I'm really not doing business

Chapter 601: Crossing the River by Feeling Hou Yuzhao, Following the Trail
Lin Fucheng was writing travel notes again. In addition to discussing the Ming Dynasty, he also discussed the Hu people. To describe the Hu people, Lin Fucheng used a word, that is, Suo Lu. This word is a derogatory term with a derogatory meaning, and it was not coined by Lin Fucheng.

Suo means rope. Its original meaning refers to the northern Hu people who tied their hair into braids for the convenience of nomadic life. After the two emperors of the Western Jin Dynasty were captured by the Huns, the Jin Dynasty moved south and started the era of the Southern and Northern Dynasties. During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the Southern Dynasty mocked the Northern Dynasty for its lack of etiquette and liked to use the word "Suo Lu".

But Lin Fucheng's quotation here means that the Hu people are thin, like a rope, skinny as firewood, skin attached to bones without flesh, like rats, insects and raccoon dogs, they will become weak if they go up the mountain and drown if they come down the mountain, their strength is weak.

Similarly, Lin Fucheng noticed that most of the northern barbarians in Kaiping Wei had large skeletons but were so thin. This was the result of low productivity and extremely scarce materials, not because they were naturally so short.

Many nobles of the Northern Barbarians were big and strong. The best fighters among them wore an iron ring around their necks with colorful ribbons tied to it. These ribbons were taken off from their opponents after they won in one-on-one wrestling.

The one with the most ribbons is Batulu, which means warrior.

Each of the Baturu fits the Ming Dynasty's impression of the northern barbarians: tall, sturdy, and good at fighting, but the vast majority of the grassland people are skinny and weak.

The weaker they are, the easier it is for them to turn to gods and Buddhas, hoping that mysterious powers can change these sufferings, and ultimately complete self-deception.

Cases of religion alienating people are everywhere in the grassland.

The shortage of iron pots, salt, and food on the grassland was far beyond the imagination of people in the mainland. In particular, the attacks between each other led to the need for each tribe to raise horses. However, horses only eat grass and cannot carry people, because horses that carry people must be fed soybean meal and salt, which further aggravated the shortage of food on the grassland, resulting in the widespread short stature and thinness of the people.

Lin Fucheng expressed even more sadly that the universal solution of productivity cannot resolve the alienation of people caused by religion.

There is a productivity-only theory in the Ming Dynasty now, which means that all social conflicts are caused by insufficient productivity.

With the continuous improvement of productivity, that is, the ability of human beings to change nature, all contradictions will dissipate with the improvement of productivity. When material abundance reaches a point of complete saturation, the exploitation of man by man will be meaningless, and then classes will disappear and freedom will be achieved.

But this argument encountered resistance, that is, religion.

The advancement of productivity cannot cure the stubborn illness of religion.

Lin Fucheng not only saw poor laborers on the grassland, but with his inquisitive nature, he would never observe the poor laborers one-sidedly. Lin Fucheng also made in-depth observations of the nobles on the grassland, and he found that the nobles were generally more pious than the poor laborers.

This is totally inconsistent with Li Zhi's theory of religion. Li Zhi believed that religion is an escape from the sufferings of reality and a pursuit of the afterlife.

These nobles had no real suffering and no pursuit of the afterlife, because they had been on the other side since birth, but their firm belief in Buddhism amazed Lin Fucheng.

The reason is that religion is one of the important tools for exploiting the lower classes and establishing personal dependence, and it is very useful!

The theory of limited freedom and the ideal country it advocates have been greatly challenged. After material abundance, exploitation has indeed lost its meaning, but people's non-material needs for enslaving the spirits of others, namely religion, will still exist and will be further strengthened.

This is what Lin Fucheng is thinking. He is still looking for answers on the grassland. Lin Fucheng and his study tour group are still searching, just like a ship lost in the sea, and no one knows when they will find the answers.

Wan Shihe got the draft of the next chapter of the Ministry of Rites. Some of Lin Fucheng's words were too straightforward and needed to be modified so that the article would not appear to overly challenge the majesty of the imperial power. Wan Shihe only took half an hour to completely polish the manuscript.

The method of polishing is very simple. The structure was adjusted, Li Zhi's flattering words were placed in the front, and a part of it was expanded. The content of Lin Fucheng was not deleted, but in the last part, Wan Shihe looked forward to the future of the Ming Dynasty, which basically means that the future is promising.

Wan Shihe also changed the title from "The Ming Dynasty is a body without a soul" to "The Ming Dynasty far surpasses the Han and Tang Dynasties and is similar to the Song Dynasty." As a result, the impact of the article became much smaller.

If the article was really published directly according to Lin Fucheng's draft, Lin Fucheng would immediately be labeled a traitor and eventually lose his current leading position in the literary world.

The statement that "far surpasses the Han and Tang Dynasties and is similar to the Song Dynasty" seems very contradictory, because the Han and Tang Dynasties are completely different from the Song Dynasty. How can they be compared together?
Like the Han and Tang dynasties, the Ming Dynasty had the ability to distribute and redistribute downwards. The Ming Dynasty also relocated wealthy households to enrich the capital, and it had been doing so during the Hongwu and Yongle periods. This was redistribution. The Ming Dynasty also established a land system, which was an important means of downward distribution. The Ming Dynasty, based on the Han and Tang dynasties, formulated a land system and grassroots construction, which far surpassed the Han and Tang dynasties.

But time passed quickly, and the Ming Dynasty gradually forgot all these things. Instead, like the two Song dynasties, it shared the rule of the country with the literati. The land system was in name only, the country was trapped in annexation, the ambitions of people with lofty ideals could not be realized, and the court was filled with lowly scholars.

Elder Wan sent the revised article to Tonghe Palace. After being polished, Lin Fucheng's anti-traitor remarks were published in Xiaoyao Yiwen in a more moderate tone. Wang Qian thought it would sell very well, so he printed a full 5,000 copies. As a result, they were sold out that morning. Wang Qian had to print another 5,000 copies to barely meet the demand.

Xiaoyao Yiwen had been suspended for a long time because the writers went out to study and collect folk songs. Many people thought that Lin Fucheng and Li Zhi had been silenced. However, after a new article was published, the attack was as strong as before. This was a weakened version by Wan Shihe, but it still had an impact on the literati in Beijing, and an overwhelming discussion was launched around the soul theory proposed by Lin Fucheng.

This was exactly the result Wan Shihe wanted. He secretly recruited a group of scholars to continue compiling "Compilation of Philosophers". When praise, criticism and abuse were all focused on Lin Fucheng, the compilation of "Compilation of Philosophers" no longer attracted people's attention.

Wan Shihe wrote a book for the emperor, discussing public opinion. People who are deeply involved in public opinion are blindly obedient and follow the crowd. They are easily attracted by new public opinions and forget the follow-up of the current incident. Few people care about these follow-ups. People seem to care more about expressing their emotional output rather than the impact.

In the field of public opinion, new hot spots always cover old ones, and people always forget that only what is happening in front of them is the most important.

Wan Shihe was manipulating public opinion and executing the emperor's orders.

The capital was bustling with activity, but Zhu Yijun, wearing only his shirt and trousers, headed towards Beitu City. Today he was going to cultivate the land with a group of Confucian scholars, numbering 550 people.

"Weren't there only 400 people at the beginning?" Zhu Yijun was a little surprised. Compared to the original number of registrations, there were 150 more people.

"There is nothing I can do. For some Confucian scholars who live farther away, registration had already ended when they arrived in the capital. It is not easy to live in the capital, and it is a long journey with no extra money. I can only add more people after the New Year, plus some who were eliminated before, so there are 150 more people." Feng Bao explained the reason.

After studying all their lives, they can no longer take off their long gowns, and it seems that they can do nothing but study. The imperial examination is their only hope, so they are willing to give it a try no matter how slim the hope is.

There is also an age limit. Only those under 35 years old can register. Even after screening, there are still a lot of people.

There were really a lot of scholars in the Ming Dynasty.

"Then let's say 550 people. This is a special imperial examination granted by the emperor, and it only takes place once every three years. It's actually not a lot." Zhu Yijun still approved of this number.

Zhu Yijun's attire shocked all the Confucian scholars. In their minds, this emperor whom they had never seen before should be dressed in silk and satin and be very majestic. This time, the emperor would just say a few words of encouragement to them.

But the emperor's attire of a short jacket and trousers made all the Confucian scholars wonder, could it be that the emperor really knows how to farm? Rather than just a persona created for political needs? Could it be that the emperor really wants to take these Confucian scholars with him to farm together?
Zhu Yijun looked around at the Confucian scholars in Baoqi Hall and nodded with satisfaction. These Confucian scholars were dressed the same as him, wearing a short brown top and trousers.

"Students pay their respects to Your Majesty. Long live Your Majesty. Long live Your Majesty." After being shocked, the Confucian scholars hurriedly paid their respects to the emperor.

Zhu Yijun looked at everyone and stretched out his hand, saying, "No need to be polite."

"You have failed the imperial examination three times. There may be many reasons, but what I want to tell you is that you have 50,000 acres of land in front of you. Before the next imperial examination, if you can produce 70,000 dan of grain a year from these 50,000 acres of land, you will get another chance to take the exam."

Fifty thousand mu of land and seventy thousand shi of grain are actually not a lot. One mu of land produces 1.4 shi of grain. Beiya can have two crops a year, and there is water and fertilizer, so there is no need to cultivate the land, livestock and machinery. Every one hundred and ten people have two cows, five mules and some farm tools. These conditions are already very good.

It seems easy to accomplish, but it is still a huge challenge for 550 people to cultivate 50,000 acres of land, because any action with more than 50 people requires an organization. When the Ming Dynasty marches, and when more than 50 people set up camp, they have to build toilets, because they can no longer be solved anywhere.

"I remind you that we all prosper together and suffer together. I am only inspecting your group. The agricultural officials of Baoqisi will only teach you how to farm, and they are not responsible for judging cases." Zhu Yijun explained the rules clearly, which was completely different from the original design of the Ministry of Rites.

The Ministry of Rites originally planned to divide every 110 people into one village, and have the villages compete with each other. In the end, the number of grain harvested would be the basis. Only the village with the most grain harvest would be eligible to participate in the imperial examination again.

Zhu Yijun rejected the Ministry of Rites' design and replaced it with another one, which was to evaluate the overall performance and let all prosper together and suffer together. The idea was to foster unity, cooperation, organization, and mutual assistance.

Two Doctors of the Five Classics came to the Royal Academy of Sciences. This is a very good social practice. Doctors of the Five Classics not only study science, but also social science. This is a very good observation case about production.

Zhu Yijun's speech was extremely concise and brief. He started this year's farming. Lu Wang Zhu Yiliu and the eldest son Zhu Changzhi also followed the emperor. They mainly played and did not farm well. Zhu Changzhi finally stopped peeing and playing in the mud. Zhu Changzhi, who was one year older, now started to catch crickets everywhere.

"A scholar is good for nothing." Zhu Yijun wiped the sweat from his forehead and said sincerely while looking at the spring ploughing scene in the distance.

According to the reports from the Imperial Guards and the agricultural officials of the Baoqi Ministry, these scholars were ambitious but incompetent, with a lot of opinions, each one more powerful than the last. They didn't take anything taught by the agricultural officials to heart. If the agricultural book wasn't compiled by the emperor himself, they probably wouldn't even bother to look at it. They always thought that if studying, which is so difficult, could pass the imperial examination, then farming shouldn't be a piece of cake, right?

"They lack reverence and always think that Heaven is the boss, Earth is second, and he is third. Your Majesty, the land will teach them how to stay humble. After falling many times, they will naturally understand it, just like training a dog." Feng Bao slandered on the side and said a lot of bad things about the scholars.

If you don't listen to the agricultural officials, you will fall. If you fall many times, you will naturally become obedient.

Although Feng Bao's words were harsh, they were true. Soon, all kinds of strange things happened, such as people got injured due to improper operation of farm tools, became too tired to work after a short while because of wrong posture, and all the work for a long time was in vain because of laziness and not plowing deeply.

Plowing is a technical job, and farming has its own principles, which cannot be taken for granted.

Zhu Yijun finished his work and left contentedly after watching the scholars make jokes for most of the day. These scholars farmed during the day and reviewed their lessons at night. It was actually very hard, but they still had a chance to make the leap. No matter how much injustice they suffered, they would persevere.

After returning to Tonghe Palace, Zhu Yijun asked about Zhou Liangyin's performance.

In Zhu Yijun's impression, Zhou Liangyin was still a lowly scholar. He returned to Beijing three times to report on his work, but was not summoned by the emperor. Feng Bao briefly reported on Zhou Liangyin's performance.

Zhou Liangyin followed Hou Yuzhao and secretly learned how to cultivate land. He took root in Daningwei and started to reclaim wasteland with the Han people of the Beijing Xingdusi. Over the years, under the leadership of Zhou Liangyin, a total of 13,000 hectares of regular farmland, or 1.3 million mu, were opened up, 37,000 hectares of grassland were opened up, 754 camps were built, three cities of Daningwei, Huiningwei, and Rehewei were built, and two military horse paddocks were built, which were part of the million-horse farm. This year, the scale of horses in these two paddocks reached 300,000. In the past ten years, more than 210,000 Han people were resettled.

"He is just pretending. I will give him a chance." Zhu Yijun had a thick account book in his hand. The Five Things on Reclamation of Land were the land reclamation regulations that Hou Yuzhao had requested the court to implement. Zhou Liangyin did not violate these regulations and implemented them very well.

There were even some strange stories in the past memorials of Daning Wei, and Daning Wei even had the phenomenon of mergers.

Annexation has occurred in the border areas. It can be said that the kingship of this land has been half completed, and the rest is all about culture and education.

"Who did he join?" Zhu Yijun asked curiously. Who would Zhou Liangyin choose to join?

Jin Party, Chu Party, or Zhang Party?

Feng Bao whispered, "He is now at the home of Lord Wan. The last time Hou Yuzhao came to the capital, he also became Lord Wan's disciple. Zhou Liangyin has been following Hou Yuzhao all these years. He does whatever Hou Yuzhao does. He has no opinions of his own."

Zhou Liangyin was addicted to Hou Yuzhao's tricks. Even the people he joined were like Hou Yuzhao. He wanted to attack Hou Yuzhao first, and then he would be unlucky...

"Very good." Zhu Yijun smiled. Zhou Liangyin was also a popular figure and was wanted by all three parties. However, after looking around, Zhou Liangyin ended up following in the footsteps of Hou Yuzhao.

Zhou Liangyin was at Wan Shihe's mansion at this time. Unlike the 80-acre land of the Quanjin Guild Hall, the 70-acre land of the Quanchu Guild Hall, and the 20-acre land of the Quanzhe Guild Hall, the mansion of Wan Shihe, the leader of the Imperial Party, had only one official residence with three entrances and exits.

This was a reward from the emperor. Even with Wan Shihe's salary, it would take him five or six years to save enough money to buy a house in the capital.

Su Shi's younger brother Su Zhe saved money for half his life and wanted to buy a house in Kaifeng Prefecture. However, Su Shi got into trouble and Su Zhe had to use the money to settle the matter.

"The Jin Party is now in name only. Wang Ci Fu is the leader of the Labor Party. If you join his school, I can't say anything about other things, but when you are a governor, you can still get all the advice and connections from the government factories and groups when you make laws." Wan Shihe introduced the changes in the capital.

The benefits of joining Wang Chonggu are obvious, that is, there will be a lot of resources in the official factory, such as experienced and skilled craftsmen, organizational construction and safe production in the practice of official factories, etc., which are all the benefits of being Wang Ci Fu's disciple.

Zhou Liangyin shook his head and said, "Wang Ci Fu is a traitor and a bit dangerous."

"Don't talk nonsense, His Majesty has already forgiven you!" Wan Shihe's eyes went dark when he heard this and he hurriedly said.

Zhou Liangyin said with a serious face: "I have been working in Bianfang for a long time. In Bianfang, enemies and friends are clearly distinguished. There is no such thing as "use your skills and don't use them". In Bianfang, any rebellious behavior will only end up with one end, being hanged at the entrance of the village by the villagers."

In Zhou Liangyin's current view, it is simply unreasonable that the court would allow Wang Chonggu to continue working in the court. A traitor was not killed with his entire family. It was a reward from the emperor, and he should be allowed to go home. There is no middle ground.

It's either black or white, this is the way of thinking that will inevitably develop after being in a war zone for a long time.

The phenomenon of lynching on the border was very serious. If you sold information from the camp to bandits or captives, you would be hanged as soon as you were discovered. The garrison office would not be told at all. This was also a typical example of failure to fully rule the country.

"Duke Jiangling is also in charge of the Ministry of Personnel. If it's your credit, it's your credit, and no one can take it away. Of course, Duke Jiangling is also fair in doing things. If it's not your credit, you can't take it for yourself. The main thing is to reward and punish faithfully." Wan Shihe introduced the advantages of Zhang Juzheng's Chu Party, which is fairness.

Zhou Liangyin shook his head and said, "Jiangling Gong does not accept lowly scholars. I made a mistake. No matter what, Jiangling Gong will not accept students as his disciples."

"You have already repented." Wan Shihe shook his head.

"Gao Qiyu has also repented, and Duke Jiangling even refused to see him." Zhou Liangyin was in the border area, but he also knew about the affairs of the capital. No matter how many achievements Gao Qiyu made, they were all in vain.

Wan Shihe smiled and said, "You weren't a student of Lord Jiang Ling before."

Zhou Liangyin said with a bit of embarrassment: "Then I dare not bow to Lord Jiangling. I am a dull student. I have read books for so many years, but I am confused and actually criticized General Qi and the Marquis of Ningyuan."

After ten years of living in the frontier, Zhou Liangyin realized one thing: he was not smart. If he was not smart, there would be no need for him to become a disciple of Zhang Juzheng. Zhang Juzheng's methods of purging the party were extremely cruel.

"What about the Zhejiang Party? Grand Marshal Wang Daokun is quite generous, but his main influence is still in the Ministry of Industry. Compared with the other two, his influence has declined a bit, but he can still be considered a backer." Wan Shihe introduced the situation of the Zhejiang Party. The two leaders of the Zhejiang Party had little interest in running the Zhejiang Party.

But he is also a backer, and if something happens, Wang Daokun can have a say.

"I would like to become your disciple," Zhou Liangyin stated the purpose of this trip.

"Ah?" Wan Shihe was extremely surprised. He thought Zhou Liangyin came to ask for advice and decide which mountain to worship. But surprisingly, he came to worship on his own mountain!
Zhou Liangyin and Hou Yuzhao are somewhat fond of going against others. Over the years, there are few Confucian scholars willing to become disciples of Wan Shihe.

"To put it nicely, Hou Yuzhao is sincere and doesn't think much. To put it bluntly, he is stupid. He can't understand those personal relationships. What about you? What's the reason?" Wan Shihe asked with some confusion.

Zhou Liangyin thought about it and chose to tell the truth: "Hou Yuzhao did the right thing! You won't go wrong if you follow his lead. This is the experience that students have gained from long-term practice."

While reclaiming wasteland in the border areas, Zhou Liangyin discovered through practical experience that although Hou Yuzhao liked to go against the flow of others, every time he went against the flow, he was right, and seemingly abnormal choices would often lead to good results.

For example, there was serious lynching in the border areas, but Hou Yuzhao didn't care at all. Zhou Liangyin wanted to intervene at first, but he found that he couldn't do anything about it. For example, the camp and fort reclamation method, which was to build camps and forts first and then reclaim wasteland. Zhou Liangyin originally wanted to reclaim wasteland first, after all, building camps and forts would consume a lot of food. As a result, the border areas were plagued by horse bandits and northern barbarians, so he had to build camps and forts first.

This happened so many times that Zhou Liangyin stamped himself with the idea that "Hou Yuzhao was right."

Follow the trail, not seeking achievement but avoiding mistakes, this is Zhou Liangyin's way of survival.

"What can you learn by following me? How to flatter your superiors? If you follow Hou Yuzhao, won't you live in his shadow for the rest of your life?" Wan Shihe said helplessly.

He was a flatterer, and the court officials wished he would die immediately. Following him would only have negative effects on promotion.

Zhou Liangyin said with certainty: "Hou Yuzhao is now the governor of Liaodong. I can still follow him for a long time. In the future, when he is promoted to the capital, I can still follow him."

Wan Shihe didn't need to teach anything. What Zhou Liangyin needed was the status of an imperial party. He would be scolded for surrendering. Zhou Liangyin didn't have a righteous character.

"That's fine. There are no rules here anyway." Wan Shihe didn't make it difficult. He was the party leader, but he was from the imperial party. The real party leader was His Majesty.

"Student Zhou Liangyin greets the teacher." Zhou Liangyin breathed a sigh of relief and bowed to the ground as a gesture of paying homage to the teacher.

Zhou Liangyin asked doubtfully: "Does the court have any arrangements for students?"

"You will be promoted from Daning Guard, and you will probably be appointed as the Deputy Censor-in-Chief, Inspector of Yanmen Pass, stationed in Datong, and Governor of Shanxi." Wan Shihe revealed the personnel appointments, which had been discussed before and passed by the court. If there is a problem with Shen Shixing, Zhou Liangyin will be sent to Liaodong, and Hou Yuzhao will be sent to Songjiang Prefecture.

"Very good. The student is good at dealing with the Hu people." Zhou Liangyin breathed a sigh of relief. He was very experienced in promoting the process of kingship in the newly opened areas. He was stationed in Datong Prefecture and served as governor of Shanxi. In fact, his main job was to cooperate with the Governor-General of Suiyuan Pan Jixun to kingship Suiyuan.

He was good at this job. He was afraid that Li Chengliang, such a vicious man, would chop him into pieces and feed him to dogs when he was asked to partner with him. You know, he was demoted from the capital and sent to Daning Wei to reclaim wasteland because he accused Qi Jiguang of being greedy and reckless, and accused Li Chengliang of being harsh on censors and releasing tigers to scare them.

This is a feud. Although it has been ten years, Li Chengliang has a vengeful character. When he arrives at the place, Li Chengliang may really take revenge. The bandit spirit in Li Chengliang is too strong.

"Zhou Liangyin, tell me the truth, what do you think of the situation in Liaodong?" Wan Shihe asked in a low voice: "Li Chengliang, has he done anything disobedient? Or, have you heard any similar rumors?"

"No." Zhou Liangyin shook his head and said, "Except that he likes to go out hunting when he has nothing to do and can't be found, I haven't heard of any other rumors. There was a rumor last year that a dog had horns, but it was a tuft of hair, not a horn."

Zhou Liangyin knew why Wan Shihe asked this. It was very simple. Last year there was a rumor that a dog had grown horns, which was actually very unfavorable to Li Chengliang.

Li Chengliang liked to go out hunting. He often left Jilin and went as far as Heilongjiang. His main purpose was to investigate the movements of the Jurchens and secondly to prepare New Year gifts for His Majesty. There was no rumor that he wanted to become king.

"Teacher, the court has done nothing wrong to Liaodong. The Han people in Liaodong are more loyal than the officials in Beijing. The pens in Beijing are barking those words. If they go to Liaodong, they will be led astray." Zhou Liangyin said puzzledly: "I haven't been back to Beijing for only three years. Are the pens in Beijing so bold? Especially that Lin Fucheng, he has accused the Ming Dynasty of losing its soul and becoming just a shell. Is he crazy?"

The gates of all the camps and forts in Liaodong facing the capital were called Tonghe Gates. This was the loyalty engraved on the city gates. Furthermore, due to the Ming Dynasty's policy of borrowing money to settle down in Liaodong, the Han people who came to Liaodong had nothing but gratitude in their hearts, because there was no interest, and they would return one stone of grain for every stone of grain borrowed, and all operating costs were funded by the internal treasury.

Even farmers can buy woolen cloaks at a reasonable price, which is all part of the favor.

The imperial court may have placed too much emphasis on Li Rusong leading the elite cavalry to make achievements and paid too much attention to the top-down approach, but Zhou Liangyin was in the Daning Guard and knew more about Liaodong. He saw things from the bottom up. Even though Li Chengliang had the intention to rebel, he did not have the foundation. If Li Chengliang wanted to rebel, the Han people in Liaodong would not agree.

"That article." Wan Shihe said with a little embarrassment: "I wrote it. His Majesty asked me to polish it."

"Ah?" Zhou Liangyin was extremely surprised. He said dully, "Your Majesty is indeed an extraordinary person. You can tolerate such treasonous words. You are really going to do something extraordinary. Your Majesty is so generous. Why should the Ming Dynasty not prosper?"

"Yes, yes, that's it. You are already a qualified member of the imperial party." Wan Shihe said immediately after hearing it. That's right!
You can't flatter, but you still want to be a member of the Imperial Party? Supporting all decisions made by His Majesty is the core proposition of the Imperial Party.

(End of this chapter)