Chongzhen's domineering

Chapter 205 Chengchou is Ill, the Rebels are Deadly (Part 1)

The New Year celebrations have passed, but the capital city remains covered in ice and snow, while the frost in Hanzhong Prefecture and Runing Prefecture has begun to melt.

Zhang Yun, the King of Hanzhong, is still taking in disaster victims, but there seems to be no further activity.

Zhang Xianzhong, the Eighth King, was busy preparing his troops, seemingly ready for a major operation.

The situation at this time was very different from that in history, because Zhu Jue did not do futile work like Chongzhen in history.

Instead of mobilizing a large army to suppress the rebels, he seemed to be condoning them.

Therefore, the rebels formed a prairie fire more than ten years ahead of schedule, and it seemed that they could no longer be stopped.

Zhu Jue was not in a hurry, because he had already made the move of becoming the King of Hanzhong.

Hong Chengchou was extremely anxious.

This was because he knew in his heart that once Gao Yingxiang and Zhang Xianzhong's forces reached hundreds of thousands, the local tyrants and gentry in the Northwest, and even the meager funds and grain in the county government treasury, simply could not support them.

As for the three powerful clans and eight imperial merchants of Puzhou, they could not afford to spend so much money to support such a large army. These two only had one option: to attack the vassal states in order to seize enough money and grain!

He's doomed if those two make a move.

How to do it?

His strategy of feigning retreat to advance, and even Huang Taiji's large-scale invasion of Datong Town, were all in vain.

The young emperor remained completely unmoved.

This kid seems determined to keep a close watch on him here.

What else could he do?
Zhu Jue naturally wouldn't care what to do with Hong Chengchou; he was busy planning the final development of the capital.

After the New Year holidays, he not only ran to the North Outer City, but also to the Northwest Outer City, the Southwest Outer City, other newly built outer cities, and even the original South Outer City.

This is because he now has another development project, namely a mansion or residence.

The business has evolved into many different forms over time. Ordinary residences are nothing compared to high-end residences, commercial residences, Western-style buildings, villas, and so on. There are so many variations that they are countless.

He plans to try all these tricks, especially high-end residences, villas, and other properties with high prices. He intends to focus on developing those and make a good harvest of the wealthy!

Around 1:00 AM that day, he led Bi Maoliang, Zheng Zhilong, Wei Zhongxian, Wang Chengen, and others out of Chongwen Gate and headed straight for Chongnan Ward in the southeast corner of the southern outer city.

This place was originally where bricks were fired when the southern outer city was built during the Jiajing reign. It has mountains and water. Dozens of brick kilns were dug in the low hills. Almost all the clay at the foot of the mountain was dug out, leaving countless pits that have turned into ponds and even lakes.

This place has been abandoned for seventy or eighty years. The roadsides are covered with big trees, withered grass and snow, making it impossible to even put your feet down. Within a radius of several miles, apart from the two temples, Fazang Temple and Fahua Temple, there seem to be no other buildings.

Upon seeing this desolate scene, everyone couldn't help but show a hint of sadness.

Zhu Jue picked up the binoculars with great interest and scanned the area, then asked, "So, what do you think of this place?"

How is this place?

We don't know how to say it.

Bi Maoliang and Zheng Zhilong looked at each other, not knowing what to say.

They had never been here before, and they never imagined that there would be such a desolate place in the capital city today.

It seems no one is responding to His Majesty's words.

This is not okay.

Seeing this, Wei Zhongxian could only step forward cautiously and say, "Your Majesty, this is the most desolate place in the capital. I have also come to Fazang Temple and Fahua Temple to offer incense, but very few people come here to offer incense. You can hardly see any people in the temples."

The reason this place has been abandoned for so many years is because no one knows how to develop it.

Zhu Jue thought for a moment and then asked, "Zhongxian, isn't all this land unclaimed?"

How should I put it?
Wei Zhongxian pondered for a moment before cautiously saying, "Your Majesty, these lands originally belonged to you. If no one lives there, you can simply enclose them; there's no need to spend money to buy them."

That would be great.

This will save us hundreds of thousands of taels of silver. However, developing this area will likely require a lot of manpower.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly, then decisively said, "Then let's build the most valuable house here."

what?
Even if you built the cheapest house here, it probably wouldn't fetch a good price. You actually want to build the most valuable house here?

Everyone was stunned by what they heard.

Seeing this, Zhu Jue simply asked, "What's wrong? Is there a problem? You can raise any issues you think you have, so I can resolve them."

This is something I really need to remind you about.

Upon hearing this, Bi Maoliang cautiously said, "Your Majesty, the transportation here is extremely inconvenient. Apart from a rugged dirt road leading into the city and outside Zuo'an Gate, there are no other roads. Wealthy families must have carriages, but on this kind of road, riding in a carriage could be so bumpy that you might fall off."

Yes, you've spotted a key point.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly and said, "The transportation here is extremely inconvenient, but it doesn't matter. We can build a Zuoanmen Inner Street that runs from Zuoanmen all the way to the same level as Guangqumen, and then build another Guangqumen Inner Street to connect Chongwenmen Street and Zhengyangmen Street. Wouldn't that make transportation much more convenient?"

Doesn't this mean we'd have to build a main street that's several miles long?

While your approach to transportation may make things more convenient, the problem is that road construction costs money, especially for major streets like Chongwenmen Street and Zhengyangmen Street.

The most valuable houses here must be at least ten acres each. How many houses can be built here? Will the money earned be enough to cover the cost of building the main street?
Forget about that. His Majesty must have considered the cost when he said he was going to build roads.

Bi Maoliang nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty is wise."

Seeing this, Wei Zhongxian couldn't help but remind him, "Your Majesty, there are hardly any people here. It's inconvenient to stay here and buy things, not to mention that you can't see a soul at night. It's quite creepy."

If there's no one around, that's too easy.

Zhu Jue pointed to the east and said, "Isn't the area outside the city wall the original residential area of ​​Tongzhou City? We can open a city gate in the middle and build a main street to connect the inside and outside of the city gate with the main street inside Zuo'anmen. This way, the original Tongzhou City residents can also come in."

There were already enough people in the city, right?
If that's not enough, that's fine too. We can build shops on both sides of Zuoanmen Inner Street and residential houses for ordinary people next to the Temple of Heaven. Wouldn't that increase the population and make it more convenient to buy things?

If you're willing to spend money to do it this way, then naturally more people will come.

Wei Zhongxian nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty is wise."

Seeing this, Zheng Zhilong couldn't help but remind him, "Your Majesty, this place is just like Dongfan before it was developed. There are probably many mosquitoes and poisonous snakes among the flowers, grass and trees. People living here will probably be covered in bites, and being bitten by a poisonous snake would be even worse."

What is this.

Zhu Jue shook his head slightly and said, "I will recruit a large number of young and strong farmers to clear away all the weeds and irregular trees, use mugwort to fumigate the mosquitoes, clean up all the snake holes, and then build forest paths and pavilions, and plant some mosquito-repelling flowers and plants. Naturally, there will be fewer mosquitoes and poisonous snakes."

You still want to make such a big fuss?
Upon hearing this, Zheng Zhilong could only nod repeatedly and say, "Your Majesty is wise."

Seeing that no one else was saying anything, Zhu Jue immediately said decisively, "There's no problem, right? Then let's set the most valuable house here."

"Shi Gao, you need to plan this out carefully. Plan this entire area, stretching from the Temple of Heaven in the west to Guangqumen Inner Street in the north, filling it with streets, alleys, residences, shops, and everything else."

As they were discussing their plans, a fast rider suddenly galloped in from the north.

A moment later, Fang Zhenghua came quickly with a memorial in his hand, bowed and said, "Your Majesty, Hong Chengchou has sent an urgent report from eight hundred li away."

What is this guy reporting now?

Zhu Jue took the memorial and glanced at it, then let out a cold snort.

Hong Chengchou actually said that he was seriously ill and bedridden, unable to take up an official post, and begged to return to his hometown to recuperate!
You want to run away, huh?
Do you think you can escape?

The reason Hong Chengchou wanted to run away was probably because he couldn't keep Gao Yingxiang and Zhang Xianzhong in check.

Gao Yingxiang and Zhang Xianzhong probably had more than 400,000 troops under their command. With so many troops, where would they get the money and food to support them if they didn't plunder the princes and royal families?
The three powerful clans and eight imperial merchants of Puzhou certainly wouldn't provide that much money and grain. Even the local tyrants and gentry, and even the local government treasury, couldn't plunder that much money and grain. Gao Yingxiang and Zhang Xianzhong would have no choice but to plunder the princes and royal families.

The reason these two haven't made a move yet is probably because they're waiting for Hong Chengchou to find a way to escape.

Zhu Jue thought about it carefully, then handed the memorial to Liu Ruoyu and said coldly, "Granted."

(End of this chapter)