Daming, originally wanted to destroy it, but the system came

Chapter 341 Gu Wen’s certificate of surrender?

When Gu Wen, the head of the Gu family, also arrived outside the city, Zhu Chu had already boarded the boat and left the shore and entered the Taihu Lake.

If it were an ordinary person, they would probably want to catch up immediately, or hire another boat at worst.

But Gu Wen didn't. Instead, he asked someone to park the car here and waited silently.

Of course, he wouldn't stand outside and wait all the time. He wasn't here to plead guilty and seek punishment, so he still sat in the carriage and waited quietly.

On the other side, Zhu Mingke didn't know what was going on on the shore and was talking and laughing with Xu Miaojin.

Although Taihu Lake is not as famous as West Lake, because many people have probably heard of the beautiful scenery of West Lake and many poems and songs about West Lake, but few have heard of Taihu Lake.

However, Taihu Lake is one of the five largest freshwater lakes in China. At least in terms of area, it is not comparable to West Lake.

The main reason is that West Lake is a scenic spot with many sightseeing spots. In addition, ancient talents and beauties liked to travel to the lake to gather together, so many stories have been spread.

But Taihu Lake is different. Like Poyang Lake, it is just a normal large lake.

Even the ferryman said, "The guests must be from out of town. We don't have much interesting scenery in Taihu Lake. I heard that the West Lake in Hangzhou is beautiful, and many talented people and beauties meet there."

Zhu Zhen opened the folding fan and smiled: "I am not a talented person."

After all, he prides himself as a military commander.

The boatman looked around Zhu Chu. The guards seemed careless, but in fact they were taking care of everyone around Zhu Chu. Even if they didn't have to surround him, they could immediately protect him if any emergency happened.

There is also Wang Fu, even Zhu Zhen is sending more orders to Li Jinglong now.

But Wang Fu didn't dare to slack off and still treated him cautiously.

Taihu Lake is very large, and I don’t know how many meters deep the deepest part is. They are not from the navy. If something goes wrong, the water will not be as good as the land.

But Zhu Ming didn't take it seriously. There were so many unscrupulous people who wanted to harm him.

"It's a pity that we don't have the piano and the zither, otherwise we could have played a song together," Tang Xin looked at Xu Miaojin and said with a smile.

The two women can be said to be talented in literature and martial arts. Not only can they lead troops in battle, but they are also proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting, including poetry, poetry and song.

With two beauties like him in the company, Zhu Zhen would not feel bored at all.

Although I couldn't listen to them play a few songs, the two women later held a poetry competition with the theme of Taihu Lake. Even if they were not composing poems on the spot, but speaking ancient poems and lyrics with allusions, it was enough to make Zhu Ming burst into laughter. horizon.

Compared with them, Zhu Ming was considered uneducated and incompetent.

Of course, the things he studied were mainly practical, and they were all political affairs related to governing the country and ensuring peace of the country, and had nothing to do with poetry and poetry.

After swimming around Taihu Lake, it was quite enjoyable.

After that, it was not until the afternoon that the group of people finally landed happily as the sun began to set.

As soon as he arrived at the shore, Gu Wen came forward to greet him, bowed his hands and bowed deeply: "Gu Wen of the Gu family, I would like to pay my respects to the thousand-year-old King of Dian."

What? Prince?

The boatman was so frightened that he knelt down.

Fortunately, most of the markets on the shore have dispersed at this time, otherwise it would definitely cause quite a stir.

Zhu Zhen winked at Konoe.

Someone helped the boatman, and someone waited for the boat to approach the pier, got down in advance, and put a board on it.

Only then did Zhu Chu take the lead and step onto the pier.

"Gu family? Is it the Gu family whose house belongs to the Gu family?" Zhu Ming asked casually.

Gu Wen continued to bend down and maintain the saluting posture, and said without raising his head: "Yes."

He did not deny that some people did call them the Gu family that way.

In fact, this is indeed the case. The land and real estate in Suzhou City are basically the property of their Gu family.

You can't hide something, so why not be more honest?

Zhu Ming was a little surprised. The Gu family was actually very confident.

Aren't you afraid of killing them yourself?

After thinking for a while, Zhu Zhen said: "You should straighten up first, I don't have that much arrogance."

"Thank you, Your Highness," Gu Wen straightened up, looking neither humble nor overbearing.

Although he bowed deeply, he did not kneel down and bow down. He retained his reserve as a member of an aristocratic family without losing his etiquette. It could be said that he was well-founded in his advance and retreat.

Zhu Ming raised his eyebrows. This was different from the Zhang family before. He felt the profound heritage displayed by the Gu family.

However, Zhu Ming didn't take it seriously and said casually: "Go down first. If you have anything to say, we can talk later."

This is on the pier. They are blocked here, and no one behind them can get out. Even Xu Miaojin and Tang Xin are blocked on the boat and staring.

Gu Wen quickly stepped aside to let Zhu Chu pass first.

Zhu Ming was not polite and walked down, waving his fan.

Then Wang Fu and others got off the boat one after another.

Arriving on the shore, Zhu Xi found that there was a small table with some simple food on it. Although it was simple, it was cooked with freshly caught fish and shrimp, and some were steamed, braised, fried and Stir-fried vegetables can be said to be full of color, flavor and flavor.

There were several jars of wine beside it, and two people were standing beside them.

Zhu Zhen turned around with a smile and asked Gu Wen: "Isn't this prepared for me?"

"Your Majesty, that's right," Gu Wen walked over, cupped his hands and said, "I just learned the news of Your Highness's entry into the city yesterday, so don't be surprised if I am disappointed. When I came out, I had already asked the cook of the house. We are always ready to welcome you, but seeing that His Highness is enjoying playing on the lake, we naturally don’t dare to disturb him. Seeing that it’s getting late, we take the initiative to have some drinks prepared for you to fill your stomach, and we will hold a banquet in the evening. Hospitality, please don’t despise the simplicity, Your Highness.”

"How can I dislike it? After all, this is also your intention," Zhu Zhen said deliberately.

Gu Wen's heart moved, and when he looked at Zhu Zhen again, something strange flashed in his eyes.

It seems that His Highness not only leads the troops to fight well, but also has a vicious political vision.

There is actually a hidden temptation here.

First of all, when Gu Wen came up, he tried to advance before retreating. As soon as he came up, he apologized, saying that he did not welcome Zhu Zhen yesterday, and hoped that Zhu Zhen would not blame him.

Zhu Ming did not use the topic to express himself, but instead put pressure on Gu Wen. Since you said this was a simple reception, isn't this also your intention?

Since it is your intention, what do you mean by deliberately using simple things to receive me? Are you really here to apologize?

After all, Zhu Zina was hung up and teased by Emperor Hongwu over and over again, and everything on his face and bottom was seen through. To put it bluntly, his father even figured out the color of his underpants.

Zhu Ming was shocked at the time. Lao Zhu, have you read the script?

You even know about the Battle of Jingnan, right?

Gu Wen wanted to come to him to show off his wits? Just tell me how you want to die.

Zhu Chu has never eaten pork, so he has seen his father run away.

(Zhu Yuanzhang, wait while I look for shoe soles.)

Gu Wen tried it for a little bit, but then he accepted it as soon as he saw fit. He didn't dare to show off his little cleverness anymore, but entertained the guests himself.

First, move the stool facing Taihu Lake to Zhu Zhen and respectfully invite him to sit down.

Zhu Zhen didn't say anything and just let Gu Wen's arrangements go.

Later, Gu Wen personally arranged seats for Xu Miaojin and Tang Xin respectively.

A small, boxy table was quickly filled.

In the end, Gu Wen asked his servants to take out a mat from the carriage and lay it on the opposite side of Zhu Chu. However, he did not dare to block the direction in which Zhu Chu was facing. Instead, he turned sideways and knelt down.

In fact, this is the upright sitting method. In the past, the so-called upright sitting method was all in this way, and Mazar stools and chairs all belonged to the Hu Feng method of sitting.

But after all, Hu Feng has been widely circulated, and the sitting posture is no different from kneeling.

Zhu Zhen narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at Gu Wen.

Gu Wen lowered his head, clasped his fists in salute, and gave a deep salute: "I dare not hide it from Your Highness. Today, I came here. In addition to respectfully requesting Your Highness to move to Gu's house to rest and express my loyalty, I also want to sue Suzhou Magistrate Cai." Xuan, a few years ago Cai Xuan used the disaster as an excuse to deceive the superiors and confuse the public. He also bribed and bribed Qin Sheng, the current censor of Zuodu. Not only did he embezzle the court's disaster relief food funds, he also imposed taxes. It can be said that it was a disaster for the people in the countryside. People, Your Highness.”

In fact, even Xu Miaojin and Tang Xin couldn't understand. What on earth was Gu Wen doing? Only Zhu Chu could see that the Gu family was planning to surrender to him?

It's just that Gu Wen didn't make it too obvious. After all, his Gu family was a well-known family and always had its own reserve.

But his words were all expressions of loyalty. He knelt down to himself in a sitting position, and even used Cai Xuan as a token of surrender, implying that he and his family had nothing to do with the officialdom of Suzhou City.

It has even been cut off from the officialdom in Suzhou Prefecture.

You must know that once what Cai Xuan committed comes to light, it will not be Cai Xuan's problem alone, but the entire Suzhou Mansion will be cleaned up.

Zhu Chu looked at Gu Wen with amusement and suddenly said, "Don't you, the Gu family, have anything to explain?"

Gu Wen straightened up and said with a serious face: "Does Your Highness know how much farmland there is in Suzhou Prefecture?"

"Test me?"

"Don't dare."

"Hmph," Zhu Zhen snorted and told the data that Li Jinglong had reported to him before: "There used to be more than 67,000 hectares of land in Suzhou Prefecture. Later, the land reclamation increased to 95,400 hectares. .”

Gu Wen nodded and continued what Zhu Ming said: "Of these, more than 60% or even 70% are official fields. His Majesty copied the fields several times and designated them as official fields."

Zhu Zhen smiled and said, "Are you full of resentment?"

"I don't dare," Gu Wen quickly explained: "I just want to explain to you that the millions of acres of land in Suzhou Prefecture basically belong to the imperial court. In addition, most of the farmland belongs to the common people. May I ask, Your Highness, since you entered the city, have you ever heard people say that I am not caring for the family?"

"Oh?" Zhu Ming's heart moved, and he had vaguely guessed what Gu Wen was going to say.

Then I heard Gu Wen say: "So that you know, Your Highness, our Gu family has never dared to appropriate even half of the land except for the rewards that our ancestors have made for their contributions in past dynasties. Our family is already blessed with enough resources, so how can we dare to bully the common people?" Competing for profit?"

"What do you mean by the Gu family's house?" Zhu Chu asked straight to the point.

Gu Wen even said bluntly: "Your Highness, your Majesty attacked Zhang Shicheng and surrounded Suzhou City for eight months until the city was broken. After eight months of war, there was no intact place in the whole city. Afterwards, Shen Wansan followed His Majesty to Nanjing, and various aristocratic families were moved elsewhere."

This is the famous Hongwu expulsion incident.

"But someone has to rebuild the city of Suzhou. Look at the city of Suzhou today. It looks prosperous, but it was not like this at the beginning. At that time, the country was in dire need, and the court could not afford so much money. So we The Gu family volunteered to use their own money to help the court build the current Suzhou city."

"In order to reward our Gu family, His Majesty gave us the title deeds of most of the land and properties in the city. We don't dare to really regard Suzhou City as belonging to the Gu family. We just made an agreement with His Majesty to collect rent according to these land deeds. Thirty He will return to the imperial court after the year."

"So although our Gu family holds these deeded properties, we never dare to sell them off easily. Your Highness, think about how much money we can sell if we sell all these houses? But these are all for the imperial court and His Majesty. We The Gu family is not the real master."

Zhu Zhen fell into deep thought, considering whether Gu Wen's words were credible or not.

But then he thought again, it seemed that Gu Wen didn't dare to lie to himself. What's more, if it weren't for Lao Zhu's instruction, would the Gu family really dare to act so wantonly and take the title deeds of almost all the real estate in Suzhou City?

are you crazy?

Aren't you afraid that all nine clans will be wiped out overnight?

Maybe what Gu Wen said is true?

And now it is the twenty-seventh year of Hongwu. Even counting from the first year of Hongwu, it is still less than thirty years, so the Gu family still holds these land deeds.

In other words, did I think too much and misunderstood the Gu family?

"You really didn't annex the land?" Zhu Zhen asked with narrowed eyes.

Gu Wen smiled bitterly and shook his head.

Sixty percent or even close to seventy percent of the land was official land of the imperial court. As Hongwu dispersed, that is, Emperor Hongwu moved away the families such as Shen Wansan who had helped Zhang Shicheng defend the city. Those confiscated fields could be They were all collected by the government and the court.

You, Lao Zhu, are the biggest landlords, right?

"Is that because I'm a little anxious?" Zhu Ming murmured with emotion. He only rushed to Suzhou City along the way, and he didn't go to Zhenjiang Prefecture. He also missed Changzhou Prefecture and Wuxi.

As if he had guessed what Zhu Chu was thinking, Gu Wen hesitated and suddenly said: "Changzhou is where the Zhang family is. Although the Zhang family in Liyang County has done many evil things and has unfilial children, the Zhang family has been divided for more than three generations. It has nothing to do with this family anymore. The Zhang family in Changzhou is quite good, with talented people coming out from generation to generation, and the talents of the Zhang family are well-deserved."

"There is also the Qian family in Wuxi County, who also abide by their duties. They are a branch of the Qian family in Hangzhou. The Qian family in Hangzhou has nothing to say."

According to Zhao Wen's recommendation, this Qian family is not a simple one. It can even be traced back to the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. Qian Chu was named the King of Wuyue. Later, in order to complete the unification of the country, he gave up the territory he occupied in the two Zhejiang and Thirteen Prefectures. In the Song Dynasty, Lei was granted the title of King Deng.

It can be said that he understands the righteousness deeply and does not stick to trivial matters.

Otherwise, who would want to be a good king instead of serving as a minister to others?

The King of Wuyue is the title of the country, and is on the same level as the Emperor of the Song Dynasty.

And if you reduce your national title, you will become a minister.

This is simply unimaginable in Europe. Otherwise, why would Europe be in such chaos?

So among hundreds of surnames, the first row is Zhao Qian Sun Li.

Moreover, the Qian family has always abided by their duties and performed their duties faithfully, not daring to go beyond the limits, even to the point of replacing others with talents.

Not to mention future generations of national pillars including Mr. Qian.

Even today, there are many Qian descendants working for the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Zhen nodded secretly and wrote these down.

Gu Wen even said: "If His Highness continues all the way to Hangzhou, he can stay at Qian's house when he arrives in Hangzhou."

Zhu Chu felt something in his heart, looked at Gu Wen, and asked, "Are you teaching me how to do something?"

"I don't dare," Gu Wen took a deep breath and said, "Your Highness, I can guess a thing or two. Your tour of the world will not be easy. I don't dare to speculate, I just want to remind Your Highness. The Liu family The money and the Pang family’s face will definitely produce the results you want.”

"Oh? What result do I want?" Zhu Zhen continued to ask with a sneer.

Gu Wen suddenly broke out in a cold sweat, lowered his head and said, "Your Highness, you don't want to drive out the aristocratic family, do you?"

If the aristocratic family has not made any mistakes and still wants to forcibly deal with it or even eliminate it, then this is to drive the aristocratic family to extinction.

But Gu Wen thought about whether Zhu Chu was going to Zhenjiang Mansion or Changzhou Mansion, and guessed that he was going straight to their Gu family this time.

Gu Wen is very smart and already knows the reason. As the saying goes, a big tree attracts wind, and the Gu family's house is their disaster.

So Gu Wen rushed over and explained the cause and effect face to face.

Moreover, he believed that the Zhang family and the Qian family should not suddenly suffer unreasonable disasters, so he spoke out righteously.

But what if he guessed wrong? What if the decisive and decisive Majesty wants to eradicate them completely?

Gu Wen gritted his teeth, clasped his hands and bowed to the end, and said: "Your Highness, the Gu family is willing to cheer for you. I just ask Your Highness not to commit murder. The Jiangnan family is not the enemy of the Ming Dynasty. I just ask that you can distinguish right from wrong and only punish the black sheep."

"You are really smart," Zhu Zhen couldn't help but sigh.

In fact, Gu Wen knew everything and could see everything.

This old boy is really watertight.

Gu Wen knew that if any aristocratic family dared to come forward and accuse Zhu Ming of being dishonest and dishonest, just wait and they would kill everyone in the house and give them away.

Now, what Gu Wen is most worried about is no longer his own safety, but whether the entire Jiangnan family will be devastated or even destroyed.

The relationship between aristocratic families is very complicated and there are conflicts of interest, but more often than not, it is a nepotistic group interest relationship.

There is no doubt that the Donglin Party in the late Ming Dynasty was created by the Jiangnan family.

It's just that the Donglin Party was pretty good at the beginning and wanted to assist the government.

But later on, as he became more and more powerful, he was blinded by the desire for profit, and things gradually changed.

All in all, there are still good people in the Jiangnan family, and they cannot be killed with one shot.

For example, the Gu family is actually pretty good. As Gu Wen said, most of the millions of acres of farmland in Suzhou Prefecture are farmland, except official farmland.

It is still unclear whether the Gu family really has not annexed the land, or it may have been done in the past and then spit it out.

Thinking about it, Zhu Xi fell into deep thought.

Is this Gu family being adopted as a dog? Or behead someone for a treat?

(End of this chapter)