Unconsciously, the time came to the end of the fifteenth year of Chongzhen, and in a few days it was 1643, the sixteenth year of Chongzhen, and it was less than a year and a half before the Jiashen State Change.

Chongzhen fifteen years, for the Ming Dynasty, can be regarded as a terrible year, from the beginning of the Songshan fall, Hong Chengchou was captured, the Ming Dynasty governor Qiu Minyang, the general soldier Cao Bianjiao, Wang Tingchen and other officials more than 100 people were killed by the Qing army, to the middle of the year the official army and the army around Henan lost one after another, the elite in the pass was lost, and at the end of the year, there was a Qing army into the Kou, Sun Chuanting was defeated into Shaanxi.

This unfavorable news one after another shook the foundation of the Ming Dynasty, and the old empire of more than 200 years finally came to the brink of collapse, and the entire city of Beijing was gloomy.

The Ming Dynasty is like a red sun in the evening, about to sink into endless darkness.

Unlike the lifeless atmosphere of the Ming Dynasty, Runing Yifu is full of vitality and is preparing to welcome the New Year.

Now Runing Mansion is the territory of the second brother Gao, and the second brother naturally hopes that Runing will get better and better, so while the New Year is approaching, with the tradition of cleaning by the people, a cleanup of Runing City has begun.

Although the city management of the Ming Dynasty was already very developed, it was still substandard in the eyes of the second brother, so he asked the soldiers to clean up the garbage in the city with the people, dredge the drainage ditches, and repair the streets to keep the city clean.

The plague that rampant in Henan did not end there, but it was suppressed because the weather became colder, people rarely moved, and the towns were basically in a state of isolation.

The second brother clearly remembers that Li Zicheng's ability to enter Beijing has a lot to do with a great plague.

After the catastrophe, there will be a great plague, and once the weather warms up, the plague will prevail again at any time, so it is actually necessary to clean up the city.

The second brother gave an order, and the soldiers and civilians in the city worked together, and the houses of the people, the corners and corners of the city, were swept everywhere.

After a busy period of time, the potholes in the streets of the city were filled in, the weeds at the foot of the people's houses and courtyard walls were cleared, and the sludge in the ditches was also transported outside the city.

Everyone was busy for three days, and finally swept out a large pile of garbage, and finally made the city look new, and it was already the 25th day of the lunar month.

At this time, the people in the city were posting Spring Festival couplets to prepare for the New Year, but in the palace, the second brother Gao sat in the room with Lu Yifang, Xinghao and others to liquidate the assets of the second brother Gao.

From time to time, the sound of firecrackers outside the yaya came into everyone's ears, but everyone turned a deaf ear, just buried their heads in the account book, fiddling with the abacus.

In the past, the second brother's stall was small, less than 1,000 people, and it was easy to calculate the money and grain in and out, but now the second brother has nearly 10,000 people, and the territory is one province plus a few counties, and the stall is large, and the accounts are a little chaotic.

After Lu Yifang's abacus flicked for a while, he stopped, picked up the account book and looked at it, picked up the pen and changed a few places, then stood up and walked to Gao Yihuan's table, and handed the account to Gao Yihuan, "The general has 9,300 people, including 5,000 soldiers temporarily, 4,000 miscellaneous soldiers, 300 logistics teams, and 14,000 taels of silver to be paid at the end of the year. ”

"The general said that the New Year will give rewards to the soldiers, and the rewards for meritorious soldiers will cost 15,000 taels, and the purchase of horse materials, medicinal materials, refined iron and other military supplies will cost 13,000 taels, and the total of several items will be 42,000 taels."

Lu Yifang pointed to the numbers in the account book and said: "The general has 60,000 taels in Luyi's account, and the property in the treasury of Ruzhou and Chongwang Domain is 360,000 taels in silver, and the total amount of property in the account is 420,000 taels. After the beginning of the year, the treasury shall have a balance of three hundred and seventy-eight thousand taels. ”

There is nothing wrong with the second brother Gao after reading the accounts, but after reading it, he can't help but feel a little emotional, he resold the materials for half a year, and in the end he still didn't have time to grab it in Runing, which made the second brother have a kind of intention to change careers.

In the future, the second brother will need to pay nearly 20,000 taels of military salary every month, but with the windfall of the Chongwang Domain, these silver are not only enough for him to pay, but also barely enough for him to build cities and cannons.

At this time, Gao Xinghao also stopped, walked to the table of the second brother Gao, and handed over the account book, "Second brother, we have 18,000 stone of grain in Luyi, and 14,000 stone in Runing, a total of only 32,000 stone, which is enough for the army, craftsmen, officials, and family members for six months. ”

Gao Yihuan thought about it in his heart, the winter wheat in Luyi and Runing had been planted, and the grain should be able to last until the harvest, but it was really not good, so he asked the horseman to buy a little more grain.

After reading the liquidation results of Qian Liang, the second brother Gao knew that he was still very rich for the time being, and he didn't need to worry about the problem of Qian Liang.

At this time, the second brother closed the account book and said with a smile: "Today is the 25th day of the lunar month, and the New Year will be celebrated in a few days. ”

The liquidation of money and grain is quite simple, but the difficulty is the liquidation of acres and the statistics of the population, and it is estimated that it will be busy for a long time after the beginning of the year.

After the money and grain were settled, the second brother gave everyone a holiday, and everyone dispersed, and the second brother also went to the yard to rest, teasing Liang Yizhang's cub for a while, and had to let the cub call him godfather.

"Second brother, Yicheng is back!" The second brother was playing with the child, and Xinghao, who had just left, turned back again.

In the study, the second brother lifted the kettle and poured a bowl of water, handed it to Gao Yicheng, and then asked, "Yicheng, how is the situation in Shandong?" ”

Gao Yicheng took the water bowl, drank the warm water, and said with some palpitations: "Second brother, I only walked to Juye County on the west side of the Grand Canal and turned back, and I didn't dare to go any further." ”

The second brother lifted the kettle, poured it full for him, and then sat down and waited for Gao Yicheng to continue.

"Second brother, the Tartar soldiers are really powerful, when I went to Juye, I heard that Jinan was beaten down by the Tartars again, and when I walked to the edge of the canal, Jining Prefecture and Yanzhou were also broken by the Tartars, and Shandong was full of Tartar soldiers, and they dared to plunder everywhere in a team of more than ten people, escorting teams of people and livestock, and going in the direction of Linqing and Dongchang."

Gao Yihuan listened to Gao Yicheng's words, and his mood was a little heavy, "Are the main forces of the Tartar soldiers near Linqing now?" ”

"Yes, the Tartars are fighting Linqing and Dongchang, but it is said that there are high-ranking people in Linqing, and there are Liu Zeqing's officers and troops in Dongchang, so the Tartars have not been defeated yet."

Gao Yihuan listened, he was not surprised and a little surprised, as far as he knew, Gao Mingheng should be fighting against the Qing Dynasty in Yizhou, how could he go to Linqing? The second brother frowned slightly, and thought in his heart, "It seems that not only the situation in Henan has changed, but Shandong has also deviated from the track." ”

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(End of chapter)