Chapter 526: The Jade Seal of the Heirloom Country Reappears!

Sure enough, under the fierce pursuit of the Tiger Ben Army, the thieves of Wulian Mountain, by October, most of the thieves in Wulian Mountain, had been eliminated. The few remaining horse thieves were also targeted by the various bandit squads of the Tiger Ben Army, and it was only a matter of time before the entire army was wiped out. Zhang Zhun estimated that if there was no accident, by the end of the year, all the bandits in Wulian Mountain would definitely be eliminated.

The thieves of Wulian Mountain must not have expected that the Tiger Ben Army would be so ruthless, and they would desperately follow behind them. The Tiger Army is like kraft candy, as long as it is stained, it will not want to get rid of it. If they are discovered by the small detachment of the Tiger Army, unless they have extremely clever skills and can successfully get rid of the pursuit of the Tiger Army, otherwise, what awaits them will inevitably be all killed.

Dugu Hunt himself is a horse thief in Wulian Mountain, and he is naturally quite familiar with his former accomplices. With his guidance, the Tiger Ben Army wants to clean up these horse thieves, which is naturally twice the result with half the effort. At the same time, the Tiger Army also used a large number of horse thieves who had taken refuge as guides, allowing them to take them to find other horse thieves. For these horse thieves who have taken refuge in them, as long as they make meritorious contributions, they can be pardoned from their previous sins and can also get rewards, they are naturally quite positive.

The Tiger Ben Army also vigorously promoted the methods used in Dazeshan in Pingdu Prefecture before, and actively encouraged cannibalism among horse thieves. According to the previous practice, anyone who brought the head of an accomplice or a horse could be pardoned. If you bring more heads of your allies, or if you bring more horses, you can get silver on the spot. If you wish, you can also join the Tiger Army.

Such measures caused a serious split within the horse thieves, and everyone was suspicious of each other, wary of each other, and eventually turned into a scattered sand. Once organization and discipline are lost, no matter how many horse thieves there are, they will only be hunted down. Many horse thieves also died at the hands of their own people, and became the tools of their companions to invite merit. In September alone, the Tiger Army received the heads of more than 300 horse thieves, as well as more than 230 war horses. Most of the horses owned by the horse thieves have now become the property of the Tiger Army.

Under the heavy pressure of the Tiger Army, many horse thieves who were not very guilty of their own crimes raised their hands to surrender and move towards a new life. And those guilty horse thieves, even if they fled to the north of Fulai Mountain, Ma'er Mountain, Changshan and other mountainous areas, they were still followed and killed by the Tiger Ben Army detachment in hot pursuit. For a time, the entire Wulian Mountain, the wind was loud, the grass and trees were all soldiers, and the lucky horse thieves fled to Jinan Mansion and other places, and they no longer dared to stay in Qingzhou Mansion.

"Awesome!"

"Ability!"

"Great!"

Speaking of the Tiger Army's ability to suppress bandits, all the people gave a thumbs up.

The bandits in Wulian Mountain have been attacking Andongwei for many years, and the officers and soldiers have always had no way to deal with them before. Now, it took less than a month for the Tiger Ben Army to make the bandits in Wulian Mountain disappear. Such combat effectiveness is really admirable. What a match for the Tartars! I don't know how many times stronger than the official army!

Liu Hang, as the captain of the fire brigade, came to Junan County again. After getting accurate data, Liu Hang quickly launched a propaganda campaign in Antonwei. As long as they are willing to relocate to Junan County, everyone can get ten acres of land and can also be exempted from tax for three years. This kind of treatment is still very attractive. Without the threat of thieves from Wulian Mountain, Junan County is also safe. As a result, one after another, military households began to move from Andongwei to Junan County.

Under Liu Hang's organization and under the protection of the Tiger Benjun, these newly relocated people soon opened up tens of thousands of acres of cultivated land in Junan County, and seized the time to sow winter wheat and peanuts and other crops. In addition, crops such as sweet potatoes, corn, and potatoes are also sown in large quantities in the surrounding mountains. Anton Wei's craftsmen were also organized to dig wells, build water conservancy, and build houses. Liu Hang's preliminary plan is that Junan County can live about 30,000 people.

During the construction of Junan County, there was a small episode about wild boars. Due to the rampant wild boars in Junan County, the Tiger Ben Army vigorously exterminated the wild boars while exterminating the thieves. In the past, ordinary firecrackers had little damage to wild boars, and the damage of arrowheads was also very low. Hunters can only use primitive tools such as traps to catch wild boars, which is very inefficient, resulting in wild boars running rampant around Junan County. These herds of wild boars appear in large numbers, destroying crops and farmland. Ordinary thieves, when they encounter these fierce wild boars, do not dare to collide head-on.

However, the Tiger Army is different. The Mini bullets fired by the Tiger Hammer can effectively knock the boar to the ground. Generally speaking, as long as it hits the vital point, a single Mini bullet can kill a wild boar. If you don't hit the vital point, just three or four Mini bullets can also make the wild boar lie on the ground. The Tiger Hammer shoots far and wide, and can successfully kill the wild boar before it can make a fierce counterattack. Therefore, every time the Tiger Ben army goes out, a large number of wild boars have to be brought back.

There are so many wild boar meat that the tiger army can't eat it all, so it is distributed to the new residents of Junan County for free as daily meat to supplement nutrition. The surplus wild boar was also sent back to Andong City for the people there to try. The two major specialties of Wulian County, wild boar and thieves, gradually became extinct under the vigorous blows of the Tiger Ben Army. According to incomplete statistics, in September alone, the Tiger Army killed five or six hundred wild boars.

After crossing over to the Ming Dynasty, Zhang Zhun, who had not eaten wild boar, had eaten enough this time. Frying, grilling, stewing, steaming, stewing, all kinds of ways have been tried. In the future, there are people everywhere, and it is impossible for there to be so many wild boars, and this time in Wulian Mountain, it is definitely an eye-opener. In addition to wild boars, other wild animals in Wulian Mountain are also very rich, such as yellow dogs, foxes, wild pheasants, etc., which have become the favorite of the soldiers of the Tiger Ben Army.

However, at this critical time, Zhang Zhun had to leave Junan County. Because, at the end of September, the Maoyan Division sent a top-secret piece of information. The information was sent by Rainbow Six, and there was a lot of content. One of the most important contents is that the Tartars are about to launch their third invasion!

Rainbow No. 6 is Ma Yi, he lurked in Shenyang, and the information he sent out at the risk of death is not trivial. Ma Yi said in the intelligence that in order to rescue the accomplices of Dengzhou City, and also to take revenge on the Ming Kingdom, the Tartars are intensively planning to enter the army for the third time. In the past month, the atmosphere of preparation for war in Shenyang has been very strong. A large number of war materials, as well as horses, cattle and sheep, were gathered in the direction of Shenyang from all sides.

In the recent period, the envoys of the Tartars have been constantly traveling back and forth between Shenyang and the Mongolian tribes. The princes of several major Mongolian tribes have recently visited Shenyang. The Tartars also announced several Mongol marriages at the same time. Huang Taiji is also preparing to canonize Lin Dan Khan's widow Batma as a side blessing, and at the same time, there is also a beauty Hai Lanzhu of the Horqin tribe who is canonized as a side blessing. The Horqin tribe is an important ally of the Tartars, and the canonization of Hailanzhu has made the relationship between the Horqin tribe and the Tartars closer. And this Horqin tribe settlement is the only way for every Tartar to enter the Kou.

In addition, someone from North Korea also came to Shenyang, and it was a prince named Li Ding. This man was the younger brother of King Yi of Joseon. The purpose of his arrival is obviously self-evident, and it must be for the safety of the rear of the Tartars themselves. There is information that the Korean servant army may help the Tatars to defend some areas of Liaodong, but Ma Yi has no evidence to be sure.

Ma Yi mentioned in the intelligence that the scale of the Tartars' third entry into the Kou must be greater than the previous two times. On the previous two occasions, the Tartars were purely for looting. Whether you can grab it or how much you can grab it, there is no fixed statement. But this time, the Tartars' entry into the prison is of a vengeful nature. Many slave chiefs clamored for revenge on the Ming Kingdom in public or semi-public, and they wanted to raze the northern part of the Ming Kingdom to the ground and wash it in blood.

According to Ma Yi's estimates, the number of troops dispatched by the Tartars was at least more than 50,000. Among them, the number of Mongol cavalry may increase significantly. Because, this year, the Tartars successfully surrendered to the Mongol tribes, which brought a great boost to the Tartars. After the death of Lin Dan Khan, the Mongolian tribes did not have a good relationship with the Ming State. Therefore, following behind the Tartars and taking revenge on the Ming State was also something that the Mongol cavalry was willing to accept.

The large increase in the number of Mongol cavalry meant that after entering the hinterland of the Ming Kingdom, the Tartars could attack larger, more and farther. As long as there were enough troops to cover the flanks, the main force of the Tartar cavalry, penetrating deep into Shandong, would not be a problem at all. At that time, the entire Beizhili, the northern part of Shanxi, and the western part of Shandong may become battlefields. Ma Yi speculated that even if the Tartars could not directly fight with the Tiger Ben Army, it was very likely that they would use force the Ming court to put pressure on Zhang Zhun by force.

The atmosphere of the Tiger Ben Army suddenly became tense.

At the same time, news also came from the Jiangnan side that the Yangzhou Chamber of Commerce had postponed. The date has been changed to March next year. The lonely sail is far away and the blue sky is endless, and the fireworks go down to Yangzhou in March. It is indeed a good choice to hold a chamber of commerce in Yangzhou in March. Yangzhou in March is the most beautiful time of the year. Large businesses traveling to and from Yangzhou can enjoy the spring color of Yangzhou more comfortably.

However, as long as anyone with a discerning eye knows, the rescheduling of the Yangzhou Chamber of Commerce must be for a reason. The reason for the postponement of the Yangzhou Chamber of Commerce is unknown to the outside world, but Zhang Zhun is very clear. It's nothing more than a big businessman in Jiangnan, and there are serious differences about his arrival Zhang Zhun. Until this disagreement is resolved, the Yangzhou Chamber of Commerce may continue to postpone.

Yes, Zhang Zhun is indeed able to fight, and he can indeed give them a sense of security. If the Tartars have the intention of going south, Zhang Zhun can block them and protect the safety of Jiangnan. However, Zhang Zhun is also very destructive. Zhang Zhun implemented many policies, and the big businessmen and big landlords in Jiangnan were very jealous. In particular, the "Juntian Order" really violated the rights and interests of too many large families. It can even be said that the fear of the big landlords in Jiangnan for Juntian Ling is not under the Tartar at all.

The powerful landlords in the south of the Yangtze River have the most land, with hundreds of thousands of acres. Generally, large families have tens of thousands of acres of land. If the land does not exceed 10,000 acres, it is not embarrassing to tell people that they have a wide range of fertile land. To put it mildly, there is no so-called yeoman peasants in Jiangnan at all, and all of them are economies with the characteristics of large landlords. Once the "Juntian Order" was implemented in Jiangnan, these people would inevitably resist with the strongest posture.

These large landowners vigorously cultivated cash crops, which was quite a bit of a manor economy. For example, Suzhou Changshu Tan Xiao's business mode is quite typical. He's run a big business and he's been really successful. He hired more than 100 villagers to work for him, and he rented out part of the land and hired most of the land to be operated by workers.

Judging from his tens of thousands of land, the number of hired workers required for reclamation, planting, and management is very large. Most of the products in Tan Xiaozhuang's fields are put on the market, and the use of space is very clever and reasonable. It can be said that this is a three-dimensional farm for the purpose of commercial production.

There was also Pan Yunduan in the Wanli period, and among the 1 or 2,000 acres of land owned by his grange, a considerable part of it was operated by employees. The varieties of crops planted are also diverse, including rice, wheat, beans, rapeseed, cotton, vegetables, as well as watermelon, jujube, peach, persimmon, cherry, orange, plum, plum, fragrant round and other fruits, wood, osmanthus, plum blossom, peony, rose, bamboo, cypress, pine, holly, juniper, palm and other flowers and trees. In addition to self-use, some of the products of the Grange are also put on the market. It is also a typical farm-style operation.

These estates were based on a large amount of land. The manor with the smallest area has thousands of acres, and the large manor has even tens of thousands of acres. It can be said that such a manor economy is actually the dominant economy in Jiangnan. The people in Jiangnan are already accustomed to such an economic model, and Zhang Zhun wants to overthrow it all at once, but of course they will not do it.

In addition, the Donglin Party is also a big constraint. Most of the members of the Donglin Party own a large amount of land. For example, Ye Xianggao's family owns more than 100,000 acres of fertile land and a family property of no less than one million taels of silver. If Zhang Zhun implements the Juntian Order, Ye Xianggao is afraid that he will jump out of the grave and fight with Zhang Zhun. The same is true of Qian Qianyi's family, which also owns hundreds of thousands of acres of land.

It is conceivable how difficult it is for Zhang Zhun to implement the Juntian Order in Jiangnan. The biggest characteristic of the scholars and gentry of the Ming Dynasty was that they only cared about their own interests and disregarded the interests of the country. As long as their own interests are not violated, it will not be a problem to surrender Li Zicheng and Tartar. However, when their own interests are violated, they must rise up and resist. Behind the massacre, there is actually a deep conflict of interest.

At the beginning, the Donglin Party still had its own political ideas, which were relatively popular with the people, but later, it completely fell into the whirlpool of struggle for power and profit, purely fighting for the sake of struggle, and opposing for the sake of opposition. They tried their best to instigate Chongzhen to increase his salary, forcing the poor people to live in poverty, sparks everywhere, and they were sitting on millions or even tens of millions of family assets, but they did not pull out a dime.

In the end, these guys, who only cared about their own interests, were buried under the butcher's knife of the Tartars with the Ming Dynasty...... Well, it's wrong, many Donglin Party members later took refuge in the Tartars. Qian Qianyi is one of the most obvious examples. When people in later generations talk about the Donglin Party, it will stink on the street. If there was no such garbage, Chongzhen would not have hanged himself on the coal mountain.

It's easy to please God, and it's hard to send God, and the merchants and landlords in Jiangnan don't want to easily let Zhang Zhun into it. Zhang Zhun blocked the westward advance of the Tartars in Huangxian County, and also trapped the Tartars in Dengzhou City, and Jiangnan became safe again for the time being. As a result, the previous tension and sense of urgency disappeared for the time being. Since the Tartars can't come to Jiangnan, then Zhang Zhun's role is not big. The people of the Donglin Party naturally did not want Zhang Zhun to continue to meddle in the affairs of Jiangnan.

"Cross the river and tear down the bridge!"

"Draw the board across the bridge!"

"Unload the mill and kill the donkey!"

Shen Lingfei angrily used three words in her letter to Zhang Zhun to describe the practices of major merchants in Jiangnan. She was so angry. She is ready for everything, just waiting for the scenery to go to Yangzhou to participate in the Chamber of Commerce. Unexpectedly, suddenly, the Yangzhou Chamber of Commerce actually rescheduled, and moreover, I heard a lot of news that was unfavorable to Zhang Zhun.

"The complaint is too strong to prevent the intestines from breaking, and the scenery should be long-term."

In his reply to Shen Lingfei, Zhang Zhun wrote casually.

At the beginning of October, Zhang Zhun returned to Fushan City.

Now Fushan City is already very prosperous, full of dense shops, and crowds of people coming and going. The road from Heilong Bay to Fushan City, all kinds of trolleys, a large number of porters, you come and go, hard to carry goods. The 30 berths in Heilong Bay are all full of merchant ships from the south of the Yangtze River, and the berths are no longer available, and there is a need for further expansion.

Especially after the Huangxian War, a large number of people moved to Laizhou Prefecture, especially to the area of Fushan City, which greatly enriched the population density of Fushan City. Many large families buy a piece of land here, and first occupy a foothold. In case the Tartars are raging in the future, or the Shaanxi rebels are raging, they can be guaranteed safety here. When it comes to fighting, the Tiger Army should be the strongest.

In Ziyuan, Zhang Zhun didn't see Shen Lingfei, saying that she had already negotiated business with someone. The eyes are high and the hands are low, well, no, it is the eldest lady of the Shen family who is above the top, and she is finally willing to move. This time, she led the fleet to North Korea. Oddly enough, it was a local businessman who invited her to North Korea.

After greeting the girls of Ziyuan, Zhang Zhun and Liu Ru came to the study. Brigadier Zhang handed Ma Yi's information to Liu Rushi, then sat down by himself and quickly skimmed through all the intelligence materials that Liu Rushi had sorted out. He is often out of the house, and only urgent information will be delivered at any time. The general information was sent to Ziyuan and handed over to Liu Ru is responsible for processing.

What is more eye-catching in these intelligence materials is that at the end of August, the imperial court issued an edict ordering Lu Xiangsheng to serve as the prime minister of the five provinces, and cooperate with Hong Chengchou to be responsible for the suppression of bandits in the southeast and northwest respectively. This information reveals two pieces of information. First, Lu Xiangsheng began to enter Chongzhen's eyes and was appreciated and reused. Second, the court began to make mistakes again.

In the past, the imperial court used Chen Qiyu as the prime minister, coordinated and commanded the Ming army, and encircled and suppressed the rebellious army in Shaanxi, and the results were remarkable. A big reason for this is that all the officers and men are headed by Chen Qiyu, who can mediate in the middle, prevent omissions in the affairs of suppressing bandits, tightly weave a big net, and finally force the Shaanxi rebels into the Carriage Gorge.

However, now, Lu Xiangsheng and Hong Chengchou are on an equal footing, one is in charge of the southeast and the other is in charge of the northwest, and the coordination between them is definitely not as integrated as Chen Qiyu alone. As long as there is the slightest problem in the cooperation between the two sides, the Shaanxi rebel army will be able to move forward and retreat freely. In doing so, the imperial court is simply helping the rebellious army in Shaanxi. To paraphrase the popular saying of later generations, the Shaanxi rebels must have placed undercover agents at the top of the imperial court.

After reading this information, Zhang Zhun said to himself: "The imperial court likes to play table tennis too much. ”

Liu Ru said with some doubts: "Master, what is table tennis?" ”

Zhang Zhun smiled and said casually: "The juju in your hand means to shirk each other's responsibilities." Lu Xiangsheng was full of enthusiasm, rushed and struck, and indeed achieved some results. However, his overall view needs to be improved. He is good at fighting in front of the battle, not good at strategizing. On the contrary, Hong Chengchou has a sense of the overall situation and is good at strategizing, but he does not have the courage of Lu Xiangsheng to rush into battle. If there is one person above the two, the two should coordinate with each other and cooperate with each other, and maybe they can play to the strengths of the two. Or with Hong Chengchou as the positive and Lu Xiangsheng as the deputy, they can also give full play to the strengths of the two. However, if the court wants the two to sit on an equal footing, there will definitely be a problem. ”

Liu Ru frowned and said, "In this way, the errand of suppressing bandits is going to fail again?" ”

Zhang Zhun said affirmatively: "It is bound to fail!" ”

Liu Ru was silent for a moment, and then staggered the topic and said, "The jade seal of the country actually fell into the hands of the Tartars?" ”

Zhang Zhun nodded and said slowly: "Tartar should announce this matter in the near future." ”

Liu Ru frowned and said: "Ordered by the sky, both longevity and Yongchang, the jade seal of the country was lost in the hands of Emperor Yuan Shun. Later, Lin Dan Khan did not say that he would inherit this thing. Why did the Tartars come out with a heirloom jade seal now? Could it be that Lin Dan Khan himself didn't know about the existence of the jade seal of the country, and the Tartar could snatch it from his descendants? ”

Zhang Zhun said with a gloomy face: "The ambition of the Tartar is not small! ”

Liu Ru frowned and said, "Are you worried that Tartar is Cai Jing, Zhang Dian and the like?" ”

Zhang Zhun said unabashedly: "Fan Wencheng is Cai Jing." ”

Liu Ru's beautiful eyebrows rose slightly, and she was silent.

The jade seal has always been the focus of folklore. This treasure, which has been handed down since the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, has always been a symbol of power. The founding emperors of all dynasties, after seizing power, must obtain the jade seal of the country in order to prove their true dragon identity. Otherwise, some people will say that he is the "tabula rasa emperor".

In the mouths of the common people in the market, the jade seal of the country has been endowed with too many mythological colors. There are even rumors that if a citizen of Shengdou gets the jade seal of the country, he may encounter a dragon of change. In order to compete for the heirloom jade seal, a lot of lives are often paid as a price. The alternation of the jade seal of the country means that the world is turned upside down and the dynasty is changed.

Of course, with the gradual enlightenment of the people's wisdom, the mythical color of the jade seal is gradually dissipating. In the eyes of discerning people, the jade seal of the country is just a tool, and it does not have much effect. As long as there are enough manpower, material and financial resources, the world will be determined, and the jade seal of the country will be dispensable. Only when everyone is at a loss can the heirloom jade seal play a certain effect.

In fact, the jade seal of the country has disappeared when it was in the five dynasties and ten kingdoms. The reason for the loss of the jade seal of the country has been unknown. Later, the emperor of the Song Dynasty used the jade seal of the country that Cai Jing, Zhang Dian and others did not know where to "find". For this heirloom jade seal that does not know the authenticity, the officials of the Song Dynasty rarely mention it.

After the fall of the Southern Song Dynasty, this so-called heirloom jade seal fell into the hands of the Mongols. By the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the Mongols were driven out of the Central Plains, fled in embarrassment, and the jade seal of the country was nowhere to be found. When Zhu Yuanzhang's army invaded the capital of Yuan, they looted a lot of jade seals of all colors, but there was no jade seal of the country. Therefore, in the final Ming generation, the emperor's hands did not have the jade seal of the country. However, Ming Guo has not been very concerned.

Unexpectedly, this so-called heirloom jade seal, which had disappeared for more than 200 years, actually reappeared, but it still fell into the hands of the Tartars. For the Tartars, this heirloom jade seal is of great use to them. Because, they lack a justifiable reason to openly fight against the Ming Kingdom. Nurhachi's seven hatreds are actually very reluctant, and the people of the Ming Kingdom don't take it seriously at all. However, with the heirloom jade seal, this situation may change to a certain extent.

Liu Ru's eyes flashed, and he said tentatively: "Perhaps, this is a tentative signal released by the Slave Chief Emperor Taiji?" Prove that the Tartars are the destiny of heaven? The Ming Dynasty is running out? ”

Zhang Zhun nodded and said in a deep voice: "Huang Taiji wants to be the emperor." ”

Liu Ru was slightly startled.

After Nurhachi established the Dajin State, he did not claim the title of emperor, but continued to call himself the Great Khan. Therefore, the Dajin Kingdom has not been able to sit on an equal footing with the Ming Kingdom. Until now, in the minds of the people of the Ming Kingdom, Liaodong, or the Dajin Kingdom, is part of the Ming Kingdom. At the very least, it is also the nature of a subject State. The war between the Ming Kingdom and the Dajin Kingdom was only a war within the Ming Kingdom.

However, once Huang Taiji became emperor, it was equivalent to being completely equal to the Ming Kingdom. The war between the Ming Kingdom and the Dajin Kingdom also became a war between countries. Huang Taiji was ambitious, and of course he wanted to be on an equal footing with the Ming State and legitimately wage war with the Ming State.

Liu Ru frowned and said: "Huang Taiji's ambition is so great that he actually tries to be the emperor? ”

Zhang Zhun said slowly: "It's not just as simple as being the emperor, after the Tartars become the emperor, ** will continue to expand, and they will try to enter the Central Plains." ”

Liu Ru said in disbelief: "Tartar is still trying to enter the Central Plains? ”

Zhang Zhun nodded gloomily.

He understood why Liu Ru was surprised. Because, at this moment, whether it is the Ming Kingdom or the Dajin Kingdom, no one believes that the Tartars will eventually enter the Central Plains. In everyone's opinion, every time the Tartars attacked, the purpose was only to loot the population and materials. As long as they grab enough people and supplies, they will retreat and not stay in the Central Plains at all. This is also the reason why the Ming Kingdom is not very nervous about the Tartars. If the Tartars try to enter the Central Plains, Chongzhen will definitely be even more anxious.

After pondering for a moment, Zhang Zhun suddenly asked, "Is the red lady back?" ”

Liu said: "In the back! ”

Zhang Zhun nodded, stood up, and walked to the backyard.