Chapter 51 Dare to make a post to testify to God's prophecy, be prepared to be harassed
After talking to Shen Shuren about the rumbling opening remarks, Fang Kongzhen's staff quickly brought a pile of letters.
Fang Kongzheng took it, threw it directly in front of him, pointed at it and said, "See for yourself, in the past half a month, how many people have come to complain to me, saying that you are domineering and exceeding your authority."
Chen Shuren flipped through a few pages without feeling panic at all.
Fang Kongzheng was willing to take out the letter, which meant that he had no intention of supporting those people - if Xiang Yu planned to support Cao Wushang, would he tell Liu Bang, "This is what Pei Gong Zuo Sima Cao Wushang said"?
And the content of the letter is indeed nothing serious.
The most cruel one is nothing more than a false accusation, saying that Shen Shuren "threats the vassal king." This label is a big one, much heavier than being a domineering ruler, but the problem is that there is no real evidence at all.
Fang Kongzheng also picked out the biggest problem and asked carefully: "Since you have seen it yourself, please tell me clearly about this matter. How did you 'threaten the feudal king'?"
Chen Shuren put down the skewers he had just finished chewing, wiped his hands, and said lightly: "In the past few months, I haven't even seen the King of Chu. He is a threatening vassal king.
It is nothing more than a slap in the face to those local officials and gentry who hope to make money through seed lending, and to tell them not to be too arrogant. I gave the two examples of King Fu and King Zhou——
King Fu was greedy and insatiable. In the end, the people's hearts turned to the intruders. In the end, everything was spit out, and his property and life were not saved. The king of Zhou learned from the past and rewarded the army with tens of millions of property. Therefore, Kaifeng still holds on to this day. It is no better than Luoyang in ten days. Down.
My intention with these words was just to beat them up, to understand who saved them from Zhang Xianzhong's butcher's knife. In these troubled times, Zuo Liangyu could make them bleed, but I refused to bleed when I came. This was bullying me as inferior to Zuo Liangyu. How cruel!"
Chen Shuren originally didn't really want to attack the local forces in Wuchang.
But the key point is that the warlord Zuo Liangyu has been wreaking havoc here for two years and has picked up a lot of thorns. The locals have actually relented to a certain extent and have given Zuo Liangyu a lot of extrajudicial benefits and donated money to support the army.
Otherwise, how could Zuo Liangyu be able to support an army of one hundred thousand by relying on the legal income of these several prefectures? Even for an ordinary man, the expenditure of one hundred thousand is extremely exaggerated.
Now Shen Shuren, a civil servant, has come, and the locals have begun to talk to him about the laws of the Ming Dynasty and the rules of the court. They have paid him money and refused to do it, and they want to share the benefits when doing things for him. Isn't this bullying an honest person? Isn't it bullying? Is Shen Shuren not as decisive in killing people as Zuo Liangyu?
This must be beaten, so that those people can see clearly. From now on, in the second mansion of Hanyang in Wuchang, the sky of Shen Daotai will be supported, and the ground of Shen Daotai will be stepped on. If he can take Zuo Liangyu away, there must be someone better than Zuo Liangyu. A more decisive approach!
"Young people are formidable. You dare to challenge and fight, but don't you care about the reputation of Shilin? I can't do it, so I can only try to figure it out slowly." Fang Kongzhen is also a sensible person. After listening to Chen Shuren's words, he has already roughly guessed. The person who came out of Chenshu wanted to set up some kind of vicious character.
In fact, if he had gone back twenty or thirty years and was still full of energy, he might have wanted to act more vigorously and resolutely when he saw the troubled times.
But he is already old, fifty-two years old. According to the average life expectancy in the late Ming Dynasty, at this age, the loess is buried not only to his throat, but at least to his chest.
As you get older, you tend to cherish your feathers and want to keep your reputation as a scholar for most of your life.
After all, this is a good reputation accumulated over the past few decades. The sunk cost is too high and it has become path dependent——
Not to mention Fang Kongzhen, I think back to the time when Liu Biao, who was also the most powerful in Jingchu, was also older, and finally became a panellist who "sit back and watch the success or failure". When he was young, he couldn't get rid of the burden of being an idol named "Eight Talents". If you can't let go of your body and do those shameless heroic activities, you will only end up taking advantage of others.
Chen Shuren also saw the other party's mentality, so he simply made the topic clear:
"Xiaguan came to Jiangling this time and passed through Yuezhou. I saw that Futai also set up a Lijin Chao Pass in Baling. Everyone entering and leaving Dongting Lake would be taxed. It was much more convenient than setting up Chao Guan in Yongzhou and other places.
It can be seen that Futai is also willing to be flexible for the great cause of suppressing thieves. In this case, why not let me play the bad role and you, Futai, play the red face. I am responsible for being domineering, and you are responsible for being 'old, stupid and unable to control' and being deceived by me."
Fang Kongzhen didn't expect the other party to speak so shamelessly, and he felt a little embarrassed. So he pretended that he had drunk too much wine just now, drank a cup of tea in silence, took the opportunity to think clearly, and then asked:
"How specifically do you want me to cooperate? You have traveled thousands of miles to come in person this time. You must have some policies that you need my support for, right?"
Chen Shuren: "I need Futai's permission to expand the explanation of the use of Huguang Lijin. It can not only be used directly for military pay, but also be used for reclamation and water conservancy in garrison camps. It is even allowed to be used to recruit corvees during the off-farm season, and to work as a labor force." Relief.
In the future, if possible, I hope to increase the lijin tax rate at certain checkpoints next year as appropriate - these all require the approval of the governor's yamen, so you can be fooled by me.
Just now you asked me if I didn't care about the reputation of Shilin, and Xiaguan said it bluntly, I really don't care - my family is a wealthy businessman who donated his official position to become an official. There is no good reputation to speak of. In such troubled times, in just a few years, What is the use of Shilin Qingyu when he is under the knife of rogue thieves and Tatars?"
After Chen Shuren finished speaking, Fang Kongzheng remained silent. The other party opened the skylight and spoke frankly, which had helped him remove his moral burden.
But making decisions is never just about resolving moral baggage, it also depends on interests.
Moral and legal baggage only determines "whether you dare to do it or not", while interests determine "whether you want to do it or not".
Seeing his silence, Shen Shuren knew that he was thinking about benefits.
The benefits of being an official and becoming a governor and supporting the reforms of colleagues are definitely not greed for money. It is to ensure that one's tenure is stable, and it is best to have some political benefits.
Chen Shuren stopped playing riddles and said directly: "As long as Futai supports me, I can strengthen the army and strengthen the military. Within two years, I will destroy Zhang Xianzhong, and then there will be peace in the south. Even if there are some misunderstandings from the outside world during this period, etc. When you're done, nothing matters anymore.
In addition, although winter has entered this year and it is impossible to use force again, in the past few months, I still have one merit that I can give to brother Fang Nian - the fifth battalion of Gezuo. Only Ma Shouying surrendered to Li Zicheng, and Lin Chengcheng was trapped. In the Yinghuo Mountain area between Huangzhou and Anlu, the remaining three battalions were completely destroyed, and Lin Chengcheng was completely surrounded by the army.
I don't plan to go deep into the dangerous mountainous areas to pursue the enemy in the cold winter, but I can use material blockades and cooperate with the recruitment to force Lin Cheng to surrender directly. Moreover, the conditions for surrender this time are much more severe than those three years ago.
They had a bad record of rebelling after Zhang Xianzhong surrendered, so after this surrender, their deployment must be disrupted and reorganized, and they were not allowed to designate a state capital to defend themselves.
Although the conditions are very harsh, He Yilong was killed because he refused to accept this condition, but now that both He and He are dead in my hands, the strength and weakness have reversed obviously, Lin Chengcheng should not have the courage to resist anymore.
Brother Fang Nian is now a deputy commander in Anqing Mansion, and the Anqing garrison is also responsible for attacking Lincheng from the east. I asked the Huangzhou Army and the Anqing Army to blockade together, and then used the Zheng family's navy to block all river trade routes that penetrated into the Yinghuo Mountains. Jiangxi merchants who cracked down on smugglers and thieves.
In a few months, Lin Chengcheng will definitely be short of food and clothing. When the time comes, let Brother Fang Nian perform the merits of persuading surrender and reorganizing the army. I will recommend him to Elder Yang Ge and transfer him to the post of governor of Wuchang."
At first, Fang Kongzheng listened to Shen Shuren talking about national affairs, and he just nodded slightly, feeling that it made sense. But in the last two paragraphs, Shen Shuren changed the subject and directly talked to him about official promotion and transactions, which caught him off guard, a bit. Feeling embarrassed.
Shen Shuren is willing to help his son perform meritorious service and be promoted to the prefect of Wuchang. This is a big favor.
The promotion from Tongzhi to prefect requires a lot of credit. Although Anqing Prefecture is also a relatively important prefecture, it cannot be compared with Wuchang - if you look at later generations, you will know that Wuchang is at the provincial capital level after all.
Of course, Fang Yizhi was originally in the same year as Shen Shuren, and they both passed the Jinshi examination together. This friendship was there, and Shen Shuren originally planned to support him.
Shen Shuren still doesn't have enough close friends in the officialdom, and his power is expanding so fast. It's better to use outsiders than to use his own people.
"This...how should this be done? The matter of forced landing and training should be carried out in any way. Whoever deserves the credit deserves the credit. Let nature take its course. What you said just now is quite reasonable. I will help you with the reform of the usage and tax rate of lijin."
Fang Kongzhen still wanted to save face, and only said that what he was asked to do would be done. As for helping his son get promoted, he just "let nature take its course and don't be deliberate."
Everyone understands people, no need to explain too clearly, everyone understands.
Fang Kongzhen was in a good mood and quickly ordered a dinner party to be held at his house to entertain Shen Daotai who came from afar.
Shen Shuren now only relies on him for specific government affairs, but his official position is definitely not low. Shen Shuren also has the title of censor of Qiandu, which is only half a step away from the governor. He is more than thirty years younger than him. , everyone knows how to make friends with such young and promising potential stocks, even if there is no such thing as the previous one, they still have to be entertained grandly.
…
The governor's office quickly got organized and prepared as many fine wines and delicacies as conditions permitted.
Chen Shuren thought that his worries were settled and continued to enjoy the snow and drink tea in the plum garden - in fact, he had no expectations for the banquet. His family was so rich and he had never eaten anything good. Just now he was in We drank wine, enjoyed the snow, talked about things, and ate seven or eight skewers at the barbecue. I was already half full.
Chen Shuren was drinking tea when he suddenly heard a clearing of his throat behind him. He turned his head and saw a handsome young man who was not familiar but should have seen him before.
The visitor was holding two books and a round fan, which seemed a bit out of place. When Shen Shuren noticed her, she also came over openly holding the fan and cupping her fists:
"I have met Brother Shen, my younger sister Fang Ziling, and my brother Fang Mizhi, who is the same age as Brother Shen. We should have met last time, but we didn't know each other by name. I am presumptuous to come here today, but I have some academic difficulties and I want to ask for advice. "
As soon as Fang Ziling spoke, Shen Shuren also remembered. Indeed, this face was that of Fang Yizhi's sister, but she was wearing a moon-white scholar's robe today, so it was hard to tell.
It seems that Fang Ziling did not think that she could disguise herself as a man by wearing a scholar's uniform like in the costume drama for the mentally retarded, so she admitted her identity directly and openly.
I guess I just feel that wearing women's clothing and chatting with outsiders would be more shameful, unlike the etiquette of academic debate.
Chen Shuren also likes to talk to cheerful people. If the other person stops pretending, it saves him the trouble of "pretending not to notice that the other person is a woman".
He said frankly: "Brother Fang and I have been friends since the same age. When we went north to Shanhaiguan to transport grain, he even clicked on my eight-part article for a month on the vast sea. His sister is just like my sister. What's wrong with Miss Fang?" If you’re confused, it doesn’t hurt to ask.”
Chen Shuren said this very decently: Your brother gave me a surprise lesson last year in the month before the imperial examination, so today I am just returning the favor and giving you some tips on my knowledge.
When Fang Ziling heard this, he felt no burden and pointed out a question to Shen Shuren directly: "Brother Shen, your "On Thieves" should be based on what you wrote when you had a night discussion with my father about thieves' strategies and the severity of thieves half a year ago. Is it a modified version of the point of view you expressed?
I have also read "Lun on Flooding Thieves" and read through "Rizhi Shijian", but since ancient times, I have never seen anyone dare to be so forthright and predict the outcome of the future merger of thieves at that time.
Why do you dare to say so conclusively that "Once Li Zicheng, Luo Rucai, and Ma Shouying merge, and there will be internal strife in the future, Li Zicheng will definitely be more able to win over people's hearts"? Don't you cherish your reputation?
It has been five months since the three thieves joined forces. Are they trying to harm each other now? No?"