Seeing that Xu Ping no longer spoke but fell into thought, Gu Yanwu didn't say much but said: "General Xu, I came to visit today, for the sake of the lawyers in Kaifeng and Guide. ”

"Oh?" Xu Ping did not have a good impression of the lawyer at all, they made a living by helping people fight lawsuits, which originally flourished in the south of the Yangtze River and gradually spread to the north. Since many people are illiterate, most of the plaintiff's pleadings are written by lawyers, and the same is true for the defendant's pleadings. If this is the case, this kind of person is not a big trouble, but there are even fewer people who are relatively literate and understand the law, and the lawyer who makes a living from litigation is the opposite, they are proficient in the law, study cases, and are good at giving advice. The magistrates of the Ming Dynasty are often quarreled by the lawyers on both sides of the quarrel, and those scholars who have just been promoted to the rank have read Confucian classics all their lives, and they are not at all the opponents of the old oilmen of the lawyers. Since the middle of the Ming Dynasty, officials have always complained about the lawyers in their letters, calling them the people who bewitch the people and create trouble.

After Xu Ping and Sun Kewang took control of Kaifeng and Guide, a large number of magistrates with experience in adjudicating cases were driven out or eliminated from the camp, and the judicial system they urgently organized became more fragile and inexperienced, and the number of lawyers became more rampant. The magistrates under the rule of Chuangying complained to Xu Ping one after another: that a seemingly simple case would become wrong as soon as the lawyer quarreled with him, and that no matter how the case was decided, both the plaintiff and the defendant would be dissatisfied with the plaintiff and the defendant who had the lawyer fanning the flames behind their backs, which not only greatly increased the workload of the magistrate in Chuangying, but also weakened the prestige of the new regime.

About half a month ago, Sun Kewang took out a report to Xu Ping to show that there were more than 50% more lawsuits in Kaifeng this year than under the Ming Dynasty, and the chaotic judicial system made the lawyer feel that there was an opportunity to take advantage of it, and he redoubled his efforts to encourage the people to come out to fight lawsuits, and some disputes that could have been resolved by the people themselves should also be brought to the court to see the truth. With such a grim military situation, Xu Ping felt that he could not tolerate this kind of civil unrest, and Sun Kewang even characterized this behavior as a challenge and sedition by those who hated the intruding regime.

Since the lawyer was identified as a hostile force, Xu Ping and Sun Kewang were determined to use strong means to suppress it, and ten days ago, the Kaifeng and Guide prefectures strictly forbade the lawyer to appear in court, and the most severe punishment for the violator could be a summary execution. Eight days ago, the camp added another injunction: all petitions must not be attended by lawyers, and if they are illiterate, they can be written by others, but every word must come from the mouth of the sufferer, and the writer must not add a word or give any opinion on his own, otherwise he will be punished as a lawyer.

A more severe order had been issued three days earlier in the entire territory of Kaifeng and Guide: all complainants were required to recite the contents of the petition to the magistrate who broke into the camp in the hall after handing it in, and if any mistake was found, even if it was only a word missing, it would be concluded that the lawyer had written it on his behalf, and the case would be expelled from the case with twenty boards.

"I hope General Xu can take back his life." Gu Yanwu said.

"I also know that word-for-word is a bit too harsh, but overkill must be overdone." Xu Ping patiently explained: "What's more, if there is no instigation by the lawyer, the people will not write a pleading, and they will not quote precedents and ponder the law at length, that is, to talk about things in general, such as my son was injured by his son; Or maybe my cow ate his grain, and he bit off his tail when he let the dog go. It's not difficult to say such a trivial thing well, right? ”

Gu Yanwu shook his head: "General Xu, you are fundamentally wrong, how can the lawyer be banned?" ”

"These people ......" Xu Ping was taken aback: "Inciting good people to become enemies with their neighbors and corrupt the atmosphere, but they themselves make profits from it, how can this kind of villain not be severely punished?" ”

Gu Yanwu sneered: "General Xu, are you and General Sun all about mind-learning?" ”

Although there was not much conversation about Confucianism before, Xu Ping knew that Gu Yanwu was quite dissatisfied with Xinxue, but he didn't know why: "Is there anything wrong with cultivating the heart and valuing morality?" ”

"Haha, General Xu, do you want to discuss Confucianism with the old man?" Gu Yanwu laughed: "Dare to ask General Xu, are you going out of Henan to attack cities and plunder land, is it because General Xu is more virtuous than the enemies you meet along the way, or because General Xu is more knowledgeable about governing the army than these people?" ”

"Marching and fighting, of course, is the law of governing the army, but isn't governing the country a virtue?"

"You can't rely on morality to govern the army, and governing the country is a hundred times more complicated than governing the army, how can you rely on morality? General Xu is really the mind of Nian. Gu Yanwu laughed twice: "The old man is a disciple of science, and he has served Ercheng and Zhuzi in his life. Everything in the universe has a reason, the sun and the moon have the reason for the birth of the sun and the moon, the change of the stars has the reason of the stars, and the glory of plants and trees has the reason of plants and trees. We must be rational and reasonable, and we must follow military reason in governing the army, and we must follow more principles in governing the country. Gu Yanwu pointed to the place in front of his heart: "And Xinxue believes that the emphasis is on cultivating the mind and cultivating virtue, as long as the heart is cultivated to the home......" Gu Yanwu waved his arms and raised them high above his head: "This reason will come out naturally, it's ridiculous!" ”

Seeing that Xu Ping was still at a loss, Gu Yanwu shook his head and sighed, his face was full of rotten wood and could not be carved, he lowered his head and thought about it and asked, "General Xu thinks that my courtesy doctor has more than the former Song Dynasty?" ”

Xu Ping pondered for a moment, shook his head and said, "I don't know, please give me advice from Mr. Gu." ”

Gu Yanwu picked up the teacup and drank water: "General Xu knows, think about it again, Hugh should be lazy." Or is it that my courtiers have more benefits than the former Song Dynasty? ”

Xu Ping pondered for a moment: "I have a lot of ministers, and the former Song Dynasty is beyond my reach. ”

"Exactly!" Gu Yanwu slapped the tea bowl on the table and shouted: "I am a more outspoken minister, and the former Song Dynasty also scolded the Son of Heaven for being immoral and scolding Zai Fu for being immoral, and some things should also be scolded." But my dynasty has a noble style, not only the imperial history scolds, but even Zaifu is scolding the emperor, and then the six scolding emperors are adding Zaifu, and the people in the opposition are even more scolding the world. Hugh wants to talk about the former Song Dynasty, that is, the sum of all dynasties and dynasties is not as many as the moral gentlemen of our dynasty. The former Song Dynasty scolded Zai Fu for being immoral, it's okay, but just scolding can't scold Zai Fu, and it is still necessary to be reasonable, talk about how the court is unreasonable, and come up with its own reason for governing the country. But my dynasty is different, I don't need to reason with the prime minister, as long as my cultivation efforts are above Zaifu, as long as I am more of a moral gentleman than Zaifu, then of course my reason is greater than Zaifu's reason, as long as I am a moral perfection, then my reason is self-evident and the world's most reasonable. A moral gentleman is unreasonable, such as being proud of the court staff, as long as I have received the court staff and you have not received it, then you don't want to turn over and reason with me. ”

Xu Ping thought thoughtfully: "That's why Mr. Gu is so disdainful of Xinxue. ”

"Wang Yangming's eloquence is excellent, and the articles are also full of flowers, but if it is just such a mental study, it will not be able to make a big difference, but his doctrine points out a shortcut for lazy people, there is no need to go to the knowledge of things, do not go to the world to understand reason, as long as you reduce others to traitorous villains, you don't need to reason with him." Gu Yanwu was very excited, and lost his former peace of mind: "Since only by cultivating the mind can we understand reason, as long as we don't cultivate our mind, it is impossible to understand reason, so it is enough to scold others as rebels, eunuchs, and Qin Hui, such a good-for-nothing villain is of course useless in governing the country." It's easy, but it's hard to observe, patiently understand, and fill in the gaps. ”

Xu Ping was convinced: "What Mr. Gu said is extremely true. ”

"Of course, with the old man's attainments in science, it is more than enough to go to Zhan Shifu, and it is not easy to teach you this kid." Gu Yanwu returned to normalcy and began to drink tea again: "Then the old man came to test General Xu, what do you think about the matter of the lawyer now?" ”

Xu Ping pondered for a while, and then talked eloquently: "Prison, a major matter of governing the country, naturally there is also a reason for prison." The lawyer, regardless of his generation's mental skills, is a person who is proficient in his reasoning. If I do not reason with them, but belittle their mental virtues, then I will be unjustly imprisoned under the rule of the camp. I, Xu Ping, am a martial artist, and if I don't govern the army according to reason, I will definitely be defeated. If the country is not governed by reason, it will inevitably be in chaos. ”

"Out of class, children can be taught." Gu Yanwu nodded: "Then the old man doesn't need to say more, right?" ”

"Mr. Gu, slow down." Xu Ping still has some concerns, that is, the prestige of the camp.

Gu Yanwu quietly listened to Xu Ping's rhetoric before he said: "First, General Xu is afraid that the people will be difficult to control. Driving the head of the Guizhou like a flock of sheep and making the people ignorant is the Legalist mental technique; Second, General Xu knew that he couldn't be a lawyer, but he didn't want to reflect on and repent, but he planned to burn books and seal the mouths of Confucianism, which was a Legalist technique. Well, the old man is a protégé of the saint, and he has no choice but to resign. ”

Having said that, Gu Yanwu sat upright and had no intention of getting up, Xu Ping smiled bitterly: "It's just that it's not appropriate to change the order every day, I will first allocate three counties in Henan to Mr. Gu to think about it, and the rest will be discussed in the long run, how about it?" ”

"This is Lao Cheng's words for the country," Gu Yanwu immediately agreed: "Xia Sheng and I will take care of the affairs of these county prisons, and we don't care about the rest for the time being." ”

After saying that, Gu Yanwu was about to leave, Xu Ping didn't expect Gu Yanwu to agree so happily, and he couldn't help but say the worry hidden in his stomach: "Very good, I'm still worried that Mr. Gu will not win completely, and I vow not to withdraw the army." ”

Gu Yanwu, who was about to leave, stopped his steps when he heard the words and looked at Xu Ping: "Didn't General Xu claim to have studied?" How do I look like it? Okay, let's take the test again, what are the four books of Confucianism? ”

Xu Ping hurriedly replied: "The Analects", "Mencius", "University", "The Mean". ”

"Yes, it doesn't seem to be a lie," these four books were set by Zhu Xi, saying that Confucian books other than them are of little significance, and science is rooted in these four books: "But obviously I didn't understand it, at least I didn't understand "The Mean". Oh, I forgot, General Xu is a disciple of Xinxue. ”

"What does this have to do with psychology?" Xu Ping asked curiously, "Please also ask Mr. Gu for advice." ”

Gu Yanwu, who was standing at the gate of the camp, looked Xu Ping up and down: "General Xu, this is not Zhan Shifu, the old man is not a teaching, and you are not a dragon son and a dragon grandson." Experience it for yourself, the next time the old man comes back, he will test General Xu's progress on the golden mean. Isn't General Xu a disciple of Huang Hou? At first, the homework doesn't have to be too heavy, and it's good to talk about Huang Hou's mediocrity in Juehua Island. ”

"There is no gentleman who is proficient in science in the lower circumference......"

While Xu Ping was still talking, Gu Yanwu had already stepped out of his tent, and at the same time interrupted Xu Ping's questioning with a loud roar: "Study!" ”

……

When the new army was in full swing to prepare for the dispatch of troops, Li Zicheng had already returned to Henan, and Gao Yigong and other generals were left in Sichuan by him to continue the attack on Chengdu. On the way back from the invasion army, the Chu army fled when they heard the news. But once again, after the crossing of the border, there were still no troops left, and Zuo Liangyu regained these prefectures and counties after confirming that Li Zicheng had gone away.

After hearing that Li Zicheng returned to Henan, Xu Ping was also very happy, and he was even more proud when he learned that King Chuang had come to inspect Kaifeng Mansion. Other areas were gaining and falling, only the two prefectures under Xu Ping were thriving, and he couldn't wait to show his achievements to Li Zicheng.

Since the beginning of October, there has been no fluctuation in grain prices within the boundaries of Kaifeng Prefecture, and the slight increase is also due to the fact that the army has further raised the toll of grain. Sun Kewang had no opinion on Gu Yanwu and Xia Wanchun taking over part of the judicial work in Kaifeng Mansion, and during this period, he was also quite short of manpower in Guide Mansion, so he transferred these vacated men to serve by his side.

However, Sun Kewang believed that this policy would inevitably lead to a great increase in the number of lawsuits, so he proposed that the lawsuits could not be provided by the government free of charge as before, and he persuaded Xu Ping to order that the people who fought the lawsuits be charged, and the income should be used to compensate for personnel expenses. Gu Yanwu disagreed with this kind of reform at first, but Xia Wanchun thought that it might as well give it a try, because it seemed to be in line with the idea of social contract. Because the judiciary in these counties is now separated from the magistrates in charge of tax collection, Xia Wanchun simply hired a group of lawyers to be temporary judges, and the effect seems to be quite good, these people's proficiency in the law is far stronger than the magistrates established by Xu Ping and Sun Kewang urgently, and even far stronger than Gu Yanwu and other masters of science.

In September, the price of grain in Henan was already on par with that of the surrounding provinces, and it is expected that after October, it will gradually be surpassed by Shanxi. The main purpose of raising the toll for grain is to prevent grain from flowing out of the country, and after the beginning of spring, the camp will be even more strictly guarded against the four borders, and grain is allowed to enter but not leave, but there is no urgent need to add manpower at present. Although the reform of the law has stumbled, it is improving day by day, but every time he sees the judges who are born as lawyers and wear official robes and their former colleagues roaring and arguing in the court, Gu Yanwu feels a little dissatisfied, but Xia Wanchun is very happy to see it, and happily said that because he has watched the new court trial, his insights into the law have been much deeper. Seeing that the judiciary achieved self-sufficiency by collecting litigation fees, Sun Kewang also wanted to increase his income so that the judicial system could subsidize the opening of the treasury, but this plan was firmly rejected by Gu Yanwu, and Xia Wanchun thought that it was not impossible to consider a little profit, that is, the money could not be taken away by Sun Kewang, but should be left to train judges or repair the prison court.

When Li Zicheng arrived, Sun Kewang, a great hero of internal affairs, had been returning to Germany to look at affairs, and Xu Ping had followed all the economic policies formulated by Sun Kewang. After hearing that Li Zicheng was coming, Xu Ping sent someone to inform Sun Kewang overnight, and the latter also hurried back to Xuzhou. After Li Zicheng arrived, Xu Ping asked Sun Kewang to report to Li Zicheng on his political achievements. Niu Jinxing accompanied Li Zicheng to come, but Song Xiance, the military advisor who broke into the army, was not listed, and everyone was not surprised by this. After Xu Ping stayed at the top of the army for a while, he knew very well that Niu Jinxing was Li Zicheng's mastermind, and Song Xiance was just a disguise, a signboard used to motivate the army - many soldiers felt that the army needed a character similar to Zhuge Liang in the popular romance of the Three Kingdoms, so Song Xiance's clever image came into being.

"In the past, our army had to buy military rations from Chu merchants at a high price, and the monthly cost was more than 100,000 taels of silver, but the brothers were not necessarily able to eat enough. This year, Kaifeng Prefecture not only does not need to buy military rations, but can also support Guide Prefecture and Henan Prefecture some. The silver saved can be used to buy farm tools, and when spring comes, we will distribute them to farmers, and there will be a good harvest next year. Sun Kewang was in high spirits and chattered to Li Zicheng about his grand plan. This autumn has seen more rain than last year, and as winter began, a thin snow fell on October 15, and it looked like heavy snow was brewing. Not to mention the young people, even the old people in Henan have never seen this kind of scene, only an old man in his seventies claimed that he vaguely remembered that when he was five or six years old, it seemed that the snow came so early.

Sunspot activity is returning to normal, and the Xiaoice drought that has ravaged the earth for seven decades is coming to an end, and although people in this era do not know this, the sight in front of them makes everyone hopeful.

Li Zicheng, under the leadership of Xu Ping and Sun Kewang, inspected the camps in Xuzhou.

The various supplies distributed by the camp have increased a lot compared with before, and there are enough charcoal fires in the camp. The boy boy camp that raised orphans also had enough clothes, and the children did not have to wear single clothes and spend the winter of Chongzhen's 22nd year barefoot. More than 60 percent of the camps were girls, and in this era of famine, parents always abandoned their daughters first in an attempt to keep the boys. These foundlings can be seen everywhere during the march of the army, and many of them do not even remember their names because of their young age. In previous years, even if the army had taken in these children, they would have died in droves due to lack of food and clothing.

"Less than 10 percent of the orphans died in the camp this year, most of them were children under the age of four, and almost no one died over the age of 10, and few died after the winter." The more Sun Kewang said, the more proud he became, most of the people who followed Li Zicheng to Kaifeng were the descendants of the old battalion, but they were far from being able to compare with the troops in Kaifeng Mansion in terms of clothing and equipment, not to mention the field elites under Xu Ping and Li Dingguo, and the diet of the local boys' battalion with better supplies was not worse than that of Li Zicheng's personal leaders.

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