Early Ming Dynasty: Turning Clouds and Rains into New Learning Saints

Chapter 50
"There is no need to report such trivial matters immediately, just pay attention and report every three days!"

In a house, the servants of the Li family got instructions and bowed out.

And the man in the house frowned, and said to himself with some doubts: "Is this cement thing really valuable?"

These people are none other than the informants of Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

In the ninth year of Hongwu, the famous Jinyiwei was not established.The people Zhu Yuanzhang used to monitor his subordinates and generals were inspected.

In other words, this inspection school can be regarded as the predecessor of Jinyiwei.Now he only has the duties of a spy, but no power to arrest or interrogate.

Specifically, the responsibilities of the school inspector are: to be responsible for observing the injustice and lawlessness of officials in the large and small yamen in Beijing, and reporting all the rumors.

In later generations, many novels and biographies described the Ming Dynasty secret agents as miraculous, as if every detail was under Zhu Yuanzhang's control.This is obviously impossible!
Especially in the early years of Hongwu, what Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to monitor were the important civil and military officials in the capital. The means of monitoring could not be bugs or anything like that, but could only be buying people off, or simply placing people under his control. of.

The Li family was of course the family that Zhu Yuanzhang focused on. Although this Li You was not a powerful figure in the Li family, he married Hu Weiyong's niece, which was the link between Li and Hu. Therefore, among his servants, there were also Jixiao spy.

These spies are not focused on the Li family's minor problems. In fact, if they really care about everything in detail, they won't be able to care about it.What they focused on was what officials the Li family interacted with, what matters they discussed, etc.Because these things are what Zhu Yuanzhang cares most about.

If Li You hadn't suddenly visited Zheng Guogong Chang Mao and discussed the matter with the county magistrate, the secret agent might not have reported this matter.

The next day, news about cement was also presented to Zhu Yuanzhang's desk, but it did not attract Zhu Yuanzhang's attention.

The term "cement" is too common. If it were replaced with "sacred clay", it might attract attention.

After daybreak, Li You arrived at the county government office in a sedan chair. Then, accompanied by the county magistrate, he led a large group of government officials and left the city in a grand manner.

This situation is actually rarely seen.

Because at this time, the imperial power did not go to the countryside, and most of the local areas were governed by rural people.In the early years of Hongwu, just after the war, there were many places where there were no respected village elders who were in charge of affairs.At the county government, if something happens, just send someone to notify it. Very few county magistrates go to the countryside in person.

What a coincidence, it was a rare occasion for the county magistrate to go to the countryside, and it rained.Although it was drizzling, it was unlucky enough.

So, except for the nobleman sitting in the sedan chair, the other government servants, as well as the servants of the Li family, were all caught in the rain.

Under normal circumstances, at this time, the group would find a shelter from the rain and wait for the rain to stop before leaving.

However, Li You was also there, eager to eat the fat meat of cement, so he did not say anything about taking shelter from the rain.

The county magistrate naturally followed Li You's lead, so he could only act like a villain and ordered the government officials to rush on their way in the rain.

Unfortunately, although the rain is not heavy, the official road outside the city cannot be paved with stone slabs. It will naturally become muddy when the rain soaks it.

It's okay for people to walk, but this carriage is a bit sunken in the ground and needs someone to push it.

As a result, this group of people didn't arrive at Liujia Village until ten minutes in the afternoon.

Although the rain had stopped long ago, everyone along the way was filled with resentment.

A trip to the countryside is such a torture!Of course they didn't dare to lose their temper at the magistrate, so they held back their anger, each of them was like a powder keg, ready to explode at any time.

Of course, Li You was not affected. Not only did he not get wet in the rain, he also had snacks in the car.After arriving at the place, he got out of the carriage and took a look, and was stunned.

There is really no choice. There are more than [-] households in Liujia Village, all of which are two-story cement houses, and they are planned in a unified manner. Under the advice of Zhu Jingjing, the willow trees everywhere are used. From the outside, it looks like a paradise-like place. .

Li Laifu was so kind to Li You that he stayed in the car and immediately introduced him to Li You diligently.

Originally, the government officials had arrived. Although the rain had stopped, they must have wanted to go find Li Zheng and dry their clothes by the fire.

However, the county magistrate stayed with Mr. Li and showed no intention of moving, so they could only hold it in and were very unhappy.

"Let's go and have a look at the cement workshop!" Li You was of course most concerned about the cement workshop. Therefore, after listening to Li Laifu's introduction, his heart was so hot that he wanted to eat the cement workshop. Therefore, naturally, he immediately wanted to Go over and take a look, what does this cement look like?

At the same time, the county magistrate also asked the yamen servants to spread the word about Zheng and the country boy named Zhang Yifan in Liujia Village.

Although Li You did not wear an official uniform, the county magistrate did, and was followed by a group of wolf-like government servants, so he entered the cement workshop with ease.

Under the order of the county magistrate, Tian Dazhuang, who was in charge of the cement workshop, explained the process of the cement workshop to Li You tremblingly.

He has never seen the county magistrate in his life!He never expected that the county magistrate would come to the cement workshop, and he was immediately stunned.

This is different from when Zhu Di and others came here. First, Zhu Di and others were dressed in casual clothes, and second, they didn't put on any airs.But even so, villagers like Tian Dazhuang only dared to watch from a distance and did not dare to get close.

Now, the magistrates of the county are wearing official uniforms and displaying their official authority. It is natural for these villagers who have never seen the world to behave like this.

Li You roughly understood the situation in the cement workshop and couldn't help but feel satisfied and very happy in his heart.

He has seen the cement house and cement road, and learned about the situation of the cement workshop. He can already confirm that this cement is really a cornucopia.

He was enjoying himself when suddenly, he heard noisy noises coming from outside. Not to mention, the noise was really loud.

Of course Magistrate Li knew that, it was probably his group of government officials who took out all their anger on these country people.At the same time, he also knew what Li You was here to do. This was a warning to these country people, which would help achieve what Li You wanted later.

Thinking like this, he wanted to please Li You, and even shouted loudly to the outside: "Come on, bring people in!"

As soon as he finished speaking, people outside began to crowd into the cement workshop.

Sure enough, he saw the men he sent, escorting two people into the room.One of them is in his forties, and the other is a young boy, but his temperament is different from that of a countryman, which is particularly eye-catching.

What made the county magistrate even more unexpected was that behind these people, there were countless people surging in, squeezing their way into the cement workshop.

Suddenly, the county magistrate, Li You and others were stunned.

(End of this chapter)