People live in the Ming Dynasty, evil spirits are soaring into the sky

Chapter 436 Different ways do not work together

And the scholar opposite him, whom he considered to be his good friend, should have the same idea as him.

They should think, as I do, that Chen Han’s reforms are a cancer.

If it weren't for Chen Han's reforms, these scholars, especially those who passed the imperial examinations, would be living a quite comfortable life now.

The way they lived a comfortable life was very simple, that is, there were many large landowners who would register their land under their own names.

Just relying on the commissions from these registered lands, scholars don’t need to do anything. They just need to study peacefully and take the imperial examinations well.

But now Chen Han's reforms have changed all this.

So deep down in his heart he was the same as Li Jiang and hated Chen Han's reforms very much.

I even thought that if someone could stand up and denounce Chen Han's reforms, society would be restored to its previous state.

What he would most like to see is a return to the era when scholars are still highly respected.

Especially when Li Jiang stood in front of Guo Feixue and denounced Chen Han, although he has achieved some success now, his destructive power is even greater.

This resonated deeply with him, because he hoped that someone could come together to denounce Chen Han's behavior and pull Chen Han down from the altar.

It is precisely because of this thought that even though he has not been caught by Guo Feixue, he is still brooding over this matter.

Although Li Jiang was not a capable person in his heart, at least Li Jiang was able to stand up and criticize.

So when he heard his friend say this, the scholar named Yang immediately jumped up like a cat whose tail was stepped on.

"You are talking nonsense, I never had such an idea, I am definitely not a person who would harm my neighbors.

I agree with Li Jiang's statement because he expressed what I was thinking. I don't think Chen Han's reforms are necessarily wrong. I just think that if no one restrains him now, things will definitely get worse in the future.

I just feel...I feel..."

He couldn't continue speaking because he didn't believe what he said anymore.

In fact, he agreed with Li Jiang's statement and felt that Chen Han would become one of those corrupt officials in the future.

He wanted to put a hat on Chen Han's head so as to attract everyone's attention and drag everyone into the water.

When the scholar surnamed Yang said this, not only did he himself not believe it, even his friends around him could tell that the scholar was competing with the scholar surnamed Yang.

In fact, this scholar named Yang was determined to put a big hat on Chen Han.

However, not only did he fail to put on the hat properly, but he gave the scholar a chance to find fault with it.

The scholar said confidently, "I don't know why you hate the Duke's reforms so much, but I thought about it carefully.

Although we were able to get some money from the landlords who registered their land in our name, compared to the good environment now, that little money seems insignificant and it was not obtained in a legitimate way. "

When the scholars present looked at him, their eyes changed, and then they continued to listen to him.

“Although we cannot get any benefit from the land registration now, I can tell you about my own family’s situation.

First of all, my family can sell local specialties on the street, and since the income is not particularly high, we don’t have to pay taxes.”

Everyone knows this, because Chen Han's reform stipulates that those with income less than five taels do not need to pay taxes even if they are doing business.

Those worth five to ten taels only have to pay a little. Even though the taxes on business have increased by ten or twenty times, Chen Han has also made some corresponding regulations.

It allows ordinary people to do business freely without having to worry about paying high taxes.

In this regard, it allows ordinary people who want to do small business but are worried about being asked to pay high taxes by the government to have additional income besides farming.

Such reforms are welcomed by the people.

Then he said: "The second reason is that as the business environment in Ningbo is getting better and better, more and more businesses are gathering in Ningbo.

Let’s not talk about anything else. Just take the brush, ink, paper and inkstone you use. How much did it cost before? And now that there are more and more merchants in Ningbo City, what kind of changes have taken place? "

The scholars present here have a say in this matter. In ancient times, it was very difficult to support a scholar.

Because the cost of pens, ink, paper and inkstone is not low, if the family has no savings, these things alone can bankrupt a well-off small family, so there are so few talented people who can study.

After hearing this, several scholars sitting nearby expressed their opinions.

"Now that Brother Han mentioned this, it seems to be true. We didn't notice this problem before, but now after being reminded, I realized that it used to cost ten big coins to buy a wolf-hair brush, but now it only costs five."

As soon as this topic was brought up, it immediately sparked a lot of discussion.

It is true that these scholars did not pay attention to this problem before, but now that I think about it, it seems to be just as what the scholar surnamed Han said.

Because more and more buyers gathered in Ningbo City, there were suddenly many more businessmen in a business, so naturally the price went down.

Today, the city of Ningbo attracts so many business people to come and do business.

There is no other reason, it is just because there is the Daming Bank established by Princess Ning'an at the order of Chen Han, which can provide loans at very low interest rates for business.

Moreover, there were already many business people gathering here, and after this publicity, everyone was even more willing to gather here.

After the scholar surnamed Han grasped this point, he immediately launched his own offensive, "But you are far from seeing this, you always think you have a long-term vision.

I always feel that I am a scholar, and if I pass the examination to become a scholar, someone should visit me three times and invite me to do great things, but I never see the small things in front of me.

You may not even know the chain reaction that the Duke’s reforms have caused throughout the city of Ningbo and even in the entire southeast.

You may not know that, because of the Duke's reforms, merchants can now do business openly, although they may not be allowed to enter the house.

At strategic locations along official roads, common people could also set up small stalls to improve their living conditions.

You didn't care about these things at all, and you just kept asking the Duke to do things according to your wishes.

For example, handing over power, or raising the status of scholars again.

Because the Duke has suppressed the status of scholars, there are more and more people like you.

More and more people want to ask the Duke to raise you up. If he doesn't do what you said, you will slander him and accuse him of some unfounded crimes.

In order to arouse the resonance of the common people and join you in attacking the Duke.

It’s a pity that your dark psychology has not been satisfied.”

The scholar named Yang did not expect that the scholar named Han, as his friend, would say this about him.

Although what he said is true, he really thinks so.

But the scholar surnamed Yang thought to himself: No matter how hard I try, I hope to improve the status of us scholars. As a scholar, why do you want to belittle me like this? What do you mean?
The scholar surnamed Han immediately knew what the scholar surnamed Yang was thinking, and immediately said, "I also know what you are thinking.

You just think that I am also an educated person, so why am I so disgusted with your idea of ​​improving the status of educated people?

You even think that people like me are scum and traitors among scholars."

Although the scholar surnamed Han said this, others did not seem to think so.

Because other people even thought that what the scholar surnamed Han said was right.

This scholar named Yang always thinks only about the affairs of scholars, but many scholars have dark hearts. They don't really want to think about the people, but instead want to satisfy their own little ambitions.

So, we are not particularly great people, nor are we saints. We do not always strictly demand ourselves, but always care about the common people.

They can't.

But ask yourself, since Chen Han has done it, shouldn't we criticize others? Even if you don't praise him behind his back, can you maintain a balanced attitude towards this matter?

You can even praise them openly, because it does not damage your personality and will not make people think you are fawning.

Because Chen Han really deserves such praise. This is what a person, or even a beneficiary of an era, should do.

Others followed the scholar surnamed Han and said, “I agree with what Brother Han said, although Chen Han’s reforms do make us scholars the most uncomfortable.

You all know that my family has fallen on hard times, and we originally hoped to rely on my fame as a scholar to get some money from the landlords to supplement our family income.

But because of the Duke's reforms, this convenience no longer exists.

But it was a blessing in disguise, because my house happened to be located in a transportation hub, so I could do some business.

Before, we were a family of scholars and looked down upon doing business. At the same time, our household registration did not allow us to do business.

So even if we see a crowd of people on the road, we cannot earn a single penny from them.

But since the Duke's reforms, people in our family have changed their minds and no longer think that doing business is a despicable thing.

I even felt that my previous ideas were too old-fashioned. As long as I could live a good life, as long as I didn't steal or rob, and as long as I did business honestly and openly, I would be able to gain the approval of others.

My family indeed achieved this. We were honest and fair in business and treated every customer who came to our door sincerely. In this way, we earned a lot of money and our family was no longer in financial difficulty.

I also felt that I was too pedantic at the time, and wondered how we, who were taught by the teachings of sages, could indulge in the world of money.

But now I have completely changed my mind. Just as Brother Han said, it’s all because of the Duke’s reforms that our thinking has improved.

Even our lives have improved. When we have gained so many benefits, we often ignore that all of this comes from the Duke, and we make so many demands on him. "

When they talked about this, many scholars slowly gathered around. Because the door of their box was not closed, the scholars outside also came in after hearing their discussion.

After hearing their remarks, they all expressed their agreement. There was no other reason for this except that now, even though there were no more obvious benefits, the convenience brought about by the reforms had secretly allowed many scholars to obtain their due benefits.

They were very clear about these things, so they did not reject Chen Han's reforms, but instead agreed with them.

It’s just that some people with a knotted mind are very hateful.

Obviously they have gained a lot of benefits, but the more people oppose it, the more they are.

I don't have any other thoughts. It's just envy, jealousy and hatred as the scholar surnamed Han said.

Especially people like Li Jiang.

They had heard it on the street before that Li Jiang actually told Guo Feixue directly that she could only be happy if she married him.

Anyone who can say such things must have a problem with his brain.

Don't even look at your own weight.

I am not trying to belittle the value of a scholar here, but I want to tell Li Jiang, who do you think you are?
He actually dared to say in front of Guo Feixue that he was much greater than the Duke.

A scholar who walked in heard what the scholar surnamed Han said and immediately cheered: "Well said, brother, what you said is very good, we have had this idea for a long time.

Although we are all educated people, not everyone is like that Li Jiang you mentioned, who is ungrateful and thinks he has been wronged. "

Another scholar immediately added, "Who says it's not true? Obviously, I have been treated very well. Even if I don't have the land to rely on, I can still support my family by doing some small business.

But some people really seem to be unable to take off their clothes forever and cannot bring themselves to do small business.

In fact, in a place like Ningbo City now, what’s the big deal about doing a small business?
Ordinary people will not think that you have brought shame upon scholars just because you do a small business.

On the contrary, they will agree that people like us are aware of the times.

Even many old scholars, after listening to the Duke's reforms, think that things should not be so rigid. "

Everyone felt that this was what a truly enlightened person should be like, rather than someone who simply clung to the old-fashioned identity of a so-called scholar and remained unrepentant.

After being confronted by the scholar named Han and those scholars, the scholar named Yang was extremely angry.

He originally believed what Li Jiang said because Li Jiang expressed what he was thinking.

When everyone saw that so many people agreed with the scholar surnamed Han’s idea, he became even angrier. He snorted, slammed the door and left.

Even after he reached the door, he turned back to look at the scholars present and said, "People with different ideals cannot work together!"

……

(End of this chapter)