Zhao Mansion.

"Get on your knees!" In the living room, Zhao Wenhan held a rattan in his hand and shouted to Zhao Yulong standing in front of him with a straight face.

Last night, Zhao Yulong led Li Hongyu to Chunfeng Pavilion to fight with others The matter had reached the Zhao family, and Zhao Wenhan was furious when he heard this.

Zhao Yulong went to that kind of place to mess with flowers and grass by himself, and even brought Li Hongyu, who was about to participate in the county test, and made Li Hongyu get drunk, which is simply bold, if it affects Li Hongyu's county test, can he afford it?

Don't look at Zhao Yulong fighting with people outside, but what he is most afraid of is Zhao Wenhan, hearing this, he knelt down honestly, stretched out his hands, and drooped his head to prepare to be beaten by rattan.

Although he was about to be served by the family law, the look on Zhao Yulong's face looked very relaxed, anyway, he had been used to beating since he was a child, and he gritted his teeth and got through.

"If you don't want to make progress, you linger in the land of fireworks all day long, and you hit your cousin with the idea, it's really unteachable." Zhao Wenhan walked up to Zhao Yulong's side, glared at him with hatred and said, "If I don't let you taste great today, you don't know how big a basket you will break out of another day!" ”

As he spoke, Zhao Wenhan raised the rattan in his hand and hit Zhao Yulong's hand heavily.

"Uncle, the second brother went to the Chunfeng Pavilion this time for me, and I hope that my uncle's subordinates will be merciful." Seeing that the rattan in Zhao Wenhan's hand was about to fall, Li Hongyu suddenly walked in quickly from outside the door, and knelt beside Zhao Yulong as he spoke.

"Yu'er, you are a big uncle clearly, don't defend him, this evil obstacle doesn't learn well and wants to delay you, it's really unreasonable!"

Zhao Wenhan naturally didn't believe Li Hongyu, Li Hongyu had never visited the Qinglou, so he thought that Zhao Yulong had pulled Li Hongyu there.

"Uncle, I asked my second brother to take me there." Li Hongyu hurriedly explained, "Uncle, you also know that our Li family's third room has been suppressed in Baihe Town, and business is becoming more and more difficult. ”

"Is that so?" Zhao Wenhan groaned for a moment when he heard this, and asked Zhao Yulong with a serious expression, he knew the current situation of the Li family's third room, so what Li Hongyu said was reasonable.

"Dad, it's not good for me anyway, please punish my father, don't be angry with my cousin." Zhao Yulong had already reacted at this time, and Li Hongyu was excusing him, so he said seriously.

"Yu'er, your mother has your mother in the affairs of the family, you don't have to worry about it, prepare for the county exam with peace of mind, and get fame and glory to your ancestors." Zhao Wenhan couldn't help glaring at Zhao Yulong when he heard this, and then helped Li Hongyu up with a pleasant face.

"Uncle, I discussed something with my second brother." After Li Hongyu got up, he looked at Zhao Wenhan solemnly, "The second brother is quite popular and sociable, so I am ready to partner with the second brother in the fabric business, and I hope that my uncle can support me." ”

"Fabric business?" Zhao Wenhan was slightly stunned when he heard this, he never expected Li Hongyu to say such a thing.

"Uncle, the second brother was born in a scholarly family, and he has been taught by his grandfather and you since he was a child, and he will definitely become a Confucian businessman who benefits the people in the future."

Li Hongyu knew that the Zhao family had always looked down on the merchants, thinking that they were unearned speculators, and that although the merchants were rich but had the lowest status in society according to the class ranking of "Shinong Industry and Commerce", Zhao Guangfeng would not have prevented the Zhao family from marrying Li Renhai back then, so he said in an orderly manner:

"Uncle, think about it, it is useless to deal with those cunning and greedy merchants who are simply contemptuous, who rely on their control of the supply of goods and the market to wantonly oppress the people, and the people can only bear their suffering."

"In Yu'er's view, instead of hanging up on oneself, it is better to integrate into it to check and balance, make profits for the people, and benefit the country, so as to lose the way of Confucianism."

As he spoke, Li Hongyu bowed to Zhao Wenhan and saluted with a serious expression, "I hope that my uncle will be successful, so that the second brother can show his strength and establish a meritorious career." ”

Zhao Wenhan's brows suddenly wrinkled slightly when he heard this, I have to say that Li Hongyu's words really have some truth, but the Zhao family is a scholarly family, if Zhao Yulong is in business, wouldn't it be an insult to the family?

"Uncle, as long as you agree with the second brother to help me, I'll go and talk to him at my grandfather's place." Li Hongyu knew the concerns in Zhao Wenhan's heart, so he spoke.

After all, Zhao Guangfeng is the head of the family, and Zhao Guangfeng is naturally in charge of such a major event, but Zhao Wenhan, as Zhao Yulong's father, his opinion is also very important.

"Do you want to do business?" Zhao Wenyan groaned for a moment, and looked at Zhao Yulong who was kneeling there with a serious expression.

"Dad, children are not reading material, they don't want to live in a mess all the time, they want to contribute to the country and the people." Zhao Yulong nodded again and again when he heard this, and replied seriously, after all, he is not the kind of plaything who is discouraged, and as a descendant of the Zhao family, he also wants to make a career.

"In that case, you should do it well, and don't embarrass your family." Zhao Wenhan sighed when he heard this, and said earnestly.

Although the Zhao family looks down on businessmen, but in Zhao Yulong's situation, if he wants to gain fame, it is tantamount to ascending to the sky, he doesn't want Zhao Wenhan to continue to mix with those fox friends and dog friends, if this continues, Zhao Yulong's life will be ruined, and he will definitely become a famous gentleman in Xiangyang City, and he may cause some big trouble.

Therefore, in Zhao Wenhan's view, instead of wasting his life, Zhao Yulong should become a Confucian businessman who benefits the country and society as Li Hongyu said, so that he can be regarded as worthy of the ancestors and ancestors under Jiuquan.

"Thank you, Dad." Zhao Yulong was overjoyed when he heard this, he was more interested in doing business than studying, and the fabric business mentioned by Li Hongyu was also a huge temptation, once successful, he would gain a firm foothold in the business field.

"Your grandfather doesn't like businessmen, so you have to pay attention to your words when you talk to him about it." Hearing this, Zhao Wenhan made a gesture to Zhao Yulong to get him up, and then told Li Hongyu in a deep voice, compared to Zhao Guangfeng, he was more stubborn.

"Uncle, don't worry, Yu'er knows how to measure." Li Hongyu smiled slightly, he had already figured out Zhao Guangfeng's temper, so he was confident to convince him.

In the evening, Li Hongyu carried a pot of good wine to Zhao Guangfeng's study, where Zhao Guangfeng was concentrating on reading ancient books.

"Grandpa, Yu'er is leaving tomorrow, so I'll have a few drinks with you tonight." Li Hongyu put the two wine glasses in his hand on the table of the Eight Immortals in the room, and said with a smile while pouring the wine, because he had to prepare for the county exam, he couldn't stay in Xiangyang City for a long time.

"Tell me, what are you looking for grandpa?" Hearing this, Zhao Guangfeng put down the ancient books in his hand, walked to the front of the Eight Immortals table, took a sip of a glass of wine, and asked with a smile, did he think that Li Hongyu came to him so late just to drink.

"Grandpa, what do you think of the current situation in the Ming Dynasty?" Li Hongyu smiled slightly when he heard this, and asked quietly.

"The party is the same and fights against the different." Zhao Guangfeng couldn't help but be stunned for a moment, his eyes flashed with a look of surprise, he never expected that Li Hongyu, who was so young, would ask this kind of question that was not related to people of his age, and then spit out four words in his mouth.

The people and things that Zhao Guangfeng came into contact with were naturally different from ordinary people, and ordinary people would definitely say that corrupt officials and corrupt officials were rampant in the Ming Dynasty, but Zhao Guangfeng hit the nail on the head and pointed out the most critical point of the situation in the Ming Dynasty, that is, "the party is the same and fights against differences".

In Zhao Guangfeng's view, it is precisely because of the constant struggle between various factions in the imperial court that they not only favor the officials of their respective camps in every way, but also make the officials of the other side desperately stutter, which naturally creates a pattern of ineffective supervision and corruption.

It is worth mentioning that Zhao Guangfeng's words about the party's unity and disagreement not only refer to the factional struggles within the Ming civil official group, such as the struggle between the Donglin Party and the Zhejiang Party, the Chu Party and other parties, but also the struggle between the eunuchs and the civil official group, the civil official group and the Xungui group, and the struggle between the eunuchs and the Xungui group.

"Grandpa, what do you think of the current Guards?" Li Hongyu agreed with Zhao Guangfeng's opinion, and asked after a deep sigh.

"In name only, vulnerable!" Zhao Guangfeng shook his head helplessly when he heard this, and evaluated the Weisuo Army in eight words.

After experiencing the glory of the Hongwu Emperor and the Yongle Emperor, especially after the battle of Tumubao, the Ming Dynasty Weisuo Army gradually moved from glory to decline, with many drawbacks, contradictions, and many military households who could not be exploited and suppressed.

Therefore, since Emperor Xuande, the imperial court began to regularly send the imperial history to clear up the deserters, and the guards also sent people to the hometown of the fugitive soldiers, known as "Qinggou".

In the end of the Ming Dynasty, the "Qing Hook" was always held, and the imperial court hoped to use this to enhance the combat effectiveness of the guards, but unfortunately it had little effect.

Today, the military discipline of the Weisho army is lax, the morale is low, and the glory of the Hongwu and Yongle periods has long been lost.

According to Emperor Hongwu's plan in those years, after the implementation of the self-sufficient guard system, the soldiers of the whole country did not need to be supported by the state treasury, so as to reduce the burden of the people.

However, the actual situation is doubly disappointing, the combat effectiveness of the garrison army is getting lower and lower, and during the Jiajing period, more than 200 Japanese invaders even landed from Haiyan and burned and looted all the way to the city of Nanjing, while the hundreds of thousands of defenders of Nanjing City could only defend the city behind closed doors, watching more than 200 Japanese soldiers burn and loot under the city of Nanjing, showing off their might.

Therefore, since the beginning of Jiajing, the imperial court, which realized that the guards were overwhelmed, began to implement the conscription system, and the world-famous Qi family army was a model of the conscription system at that time.

A large number of recruits will naturally consume a lot of military spending, and the three major expeditions of the southeast anti-Japanese and Wanli have consumed a huge amount of silver taels, especially the three major expeditions of Wanli, which have consumed a lot of money in the treasury and the Tai warehouse.

It is worth mentioning that the tax system of the Ming Dynasty is relatively special, and the implementation of the central and local tax collection policy is different, and the local tax does not have to be handed over to the central government, which is also related to the experience of Emperor Hongwu, hoping that the local finance will support the operation of the local yamen.

In addition, the emperor's internal treasury and the Tai Warehouse, which was established during the Orthodox period, were under the direct jurisdiction of the emperor and were not allowed to interfere with the imperial court.

Therefore, the annual income of the treasury of the Ming household department is equivalent to three million taels of silver, which is not the same as the two or thirty million taels in the Song Dynasty.

The silver grain of the national treasury had to be used for disaster relief and the construction of rivers throughout the country, which was originally overstretched, so the money for recruiting troops naturally came from the emperor's internal treasury and the Tai warehouse, unlike the Song Dynasty from the treasury.