Chapter 10, Twenty-seven moments in the four years of Chongzhen (10)
The tenth moment: The confusion of a rural rookie
The northern border of the Ming Empire adjacent to the grassland, Xuanfu Town, Huailong Road East Road, Baoan Prefecture, Shunxiang Fort
The setting sun hangs slantingly in the sky, spreading its blood-like sunset glow over the vast land. All you can see is a desolate and desolate scene - the canals have dried up, the seedlings have withered, and withered and dead crops can be seen everywhere. There are sporadic emaciated children and ragged women working hard in the fields in order to eke out a living. However, the harvest obtained in such disaster years cannot even sustain their basic food and clothing needs.
As a border town adjacent to the grassland, Xuanfu Town’s field yield per mu cannot be compared with that of the mainland, but various exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes are quite high. According to the absurd system formulated by Zhu Yuanzhang, the guardsmen of the Ming Dynasty generally have to support themselves. I have to pay grain every year for farming, but even the land itself has long been robbed by the landlords and gentry, who often have to pay even though they have no land. Those who receive land tax will live a worse life than ordinary people (but in this case, the government cannot let the landless military households hand over the land tax out of thin air. If they forcefully force them to hand over the land tax, it will only trigger a mutiny. What else? Even if you can't receive it, you may have to take your own life, so the usual practice is to accumulate the debt year after year, and it will become a bad debt from now on). Coupled with the burning, killing and looting by rogue bandits, the Hou Jin army and the Mongols, as well as the even worse droughts for consecutive years, all soldiers and civilians were struggling on the edge of death - if it shows that the blood transfusions given to Hou Jin by the late Jin merchants were motivated by profit, then the border guards The acquiescence and sharing of wealth are due to the helplessness of maintaining survival.
The cold wind from the Mongolian Plateau is always mixed with countless fine gravels, blowing people as if their skin is going to be chapped. Against the overwhelming wind and sand blowing from the northern desert, Wang Dou, the fort commander (defense officer) of Shunxiang who had just led his troops to repel a group of rogue bandits, led a team of soldiers who were well-dressed but tired and haggard. There were also several mule carts carrying loot, walking silently on a road overgrown with grass.
Stepping on the withered grass and yellow sand everywhere, looking at both sides of the road, Dongjiazhuang and Xinzhuang, which were forced to evacuate the people and burned down when the Tatars invaded last year, are still in ruins and cannot be repaired at all. You can also see some dead bones that no one has buried. There is also Jingbian Fort, Wang Dou’s old village before he took over Shunxiang Fort as a defense officer. It was built brick by brick by Wang Dou and his people. I remember that he raised a lot of pigs and sheep and dug fish ponds. , built irrigation channels, spent countless efforts...but now they are all destroyed in the continuous war...
——As a time traveler with ignited military skills and a talent for war, Wang Dou’s battles in the past two years were not heroic, and his victories were enough to show off to the world. But he had to deal with so many enemies from all walks of life: after the battle, there were the Jin Army and the Mongolian horse thieves, and after the battle, there were the Mongolian horse thieves and the mainland bandits - the Shaanxi Peasant Army, which would sweep the world in the future, actually came from time to time in the past two years. Wandering around Xuanfu!
Indeed, the border towns of Xuanfu have always been poor, far less prosperous than those in the Central Plains, and there is not much wealth to grab. However, the military households here have been neighbors with the Tartars for generations, and most of the young men are accustomed to fighting, and can fight much better than the farmers in the mainland who have just laid down their hoes. Therefore, it has become an excellent recruiting place in the eyes of the bandit leaders of all walks of life... If only There were some poor military families who couldn't bear the hard life and turned to bandits. Wang Dou might just ignore the matter and just think that they went to "work" in other places. But the problem is that every time any mainland gangster comes to Xuanfu to recruit people, they never forget to ruin the place...
Although human life is as tenacious as weeds in troubled times, as long as the ground is quiet, refugees will naturally be able to return home, but even if the whole family is safe, they will only starve to death after returning - the Xuanfu frontier was originally a place where people suffered extremely hard, Chongzhen During the war, the wars spread and there was a series of chaos. The people in the countryside had their cattle, donkeys, and mules killed and robbed, their houses burned, and all their property was naturally lost. Even if these dispossessed people escaped massacres and kidnappings and returned to their villages safely, they had neither farm tools, livestock, or seeds and food. Without government relief, they would not be able to wait until the next food harvest.
However, how could the Ming court, which suffered from various terminal symptoms during the Chongzhen period, still be able to provide relief to the people? Even if the emperor has not been deceived and the cabinet has the intention to deal with the aftermath, judging from the way the Beijing court is breaking out in all directions and making smoke everywhere, even if there is some relief, it will be a drop in the bucket.
——In front are the ferocious and tough Tartars, and behind are endless bandits. In such a desperate situation, Wang Dou can barely survive it.
When wars and disasters continued on the earth, God in the Little Ice Age did not forget to bring all kinds of bad luck to the people of Xuanfu: drought, locust plague, and sandstorms came one after another. The young and strong men in the border areas had already suffered heavy casualties due to the southern invasion of Tartars and the persecution of rogue bandits. Many fields could only be cultivated by the elderly, women and children. After the natural disasters, the harvest of crops could not be expected - they were not obtained. It would be good if there was no harvest like in northern Shaanxi!
However, the imperial court continued to collect taxes regardless of the life and death of the people. Even in this calamity year, it still refused to reduce or reduce taxes...
Alas, it is too difficult for me to save this desperate era by myself, even if I just want to save the people around me.
Thinking of this, Wang Dou couldn't help but sigh melancholy and looked back at the warriors following him. I let out a helpless cry silently in my heart.
Everything is difficult!
——Although Wang Dou's biggest asset in settling down in troubled times, the Shunxiang Army he built with his own hands has withstood the test of enemies from all walks of life. Not only can it hold on to the fortress, it can also defeat the Jurchen Tartars head-on in the field. He is said to be the most elite soldier in Xuanfu. But no matter how tough and capable the army is, it must at least have enough food and clothing to fight... However, his Shunxiang Army is not the Guanning Army in western Liaoning. Not only does it not want to receive military pay of millions of taels per year, but it also requires They prepare their own food, ammunition and weapons for fighting, and only occasionally can they get some support from above.
Therefore, Wang Dou's Shunxiang army not only had to rely on its own efforts, but also had to pay various exorbitant taxes and duties to the superiors. It is really unreasonable!
However, even in such a difficult situation, Wang Dou has not yet wanted to rebel. Although the Ming Dynasty has shown various signs of terminal illness, it is still a behemoth in the end. Rebellion is only a three-point guarantee, but it will have a narrow escape... Being a bandit The survival rate is obviously not as high as that of the official army.
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However, the expenses required to support Wang Dou's elite army would definitely not be met by just relying on the yellow and shriveled crops in the field, and it was impossible to allocate much money from above. The border town was in raging war, and it was almost impossible for Wang Dou to do business. Even the treasonous business of "Tong Tatar" was divided and monopolized by several Shanxi merchants, and outsiders could not get involved at all. And Xuanfu did not rely on canals and seas, so it was extremely difficult to develop business.
At present, the only hope that can help Wang Dou and Shun Xiangbao escape from the financial crisis is the silver mine buried underground. Just in Baoan Prefecture of Xuanfu, and later Zhuolu County, there is the glorious Xiangguang Silver Mine. The total reserves of the Shangjinggou Silver Mine in Luanzhuang are said to be close to 300 tons.
Wang Dou had already sent people to look at these places before. At present, these places are still deserted, and naturally no one knows about the silver mines. Therefore, in the process of occupying those two places to open silver mines, no obstacles have been encountered yet. But the problem is, not to mention that after the silver mine is opened, with Wang Dou's status and background, he may not be able to keep this source of wealth under the clever grabs of various powerful officials. Even the mining itself is unpredictable - the silver mines are not open-pit rich mines, and the mining costs are extremely high. Not only do you need to dig deep wells of at least ten feet, but even after the mines are mined, you also need to remove the ore first. Use a grinder to pound it into very fine pieces, then put it into a large bucket and stir it with water hundreds of times to select the essence. The mineral meat can finally be put into the silver furnace for smelting, and the "ash blowing method" is used to purify the pure silver... The manpower and material resources consumed during this period are not a small amount, and mining requires a lot of strong labor. For Shunxiang Fort, which lost a large number of strong men, it was almost like adding insult to injury.
Fortunately, there have been several groups of refugees pouring into Baoan Prefecture recently. Most of them have no food and clothing. Fortunately, they can find a job as a hard laborer, which is very good. Most of them have begun to sell their children and daughters, and even rob and steal to make a living. I am afraid it will eventually turn into Mob and bandits - based on the above principles, local officials in the late Ming Dynasty were basically Ming White, so he jumped in a hurry. Wang Dou took the opportunity to step forward and took over the work of resettling and managing these refugees. He also used this as a reason to pay a sum of money to the government and Jin gentry, and then he obtained the labor force and start-up for mining silver mines. Funds: As long as these refugees have a piece of food to eat, they are willing to do any job. And after the young and strong men among them were recruited, the chance of the refugees turning into mobs was immediately nipped in the bud.
At present, Wang Dou sent people to secretly mine various mines, and silver has begun to come out one after another. The first batch of self-cast silver has also been distributed to the soldiers. Of course, it is impossible to hide such big news as mining and smelting. Those local snakes. Although I don't know what kind of trouble it will cause after making this windfall, but before it attracts the covetousness of those greedy gentry, it can at least allow Wang Dou and his men to live a prosperous life.
Alas, he expanded his financial resources to make up for the shortage of supplies for the imperial court and the so-called "disappearance" of officials at all levels. However, there is no precedent for the army to maintain its combat effectiveness by doing business and mining. When Comrade Xiaoping of later generations asked the army to endure in the early days of reform and opening up, he allowed the army to do business, but he only cut down on expenditures, but he did not dare to cut off the supply of the army! Doesn't this force me to make my own money and become a warlord? Wang Dou thought with anger.
With such chaotic thoughts, Wang Dou led his troops and horses into Shunxiang Fort. He saw dilapidated streets and houses, as well as disheveled pedestrians. There are only a few houses with brick and wood structures in the whole fort. The rest of the houses have rammed earth walls and thatched roofs. A few thatched houses are painted with chalk on the outside, which are shops - Xuanfu Bian Town Such a remote place can be considered prosperous if it can have such a level of business.
One of the shops that sells groceries from the north and south seems to have just arrived with a batch of relatively rare fresh goods. It has attracted many aunts and uncles who like to watch the excitement and come to watch and comment. The parents are short-sighted and nagging endlessly... Wang Dou originally just went over curiously to take a few glances, but he accidentally noticed something on the shelf, and in an instant, there was a thunderous bang in his mind!
A moment later, Wang Dou left the grocery store with a box of cigarettes sold from Shandong, full of confusion, and started on his way home again.
"...Wen Dengxiang?! What brand is this? Wait, it doesn't matter what brand this cigarette is. What really matters is, during the Chongzhen period of the Ming Dynasty, did cigarettes already exist in China so early? I I thought I would at least get the late Qing Dynasty or even the Republic of China!”
Playing with the cigarette box in his hand, Wang Dou thought with increasing confusion, vaguely feeling that the world might be different from what he knew.
What Wang Dou doesn't know yet is that his wife Xie Xiuniang is looking at the newly bought small mirror as if she has found a treasure, her eyebrows are beaming with joy...——In the countryside of Xuanfu where there is little information and difficult transportation, now... Commander Wang Dou, who is struggling to survive, is still ignorant and confused about the information from other traveler forces. But in the southern commercial port, which is well-informed and prosperous in trade, other fledgling travelers have already discovered the huge changes brought to the world by the forerunners, and feel deeply frightened and wary...