"Therefore, the greed and ability of the officials in the capital have to be observed closely."

Hong Chengchou changed his words, "There is one thing that is related to life and death, and we must pay attention to it."

"What's the matter?" Yang Chengying asked curiously.

Listening to Hong Chengchou's serious expression, he knew that this matter was not trivial.

"Your Highness may know that the imperial court connived at the emperor's relatives and magnates to occupy a wide range of land, not one or two acres but as many as 190,000 hectares, all over Shuntian, Baoding, Yongping and Hejian and other prefectures."

Hong Chengchou tapped his fingers on the table, and this was the crux of the matter.

Yang Chengying's face was not very good-looking in an instant.

He knew very well what Hong Chengchou meant.

As a regime that originated in the Northeast, if it wants to enter the Central Plains, it has to move its basic plate to Beijing.

This raises the serious question of land ownership.

The army needs direct farms to relieve logistical pressure.

Officials and soldiers' families, need land for basic living.

If it was just a simple elimination of the Ming Dynasty magnates, there would be no such headache.

"There are so many types of land. One is the court's reward, such as the manor in the name of Her Royal Highness Princess Yan'en; The second is that the powerful have used various means to obtain it, and it has been for hundreds of years."

Hong Chengchou carefully analyzed: "The third is that he can't stand the taxes of the imperial court, so he voluntarily 'surrenders' to the powerful people. Fourth, the sons of the families of the powerful get land from the hands of the powerful."

Yang Chengying listened carefully.

Hong Chengchou snapped his fingers and said, "These lands are cultivated by their own families, and most of them are cultivated by hired people.

If it is not handled well, there will be either a forcible seizure of justifiable land; Either someone takes the opportunity to occupy the magpie's nest and occupy the land that does not belong to him; Either someone is uprooted because of this.

This is extremely detrimental to the king to stabilize the situation and then seize the world. If one is not careful, it is easy to cause partisan disputes between the north and the south."

With the southward movement of the economy, the south is relatively economically developed, and there are naturally more scholars.

In each year's imperial examination list, there are always more "southerners" than "northerners", and a huge contradiction has formed over time.

The Chen Mingxia case at the end of the Ming Dynasty and the beginning of the Qing Dynasty was caused by the struggle for power in the new dynasty.

At that time, whether it was the Manchu and Han dynasties, the north and the south, or the new and the old, they were all subjected to an unprecedented reshuffle.

More importantly, the gap between the rich and the poor between the north and the south is very large, which has also triggered the so-called three major cases in Jiangnan.

In short, most of the southerners entered the court, and in order to facilitate their officials, they purchased a large amount of land near the Jingshi.

If it is handled roughly, it is easy to evolve into a big case for the sake of the land.

"Frankly, I've been aware of this for a long time. But I had been outside the customs before, and I didn't have the opportunity to contact it in person. One of the purposes of this visit to Beijing is to go to my own estate and go to my own estate to learn more about it."

Yang Chengying did not hide it, and said: "If it weren't for the change in the situation in the south, I would not have given up the second northern tour plan and accepted the emperor's secret edict to enter Beijing."

"When the king thinks so, I'm relieved." Hong Chengchou breathed a sigh of relief.

At this time, the cook brought in the brazier and the cleaned meat one after another.

Yang Chengying and Hong Chengchou have a tacit understanding.

Waiting for the cook to leave, Hong Chengchou got up and personally cut the meat with a knife and put it on the barbecue grill.

Yang Chengying took chopsticks and laid out the pieces of meat.

Looking at the sizzling meat on the grill, Hong Chengchou made a pun: "The current court is like meat on the grill, it seems to be cooked, and it is still far from being truly cooked."

"Don't worry, I'm more calm than ever."

Yang Chengying flipped through the slices of meat, "I will never be the first person to overthrow the Ming Court."

From ancient times to the present, anyone who was the first to overthrow the imperial court was often a burial companion.

Such as Dong Zhuo in the late Han Dynasty, Yu Wenhua in the late Sui Dynasty, and Huang Chao in the late Tang Dynasty......

In ancient times, the concept of loyalty was deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and loyalty meant loyalty to the imperial court. You overthrew the imperial court, and all forces have a reason to fight you.

pair

The fist is hard to defeat with four hands, and the evil tiger is still afraid of the wolves.

"Speaking of this, I can't help but think of a person, Yang Sichang."

Hong Chengchou smiled bitterly and said, "I'm afraid he will be more auspicious this time."

"Brother Hong, who do you think will succeed Yang Sichang?"

Yang Chengying suddenly asked, "Is it Lu Xiangsheng, the governor of Xuanda, or is it a brother?"

"You're about to enter Beijing, and neither Lu Xiangsheng nor I can move."

Hong Chengchou speculated: "It is very likely that it is Ding Qirui, who is the governor of the trilateral military affairs of Shaanxi, and followed Yang Sichang to encircle and suppress the peasant army very early."

Yang Chengying nodded, thinking that if Sun Chuanting was released from prison, things might have a turnaround, Ding Qirui? Waste only.

Hong Chengchou thought that Yang Chengying was thinking about who Ding Qirui was, so he said, "His Highness may not know him, but you must know his uncle."

"Who?" Yang Chengying was curious.

"It's Ding Kuichu, the governor of Baoding and later promoted to the squire of the military department."

"Oh, it's him."

Yang Chengying's full official title was through the military affairs of Jizhen, Baoding, Liaodong, Tianjin, etc., and the nominal governor of Baoding was under his command.

So he knew that this person existed.

"Ding Kuichu and Ding Qirui are both good writers, but they can't fight."

Hong Chengchou commented: "But at the moment, no one is more suitable than Ding Qirui to be the supervisor, encircling and suppressing Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong."

As a smart man, Hong Chengchou keenly found that Yang Chengying never called Li Zicheng with the contemptuous title of "thief", nor did he call the peasant army "thief army".

Because of this, he also changed his name and called Li Zicheng by his name.

"So, I've got to hold on tight."

Yang Chengying picked up a piece of cooked meat and put it into Hong Chengchou's bowl, "Brother Hong, how about you accompany me into Beijing?"

"Dare to disobey." Hong Chengchou owes himself as a sign of respect.

"I don't know any of these noble ministers of the court, and I have to bother Brother Hong to help."

As he spoke, Yang Chengying picked up another pair of silver chopsticks and sandwiched meat for himself.

"Those powerful people can hear your name early, like thunder."

Hong Chengchou waited for Yang Chengying to eat, and then took a snack.

"Speaking of which, I have had a lot of fate with them since I was in Jinzhou Town."

Yang Chengying laughed.

"These people lack people like the king to discipline them, and they are lawless on weekdays, and even the emperor is kept in the dark by them."

"How can I do this, hey! I'm just a rogue prince outside the gate, and the impeachment of me will be higher than Lou."

"Having said that, I believe that they will soon have to write a praise for His Highness."

"When that day comes, the affairs of the northwest will depend on you and Meng Qiaofang."

Hearing this, Hong Chengchou was not calm.

This is no longer a hint, but an explicit.

Hong Chengchou suddenly got up, clasped his fists at Yang Chengying and said, "I will definitely live up to the king's expectations and quickly stabilize the situation in the northwest."

"I want not only the three sides of Shaanxi, but also Tibet and the Western Regions!"

Yang Chengying said with a smile.

The subtext is that the three sides of Shaanxi should be taken down, and you are familiar with this aspect. Tibet and the Western Regions should also be studied well so that they can be used in the future.

Hong Chengchou thought about it carefully, nodded and said, "I will study it carefully after I go back next time, please rest assured, the king."

"Don't worry, the eight characters haven't been skimmed yet, the first thing we have to do is to enter the capital to face the saint!"

Yang Chengying picked up his wine glass and clinked glasses with Hong Chengchou.