Along with the corpses of Jiang Zhongyuan and others, there was also a handwritten letter from Chen Yucheng, which read: "The Qing general Jiang Zhongyuan is not the mandate of heaven, resisting the heavenly soldiers, and now he has been killed by my heavenly soldiers, and the corpse is specially returned to warn the princes of Hunan to see the general trend clearly, and do not follow Jiang Zhongyuan's example, so as not to end up in defeat and death......

Peng Yulin was furious after reading the letter, and immediately tore the letter to pieces, and was angry and apologized to Jiang Zhongyuan, so he hurriedly ordered people to find a few Liuzhou coffins with the number to bury the bodies of Jiang Zhongyuan and others, and set up a mourning hall in the government for people to pay their respects, and personally wrote a memorabilia, and told Jiang Zhongyuan and others in detail about the martyrdom, and sent 800 li to report to the capital urgently......

It has rained in the south, but the Forbidden City has already been covered with snow, since the beginning of winter, the northern provinces like to fall heavy snow, Henan, Hebei, Shandong, Shanxi, Shaanxi and other northern provinces planted winter wheat with this relatively abundant snowfall, next year in May and June harvest, when there can be a larger harvest.

With the loss of Guangdong, when the war in Jiangnan became more and more tight, the economy of Jiangbei became more and more embarrassed, and the land of Jiangbei provinces was originally planted with cotton and other cash crops in addition to some cultivated wheat, sorghum and other food crops. When Lin Zexu was exiled to Xinjiang, he led the local military and civilians to control floods, reclaim farmland, and invent Lin Gongjing, reclaim wasteland and build water conservancy, so that nine border cities in Xinjiang, including Dakucha, Wushi, Aksu, and Khotan, reclaimed more than 800,000 acres of land. In addition to paying money and grain and self-use every year, the cantonment stations on the border of the garrisons can also have thousands of stone of surplus grain left over as funds. Moreover, Xinjiang, Gansu and other places are rich in products, and the cotton produced is the best in the country. Naturally, it is also very profitable.

Although the northern provinces also have products, the Manchu Qing Dynasty has always relied on Caoyun for a long time, first, there are millions of children of the Eight Banners in the north, who are waiting for Nalu rice without production, second, since the Ming and Qing dynasties exchanged Xiaoice period, the fields have mostly been barren or replanted with cotton, soybeans and other cash crops, and third, many of the transportation in the northland provinces is not as convenient as the transportation in the south of the Yangtze River, and the provinces have spent too much grain on collecting grain to the Beijing division, so the Manchu Qing has always attached great importance to the transportation of Cao.

But now the Taiping army occupies the coastal areas south of the Yangtze River. The last transportation and shipping were also cut off, and the Manchus had to readjust the grain structure in the north. In fact, before the Sui Dynasty opened the Grand Canal, Jiangbei did not need to rely on Cao Yun. During the Qin and Han dynasties, the Han people in the north still relied on the cultivated land in the north to meet their needs, and created a prosperous and powerful country, so why did they have to rely on Cao Yun in the Qing Dynasty?

Inside the East Warm Pavilion of the Forbidden City's Heart Cultivation Palace. Xingzhen looked at Gui Liang, Wen Xiang, Bao Jun, Shen Zhaolin, Cao Yuying and other military ministers sitting in the room. He said slowly: "After the caustic transportation was cut off, Jiangbei became more and more difficult, this time Shen Zhaolin and Shen Aiqing were on the "Shaanxi, Gansu, Xinjiang Provinces Tuntian Fold", what do you think? ”

Gui Liang was the foreman of the military aircraft department at this time, and said at the moment: "Lord Shen has also seen this in advance, and I feel that Lord Shen's compromise on the construction of water conservancy and reclamation of tuntian in the northwest provinces is to the point of the times, which is very good, and the queen mother can issue an edict to order the governors of all provinces to act according to this." to enrich the treasury. ”

The rest of the people also echoed their words, and Xingzhen was slightly disappointed. But he still said quietly: "Although the northwest land may be rich after the construction of water conservancy and the reclamation of tuntian, but the transportation in the northwest is inconvenient, after the money and grain are transported to the capital, the fire number is discolored, and the loss along the way is very large, and the northwest land is mixed with the Mongolian and Han ethnic groups, and the situation is complicated, and it will take several years to achieve results in this matter." Although Shen Aiqing's excerpt is good, it is not good enough in the eyes of this palace. ”

Gui Liang and the others looked at each other a little, and Gui Liang bowed slightly and said, "The servants are stupid, and please ask the Queen Mother to show me." ”

Xingzhen said slowly: "The land outside the Guan, fertile fields for thousands of miles, at the end of the Ming Dynasty is the land of my Qing Dynasty Longxing, since the Holy Ancestor Kangxi period, there are many Han people who can't survive beyond the border to ask for life, only Shengjing, Kangxi is only a few thousand Dingkou, now there are more than 100,000 Dingkou, after the Holy Ancestor Kangxi, the Han people have never stopped crossing the border in the past hundred years, the palace is considering that since the customs are sparsely populated, why not open the Guanwai, let the Han people go out of the customs and reclamation? ”

As soon as these words came out, several Han ministers were slightly better, and Gui Liang, Wen Xiang, Bao Jun and other Manchu ministers changed color together, Gui Liang hurriedly said: "Queen Mother, the land outside the gate is my land full of people, but it has been left and distributed to the children of the flags since the time of the ancestors, and it must not be opened outside the gates, otherwise as soon as the Han people enter, the places outside the customs will no longer belong to the children of my flags after a few years." ”

Wen Xiang also said: "Queen Mother Mingjian, this move must not be, outside the gate is the land of the Qing Dynasty, let those Han people out of the customs, if it disturbs the ancestral mausoleum, we will be the sin of death." ”

Several Manchu ministers said a word, opened their mouths about the ancestral system, and closed their mouths to sleep, while several Han ministers were silent, and they didn't know how to speak. The more Xingzhen listened, the more difficult her face became, and finally raised her hand to interrupt, and said coldly: "Longhair occupies Dalian Bay, and it has not been able to eradicate it in a few years, but has built Dalian Bay more and more solidly, doesn't this disturb the ancestral mausoleum?!" ”

Gui Liang and the others were shocked, and they left their seats and knelt down to confess the death penalty. Several people know about Dalian Bay, since a few years ago Changmao and Britain and France jointly sent troops to occupy Dalian Bay, the British and French fleets retreated south early in the morning, but Changmao did not leave, and the territory is getting bigger and bigger, not only occupy all the islands near Dalian Bay, and even advance the fortifications to Changxing Island and Fuzhou, and the southern corner of Dalian Bay has completely become the territory of the Taiping Army. Where the Taiping army built forts, fortresses, ports, and docks, there were more than 30,000 permanent soldiers and horses, and the Taiping army had a navy, which could threaten Shandong, Jinzhou, and even Dagukou and other important places at any time.

Xingzhen sighed lightly, she also knew that the Taiping Army took advantage of the war between Britain and France and Russia back then, and she was still giving birth to a child in the deep palace at that time, so she was powerless to change anything, not to mention these Manchu ministers who had no sense of sea power? And Gui Liang and the others couldn't speak back then, and the government was in the hands of Su Shun's gang.

At that moment, Xingzhen waved her hand and said, "That's it, let's all get up." After several people apologized, they got up and sat down, Xingzhen said slowly: "It is imperative to open the land outside, the number of long-haired people in Dalian Bay outside the gate is increasing, I will sit back and ignore it again, and in the future, long-haired will occupy the entire Guanwai, and then we will be the sin of death." ”

Speaking of which, Gui Liang and others are bitter-faced, you must know that the land outside the customs is divided into the banners after the Manchu Qing Dynasty entered the customs, originally prepared for the Manchu Qing Dynasty to withdraw from the customs after the untenable exit outside the customs, the Manchus can still have land to rely on, although the ban of the previous dynasties can not be completely eradicated, but those places are still nominally Manchurian, and the Queen Mother is bent on switching, which is very bad.

After Xingzhen looked at the faces of several people, she changed her words and said: "Kang Qian and other generations of emperors have banned the customs, and the palace also knows its general gist. Gui Liang, Wen Xiang, you are all from the Guerjia clan, I heard that nearly seventy percent of the land outside the Guerjia clan is still barren, but is there such a thing? ”

Gui Liang and Wen Xiang glanced at each other, knelt down together to ask for guilt, Xingzhen waved her hand helplessly: "That's it, this palace is not to blame anyone now, among the several policies of the Holy Ancestor to ban the customs back then, we still haven't changed too much, but the land outside the gate does not allow Han people to reclaim this article must be changed." In fact, the banner people who are now in the camp outside the customs are not all serious Manchurians, and the palace is now thinking of letting go of this article, but all the flag disciples and nobles outside the customs are recruited to the Han people's tunken, these Han people can register and make a register and then carry their nationality into the flag, even if it is the banner people under each banner, so that it will not violate the ancestral system. At the same time, the children of each banner should make great efforts to govern the land outside their own customs, and the palace will give them a year's time, and after a year, if the land outside the customs that is allocated to them is still barren and uncultivated, it will all be taken back and owned by the imperial court, and the imperial court will recruit people to reclaim it! ”

Gui Liang and the others all changed their faces slightly, and Gui Liang hurriedly said: "Queen Mother, is this year too hasty?" There is too much land outside the border, which is ......"

Xingzhen raised her hand and stopped: "This palace knows that recruiting Han people out of the customs and reclamation needs a lot of grain, farm tools, and improved seeds at the beginning, and most of you can't come up with any money to do this. But this silver is not given to you in vain, after the children of the banner and the nobles receive this silver, they go through the formalities of signing a settlement at the household department, which is considered to be lent to them, and it will be repaid in three years, and how to pay it back? Naturally, let them use this silver to recruit the Han people out of the customs to reclaim the land, and use the grain to pay back, and the grain can be collected by the Jin merchants outside the customs in person, and you can also avoid the loss of transporting grain and delivering grain, but it is a matter of great profit. This is the charter for handling this matter, you should take a good look at it, and if there is no objection, proceed accordingly. ”

Gui Liang and the others looked at the charter sent by Li Lianying for a while, and they all felt that this matter might be able to be handled, but Wen Xiang and the others always felt that after too many Han people came out of the customs, sooner or later the land outside the customs would no longer be full of people, and they were still a little hesitant in their hearts. Gui Liang asked even more boldly: "Queen Mother, I don't know if the Queen Mother knows about this?" ”

Xingzhen was tasting tea, and after hearing the words, her hand movements paused, but then she resumed as usual, put down the teacup and said lightly: "My sister already knows, and she is also very much in favor, you just have to do the errand, this matter is important for Gui Liang and Wen Xiang, especially Wen Xiang, you Guerjia clan must take the lead." Well, Wenxiang, you can't take it with you in the capital, and when this matter is handled, the imperial court will open a position as the governor of Liaodong, and you will first go to Guanwai to take office for three years, first, to preside over the matter of calling people outside Guanwai to reclaim, and second, to supervise military affairs outside Guanwai, and be sure to gradually clear the long hair in Dalian Bay within three years. And Gui Liang, you are in the capital, and these old and young masters in Sijiu City also need a lot of persuasion from you, the leader, only in this way can they get things done. ”

Gui Liang and the others had no choice but to bow down to receive the order, and when Bao Jun bowed to the ground, he muttered in a low voice: "I'm afraid that this matter is not so easy to ......" (to be continued......