Chapter 147 Killing the chicken to scare the monkey
Three days passed quickly.
After three days of arduous journey, more than 6,000 scholars arrived at a small town called Shiliang Town on the north bank of Chu River. Although it was only noon, Chongzhen still ordered to camp.
As usual, you are not allowed to enter the town and disturb the residents.
They are only allowed to sleep outdoors in open spaces outside the town.
The old merchants in the town heard that the current emperor personally led 6,000 Qinwang scholars through Shiliang Town, so under extremely difficult circumstances, they collected more than 20 mouthfuls of pigs and a few rocks of wine to reward the army.
Chongzhen received these twenty mouthfuls of local pigs and a few stones of wine.
He also gave fifty taels of silver back to the elderly merchants in the town.
According to the price in Nanjing, a pound of pork is only two cents of silver, and a stone of wine is only one or two and a half cents of silver. Shiliang Town is located in a remote area, and prices are much lower than in Nanjing. Fifty taels of silver is enough to buy about a hundred catties of native pig five cents.
Ten heads or fifty stones of wine, so it was the elders and merchants in Shiliang Town who made the profit.
The elderly merchant left with great gratitude.
The women and children in the town came out to watch the fun.
Chongzhen did not send troops to drive them away, but allowed the people to watch the fun.
It is definitely wishful thinking to turn the Ming army into a "people's army", but Chongzhen still hopes to bring the distance between the Ming army and the people as close as possible, especially in the Jiangnan area, which has suffered few military disasters and has not been harmed by border troops.
, so there is still a chance to improve the image of the Ming army in the minds of the people in the south.
Chongzhen ordered eight hundred barbarians to kill the pigs and cook them in a large pot.
After cooking for less than half an hour, the rich aroma of meat spreads.
Now, not only those from humble families, but also those from aristocratic families were also very excited.
Since they left Nanjing, they had not tasted meat for three whole days, and they were really hungry.
During these three days, they ate rice soaked in water, wrinkled rice, steamed cakes with a little vinegar, black beans and hard salt. Compared with the delicacies they had eaten in Nanjing before, it was like pig food.
No, their pigs eat better than this.
Therefore, as soon as I smell the aroma of meat, I become extremely greedy.
Chongzhen gathered more than 6,000 scholars together and selected a hundred or so loud ones to serve as "Han generals", responsible for delivering his words to each scholar.
"There are over fifty cauldrons for cooking meat!"
"There are more than thirty kilograms of pork and offal in each pot."
"So don't be anxious, everyone can get at least four taels of meat!"
"However, not everyone can eat this pork and offal."
Speaking of this, Chongzhen raised the new performance book in his hand and said: "Only if you memorize the first chapter of the new performance book can you eat meat. If you can't memorize it, not only will you have no meat to eat, but you will also have to be whipped!"
"Now, you can go to the scholar leaders of each group to endorse them. If you pass, you can eat meat and wine."
"If you can't pass, come here again. I'll give you another chance after a quarter of an hour of review. If you still can't memorize it, then I'm sorry, I can only treat you to twenty lashes!"
The first volume of the new performance book contains only 2,000 words.
The original version of Shuwu Chapter has more than 4,000 words, so Chongzhen reduced the number of words by half.
It is not difficult for these scholars to recite more than 2,000 words in three days.
Most of the scholars just once and for all, happily ate pork and drank wine.
A few people who were really stupid or had been lazy before went to Chongzhen to pass the test smoothly after reviewing for a quarter of an hour. Chongzhen did not deliberately make things difficult and insisted that the scholars do everything accurately.
Some scholars even forgot the entire paragraph and gave it to them.
But Gu Gao couldn't let go.
Because Gu Gao didn't memorize a word, he didn't memorize a word in front of Zheng Sen, and when he arrived in front of Chongzhen's court, he still didn't memorize a word, and he didn't even mean to recite it.
Obviously, Gu Gao was competing.
Otherwise, with his talent and learning, it would be impossible for him to memorize it.
"Gu Gao." Chongzhen's eyes turned cold and he stared at Gu Gao and asked, "Why don't you memorize it?"
"Sir, I won't." Gu Gao seemed to be possessed by Gu Xiancheng at this moment, or he always had the desire to imitate his fathers in his heart, and he would finally find the opportunity.
"Why not?" Chongzhen asked again, "Did Zheng Sen fail to convey my will clearly, or did Zheng Sen deliberately fail to convey my will to you for personal revenge? Or..."
After a pause, Chongzhen said again: "You don't take my will seriously at all?"
Gu Gao said neither arrogantly nor humblely: "The Holy Emperor's will is very clear. Zheng Sen did not take revenge for personal gain, and the common people did not despise the emperor and his father. None of it."
Chongzhen said: "So, you simply don't like the new performance book?"
"There is no wiser person than the Holy One." Gu Gao bowed his hands and said, "Qi Jiguang is just a warrior, but he is not familiar with military affairs. He dares to imitate the ancient sages and write down doctrines. This is simply a joke. Such nonsense of a country man is disdained by ordinary people.
Read it to avoid staining the eyes of our generation of noble scholars."
"What a noble scholar." Chongzhen laughed angrily.
"So, my vision is not as good as yours?"
"The Holy Spirit is serious in his words." Gu Gao said, "The ordinary people have no such intention."
"Then what do you mean?" Chongzhen said, "I made it very clear that all diligent scholars must memorize the fifth chapter of the first volume of the new performance book within three days. They will be randomly checked after three days. If they fail, they will be whipped twenty times.
!”
A strange look suddenly appeared in Gu Gao's eyes: "If your Majesty wants to flog me, please do it yourself."
"Gu Gao, do you want to follow the example of Ru Taisu and Wei Liangbi and become famous all over the world through the imperial staff?" Chongzhen sneered, "I am not as good as you expected today, and I will give you another chance to make up for your mistakes."
After a pause, Chongzhen said again: "I will give you another quarter of an hour to memorize the first paragraph of Shu Wu Chapter. Even if you pass the test today, you can eat meat and drink wine with Zheng Sen and the others. Otherwise..."
Gu Gao was obviously willing to take the risk and said proudly: "What if it's not the case?"
Chongzhen stared into Gu Gao's eyes and said word by word: "If not, I will kill you immediately!"
Gu Gao's pupils suddenly shrank when he heard this. He just wanted to become famous and gain a position, and realized his ambition by taking a deviant path, but he never thought about risking his life.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! The scholars who were drinking and eating meat also stopped one after another.
Wu Yingji, Fang Yizhi and others were even more anxious.
Fang Yizhi even risked angering Chongzhen by stepping forward to open the new performance book, flipping to the first page of Shuwu Chapter and showing it in front of Gu Gao.
"Zifang, memorize it quickly!"
On the other hand, he begged softly.
However, Gu Gao just smiled.
Gu Gao was betting that Chongzhen didn't have the guts to kill him.
He, Gu Gao, is not only the son of Gu Xiancheng, the founder of the Donglin Party, but also the leader of Fushe. The Gu family in Wuxi is also one of the first-class aristocratic families in Jiangnan. Unless Chongzhen does not want the popularity of Jiangnan and no longer cares about Shilin Qingyi, otherwise
He would never dare to kill Gu Gao just because of a new performance book.
Moreover, as long as Gu Gao survives today, he will surely become famous all over the world.
Thinking of this, Gu Gao simply closed his eyes and refused to take a look at the new performance book.
"Gu Gao!" Fang Yizhi was so anxious that he really wanted to step forward and pry Gu Gao's eyes open, and begged, "Go back quickly."
Wu Yingji, Maoxiang and several other children from aristocratic families who were on good terms with Gu Gao also came forward and tried to persuade Gu Gao to endorse, but Gu Gao always ignored it.
"Fang Yizhi, please stop shouting."
"No matter how loud you shout, you can't wake up those who pretend to be sleeping."
Chongzhen snorted coldly and said to Gu Gao: "Gu Gao, do you think I don't have the guts to kill you? I miss you. Gu Gao is a direct descendant of the Gu family in Wuxi. Your uncle Gu Xiancheng is a great villain in Donglin. You are also the leader of Fushe.
As a leader in the Jiangnan literary world, if I kill you, you will definitely be criticized by Jiangnan scholars and lose all popularity in Jiangnan, right?"
Gu Gao smiled lightly and said: "The common people just want to stick to their own ethics."
"You just want to stick to your own ethics? Is it really just ethics?" Chongzhen laughed angrily, "Don't you feel that your political ambitions have exceeded your capabilities?"
Gu Gao's expression froze and he said in a deep voice: "Common people don't understand what the Holy One is talking about."
"You really don't understand." Chongzhen said, "You don't understand at all. Your Gu Gao is not your uncle Gu Xiancheng, and you don't understand. You Gu Gao can't represent the Gu family in Wuxi. You don't even understand. Your Gu Gao has no responsibility at all."
If you don’t have the support of the Jiangnan scholars and the support of the people, you are just a student member of Wuxi County, relying on the legacy of your fathers to study in the Imperial College!"
After saying this for a while, Chongzhen said again: "So if I kill you Gu Gao today, it will not cause any serious consequences, but it will only make the more than 6,000 Qin Wang soldiers remember the military regulations, and from now on, the orders and prohibitions will be enforced, and the discipline will be as clear as day!"
Gu Gao's face became even more embarrassed, and his eyes that were originally closed suddenly opened.
Chongzhen had a look of regret on his face, shook his head and said: "I gave you a chance, but you didn't cherish it. It's too late to regret now. Today I will use your head to illustrate the canonical punishment. The rules must be followed."
, everyone, including me, must abide by the rules. If a scholar violates the rules, he will be punished by the scholar leader. If the scholar leader violates the rules, I will handle it. If I violate the rules, heaven and the people will handle it!"
"Your Majesty, the common people are wrong!" Gu Gao finally broke through his guard and knelt down with a pop.
"I ask the Holy One to give the common people another chance. The common people will recite the first volume of Shu Wu now."
"It's too late." Chongzhen shook his head coldly and shouted, "If you use charcoal, you will be punished by beheading!"
"According to the order!" Wu Bao Tan bowed his hands and pulled out his sword with his backhand. The other two Yiding people had already rushed forward and pushed Gu Gao to the ground. Wu Bao Tan stepped forward and cut off Gu Gao's head with just one blow.
.
The more than 6,000 Qinwang scholars suddenly felt awe-inspiring, and suddenly felt that the meat in their mouths no longer tasted good.
"This is the army, this is military discipline!" Chongzhen turned his eyes to the soldiers again and said in a deep voice, "Three days ago outside the Jinchuan Gate, I asked you if you had thought about it?"
"Answer me, you have already thought about it."
"I will remember your answers, and I will take them seriously!"
"So, from that moment on, you are no longer scholars, but soldiers!"
"Since you are a soldier, you must abide by military discipline. If you violate orders, Gu Gao is your role model!"
