Liao Yongzhong?
Gu Zhengchen was very puzzled. Liao Yongzhong was the Marquis of Deqing, but whether he was a Marquis or a Duke of the Ming Dynasty, he only had a salary and no fiefdom. The Marquis Mansion did not need a large number of people. It just lacked people to recruit. It was really not possible to charge more. Several adopted sons and daughters.
Even if Liao Yongzhong bought a lot of land and hired some nearby people to farm it, he was openly targeting more than 10,000 people. This was not digging the land, but digging a hole, a pit that could bury people.
Zhu Biao saw Gu Zhengchen's confusion and sighed: "Marquis Deqing did not do it for his own selfish reasons, but wanted to send these people to Fengyang for farming. It's just that the Ministry of Household Affairs believes that the population exceeds 10,000 and it is easy to resettle it improperly. It hurts the people. In the past two years, the imperial court resettled some people in Fengyang. More than 30 households out of 100 were displaced. Some people did not dare to return to their place of origin and became homeless, beggars, and even robbers... "
Gu Zhengchen was a little worried.
Later, someone in the Ming Dynasty arranged Zhu Yuanzhang and wrote a song "Fengyang Flower Drum":
Talk about Fengyang, talk about Fengyang, Fengyang is a good place.
Since the emergence of Emperor Zhu, there have been nine out of ten years of drought.
A big family sells mules and horses, and a small family sells sons and daughters. A slave family has no sons and daughters to sell, so they carry a flower drum and travel everywhere.
Not to mention whether the person who wrote this sentence was punished by the old Zhu family, but Gu Zhengchen could conclude that this guy did not speak truthfully.
Fengyang is a good place, but these words are very false.
When there was no Lao Zhu, Fengyang was extremely poor. Many of Lao Zhu's family members died there. It was either famine or plague. Do you dare to say what a good place it is?
From a geographical and climatic point of view, it is indeed a disaster-prone place.
There is usually little rainfall and droughts occur frequently. Once the rainy season arrives, the low-lying Fengyang and other places immediately become "flood release areas", and waterlogging disasters ensue.
But it turns out that Lao Zhu misses his hometown. Over the years, he has either transferred people from Zhejiang and Zhejiang to fill Fengyang, or immigrated to Fengyang from Shanxi and other places. Previously, considering that the imperial capital needed popularity, I immigrated so that I could change my residence registration in Fengyang.
But now that all the buildings in Zhongdu are unfinished, and the criminal officials have been sent to reclaim wasteland, there is no need to harm more than 10,000 people, right?
Gu Zhengchen said: "Your Highness, if these ten thousand people are sent to Fengyang, they may not be able to live and work in peace and contentment in three years. But if they are sent to Quanzhou, I can guarantee that they will be fed and clothed in three years. Have a place to live.”
Zhu Biao shook his head bitterly: "I have no say in this matter. Marquis Deqing intervened to make things troublesome. Many officials are watching the whereabouts of these people. If my father does not place them in Fengyang, what will happen in the future?" It will not be easy to relocate people from other places. If you want to take these people away, the difficulty is to block the people's mouth."
Gu Zhengchen looked at Zhu Biao and suddenly understood.
Zhu Biao didn't want these people to go to Fengyang, but he was the prince and it was not convenient for him to come forward and he couldn't speak out at this time, so when he talked about this matter, his real purpose was to make himself take action.
Perhaps Zhu Biao also knew very well that the number of people who went to Fengyang meant how many people suffered.
Gu Zhengchen nodded: "I will try my best to give these people a stable home."
Zhu Biao was very pleased.
This is the only worry when dealing with smart people. You don't need to explain things too thoroughly. Just give a rough outline and he will be able to understand your intentions.
The two talked until noon before Gu Zhengchen left the East Palace.
As soon as they left Donghua Gate, they saw a carriage.
Zhang Pei and Yao Zhen lowered their hands to their sides, while Xiao Cheng led the horse in front.
Yao Zhen opened the curtain door of the carriage, and Zhang Xiwan walked down. He looked at Gu Zhengchen who walked over affectionately, his eyes were a little moist and his steps were a little heavy.
Reunion is like a bubble in a dream, I dare not touch it.
Gu Zhengchen stepped forward, looked at the somewhat haggard Zhang Xiwan, and said with a smile, "It's been a hard time, Madam."
"Husband."
Zhang Xiwan's red lips moved slightly and she shed tears.
Gu Zhengchen raised his hand, wiped away the tears on Zhang Xiwan's face, and said with a smile: "My husband is back. This is a happy event. Don't cry anymore. Let's go home."
Zhang Xiwan nodded and got into the carriage with Gu Zhengchen's help.
Gu Zhengchen patted Yao Zhen on the shoulder, smiled slightly, then entered the carriage, grabbed Zhang Xiwan's tender hand, and smiled foolishly as he looked at the face that he thought about day and night.
Zhang Xiwan squeezed Gu Zhengchen's hand and said softly: "My husband's behavior in Quanzhou Mansion is really shocking. In order to prevent my mother from worrying, I took it upon myself to block the news and did not let anyone tell my mother."
Gu Zhengchen nodded: "It's better not to let mother know about these things. You did the right thing. But you, on the other hand, are much more haggard than when I left. You have been burdened with things at home."
"These are what I should do."
Zhang Xiwan lowered his head.
Gu Zhengchen felt a little guilty.
The two had been separated for just over half a year after getting married. Zhang Xiwan was responsible for her mother, sister, Jurong property, etc. at home. During the holidays, Quanzhou County’s Man’s Mansion also needs to arrange housekeepers to go around. Muying’s family needs to go, Wei Guogong’s family has to go, and Chengyi’s Mansion, Liang’s family...
Zhang Xiwan needs to personally check what gifts she brings to the door and what greetings she writes.
Jurong's industry has flourished since he left, and there have been no problems. In addition to the foundation he laid and the Jurong County Government's dedicated efforts, there is also the credit of Zhang Xiwan. Without her supervision, accounting checking, and problem solving, Jurong's industry would have failed. It's the same as losing the person at the helm.
The so-called virtuous wife is a woman like Zhang Xiwan.
Zhang Xiwan took out a letter from her sleeve and handed it to Gu Zhengchen: "Mr. Zhan left a letter after he left and returned the jade pendant. The jade pendant sent Zhao Tiju to take it to Quanzhou, but my mother refused to send this letter."
"Why?"
Gu Zhengchen was puzzled.
Zhang Xiwan whispered: "The words in the letter are too disturbing. Mother knows that you have many things in Quanzhou Prefecture. Plus, Zhan Hui is mentioned in it..."
Gu Zhengchen opened Zhan Tong's letter, and the content inside was indeed sad.
Zhan Tong reviewed his life and expressed his regret for not waiting for Gu Zhengchen to return to Jinling. Zhan Tong left a message: "I have been honest and failed to keep my appointment. It is not a gentleman's behavior. I hope to wait on the Naihe Bridge for a hundred years and live up to my promise."
Zhan Tong didn't mention much about what happened after his death. He just said, "Please take care of my son Hui to prevent him from going astray."
And at the end of the letter, he shouted out words of regret:
Why wait for fifteen years to see the prosperous world?
Gu Zhengchen put away the letter and said to Zhang Xiwan: "It is indeed easy for Mr. Zhan to mention Zhan Hui before his death. If it is known to outsiders, some officials will say that the Gu family and the Zhan family are too close, and Zhan Hui will enter the house in the future. In my official career, I will also speculate on whether I am behind it, which is not a good thing for Zhan Hui."
This was what Zhang Xiwan was worried about, and she said softly: "So, mother doesn't want this letter to spread."
Gu Zhengchen remained silent.
Zhan Tong is the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. He has a sophisticated eye and is very accurate in judging people. He also knows how to behave and avoid suspicion. Logically speaking, he shouldn't have added a word of entrustment to his letter, but he just added it before his death.
Just say it, the key word is not care, but "don't let him go astray", which shows that Zhan Tong is very aware of Zhan Hui's character flaws.
It is probably the case that a son is better known than his father.
Facts have proved that Zhan Hui is a smart man, talented and capable. He will become the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel in the future and will be highly regarded by Zhu Biao. But Zhan Hui also has a shortcoming, that is:
Likes to play with moving rocks.
The stone is not moved to strengthen the body, but thrown into the well.
He is the kind of person who gets excited when he sees someone falling into a well and picks up rocks when he gets excited. When Li Shanchang was unlucky, he picked up rocks. When Lan Yu was unlucky, he still moved rocks, but he hit his foot and lost his life...
Gu Zhengchen thought for a while and said, "I will burn this letter when I go back. In recent years, the Gu family should not deal with the Zhan family. Zhan Hui is a strong person, and he will naturally rely on himself to succeed. "
Zhang Xiwan nodded repeatedly.
Zhan Hui was not in Jinling at this time. After Zhan Tong left, he naturally needed to return to his hometown in Wuyuan for burial. Gu Zhengchen couldn't pay his respects even if he wanted to.
Back at the mansion, Gu Zhengchen gave his mother a great gift.
Gu's mother was very happy. Facing the self-reproaching Gu Zhengchen, she smiled and said: "Since ancient times, it is difficult to have both loyalty and filial piety. You work for the court and benefit the people. Mother is happy from the bottom of her heart. My child, you can stay at home when you come back from this trip. how long?"
Gu Zhengchen shook his head: "We are not sure yet. We need to wait for His Majesty's decree. I estimate that I can stay at least half a month."
Gu's mother felt a little distressed: "It's a hard work to travel thousands of miles back and forth, but only come back for a few days. Sun Shiba, are the meals ready?"
"Old lady, it's ready."
Sun Shiba replied.
"Let my mother take care of you today."
Mother Gu pulled Gu Zhengchen.
Gu Zhengchen followed and smiled at the red-eyed Gu Qingqing: "Xiwan wrote a letter saying that you are very serious about studying. I can't believe it. You are my sister, and I know your temperament best. Don't worry about it these days. Go to the store, stay at home and read, Xiwan, please don’t be too harsh on you, it’s okay to be your brother’s disciplinarian.”
Gu Qingqing felt aggrieved and took Gu's mother's arm to complain: "Mom, look, my brother bullied me as soon as he got home."
Gu's mother helped to speak: "Qing Ya, I've been talking about you a lot these days. Now that I'm home, I'll spend some time with your sister."
Gu Zhengchen looked at Gu Qingqing's success, shook his head helplessly, looked at Liu Qian'er, and praised: "It's better to work harder than sister Qian'er."
Liu Qian'er lowered her head and smiled.
Father-in-law Zhang He also rushed back, and the family was enjoying themselves.
After a meal, Gu Zhengchen and Zhang Xiwan returned to the room. Before they could say a few words, Xiao Cheng opened the window and said with a straight face, "It's time to go to the small classroom."
Gu Zhengchen looked at the belt in his hand, and with just a slight tug, the abominable Xiao Cheng said: "Old Xiao, this is Jinling, you are the inspector, you can't just inspect me, go to Xiang Hu's Mansion to inspect He can go to Chen Ning's house, but if that doesn't work, go find Wang Guangyang. It is said that he often learns foreign languages with a bunch of beauties..."
Why are you going to the teaching field so early? Lao Zhu is still at noon. It’s not too late to go after he comes down. There is no need to wait for him for more than an hour. If you have this time, wouldn’t it be better to spend time with your wife...
