After the Xuanjia Army sent troops to Zhejiang, Fang Yuan stayed in Suzhou City and summoned Xi Benzhen and Mao Bijiang to organize and build the business association and the people's general association together.

The so-called business association, to put it bluntly, is actually the CPPCC before the crossing. In the Ming Dynasty, due to the restrictions of transportation and technical conditions, extensive management was implemented on the society, and the division of government functions was not so detailed. Therefore, the relevant people related to the needs of the CPPCC in the past, such as ethnicity, religion, and united front, can be omitted, and only the main body of the CPPCC can be retained, that is, wealthy businessmen.

Because the wealthy businessmen in Jiangnan have long been out of the stage of fighting alone, they have begun to hold together on a large scale for warmth, and various business gangs have been established, and the organization is more concise. This business association is currently composed of the Dongting Merchant Gang, the Hui Merchant Gang, the Shanxi Merchant Gang, and the Suzhou Merchant Gang, and the candidates for the cabinet are elected by the major merchant gangs. Later, with the expansion of Fangyuan's territory, the merchants in Nanjing, the Lu merchants and Jin merchants in the north, and the Zhejiang and Fujian merchants in the south could join at any time.

The so-called people's congress is the people's congress before the time-travel. The members elected to the cabinet by the general assembly of the people were similar to the position of tribune in ancient Rome.

However, this model of people's congress is relatively complicated to manage, and in feudal society, the power of the government does not go to the countryside, but only to the state and county level. It is impossible to achieve a level-by-level election, and the people's wisdom has not yet been opened, and the illiteracy rate of the people is at least 90% or more, so there is no need to spend this energy and financial resources to toss.

Fang Yuan's idea was that each county would elect a local well-known non-governmental person, and then Jinyiwei would go to the local area to check whether it was consistent with the declared qualifications and reputation. If it does not match, the county and county orders will be held accountable immediately, and if it does, the first president of the People's General Association will recommend one person from it, and after Fang Yuan's approval, he can enter the cabinet.

It took Fang Yuan a full ten days to formulate various rules and regulations together with Xi Benzhen and Mao Bijiang, and finally improved the internal rules and regulations of the business association and the people's general association.

Fang Yuan took advantage of his leisure time to tease his beloved son in the dormitory, kissing more than once, Xiao Yuan suddenly said on the side, "Childe, is it inappropriate to make such a hasty decision on the selection of candidates for the cabinet?" ”

Fang Yuan was slightly stunned, and he didn't know what she was referring to, so he gently scratched Fang He's tender little nose and asked, "Who do you think is too hasty to choose into the cabinet?" ”

Xiao Yuan groaned and said, "Governor Wang Bingjian has always been the first to look forward to the son, and now he dares to come out to bear the burden, so he has nothing to say; Mao Bijiang and Gongzi met before they came to Jiangnan, and they didn't have to say anything. Xi Benzhen of the Dongting Merchant Gang, when the son first came to Jiangnan, their Dongting Merchant Gang bribed the rogue to attack the son, and then repeatedly colluded with the government to oppose the son, how can this kind of loyal and unreliable person enter the cabinet? ”

Fang Yuan guessed Xiao Yuan's mind this time, put Xiao Fanghe in the baby's cradle, and asked lukewarmly, "Then who do you think can replace Xi Benzhen?" ”

Xiao Yuan said softly, "I still know each other in the past, and the old people who supported Childe in the first place are more reliable." ”

Although she did not say who the specific candidate was, she specifically mentioned the person who had taken refuge in Mao Bijiang before, and it was clear who she was referring to, that is, before Fang Yuan first came to Jiangnan, he came to Hejian Mansion with Mao Bijiang to meet and take refuge in Xu Hua, a big official and businessman.

"Bang!"

Fang Yuan was furious when he heard this, swept the teapot and teacup on the table to the ground with his sleeves, and scolded him sharply, "Xi Benzhen is a Confucian businessman who is a humble gentleman, taking into account the overall situation in everything, paying equal attention to profit and righteousness, and always being calm in everything, he is not qualified, who is qualified?" Xu Hua is a treacherous businessman, mercenary, you dare to recommend this kind of person to the cabinet, are you Li Lingzhi fainted? ! ”

His roar became louder and louder, and Fang He, who was originally quiet, was also so frightened that he burst into tears. Xiao Yuan had never been scolded so harshly by Fang Yuan, and he was so frightened that he hurriedly picked up the crying baby, whimpering and saying, "Childe, you are scared of He'er." ”

Fang Yuan was still angry, and pointed at Xiao Yuan and continued to scold, "Mrs. Yuan, the independent accounting team has given it to you, Jinyiwei has also listened to you, and even the governor's seal belongs to you, and the entire inner court is already up to you." You are still not satisfied, and you still meddle in the affairs of the foreign court cabinet?! ”

Xiao Yuan's tears fell on the baby's cloth, and in the face of Fang Yuan, who was angry, he didn't dare to say another word, just coaxed the child who couldn't stop crying.

Fang Yuan said coldly, "Mrs. Yuan, let me say it again, the inner court is not allowed to meddle in the affairs of the outer court cabinet and the Xuanjia Army, Governor Yin, you should hand it over!" ”

He coldly dropped such a sentence, angrily brushed his sleeves away, left the dormitory, and sat in the courtyard with residual anger.

Xiao Yuan put down Fang He, chased him out of the courtyard, put the governor's seal in front of Fang Yuan, knelt down like this, and whimpered, "If Gongzi doesn't like me, I will hand over the governor's seal immediately." ”

Fang Yuan saw that she was using this kind of nonsense again, and looked left to talk about his method, and said coldly, "Mrs. Yuan, I admit that you do have some insight and some intelligence. However, your biggest problem is that your energy is too small, nepotism, short-sightedness, and you can only tell the truth, and you don't know what the royal way is. ”

Xiao Yuan sobbed softly and said, "Childe reprimanded, but I still don't understand." ”

Fang Yuan leaned down, approached her face, and said in a deep voice, "Let me tell you what the royal road is. The world is the world of the people of the world, not the world of your small group. To fight for the world, you have to fight for the hearts of the people in the world, and it is not the hearts of your small group. Whether it's Xi Benzhen or Lu Ziyue, they are not my cronies or humerus. However, they are the hearts of the people in Jiangnan, and what I want to fight for is this kind of people's hearts. ”

"The so-called way of the emperor, with one hand, uses the ministers, makes conspiracies, and acts tricks, so the fourth and Xu Hua are indispensable; With one hand, he used his direct ministers to fight for the hearts of the people and follow the royal road, so the third child, Xi Benzhen, and Lu Ziyue were even more indispensable. When you come here, you only know how to use ministers and squeeze out direct ministers, how can you exercise the position of governor well?! ”

Xiao Fanghe was still crying in the dormitory, Fang Yuan's heart also softened slightly, his eyes glanced at the Governor's Seal placed on the ground, and said slowly, "Xiaoyuan, you have figured out for yourself, the weight of this Governor's Seal." If you can afford it, you can keep it, and if you can't afford it, hand it over! ”

Xiao Yuan's pink face is pear blossom with rain, but in his heart he is trying to figure out Fang Yuan's thoughts, the reason why he said such a truth about the royal road and the way of the emperor is that he still doesn't want to take back the governor's seal in his hand.

She put the Governor's Seal back into her arms again, and said softly, "I will keep the Governor's Seal for Childe for the time being, and when Childe has a more suitable candidate, I will hand it over." ”

Fang Yuan was stunned, and had to admit that she was very eloquent, and she could downplay such an embarrassing scene, so she said, "Okay, you go and coax He'er!" ”

When Xiao Yuan returned to his bedroom, Fang Yuan saw Hu Qi come to report that the envoy of the imperial court had arrived.

He asked who this messenger was, Hu Qi thought about it, and reported that it was Donggong Zhan Shi Huang Daozhou.

Huang Daozhou, a contemporary Confucian, once quarreled with Yang Sichang in the court, and the officials were dumbfounded, and Emperor Chongzhen protected Yang Sichang, and was also blocked by Huang Daozhou's offense. After that, Huang Daozhou was demoted and left the capital, although he had been used, but he still resigned and returned to Jiangnan.

After that, Huang Daozhou served as a high-ranking official in the two small courts of the Southern Ming Dynasty in Hongguang and Longwu, and the Qing troops went south, and Zheng Zhilong of Fujian supported the army and was unwilling to resist the Qing. Huang Daozhou recruited a lone army of less than 10,000 people to go north from Xianxia Pass, and was finally defeated and captured. After Hong Chengchou's persuasion to surrender to no avail, he calmly took justice.

This Zodiac Zhou is a typical literati of the Donglin Party, although Fang Yuan has a different position from him, and he does not think that Zodiac Zhou has any great military and political talents. But in his heart, he still admires this kind of literati who generously die like a moth to a fire for the sake of his inner ideals and admiration. It is because of this stubborn and paranoid spirit and belief that the Han nation has been passed down that it will continue to circulate, and after being ruled by foreign races twice, it can also regain Chinese orthodoxy.

The purpose of the imperial court to send such a person could not be more obvious, that is, to prepare to fight with Fang Yuan.