Li Ran, Sun Wu and Ye Xu saluted Deng Xi at the same time, and Deng Xi accepted it quite calmly.
"There are also thirty-three records here of the several defense processes of Dr. Xi and Zichan, supplemented by this whole cart of "Bamboo Punishment", which can be said to be quite complete. At that time, you can excerpt the provisions suitable for Ye Yi at present, And make it public!”
Li Ran immediately expressed gratitude and said:
"Thank you sir for your generous teachings! However, I have another unrelenting request, which is to ask you to become the Sikou of Ye Yi and grant you the power of punishment! You, sir, can also use this as an opportunity to continue to improve "Bamboo Punishment". Please also ask sir Never refuse.”
When Deng Xi heard this, he was extremely excited when he found out that he had received this important task:
"Ming Gong's words are serious! I am not talented, but I still have great aspirations. If I can meet Master Ming today, I will live up to Ming Gong's ambitions and will not disappoint the people!"
Li Ran couldn't help but said happily after receiving such help from such a great sage:
"I came here today because I wanted to invite you to come out! Now that you have passed away in Wuye City, we are all very grateful!"
This is of course. Since Deng Xi can show his talents in Ye Yi, what reason is there for him not to come out?
So he ordered the boy to bring "Bamboo Punishment" immediately, and he and the three of them came to Yeyi.
Sun Wu also ordered people to announce it to various villages and towns, so that the people knew that a new secretariat had come to Ye Yi to take charge of all criminal disputes in Ye Yi.
After Deng Xi became a Sikou, his first step was to select some people from the declining nobles who had fled to Yeyi, as well as some local squires and Qiu Chang clan. These people were called "prison listeners". ".
Since these people are people who have read a little bit of books and understand some principles, Deng Xi's approach is that once a case becomes difficult to resolve, he can directly ignore the law and let them directly handle it. After execution, a vote is taken to decide whether the person is guilty or not. (So later generations also called it "Spring and Autumn Judgment")
This novel move left Sun Wu and Ye Xu a little confused, because this was unheard of and unseen to them. So, everyone is very confused about this.
But as a person from the future, Li Ran is very familiar with this move. Because, isn't this the prototype of the so-called "citizen jury"? !
Come and try it quickly. 】
Of course, the reason why Deng Xi appointed some "scholars" is entirely due to the different times. In reality, these savages and refugees have little ability to think, so their judgment of right and wrong will definitely be somewhat worse. It is also easier to "follow the wind and it will rain" and not have more rational thinking.
Therefore, it is really helpless that these people cannot be admitted to the "citizen jury" for the time being.
And those down-and-out nobles, as well as some squires and Qiu chiefs, entered this group. On the one hand, it is because these people have more or less read some books, know the "righteousness", and have a certain consensus on the "standards" of right and wrong.
On the other hand, the down-and-out nobles of the Zheng Kingdom can represent the interests of the refugees, while the local squires and Qiu chiefs can represent the interests of the locals.
Therefore, we can better weigh the contradiction between "local" and "foreign". So that there is a communication channel to exchange what is needed.
The most interesting thing is that due to Deng Xi's instigation, the streets and alleys of Ye Yi were all filled with the "two possibilities theory" similar to Zheng Yi's. Everyone was imitating Deng Xi's example. "Debating right and wrong" there.
Deng Xi's so-called "two things can be said" means that for the same thing, due to the mutual constraints between the two opposing parties, it can cause conflicting reactions on both sides.
In such an atmosphere, it aroused heated discussions among the public about the rights and wrongs. The people reached a consensus on most issues.
This also allows the "prison listeners" to make more fair judgments on certain cases that are difficult to decide.
Finally, under Deng Xi's measures of punishing people and punishing people at the same time, these refugees were immediately settled down.
After the refugee affairs were properly handled, Li Ran couldn't wait to summon Sun Wu and Ye Xu to discuss how to deal with the chaos in Zheng.
As Sun Wu said before, no matter what, we must first solve the dilemma faced by Dr. Zichan.
Sun Wu immediately said:
"Sir, now that civil strife has arisen in various countries, there is no time to take care of the Zheng State. Even the Jin State can hardly protect itself, and it is even less likely to come to intervene in the affairs of the Zheng State. Therefore, we can only do it ourselves now. Got it!"
Li Ran pondered for a moment.
"During this period of time, I have not been interested in world affairs, and my mind has been so confused. Chang Qing, what do you think?"
Sun Wu replied:
"Sir, Wu believes that now we can use Ye Yi as the foundation, let Wu issue a petition against Zheng, mobilize the refugees and common people to join the army, and in the name of Qing Dynasty's side and quelling the civil strife in Zheng, send troops to Zheng to demand that Zheng Bo be completely rehabilitated. , stabilize the court situation, and demand that he hand over the culprit, Shu Niu!"
Li Ran nodded, feeling that Sun Wu's words were reasonable.
"Chang Qing, this is what you are good at, then you will have full authority to handle this matter!"
Sun Wu cupped his hands and said:
"Sir, it is a crime for Wu to act without telling anyone. Wu has been working on this matter before. When the refugees first arrived, Wu had already gathered a team of two thousand people. After the refugees settled down, they gathered again one after another. With two thousand people, plus the troops originally guarding Ye Yi, it will not be difficult to raise a rebel army of more than ten thousand people once the proclamation is issued!"
When Li Ran heard this, he couldn't help but joked:
"Changqing is a prophet, and he knows what will happen like a god?! This is a very good thing, so how can it be regarded as a sin? It's just that these more than ten thousand people..."
Naturally, we cannot send out all of the more than 10,000 troops. We still need some defensive forces to stay behind.
Sun Wu obviously knew what Li Ran was worried about, so he immediately clasped his fists and said:
"Soldiers are not more numerous but more refined. Wu should practice better during this period so that one of them can be as good as ten. What's more, Zheng State is currently in chaos, and many people will definitely defect to us!"
Sun Wu's meaning is the so-called "If you gain the right, you will get many help, but if you lose the right, you will get little help." Now that Zheng's army is already unstable, many surrendered soldiers will inevitably come to surrender.
So for Sun Wu, he didn't worry about the victory or defeat of the conquest of Zheng at all. In his opinion, as long as the banner they wave is just enough to convince the people of Zheng, then they are invincible!
Li Ran couldn't help but nodded when he heard this, and replied with approval:
"Well, Chang Qing's words are very reasonable. Chang Qing's 'temple calculation' can be described as insightful."
"But... there is another thing that makes Wu extremely troubled. Wu thought about it, but he was at a loss. Just because although these recruits are easy to get, there is not enough copper and stone for smelting weapons. In other words, what is needed for combat preparation? One weapon is still far from enough!"
Li Ran frowned, knowing that this was indeed a big problem. There were no copper mines near Yeyi, and there were not many copper utensils. Moreover, copper and stone mining in other places is generally in the hands of other major powers. It can be said that copper, as the most important strategic resource at the time, was indeed difficult to obtain.
When two armies are fighting, if one of them is incompetent and lacks weapons, he will definitely suffer a big loss.
This matter is so difficult, no wonder Sun Wu is worried about it.
Li Ran was also at a loss and couldn't think of any solution for a while.
At this time, a servant outside the door came to report that someone from Zhongli came to report his funeral.
Li Ran's heart sank when he heard the word "announcement of mourning"! Having roughly guessed what was going on, he immediately summoned the visitor.
Soon, a young man who had just finished his crown was led in. I saw that this man had a calm air and a little pride in his eyebrows. He was wearing plain clothes. He was kneeling on the ground and said:
"On my father's orders, I came to Yeyi to report my funeral. My lord, King Xiong Wei of Chu, has passed away in Qianxi River!"
Li Ran had actually expected this ending. But when I heard it now, I couldn't help but be startled.
Recalling the scenes with Chu King Xiong Wei, he couldn't help but sigh.
After waiting for a while, he finally came to his senses and stood up and stepped forward to help the man up:
"Master, please rise. I wonder what I should call you?"
The young man stood up, bowed and replied:
"I am Fan Li, the son of Yin from Zhongli County."
"Ah? Fan Li?"
Li Ran looked very surprised when he heard the name.
Just because this name is so dazzling in the long history, he can't help but not know it. Legend has it that Fan Li in history not only had the ability to predict the unexpected, but also had the wisdom to retreat bravely from the rapids. He was also revered by later generations as the originator of businessmen!
