Anti-Qing: Starting from the Reincarnation of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 120 Root Causes and Triggers
As soon as Zhu Jing'an said this, the soldiers in the forward battalion in front of him asked excitedly.

"Grand Governor, is this true?"

"Is the imperial court really going to allocate land to us?"

"Is it the land of Guangzhou Prefecture? How much can you give us?"

"..."

A group of people started asking questions, and their eyes were full of expectations.

Zhu Jing'an cleared his throat and signaled everyone to be silent.

After everyone calmed down, he continued.

"of course it's true!"

"The rules here in the Ming Dynasty are that military merit is divided into fields. As long as you can achieve military merit on the battlefield, you will get land, gold and silver rewards, a house for your mother-in-law, and you will get promotion and wealth."

"Now all the houses in the inner city of Guangzhou are empty. As long as you can make military achievements, it's up to you to pick one."

Although the most important combat force in the Ming army now is the elite of the headquarters, Zhu Jing'an also attaches great importance to the forward battalion.

After all, the strength of the Ming Army headquarters was limited. Whether it was used as cannon fodder on the battlefield or dispersed to guard local areas, the strength was quite stretched.

If the troops cannot be used properly, the Ming Dynasty's development will be slowed down because it cannot keep up with the expansion of the army.

For Zhu Jing'an, this is unacceptable.

For the current Ming Dynasty, they must race against time and expand their strength as much as possible before the Manchus and Qing Dynasties react and attack the territory with large numbers of troops.

Therefore, whether the surrender of troops can be used well is a very important matter for the current Ming Dynasty.

However, if you want to surrender your troops and sacrifice your life, you can't just force them with a knife.

Human nerves are like a monkey rubber band. If you pull it blindly, it will cause people to collapse.

No one really knows what a group of big-headed soldiers with sword handles will do after their emotions break down.

After all, even when the Manchu Qing Dynasty used the green battalion soldiers, they would not only use severe punishments but also let the green battalions loot and make money after breaking the city.

As the king of the Han Dynasty, Ming Dynasty must not allow the army to loot.

In this case, the only way is to divide the fields.

Anyway, after confiscating the flag fields of the Eight Banners in Guangzhou, Zhu Jing'an's most indispensable thing was land.

Naturally, he didn't mind giving a group to the descendants of the forward battalion as well!
If the Guangzhou Prefecture's hundreds of thousands of acres of land could be used to win over these tens of thousands of surrendered soldiers, they could be made to work wholeheartedly for the Ming Dynasty.

Then Ming Dynasty has completely established a foothold in Guangdong!

Tens of thousands of men wielding knives are really risking their lives. Who can not be afraid?
After hearing Zhu Jing'an's personal promise, the soldiers of the forward battalion couldn't help but cheer.

"Hooray! Hooray!"

"Long live the Ming Dynasty! Long live the Governor!"

"Drive out the Tartars, restore China, fight against the Qing Dynasty and restore the Ming Dynasty, and divide the fields!"

"..."

Zhu Jing'an's promise to divide the fields directly ignited the morale of the forward battalion.

Let their morale and military spirit boil immediately!

When Zhu Jing'an saw this scene, a smile appeared on his face involuntarily.

Later, Zhu Jing'an inspected the military camp of Qianfeng Battalion and repeatedly made promises to the soldiers of Qianfeng Battalion to allocate fields and land.

There was cheering everywhere in the entire forward camp.

No Chinese in this era can refuse the temptation of land.

……

Guangzhou City, the Governor's Mansion!

Zhu Jing'an finished his inspection of the forward camp and returned to his residence.

As soon as he sat down and drank a few cups of tea, Zhang Jin came to him and said.

"Grand Governor, the chief treasurers of the Thirteenth Bank have arrived and are now waiting for you to receive them in the flower hall."

Zhu Jing'an nodded slightly.

"How long have they been here?"

Zhang Jin spoke.

"It's been an hour."

Zhu Jing'an nodded again and asked.

"Are you impatient?"

Zhang Jin shook his head.

"Those Thirteen Businessmen are very shrewd. They all look very honest and they definitely don't dare to show impatience."

Zhu Jing'an took the wet towel handed over by the maid at the side, wiped his face with the wet towel, threw the towel into the copper basin, and said.

"Let's go! Lead the way."

"I would like to have a good meeting with the famous leader of the Thirteen Guilds."

Zhang Jin nodded and began to lead the way for Zhu Jing'an, all the way to the flower hall.

……

The Dudu's Mansion, the Flower Hall!
Pan Zhenchen, Wu Guoying and other heads of thirteen guilds and shopkeepers were sitting at the square tables for entertaining guests, waiting for Zhu Jing'an to receive them.

On the table beside them, there was a pot of tea and fruit refreshments.

Although Zhu Jing'an intended to show off to them, he still had to treat guests well.

But it was very obvious that no one touched the tea and refreshments on the table.

As for the reason, it is certainly not because they are afraid of being poisoned.

If Zhu Jing'an wanted to kill them, he could just ransack their homes. There was no need to poison them and do all the bells and whistles.

Of course they won't worry about this.

The reason why they didn't touch the tea and refreshments was because they were afraid that after eating and drinking too much, they would be unable to resist going to the toilet when they met Zhu Jing'an later.

Although it is natural for people to have three urgent needs, it is somewhat rude.

An hour passed in a blink of an eye, and the leaders of the Thirteenth Group were all impatient to wait.

What's even more painful is that it's just impatience, they don't dare to show it, they can only hold it in.

This is even more uncomfortable!

Just when everyone was getting impatient, there was a sound of footsteps outside.

Immediately afterwards, Zhu Jing'an arrived before he arrived.

"Hahaha, I am busy with military affairs. I have just returned from an inspection outside the city. I'm sorry to keep you waiting for so long!"

While talking, Zhu Jing'an strode into the flower hall.

Seeing this, the leaders of the thirteen groups stood up and saluted.

"The common people pay homage to the Governor and wish him long military success, good fortune, longevity and good health."

"You're welcome, Grand Governor. It's us who took the initiative to ask for an audience with you. We should have waited a moment."

"..."

Zhu Jing'an strode to the main seat and sat down, then waved his hand very casually and said.

"Okay, okay, you don't have to be polite, just get up!"

After everyone got up from the ground and took their seats, Zhu Jing'an continued.

"Let's talk about it. Why did you donate so much military resources just to see the governor?"

Of course Zhu Jing'an knew why Shisan Xing was willing to pay such a high price and come to see him.

However, he knew everything in his heart, but on the surface he still had to pretend not to know and control his posture.The leaders of the Thirteenth Group exchanged glances for a while, and finally Pan Zhenchen, the leader, stood up and said.

"Information to the Grand Governor, the common people are here to seek an audience with the Grand Governor, just to ask for a favor from the Grand Governor and to forgive our sins."

When Zhu Jing'an heard this, he laughed and pretended to be confused.

"Then what sins do you have that require my forgiveness?"

Pan Zhenchen took a deep breath, looked ashamed, and spoke.

"When we return to the Governor-General, in order to manage the maritime trade business in Guangzhou, we cling to the Eight Banners dignitaries and become lackeys of the Qing court. We have amassed a lot of money for the Manchu Qing Dynasty."

"But please forgive me for our sins and give me a way to survive for the sake of the military supplies we donated."

To a certain extent, the Thirteen Lines were the Manchu imperial merchants in the south.

Since the Ming Dynasty wanted to rebel against the Qing Dynasty and restore the Ming Dynasty, after the Ming Dynasty conquered Guangzhou, the Qing imperial merchants like the Thirteenth Line would definitely have their families confiscated and exterminated.

Who told them to stand in line and clear up the Qing Dynasty?

This is also the fundamental reason why the Thirteenth Line is afraid of the Ming Dynasty's liquidation.

Zhu Jing'an sent troops to blockade the Thirteenth Group, which was actually the fuse that triggered the fear in their hearts.

When Zhu Jing'an heard this, the smile on his face disappeared and was replaced by a cold look.

He spoke immediately.

"It seems you are not confused either!"

"In this case, then you all should explain to yourselves how much money and support you have given to the Qing court in these years?"

As soon as Zhu Jing'an said this, several leaders of the Thirteenth Group looked at each other, but in the end no one dared to speak.

Everyone lowered their heads and became silent.

Seeing this, Zhu Jing'an didn't have the consciousness to show mercy to others, so he just continued.

"Haha, what? No one dares to say? Or are there already too many to count and you don't even know?"

While saying this, Zhu Jing'an tapped his fingers lightly on the table, making a clicking sound.

This originally ordinary behavior caused huge psychological pressure on the heads of the Thirteen Lines.

They didn't dare to sit anymore, and stood up from the ground one after another, then knelt down in the flower hall and kowtowed vigorously to Zhu Jing'an. Their heads hit the ground, making a continuous thumping sound.

"Please forgive our sins, Grand Governor!"

"I also ask the Grand Governor to give me a chance. I am willing to atone for my sins."

"We and the Thirteenth Group are willing to donate military resources to the Ming Dynasty..."

These leaders of the Thirteen Guilds, who stood high in front of ordinary people, were all trembling with fear in front of Zhu Jing'an.

When Zhu Jing'an heard this, his tense expression improved significantly.

Hehe said with a smile.

"For the sake of your contribution to our army, I will give you a chance to make a difference."

As soon as Zhu Jing'an said this, everyone in front of him kowtowed and thanked him.

"We are willing to give up our merits and ask for the governor's instructions."

"Expelling the Tartars, fighting the Qing Dynasty and restoring the Ming Dynasty is the common vision of the Han people all over the world. We are willing to follow the hard work of dogs and horses."

"We are willing to dedicate all our family property to the great cause of resisting the Qing Dynasty and restoring the Ming Dynasty..."

Zhu Jing'an nodded slightly, and then spoke directly.

"Haha, what do I want with your family property?"

"I don't have the management skills you have. Even if I take your property, it's just dead money. Once it's spent, it's gone."

"Your family property must be kept in your own hands, so that it can be turned into living money that can make money. I still have such foresight."

Zhu Jing'an's words made them all feel relieved.

Looking at the current situation, not only have their lives been saved, but their money will most likely be saved as well.

Judging from Zhu Jing'an's tone, he should be planning to take their shares and ask them to pay for them every year to ensure their safety.

No matter what, they had to offer it to the Eight Banners of Guangzhou and the nobles in the capital.

To whom is it not given?

Zhu Jing'an squinted his eyes, raised three fingers, and said.

"three things!"

"The governor only tells you three things. If you do these three things well, you will be exposed as a helper of the tigers in helping the Manchu Tatars to steal people's wealth and anointing."

"If you don't do it well, haha..."

Haha, Zhu Jing'an didn't say the following content, but the veterans of Thirteen Lines are all smart people, and Zhu Jing'an believed that they could understand the subtext of his words.

It’s nothing more than the nine tribes having fun!

A group of people said again with fear.

"I'll wait to understand!"

Zhu Jing'an nodded slightly, and then spoke about his requirements, or conditions.

"First, the dark shares that your Thirteenth Bank gave to the Manchu dignitaries in the past were transferred to the Ming Dynasty, but they were no longer collected in the form of dark shares, but instead were collected in the form of commercial taxes and customs duties."

In fact, to a certain extent, it is better to use dark stocks to gain benefits from Thirteen Lines.

Compared with the imperial yamen that levied commercial taxes and customs duties, there were fewer middlemen to make the difference.

However, compared to temporary gains, Zhu Jing'an wanted to use this to open up a hole in the collection of commercial taxes and customs duties.

For many things, everything is difficult at the beginning. Once you get started and have a precedent, it will be much less difficult to follow up later.

The leaders of the Thirteen Groups looked at each other, as if there was something profound in their eyes. They seemed to know what the Grand Governor in front of them wanted to do.

Zhu Jing'an's tone remained unchanged and he continued to add.

"In order to supervise that the Thirteenth Bank will not falsify its accounts, the governor will send personnel to serve as the general merchant of the Thirteenth Bank to supervise your actions."

"Do you have any objections?"

As the candidate responsible for supervising the Thirteenth Industry, Zhu Jing'an preferred Huang Quan, an imperial merchant who had long been bound to the Ming Dynasty.

Several people looked at each other and bowed in response.

This kind of thing is normal. When they made money for the Manchu Qing Dynasty before, those nobles from the Manchu Qing Dynasty would also put people in the Thirteenth Line to supervise.

But what surprised them was what Zhu Jing'an said next.

"If your annual tax payment reaches a certain amount, I can recommend your children to be officials."

"The more taxes you pay, the higher your official rank will be!"

"Moreover, there is a real shortage. This governor is not as stingy as the Manchus, who reward officials only with official titles and not with real shortages."

This is the sweet date that Zhu Jing'an gave to Thirteen Lines after wielding the stick.

Zhu Jing'an has always understood the truth that people cannot just give without getting anything in return.

This kind of relationship doesn't last long!

Now Zhu Jing'an's butcher's knife is still hanging on Shisanxing's neck. They have to do whatever they are told, and they dare not say even a word "no".

But as time went by, Zhu Jing'an's threats gradually lost their effect, but here in Thirteen Lines, he still only asked for things without giving anything in return.

Resentment will breed in that person's heart, although the resentment of Thirteen Lines is not worth mentioning to Zhu Jing'an.

But it’s not a good thing after all!
Also, the Ming Dynasty is now in a state of war, and for war, the most important thing, apart from the army, is money and food.

As long as he could get enough money and food to support the Ming Dynasty's war, Zhu Jing'an would not be stingy about selling his official position.

Well, it’s really lacking!

It just so happened that Ming Dynasty was short of not only money and food, but also officials.

(End of this chapter)