Chapter 727 0722 [Wanyan Zongwang Died Suddenly]

During the winter solstice, three animals were sacrificed to heaven, and the Ming and Jin negotiated peace.

The specific terms were written in more detail. For example, the Ming Dynasty required 50 male horses and 50 female horses for each of the 100 good horses. There were also age requirements, and the male horses could not be castrated.

The Jurchen horse was the most suitable war horse for training heavy cavalry in the whole of East Asia. Of course, the sooner it was brought here for breeding, the better!

The land of Youyan had experienced nearly ten years of war, famine, and plague. When the Jin Dynasty destroyed the Liao Dynasty, it also forcibly relocated a large number of people. After the Song Dynasty spent money to buy it, there were several rebellions, and people died of famine for years.

Even if the Jin Dynasty moved some back, there were only about 100,000 people now, and it was very appropriate to describe it as uninhabited for thousands of miles.

Countless lands were already overgrown with weeds, and it was just right to set aside a few pieces for horse farms.

In fact, there were more than just these few people.

Countless people fled to Yanshan and Taihang Mountains, struggling to survive in the deep mountains and wandering outside the Jin and Song regimes.

Both the Song and Jin dynasties were unable to manage the people in the mountains, and it was difficult to lure them out of the mountains to farm. Even at the foot of the mountains in many remote areas, there were people who secretly farmed and lived, trembling with fear and not daring to be discovered by the court, and fled into the mountains at the slightest sign of trouble.

There were even millions of such people!

Wanyan Zongwang had been in the north for three years, and what he could really effectively control were actually some important cities and registered villages outside the cities.

Even if Wanyan Zongwang discovered farmers in remote areas, it would be difficult to send people to collect taxes. Because they were too scattered, the human cost of taxation might be more than the taxes received.

This was also Wanyan Zongwang's fatal weakness. The territory looked large, but the actual population under his control was scarce. When fighting, he had to rely on Liaodong for food supply. Even many of his soldiers were recruited from Liaodong, and they had to be returned after the battle.

In the blink of an eye, spring had already begun, and the fourth year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty had officially begun.

Just a few days after the Jin envoys returned north and crossed the Yellow River, Yanshan Prefecture suddenly received important news.

Wanyan Zongwang died!

It was said that he died of illness, but many people did not believe it and thought he was poisoned.

Those nobles and generals who were outside the core circle of the Jin Dynasty seriously doubted the cause of Wanyan Zongwang's death. And they were panicking. Who could they rely on in the future?

Wanyan Talai persuaded his family and confidants to keep the death a secret for the time being, and sent people to Datong in the snow to report the news.

Wanyan Zonghan only brought dozens of riders and rushed from Datong to Yanshan Prefecture.

He first subdued the generals of Yanshan Prefecture, and then rushed to the border cities between Ming and Jin.

When Wanyan Zongfu and other Jin envoys received the news of his death, Wanyan Zonghan had basically controlled the Eastern Route Army and obtained the loyalty of most of Wanyan Zongwang's generals.

...

Zhending Prefecture.

The Jin envoys stayed in the bed outside the city.

Upon hearing the news of Wanyan Zongwang's death, Wanyan Zongfu was actually very happy, because there was finally no third faction to make trouble.

But when the envoys arrived here, they heard the news that Wanyan Zonghan was in Yanshan Prefecture.

Wanyan Zongfu's face changed drastically, and he was worried and didn't even know who to discuss with.

At this time, Wanyan Zonghan had already controlled two armies, and the factional balance was completely broken. He must have the final say in the future.

Even Wanyan Xieye and Wanyan Zonggan had to act according to Wanyan Zonghan's face.

Among the three chief and deputy envoys, Wanyan Xiyin was ecstatic because he was Wanyan Zonghan's confidant, and he would definitely rise in power and position in the future.

As for Wanyan Zongjun, he was confused when he heard the news.

This guy is Wanyan Zongwang's younger brother. He followed him on a mission to the Ming Dynasty, and his brother suddenly died, and his subordinates were also taken over by political enemies. From now on, should I follow Wanyan Zonghan, or continue to flirt with Wuqimai?

The envoys had different thoughts, but they all hurried to Yanshan Prefecture.

Along the way, they each inquired about the specific situation, but there were rumors everywhere and they didn't know who to listen to.

On the night of entering the city, Wanyan Zonghan and Wanyan Zongjun talked for a long time at night, and the two sides completely reached a factional merger.

The next day, Wanyan Zonghan had a detailed discussion with Wanyan Zongfu.

When they met, Wanyan Zonghan said: "I plan to recommend you as the right deputy marshal at the Bogile Conference, take over the troops of the East Road, and station troops in Guangning and Jinzhou in the future."

Wanyan Zongfu understood as soon as he heard it that the man in front of him did not intend to overturn the table and would still maintain cooperation with the Shizu family.

But the future cooperation is no longer equal status, and Wanyan Zonghan must be the main one, and the Shizu family nobles must be the auxiliary. The two factions joined forces to control the military and political power, and worship Wuqimai as a mascot.

If Emperor Wuqimai is disobedient, it will be easier to deal with him. Just drag him off the dragon chair and beat him up, and then help him back to the dragon chair to continue the meeting.

Anyway, Wanyan Zonghan's bloodline is not right, so he can't ascend the throne to become the emperor. He needs the cooperation of the nobles of the Shizu family.

The general situation is that Wanyan Zonghan is a powerful minister, completely controlling the military power of the Jin Dynasty, and has full right to advise on internal affairs. The Shizu family still controls internal affairs, and Wanyan Zongfu can also share the military power. They must give Wanyan Zonghan enough face.

The two sides joined forces to undermine Emperor Wuqimai and assist Aguda's eldest grandson to become the crown prince.

The sudden death of Wanyan Zongwang made the Jin Dynasty more united. And let the three factions that check and balance each other become a real leader!

...

Tokyo.

The emperor and his ministers of the Ming Dynasty naturally received the news, and the father and son discussed it alone at the first time.

Zhu Guoxiang muttered: "This Wanyan Zongwang is not even forty years old? The death is too sudden."

Zhu Ming smiled and said: "I suspect it was poisoned, but I have no evidence."

"Will the Jin Dynasty become more chaotic?" Zhu Guoxiang asked.

Ju Ming guessed: "Not necessarily. The Ming Dynasty put too much external pressure on them, and the Jurchen elites who founded the country are still there, so they should be able to reach a compromise. Only Wanyan Zonghan died, and the army was leaderless. The generals changed their families, and the ancestral line was fighting for Only those who have power will fight among themselves wildly.”

"Then the role of peace talks will become smaller. Wanyan Zongwang's death is really untimely." Zhu Guoxiang was a little disappointed.

Ju Ming said: "We are not at a loss. We took back the territory south of Yanshan and also obtained Juyongguan. Although it is sparsely populated, forced immigration is possible. It is easy to immigrate 200,000 people in three years. Hebei Prefecture has been recovered in the past two years. The population of counties has also dropped sharply, so people must immigrate from the south. Huainan, Zhejiang, and Fujian are all large and densely populated provinces, and they can be transported directly to the north. "

Zhu Guoxiang said: "The population of 200,000 is relatively small, and there are more than 20 counties. On average, the population of a county is less than 10,000."

Zhu Ming said: "There are more than 10,000 people in Lushun and Haibin counties combined, and these people will also be moved there. According to the information provided by Xi Zuo, there are still many people hiding in Yanshan and Taihang Mountains. They can be lured with food and clothing. They go down to the mountains to farm. There are many other people scattered in various places. The Jin people cannot control them, but they can also be slowly brought under their rule."

"After a few years of serious governance, there should be a population of one million. The land of Youyan is not deserted, but the Jin Kingdom's methods of governing the people are so bad that the people regard the Jin Kingdom's officials as snakes and scorpions."

Zhu Guoxiang asked: "Are you really planning to take a five-year truce?"

Ju Ming said: "Five years is too long, but two or three years is enough. There are still many things to do. The first is to recuperate and improve the finances and store more food. The second is to re-issue banknotes in Sichuan, supplemented by silver coins and copper coins, and gradually Eliminate the iron money there. This can only be implemented if the finances improve, otherwise there will be no sufficient reserves. The third is to send people to Japan to explore the Iwami silver mine, and to get more silver to issue silver coins. The fourth is to send troops to the Penghu Islands and then to Taiwan. Attack the natives. The natives there often attack the Han people in the Penghu Islands. After winning, they will take over the Penghu Islands. There are a large number of Han people there but they are not Ming people. There are a lot of things to do anyway!

In a few years, I can build more firearms.

Several musket manufacturers must strictly regulate and try to make lead bullets universal. Some blacksmiths who used to make armor can switch to making muskets to increase the production of muskets.

In three years, there should be no problem in building 20,000 flintlock muskets.

It really pissed off Ju Ming. He expanded production capacity regardless of the consequences. He could produce 100,000 units in three years, but that would seriously interfere with the normal economic order.

After the father and son reached an agreement, they convened a meeting of the cabinet and the six ministries.

In fact, immigration policy had already been discussed in detail after the peace talks.

There are more than 240 counties in Huainan, Zhejiang and Fujian provinces.

When providing immigrants, these counties were divided into three tiers.

Large counties provide 800 immigrants, medium counties provide 500 immigrants, and small counties provide 300 immigrants. This is a quota, and it can be exceeded. The more immigrants it provides, the better it is when calculating political performance.

The imperial court will allocate funds to arrange material supplies at immigration gathering points along the way.

However, the county magistrate must be responsible for the expenses within the county. If anyone abuses or deprives immigrants, once they are discovered, all officials will be dismissed from their posts, and the crime will be determined depending on the severity of the case. The lighter case will be jailed, and the serious case will be beheaded.

No wealthy gentry is allowed to block immigration, even if they want to collect debts! Once the act of obstructing immigration is confirmed, the person may be imprisoned and fined, or the whole family may be sent to Yanshan Mansion.

To put it bluntly, in order to encourage immigration, the court even acquiesced in debt evasion. Otherwise, all the tenants would owe us loan sharks to the landlords. How could they leave?

After such a set of procedures, the first batch of immigrants in the three southeastern provinces will be able to reach at least 120,000 to 30,000 people.

After they went there, not only could they divide the land, but they could also pick up the wheat seedlings in the field for free. The first year is tax-free, and the tax is halved in the second and third years.

For the sake of political achievements, officials will definitely publicize vigorously.

This time there is a basic amount of tasks, unlike before it was just encouragement. Compared with completing the tasks of the court, the gentry's obstruction is nothing, the officials are crazy, and even the old officials can't stop it!

During the implementation process, there will probably be chaos, but in order to enrich the newly restored land, no matter how much chaos there is, it is worth it.

The northward migration route is divided into two parts: the river and the sea. Counties that are more inland can be taken all the way through the canal. The immigrants did not have to pay for the entire journey. Food and boats were provided along the way. When they arrived, they were given various farm tools and lent them half a year's rations.

It is estimated that many people from the lower class in the south who are unable to meet their food and clothing needs took the initiative to sign up.

Moreover, the majority are men.

It is likely that there were several members of the family, allowing an unmarried young man to immigrate and make a living. Even if there was no immigration policy, they would still go to the county town to make a living, and this time they would just go further.

Maybe there is an eager county magistrate who will send thousands of immigrants at once!