Bright Spring

Gao Xianning waved his hand and said, "I can't control the matter of the third division."

Chu Xun thought for a while and said, "In this case, I will inform Gao Siqing on behalf of my colleagues. The commander and envoy plan to stabilize the Fucheng and the Acropolis for the time being, and will not act rashly. First, send the urgent report to the Ministry of War, and wait for the imperial court to order. , and make further arrangements.”

After he finished speaking, his expression was a little depressed, as if he sighed secretly.

Gao Xianning glanced at him again, then picked up the teacup and said, "Please." Then he took a sip of tea.

Chu Yun also drank tea to moisten his mouth.

At this time, Gao Xianning said calmly, "Don't worry, Mr. Chu, there is nothing wrong with it. If something really happens, it won't wait until now. Some people in the court don't agree with Mr. Chu's strategy of governing the region in recent years. Fortunately, His Majesty I’ve spoken for you. Now it’s just a sore that has been pierced, and some troubles are inevitable. If the sore is not broken, the wounds accumulated over the years will not heal.”

"Yes, yes. Gao Siqing's words awakened the officials, like waking up someone in a dream." Chu Yun was especially respectful at this moment, probably referring to the Holy Majesty.

Gao Xianning nodded in approval, picked up the tureen again, and held it in his hand.

Chu Yun got up and said, "I won't bother you any more, please leave."

"I'll send Chu Shijun out." Gao Xianning immediately put down the tureen and stood up.

Gao Xianning was at home, waiting to receive the scouting report from Chief Chen Ba and other Jinyiwei captains, while preparing everything.At the beginning of February, he posted a post inviting students and gentry from all over the world to come to a manor in the south of Jinan for a literary meeting.Because the place is not peaceful, it is inconvenient for everyone to hold a banquet at this time, so the manor has prepared some tea, snacks, and vegetarian meals to entertain the guests.

Scholars, gather together.There was no need for someone to come forward to host, everyone naturally swiped ink on the spot and began to write articles in support of the Qingzhou government to suppress the rebellion.Or to express the depression that has not been reused, or to denounce the thieves impassionedly, or to sympathize with the suffering of the people, all kinds of speeches are endless.

It is precisely Gao Xianning who was once famous for his article "On the Duke of Zhou Fu Chengwang" and who is good at writing articles, but today he has no articles.After he arrived at the scene, he spoke directly in public.

Among the scholars, Gao Xianning's remarks today are considered low-level, because there is almost no purpose, just to narrate what he has seen and heard.

He first talked about the ins and outs of the bandit leader "Bailong" being forced to revolt, from Bailong letting believers mix with men and women in the village, prostitution | humiliating the bride, to ganging up with the leader of the bandit Yang San, Liu Jun and other leaders of the White Lotus Sect, and mobilizing troops to besiege the county town , are recent events.

Then Gao Xianning began to talk about what his "friends" reported at the place where the incident happened, focusing on how the rebels robbed and killed the gentry, and how they distributed the money and food of the landlords and wealthy households to the refugees.In the eyes of the Bailian sect, the government and the gentry are the chief culprits of exploiting the people, and they deserve death.Rebellion is the purpose of the White Lotus Sect. In the Yuan Dynasty, the White Lotus Sect helped the rebel army rebel against the Mongols. When the Ming Dynasty conquered the world, they continued to rebel against the Ming Dynasty. It has always been like this.

The lobby, which was full of people expressing their opinions before, was bustling and noisy, but now the atmosphere became a little dignified, and most of the people were silent.Apparently, the scholars who had the time to drink tea and write poems, and the guests here were almost all from well-to-do families, with different numbers, but they were the ones that the White Lotus Sect denounced.

Seeing this, Gao Xianning changed the subject, and said, "Bailong, the head of the thief, bewitched the villagers and did nasty things, allowing the village women to bear their sons, which is against the norms of human ethics. Later, he coerced the refugees and resisted the arrest by the government. The relief food in the free warehouses in various places in Qingzhou was used as military funds; and the stored food that kept the people from starving to death in the wilderness happened to be the official food that arrived in Shandong from the south last year.

There are many bad deeds of the members of the White Lotus Cult, and there is real evidence for everything, and the evidence is conclusive.You must go to the town to talk when you are drinking in your hometown, Xiaoyu the people all over Shandong, and revive the folk customs. "

Everyone agreed one after another, and many clapped their hands and applauded.Gao Xianning, who does not write articles straight, still has a clear mind and distinguishes black and white.

Chapter 953

The rural drinking mentioned by Gao Xianning before is a kind of regular gathering, with strict hierarchy and order.In addition to being held by Confucianism at all levels of government, villagers in the village will also invite guests and gather villagers for rural drinking.This was an important means for the Ming Dynasty to maintain the order of the common people.

Among them, the people who control public opinion are of course the literate gentry and village elders.

It has been less than 50 years since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, and the rural grassroots are far from being corrupted.The gentry, especially the famous literati, did not lose their reputation and become a derogatory term for exploiting the common people.On the contrary, for the sake of fame, reputation, or face, they often talk about some moral rules, and they understand the truth better than ordinary people, and they will do some good things such as building roads and bridges to help the orphans and widows.As a result, the villagers believed the words of the gentry more. At least people felt that the gentry was more reliable than the villagers who were also common people.

However, influence alone is not enough to deter the common people and maintain the "sincere" folk customs.

The gentry generally had contacts with the government, and those who had studied in the county school even called the magistrate a teacher.Relying on connections and family background, villagers and gentry can directly adjudicate some less serious disputes.

There is also an important activity in the village drink, which is to find out those bullies who are "morally corrupt", cock-crowding, dog-robbing, and bullying men and women.If anyone is disliked by many people, they will be exposed in the village drink; then the village elders will organize people to send them to the county government.After being approved by the county government, people will send the bullies to the frontier to open up wasteland.

Therefore, it is quite dangerous to be someone who everyone dislikes. If you are not careful, you may be exiled in a daze.Everyone is afraid of offending others, and the folk customs are naturally simple.

There was once a village drink on the Xiguan side of Binzhou Prefecture on the [-]th day of the first lunar month; recently, the village elders said that they wanted to convey the emperor's edict, so they added it temporarily.All the villagers, no matter men, women, old or young, went to the Tang family ancestral hall, and Tang Sai'er followed her father.

This time, the local drink is more lively and grand than last time.The guests who came here seemed to be of high status. They were all in the inner hall. It is said that there were scholars from Jinan Prefecture and scholars from nearby villages.A girl like Tang Sai'er, who has neither fame nor elders, can only stand in the yard outside, without even a place to sit.

But the people in the hall inside are very reserved, bowing and bowing at every turn, and not very lively; the courtyard outside is more comfortable, the surroundings are noisy, everyone is gossiping, and the mouths of the seven aunts and eight women never stop.

Tang Sai'er quickly saw Lin San in the crowd.Lin San was also constantly looking this way. When he saw Tang Saier's eyes, he actually dodged his eyes a little bit shyly; on the contrary, Tang Saier smiled generously at him.

Her father has been sent by the Binzhou government to find him from other places, and the matter has been handled very quickly, and the people in the government are also "Old Tang" one by one, very polite.With the elders in charge, she will marry Lin San this year.Tang Sai'er was very satisfied with Lin San. He heard from neighbors that he was hard-working and strong. Tang Sai'er occasionally had the opportunity to observe him, and found that he was honest and responsible, and would blush even when he looked at a young lady.She likes this young man.

Some of the nearby villagers are talking about the rebellion of the Bailian Sect in Qingzhou Prefecture, and the story there has already spread all over the place.This time the emperor issued an imperial decree to increase the number of local drinks in the village. It is probably because of the Qingzhou government, and even the villagers guessed it.

It is said that there are more and more members of the White Lotus Sect, and they have captured Linqu County, killing officials and robbing riches, like a flood, heading all the way to Changle County.

However, Tang Sai'er only wanted to hear what the imperial decree had to say today, and she suddenly became very interested in this matter.Because she received some unexpected guests last year, the village elders told her afterwards that the strong man "Mr. Hong" turned out to be the Emperor of Ming!No wonder that man spent a lot of money and gave Tang Sai'er a large sum of money, and those officials were also respectful in front of him.

After her father came back, he talked about it.Speaking from both sides, Tang's father didn't know any noble people at all, and he didn't help out when he saw injustice. He had always worked hard in the places where the people gathered.The official lied, and the matter was very strange. Tang Sai'er still doesn't understand how the Ming emperor found him.

However, the bag of money given by the emperor allowed a relatively poor family like Tang Sai'er to have a generous and decent dowry.At that time, Lin Sanjia will definitely have a surprise.

After a few rounds of ceremonies in the hall, it was finally time to recite the imperial decree.Ben Xiangli was walking on the steps and said: "Folks, please don't talk, sir is going to read the imperial decree from the Holy Majesty, everyone is noisy and can't hear the first sentence clearly."

Someone in the crowd said, "We don't understand."

But Li Zheng said: "Understand, understand."

Everyone became quieter, and Tang Sai'er listened intently. She was illiterate, and was afraid that she might not understand the emperor's imperial decree, but she really wanted to understand what the man said in the imperial decree.

"Emperor Fengtian Chengyun..." A loud voice came from inside, and the reader had a good voice.The guests in the hall knelt down one after another, and the people on the steps and in the yard also knelt down to listen to the order.

The voice inside said: "The edict said: A few years ago, there was a war in the Ming Dynasty, and the war disaster affected the people of Shandong. Bitter. I know all these situations.

My Emperor Taizu expelled the Tatars, restored his clothes, and sat down in the world justifiably, freeing the people from the oppression of the Tatars. Taizu wanted to let the people of Ming Dynasty live a good life.People in our family have always cared most about the people of Daming.The common people are in trouble, I am the grandson of Taizu, I will never ignore it after I know about it.

I have decreed that starting from this year, the entire territory of Shandong will be exempted from grain tax and corvee for at least three years, not a grain of grain will be collected, and no one will be allowed to leave their hometown; and money and grain will be transferred to the country and stored in charity warehouses in various places to help the poor and poor.May the people in Shandong recuperate, live and work in peace and contentment, my heart is comforted.

Since Taizu, the royal family has hated corrupt officials the most, and hope that officials from all over the world will strictly warn them, and they must work together with the imperial court to tide over the difficulties.When the people in Shandong are suffering, if anyone wants to make a fortune, don't blame me for not saying the ugly things first, and you will have no good fruit to eat.This is it. "

The imperial decree was actually written like this, Tang Sai'er understood the whole content without missing a single word.She still remembered the voice of "Mr. Hong", and she was in a daze at this moment, as if she heard that voice speaking in front of her.

"Long live, long live, long live..." A burst of shouts sounded, and Tang Sai'er woke up suddenly, realizing that Mr. Hong was not speaking.

After everyone got up from the ground, the noise filled the yard again.Some people commented in private, and one voice said: "Grandfather has a good grandson, and our Wude Emperor is also brave." Another voice said, "Japanese, Tatar, and Western have all been attacked. His martial arts are not inferior to Taizu's." Another person asked where Japan and the West are, but the person who talked about it didn't know, probably he heard it from scholars, and then boasted in front of the villagers.

After a while, a handsome and fair scribe came out from the hall and stood on the steps to talk to everyone.

In the usual rural drinking, these high-ranking gentry will not come out. They all speak in the hall, and then someone stands at the door and relays the enlightenment inside.Today, the gentry seem to have been influenced by the emperor's decree to be close to the people, so they went straight out to preach to the people.

The gentry was talking about the rebellion of the White Lotus Sect in Qingzhou Prefecture.When the head of the White Lotus Sect was in the villager's bridal chamber, he put on the bride's bed curtain, but asked the groom to serve outside the tent; everyone was filled with righteous indignation, and there was a burst of curses in the yard.Lin San not far away, probably because he was about to get married, also angrily echoed in the crowd.

After many years of Confucian moral persuasion, the ethics of men and women have been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and the world is very resistant to such things that violate common sense.Moreover, people in the clan attach great importance to the inheritance of descendants and spread their branches and leaves. This eldest son has become the seed of other people's family, which is really challenging people's perception.

Tang Sai'er knew local people who believed in the White Lotus Sect, but at this time she also felt a little disgusted with the White Lotus Sect.Perhaps it was because Tang Sai'er had a good impression of the current emperor and thought he was a good person, so she felt that most of the people who rebelled against the emperor were not good people.

The gentry also talked about the robbery of the charity warehouse by the White Lotus Sect's rebellious soldiers, and all kinds of evil things.People who talk are scholars who want face. Since they dare to publicize it in public, most of the things are true. Besides, the villagers still trust scholars.

For a while, the reputation of the White Lotus Sect in Xiguan Township has fallen to the bottom, just like a group of monsters.There may be villagers who have quietly believed in the White Lotus Sect in the crowd, but those people can't say anything. If they argue at this time, they may be immediately picked up and exiled.

This time, the hometown drink was held very well, and the students and literati firmly grasped the public opinion.

... At this time, the rebel army on the Qingzhou government side is still in full swing, and the situation is very good.It was because the nearby Qingzhou Guards stood still and only cared about protecting the prefecture and the acropolis. The manpower of the local county towns and wealthy households in the manor was simply not enough to resist the large and powerful rebellious soldiers; The momentum is like a broken bamboo.

However, Bailong, Liu Jun and other leaders have already realized that the government will certainly not keep watching the fire from the other side, and then must mobilize troops to counterattack.They managed their territories in the mountains in the west, and at the same time collected military supplies from various places as much as possible, thinking that it would be a long-term plan.During this period, the sources of people from all walks of life were different, and of course it was impossible to accurately choose what should be robbed and what should not be robbed.Looting | Robbery of food stored in righteous warehouses in the village also happens from time to time, and there is no way to avoid people who take advantage of the opportunity to do evil.