On the first day of the Lunar New Year, we kowtow to pay New Year greetings, on the second day of the Lunar New Year, our son-in-law comes to visit, and on the third day of the Lunar New Year, we visit relatives and friends.
The ancient customs passed down from generation to generation have no use here in Zuo Mengeng.
He started going out to pay New Year greetings on the first day of the new year.
Because on the second day of the Lunar New Year, he would leave Linqing again, visit various places, and return to the battlefield.
The first person to visit was Hou Xun's family.
"Hey, the rebel baby is here."
The only person in the Hou family who dared to joke with Zuo Mengeng like this was Hou Xun's father, Hou Zhipu.
Lao Hou was also a prominent figure in the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty. After offending the eunuchs and being dismissed from office, he simply stayed behind closed doors.
After Chongzhen ascended the throne, he recruited the sages to return to the court, but he was too lazy to move and just asked the Hou Xun brothers to go back.
He hid alone in his small courtyard, tutored his children, teased maids, and lived a very comfortable life.
Hou Xun sent people back to move his family to Shandong.
Hou Zhipu was unwilling.
People never leave their hometown when they grow old, let alone feel so comfortable.
Unexpectedly, when he encountered a tough situation, he stuffed the old man into the carriage and pulled him all the way.
Because of this, the old man and Hou Xun were angry for more than three months and did not talk to Hou Xun at all.
Later, it was Hou Fangyu who relied on his relatives from another generation to run up to the old man and tell him about the major events planned by Hou Xun and others, and the old man understood his son's painstaking efforts.
This is going to be a rebellion.
If the court finds out, who knows how it will deal with the Hou family?
If he continues to stay in Henan, not to mention being captured and beheaded, the court will also use him to threaten Hou Xun.
His anger subsided slightly, but the old man glared at Zuo Menggeng, who had led his son down the "evil path".
As an old child, Zuo Mengeng could only coax him.
"We are going to rebel. Are you going to follow us?"
Hou Zhipu is an interesting person, with a bright sense of humor, which is different from his sons.
"How can I not follow? You, Commander Zuo, are charging forward. Old man, I'll wave the flag and follow. Can that be done?"
Zuo Mengeng laughed loudly, sat down next to Hou Zhipu, basked in the sun with him, and peeled oranges for him.
"As long as I have you, I will say this, but I don't dare to let you wave the flag. If my waist slips or my leg falls, Mr. Ruogu will not be able to spare me."
When Hou Zhipu eats his oranges, should he blow his beard or blow his beard?
"You brat, you dislike me, don't you? Let me tell you, although I am sixty-five years old, I am still light and strong, and my fists and feet are powerful. Ye Yusan..."
This old man doesn’t cultivate.
"You are in such good health, how about going out to help the younger generation?"
Hou Zhipu blew his beard again.
"Is there anyone who invites people like this? You have to visit three times no matter what."
Do you think you are Zhuge Liang?
"Junior doesn't have much time. After today, the next time may be summer."
Hou Zhipu didn't get the respect he wanted and was very unhappy. Maybe doing something is better than being idle.
"What do you need the old man to do?"
Zuo Mengeng was extremely happy.
"You are full of knowledge all over your body. If you just teach the younger ones casually, wouldn't that mean that you have students all over the world?"
Hou Zhipu's knowledge is quite profound and he has a wide range of knowledge. In addition, he has been an official for many years and has practical experience. Even Hou Xun and Hou Fangyu came from his teachings.
Zuo Menggen thought about it and invited Hou Zhipu to come out and join the education committee to cultivate more talents.
Nowadays, the stalls are getting bigger and bigger, and the places that need people, especially talents, are getting bigger and bigger, and it has reached the point of being stretched.
Every time a student from Zuozhuang High School graduates, various places have to break their heads in order to grab people, and each reason is more convincing than the last, which makes Zuo Mengeng unable to make a decision.
The only way is to increase investment in education and hope to cultivate more talents.
But the birth of talents requires not only good seedlings, but also good Bole.
Apart from anything else, Hou Zhipu was absolutely remarkable in the fields of Confucianism, governance, and people's livelihood.
Hou Zhipu had five sons. Except for the eldest son Hou Xun and the second son Hou Ke, whose names are passed down to the world, the following three sons Hou Bian, Hou Shu and Hou Lu are unknown.
Hou Xun had five more sons, the most famous of which was of course the third son Hou Fangyu.
In addition, there was the second son Hou Fangxia who passed the first imperial examination in the Qing Dynasty, which was the time when Fu Yijian won the first prize.
But Hou Fangxia was ranked one hundred and seventy-nine, and his official career was average.
Father and son have five sons in two consecutive generations, but few have become talented, which is enough to prove that five sons are not good enough.
Ahem, just kidding.
Nowadays, these people are also in Shandong. Although they have not done much, they are everywhere and serve as grassroots officials. The effect is still very good.
Besides, even relying on the ability to teach Hou Xun, Hou Ke, and Hou Fangyu is enough to prove Hou Zhipu's power.
When they reach the level of Zuo Mengeng and Hou Xun, it is no exaggeration to say that they have everything to deal with every day.
Even if we come to pay New Year greetings, we still talk about business matters.
"There was a discussion at the Executive Committee a few days ago. Everyone's opinion is that slavery must be abolished as soon as possible to truly realize equality for everyone."
When Zuo Mengeng looked over, Hou Xun informed him of the reason.
"Currently, the shortage of people is very serious in various places. Although everyone is trying their best to recruit people from other places and provinces, there is really not much population in the surrounding areas that can be absorbed."
Shandong's changes, while there was no obvious gap between politics and military affairs, the economic field has begun to explode with power.
Nowadays, the reputation of Shandong's prosperity is spreading in remote areas of Shandong, as well as in Beizhili, Shanxi, Henan, South Zhili and other places close to Shandong.
Just this winter, hundreds of thousands of refugees came to Shandong from other places to beg for food.
When the camp officials saw these refugees, their eyes turned green. In order to distribute these manpower, several local officials even fought fiercely.
Now that people are here, Shandong has no intention of vomiting them out.
But even these hundreds of thousands of people cannot fill the manpower hole.
In fact, it is not that Shandong does not have a wealthy population and labor force, it does, but they are all controlled by powerful landlords.
Also known as domestic slaves.
The Ministry of Intelligence has detected that the number of people hiding in the Kong family alone is tens of thousands.
The rest of the Heng Fan, King Lu, and powerful families, combined, can produce at least four to five million rich laborers.
For the sake of profit, the camp's decision-makers were already preparing to take action against the slaves and hermits without Zuo Mengeng's painstaking efforts.
"This is a good decision. Since we advocate equality for everyone, we can't just say it but not do it. Over time, those who long for liberation will lose confidence in us."
It was too late for Zuo Mengeng to be happy with this opinion.
Hou Xun knew that he would agree, but he was still a little worried about the future.
"Our steps are getting bigger and bigger. Whether the situation can be stable in the future depends entirely on the army."
That means asking Zuo Mengeng whether the new army can shoulder the important task of protecting the fruits of victory.
What is implemented here is a system of separation of military and political affairs. Although the top management of the administrative committee is qualified to intervene in the military, they are not very clear about many internal situations.
Of course Zuo Mengeng wanted to eliminate this worry.
"The Dongjiang rebels are completely out of the question, and everything is going according to plan. To give you a thorough explanation, by March, the fourth division will be organized and can be put into actual combat. This summer at the latest, we will have six divisions and There are about 150,000 militiamen, and the total strength will reach 200,000. I don’t believe there are soldiers and horses in the world who can shake us."
Hou Xun took a deep breath and smiled.
"I have been holding this breath for several years, and I can finally let it go."
On the second day of the Lunar New Year, just as Zuo Menggeng set out to inspect various places, sensational notices were hung on the streets, alleys, fields and villages in Linqing and all areas controlled by the New Army.
"Abolition of Slavery"
