Chapter 467: Li Zicheng Makes Progress Again (Begging for Monthly Tickets)

To flatten Huguang, to survey the fields and audit the land registers, to make officials and commoners alike pay grain taxes, and to fold the poll tax and corvée into the acreage —

Never mind Qian Qianyi and Hou Xun, those spokesmen for the landlord class; even Li Yan, a fellow who had jumped over from the roving bandits, thought His Highness the Crown Prince was being a bit too hasty.

Going at it that radically — what if it stirs up a peasant uprising or a gentry uprising?

"Your Highness," Li Yan said, frowning, "surveying the fields, flattening Huguang, making officials and commoners pay grain taxes alike, and folding the poll tax into the acreage — do they all have to come at once? Wouldn't it be better to set an order of priority and do them one at a time?"

Zhu Cilang shook his head and said with a smile, "Going slowly is just slicing flesh with a dull knife — it hurts even more! Besides, we're not the only ones dealing with the gentry right now. Dorgon's side is harsher than we are; they've gone straight to granting land by headcount! What do we have left to worry about? Whatever means we have, use them all at once. Those people down below can't run off to the Tartars anyway; at most they'll kick up a fuss."

That was true enough — by sticking with the Great Ming, they could keep their lawful private fields, keep collecting rent as before, keep lending at usurious rates, and still sit the examinations and hold office. There were still plenty of benefits!

Dorgon's side not only granted land by headcount, they also had no intention of holding civil-service examinations across the whole north. What they were implementing now was rule by bannermen and booi bondservants.

So those scholar-officials in the southeast had no door through which to sell out the country! If they didn't throw in with the Great Ming, where could they go to find a good life?

Zhu Cilang went on, "We've just won a great victory over the Tartars, and we killed a figure like Hooge. Who in the southeast dares contend with us?

And Dorgon will never let Qufu, that city piled with gold and silver, slip through his fingers. As long as he won't let Qufu go, Shi Kefa, Gao Hongtu, and Zuo Maodi will have to come begging to Us! If those three don't come making trouble for Us, would that lot of gentry in the southeast — men with no sword-hilts in their hands — dare kick up a fuss?"

Qian Qianyi shook his head, looking rather puzzled. "Your Highness, there isn't all that much gold and silver inside Qufu. The Yansheng Duke's house may have enjoyed centuries of wealth, but the family is large and its expenses are heavy. The silver they've saved up amounts to two or three million taels at most."

Two or three million taels isn't much? Zhu Cilang shot Qian Qianyi a glance and thought to himself: You corrupt official — how much have you embezzled? Could it be more than two or three million taels?

Qian Qianyi felt his skin crawl under that stare, and had no idea what he'd said wrong. He could only lower his head and keep silent.

Seeing Qian Qianyi hang his head in shame, Zhu Cilang's gaze softened. An official like Qian Qianyi — as long as he cooperated properly and did his job as the Donglin leader, a little graft was no great matter.

"How much money is actually inside Qufu no longer matters. What matters is that Dorgon needs his Eight Banners troops and his Green Banner troops to believe there's money in Qufu!"

Zhu Cilang said with a smile as he spoke, "This is what you call a theme! 'Qufu has money' is a theme. With that theme, Dorgon can rally his men, can push through his conversion of the Green Standard into the Green Banner, and can consolidate his authority step by step."

The Crown Prince's skill at fighting wars was nothing much, but his skill at playing themes and stirring up hype was considerable! So he had already concluded that Dorgon had no choice but to play the theme of "Qufu has treasure." With that theme propping things up, those Green Standard troops drawing military pay might not be willing to switch to the Green Banner, and the original old Eight Banners might not be willing to see a new Plain Green Banner added either.

So Qufu had to have treasure. Even if there was no treasure, they'd have to dig three feet into the ground and dig some up!

And while Dorgon was leading his Eight Banners and Green Banner troops on a treasure hunt in Qufu, Shi Kefa, Gao Hongtu, and Zuo Maodi would have to come begging to the Crown Prince. Even if the Crown Prince was "struggling against the landlords" in the southeast, they'd have to hold their noses and support it.

So Zhu Cilang was in no rush to lead his army north to Qufu to fight Dorgon to the death — because whether he won or lost, it would do the Crown Prince no good.

Qian Qianyi and Hou Xun exchanged glances. Now at last they saw the Crown Prince's true face!

Truly treacherous and ruthless, and base and shameless to boot — no good man at all!

"Then are we still going on the northern expedition?" Qian Qianyi asked in a low voice.

"Of course we are!" Zhu Cilang said with a laugh. "We've already made it as far north as Juehua Island and Zhangzi Island. Soon we'll be striking straight at Huanglong!"

What he meant was that for the time being he would not advance overland to take on the main armies of Dorgon and Dodo.

"What about Jin Zhijun's side — how do we answer him?" Qian Qianyi asked. "We never found Hooge's body!"

Of course they couldn't find it. Hooge had been stabbed to death by Bahana, and after the stabbing he'd been buried deep. Where were Zhu Cilang's men supposed to go looking for his corpse?

"There are plenty of corpses!" Zhu Cilang waved a hand. "Find one by Qingliu Creek, throw a decent-looking blue banner coat over it, and send it back to Jin Zhijun."

Would that really work?

The several men all looked doubtful.

"It'll be fine," Zhu Cilang said with a smile. "Dorgon wants us to take the blame for Hooge's death. He won't bother examining the body carefully."

Why did that sound so strange? Just how far had this father-in-law and son-in-law pair colluded with each other?

Seeing the astonished looks on the faces below, Zhu Cilang offered no further explanation. He merely smiled and said, "Since Dorgon is going to enclose land, establish the Green Banner, and grant land by headcount, he won't be launching any large-scale southern campaign for the time being. We, of course, should return to court in triumph! However, We shall leave two model divisions garrisoned at Fengyang Prefecture for some time. Together with Huang Degong's Huaibei Garrison and the troops of the Central Capital Regional Command, that should be enough to ensure no mishaps."

Flattening Huguang and struggling against the landlords — these two great undertakings were not convenient to arrange from Fengyang Prefecture. So Zhu Cilang had to return to court in triumph, back to Nanjing, and while he was at it make a grand show of it, so that the landlords and old money of the southeast would all know how formidable he was!

The Han River flowed gently on. It was the season of clear autumn skies and crisp air. The Han River, which in summer had rushed headlong into the Yangtze, had now grown mild and calm — just like the situation in the three prefectures of Xiangjing, Yunyang, and Nanyang.

On the southern bank of the Han River, a tall, sturdy man in a blue cotton long-gown was strolling along the embankment, leading a group of robust men dressed like civil and military officials of the Shun court. Behind them pressed a large retinue of guards. On both banks of the Han stretched golden rice paddies. The farmers of Xiangjing Prefecture, all wearing bamboo hats, were hurrying to harvest the rice before the autumn rains came. The man in the blue cotton gown was none other than Li Zicheng, the Yongchang Son of Heaven of the Great Shun. Seeing him pass by the fields, these toiling peasants did not dare so much as draw a loud breath; they all prostrated themselves at the field's edge. And Li Zicheng, seeing these wretched, hard-laboring farmers, could not help sighing in sorrow.

Gu Junen, the Prefect of Xiangjing, drew close to him and said in a low voice, "Imperial Lord, this year both banks of the Han River have enjoyed favorable weather."

Li Zicheng said coldly, "What good is favorable weather? How much rice actually ends up in the hands of the poor smallholders? Those old-camp soldiers of ours have all turned their backs on their origins now that they've risen in the world. The better fields are charging a full dan of rent, and some of them are even forcing their tenants to send their virgin daughters over for them to sleep with!"

Gu Junen could only force an awkward smile. After a long pause he said, "Imperial Lord, there's no helping it. If we didn't give the old brothers a share, what would they have to fight for? At least we've stabilized the situation now. In the future we can still plan for gradual advances."

"What advances? The Tartars have already announced land equalization — land granted by headcount! And we're still treating the small farmers like oxen and horses. We're worse than the Tartars now."

"Imperial Lord, Imperial Lord, this..."

Gu Junen did not know what to say. The Tartars' headcount land grants had indeed caught him completely by surprise! That was something Li Zicheng should have done. Many of the Shun dynasty's institutions were copied in name from the Sui and Tang. Yet they had somehow omitted the two items of "land equalization" and "the fubing militia system"!

Now the fubing system had been patched in, but land equalization was impossible — there was no land to equalize! Their territory was so cramped that being able to grant fields to the soldiers under their command was already doing well. So the Shun dynasty now had only land enclosure, no land equalization. The Tartars, on the other hand, had much land and few people; they couldn't enclose it all, and the surplus could be granted out by headcount.

And when it came to that, Li Zicheng deserved part of the credit — the "Thanos mode" in the Central Plains had his share in it!

"Imperial Lord," Gu Junen said through gritted teeth, "we could actually use the headcount land-grant method too. Although the fields of Xiangjing, Yunyang, and Nanyang Prefectures have all been divided among the old brothers, the world is vast — it is far more than just these three prefectures!"

Li Zicheng turned his head and looked at Gu Junen. "Second Military Advisor, are you telling Us to go south and seize the Ming's territory?"

Gu Junen said, "Seize Zuo Liangyu's territory! Once we've taken it, we'll grant land by headcount and let the common people live good lives!"

(End of Chapter)