More than a dozen general lieutenants were brought to Chongzhen at the same time, all of them dejected.

Speaking from their hearts, Lu Guangzu really didn't expect Chongzhen to lead the army to kill so quickly, let alone transfer so many soldiers from Xuzhou, so they were caught off guard.

Even if you don't give them a chance to escape, it's ruthless enough.

However, they still have illusions in their hearts that perhaps the Holy One will recruit them.

Chongzhen didn't even look at it, and asked Zuo Menggeng: "It's all here?" ”

"Two ran away." Zuo Mengeng replied with some trepidation, "Xu Yong and Hao Xiaozhong ran away." ”

"Go back and ask the painter to draw the portraits of the two people, and issue an official document for sea fishing." Chongzhen said this, and then pointed to Lu Guangzu and other deputy generals of the general army who were kneeling on the ground and said, "Drag it down and cut it." ”

"Huh?" This was a bit unexpected by Zuo Mengeng and Jin Shenghuan.

Even Lu Guangzu, Li Guoying and more than a dozen deputy generals of the general army were also surprised, and they were not tried, and they were going to behead more than a dozen of our general army deputy generals?

A few people who were afraid of death even begged for mercy directly.

"The Holy One spares his life, and the Holy One will spare us."

"We're also obsessed, and we know we're wrong."

"Holy Lord, as long as you spare us this suffering, in the future, we will be diligent and conscientious to fight on the battlefield for the Ming Dynasty, and we will never dare to have the slightest dissent, Holy Lord, spare your life!"

"Drag it down and cut it!" Chongzhen was completely unmoved.

He is not even rare for Jin Shenghuan now, will he keep these?

It has now been the nineteenth year of Chongzhen, and the Qinwang scholars represented by Xu Yingwei and Yan Yingyuan have gradually grown up, not to mention that there are still civil servants such as Du Yinxi and Jin Xuan available, where can they still focus on using potential warlords like Jin Shenghuan? Generals like Lu Guangzu who had a rebellious past don't have to stay.

To put it bluntly, these Liaodong generals are time bombs and cannot be used.

Zuo Mengeng wanted to persuade a few words, but in the end he didn't say anything.

Jin Shenghuan also watched Yi Ding drag Lu Guangzu and more than a dozen other general generals to behead him more than a dozen steps away, and he didn't know what was going on in his mind?

After dealing with more than a dozen general soldiers and deputy generals, it is time to deal with more than 100,000 chaotic soldiers.

These hundreds of thousands of rebels cannot be simply killed, but must be screened first, and then treated differently, and those who have not done evil can stay in Wuchang as a farmer.

But if you have done evil, then you can no longer stay in Wuchang.

There is a good saying, if a soldier has tasted robbery and murder, it will be difficult for him to put the evil thoughts that have been released into the cage of desire.

There is only one way to deal with such rebellious soldiers.

Chongzhen even chose a place for them to be imprisoned.

Chongzhen vaguely remembers that there was a large steel plant in Xiangtan.

Therefore, it is absolutely necessary to set up a large-scale iron-smelting workshop in Xiangtan.

With the vigorous development of Jiangnan industrial and commercial industry, the demand for steel and iron will definitely surge, especially once the production capacity of the arsenal keeps up, the demand for steel will be greater, so it is necessary to take precautions to set up a large-scale iron-smelting workshop in Xiangtan, after all, there are more than 100,000 free iron-smelting workers available.

Chongzhen was thinking about it, and Zhang Kuang, the governor of Hubei, finally came to greet Chongzhen with a group of officials.

Hearing that the Holy Lord had suppressed the rebellion, Zhang Kuang and other civil officials were surprised, hundreds of thousands of rebels were in rebellion, and they were so easily pacified by the Holy Lord? That's too fast, isn't it?

But surprise is surprise, and the ceremony still has to be seen.

"The ministers ask the Holy Jin'an." Zhang Kuang led a group of officials of all sizes to bow.

"Flat." Chongzhen shook his hand and said to Zhang Kuang, "Zhang Qing, I want to ask you for something." ”

"Holy Lord, you are really a tormented minister." Zhang Kuang said with a worried face, "The shore of the land is not the king's minister, if there is anything in the saint, he only needs to give an order, and the minister will definitely do his best." ”

"That's good." Chongzhen pointed to the hundreds of thousands of rebels kneeling on the ground, and said, "You can find a way to screen these rebels, and find out all those who have done evil and send them to the mines in Hunan to mine." ”

"Yes." Zhang Kuang said respectfully, "Please give the minister three days." ”

"Yes." Chongzhen bowed his head lightly, and ordered Block Yinxi, "Block Qing, transfer 10,000 town soldiers to assist Zhang Qing." ”

Even if 10,000 town soldiers were transferred to Zhang Kuang, Zhang Kuang immediately began to screen more than 100,000 rebellious soldiers, and Chongzhen and Du Yinxi led the army into the city accompanied by Fu Shangrui, the prefect of Wuchang.

……

On the second day of the second month of February, the dragon raised its head.

A spring rain woke up Jiangnan who had been sleeping for a winter overnight.

This year's weather is significantly warmer than last year's, and there is plenty of rain.

Looking at the non-stop spring rain outside the window of the duty room, Lu Zhenfei and the other four pavilion elders all showed smiles on their faces, and it seemed that this year would be a good year.

But soon, the faces of the four pavilion elders showed a sad look again.

Lu Zhenfei said: "As soon as the sting passes, spring ploughing is about to begin, and I don't know if the Holy Army and the 100,000 town soldiers led by Du Yinxi have successfully arrived in Wuchang?" ”

"Yes, don't miss Huguang's agricultural time." Meng Zhaoxiang said.

Zhang Shenyan said: "I'm afraid it's very difficult to do it if you don't miss the farming time, after all, this mutiny is more than 100,000 border troops, even if most of them are wiped out and only tens of thousands of people escape, it is enough to turn the entire Huguang upside down." ”

"What Elder Zhang Ge said is extremely true." Qian Qianyi said, "Servants need to do the worst ......"

Before the words fell, Liu Shizhen, the political envoy, walked in excitedly: "Four elders, Wuchang Tang News!" ”

"Oh?" Lu Zhenfei Huo Ran got up, "Wuchang has a Tang newspaper so soon?" Could it be that the Holy Army and Du Yinxi have already exterminated the rebels? ”

"This?" Zhang Shenyan was dumbfounded, "Impossible, right?" Didn't you say that during the Lantern Festival, they were still suppressing bandits in Dabie Mountain? Calculate the time, this will just arrive in Wuchang Mansion, right? ”

Qian Qianyi said: "Yes or no, just open the pond newspaper and take a look." ”

"Oh, yes!" Lu Zhenfei hurriedly picked up the dagger and removed the fire paint and took out the letter.

"Really!" After reading it quickly, Lu Zhenfei couldn't help but say overjoyed, "It's just a battle, and the saint easily quelled the rebellion, and it was all wiped out, and not a single chaotic soldier ran away." ”

"This ......," Zhang Shenyan said in disbelief, "How did the Holy Lord do this?" ”

"Look." Qian Qianyi clapped his hands and said, "The servant said that the Holy Lord would definitely be able to easily exterminate the rebels, and sure enough, the Saint could easily wipe out hundreds of thousands of rebels with just one blow." ”

"Okay, good, good." Lu Zhenfei said happily.

"The rebels have been wiped out, and Huguang will no longer miss the agricultural time."

After saying this, he added: "There is one thing that we have to agree on as soon as possible." ”

Zhang Shenyan said: "Shou Kui, do you mean that the new governor of Huguang is the candidate?" ”

"Yes." Lu Zhenfei said, "Huguangxi chokes Sichuan, and the north rejects hypocrisy, its position is not trivial, and it is necessary to choose a governor who is familiar with government affairs and knows the army." ”

Qian Qianyi said: "Can the Holy Lord propose a suitable candidate?" ”

"Nope." Lu Zhenfei said, "The saint made it clear in the Tang newspaper that the candidate is decided by the cabinet. ”

"In this way, the servant recommends Ma Shiying, the governor of Fengyang." Qian Qianyi said, "Ma Shiying has served as the prefect of many prefectures, and he has made quite a lot of political achievements in office, which can be said to be familiar with political achievements, and the governor Fengyang and Luzhou Prefectures have fought with thieves many times during the military affairs, and they have won many victories. ”

"No." Zhang Shenyan said categorically, "Ma Shiying is indeed the material of the governor, but he can use it for Lu Feng, but not for Huguang, and if he uses it forcibly, it will not only harm Ma Shiying himself, but also miss the major military affairs!" ”

Meng Zhaoxiang also said: "The servant also thinks that Ma Shiying is not a national soldier, but the governor of Huguang is not a national soldier. ”

Seeing that Zhang Shenyan and Meng Zhaoxiang were opposed, Qian Qianyi stopped talking, but he regretted it a little in his heart, this time he was hasty, he knew that he shouldn't have done this for Ma Shiying, and it was not worth it for a few hundred taels of silver.

Gao Shenyan pondered for a moment and then said, "Shou Yu, the servant thinks that Yuan Jixian has to be. ”

Meng Zhaoxiang immediately agreed: "The servant also thinks that Yuan Jixian is qualified for the post of governor of Huguang. ”

Yuan Jixian's official position was to be the governor of Jiangxi, Huguang, Anqing and Yingtian, but it was only after the governor of Huguang was appointed that he was no longer in charge of Huguang military affairs.

Therefore, it seems that Zhang Kuang, Lu Ding and other civil and military generals are Yuan Jixian's old subordinates.

Lu Zhenfei immediately clapped his head and said: "But, then I will transfer Yuan Jixian's military and political affairs to Governor Huguang, as for Jiangxi, Anqing and Yingtianfu, there is no need to worry about thieves or slaves attacking and harassing at this time, and there is no need to set up a governor." ”

……

At this time in Wuchang.

Chongzhen asked Du Yinxi and said: "Du Qing, you have also served in Huguang for several years, and you should be familiar with Huguang officialdom, do you know who can be called a capable official?" ”

Gu Yinxi replied: "Zhang Kuang, Fu Shangrui, Wu Jinxi, etc. are all capable officials. ”

Chongzhen asked again: "I heard that there are many iron mines in Xiangtan County in Changsha Prefecture, and I intend to build a large-scale iron-smelting workshop in Xiangtan County, and set up an iron-smelting Yushi iron smelting, who do you think is the most suitable?" ”

"This matter must be Wu Jinxi." Du Yinxi said without thinking, "Because Wu Jinxi loves Taoism, he is proficient in the art of Taiyi Qimen, and he is also quite involved in gold and stone smelting. ”

While he was talking, Zhang Kuang hurriedly walked in.

The big bow bowed and said: "The minister Zhang Kuang knocks on the holy Jin'an." ”

"Flat." Chongzhen shook his hand and said, "Zhang Kuang, is the screening finished?" ”

"Back to the saint, it's been screened." Zhang Kuang sighed and said, "Of the more than 189,000 rebels, only 80,000 have never done evil, and the remaining 100,000 have killed innocent people. ”

"More than 100,000?" Chongzhen asked again, "How did you screen it?" ”

Zhang Kuang said: "The ministers ordered the rebels to report and expose each other, and if the report is true, they can avoid death. ”

"Good way." Chongzhen said happily, "It seems that the result is credible." ”

Zhang Kuang asked, "I don't know how the Holy Lord plans to deal with the more than 100,000 rebels with bad deeds?" ”

Chongzhen asked Zhang Kuang rhetorically: "Zhang Kuang, what do you think I should do with these rebels?" ”

"Holy Lord, the minister thinks that he can not kill or try not to kill." Zhang Kuang said, "These are all strong men, even if they are left in the fields, more than 100,000 rebels can cultivate millions of acres!" ”

"Tuntian?" Zhang Kuang's sentence hit the true intention of Chongzhen's trip.

To be honest, if you just want to suppress the rebellion, Chongzhen doesn't need to drive the rebellion in person at all, just let Du Yinxi lead 100,000 soldiers to the south to quell the rebellion easily.

The reason why Chongzhen drove to Wuchang in person had another purpose.

This purpose is more than 90 million acres of fertile land in Huguang!

Food security, or food security, has been a top priority for the country since ancient times.

During the Song Dynasty, there was a folk proverb that Suhu is ripe, and the world is full, which means that when the grain in Suzhou and Huzhou is ripe, the entire Great Song Dynasty will no longer have to be hungry.

But after the Ming Dynasty, the folk proverb became that the lake is wide and the world is full.

It means that as long as the grain harvest in Huguang is abundant, there will be no food to eat all day.

It can be seen how important Huguang, the granary of the world, was to the Ming Dynasty.

Especially now after the vigorous development of industry and commerce in the eight prefectures and one state in the south of the Yangtze River, the farmland in the south of the Yangtze River is bound to be converted to a large number of cash crops such as cotton, linen, mulberry, etc., which will inevitably lead to a sharp decline in the grain output of the south of the Yangtze River, but the population of the south of the Yangtze River will grow sharply.

Therefore, Chongzhen must take precautions to renovate Huguang, the world's granary, in advance to ensure the food supply in the south of the Yangtze River.

At that moment, Chongzhen said with a smile: "Speaking of Tuntian, the Zhuang fields of more than a dozen vassal kings such as Chu Domain, Liao Domain, Min Domain, and Xiang Domain, are they now barren or who is cultivating them?" ”

In the Ming Dynasty, there were as many as 19 feudal kings in Huguang.

There are thirteen vassal kings who continued to the Chongzhen period, these thirteen vassal kings occupied the vast semi-fertile land of the lake, and the remaining small semi-cultivated land was concentrated in the hands of the landlord and gentry, and the final result was that the self-cultivated farmers only accounted for less than five percent of the cultivated land, but they needed to bear 100 percent of the land tax, which was dozens of times the tax amount ruled by Zhu Yuanzhang in the early Ming Dynasty!

Who can afford such a heavy tax? So the yeoman farmer has only two ways to go.

The yeoman farmer either fled or surrendered his farmland to the vassal king and became tenant farmers from then on.

Therefore, after ten years of Chongzhen, the yeoman farmers in Huguang were almost extinct, and more than 90% of the cultivated land was concentrated in the names of the various feudal clans.

Then, Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong successively conquered Huguang, and the feudal kings in Huguang were almost wiped out, and the cultivated land under the names of each domain became ownerless again.

In the first two years, Chongzhen didn't have the energy to take care of these.

But now, the situation of the Ming Dynasty has greatly improved, and he can finally free up his hands to deal with the Zhuang Tian under the name of the vassal king.

"This ......" Seeing Chongzhen ask about the vassal king Zhuangtian, Zhang Kuang was speechless for a moment, and his face was not very good-looking.

"How?" Chongzhen's face fell, and he asked with a dark face, "Lord Zhang Kuangzhang, is it hard to say or dare not say it?" ”

"Brother Yu Ye, why do you have to cover up for those people?" At this time, the plug Yinxi next to him suddenly said, "Holy Lord, the Zhuang Tian of each domain has long been secretly seized by the gentry of various prefectures. ”