Chapter 256 Following the Imperial Edict of Emperor Daxing II
Everyone lost their strength, but under the pressure, they slowly knelt down.
It wasn't until everyone heard that the imperial edict would be handed down to King Fu that Zhang Caicai scolded: "It's just a false edict..."
Chen Cao's purpose was to tell these people the content of the edict, and then spread it through the mouths of these people throughout Southern Zhili, and even the entire south, regardless of how they said the authenticity of the edict.
After the edict was read out, Chen Cao said: "Okay, gentlemen, you have worked hard. The food has been on the table all afternoon. Let's eat quickly..."
As soon as these words came out, a group of people rushed towards them like vicious dogs eating food. During this period, some people even fought over a piece of chicken butt...
"Master, some of them ate so quickly that they fainted..."
"Send someone first aid, you won't die..."
Chen Cao said and stopped caring about them. He waited until all the soup on the table had been robbed, then loudly said: "I would like to formally inform you that from today on, Suzhou Prefecture will be under the jurisdiction of Songjiang, and Governor Su Song will be established." Yamen, and began to equalize the land and exempt from taxes, and the matter of clearing the land will start tomorrow. If anyone among you is willing to take the initiative to cooperate, I will definitely give you preferential treatment. If anyone is not willing, don't blame me for not saying the ugly things first."
How do these people not know that Songjiang Prefecture's land equalization and tax exemption are the same? Those bitter people in Suzhou would like to be like this. But at this moment, the people present are the wealthy tycoons of Suzhou Prefecture. Most of Suzhou's wealth is in the hands of these people. If Wouldn't it be a waste of money to hand over all the family's fields?
Thinking of this, Zhang Shihuang and Zhang Cai, who were full and energetic, started a new round of scolding, but this time Chen Cao didn't listen any more, so he asked people to throw away the hundreds of people. All the people were released into their homes.
As if they had been granted amnesty, these people no longer cared about the indignant officials and left one after another.
.
"Sir, news came from the Longwu Army that the magistrate of Changshu County surrendered in Kaicheng, and that the coastal guard station was all wiped out with the cooperation of the navy. The total number of surrendered soldiers was more than 20,000."
"Uncle..."
Huang Chunyao walked into the lobby: "Zhang Pu shouted in prison that he wanted to see you, and the student came here to report..."
Huang Chunyao didn't mention Zhang Pu's fellow Chen Cao, but he really forgot about him. As students nourished by feudal knowledge, they were not as knowledgeable as the students in the academy. The reason why Chen Cao valued this person was because he was forced to resume society in Jiangnan. reputation pressure.
Zhang Pu was imprisoned for five days with nothing but food and drink. Chen Cao had indeed forgotten about him. When the Jinyi guards escorted the man to the front door, he didn't look like a scholar at all.
His hair is disheveled, his body is covered with dirt, and he is a complete beggar.
"Is this how the dignified Lord Guochao treats others?"
Zhang Pu roared, and then flipped his hair: "Chen Cao, it's enough for you to start a rebellion, but don't forget the banner you are flying. I am a descendant of a saint. If you kill me, you will be fighting against all the scholars in the world." enemy."
Pfft...
Chen Cao couldn't help but laugh, and then forced his expression to become serious, but doing so made his expression look abnormally distorted.
This performance undoubtedly intensified the ridicule of Zhang Pu and made the scholar even more ashamed: "You...you...you..."
"Xin Zhao, bring Zhang Pu some food..."
When he heard about eating, Zhang Pu actually became a little weaker, and then waved his sleeve angrily: "Humph, even if I starve to death, I will not eat the food of you, a rebellious minister and traitor."
Chen Cao didn't care. Scholars like this would not be able to represent the people of the world in the future, so telling him about Zhang Pu's performance was in vain, because he had no intention of winning over Zhang Pu himself.
"I have packed up a lot of people today, and I am in a good mood. How about discussing state affairs with Zhang Juren here now?"
"Hmph, you treacherous official and traitor, I am ashamed to discuss any matter with you. If you want to kill or behead me, please do as you please. Don't waste your time here."
"Zhang Pu, don't be ignorant. Fang Xiaoru's reputation was greater than yours back then. Didn't Emperor Wen annihilate ten clans?"
Huang Chunyao stood on one side and made sarcastic remarks, which made Zhang Pu even more angry. He cursed Huang Chunyao loudly, without even citing scriptures. He spoke in vernacular and was full of vigor.
Chen Cao simply sat down and let him scold him. In the end, when he saw that Zhang Pu could no longer scold him, he said seriously: "Come on, loyal people of the Ming Dynasty, comment on Zhu Di's 'Qingjun side' past."
Zhang Pu glared at Chen Cao: "How qualified is the traitor Zian to evaluate Emperor Chengzu?"
Xin Zhao stepped forward: "Master, it seems that this guy has not suffered enough. Instead of wasting your breath now, it is better to deal with him properly and wait until he becomes honest before talking slowly."
"A dog thief, he will kill whenever he wants. What's the point of torturing people? If a certain family blinked, their name would be written backwards..."
Chen Cao was too lazy to talk to him and waved his hand: "Guan Heiwu..."
The punishment system of the Dingwu Army. The small black room is a nightmare for military personnel. The entire room is only one square meter wide. You cannot lie flat when sleeping. After putting down the toilet, you will be accompanied by your own feces and urine. The endless darkness is oppressive. As a prisoner, no matter how strong your spirit is, you will completely collapse within three days.
Zhang Pu didn't know the inside story. He believed that a dark room was just a room without lights, so he didn't take this punishment seriously at all. Even after he was taken away, his mouth was still unclean.
Chen Cao snorted and said, "I brought this guy here after he had a mental breakdown. I underestimated him..."
Chen Cao originally thought that the popularity of scholars was not very high. From the time when the Manchus entered the customs, it can be seen that the noble integrity of those self-proclaimed scholars has dropped everywhere, but the sense Zhang Pu gave him really surprised him. Unexpectedly The fact that this beast was so stubborn allowed Chen Cao to take a high look at him, and he also had the idea in his heart that he could be used for his own purposes if possible.
"Sir, there may be resistance to the implementation of the land equalization and tax exemption system in Suzhou."
Huang Chunyao's worry is not groundless. Most of the wealth in Suzhou City is in the hands of those people. If they secretly cause harm, the impact will be considerable.
Unexpectedly, Chen Cao was not worried at all and said with a smile: "There are others talking about Suzhou, Wuxian and Changzhou, but there is no need to disturb the two major counties of Jiading and Changshu. We are now using the excuse of 'Qingjun side' to go north. In fact, it is only limited to Suzhou. Wait until After the method of land equalization and tax exemption matures, we will no longer need to take action in the future. Let the students of the college act on their behalf. In the two counties of Jiading and Changshu, anyone who resists and is unwilling to hand over their land will be detained and confiscated, so that Longwu Army can act easily;
As for Suzhou..."
Chen Cao smiled slyly: "I do have a ready-made plan..."
..
Zhang Shihuang could still be considered a figure in the area south of the Yangtze River where there were no vassal kings. After all, most of the high-level officials who retired to serve in Suzhou City stayed in Nanjing to retire, and the rest went to Changzhou Prefecture when Wu County was conquered. Naturally, his status has risen somewhat.
As a captured governor-bureaucrat, Zhang Cai's status is not low. The people attending today's meeting are almost all well-known figures in Suzhou City, and their status is naturally not simple.
"Zhang Yuanwai, I heard that people have gone to several big towns outside the city. Chen Ni's army is currently stationed in Suzhou. In my opinion, the chances of us being able to hold it back are slim..."
Zhang Shihuang turned to look at several retired bureaucrats who were obviously frightened, and said with a smile: "Didn't you see that thief Chen Cao was trying to use some tricks on us?
I was captured for two days and almost starved to death, but at the last moment he still let me wait for food and drink. He even released me home the day before yesterday. If he wanted to kill us, why bother? "
Zhang Cai also frowned. This was something he couldn't think of. It stands to reason that Chen Cao has now raised his troops to rebel and captured Suzhou City. Even the prefect Yu Xianchao was detained in prison. Why would he put these people in prison? Release them all?
"I really can't figure out what Chen Cao wants to do?" Zhang Cai frowned and looked at the dozen or so people at the table: "Your net worth is a bit harsh to say. You can be as rich as any country. If a certain family is rebellious, , even if they take you and wait for the house to be ransacked, was it not the same for the commanders of Weida after they conquered Texas?
But now Chen Cao has actually released us, and made it clear that the horse and chariot told us to implement the policy of equalizing land and exempting taxes in Suzhou. If something goes wrong, there must be a monster. That guy is not a good person. Maybe Mr. Zhang guessed wrong. uncertain. "
Zhang Cai is not denying Zhang Shihuang's words, he is just worried that Chen Cao will make some other strange troubles, but now not only himself, but also everyone present is unable to escape the issue of equalizing land.
An old man said worriedly: "I have been the magistrate of Wu County for twelve years. My family has a lot of financial resources. The amount of hidden land is as much as ten thousand acres. If the land is equalized, I am afraid that my whole family will starve to death."
"I heard that the wealthy gentry and landlords in Songjiang reserved land according to their family's population, and the rest was confiscated. I had some ideas about Qingpu, but in the end it was settled by Songjiang Wei. The leader met a miserable end..."
Although the end was tragic, Chen Cao never killed those people from beginning to end. He just made them no longer have the life of the rich and became commoners.
But among people who are accustomed to privilege and wealth, isn't it even more outrageous than killing them?
Zhang Shihuang murmured: "I have contacted everyone from all sides. Since Chen Cao wants to rebel and become emperor, he will also cherish the reputation of the people, and of course he will not do anything to stir up public sentiment."
Zhang Cai seemed to understand Zhang Shihuang's words instantly, and immediately turned to look at him: "Do you mean to imitate what happened in Zhizao Mansion back then?"
Zhang Shihuang nodded proudly: "The law does not punish everyone. If he dares to go on a killing spree in Jiangnan, he will still be the one who loses more than he gains in the end. Otherwise, how can you explain his release of us?"
After hearing this, more than a dozen people nodded thoughtfully, and then they all figured out the matter and showed some excitement. How could their family property be distributed to those bumpkins? This kind of thing must not be allowed to happen.
"Everyone, please contact me as soon as possible after you go back today, and be sure to tie their hands and feet."
Zhang Cai saw the crowd leaving excitedly and fell into deep thought alone...
