Chapter One Hundred and Thirty: Only the Law Can Create a Prosperous World
"Of course, although this theory is a bit strong, it doesn't mean that it is wrong if he doesn't go in." Zhou Jue drank another glass of water and said with a smile.
"No one would like to hear these words." Li Danqing muttered softly.
But these words did not escape Zhou Jue's ears after all. He turned his head to look at Li Danqing and said: "The world is so helpless. There will always be people who don't have the opportunity to touch those things, and there will always be people who need to do something less glamorous.
’s livelihood.”
Some words are said unintentionally but intentionally by the listener.
Especially Concubine Ji, who is the eldest princess of Wuyang. Although Zhou Jue's rescue today made Master Concubine Ji feel a little grateful to him.
But as an old minister of the former dynasty, Concubine Ji could not help but be a little sensitive to his words and deeds.
"Are you making insinuations, saying that the people under my rule in the Wuyang Dynasty do not live and work in peace and contentment?" she asked in a lowered voice.
Li Danqing secretly felt dizzy and thought to himself, can't you live in peace for a while?
You must piss this guy off? Will you be happy if you send us both back to the Palace of Eternal Life?
The man was not angry when he heard this, but turned to look at Master Ji and said: "There are only so many holy mountains in the world. If you want there to be enough spiritual energy in the world for everyone to practice, the number of people on your body will be enough."
It’s not as simple as doubling it several times.”
"No matter in the past dynasties, ordinary people have always been far away from those who practice Buddhism."
"As the master of the dynasty, what I have to do is to allow ordinary people to live in peace and stability, without feeling inferior to others or as cheap as an ant."
"With such a scene, the world can be called a prosperous age..."
The man's words struck home, making Concubine Ji, who was originally intending to make an attack, startled. Her expression was a little dazed for a moment, as if she had been touched by something, but she was unwilling to admit it for the sake of her face.
"Huh, empty talk is hurting the country." She snorted coldly.
Zhou Jue still didn't care and lowered his head to drink water again.
"How can empty talk harm the country?" Zhou Jue said with a smile: "The duty of military attaches is to protect the country and the country, and the duty of civil servants is to discuss state affairs and decide on national policies."
"I have heard that those who know your Majesty should speak freely and accept advice without any taboos. Civil servants and scholars can express their opinions on how to govern the country, but the final decision lies with the Majesty. The world is so big, with an area of more than ten thousand miles and billions of living beings. Every national policy can only be written in pen and ink.
But it is related to the fortunes of billions of living beings. If he is allowed to learn from five chariots, his talents will be great, and national policy cannot be determined by one person. The great merchants have a special Nayan Pavilion, which is placed in the most conspicuous place outside the palace.
The place, the world's capable people with lofty ideals, or you are just a common man in the market, you can put your demands for national policies in the cabinet, and Taixuefu will send people to pick them up regularly, read them one by one, and discuss the important points."
"Even if it is unrealistic and empty talk, if it has merits, there are still one or two things that can be adopted. As long as there is a wise king and wise ministers to decide the policy, no scholar can ruin the country by relying on one or two empty words."
Zhou Jue spoke eloquently and with a calm attitude. With this courage, even Li Danqing, who had little interest in the details in the book, could see that Concubine Ji had fallen behind in this rebuttal.
"You!" Of course, Master Ji couldn't understand the meaning of the other party's words at the moment. She just felt that the other party was a big businessman on the left and a wise king and wise minister on the right. They were insinuations and insults. She started to attack the case and launched an attack.
.
But at this moment, there was a muffled sound from the direction of the door, and the man in ragged clothes was thrown into the lobby of the inn, accompanied by a rough shout: "Zhou An! Get out of here!"
"
Everyone was shocked and before they could recover, the little girl Zhou Zhou on the side suddenly had red eyes after seeing the figure who was thrown into the inn: "Dad!"
She yelled and hurried over, the kitchen door was also opened, and the young man named Zhou An also rushed out. When he saw the scarred man on the ground, his eyes were also red, and he shouted: "Dad!
"
At this time, a young man wearing brocade clothes and a very strong man walked in slowly outside the house.
The look on the young man's face was arrogant: "Zhou An! You and I are classmates! I don't want to do things too badly, but the lease period of your house has expired. If you can't pay the rent, you will have to move out! Your father really doesn't want to think about it.
You were trying to raise money, but you had to go to the city lord and he was beaten out. I helped you fish him out."
"I have done my best to you. If I still can't pay the rent at the end of this month, I will take back this inn!"
"Hu Rui! Don't bully me too much. We have rented this house for twenty years. In the past two years, you have increased the rent again and again. Today it has quadrupled! Our small shop earns money in a month.
It’s not enough to pay your rent, you are clearly trying to force us to death!”
Zhou An said this, and hurriedly squatted down, helped the man who fell to the ground, and asked with concern: "Dad! Are you okay?"
The man stood up staggeringly, sighed, and looked at his children guiltily: "It's useless for me to go to the city lord's mansion, and the city lord can't take care of this..."
"The house belongs to me! If I want to rent it to you, you have to pay the rent. If you can't afford it, then you have to pack up and leave! This is a matter of course, why should the city lord care about it?" The young man sneered, with a mocking look in his eyes.
Staring at Zhou An and his son.
"Hu Rui! The rent we paid is already
This is twice as much as other areas in Liuguang City, and you're still not satisfied?" Zhou An asked angrily.
"Zhou An, don't you like to be a hero? You were very energetic when you were against me in the academy. Why don't we have that courage now? Oh...I remember, it seems that you are no longer practicing in the academy? What's wrong? No.
Do you have the money? How about you kneel down and beg me, and I can consider waiving your rent for one and a half years?" Hu Rui said proudly.
Zhou An's face darkened, he clenched his fists tightly, his head lowered, and his body trembled slightly.
Hu Rui has seen many such scenes, which are struggles before dignity is torn apart, which are the ultimate humiliation and the ultimate anger.
But everything will calm down in the end.
Everyone has to make compromises with life, no one is an exception.
He waited quietly, waiting for this guy to kneel down and beg for mercy, waiting to taste the fruits of his victory.
The quarrel between the two sides spread to the mouths of Li Danqing and the other three people at the side. Master Ji's brows furrowed. She had already grasped the hilt of the White Dragon Sword with one hand and was about to raise the sword and step forward, but at this moment Li Danqing
He stretched out his hand and stopped her.
Master Ji looked at the other party in confusion, but Li Danqing whispered: "Leave it to me."
Master Ji hesitated for a while, but still nodded.
At this moment, Li Danqing tidied up his clothes and stepped forward, looking at the arrogant Hu Rui with a smile: "Is this the owner of this house?"
Hu Rui glanced at the uninvited guest warily and asked, "So what?"
"My wife and I were an old friend and came to this Liuguang City to do some business. We saw that the location of this store was very good, and we happened to hear this guy say that they were not going to do it in the area, so we thought about buying it and doing some business.
, so I came to bother you." Li Danqing said with a smile.
Hu Rui looked alert. He glanced at Li Danqing and then at the Zhou family and his son who were looking strange. He sneered: "Don't come here to trick me. Are you trying to help the Zhou family and his son stand out?"
Li Danqing, however, looked confused and said: "Master, what are you talking about? We are businessmen. We can only be acquaintances with the father and son. There is no possibility of cutting off our own financial path for them."
"A few of us really value this store. As long as the price is reasonable, we plan to buy this store. But there is one thing. We want to rent it for a long time, starting at least five years."
Hu Rui looked Li Danqing up and down and saw that he was indeed wearing brocade clothes, and that Concubine Ji and Zhou Jue sitting next to him were also extraordinary. He hesitated for a while, then tentatively said: "If you want
If you rent, it’s fifty taels of silver a month, six hundred taels a year, and three thousand taels in five years.”
When the price came out, the Zhou family and his son suddenly took a breath of cold air. It was already more than six times higher than the rent in the same area.
"Young master is joking. We are all businessmen. We are new here. We are willing to spend more money to establish a good relationship with you, but we are not taking advantage of you. If you are sincere, how about one thousand five hundred taels in five years? If you are willing, now we will
You can pay the deposit." Li Danqing said this and took out a thick stack of banknotes from his arms.
Hu Rui was stunned, and his eyes suddenly lit up when he saw the banknote in Li Danqing's hand.
One thousand five hundred taels, which is already more than three times higher than the market price, is enough to buy this inn. Although he intended to embarrass the Zhou family and his son, there was no need to struggle with money. After hesitating for a while, he finally clicked
He nodded: "Then according to the wishes of the young master, I will go back and have someone draft the deed."
"No need." At this moment, Zhou Jue stood up, picked up the written deed from the table and handed it over.
The next thing was much simpler. The study room was signed and pledged, Li Danqing gave the banknote, and Hu Rui and everyone turned around and left happily.
…
"Three guests, Xiao Lao wants to discuss with the three guests..." After Hu Rui left, the Zhou family father and son, who still didn't understand the situation, hesitated for a while. The father finally gritted his teeth and said to Zhou An.
With help, he came to the table where the three of them were sitting.
"We got the news in a hurry. We bought some food at home and haven't used it yet. Can you give us two or three days to buy these meals? Don't worry, I will pay you according to your rent price in these days.
, I won’t let you suffer.”
Having reached this point, the Zhou family and his son have finally accepted the reality and just want to minimize their losses.
But Li Danqing, who had been so pleasant just now, shook his head and said, "I'm afraid I'll disappoint you two..."
The Zhou family father and son were stunned when they heard this, and a look of loneliness suddenly appeared on their faces. They were about to turn around and leave...
"But..." Li Danqing raised the topic at this moment and put the deed on the table: "But the three of us also want to open an inn, but after all, we are not familiar with the place, and we also have other places.
To manage the business, I need to find an honest, reliable and experienced shopkeeper. Do you have any recommendations?"
Li Danqing asked, looking at the Zhou family and his son with a smile.
The two of them were stunned for a moment, and then they came to their senses, but the man from the Zhou family was still a little unsure. He asked, "Do you think this is appropriate?"
"I heard that the shop owner has been running this inn for more than 20 years.
It couldn't be more appropriate..." Li Danqing smiled.
"But the price of our inn is not high. If the rent is three times..." the man still hesitated.
"It doesn't matter." Li Danqing waved his hand at this time and said: "What we want to do is word of mouth. As long as we can make money, it doesn't matter if we lose some money. The shopkeeper can just run the inn according to your ideas and don't have to worry about the cost.
We will not interfere. The only thing we hope is that in five years, the shopkeeper will be able to raise the money to buy an inn. If not, then the money earned in the past five years will be regarded as wages, and the shopkeeper will find other opportunities.
Make a living."
For what Li Danqing said, no matter how slow the Zhou family and his son were, they could still understand that Li Danqing and others were helping them.
They were stunned for a moment, then knelt down with a plop and thanked everyone again and again.
…
After appeasing everyone in the Zhou family who had thanked them so much, the group finally had some time to relax and sat in the hall.
"Giving food to a child is worth a thousand pieces of gold." Zhou Jue said with a smile while fiddling with the unfinished dragon beard cake in his hand.
Li Danqing rolled his eyes at him, feeling sorry for his more than one thousand taels of silver in his heart, but he did not dare to refute him.
But Concubine Ji on the side snorted coldly and said: "You timid little fellow, your actions will only encourage the arrogance of those evil people. It would be better to cut them off with a sword!"
Li Danqing laughed dryly when he heard this and said: "It is better to do less than to do more..."
"Everyone in the world is like you, so there are so many evil people doing whatever they want!" Master Ji said dissatisfied.
"Evil person? What you said is wrong." But at this moment, Zhou Jue on the side interrupted Master Ji's words.
"Setting down and raising prices, forcing people to die! What are they if they are not evil? I see that the city lord of Liuguang City is not a good person. He allows the rich men under him to bully the people, so he should be executed as well." Master Ji said with a sneer,
Deep down in his heart, he was obviously very upset about the failure of his previous argument, and wanted to take the lead in this matter.
Zhou Jue, however, didn't care about Master Ji's aggressiveness. Instead, he continued slowly: "This inn belongs to Mr. Hu. Whether he wants to rent or sell it is his own business. It doesn't matter if he rents it for tens of thousands of taels or a penny."
That’s fine, it’s all his own business. Doesn’t a person have the right to handle his own property? If so, why is he so evil?”
Zhou Jue's question made Master Ji's face freeze, and for a moment she couldn't find any flaw in Zhou Jue's words.
"When I was young, I saw many people who wielded swords, clamoring to punish rape and eliminate evil, but it was just to punish rape and eliminate evil." Zhou Jue added.
"What do you mean?" Master Ji frowned.
"Punishing evil is to promote good, but many people punish evil just to relieve the anger in their chests. If today, the girl kills the young master named Hu, she will naturally be very happy, and then walk away with her sleeves, which is very free and unrestrained."
"But what happens next? This inn is still the Hu family's inn. They will blame the Zhou family for the death of Mr. Hu. At the least, the inn will never be rented to them, and the Zhou family will lose their livelihood. At the worst,
?Planning revenge will even destroy the Zhou family."
"Acting like this will harm the Zhou family in the end. After all, we can't kill all the Hu family, right?"
Zhou Jue's questions left Master Ji speechless.
"What's more, Hu Rui has a vicious mind, but his crime is not worthy of death. Killing him would be inconsistent with the law."
Concubine Ji's frown deepened. She looked at Zhou Jue and asked, "Is there no way to punish these people? Should they be allowed to behave like this?"
Perhaps even Master Concubine Ji herself didn't realize that her tone no longer contained any malice towards Zhou Jue, but instead contained a hint of asking for advice.
"Of course there are things that can be punished." Zhou Jue said with a smile.
"What?" Master Ji asked.
Zhou Jue opened his lips and spit out one word lightly: "Fa."
"Fa?" Master Ji was confused.
"The sages have said that the people are the most important thing, the country is the second most important thing, and the king is the least important thing."
"The king stands on the temple, but he must care about the people. Throughout the dynasties, if the people are prosperous, the world will be prosperous, and if the people are suffering, the world will be destroyed."
"The rise and fall of dynasties seems to be a grand issue in the temple, but in fact it depends on the common people in the market. Use laws to restrain bureaucrats, and use bureaucrats to restrain wealthy businessmen, or you can draw up terms to frame the leasing matter in the law, or
Or the court can come forward to open workshops, reclaim wasteland, allow people to make a living, reduce taxes, reduce corvee labor, and so on, but there must be laws to follow."
"Otherwise, it will be like two armies confronting each other. If an unknown force emerges, they will not have the right time and will be defeated repeatedly in battles."
"The law is the foundation for maintaining the people."
When Master Ji heard this, her mind was in turmoil, as if she was enlightened, and some of her confusions were instantly resolved.
But before she could fully come to her senses, she saw Zhou Jue staring straight at Master Ji and saying again.
"Girl, I remember."
"The sword on your waist can cure troubled times, but it cannot bring peace."
"If you want to see a prosperous and peaceful age, you can only be diligent in serving as a king, and never slack off in serving as a minister, and spread your benevolent policies throughout the world."