Imperial Master of the Ming Dynasty

The Ming army's artillery phalanx made its final assault, and the enemy army completely collapsed.

After this battle, the White Lotus rebels who had been lurking in the south of the Yangtze River for many years have been completely annihilated. At the same time, hundreds of thousands of people have been rescued. The Ming army itself suffered no more than a hundred casualties. It can be said that it has achieved a brilliant victory!

"The general is mighty!"

"The Ming army is victorious!"

The soldiers of the Ming Dynasty hammered their breastplates and shouted wantonly.

This was the first pure firearms combat experienced by the newly formed Tax Guards, and it was also of great significance to those of them who had switched arms halfway.

"Bang bang bang -" the Ming army artillerymen also fired cannons in celebration.

At this time, Jiang Xinghuo, Chen Xuan, Liu Sheng and other generals came over and stood at the gate of the White Lotus Sect camp.

Jiang Xinghuo looked around and asked, "What do you think of this battle?"

Liu Sheng cupped his fists and said, "General, congratulations to the Imperial Master. Today's great victory has captured more than 100,000 people. From now on, Jiangnan's reform will definitely be smooth sailing!"

What Liu Sheng said was true. The greatest significance of this counterinsurgency was to eliminate all the unstable factors in Jiangnan.

Regardless of whether it is the White Lotus Sect or the mountain bandits and water bandits involved, the local government neither dares nor can control it. It has been a long-standing problem for many years. Now that it has been eliminated, local security will naturally improve greatly. As long as we continue to strictly control it, A stable and good reform environment can be created. Only when people feel safe, business can be done easily, and people can flow easily. People don't go out not only because of a road guide, but the biggest risk factor is that they can easily lose their lives when going out. After all, even though we are living in the countryside, we still have clans and neighbors working together to maintain safety.

Chen Xuan smiled and said: "The Imperial Master has a clever plan and anticipates the enemy's opportunity. The victory of this battle is already guaranteed!"

The other generals all praised him and said anything.

Jiang Xinghuo listened for a while, then waved his hand and said, "There is no need to praise me. Being able to win such a beautiful victory is all thanks to the soldiers. Let's go and see the people and prisoners."

The White Lotus Sect camp was already in a mess, with corpses scattered everywhere. Countless rebels were trampled to death. Because the common people were isolated in the middle and cleaned up once when the troops were sent out in the early morning, they did not suffer too many attacks from the defeated soldiers. However, even so, these were defeated. The people who were surrounded by the White Lotus Sect also huddled in the corner, staring at Jiang Xinghuo and others with horrified eyes.

Jiang Xinghuo felt a little complicated when he saw that these ordinary people who were coerced by the White Lotus Sect were quite afraid of him.

Jiang Xinghuo originally wanted to wait until he finished the porridge, gather the people together, hold a meeting of ten thousand people, and talk about something seriously.

In fact, he even typed up the manuscript.

But at this moment, looking at the expressions of these people who were full of vigilance, fear, envy, panic, etc., Jiang Xinghuo suddenly felt that he had lost interest.

If I use the words of a writer, it would be "I seemed to shudder, and I knew that there was already a tragically thick barrier between us."

In the first year of Yongle, after four years of brutal baptism by the Jingnan Civil War, the people and material resources in Jiangnan were almost exhausted. These farmers were double squeezed by the Jiangnan gentry and the Jianwen court, and lived an extremely poor and miserable life. Economically, they were completely dependent on the landlord class; ideologically, they were harmed by superstitious ideas such as the White Lotus Sect and Pu Shen; politically, they had no channels to speak out. It was the so-called dynasty and the gentry who ruled the world, not the common people.

This painful life makes them naturally wary of any power with overwhelming advantages, because no one in power has ever been kind to them. The tragic experience in the past tells them that anyone in power is coveting it. All they had left was their property and labor.

This thick barrier is a shadow of the special era in the early Ming Dynasty, and it is also an unbreakable prison for tens of millions of Ming people.

"The good employees are still afraid of me, but it doesn't matter. We will have a long time to come."

In fact, in a certain respect, they are the same as Jiang Xinghuo, but they are luckier than Jiang Xinghuo and can choose to take a different life path at the most critical moment.

"Master National Preceptor, this place has been controlled by our department, please give instructions!"

Seeing that thousands of families had come to report, Jiang Xinghuo was thinking again, and Liu Sheng said, "What should we do next?"

Jiang Xinghuo came back to his senses and thought for a while, then said: "First settle the people here, and now boil water to cook porridge. The porridge can be mixed with other grains, it doesn't have to be completely rice porridge, but it must not be too thick. The first meal Use thin porridge first, then thick porridge at noon, and maintain order on the scene. The old and weak in the camp are part of it, and the strong men who are rescued are part of it."

"There may be remnants of the White Lotus Sect mixed in the team of strong men. Let them identify each other, and then ask the prisoners of the White Lotus Sect to identify the identified people. Do it more carefully. Don't be afraid of trouble when cross-identifying. Don't be afraid of each other because of the strong men. Personal grievances between people led to the injustice of good people and wrongful cases."

"In addition, we need to find those escaped traitors. This is an area where the reform must be implemented. Be careful to prevent the White Lotus Sect from coming back! Send an order to the cities near Taihu Lake to strictly check everyone's whereabouts from now on, but Bailian Those who rebel against the teachings will be detained until they are handed over. If they dare to resist with weapons, they will be shot without mercy!"

"yes!"

Jiang Xinghuo and the others were talking as they walked. Not long after, they saw a large number of White Lotus Sect surrender soldiers tied up with hemp ropes.

"these people?"

At this time, Zhu Gaoxu changed his horse and came over. The armor on his body was stained red as if by a large dyeing vat, and it was all stained with blood that could not be washed away. He grinned: "As for these rebels... I have to tell you. , these people should be beheaded on the spot, and a crowd should be built in Beijing to serve as a warning!"

"Jingguan is a bit outdated."

Jiang Xinghuo said: "All the captured bandit leaders of the White Lotus Sect will be dealt with in a different way later on my order; those so-called green forest heroes who have robbed families and suffered heavy blood debts will be identified by Ding Xiaohong and will be publicly beheaded today." Execution; the remaining ordinary White Lotus soldiers will be killed at fifteen, and the rest will be sent to the coal mines to dig coal, which will be used for preliminary industrialization."

Although the coal mine resources in Jiangnan are not rich, they are still much more abundant than the silver mines that Li Jinglong once supervised.

For example, there is the Changxing Coal Mine in nearby Huzhou Prefecture. The local underground is rich in high-quality bituminous coal. In Jiang Xinghuo's previous life, excavation began from the Wanli period. Since the ancient method of coal mining uses the shaft method, this method is dirty and tiring. The county magistrate Xiong Mingyu In order to show heavy penalties, some criminals were also sent to the coal mines to help the mine owners dig coal, which shows that the scale is indeed not small.

This is also reflected in the "Changxing County Chronicle": the well is more than a hundred feet deep and as far as two or three miles away, and the diggers ranged from dozens to more than a hundred people. Often, when digging into deep places, spring water suddenly gushes out; or the branches are not strong enough and collapse from above; or workers are not careful, and the lamp oil catches fire and spreads, etc. Human life is as light as grass, so this is not the case.

In addition, there are many large and small coal mines in Jiangnan. If you look further, the coal reserves of the Huanghuai Chief Envoy Department, which was just split and established last year, are even more amazing.

Therefore, if we are only engaged in preliminary industrialization at the moment, the coal reserves in Jiangnan will be sufficient for the time being. As for iron ore, there is the Maanshan Iron Mine with reserves of 1.635 billion tons next to Nanjing. It is also an open-pit iron mine. It is just the demand of the first industrial revolution. If it were, it would take hundreds of years to use up.

But the biggest problem with coal mining is that as mentioned just now, it is very labor-intensive.

It was impossible for Jiang Xinghuo to run a steam engine and come to the mining area to pump water right away. It would be too cruel to let ordinary people do this kind of brainless work, but for these traitors of the White Lotus Sect, it was considered as atonement for themselves.

When Jiang Xinghuo finished speaking his thoughts, the generals around him fell silent.

To maximize the use of resources, one has to be a national teacher.

They just want to kill them all, while the national master uses the value of each type of people to the extreme.

The ringleaders were killed to anger the common people; they were sent to the coal mines as slaves by the rebels to dig for coal and perform meritorious deeds; they were coerced into organizing the people to work for relief, and the men who built infrastructure and the women who worked on weaving really did not support idle people.

"I will obey your orders!"

"In addition." Jiang Xinghuo paused and continued: "Send a battle report to the capital and report on the war situation here. Those who died in the battle will naturally be compensated. Other soldiers who have made meritorious service must request your Majesty to give corresponding commendations. It is best to be able to Multiple bronze medals.”

The generals smiled knowingly after hearing this and did not dare to say anything else. However, the medal system proposed by the National Master was indeed very popular among the soldiers.

——Who doesn’t have a collecting habit?

Although counterinsurgency is a small battle, multiple bronze medals are also good.

At this time, Zhu Gaoxu took off his pocket and scratched his head, as if he suddenly thought of something.

"By the way, Master, as you mentioned last time, how about reporting the military ranks of non-honorable generals to Father?"

Jiang Xinghuo was stunned for a moment when he heard this, and then remembered it after thinking about it for a moment.

That was a joke he made when talking to Liu Sheng and Zhu Gaoxu at the military academy. Jiang Xinghuo took out the "five-star general" joke and said it casually. Unexpectedly, Liu Sheng and Zhu Gaoxu thought that adding a military rank to the generals would serve as a mark. It's quite appropriate.

Because there has been an embarrassing phenomenon in the Ming army for a long time, that is, many powerful generals do not have corresponding titles.

During the founding of Hongwu and the Jingnan period of Yongle, it was easy to award large-scale awards when an emperor began to ascend to the throne. However, other than that, in relatively peaceful times, it was more difficult to award individual titles unless he performed extremely outstanding feats. .

And this has caused an invisible effect. Maybe the meritorious service that could be made a marquis in the past could only be made a count now; the meritorious service that could be made a count in the past could not be made anything now.

In addition, the Governor's Mansion of the Fifth Army is also filled with a large number of second-generation nobles who have not made any achievements but have become princes through undercover attacks. The positions of these people are riding on the heads of powerful generals such as Liu Sheng.

This naturally made many people, especially the nobles in the Southern Army who grew up in the middle and late Hongwu period, feel unbalanced. They all complained that working for the court was embarrassing now that King Yan was on the throne, and they did not have "my father".

This situation also exists in the Northern Army (Yan Army) system. For example, Liu Sheng, whose merits are not enough to be crowned a count, but whose merits are obviously higher than other generals, and Zhu Gaoxu, whose meritorious service cannot be knighted. In their hearts , still longing for a system that can mark their merits.

Therefore, adding a hierarchy to the generals and distinguishing those nobles who have no merit is actually the common voice of many people in the Southern and Northern armies.

"Okay, I'll write it then. I suggest that the ranks of commanders and above should be divided into generals, lieutenant generals, and major generals. Generals should be divided into one to five stars according to their military merits, so that non-honored generals can also have a I will submit the distinction and expectations to His Majesty along with the battle report."

Well, I hope Emperor Yongle, who was the biggest contributor to the Jingnan Campaign, can give Li Jinglong a five-star rating.

In this way, the five-star emperor Mike Jinglong really lives up to his name.

Calculating the time, Li Jinglong should be leaving Japan to return to China soon. He hadn't seen him for more than half a year, so he should give this old friend a surprise.

Li Jinglong's return not only meant that the war against Japan had entered a substantial stage of preparations, but also meant that Jiang Xinghuo finally had a commander around him who could command hundreds of thousands of troops.

What is the most precious thing in this era? Of course it’s talent!

Don't talk about how Li Jinglong is doing, just talk about whether he can lead troops, right? Being able to lead hundreds of thousands of people to march and fight and plan everything in an orderly manner is ability. This can never be achieved by relying on staff or anything else.

Once the expedition to Annan opens up the market for Jiangnan's cotton textile industry, because the coach's physical factors are hindered, Li Jinglong, who is also young and strong and wants to avenge his shame, will immediately be able to lead the army, which will make up for the possibility of a disaster. An unexpected final touch.

"By the way, there's one more thing." Jiang Xinghuo suddenly paused, looked around at the generals, and after a few breaths of silence, he slowly said: "You should all know the rules in the military about interrogating prisoners, so I don't need to tell you. Right now. Jiangnan wants to reform, but there are many officials who are ideologically opposed to the reform and are still eating in their corpse seats."

Although it was difficult to explain clearly, the generals still understood it. This meant replacing people directly without changing their thoughts, or carrying the person and the chair together.

"Don't worry, Imperial Master." Chen Xuan said with a smile: "After we wipe out the White Lotus Sect, we will interrogate the captured rebels to confirm who their party members are and whether they have participated in rebellion."

"Yes." Jiang Xinghuo nodded: "Remember, no matter who it is, whoever is involved in the crime of treason must be severely punished."

Liu Sheng also smiled and said: "National Master, don't worry, this is not the first time we have done these things. When we first entered Nanjing, we once captured Jianwen's remnants all over the city for interrogation, but now, only It’s just a different person.”

Although Liu Sheng is usually modest and gentle, it does not mean that he does not understand these things that cannot be said publicly. On the contrary, in the entire Yan Jun system, Liu Sheng is definitely considered delicate and good at guessing other people's psychology, which is rare. What is interesting is that during the period when some cities in Hebei and Shandong were conquered and implemented military management, considerable achievements were made in the handling of government affairs.

Otherwise, how could Liu Sheng be "favored by all the marquises" and become the most favored marquis in the late Yongle period.

Of course, everyone is capable of wandering. Liu Sheng, who was "arrogant in his words and expressions" later, is certainly not the same as Liu Qianshi now.

In this regard, Liu Sheng is somewhat similar to Ji Gang.

However, the current Commander-in-Chief is still staying in Nanjing, because the disputes about the reform in Beijing are getting more and more intense, and he has mishandled certain issues, which can be regarded as a crime.

This is something to talk about later. Everything has been arranged now. Since I have changed my mind and there is no need to hold a meeting for the people, the only thing left is to interrogate Bailian, the leader of the White Lotus Sect.

It's inappropriate to call it an interrogation.

It might be more appropriate to call it a deathbed chat where "people are dying and their words are kind".

In the tent, the surrounding soldiers stepped back dozens of steps, facing each other.

"What do you want to know?" Bai Tianyu, who was tied up with five flowers, looked indifferent, and his inner struggle could not be seen at all. Even his expression seemed very calm.

He no longer cares about life or death. Anyway, he has already lived enough at this age.

"I heard that you had colluded with Japan's Kyushu domain. Is this true?"

Jiang Xinghuo first picked an 'important, but not that important' question to ask.

Although it was a question, it was not polite, even a bit forcing and questioning.

Moreover, what Jiang Xinghuo said was indeed true. There were Japanese samurai in the White Lotus Sect's army. Bai Tianyu and his group did hide in Japan during the middle and late Hongwu Dynasty, and only returned to China during the Jianwen Dynasty.

But among the people present, I am afraid only Bai Tianyu knows what kind of deal is involved.

It's best to ask clearly. 'Instigating to join the rebels' can be regarded as a reasonable excuse for sending troops to conquer Japan in the future. With this, naturally there will be fewer other things to make up.

"Japanese... Well, I admit that I have indeed contacted them." Bai Tianyu answered frankly.

"Oh, then Master Bai, can you tell me how you got in touch? Who did you contact in Japan?" Jiang Xinghuo continued to ask.

"Check it out yourself. I believe that with your methods, you should be able to find clues."

Tian Tianyu sneered, with a hint of ridicule flashing in his eyes.

Jiang Xinghuo held the knife in his hand, narrowed his eyes slightly, and stared at Bai Tianyu for a long time: "Master Bai, are you going to say anything?"

Hearing this, Bai Tianyu's expression changed and he said coldly: "Huh! If you want to be killed or cut into pieces, it's up to you. Why do you do this in a pretentious manner! Even if you say it, can you let me go? You, Jiang Xinghuo, am my father. Are you too old to be frightened?"

He has a tough attitude and is completely unafraid of life or death.

"You shouldn't, you shouldn't, you shouldn't collude with those Japanese samurai to participate in the rebellion in the south of the Yangtze River. In my opinion, this is as hateful as your sacrifice of a young child."

Seeing that Tian Tianyu still looked like a dead pig who was not afraid of being scalded by boiling water, Jiang Xinghuo didn't bother to say anything, and stood up to leave.

Unexpectedly, just when he turned around, he didn't know what was touched deep in his heart, but Bai Tianyu suddenly struggled violently, but he was about to be buried at this age, and it was not like the older he got, the better his martial arts skills were. In this world, it is naturally impossible to break free from the hemp ropes tied up with many flowers.

"I failed to slay the dragon today and was defeated by a scholar like you. The reason is that you just relied on your sharp weapons. What rules and principles do you know? Is it your turn to teach me a lesson?!"

During the day, Yu Wu struggled endlessly. Different from his previous attitude of waiting for death, he was really annoyed and even started to speak arbitrarily. These words were like an ordinary old man who relied on his old age to quarrel with others. He was not in his position at all. People should speak out.

Jiang Xinghuo was startled.

He really didn't expect that when this old guy was about to die, what he cared about most was that he couldn't be taught a lesson by his juniors.

"Whoever achieves great things is not ambitious? I would rather betray others than others betray me (this quote comes from "Miscellaneous Notes" by Sun Sheng of the Eastern Jin Dynasty). How can a kid like you with a yellow mouth and no hair on your mouth understand? Even if you destroy the White Lotus Sect, there will be countless people in Jiangnan and even the world who oppose you. Do you think you can last long? You won’t come out.”

"Snapped!"

There was no one else in the tent, so Jiang Xinghuo took action himself, with the knife and sheath attached, and slapped Bai Tianyu's old face hard.

Several yellowed teeth covered with tartar, accompanied by splashes of blood and water, fell from the already swollen mouth like a pig and rolled on the ground several times.

Jiang Xinghuo took back the knife, his eyes cold and indifferent.

There may be so-called ambitions in this world, but Bai Tianyu can tell the truth that he is just an old stickman who pretends to be a ghost and uses unscrupulous tricks. His methods are extremely despicable and he can do things such as sacrificing young children. He is not worthy of such a word.

"you"

Bai Tianyu was furious and tried to turn his hands behind him while being tied up, reaching out to grab the knife in Jiang Xinghuo's hand, but as soon as he touched it, Jiang Xinghuo stepped on the back of his hand severely.

The sound of broken bones was heard.

"ah--"

The screams, like those of a slaughtered pig, resounded throughout the tent.

"You little beast!"

Tian Tianyu was so painful that he broke out in cold sweat. Looking at the young man with murderous intent in his eyes, he was filled with shock and anger.

Jiang Xinghuo looked down at him: "What kind of hero do you think you are? Or are you worthy of rebelling and slaying the dragon?"

Bai Tianyu endured the pain and did not dare to move. He gritted his teeth, veins on his forehead bulged, and suppressed his anger: "Jiang Xinghuo, I have been in the world for more than fifty years. I never thought that I would fall into your hands. You..."

"Bah bang bang!"

Jiang Xinghuo threw out the scabbard several more times.

Tian Tianyu's eyes were about to burst into flames, and he glared at the man in front of him: "You junior, how dare you humiliate me like this, I swear that I will let the Wusheng Mother cut you into thousands of pieces, crush your bones and spread ashes, so that your soul will never be reincarnated!"

"Ha~"

Jiang Xinghuo chuckled softly: "Then let Mother Wusheng come now. If she can't come, just bear it and listen to me. You said you rebelled to slay the dragon? Which dragon?"

Bai Tianyu gritted his teeth and said: "When autumn comes on the eighth day of September, I will kill all the flowers! Naturally, Zhu Ming is the dragon to be slaughtered! At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, when all the heroes came together, Zhu Yuanzhang, it was only because of the time and the situation that he was able to kill him!" The world! If I had risen earlier, who would have been the Zhu family to sit on the throne?!"

"What a coincidence, I want to slay a dragon too."

When Bai Tianyu heard this, he was shocked for a moment and forgot about the pain.

Are the rebels in Chengtian Palace? What kind of joke is this?

"You want to slay the dragon? Zhu Di favors you so much, is it not enough to give you the position of national master?"

"not enough."

"Is it not enough for one person to have power over ten thousand people?"

"not enough."

Bai Tianyu's eyes were a little strange:

"You want to be the emperor yourself? Do you want to be Wang Mang?"

"In no mood."

"Then what are you going to do to kill the dragon?" Bai Tianyu suddenly trembled.

Could it be that he was like the demon monk Dao Yan, who killed the dragon Jianwen Emperor Zhu Yunzhen just to prove that he was capable of killing dragons?

Jiang Xinghuo said calmly: "I want to slay the imperial dragon."

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! This has been the case for thousands of years. How can the world be without a master?"

Bai Tianyu showed extreme disbelief. Even in his conception, even if a dynasty ruled by the White Lotus Sect was established, there would still be an emperor.

"I use the evil dragon to slay the emperor dragon, why not?"

Jiang Xinghuo's expression was as calm as an abyss.

There were some things he couldn't say to a living person.

In the deserted tent, when Jiang Xinghuo's words ended, Bai Tianyu's eyes were full of horror, and he looked at Jiang Xinghuo in horror.

At the end of his life, he finally understood what Jiang Xinghuo, who he regarded as a "little kid with a yellow mouth and a scholar", really wanted and what kind of world he wanted to build!

Compared with Jiang Xinghuo's grand and realistic future world, the "vacuum hometown"-style present world he wants to build is like a child's ridiculously naive fantasy.

It is obvious who the ignorant person is.

Bai Tianyu's body trembled: "You are crazy, you are going to the eighteenth level of hell!"

"If you don't go to hell, who will?"

Jiang Xinghuo simply knocked out all his teeth and stuffed a ball of rags into his mouth.

"I can't go to my hometown in the vacuum. I'm waiting for you in hell."

Tian Tianyu was dragged out by Wang Bin and his soldiers. Not far away, a collective execution ceremony for the leader of the White Lotus Sect was underway.

Like others, he was stuffed into a wooden barrel, and then filled with saltpeter. This method of death may not be as good as Ling Chi, but he watched helplessly as his limbs were frozen and his blood vessels began to gradually reduce blood supply. Then the heart stopped beating, but nothing could be done. For these heinous people, it was a punishment enough to make them repent of their sins in pain.

Saint Tang Yin of the White Lotus Sect, Zuo Dharma protector Niu Zhen and others, who had surrendered long ago to avoid this torture, were watching with lingering fear from the shore. They were forced to watch this scene.

Tang Yin saw Bai Tianyu.

In her eyes, this man who had always been full of majesty and always looked like a strategist was looking at her with unspeakable complex eyes like a child who had been beaten awake.

The old man's entire face was distorted, gesturing for her to look in Jiang Xinghuo's direction.

Tang Yin quietly looked up and saw nothing.

The Imperial Master was squatting and happily stroking the little head of a child who was being held hostage. There was a woman beside the child.

"What's your name?"

"My name is Li Bajiu."

"oh"

Listening to the familiar name, Jiang Xinghuo recalled a story he heard next to Qingpingbo in Huzhou Prefecture.

"Here's this for you, eat slowly."

Jiang Xinghuo took out his own dry food, thin noodles and steamed buns.

The child took it excitedly and handed it to his mother. His mother, the sister-in-law of the Qingpingbo martyr, took it carefully, held it in her arms, and looked longingly into the distance. She listened. It is said that thanks to the kindness of the imperial master, many strong men survived, including his second brother.

Next, their originally miserable fate is about to undergo earth-shaking changes. Maybe they don't know it yet, but no matter what, everything will develop in a good direction.

There is no doubt about this.

Jiang Xinghuo wanted to clap his hands, but reluctantly licked the steamed bun residue on his fingers before standing up.

His eyes saw Tian Yu who had been thrown into the water and was gradually being frozen into an ice sculpture as the saltpeter absorbed heat and turned the water into ice. He also saw Tang Yin who was secretly peeping at him.

Jiang Xinghuo smiled at Tang Yin with a harmless smile, and his six teeth were very white in the sunlight.

PS: [Important reminder (there is no charge for this content)] Chapters 316 to 356 are about the rectification of officialdom and the suppression of rebellions in Jiangnan. They do not contain any theoretical knowledge. They are all practical content. If you are not interested, you can jump directly to Chapter 366. "Class" will contain theoretical knowledge content from now on.