Patriarch Lin took a deep breath, took another sip of wine, and became more bold. He glanced at Patriarch Wang with complicated meanings.
Old guy, you have always been the leader of the clan leaders, but today I will take your position away with my words! This is called establishing prestige!
Although he took some risks, Xiao Feng spoke first and the speaker was not guilty; secondly, he spoke for the clans in the world and occupied the highest moral position. From the collected information, Xiao Feng was not an unreasonable person!
Therefore, it seems dangerous, but in fact it is as stable as an old dog! This is called wisdom, old guy, do you understand?
"Sir, I just said that there are many aristocratic families in the coastal areas. You cannot stay in one place for a long time. If you want long-term peace and stability, you have to rely on me.
In other words, your Excellency recognizes the benefits of clan power to local security. What's more, judging from the actual situation, although there are Japanese pirates in the Guangdong, Guangxi, and Fujian regions, their harm is smaller than in other places.
Why? All because the clans in these places are powerful and the people are united and dare to fight against the Japanese pirates!
And your Excellency insists on going your own way and pushing the court to weaken the power of clan governance. Doesn't this indirectly increase the management pressure on the court and disrupt local security? "
These words were well-founded and powerful. The royal family leader looked very ugly, but he seemed to think that what he said was reasonable and no longer stopped him. The other clan leaders secretly looked at Xiao Feng and secretly applauded in their hearts.
Xiao Feng took a sip of wine and looked at Patriarch Lin: "If the power of the clan is greater than the laws of the court, then the people in the clan will naturally think that the authority of the patriarch is greater than the local officials of the court.
If a clan member breaks the law, the clan leader will punish him. If the clan leader breaks the law, who will punish him? Could it be
Let the patriarch punish himself? "
Patriarch Lin shook his head repeatedly: "The patriarch is jointly elected by the clan members. If the clan leader violates the clan rules, he will naturally be abolished and re-elected by the clan members!"
Xiao Feng smiled: "What if the clan leader only violated the Ming law but not the clan rules? The clan rules of each clan are different, so it doesn't necessarily mean that breaking the rules means violating the clan rules, right?"
Patriarch Lin was stunned for a moment and said hesitantly: "Then the government will naturally interfere..."
"What if the government doesn't know? What if the clan members dare not report it? A clan leader who has not violated clan rules has the power of life and death in the clan. Who dares to make a mistake?
What's more, if the court doesn't understand that laws are greater than clan rules, how can local officials take the initiative to investigate clan affairs?
In this way, if the law does not enter the clan and the clan ignores the law, wouldn't it mean that they all become a kingdom within a kingdom? "
Patriarch Lin was a little confused by Xiao Feng's consecutive blows, and said in the confusion: "If clan autonomy can make the people live a better life than under the jurisdiction of the court, why can't clan autonomy be allowed?"
There was silence on the entire table. As soon as Chief Lin spoke, he immediately realized that something was wrong and looked at Xiao Feng in panic.
Xiao Feng sighed: "What are you afraid of? I said that those who spoke at the wine table today are not guilty. I also know that if this matter is not made clear, there will be many clans in the world who will go against their wishes.
So if I borrow your words, I might as well talk about it in depth. What you actually want to say is that if clan autonomy can make the people in the clan live a better life, then there is nothing wrong with it being a country of its own, let alone a country within a country, right? "
Patriarch Lin did not dare to speak. No matter how guilty he was, he did not dare to say this. Xiao Feng could say what he thought.
But can't admit it.
Xiao Feng poured himself a glass of wine and said while drinking: "The Ming Dynasty has a vast territory and a large population. If you walk from south to north, from east to west, you will inevitably have such thoughts.
The land of fish and rice in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, a prosperous land, has always been the basis of taxation for the imperial court, paying more taxes than other regions. If we could stand on our own as a country, wouldn't all the people be rich?
In the land of Henan, the Yellow River overflows every three years, and refugees are everywhere; in the land of Shandong, when locusts pass by, the ground is red for thousands of miles. These places often rely on the imperial government to allocate food, and most of these food funds come from Jiangsu and Zhejiang.
In the coastal areas, relying on the benefits of shipping, one could become rich, but the court banned the sea, so everyone could only cooperate with pirates for smuggling in secret. If you can stand on your own, the first thing to do is to open a sea ban and start business.
So some people may think, why? Why do these places where you can obviously live a good life have to bear all these burdens and burdens just because they are all under the banner of Ming Dynasty? "
Patriarch Lin nodded slightly to express his approval. These words were said by Xiao Feng, not him. It was safe for him to agree.
What's more, Xiao Feng's words were indeed clear, and he might not be able to explain it so clearly if he had to say it himself.
Xiao Feng looked at the clan leaders in front of him, drew a circle with his hand, and included them all.
"Take Fuzhou as an example. If Fuzhou becomes a country on its own, I believe that with this land by the sea, all the people in Fuzhou will become rich and become the richest place in the world!"
Just when several clan leaders looked proud and lamented that the adults were indeed reasonable and regretted that this was just a beautiful day, Xiao Feng suddenly drank his wine glass.
"What happens after that? Have you ever thought about what will happen next?"
Several clan leaders looked at each other, and the boldest and drunkest clan leader, Lin, stepped forward and said, "Everyone will live a good life from now on!"
Xiao Feng laughed loudly: "The Japanese pirates will come to rob you later. Because you have money, what can you do?"
Patriarch Lin gritted his teeth: "We will fight them tooth and nail! We Fuzhou people are not easy to bully!"
Xiao Feng smiled faintly: "Okay, suppose you rely on your desperate spirit to defeat the Japanese pirates, what about the pirates?
Do you really think that if you can make money by doing business, they won’t rob you? You can defeat Japanese pirates, but can you defeat pirates? "
Patriarch Lin was a little tired. The combat effectiveness of the pirates was not comparable to that of the Japanese pirates. They had a large number of people, including not only Japanese but also red-haired ghosts. Fuzhou alone would definitely not be enough.
"Then why don't they rob us now? Pirates have always preferred doing business. They hope to make long-term profits. Robbery is a one-time deal!"
Xiao Feng nodded: "Pirates want to do business, but pirates don't necessarily need you to help them do business.
They rob you all, kill you all, occupy this treasure land of Fuzhou, and do business directly. Isn't it better than letting you have a hand?
Why don't they rob you now? Because now they are coming to rob you, Ming’s army will fight them!
Because they know that even if they kill all of you, they will not be able to occupy this place! The Ming Dynasty will send troops to fight and relocate the people to continue their lives! "
Patriarch Lin shook his head and tried his best to wake up: "Sir, as you said, this is a rich land.
, should we take money and food as a matter of course to help those poor places? "
Xiao Feng pointed to the table: "Stretch out your right hand! Put it on the table."
Patriarch Lin did not dare to disobey, so he stretched out his right hand and placed it on the table. Xiao Feng reached out and pulled out the Xiuchun knife, and smiled slightly at the table of people with earth-colored faces.
"Tell me which finger you don't want. Choose one."
Patriarch Lin's face was covered with sweat, and he shook his head desperately: "No, no, no, sir, I want every one of them!"
Xiao Feng said in surprise: "These five fingers are of different lengths, and they are clearly strong and weak. It should be easy for you to choose. Just keep the strong ones. What's the use of the weak ones?"
Patriarch Lin's free left hand swung wildly: "No, no, no, sir, no matter how strong or weak it is, it is best to have it in your hand. If you chop any one, I will bleed."
And it will be inconvenient to take things in the future. Ten fingers connected to the heart, this analogy is not appropriate, sir! "
Xiao Feng nodded: "You are right, this analogy is indeed inappropriate. How many children do you have at home? How about I kill the least promising one for you?"
In this way, your other children will be able to get an extra share when the family property is divided. Wouldn't it be a good thing? I think they must be willing. "
Patriarch Lin was horrified and jumped up: "Sir, if you really piss off the villain, you'd better choose a finger. You can't kill any of the villain's children!"
Xiao Feng frowned and said: "Even if you discuss national affairs, you can still talk eloquently and think clearly. Why are you so confused when it comes to a mere child?
I’m talking about the most useless ones. Children like this are not only useless to your family, they will also waste your food and consume
Spend your money! "
Patriarch Lin knelt down with a plop. At this time, he was no longer sure whether Xiao Feng was just making an analogy or if he was really angry, but he could never take this risk.
"Sir, the villain talks nonsense without restraint. The villain is convinced by what the adults say. Please stop scaring the villain!"
Xiao Feng sighed, put away the Xiuchundao, and poured a glass of wine for Patriarch Lin, looking lonely.
“Dude, your fingers and your family, no matter how long or short, strong or weak, smart or stupid, you won’t give up.
Because as a human being, you know that each of the five fingers has its own use, and as a father, you know that each of your children has its own merits. But fingers and children may not think so.
They may dislike each other and dislike them for taking up their wealth and resources while doing nothing to help them. They fantasize about how great it would be if they had these benefits all to themselves.
Because you stand higher than them and see farther. A country is like a person and a family. In a fertile field thousands of miles away, not a grain of sand can be lost; in a country with thousands of people, no one can be abandoned to the enemy. "
The whole table was silent, and they all raised their glasses and toasted Xiao Feng together. Xiao Feng stood up with a smile and helped Zhang Wuxin leave unsteadily.
Two days later, Patriarch Wang brought news that he had made contact with Wang Zhi, and the meeting place was set at Wanghai Tower outside Fuzhou City.
As the name suggests, this sea-viewing tower is quite close to the sea, but not very close. Standing on the top of the three floors, you can just see the sea from a distance.
The choice of this position proves that Wang Zhi is indeed sincere and vigilant enough.
He is very sincere because Xiao Feng will never risk going to the beach to meet Wang Zhi
meet. But Wang Zhi took the initiative to get off the boat and land on the beach, which was like a shark stranded, very dangerous.
If Xiao Feng breaks his promise and sets up an ambush in advance, with the speed of Xiao Feng's cavalry, it is possible to quickly surround him. The risk he takes is greater than Xiao Feng.
The reason for being vigilant is that this place is not far from the sea, and he must have a fleet of ships to meet him at the seaside. As long as he finds that something is wrong, as long as his men can resist him for a while, he can escape to the seaside and sail away.
There is no need to worry about the Ming army's ships going to sea to pursue them. At sea, the Ming army is no match for Wang Zhi's fleet. This has been verified many times.
Chief Wang carefully explained Wang Zhi's conditions: "Captain Wang said that he can trust you, but you must also trust him. That's why he chose this place.
At the same time, Captain Wang said that in order to avoid misunderstandings, both sides only brought thirty people to the scene. He had already notified the pirates and Japanese bandits along the coast not to attack and harass them. Please restrain them and prevent more people from appearing. "
Patriarch Wang looked at Xiao Feng's expression as usual, and summoned up the courage to make his final request: "Captain Wang said, General Yu, please don't come."
Xiao Feng raised his eyebrows: "Why is this? Does Yu Dayou have any grudge against him?"
The royal family leader smiled bitterly and said: "My lord, you don't know. General Yu is well-known in the coastal area, and he has fought against Captain Wang's subordinates many times.
Firstly, the atmosphere in the meeting between the two parties was not good, and secondly, General Yu's martial arts skills were too high. Zhang Wuxin definitely wants to go with the master, and Captain Wang only has one such master. "
Xiao Feng smiled and said: "This Wang Zhi is really thoughtful. Anyway, promise him. He is willing to come ashore to see me, so I still have to give him this face."
royal family
Changqi smiled and said: "Captain Wang said that it would be best to ask you to leave now. He will wait for you at Wanghai Tower for an hour. If you don't arrive within an hour, he will leave."
Xiao Feng nodded and did some mental calculations. He set off now and rode to Wanghai Tower on horseback. It took exactly an hour. Wang Zhi didn't give himself any time to make arrangements. He was indeed very cunning.
Xiao Feng took Zhang Wuxin, a total of thirty people, followed the royal family leader, and rode to Wanghai Tower. More than twenty people wearing black clothes, their faces turned red by the sea breeze, were already waiting downstairs.
The two people on the third floor leaned on the railing and looked down. When they saw Xiao Feng and his entourage arriving, they smiled and raised their glasses. Xiao Feng left the men and horses downstairs, counted the number of people on the other side, and knew that there should be two people upstairs, so he took Zhang Wuxin upstairs.
Wang Zhi was wearing a scholar's robe, with a gray beard and a slightly weathered look, but with a calm temperament, and he bowed his hand to Xiao Feng.
"Sir, thank you for your hard work! When we met today, Wang Zhi felt so happy that it is indescribable. Your Excellency has made an appointment to meet Wang Zhi, and I understand the meaning of Wang Zhi's words."
Xiao Feng looked at the middle-aged man in front of him. At this time, his career was on the rise. Officials along the coast, like the wealthy families in Fuzhou, treated pirate ships under Wang Zhi's banner differently from Japanese pirates.
In some areas of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, Wang Zhi's men often mingled among the locals and conducted private trade, but the government turned a blind eye.
After all, for local officials, it is much better for pirates to conduct business secretly than to rush ashore like Japanese pirates to burn, kill, and loot.
In return for the goodwill of local officials, Wang Zhi never participated in organized Japanese pirate attacks.
Burning and killing operations, on the contrary, he will also assist the government in annihilating some small groups of pirates who are in direct competition with him.
On the one hand, this satisfied the local government's political performance, and on the other hand, it also reduced Wang Zhi's competitors. It was a win-win situation.
If the trajectory of history does not change, Wang Zhi will establish a prosperous maritime mutual market in Zhoushan with the support of local officials.
When this mutual trade was at its most prosperous, smuggling ships from the Ming Dynasty, Francois, Japanese, Luzon and other ships from all over the world were trading here.
That period was also the relatively calmest period along the Ming Dynasty. In addition to small groups of Japanese pirates, large numbers of pirates and Japanese pirates were attracted to do business.
But later, the imperial court suddenly issued a strict order to suppress the bandits for unknown reasons. Under the strict order of the imperial court, Yu Dayou led his troops to sneak attack on Zhoushan and surrounded Wang Zhi. Zhoushan Mutual Market was destroyed, Wang Zhi was defeated and fled to Japan, and his family members were arrested and imprisoned by Yu Dayou.
Even so, Wang Zhi still did not give up hope that the Ming Dynasty would open up shipping. Even after he founded the Song Dynasty and was known as Queen Hui, he still looked forward to the Ming Dynasty's recruitment.
So when Hu Zongxian released his family members from prison and asked someone to contact Wang Zhi, Wang Zhi was full of grievances.
"When did I ever think about rebelling? I just wanted to do business. It was Yu Dayou who attacked me and arrested my family, so I had to run away."
After being recruited by Hu Zongxian, Wang Zhi's family was thrown into prison again. Wang Zhi still wrote to the emperor, saying that he did not know what crime he had committed.
"Didn't we agree when we were recruiting people? The crimes I committed in the past were all because I was forced to have no choice but to do it. It was the imperial court that took action first! Those crimes have all been absolved.
Ah, how can you not keep your words?
The Ming army cannot defeat those pirates on the sea, but I can. I am willing to fight for the imperial court, and I am willing to contribute to the Ming Dynasty! "
Wang Zhi was imprisoned for a full year and a half. Judging from this time, Jiajing was actually a little hesitant, because the reason for killing Wang Zhi was indeed insufficient and unnecessary.
But in the end, whether for the sake of face or because they really felt that Wang Zhi was in danger and could not be let go, the court ordered Wang Zhi to be beheaded.
The evaluation of Wang Zhi in history is very complicated, and Xiao Feng actually only knows a little bit about it. After all, people themselves are very complicated things. Regardless of his character, if Wang Zhi is accused of any crime, it will not be unjust to behead the capital.
However, in this era, many people who deserve to be killed more than Wang Zhi are still living well. Does this person really have to die?
Wang Zhi saw Xiao Feng looking at him in a daze, and felt a little uneasy in his heart: "Sir, sir? What is on your mind, is there anything Wang Zhi can do?"
Xiao Feng came back to his senses, smiled lightly, sat down with Wang Zhi, and then noticed the person standing behind Wang Zhi.
Although he had changed into Ming Dynasty clothes, the knife on his waist and his special temperament made Xiao Feng's identity obvious at a glance.
"I've long heard that Captain Wang's people are all talented. Is this a Japanese samurai?"
The man bowed slightly and said in a slightly harsh tone: "My lord, Yagyu Zanzue, thank you for not calling me a Japanese. Is the person behind you Zhang Wuxin who killed Kirigakure?"
Zhang Wuxin raised his hand and said, "I am the one who has any advice, but do you want to avenge him?"
Yagyu Zangetsu said firmly: "Samurai and ninja are like
Heaven and earth, he is not worthy of me avenging him. I just want to compete with those who can kill him. "
Zhang Wuxin smiled slightly: "If there is a chance, I will accompany you at any time."
Xiao Feng and Wang Zhi looked helplessly at these two arrogant guys and shook their heads.
"My lord, Wang Zhi took the risk to go ashore because he wanted to give your lord some advice. Wang Zhi knows that your lord holds a high position in the government and is highly trusted by Wan Zai.
I hope your Lordship can persuade Wan Sui to lift the sea ban. Wang Zhi is willing to be a pawn in front of the horse and be willing to drive, so that our Ming Dynasty's sea routes will be prosperous and all nations will come to the DPRK. "
Xiao Feng looked at Wang Zhi quietly: "It is rumored that you are highly respected in Japan, and even the shogunate treats you with courtesy. Now that you are the overlord of the sea, why do you have to wrong yourself so much?"
Wang Zhi was silent for a long time, then sighed and said, "Sir, the king of mandrills, what else does he need to wear?"
