Chapter 147 Rebellion
Zhu Houzhao did not expect that the Jiangnan gentry would give in so quickly. He thought that he had not yet come up with the trick of conquering the local tyrants and dividing their land so that the proletarians would have dictatorship.
But in any case, since these Jiangnan gentry are willing to admit defeat and compromise, Zhu Houzhao, as the emperor, will not give them the opportunity to be good citizens.
After all, Zhu Houzhao did not want to force the gentry to rebel. Unless he had to, his purpose was not to launch a top-down revolution, which would also revolutionize his own life as the emperor.
In Zhu Houzhao's view, everyone is a ruler, and no one wants to be the ruled unless it is absolutely necessary. However, as a ruler, everyone cannot just let me, the emperor, sacrifice my interests to revitalize the empire or even ease class conflicts. You Gentlemen must also fulfill their obligations.
Therefore, when Zhu Houzhao saw the great scholar Cheng Jian kneel down and salute him, he quickly asked Liu Jin to help him up: "Old Master Cheng, there is no need to do this. You were also a minister of the Ming Dynasty and a great scholar of Neo-Confucianism. I have never asked the scholar-bureaucrats to kowtow before me. As slaves, I just ask you to pay taxes according to the rules;
After all, the court needs money and food to raise troops, and raising troops is to maintain this peaceful and prosperous age. Peace in the world is not only good for me and the people of the world, but also for you gentry, but you cannot just let me be frugal and let the people pay taxes. You will not fulfill your responsibility for the rise and fall of the world. , you say so. ”
Cheng Jian thanked him hurriedly, stood up immediately and said:
"What your Majesty said is true, but many gentry did not understand this truth. They only knew how to sit in their studies and read books from saints, and did not know the hardships of the court. Fortunately, everyone now understands the painstaking efforts of the court. Now please rest assured, your Majesty, all our subjects are willing to I will do my best for the Ming Dynasty!”
Cheng Jian came today to seek peace on behalf of the gentry in the south of the Yangtze River. Now that Zhu Houzhao said this, he naturally would not sing the opposite, but would only agree with it.
"It would be great if the gentry in the south of the Yangtze River were as sensible as Mr. Cheng, and there would be no need to go to war like this." After saying that, Zhu Houzhao asked again: "I heard from Master Ma, are you after the second Cheng?"< br>
"Your Majesty, I am the descendant of Dacheng (Cheng Hao, a thinker in the Northern Song Dynasty)," Cheng Jian replied.
"No wonder he is so knowledgeable and worthy of being a descendant of a famous family. He drafted a decree to confer the title of Doctor of Five Classics in the Imperial Academy of Cheng Men."
Zhu Houzhao nodded and made a decree.
The reason why he did this was naturally to show it to the Confucian scholars all over the world, to let these people know that compromise and concessions are also beneficial, and not to think of forcing themselves on the court.
As for an official like Doctor of the Five Classics of Hanlin Academy, it is naturally worthless, but literati value this, especially the Neo-Confucian family.
After all, anyone who can get this official position now means that he is a saint, such as Mencius, Yanzi, etc., which is a great honor.
Even after Confucius, he was granted the title of Duke Yansheng by the imperial court. His status was much higher, so high that Qufu became its independent kingdom. However, the Confucian family was also thick-skinned, and other families could not match it, so That's why people's titles are so high.
When Cheng Jian saw that Zhu Houzhao had given Cheng Meng a doctorate in the Five Classics from the Hanlin Academy, he was so moved that he burst into tears on the spot. He sobbed and bowed again, and even knocked his head heavily on the ground: "The Cheng family expresses gratitude to Your Majesty for your kindness! The Cheng family Swear to the Ming Dynasty! ”
Although Zhu Houzhao knew that the promises made by these so-called Jiangnan gentry, especially this kind of Neo-Confucian family, were like farts, he had to admit that it still sounded comfortable when he was in the situation. He had to admit that there are only two kinds of people in the world. Crying is the easiest way to move people. One is a bitch, and the other is a scholar.
"Get up, it doesn't have to be like this." Zhu Houzhao smiled, and then said: "I agree with the advice you gave to Master Ma. I intend to ban the warning period after the establishment of the "South Zhili Convention" and use the Ming Dynasty Law as the basis. For reference, you gentry and Wang Yangming, the governor of Southern Zhili, are responsible for this matter. The gentry will use you as your representative to make a convention on how to punish those who default on taxes, the distribution of authority between clans and local governments, and other rules."
Although in the early days, the police agency had not deteriorated and was indeed maintaining public order, Zhu Houzhao did not guarantee that these police soldiers would only be able to punish rape and eliminate evil in the future. They might abuse the power of law enforcement and execution given by the court. It can even be said that it is certain to kill innocent people for profit, but I am afraid that this phenomenon has already happened.
Therefore, without asking the gentry, Zhu Houzhao actually wants to ban the warning period. After all, this kind of military control style of rule is not a long-term solution. A society needs laws and regulations. Even in the current monarchy, he, the emperor, has to Let local officials and the people have a set of laws to follow, so that the government can be restrained from killing people indiscriminately, and the people can have rules to abide by.
In addition, Zhu Houzhao also wants to take back the execution power of the Police Department. After all, human life is still not something to be taken lightly. After the warning period, that is, the military control zone, the death row prisoners in the South Zhili area will still have to be treated the same as in other places. , it needs to be decided by himself as the emperor, and others have no right to do it for him.
The gentry continued to flirt with the government. After Cheng Jian was awarded the title of Doctor of the Five Classics, he actively sang praises for Zhu Houzhao. However, for the green-skinned scoundrels and subordinate people at the bottom of society who had been encouraged by these gentry, as well as some Jianghu people and even As for the thieves, they felt they had been deceived.
They didn’t understand that it was the gentry who were dissatisfied with the court, and they were also the gentry who allowed them to smash, loot, and burn. In the end, it was they who were beheaded and imprisoned, but the gentry got the official position and even eulogized the prosperous times and helped the court to scold them. Don't obey the law.
These people at the bottom can't figure out the key here, but they know that it is better to be obedient citizens in the future, and it is more practical to farm and work honestly. It is stupid to listen to the gentry's nonsense about making a fortune and getting something for nothing.
Of course, not all Jiangnan gentry could see the current situation clearly and wisely defected to the court to help the court deal with their former allies, the ruffians. There were also radical gentry who still wanted to fight against the court. Gu Xinlei was such a person. He was coerced by the evidence that Zhenjiang General Soldier Tian Zheng had been involved in the Japanese war and sold firearms to Prince Ning, and was tempted by the condition that the gentry cooperate with him. Zhenjiang General Soldier Tian Zheng was persuaded by Gu Xinlei to raise an army. They rebelled and sent troops to Nanjing in the name of the Qing emperor. The purpose was to kill Ma Wensheng and also wanted to burn Zhu Houzhao to death.
"Kill corrupt officials! Gentlemen are exempted from paying taxes! Give them rice!"
In this name, Zhenjiang Commander-in-Chief Tian Zheng and Health Officer Gu Xinlei came to Nanjing with more than 8,000 officers and soldiers.
However, the slogans they shouted were not to overthrow the Ming Dynasty and kill the emperor. After all, the officers and soldiers did not want to rebel in their hearts, and they did not hate the emperor that much. If they wanted to encourage the officers and soldiers to follow them, it would be better to kill corrupt officials instead of killing them. The emperor may think that someone is unwilling to follow suit.
It is worth mentioning that the demand for Phalumi in the slogan is more like an appeal than a slogan of rebellion, but the agitation effect is the best.
The people on the road from Zhenjiang to Nanjing looked indifferently at the army that was going to Nanjing to rebel.
At this time, Fang Dacai, an ordinary citizen in Dantu Town, was a little confused as to why these more than 8,000 officers and soldiers were clamoring to go. He couldn't help but ask his father: "Dad, what are they going to do?" < br>
"Is there still food to eat at home?" the great talent's father asked.
"Yes, there are plenty. I helped the government build a river some time ago and earned six buckets of rice. I can also exchange some cloth for new clothes," the head of the house said with a smile.
"It doesn't matter what they do if they have food to eat. They are rebelling against us. We farm our land. I don't believe they can make a difference." said the father of this great talent.
Many people, like Fang Dacai's father, turned a blind eye to the rebellion of Zhenjiang Commander Tian Zheng. It was more like watching a show. They didn't even understand why the Zhenjiang Commander rebelled. Was it because he couldn't afford to eat or was it because of the rebellion? Can't afford to wear clothes.
Not only the people thought so, but at this time, Bai Jingshan, a Qianhu under the command of Zhenjiang General Soldier Tian Zheng, did not understand why Zhenjiang General Soldier wanted to rebel, and even felt that there was no future for rebellion, so he did not hesitate to take his troops to take a side road. He rushed to Nanjing City first and reported to the governor Wang Yangming that Zhenjiang Commander-in-Chief Tian Zheng wanted to rebel.
Not only Bai Jingshan, but all the squires from Zhenjiang to Nanjing also rushed to report that there was a rebellion. After all, they had given in and realized that the imperial court still had the support of the people.
Even the squires near Nanjing City finally had a reasonable reason to organize the people. The reason was naturally King Qin's escort.
The people responded positively to King Qin. After all, if the emperor was gone, the world would be in chaos. They had just experienced a turmoil and did not want to experience another turmoil.
All of a sudden, more and more militia groups gathered outside the city of Nanjing, and of course there were also soldiers and horses of Zhenjiang Commander-in-Chief Tian Zheng.
……
At this time, Zhu Houzhao also learned from Wang Yangming and the informant Qianhu Bai Jingshan that Zhenjiang General Tian Zhengqi had rebelled. Zhu Houzhao was quite surprised by this. He was not surprised that someone would rebel, but he was surprised that someone would rebel. , the rebel was actually a military attaché!
Zhu Houzhao thought to himself that he had not yet reformed the guard system and abolished military status. Now he was just being cruel to the Jiangnan gentry. Why was it the military attache who rebelled first?
But in any case, this was the first time Zhu Houzhao experienced someone revolting not far from him, so he was quite serious about this.
But Zhu Houzhao was not panicked. First of all, in addition to the local army in Nanjing, he also had a division of the Guards with tens of thousands of troops. Secondly, he also had three officials who knew the military, Ma Wensheng, Wang Yangming, and Qiu Yue. It would not be possible for a general military officer to successfully rebel.
But for civil servants such as Ma Wensheng and even Jiangnan gentry like Cheng Jian, it was still a serious matter. Everyone looked solemn and began to discuss how to mobilize troops to serve the king. Even Wang Yangming did not dare to look down upon it. After all, the emperor was in Nanjing. He This is the first time he has faced such an accident, and Qiu Yue is also the same.
Zhu Houzhao first asked the cabinet to issue an order, asking Qiu Yue to lead the First Division of the Guards out of the city to annihilate the enemy, and asked Wang Yangming to organize officers and soldiers to defend the city, while Ma Wensheng and others, together with Wang Shi, the Minister of War in Nanjing, began to mobilize surrounding officers and soldiers to serve the king.
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(End of chapter)