"Put!"

"Peng Peng Peng—"

On the stone fort on the mountain on the east side of Kaiyayi, with the firing of ten Fran cannons, the stone shells crossed the air and shot down the slope.

As far as the eye can see, on the mountain road under the stone fort, there are endless human figures, covering the sky, almost filling the entire river valley and mountain road.

Thousands of Tusi soldiers with steel knives in their mouths, shields on their backs, and ladders on their shoulders, ran on the mountain road at almost 60 degrees, in a vain attempt to put the ladder on the head of the stone castle and occupy the stone fort.

In the face of the siege of thousands of Tusi soldiers, the three hundred Ming troops in the city fell down and boiled water in an orderly manner, poured fire oil, and ignited the stone fort to make a sea of fire.

The terrible screams, like the fried evil ghosts in the oil pot hell, are wailing, giving people goosebumps.

But such a scene is just a microcosm of the entire Kaiyayi battlefield.

Stuck in the middle of the mountain road, Kaiyayi became a city that the combined forces of An Xiaoliang and Aminong had to attack.

It's just that on the left and right sides of this city, there are still one or four stone forts of different sizes, guarding the Kai Crow Station.

As for the Kai Crow Post that was mainly attacked, the war has stopped at this moment.

The tide of the Tusi army Ming Jin withdrew his troops, leaving behind nothing but gunpowder smoke and bloodstained soil, only various siege equipment that was still burning.

"Aminon's soldiers and horses have retreated, and An Xiaoliang and the other department should not be able to hold on."

Chengtou and Sun Chuanting looked at the retreating rebel soldiers and horses, and then looked at the stone forts that were still under siege on the mountains on the left and right, their brows were tightly locked, and it seemed that the occupation was not optimistic.

"Count the wounded soldiers in the city, wait for the battle of the stone forts on the left and right to end, transport the wounded soldiers to the two stone forts in the rear, and replace the people behind."

"Yes!" Hearing what Sun Chuanting said, the deputy general responded.

Seeing this, Sun Chuanting didn't say anything anymore, but quietly inspected the city to see if there were any deficiencies.

Today is the twelfth day of the winter month, and Sun Chuanting has been guarding the Kaiya Post for thirty-seven days.

Seeing that there were only more than 2,000 soldiers and horses left in Bijie, Sun Chuanting had no choice but to gather some strong men and replenish the number of men and horses defending the city to 3,060.

But even so, the strong man is not as good as the soldier after all, and if he can't wait for reinforcements from the Kai Crow Station, I'm afraid he will ......

Thinking of this, Sun Chuanting's heart sank, and at this moment, the sound of hurried footsteps came from behind Sun Chuanting.

"Governor! Reinforcements are coming! Reinforcements are coming! ”

When a garrison held up military orders and letters and shouted loudly, everyone in the city looked at this side, and Sun Chuanting was even more excited to grab the shoulders of the guards who came to guard:

"Where's the reinforcements?!"

"Back to the governor! The political envoy of Yunnan, Mu Zengmu, has already commanded 12,000 troops to arrive at Qixingguan, less than seventy miles away from the Yayi! ”

"Heaven will not die, my Sun Chuanting......" Hearing this, Sun Chuanting let go of his hands, closed his eyes and looked up to the sky, his body shook and staggered.

"Governor!" The deputy general hurriedly supported Sun Chuanting, and at this time, the garrison also handed out a letter and said:

"Governor, there is one more thing, Governor Zhu ordered our army to change guards with the political envoy of Mubu, and ordered the governor to take charge of Bijie and Chishui, and you can mobilize troops and horses to gallop to the Pushi Office, resist Fan Long's soldiers and horses, and wait for the opportunity to counterattack!"

"Bring me the map." Sun Chuanting got the military order, and immediately cheered up, asked the deputy general for a map, and then looked at it for a long time before saying:

"How many more do we have?"

Hearing this, the adjutant general said with a solemn face: "I went to Zhuangding, Chishui and Bijie, plus Pu City, there were only more than 4,400 soldiers and 200 cavalry. ”

"Six hundred from Chishui, two thousand four hundred foot soldiers and two hundred horsemen who are not injured in the Ya Post tomorrow, will follow me north to the Pushi City in three days!" Sun Chuanting forced his mouth to speak, and the deputy general was worried:

"But Governor, you haven't had a good rest for two days."

"The state affairs are difficult, how can I destroy the great plan of the imperial court because of me?" Sun Chuanting waved his hand and said, "Go and do it!" ”

"This ...... Alas...... The last general commands! The adjutant general sighed, and could only reluctantly take the order.

It was Sun Chuanting, who was obviously unable to hold on to his body, but he still held on for an hour, and then returned to the temporary courtyard of Kaiyayi to rest.

He couldn't even hear everything around him, and he fell asleep groggyly, and when he opened his eyes again, he saw only the light coming through the window into the room.

"How long have I been asleep......

After resting for a while, Sun Chuanting got up and asked someone to bring a basin of hot water and enjoyed this hard-won wash.

"What time is it?"

Sun Chuanting wiped his face and asked the soldier who was fetching water, and the soldier subconsciously replied: "It's already six o'clock in the afternoon." ”

Hearing this time, Sun Chuanting's movements froze, and after a while, he sighed: "I didn't expect that my sleep would be a full nine hours." ”

"Vice Admiral Sun said, let's not disturb the governor." The soldier explained:

"In addition, An Xiaoliang and Aminong did not attack the city today, so the governor was able to sleep well."

"No siege?" Sun Chuanting frowned, and at this time, footsteps sounded, Sun Chuanting looked at the door, and saw the deputy general walking with a stomach.

He entered the house and said to Sun Chuanting:

"Good news, Governor."

"Old lady Qin Liangyu defeated Shiqian and Sizhou Tusi, and has recovered Shiqian and Sizhou."

"The Tusi soldiers and horses of the two prefectures retreated to Zhenyuan Mansion, and the old lady and daughter-in-law Zhang Fengyi, as well as Qin Yiming and Qin Gongming, two generals, commanded more than 10,000 troops and went straight to Zhenyuan Mansion."

"Then An Bangyan probably gave An Xiaoliang an order, so there was no siege today."

"Good!" Hearing that it was Qin Liangyu's meritorious service, Sun Chuanting also knew that the Tusi must have killed and injured a lot of people this time, otherwise they would not have given up the land of Sizhou and Shiqian so decisively.

Not surprisingly, as long as Zhenyuan is besieged, An Bangyan can only stop besieging Guiyang, either leading his troops and horses to the rescue, or letting An Xiaoliang and A Minong go.

Sun Chuanting thought about it, and after a short walk, he said to the deputy general: "Where has the political envoy of Mubu arrived now?" ”

"I've arrived at the Naturalization Station, it's only thirty miles from here, and it should be there at dusk." The adjutant general responded, and Sun Chuanting said when he heard this:

"In that case, then prepare grain and grass, rest for a day, and set off for the general market the day after tomorrow."

"Yes......" Hearing this, the adjutant general left the courtyard.

As for Sun Chuanting, he did not slack off because of the imminent change of defense and the cessation of the siege of An Xiaoliang and Aminong.

He still put on a stomach that ordinary Wenchen disdained, and after lunch, he continued to patrol the city, until two hours later, when the deputy general came to inform him that Mu Zeng was about to arrive, and he led people to the north gate.

With the opening of the north gate, Sun Chuanting led people to lower the suspension bridge and led people to greet him at the city gate.

Sun Chuanting looked at the horizon in the distance, although he didn't have much affection for the prefect like Mu Zeng, but he also didn't have any malice.

He didn't think very highly of himself, but waited in a business-like manner.

A quarter of an hour later, flags appeared on the horizon in the distance, hundreds of flags slowly appeared, followed by the appearance of marching soldiers and horses.

Although they were wearing the iron armor of the Ming army, it was not difficult to see from their figures and skin colors that this army was composed of various native soldiers.

Under the gaze of Sun Chuanting and others, more than a thousand horses rushed out of this boundless crowd and horses, rushing towards the city gate.

The leader is a man standing in a gray and white robe.

He led people to ride horses, but more than 1,000 horsemen stopped in front of the suspension bridge, only he and the officials on the left and right rode up the suspension bridge, and came to Sun Chuanting and others five or six steps before reining in the horse.

The three of them skillfully turned over and dismounted, and the gray and white man in the prime of life in the lead was the political envoy of Yunnan, Mu Zeng of the Lijiang Governor's Mansion.

He looked upright, had a three-inch short beard, and after getting off the horse, he looked at Sun Chuanting and the others, and said with a hesitant expression on his face:

"I don't know who is Governor Sun?"

"In Xiashanxi, Zhenwu Wei Sun Chuanting, the word Boya, Bijie, Chishui Governor."

Sun Chuanting took a step forward, and his appearance in armor made Mu Zeng have a little good impression of him.

"I didn't expect Governor Sun to be so tall and brave, it's really a blessing for the court."

Mu Zeng didn't expect Sun Chuanting to be such a tall civil official with a stomach, and Sun Chuanting also said to Mu Zeng, who was five feet six inches:

"Mubu political envoy, the subordinate officials are just doing their duty to defend the territory."

"It's a pity that I have to leave for the Pushi Office tomorrow, otherwise I should be able to guard the Kai Crow Post with the Mubu political envoy."

"Hehe......" Mu Zeng stroked his beard and smiled:

"There will definitely be a chance in the future, but this official has picked up a leak this time, the morale of the rebels has been frustrated by Governor Sun, and this official only needs to wait for work."

Speaking of this, Mu Zeng didn't know what he thought, and said to Sun Chuanting:

"This official divided his troops in Wusa three days ago, and the Duogan camp was commanded by Cao Wenzhao, a general sent by the King of Qi, maybe Governor Sun can meet with General Cao."

In Mu Zeng's opinion, Sun Chuanting is obviously the person of King Qi, not only he sees it this way, but even other people see it this way.

Therefore, the same person who is the king of Qi, maybe Sun Chuanting and Cao Wenzhao can join hands to fight the enemy.

"I have heard the deeds of General Cao, and I hope that I can fight the enemy with him after I go north." Sun Chuanting also responded with a smile.

Then, he said to the lieutenant next to him:

"Order the army to withdraw from the Kai Crow Post and return to the Naturalization Post to rest before dark."

"Yes...... the adjutant general responded, and Mu Zeng also said when he saw this:

"Then the official will first lead the army to enter the Kaiya Station, and I wish Governor Sun to exterminate the rebel general of Hao Chongming after he goes north."

"Borrow the auspicious words of the political envoy of Mubu." Sun Chuanting was familiar, and then commanded the army to withdraw from the stone forts and the Kaiya Station.

During this period, it was indispensable to greet Mu Zeng, after all, it was officialdom, and no one knew where he would go after the end of this war.

If Sun Chuanting continues to stay in Guizhou, there must be a lot of movement between him and Mu Zeng in the future.

As for Mu Zeng, he had more thoughts in his heart.

First of all, Mu Mansion, who is not dealing with the Mu family's toast, in the rebellion of luxury, they stopped moving, and they must have fallen into the solution of being cleaned up after the war.

To be honest, Mu Zeng himself couldn't figure out why Mu Changzuo's father and son dared to stop Qujing, but did not rush to Guangxi in accordance with the will of the imperial court.

You must know that even if it is his Mu clan, he does not dare to disobey the will of the Ming Dynasty to transfer troops.

Therefore, under the operation of Mu Fu, Mu Zeng's mind became active.

If this time, he can rely on his counterinsurgency exploits to further expand his power in Wusizang and Yunnan, it will definitely be the icing on the cake for the development of the Mu clan.

Mu Zeng can see clearly, he knew from the time when Nurhachi did not conquer Liaodong that the Ming Dynasty was a hundred-legged insect that died but did not stiffen, and the imperial court was also slowly changing the law.

Once the change is successful, this hundred-legged insect may be trapped and ascend to heaven.

What he wants to see is much farther than what Mu Changzuo and the others have seen......

Therefore, if Sun Chuanting can stay in Guizhou in the future, it may be helpful for his idea of expanding his power.

Therefore, when Sun Chuanting left, he also asked someone to send 400 horses, so that the 200 cavalry under Sun Chuanting reached the level of one person and four horses.

Sun Chuanting also knew that the favor was not good, but at present, he really needed these four hundred Tibetan horses.

After repeatedly thanking him, he led the army north to the Pushi Office, and Mu Zeng also honestly guarded the Kaiya Station.

He would not be stupid enough to go out of the city to fight with An Xiaoliang and Aminong, if the soldiers and horses of the Mu clan were lost too much, it would be detrimental to them to rule the eastern part of Wusizang and continue to mine in Qamdo.

Like the Battle of Shenliao, in the Battle of Lu'an, most people also have their own little Jiujiu.

Perhaps it was the Emperor and the King of Qi who sensed something wrong in their actions, so they both understood the importance of preserving their strength.

Even military generals can think of this, so as some careerists who take manipulating people's hearts as their primary means, they are naturally not far behind......

————————

"What does Fu Bai mean is that you want me to exchange the lives of the soldiers and people of the five provinces for the soaring of hundreds of people?"

When Sun Chuanting led his troops north, in the garrison mansion in Shihu Pass, Luzhou, an official with a big belly but thick eyebrows was frowning and questioning the person in front of him.

In front of him was a sixty-year-old man dressed in a Taoist robe and wearing a scarf on his head.

Hearing the official's words, the old man also said with embarrassment:

"Maohe (table word), at present, the Donglin Chaos Party is aggressive, and Mr. Shi Zhai is also helpless, so he made this decision......"

"Using the lives of hundreds of thousands of soldiers and millions of people to make a plot is indeed a good idea!" Zhu Xieyuan ridiculed the old man, but the old man didn't care:

"Right now, Sun Gechen and Fang Shoufu have retreated, and my children in Zhedong have fallen behind in the court."

"If we don't have any other reaction, when Donglin controls the situation, it will really be a big mess in the world."

"Maohe, don't tell me that you can't see how many ministers there are in Donglin."

The old man had a heart-to-heart gesture, but Zhu Xieyuan frowned when he heard this:

"There are ministers in Donglin, it can't be denied, but what about my children in Zhedong? Doesn't Huaibei have nothing to do with us? ”

Zhu Xieyuan's words made the old man frown.

Zhu Xieyuan, because his family background was just an ordinary rich peasant, and he even relied on the local government office of the imperial court to learn to read and write, so some ideas were contrary to most officials in eastern Zhejiang.

At that time, Suzhou resisted the mining tax, and the officials in eastern Zhejiang, who knew that the people under them were rebelling, opened their mouths to transfer troops to suppress it, and only Zhu Xieyuan advocated issuing an edict.

As a result, the edict was issued, and Ge Cheng, who was among the people who resisted taxes, stepped forward to throw himself into the eucalyptus, so that the eucalyptus was over.

From this, it can be seen that most civilian officials, even in the face of local villagers, are prone to raise troops to suppress them.

Perhaps in their opinion, those who can be called fellow villagers by them can only be called fellow villagers if they are admitted to the imperial examination together and embark on their official careers.

It is precisely because Zhu Xieyuan's various ideas are contrary to the officials of eastern Zhejiang that he will be excluded.

obviously became famous as a young man, but he was more than half a hundred years old before he became a political envoy.

If you change to other children of eastern Zhejiang, I am afraid that you are already a member of the Beijing government.

"Maohe, think about this matter again." Although the old man did not like it, he still advised:

"The officials have already begun to transfer officials, and they will inevitably go to their posts within two months, and I hope you will ...... when the time comes."

Before the old man's words were finished, Zhu Xieyuan stood up suddenly, frowned, looked down at the old man, looked at each other, and forcibly suppressed his anger and said:

"Although I, Zhu Xieyuan, am not talented, I will not use this method to harm the lives of the people, Fu Bai doesn't need to mention it, go down and rest early......

After that, Zhu Xieyuan turned around and left, and the old man was stunned for a short time, but he also reacted later, got up and said loudly to Zhu Xieyuan's back:

"Maohe, do you treat your fellow countrymen like this?!"

When the old man was saying this, behind the attic window on the left side of the main hall, there was a person who was recording their conversation, and finally when the old man left Shihu Pass, this person sent it to Yangqu, Shanxi, together with the military newspaper.

When Zhu Youzhen saw the news, it was already the twentieth of the winter moon.

He sat in the big tent, with a letter on his head and a copy in his hand, which belonged to the Fusi of the South and North Towns.

The military report was not in a hurry, he first read Nanzhen Fusi's request for Zhu Xieyuan from the Zhejiang Party.

"I didn't choose the wrong person......

muttered, Zhu Youzhen only felt that he had not chosen the wrong person, and then put down the letter in his hand and looked at the person in front of him.

In front of him, there was a middle-aged man sitting on a chair with a flattering smile on his face, and the dragon pattern of the regular clothes he was wearing also represented his identity.

Zhu Youzhen folded the letter from Nanzhen Fusi, put it away and said to the person in front of him:

"Brother King Jin, I'll tell you about the invasion of Tuntian by the royal palace."

"There is no doubt that the encroached Tuntian will inevitably be handed over."

"Don't say it's you, Brother Wang, it's the acting uncle of Shanxi and North Zhili, as well as the old Shen King and Zhao Wang's nephew north of the Yellow River."

"I can privately allocate silver to compensate four people according to the number of acres of land for the tuntian land that has been handed over, but it is impossible for you to occupy it again, Brother Wang."

Zhu Youzhen picked up the teacup and took a shallow sip, making Zhu Qiugui, the king of Jin, who was sitting under him, a little restless.

He wanted to tell him about the difficulties of the palace, but when he thought that his younger brother was in charge of the brocade guard, he was afraid that it would be a little inappropriate to complain to him.

After all, Zhu Youzhen's move this time exceeded everyone's imagination, and Cao Huachun even abolished the Zhangde Mansion and Weihui Mansion in Henan while measuring the Daimyo Mansion, making King Shen and King Zhao the two of the four kings who faced the soldiers.

But even with the threat of soldiers and horses, Zhu Qiugui still didn't want to give up the Tuntian occupied by his command, so he could only speak:

"Those tenants couldn't stand the land endowment and forced labor, so they took the initiative to take refuge in the feudal kings in various places and donated land in order to avoid forced labor."

"Brother Wang, you said before that the people have been working hard for a long time, so it should be a credit for us to protect the people and be exempted from forced labor."

"The people have been working hard for a long time!" Zhu Youzhen suddenly aggravated his voice and asked Zhu Qiugui, who was sitting under him and was over forty years old, to shut his mouth.

Immediately afterwards, Zhu Youzhen continued to speak: "If the people are hard to be served, then they can be abolished, but if they are abolished, the people need to pay the land endowment." ”

"It's true that you shelter the people and avoid forced labor, but it's also true that you sheltered from Tian Fu."

Zhu Youzhen's scolding made Zhu Qiugui bow his head and shut up, and Zhu Youzhen frowned and shook his head secretly in his heart when he saw this.

If Zhu Qiugui argues with reason, then he will still look at the other party, but as far as he looks at now, it can only be said that Daming's pig breeding strategy is really too successful.

"Alright." Zhu Youzhen didn't want to turn his face with the king of the world, so he said in a slightly kinder tone:

"All the acres of land that the vassal kings have embezzled will be returned to the Imperial Horse Supervisor, and the vassal kings of Shanxi and North Zhili will no longer be supported by the local government, and they will no longer be drawn from the local land endowment."

"Ah...... This! Zhu Qiugui was anxious, but Zhu Youzhen raised his hand and said:

"The money of the vassal king's mansion will be converted into silver in the future, and it will be distributed by the imperial horse supervisor every year."

"Oh...... That's good...... That's good......" Hearing Zhu Youzhen's words, Zhu Qiugui breathed a sigh of relief.

However, before he could breathe a sigh of relief, Zhu Youzhen spoke again:

"The children of the Four Princes' Mansions, the children of the generals of Fengguo and the county lords, will be issued a lump sum of silver taels and acres of land at one time, and then there will be no more Yulu to receive."

"This, this, this ......" As soon as Zhu Youzhen's words came out, Zhu Qiugui immediately swallowed and vomited.

According to the regulations of the Ming Dynasty, the male title system from high to low is prince - county king - general of Zhenguo - general of auxiliary state - general of Fengguo - lieutenant of Zhenguo - lieutenant of auxiliary state - lieutenant of Fengguo and so on.

The female title system is princess-county lord-county lord-county lord-county monarch-county monarch-county monarch - township monarch and so on.

The number of people in these eight classes is also in a pyramid shape, and how many people are in each of the eight classes? The most recent census was in the 42nd year of Wanli.

Because the clan's money was distributed in banknotes, because the vassal kings in various places finally reported the number indiscriminately in order to get more money and grain, and directly reported a figure of 600,000.

It is unimaginable that when Zhang Juzheng conducted a census in the fifth year of Wanli, the number of clans with more than 30,000 people increased by 20 times in just 37 years.

This data was obviously falsely reported by the vassal kings in various places in order to eat more.

Emperor Wanli, who knew that he was unwilling to be wronged, began to be rotten, and from time to time owed the vassal king's clan money.

However, Zhu Youzhen will not learn from his own imperial grandfather, after all, evasion can't solve the problem, so before he started Shanxi and Beizhili, he had already found out the number of clan children in the Four Princes' Mansion.

"There is one prince of Taiyuan Mansion in Shanxi, a total of 12 kings in the province and county, 785 generals in the town and auxiliary Fengguo, 3,200 lieutenants, and 1,511 county lords."

Zhu Youzhen lowered his head to make tea, but he said the specific number of people in the Jin Dynasty.

His words made Zhu Qiugui creepy, and Zhu Youzhen also continued to speak to him:

"A prince, three thousand taels of silver, eight hundred taels of silver for the king of the county, four hundred taels for the general of the town and the lord of the county, three hundred taels for the general of the auxiliary state, two hundred taels for the general of the Fengguo, and the titles of the prince are all hereditary and decreasing."

"The rest of the children who have been dismissed, the lieutenant of the town and the county king, the commander of the county, the fifty acres of land, the lieutenant of the auxiliary state, the county king, the thirty acres of land, the lieutenant of Fengguo, the township king, the twenty acres of land, the land needs to be paid, there is no need to serve forced labor, and it cannot be bought and sold."

Zhu Youzhen explained the treatment of the retained and abolished vassal clan, and this treatment made Zhu Qiugui breathe a sigh of relief.

Compared with Jiajing's one-size-fits-all approach, reducing tens of thousands of clans to tens of thousands, Wanli directly putting it in bad hands and not issuing money, and issuing treasure money like waste paper, Zhu Youxiao's two brothers' approach is simply the conscience of heaven and earth.

Maybe others will think that in this way, there is too much money spent.

However, Zhu You checked this account, and according to this treatment, the four princes of Shanxi and Beizhili issued a maximum of more than 700,000 mu of land and more than 900,000 taels of silver.

In this way, the Four Princes' Mansion and the imperial court were happy.

First of all, the imperial court did not send out treasure money, but sent real money, which made the children of the clan below the county king, the general of Fengguo and above happy.

Secondly, the children of the clan below the general of Fengguo originally lived like tenants in the palace, and the court did not allow them to engage in business, so they had no land, so they could only wait for the palace to be rewarded for the New Year's holidays, and barely survived.

Now, more than 9,000 children of the clan have been given arable land, and although they have to pay taxes, they finally have a way to live.

As for the imperial court, the children of the clan need to pay the field tax, which has no effect on the imperial court, and they don't have to serve forced labor anyway.

Therefore, under this system, the only people who can be offended are the princes and county kings who can enslave the children of the clan.

But do they dare to oppose it? At present, Shanxi and Beizhili are still carrying out a mighty army to clarify Tuntian, who dares to oppose it?

Therefore, for the vassal king who is not a careerist, although the interests have been lost, it is not unacceptable.

It just so happened that the four kings of Shanxi and Beizhili were all mediocre, so Zhu Youzhen changed the law of the vassal king at this time.

It just so happens that with the help of this change, you can also look at the attitude of the vassal kings in other places.

Especially......

"Fortune ......"