Zhang Ximeng chatted freely with the prisoners, and soon won the support and approval of most of the prisoners. Then he selected a group of eloquent and outstanding prisoners from the prisoners, and together with the veterans of the Ming army, they started working on the old troops of Tian Feng and Wang Shicheng.
.
From one person, to two people, to four people, to eight people... this process is relatively slow, but once you win thousands of people, the whole work will become smoother.
In less than ten days, Zhang Ximeng completely collected most of the soldiers, and re-appointed a group of hundreds of households, general banners, and small banners to serve as lower-level generals to command the entire army.
As for the remaining people, they are like fish out of water at this moment, completely helpless.
They were panic-stricken, watching the loss of their subordinates and losing their power. They didn't want to give up, but they had no choice. They wanted to escape, but they didn't know who could take them in. Moreover, after losing the soldiers at the bottom, their worth also plummeted countless times.
, even if you want to make trouble, you can't.
In this way, the group of people who made Mao Gui uneasy in the past are now not only harmless to humans and animals, but also in a dilemma.
When Mao Gui saw these changes, he was completely stunned.
How could it be so easy?
The matter that had troubled him for so long was actually solved easily by Zhang Xiang?
What's the point?
Is it okay to spread pancakes?
There have been more and more rumors about Zhang Ximeng in recent years. Outside Wuchang, some words made Chen Youliang fall apart. He was knitting sweaters to conquer Liaodong, spreading pancakes to conquer Shandong... What kind of magic tricks are these?
Mao Gui knew in his heart that things would definitely not be that simple. There was some truth in it, and he could vaguely detect some of it... such as caring for the soldiers, leading by example, being united, enforcing the law strictly, and dealing with things fairly... These seemed to be all
Yes, but they are all a bit less meaningful.
It was as if another layer of film was blocking his eyes, preventing him from seeing the true appearance of things.
For Mao Gui, who is in power, this is a heart-wrenching thing.
Finally, he couldn't stand it any longer.
Decided to come to see Zhang Ximeng in person, he wanted to get an answer.
Just when Mao Gui came to visit, Zhang Ximeng was chatting with several soldiers, including a young soldier named Lin Shishi. He grabbed a brush and struggled to write his name on the paper.
Finally, after he paused several times, he finished writing three words crookedly, with an honest smile on his face.
"Zhang, Prime Minister Zhang, right?"
"Yes!" Zhang Ximeng said with a smile: "You will probably have to write every day in the future. It won't be difficult. Your responsibility does not lie in words, but in your heart. Only when your heart is correct can you do things well."
Lin Shiwu hurriedly put down his pen, straightened his body, and listened obediently to Zhang Ximeng's teachings, as did several others.
Zhang Ximeng said: "When we go down to equalize the fields, the most difficult thing is the word "equal". The most difficult thing in the world is also the word "fair". How to divide the land? I suggest you look for those old farmers, find three or five people, and they must be from different surnames.
For example, if there are fifty households in a village, let these old farmers divide the fields into fifty equal parts according to the degree of fertility and the amount of output. Then let everyone draw lots together, and whichever piece they get will be the piece.
If you don’t draw lots, you can choose according to the order, but the one who divides the fields must be chosen last.”
"You have to supervise each village. When everyone gets their own fields and no household is left behind, then you can draw it on the fish scale book, standardize the situation of each household, then write your name, and then submit it to the top. Finally.
Waiting for the court to issue the land deed."
Zhang Ximeng added: "I want you to remember one thing. Only fairness can achieve long-term stability. There are many people and there are few people. Those with more land will bully the villagers and do whatever they want. They will rely on wealth and power to occupy places, and they will become
When the new big households... appear in that situation, the so-called equalization of land will lose its meaning, do you understand?"
Several soldiers were thinking seriously, and one of the middle-aged soldiers suddenly raised his head and said, "Understood! It's just like how we divide the fields... He, he means well, but when we get down there, all the generals
After taking the best land, we small fish and shrimps cannot get good land, and we have to bear more labor and land taxes... It is said that the land is equalized, but it is even more disadvantaged."
Zhang Ximeng nodded with a smile, "So the distributed power must be in our own hands. This is fundamental! But I also want to remind everyone that you must not repeat the same mistakes. If the distribution is still unfair, I am afraid you will be severely punished.
Well, the Guards Department and the trainers in the army will not be lenient. For fraud in the field, the most severe punishment is to peel off the straw and impose the death penalty!"
The soldiers were all startled and kept it in mind.
Zhang Ximeng nodded and let them go down.
Just as he was getting up, he happened to see Mao Gui at the door. The soldier who just said Mao Gui was unfair shrank his neck in fright, and when others caught him, he wanted to run away.
Mao Gui took a step forward and stopped him.
Mao Gui took a deep breath, stared at the soldier, and said solemnly: "I, I didn't do a good job in dividing the fields, you, why didn't you tell me?"
The soldier was stunned. He was just a big-headed soldier. How could he withstand Mao Gui's inquiry? He subconsciously turned around and looked at Zhang Ximeng.
Zhang Ximeng smiled, "Tell me what I mean, Mao Pingzhang is not a big tiger, he doesn't eat people."
The soldier seemed to get encouragement from Zhang Ximeng's smile, and then he bravely said: "Someone said that... that man was killed!"
Mao Gui was startled, his face suddenly changed, and anger rushed to the top of his head, "Who, who did this?"
The soldier was stunned when he was asked, and after a long while he muttered: "They are all, they are all under the command of the Lord. I can't tell you."
Mao Gui frowned and suddenly turned pale again.
He had no choice but to wave his hand and let the soldiers retreat. Then, after a slight hesitation, he came up and wanted to salute Zhang Ximeng.
"Sit down, you're welcome."
Mao Gui sat down and lowered his head, looking very embarrassed.
No one would be happy to be executed in front of someone.
"Xiang Zhang, I'm surrounded by such beasts. I, I'm really powerless!" Mao Gui paused and asked for advice: "Xiang Zhang, I don't know that there were people like this when the Ming Dynasty was in Juntian.
situation?"
Zhang Ximeng said with a smile: "Why not? This is a matter of course."
"Then, did the Ming Dynasty affect the overall situation of Tianjun because of these people?" Mao Gui said to himself again: "Presumably Prime Minister Zhang must be able to recognize people with a keen eye and find suitable talents, right?"
Zhang Ximeng chuckled and then shook his head, "General Mao, you do everything yourself, no matter how big or small. Even if you are as virtuous as Zhuge Wuhou, you can't guarantee everything. Let alone me? In fact, your problem is not difficult to explain, if you just look at it from a broad perspective
Around you, you will feel that there are too few talents and almost no one is available. But if you step out of your own circle and look at the world...all the poor people who suffer from poverty, have no clothes to cover their bodies, no food to eat, and no place to stand on, all of them are born and die, and their lives are precarious.
, soldiers who are ignorant and fighting for no reason...even those scholars who want a better world and have the ambition to govern the country and bring peace to the world. They are all available people and your allies."
Mao Gui was shocked and looked at Zhang Ximeng blankly. This seemed to have touched something important!
"Xiang Zhang, can you give me some advice?"
"General Mao, think about it, why do we need to distinguish between soldiers and ask about their origins?"
Mao Gui was startled and tried to ask: "Are you looking for someone who can be used?"
Zhang Ximeng smiled and said: "General Mao, a person has a similar background, is in a similar environment, and faces similar difficulties... Ordinary things, poor people, their worries are similar, and the methods to solve problems are also similar.
of."
Mao Gui's eyes were solemn and he muttered: "But Juntian?"
"Well!" Zhang Ximeng nodded and said: "Then what did General Mao think when he was in Juntian? Is he going to crack down on powerful people, or suppress big households and restrain his subordinates?"
Mao Gui thought for a while and said: "It's both! It's just that it's difficult to do it. I'm really confused and confused, so I took the liberty to ask for advice."
Zhang Ximeng smiled and said, "General Mao, you said this, why didn't you say, focus on the people, rely on their strength, let them take action on their own, fight for their own share of the land... We are just assisting and guiding, helping them,
Are you sure about the outcome?”
Mao Gui took a deep breath, and his expression changed drastically. He carefully tried to figure out what Zhang Ximeng meant, and he gradually realized something.
"Prime Minister Zhang, by doing this to equalize the land, offended everyone, and gradually became a loner, with no one trustworthy around him. How can Prime Minister Zhang do this to get most people to stand on my side and be used by me?"
Mao Gui tried to ask.
Zhang Ximeng nodded and chuckled: "General Mao, you are a smart man. You naturally understand that people like Tian Feng, Wang Shicheng, and the Kong family are born speculators.
...It is impossible to expect them to sincerely surrender to me and be used by me. If they are offended and their interests are affected, these people will be like mad dogs, doing whatever they can to bite back crazily and use any means."
"On the contrary, if we can do well enough, be strong enough, and gain enough support... and come overwhelmingly, these people will kneel down and do things for us. This is their nature.
!”
After hearing this, Mao Gui was speechless and fell to the ground.
I have been doing it for several years and tried hard to learn it, but the result is just imitating something else, only getting the shape but not the spirit. From the looks of it, I am almost the same as a joke.
After truly understanding Zhang Ximeng's methods, Mao Gui had no intention of competing for supremacy.
"I don't understand what Prime Minister Zhang is saying, Prime Minister Liu doesn't understand, and neither do the rest of the people. This world belongs to the Ming Dynasty after all. Mao Gui bows down!"
As he spoke, Mao Gui knelt down on his knees and raised an inventory above his head.
"Prime Minister Zhang, here is Shandong Red Scarf, 230,000 soldiers and horses, from now on, they will all surrender to the Ming Dynasty!" v