Although Xu Jie didn't understand where Zhu Yijun's malice came from, the emperor's revolt against Cai Guoxi really scared him. Xu Jie had served Emperor Jiajing all his life since he was ranked third in the imperial examination in the second year of Jiajing's reign. To be honest, he wasn't too intimidated by the tough emperor.
But he can't figure out Zhu Yijun's temper? Looking at the two attacks on the Xu family, Xu Jie concluded that the emperor was a political idiot, and he couldn't understand this!
As the saying goes, no matter how good your martial arts skills are, you are still afraid of the kitchen knife. Xu Jie is not afraid of Emperor Jiajing playing tricks, but he is afraid of people like Zhu Yijun who don't care about anything and will mess with him! It doesn't matter if the emperor's reputation is bad when the time comes, my old Xu family will be killed by recklessness, who should I cry to?
So he immediately used the magic weapon that has been tried and proven throughout his life, compassion and tolerance! Didn’t Cai Guoxi ask me to quit my land in the third year of Emperor Longqing’s reign? Retreat decisively! I can't afford to support the cultural society after I quit my farmland, and no one happens to come, so I can't do it anymore. Didn’t the imperial court reiterate the slaveholding order? No more servants!
By using these three tricks, the image of the old Xu family as the "old hero who had been wronged" was established. Just as Xu Jie expected, between the two rivers and up and down the river, Xu Jie's old Bodhisattva seemed to be smeared with gold powder and sparkled. It cannot be said that all people admire them, but the public opinion that the Xu family "endured humiliation to serve the country" is almost one-sided.
In the Ming Dynasty, the emperor could only speak half well, and this was still a strong emperor. Who has the other half of the say? Clear discussion! Xu Jiexin said, "I can't stand it anymore. The public opinion has become aroused. Emperor, do you still have something to say?"
Xu Jie was not lucky enough to be known as kind and tolerant. Every time he endured humiliation, there was a killer move hidden in him. Old Yan Song was killed by him using this trick. In the end, he was still half-confident in Yan Shifan's judgment of Xu Jie, thinking that his old relatives were good buddies.
Not to mention Emperor Jiajing, Xu Jie had completely figured out his temper and temperament in the later period, and handled his own affairs according to Mao.
It was the same this time. Xu Jie's concession also contained a killer move and he thought he had a plan. Seeing that everyone in Songjiang and Huating County was in ignorance, he sneered in his heart, thinking that the people's uprising had begun, and no one could escape the crime of a harsh government that caused the people's uprising.
Until then, who can wear the hat that Dai Fengxiang once said in the memorial to the impeachment of Hai Rui: "To seek treatment too hastily, to make changes too quickly, and to deal with too much human kindness"? Zhang Yixiu? Who is he? !
Or maybe Xu Jie is not afraid of causing harm to his descendants? Xu Jie judged this like this: During the process of retreating from the land, the Xu family lay down and got hammered, just like fish on the chopping board. Who can say no? As for the civil uprising that will occur in the future - is it because the court was too hasty in seeking treatment and made changes too suddenly? What is the Xu family's fault? The ground has retreated, and the only shortcoming is gone. The emperor can't harm him with unfounded reasons!
Moreover, Xu Jie's attempt to "retreat in order to advance" with Zhu Yijun this time was actually a helpless move. As the leader of Jiangnan's silk industry, the farmland can be eliminated, but if the mulberry fields are gone, who of these wealthy families will still listen to his family? In the beginning, he relied on his former reputation to withstand it, but a hundred years later, the Xu family fell in the blink of an eye!
There was no choice but to hide the needle in the cotton and prick the emperor. Show great respect on the surface, but do some fun underneath. It is necessary not only to not damage the emperor's face, but also to make the emperor feel that it is not a crime to bite the Xu family again - this is the old wisdom for dealing with Shi Zongye, and Xu Jie is very good at it.
...
However, what he didn't expect was. Hai Rui had completely guessed his wishful thinking at this time.
On March 16th of the second year of Wanli, Xu Jie was greatly surprised that Wang Yixiu actually opened a warehouse with Huating County to release grain! There is no disaster or epidemic. What the hell is grain release in the spring? It’s not the time to stop picking up the slack yet, Wang Yixiu doesn’t want to let it go?
Wang Yixiu was also forced to have no choice. He had reported the gathering of hungry people here to Song Yiwang, the governor of Yingtian. According to Hai Rui's idea, he sent a letter to Su Song to prepare the army to prepare for Cai Guoxi's suppression.
However, no matter how cunning a fox is, he cannot defeat a good hunter. On the second day of grain distribution, a large number of "hungry people" flocked to each porridge distribution point. They were poor people from both places who had heard about it and came to eat porridge. ——Although the porridge given to the hungry people is not delicious, but having more soup to fill the stomach will save money for the family, right?
Wang Yixiu had no choice. The government couldn't tell which were hungry people and which were poor people who had food at home - so they had to continue to increase their efforts to release food. Seeing the disaster preparedness food going out faster and faster, Wang Yixiu and Yang Ruiyun's hearts grew higher and higher.
Fortunately, Song Yiwang, the governor of Yingtian, was a good official. He sent an urgent letter to Songjiang Prefecture and Huating County, telling them that there was plenty of food. In this case, they should not be afraid of food losses. The first priority was to save the lives of the people. The first batch of food support was 20,000 yuan. The stone has been shipped from Nanjing and will arrive in Songjiang soon.
At the same time, Governor Yingtian's Yamen has sent a letter to the Nanjing Ministry of Industry, asking the Minister of River Road to arrange for River Road officials to go to Songjiang to recruit workers immediately - this is a method of drawing wages from the bottom of the cauldron. With a two-pronged approach, the danger of civil unrest in Songjiang will soon be eliminated.
In the Xu Mansion, Xu Jie heard about Wang Yixiu and Song Yiwang's handling methods, and knew in his heart that the Xu family had no choice but to lie down and be hammered. The old man shook his head and smiled bitterly, thinking that retreating from the farmland might be a good thing for the family. At this time, he could only comfort himself in this way.
However, on March 26, when Xu Jie was reading leisurely on a recliner at home, Xu Fan stumbled in and said, "Dad! Songjiang and Huating had civil uprisings at the same time!"
After Xu Jie heard this, the scroll in his hand fell to the ground in shock, as if the blue sky had seen a ghost! He couldn't help but look his eldest son up and down, and shouted sharply: "What did you do?"
After hearing this, Xu Fan's face turned red with anger and said: "Dad! You have told me a thousand times that the Xu family should not act rashly. What can I do? Besides, the emperor is staring at our family. What can I do? Do you think I don't know the importance of it?" ?”
Xu Jie breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this. But I couldn't lose my majesty, so I still reprimanded: "If you knew the seriousness, how could our family still accumulate acres of illegal land? I told you many years ago, you don't need to plow the fields, one hundred thousand acres of mulberry fields is enough! You are better off!"
Xu Fan listened, although he didn't agree with it in his heart, but when his father spoke, his son could only listen quietly. While the two were trying to figure out what the civil uprising was about, Xu Jie's other two sons, brothers Xu Kun and Xu Ying, ran back together.
Xu Kun and Xu Ying were awarded Yin Shang Baojian due to Xu Jie's merits. Xu Fan was also imprisoned by Taichang Qing before. Although he was later exonerated, his official status was lost.
Although the two younger brothers are usually idiots, they were originally very convinced of Xu Fan. It wasn't until Xu Fan was taken care of by Cai Guoxi that the two of them felt that the eldest brother they admired was just mediocre.
After the two breathless people entered the house, they walked around the screen wall and shouted loudly: "Dad, brother, it's really lively. There's a civil uprising in the county, and the hungry people are attacking Changpingcang!"
Before he finished speaking, he saw Xu Jie and Xu Fan standing in the hall, looking at them with suspicious eyes, and some doubts. They both stopped talking, not knowing why.
Xu Jie pointed his wooden stick at the two of them and said, "I have strictly ordered you not to leave the house. Where have you been?"
Seeing that his old father's face was not very good, Xu Kun replied with a smile: "The eldest brother of the Qian family came to Huating today and made an appointment with us to have a meal outside."
After hearing this, Xu Fan stumbled and said, "I have already told you two that at this critical moment, you are not allowed to go out to study at home. This is also what father means. Why don't you two listen?"
Xu Ying curled her lips and said: "Brother, you said it was easy. I have been studying all day long. I have been studying for several months. Who can hold it in? Besides, our family can't leave the industry, so what kind of book should we study?"
As soon as he finished speaking, his father had already walked up to him, and the wooden staff struck him head and face. Xu Jie yelled while beating him: "Whose rule is this? The elder brother dares to talk back to the younger brother when asked?!"
Seeing that Xu Jie was angry, Xu Ying quickly knelt down, holding her thighs and crying. Xu Fan and Xu Kun could not stand, so they knelt down and begged for mercy.
Xu Jie beat Xu Ying a few times to vent his anger, then turned to Xu Kun and asked, "Who have you met these days? What did you say?"
Seeing Xu Jieqi's face turned pale, Xu Kun finally said in fear: "The eldest brother of the Dong family came here a few days ago and went out for a drink. Going further, people from the Hua family and the banker came, but father and eldest brother were nowhere to be seen. , everyone sent the message in, and the two of us went out to receive it."
Xu Jie's head was buzzing after hearing this. Suppressing the anger that almost burned him, he asked urgently: "You guys can't handle this shit, so you can take the opportunity to go out and have fun! Tell me, what did you say to them?"
Xu Kun saw that his father's face was no longer white, but had a blue-gray color. He was so frightened that he cried: "I... didn't say anything, just said that our family was in trouble, and we could only lie down and suffer." Hammer. Let their family find a solution on their own, the old Xu family has no choice."
After hearing this, Xu Jie's hands trembled, his lips trembled and he could not speak. Xu Fan was complaining, but he was afraid that something might happen to Xu Jie, so he quickly stood up and held Xu Jie's arm and said, "Father, there is no need to be angry. My brothers didn't say anything against the rules. Is it possible that they could be found out like this? Don't worry. "
After hearing this, Xu Jie sighed dejectedly and shed two tears. He said hoarsely: "I never expected that in my wise life, I, Xu Huating, would actually give birth to two prodigal scoundrels! This...could this be retribution?!"
Xu Kun and Xu Ying were shocked when they heard this. Both looked at Xu Fan with pleading eyes. Xu Fan sighed: "Brothers are confused. You don't know that the civil uprisings in Songjiang and Huating today must have been caused by the Dong family or other families. If you eat wine with them, in the eyes of caring people, this yellow mud falling down your crotch is not shit." It’s also shit!”
Seeing the old father's body shaking, he was so angry that he seemed to faint. Xu Fan was heartbroken and shouted quickly: "Dad, you are the backbone and backbone of the Xu family. You can't fall!"
Not to mention, these words really brought Xu Jie's soul back. Mr. Shaohu is worthy of being a man who has experienced great storms, and his reaction is not slow at all: "You quickly send Xu Wu and Xu Liu to wear tattered clothes and secretly lure the hungry people over, saying that the Xu family has food." , let them come and attack the Xu family! - Let’s pack up our belongings and run away!”
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