Chongzhen's domineering

Chapter 131 The Emperor Goes Mad, Unruly People Exiled (Part 2)

The Suzhou uprising was not surprising at all.

During the Wanli and Tianqi reigns, Suzhou Prefecture experienced two major peasant uprisings, both of which are recorded in history.

During the Jiajing reign, a peasant uprising did break out in Suzhou Prefecture, but it was small in scale and happened frequently, so it was not recorded in history and was only mentioned in the biographies of relevant officials.

The popular uprisings in Suzhou Prefecture were all related to the Jiangnan Textile Bureau.

It seems that during the Jiajing reign, the weavers were exploited to the point of breaking up because of rampant corruption among officials.

During the Wanli reign, it seems that the tax commissioner Sun Long levied exorbitant taxes, which the weavers and merchants who ran workshops could no longer tolerate, leading to a riot.

During the Tianqi reign, it seems that Li Shi, the eunuch in charge of textile production in Jiangnan, was too greedy and clashed with the upright officials. Moreover, Wei Zhongxian arbitrarily arrested the upright officials without distinguishing right from wrong. The common people of Suzhou Prefecture could not stand it anymore and made a big fuss.

On the surface, these popular uprisings seem to be caused by boiling public resentment, and have nothing to do with any power struggles or profit-seeking.

In reality, it was a struggle for interests between the local power in Suzhou Prefecture and the eunuch tax collectors or other officials.

The profits from Suzhou Prefecture are enormous. Just from raw silk or silk fabrics alone, the annual profits are at least several million taels. Who wouldn't want to get their hands on such a lucrative piece of meat?
Otherwise, why are there so many popular uprisings in Suzhou Prefecture, while other places rarely see them?

In short, popular uprisings in Suzhou Prefecture were commonplace and nothing to be surprised about.

The local powers in Suzhou Prefecture were extremely adept at instigating popular uprisings, and each time they managed to catch people off guard.

This time, Wei Zhongxian was completely bewildered.

Just as he was enjoying confiscating property, a civil uprising suddenly broke out simultaneously in seven counties and one prefecture of Suzhou, with an unknown number of able-bodied men gathering. The imperial guards and naval soldiers he sent to confiscate property were all beaten so badly that they fled back in terror!
There was no other way; he wasn't just targeting Suzhou Prefecture, but also several counties around Taihu Lake.

He had over 20,000 men under his command, but he still had to leave several thousand men to guard Suzhou and the Jiangnan Textile Bureau. The rest were scattered, with only one or two thousand men in each county, while the other side had more than ten thousand able-bodied men gathered in each county.

This really caught him off guard; he didn't know what to do.

Even if he gathered all the troops he sent to the seven counties and one prefecture of Suzhou, he could only mobilize about 10,000 men. Moreover, most of the troops in Suzhou had been beaten black and blue and were limping. The number of able-bodied men in Suzhou was more than 100,000. Could he really defeat them by taking direct action?
Having no other choice, he could only submit a memorial to the emperor and see what he would say.

He hadn't even ordered anyone to write a memorial directly, but instead sent it to the capital by express courier, because he knew that Wang Yingchao was constantly traveling back and forth between the capital and Zhejiang, Zhili, and Fujian, and would come to Suzhou about every seven days.

Wang Yingchao came three or four days ago, and it's estimated that he will come again in another three or four days.

He also had to order someone to thoroughly understand the situation and then write a detailed report for Wang Yingchao to take back, so that the current emperor could know the specifics and take appropriate action.

Wang Yingchao arrived even faster than Wei Zhongxian had imagined, because news of the Suzhou uprising was spreading like wildfire along the Grand Canal. He didn't even need to inquire; he could hear it as soon as he stopped to rest.

Upon hearing the news, he rushed to Suzhou. After receiving Wei Zhongxian's detailed report, he turned back to the capital, without going to Nanjing or Zhejiang and Fujian.

Zhu Jue hadn't expected Wang Yingchao to return so quickly.

The next morning around 9 a.m., he had just finished processing the memorials and rode straight to the East City Military Parade Ground.

At this time, the Dongcheng Grand Training Ground was no longer just filled with war chariots; the tens of thousands of soldiers from the Beijing Garrison who had been conscripted yesterday were now training under the leadership of Huang Degong.

These newly recruited soldiers of the Beijing Garrison, numbering over ten thousand, were not practicing marching or chariot formations. Instead, each of them was armed with a new type of musket and was lined up in rows practicing loading bullets, aiming, and firing.

However, Zhu Jue didn't see anyone fire a shot anywhere he looked around.

These people seemed to be repeatedly loading bullets, aiming at the wooden target hanging on the front of the tank, then taking the bullets out, putting them into their bags, slinging the musket over their shoulders, quickly taking it off, loading bullets, and repeating this cycle without firing.

Just as he was wondering, Huang Degong stepped forward, cupped his hands, and bowed, saying, "This humble general greets Your Majesty."

Zhu Jue nodded slightly, then asked, "Degong, why didn't you let them fire?" These bullets are precious.

Huang Degong explained in detail: "Your Majesty, each musket is only equipped with twenty rounds of ammunition, and musketeers need at least five days of training to become proficient in using the musket. Therefore, I have them practice loading bullets and aiming more, firing one shot each morning and afternoon to get a feel for the aim."

Oh, so it was to save bullets.

As for why Lu Xiang-sheng first had Huang De-gong train these newly recruited soldiers of the Beijing garrison to fire muskets, there's no need to ask; a little thought will make it clear.

The reason is that a chariot formation cannot be properly arranged in a few days of training, and even a neat and orderly formation cannot be achieved in a few days of training. Only muskets, as long as one knows how to operate them, can form a certain combat force and are perfectly capable of being used in emergencies.

These tens of thousands of soldiers, after five days of training, could be sent to defend the city without any problem. After all, they don't need to form ranks on the city wall, and the chariots can't be pushed onto the city wall anyway.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly, looked around again, and then asked, "How many muskets are stored here?"

Without hesitation, Huang Degong replied, "There are over 13,000 rifles now, and the musket factory delivers about 300 more every day."

The production of muskets has increased, and it seems that we can train more musketeers in the future. If we can have more than 100,000 musketeers, not to mention eliminating the Jurchens, the capital region will definitely be impregnable. No matter which direction the Jurchens attack from, they will be routed.

As Zhu Jue was pondering this, Fang Zhenghua suddenly strode over, cupped his hands, and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, Wang Yingchao has returned."

So fast!
The urgent report from the outer court only arrived yesterday!

Zhu Jue was taken aback for a moment before quickly saying, "Let him come over."

Soon, Wang Yingchao strode over, took out a thick memorial, and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, Duke Wei reports."

This guy does know to report in detail.

Zhu Jue took the memorial, unfolded it, and sure enough, it was a very long memorial.

He took a closer look at the contents of the memorial, and couldn't help but frown.

The number of able-bodied men and women involved in the popular uprising in Suzhou Prefecture was more than 100,000!
Moreover, the tens of thousands of troops that Wei Zhongxian sent to confiscate property in seven counties and one prefecture of Suzhou were all beaten black and blue, limping, and several were even beaten to death!
The local power in Suzhou Prefecture is actually able to mobilize so many young men!

Wei Zhongxian's small force was simply not enough to control him.

This has resulted in deaths, so it certainly cannot be left unpunished. It must be severely punished. Not only should the local forces that instigated it be severely punished, but the young and middle-aged people who participated in the uprising should also be severely punished.

You guys have gone completely mad!
They dared to kill both the Imperial Guards and the naval officers and soldiers.

Zhu Jue frowned and pondered for a while, then decisively said, "Ying Chao, go and tell Hong Kui to stop transporting the confiscated goods for now, and have all the fast boats gather at the Tongzhou canal wharf immediately."

Also, go and tell Wei Zhongxian to quickly recall all his troops, assemble them, and first defend Suzhou and the Jiangnan Textile Bureau while waiting for reinforcements.

Go to Fujian again and have Xiong Wencan immediately gather Zheng Lian's 30,000 troops and rush to Suzhou Prefecture to provide reinforcements.

Wang Yingchao carefully took notes before nodding repeatedly and saying, "This servant has remembered."

Zhu Jue nodded slightly, then waved his hand and said, "Go."

Wang Yingchao quickly bowed and took his leave.

Zhu Jue thought for a moment and then instructed, "Degong, in the next two days, have them fire all ten bullets, select five thousand with good accuracy, and prepare to take a fast boat to Suzhou Prefecture."

Huang Degong quickly cupped his hands and bowed, saying, "Your humble servant obeys the decree."

(End of this chapter)