Chapter 105: Riches and honors do not fall into common people, the battlefield is full of common people’s souls! (Third update)
Xia Zhibai understood it immediately when he heard the word military pay.
He knows the true situation of Guo Huan's case.
Is Guo Huan greedy?
It must be greed. No one would be tempted by such a huge benefit.
But the larger political background is the Northern Expedition.
Zhu Yuanzhang was most proud of two things in his life.
The first thing is to expel the Tartars, and the second thing is to bridge the north and the south.
The expulsion of the Tartars was what Zhu Yuanzhang did as a political achievement in his life, and the Hongwu Dynasty conducted a total of thirteen northern expeditions.
Xia Zhibai didn't realize the problem at first.
But now.
He finally understood.
Thirteen times!
Even if the Ming Dynasty implemented the Wei system, it could not withstand so many times.
In the end, we can only take it from the people according to the picture.
Moreover, according to the standards of a military household in a garrison, every time there is a war, the military household must have two men in their home, one regular soldier to participate in the battle, and one remnant soldier to accompany them. If the regular soldier dies on the battlefield, the family needs to provide another male to serve as the regular soldier. In this era of serious lack of productivity, if a family loses two men, the family cannot survive at all.
Not to mention that the Ming Dynasty made an expedition to the north almost once every two years.
Men consume too much.
Wars are all about logistics. For a short period of time, the military households can barely support them. But for a long time, only the court can provide them.
Every time the Ming Dynasty sent out troops, there were more than ten or two hundred thousand troops. Such a huge army must have high logistics requirements and must consume a huge amount of food, grass and baggage.
Xia Zhibai only felt a chill in his heart.
He suddenly thought of something.
The billions of subjects of the empire were born in the shadow of the broken hive city, worked day and night in the dirty mud, and finally died on the roadside, living like weeds and dying like ants, with no one to mourn and no one Remember, but they are blessed because they dedicated their lives to the sacred golden throne. There is no greater reward in the world than this.
This is what Zhu Yuanzhang is doing now, for his own great achievements.
He will not hesitate to squeeze the world dry.
"Wealth does not fall into common people, the battlefield is full of common people's souls." Xia Zhibai couldn't help but whisper.
Guo Huan was also a victim of the emperor's great achievements.
Zhu Yuanzhang is old.
He didn’t know how much time he had left.
Especially because he was seriously ill last year, he was even more eager to make contributions. He was eager to complete the 'expelling the Tartars' early and completely eliminate the threat to the Ming Dynasty from the north. In this eager mood, , he began to rely on power and high pressure to force officials to raise food and grass for the Northern Expedition.
However, Guo Huan and others were conflicted and were not active in raising grain and grass for the Northern Expedition.
This made Zhu Yuanzhang unhappy.
That’s why this audit was initiated.
What killed them was their disagreement with Zhu Yuanzhang.
The emperor’s great achievements cannot be questioned by his ministers.
The ministers can only execute it.
Didn’t Zhu Yuanzhang know that Guo Huan and other officials were corrupt?
Definitely know.
It was even knowing that Guo Huan and others were dirty, so they were put in charge of raising military pay.
Because the methods used by the Ministry of Revenue to raise military pay are not clean, and it is impossible for Zhu Yuanzhang to admit these things, let alone really acknowledge these "borrowed grains", so someone needs to bear the grievances of the world, and this The people are officials such as Guo Huan.
If they don't do anything, they will kill them all.
Death has no evidence.
Xia Zhibai came back to his senses.
After he sorted this out, he couldn't help but take a breath.
Lao Zhu’s attack was really cruel and dark.
He finally understood why the result of the Guo Huan case written in the "History of the Ming Dynasty: Criminal Law Chronicles" was: Cilian directly affected all the officials in the province, and tens of thousands of people were killed.
In short.
Zhu Yuanzhang robbed the world this time.
By punishing the associates who sold stolen goods for Guo Huan, Zhu Yuanzhang plundered all the wealthy people in the world.
The methods are not cruel.
No wonder it later aroused public outrage, and in order to quell public dissatisfaction, the officials who handled the case were killed.
But the money that was forcibly collected was put into the national treasury.
This matter is a foregone conclusion.
There will be no possibility of any changes.
Zhu Yuanzhang’s military expenses for the subsequent Northern Expedition depended on the people’s wealth and wealth.
Xia Zhibai finally understood why Zhu Yuanzhang was so generous in giving him 50,000 silver. It was because Zhu Yuanzhang had already set up a game of huge profits. What he calculated was human nature, and what he calculated was the greed and greed of officials such as Guo Huan. Selfishness.
But Guo Huan and other officials were indeed fooled.
I was also completely trapped.
They didn’t even have the means to argue.
Because they really took money from it, but the wealthy people at the bottom were really in trouble.
But Zhu Yuanzhang didn't care.
What he cares about is plowing the court and sweeping holes in Beiyuan.
Xia Zhibai frowned.
Although he had a glimpse of the whole picture.
But there is no way to change it, the mind is strong but not enough.
The only thing he can do is to find opportunities to make some changes in the world.
The world will not completely fall into a pool of stagnant water.
Especially industrial and commercial.
Because after the Guo Huan case really breaks out, Zhu Yuanzhang's ruthless methods will definitely drain the money and food from the people.
The private industry and commerce will be completely destroyed, and the entire Ming Dynasty's economy will regress back to the small peasant economy, although this was also one of Zhu Yuanzhang's intentions.
But this is not what Xia Zhibai wants to see.
The world can progress slowly, but it can never go backwards.
Xia Zhibai turned his head, looked at Guo Huan who looked ashen, and sighed secretly in his heart.
Guo Huan can’t blame others.
The only thing to blame is that my hands and feet are not clean.
But what about clean hands and feet? In this severe situation, there is no way to escape.
If the king wants his minister to die, he must die.
Now Zhu Yuanzhang is determined to put all this matter on Guo Huan and others. They can't break away at all, and they don't even have a chance to speak.
A long time.
Guo Huan finally regained his breath.
His face was still pale and his lips were still a little blue.
He looked at Xia Zhibai and said softly: "When I came to Yingtian Mansion, I only had Zheng Ao with me, and all my clothes were in tatters. I was also like you, full of fighting spirit, thinking As long as I do good things for Your Majesty and the Ming Dynasty, my life will be enough."
"But when I walked step by step to the court and stood in front of Your Majesty, I discovered it for the first time."
< br>“There can only be two kinds of people standing in front of Your Majesty.”
“Those who support Your Majesty, and those who oppose Your Majesty.” “There is no other choice.”
"Your Majesty will not give you a third choice."
"It was also at this time that I faced the same option for the first time and countless times in the future."< br>
"Principles, or interests."
Guo Huan sat on a chair, looked at Xia Zhibai feebly, and said in a weak voice: "I hesitated and was afraid, but in the end."
"I still chose the latter."
"I don't want to bother anymore. I am already over fifty. In my life, I have seen the Yuan people wreaking havoc, I have also seen wars and chaos, and I have eaten too much. I have suffered too much and I don’t want to continue like this. This is not the life I want, nor is it all I should pursue.”
“I also want to be like others.”< br>
"Principle? How much is it worth in the face of interests?"
"Now, if you want my minister to die, how can I, Guo Huan, not die?"
As he said that, a look of cruelty flashed in Guo Huan's eyes. He grabbed the handle of the chair hard and said coldly: "But I also want to see if His Majesty is really so cruel that he can kill all the officials in the six departments." Well, I, Guo Huan, am not sorry to die. I admit that I, Guo Huan, have read the books of sages and know very well about loyalty to the emperor. I will not resist, and I will tell everything I know."
"I think so. Let’s see if your majesty can do it.”
“Can you kill the six heads and kill the entire court?”
Guo Huan’s eyes were full of blood and his face was ferocious. , he looked at Xia Zhibai, his eyes full of complexity: "Boy."
"You are very smart."
"You also know how to advance and retreat."
"But you think of the court too simply."
"Do you really think that by bringing those so-called 'workers and peasants' to the forefront, the world There will be changes?”
“Everyone is the same.”
“There won’t be any difference.”
"Our Majesty and His Highness will not allow such a big change in the world."
"People are selfish."
"This emperor of ours, especially So."
"Hehe."
"But I will help you."
"Since Your Majesty wants to raise military funds and use my head to quell people's grievances, as a minister, I have to obey, but I will bring in all the rich and merchants in the world, and let Your Majesty help you clean it up at once, so that everyone in the world can They are all frightened, as if a god is in his court, and they dare not act recklessly!"
"Let them be afraid of serving as officials in His Majesty's hands, and let Your Majesty know how ugly the officials below are."
"But don't have too much hope."
"The emperor's heart is unpredictable."
"Even if the civilian officials are afraid, there are still military attachés. Military attaches are more hateful than civilian officials, and their methods are more cruel. ”
"After several Northern Expeditions and great military might, the military generals will become more arrogant and domineering, and they will also become more arrogant. Many of these generals come from the bottom, and the literati despise them. At most, they are disdainful. The military despises them, but they really know how to fight with fists and kicks. These people actually hate people from the bottom climbing up even more than the literati."
"I have only one request for you."
"If you really come into power in the future, clean up my and my family's clothes. , send our clothes back to Dongping, Yanzhou, Shandong Province."
"There is no need to erect a monument."
"A dirty person has no face to face his father."
Guo Huan sighed, a look of loneliness flashed in his eyes.
Falled leaves return to their roots.
This is the long-cherished wish of many people.
He had also imagined such a day.
But he couldn't do it anymore.
Xia Zhibai looked at Guo Huan deeply and sighed softly: "Okay, I promise you."
"Thank you." Guo Huan showed a smile on his face and cupped his hands and said: "Thank you Xia for today." The No. 1 scholar has solved my doubts for me.”
“I have been walking on thin ice for half my life. When I die, I finally get a moment of peace. It’s a pity that I can’t come in person tomorrow to see the grand scene of your salt shop. It’s a pity.”
“That’s fine.”
“The people have the excitement of the people, and the court has the excitement of the court.”
"Each has its own merits and differences."
Xia Zhibai returned the gift solemnly.
Guo Huan carried him on his back and walked towards the outside of the house. His expression returned to normal and he said calmly: "No. 1 Scholar, what do you think it will be like to win the world in the future?"
Xia Zhi Bai shook his head and said: "I don't know."
"I can't guess."
"It's probably beautiful."
"Beautiful? Maybe." Guo Huan looked at the moonlight, his mood was very calm, and he smiled and said: "I accepted the salt. It's getting late. Xia Zhuangyuan, You'd better go back and rest as soon as possible. You should get more rest these days, otherwise when something happens to me, Guo Huan, you may be too shocked to sleep."
"This world is always full of snakes and rats. ”
Xia Zhibai stopped talking, cupped his hands towards Guo Huan Gong, turned and left.
Guo Huan is neither that good nor that bad.
He was just in a bad place at the wrong time.
But he had no choice.
Xia Zhibai doesn’t feel any guilt.
As he said at the beginning, none of this has anything to do with him.
He was just passing by.
The only change may be that it broke Guo Huan's luck and put the bloody reality in front of him.
Guo Huan just stood quietly.
He gave up the struggle.
The struggle is futile.
When His Majesty began to urge military pay, their life and death were determined by His Majesty.
Even if you don't make any profit from it, just doing things professionally will still be of no use.
The amount of military pay required by His Majesty is too large and cannot be collected at all. The only way is to rely on coercion and extortion. However, Your Majesty loves the people, how could he do such misdeeds to the people.
Then the Ministry of Revenue can only make its own decisions.
As the third-in-command of the Ministry of Household Affairs, how could he have nothing to do with it?
Compared with the great achievements of the emperor, the life and death of the ministers are not worth mentioning at all.
This is the honor of the minister.
Guo Huan turned around and walked towards the lobby, but he remembered another thing, which was what Xia Zhibai once said.
Today, Your Majesty regards all officials as long-term workers and all people as domestic slaves.
He didn't take it seriously at first, but now he felt that it was very reasonable. He was indeed like the long-term worker, but he was just a long-term worker with unclean hands and feet, so he was destined to be killed with a stick.
But what about the civilian officials? What about the military attachés?
"When the birds are gone, the good bow is hidden, the cunning rabbit is dead, and the lackeys are cooked."
"Haha."
Guo Huan's sad voice echoed in the courtyard.
For a long time.
(End of this chapter)