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During the Ming Dynasty, each province established a governor to oversee the military and political affairs of the province. This was the common practice, but Jiangxi was the only exception.
Sometimes, like other provinces, the imperial court would appoint a governor to oversee the military and political affairs of the entire province in Jiangxi; sometimes, a governor of southern Jiangxi would be appointed to be in charge of the military and political affairs of southern Jiangxi, while northern Jiangxi was managed by the governor of Jiangxi. At these times, Jiangxi actually had two governors.
Since the middle of the Ming Dynasty, the governor of southern Jiangxi has been established and abolished many times. The reason why there are "one province, two governors" is different from other provinces is mainly because the people in southern Jiangxi are complicated;
There are various ethnic groups living together in southern Jiangxi, including the Dong people, and there are also descendants of the Wolf Soldiers who were transferred from Guangxi to southern Jiangxi during the Hongwu Dynasty. Therefore, the people in southern Jiangxi are extremely tough and brave. In addition, southern Jiangxi has many mountains and little land, and land annexation is serious. The contradiction between the lower-class people and the upper-class landlords is extremely sharp, resulting in frequent gatherings of bandits and rebellions in southern Jiangxi.
Under such circumstances, the imperial court had to set up an additional governor in southern Jiangxi according to actual needs in order to unify power and deal with various disturbances in a timely manner.
However, having two governors in one province undoubtedly increased the court's expenses and led to institutional overlap. Therefore, the frugal Emperor Chongzhen simply dismissed the governor of Jiangxi and incorporated northern Jiangxi into the jurisdiction of the governor of Anqing.
In other words, there is no governor in Nanchang City now, and the Jiangxi Provincial Surveillance Commissioner Lin Qinghe and the Provincial Governor Wang Shousu nominally take orders from the Anqing Governor.
In the Sansi Hall, Qin Mu asked He Liang what progress he had made since arriving in Nanchang. He Liang calmed down and slowly replied, "Sir, Wang Shousu and Lin Qinghe originally held the administrative and judicial power of a province. The court asked them to obey the orders of the governor of another province. This was inappropriate. Wang Shousu, Lin Qinghe and other Jiangxi officials were bound to have some conflicts. Now that General Meng Ke has entered Jiujiang, it is equivalent to cutting off the connection between Nanchang and Anqing. The governor of Anqing is a bit out of reach."
Qin Mu listened quietly. He did not comment. He sent Meng Ke to occupy Jiujiang because he considered that directly occupying Nanchang might cause a strong backlash from Wang Shousu and others. Secondly, Jiujiang was the northern gateway of Jiangxi, and this gateway must be closed.
Looking back, by closing the gateway to Jiujiang, Nanchang would be trapped in a jar, and Wang Shousu and others would have to think twice before making any waves.
Of course, Qin Mu also knew that a fortress is often easiest to break from the inside. If Nanchang cannot be straightened out, it is hard to guarantee that the turtle in the jar will not become a threat to the heart. Of course, he attaches great importance to this, so he urgently summoned He Liang back to explain.
He Liang went on to say, "Wang Shousu and Lin Qinghe have no military power, and you still have leverage over them due to the incident with the former inspector Ma Mingyuan. It's not difficult to persuade them. After I arrived in Nanchang, I had several contacts with them. After I pointed out the pros and cons, Wang Shousu and Lin Qinghe were willing to cooperate with you. But Jiangxi Commander Zhou Ning was not easy to deal with. He was of the same clan as Jiading Earl Zhou Kui, and he had two to three thousand troops under his command. He was in charge of the defense of Nanchang City. I held banquets for him twice, but Zhou Ning ignored me on the grounds that he was busy with official duties. Later, I asked Wang Shousu to come forward, and he came out to deal with it. His words were quite arrogant. It would be difficult to get him to obey my orders."
Qin Mu nodded slightly. He had expected this. Jiading Earl Zhou Kui was the biological father of Empress Zhou of Chongzhen, and the father-in-law of the emperor. Zhou Ning was of the same clan, so the relationship between them was naturally different. With Zhou Kui's support, Zhou Ning was fearless and it was normal for him to be a little arrogant.
"I am incompetent, please punish me, sir." He Liang first apologized honestly, then stood up and bowed, saying, "But Zhou Ning is not without weaknesses. He is arrogant by nature, and treats his soldiers harshly. He eats empty salaries, lends money at high interest rates, and exploits them at every level. His soldiers dare not speak out, especially with the commander-in-chief Li Jiyang, the relationship is extremely tense, and the relationship is like fire and water. Although Li Jiyang has no backing, he is very popular among the soldiers, so he can barely compete with Zhou Ning. However, Li Jiyang is honest by nature and does not flatter. It is difficult to convince him to work for you. At present, I am preparing to set up a trap to cut off his retreat, and then help him, hoping to win him over, and then use him to slowly undermine Zhou Ning."
Tian Yimu interrupted at this time and said, "If Wang Shousu and Lin Qinghe are willing to cooperate, I think it won't be too much trouble to deal with Zhou Ning. Although you can't control Zhou Ning, don't forget that General Meng Ke is now the general of Jiangxi, and he is Zhou Ning's immediate superior. With cooperation here and outside, let General Meng Ke find a reason to transfer Zhou Ning to Jiujiang..."
He Liang shook his head and said without waiting for Tian Yimu to speak, "It's not that simple. Zhou Ning is the commander-in-chief of Jiangxi, and the defense of Nanchang is within his responsibility. Although General Meng Ke is his immediate superior, he needs a transfer order from the governor of Anqing to transfer him. Zhou Ning will definitely use this as an excuse to refuse to go. And the adults also instructed not to use force, so as not to stir up too much trouble and affect the stability of the entire Jiangxi. Moreover, the court probably doesn't want to see the adults successfully take the entire Jiangxi into their arms. If you forcefully take action against Zhou Ning, it is hard to predict how the court will react."
Tian Yimu went on to say, "When the emperor conferred the titles of marquis on General Ma and General Meng at the same time, he intended to kill three men with one peach. Why don't we take advantage of the situation and make General Meng and you have a superficial falling out? In this way, the court will most likely fully support General Meng. Then we can find an opportunity to let General Meng swallow up Zhou Ning in one fell swoop, creating a fait accompli. The court will rely on General Meng to divide your power and will definitely not pursue General Meng too much. In this way, the big thing can be settled."
Sima An said: "This plan has both advantages and disadvantages. If it is implemented, it will not be difficult to annex Zhou Ning, but now everyone knows that General Meng Ke is your right-hand man. If General Meng Ke and your Excellency fall out, it will inevitably cause internal shocks. Now we are in urgent need of recuperation. Once the internal shock is too great, it will not be worth the loss."
Qin Mu thought for a moment and said, "Mr. Sima's concerns are very insightful. It is better to trouble Mr. He to go to Nanchang and slowly make arrangements. It doesn't matter if Zhou Ning cannot be taken for the time being, but Wang Shousu and Lin Qinghe must be controlled. In this way, we will also control the administration and justice of northern Jiangxi. As for Zhou Ning's troops, we just need to be more cautious. I want to remind you that when dealing with such matters, everyone's eyes should not be limited to our own small piece of land. Changes in the world's situation will inevitably produce many chain reactions. Many seemingly difficult problems can often be easily solved once external factors change. Therefore, we must focus on the overall situation in everything."
"I will follow your instructions, sir."
"Okay, New Year's Eve is in two days, Mr. Sima, have the rewards for the soldiers been distributed in full?" Qin Mu attached great importance to this matter. He currently has a total of 150,000 troops under his command. In order to win over the hearts of the troops, each soldier will be rewarded with an extra two taels of silver during the New Year, and officers of all levels will be rewarded accordingly. In addition, there are also wine and meat and other items for the army to celebrate the New Year. The total cost is no less than 500,000 taels.
Although the cost is not small, the army is the foundation of his life. Without them, nothing can be achieved. Therefore, Qin Mu will not be stingy in spending money on the army.
In fact, in every dynasty, some rewards would be given to the army during the New Year festivals or suburban sacrifices, but none was as comprehensive and generous as Qin Mu's.
Sima An stood up and answered solemnly: "Don't worry, sir. I have already asked people to handle this matter properly. The reward money has been distributed two days ago, and the wine and meat for the New Year will definitely be ready before New Year's Eve."
"Okay." Qin Mu nodded, turned to He Liang and said, "Mr. He, it seems that you will have to work harder. Nanchang is the place with the most variables at present. Mr. He has to rush to Nanchang as soon as possible to take charge. I will leave Nanchang to you."
He Liang quickly stood up and saluted: "It is an honor for me that Your Excellency has placed such high hopes on me. I will work diligently and not complain. If Your Excellency has no other instructions, I will rush to Nanchang right away."
He Liang was actually more anxious than Qin Mu. Qin Mu had assigned the task to him, Zhuge Min and the other two with the intention of testing them. Now he had not completed the task very well. Although Qin Mu did not say anything, one could tell from his tone that he was not very satisfied. He Liang inevitably felt a little uneasy and just wanted to get back to Nanchang as soon as possible to take control of the situation.
"Nothing else, thank you Mr. He."
Qin Mu personally escorted He Liang out of the north gate of Ganzhou, then turned around and smiled at his subordinates: "Well, everyone has worked hard for half a year and has made great contributions. Take a break these two days and have a good New Year."
"Thank you, sir."
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ps: Haoyuan was born in the countryside, but he didn't do farm work since he was a child. After graduating from school, he basically only went back to his hometown during the Spring Festival. I went to plant trees today, and planted 350 trees in one day. It's unbelievable, right? But I really planted 350 trees today. The price was that I couldn't move after I came back. I took a scalding hot shower, but the effect was not very obvious. I also let my seven-year-old niece step on my back, which made her legs weak, but I still couldn't move. Ouch, my old waist.
I don't know if I can get up tomorrow. I still have 3,000 trees to plant. I can't give up on greening our country halfway. Oh, my old waist... (To be continued...)
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