Sea of the Ming Dynasty, although it is now the beginning of spring, but the cold sea breeze still has some pain on the face. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info

Zhou Renyuan and Zhu Cihong and their entourage stood on the deck of Zheng Chenggong's command ship, wearing a wool cloak, quietly watching the sun that was about to rise on the coastline in the distance. Before going to bed last night, Zhou Renyuan proposed to watch the sunrise on the sea this morning, but he didn't think about it on the sea road to Fuzhou.

Everyone was very excited when they heard it, although Zheng Chenggong walked the sea all year round, he had never really seen the sunrise once, and he readily agreed. So it was just dawn, and everyone gathered on this deck to watch the sunrise.

I saw a red sun faintly rising in the east, and the seagulls kept flying on the sea, and the sea turned a deep red. Everyone waited quietly for this exciting moment, and suddenly the sky was shining, and the sun was like being spit out by a divine dragon at the bottom of the sea, red clouds, and the strong sunlight pierced everyone's eyes a little painful. And under the sun, there is a sea of clouds, thousands of waves, and colorful colors.

"The red sun is rising, and its path is bright. The river flows out of the subterranean and flows into the ocean. The hidden dragon soars into the abyss, and the scales and claws are flying. The milk tiger roars in the valley, and the beasts are terrified. The falcon tried its wings, and the wind and dust were blowing. The first child of a strange flower, the emperor. The cadres will be hairy, and there will be a man. The sky wears its blue, and the earth wears its yellow. Through the ages, there are eight wildernesses. The future is like the sea, and the future is long! Zhou Renyuan recited Liang Qichao's "Young China Says" aloud, and when he saw this spectacular sunrise, he couldn't help but think of this article.

"Good poetry!" Zhu Cihong said with tears in his eyes, he had never seen this spectacular sunrise on the sea in his life, and he was deeply shocked by the poems recited by Zhou Renyuan!

Zheng Chenggong also praised, "The prince is so bold, the last general is deeply admired!"

Zhou Renyuan didn't feel arrogant, and said loudly, "Although I am old, I am full of holes, like the sun going down in the western mountains. But my generation of young people is like this vigorous sunrise, and it will surely shine. For a bright future of success, we encourage you together! ”

Everyone shouted "Success!" Succeed! ”

Zheng Chenggong shouted: "The last general will be renamed Chenggong from now on, and I am willing to follow the prince and the prince to help the Ming Dynasty in danger!" ”

"Good!" Zhu Cihong's face turned red with excitement, "The young general is loyal, my Zhu family will definitely not treat you badly!" ”

More than a month later, the fleet docked at Tianjin Wei Wharf, except for the 500 officers and men of the Fujian Navy Division who stayed behind to guard the warship. Zhou Renyuan and Zhu Cihong led a group of guards and Zheng Chenggong's 2,000 officers and soldiers of the Silver Protection Water Division and began to go to Beijing by land.

Passing by Tianjin Wei, I saw that there were ragged homeless people staggering on both sides of the road from time to time, and even saw corpses lying dead on the side of the road, and flies flying around on it. Everyone felt unbearable, and Zhu Cihong saw the corpse's stomach churning, and his face turned pale. The officers and men of the Navy Division from Fujian had never seen such miserable people, and some people kept rushing to the side of the road to vomit. Zheng Chenggong's face became darker and darker, he didn't expect the situation in the north to deteriorate to such an extent.

"Master Jun, it's okay, give it to the stutter!" From time to time, homeless people shouted hoarsely at the silver pressing team.

Zhou Renyuan commanded, and the sergeant kept taking out some bread from his arms and throwing them to those homeless people. As soon as the homeless people saw the bread being thrown, they rushed forward to snatch it in desperation.

The other homeless people on the road saw that they had something to eat, and gathered more and more in front of the silver pressing procession, and saw that the procession was no longer passable.

"Spread out, don't rush into the Qincha team!" Shen Tieshan shouted urgently. But the homeless people listened to it and squeezed forward desperately. A group of guards and officers and soldiers of the Fujian Navy Division nervously held the weapons in their hands at these displaced people, seeing that the situation was about to be out of control.

Hearing only a "bang" explosion, Zhou Renyuan took out a firearm and fired a shot into the sky. The homeless people were stunned and didn't dare to step forward again. There were also a few children who were scared and cried.

"Listen, everybody," Zhou Renyuan shouted on his horse. "I am the King of Yongming of the Ming Dynasty, this is the Prince Qincha Guard, you can't make a mistake. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will ask the officials of Tianjin to set up porridge sheds in the nearby counties, and you will wait on the outskirts of each county. ”

As soon as the homeless people heard that it was the prince's guard, they didn't dare to squeeze any more, and when they heard Zhou Renyuan say that they would set up a porridge shed to give porridge, they made up their minds. They knelt on the ground together and shouted, "Thank you for the grace of the prince!" ”

Zhu Cihong dismounted with tears in his eyes and cried bitterly, "Why are the people innocent? Suffering from this tragedy, I will definitely ask Tianjin to open a warehouse and release grain, so that you can survive. ”

The people who were kneeling on the ground also wept bitterly.

Tianjin Wei Commander (Zheng Sanpin) Sun Delu received a report from the city defense army, and hurriedly led his two commanders Tongzhi (from Sanpin) and Tianjin Sanwei's thousands of households out of the city to greet him.

As soon as Zhu Cihong saw Sun Delu, he split his head and covered his face and scolded, "Sun Dusi, this homeless person is everywhere, and there are frozen bones on the road, why don't you Tianjin Wei put grain and porridge?" How did you, the commander of the Tianjin Guard, become the envoy? "At that time, there was no prefecture and county in Tianjin, so the military, government and civil affairs were under the management of Sun Delu's Tianjin Metropolitan Division.

Sun Delu was panicked for a while, and replied, "Tell His Royal Highness the Crown Prince that if Tianjin Wei wants to release grain, it will go through the Governor's Mansion of the Five Armies, and the Ministry of War agrees. The last general had written the Governor's Mansion of the Five Armies as early as half a month ago, but he had not received approval, and the last general did not dare to release grain privately. ”

"Is that so?" Zhu Cihong's face was slightly pale, and he said, "This prince and the king of Yongming are sent by Qin, guarding the heavens and shepherding the four people!" Sun Dusi listened to the order, and Ben Qin ordered you to immediately open a warehouse to release grain, and set up a porridge shed on the side of the road to live the displaced people. ”

Sun Delu hurriedly said: "The last general is ordered!" "Three thousand households are about to be arranged to act separately.

"Sun Dusi, you arrange for some people to burn all the corpses on the roadside to prevent the disease." Zhou Renyuan said on the side. Sun Delu nodded, and ordered his thousands of households, and the three thousand households went separately.

Coming to the Yamen of the Dusi, Zhou Renyuan said to Sun De, "Sun Dusi, our escort on this trip is the imperial court tax silver, arrange a safe place to place those silver boxes, and the surrounding people who are responsible for guarding must all be soldiers of the Qincha Guards, and idle people cannot approach!" Do you know? ”

When Sun Delu heard this, he smacked his tongue and said, "The last general must be arranged, don't worry, the prince!" "I said in my heart, my mother, I have so much silver, dozens of boxes. Where did the imperial court get so much silver?

Everyone rested for a while, and Sun Delu also arranged the residence of the guards.

"Report to the prince and the prince, the porridge shacks have been set up one after another when they come, the burning of corpses is also arranged, and the soldiers and generals of the Qincha guard have also been arranged! I don't know what else the prince and the prince have to order? Sun Delu asked.

Zhou Renyuan was still satisfied with Sun Delu's efficiency, nodded and said, "Sun Dusi has worked hard!" I wonder what arrangements Sun Dusi will make for these displaced people in the future? ”

"Alas--!" Sun Delu sighed deeply, "My Sun Delu was also born to my father's mother, so I don't care about these homeless people." His Royal Highness the Crown Prince reprimanded the last general just now, and the last general also has difficulties! ”

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and this king are here, Sun Dusi might as well talk about any difficulties." Zhou Renyuan encouraged him.

"Okay." Sun Delu plucked up his courage and said, "The two highnesses know that we have three guards in Tianjinwei, Tianjin Wei, Tianjin Left Guard and Tianjin Right Guard. There were 5,600 soldiers in each guard, all of whom were officers and soldiers of the tuntian system, but now there are fewer and fewer tuntians, and the soldiers have no food to eat. To tell the truth, the grain that is now released to the displaced people is the grain that the officers and soldiers of our guard station have pressed into the bottom warehouse, and when the time comes, I will ask the prince and the prince to return to the imperial court and immediately ask the governor's office of the five armies to make up the amount of grain, otherwise the officers and soldiers of our Tianjin guard will be hungry. ”

"How so?" Zhu Cihong was surprised: "How can there be fewer and fewer tuntians in Tianjin Wei? Where did these fields go? ”

"It's not that there is no military pay." Sun Delu smiled bitterly: "In recent years, the imperial court has basically not been paid, and the soldiers can only farm and rely on the harvested grain to make a living, and they have to pay seventy percent of the grain to the imperial court every year." The old men of the Governor's Mansion of the Five Armies have successively annexed our Tianjin Wei Si into acres of land over the years, and now the imperial court has added three salaries, Liao salaries, suppression salaries and training salaries, and ordinary soldiers are even more unable to plant this field, so they have to sell their fields, and now I Tianjin Wei nearly 20,000 soldiers, and only three percent have land. Just now, the prince asked how to arrange these displaced people, where can these displaced people be resettled without food? ”

Zhu Cihong and Zhou Renyuan were silent when they heard this, and they had a headache. This not only involves the high-ranking and powerful generals of the capital military, but also involves Chongzhen's national policy of paying salaries. Although the purpose was to enrich the treasury, he had no idea that most of the additional taxes were still passed on to ordinary people. Because the Ming Dynasty implemented that the gentry did not pay grain, their fields did not have to pay taxes, although Zhang Juzheng implemented the "one whip law" in Wanli time, and those who had land must pay taxes, but now this "one whip law" has existed in name only.

"Fourth uncle, what do you see? What's the best way to do it? Zhu Cihong asked Zhou Renyuan with hope.

"Sun Dusi, do the rich families in this city have grain in stock?" Zhou Renyuan asked.

"Yes, and there's plenty of food." Sun Delu replied, "But I am afraid it is not easy to sell grain to them, now we all know that the situation is unstable, they may not sell it to my Dusi Yamen, besides, where does my Dusi Yamen have the money to buy grain?" ”

"It's not about buying food." Zhou Renyuan said, "It is to ask them to donate food, and if they refuse to donate, they will be forced to pay it." If anyone resists, they will be punished for wartime speculation! ”

When Zhu Cihong heard this, he stammered, "Fourth uncle, this—I'm afraid this is not very appropriate." ”

"In extraordinary times, we need to use extraordinary means." Zhou Renyuan said hatefully, "Tell them to go out of the city to see the miserable situation of these displaced people, they are all my Ming people, if they still have a conscience, they should donate food spontaneously, if they are indifferent, those rich families are not worthy of being my Ming people, and I will be punished heavily." ”

Zhu Cihong lowered his head and stopped talking. Yes, the wealth is in the hands of warlords and landlords, and even his own prince has to come forward to Fujian to ask Zheng Zhilong for money, what is the use of asking for face now? Can face save a people?

Sun Delu looked excited, "Since the prince said so, the last general will go to be the villain this time!" ”

"Of course, this is only a temporary solution, and it can only solve the current dilemma. I will suggest that the imperial court allocate funds to repair the wharf of your Tianjin Wei, the water depth is too shallow to stop the warships of 4,000 materials, and at the same time dredge the Cao Canal channel, and then you will recruit these displaced people to repair the wharf and the river. Give them food every day, and won't the homeless people have something to do? Then go and see where there is still wasteland near Tianjin for these displaced people to reclaim, won't this settle down? Zhou Renyuan continued.

"Hey, hey! The prince is really thoughtful, and he really solves my big problem! Sun Delu happily wrinkled his face into a chrysanthemum.

Zhu Cihong looked at Zhou Renyuan stupidly on the side, where did my fourth uncle get so many ideas in his head, could he really be sent by God to save my Daming?