Domineering Daming

Another disciple, with the same dignified expression, said: "Teacher, today's sage does not like literature, but prefers martial arts. It may not be a good thing."

Liu Zongzhou remained silent. He was in the field and didn't like the court situation very much, so he has never been an official. However, the court's "reform" actions are getting bigger and bigger, which makes him feel scared.

If this continues, the country will really be shaken!

Seeing that Liu Zongzhou remained silent, the two disciples vaguely guessed his thoughts, and one of them suggested: "Teacher, you might as well go and see Mr. Yuan and explain your thoughts."

The Master Yuan they are talking about is Yuan Keli. Yuan Keli's ancestors were hereditary brocade clothes during the Taizu period. It is said that Yuan Keli was the eighth generation. Now he is an official in Henan to participate in politics. He is good at riding and shooting.

Yuan Keli is 71 this year, and he was also a famous master of Confucianism in the Ming Dynasty. Liu Zongzhou always greeted him as a disciple when he met him.Yuan Keli also admired Liu Zongzhou's scholarly talent, and the two of them could be regarded as forgetful friends.

Liu Zongzhou looked up at the two people in front of him, shook his head and said, "Mr. Yuan is upright. If there are any disadvantages in the new policy of the imperial court, he will never agree to it, and no one can force it. Since the six ministers are all co-signed, it shows that Mr. Yuan thinks the situation is serious. , the new politics must be done.”

"Teacher, the New Deal seems to be able to increase taxes for the imperial court, but it will shake the world. It is an act of drinking poison to quench thirst, and it cannot be implemented at all!"

"Everything in this is unprecedented, everyone will oppose it, and it will cause chaos in the world!"

"Teacher, the imperial court's reform is too radical. Even if there are many crises, it should be done step by step. Such a movement is really too big."

"Governing a big country is like cooking a small fish. How can it be so violent? Even if the court has the heart for the world, it can't act too hastily and damage the foundation of the country..."

The two students of Liu Zongzhou talked about the "New Deal" just promulgated by the court, but in fact they were all against it. They hoped that Liu Zongzhou would come forward to carry the flag.

Liu Zongzhou has given lectures in the capital for the past few years, and his reputation is booming, and scholars respect him. Even the six ministers are quite polite when they meet him. It can be said that in the current literary world of Ming Dynasty, he is a peak, unattainable.

He is not a "talented" person like Qian Qianyi. He is known as the so-called first-time talented scholar in the south of the Yangtze River and the leader of Donglin. Liu Zongzhou has already surpassed this stage and become a "master". He is already a "grandmaster" in scholarship.

But Liu Zongzhou still shook his head. In the past few years in the capital, he has devoted himself to studying knowledge, and he is not without attention to the political situation. His only experience is: stay away.

From Chongzhen to the present, Jingzheng seems to be peaceful, and the six officials are very stable, but the potential risks contained in it are even more terrifying. From his point of view, Wei Zhongxian's sudden recovery this time is more like a "return to the light". After this period of time, he will be completely liquidated by the emperor.

As a Confucian and Taoist master who watched coldly, Liu Zongzhou may not have much experience in political struggles, but he has read history books, which gave him an extraordinary vision.

Liu Zongzhou didn’t say these words, and if they spread out, it would cause great disaster. He looked at the two disciples in front of him, knowing that troubles would be inevitable in the future, he was silent for a while, and said: “Pack up your luggage, and return to Jiangnan to cultivate today. With my permission, you are not allowed to go out."

Liu Zongzhou knew that since Wei Zhongxian came out, he definitely didn't want to make a fool of himself, and he didn't want his disciples to be implicated.

The two disciples frowned and looked at each other with reluctance in their eyes.

Their teacher clearly wanted to avoid it, and didn't want to get involved in the new government policy.But they were very worried from the bottom of their hearts, worried about Daming's future.

The temporary yamen of Shuntian Prefecture.

Chen Qiyu, who bears the title of governor of Beizhili, looked at the group of people sitting solemnly.

Northern Zhili has eight prefectures including Shuntian Prefecture, Baoding Prefecture, Hejian Prefecture, Zhending Prefecture, Shunde Prefecture, Guangping Prefecture, Daming Prefecture, Yongping Prefecture, Yanqing Prefecture, and Baoan Prefecture. Originally, Shuntian Prefecture was also added. The two county magistrates, but they were both involved in the case and there was no trace of them.

Governor of Shuntian Prefecture, Governor of Beizhili Chen Qiyu, Chancellor of Shuntian Prefecture Chen Suowen, plus eight magistrates and magistrates, a total of ten people, considered a closed government secret meeting.

Chen Dexiu, the prefect of Guangping Prefecture, looked at Chen Qiyu and cried bitterly: "Master Chen, of course the lower officials obey the imperial court's policies, but how will they be charged? Could it be possible to send troops to the door to persecute them?"

Liu Fengzhong, the magistrate of Hejian Prefecture, said with a sullen face, "Lord Chen, should we argue this matter with the court? Taxes and rations can't be collected with emotion..."

Pang Guixian, the magistrate of the Daming Mansion, said with a sad face, "My lord, this is not feasible. If I really want to make these gentry anxious, there will be no one in the yamen to do anything."

Wang Shanhai, the magistrate of Yongping Prefecture, quickly continued, "Yes, my lord, the government relies on the support of the gentry in the local area. If the gentry ignore it, the government orders will not go out of the yamen..."

The other magistrates and prefectures poured out bitter water one after another, talking about difficulties, and did not express any opinions.

Chen Qiyu's face was solemn, and his heart was full of anger.This group of people has long been colluding with those gentry, but at this time, they have no intention of supporting the government affairs of the imperial court. Instead, they demand that the imperial court abolish this new policy in disguise!

Chen Suowen became more and more aware of the difficulty of this matter. Without the support of the officials below, the policies of the imperial court are empty words, and it will be extremely difficult to implement them.

Pressed by the top, fooled by the bottom, they are caught in the middle, in a dilemma, which is the most painful.

Chen Qiyu suppressed the anger in his heart, and said with a calm face: "I don't care what difficulties you have, summer grain is coming soon, I want you to come up with detailed methods within three days, and estimate the amount of summer grain that each government can collect, if you can't do it, Either you submit your resignation letter, or this official directly removes you from office!"

Everyone looked slightly shocked, who doesn't care about official titles?

Liu Fengzhong said anxiously: "My lord, you can't do this, we are the magistrates appointed by the Ministry of Officials, Shuntian Mansion has no right to appoint or remove them!"

Pang Guixian showed panic on his face, and said: "Master Chen, this grain requisition is no small matter, how can we make a decision in a few words, please be flexible and give me time to plan."

"That's right, Mr. Chen, the New Deal has just started, so we can't just give us some time to prepare..."

"Master Chen, I think this year's summer food is still the same as in previous years, let's start with the autumn food..."

"Master Chen, please present your situation to the imperial court, we really have difficulties..."

"My lord, there are priorities, you can't put the cart before the horse..."

A group of people were scrambling to be the first, chattering at each other, and came up with various methods, all of which were explicit or covert, either directly or in disguise, asking Chen Qiyu to give up the grain collection.

Chapter 590 Three Days Time Limit

Chen Qiyu's face was ugly, this group of people is not good at anything, he can't do anything with them if he is determined!

Everyone is rambling, and none of them seem to be doing something!

Chen Suowen felt that Chen Qiyu was about to get angry, and whispered in his ear: "My lord, today is just a test, why not do this first, and think of another countermeasure when we go back."

Chen Qiyu's gaze was as sharp as a sword, this time he really understood the difficulties encountered, and also understood what Chen Suowen meant.

Few officials in Ming Dynasty came from poor families. Most of their ancestors had fame. Over the years, their relationship network was intricate. If Chen Qiyu really wanted to get angry here, within half an hour, the memorials to impeach him would appear one after another in the Tongzheng Envoy.

Chen Qiyu was still not reconciled, staring at the crowd angrily, said in a deep voice: "I have finished speaking, this is the imperial court's 'New Deal', I hope you adults can see clearly, don't make mistakes!"

Everyone could hear that Chen Qiyu was stern, and they raised their hands calmly and said, "I dare not."

Chen Qiyu waved his hands angrily, and left the side hall.

Chen Suowen followed closely, took a few steps and said in a low voice: "My lord, the situation is not optimistic, we still need to report to the cabinet in detail, and the six departments will know."

The "Gentlemen's Taxation" article is the most important code in the "New Deal". Chen Qiyu, who has participated in this long-lasting debate, knows that it is related to a series of state affairs of the emperor. The most obvious one is that the imperial treasury is empty and the disaster is serious. , The second is to curb land mergers, no matter which of these two items, the court and the emperor will not budge!

What Chen Suowen meant was to ask Chen Qiyu to tell the court and the emperor that this matter was far from easy as imagined, and hoped that there could be a compromise.

Although Chen Qiyu was furious, he was still awake, and his brows were furrowed.

Now there are endless disasters, those without land cling to the thighs of their landlords with land, and those with land hold tighter. Even if the grain is moldy in the warehouse, they will not be willing to hand it over to the court.What's more, the "gentry" is a special group, which is fundamentally different from the "common people". The biggest difference is that they "do not pay the grain".They are absolutely unacceptable!

Chen Qiyu took a deep breath, shook his head and said: "You can't always push the trouble to the higher authorities, otherwise the emperor will think you and I are incompetent. We need to find another way."

Chen Suowen nodded thoughtfully. The crux of this matter lies with the magistrates, and even more so with the gentry. It is not so easy to solve it!

At the same time, Wei Zhongxian also held the first meeting of the "Emergency Yamen" in Dongchang.

More than 20 people, including the Inspector of the Rites, the Supervisory Council, the Ministry of Punishment, the Ministry of Officials, and the Six Gates, sat together in the deliberation room in the side room of the East Factory.