In the blink of an eye, it was the spring of the thirteenth year of Chongzhen, and it had been a month since Qian Qianyi received the errand.

Beijing.

Hou Xun, Lu Xiangsheng, Sun Chuanting, Fang Kongshao, Xiong Wencan, Li Fengshen...... This large number of "criminal ministers" came out of the edict together.

They were released relatively late, because their families rushed from the south and traveled all the way to the penal department with the money to ransom them.

The court is completely out of money, and Chongzhen is thinking of a way, and the punishment of silver to atone for the sin is one of them.

The effect of making money is not bad, and it does not attract too much criticism.

Because of the criminals in the edict, many of them were imprisoned for messing up, and even were held accountable and imprisoned for some reason.

"Gentlemen, farewell!"

Li Fengshen bowed his hand to everyone and got into the carriage hired by his son Li Wen.

Lu Xiangsheng also clenched his fists and said, "Farewell!" ”

Lu Xiangsheng's younger brother, Lu Xiangjin, hired a carriage with Li Wen, and they were going back to Jiangnan together.

"Alas!"

Sun Chuanting shook his head and walked in the other direction.

Xiong Wencan led his son and walked straight to his in-laws' mansion. He and the cabinet minister Yao Minggong are fellow villagers and married very early. Xiong Wencan was appreciated by Yang Sichang, largely because of Yao Minggong's recommendation.

went to say goodbye to his in-laws and left Beijing, Xiong Wencan had already made up his mind.

Fang Kongzhi, Fang Yizhi, Hou Sui, Hou Fangyu, two pairs of father and son took a leisurely walk.

"What is the situation in the South?" Hou Sui asked.

Hou Fangyu replied: "Jiangzuo, Jiangyou, Guangdong, and Fujian are all based on Zhao Han. Huguang was divided into two, and the area south of the Yangtze River was changed to Hunan Province. ”

"It seems that the Zhao thief has already made plans to embezzle the entire Huguang," Fang Kongzhi said with a smile, "In the future, it will definitely be redivided, and only the south of Dongting Lake will be called Hunan." ”

Hou Sui shook his head and sighed: "After being imprisoned for three years, things are wrong, and the situation has been corrupted." He stopped and turned around and asked, "Brother Qianfu, but are you going to go back to your hometown to join that Zhao thief?" ”

"Let's talk about it." The square hole was ambiguous.

The two of them didn't have much to say, and after walking for a while, they separated.

After the separation, Hou Fangyu said to his father: "Thieves are ravaging Henan, and all parts of the country are forming villages to protect themselves, and our family is also recruiting troops. ”

"Let's talk about it when we get home!" Hou said.

The gentry and wealthy families in Henan have completely entered the mode of troubled times.

Often one or several families repair the village to arm the domestic slaves, not to kill the thief, but to protect themselves. When the rogue comes, he will send food, and under normal circumstances, as long as he is given enough food, the rogue will not bother to waste his strength to attack.

Another street.

Fang Yizhi said to his father: "My uncle has become the prefect of Shizhou. ”

"Zhizhou Wei?" Fang Kongzhi confirmed.

Fang Yizhi explained: "Zhao Han changed Shizhou Wei to Shizhou Mansion, and the government was in Shizhou (Enshi), and Badong and Jianshi were also included under it. Shi Nan, Rongmei, Shiliang, Jintong and other toasts were all changed to the soil, and some toasts were revoked. ”

"Didn't Toast rebel?" Fang Kongzhi said in surprise.

Fang Yizhi said: "From last year's summer harvest to the present, Zhao Han's Datong army has been fighting with Shizhou Tusi for seven months. ”

Fang Kongzhi sighed: "Zhao Thief is still too anxious, it must be operated for a long time to change the land and return to the stream, how can it be done overnight?" ”

方以智 says:

"This time is different. After Zhao Han occupied Shizhou, he immediately divided the fields to the military households of Shizhou, Jiannan and other guards. He also divided the land to the surrounding Sinicized Miao people (mostly Tujia), and also announced that the entire Shizhou Mansion would be exempted from the three-year field tax, and the Han and Miao people were encouraged to open up the wasteland. ”

After obtaining the allegiance of the Sinicized Miao people, he used these Miao people as guides to cut off the disobedient toasts around him and forcibly change the land and return to the stream. With the Han people as the main officials, and the Sinicized Miao people as the adjutants, it was ordered not to discriminate against the Miao people, and the policy of integrating the Han and Miao was publicized everywhere. ”

"Their peasant associations are very powerful, and among the Miao people, peasant associations have also been formed. Those Miao people who couldn't even speak Chinese, because they were divided into fields and exempted from taxation, no longer had to serve as conscription, and they all helped the government to fight the toast in turn. ”

"After half a year of fighting, almost all of the soldiers under some Xiao Tusi went to Zhao Han's side."

There are many ethnic minorities in Enshi, and the main body is the descendants of the ancient Ba people, but in the Ming Dynasty, they were collectively called Miao people and Tuman.

A large number of ethnic minority compatriots, including military households in various places, are living in dire straits.

Give them land, bring them sweet potatoes and other crops, exempt them from grain taxes for three years, and exempt them from all kinds of forced labor. Revolutionary enthusiasm was immediately ignited, and some small toasts did not need to be done by the Datong army at all, and the local soldiers and local people were killed by themselves.

Half a year later, only Dawang, Sanmao, Labidong, Mushu, Xiping, Tangya six Tusi remained, and Huang Qi left 2,000 regular soldiers and 2,000 peasant soldiers, slowly cooperating with the prefect to discuss.

In fact, there are small toasts here, and there are hundreds of local soldiers under each toast. Conquest of the Tusi is similar to exterminating bandits, fighting slowly is purely a difficult road, and when the real battle is really engaged, it is often crushed with one blow.

Fang Kongzhi sighed: "Your uncle was assigned." ”

"No," Fang Yizhi explained, "Zhao Han employs people, and the more he values him, the more he assigns him to drudgery." Once you get things done, you will inevitably be promoted. If my uncle can properly govern the Shizhou Mansion, he is likely to be promoted to a political envoy in the future. ”

Fang Kongzhi smiled and asked, "Why do you know so much?" ”

Fang Yizhi said: "Uncle has written many times to ask the child to join Zhao Han as soon as possible. Now that the father has been released from prison, he has no worries, and the child is going to Ji'an Mansion. ”

"Let's go together, I also want to go to Jiangxi to have a look." Fang Kongzhi was completely disappointed in the imperial court.

The father and son hadn't gone far when they suddenly rode up.

"Fang Yushi," said the pedestrian (the emperor's envoy), dismounting, "Your Majesty has an edict, please stay in the capital for the time being, read the edict of appointment on a certain day, and give Shang Fang the sword." ”

Hearing this, Fang Kongzhi was furious, and almost wanted to spit on Chongzhen on the spot.

locked up Lao Tzu for more than a year, asked his family to pay money to atone for his crimes, and he was about to be reinstated just two streets after he was released from prison?

If you really want to reuse Lao Tzu, won't you be reinstated directly? It's purely to make an extra penny of atonement!

Fang Kongzhi immediately agreed, found an inn in the outer city of Beijing, and the father and son slipped away early the next morning.

Lu Xiangsheng sat in the carriage and was speechless all the way.

In the city of Beijing, there was even starvation everywhere, and people begging could be seen everywhere.

After leaving the city, the fields were barren, and many noble lands were overgrown with weeds.

"Why?" Lu Xiangsheng was incredulous.

Lu Xiangjin explained: "The noble gentry are being exploited day by day. This spring there was another great drought, and many tenants did not want to farm anymore, so they went in groups to become thieves. If it weren't for Inspector Hong (Hong Chengchou) running around to suppress thieves, the people would not dare to go out of the city, and the foolish brother went north with silver this time, and was almost looted by thieves several times. ”

Lu Xiangsheng was speechless, and he didn't know what to say.

In ancient times, land rent was basically not divided, and it was all paid a fixed amount of rent.

Regardless of whether the wind and rain are good or natural and man-made disasters, the tenant farmers have to pay so much rent, at most they ask the landlord to pay less. Now that there have been disasters year after year, the grain produced in the field is not enough for farmers to pay rent, who the wants to farm?

Beizhili is better, and many states and counties in Henan can already be described as ten rooms and nine emptiness.

Not all of them starved to death, but a large number of people fled to other places, or simply rebelled, anyway, whoever grows food is stupid.

Lu Xiangjin said: "The price of rice in Beijing this spring is seven taels of silver and one stone. ”

Lu Xiangsheng was dumbfounded when he heard this, no wonder Chongzhen was willing to release the guilty ministers, as long as he paid the atonement money, he would be released. This is forced to have no choice, and if the prison is not vacated quickly, the prisoners will not be able to afford food.

Lu Xiangjin said to Li Fengshen with a smile: "Shanghai has opened its port and built a seaport, and the sea ban has been completely lifted. ”

"It's a good thing, too." Li Fengshen said with a smile.

Li Fengshen and Li Wen, father and son, are Shanghainese, and their families also engage in some trade, smuggling them to maritime merchants through fishermen.

However, after all, it belongs to the southern Zhili, and the smuggling investigation in Shanghai is very strict, and in addition, it can be transported to the north by the Yangtze River, so the smuggling phenomenon in Shanghai is far lighter than that in Guangzhou.

If Kaihai does business casually, it will be a financial route for the Li family.

Li Wen said: "Father, if the child wants to join Jiangxi, father should go with him." ”

Li Fengshen shook his head: "After a few years of edict, I don't want to be an official anymore." ”

The prison life at the end of the Ming Dynasty was not bad, as long as enough money was given, the jailers generally did not treat them harshly.

It's really that Chongzhen often has convulsions, and throws a bunch of them in every three or five times, maybe one day he will be reinstated and promoted, and it is best not to easily make enemies with these criminals.

Everyone took a boat to the south and passed through Xuzhou all the way before they returned to the world from hell.

Shandong is already full of famine!

When they were at Taoyuan Water Station, they met a group of scholars, and some even dragged their families south.

Lu Xiangsheng went over and asked, "Is my friend going south?" ”

A scholar returned the salute: "In this north, there is no use for scholars." When I go to the south, I have the opportunity to display my ambitions, and Mr. Zhao will be the founding saint! Mr. Zhao's poem "Transferred to the Gentlemen" was written for me and other northern scholars! ”

This poem spread so quickly, it is naturally inseparable from Xu Ying's credit.

Xu Ying has moved to live in Huai'an Province, and in the prefectures and counties along the canal, she goes to schools to distribute propaganda materials.

Every month, there are scholars who go south together to seek refuge in the Ming Lord.

Especially the poor soldiers, who saw no hope in the north. So they sold what they had and went to the south like moths to the fire, and they might even starve to death halfway.

Staying in the north is also death!

Xu Ying began to hire ships to sail back and forth along the canals of Shandong and Nanzhili. As long as you can recite the original text of "University", you can take a boat south for free, and you can also provide simple meals.

These scholars left their families and careers to go south, and Zhao Han could be appointed with confidence, without so many interests involved.

Lu Xiangsheng and a few of them simply changed to the "Shizi Boat".

In the cabin, there were many poor scholars, and almost all of them had starved to death of their families.

Looking at their situation, we know that they are all in rags, with an average of only two or three people in each family, and some are even alone.

"Don't be depressed, the world is so big, there must be a place for us!"

A scholar stood up, dressed in tattered Confucian clothes, raised his arms and shouted: "The journey of the avenue, the world is for the public, select the virtuous and capable, and emphasize faith and harmony." Therefore, people do not have only their relatives, nor only their sons, so that the old have their ends, the strong have their usefulness, the young have their growth, and the widows, lonely and sick people have all been supported......"

The voices grew louder and louder, everyone in the cabin was reciting, and in the dim light, people's eyes were shining.

"The world is the same!"

"The world is the same!"

The scholars who guide the emotions of the people can be regarded as trusts, but they are indeed real, and they belong to the newly developed scholars of the Northern Datong Society.

Lu Xiangsheng listened with enthusiasm, and at the same time creepy, he felt that the power in front of him could overturn everything!

Coming to Nanjing by boat, someone was reading a notice at the wharf.

But Qian Qianyi didn't know who to ask for help, so he directly posted a notice to invite famous artists to compile "Datong Zhengyin" together, and the office was located in a garden left by Wei Guogong.

The north can't even afford to eat, and the south is actually compiling phonological books.

When the scholars saw the notice, they burst into tears.

In the classics of the prosperous era, they escaped from hell, but they seemed to see a brilliant and prosperous world.