When talking about the death of the late Ming Dynasty, people can find many factors, and one of them is very important, that is, the division between the north and the south in essence, which can be said to be a main line running through the Ming and Qing dynasties.

Throughout history, the economy between the North and the South has never developed in a coordinated manner, but has its own peak, and the influence of the economy will also lead to changes in the pattern of the world.

In history, the peak period of the northern economy is very long, it can be said that from the time of the Qin and Han dynasties to the intersection of the two Song Dynasty, the economy of the north is in a dominant position for the south, like the early south has not been developed on a large scale, even the two lakes belong to the place of "the south of the Yangtze River is low and wet, and the husband dies early", so there is no problem with the position of the regime at that time generally near the north.

However, by the time of the Ming and Qing dynasties, the south had been developed relatively maturely, and both Jiangnan and Huguang had become very important sources of wealth and grain, so Zhu Yuanzhang ascended the throne in Yingtian in the early days and built the palace in Yingtian.

The reason why Zhu Di chose to move the capital to Beijing was also determined by the strategic environment at that time. However, from an economic point of view, due to the economic imbalance between the north and the south, the south needs to continue to transfuse blood to the northern court in order to maintain the strength of the northern regime.

However, people have their own ideas, especially for the gentry in the south, they have been forced to transfuse blood to the north for a long time, and they are reluctant, and by the end of the Ming Dynasty, they have become the north fighting their own, and the south playing their own games, there is no way to make a fist, and even when the southern army arrives in the north, there will be many contradictions.

As far as Ning Chu is concerned, the difference between the north and the south is also beginning to show up slowly, just like the previous major chambers of commerce in the south hoped to donate silver, just to delay the northern merchants to enter the general chamber of commerce - from small to big, now if the southeast gentry are allowed to spend money to support the officials in the southwest, they will not be willing to do so anyway.

Therefore, Cui Wancai has fundamentally understood Ning Yu's thoughts, the financial problem must be viewed from the overall situation, and small groups must not be divided, and the collection of power from the gentry must also be done, otherwise they will abandon Ning Chu like the Ming court sooner or later.

Ning Yu nodded slightly, and said: "This time the matter of the gentry is to consider it from this, otherwise I am afraid that the disaster of the end of the Ming Dynasty will be repeated in the future." ”

At this point, Ning Yu has given a comprehensive explanation of the essence of this matter, and this easy-to-understand theory is easily accepted by the ministers, after all, these have been completely spread out and can be seen clearly.

As long as you unify your understanding, things will be much easier, unless you are Ning Chu's enemy yourself.

Ning Yu's idea is so simple, he doesn't bother to play the traditional trick of hello, hello, hello, everyone, just spread it out on the table, anyway, Ning Chu's foundation has been laid, if you have the ability, you will rebel, and we will be the enemy on the surface.

Shoufu Ning Zhongjing pondered for a while, and said in a low voice: "It's not bad like this, but Your Majesty should also understand that the back is not so simple, whether it is for the Northern Expedition or the future plan, we must always have an explanation for the people of the world." ”

What he said actually meant that Ning Yu gave the gentry a step to step down, and he couldn't really push the gentry outside on the bright side - there was a saying on the bright side that it was better than doing nothing.

Ning Yu smiled slightly, but he remembered that the Shen family, who played a key role in this incident, was an object that could be used, perhaps to divide the current gentry group and set an example for the people of the world.

"The Shen family's contribution this time is not small, how is the cabinet going to deal with it?"

Shoufu Ning Zhongjing could guess part of the emperor's thoughts, and said with a smile: "The Shen family's heart is towards the imperial court, and the imperial court will naturally not treat them badly, and they are ready to let them enter the general chamber of commerce, and give them more or less sweetness." ”

Ning Yu nodded slightly, "Shen Guanglie pleaded with Ning Luoyuan, saying that it would be good for his eldest son to enter Nanjing National University, and he might be able to become a pillar of Great Chu in the future." ”

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Ning Zhongjing nodded, this is not a big deal, it is nothing more than an admission quota, but it is not very precious, but about those people who were arrested, how to deal with it gave him a little headache, so he said cautiously: "Back to Your Majesty, this arrest is very involved, and Dali Temple is afraid that it will not be able to try them all......."

Ning Yu nodded slightly, of course he understood that it was impossible to follow the usual process in a special case like this, and sighed: "There are enough people who have died, and I don't want to kill again." The head of the department can be executed, and the rest will be sent to the land of Yungui, and as for their family property, the treasury will be confiscated, and all the land held by them will be returned to the official field. ”

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Ning Zhongjing thought about it again, and then asked in a low voice, "What about the soldiers who fought at the Wumen Gate before?" At that time, hundreds of people were also arrested, and now they are all held in Nanjing Prison. ”

Ning Yu almost forgot about these unsuccessful scholars, and now after Ning Zhongjing's reminder, he had to say helplessly: "Let them go....... These people have not achieved enough things, they have more than they have failed, and it is a waste of food to lock them up. ”

..........

The scorching sun was in the sky, and the scorching sun shone on the stone surface of the steps at the entrance of Nanjing Prison, which looked extremely dazzling and a little hot to the touch.

However, in such a hot weather, the prison gate was still full of people, they were all soldiers who had fought in front of the noon gate before, and just like that day, they were now divided into two factions, the old and the new, standing on the left and right, and the middle was clearly distinguished, and no one stood in that position.

In the crowd, scholars surnamed Xu and Xu Zhai were also standing inside, but they both belonged to a wave of old-school scholars and were whispering something.

"Brother Xu, I don't know what plans you have in the future?"

The original name of the scholar surnamed Xu was Xu Hunzhang, because the name didn't sound very like, so he rarely mentioned it, and others would not call him by his name, just call him "Senior Brother Xu" or "Brother Xu".

Xu Zhai's face was scarred, and he lamented: "Not only did I not achieve my goal when I entered Beijing this time, but it caused Brother Shen to go to prison, and I don't know if I can be released this time....... If you wait for Brother Shen to release him, he will go home to study a new school. ”

"Huh?"

This time it was Xu Hunzhang's turn to be a little surprised, he didn't expect that after this person was beaten, his thinking changed so quickly, and he was curious at the moment: "Isn't it that Brother Xu knows some news?" ”

"Ahem, this news has spread all over the streets and alleys now, and the emperor has now arrested more than 20,000 people, and thousands of people have been executed in the process of arrest alone....... We all have only one head, since the emperor wants to take the test, he will take the test, why should he not live with his own life? ”

Xu Zhai didn't have any level, he also made up a sentence from the rumors in the market, and thought that the scholar was arrested more than 20,000 people and killed more than 1,000 people - in fact, it has nothing to do with the scholar, it is purely those ignorant squires.

When Xu Hun Zhang heard this, he smiled bitterly, "Brother Xu still has a family background, if he is alone like the younger brother, he has no one to rely on at all, if he starts to read again, I am afraid that it will be difficult to get in, so he will simply take the old exam next year, although he will be arranged to be an official in the border land, but it is also an official after all!" ”

Hearing Xu Hun Zhang say this, Xu Zhai didn't know how to comfort him, and when he was about to say a few words, he saw the gate of the prison open, and some people scattered out of it, all of them had bruises on their faces, they were all the losers in the noon gate brawl, and they were divided into two directions and went to their different camps.

Qin Li was in the last brawl, because of his outstanding performance, although he was arrested and put in prison by the Fu Han army, but he was also led by the new bachelors, and now after he was released from prison, his face did not have the meaning of the past, but he was a lot more confident, he glanced at the old bachelor's side, and couldn't help but let out a sneer.

In his opinion, these people are too unbeaten, and there is even a guy who is like a girl, and he was beaten and cried directly!

Xue Yan and the others saw Qin Li coming over, and hurriedly bowed their hands and said: "Brother Qin's battle is really a show of my generation, I heard that even His Majesty saw it that day, and they were all admiring Brother Qin's bravery!" ”

Qin Li smiled, and returned the salute: "It's really too reputation, it's just that the eldest husband is alive, and he will shoot when he should act, as for those villains, I am afraid that they can only nest in the corner and cry for the rest of their lives, like a woman!" ”

There was a burst of laughter among the new bachelors, but it was embarrassing for the old bachelors, their faces were blue and white, and they also had some opinions on Shen Luochuan who was beaten and cried that day, I didn't expect the guy to be so unhelpful, I knew I wouldn't bring him here!

Xu Zhai and Xu Hun Zhang were a little embarrassed, Shen Luochuan was also his companion, but he didn't say much, so he had to be careful in a low voice, save one or two for Shen Luochuan, and on the other hand, he looked at the prison vigorously, hoping that Shen Luochuan could appear as soon as possible and the big guy would leave this sad place.

Then Xu Zhai and Xu Hunzhang waited left and right, only to see that most of the people had been released, but Shen Luochuan couldn't even see a shadow at all, if it wasn't for sure that everyone would be released today, otherwise both of them would want to go in and ask what was going on.

About half an hour later, almost all the people had already come out, and the soldiers who greeted them had also left, and those who won the battle had to go to celebrate, and those who lost had to go back to ask a doctor to treat their wounds, but only Xu Zhai and Xu Hun Zhang were still waiting.

waited until Xu Zhai couldn't bear it anymore, only to see a thin figure come out of the prison gate, and it was Shen Luochuan who was released who limped when he walked.

It turned out that Shen Luochuan was released early in the morning, but he didn't want to go out and be laughed at, so he begged to stay for a while, ready to take advantage of the absence, and then quietly leave this place to avoid losing face - but Shen Luochuan didn't expect that his two friends had been waiting, and he couldn't help but feel moved and guilty at the moment.

Xu Zhai and Xu Hun Zhang greeted them, the two looked at Shen Luochuan and didn't say anything else, just simply asked Shen Luochuan about his days in prison, and then said their plans again, and then looked at Shen Luochuan together.

Shen Luochuan was originally just a sour literati who could only read dead books, but after such an ordeal, he had grown a little, and sighed in a low voice: "If it weren't for the old mother at home, Shen would have died headlong at that time, and now that he is out of prison, he doesn't think about anything else, let's take next year's old exam." ”

Xu Zhai saw that Shen Luochuan was also taking the old subject exam, and he was a little anxious, and said continuously: "Brother Shen, you and Brother Xu participated in the old subject exam, the younger brother shouldn't have said anything, but you have to think about it, even if you are admitted in the future, I am afraid that you will have to take root in the remote border for the rest of your life." ”

Shen Luochuan had a wry smile on his face, and sighed: "Shen has also figured out a truth now, whether it is a big or small thing in this world, there must be some people who are willing to do it. ”

Hearing Shen Luochuan say this, Xu Hun Zhang laughed, "That's right, whether it's a new study or an old one, in the end, it's all about doing things, since I'm not as good as them in the exam, then compare and compare in doing things, can I surpass them!" ”

Seeing this, Xu Zhai could only shake his head helplessly, and left Nanjing Prison with the two.

Perhaps, after this time, Shen Luochuan is not the only one who has changed.

..........

Jingshi, in the Yangxin Palace, at this time the lights are bright, and there is a large stack of folds to be reviewed in front of Huang Aya's case, almost piled up into a mountain, those are important matters submitted by the provinces, waiting for the emperor's approval.

Yongzheng didn't look at those excerpts, but kept looking intently at the secret report submitted by the south, which wrote out the before and after of Ning Chu's imperial examination petition in the south, although many places on it were not true, but it was still a valuable piece of information.

After a long time, it wasn't until the sky was light that Yongzheng put down the fold and couldn't help but sigh deeply.

On the surface, this seems to be a good thing for the Qing Dynasty, because this will only force the hearts of the gentry of the world to get closer to the Qing Dynasty, but Yongzheng admires and fears Ning Yu sitting in Nanjing at this time.

Admiration lies in the fact that Ning Yu did what he always wanted to do but couldn't, Yongzheng didn't have to think about it, and he knew how much pressure this matter would encounter inside and outside the government and the opposition, but Ning Yu did it under pressure, which was really admirable.

The fear lies in the fact that this incident illustrates a problem, that is, Ning Chu has begun to think about the future of the empire, and he no longer attaches so much importance to the immediate threat of the Qing Dynasty, or has enough confidence that he can succeed in the Northern Expedition and dominate the world, so he will force the gentry over and show a strong confident posture.