A Gui could somewhat understand Ming Xing's approach. After all, those Green Standard soldiers were too proficient at kneeling to surrender and stripping equipment, so proficient that even A Gui, the imperial envoy, couldn't help but feel a pang of heartache.
However, the thought of those Green Standard soldiers with their practiced skills made A Gui's heart ache.
If the Green Standard had become this proficient, wouldn't the Banner soldiers, who were even less capable than the Green Standard, be proficient to the extreme?
Further consideration: the Green Standard soldiers in Shandong were somewhat better. If the Banner soldiers and Zhili Green Standard troops were sent to quell the rebellion, what would become of military discipline?
The worse the military discipline, the more it would force ordinary people to turn to the rebels. The greater the unrest caused by the populace, the more Banner soldiers and Green Standard troops would have to be mobilized to quell the rebellion.
Was this a vicious cycle?
After careful consideration, A Gui actually came up with an idea.
Why would the common people rebel?
Because the oppression by the government and gentry made it impossible for the common people to make a living. When the common people could no longer survive, they would naturally raise the banner of rebellion. Even without Zhu Xiaosong, there would be a Zhang Xiaosong or a Wang Xiaosong.
Where did the common people get the courage to rebel?
It was in the Farmers' Association. It was precisely because of the existence of the Farmers' Association that the common people had the courage to unite and resist taxes and levies.
While the Qing dynasty court was naturally the most affected by the rebellion, the losses of the landlords and gentry would also be considerable.
Therefore, if the court focused on dealing with the rebels, and left the Farmers' Association and the common folk to the landlords and gentry, wouldn't the problem be solved?
The more A Gui thought about it, the more he felt his idea was sound.
However, after A Gui explained his meticulously thought-out plan, he did not receive the praise he expected. Instead, he was met with Ming Xing's mockery: "My esteemed imperial envoy, do not assume you are the only intelligent person in this world; the rest are all fools."
"I had already considered this method of using gentry to crack down on the Farmers' Association. I had also instructed landlords and gentry in villages without Farmers' Associations to organize militias, hoping to use these militias to strike at the Farmers' Association. But do you know what happened in the end?"
A Gui's heart sank immediately. There was no need to guess, as his own ambush by the rebel Zhu, turning him into a transport captain, and the escalating rebellion in Shandong were enough to prove the point.
But A Gui was still unwilling to give up. He looked at Ming Xing and asked, "Then did you find the reason for the failure?"
Ming Xing nodded: "I did. The most critical reason is that there are too few local gentry and scholars, and too many commoners without their own land. Those commoners who do have land also want to benefit from the Farmers' Association. The result is that these militias simply cannot be organized."
"The few that can occasionally be organized are all from local powerful clans and wealthy families. They only want to protect their own small plots of land and have no intention of serving the court. What's even more dire is that with the Farmers' Association resisting taxes and levies, these powerful clans and wealthy families are naturally happy to not pay taxes..."
A Gui once again felt at a loss.
Wasn't this falling into a vicious cycle again?
After a long while, A Gui gnashed his teeth and sighed, "What kind of person is this Zhu? Why does he have so many crooked ways?"
At A Gui's words, Ming Xing also sighed, "Who isn't? To speak frankly, doesn't this Zhu think about where he will collect taxes from if the entire empire becomes Farmers' Associations, even if he succeeds in rebelling?"
...
Zhu Xiaosong was not worried about where to collect taxes. Zhu Xiaosong was worried about the drought in Shandong, Henan, Shaanxi, and other places in the forty-ninth year of Qianlong. The Yi Prefecture and Tai'an Prefecture, which had been brought under Zhu Xiaosong's command, were not spared either.
Areas around Menglianggu were relatively better, as there was still some water in Baizhang Cliff and Hulug Cliff, and some areas near tributaries of the Wen River were also relatively better. However, looking at the entire Yi Prefecture, the water shortage problem was quite severe.
Without water, there was no hope for a good harvest. Without a harvest...
Theoretically speaking, this drought that swept across multiple regions was actually a good thing for Zhu Xiaosong. After all, the Qing imperial court's attention was all focused on suppressing the rebellion and it wouldn't care if the common people could survive. They would even be happy if Zhu Xiaosong and other rebels starved to death along with the common folk.
In this way, the common people in Henan, Shaanxi, and other places would also have a very difficult time surviving, or even unable to survive. This would provide more room for the Farmers' Association to develop, and the eventual outcome would likely be the complete chaos of the entire Qing dynasty.
However, this was only in theory.
In reality, in the face of life and death, would the common people care whether Zhu Xiaosong or the Qing dynasty ruled them?
During the Ming Dynasty, there was still a slight shred of nationalistic thought. After generations of effort by the Qing court, by the Qianlong era, it was all gone.
Zhu Xiaosong's expression became increasingly solemn, and the atmosphere in the room grew more oppressive.
After a long while, Zhu Xiaosong was the first to speak: "The most important thing to pay attention to now is not whether the Qing soldiers will come to suppress us, but how to ensure the livelihood of the common people."
"The Farmers' Associations in various villages must be fully mobilized to prevent incidents such as two villages or two surnames fighting over water."
"If heaven does not give us water, we will organize the common people to ask the earth goddess for water. If we don't have enough labor for well digging, we will trouble the Qing more."
With that, Zhu Xiaosong turned his gaze to Ke Zhiming: "Send people to contact Chen Tailai and the Bagua Sect. Ask them if they have any captured Jurchens. We will trade them for flintlock guns and grenades. One flintlock gun or one grenade for one Jurchen."
Ke Zhiming cupped his hands in response, then pouted, saying, "The Bagua Sect should have some Jurchens, and with the Third Young Master here, it shouldn't be a problem."
"But as for Chen Tailai, he has indeed raised the banner of rebellion, but he hasn't directly engaged the Qing soldiers. He has only just occupied more than half of Yanzhou. He should not have any Jurchens."
Zhu Xiaosong did not mind and said with a smile, "If there are no captured Jurchens, aren't there still Manchu masters? As long as that Chen has them, we will buy them."
"Also, ask our brothers in the south to contact the Western barbarians and see if they have Kunlun slaves. We will buy them if the price is right."
After hearing Zhu Xiaosong's plan, Zeng Cheng, the former prefect of Tai'an, who had recently surrendered to Menglianggu and was still in the observation period, couldn't help but frown. After pondering for a moment, he tentatively said, "Lord... Commander, please don't blame me for being a busybody, but our Menglianggu is still in its early stages. Even if we have money, shouldn't we spend it where it's most needed? If we buy Kunlun slaves just because of a drought..."
Liu Huaiwen, who served as the logistics chief of Menglianggu, also did not want to spend money: "Commander, if we are digging wells, we can organize the common people to dig wells. There is no need to use Jurchens or Kunlun slaves, right?"
"Yes, we all know that digging wells is dangerous, and one mistake can bury people inside. But as the old saying goes, even drinking water can make you choke. We can't do everything for the common people, can we?"
"Moreover, even if the Western barbarians have Kunlun slaves for sale, our Menglianggu doesn't have much money to afford them?"
Faced with the opposition from Zeng Cheng and Liu Huaiwen, Zhu Xiaosong also fell silent.
As Zhu Xiaosong fell silent, the atmosphere in the entire room became heavy.
What Zeng Cheng and Liu Huaiwen said was not wrong. Whether from the perspective of money or other aspects, using Jurchens, who were originally miners and laborers, to dig wells for the common people was not a cost-effective deal.
If they were to use money to buy Jurchens and Kunlun slaves from the Bagua Sect and the Western barbarians, then this deal would be even more of a loss.
Anyone with a bit of sense would not make such a decision.
Was Zhu Xiaosong's mind normal or not?
After a long silence, Zhu Xiaosong simply took the tobacco pouch from Liu Huaiwen's hand, took out some dried tobacco leaves, rolled them into a crude cigarette, and slowly lit it.
In the swirling smoke, Zhu Xiaosong half-closed his eyes, his gaze sweeping across Zhu Erdan, Liu Huaiwen, Zeng Cheng, and others.
These people would never know how many unconventional, counter-economic acts a certain country would commit for its own people.
When Kou Weide was ravaging the nineteenth generation, this country used its treasury reserves to cover the medical expenses for all its citizens, while the rich and poor in the so-called heavens and lighthouses could only lie down and wait to die.
When the electricity price increased from 0.2 yuan to 0.8 yuan, this country's electricity price still started at 0.5 yuan with tiered pricing, while the electricity price per megawatt-hour in the then-empire on which the sun never set had already risen to 424 pounds, equivalent to 3,734 yuan.
When the northern regions of this country still had normal heating, and the people were still wearing short sleeves and eating popsicles as in previous years, the natural gas prices in Europe had already soared, forcing people to chop wood to burn in fireplaces for heating.
This country was also often scolded by its own people.
Without experiencing all this, when Zhu Xiaosong tried to imitate everything about this country, everyone saw Zhu Xiaosong as someone who was not quite normal.
After a long silence, Zhu Xiaosong finally made up his mind.
If he had transmigrated just to overthrow the Qing and become an emperor, what would be the meaning of this transmigration?
Since he had transmigrated, while he should enjoy what he deserved, he should also bring about the changes he should bring to this world, without leaving anything out!
Zhu Xiaosong glanced at everyone and said in a deep voice, "Uncle Huaiwen and Old Zeng, I understand the reasoning."
Just as a hint of joy appeared on the faces of Liu Huaiwen and Zeng Cheng, Zhu Xiaosong took another deep puff of the crude cigarette and said, "I understand the reasoning, but I do not intend to change."
"Buy Jurchens and Kunlun slaves as planned."
"If we don't have money, we'll rob the Qing, or at worst, sell flintlock guns to Chen Tailai and the Bagua Sect."
"We care about our own people. Spending some money to let them avoid the life-threatening risk of digging wells is simply the most cost-effective deal."
Zeng Cheng opened his mouth, wanting to persuade him further, but thinking of his recently surrendered status, he could only sigh helplessly and did not continue to persuade.
The rest, like Liu Huaiwen and Zhu Erdan, all followed Zhu Xiaosong's lead in everything. Since their leader, Zhu Xiaosong, had made up his mind, they naturally would not say anything more.
Zhu Xiaosong continued, "If I were only thinking of getting promoted and making a fortune, I, Zhu, would have plenty of ways to do it, and I wouldn't need to risk my head by rebelling."
"Old Zeng, you joined later, but you have been studying in the night school as instructed by me recently. You should know that our Menglianggu emphasizes putting the people first. Even if there is danger, our soldiers of Menglianggu will bear it first, and after the soldiers bear it, it will be us who bear it."
"If we can bear it, we must bear it. If we can't bear it, we must still bear it."
"No matter when, the people come first."
"Because the people are our foundation."