There is heavy snowfall, and this year's snow season came a little late, and it was not as overwhelming as the year before.
The snowflakes are very gentle, as if God, who controls the four seasons, has finally taken pity on these little people on the earth. The gentle snow floats away from north to south.
Of course, this is the thought of most nobles. There will be no less Guizhou heads who should freeze to death, and no less slaves who should starve to death. It’s just that this year’s four cities in Mengdi, as well as the surrounding areas where Zhao Bing, Deng Zhizhong and others are located The city pass followed Meng Cheng's decree.
Windproof houses were built for the miserable people. Winter clothes were wrapped in various animal skins and hairs and distributed to these people. They were also provided with gruel and wheat cakes every day.
People's ability to survive and adapt is extremely strong. These humble people at least have hope of surviving.
In the rocky beach jungle behind Mengcheng, soldiers and soldiers braved the wind and snow, five in a group, constantly searching in the barren mountains and ridges.
A cold wind blew by, and the snow on the tree branches fell on the soldiers.
"Special brew, the snow is so cold. I really don't know that Wu Fuyin has just been promoted and is not enjoying himself at home with his old wife and concubines. Why do you have to ask me to come to these barren mountains and ridges to search for some savages!"
The soldiers were hurriedly shaking off the snow from their robes, and couldn't help but complain.
"Okay, just say a few words. Isn't it because Fu Yin is trying to expand the population of our Mengcheng city? I heard that the master himself told us about this matter."
"What can be done to expand this group of savages? They have become savages, so let them survive in the wild. Why must we capture them and turn them into civilians? These people should be sent as slaves."
"You bastard, have you listened to my master's daily teachings in vain? We, the people of Beihai, should be different from other places. We are people who saved our lives from the mouths of strange beasts, so we should know what it means to be a human being? Being of the same human race, unity is the foundation of Mengdi."
"Besides, if we don't have these civilians joining the army, how can you and I drive away the alien beasts, and how can we defend our territory from the hands of the Rong tribe?"
"Okay, okay, don't preach any more. Nai Weng's ears are already itching for you. I know, I'm just complaining casually. Who is our Lord? He is the reincarnated sage of Yi Yin. These savages What does his life and death have to do with Nai Weng? If anyone dares not to die at that time, General Wu Gan will naturally open their heads and wake them up."
The five people followed the route told by the merchant and cautiously approached the valley. A small settlement of several hundred people was huddled in a cave.
The entrance to the cave was sealed with withered grass and wooden doors to block the cold wind. Occasionally, a few men wrapped in animal skins could be seen, with worn-out daggers hanging from their waists, working together to carry pottery cauldrons filled with filthy excrement toward the distant stream.
The captain signaled to stop and asked the two of them to return quickly to bring the army over. The remaining three people quietly walked around to the downwind position and hid like hunters, monitoring everything in the camp.
"Hey, have you heard? A few days ago, Wu Zhuqiu of the Wu family died of illness. I heard that the Wu Zhu family wanted to use fifty slaves from the family to bury him. As a result, the master was so angry that he came to the door in person and took Wu Cheng away. There is a big fuss in Wu Zhu’s family.”
"Why are you making such a fuss, my lord? But the ritual vessels buried with Mr. Qiu exceed the rules?"
"I heard it was because they were dissatisfied with the number of people buried."
"Indeed, fifty people is indeed too many. Nowadays, the city is full of waste. Both the Lord and the City Yin are eager to let me wait for one winter to conceive seventeen or eight boys, and then give birth and grow up overnight. After the winter, I will be pregnant." Follow the army to fight in the North Sea."
"Hahaha! That's right, that's right. Nai Weng also wants to have seventeen or eight boys, but he just can't afford them."
Perhaps these two gossips chatted a little too loudly. The team leader turned back and glared at the two of them, and then the two of them lowered their voices and calmed down a little.
"Anyway, in the end, the Wu family's shamans reduced their number and only ten people were killed. The master also used disabled prisoners of war to sacrifice the Wu family's shamans."
"Hey, don't you still have to die? I thought I could just avoid it. In the past, if a noble person died, he would not be allowed to take a dozen of them down. Isn't the Lord meddling in other people's business?"
The captain finally couldn't bear it any longer. Unlike these two tough guys, he had followed his lord to the Inner North Sea. He was also the one who was lucky enough to listen to his lord's wishes that long night.
"How can the master's ambition be discussed lightly by you two who have no ambition? You only see the master's bravery, but don't think about his benevolence and righteousness. If not for the leniency of the master, we would all be slaves."
"Have you forgotten? That weak and bully Wu Qi is still in Lincheng, following Yuan Thief wholeheartedly!"
…
The two soldiers pondered for a while, and after thinking about it carefully, it seemed that it was true. If the man who came that day was not the Meng family, but the violent tempered Chonghou or Chao Lei, they would have had no chance to change their ways. They would have been lucky. When they returned to Chaoge or Chongcheng, they all became slaves and human sacrifices.
The two of them said with flushed faces: "You have learned the lesson, don't be upset, captain. We and other rough guys have gossiped a lot, but we have never meant any disrespect to our lord. Don't be weird if you hope, don't be weird if you hope!"
"The ambition of the Lord should be clearly benevolent, but in this world there are always some people who are not benevolent in their hearts and stick to the cruel old rules, hindering the Lord's benevolent governance. If we follow the old practices of those nobles, this year's harvest will be good for you and others. What does it matter? How many acres of land does your family have? Why don't the Lord divide the harvest of the baron's land evenly and then persuade the nobles to subsidize it for the people? Otherwise, where would there be grain for you to sow in the spring and restore your livelihood? If the Lord hadn't borrowed those We stored food and took people to hunt in the countryside. Last winter, we all starved to death and froze to death!"
"You guys remember, Meng is the land of the men of the Meng family. It is not outside the Beihai Sea. Naturally, benevolence should be promoted. From now on, no matter whether they are barbarians, slaves, or ordinary people, they will all be Meng people. This is personally stated by the Lord. , if anyone doesn’t obey, don’t blame me for not thinking of my fellow comrades.”
The two soldiers were silent, blushing and silent, and nodded hurriedly in agreement.
"Take it slowly, the road must be walked step by step, and the food must be eaten one bite at a time. This is a truth that all slaves know. I will serve as a sharp sword in the master's hand to help him slowly change this cannibalistic world step by step. From now on Stop saying that shit."
After the three of them finished speaking, there was the sound of marching in the distance. The captain immediately turned his head and looked back. It was two of his men coming with hundreds of soldiers.
"Let's go, prepare to encircle the camp. Once we finish this task today, I'll be able to rest for at least three days when I get home."
"promise!"
But far away in Meng City, I watched the soldiers leading the savages back to the city "one after another" with helpless expressions.
This group of savages was so stubborn that they tried to persuade them, but as soon as they left, the savages disappeared and their entire family moved.
I don’t know how many times Wu Qi has deceived these people before. He ran away when he saw the army, and when he heard the recruitment, he looked as if he had put "city dwellers" on the list of dishonest people.
In desperation, we can only let the soldiers take turns to go into the mountains, "invite" them one by one out of the wilderness, and then arrest them into the city without tattoos. They will work with the slaves until they are willing to believe and transform. To make a living for the people, and then get promoted based on your military exploits.
Because of this matter, the nobles, shamans, and divination people in the city "rebelled" one after another. They came to his door every three days to persuade him, saying that he was being rebellious, cruel and unkind, and a tyrant who deprived the "people" of their privileges.
Anyway, at this moment, Mengchang finally came to his senses, and oppressing "slaves" and "savages" with them was kindness and morality. Otherwise, it is tyranny.
The word "people" in their eyes does not include those slaves and savages, and they even do not regard these "animals" as human beings at all.
Wu Cheng stepped forward tiredly and asked softly: "Gentlemen, rumors are starting to spread, saying that you... say that you..."
Mengchang rolled his eyes, knowing who released them without guessing.
"You say I practice tyranny, right? I'm a treacherous man from the Yin and Shang lords?"
"Uh... how about sending someone to the door to shut their mouths?"
"It's ridiculous. They can't talk if they shut up? Rumors are like a flood, and you can't stop them by blocking them."
"Then we can't let them ruin your reputation. If these words spread, not to mention you just issued the recruitment order, even some ignorant people in the city will be misled by these rumors, causing a bad impact."
To be honest, if possible, Meng Chang would really draw his sword and kill until these people dare not talk nonsense anymore, but when will the killing stop? It is impossible to kill all the nobles. If we do not solve the problem at the root, if we kill this group of nobles, new nobles will be born later. This is a problem of system and class.
Now it is a huge problem. If you want to quickly increase the strength of Mengdi, you must open up the population and wasteland. All of this requires the support of the population, but the consumption and lifeblood of the population are in slavery and various human sacrifices and sacrifices. The problem cannot be eradicated.
If we want to change the system, we have to face the challenge of the nobles who stick to the old system. If we don't change the system, everything will develop smoothly over time. Then Mengdi will still be the dirty city it once was. The inertia carried by the wheels of history will not stand in the way at all. If he couldn't withstand the crisis in the future, he might as well take off his armor and return to the fields to be a Tao Zhugong, sitting back and watching the clouds roll and relax.
The lesser of the two powers, he will be challenged no matter what, and he will die if he fails. Mengchang chooses the most difficult path, challenges the old system, and moves forward step by step. At least even if he dies, he is still pushing forward. On the road of historical development, we should not be driven to death by the inertia of history.
"Let me inform you that human sacrifices will not be allowed in Mengdi, Qingyangguan, and Shucheng in the spring festival next year. Three animals will be used instead."
Wu Cheng was shocked. He looked around. After he ordered his soldiers to guard the surrounding area, he approached and whispered, "Are you crazy? I was telling you a few days ago, Xu Xutu, what are you going to do now?" ?”
Meng Chang stared at Wu Cheng and asked slowly: "Wu Cheng, you are a descendant of the Wu family. Logically speaking, you should think about problems from their perspective. But at this time, you keep helping me formulate these new policies." What do you want to do with the new policy? Should I believe you?"
Wu Cheng immediately knelt down and said, "I don't want anything. I am a branch of the Wu family. I originally thought that my ambition in life was limited to the Yin of a city."
"Do you know? When the Lord bought slaves for sacrifice, Wu Cheng was always worried, afraid that you would use the people as sacrifices. In that case, how are you different from Wu Qi? But you did not abuse the people, nor did you sell them miserably and refuse to sacrifice. Can you Do you know what I thought at that time?"
"Wu Cheng is going to the abyss with a pedantic benevolent master, and he doesn't want to be a mediocre master anymore and be the executioner who slaughters his own people. Master, you can completely trust Wu Cheng. Wu Cheng is the governor of Meng, not Wu." Clan of the clan."
Meng Chang looked at Wu Cheng's sincere eyes. He didn't know whether he should believe it or not. He didn't have the ability to read minds.
If you don't believe it, what can you do? It is difficult for a person to accomplish great things alone.
"In your own name, you secretly inform the Wu family that Mengchang is about to have the Chong family as his son, and Chonghou intends to make him the heir to the Chongguo. If Mengchang becomes an uncle one day, all the clan leaders in the cities will be barons, and Mengchang will be a baron. Marquis, any clan can be promoted to earl, if Mengchang is promoted to bohou..."
Wu Cheng looked at his master with a shocked face, opened his mouth, and asked in disbelief: "This... master, are you telling the truth?"
"It's not false. Marquis Chong did ask me what I meant."
"It's just that I didn't agree."
"Then aren't you lying? Since you have no intention of joining the Chong clan, why do you use this guise to tell the clansmen this?"
Meng Chang spread his hands helplessly: "So, isn't this for you to reveal secretly in a private name? In the future, let's climb up step by step. If we can climb up, we will naturally be able to fulfill it. If we can't, it's not my fault. , this is what you said, when did I say this?"
"First let them help me suppress the other small and medium-sized clans and help me succeed in reforming. After completing the big things later..."
"Then it's up to them to agree or not!"
My energy is limited, and it’s another day at work. I can only burst out occasionally, and I can’t maintain it every day. However, I will try my best to maintain it for two updates. On weekends and holidays, I will crazily code and save manuscripts to prepare for additional updates.
By the way, today's chapter is related to tomorrow's first chapter. It not only highlights the topic but also makes plans for the future. A preview of the new journey is about to take off.
(End of chapter)
