"As early as when I captured Dingyuan, I said, build a high wall, accumulate grain, and slowly become the king!"

In the general manager's conference hall, dozens of people from the Dingyuan Army's civil affairs and strategists, Li Shanchang, Feng Guoyong, Hu Weiyong, Wang Guangyang, Tao An, etc., as well as the civil affairs talents selected from the demoted officials, were sitting in danger, listening to Zhu Wu's words with a smile.

Zhu Wu stood on the edge of the main seat, holding a document in his hand, and said with a smile, "These three items are the direction in which our Dingyuan Army will settle down." First, manage our own territory, second, prepare the grain, grass and armaments needed for long-term wars in the future, and third, do not try to be famous, seek practical results, and do not let us become a thorn in the side of the court, a thorn in the flesh, and not become the target of the world! ”

As he spoke, Zhu Wu shook the paperwork in his hand and said with a smile, "But yesterday, a scholar submitted a document and asked me to be king?" ”

Well? There was a commotion among the Wenchen people in the seat, and Li Shanchang and the others looked at each other, and most of them were stunned in each other's eyes. Apparently, they were also taken aback by the news.

"The city is only ten, and the army and civilians are only a million, so you will be king?" Zhu Wu smiled, "Is this to make the whole world laugh at me Zhu Wu, is it not self-sufficient?" ”

After occupying Jinling, Zhu Wu understood why the big leaders and big men in later generations were so busy. Even if there are countless people who help him share the burden, both civil and military affairs are very busy. One will be the sergeants on both sides of the strait, the other will be the resettlement of the homeless, and the artisan workshop will have to go to see it from time to time. How is the artillery being built, how is the progress of the new ships or something.

It is also necessary to keep an eye on the movements of the imperial court at all times, and train soldiers not to slack off, and always be ready for war.

He is the head of the Dingyuan Army, the only head, and everything has to be approved by him. So he has one head and two big.

At this time, there was such a joke, a young scholar named Yang Xian, who had just defected to him, actually encouraged Zhu Wu to be the king at the end of the document of the population inventory.

It's really funny.

But in Zhu Wu's heart, there was nothing unusual, and when he said it at this time, it was just a joke, and he didn't even mention his name, but the scholar who went to the book couldn't sit still.

Yang Xian was at the end of the Wenchen seat, stood up with a red face, and said loudly, "The chief manager's words are wrong, and the lower officials think that the chief must be the king!" ”

Li Shanchang and the others turned around, it turned out to be him!

Yang Xian is a native of Shanxi and lives in the south. Different from the timidity of other scholars, at the beginning of the occupation of Jinling, Zhu Wu's recruitment list was posted, and this person came by himself.

This person does have real talent and learning, and under Li Shanchang's hands, the government affairs arranged are all done in an orderly manner, and even because he is not a scholar in Huaixi, he does hard work and tiring work, and he can work hard.

Yang Xian has a typical northerner appearance, a square head and a big face. Zhu Wu was also a northerner in his previous life, so he had a good impression, and sat down on the main seat with a smile, "Then tell me, why do I have to be the king?" ”

"The general manager sits in Jinling, this is the foundation of the dragon and the tiger, and the Dingyuan army has 100,000 soldiers under the command of the armor, like a wolf and a tiger. In a few years, it is bound to sweep Jiangsu and Zhejiang! The so-called name is not right, dare to ask the governor, if you don't call the king, how can you let the soldiers under your command feel at ease, why let me and other courtiers return to their hearts, why let the people of the southeast submit? ”

"This~~~" Zhu Wuzhi said in passing, but he didn't expect this Yang Xian to speak at length directly.

"Besides, the chief said that he didn't want to be famous, and he didn't want to become a big trouble for the court. Do you dare to ask the governor, does the governor think that now is not a big trouble for the imperial court? ”

Yang Xian then said loudly, "Xiaguan knows that everyone who reads knows that Liu Nanzhu in the north. Liu Futong seems to be powerful, but in the heart of Meng Yuan, he needs to resist Meng Yuan's iron horse. The chief manager is in the south, where the wealth of the world gathers, and the two elite soldiers under his command are like wolves and tigers, unless the court is blind, how can they not see? ”

"It's okay to build a high wall, and it's okay to accumulate grain, but you don't have to slow down to become king. Now that the governor has become famous all over the world, why not simply go to the king and call it the mandate of heaven! Only by setting the righteousness of the monarch and ministers as soon as possible can we appease the millions of soldiers and civilians in the southeast! ”

"Nonsense!"

Li Shanchang saw Yang Xian's spittle flying stars, and reprimanded, "Liu Futong moved to Henan, and he commanded hundreds of thousands of soldiers, and he didn't dare to claim the king. ”

"Liu Futong used a cult to deceive people's minds, so naturally he didn't dare to be the king." Yang Xiankou retorted, "The governor came from a humble background, asked for his life for the poor people in the world, held high the banner of righteousness, carried the people's prestige and righteousness, and won the most righteous position, why can't he be called the king?" ”

"Wait!"

The two of them pointed to each other, and the civil officials whispered, and both sides made sense.

Zhu Wu didn't want to hear the two arguing, so he spoke to stop it.

In fact, he was also pondering in his heart, what Yang Xian said was not unreasonable.

So many people rebelled with themselves, what are they trying to do?

Those old brothers who were born as homeless beggars were willing to be born and die for their own righteousness for the sake of brotherly righteousness at first, but now? What about the military generals who took refuge in later?

As long as you can fight in these years, you drink wine and eat meat everywhere, you are chic and happy, and you have a lot of rules, what do people want? The current Dingyuan Army is not just a thief, it is divided into one side, and no one in the world can control it! People are looking for wealth in the future and a future future.

If you don't give people some hope, why should they continue to sell your life to you?

Thinking of this, Zhu Wu smiled bitterly in his heart, saying that it was really not good to be a king, but his name as the chief manager seemed to be a little too petty. His name is stuck here, how can his subordinates be promoted?

Zhu Wu shook his head and said to Yang Xian with a smile, "What you said has some truth, but now is definitely not the time to be king. Look at Monk Xu Shouhui Peng, after becoming emperor, he was besieged by Meng Yuan's million-strong army, and now he is still holding back in Dabie Mountain.

No matter how stupid Meng Yuan is, there is a limit, as long as he doesn't claim to be the king and doesn't pierce that layer of window paper, he won't beat us to death if he looks good! When we can resist the court head-on, it will be natural to be the king. ”

said, smiled at the civil officials seated, "There is a saying in my hometown, the dumplings are all in the pot, what's the hurry?" ”

These words made everyone chuckle.

In fact, the literati are the most utilitarian, love fame, and their ambitions are often greater than that of a martial artist who cuts people with a knife, and his mind is heavier.

Yang Xian's point of view is not a point that he can do alone, he should have said it to the hearts of some people. Zhu Wu's words also gave these people a reassurance, saying that the king will be in a hurry sooner or later, what are you anxious about?

However, for people like Yang Xian, Zhu Wu still has to give some sweetness, Zhu Wu thought about it, "You're in charge of the population inventory now, right?" "Yes, Sir!" Yang Xian said respectfully, "It is not difficult to check the population in Jinling City, but it is not easy to check the peasants outside the city. The tyranny of the Mengyuan Dynasty lasted for a long time, and the local big households were greedy and excessive, and there were many things to hide the population and acres. ”

"I have a headache about this, too!" Zhu Wu nodded and said, "Meng Yuan has to pay a poll tax in addition to the field tax, and over time, in order to avoid the tax, the people simply hand over the land to the big households and be tenant farmers themselves." ”

Saying that, Zhu Wu stood up again, walked a few steps and said, "Now let's abolish all the harsh taxes and miscellaneous taxes of the imperial court, leaving only the land tax, how much land to plant and how much tax to pay, people can run, but the land can't run." But the people don't know about it, and the local families don't want the people to know.

In this way, Lao Li, let's build a separate organization, specifically ask the population of Tianmu to investigate, like the people to implement our policies, let Yang Xian take the lead, okay! “

"Lord Mingjian!"

Li Shanchang nodded.

On the side, Yang Xian, who was standing solemnly, was excited.

Throughout the ages, the problem of the world has been the land problem.

The future of the Dingyuan Army is actually on the land.

Such a heavy responsibility was entrusted to himself, which was in the eyes of the general manager.

Without waiting for him to express his loyalty, he listened to the stage, and Zhu Wu continued to ask, "Lao Li, how is the matter of Shishu Tuntian?" ”