my brother-in-law is the prince

Chapter 573
Zhu Di didn't turn his mind a little bit.

It was mainly Zhang Anshi's unreasonable flattery, which made him a little uncomfortable.

Therefore, Zhu Di fell into silence, unconsciously chewing on Zhang Anshi's words.

The first ones to react were the Wenyuan Pavilion Grand Scholars who accompanied him.

Although they also heard in a cloud, but they roughly heard the general idea.

So everyone looked at each other in blank dismay, and their hearts couldn't help being shocked. Zhang Anshi, the rebellious general, had never left the capital.

As for the model camp, there were no transfers.

Could it be that those traitors suddenly repented?
But if you think about it carefully, if you rebel, you have already made up your mind to break the boat. You must know that the consequences of being caught without a fight are unbearable for anyone. Therefore, in all dynasties, there has never been a rebel who surrendered easily. case.

That being the case, how did the chief envoy of Fujian counter the rebellion?
The scale of this rebellion is so huge, how could it be possible to get good news in just over a month?
This matter is so unbelievable that even the great scholars of Wenyuan Pavilion who deeply recognize Zhang Anshi are already full of doubts.

So Xie Jin immediately asked: "Your Highness, what you said just now, does it mean that the Fujian chief envoy, the rebel army has been put down?"

Zhang Anshi immediately said: "Naturally!"

Zhu Di just came to his senses when the word "nature" came out. He looked at Zhang Anshi carefully and pondered, "Is it settled?"

Zhang Anshi also knew what everyone was thinking, so he said: "Your Majesty, it has indeed been pacified. Tens of thousands of rebels have been wiped out, and all the stubborn thieves have been captured. As for the backbone of these rebels, they have all been tied up now." , Escorted to Beijing at any time, the current Fujian chief envoy is safe and sound."

Zhu Di's eyes flickered for a gleam, and then his body shook, and he said, "Did the local guards calm down?"

As soon as this remark came out, Zhu Di felt a little slip of the tongue again.

The Ming Dynasty did set up a lot of guards in the Fujian chief envoy, but with the peace of the world, the combat effectiveness of the guards dropped greatly, not to mention that most of the elite of the imperial court defended Zhili and Beiping. There is really no need to guard against foreign invaders.

This time, the rebel army revolted very suddenly. Therefore, under the sudden attack, many guards had suffered heavy losses. It was okay to barely protect themselves, but it was hard to hope for counter-insurgency.

Zhang Anshi then said: "Your Majesty, this is all thanks to the Post Office."

Hu Guang: "..."

Zhu Di felt even more incredible.

Zhang Anshi glanced at everyone, and received several unbelievable gazes at once, so he said: "Your Majesty, minister... let's start from the beginning. Your Majesty, after the news of the rebellion spread from all over the country, people inside and outside the court are only Discussing the scale of the rebellion, the number of rebels, and the losses they caused, the soldiers and civilians were worried about whether the rebels would cause chaos in the world. Scholars in Shilin used examples from previous dynasties to use this as an ancient metaphor Today, all officials are tied, even the great scholars are only worried about what consequences this rebel army will cause."

Zhang Anshi said eloquently that at this time, the monarchs and ministers had calmed down their excitement about the sudden good news, and they all calmed down and listened very carefully.

What Zhang Anshi said is not wrong, everyone has different thoughts.

only……

Zhu Di said, "What's wrong with that?"

Zhang Anshidao: "But at that time, I was wondering why the rebellion happened."

Without even thinking about it, Zhu Di said, "It's not that simple. Isn't it just to check out the hidden households and make the powerful dissatisfied? I want to investigate thoroughly again. They have no way out, so they will take risks."

Zhang Anshidao: "Your Majesty, you have found out the source of the rebellion. But... the powerful and disobedient gentry, after all, are a minority, so... dare to ask Your Majesty, how can they make such a big fuss?" Where is the trouble?"

Zhu Di said: "They have been operating in various parts of the world for hundreds of years, and their roots are deep. If they really want to cause trouble and coerce the people, wouldn't it be easy?"

Zhang Anshidao: "A group of traitors who plan carefully can coerce many people and make such a big commotion. It can be seen from this that these people are really a trouble in my heart."

"But the minister is thinking... It can't be their fault."

As soon as this remark came out, the expressions of the monarchs and ministers changed slightly.

Zhu Di's face was a little stiff, showing a bit of embarrassment.

However, Xie Jinren and others couldn't help being shocked that Zhang Anshi was so bold today that he really dared to say anything.

At this time, Zhang Anshi continued: "The question I'm thinking about is why the common people are easily coerced. It's really just because...these powerful and evil gentry can persuade them with a few words? According to what I said You know, these tyrants and gentry, just usually, domineering, although occasionally put on a show, put on a gesture of benefiting the village, but in the end, if it is not for the exploitation of the people in the village, how can there be such a family like them? Industry?"

Hu Guang was more serious at this time, and said seriously, "Maybe it's because of the ignorance of the people..."

"Mr. Hu, it's not that I, Zhang Anshi, disrespected you. In other words, Mr. Hu's knowledge is not as far as that of your son. Your son can know the truth and distinguish right from wrong, but why is Mr. Hu so confused?"

Hu Guang has always been good-tempered, but after hearing this, his face suddenly changed.

Hu Guang is a person who has a clear understanding of himself, that is to say, he is not a stubborn person, so many times, if you say that he is not as good as a certain person, he may just smile and say... Yes, yes right.

After all, he had recognized it a long time ago, lay flat, and put it to pieces.

But if you say that he is not even as good as his own son, it will be different. A father is not as good as a son. You did not say this yourself, but Zhang Anshi, an outsider, said that.
Besides, what will this father do in the future?Shameless?

Hu Guang was short-tempered, his eyes widened immediately, and he wanted to refute.

Zhu Di squinted his eyes, and saw Hu Guang's thoughts, and said, "Listen to him, don't interrupt."

Hu Guangdun felt aggrieved, but he also knew the seriousness of the matter, so he said: "Yes, I obey the order."

Zhu Di said to Zhang Anshi: "Zhang Qing, what Hu Qing said, is there anything wrong? Looking at it now, the common people are coerced by others, and they are actually thieves. Isn't it stupid and ignorant?"

Zhang Anshi shook his head lightly and said, "The question is why the people are so stupid!"

Zhu Di frowned slightly, unable to react for a while.

Zhang Anshi continued: "The exploitation and oppression of the people by the gentry and the powerful have already been exhausted. The evil deeds in it can even be described in countless words. Those bad things can be collected by people. One hundred thousand cases. What I am afraid of is that the people are so oppressed, but in the end, the people are still coerced. If only stupidity is used to explain it, it certainly makes sense, but the minister thinks that this is a way to be lazy, just for self-entertainment That's all."

Zhang Anshi paused for a moment, and then continued: "The reports that Kechen received from various post stations have something else to say."

Zhu Di didn't expect that this station could receive all kinds of feedback, so he said, "Come here."

Zhang Anshidao: "Over there at the post station, what was reported was that although the gentry and tyrants oppressed the local states and counties, they also established order. These orders are certainly very bad for ordinary people, but they are better than the government and the imperial court. There are many..."

As soon as this remark came out, Zhu Di was a little confused.

Zhang Anshidao: "The imperial court only keeps saying that it loves the people like children in the temple, but what about the actual situation? The actual situation is that the common people hardly see any official government and imperial court in their daily life. Your Majesty's The measures to love the people have always been reduced to a dead letter. In a county, there are tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people. A parent official, with their hands, not to mention governing the people, no matter how many people there are under the rule, I am afraid that his eyes will be smeared."

"What's even more frightening is that the common people don't know about the court and the government. Even if they know, the situation of the court and the government is controlled by the local tyrants and gentry! There are things on weekdays, and the officials can't be seen, but the court and the government Only taxation and corvee will remind them of them. What’s even more ridiculous is that even when collecting grain and corvee, the government asks the gentry and powerful people to do it for them, and teaches them to use it in the name of the court and the government to extort money and food, and to recruit young men.”

Zhang Anshi sighed and said: "The things that the people hate the most, the court and the government bear the notoriety, but the things that the people yearn for, the court and the government have nowhere to go!"

Having said that, he looked up at Hu Guang, then continued to look at Zhu Xi and said, "Just now Mr. Hu said that the people are dull, but Your Majesty, the common people are dull, isn't it brought by the court and the government? The academic officials appointed by the court , It is the scholars who are educated, and the scholars are precisely the group who have their own wealth and can study. But there are countless people in the world who can't read big characters, and no one cares about raising their children. Can the imperial court take any measures?"

When Zhang Anshi said this, he seemed to pause on purpose, glanced at the changing faces of the people, and then said: "Because of this, if we want to compare, then the real situation is that compared with the gentry and powerful people As far as local bad governance is concerned, the imperial court and the government have even reached the point of non-existence, and there are no governance measures at all, let alone good or bad governance. All the measures in the temple about governance and benefiting the people are actually empty papers For the common people, there is no imperial court or official government in the world. Compared with the gentry and tyrants who are right in front of them, although the gentry and tyrants exploit them, they would rather trust the latter."

After Zhu Di heard this, he was not furious, instead his face was quite pale!
To be honest, he showed a bit of depression, and was speechless for a while.

Xie Jin, Yang Rongren, etc., who were also listening carefully, stopped talking at this time.

After a long time, Zhu Di finally found his own voice, and sighed: "What Zhang Qing said is not unreasonable. Usually, he doesn't care about it, and he doesn't care about it. The situation has reached the point where it is his own fault."

Zhang Anshidao: "In this world, everything is afraid of being true. If you just use people's stupidity to prevaricate anything, you can indeed solve the current problem with peace of mind. But if you really understand the key to the problem and prescribe the right medicine, even It’s not too late to mend the situation.”

Zhu Di cheered up, and said immediately: "Has Zhang Qing thought about how to prescribe the right medicine?"

Zhang Anshi thought for a while and said: "Since the people are dull, we should teach them the truth and let them know that the imperial court is not indifferent to them. These days, the postal department has passed through post stations and newsstands, and through many postmen and bureaucrats. Officials are not only responsible for the transmission of residence newspapers and letters, but also go deep into the village by going from house to house, and finally have direct contact with the people."

After a pause, he continued: "Besides, postmen and clerks are carefully selected by the postal department. Most of them are scholars, some are ordinary scholars, and some are from various places in Zhili. In the school, they send letters, but the people are illiterate, so they have to write letters for them. When they go deep into the village, there will inevitably be some motivated young people who are thirsty for knowledge, so they teach some simple skills of literacy and hyphenation. The cheap mansion newspaper also opened the door to reading and writing, and made it possible for many people to have access to printed matter for the first time in their lives.”

"Even if it's just a point or two from the postmen, teaching some of the most commonly used words, this mansion newspaper can barely be read. With these, I dare not say that it makes people wise, but at least... it is enough Teach them to know what the world looks like, and what the situation in Zhili far away in the sky is like. These things may actually be just a little effort, and they may not even be worth mentioning, but in this world, seeds are planted one after another. .”

"So after the rebellion broke out, the minister immediately ordered the postal department to order the post offices of the Fujian chief envoy and Guangxi chief envoy to affirm the imperial court's will to suppress the rebellion, and raise volunteer soldiers everywhere to suppress the rebellion. There were a lot of responses..."

When Zhang Anshi said this, he smiled, and couldn't help but cast a teasing look at Hu Guang, and then said: "Then, does your majesty think that these people are stupid? I don't think so, but as long as you know the benefits and disadvantages, you can apply for righteousness." , can win the trust of the people, there are countless righteous men in this world, who will lead the way for the king, and then die..."

"Therefore, in just one month, Fujian's chief envoy raised a hundred thousand volunteer soldiers. Your Majesty knows who is the most willing to work hard among them?"

During what Zhang Anshi said, Zhu Di's expression changed several times, and when Zhang Anshi finally finished speaking, Zhu Di suddenly realized.

Although he still felt that all this happened too quickly, it was beyond his imagination that those post stations could have such effects.But still subconsciously asked: "Who?"

"Danmin." Zhang Anshi spat out these two words, and then said: "It is precisely the imperial court and the government that hate and ignore them the most, and even regard them as a plague, but it happens that they are the ones who are cared by the postmen at the post station. Afterwards, they were the most desperate, and whenever they faced a battle, they would often rush to the forefront, and after several fierce battles, they would never retreat, making the rebels terrified."

Zhu Di was moved for a moment, and the admiration in his eyes was undoubtedly evident.

He really didn't expect that the one who played the biggest role in this matter was Dan Min who had never paid much attention to it before!
Not to mention other things, this bloody bravery alone is enough to make Zhu Di, who is about to win the world, look sideways at him.

Zhu Di pursed his lips, and finally said: "Is it so, is it... so?"

Zhang Anshi saw that Zhu Di was still full of doubts, so he said patiently: "The rebel army was able to disintegrate quickly. In addition to the ubiquity of the rebels, it is also because many people who were coerced were gradually infiltrated by the rebels, and they knew the benefits. It was the spread of the New Deal that made them feel remorseful. As a result, their morale was low. Every time the righteous soldiers came into contact with them, they would never give up their lives and often fled. It was also because of this that tens of thousands of rebels were killed in an instant. Dangping, the world will return to stability."

Zhu Di nodded, and sighed with emotion: "I understand, no wonder Zhang Qing has been holding back before... It's not surprising."

Zhu Di immediately laughed, how anxious he was before, how good he is now, and said: "Very good, the rebels were put down without a single soldier. These loyal ministers and righteous men will be rewarded heavily."

Zhang Anshi shook his head immediately, and said: "Your Majesty, I have rewarded them heavily. Although some people have obtained property and some people have been promoted to ranks, but Your Majesty... these people are certainly grateful, but after ten years What about 20 years later? What if someone coerces ignorant people again?"

Zhu Di was taken aback for a moment, and couldn't help saying: "There is something in Zhang Qing's words, you might as well speak up."

Zhang Anshi said: "Now the righteous soldiers are about to be disbanded, and soon they will be disarmed and returned to the fields, but what they are looking forward to is not necessarily just rewards, but to bathe in His Majesty's kindness. Such people are treated generously..."

After Zhu Di heard this, his complexion was cloudy and cloudy for a while, and he fell into deep thought.

Speaking of it, it is not a lie that the Ming Dynasty gave preferential treatment to scholars. In addition to exempting corvee, exempting land from taxes, and not worshiping officials and other privileges, it also set up a large number of county schools, prefecture schools, and Guozi schools all over the country. Preferential treatment for these specific groups.

But scholars, after all, are only a minority, this... the imperial court gave them preferential treatment, presumably this was also the reason why Emperor Taizu Gao was willing to give them preferential treatment.

It's just that there are tens of thousands of people in this world... A little preferential treatment is just a drop in the bucket.

Zhang Anshi seemed to have seen Zhu Di's thoughts, his face was still calm, and then he slowly took out a charter from his sleeve, and said: "I am bold, but I have drawn up a charter. This charter is part of the New Deal Basically, I would like to ask Your Majesty to enlighten me on some of the proposed measures."

Zhu Di came back to his senses, exhaled lightly, and then became much calmer.

This is what Zhu Di admired most about Zhang Anshi.

Zhang Anshi likes to ask questions, but he can always come up with a charter to solve the problem.

And these regulations are often more reliable.

Zhu Di lifted his spirits and said, "Bring it..."

(End of this chapter)