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

Chapter 347 The Liu family’s money, the Pang family’s face

Hangzhou City, Qian Family Qian Mansion.

"I didn't know that the King of Dian was coming, but I hope I'll forgive you for missing me from afar."

The head of the Qian family, Qian Gui, clasped his fists and gave a deep salute, saying he was asking for forgiveness, but he was not too humble and treated it indifferently.

Zhu Zhen, led by Li Gui, had already entered the Qian Mansion. He was sitting at the first place in the main hall and looking at the head of the Qian family in front of him.

"You said you called Qian Gui?" Zhu Zhen laughed. Who doesn't know that money is the most expensive thing.

Qian Gui just smiled and replied: "Because money is expensive, you shouldn't be blinded by money. Although money is expensive, it is an external possession. My father wants to warn ordinary people that there are many things in the world that are more valuable than money."

Zhu Xi raised his eyebrows, which was interesting.

"For example?"

"The common people, the world, and the king. Benevolence, justice, etiquette, wisdom, trust, loyalty, filial piety, integrity, forgiveness, courage and surrender."

Qian Gui bent down slightly.

Good guy, in just one sentence, it almost summarizes the core thoughts of Confucianism.

It's expensive and really unusual.

"But I have heard something. In Hangzhou, are there any aristocratic families who use their power to bully others and go around the countryside to oppress the people?" Zhu Ming then asked.

Qian Gui straightened up again, looked at Zhu Zhen with a strange expression, and then subconsciously looked at Gu Wen aside.

Both belong to Jiangnan aristocratic families, and Suzhou and Hangzhou are often mentioned together. Even if they have never met before, they have heard about each other, and they have introduced themselves this time.

Qian Gui was wondering, what happened to His Highness? You either ask or you tell.

You first said that you had heard about it, and then asked me if I had heard about it.

Should I answer yes or no?

And I just finished saying "benevolence, justice, propriety, wisdom, trust, loyalty, filial piety, chastity, forgiveness and courage", and you turned around and asked me this?

If there is, then I am slapping myself in the face. This is not just a boomerang, it might as well swell my face.

To say no, well, actually there is.

Gu Wen secretly sighed, this is what His Highness does, beating the old master to death with random punches and not having fun with you at all.

Didn't he get involved step by step before?

Zhu Zhen knew that even if these aristocratic families did not learn the true skills of saints, they were very good at Confucian wisdom, such as intrigues, power manipulation, etc.

So Zhu Zhen doesn’t follow the conventional process with you, I have my own way of playing.

After all, Zhu Zhen had only implemented his own policies in Yunnan and the grasslands, but this was the territory of the Jiangnan aristocratic families, and all of these aristocratic families were full of human beings.

"Master Qian, why don't you say anything?" Zhu Zhen picked up the teacup and took a sip, then said in a nonchalant manner: "Don't be formal, everyone, sit down, sit down."

Whose house is this?

Qian Gui had to express his gratitude before finally sitting down.

There were not many people in the hall, only Zhu Zhen, Qian Gui and Gu Wen. As for Xu Miaojin and Tang Xin, they were female dependents after all, so it was inconvenient. At this time, following the arrangements of the Qian Mansion, they were greeted by Qian Gui's wife and daughter to arrange their residence. .

Li Gui took over Wang Fu's job and led the guards to stand guard outside the door.

Niu Sheng was confused, who am I, where am I, what should I do?

Li Jinglong simply took his men and followed Tang and Xu to attack them.

At first, the female family members of the Qian Mansion thought he was just an ordinary servant, but later they found out that he was actually Cao Guogong, and they were immediately shocked.

Good guy, the great prince has come to work as a servant?

Is this the trip of His Royal Highness the King of Dian, or is this His Majesty the Hongwu Emperor visiting the south of the Yangtze River?

Isn't that too exaggerated?

Not to mention the backyard, let’s look inside the lobby.

Qian Gui sighed and said, "I'm afraid what your Highness heard is true. There are four images in the south of the Yangtze River. Common people call them 'Liu family's money, Zhang family's talents, Pang family's face, and Gu family's house'."

"Mr. Qian, I have made it clear to His Highness about the Gu family, so please don't talk nonsense," Gu Wen warned angrily.

Qian Gui chuckled lightly: "Mr. Gu has already served as the Chief Historian under His Highness. He is His Highness's minister. What else is there to worry about?"

This is the Ming Dynasty. If it were the Tang Dynasty, the officials would not be simple.

For example, when Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, was still the king of Qin, people like Qin Qiong, Cheng Yaojin, Yuchi Gong and others were Li Shimin's ministers. This means that the princes and ministers in the court in the early Tang Dynasty basically came from the palace of the prince of Qin.

At the same time, these people were also the main force that helped Li Shimin complete the Xuanwu Gate Change.

It's just that although the current vassal king is also a prince, and although Zhu Yuanzhang is very good to his sons, the power of the vassal king has been weakened a lot.

In fact, as long as Lao Zhu's system continues to operate as usual, it is impossible for the Eight Kings Rebellion to occur, because the vassal kings do not have that much power.

Even the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty would not collude with the feudal king.

As for the Battle of Jingnan in history, it was entirely Zhu Yunwen's fault. He cut down the vassalage as soon as he ascended the throne, forced Zhu Bai to death, deposed four princes, demoted him to common people, and even exiled him to Yunnan.

Among them, there is Zhu Zhen.

That's right, if Zhu Zhen was still living and waiting to die like in the original history, he would not be able to escape the fate of being cut off from his vassal.

So after Zhu Di launched an army to rebel, none of the several vassal princes who were supposed to consolidate the capital stood still.

Since you are going to cut down your vassalage, do I still care about your life or death? It would be interesting enough without adding insult to injury and causing the Eight Kings Rebellion.

But even so, the whole Ming Dynasty can say that the whole country wants to attack Zhu Di. Even Zhu Di's troops were mostly deceived and snatched from the seventeenth-year-old Zhu Quan. This means that most of the credit for Zhu Di's rebellion belongs to Duoyan and the three guards. The Jurchens contributed a lot.

If Zhu Yunwen hadn't changed his generals and made Li Jinglong the coach, how could the hundreds of thousands of troops be defeated by Zhu Di's hundreds of thousands of troops?

Zhu Yunwen is seeking death.

Therefore, the vassals of the Ming Dynasty only had the noble status and status of princes. In terms of actual power, they were incomparable to the princes of the Tang Dynasty or even previous dynasties.

Why did the Mongol Empire fall apart as soon as Genghis Khan died? That is, the sons of Genghis Khan have too much power, and the Mongolian princes have too much power.

Zhu Yuanzhang was not worried about the rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms of the Han Dynasty and the rebellion of the Eight Kings of the Sima Family. He had considered both.

But in the final analysis, Gu Wen has joined Zhu Chu, and the entire Gu family has also boarded Zhu Chu's boat.

Qian Gui looked at Gu Wen with a deep look, but he couldn't tell that Gu Wen had evil intentions and wanted to drag the Qian family into trouble.

"I have long heard that the Qian family was so famous that they even established the Wuyue Kingdom during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. Later, they even understood the righteousness of returning the land to the Song Dynasty and reunifying the Central Plains. How can you talk about it now?" Zhu Zhen He said without blushing and without a beating heart.

In fact, if Gu Wen hadn't recommended the Qian family several times, he might not have known that there was such a family in Hangzhou.

Qian Gui smiled bitterly: "If you are rich, you can help the world, but if you are poor, you can live alone. Our Qian family just has such a name, why do we care about it? It is the Liu family and the Pang family that are the local snakes in Hangzhou today."

"Oh? How do you say this?" Zhu Zhen continued to ask.

Qian Gui just shook his head and did not answer directly, but said: "If Your Highness is not in a hurry to leave, you can take the time to pay a private visit incognito, listen to how the people praise the Liu and Pang family, and then investigate them privately." You can understand it by looking at the land title deeds of the two families."

Zhu Ming narrowed his eyes slightly, knowing that Qian Gui had some reservations, that is, the so-called self-care? I think it's better to protect yourself.

Zhu Ming felt a little displeased and looked at Gu Wen, saying that although he was rich and talented, his character was not that good.

"Send off guests," thinking of this, Zhu Zhen took a sip of tea and no longer wanted to talk to him anymore.

After all, Zhu Ming originally hated the Eight-Part Essay, which was selected from the Four Books and Five Classics, and the interpretation standard was based on Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism.

These were precisely the things he hated the most, so he laughed at himself for not having enough ink, and he really couldn't play the sour game of reciting poems and composing poems.

What else is there to talk about?

If he wants to talk, he talks about how to punish corrupt officials, how to conquer the world, how to rule the world, and how to govern a family.

Since money is expensive and needs to be reserved, there is no need to talk about it.

So see off guests.

Qian Gui subconsciously stood up and was about to walk out when he suddenly came to his senses, turned around and said to Zhu Zhen, "Your Highness, this is my home."

"Cough cough cough."

Gu Wen choked.

In the end, Zhu Xi could only flick his sleeves and go out dejectedly.

Qian Gui could only shake his head with a wry smile, why did the talks fall apart?

"Mr. Gu, you really brought me a huge problem," Qian Gui saw that Gu Wen was about to run away and asked to keep him.

Gu Wen turned around helplessly, raised his hand to Qian Gui, and said, "Maybe it's a great luck. I'm patrolling the world on behalf of the emperor. I don't think it's difficult for Mr. Qian to guess what your majesty is thinking today, right?"

Qian Gui smiled: "Who dares to speculate on His Majesty's thoughts? A wise man doesn't tell secrets. I don't know how your Gu family hooked up with His Highness. I only know that your Gu family can't bear the pressure, so you want my money." Everyone will share the burden. What a good plan."

It has been said that the Jiangnan family actually looks down on Zhu Yuanzhang's origin.

Therefore, for the Jiangnan aristocratic family, once the Gu family took refuge in Zhu Ming, it would be a betrayal or even treason.

Because you are not even seeking refuge with Zhu Yuanzhang, and Zhu Yu’s background is even worse.

What are you doing?

Gu Wen is also worried that in the future, the Gu family will become a thorn in the side of the Jiangnan family and may inevitably be hit.

So Gu Wen kept mentioning the Qian family in front of Zhu Chu, intending to bring the Qian family into the group.

Both of them are smart people, and they don't know what the other person is thinking.

"What about you? What's your plan? Could it be that the Qian family has been reduced to hiding from the world and just waiting to watch the show?" Gu Wen sneered. "Don't bully me with your words," Qian Gui snorted, "I don't want to do that. If you are rich, you can help the world, and if you are poor, you can live alone. Today's people hate corrupt and cruel officials the most, and secondly, they also have opinions on our Jiangnan family. We If you can't hide, why bother to get in trouble yourself? What's more, even in this mere place of Hangzhou, I'm afraid that His Highness will have a headache, and may even be unable to deal with it. The only thing our Qian family can do is not to join in the dirty work, and do whatever it takes. Maybe it can help the people, that’s all.”

"Then the Pang family and the Liu family, are they really going so far?" Gu Wen asked with a solemn expression.

Qian Gui sneered and said: "Hangzhou is no worse than Suzhou, but do you know who owns the land titles in Hangzhou now? Do you think the Liu family's money is just a casual talk? The surname of Hangzhou is already Liu and Pang."

"They are seeking their own death. Although the Zhang family in Liyang is just a separate family, you should have heard that His Highness uprooted the Zhang family and killed every one of them." Gu Wen mentioned Zhu Ming's previous remarks. Handle the Zhang family's affairs.

Qian Gui shook his head and said unmoved: "The Liu family and the Pang family are not the kind of separated families. If you go out and ask around, you will know how famous the Liu family and the Pang family are. The people love them. , with the support of the people, His Highness cannot take action. After all, even I have heard of the virtuous name of the King of Dian and the reputation of loving the people like a son and loving the soldiers like a son."

Many of Zhu Chu's deeds and fame have actually been spread for a long time. Not only is he famous all over the world, most of them have heard about it.

The only people who don’t know are the people.

But these aristocratic families naturally have their own methods.

So Qian Gui still knows something about Zhu Ming.

But so what?

Your Highness, you cannot deal with these two major families in Hangzhou, at least not that easily.

The Pang family's face is not just talk, nor does it mean that someone from the Pang family is an official in the court.

Speaking of which, of the Jiangnan family, no member of the family has ever served as an official.

The Pang family's face refers to their local face and the people's support for them.

Your Highness, the more you love your people like a son, the less you can do anything to them.

Not only in front of me just now, I am afraid that this time, you will leave Hangzhou in despair.

By then, you will become the laughing stock of the Jiangnan family.

Qian Gui thought, stopped talking, turned around and picked up the teacup.

Gu Wen saw the intention of serving tea as a farewell to the guests, so he stopped bothering him, cupped his hands and left.

On the other side, of course Zhu Chu would not leave the Qian family in a fit of anger. The Qian family had already set aside a courtyard as his temporary stay.

After Zhu Zhen entered the courtyard, he went straight to the east wing angrily and called Li Gui in.

"Li Gui, what's going on in Hangzhou?" Zhu Zheng asked impatiently as soon as he sat down.

Li Gui was about to kneel down when he was stopped by Zhu Zhen's look.

"It's just the two of us here. Although we are divided into principals and ministers, we have also been on the battlefield, so don't make such nonsense," Zhu Chu waved his hand and said.

Li Gui agreed and began to report on his work since arriving in Hangzhou.

I have to say that Li Gui is indeed very suitable to be a royal guard. Although he is from the military, he has made arrangements since he left the capital.

Along the way, he visited and conducted secret investigations while leaving Jinyiwei secret agents to assist Zhu Ming, so that Zhu Ming could know the general situation of the Jiangnan family without having to waste time and effort in conducting personal investigations.

Everything was going smoothly.

"But since I came to Hangzhou from my humble position, I finally saw the methods of the aristocratic family," Li Gui said with a solemn expression, even a little fearful.

Zhu Ming snorted noncommittally, so what about the aristocratic family? Can he still defeat the imperial power? Could it be more terrifying than the army?

Are they invulnerable?

Zhu Ming sneered, don't let him find evidence of guilt.

"Explain to me exactly what happened."

"Yes."

Li Gui told the specific situation.

There are several aristocratic families in Hangzhou, but they are headed by only three major families. In addition to the Qian family, they are the Liu family and the Pang family.

Let’s not mention the Qian family for now. Even Li Gui said before that the Qian family has good children and a strict family tradition.

Let’s just talk about the two families of Liu and Pang. They have a good relationship and have been married for generations. Either your daughter will marry my son, or my daughter will marry your son.

After all, they are well-matched. In Hangzhou, apart from the Qian family, the Liu and Pang families are evenly matched.

Logically speaking, the two families are already related by marriage and should not continue to be married.

But in ancient times, this kind of thing was normal. Not to mention just a relationship by marriage, even cousins ​​could get married.

As long as they don't have the same surname and the same clan, there's no problem. For the sake of power, Lu Pheasant even married his own granddaughter to his own son.

"This is not important. I'm not here to listen to gossip," Zhu Zhen interrupted Li Gui angrily, asking why he was talking about this.

Li Gui quickly got to the point.

The relationship between the Liu and Pang families can be said to be intricate, and they have long been inseparable from each other.

It is these two families who work together, and in the city of Hangzhou, it can be said that they can cover the sky with one hand.

"The money of the Liu family is the face of the Pang family. The Liu family has used various means to annex land. Except for less than 30% of the official land in the huge Hangzhou Prefecture, it basically belongs to the Liu family. There are also land deeds in the city, which are basically the property of the Liu family. They are all the property of the Liu family."

According to what Li Gui said, the Liu family is probably more terrifying than the Zhang family in Liyang County.

Because Hangzhou is a land of one city, with at least more than 4 million acres of land.

Except for the more than 100,000 acres of official land and the Qian family's land.

The Liu family alone occupies an area of ​​more than three million acres.

And what about the people? Then they are all tenant farmers of the Liu family.

Or rather, it should be said that he was a tenant slave.

"Aren't the people going to sue the officials? Aren't they going to rebel?" Zhu Ming was angry. The Liu family has become a huge hidden danger. In the whole of Hangzhou, is the family surnamed Zhu or Liu?

Li Gui said with a bitter look on his face: "This is about the Pang family's face. The Liu family annexed the land, and the Pang family deceived the people, making them think that selling the land to the Liu family was the best way. Choice. At the same time, relying on the stupidity of the people, they felt that they could continue to farm the land anyway, so no one refused to resist."

"But in fact, the land that the people sold to the Liu family did not reach the market price at all, and was almost given for free. Instead, they still have to farm the land for the Liu family."

This is the consequence of the policy of obscuring the people. People do not even have the ability to discern on their own. It is equivalent to selling themselves and counting money for others. If they feel that others have not earned enough, they have to pay for it themselves.

Why do those aristocratic families like to do this? Obviously Confucius once said that there is no distinction between religions, but these Confucian disciples read the books of sages and do things other than human affairs.

How else would you say Confucius is a saint?

"What's going on? Is it true that the Pang family knows witchcraft?" Zhu Zhen didn't believe it. Is anyone really that stupid?

Li Gui opened his mouth, but stopped talking.

"If you have something to say, say it, and if you have something to say, let it go," Zhu Zhen said anxiously.

Li Gui sighed and said slowly: "The main reason is that the miscellaneous taxes, taxes, and corvee are too heavy, and the people are overwhelmed. Although the land is given to the Liu family, although the Liu family has to pay grain taxes, compared with various taxes, it is reduced by 30%. "

Zhu Ming opened his mouth and wanted to curse, but was speechless.

It turns out that the people are not really stupid. For example, if you farm your own land, you have to pay ten dou in tax, but if you farm the land for the Liu family, you may only pay three dou in tax.

If it were you, how would you choose?

Especially with the Pang family helping the Liu family with their hard work, instead of resenting the two families, the people of Hangzhou had to thank them.

This is why Liu and Pang's family are deeply supported by the people.

To the common people, they are great good people.

The imperial court, on the other hand, was exaggerated into being the big bad guy.

"Good guy, our family has become a villain?" Zhu Zhen took a breath and finally understood why Qian Gui said that before.

In the face of the general trend of the people, the Liu and Pang families, whoever dares to target the two families is the public enemy of the people.

If it were Zhu Chu, Zhu Chu would not go against the will of heaven.

It's no wonder that Li Gui looked embarrassed before and was trapped in Hangzhou. Even he couldn't make up his mind. He could only wait for Zhu Chu to get here before letting Zhu Chu make the decision.

But Zhu Ming also had no idea at this time.

The reason why the previous handling of the Zhang family was so smooth was because the Zhang family had committed many evil deeds and aroused public outrage, so everything fell into place naturally.

But now?

Do we need to reason with every common person?

The problem is that there are probably hundreds of thousands of people in the city of Hangzhou. Hangzhou Prefecture governs nine counties, and the total population is at least 700,000, even if it is not one million.

This is not a problem that can be solved in one draft for future generations.

Even if Zhu Chu's more than 10,000 soldiers were exhausted, how many people could he explain clearly?

Zhu Zhen finally felt the difficulty.

(Zhu Yuanzhang: It’s not difficult. Do you think I won’t do it myself?)

After all, the Jiangnan family has existed since the Three Kingdoms period and even the Warring States period. After so many years of hard work, no one can survive for a long time.

Zhu Ming took a deep breath, he really couldn't do anything easily.

"By the way," suddenly, Zhu Ming felt something in his heart and said, "Go and check for me. There is a man named Luo Guanzhong. He seems to be a gentleman who wrote books. Find his whereabouts for me. I want to visit him personally."

Zhu Chu's eyes flashed with a strange light.

Someone who can write the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, why not ask him what solutions he has?

(End of this chapter)