Chongzhen's domineering

Chapter 129 The theft of jobs sparks a popular uprising (Part 2)
Around 7 a.m., as the sun rose, the imperial city was filled with birdsong and the fragrance of flowers, with orioles and swallows everywhere, a vibrant tapestry of green and red.

Zhu Juena was also in a good mood, humming a little tune as he walked towards Yuxi Palace with his hands behind his back.

The situation is very good right now. The textile factories in the east of the city have started producing silk, 10,000 bolts every three days. Although the quantity is not very large, at least the foundation for making money is in place.

When it comes to money, Wei Zhongxian was truly adept at making money. The gold and silver he plundered from Suzhou Prefecture and the counties around Taihu Lake were worth four or five million taels of silver.

The depleted inner treasury was now replenished.

He was even considering whether to gather people to start building the western city.

Spring plowing should be almost over, and the garrison troops and farmers in the capital region must be looking to earn some money to supplement their household income.

However, building a city requires acquiring land, and with Wei Zhongxian gone, acquiring land seems to be a bit difficult.

Should he bring Wei Zhongxian back?
That should be enough. Once the troublemakers are dealt with, Xu Guangqi can take over.

After all, they can't keep resorting to robbery; development is the most important thing.

He had just sat down in the main hall of Yuxi Palace when Fang Zhenghua suddenly strode in, cupped his hands and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, Zhou Yanru went to the cabinet office early this morning around 5 a.m. and stayed there for about a quarter of an hour before coming out."

Immediately afterward, instead of returning to the Ministry of Personnel, he went back to his residence. Soon after, someone from the Zhou residence rode off on horseback straight south; judging by their attire, they were probably heading to a very far place.

Is it a very far place?

Zhou Yanru's hometown is Changzhou Prefecture, which is right next to Suzhou Prefecture.

These guys are trying to cause trouble, aren't they?

It seems we can't rush to bring Wei Zhongxian back.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly, then announced loudly, "Summon Jian Dou to come and pay his respects."

Lu Xiang-sheng seemed to have nothing else to do at the moment except train the remaining 10,000 cavalrymen of the Beijing Garrison.

However, the East City Military Training Ground is quite far from the Imperial City, and it would take at least half an hour to go there and back.

Zhu Jue wasn't in a hurry; he still had to deal with the memorials to the throne.

After he had almost finished processing the memorials, Lu Xiang-sheng strode in, cupped his hands and bowed, saying, "Your humble servant greets Your Majesty."

This guy was even dressed in the uniform of the Beijing Garrison, looking more like a military general than a civil official.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly, then asked, "Jian Dou, is the spring plowing of the Beijing Garrison almost finished?"

Lu Xiang-sheng nodded repeatedly and said, "Yes, Your Majesty, I have visited them these past few days, and they are almost done with their work."

Zhu Jue then asked, "Do you have enough armored chariots and muskets stored there to equip 50,000 men?"

Is this a call for reinforcements?
Lu Xiang-sheng nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty, we already have enough armored vehicles and muskets to equip 50,000 troops. The East City Parade Ground is almost full of armored vehicles now."

This is the benefit of developing industry.

The armored vehicle was a huge machine, about the size of a small passenger car. If industry hadn't developed, it would have been impossible to build hundreds of such armored vehicles in a month, let alone equip them with artillery.

These armored chariots were the bane of cavalry, and when combined with artillery, they were more effective than city walls and fortresses, no matter where they were deployed.

He had originally planned to first conscript some infantrymen from the capital garrison to defend Jizhou Town, but now his thoughts have changed.

He's preparing a counterattack!

While the chariots couldn't catch up with the Jurchen cavalry, they had no problem holding them off. At this point, annihilating the Jurchens was unlikely, but recovering the lost territory of Liaodong was practically a certainty.

He only needed to send 50,000 chariots to reinforce Liaodong, and Sun Chuanting could then confidently and boldly construct the riverside defense line.

With 50,000 chariots lined up on the riverbank, would the Jurchen cavalry still dare to build a pontoon bridge and charge across?
There are vast tracts of black soil in Liaodong, and now they have heating. The Liaodong soldiers and civilians can farm on the plains without any problems. As long as the Liaohe Plain can be recovered, who knows how much grain it can produce.

Zhu Jue thought about it carefully, and then solemnly said, "We still need to send chariot troops to reinforce Boya, so that he can advance into the Liaohe River basin as soon as possible and recover the Liaohe River Plain."

This time, we can't just recruit 50,000 chariot soldiers; we also need to recruit infantry, otherwise, the garrison strength of Jizhou will still be insufficient.

Furthermore, we also need to consider the construction of the outer city of the capital. Construction of the western city hasn't even begun yet, and the moats to the north and west haven't been dug. If we conscript most of the able-bodied men of the Beijing Garrison at once, we won't be able to keep up with the work later.”

This is indeed a problem.

Nowadays, the main force in building the outer city of the capital is the young and strong men of the Beijing Garrison. While the young and strong men of the farmers can do well in digging foundations and moats, they still cannot compare with the young and strong men of the Beijing Garrison when it comes to building the walls.

If they conscript most of the able-bodied men from the Beijing Garrison, the construction of the western outer city wall will be much slower.

Lu Xiang-sheng slowly nodded and said, "Your Majesty, why don't we first gather all the able-bodied men of the Jingying Garrison, repair the western city wall, and then conscript them?"

I also want to build the western city wall first.

The problem is, Wei Zhongxian isn't here.

Moreover, those guys in the outer court are clearly trying to cause trouble in Suzhou Prefecture again, so I can't immediately recall Wei Zhongxian.

Zhu Jue shook his head slightly and said, "Wei Zhongxian is still in Suzhou Prefecture and can't come back right now. If we send someone else to take over the land, he might come back before the land is finished. Therefore, the western city wall can only be built after Wei Zhongxian returns."

We can only gather the able-bodied men of the Jingying Garrison to dig the moat to the north. While they are digging the moat, you can select chariot soldiers. Once the moat is finished, you can take 50,000 chariot soldiers to train. As for the infantry, they can only be recruited after the western city wall is completed.”

Lu Xiang-sheng nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty, I understand."

Zhu Jue nodded slightly, then waved his hand and said, "Go and discuss with Tian Guozhang, and gather the able-bodied men of the Jingying Garrison to dig the moat on the north side as soon as possible."

Lu Xiang-sheng quickly bowed and took his leave.

Zhu Jue couldn't help but look up towards the south.

What else could the Donglin Party and the Qi-Chu-Zhe Party possibly do? Who would dare to instigate a popular uprising in front of Wei Zhongxian?
Believe it or not, there are actually people who dare to do it.

Zhou Yanru's trusted confidants changed horses at post stations along the way, rushing south like they were delivering an urgent message. In five days, they arrived in Suzhou Prefecture and found Zhang Pu.

Zhang Pu was no ordinary person. The reason he is not very famous in history is because the treacherous minister Zhou Yanru used him and then killed him!
He was essentially suppressed before he could even make a name for himself.

However, the Fushe Society, which he spearheaded, was quite famous in the late Ming Dynasty.

Although he had not yet established the Fushe Society, he had already established the Yingshe Society, whose members, such as Zhang Cai, Yang Tingshu, Gu Menglin, and Wu Changshi, were all prominent rising stars among the gentry of Suzhou Prefecture.

He had these guys secretly instigate things, and the gentry and local bullies of Suzhou Prefecture were secretly gathering young men to prepare for a disturbance.

Just as Wei Zhongxian was in the midst of confiscating property, countless young men suddenly sprang up from the seven counties and one prefecture of Suzhou, claiming to be eliminating treacherous officials and protecting their homeland. They surrounded the Imperial Guards and naval soldiers who were arresting people and confiscating property, and gave them a brutal beating.

Although these guys didn't dare to go all out, there were always those who acted rashly and made mistakes; several of the Imperial Guards and naval soldiers were killed.

Soon, the urgent report arrived in the capital.

Wei Zhongxian instigated a popular uprising in Suzhou Prefecture!

(End of this chapter)