I founded a heavy industry group in the late Ming Dynasty.

Chapter 173 Sun Chengzong was betrayed

Chapter 172 The essence of everything is just a thin layer of paper. Chen Boying's article "The Question of Poverty" in the newspaper not only fermented in the streets and alleys of the capital, but also in more distant places such as Guide Prefecture, Yanzhou, and Xuzhou.

Chen Ying's original intention was to use this article to expose the hypocrisy of the scholar-officials. However, the problem is that some things are easily out of control. For example, the canal workers in Xuzhou transported four million shi of grain to the capital every year through the Ming Dynasty's canal, but the hidden expenses incurred by the Ming court on this canal were also staggering.

For example, the imperial court had a quota of 11,770 grain transport vessels on the canal. Although the size and cost of the vessels varied, the cost of a new grain transport vessel was between one hundred and two hundred taels of silver. More importantly, these grain transport vessels had to be scrapped every ten years, which meant that 1,200 new vessels had to be built every year. This alone required 120,000 taels of silver for the official ship materials. Moreover, the timber used had to be top-quality nanmu and cedar, and the supply and cost were unstable.

The Grand Canal of the Ming Dynasty was far from being as glamorous as it appeared on the surface. From the officials of the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works in the central government to the clerks in charge of collecting and escorting the grain, and then to the 120,000 grain transport soldiers, their huge salaries, rations and subsidies had become a heavy regular expenditure for the national treasury.

More importantly, the various "hidden costs" along the way to transport four million shi of grain were equally staggering. To compensate for losses during grain transport, the government would levy an extra charge on grain farmers. This surcharge was extremely high, sometimes reaching twice the regular grain rate in some areas, and was ultimately passed on to the people. In the actual transportation process, the transport troops and civilians also had to bear the burden of hiring drivers, paying customary fees for passing through locks, and other extra extortionate tips, which were often several times the official transportation fees.

It can be said that the canal is not only a huge burden on the imperial court, but also a burden on the people along the way. Every year, they need to send out laborers to maintain the canal. When the canal is blocked, they also have to send out large-scale engineering work. These people not only have to bring their own food, but also have to endure the torment of diseases and extreme weather. Originally, they did not know why they were so poor, why they worked so hard, yet they still could not even get enough to eat.

At this time, Yizhai, a settlement of the Xuzhou canal gangs, was originally a huge village formed along the canal. It could also be considered a refugee area, with various low-rise shantytowns crammed together like a messy garbage dump. Every summer, the weather was hot and humid, making it easy for plagues to spread. Although the weather was cold now, a slight carelessness could cause a fire and lead to a huge tragedy.

"Chief, why is there so little food?"

"That's right, it's a third less than before!"

"This little bit of food isn't even enough to fill a tooth gap!"

"Has the price of food gone up again?"

Xu Hanshan smiled wryly, "Grain prices haven't gone up, but Lord Cao, the head of the Records Department of the Grand Canal Transport Commissioner's Office, has taken a new concubine, and according to custom, our Xuzhou canal transport guild must send a gift—"

The key members fell silent instantly. The Grand Canal Governor's Office controlled the entire canal. There were thirty or forty associations like their Xuzhou Canal Gang. He might not know who was giving gifts, but he certainly knew who wasn't. Don't be fooled by the fact that the Chief of the Records Department of the Grand Canal Governor's Office was an eighth-rank official. In the capital, he was nothing but a big shot. But on the canal, he was a very important figure. He could decide the life or death of more than eight thousand people in their canal gang with a single word. Those eight thousand canal workers represented more than eight thousand families, and tens of thousands of people faced starvation.

The key point is that the Ming Dynasty was not the later era. In the later era, factories and enterprises were everywhere. As long as you were not afraid of hard work and did not mind the distance, you could always find work. Just like the author, who traveled from Guangdong to Xinjiang, then to the Northeast and Gansu, visiting more than twenty provinces and cities across the country.

"This won't do! He took five concubines today. If this continues, how many of us will starve to death?"

"That's right, those bastards are skinning us and drinking our blood!" Just then, the sound of a child crying came from the inner room.

Xu Hanshan knew without asking that it was the sound of his little girl crying. Because there was no food, the seven-year-old child had become bloated from hunger. He looked towards the inner room with a bitter expression: "Child, you were born in the wrong place—"

Actually, when Nuonuo was born, Xu Hanshan thought about drowning her in the river. But the problem was that Xu Hanshan's wife was unwilling. She said she could eat less. How much can a little girl eat?

And so, Nuonuo was left behind. With another mouth to feed, life became even harder. In particular, although Xu Hanshan was the leader of the gang, he was just leading a group of poor brothers to make a living. Even the children were crying from hunger, and he felt terrible about it.

Without Chen Ying's newspaper, these people would have been like Xu Hanshan, only wishing for their miserable fates. But the problem was that with the appearance of this article, more people understood what was going on. Although Master Hong, a scholar from the Xuzhou Canal Gang, did not pass the imperial examination and did not obtain official rank, the problem was that Master Hong was literate. He immediately thought of the content disclosed in the newspaper.

"Gentlemen, please hear me out!"

Hong Xiucai looked at the crowd and said, "Do you all know why we live such a difficult life in this cannibalistic world?"

"Why? It's all because that damned Master Wang took a concubine—"

"Yes, it's those corrupt officials who are sucking our blood in every possible way. It's not just the officials, but also the gentry. My family, Old Hong, originally owned eight acres of land. Although life was tough, we managed to get by. But that damned Master Du, he colluded with his colleague who was the county magistrate to forge land deeds. Our Hong family's ancestral land, passed down through generations, became the Du family's land. We didn't even win the lawsuit, and my son got dragged into it too—"

At this point, Hong Xiucai choked up and said, "Those officials are so hateful! They do nothing but bully us poor people. They forcibly seize our land, and then they don't pay taxes, making us poor people pay them. We have no land left, and to survive, we have no choice but to work on the canal, getting up earlier than the chickens and working harder than oxen. Even then, they are still not satisfied. They won't stop until they drive us to our deaths!"

At this time, the Xuzhou canal gangs began to accumulate countless grievances. Of course, this was not limited to Xuzhou; there were many other examples like the Xuzhou canal gangs. Chen Boying's article was like a spark thrown into dry wood.

From Xuzhou to Guide Prefecture, Kaifeng Prefecture, and Jinan Prefecture, resentment was accumulating everywhere. This resentment was brewing, and the smug Donglin Party members and civil officials across the country did not realize that their good days were coming to an end.

A group of peasants who had never been taken seriously by them began to awaken. They began to understand that the root of their suffering was not their bad fate or their lowly status, but the damned world they had encountered, and that they had encountered a group of ruthless bastards who devoured people without spitting out the bones.

Of course, Chen Ying, who was in the capital, did not expect this to happen. He actually thought that the peasant rebellion in the Ming Dynasty would mainly be concentrated in the second year of Chongzhen's reign, four years later. The second year of Chongzhen's reign was the peak period of peasant uprisings in the Ming Dynasty. It was also because Shaanxi and Shanxi were suffering from a severe drought. The devilish Li Zicheng, because his wife Jin Qiao'er had cheated on him, killed his wife in a fit of rage and started a rebellion.

However, Chen Ying was in a good mood because he found that the Donglin Party had been silenced by his rebuttal. In terms of science, they were no match; in terms of practical politics, they were still no match. Unfortunately, Chen Ying's good mood did not last long before it was ruined. The Battle of Liuhe broke out as it had in history. Lu Zhijia, the deputy commander of the Liaodong Army's rear guard, and Li Chengxian, the assistant commander, due to intelligence failure, led his troops across the river to attack Yaozhou, but instead fell into the Jurchen's ambush. The Jurchen attacked them while they were crossing the river.

The Ming army was thrown into chaos, trampling each other. Lu Zhijia and Li Chengxian fought to the death. The rear guard suffered more than 800 dead, more than 1,700 wounded, and more than 1,000 captured. The entire rear guard of more than 3,000 elite troops was wiped out.

When the news reached the capital, it shook the city. Almost all the blame was directed at Sun Chengzong, the military governor of Jiliao. He now seemed to be the enemy of the court and the public. As a bigwig of the Donglin Party, Sun Chengzong was betrayed by his followers. To make matters worse, Wei Zhongxian also saw this as a good opportunity. Sun Chengzong had extremely high prestige within the Donglin Party and was even regarded as a "leader".

This prestige did not stem from ordinary factionalism, but was built upon the enormous influence brought about by his "dual identity" and his independent spirit that transcended partisan strife.

Sun Chengzong was deeply trusted by the Tianqi Emperor, even more so than Chen Boying. This made Wei Zhongxian feel threatened. He could not let Sun Chengzong continue like this. If he made great contributions, and Sun Chengzong, the Grand Secretary of the Jianji Hall, returned with great merit in Liaodong, who could control him?

As a result, Sun Chengzong was impeached by more than a hundred people in just three days, and he was instantly branded as a traitor.

Chen Ying did not intend to distance himself from this matter. He decided to take advantage of Emperor Tianqi's trust and suggest to the emperor that he could protect Sun Chengzong and maintain the situation in Liaodong.

However, before Chen Ying could enter the palace to see the Tianqi Emperor, he was stopped by Wei Zhongxian.

"Lord Chen, may we have a talk?"

"What are your orders, Eunuch Wei?"

In fact, Chen Ying didn't need to ask to know Wei Zhongxian's meaning. In the matter of ousting Sun Chengzong, he was actually being used. Historically, the dismissal of Sun Chengzong was a typical "short-term gains but long-term losses" event for the eunuch faction led by Wei Zhongxian. In the short term, they eliminated their most threatening political enemy; but in the long run, it shook the foundation of the Ming Dynasty's defense and accelerated the demise of the Ming Dynasty they depended on.

Sun Chengzong's "Guanjin Defense Line" was easy to defend but difficult to attack. After Gao Di took over, he ordered a full retreat, causing the Ming army's four years of hard work to go to waste, and leaving the strategic rear continuously exposed to the onslaught of the Eight Banners cavalry. Shortly after the Ming army destroyed its own Great Wall, the Jurchen army was instead severely defeated by the Ming army at the foot of Ningyuan City.

"Lord Chen, we have recently acquired some fine tea. Would you please do us the honor of tasting it?"

Even though Wei Zhongxian held absolute power, he was actually very polite to Chen Boying at this time because he knew that Chen Boying was more pragmatic and had the deepest trust from the Tianqi Emperor than others.

If he had a falling out with Chen Boying, the Donglin Party would be laughing all the way to the bank.

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