Chongzhen's domineering

Chapter 314 Liangyu Strikes, Xianzhong Retreats (Part 2)
The Little Ice Age ravaged the land, and the weather throughout the Ming Dynasty became incredibly strange.

In winter, the Gyeonggi region is covered in ice and snow, as cold as an ice cellar.

In early May, however, the capital city became sweltering with heat, unbearably hot.

Fortunately, there are now cooling fans available, and the capital city has enough saltpeter to make ice, so there is no shortage of ice blocks or even ice water.

Around 9 a.m. that day, the sun was already high in the sky, and it was so hot outside that people were practically dripping with oil. Zhu Jue did not go out of the palace to inspect the area.

He sat in the Yuxi Palace, enjoying the cool breeze, staring at the map on the table, frowning in deep thought.

Now that the Ming Dynasty's development has gotten back on track and they are no longer short of money and supplies, it's time for him to consider completely resolving the issues of rebels and Jurchens.

The problem involves both the rebels and the Jurchens, as well as the three powerful clans and eight imperial merchants of Puzhou. If these guys are allowed to sell information or even manipulate things, it won't be easy for them to completely resolve the issue of the rebels and the Jurchens.

As the saying goes, you can guard against thieves in your own home day and night, but it's hard to guard against them all.

It seems that if he wants to completely resolve the issues of rebels and Jurchens, he first needs to thoroughly deal with the three powerful clans and eight imperial merchants of Puzhou.

This seems even more difficult, because these guys are hiding too well. The three major clans of Puzhou are relatively easy to find, but finding all eight imperial merchants is like finding a needle in a haystack.

There is no record in historical books of how the eight imperial merchants made their fortunes, or even of their families. These guys seem to have no parents, no ancestors, and just appeared out of thin air!

This gives a glimpse into how difficult it would be for him to completely eliminate the eight imperial merchants.

Perhaps he's a bit too much of a perfectionist.

He wanted to wipe out the three major clans and eight imperial merchants of Puzhou in one fell swoop, but that was obviously impossible. This was because the three major clans and eight imperial merchants of Puzhou were not one person, but more than ten families. Moreover, these guys were actually doing business, and they were not concentrated in one place, but scattered all over the place.

In this situation, it would be too difficult for him to capture them all at once.

That's how many things are; once you pursue perfection, it becomes very difficult to achieve.

If we settle for second best, then it's much simpler.

In fact, it's not necessary to completely eliminate the three powerful clans and eight imperial merchants of Puzhou all at once. As long as these guys are dealt with enough and their fields and shops are taken care of, they won't be able to cause any more trouble.

The same goes for the rebels. He even thought it was necessary to let the rebels deal with all the princes and royals before taking action.

In fact, there was no need for such actions. The most serious problems caused by the princes and their families were in the Central Plains and Shanxi. These two regions had the most land and the largest population of princes and their families. The princes and their families in other regions such as Shaanxi, Shandong, and Sichuan were not so bad.

At this point, he didn't actually need to wipe out all the princes and royal families. He could simply take back the land that the princes and royal families had annexed, and cancel the stipends that were so plentiful that they were terrifying. With military power in hand, these princes and royal families couldn't resist.

Therefore, he doesn't need to pursue perfection in everything; getting things done is the most important thing.

Steam locomotives are a prime example. If one wants to pursue perfection, one must first develop the steam locomotive, then lay the tracks, and then mass-produce steam locomotives and gradually promote their widespread adoption.

If he did that, who knows how many more years it would take before we could use steam trains.

His compromise of using horse-drawn railcars was actually quite good, as it made land transportation much more convenient and also significantly improved mining efficiency.

The same applies to the rebels, the Jurchens, the three powerful clans of Puzhou, and the eight imperial merchants. He doesn't need to pursue perfection at all. Just do it first, and it won't matter much if he can finish it later.

As he was pondering this, Lu Wenwei strode in, cupped his hands, and bowed, saying, "Your humble servant greets Your Majesty."

That kid came back pretty quickly.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly, then asked, "How is it, Wenwei? Have the secret guards been deployed throughout Shanxi?"

How do you say this?

Lu Wenwei thought for a moment before cautiously saying, "Your Majesty, I have already dispatched most of my secret guards to accompany the fleeing merchants and civilians to Pingyang Prefecture, Taiyuan Prefecture, and Datong Prefecture. Some of them have already arrived at their designated locations, while others are probably still on their way."

Hmm, this move shouldn't be a big problem.

With the Hanzhong army deliberately looting, a large number of merchants and civilians fled from the cities in Shanxi that were about to be attacked. The fact that the secret guards were mixed in with them would certainly not arouse the suspicion of the three major clans and eight imperial merchants in Puzhou. After all, all the secret guards had Yellow Pages, and their Yellow Pages were all genuine.

Zhu Jue nodded slowly and then asked, "How long do you think it will take to thoroughly investigate the three major clans and eight imperial merchants of Puzhou?"

Uh, I can't say for sure about that.

Lu Wenwei thought about it carefully before cautiously saying, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. There are too many people in the three major clans and eight imperial merchants of Puzhou. Yang Bo alone has seven sons and fourteen daughters, and hundreds of grandchildren. His in-laws are estimated to be more than a thousand. I really don't know when we can thoroughly investigate this matter."

This is the downside of pursuing perfection; it's too much trouble.

Let's settle for second best.

Zhu Jue thought for a moment and then asked, "If I give you a year, how far can you investigate?"

It's hard to say.

Lu Wenwei thought about it carefully again before gritting his teeth and saying, "Your Majesty, I dare not say that I can completely investigate the three major clans and eight imperial merchants of Puzhou within a year. I can only try my best to find out their relatives and friends who are openly involved."

That works too. Let's first wipe out all the relatives and friends of the three major powerful families and eight imperial merchants in Puzhou. That should take down about 80 or 90 percent of them.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly and said, "Okay, then let's investigate their relatives and friends first. Also, you should try to find out as much as possible about the land and shops under their names."

The reason they were able to collude with rebels and Jurchens was because they had a lot of land that produced a lot of grain, and a lot of shops that made a lot of money.

This money and provisions are fundamental to maintaining their forces. Both the rebels and the Jurchens need their money and provisions, which is why they colluded with them. If they were without money and provisions, the rebels and the Jurchens would have no reason to collude with them.

Farmland and shops, right?
This money and grain are indeed very important.

Upon hearing this, Lu Wenwei nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty, I understand."

Once the relatives and friends of the three powerful clans and eight imperial merchants in Puzhou have been thoroughly investigated, and their land and shops have been investigated to a sufficient extent, then we can take action.

The question is, how do we get started?
If he were to send the Embroidered Uniform Guard or the Beijing Garrison, the news would be impossible to conceal, and they would definitely flee.

By then, they will have cleared most of the fields and shops, but they may not be able to catch many people.

Zhu Jue thought for a moment and then instructed, "We will probably make our move around this time next year. Have your secret guards keep an eye on the people you have found. When the time comes, I will have Yun Teng send people to cooperate with you in making your move."

Remember, first deal with those you've identified. As for the fields and shops, they can't escape anyway. I'll send the Imperial Guards to search and confiscate them after you've dealt with most of the people."

Uh, let the Hanzhong army take action?

Lu Wenwei paused for a moment, then cautiously reminded, "Your Majesty, most of the people from the three major powerful clans and the eight imperial merchants of Puzhou are in Pingyang Prefecture, Taiyuan Prefecture, and Datong Prefecture. If I may be so bold, do you mean to have the Hanzhong army launch a strong attack and take Pingyang Prefecture, Taiyuan Prefecture, and Datong Prefecture?"

Next year, we'll deal with the Jurchen cavalry anyway. Once we've dealt with them, there'll be no need for the feint attack tactic. We can then have the Hanzhong army launch a full-scale attack to capture Pingyang Prefecture, Taiyuan Prefecture, and Datong Prefecture, and deal with the Jin Prince's and Dai Prince's clansmen as well!

However, it's best not to say this outright.

Zhu Jue thought for a moment, then simply said noncommittally, "Let's talk about that later."

Uh, what does that mean?
Does Your Majesty mean that there are some things that are difficult to say?
Lu Wenwei thought about it carefully before nodding repeatedly and saying, "Your Majesty, I understand."

(End of this chapter)