Chongzhen's domineering

Chapter 132 The Emperor Goes Mad, the Unruly People Are Exiled (Part 2)

As soon as Zhu Jue issued his decree, Jiangnan was immediately thrown into turmoil.

Wei Zhongxian immediately recalled all 20,000 naval soldiers and 3,000 Imperial Guards to Suzhou Prefecture to defend it.

Xiong Wencan immediately ordered Zheng Lian to quickly gather 30,000 troops under his command and rush to Suzhou Prefecture to provide support.

Zheng Hongkui also hurriedly gathered all the fast boats at the Tongzhou Canal Wharf.

Three days later, around dawn, just as the inner city gates of the capital were opening, Zhu Jue, along with Zheng Zhilong, Wang Chengen, Fang Zhenghua, and others, rode straight to Tongzhou City.

At this time, the Tongzhou canal wharf was already densely packed with soldiers from the Beijing garrison.

These soldiers of the Beijing Garrison had even changed into the uniforms of naval officers and soldiers, and their ranks were not very neat. They looked almost exactly like the naval officers and soldiers under Zheng Zhilong!

Upon seeing this, Zheng Zhilong couldn't help but look surprised. If he hadn't known beforehand that these soldiers carrying the new muskets were from the Beijing Garrison, he would have definitely thought they were his men.

This is because his men were all pirates, and while they were skilled in naval warfare, this is the scene they presented when they were lined up in formation.

After Lu Xiang-sheng, Huang De-gong, Zheng Hong-kui, and others came forward and bowed, they couldn't help but blush slightly and said, "Your Majesty, they have only been training for a few days, and the formation is a bit messy. Please forgive us."

That's a good line!
Zhu Jue was quite pleased and said, "Hmm, that's good. This way, people won't be able to tell that they are soldiers from the Beijing Garrison. I want those people to think that these are Zhilong's men."

Wei Zhongxian is dealing with civilians this time. Although these civilians are troublemakers, they are still civilians. You still need to make it clear to the officers leading the troops that they shouldn't say they are soldiers from the Beijing Garrison. Do you understand?

Oh, no wonder you made them change into the uniforms of naval officers and soldiers.

So you wanted Zheng Zhilong to take the blame as well.

Wei Zhongxian took the blame for the major offense, while Zheng Zhilong took the minor one. The common people of Suzhou Prefecture probably hated them both.

As long as the soldiers of the Beijing garrison remain undetected, you, as the emperor, can pretend you know nothing and let them do whatever they want!
Lu Xiang-sheng glanced at Zheng Zhi-long subconsciously before nodding repeatedly and saying, "Your Majesty, I understand."

Zhu Jue nodded slightly and said, "Go ahead, go and explain now, and then let them set off."

Lu Xiang-sheng quickly bowed and took his leave, then ran to the dock and summoned the officers and soldiers in charge of the troops, giving them detailed instructions.

Zhu Jue then solemnly said, "Hong Kui, this time you will lead the team to command these musketeers again. Remember, tell them to specifically target those who are shouting and yelling, shoot them to death, turn them into sieves, and see who dares to go up then."

Zheng Hongkui quickly cupped his hands and said, "This humble general obeys the order."

Zhu Jue thought for a moment, then carefully instructed, "Go and tell Wei Zhongxian to prepare more ropes. Arrest all the young and strong civilians who caused this disturbance, along with their families, and exile them to Dongfan."

These people were first transported to Quanzhou Prefecture in batches by fast boat, and then Zhihu transported them to Dongfan by large boat. You have Zhihu send men to guard them and make them build temporary accommodations.

Now that the matter in Suzhou Prefecture has been resolved, I will have my son take Zheng Zhibao's men to escort these people to cultivate seedlings, grow grain, or raise silkworms.

When you escort these people, make it clear to them that if they honestly farm and work, they will be guaranteed to have porridge to drink and fish to eat. As long as they do not commit any crimes within three years, their tax and labor records will be reissued, allowing them to settle down in Dongfan and regain their freedom.

If they still don't behave and dare to incite trouble, they will be killed without mercy!

Rumor has it that there are over 100,000 young and middle-aged people involved in this riot!
Are you going to exile them and their entire families to Dongfan?
Doesn't this mean we still need to transport grain to Dongfan?

Zheng Hongkui was taken aback for a moment before quickly cupping his hands and saying, "This subordinate understands."

Zhu Jue thought about it carefully and then instructed, "Ruoyu, draft an edict ordering Yang He and Yang Sichang to quickly send people to investigate the disaster victims. Anyone who has been severely affected by the disaster but has not participated in the rebellion should be questioned to see if they are willing to relocate."

"Those willing to relocate will be transported to Suzhou Prefecture in batches by grain transport ships. I guarantee they will have a place to live and land to cultivate. As long as they work diligently, they will have no problem living a life of plenty. This time, there are only 100,000 households eligible for relocation. Those who do not wish to relocate, then so be it."

There was a reason why he so drastically exiled the common people of Suzhou Prefecture.

This is because Suzhou Prefecture has been plagued by constant peasant uprisings since the Jiajing era. It is clear that the relationship between many local commoners and local forces is deeply entrenched. If this relationship is not broken up, then Suzhou Prefecture, the main silk-producing area, cannot be completely controlled.

Fortunately, relocating some of the severely affected disaster victims from Shaanxi would alleviate the pressure on Yang He and Yang Sichang, and would also save a lot of money and food during future disaster relief efforts. That's why he took such a crazy step.

Of course, this crazy act was ostensibly done by Wei Zhongxian, and it seemed to have little to do with him.

Wei Zhongxian still has to take the blame for this.

Wei Zhongxian was truly insidious and ruthless. After reinforcements arrived, even though his forces were already sufficient to suppress the uprising in Suzhou Prefecture, he only sent 5,000 troops to each of the seven counties and one prefecture in Suzhou Prefecture.

Moreover, all of these people traveled by boat. Only half of them disembarked to continue the search and seizure. The other half, including five or six hundred musketeers, remained hidden in the ship's cabin and did not show their faces.

As a result, the number of troops he sent to various prefectures and counties appeared to be only a little over two thousand, not much more than before.

The local forces in Suzhou Prefecture were indeed fooled. After only two days of raiding, the men he sent out began to secretly organize young men again.

On the third day, the seven counties and one prefecture of Suzhou Prefecture launched a simultaneous attack, beating up the imperial guards and naval soldiers who had confiscated the property.

The Imperial Guards and naval soldiers seemed to be terrified. When they saw a group of ten or twenty thousand able-bodied men surrounding them, they immediately dropped everything and fled frantically to their ships.

Those who led the riots hadn't yet recovered all the people and confiscated items from the Imperial Guards and naval officers, so naturally they still had to lead their men to chase after them.

As a result, just as they caught up to the vicinity of the dock where the small naval warships were moored, more than two thousand people suddenly jumped out of the ship.

Five or six hundred musketeers aimed at those who were raising their arms to give orders and fired a barrage of shots, while the remaining two thousand or so men immediately split up to flank them from the left and right.

Of these ten or twenty thousand able-bodied men, at most one or two hundred would be needed to lead the way. If five or six hundred musketeers each fired two shots, that would amount to more than a thousand bullets.

Soon, those who instigated the disturbance were riddled with bullets, and the able-bodied men were so frightened that they turned tail and ran away.

By this time, it was too late for them to run. The naval soldiers who had surrounded them from both sides had been resting on their ships for a long time, while these able-bodied men had run at least ten miles from the time they assembled until they caught up with them. How could they possibly outrun the well-rested naval soldiers?

Before long, the naval soldiers who had been flanking them from both sides rushed ahead and blocked their path. The Imperial Guards and the remaining naval soldiers also caught up from behind. The musketeers were still shouting from behind, "Stop! Lie down on the ground! Anyone who dares to run will be shot!"

These untrained young men could manage ten to gang up on one Imperial Guard or naval officer, and even five of them might not be able to take on one. Now, it's three or four against one, and they're all panting and trembling with fear, so it's even less likely they'll succeed.

Many young men were so frightened that they collapsed to the ground, and the naval soldiers rushed forward without hesitation and tied them up.

As for those who still dared to run, the musketeers actually opened fire, shooting directly at their feet. After taking down hundreds of them, no one dared to run anymore.

This time they actually caught more than 100,000 young men who were causing trouble.

Wei Zhongxian didn't care about anything else and directly ordered that all the young men who caused trouble, along with their families, be exiled!

This caused widespread suffering and resentment in Suzhou Prefecture.

Wei Zhongxian is too ruthless. He believes in the principle of "the law does not punish the masses." In the past, whenever there was trouble, someone would take the blame while everyone else would get away with it.

For example, during the Wanli reign, there was a serious incident where six of the tax commissioner Sun Long's trusted men were beaten to death. In the end, a leader named Ge Xian took the blame, and the others were not pursued further.

The incident during the Tianqi reign was even more serious, but five people—Yan Peiwei, Yang Nianru, Ma Jie, Shen Yang, and Zhou Wenyuan—stepped in to take the blame, and the others were not pursued further.

Those who take the blame aren't doing so for nothing. Local gentry will try their best to exonerate them. If they can't be exonerated and are executed, their families will receive a large sum of money and live a life of comfort from then on.

Although Ge Xian, who took the blame during the Wanli era, was sentenced to beheading and public display, the local gentry did everything they could to delay the execution. As a result, Ge Xian was released after being imprisoned for more than ten years and received financial assistance from many people, living the life of a wealthy man.

With these role models as examples, that was the fundamental reason why the young and strong in Suzhou dared to follow others and cause trouble.

They all thought that someone would take the blame and that they would be fine.

Who knew that Wei Zhongxian didn't even wait for the person who was to take the blame to come out. He directly stuffed them and their families onto the ship, not knowing where they would be exiled!

(End of this chapter)