I am the prince of the Ming Dynasty, I don't give up

Chapter 622: Welcoming King Jing, Waiting for King Jing

"I don't want to get angry, but they have no sympathy for me. In order to maintain the supply of the front line, the people are already complaining, and the gentry are also complaining. I am caught in the middle and am neither a human nor a human. Who knows how difficult it is for me?"

Yan Song remained silent
"You have also read these memorials. The people in some places can no longer survive and have already risen up in rebellion!" Zhu Houcong said with great sorrow.

"We have begun to lose the support of the people! You also know the slogans of those rebellious people, such as 'Welcome King Jing, look forward to King Jing, distribute land and grain when King Jing comes!' There must be people from the north secretly inciting them. They are simply spreading rumors to confuse the people and bully the common people who know little! It's simply a joke. Even if King Jing comes, those common people will not get any land and grain." Zhu Houcong said angrily.

The Royal Group seems to have completely evacuated from the South, but it has left many hidden agents in the dark, which continue to play a role, and the Propaganda Department is also constantly carrying out propaganda offensives in the South through various means.
"Welcome the King of Jing, look forward to the King of Jing, the King of Jing has arrived to distribute the land and grain!" This slogan was widely circulated in the south because of a propaganda material from the Propaganda Department, and then the people in the south spontaneously shouted this slogan.

This propaganda material is actually that the Beijing government officially decided to confiscate the land and vegetable market of the Kong family in Qufu, leaving only 600 acres as sacrificial land. The confiscated land became state-owned land, and then the Beijing government once again leased it to the people of Qufu for 100 years. The rent was very small, but better than nothing, and it could be automatically renewed after the expiration.
This policy was originally intended as propaganda material to stimulate the gentry in the South, but it was unexpectedly widely circulated among the people in the South. The gentry also allowed the news to spread in the South. In their view, this was a good example for the people to see the atrocities of the Beijing government. It was too cruel to treat the descendants of Confucius so harshly!

But in the end it had the opposite effect. In the eyes of the people, this was all about dividing the land and grain, and making the land equally distributed. This was a great thing!
Soon, the people who could no longer make ends meet began to revolt, shouting this slogan.
This slogan can be said to have met all the elements for rapid dissemination, and it spread throughout the South in a short period of time.
This slogan is so powerful and full of the simplest expectations and wishes of the people.
So many southern people, inspired by this slogan, joined the uprising, bringing considerable chaos to the southern provinces.
However, it was difficult to overthrow the two southern governments with their own strength, because the gentry controlled most of the materials in the south, and they also controlled a lot of militias.
Although the militia they had trained before was handed over to the government, in this chaotic era, most of the gentry began to train new militias.
Therefore, although the Nanjing government was short of troops and unable to suppress rebellions in various places, the militia of local gentry was still sufficient to deal with the rebellion of the southern people.
"It would be fine if those common people didn't sympathize with me, after all, they are short-sighted. But it makes me even more angry that so many gentry are so short-sighted!" Zhu Houcong continued.

"At this time, you are still calculating your own gains and losses, and attacking each other for those petty things. At this time, you are still hoarding goods, exploiting the common people, and bullying the common people. Haven't you heard that water can carry a boat, but it can also overturn it?"

"They are as greedy as wolves to their subordinates, but stingy to their superiors. Most of the blame for the state's corruption lies with them!" Zhu Houcong said bitterly.

Yan Song sighed deeply. The chaos under the Nanjing government at this time was caused by the various landmines buried by the Royal Group and the fact that some gentry took the opportunity to collude with officials to make money from the national crisis.
"Those people made a fortune by taking advantage of the national crisis. I don't know how much wealth they have in their hands. But when we asked them to pay more money and food to help the Southern Army in the Northern Expedition, they turned into cowards. They don't understand the principle of 'the lips are cold and the teeth are dead' at all," Zhu Houcong said angrily.

"I am willing to share your worries, Your Highness," Yan Song said hurriedly.

"Share the worries? How do you want to share the worries? How can you share the worries?" Zhu Houcong sneered and said to Yan Song.

"Since a small part of the world's affairs are ruined by the corruption of the gentry, I am willing to carry out routine anti-corruption work on behalf of Your Highness and win back the hearts of the people," Yan Song said in a deep voice.

Zhu Houcong looked straight at Yan Song, and after seeing that Yan Song's expression was not fake, he slowly said, "Interesting, anti-corruption? Do you know how ridiculous your words are?"

Yan Song's expression fluctuated for a moment, but he didn't say anything.
"I know your loyalty. You have been by my side and in this center for so long. Don't you understand?" Zhu Houcong said with a bitter smile. "Please give me your instructions, Your Highness!" Yan Song said.

"Anti-corruption must never be fought." Zhu Houcong suddenly sighed, "If we fight corruption, the party will perish; if we don't fight corruption, the country will perish!"

"You should understand this principle." Zhu Houcong said with a wry smile.

The "party" in Zhu Houcong's "anti-corruption and destruction of the party" refers to the "Xingwang Party" that supported him.
Zhu Houcong remembered how he was pushed to the forefront and to this position.
They could help Zhu Houcong to this position, and they could also help another person to replace Zhu Houcong.
This is what Zhu Houcong meant by “fighting corruption and destroying the party”.

As for the meaning of not fighting corruption and the country's demise, it is easier to understand. Now the poor people are beginning to show this sign.
Yan Song fully understood the meaning of Zhu Houcong's words, but he didn't know what to do.
"Your Highness, what should we do?" Yan Song asked.

"What should we do? We must hold on with all our might! After all, the Beijing government only has one capital and four provinces. It must be having a harder time than us now. They even used the method of dividing the Kong family's land equally to win the hearts of the people. They may already be on the brink of collapse. As long as we try our best to hold on and live longer than the Beijing government, we will be able to win the final victory," Zhu Houcong said firmly.

It must be said that although Zhu Houcong was smart, he had lived in the small town of Anlu for a long time, which led to his lack of knowledge and vision. He actually made such a judgment.
"You should also think of ways to get the money, food, and artillery from General Guo."

Although Yan Song felt that something was wrong, he could not give any better suggestions and could only nod in agreement.

"Welcome King Jing, look forward to King Jing, King Jing is here to share the land and grain!"

Zhu Houxuan looked at this sentence with a headache. It was not that he did not want to distribute land and grain to the people, but this sentence structure gave him a headache.
But other people cannot understand Zhu Houxuan's feelings.

"Your Highness, the people in Jiangnan have begun to change their minds, and we are ready for war. Why don't we?" Jiang Jiangong said.

"Yes! We should give the southern government a little shock." Zhu Houxuan said while looking at the map.

(End of this chapter)