Xu Xianzhi frowned tightly, looked at Liu Yu, and said in a deep voice: "Jinu, what are you doing? Do only Confucian scholars know what loyalty, filial piety, and family and country are? In the past, when you and I were in Jingkou, No Confucian scholar will teach us this."
Liu Yu said seriously: "Although no one is here to teach us this, every household in Jingkou has sacrificed his life for the country. We have been taught by example since we were young, which is better than words. That's why we hate the barbarians so much and are so sworn in with the barbarians. But when we grow up, we realize that this is only the case in Jingkou. In other places, the people do not have such a strong sense of family and country. All they want is to live a peaceful life, rent land from aristocratic families, and live as slaves in peace. Tenants, as long as they have a mouthful of food to eat, they don't mind their children and grandchildren, and this has been true for generations! This is the truest situation in the Jin Dynasty."
Xu Xianzhi nodded thoughtfully: "You are right, but the world of aristocratic families has been going on for hundreds of years, or even earlier. It has been like this since the Soochow period. Since the Jin Dynasty moved south, it has just been controlled by the gentry in Wu. The manor is taken as our own, so in essence, there is no difference."
Liu Yu sighed: "The most terrifying thing is this. It is obviously incorrect. It is obviously a very small group of people who have appropriated the land that the people of the world depend on for their survival, and then let the people work and seize it." They took away the things that belonged to them, leaving only a little ration, as if it was their charity. Just like this, it was taken for granted. Except for Jingkou, all the people in the world seemed to be willing to be enslaved and ruled like this. Living like a cow or a horse, Xianzhi, do you really think this is a matter of course?"
Xu Xianzhi shook his head: "Of course it shouldn't be, but it's already like this, how can you solve it? Returning the land to the people cannot be done overnight. Even if you are in Jiangbei, don't you have to cooperate with the noble family now?"
Liu Yu said in a deep voice: "Cooperation is just a temporary expediency. It does not mean that I will tolerate such behavior forever. What I hope is that the bankers and tenants can take advantage of the good conditions in Jiangbei and accumulate more wealth for redemption." Originally, my idea was to free the slaves as guests, pay for the state to redeem the tenants of the Wudi Manor, come to Jiangbei to distribute the land, and let them pay back the redemption money in the form of taxes."
Xu Xianzhi sighed: "But you didn't do this. In the end, the noble family came forward and gave them the wasteland in Jiangbei. This can be regarded as a compromise you made to the noble family."
Liu Yu nodded: "Yes, this is what Fatty suggested me to do. I can't completely fall out with the noble family at this time. I must also share the benefits of the Northern Expedition with them. If the Northern Expedition succeeds in Nanyan, Jiangbei will Completely safe, so that they will taste the sweetness and support me in continuing the Northern Expedition. As long as the opening of immigration is opened, it will become convenient to immigrate to farm everywhere in the future. And the newly captured and recovered land belongs to the country. How to distribute it? From now on, it will all depend on the situation. This was our plan. You were on the Western Expedition at that time and I didn’t discuss these matters with you. Since you asked about it today, I will explain it all to you."
Xu Xianzhi nodded: "This is a good idea. We can reach a mutually acceptable result with the noble family. If you can handle everything like this, then I don't have to look for you like this today. However, you use Confucian scholars When we talk about loyalty and filial piety, the implication is that high-ranking families who focus on metaphysics are unfaithful and unfilial. Isn’t this too much?”
Liu Yu said calmly: "Let's not talk about filial piety, just loyalty. Do you think they are worthy of this word? Except for a few families such as the Xie family, most other aristocratic families are not harmful to the country. Is it harmful to the country and the people to be rich and selfish?"
Xu Xianzhi sighed: "Having said that, I haven't completely fallen out with them yet. If you don't say anything else, even if you can knock down all the aristocratic families, where will you be able to manage the country? Even if you want to Finding someone to replace them has to be done slowly.”
Liu Yu shook his head: "I'm envious, we are no longer young men when we were twenty years old. If it were twenty years ago, I could wait, but now I am over forty and I don't know how long I can continue to fight. While I I still have ambitions, and while I still have the power in my hands, I need to realize my childhood dream as soon as possible. Let me wait for a year or two to prepare for the expedition. I can barely accept it, but let me After ten or eight years, when the children of these heroes have succeeded in their studies and can go out to work, I am afraid that by then, I may not be able to even fight on horseback. Who will complete my great cause?"
Xu Xianzhi shook his head: "If you don't expect the next generation to grow up and govern at all, then what are you doing to do this? Is it worth it to offend a noble family for no reason?"
Liu Yu said seriously: "This is just a demonstration. If the children of our Jingba brothers get a good education, everyone in the world will follow our example. Many unsuccessful literati and Confucian scholars who were originally on the fence will also take the initiative to request to go to various places." Xiangxu teaches. In this way, we can enroll the children of powerful people from all over the country on a large scale and teach them the principles of loyalty and justice for the country. In less than two years, the general trend of the world will be completely reversed, and the high-ranking families who mainly focus on metaphysics will be Isolated, now we still have to beg them to join the army and become officials, but by then, a large number of scholars will volunteer to replace these high-ranking families, and this is what I really want!"
Xu Xianzhi was speechless for a long time. After a long time, he sighed: "This idea is really incredible. Did you think of it, or did Liu Muzhi think of it?"
Liu Yu smiled slightly: "We discussed it together. Now, I also want to talk to you, because you are my most trusted friend besides Fatty. When you went on the Western Expedition, I couldn't discuss it with you. Now is a rare opportunity for this matter. If you are willing to tell me your heart today, I cannot hide these things from you."
Xu Xianzhi gritted his teeth: "Are you trying to use the banner of loyalty to lure the wealthy local families in Wu to really serve you? In addition to the Shen family and the Qian family who have been generals for generations, there are also families like the Lu family in Wu. If the Zhang family, the Gu family and other literati families cannot help you in a short period of time, then these Wu families will be your help in the field of culture and governance."
Liu Yu said seriously: "This is my next plan. I will use Fan Tai as the prefect of Jingkou to attract Confucian scholars from all over the world to vote. Next, I will also prepare to promote some wealthy people with the surname Wu into my shogunate and serve as military counselors." , who do you think is more suitable?"
Xu Xianzhi replied without hesitation: "Isn't this person already in your shogunate? Zhang Shao is a recognized talent in Wuzhong, and his two brothers, Zhang Yi and Chang Yu, are both famous in Wuzhong. A talented and knowledgeable person will definitely be of great help to you!”
