Cutting 1719

Chapter 445 Confidence

When talking about the end of the Ming Dynasty, people can find many factors, and one of them is very important, that is, the essential division between the North and the South, which can be said to be a main line running through the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

Throughout history, the economy between the North and the South has never developed in a coordinated manner, but has its own peak period, and the impact of the economy will also drive changes in the pattern of the world.

In history, the peak period of the northern economy was very long. It can be said that from the Qin and Han Dynasties to the intersection of the Song and Song Dynasties, the northern economy had an advantage over the south, as in the early days when the south was not developed on a large scale Now, even the two lakes belong to the place where "the south of the Yangtze River is low and wet, and the husband died young", so there is no problem with the political power at that time generally being north.

However, by the time of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the south had been developed more maturely, and both Jiangnan and Huguang had become very important sources of income and food. Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang ascended the throne in Yingtian and proclaimed himself emperor in the early days, and built the imperial palace in the should day.

The reason why Zhu Di chose to move the capital to Beijing was also determined by the strategic environment at that time.However, from an economic point of view, due to the economic imbalance between the north and the south, the south needs to continue to provide blood transfusions to the northern court in order to maintain the strength of the northern regime. Whether it is the silver in the south of the Yangtze River or the rice grains in the two lakes, they are indispensable. .

However, people have their own ideas, especially for the gentry in the south. They have been forced to transfuse blood to the north for a long time. Yes, the south plays its own game, and there is no way to make a fist. Even when the southern army arrives in the north, many conflicts will arise.

As far as Ning Chu is concerned at the moment, the differences between the north and the south are also slowly showing up, just like before the major chambers of commerce in the south hoped to donate money, just to delay the entry of northern merchants into the general chamber of commerce-from the small to the big, Today, if the gentry in the southeast spend money to support the officials in the southwest, they will not be willing anyway.

Therefore, Cui Wancai has fundamentally understood Ning Yu's ideas. Financial issues must be viewed from the overall perspective, and small groups must not be divided. The collection of power from the gentry must also be done, otherwise they will one day sooner or later. Abandon Ning Chu just like abandoning Ming Ting.

Ning Yu nodded slightly, and said: "This time, I have to consider the matter of the gentry this time, otherwise I am afraid that the disaster of the end of the Ming Dynasty will repeat itself in the future."

So far, Ning Yu has given a comprehensive explanation of the nature of this matter, and this easy-to-understand theory is easily accepted by the ministers. After all, these have been completely spread out and can be seen clearly.

As long as you unify your cognition, things will be much easier, unless you are Ning Chu's enemy.

Ning Yu's idea is so simple, he doesn't bother to play the traditional tricks of hello, hello, hello, everyone, he just spread it out on the table, anyway, Ning Chu's foundation has been laid down, if you have the ability, you can Rebellion, we will be the enemy on the surface.

Chief Assistant Ning Zhongjing pondered for a while, and said in a low voice: "That's not bad, but Your Majesty should also understand that it's not that simple in the future. Whether we are for the Northern Expedition or our future plans, we must always have a good opinion of the people of the world." statement."

What this said actually meant that Ning Yu would give the gentry a step to step down, and they couldn't really push the gentry out on the bright side-it's better to have a saying on the bright side than to do nothing.

Ning Yu smiled slightly, but he thought of the Shen family who played a key role in this incident. It is a target that can be used. Maybe it can divide the current gentry group and set an example for the people of the world.

"The contribution made by the Shen family this time is not small, what is the cabinet going to do with it?"

Chief Assistant Ning Zhongjing could guess part of the emperor's thoughts, and said with a smile: "The Shen family has a heart for the imperial court, and the imperial court will naturally not treat them badly. They are going to let them enter the General Chamber of Commerce and give them some sweetness."

Ning Yu nodded slightly, "Shen Guanglie begged Ning Luoyuan to let his eldest son enter Nanjing National University. I think it's not bad, and maybe he can become a pillar of the Great Chu in the future."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Ningzhong nodded. It's not a big deal. It's nothing more than an admission quota. It's not that precious. Instead, it's about the people who were arrested. How to deal with them gave him a headache, so he said cautiously: "Report to Your Majesty, This arrest involves a lot of people, Dali Temple may not be able to try all of them."

Ning Yu nodded slightly. Of course he understood that it was impossible to go through the normal process in such a special case. He sighed and said, "Enough people have already died, and I don't want to kill again. The Secretary executes the leader among them." That’s enough, the rest will be sent to the land of Yunnan and Guizhou, and their family properties will be confiscated from the national treasury, and all the land they hold will be returned to the official land.”

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Ning Zhongjing thought about it again, and then asked in a low voice: "What about the scholars who fought at the Meridian Gate earlier? Hundreds of people were also arrested at that time, and now they are all locked up in Nanjing Prison."

Ning Yu almost forgot about these incompetent scholars. Now that Ning Zhongjing reminded him, he had no choice but to say: "Let them go. These people are not successful enough, and they are more than bad. Locking them up is a waste of food."

The scorching sun was in the sky, and the scorching sun shone on the steps and stones at the gate of Nanjing Prison, which looked extremely dazzling and felt a little hot to the touch.

However, even in such a hot weather, the gate of the prison is still full of people. They are all scholars who fought in front of the Meridian Gate before. Just like that day, they are now divided into old and new factions, standing on the left and right sides, and in the middle is the There is a clear distinction, no one stands in that position.

Among the crowd, scholars surnamed Xu and Xu Zhai also stood inside, but they belonged to the wave of old school scholars and were whispering something.

"Brother Xu, I don't know if you have any plans in the future?"

The scholar with the surname Xu was originally named Xu Hunzhang, because the name sounded unsatisfactory, so he was rarely mentioned, and others would not call him by his first name directly, but just called him "Senior Brother Xu" or "Brother Xu".

Xu Zhai's face was covered with scars, and he lamented: "This trip to Beijing not only failed to achieve its goal, but also dragged Brother Shen into prison. I don't know if he can be released this time. Then I went home to study a new school."

"what?"

This time it was Xu Hunzhang's turn to be a little surprised. He didn't expect this person to change his mind so quickly after being beaten up. He immediately asked curiously: "Could it be that Brother Xu knows something?"

"Hey, this news has spread all over the streets and alleys. The emperor has arrested more than 2 people, and executed thousands of people during the arrest process. We all have only one head, the emperor Since you have to take the test, then just take the test, why bother with your own life?"

Xu Zhai is not very good either. He also heard one sentence from the market rumors. He thought that more than 2 scholars were arrested and more than 1000 people were killed. In fact, it has nothing to do with scholars. None, just those ignorant squires.

When Xu Hunzhang heard this, he smiled wryly, "Brother Xu still has a family background. If he is alone like a younger brother, he has no one to rely on. If he starts to study again, it will be difficult to pass the exam. He might as well take part in next year's exam." Even though he will be assigned to be an official in a borderland, he is an official after all!"

Hearing what Xu Hunzhang said, Xu Zhai didn't know how to comfort him. Just as he was about to say a few words, he saw the prison door opened, and scattered people came out of it. All of them had bruises on their faces. , were all the losers in the Meridian Gate brawl, split into two directions, and went to different camps.

In the last fight, Qin Li performed exceptionally well, even though he was taken into prison by the Fuhan army, he was also led by the new scholars because of this, and now after he was released from prison, his face did not have the flinch of the past This meant that, on the contrary, he was more confident. He glanced at the old scholar, and couldn't help but let out a sneer.

From his point of view, this group of people are so inconsiderate of beatings, there was even a guy who looked like a bitch, and was beaten and cried directly!
Seeing Qin Li approaching, Xue Yan and others hurriedly cupped their hands and said, "Brother Qin really showed his style in this battle. I heard that even His Majesty watched it that day and praised Brother Qin's bravery!"

Qin Li chuckled, and bowed his hands in return: "It's really too much praise, but a real man is still alive, so he will do it when it's time to do it. As for those villains, I'm afraid they can just sit in a corner and cry for the rest of their lives, just like a woman!"

There was a burst of laughter among the new scholars, which reflected the embarrassment of the old scholars. Their faces were blue and white, and they also had some opinions on Shen Luochuan who was beaten and cried that day. I didn't expect that guy to be so useless. , I knew I wouldn't bring him here!
Xu Zhai and Xu Hunzhang were a little embarrassed. Shen Luochuan was his companion after all, but he didn't have much to say, so he could only accompany and be careful in a low voice, and save Shen Luochuan a little while on the other hand, he kept looking into the prison, hoping that Shen Luochuan would Be able to show up early, big guys get out of this sad place.

Then Xu Zhai and Xu Hunzhang waited left and right, only to see that most of the people had already been released, but Shen Luochuan couldn't even see a shadow of them, if it wasn't for sure that everyone would be released today, otherwise Both of them wanted to go in and ask what happened.

About half an hour later, almost all the people have come out, and the scholars who greeted them have also left. If they win, they have to go to celebrate, and if they lose, they have to go back and ask a doctor to treat them. The wound, but only Xu Zhai and Xu Hunzhang are still waiting hard.

When Xu Zhai couldn't bear it any longer, he saw a thin figure coming out from the prison gate, and the one who was limping was the Shen Luochuan who had been released.

It turned out that Shen Luochuan was released early in the morning, but he didn't want to go out and be laughed at by others, so he desperately begged to stay a little longer, and planned to leave here quietly while no one was around, so as not to lose face—but Shen Luochuan didn't Thinking that my two good friends had been waiting, I couldn't help feeling moved and guilty at the same time.

Xu Zhai and Xu Hunzhang went up to meet them. They looked at Shen Luochuan and didn't say anything else. They simply asked about Shen Luochuan's days in prison, and then they said their plans again. Qi Qi looked at Shen Luochuan.

Shen Luochuan was originally just a sour literati who could only read dead books. After such an ordeal, he has improved somewhat, and sighed in a low voice: "If I hadn't thought of my old mother at home, I am afraid that Shen would have hit her head to death at that time. Now that I’m out of prison, I don’t think about anything else, let’s take the old exam next year.”

When Xu Zhai saw that Shen Luochuan was also taking the old exam, he felt a little anxious, and said repeatedly: "Brother Shen, you and Xu brother are taking the old exam, I shouldn't have said anything, but you have to think about it, even if If I pass the exam in the future, I am afraid that I will have to take root in a remote border for the rest of my life."

There was a wry smile on Shen Luochuan's face, and he sighed: "Shen has also figured out a truth now, no matter whether it is a big or small thing in this world, if someone is willing to do it, strategizing in the court is doing something, and governing in the remote People who are eager to learn are also doing things, and there may be distinctions between high and low, but there is no distinction between high and low."

Hearing what Shen Luochuan said, Xu Hunzhang laughed out loud, "That's right, whether it's new learning or old learning, you have to do things in the end. Since I'm not as good as them in exams, then Bibi is doing things." Come on, can you surpass them!"

Seeing this, Xu Zhai could only shake his head helplessly, and left Nanjing Prison with the two of them.

Perhaps, after this time, Shen Luochuan was not the only one who changed.

The capital, in the Hall of Mental Cultivation, was brightly lit at this time, and there was a large pile of memorials waiting for review in front of Huang Ling's case, which almost piled up into a mountain. Those were all important matters submitted by the provinces, waiting for the emperor's review.

Yongzheng didn't read those papers, but focused on the secret report submitted by Nanfang, which described the whole process of Ning Chu's imperial examination petition in the south, even though many of the above were inaccurate. , but it is still valuable information.

After a long time, Yongzheng finally put down the booklet when it was getting dark, and he couldn't help but sighed deeply.

On the surface, it seems that this is a good thing for the Qing Dynasty, because it will only force the hearts of the gentry in the world to move closer to the Qing Dynasty, but Yongzheng admires and fears Ning Yu who is sitting in Nanjing at this time.

The admiration is that Ning Yu did what he always wanted to do but couldn't do. Yongzheng didn't even need to think about it, and he knew how much pressure this matter would encounter inside and outside the government, but Ning Yu finished it under pressure. It doesn't matter if people don't admire it.

The fear is that this incident shows a problem, that is, Ning Chu has begun to think about the future of the empire, and he no longer attaches so much importance to the immediate threat of the Qing Dynasty, or has enough confidence to succeed in the Northern Expedition and unify the world, so Only then will the gentry be forced to pass, showing a strong and confident posture.

(End of this chapter)