I

Zhu Xieyuan, the governor of the five provinces of Jiangxi, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, and southern Hunan, and the governor of Jiangxi, finally arrived in Nanchang in early May.

Moreover, they came with a thousand Guizhou soldiers!

This gentleman, who was over seventy years old, placed his soldiers in Nankang Fucheng. He pretended to be training in the military camp, and secretly took a few of his followers to visit him in private, mainly to investigate the situation of the gentry, merchants and farmers.

From Nakang Prefecture, he made a private visit to Nanchang Prefecture. Zhu Xieyuan suddenly appeared in Nanchang Prefecture and summoned Chen Yuding, the censor of Jiangxi Province.

At the same time, a thousand soldiers stationed in Nankang quickly appeared outside Nanchang City.

These guest soldiers from Guizhou actually made no mistakes all the way.

Two days later, Zhu Xieyuan summoned officials from the Third Division of Jiangxi. Ding Kuichu, the chief envoy to the left, Zhang Bingwen, the chief envoy to the right, Wu Shiliang, the inspector-general, and Chen Guozhong, the commander-in-chief, came to see him one after another.

The four of them sat on the top chairs and didn't wait long before Zhu Xieyuan walked in.

"This is the Shang Fang sword given by His Majesty." Zhu Xieyuan said the first sentence of the opening sentence and slapped the Shang Fang sword on the table.

The chief officer of Jiangxi's Third Division quickly stood up, straightened his clothes, and kowtowed to Shang Fang's sword.

This thing was used to deal with military generals, but when Zhu Xieyuan took it out at this moment, it was self-evident what it meant.

Zhu Xieyuan then said his second sentence: "Thieves are rampant in Jiangxi. As the governor of five provinces, I can act expeditiously according to the emperor's order."

The chief officer of the Third Division quickly said yes, and began to feel uneasy. Even Wu Shiliang, who was in his eighties, became energetic.

Zhu Xieyuan said the third sentence: "Suppressing thieves and bringing peace to the people cannot be discussed in isolation. If we only suppress thieves but do not disturb the people, the more thieves will be suppressed, the more they will be suppressed."

"The supervisor has great opinion, what he said is true." Ding Kuichu quickly flattered him.

Zhu Xieyuan said the fourth sentence: "The private banknote checkpoints will be canceled immediately. The extra money that has been collected this year does not need to be imported into the capital, and the money that has not been collected does not need to be rushed to the people. Where is your majesty, I will submit it Tell the truth, either transfer me away, or do things my way."

Jiangxi's additional amount of silver this year is 360,000 taels. Due to the rebellion, the charter was reduced to 200,000 taels.

In comparison, it's not a lot. The people in Henan are really suffering. This year, an additional 660,000 taels were allocated.

"But," Ding Kuichu said, "the suppression of bandits in the north is paid by the imperial court, but the suppression of bandits in Jiangxi is entirely self-financing. If the additional banknote checkpoints are cancelled, I am afraid there will not be enough money and food to train troops."

"boom!"

Zhu Xieyuan picked up Shang Fang's sword and slapped it on the table again: "I don't want to check how much customs duties and taxes (land transportation and market commercial taxes) the Chief Secretary has collected. The two Chief Envoys please try your best to raise food and salary."

Ding Kuichu's head shrank sharply, and he and Zhang Bingwen clasped their fists together: "We must fully cooperate!"

Zhu Xieyuan complained again and told the officials of the Third Division to get out.

Three days later, the government was officially opened to recruit assistant officials and staff, all of whom were recommended by the censor Chen Yuding.

Zhao Han had three internal correspondents in Nanchang, among whom Xu Ying and Wang Tingshi both entered the governor's shogunate.

Of course, Xu Ying is only a peripheral member and does not even receive the salary of a temporary worker. Like Liu Tongsheng, Xiao Puyun, Zuo Xiaocheng and other refugee scholars, he was only responsible for providing relevant intelligence information to Zhu Xieyuan.

Wang Tingshi was Zhu Xieyuan's guest and was relied on as his right-hand man.

However, Wang Tingshi's military power was taken away, and two thousand local warriors were trained and deployed by Zhu Xieyuan.

Governor's Palace.

Many staff members gathered together.

"When I first arrive in Jiangxi, I have to rely on you for all matters," Zhu Xieyuan said, clasping his fists. "If there is anything wrong, please feel free to enlighten me."

"Don't dare!"

All the scholars bowed quickly.

Zhu Xieyuan took out a copy of "Datong Collection" and said: "I have been an official for decades. I have appeased tens of thousands of weavers who rioted to resist taxes, annihilated the White Lotus cultists, and pacified the rebellion of the Sichuan and Gui chieftains. Like the Zhao thieves in Luling, before I've never seen him before, tell me, what else has Thief Zhao done?"

Chen Heming, a refugee scholar, said: "I'm reporting to the Commander-in-Chief, that traitor Zhao is really abominable. All the acres accumulated by my Chen family over generations have been given to cunning and treacherous people indiscriminately. Such perverse actions will surely lead to divine punishment sooner or later!"

"I already know this," Zhu Xieyuan asked again, "What else is there?"

Xiao Puyun clasped his fists and said, "This thief has abolished the distinction of household registration set by Emperor Taizu, lumped together civilian households, craftsman households, music households, and military households, and even forced the wealthy families to release their slaves."

Zhu Xieyuan asked again: "What else?"

Zuo Xiaocheng said: "This thief created some kind of missionary group. They were prostitutes, domestic slaves, and turtle masters. They all acted as missionaries to spread his Datong heresy that distorted the words of the saints. He also established the Laoshizi Peasants' Association and built buildings. Water conservancy and land reclamation may appear to be benefiting the people, but in fact they are deceiving the people with small favors.”

"What else? Good and bad, let's talk about it." Zhu Xieyuan continued to ask.

Lu Yu said: "This thief is so cruel that he does not allow the beggar to survive, but forcibly arrests the beggar to do work."

Liu Tongsheng sighed: "If he were not a thief, this man could be a good minister. He also rectified the government, banned gambling, and established schools. Even in remote villages and towns, children under the age of twelve, both men and women, must study. There is no tuition fee for studying. , if children of school age do not go to school, both parents will be punished."

"Such moral decay," Zuo Xiaocheng said with a sneer, "This thief is a fool and wants to imitate the teachings of saints and sages, but he does not distinguish between men and women and puts boys and girls in the same school!"

Xiao Puyun said: "I think that if it is a child, it is okay for both men and women to read it together."

"Brother Xiao is confused," Xu Ying also spoke up, "Even children should know the difference between men and women!"

At the end of last year, Xiong Xuecui, a scholar from Fengcheng who just fled to Nanchang, said: "Supervisor Rong Zhen, since the establishment of Chaoguan in Nanchang and the ban on northward travel to Guangyan, the price of salt in Ji'an and Linjiang has skyrocketed. In order to keep the salt price down, Zhao thieves They actually allocate funds to subsidize salt merchants. Nanchang's banknotes must not be revoked. Given time, the salt price subsidy alone will bring down the Zhao thieves' finances."

"Nonsense!"

Zhou Yixuan, a member of the Nanchang Juren family who was engaged in business, angrily denounced: "Setting up banknotes privately to exploit the people is a tyranny of the people!"

Xiong Xuexui also said angrily: "How long has it been and you still want to do business? If the Zhao thieves are not put down as soon as possible, Jiangxi will be in danger. Sooner or later, your family's property will be robbed by the rebels!"

Nanchang Juren Zhang Zhaojing joined the dispute: "Nanchang banknote checkpoints cannot be restored, and the taxation should be reduced back to the original amount!"

As they talked, they went off the rails. They no longer discussed the Zhao thieves in Luling, but debated whether taxes should be increased.

Zhu Xieyuan didn't even say anything to stop them, and listened quietly to their quarrel. The information obtained from this quarrel can truly understand the public sentiment after peeling off the cocoons.

At the same time, Zhu Xieyuan was extremely frightened. The governance of the Luling Zhao thieves was not anti-thieves at all, and they simply regarded themselves as officials.

What he wants to destroy now is not the rebels, but a small court with two palaces!

The Zhao thief has already won the hearts of the people. Even if he can be killed, if the government does not implement good governance in the future, the people who have tasted the sweetness may still rebel.

After the students had finished arguing, Zhu Xieyuan finally asked: "Who has seen Thief Zhao in person?"

"I've seen him in late life." Liu Tongsheng, Xiao Puyun, Chen Heming and others replied one after another.

Zhu Xieyuan asked: "What is this person's personality like?"

Everyone thought hard.

Xiao Puyun said: "He is extremely cunning and can win people's hearts."

Liu Tongsheng told the story of Zhao Han's capture of Jishui County, saying: "This thief has very good methods. He is both upright and tactful. He is very methodical and can understand people's hearts."

Xu Ying said: "This thief is very honest. It is said that after he took over Yongyang Town, due to lack of money and food, he only ate porridge and pickles for three meals a day. He occupied a huge territory and did not build a mansion. He even set an example by not accepting concubines. , we don’t keep slaves, we only have a few servants who signed short contracts.”

Zhu Xieyuan suddenly had an even greater headache. When he was suppressing bandits in Sichuan and Guizhou, he also first found out the character of the rebellious chieftain.

Those rebellious chieftains were either cruel, stupid, impulsive, greedy... just to name a few, and they all had various character flaws.

But what the hell is this Luling Zhao thief?

At first glance, I thought he was an upright scholar from somewhere.

Zhu Xieyuan added: "I know that Zhao thief has three generals under his command, one is Huang Yao who guards Linjiang, the other is Zhao Yaonian who guards Ji'an, and the other is Gu Jianshan who is the commander-in-chief of the navy. Who knows the details of these three people? "

Chen Yuding, the censor of the patrol, said: "I once visited the rebel territory incognito and know a little about these three people. Huang Yaonai was a stonemason and was good at running attacks. It was this man who caused the first fall of Fengcheng. Zhao Yao was named in his first year. He is a relative of Zhao Thief, but he is actually Zhao Thief's brother-in-law, and his name is probably forged. As for the Ancient Sword Mountain, he is just a Poyang water bandit."

"What are the personalities of these three people? Is there any possibility of alienation and surrender?" Zhu Xieyuan asked.

Chen Yuding frowned and said, "Well, I'm afraid we have to send spies to inquire."

Zhu Xieyuan asked again: "How are the ministers under his command?"

Chen Yuding said: "The Zhao thief arrogantly called himself the general soldier. His general military office had eight divisions and two courtyards. There was Pang Dongxin (Pang Chunlai) who was in charge of the administration. I don't know where he came from, or he was an old scholar who failed to win in many trials. Li Banghua, who was in charge of military affairs, was originally the Minister of the Ministry of War of the Ming Dynasty. He who had land and years was in charge of fortifications, and was originally the magistrate of Yuanzhou in the Ming Dynasty. The rest of the officials were either promoted locals or officials who had their names changed. "

Zuo Xiaocheng said: "The person in charge of punishment for Zhao thief is called Zuo Xiaoliang. He is a distant relative who was born late. This man is just a poor scholar. He is not as good as me in poetry and books, and he doesn't have much ability. Zhao thief relies on him as his arm. , which shows that there are no real talents available.”

Next, more than ten scholars reported the anti-thief officials they knew.

Zhu Xieyuan frowned when he heard this, and suddenly said: "Who is willing to sneak back to the Zhao thief's territory, no matter what means are used, to instigate your old friends to act as internal agents?"

The whole place was dead silent, no one spoke.

After a long silence, Xiao Puyun said, "You can send your servant back."

"You can give it a try." Zhu Xieyuan didn't have any hope. He sent his slaves to instigate rebellion. It was so insincere that only a fool would believe it.

Half a month later.

Zhu Xieyuan put the prefects of Nanchang and Nankang under house arrest at the same time. After confiscating a large amount of money, he jointly reported the amount of money to the court with the censor Chen Yuding.

The affairs of these two governments are temporarily handled by Tongzhi.

At the same time, orders were sent to all the prefectures in Jiangxi to list the names of each county in the treasury. County taxes must be personally delivered to the treasury by the county magistrate, sealed, and delivered to the Chief Secretary for inspection by Zhu Xieyuan himself. Officials at the government level are only responsible for delivering taxes and cannot actually handle money and grain. If you want to get greedy for money, this is the only way to do it.

After rectifying the civil service and stabilizing money and food, Zhu Xieyuan began to reorganize the army. The soldiers' salaries must be personally supervised and distributed by the governor.

He also formulated dozens of military regulations to scare the monkeys, and Jiangxi officers and soldiers were in awe.

Next, Zhu Xieyuan suddenly disappeared, giving the outside world the illusion that he was training troops. In fact, he took his confidants and guides to the Zhao thief's territory and personally surveyed various terrains and environments. Zhu Xieyuan never fought an unprepared battle.

Zhao Han received a sealed report from Xu Ying and Wang Tingxian and felt that he was in trouble this time.

(Thanks to the leader of the temporarily vacant book friend 20210617003015576 for the reward, and also to all book friends for the reward and subscription.)