Zhao Kuo finally understood why most nobles were willing to protect their retainers and friends.
He looked at the frightened little official and finally remembered him. He once sat on Dong Chengzi's carriage, served as the right driver, and led the charge. He still remembered that when Dong Chengzi came to visit him, this little official also
He once gave himself gifts and followed Dong Chengzi to visit him. Zhao Kuo was stunned. He looked at the clerk kneeling on the ground with confusion, and asked with gritted teeth: "Why are you doing this?"
"If you were short of money, why didn't you tell me? Would I be stingy in rewarding meritorious soldiers? Why did the warriors who once protected the people of Bai Ren become evil spirits who harmed the people?"
Rong slowly raised his head, looked at Zhao Kuo in front of him, and looked away as if he was electrocuted. He pursed his lips, but still could not speak.
"You committed a crime that could be killed. I didn't kill you, not because you followed me to fight, nor because you were Dong Chengzi's guest, but because you confessed your crime and did not resist. I want to
Remove you from your post and send you to Handan, and let Dong Chengzi, who is in charge of criminal law, judge you." Zhao Kuo said, looked at one of his retainers and said: "Send him to Handan."
The retainer came forward and helped Rong up. Rong just lowered his head and said nothing. Perhaps, he no longer had the face to face Zhao Kuo. Rong was taken away like this. The people around him widened their eyes. Zhao Kuo
He said he wanted to make decisions for them. They thought that Ma Fujun was going to reprimand these officials, but they didn't expect that Ma Fujun directly dismissed him and even wanted to kill him! This was a strange thing that the common people had not seen for many years.
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When Zhao Kuo looked at the people again, a smile appeared on his face. He called the people around him and immediately sat down. The guests hurriedly offered him a seat, but Zhao Kuo refused to accept it. He ignored it.
Mu Chun sat directly on the edge of the cultivated land and asked everyone to sit down. The diners sat down one after another. The people were trembling but did not dare to sit down. Ma Fujun persuaded him a few more times and they sat down next to Zhao Kuo one by one.
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"Please don't worry, second or third son. I know that there are many things that have delayed the busy work of farming. I will go to the Lord and ask him to reduce taxes in various places...I heard that mulberry trees were planted next to the five-acre residential field.
People who are fifty years old can wear silk. Don’t miss the breeding season for chickens, ducks, pigs and dogs. People who are seventy years old can eat meat regularly. One family can cultivate hundreds of acres of fields without missing a beat.
If the crops are cultivated during the farming season, a family of several people will avoid disasters and famines."
"I will give an order not to allow anyone to delay the farming season. Please ask two or three sons to plant mulberry trees. I will send poultry babies. Please don't miss the season when raising them in captivity. If you work hard, you don't have to worry about next year's famine... If there are officials bullying
Second and Third Son, if you are delaying the farming season, please Second and Third Son to send someone to Mafu, and I will come personally to help Second and Third Son."
Han Fei, who was standing not far away, looked at Mr. Ma Fu who was sitting among the people and gently admonishing them. He was momentarily moved and had a smile on his face.
"May I ask the wise man here?"
Hearing Ma Fujun's question, the people communicated. After a while, they said: "There is a young man named Bu in the countryside. He is a sage who is filial to his parents and cares for his neighbors. He once traveled abroad to study and knew writing.", Zhao
Kuo nodded and asked: "Then where is he?" A shy young man stood up not far away. He was probably a little shy because of the praise from the locals, and he bowed to Ma Fujun.
Zhao Kuo nodded and said: "Before I return to Handan, I invite you to serve as the township magistrate. You will lead the people in farming, punish the lazy, reward the meritorious, and the accumulated wealth belongs to the people."
, please return the grain, livestock, etc. in his courtyard to the people now. I will leave these matters to you." Bu nodded seriously and bowed to Zhao Kuo again.
Afterwards, Bu left, and Zhao Kuo sat here and continued talking to the people, asking them about the difficulties they encountered and the problems of farming. The old men stroked their beards and told Zhao Kuo tremblingly:
: "There is a lot of wasteland here, but there are not enough people to cultivate it." The problems encountered by the people today are different from those in the future. The people in the future will not have land to cultivate, but the people today are because of insufficient farming technology.
developed, without the means to support their families through land.
Zhao Kuo suddenly remembered something and said: "I heard that if people or livestock are lost, they can be used on cultivated land after a period of time to increase the harvest." Hearing Zhao Kuo's words, the people were very surprised.
, looked at each other, but several elders hurriedly said: "I have heard about what Ma Fujun said. I heard that the people of Qin irrigated their fields with water, and the harvest was very good."
"Then why don't you follow suit?" Zhao Kuo was even more surprised. On the one hand, he was surprised by the appearance of primitive fertilizers, and on the other hand, he was surprised by why these people didn't use it even though they knew it. The elder shook his head and said helplessly:
"Some people with high status said: The food grown in this way is dirty and unclean. Only the smelly barbarians from the west will eat such food, and we are not allowed to follow suit."
It turns out that the nobles of Zhao State began to pursue green and harmless food so early.
Zhao Kuo was silent for a moment, shook his head and said: "If they feel it is unclean, they don't have to eat it and ignore these people."
Bu quickly counted out Rong's family property. It seemed that all of Rong's money was used to make friends with the nobles. The livestock and grain stored in the family were not much. When Bu was doing the distribution, Zhao Kuo was also watching.
I want to see if this young man has the ability to serve as a minor official. I have to say that this wise man recommended by the local villagers is indeed good. When making allocations, he was fair and just.
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Zhao Kuo nodded and said that he would come back after inspecting various places, and then drove away. There were many places he wanted to go and he couldn't stay here.
The common people stood on the side of the road, watching Ma Fujun's carriage going away, and bowed down to pay their respects.
They didn't get up until the carriage disappeared without a trace.
The system of counties and counties in Zhao State has not been truly completed, not only in terms of names, but also in the local officials. There is almost no difference between the county town and the township. The only difference may be the city wall fortress of the county town.
The city walls of the towns are taller and smaller. It is really ridiculous to use city walls to divide the counties and towns. And the distance between the places is also very far.
Perhaps Zhao Kuo's intimidation was too strong. On the way from Handan to Wu'an, in every town Zhao Kuo arrived at, there were already petty officials imitating Lian Po's example, naked to the waist and carrying thorns on their backs to beg Zhao Kuo.
Since Lian Po created this method of apology, it has become a fashion in Zhao State, a style of apology. However, looking at these people kneeling on the ground, there is not much apology on their faces.
Zhao Kuo only felt that their behavior was an insult to Lian Po.
Zhao Kuo still did not kill these people. He dismissed these people from their posts and asked the locals to choose people who could convince them to serve as local officials. Han Fei analyzed with him that all the officials here were Wu'an
This must have been arranged by the order. Wu An Ling did not want to be implicated, so he pushed these petty officials out and wanted to cut off his responsibilities. Han Fei continued: "When we arrive at Wu'an City, the county magistrate will escort him
The evil officials in the county who have personally dealt with them have come to see you."
Facts once again proved Han Fei's speculation.
When Zhao Kuo arrived at Wu'an City, sure enough, Wu'an ordered him out of the city to greet him, and on both sides of the road, there were criminals kneeling on the ground and trembling. Zhao Kuo discovered that Han Fei really had amazing intuition in these aspects. The county magistrate
Called Zhao Xu, like Zhao Kuo, he is also a son of the royal family. He is different from those low-level officials. He is an official appointed by King Zhao. Zhao Kuo now has the king's order and can kill him, but he cannot find anyone.
Take his place.
Because the appointment of officials above the county level is the royal power of the Zhao Kingdom.
Zhao Xu was very scared since he learned that Zhao Kuo was setting off with the king's order. He was just a small nobleman. With his eloquence, he made friends with many ministers in the court. Through their recommendations, he got the favor of King Zhao.
Appreciation made him the county magistrate he is now. He was very proficient in observing people's actions. After he became the county magistrate, he helped the nobles in the country and appointed their retainers as officials. The rural officials were honored, which was the product of his flattery to Dong Chengzi.
In order to better make friends with these noble people, he ignored what these petty officials did on weekdays. Until he heard that Ma Fujun wanted to punish evil officials everywhere, and left Handan City with the king's order. At that moment,
Zhao Xu's hands and feet were cold and he almost fell down. When Li Mu was guarding Wu'an, he once asked Li Mu about Ma Fujun. Li Mu said: Ma Fujun is righteous, loves the people, is upright, and will not let any evil person go.
Later, he saw with his own eyes the tragic situation of hundreds of thousands of troops fighting in the city of Wu'an, and witnessed Zhao Kuo repelling Bai Qi, the invincible Qin State.
He was extremely scared. He knew that if Zhao Kuo found out what he had indulged, he would definitely kill him. But if he was killed by such a gentleman, then he was destined to become a villain despised by future generations.
In addition to panic, he heard that Rong had been arrested. Zhao Xu immediately ordered to investigate the evil officials in the county who harmed the people, and quickly arrested them all. Even if the nobles in the country embarrass him in the future, he cannot die like this in front of Ma Fujun.
in hand.
It's okay to die in the hands of others, but you can't die in the hands of Ma Fujun.
When Zhao Kuo's carriage stopped and the horse uniform flag was fluttering, Zhao Xu saw a chariot with a blood-stained horse uniform flag, and the horse uniform king rushing towards him with a sword. Zhao Xu
Xu trembled and opened his eyes again, but it was Ma Fujun standing in front of him with a smile. Zhao Xu hurriedly bent down to salute, Zhao Kuo helped him up, and then said with a smile: "I know you, you are Zhao Xu, back then
I almost died following Li Mu."
For some reason, a warm current suddenly flowed through Zhao Xu's heart. He nodded and said with a smile: "I share the same clan as you and am your junior." Looking at the "junior" in front of him who was at least twenty years older than him,
Zhao Kuo was speechless. Zhao Xu did not have a high background and did not have the restraint of a noble. He forced a smile and began to flatter Ma Fujun for his benevolence and courage. Zhao Kuo just smiled and rushed towards the city.
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Zhao Xu pointed at the people on the road and said: "They are all evil officials in Wu'an City. I have listed their crimes and will give them to you to watch later." Zhao Kuo nodded.
Zhao Xu wanted to invite Zhao Kuo to a banquet, but Zhao Kuo was not in a hurry to enter his courtyard. Instead, he chatted with the people in Wu'an City. Zhao Xu followed him fearfully. Many of these people were the same people who followed him in the first place.
Zhao Kuo's soldiers on the expedition were particularly excited when they saw Ma Fujun. They told everything they knew. Fortunately, the evil officials they resented the most were already kneeling on the road.
On the edge.
No one blamed the county magistrate, which made Zhao Xu relieved.
Finally, Zhao Kuo sat in the county magistrate's mansion. The county officials gathered around and the retainers stood behind them. Zhao Kuo looked at Zhao Xu and said kindly: "You are a good official, and you have not done anything.
When things happened that harmed the people, you also dealt with those evil officials. This is very right..." Zhao Kuo looked at the crowd and said: "The principles I want to talk about are the principles of governing the country."
"The strength of a country depends on how much food its farmland can produce, how many soldiers it can recruit, and whether its people can work hard and fight bravely. The people are the foundation of the country. Wealth and honor
People think that the people are despicable and bully them at will. Without the people's cultivation, the rich will definitely be hungry. Without the people to serve, no matter how rich the people are, they will be killed by the enemy."
"So protecting the people is not for the sake of benevolence and morality, it is something you can do for yourself. When the people live a prosperous life, the country's household registration will increase, the food will become more abundant, and the people will appreciate the kindness of the rich.
Pick up a sword and spear to fight for the country, reduce local corvee, increase local household registration, urge people to farm, and give them favors. This is how the rich can maintain their nobility."
"When my father killed Pingyuan Jun's retainers, Pingyuan Jun wanted to deal with his crime. He said: The State of Zhao was defeated because of these people. You are the clan of the State of Zhao. If the State of Zhao is destroyed, can you continue to do what you are doing now?
Wealth and honor? What I want to say is this. Protecting officials who harm the people, or bullying the people themselves and delaying the farming season, are the things that will lead to the destruction of the Zhao State. If the Zhao State is destroyed, won’t the officials of the Zhao State not be able to do so?
Becoming a slave to the enemy?"
"I heard that there is a bird called poison, and the wine dipped in its feathers can poison people to death. But some people feel thirsty, so they drink such wine and kill themselves. I heard,
There is a kind of bird called...the golden goose. It can lay a golden egg every day, but greedy people kill the golden goose and take away the eggs in its belly in order to get the golden eggs earlier. Is this what I said?
Isn’t that the same truth?”
"This is the principle of governing the country. If local officials can fulfill their duties and protect the people of Zhao State, then Zhao State will definitely become stronger. This is something that only benefits the officials and does no harm.", Zhao
Zhao Kuo said seriously, while Han Fei behind him was quickly recording his words and deeds. Han Fei always liked to write some interesting stories from various places, and this time Zhao Kuo's words made him think that he could be
The two recorded stories contain truth.
After Zhao Kuo said this, he suddenly took off the jade pendant from his waist and handed it to Zhao Xu. Zhao Kuo smiled and said: "This is a reward from the Lord because I led the soldiers to repel the enemy. Now I want a reward."
Give it to you, because I only protected Wu'an City once, but you can protect it for a longer time." Zhao Xu took the jade pendant handed by Zhao Kuo with his trembling hands, and looked at Zhao Kuo's sunny smile blankly, and suddenly
, Zhao Xu knelt on the ground.
"Mr. Ma Fu... I am guilty... I failed to perform my duties. In order to make friends with the nobles, I indulged their followers... I am not the gentleman you think. I arrested those evil officials because I was afraid of being punished.
Your punishment, I don't deserve your rewards and praise, it's all my fault..." Zhao Xu knelt in front of Zhao Kuo, sobbing, tears falling to the ground, and all the officials stood up one after another.
, looking at this scene in surprise.
Han Fei writes hard, great, here comes the third story.