"Shanyang is defending?!"

Gao Hongtu reacted at this time.

The four of Shi Kefa were also very happy.

"Great, Shanyang actually held on."

"It's a real surprise, but the more accidents like this, the better."

"Huai'an Mansion is defended, Jiannu will not dare to go south to Yangzhou easily, Yangzhou Mansion is not lost, Nanjing is as stable as Mount Tai, the next official congratulates the four pavilion elders, and the great crisis of the Ming Dynasty is lifted."

Gao Hongtu said happily: "There is Lao Yintai to announce this good news to the whole city, no, to the world, so that the people of the whole world are also happy." ”

"The subordinate obeys." Liu Shizhen shook his head and went happily.

Seeing Liu Shizhen leave, Shi Kefa and the four of them were happy for a while.

Even Gao Hongtu, who has always been unsmiling, couldn't help but laugh this time.

"I didn't expect it, I really didn't expect it." Gao Hongtu stroked his beard and smiled, "I didn't expect that this Yan Yingyuan and Mao Xiang still have some skills, and they really guarded Huai'an, hehe." ”

Shi Kefa once again waved towards Xuzhou and said: "The servant has already said that the reason why the saint sent Yan Yingyuan, Mao Xiang and other scholars to Huai'an Mansion to train the township and defend the city must have his deep meaning. ”

"Well, the servant admits that this time I really lost my eyes."

Gao Hongtu simply admitted the fact that he was blind.

At the same time, he has a new understanding of Chongzhen's selection and employment.

Zhang Youyu pouted behind Shi Kefa's back, obviously not admitting that he was looking away.

At that moment, Zhang Youyu said again: "The four elders, let's continue to discuss the issue and sale of bonds......

"What else are you talking about?" Gao Hongtu said with a smile, "Da Situ just go back and wait to collect the money, and when the good news of Huai'an spreads all over Nanjing tomorrow, the gentry and merchants in the city will come one after another, crying and shouting to buy the bonds issued by the imperial court." ”

"That's right." Shi Kefa and the other four also nodded happily.

……

At this time, it was in Sanyang Castle.

Mao Xiang met Hou Fangyu on the street.

Mao Xiang was very surprised: "Brother Chaozong? ”

Hou Fangyu glanced at Yan Yingyuan, looking like he wanted to say something.

Yan Yingyuan said with interest: "Brother Bijiang, I still have to say goodbye in advance. ”

"Brother Wanheng, I'll go back and talk to you again." Mao Xiang sent Yan Yingyuan away.

Hou Fangyu also turned around and instructed Fan Chengmo, who was accompanying him: "You go to the front and wait for me." ”

"Yes, Childe." Fan Chengmo agreed, and went to the front street to wait alone.

"Brother Chaozong, what's the matter with you?" Mao Xiang smiled, "Could it be that there is any secret to discuss with me?" ”

"Brother Bijiang, you and I have been friends for many years, so I won't hide it from you." Hou Fangyu did not hide it at all, and straightforwardly explained his intentions, "I came this time to be a lobbyist." ”

"As a lobbyist?" Mao Xiang's face turned cold, "Whose lobbyist should you be?" Jiannu? ”

Hou Fangyu said: "Brother Bijiang, this is not a place to speak, can we talk in another place?" ”

"Okay, then go to my apartment." Mao Xiang snorted coldly and said, "Hou Chaozong, you'd better think clearly before telling me, otherwise our brotherhood will end here." ”

At that moment, Mao Xiang returned to his apartment with Hou Fangyu.

Pouring a glass of water for Hou Fangyu, Mao Xiang said, "Hou Chaozong, now you can speak." ”

Hou Fangyu lowered his head and sorted out the wording, and said: "Brother Bijiang, Chongzhen asked Yinxi to block Yinxi in Xuzhou and Guide Mansion Juntianmu, you must have known it a long time ago, right?" ”

"Yes." Mao Xiang nodded and said, "I also support this matter." ”

"You're supportive too?" Hou Fangyu was dumbfounded and said, "Brother Bijiang, you actually support Juntianmu?" Do you know what that means? ”

"Yes." Mao Xiang said solemnly, "The Holy Lord has long made it clear that the northern gentry who have committed the crime of being a thief and a thief will have all their land and property confiscated, and your Shangqiu Hou family must have committed the crime of being a thief, so they were fined all the land and property, so they took refuge in Jiannu with a grudge, am I right?" ”

The last sentence is a rhetorical question to Hou Fangyu.

"Thief? It's just an excuse. Hou Fangyu said angrily, "No matter whether our Hou family and other gentry and wealthy clans in the north have thieves or captives, they will eventually be unable to escape Chongzhen's poisonous hands." ”

Mao Xiang frowned and said, "Hou Chaozong, don't say it so ugly. ”

"I'm telling the truth." Hou Fangyu said, "Chongzhen just wants to slaughter the gentry and wealthy clan in our north as fat pigs, and use our land to enrich his internal wealth, so a faint monarch and tyrant, you also want to protect him?" ”

Mao Xiang said: "Hou Chaozong, I have just said that I support the matter of Juntian. ”

Hou Fangyu sneered and said: "Venture out of the territory, one day when Chongzhen finishes cleaning up the gentry and wealthy clans in the north and aims the butcher's knife at the gentry and wealthy clans in the south, I hope you can still remember today's words." ”

Mao Xiang laughed and said: "So that Brother Hou knows, I don't have to wait for that day, I can tell you clearly today that I fully support the saint to implement the national policy of equalizing fields and acres in Jiangnan!" ”

"Huh?" Hou Fangyu was dumbfounded, "Are you crazy?" ”

"I'm not crazy, it's Hou Chaozong, you can't see through it." Mao Xiang said coldly, "The reason why the Ming Dynasty has fallen to this point, you and I have discussed it many times when I was studying in Nanjing, the reason is nothing more than the four characters of national nobility, and the reason why the Ming Dynasty is rich and scarce is because the land is concentrated in the name of the clan and the gentry and wealthy families. ”

"Needless to say, the clan doesn't even have to pay regular taxes, it's all moths."

"Although the regular tax of the gentry and wealthy families can't be avoided, Ding Yin and Yao Servant are rarely paid."

After saying this, he said: "In view of this, if the national policy of equalizing land and acres is not forcibly implemented, the embarrassment of insufficient national use will never be solved, and it will be impossible for Zhongxing Daming." ”

Hearing this, Hou Fangyu also lost his mind for a moment.

In front of him, he couldn't help but have a picture of talking about world affairs with Zhang Lian, Zhang Cai and others.

For the illness of the Ming Dynasty, in fact, they all know that it is nothing more than a lack of national use.

And if they want to cure the terminal disease of insufficient national use, they are also very clear, that is, the average land is acre.

However, to be clear, none of them dared to make such a claim, and the reason was simple, because they themselves, along with their family, were the medicinal herbs in it.

They also want to save the Ming Dynasty, but they are unwilling to use themselves as medicinal herbs.

After a long time, Hou Fangyu said: "Having said that, but your Mao family is also one of the wealthy families, and you are really willing to donate the land under your name to the imperial court for free?" ”

Mao Xiang said categorically: "Anyway, I am willing to take the risk." ”

"Crazy, you're crazy." Hou Fangyu said, "It's unreasonable. ”

Mao Xiang said: "Don't speculate for more than half a sentence, Hou Chaozong, you and I will break off from now on, please go back." ”

"Crazy! What a madman, poor and pathetic madman. Hou Fangyu shook his head and said, "You were deceived by Chongzhen, the dog emperor, and you will regret it in the future." ”

Mao Xiang grabbed the tea cup on the coffee table.

Serving tea means sending off guests, which means it's time for you to go.

Hou Fangyu snorted coldly in anger and left with his sleeves brushed up.

Seeing Hou Fangyu leaving, Mao Xiang sneered: "Just like this, dare to come and be a lobbyist?" Bite off more than one can chew. ”

After a pause, Mao Xiang suddenly said to himself: "However, let Hou Chaozong say this, I suddenly remembered that Brother Wanheng didn't seem to have anything to say, and I went to him." ”

……

At that moment, he came to the governor of Hecao.

After Lu Zhenfei left, the governor gave Yan Yingyuan and Mao Xiang two people to take charge of official business.

When Mao Xiang walked into the lobby, Yan Yingyuan was checking the account books in the hall, mainly because of the money and food consumption of the city defense battle in this month, especially the consumption of equipment and materials.

"Bijiang, you've come just in time."

Yan Yingyuan put down the brush and said, "Now I can understand the meaning of the saint's words. ”

"The Holy Word?" Mao Xiang sat down opposite and asked casually, "What's the matter?" ”

Yan Yingyuan said: "The saint once said to us, when the cannon goes off, there are ten thousand taels of gold, saying that it costs money to fight, I didn't believe it before, but now I believe it, fighting a war is really costing money and food." ”

Mao Xiang was stunned for a moment and said, "You mean to say that the battle of Shanyang consumed a lot of money and food?" ”

"Yes, it consumes a lot of money and food." Yan Yingyuan nodded and said, "I just made a rough calculation, and the various equipment and materials consumed add up, at least 500,000 taels of silver-colored silver are gone. ”

"What? 500,000 taels gone? Mao Xiang was taken aback.

Yan Yingyuan continued: "This is only the money for equipment and materials, I haven't calculated the pensions for the villagers and people who died defending the city, oh yes, there are also the bounties for killing Jiannu and wrapping clothes, these two expenses are also large, even if it is conservatively estimated, it will cost 500,000 taels of silver." ”

Mao Xiang was dumbfounded and said, "Doesn't this mean that one million taels of silver will be gone?" ”

"I'm afraid it's more than that." Yan Yingyuan said, "Because of the future repair of the city wall, the demolished houses in the city need to be compensated, the private fields outside the city also need to be backfilled, and the canal wharf must also be rebuilt, these expenses must be borne by the imperial court, and even the refugees generated by this war initially need the imperial court to feed ......

Mao Xiang sighed and said: "This is really not a family and I don't know the price of firewood and rice, I have never been an official before, and I always feel that those local officials are incompetent and greedy, but today I know that this official is indeed not easy to be." ”

"Nothing is easy in the world." Yan Yingyuan said, "If you want to say that it is difficult, can anyone be more difficult than the Holy One?" But isn't the Holy One also lifting his weight lightly, and it seems like nothing has happened on the surface? ”

"By the way, I think about it again." Mao Xiang said suddenly.

"Before the Jiannu army arrived, you had something to say, what do you want to say?"

"Is there one? What did I say? Yan Yingyuan pretended to be stupid, "Why can't I remember?" ”

"Brother Wanheng, don't pretend to be stupid." Mao Xiang was a little angry and said, "You still said that I was brainless in blood, and promised me that if we were still alive after this battle, you would explain the truth to me." ”

Yan Yingyuan saw that he really couldn't hide, so he had to say, "You said this." ”

"Yes, that's it." Mao Xiang nodded and said, "Tell me something about it." ”

Yan Yingyuan thought for a moment and asked Mao Xiang: "Brother Bijiang, what do you think of Mencius's people's words?" ”

Yan Yingyuan may have a better understanding of the world and a better insight into people's hearts because he had been a historian of Jiangyin, but he had already seen that Chongzhen's people-oriented thought of advocating Mencius was only a means, not an ultimate goal.

Beep Pavilion

In other words, Chongzhen may be truly sympathetic to the people in his heart, and he is willing to let the people live a better life, but to say that he will put the people of Li Shu above the imperial power, Yan Yingyuan does not believe it.

This can be seen from the fact that he set out to form a battalion of scholars.

Even those cabinet officials in Nanjing didn't see it, but Yan Yingyuan had already seen the deep meaning of Chongzhen's move, and one day in the future, the Shizi Battalion would become a huge bureaucracy on a par with the six cabinet departments.

The two bureaucracies will then become bitter rivals, fighting openly and covertly.

Then, as the emperor, Chongzhen can mediate in the middle, so that the six cabinets can only become the right-hand men of the imperial power like the Shiziying, and can no longer turn back to the former cabinet with monopoly power.

Therefore, what Chongzhen really admires is not the people-oriented thought, but the imperial power! Everything Chongzhen did was to strengthen Zhu Ming's imperial power, not weaken it.

But Yan Yingyuan wasn't sure if Mao Xiang could see through this.

Therefore, we must first ask Mao Xiang's views on people-oriented thought, and then decide to what extent.

Because Yan Yingyuan was worried that if he came up and told him, he might destroy his belief in Mao Xiang, and the young scholar was indeed easy to get enthusiastic, but it was also easy to dampen his enthusiasm, and he would give up on himself if he was not careful, and hated because of love.

Mao Xiang said without thinking: "What does Mencius say about what to say, this is the most reasonable thing in the world!" Even the saints are highly respected for this, and our generations of scholars should take this as the criterion and practice it! ”

Hearing this, Yan Yingyuan also had a basic judgment about Mao Xiang.

Well, this is a hot-blooded young gentleman who really believes in the words of the saints.

In this way, you can't go too deep with Mao Xiang, and Yan Yingyuan said at the moment: "Brother Bijiang, that's why I said that you are a real visionary, because the Holy Lord is a Saint Monarch of the Ages who really holds the people of Li Shu in his heart, and sooner or later one day he will inevitably start to solve the disadvantages of the land being too concentrated in the hands of the clan gentry and wealthy families." ”

After saying this, he said: "Instead of waiting for the Holy Lord to make a move and passively hand over the acres under his name, it is better to take the initiative to donate all the acres now, so that you can at least have a good reputation." ”

"Hey, I don't dare agree with Brother Wanheng's words." Mao Xiang waved his hand and said, "If we donate our acres of land in our name, it is not for a good reputation, but for the sake of the Ming Dynasty to relieve the crisis and tide over the difficulties together." ”

"Oh, yes, yes." Yan Yingyuan said repeatedly, "What Brother Bijiang said is extremely true. ”

After saying this, Yan Yingyuan whispered again: "However, don't say anything to people about this matter, although the saint will inevitably have acres of land in the south of the Yangtze River sooner or later, he will not act rashly before the north is restored." ”

Mao Xiang said: "I don't need you to say this, I also know." ”

Yan Yingyuan suddenly asked again: "By the way, what is Hou Fangyu looking for you?" ”