Fusu thought for a moment and asked doubtfully: "In your opinion, why does Du He suggest this?"
"Doesn't he know the danger?"
Zhang Cang's face was filled with emotion. He pondered for a moment, shook his head and said, "I really don't know, but it's very possible that as Mr. Zhong said, the officials of Da Qin are too out of touch with reality. Perhaps in the eyes of Du Shaofu, the people are short of salt." Iron does not endanger your livelihood, but it has a certain impact on your life, and you may even think that the impact is not big."
"That's why I suggest you take action slowly to maximize the benefits of this move."
"If Mr. Du really has evil intentions."
"I'm afraid not necessarily."
"Now that I think about it carefully, what I just said was indeed inappropriate."
Speaking of which.
Zhang Cang couldn't help but mocked: "The officials of Da Qin have been in high positions for so long that they don't know the current situation of the place. Maybe for them, having refined salt and minced meat every day is a normal life, so how can they imagine that How can we empathize with the sufferings of the lower class? How can we sympathize with the people who only have three meals a day and spend almost half of their time working in the fields?"
"Maybe it's not that they don't eat minced meat with refined salt, but that they already look down on people who eat minced meat."
"well."
Zhang Cang let out a long sigh.
Fusu's cheeks were slightly red.
If Ji Heng hadn't allowed him to take a trip along the founding road, he might not have been able to understand the suffering of the people. It can't even be said that he couldn't understand it, but he simply couldn't realize that there was a clear gulf between the imperial officials and the local heads of Guizhou.
One is in the sky and the other is on the ground.
He now somewhat agreed with Zhang Cang's words.
There were no words for a moment.
The surrounding area gradually became quiet.
Zhang Cang lowered his head and his eyes flickered.
a long time.
Zhang Cang suddenly raised his head and said subconsciously: "Now that I think about it carefully, what Mr. Zhong did this time may not be just to solve the shortage of salt and iron, nor may it be to launch the corresponding "Business Law". In a deeper sense, , I might be testing the court."
One word fell.
Zhang Cang immediately shut his mouth.
He realized that he seemed to have missed something.
Hear the words.
Fusu frowned.
He looked at Zhang Cang fiercely and said in a serious voice: "Zhang Yushi, you and I have known each other for so long, why are you so alienated?"
"What else did you think of?"
Zhang Cang looked solemn.
He looked at Fusu with an uncertain expression, as if he was debating whether to speak or not. After pondering for a moment, he finally decided to speak out.
He didn't speak in a hurry.
Instead, he went to the door, looked around cautiously, and made sure that no one was around. He quickly closed the door tightly, and then returned to the room. He bowed to Fusu and said, "Please forgive me, sir, these words are really a bit bold." Sir, I also accidentally thought of it, and my heart was throbbing, so I had to be cautious."
There was a hint of curiosity in Fusu's eyes.
Seeing Zhang Cang being so cautious, he also realized the seriousness behind it.
He looked around, moved forward, and got closer to Zhang Cang.
Zhang Cang showed a hint of gratitude, lowered his voice and whispered: "Master, what I will say is just a random guess. Master, please don't take it to heart, let alone make it public."
"Just say it, Yu Shi Zhang, am I, Fusu, a talkative person?" Fusu said.
Zhang Cang nodded slightly and said in a solemn voice: "Master, have you ever remembered that Mr. Zhong's suggestion included the conviction of the entire Tingwei Mansion?"
Fusu nodded.
Of course he remembered this.
When he first heard this suggestion, he was also shocked.
Zhang Cang added: "But Mr. Zhong said that Meng Yi would be removed from office and dismissed from his post."
"Is there something wrong with this?" Fusu looked confused.
Zhang Cang lowered his head, lowered his voice a little, and said in a deep voice: "But Master, think carefully about what Mr. Zhong said at that time. What he said was that the officials in the entire Tingwei Mansion were derelict in their duties. But if it is true, , it’s not just the Tingwei Mansion that has failed in its duties? I’m afraid the entire court has failed in its duties.”
"If you think deeply."
"Mr. Zhong may really be alluding to the entire court."
"Above the temple, rotten wood is used as an official, and between the palaces and majesties, animals eat and earn money."
"But just like Du Shaofu, are these people really rotten beasts? Not so."
"These people are very talented."
"It's just that their talents are not easily revealed."
"For the crisis situation in Da Qin in the past, the officials of the imperial court actually did not contribute much. It can even be said that the officials of Da Qin can only be the icing on the cake, but cannot relieve the difficulties. Therefore, the talents of these people do not have much impact on the imperial court. benefit."
"It might even be counterproductive."
Fusu's face changed slightly.
Zhang Cang lowered his voice and continued: "This is just a casual thought of the minister. Meng Yi Tingwei has a upright character and is actually very suitable for being a court lieutenant. However, most of the court officials are now reduced to officials with a 'wolf's heart and a dog's behavior'. Therefore, it may be wise to let Meng Yi leave the court."
"I don't know what Mr. Zhong's specific thoughts are."
"But according to what he said, he was actually very dissatisfied with the court officials."
"What he said to Meng Yi was probably referring to most of the officials in the imperial court. Now the officials in Da Qin have been pampered and aloof for too long. They have long been separated from the bottom. Many of their ideas and practices have been divorced from reality."
“It’s not even disengagement.”
"But utter contempt, utter disregard."
"Combining His Majesty's actions during this period and Mr. Zhong's actions this time, I can't help but have a bold prediction that the court may continue to undergo official changes, until all the officials in charge of the court's affairs have been replaced."
"Young Master is the sword stained with blood right now."
"When the young master takes over in the future, he will directly become the sword bearer."
Hear the words.
Fusu's expression changed drastically.
He never thought that Zhang Cang would say such treacherous words.
Zhang Cang's face was also covered with sweat.
He was equally nervous.
But some words need to be explained.
He gritted his teeth and said, "I made a mistake, but I must say it."
"Now that the young master's influence in the court continues to expand, he is destined to make a choice. What Du He did this time was to test the young master."
"Because they saw the problem."
"So I wanted to take the opportunity to test the condition of the sword."
"They will not accept losing power."
"If the young master follows Du He's advice this time, he will definitely lose a lot of people's support in Guanzhong, but he can win the support of the courtiers, because for the courtiers, the place is not important, what is important is how the young master views them, as long as the young master If you can follow their advice, even if there is a situation in the local area, they will take action to calm it down."
"The place is relatively chaotic."
"They are more afraid that the young master will start a new business."
"So Master, you need to think carefully."
"Now it's divided into two sides."
"On one side are the officials headed by the courtiers. They are powerful. If they support you, many things will be much easier for the young master in the future. But if you benefit from them, you are destined to be restricted by them."
"It's inevitable."
"I just want to get rid of the influence in the future, but I may not be able to do it in a short time."
"The other side is what Mr. Zhong said is 'based on the people.'"
"For power."
"If you do what Du He said, all the major government offices will try their best to cooperate. Although the final result is unpredictable, it can win the support of officials. At most, when local public sentiment is aroused, the officials will write a few words: "There are too many untouchables and they don't understand." The court’s intention.”
"If you are a people."
"When the atmosphere in the city reached its peak in the past few days, we quickly took action and solved the matter with lightning speed. However, the major government offices may not fully cooperate, so some situations may occur, but it is generally fine. It will only be caused by this. If you create a rift among the ministers, the young master may be affected a lot when he is in the court in the future."
"The choice between this is up to the young master to decide."
"Duch is actually not targeting me this time, but targeting 'Mr. Zhong'."
"Young Master's secret accomplice."
"In particular, many of Mr. Zhong's ideas are completely different from those of Da Qin officials, or even completely opposite. Just like the dispute between Confucianism and Mohism, this is a collision of two ideas, and it is also a life-and-death struggle. Once the result is finally determined, The other side is destined to end badly.”
"I just got hurt."
Speaking of which.
Zhang Cang couldn't help but smile bitterly.
He was conceited and talented, but as a result, he was completely reduced to a bystander in this game.
However, he also knew that he was only one of the thirty or so censors, and Du He was ranked among the ninth ministers, so he would not put him in his eyes. Targeting Mr. Zhong was not because of his prominent status, but just because of his prominent status. Because the eldest son is what the world considers to be the 'Crown Prince', and the eldest son is so close to Mr. Zhong, it has aroused the fear and uneasiness of these people.
In this tit-for-tat game.
Meng Yi is the biggest loser.
The main reason why Mr. Zhong chose to target Meng Yi and Du He did not ask for mercy was because the Meng family was very close to the eldest son. If he targeted the eldest son's 'own people', he would not attract Du He and other officials. The excitement also weakened the eldest son's influence in the court.
Du He naturally accepted it happily.
But as Mr. Zhong said, the Meng family is prominent. Even if they are deposed this time, they will still be able to rise again soon. Sooner or later, Meng Yi will be in the position of Tingwei Mansion.
So it doesn't hurt.
only
Zhang Cang glanced at Fusu and sighed in his heart.
He didn't want to get involved in these disputes at all, but ended up getting involved in a confused way. Fortunately, now, he was directly targeted by Du He. Even if he wanted to defend himself in the future, he might not be able to distinguish clearly.
He just feels wronged!
He was just passing by in a hurry, so why was he suddenly sidelined?
He was also extremely depressed.
Fusu's face looked uncertain.
By now.
How could he not react?
He knew that he was eventually involved in the whirlpool of the court.
This is the vortex that Ji Heng has been trying to avoid, and it is also the vortex that he has never wanted to step into personally.
Now he dives in headfirst.
Not voluntarily.
But it's inevitable.
As the eldest son, he is destined to be unable to escape.
Especially in the past six months, his transformation has been so drastic, how could it not frighten the court officials?
Why don't they want to find out their reality?
Although Zhang Cang said it in a vague way.
But it’s also clear.
But once you get involved, you can't control many things.
He sighed.
Don't want to think too much about these things.
There is no use in thinking too much.
It is better to resolve the Guanzhong salt and iron issue as soon as possible.
He pondered for a while, and finally decided to stick to Ji Heng's approach. Great Qin was in urgent need of stability. Although Du He's suggestion was tempting, its real feasibility was not high. As Zhang Cang said, the people at the bottom can be bullied the most. Also the hardest to bully.
If they really can't survive, they really dare to fight for their lives.
How could he be so short-sighted?
certainly.
More importantly, he believed in Ji Heng.
Since Ji Heng dared to test the court officials so boldly, he must have had some thoughts about it. Moreover, he was the eldest son of the Qin Dynasty after all. Even if Du He and others had the intention to cause trouble, they did not dare to go too far. Therefore, he chose to put the people first.
Fusu took a deep breath and said in a deep voice: "Since the method this time was proposed by Mr. Zhong, Mr. Zhong's suggestion should be the main one."
"Focus on people's livelihood."
"But Yushi Zhang may have to trouble you these days."
"Determine the culpability of officials and merchants as early as possible, so that follow-up operations can be facilitated."
Zhang Cang cupped his hands and said, "No."
"With the list of officials Mr. Zhong asked about, everything is not difficult. Even if the young master intends to stop it, there is no way to refute it with conclusive evidence."
"Don't worry, sir."
Fusu frowned slightly.
He stood up, looking a little melancholy, and said, "I actually just want to resolve the salt and iron matter as soon as possible. Why did the situation evolve to this situation?"
Zhang Cang hesitated for a moment and said with a wry smile: "Young Master, you are wrong."
"It didn't just appear suddenly this time."
"It's actually always been there."
"It's just that in the past, the young master advocated 'benevolence', but Confucian 'benevolence' was never based on the people's situation. 'The people can follow it, but they can't make it known', 'The punishment is not as good as that of the great officials, and the courtesy is not as good as that of the common people' , so to speak, it is of great benefit to the nobles and officials, so how can they come out to oppose it?"
"But in the past six months, the young master's views have undergone earth-shaking changes."
"Everything has changed since then."
"If Mr. Zhong hadn't said 'based on the people' this time, there might not have been so many situations. But it is this sentence of 'based on the people' and 'the crime should be punished and the sentence should be punished', which touched the heartstrings of officials such as Du He. They naturally felt deeply uneasy, so they made corresponding temptations.”
"but"
Zhang Cang sighed softly: "If the prince's identity and status were not stable, how many ordinary princes would choose to serve the people when faced with the choice of gaining official support and public support?"
For a while.
Fusu also fell silent.
At this time, Zhang Cang also felt that he had spoken too much this time, so he cupped his hands and said, "Young Master, it's getting late, so I'll take my leave first."
Finished.
Zhang Cang walked out of the hall.
Fusu stood up and watched Zhang Cang go away.
After Zhang Cang completely disappeared from sight, Fusu's eyes became gloomy. He stood with his hands behind his hands and said coldly: "Ji Heng's concept is 'for the bottom', Du He's concept is 'for the top', and Da Qin is engaged in business. After Jun's reform, overall, they can be regarded as 'subordinate', but in the past hundred years, the officials of Da Qin have long been different from what they were before."
"So Mr. Ji's suggestion is correct."
"The source of Da Qin's problems lies in the imperial court. If the imperial court remains unchanged, no matter how hard it is saved, it will eventually be unable to recover."
"The courtiers are the biggest evil in the Qin Dynasty."
"For the people? For an official?"
"For Da Qin, are there really any similarities and differences between the two?"
"They are all citizens of Da Qin!"
Fusu sneered and strode out of the room.
(End of chapter)
