next morning
The sun had just finished showing its red face, and the sky was illuminated into a bright red.
In the Qing Dynasty, unlike modern times, there were no entertainment programs at night. Although Zhang Rui, a modern person, does not impose any curfew, but Zhilianshan has only just started. People who come here are still struggling with food and clothing problems, so there is no such thing as a commercial night market.
Therefore, going to bed early and getting up early is a common phenomenon in this era. Anyone who often sleeps until the sun is shining on his buttocks will be scolded as "a lazy person."
If a young man or girl is not yet married, he or she will be labeled as "lazy" and considered for marriage in the future.
At this time, the people who were allocated fields got up early and came to each family's rice field to see the "field water".
Because of Zhang Rui's transformation of the stream directly connected to the mountain. Nowadays, most of the land cleared can be effectively irrigated.
Today, the rice fields on both sides of the rammed earth road leading directly from Mt. Lianshan to the outside are all filled with rice seedlings. Although it is a newly opened rice field, there is enough water for irrigation, so the harvest in two or three months will not be too bad.
A cool mountain breeze blew by, bringing with it the unique smell of the morning.
Li Kaifu, who was originally sleepy, looked at the rice fields planted with seedlings on both sides and felt quite happy, especially when he looked at the people walking beside the fields to look at the "field water level." Kaifu Li couldn't help but sigh in his heart:
"Sure enough, places with "population" make people feel more comfortable than desolate places."
Speaking of "populated" (which means inhabited), Kaifu Lee looked at the crowded pedestrians on the entire road. These are the "soldiers" Zhang Rui brought to get the money and his captives.
Nearly four thousand people actually crowded onto this straight road, thanks to its wide width. Otherwise, based on this queue, I don’t know how crowded it would be.
The walking of so many people was naturally noticed by the people watching the "field water level" on the side of the road. They all paid attention to watch or found people next to them gathering in twos and threes to chat.
Kaifu Li paid special attention and found that whenever Zhang Rui passed by, those who were paying attention to watching or chatting all knelt down and knelt down to worship.
Zhang Ruigang also returned the favor one by one at first. Later, there were so many people kneeling down that he could only accept it. Otherwise, I probably wouldn’t even have to leave if I returned the gift all the way.
Such a situation shocked Kaifu Li. He never dreamed that Zhang Rui would be so respected in the hearts of these mud-legged people. Even when Governor Yang passes by, these mud-legged people may not kneel down sincerely.
However, this is not the most uneasy thing for Kai-fu Lee. What made him most uneasy was Zhang Rui's deceptive words.
Just like Zhang Rui's speech at the large bonfire party in the large "square" at the foot of Zhilian Mountain yesterday evening, God knows he is not afraid of what happened to Xiaoying.
Nowadays, I always think of what Zhang Rui said at last night's party. Kaifu Li regretted a little, why he didn't go back to his room to sleep. If you have to be troublesome, go and listen to his rebellious and deceptive words.
Every time he thought of these words, Kaifu Li couldn't calm down for a long time. It's so outrageous, but so exciting.
How lonely it would be if I couldn't hear it anymore. However, it happened to be something other than myself.
"...The most precious thing for a person is life, and life belongs to people only once. A person's life should be spent like this: when he looks back on the past, he will not regret for wasting his years, nor will he be ashamed for doing nothing. ; In this way, when he was dying, he could say: "My whole life and all my energy have been dedicated to the most magnificent thing in the world..."
Thinking of the scene when everyone was shouting for joy, Kaifu Li didn't dare to think about it anymore.
Even if his enemy is like this, one can imagine how excited Zhang Rui's army is.
Thinking of this, Kaifu Li couldn't help but think of Zhang Rui's words to "confuse" the people again.
"...I will devote my whole life to the people living and working in peace and contentment. People who will follow me in the future: every person who works hard in the fields does not have enough to eat, it is my fault; every person who works hard in weaving does not have warm clothes, it is my fault It's my fault; everyone who works hard can't live, that's my fault. Unless I am killed by Qianlong, I will continue to struggle for this all my life. Will everyone help me..."
Kaifu Li had to admit that Zhang Rui's words touched the hearts of those stupid people. Since childhood, they have heard that they don’t blame heaven or earth, they can only blame their own lives.
If you don't have enough food, clothing or warmth to survive, it's all because of your bad fate. If you are destined to be reborn into a good family, there is definitely no such thing.
But now someone told them. You are not alone and helpless, you have someone to rely on.
Among the emperors of the Qing Dynasty, who dared to make such a promise? Who of them cares about the life and death of these mud-legged people?
It's your fault if you mud-legged people can't survive. However, as long as you dare to complain against me, the "Shengming Emperor" of the Qing Dynasty, it is disrespectful, and that will only make it impossible for you to live.
Every time he thinks of Zhang Rui's words, Kaifu Li can't help but sigh:
"This is such an obvious way to "confuse" people, but why can't these mud-legged people understand it? Why are they so agitated?"
In fact, how could Kaifu Li understand that even if this was just an unrealistic idea, even if he knew it was just a lie, it would satisfy the people's fantasy of their own emperor.
If the emperor is wrong, he can still be scolded.
I heard that during the Qian Ming Dynasty, many ministers dared to point their noses at the emperor of the Zhu family and scold him? But the emperor could still accept it humbly. He was not happy that the Tatar emperor praised him every day.
Yes, most Han people in China are quiet, obedient, and timid by nature.
However, that doesn't mean they are all stupid, they know what they need.
They all need a court they can rely on, a court that can protect themselves and others, rather than a court that only knows about taxation and cannot complain about various injustices.
Take an example from the 31st year of Qianlong's reign: Xin Lin, a slave of the Zhenglan Banner, killed Liu Xiyao, a civilian (Han). The Ministry of Punishment reported that Brigadier General Xin Lin had a hundred sticks and traveled three thousand miles. However, because he was a bannerman, he was The Manchu Qing granted the privileges to the bannermen, and the final punishment was only flogging with a shackle (which was still carried out by the Manchus themselves, because the Manchu Qing stipulated that the cases of the bannermen were usually heard by the bannermen's specialized yamen). A banner slave who beat a Han to death could do this and enjoy the privilege of breaking the shackles in exchange for punishment. This can reflect the treatment of a Han life in the Manchu period. ("Xingke Title Book", 31st year of Qianlong, Qing Dynasty archives)
If Zhang Rui's previous words only made Kai-fu Lee sigh in various ways, then Zhang Rui's last words made Kai-fu Lee really uneasy, and also made Kai-fu feel strange in his heart. For the first time, he felt sorry for "I am the Qing Dynasty". I'm sorry for the Emperor Shengming, I'm sorry for being loyal to the emperor and serving the country.
"…I have a dream…"
