Follow Zhu Yuanzhang to conquer the country

Chapter 217 Zhu Yuanzhang deliberately raised fish and prepared a big gift for Zhang Cheng!
"If so many cloth coins are distributed, the cloth coins will become worthless."

Hu Weiyong couldn't help but say something to Li Shanchang when he came to inspect the railway construction.

Because he himself had enriched his own pocket with a batch of cloth coins allocated to the Railway Administration, he was very unwilling to see the cloth coins in his private collection continue to depreciate in value.

"Mr. Zhang wants it to gradually depreciate in value. In this case, whether it is distributed to the people or left in the hands of the bureaucrats and gentry, they will try their best to spend these cloth coins."

After Li Shanchang said with a smile, he gave Hu Weiyong a meaningful look. He could naturally guess that Hu Weiyong must have dirty hands and feet and floated a lot of cloth coins without permission, but he did not ask explicitly. After all, he himself was not a very honest person. .

Hu Weiyong just smiled and said helplessly: "Now the price of food is getting cheaper and cheaper, the price of cotton is getting cheaper and cheaper, and the equipment is becoming less and less valuable. Now there seems to be nothing that can be bought for life." Profitable.”

"It's Mr. Zhang after all. As soon as he innovated the technology, the officials and the people no longer dared to farm grain and cloth, and even the land was unwilling to farm. As a result, the government became much cleaner!"

Hu Weiyong sighed helplessly and clenched his fists.

"Because of this, there are fewer people who want to be officials now. Recently, many Confucian scholars have chosen to withdraw their applications for official selection!"

Li Shanchang followed.

On the other hand, the emergence of potatoes in large quantities has caused the price of food to fall, and the emergence of cotton cloth in large quantities has caused the price of cotton cloth to fall. Many Confucian scholars can now eat well, wear warm clothes, and make money by writing articles and teaching without being an official. The official was not so keen.

Therefore, many Confucian scholars do not really want to be officials.

"Protégé, it was just nonsense. I promise never to say that again."

But if more and more people don’t want to be officials because of their increasingly rich material conditions, how can he use other people’s mentality of wanting to be officials and getting rich to step on others?
Therefore, Hu Weiyong was very repelled to see Zhang Cheng turn the social model of the Datong Society into this.

Hu Weiyong hurriedly knelt down and said something sincerely.

"The superior was almost assassinated by a traitor, but you have not given up on the idea of ​​great harmony. Now you are just temporarily worried that the number of people who come to flatter you will become smaller and smaller, so you are determined to give up the idea of ​​great harmony. You are worthy of Mr. Zhang's sincere teachings to you, and you are worthy of the world. People?"

Because his purpose in becoming an official is to become a master, and he just wants to trample others under his feet.

Hu Weiyong then said to Li Shanchang: "Mr. Ge, can we ask Mr. Zhang not to innovate in technology, or even destroy those strange skills, and return to the old etiquette of respecting Confucianism and principles?"

"If this continues, I am afraid that everyone in the world will become lazy! It will also be unfavorable for everyone to work hard!"

What's more, now it's easy for people to meet their food and clothing problems and find jobs. In other words, there is no shortage of jobs at all.

This is true.

thus.

Li Shanchang waved his sleeves: "Get up! Datong Society is no longer allowed to kneel down and up, didn't you know?!"

Hu Weiyong actually didn't want to see this phenomenon.

Therefore, although he is now held by Hu Weiyong for accepting bribes and dare not expose Hu Weiyong and instead flip the table, he can take the appropriate opportunity to teach Hu Weiyong a lesson or even slap or kick him to vent his anger.

Confucian scholars felt that they were not taken seriously enough by Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhang Cheng of Datong Society.

"Mr. Ge, calm down!"

Then, Li Shanchang scolded Hu Weiyong and said:
"As a member of the Iron Chief Secretary and a member of the Datong Society, you actually say such treacherous words here!"

When Confucian scholars become officials, it is difficult for them to make the people desperate by plundering money, and then force them to become slaves and maids to provide themselves with cheap labor services. In addition, except for gold and silver, the wealth gained will depreciate in value, including cloth and grain, which is not appropriate. Save it.

Snapped!
After Li Shanchang heard what Hu Weiyong said, he immediately slapped Hu Weiyong: "Presumptuous!"

In fact, Li Shanchang had long been dissatisfied with Hu Weiyong, and even resented Hu Weiyong for dragging him into trouble.

"Yes!"

Hu Weiyong immediately stood up again.

When Li Shanchang saw that Hu Weiyong suddenly became so submissive and obedient, he suddenly felt a sense of pleasure in his heart, a pleasure that after scolding others, others could only treat him respectfully.

This is the feeling of stepping on others, and it is also the feeling that many people pursue.

Li Shanchang himself didn't like this feeling.

Therefore, he actually supports Hu Weiyong in his heart, and like Hu Weiyong, he hopes that Zhang Cheng will stop improving his technology and abolish all his tricks, so that the common people can only work hard to dig food in the soil. Cotton is still expensive, food is still expensive, everyone still wants to be an official, and even can only survive by studying and becoming an official.

But Li Shanchang couldn't say it directly. He just softened his attitude towards Hu Weiyong and said: "Remember, don't say such stupid things next time, otherwise, I will not spare you!"

"The disciples will never dare to do it again."

"Please rest assured, Mr. Ge." Hu Weiyong continued to answer respectfully.

He acted so submissively in front of Li Shanchang on purpose, and he did so willingly.

Because he knew that if he wanted to step on people whose status was lower than his own, he would have to be respectful in front of Li Shanchang, who was higher than him.

Not to mention Li Shanchang slapped him, even if he asked him to give his wife to him, he had to give it to him willingly without any complaints.

And what Hu Weiyong wants is this kind of lifestyle, a lifestyle in which he is a slave and others are his slaves.

However, in the current social life in the Datong Community, this model is gradually dissipating because Zhang Cheng has improved productivity.

Therefore, Hu Weiyong covered his face and walked in the market, watching more and more free people who did not have to work diligently in farming and weaving, nor did they need to wear rag-like pudding clothes, but they could buy and buy with the money and wages obtained from demolition. At that time, his face was extremely gloomy.

He doesn't hate Li Shanchang for beating him, he hates Zhang Cheng for making the lives of these common people in front of him so easy and so improved! As a result, the people who didn't have much money could wear new clothes made of cotton and eat enough food. Therefore, he could no longer exploit the people by plundering food and cloth, which were increasingly devalued goods. of labor force.

"Pass my words, from now on the mansion will not accept cloth coins, only gold and silver! Let the food and cloth in the mansion be secretly exchanged for gold and silver."

Therefore, Hu Weiyong also gave such instructions to his family.

After all, food and cloth were becoming less and less valuable, so he had no choice but to stock up on gold and silver.

Zhu Yuanzhang found out through his own inspection that people like Hu Weiyong secretly only accepted gold and silver, so he gritted his teeth and said with a very gloomy face: "This Hu Weiyong is taking the lead in destroying the currency system established by Mr. Zhang!"

Wu Liang, who was in charge of inspecting the school, couldn't help but take the initiative to ask Zhu Yuanzhang: "Then superiors, should we arrest this Hu Weiyong!"

"No need yet!"

Zhu Yuanzhang planned to ask Hu Weiyong to collect more gold and silver. When he had collected almost all the gold and silver on the market, he would close the net and give Zhang Cheng a big gift.

Because Zhu Yuanzhang clearly remembered that Zhang Cheng said that gold and silver are the best things to stabilize currency.

One of the problems that currently prevents Datong Society from growing rapidly is that the reserves of gold and silver are still insufficient.

Zhu Yuanzhang also wanted to take a look at which other people who had already joined the Datong Society would not be determined and would follow Hu Weiyong to corrupt the Datong Society.

After all, Zhu Yuanzhang has now dealt with those who are unwilling to join the Datong Society, and now he has to deal with those who secretly betrayed the Datong Society and violated the Datong concept!
Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang planned to let Hu Weiyong dance for a while.

Hu Weiyong has always been a very narcissistic person. He thinks that others are fools and he is the smartest. Therefore, it is really because Zhu Yuanzhang did not touch him that he did not take Zhu Yuanzhang's intelligence system seriously. He only thinks that he is very powerful. This made Zhu Yuanzhang's intelligence system unable to do anything to him.

Therefore, Hu Weiyong really dared to use his power for personal gain. He had begun to let his family members hint that some wealthy gentry families would give him money, and he could falsely report the amount of compensation for the land occupied by the railway.

But Hu Weiyong soon discovered that someone still sent him only cloth and food, which had been depreciating in value, and he became very angry.

"Who asked you to use these cotton cloths to tarnish my official name?"

"Which member of the Datong Society would do anything to ruin his reputation just because you sent these cotton cloths?"

On this day, Hu Weiyong couldn't help but scolded a wealthy man who quietly came to see him and scolded him.

The rich man was also very aggrieved.

Because it is now popular to give away cloth, and everyone just wants to store gold and silver.

After all, there are not many other goods in Jiangnan, but there is a lot of cloth. If you don't give cloth, what will you give?
Later, after the rich man found out that Hu Weiyong only accepted gold and silver, he gritted his teeth and sent gold and silver instead to avoid being resented by Hu Weiyong.

Hu Weiyong also received a lot of gold and silver.

This made him very happy, and when he examined the gold and silver, he murmured to himself happily: "Gold, these are all my gold!"

Hu Weiyong then ordered: "Send one hundred taels of gold each to Mr. Li Ge and the second young master."

Although Hu Weiyong loves money, he loves power even more, so after he collects gold and silver, he will also give some to those who are willing to benefit from him.

But what he didn't know was that Zhu Yuanzhang was watching every move he made.

Zhang Cheng was also aware of it, because he found that the compensation reported by Hu Weiyong had been rising, but he did not take action. He only said when Shu Anguo from the Audit Department reacted to the matter: "When the superior comes back, I will tell him about this." thing."

Shu Anguo said yes.

After Zhu Yuanzhang came back, Zhang Cheng came to see Zhu Yuanzhang and said, "There are some things that the superiors must have noticed."

(End of this chapter)