All Heavens and Worlds Modified History System
Chapter 74: Even a Fly Is Small, It's Still Meat
Chapter 74: Even a Fly Is Small, It's Still Meat
Grand Marshal's Office, main hall.
"Grand Commander, I am the commander-in-chief of Jizhen, Zhao Lujiao."
Zhao Lujiao came very calmly and generously.
When he entered the Grand Marshal's Mansion, he was only accompanied by Zhao Twelve, who was leading the horse, and all the servants and soldiers were left outside the mansion.
He knew very well that if the Grand Commander really had any intentions towards him, it would be useless even if he brought three thousand soldiers with him.
Because the commander-in-chief has many more soldiers than him.
"Sit down and have some tea."
Greetings, drinking tea, going through the formalities.
Although he was impatient with these processes, Chen Ran still followed the rules.
Zhao Lujiao calmed down a little and started a conversation, "Grand Commander, do you know why I didn't intercept your troops before?"
"Oh?" Chen Ran raised his eyebrows and hesitated for a moment, "Because I can't beat him?"
"It's because I can't beat him!"
Zhao Lujiao smiled bitterly and said, "The soldiers under the Grand Commander are well-equipped and well-trained, and more importantly, they are determined to fight to the death. In comparison, my soldiers are...
"Just a reminder." Chen Ran kindly reminded, "These are Jizhen's troops, not yours."
"What the Grand Commander said is very true." Zhao Lujiao heard this and smiled bitterly, "My troops were unable to defeat them, so I did not dare to stop them."
If there is anyone in this world who has the deepest understanding of the seemingly complex internal system of the Ming army and can directly find the key points, it must be Chen Ran.
The Ming army was large in scale and had a complex system.
But Chen Ran had already seen through the key point and had been holding on to it.
The key point is full salary.
With the money and food in place, the soldiers fought bravely.
Withholding money and food will lead to three arrows in battle.
The root of everything is actually that simple.
"You know." Seeing Marshal Zhao being so frank, Chen Ran smiled back, "Why am I not afraid of those civil servants shouting that the whole world is rebelling?"
Without waiting for Zhao Lujiao to speak, he simply stated, "Because I know they are reluctant to raise troops."
Maintaining an army requires money and food, but the tradition of the Ming Dynasty is to default, withhold, and suck blood!
There was money and grain in every place, and the homes of the royal family, civil and military nobles had plenty of money and grain.
But they would not use it to raise soldiers, at most they would raise some so-called elite servants.
In the face of a truly powerful situation, what use are a few elite servants?
"What the Grand Commander said is absolutely right." Zhao Lujiao became serious and saluted solemnly. "I am willing to return the military power of Jizhen to the Grand Commander's Office!"
Naturally, he was not impressed by Chen Ran's personal charm and was not willing to serve him.
The real reason was that he could no longer afford to support the troops in Jizhen.
After taking control of the capital, the first possible threat Chen Ran faced was the nearby Ji Town.
To deal with Jizhen, he only did one thing.
That means stopping the payment of food and wages to Jizhen.
In the past, it was common to delay the payment of food and wages, and so things would be delayed.
However, the troops from Jizhen had previously followed Chen Ran to defeat the Jiannu in Liao. At that time, they were not only well fed and well clothed, but also received full food and wages, as well as valuable rewards from Marshal Chen.
After returning to Jizhen, all these things were gone.
At this time, the soldiers in Jizhen were like tigers that had tasted blood. How could they endure it?
When the news from the capital reached Jizhen, the local soldiers did not think of raising the banner of serving the king and rushing to the capital to rescue the emperor.
Their idea was simple, that was to kidnap or kill Zhao Lujiao, and then go to serve Marshal Chen with his head.
He joined Marshal Chen and received a full salary.
Following Marshal Zhao, he was in arrears with food and wages.
Soldiers don't think about complicated things, they only think about what is best for them.
The reason why Zhao Lujiao was willing to come over on his own initiative was because he was no longer able to deal with it.
Either face the siege of the whole town, or raise the banner of serving the king and send troops to attack the capital.
It is impossible to support the king, as no one knows the strength of Chen Ran's troops better than Zhao Lujiao.
Can't beat it, absolutely can't beat it.
Moreover, if a real fight breaks out, the soldiers in Jizhen might turn against their own side in the battle line.
For the simple soldiers, what is the emperor? Can they eat him? If not, of course, the full salary given by General Chen is more delicious~~~
"You should rest in the capital for a few days." Chen Ran picked up the tea bowl. "I will ask the Crown Prince. Oh, it is His Majesty who has given you a new appointment, to lead troops to help Man Gui."
Man Gui was still hunting down Dorgon, and except for the occasional messenger returning with a letter or official document, he had disappeared without a trace.
Zhao Lujiao was puzzled. He didn't expect that he would have the opportunity to lead troops again.
According to common sense, a general like himself who holds military power would either be killed or raised like a pig.
He can lead troops
Zhao Lujiao said goodbye and left, but Chen Ran paced back and forth with a frown.
"I have done so much for the Ming Dynasty, why don't I get any benefits? Isn't what I have done enough?"
He couldn't wait to squeeze out the surplus value of the Ming world and then open up a new mission world to experience a different life.
Of course, what is more important is to rewrite history and get more historical deviation values to live a better life.
There have been a lot of actions in the Ming world recently, but the rewards have not been triggered. This really makes him scratch his head.
A few days later, Chen Ran, who had just returned from the military camp outside the city, followed Liu Youfu's report that something not very serious had happened in the city.
"Grand Commander, the people sent to Wanping County by the army have taken action."
"What happened?" "I was insulted by a clerk."
"Clerk?" Chen Ran, who had experienced many storms, was very calm and said calmly, "Lead the way, go and take a look."
Outside the Wanping County government office, a large number of people gathered to watch the fun.
Seeing a large number of cavalrymen riding towards them, they retreated without any fear.
The changing of the king's flag in the capital had little impact on the common people.
Chen Ran's subordinates were treated well and naturally the military discipline was improved, and there were rarely any harassment of the civilians.
Moreover, because all usury was abolished, the lives of many people actually became much better.
He dismounted from his horse and, surrounded by many armored soldiers, walked into the county government office.
The sound of weeping was deafening in the county government office. A group of old, weak, women and children in mourning clothes lay on the coffin boards and cried loudly.
Seeing a large number of soldiers coming in, he stopped talking in fear.
"Grand Governor!"
The new magistrate, who was tall and strong, blind in one eye and wearing an eye patch, hurried forward to salute.
"Stand up and talk." Chen Ran called him to stand up. "Are you Duan Ping, Duan Lao Er?"
"The Grand Commander still remembers me." Duan Ping shed tears with his one eye and bowed deeply. "I am Duan Lao Er. I followed the Grand Commander when I was in the Santun Camp."
Duan Ping is the second Duan brother and an old man who has followed Chen Ran since the Santunying period in Jizhen.
He was promoted to Qianzong due to his military achievements. During the bloody battle of Hunhe River, he was shot and blinded in one eye by the Jiannu army and retired from the army due to his injury.
The former Wanping County Magistrate spent two days in the East Factory without success, and after vomiting more than 100,000 taels of silver, he was beheaded.
Duan Ping was appointed as the county magistrate because of his military achievements and good grades in night school.
"Go ahead." Walking to the main seat in the lobby and sitting down, Chen Ran asked, "What's going on?"
"Grand Commander." Duan Ping got angry when he heard about this. "I asked for the Yellow Book and the Fish Scale Book, but they refused to give them to me. They also swallowed up the reward money the Grand Commander gave me for buying mice. I was so angry that I killed them all."
After that, he bowed again and said, "Please punish me, Grand Commander. Chop off my head to pay for their lives!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the old, weak, women and children, who were dressed in mourning and carrying the coffin, began to cry again.
Chen Ran frowned. "Explain the situation clearly before crying, otherwise I will be punished for roaring in court."
Make the matter clear and deal with it however you want.
If it was really Duan Ping's fault, he should naturally be held responsible.
When the crying stopped, Chen Ran simply asked, "Where are the Yellow Book and the Fish Scale Book?"
The so-called Yellow Book is actually the household registration book of the Ming Dynasty.
It was made by the imperial court to verify household registration and levy taxes and labor service.
The Yellow Book records household information, including hometown, name, age, number of people, land, property, and assets.
Household registration was determined according to occupation, and was mainly divided into three categories: civilians, military personnel, and craftsmen.
The biggest use of this thing is to collect taxes.
Because it is covered with yellow paper, it is called the Yellow Book.
As for the fish scale book, it is a land registration book.
Houses, mountains, forests, ponds and fields are drawn in order and connected, with the corresponding names marked. This is the general register of private land.
The field is named after its shape which resembles fish scales.
The Yellow Book and the Fish Scale Book together form the basis for the Ming Dynasty to collect taxes.
After all, you need evidence to collect taxes from someone, you can't just say "Your family pays two taels of silver to pay the tax."
No one responded to Chen Ran's question.
The soldiers naturally didn't understand, and no one in the government office who knew the matter was willing to help the commander-in-chief, as that would ruin their own jobs.
"Grand Commander." Liu Youfu stepped forward and said, "Why not call someone from the East Factory?"
Chen Ran waved his hand and walked to the back hall. "Everyone is waiting."
There was no one in the back hall, so he activated the time anchor and returned to the modern world.
After leaving his new home, he took a taxi and headed straight to the library.
There are many relevant books on Ming history, including those introducing the Yellow Book and the Fish Scale Book.
When mentioning these two booklets, we have to mention the clerks.
The officials in the Ming Dynasty were transient. After serving as a local official for a few years, they would be transferred to other places and leave.
But clerks are different. They have been passing on the torch for decades or even hundreds of years, and their descendants have been serving as clerks one after another.
Gradually, the important Yellow Book and Fish Scale Book were completely controlled by the clerks.
The reason for control is because it is profitable.
They colluded with wealthy gentry to help them evade taxes, and placed heavy tax burdens on the common people.
He can get the upper and lower hands and please everyone, and he can even threaten the county magistrate, make deals with him, and so on.
After all, without the Yellow Book and the Fish Scale Book, the county magistrate would not be able to complete the task of collecting taxes.
When assessing local officials in the Ming Dynasty, collecting taxes was the top priority.
Many people in the Ming Dynasty went bankrupt, most of them were harmed by these clerks.
Once the Yellow Book and the Fish Scale Book were handed over, it would mean that the clerks would lose their family inherited benefits and income, so of course they were unwilling to hand them over.
He would rather be chopped to death than not protect the family's source of income.
Closing the information book, Chen Ran thought thoughtfully, "The business scope of the East Factory must be expanded, and these flies cannot be let go!"
(End of this chapter)
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