Domineering Daming

Opponents of the "New Deal" finally found an outlet and used the newspaper as a battlefield. From the beginning of the so-called "way of scholarship", it evolved into an attack on Gu Yanwu, and then attacked the cabinet. Now they are bombarding the "New Deal" like a tide .

The "Jingzheng New Deal" was extremely destructive from the very beginning. It violated the ancestral system and destroyed established laws. It swept away almost all the established rules of the Ming Dynasty in Liting, intending to rebuild them.

This kind of reform started without a broad consensus and was forced by Zhu Xu. If you want to find a point of attack, you can see it everywhere.

Among them, the one with the loudest voice of opposition is Nanzhili. Those who lingered on the Qinhuai River, avoided the court, and pretended to be celebrities and high officials couldn't sit still. They picked up their pens and put their grievances into writing. all over the world.

Suddenly, Daming did not know how many talented people appeared, such as the eight great talents of Jiangzuo, the seven gentlemen of Huaizuo, the seven sages of Fujian and so on.

These people are full of poems and books, full of resentment and anger, and once stretched, the world will hear about it.

There were too many scholars in the Ming Dynasty, they flocked to the top, and the imperial court wanted to withdraw. Facing the tide of verbal criticism and citing scriptures, the scholar-liners who supported the "New Deal" were defeated every inch. trend.

The cabinet came forward in a timely manner and issued an official document, not only saying that it would review all aspects of the "New Deal" at this year's conference, but also inviting famous officials from all over the country to come to Beijing to observe and discuss state affairs.

This naturally aroused the great enthusiasm of these opponents. They had been depressed for many years, and finally had the opportunity. While continuing to express their opinions in the newspapers and bombarding the "New Deal", they packed their bags and rushed to the capital.

Before the year-end meeting started, Zhu Xu received another bad news.

Sun Chengzong fell at home in the morning and is now bedridden, which seems to be a sign of death.

For an old man in his 70s, such a fall is enough to make people frightened.

Zhu Xu went to see it in person, and he didn't feel relieved until the imperial doctor said, "It's not in the way, I need to rest."

But because of this, Sun Chengzong had to retire even if he didn't retreat, and the Grand Marshal's Mansion was about to be replaced.

Chapter 1462

In the twelfth lunar month of winter, there was heavy snow.

Passenger ships going north from South Zhili are like a long dragon, winding towards the north.

On a small passenger boat, there were four men in their early thirties sitting around the stove, panting, looking out through the glass window.

"This damn weather can really freeze people to death..."

A pale man who was obviously drunk, wrapped in a thick cotton suit, said angrily.

A man on the opposite side was older than him, with a square face, holding a hot teacup, looking outside, and said: "Although the 'New Deal' is absurd and outrageous, the disaster is indeed getting worse every year. Let's talk about the weather. It’s much colder than previous years.”

The person next to him looked younger, staring at the teapot in front of him, with a dazed expression, not knowing what he was thinking.

Opposite him was a middle-aged man who seemed to be prematurely aging. He stretched his legs and said with emotion: "I am not afraid of evil people doing bad things, but I am most afraid of doing bad things with good intentions."

The pale-faced man nodded immediately, and said, "What Brother Li said is that the current imperial court is probably like this."

The man with a square face said: "This time we are going to Beijing, we will first pay a visit to Dean Qin, then go to the Hanlin Academy, the Political Academy, and have a good debate with those people. We want to see who is the one who is wrong for the country!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly looked up and said, "Boatman, I remember passing Yangzhou, do you want to change the boat?"

The boatman outside laughed loudly and said: "I'm afraid the guest officer hasn't gone north for many years, right? This canal is no longer the canal it was many years ago. Every year, the Ministry of Industry and local government will recruit civilians to dredge it. Now let alone there is no blockage, it is just bigger. boats can also pass.”

Everyone in the cabin seemed a little surprised, and said "oh" without asking any more questions.

The younger man stared at the teapot, and suddenly said, "Do you think we are wrong?"

"Impossible!" The prematurely decrepit person retorted immediately, with a fierce tone, and said, "We follow the ancestral system, for the sake of the Ming Dynasty, and what the current 'New Deal' is doing, even the faint king dare not do it! "

The pale-faced one said: "That's right, we must stop them. If it continues, there will be chaos in the world and a change of dynasty!"

The square corner of his face followed in a cold voice: "That's right, look now, is there still a trace of the ancestral system? Now the people's sentiments are boiling, and the world is in turmoil. What is the reason?"

Younger wanted to refute, but didn't know where to start, and continued to stare at the teapot sullenly.

Everyone wanted to talk again, but suddenly the boatman said outside: "Guest officers, there are folks gathered in front of us, we have to wait."

The four people were startled, and they all looked from the window together.

I saw dozens of peasants on the shore carrying some things along the concrete road, pulling flatbed carts, and braving the cold wind.

The prematurely aging middle-aged man was puzzled and asked, "What are they doing in such a severe winter?"

These few people came from rich and noble backgrounds, and they lingered on the Qinhuai River all year round, so they didn't know what happened outside.

On the contrary, the boatman outside smiled and said: "Guests don't know, they are disaster victims from all over the country. They were recruited by the Ministry of Industry to maintain the river. The stones they transported should be used to build bridges. They are all working in the countryside. Those who don't go down, if they are not recruited by the Ministry of Industry, I am afraid they will starve to death, poor..."

The four people looked at each other, and then asked a little younger: "Are there many people like this?"

The boatman seemed to sit down, his tone relaxed, and he said, "Many? Liaodong has moved more than 600 million over the past few years, and Annan has more than 300 million. I don't know about other places. There are at least a few hundred thousand people on both sides of the canal. , the Yellow River, etc., I’m afraid there will be more people, and those who work on official roads, land reclamation, and mountain digging, a few of them have 10 to 200 million people, there are too many, I can’t say..."

The prematurely decrepit man opened his eyes wide and said, "With so many people, where does the imperial court get so much money and food? Doesn't it mean that the treasury is empty?"

The boatman outside seemed to be stunned for a moment, and then said after a while: "That's a question for the little old man, but I have never heard of wages being owed. The money is all through the bank, and now it is withdrawn from the bank, and there is also the Ministry of Industry. , the Supervisory Council and others take turns to supervise, and ordinary people can't be greedy for ink."

The four people inside frowned, and asked squarely, "How much food do you get for so many people?"

The boatman outside interrupted and said, "We don't give food directly now, we have to buy it with silver dollars."

The four ignored the boatman, and said with a pale face, "If it's 100 million people, five taels a month, and three months, it's ten million five..."

At this time, Chuangong interjected again: "The lowest is 15 taels a month, mid-spring in March, and autumn in mid-march."

The four of them looked outside, their expressions were displeased, and in an instant they were very ugly.

If what the boatman said was true, then the imperial court would pay these civilian husbands at least 3000 million silver a year!

If other expenditures are added, it is unimaginable. Where did the court get so much money?You know, during the Tianqi years, the annual treasury revenue was less than 300 million!

Everyone was silent for a while, and the one with the pale face said thoughtfully: "Can Shenlongfu really make that much money?"

The one with the square face snorted coldly, and said, "No matter how much money you make, it's impossible to have so much money. It's not from the family and family!"

Having said that, everyone was silent for a while.

The court's butcher's knife is too sharp, they don't want to talk about it.

The corner of the younger mouth twitched, he hesitated to speak.

He felt that ransacking the family and destroying the clan would not be able to rob so much money. The court's money came from many sources, but they cared too little about the "New Deal" and failed to find the key.

They turned their heads and looked out of the front window again. These peasants were cutting ice and clearing the ice that had just frozen.

Everyone's hearts were shaken, their eyes flickered, for some reason, they suddenly became a little heavy, and they were not as proud as they were before they went out.

The boatman was sitting in the bow, cooking something with his daughter, and whispering at the same time.

"Father, Jizhou plans to let me go to the newly opened textile factory in Yangzhou Prefecture. It is opened by an uncle of his distant family. I will pay ten taels a month. The more I work, the more I get..." The daughter whispered.