Ming Empire, Capital, Wenhua Palace.

The usual meeting with the elders that was held every day was now held normally again, but the difference from the first was that everyone's expressions were a little solemn at this moment, and none of them looked very good.

"Let's talk about your views on the current situation." Xu Guangqi looked tired and sat on the chair a little weakly. His recent work really made him feel very angry. His head-on actions were gone.

All replaced by soft knives.

Soft knives kill people without bloodshed, and they make it impossible for you to detect or attack. Sometimes when he thinks about it, he really hopes that these guys will be smart enough to rebel and stage a massive resistance. This would be less tepid than now.

The fire is strong.

Since he and Sun Chengzong joined forces to strengthen the construction of urban defense forces in Hebei, Shandong, Jiangsu, and Anhui provinces, there have been undercurrents and disturbances in various places, and there have been a lot less interconnected actions. However, before Xu Guangqi could be happy, various

Hidden resistance increases in vain.

The most obvious one is Hebei Province, which is just around the corner. The several prefectures closer to Gyeonggi are okay, but a little further away, local officials will give various reasons and say that the work cannot be done.

There were too many bandits, and the elected village chief was killed after only a few days of service. Then no one in the local village took over as the village chief. The local people were excited, saying that a certain gentry was virtuous and virtuous, but the common people and tenant farmers refused to give up his land.

There are too many people, not enough land, the people are noisy, and the work cannot be progressed.

The various reasons made Xu Guangqi very angry. He was a veteran official and had rich experience. When he saw these memorials, he understood that the local government and the local gentry had colluded to resist the central government's policies.

It is obvious that the gentry are not willing to lose their land, and many officials are not willing to lose their hometown land. As for Zhu Youxiao's promise that officials can contract the land, most of them saw the disadvantages at a glance and took it into their own hands.

The ground hugged him tighter.

Now, the situation in Hebei has been going on for more than half a month. It is now the end of July. Even Shen Yourong went to Annan and brought back a large amount of grain. Now his side is still the same, and there is not much progress. If

It's not that there are many royal houses in Hebei, and the imperial government has returned a large part of the farmland, I'm afraid there is no progress at all.

Hearing Xu Guangqi ask this question, the other seven pavilion elders were silent together. They all felt the difficulty inside. After all, they are flesh and blood. At most, they can only formulate a policy. The actual implementation needs to be done by the people below.

, now the local governments below are ignoring the cabinet’s orders and delaying them for various reasons, but there is nothing they can do.

"This is a matter of official administration, and we must refresh the official administration." Finally, Bi Ziyan spoke up, and he got to the point as soon as he started.

"The officials below are not very obedient and have to be replaced. Those who do not do well will be sent to the grasslands." Zhu Xieyuan agreed. After all, he had experienced the Southwest Chieftain Rebellion and had seen the battlefield. There was murderous intent in his words.

"But they did it after all, but they couldn't continue because of local resistance." Huang Kezuan said, pointing to a pile of memorials next to him.

"This is a violation of the law!" Zhu Xieyuan said disdainfully, then he seemed to remember something and frowned and said, "As for the Metropolitan Procuratorate, weren't they very active some time ago? They arrested many people who exceeded their authority, but why is there no movement now?"

"The Metropolitan Procuratorate also needs to have a good reputation. You can't arrest local officials just because they encounter obstacles in their work." It was Huang Kezuan again, who once again refuted Zhu Xieyuan's words.

Hearing this, Xu Guangqi also frowned, took a deep look at Huang Kezuan, and then said to Zhu Xieyuan, "The Metropolitan Procuratorate only cares if officials violate the emperor's will and cabinet policies. In this case, they can't be counted on.

"

Immediately afterwards, Xu Guangqi sighed, "Censors are also human beings, and they also have families. I am afraid that they will also turn a blind eye due to being entrusted."

"I really hope they have the courage to rebel directly."

Youyou's words made several cabinet bachelors almost cry. They were in charge of different things, but they all involved land. Now that the cabinet was helpless, they all felt it deeply.

"Your Majesty is so prestigious, but these people are so frightened that they dare not move." Cui Jingrong smiled bitterly.

Emperor Tianqi is indeed a monster in the military field. This can be seen from his various achievements since he ascended the throne. At first, the weak defeated the strong, and 30,000 Yulin troops surrounded and annihilated the Jurchens of the Eight Banners. Later, 10,000 people entered Sichuan to quell the rebellion, which was overwhelming.

, another 10,000 people entered southern Zhili, also with great military exploits.

The latest witness to the speed of the Ming Dynasty is the Mongolian Khan Lin Dan Khan. He is definitely the most qualified person to evaluate the military ability of the Emperor Weather. Now, he has even attacked his country, destroyed the Korean ancestral temple, and seized his land.

Under his command, he set up an official government to rule.

This kind of achievement, placed in the Ming Dynasty, can only be compared with the two ancestors of Tai and Cheng. Especially the recent action of equalizing land is progressing rapidly throughout North Korea. Compared with Hebei Province, North Korea's speed

It's so fast, it's estimated that all the land will be divided equally in another three months.

It was this sense of urgency that made Xu Guangqi so helpless. The emperor had made extraordinary achievements in conquering cities and territories, but the eight members of his cabinet were helpless in the face of the local officials in Hebei Province. It was really too far behind.

Of course, Xu Guangqi still has some methods to deal with this kind of overt and overt ways, but they take a long time and have very slow results. At this time, the whole world is paying attention to the land reform in Hebei Province. If some achievements are not made quickly to create pressure, I am afraid that it will not be possible at all.

No one will take the risk to rebel.

This delaying situation seriously exceeded Emperor Tianqi's expectations and was also a dereliction of duty by the cabinet. If this continues, the cabinet may lose face in this land reform incident.

Moreover, it is impossible for the emperor to stay outside forever and not come. When the time comes, how should he deal with the emperor who has high hopes for him?

"Your Majesty is still too hasty." Xu Guangqi even complained a little in his heart. If you say you want to cancel the agricultural tax, just cancel the agricultural tax. Anyway, the Ming government only collected four to five million taels a year, and the rest was embezzled.

As long as your inner government can bear the military expenses, the remaining holes will just force the officials to open up commercial taxes and implement this policy. However, you are planning to divide the land equally, which is opposed by everyone in the world, oh

No, the common people are not opposed to it, but the gentry and landlords are.

Wen Yuanbo of the former Song Dynasty was right. His Majesty did not rule the world with the people, but with the scholar-bureaucrats. Now that you want to cut off the roots of the scholar-bureaucrats, it is strange that they can cooperate.

"In my opinion, the key point is probably the word "person". Suddenly, the entire cabinet was silent. Li Changgeng, who had been mediocre for a long time, spoke. Listen to the meaning behind his words.

, seemed to have some insights into the current situation, which made Xu Guangqi's eyes light up and he stared at him with burning eyes.

Li Changgeng had nothing to be embarrassed about. He just smiled at the fourteen eyes that looked over him and said confidently, "In today's world, no one dares to rebel or confront you openly because of His Majesty's majesty.

They use a soft knife and refuse to move forward for various reasons."

"Although this method is destructive, it is also effective. It makes our work difficult, but it is actually very easy to break it." Li Changgeng paused for a moment, looked around, and said loudly, "The most important thing about government orders is to win people. Now

If people's hearts are not attached to them, how can the cabinet's decree be carried out?"

"Oh, what do you think, Mr. You?" Xu Guangqi had a talent for flattery, and he answered the question at the right time, making Li Changgeng feel comfortable speaking.

He laughed in agreement and continued, "It is difficult to have the people of the world follow, but it is not difficult in Hebei. The key lies in hiring the right people. Li Banghua was recommended by Governor Sun, so naturally he is of the same mind as the cabinet, but below

Officials are not necessarily the same. Dear ministers, we can learn from Governor Sun and replace him with someone suitable and close to him, so that the government orders will naturally flow smoothly."

Li Changgeng's words immediately made Xu Guangqi's eyes light up. The other party said so many things, but they were all relatively euphemistic. It would be very simple if he said it directly.

Use your own confidants.

And who are the closest officials of the Ming Dynasty? Fellow townspeople, classmates, and fellow students. This is also the source of official connections in the past. Li Changgeng’s intention is to let Xu Guangqi bring all these people who have a good relationship with him and rely on him to come to Hebei and serve as

Since local officials are our own people, policies will naturally be implemented.

This method is good, but it can only be applied to a small area. Even in Hebei Province, it is estimated that the connections of several bachelors who are close to Xu Guangqi in the cabinet will be exhausted.

As for the few other bachelors, Xu Guangqi became very cold when he thought about it. There were actually people who secretly colluded with the local government and had extremely serious interactions with each other. If they hadn't leaked the information, the cabinet would not have been so passive and was almost dragged down by the local government.

"But what about other provinces, how to govern them?" Xu Guangqi continued to ask.

"It's still about people, but it's not about people's hearts, it's about human affairs." Li Changgeng replied immediately. Obviously, he had all kinds of plans in mind, otherwise he would not have answered so quickly and so clearly.

"Personnel affairs?" Xu Guangqi chewed this sentence slowly, and several other bachelors were also thinking thoughtfully.

"Yes, it is about personnel affairs. Although the Metropolitan Procuratorate has great powers and responsibilities, it has many restrictions. Those who do not clearly violate cabinet decrees and Ming laws cannot be arrested. But there is a department that is different. If used well, it can also have great influence on officials.

Big binding force." After saying this, Li Changgeng stopped and looked over with a smile.

"Official staff!"

Several voices answered in unison.

After Xu Guangqi finished speaking, he glanced over with a smile, wanting to see who was so smart. Turning his head, he discovered that the people who blurted out were all newly promoted bachelors this year.

Zhu Xieyuan, Bi Ziyan, and Cai Fuyi all looked around in surprise, and the answer was the three of them, while the other bachelors were still at a loss.
Chapter completed!