I

Li Banghua didn't come to observe the trial. He had already guessed the outcome.

The "Laws of the Ming Dynasty" and the "Great Edicts of the Ming Dynasty" are all nonsense. The real purpose is to show off their cards to the gentry.

Wang Yuanlu was originally going to be established as a model of gentry, but now he has become a model of being suppressed!

Making laws is a very rigorous matter, and it took thirty years for the Ming Code to be finalized after deletions and adjustments. Zhao Han was unable to make up his own laws for the time being, so he improvised one. Making it up randomly was just asking for trouble, and copying it would make people laugh.

The Manchu Qing Dynasty did this kind of thing. After revolting, they insisted on creating their own Manchu script.

So two so-called learned men were asked to create Manchu script after Mongolian script. Even before the Qing troops entered the Pass, the Manchu language existed in name only. It gets even more funny after entering the customs. Many things in the city, as well as many official positions in the court, cannot be expressed in Manchu at all.

Some imperial edicts of the Qing Dynasty were written in Chinese, Manchu and Mongolian. There were no problems in Chinese or Mongolian, but there were often ambiguities in Manchu.

At least until Zhao Han occupied half of the country, the people had to be governed by the "Laws of the Ming Dynasty". At most, additions and deletions were made on this basis.

The gentry dispersed one after another, each with their own evil intentions in mind.

Some people think that Zhao Han can achieve something. Although he is very dissatisfied with his approach, he seems to be a hero. Therefore, all the sergeants of the clan came out of the mountain, endured the humiliation and heavy burdens, and became small officials and officials, and even tried to join the missionary group.

For this kind of gentry, the tougher you are, the more convinced they are and the more they think you can conquer the world.

Some people felt that Zhao Han was going against the grain and began to think about an escape plan. He slowly took away the family's money and food, and then fled with his family to Nanchang. To the outside world, he said that he was not a thief, he was just dormant for a while, and now he finally escaped from the den of thieves.

Zhao Han had been vague before, but today he spoke openly, and the gentry were determined to take sides.

Because news has come from the north that the ancestral graves of Lao Zhu's family have been dug up, and the Ming Dynasty Dragon Vein has been destroyed by thieves!

Nowadays, not to mention the high officials of the imperial court, even the local gentry all know that the Ming Dynasty is running out of time. Of course, they don't think that the Tatars can succeed, and they all think that some kind of rebel can regroup the country.

The destruction of the Fengyang Imperial Tomb had a greater impact on the prestige of the Ming Dynasty than even the siege of Beijing.

Zhao Han asked the clerk to copy today's trial process and distribute it to the officials of the three counties, so that the officials would follow this method in judging the case.

Fei Yinggong was about to go to meet Zhao Han when Song Yingxing had already stepped forward, cupped his hands and said, "The town has a certain rules for doing things. I am willing to follow them."

"With your help, sir, great things can be accomplished." Zhao Han was very happy.

A sensible person like Song Yingxing really doesn't need much persuasion, just let him observe the administration on his own. His articles pointed out various key problems in the Ming Dynasty, and Zhao Han's policy was to solve these problems!

It can be said that they hit it off immediately.

Song Yingxing in history, after working as an evangelist for several years, his family paid for him to be promoted to the eighth rank. After only working for two years, he resigned and returned home. Later, he was recommended as the prefect. Not only was he not corrupt, but he donated money to restore the government office and repair the academy. He resigned after working for half a year. The small imperial court of the Southern Ming Dynasty recruited him, but Song Yingxing simply refused.

Song Yingxing had despaired of the Ming Dynasty because he had seen it too clearly and could not even think of becoming an official.

What Zhao Han did was considered perverse to others, but to Song Yingxing, it could help the world. In his article on wealth, he repeatedly used words such as "exploitation" and "exploiting", and he deeply hated the big business exploiting the small people.

Zhao Han did something he didn't dare to do, or even dare to think about!

Zhao Han pulled Song Yingxing aside and whispered: "You know the method of casting fire blunderbuss, and you also know the method of making gunpowder. Can you cast the bird blunderbuss for me?"

Song Yingxing cupped his hands and said, "Please send troops to the north and quickly occupy Fenyi and Xinyu counties."

"We will send troops after the spring plowing." Zhao Han readily agreed.

This sounds nonsense. During the Chinese New Year, Zhao Han just withdrew his troops from there, and now he wants to fight back?

However, if you want to build firearms, you must send troops!

Zhu Yuanzhang set up thirteen iron smelting stations across the country, including one in Xinyu and one in Fenyi, all of whom were neighbors of Zhao Han.

The combined iron smelting volume of the two counties accounted for one-fifth of the country's total output during the Zhu Yuanzhang period! (Data from Hongwu six years)

The reason why Tian Younian had money to train his troops was not only to find landowners, but also to share the income from iron smelting in Yi County.

In the Ming Dynasty, iron ore mines were allowed to be privately owned. The government-run iron smelting works in Yi and Xinyu counties have long existed in name only. Now they are all private iron works. The prefects have many ways to make money. They just offend the gentry who occupy the iron mines.

"Mr. Zhao, long time no see!" Fei Yingcong greeted with clasped fists, winking and smiling.

Zhao Han also laughed: "It turns out to be Fourth Uncle, let's cross the river first, and we'll talk about it in the evening if we have anything to do."

Back at the General Military Mansion, Fei Yinggon and his daughter were arranged to live in the inner courtyard, and Fei Rulan came to entertain them.

Zhao Han immediately sent someone to call Pang Chunlai, Li Banghua, Fei Ruhe, and Tian Younian to discuss the matter.

Zhao Han introduced: "This is Mu Geng, who is good at making firearms."

Mu Geng is Song Yingxing's pseudonym. The Song family belongs to a wealthy family in Jiangxi and they dare not reveal their true identity easily.

Li Banghua suddenly said happily: "Can you build a Fo Lang machine gun?"

"I understand a little bit," Song Yingxing replied.

Zhao Han said: "I want to send troops to occupy Fenyi and Xinyu counties and seize the iron mines and iron factories there."

"This is inevitable," Li Banghua said, "firearms are sharp and should be made as soon as possible."

Tian Younian said: "If you want to find a suitable place and a new metaphor, you must choose Zhangshu Town!"

Li Banghua nodded and said: "Zhangshu Town must be captured, otherwise it will be difficult to resist the conquest by the officers and soldiers."

Zhangshu Town is not only the medicinal materials distribution center in the south, but also a very important strategic location.

Officers and soldiers came from the north. After arriving at Zhangshu Town, they could follow the Yuan River to the west to Xinyu, Fenyi, and Yichun, and to the south they could follow the Gan River to Jishui and Luling.

As long as Zhangshu Town is occupied, the south sewer will be blocked.

The officers and soldiers either chose to attack Zhangshu Town or choose to take the land route. When marching on land in Jiangxi, the logistics of baggage was troublesome. Zhao Han did not care about food and grass during several raids.

Pang Chunlai said: "Our original plan was to take Taihe County and Wan'an County in the south first. Now that you are going to attack the north, aren't you afraid of expanding too fast and too fiercely?"

Li Banghua said: "I know what Brother Pang means, but no matter whether we go south or north, we can occupy military strategic points. We are in rebellion, and we must first stabilize the military before we can rectify the internal affairs."

"I support taking Fenyi and Xinyu counties first," Tian Younian said. "Not only can we seize mines and use them to make weapons, but we can also increase taxes. Especially seizing Zhangshu Town can be said to make money every day and save several provinces. All the medicinal materials are scattered from there!”

Pang Chunlai closed his eyes and said nothing. He was the most eager to rebel, but now he became calm.

Zhao Han called Chen Maosheng, Fei Chun, and Xiao Huan again to listen to their opinions.

Chen Maosheng said: "If we want to expand, we can transfer missionary officers and backbones of farmers' associations to handle government affairs in the newly expanded territory. There are also many literate people among them. Some poor scholars can be transferred to assistant political officers and clerks, and their enthusiasm for doing things will also increase." Very high. In other words, many poor scholars want to work, but now they can't find suitable positions for them. They can be accommodated after the territory is expanded. "

"Where's Daliang?" Zhao Han asked.

Xiao Huan replied: "An anti-corruption branch can be set up in Zhangshu Town, Xinyu County, and Fenyi County, and I will send some people there."

Fei Chun suddenly said: "It doesn't matter if we take Zhangshu Town, we are about to have a salt shortage."

"Salt shortage?" Zhao Han frowned.

"I just got the news and haven't had time to report it yet," Fei Chun said, "The governor of Guangdong and Guangxi has banned Guangyan from going north, blocking the river from the north. If Guangyan wants to be transported to Jiangxi, it must go overland and go over mountains and ridges. The price of salt is probably more than three times what it was before, and you still can’t buy as much.”

Li Banghua sighed and said: "Shen Youlong's move is so cruel. He will not be the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi for long."

Why doesn't it last long?

Cutting off someone's financial path is like killing one's parents. The Guangdong salt merchant was afraid that he wanted to kill Shen Youlong.

The salt policy of the Ming Dynasty implemented regional exclusive sales. Jiangxi and Huguang could only buy Huai salt. However, the southern areas of the two provinces were too far from the salt-producing areas of the Huaihe River and the Huaihe River, so adjustments were made in the mid-Ming Dynasty.

Take Jiangxi as an example. Ji'an, Nan'an and Ganzhou all turned to Guangyan.

But now, rebels are everywhere in these three prefectures, and the governors of Guangdong and Guangxi directly cut off the salt roads to prevent the rebels from eating salt.

Zhao Han shook his head and smiled bitterly: "If he does this, the lives of the people in southern Jiangxi will become more miserable, and I'm afraid more people will rise up in rebellion."

"Shen Youlong is mainly targeting us," Pang Chunlai said. "Ganzhou and Nan'an are relatively close to Guangdong. There must be some private salt smuggled in through the waterway. The governor cannot stop it. But the amount of salt sold has been greatly reduced. , when sold to our Ji'an, the price of salt may triple or five times."

Fei Chun said: "So, I also suggest sending troops to the north and using the commercial tax from Zhangshu Town and the iron smelting revenue from Xinyu and Fenyi counties to earn more money. Then use this money to subsidize Ji'an The government’s salt merchants ordered them to buy Huai salt and sell it at a fair price.”

Zhao Han thought about it carefully and said: "Recruit more poor scholars to attend Datong classes in Bailuzhou. I will go and teach them in person for a few days."

Today's Datong Thought Courses include excerpts from "Datong Hui Zhang" and "Datong Land Distribution Theory" written by Ouyang Zheng and Wang Tiaoding. The rest are the "Tian Zheng Ji Yao" summarized by the missionary team led by Chen Maosheng, as well as various propaganda slogans for farmers.

Zhao Han has also been writing articles recently, deleting, editing, and revising them. He has been writing for two months.

"How is Mr. Li's military administration doing?" Zhao Han suddenly asked.

Li Banghua took out a charter and said: "Three thousand regular soldiers, all released from production, selected young and strong men, trained and paid eight dou per month. A separate department should be established for food and salary branch, ordnance, and uniform supply. We currently have insufficient ships. , the navy can be used to assist in transportation. The duties of the general who trains troops and the general who leads troops must be distinguished. The generals who train troops can be allowed to lead troops, but the General Military Office has the right to change them at any time. Don't let the army become the general's private army. "

Zhao Han took out a pen and paper and did the calculations himself.

There are three thousand regular soldiers and eight buckets of military pay per month, which amounts to more than 2,000 tons of military rations a year.

This does not include the peasants and soldiers. When the peasants and soldiers are intensively trained, they are also responsible for taking care of the food. If they go to war, they also have to be paid.

In addition, there are naval forces, weapons and uniforms, and daily meals for soldiers. All kinds of expenses are not small.

Without affecting the livelihood of the people, it is difficult to support three thousand regular soldiers in the three counties, so expansion is necessary. Moreover, Taihe and Wan'an in the south are too poor, so they must capture Zhangshu Town, Xinyu County and Fenyi County.

Zhao Han also wants to take his time, but he still has to survive and must train regular soldiers. There is no future for relying solely on peasant soldiers.

If it were to train firearms troops, the cost would be even more terrifying.

To be honest, as a rebel, Zhao Han's expansion was slow enough.

He Zhiyuan from southern Jiangxi already owns Ruijin and Huichang counties, and calls himself the "Southern King".

I don’t know the real name of the rebels in the west. I only know that they were a tenant soldier who rose up and occupied the three counties of Pingxiang, Yongxin and Yichun in two and a half months. They were nicknamed "Sweeper King".

It is really called "Sweeping King", which means to wipe out the landlords.

This sweeping king occupies three counties, and Zhao Han also occupies three counties. He feels that they can be treated as equals, and is sending a messenger to Ji'an Mansion, hoping to work with Zhao Han to fight against the officers and soldiers.

A few days later, Zhao Han received a letter, written by the Sweeping King himself.

Ignoring the typos in it, the content of the letter is: "Send hello to brother Zhao. I am the sweeper king of Pingxiang. I have heard of my brother's name a long time ago, and I want to become a sworn brother. The government is unethical, so my two brothers will join forces to fight against the officers and soldiers. From now on, we can do it. In the world, one is the emperor in Beijing and the other is the emperor in Nanjing. Isn’t it beautiful?"

(Thanks to the leader of cry madman for the reward, and thanks to the book friends for their subscriptions and rewards.)