On the banks of the Weishui River, Xu Jingzong was listening to the Marquis of Lishan County and Mr. Wang Gui talking about an incredible thing.
Wang Gui sighed: "I won't tie up his wife and children."
The autumn wind blew by, and on the water of the Wei River, Zhang Yang whispered: "A big family is like a big mountain. If it continues to occupy the Central Plains, people at the bottom will not be able to see the sky when they look up."
"But since the Han Dynasty, this mountain has grown bigger and bigger, and now it has become a giant. So what?"
Zhang Yang nodded and said: "Since Dong Zhongshu, Confucian etiquette has become the standard for educating the world. After the Nine-Rank Zhongzheng system was established, the imperial power and the aristocratic families in this world began to jointly seize the interests of the people. It was just a matter of how to divide this piece of cake. .”
"The emperor is the one who divides the cake, and the aristocratic family is the one who eats the cake. Although I don't know what His Majesty thinks now, the Central Plains has always been a farming civilization. The benefits generated by farming civilization are limited, and the productivity is also limited. In the end, It will only lead to a situation of cannibalization and endless internal fighting.”
Wang Gui nodded and said: "A very interesting statement, productivity? Farming? Pie sharing? This is the first time I have heard these terms in my life. Is this your Lishan knowledge?"
"It's just some ugly opinions that made the old gentleman laugh."
Wang Gui still shook his head, "If you think about it carefully, what you said makes sense."
Zhang Yang added: "I believe that in addition to overthrowing the aristocratic family, the prerequisite is to increase productivity and cut off the aristocratic family's channels for extracting the bones and marrow of the Central Plains. At the moment, these are the only things I can think of."
"Well, as for the matter of kidnapping his wife and children, you Xu Jingzong should not do it. If you are questioned, you will get a lot of gossip. I think you should be a more decent person."
Hearing this, Xu Jingzong bowed and said: "Don't worry, old man, I have many ways to frame you."
Wang Gui then nodded with satisfaction, "Since the imperial examination was implemented in the imperial court, the shadow of the aristocratic family has always been there. There are many people in the world who say they want to deal with the aristocratic family, but there are very few people who can actually attack the aristocratic family."
Zhang Yang smiled and said: "We have always been a hard worker."
Not long after, Di Renjie came back, and he looked at the Marquis of Lishan County curiously.
Zhang Yang added: "Mr. Wen wanted to unify Liaodong, but unfortunately he did not live until the day when Goguryeo was recovered. Mr. Wang will have to live for a few more years."
Wang Gui nodded and said: "Okay, then live a few more years...live a few more years."
The old man walked further and further away as he talked.
The more trouble the family makes, the more beneficial it is to the emperor.
If the world needs justice, it needs the emperor to administer justice. When the people ask for help, the emperor has the power of life and death.
Since Li Shimin came to the throne, he has always targeted these pretentious big families in the Central Plains.
I had a long-standing rivalry with the Cui family of Qinghe, and also had a long-running battle with Fan Yang.
By now, the emperor's sharp edge has been revealed and his wings have long grown.
When Li Shimin sent the artillery to Fan Yang, the knife was already placed on the family's neck.
Nowadays, the lower class people are more indignant. Students, farmers and low-class people don’t have knives in their hands, but they have stones in their hands.
One stone may not kill someone, but tens of thousands of stones can kill them.
In the past, Pei Xuanji's methods were tepid because his goal was wrong and the group of scholars he learned from was unreliable.
It was also because of his negligence that he ignored his companions and was bribed.
As a result, the foundation he established at the beginning was destroyed. Fortunately, he now figured it out. He no longer targeted the scholar group, but began to develop people at the bottom.
Let the anger of the people at the bottom burn towards the aristocratic family. This is an unprecedented fire. The organizational group can continue to develop, when one person passes the flame to three, four or five people.
If this continues, the fire will sweep across the Central Plains, and the wind that will blow the fire bigger and bigger is the Madman's Diary and the Imperial Examination.
It might get out of hand, but from the emperor's point of view, the fire must be burned down.
Finally, Zhang Yang also noticed Di Renjie, and the two looked at each other for a while, "You are Di Zhisun's son."
"Young man Di Renjie has met the county prince."
At this moment, Di Renjie felt as if he had suddenly seen an idol and wanted to worship him. He finally met the rumored Marquis of Lishan County.
There were too many rumors about these county princes. When he was in the Hexi Corridor, Di Renjie found that he would receive reports about the county prince's deeds every once in a while.
A few days later, the county prince made a lot of money, Lishan created a big monster that could eat coal and rocks, or the county prince was still alive and well after scolding the current majesty.
Everyone has their own way of living, but this county prince's way of living is really alien.
There are rumors in Chang'an City that the County Marquis is a monster. Now he looks very ordinary at first glance. He seems to be an extremely ordinary person, the kind of person who can never be found among the crowd.
"Dizhisun asked you to practice in Chang'an City, and said Lishan couldn't give you much help."
Di Renjie saluted respectfully, "The boy has been at the Foreign Affairs Academy these days."
Xu Jingzong whispered: "County Marquis?"
Zhang Yang frowned and asked, "What's wrong?"
Xu Jingzong whispered: "This little bastard clearly said that he can return to the Hexi Corridor after winter."
"Really?" Zhang Yang said tangledly, "Not necessarily. I remember that his grandfather, Mr. Di, is old and will soon pass away. Di Renjie wants to honor his father's filial piety for the old man in Chang'an City."
"Seriously?" Xu Jingzong's heart skipped a beat, and he didn't come back to his senses for a long time.
"Well, that's what Dickson's letter said."
Xu Jingzong was silent for a long time, staring at Di Renjie, wanting to strangle this little bastard to death.
Li Zhi also came back, and he said happily: "Brother-in-law, I taught Renjie the parallelism method."
"His Royal Highness Prince Jin has not learned well himself, so why should he teach others?"
Hearing what his brother-in-law said, Li Zhi raised his chin and said, "Renjie and I learn from each other's strengths and weaknesses."
Zhang Yang patted Xu Jingzong on the shoulder and warned: "You arrange things to be done, be restrained in your methods, and don't go too far."
"I understand, I will do it now."
There are fewer big fish in the Weishui River than in previous years. Zhang Yang is not in a good mood while carrying the fish basket. In addition to watching the reproduction of fish in the river every day, he can know the changes in water quality and record the water level of the river.
Zhang Yang took out his booklet, looked at the scale on a pole in the river, and recorded the water level.
Li Zhi whispered: "Is this also the work of Taifu Temple?"
Zhang Yang nodded and put the book into his arms, and said: "Taifu Temple wants to record the changes in the water and soil in Guanzhong."
"This year we have planted thousands of trees on the Weishui River."
Now there are neat rows of saplings planted along the Wei River. Zhang Yang said to him: "Your Highness, the birds will come to Guanzhong only after there are trees. The trees can allow them to multiply. With the birds, there will be life." , fish can also grow better, this is an ecological relationship, and the growth of all things is closely related to us humans."
Li Zhi whispered: "But few people would think so."
"Even if I am the only one who thinks this way, I will persist. Now poplar trees are being planted on the west side of the Hexi Corridor. The land will be stronger with trees."
"Your Highness, King Jin, planting trees is easy, but raising trees is even harder. It often takes decades or even hundreds of years for a tree to grow, but it is very easy for people to destroy it, just a few chops with an axe."
Li Zhi became dizzy after talking too much.
The court inquired about the news in Fan Yang and found out that the style of officials in the Tang Dynasty was very tough.
Zhang Xingcheng was born in the Zhang family of Zhongshan. He entered the officialdom at the end of the Sui Dynasty as a member of the imperial examination. From the lowest level, he worked step by step to the present. During the Wude period, he served as a censor in the palace. Because of his strict law enforcement and impeachment of officials, he was not afraid of the powerful. .
After being favored by Li Shimin, he moved to Zhongshu Province and served as Zhongshu Sheren.
Among the officials sent to Fan Yang this time, Li Shimin did not choose Tang Shanshi recommended by Changsun Wuji.
After all, Tang Shanshi was a son of a powerful person, and it was easy for him to get along with the children of the aristocratic family.
When choosing officials this time, Li Shimin specially selected Zhang Xingcheng, who was not afraid of powerful officials and was strict in his official duties.
Zhang Xingcheng walked to Tongguan, traveling under the stars and at night. He was exhausted and found a store to stay temporarily.
It was late at night, and the cold wind kept coming from the west. Inside the warm wine shop, you could still feel some cold wind pouring in from the gaps in the windows.
As soon as he took off his official boots, the store boy came with hot water. The boy looked to be in his early twenties and had a smile on his face. He smiled and said: "Guest, where do you put this hot water?"
Zhang Xingcheng pointed at the table.
The boy put down a basin of hot water and whispered: "Is the guest an official from Chang'an?"
Zhang Xingcheng took off his coat. He was not wearing official uniform when he arrived, and he did not identify himself.
Noticing the other party's gaze, the waiter explained: "There are a few customers in the store. They are talking about you, guest, saying that you must be an official from the imperial court who went to Fan Yang."
The boy didn't dare to say anything more. After putting down the basin, he left in a hurry.
In the guest room, Zhang Xingcheng washed his face with hot water, wiped his almost frozen ears, and then walked out of the room.
There were no customers in this wine shop, only three strong men were eating here.
Zhang Xingcheng walked straight to their table and sat down.
It turned out that the three strong men were talking to themselves and did not notice anyone coming. They were not polite when they saw Zhang Xingcheng. He even poured himself a bowl of wine.
The strong man asked: "Who are you?"
Zhang Xingcheng frowned and said, "Are you selling braised pork?"
There was a strong man who was older and had a long beard. He smiled and said, "How can you tell?"
Zhang Xingcheng looked at the door of the wine shop and said: "A few of you came all the way from Chang'an City with a certain person. It's not easy to travel under the stars and at night."
After being exposed like this, these strong men stopped pretending and said: "Our Braised Pork Gang has always punished rape and eliminated evil."
Zhang Xingcheng nodded when he heard this and said: "I've heard that you will tie up the bad guys and hand them over to the government for disposal. It is rumored that you people punish evil and promote good."
There was a person with a very deep voice who said loudly: "The children of the Fanyang family are full of evil, and the court sent you to smooth things over, in order to exonerate the children of the family!"
Zhang Xingcheng snorted coldly, "I won't excuse the children of aristocratic families."
"really?"
Hearing the other party's question, Zhang Xingcheng looked calm and said: "Guys, if someone exonerates the children of aristocratic families, will you also tie someone up?"
The three did not respond.
Zhang Xingcheng continued: "Actually, the DPRK has always disliked your style. You claim to be someone who punishes rape, eradicates evil and promotes good people, but have you ever thought about it? The DPRK originally wanted to follow the clues and find the mastermind behind the scenes, but it was stopped because of you. Given the clues, is your reckless behavior right?"
"What a good dog official! You really want to help the children of the aristocratic family." A strong man immediately jumped up.
The night wind blew into the tavern, and white smoke and hot steam came out of the strong man's mouth when he spoke. The innkeeper on the side was so frightened that he gave the boy a look and told him to report it to the official first. It would inevitably lead to a fight and it would be difficult to deal with it.
Zhang Xingcheng, who was about forty years old, was not willing to be outdone when facing the three strong men in front of him. He said solemnly: "I don't want to absolve the children of the family."
"Okay then, who do you think you are going to Fan Yang to help?"
These people are rough people. In their eyes, they only see good and evil, right and wrong, no rules, and no idea how to consider the overall situation.
Zhang Xingcheng cupped his hands and said: "You guys can go to Fanyang with a certain family. If a certain family lets the children of the aristocratic family go because they are slightly afraid of the aristocratic family, you can tie up the subordinates and send them to the official!"
Hearing this, the three strong men discussed quietly and then agreed to Zhang Xingcheng's conditions.
I originally hoped that this guy could arrive in Fan Yang later, but the superiors told me that this matter should be handled with caution.
They don't know what it means to be cautious. They only know that this person cannot be underestimated and cannot be easily touched. What's more, he dares to go to Fan Yang alone, which shows that this person is very courageous.
In fact, there is still a long way to go from Tongguan to Fanyang. Fanyang is in the north, located in the north of Hebei, close to Youzhou and Liaodong, which is the northern land.
Not long after, people from the government came. After Zhang Xingcheng explained the reason to several officials, the other party did not dare to care about it anymore.
After all, how dare local officials offend people sent by the Central Government.
Zhang Xingcheng explained: "These three strong men are my guards."
The official smiled and nodded repeatedly.
"It's getting late, how about you guys go and rest first?"
The officials looked at the three strong men again and then left.
Zhang Xingcheng closed the door of the restaurant again and whispered: "I didn't want people to know the whereabouts of a certain family, but now I can't hide it."
"It doesn't matter! We can take a detour and walk through the barren mountains. Their eyes can't reach us. With us escorting us, those wild beasts don't have to be afraid."
Zhang Xingcheng did not talk to these three reckless men anymore, but went back to his room.
The incident in Tongguan soon spread to Chang'an. Xu Jingzong asked Chu Mo's people to handle the matter of stopping Zhang Xingcheng.
Di Renjie asked: "Why doesn't Xu Shangshu let the people from the Ministry of Rites handle this matter?"
Xu Jingzong put his hands behind his back, enduring the cold wind, and whispered: "There are too many eyes staring at the Ministry of Rites, so we cannot act rashly."
Di Renjie frowned and looked around, "Who is staring at the Ministry of Rites? Why didn't I see it?"
Xu Jingzong said again: "You little bastard, you can't see the eyes hiding in the dark. Look at the pawns and traffickers on the roadside. They may be the eyes of others."
He patted Di Renjie on the shoulder and said sincerely: "There are many ways to achieve your goals in this world, and you still have a lot to learn."
