When the two of them almost collided with the person in front of them, they hurriedly stepped forward, but their spines were already cold with shock, and a layer of cold sweat broke out on their foreheads. When they looked up, they saw a burly foreign man.
"Who are you?"
Cui Lin was so frightened that his voice became hoarse.
Li Mo was already scared to the point of turning pale.
This foreign man was none other than Zhang Xiu's personal bodyguard Tu Lichen. When the men and horses of Fusi in Beizhen found out that there was something strange happening among the Jizhou nobles, they immediately reported it to Zhang Xiu. Zhang Xiu frowned when he saw the Cui family and the Li family.
There are also differences between gentry and gentry.
For example, big noble families like the Cui family and the Li family have relatively great influence. If the Cui family and the Li family are really confiscated and exterminated, I am afraid it will arouse the opposition of the noble families all over the world. In this case, it will be extremely detrimental to the development of Dajing. Of course, , there are only a few families in the world that are as famous as the Cui family and the Li family.
The most famous ones are the Wang family of Taiyuan, the Lu family of Fanyang, the Li family of Longxi, the Li family of Zhaojun, the Cui family of Qinghe, etc. These noble families have deep family backgrounds and great influence. Even Zhang Xiu does not dare to kill them easily. , otherwise it will cause unnecessary turmoil. The Wang family of Taiyuan has surrendered to Dajing and followed Dajing's national policy. The Li family in Longxi lost most of their property during the turmoil, but they successfully surrendered.
Now they are facing the Li family of Zhaojun and the Cui family of Qinghe.
Of course, Zhang Xiu will not be threatened by them.
After thinking about it, I decided to find a way to meet them secretly to give him a heads up and sound the alarm.
Tulichen looked at them with a dull expression and said: "Tulichen, the deputy commander of the Jingqian Army and the third-grade imperial guard with a sword, was ordered to find the two family heads."
Li Mo and Cui Lin's minds were buzzing. Their mouths were half-opened but no sound came out from their shocked throats. They could only stare at Tulichen with extremely shocked eyes.
"The emperor has an oral order. This is not the place to talk," Turrichen ignored their reactions and continued, "This is not the place to talk. If you want to listen to the emperor's oral order, just follow me. If you don't listen, you can leave on your own."
After saying that, Tulichen walked towards the courtyard next to him.
Li Mo and Cui Lin were so frightened that their brows almost rose. The place where they had a secret meeting turned out to be Dajing's territory. It was ridiculous that they had secretly discussed it for a long time, and their feelings were all within Dajing's control.
The two looked at each other and hurriedly followed in.
It has reached this point, they have no choice, either to be destroyed or to obey. Although they had the intention of being a noble clan, they did not dare to offend Long Yan head-on, and they were under almost constant surveillance.
The two entered the door, but they were even more frightened.
I saw no less than a hundred people standing densely packed in the entire courtyard. These people were wearing armor and wearing Dajing's latest style swords on their waists. They looked majestic, and the entire courtyard revealed a solemn and murderous aura.
When Tulichen saw the two of them coming in, he made a gesture of invitation.
Seeing such a posture, the two of them were so frightened that their legs were shaking and their whole bodies were weak. If they thought about it carefully, they might have realized that the entire city, including the courtyard they thought was safe, had already been controlled by Dajing's troops. And there is probably only one person who can have such a posture.
As the two of them walked toward the middle room along a path made by the solemn and murderous soldiers in the courtyard, their hearts trembled every time they took a step, and their sweat had already wet their underwear.
Arriving at the door of the room, Tulichen said respectfully: "Your Majesty, the two heads of the family are here."
A voice without any emotion came from inside: "Come in!"
Tulichen turned to face them: "The emperor lets you go in."
When they heard the word 'Emperor', Cui Lin and Li Mo felt as if their heartbeats were being held down so they didn't dare to beat. The sweat on their foreheads was like a cloud on their heads that kept raining. They never imagined that the emperor was not in Julu, so why did he arrive here without any precautions? It’s simply elusive!
Almost at the same time, the two of them took a gulp of panic and started to push the door open. Just when he stretched out his hand, the door opened automatically from the inside. Their hearts trembled again as the door opened, their legs trembled and became weak. It was so difficult to step into that small threshold.
"The common man Li Mo (Cui Lin) bows to the emperor, long live the emperor!"
After entering the door, the two of them did not dare to raise their heads and knelt down to worship.
Zhang Xiu was lying on the rocking chair in the inner room with his eyes closed. He didn't make any move after hearing the sound of them coming in and kneeling, and he still lay quietly. Li Mo and Cui Lin neither dared to raise their heads nor received any response, so they had to continue to kneel down.
"The king is a boat; the common man is water." Zhang Xiu slowly said, "Do you know where this sentence comes from? What is the second half of it?"
Cui Lin said without hesitation: "It comes from "Xunzi: Duke Shai". The second half of the sentence is 'Water carries the boat, and water overturns the boat. If you think of danger with this, how can the danger not come?'"
Zhang Xiu: "Well... let me ask again, does the common people in this sentence refer to the nobles or the common people?"
Li Mo and Cui Lin looked at each other.
Li Mo said: "Of course it's the common people."
Zhang Xiu nodded with satisfaction: "So, the greatest official in the world is not me, the emperor, nor a ninth-grade official, nor a powerful noble, but thousands of people. People are like water, kings are like boats on the water, and water can You know this truth, so why do you still seize people's fields?"
Cui Lin: "Your Majesty, the common people's family property belongs to their ancestors..."
Zhang Xiu interrupted: "You are familiar with the past and the present. I ask you what does 'all the world under the earth are the king's soil; on the shore of the earth, are the king's ministers' mean?"
Cui Lin lowered his head and replied: "Every inch of land in the world is the emperor's land, and everyone within the four seas is the emperor's minister."
Zhang Xiu nodded: "Get flat!"
The two of them breathed a sigh of relief and stood up with some difficulty.
Zhang Xiu said: "Land is the lifeblood of the people. Without their own fields, the people are like rootless duckweeds, with no hope for life. But you have read many poems and books, but you do not do anything for the country and the people. I am for the world. The people seek living conditions and divide their fields so that everyone can eat and wear warm clothes, but you cling to the fields."
"I have never treated any noble family badly. Look at the Wang family of Taiyuan! They let go of the land, and I gave you the right to store grain and become an official. I made them the largest grain store in the area, and they earned a lot more money than before. .Why are you still so stubborn?"
"I will not force you. If you want to fight me to the end, leave now. I will accompany you to the end. If you are willing to implement the Dajing national policy, I will appoint him as the local magistrate now and a big grain storer."
This condition cannot be too generous.
The emperor is also extremely benevolent and righteous.
Li Mo and Cui Lin met their eyes and finally chose to submit to Dajing.
