What is going on? Are you all blocking the way here because you want to rebel?
Jiang Quan's spirit immediately faltered. Clutching his horse whip, he lowered his head and said aggrievedly, "We only want to eat our fill."
Huh?
Zhu Ci glanced at Zhu Ci; Zhu Ci stood there, completely numb. Who told you to eat your fill?
Zhu Ci sighed and said, "Everyone, you may disperse. You, follow me; whatever problems there are, we will resolve them today."
Jiang Quan and the people behind him exchanged glances, then followed Zhu Ci obediently all the way into the study.
After pulling Zhu Ci down to sit, Zhu Ci said, "Alright, there is no one else here, just tell me what happened."
Jiang Quan stood there, still holding Zhu Ci's riding whip in his hands.
He stole a glance at Zhu Ci but didn't dare speak. Jiang Xueyan gave him a sideways glance and said, "What are you being so coy for? Young Master, for the past two days, the guards in the prefectural office haven't had anything with any grease in their meals; they can't get full at all."
Zhu Ci looked at Jiang Quan and then back at Zhu Ci; Zhu Ci sat there in silence, he suddenly felt a bit of a headache.
He knew that a conflict would surely erupt sooner or later, but he hadn't expected it to happen so soon.
He sighed and said, "Show me the procurement records from the kitchen."
Zhu Ci spoke at this moment, "There is no need to look; I was the one who reduced this portion of the expenses."
After hearing this, Zhu Ci looked at Jiang Xueyan and Jiang Quan and said, "The two of you, step outside first."
Jiang Xueyan wanted to say something more, but Jiang Quan immediately pulled her out.
After everyone had left, Zhu Ci immediately looked at him and asked, "How did you think of messing with their livelihoods?"
Zhu Ci said with some confusion, "Don't you think the expenses in this area are too high? How much money do you have on hand to afford them eating like this? Chicken every three days, pork every seven days.. even the Jinyi Guards in the palace didn't live this well back then. If this continues, your annual military expenditures will equal the annual military expenditures from when my father was still alive."
Zhu Ci said softly, "What I want are elite soldiers. No matter what, our numbers cannot compare to the Tartars. Since we lack numbers, we must focus on individual strength. They don't even have the strength to hold a blade; do you expect them to defeat the Tartars? And then there's the military funding from back then.."
He said thoughtfully, "As a junior, I shouldn't criticize my ancestors, but.. the Ming Dynasty's military funding has been insufficient for a long time. There are many entries on the books, but do you truly know exactly how much of it was embezzled and how much was used for ghost soldiers?"
Zhu Ci looked thoughtful. "How do you know about these things?"
Zhu Ci smiled and said, "I have been the Crown Prince for a few months, after all. Even if he is on guard against me, I can still read the previous records."
Zhu Ci frowned. "But if this continues.."
“Alright, I know you want to increase revenue and reduce expenditure, but the established rules are the baseline. Besides, it's not like the entire army eats like this; only my personal guards and the elite company receive such good treatment, totaling no more than a thousand people at most. It doesn't cost much money.” Zhu Ci looked at him earnestly and said, “If we lack funds, we need to consider how to make money, rather than forcing those below us to tighten their belts. If they can't even afford enough food or warm clothing now, how can you make them believe that following you will lead to a better life? Why would they risk their lives if they can't expect a better life?”
You can't preach grand principles to these people right now; they won't understand. What do you mean, "the nation is destroyed and families are ruined"? The fall of a nation doesn't necessarily mean the ruin of its families; things are different from the later generations.
The most important issue is that the Ming officials north of the Huai River surrendered far too easily; they offered almost no resistance, surrendering almost immediately once the Qing Army arrived, which had a very negative impact.
Even the officials and generals are like this; on what basis do you expect the common people to defend their homes and country?
Zhu Ci looked thoughtful after hearing this. He patted his shoulder and said, "In the past, you only learned how to be a qualified Crown Prince and a qualified Emperor. You faced civil and military officials, who are different from the common people. If you cannot understand them, then go out more and see how they live their lives."
Zhu Ci sighed. "I understand. I will not change your decisions without permission in the future."
Zhu Ci actually had no intention of usurping someone else's place; it was just that his long-standing habit made him unwilling to submit to others, especially when facing those of his own generation, particularly when Zhu Ci was a year younger than him.
He also wanted to prove himself and truly cared for Zhu Ci; such expenditures were too heavy a burden, even with the support of the Dongting Merchant Group, it would be like trying to put out a forest fire with a cup of water.
Zhu Ci observed for two days; although Zhu Ci did not make any more decisions on his own, he also did not truly go out to walk around and see the world.
Perhaps he no longer felt a sense of security; for now, this room was his safe haven.
Zhu Ci simply grabbed him and dragged him out to go shopping, to understand the current prices, to eat at the street stalls outside, to chat with the local people.
As long as one is willing to humble oneself, it is easy to get in touch with the lives of the common people.
On the way back, Zhu Ci said, "You see, the common people's demands are actually very simple; as long as they can survive, that is enough. If you can ensure they are well-fed and warmly clothed on top of that, then you are a good official."
Zhu Ci understood this principle as well. He was just about to say something when he saw Jiang Xueyan rushing over and saying, "Young Master, the Xi Family just sent word that the Tartars have already arrived in Sizhou. The Commander of Shousi has led his troops in a southern retreat, the Tartars have already begun crossing the river to approach Yangzhou!"
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Author's Note: Zhu Ci: If you don't understand, then you don't understand. Just be obedient; I really don't have time to mess around with you all. Cat falls asleep. jpg
Darlings, Happy Women's Day~ There's a red envelope dropping in this chapter~
Next update at 6:00 PM~
Chapter 83
Zhu Ci's expression changed. Yangzhou and Suzhou were adjacent; once the Tartars broke through the Yangzhou defensive line, Suzhou would immediately be in grave danger!
Zhu Ci immediately turned his head and said, "I will go muster the troops. You help me write a letter to the Minister of War, Shi Kefa. I will lead the troops to reinforce you. Oh, don't mention my identity; just say it is from the Suzhou Prefect."
Zhu Ci said helplessly, "Prefect.. a Prefect has no military power, you.."
Zhu Ci waved his hand. "Write whatever you want."
As he spoke, he prepared to leave, but Zhu Ci hurriedly grabbed him and asked, "Wait, if you take your troops to reinforce Yangzhou, what about Suzhou?"
Zhu Ci turned his head and asked with a smile, "Won't you still be here?"
Zhu Ci was slightly stunned. "Me?"
Zhu Ci gripped his hand and said earnestly, "I will go to defend Yangzhou, while you stay in Suzhou to manage logistics for me. We brothers will fight together. Whether we can hold onto this final piece of the Great Ming's territory depends on you."
Zhu Ci felt a surge of hot blood; the last piece of land of the Great Ming's territory.. that statement was absolutely true.
Further south is the Marquis of Huating, further south from there.. I don't know what the situation is right now, nor do I know where Zhu Yousong has fled, but they clearly have no way of getting news from that side.
The Great Ming's legitimacy now rests within this single prefecture alone.
Zhu Ci nodded solemnly and said, "Rest assured, I will definitely defend Suzhou well."
Mhm, I'm not worried about anything else, I just need you to keep an eye on the Dongting Merchant Group.
He had always been on guard against the Dongting Merchant Group; from the very beginning, the Dongting Merchant Group had only bowed its head under his iron-fisted suppression.
If they don't bow their heads, their entire families will be wiped out.
However, Zhu Ci was not particularly worried. Zhu Ci might not fully understand his military philosophy, but if Zhu Ci were to engage in intrigue with those people from the Dongting Merchant Group, even if he couldn't suppress them, he could at least hold his own against them.
Zhu Ci was a Crown Prince who had been personally taught by the Chongzhen Emperor and had been involved in state affairs from an early age.
Compared to the civil and military officials of the Great Ming Dynasty, these people from the Dongting Merchant Group were far inferior.
The two cousins began to get busy. Fortunately, Zhu Ci had long sensed that such a day would come and had been making preparations all along; now, it was simply that the other shoe had finally dropped.
Although they spoke of sending reinforcements, it wasn't as if they could leave whenever they pleased; the Qing Army had already crossed the Huai River, yet they were in no hurry to attack the city.
At this stage, Dodo should be trying to persuade Shi Kefa to surrender, mainly because the Hongyi Cannons have not arrived; before that, Dodo will not attack the city.
Zhu Ci had already thought of several plans; the only thing he hadn't expected was that the letter he had asked Zhu Ci to write would vanish without a trace.
Zhu Ci had no choice but to lead his men there, taking advantage of the fact that the Qing Army had not yet completely surrounded all the city gates, he arranged for someone to go over and provide intelligence.
The result was that the Yangzhou side refused to let them enter the city, on the grounds that they did not know whether they were friends or foes.
"Shi Kefa is quite bold, to even refuse to recognize the Crown Prince?" Jiang Xueyan was extremely surprised; she had already smoothly accepted Zhu Ci's identity as the Crown Prince.
In any case, the thoughts of these boys and girls who had followed Zhu Ci from the very beginning were the simplest; regardless of the Young Master's status, they only needed to be loyal to him, they would do whatever the Young Master told them to do.
Regardless, their lives had been saved by the Young Master, so they might as well spend their lives serving him.
Zhu Ci gave a cold laugh and said, "The main army will camp in place. Li Cheng, lead the Flying Eagle Squad and follow me."
Li Cheng immediately said in a low voice, "Young Master, why not let me.."
Zhu Ci waved his hand. "I must go myself."
He needed to encounter the Qing Army in person to have peace of mind; no matter how many books he had read or how much history he had studied, they were all just words on paper, no one knew what the reality was truly like.
All of history only records who the commanding generals were; even the middle and lower-ranking officers are rarely recorded, let alone the soldiers who are reduced to mere numbers.
Up to now, he only had a vague concept of the Qing Army; if he were to engage them in a direct confrontation, he would only be a match for Dodo if he had a nuclear bomb in his hands; otherwise, he might not be a match for Dodo.
Zhu Ci led the Flying Eagle Squad around Yangzhou, concealing their movements as they advanced toward the Huai River.
The Flying Eagle Squad actually only consisted of about two hundred people in total. Everyone carried their own rations, since they were equipped with grenades, the rockets could only be transported by vehicles.
Originally, Zhu Ci had thought about breaking the group into smaller units to avoid drawing attention, but seeing that his soldiers were all wearing identical uniforms, it was obvious they were a single unit; even if they advanced in small groups, they would still be discovered.
Zhu Ci traveled along the way, choosing to occupy every small town he encountered, then notifying the troops following behind to send people to take over.
Zhao Jia followed Zhu Ci, watching him accept the surrenders of the local township officials one by one. After arranging for people to stay behind to provide support, he continued moving forward, somewhat confused by Zhu Ci's actions: "Young Master, why are we occupying these places first?"
Zhu Ci said casually, "This is what we call encircling the cities from the countryside."
Huh?" Zhao Jia was clearly confused. He scratched his head. "Which city are we surrounding?
Are you stupid?" Jiang Quan, who had come out alongside him, said, "It's Yangzhou, of course.
Zhao Jia's mind couldn't quite wrap itself around it, he couldn't help but mutter, "Aren't we here to reinforce Yangzhou?"
Jiang Quan snorted, "We don't even know what the attitude in Yangzhou is yet. They might even take us for enemies; if that happens, we'll have to deal with them as well."
Zhu Ci nodded at Jiang Quan with satisfaction. It made sense that he liked to keep Jiang Quan by his side; after all, among those youngsters, he was the second smartest, the smartest was Xi Zhenliu.
It was a pity that Xi Zhenliu was still too young to be brought along. In another ten years or so, when he is of age, he should be able to take over the mantle.
However, Jiang Quan had some points he couldn't understand, so he asked, "Young Master, even if someone takes over, what if the local gentry refuse to cooperate?"
Zhu Ci said unhurriedly, "It's not their place to refuse cooperation."
He has already sent orders to Li Cheng, stating that the people sent over only need to do one thing: clarify land ownership, then distribute it to the common people.
Simply put, it was a reshuffle. If they didn't cooperate? Those who didn't cooperate would first be thrown into the Heavenly Prison, then their illegal activities would be investigated.
To be honest, for anyone with even a bit of status or wealth, committing a crime is as easy as drinking water; they can be dealt with without even needing to slap any labels on them.
In this situation, one could actually seize control of the local discourse very quickly. After all, ordinary people make up the majority; as long as they are willing to let them speak, the outcry they generate would be enough to drown those local gentry and officials.
The only flaw was that he did not actually have enough men under his command; to clarify land ownership, one had to be literate and capable of arithmetic.
Fortunately, there were always some opportunistic families in the area who were quite clever; once they realized they couldn't win, they would simply submit, which effectively supplemented the manpower.
Zhu Ci occupied territory as he traveled, he couldn't help but write a letter to him, posing a soul-searching question: "Weren't you supposed to be going to provide reinforcements?!"
Zhu Ci had brought an army, if manpower was insufficient, he would certainly have to requisition it from the prefectural office. Currently, basically anyone who could read a few words could be sent out to work. Zhu Ci found that the subordinates working alongside him were different every single day; just as he had almost finished the adjustment period with one group, the personnel would be changed again. It was simply unbearable.
After receiving the letter, Zhu Ci stuffed it directly into his marching pack without a second thought; he simply didn't have the time to deal with it.
According to the scouts, the Qing Army's encampment was ten li ahead, their patrol range was about five li.