I'm really not doing business

Chapter 910: Hou Yuzhao is just weird, not evil

Returning the land to the fields is indeed a panacea, it works immediately.

The changes of dynasties and the reforms of each generation are actually all about the redistribution of the means of production. This is always the case without any exception.

The redistribution of the means of production is itself a set of effective solutions to systemic crises that China has summed up through practice throughout its long history. Every rebirth from the ashes, every nirvana, is accompanied by a dynasty, or in other words, is for the purpose of redistributing the means of production.

The return of land in Zhejiang this time was essentially the Ming Emperor relaxing the conditions for maritime trade and exchanging overseas interests for the compromise of powerful and wealthy people. Of course, the price was much lower. Originally, ten hectares of land could be exchanged for a ship or a ship certificate, but when it came to the return of land in Zhejiang, it became twenty-five hectares.

These ships and these ship certificates will eventually go out to sea to seek profits. Except for official ships, few ships go to the other side of the Pacific Ocean, let alone the West.

Therefore, the cost of returning the land to the Ming Dynasty was still borne by the slaves in the plantations, including overseas barbarians, Japanese slaves, and black foreigners.

In this process, the emperor not only paid real money, but also further relaxed the conditions and thresholds for maritime trade. The emperor paid with part of his imperial power and his own posthumous reputation. The slave trade and plantation economy will bring him a lot of criticism in the future. If you add them up, it would probably be higher than Mount Tai.

What Wang Chonggu did not expect was that from policy formulation to policy implementation, the emperor's purpose was to intimidate and punish, and there were no problems at the execution level. However, Zhejiang has very strong economic resilience, and as long as the policy can be implemented to the end, Zhejiang will have the opportunity to develop.

Compared with the hinterland, Zhejiang's natural endowments and geographical conditions still leave too much room for error.

Moreover, Zhejiang took the lead and was the first to complete the redistribution of means of production, thus gaining the upper hand. If other places want to surpass Zhejiang, it will probably take more than ten or twenty years.

"It is worth noting that some powerful people and local celebrities were quite cooperative in returning the land this time, and they were not unanimously opposed." Zhu Yijun took out a memorial and said with an indescribable expression: "It's just that Hou Yu Zhao wrote a list."

Zhu Yijun gave Hou Yuzhao a list of land returns. This list was a somewhat dangerous list, not the kind that was convenient to spread. Ye Xianggao naturally saw his majesty's dilemma and did not continue writing.

Hou Yuzhao was divided into five levels according to the degree of his enthusiasm for returning farmland to Zhejiang. To a certain extent, the emperor could arrest people according to the list.

The first level is those who are loyal to the emperor and the country, and their number is less than 10%.

Most of them were long-time sea merchants. Not only did they voluntarily return the land, they also exercised their subjective initiative, actively publicized the court's policies, fought against some influential public opinions, and actively lobbied their fellow clansmen and in-laws to return the land. If lobbying failed once, they would lobby twice or three times, and most importantly, provide assistance.

Some gentry were opposed to going to sea, not because they thought merchants were lowly or that going to sea was the choice of desperate people, but because they had no idea how to run maritime trade or how to start. They were envious of others making money.

And these emerging bourgeoisie became the leaders.

The sea merchants collectively recommended that the ships they returned to the country in exchange for land be registered at the Songjiang Maritime Customs rather than the Ningbo Maritime Customs, which was generally described as not being particularly convenient.

The second level is those who are influenced by holy virtues. There are less than 20% of people in this category.

They just hold a wait-and-see attitude towards returning land and maritime trade. After all, the court opens the sea today and closes it tomorrow. The loss is not just a loss. As long as the sea is closed, the transformed gentry can only become smuggling merchants.

After lobbying and being guided by others to find a way, I started to make contributions.

The reason why the influence of holy virtue is related to holy virtue is that we believe in the credibility of the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty during the heyday of the Spring and Autumn Period. Your Majesty really keeps his word. Over the years, even the promises made in the Four Books annotated by Your Majesty have been resolutely fulfilled, not to mention the promises made in the public imperial edicts.

The third level is those who waver from side to side. This type of people is the largest, accounting for more than 50%.

Not knowing whether to return the land, and unwilling to step out of one’s comfort zone into a field with an uncertain future, one chooses to wait and see, especially to see whether His Majesty’s promise counts, and whether the promised ship certificates and ship deeds will be honored as scheduled.

All of these ships were built with real money from the imperial treasury, the national treasury, and the local government of Zhejiang. However, the price that the emperor ordered the shipyard to pay for the construction was different from the price paid by the public.

The fourth level is those who are forced to do so. They don’t want to return the land, but they also don’t want to die. The knife of the imperial court is hanging over their heads. The Cai family of Deqing is a typical example. Cai Zhengping is firmly opposed to returning the land. He just wants to be a leisurely landlord.

In addition to the fact that the soldiers' knives were too sharp, the income from farming and the changes in the economic situation, as well as their concerns about their own class decline, forced these gentry to obey the court's decree and return the land.

The fifth level is those who refuse to repent and are indecisive. They are unwilling to obey the government order to abolish the slave indentures, pretend to agree to return the land, secretly resist the government order, force the tenants to rent the land for a long time, return the land with poor quality land instead of good land, use money houses to lend money at high interest rates and engage in large-scale mergers, etc.

Hou Yuzhao's attitude towards the fifth level who went against the emperor was that they were enemies and anyone with blood on their hands would be killed, and anyone without blood on their hands would be exiled to Luzon, Jiugang, Yuanxu Islands, and Jinchi Governor's Office.

Hou Yuzhao treated all those who went against the emperor as barbarians and exterminated them.

"Why is Hou Yuzhao's style so similar to Lai Junchen's?" Wang Chonggu said nervously as he looked at the list of names listed by Hou Yuzhao.

Hou Yuzhao is very similar to Lai Junchen, a cruel official of the Tang Dynasty. The list of names and charges he fabricated is really scary.

"Who is Lai Junchen? How can he be compared with Hou Yuzhao? Hou Yuzhao just likes to go against others. In such a big matter as returning the land, he didn't embezzle a penny of silver. It's unfair to compare them like this." Zhu Yijun immediately defended Hou Yuzhao.

The Tiqi conducted a comprehensive investigation on Hou Yuzhao. It was found that Hou Yuzhao did not use the land return order to make a fortune, and they even investigated all those who bribed him.

Hou Yuzhao's logic is sometimes really strange, but also very reasonable.

In his opinion, anyone who came to offer bribes must have done something wrong. Some people who wanted to avoid trouble gave him money, but ended up getting into lawsuits and being investigated thoroughly.

"The fifth-level unrepentant Hou Yuzhao has been investigated and dealt with. Should we arrest the fourth-level people who have no choice?" Zhang Juzheng looked at the list in his hand and asked a question that embarrassed the emperor, the prime minister, the second prime minister, and the general.

According to the general law of development, after the list has been compiled, the next step is to arrest people according to the list.

To be classified as the fourth level, there are several conditions that must be met. These people are not the kind of people who live one day at a time, but are filled with resentment and put it into action.

Including but not limited to spreading rumors that the court had confiscated land for nothing, inciting tenants to resist the return of land, demanding the payment of back taxes twice, using his own connections in the court to stir up public opinion, etc.

Only when all these conditions are met will they be classified as being forced into the fourth level, where they can be arrested or not.

"I took advantage of the fire in Renhe to implicate the whole of Zhejiang, and bought their land at a low price. I didn't even allow them to complain? The land has been returned, and I just redeemed the boat, and then I raided their house. I am so fickle, who in the world will still trust me?"

"Just keep a close eye on him. If there are no obvious signs of rebellion, we won't arrest him." Zhu Yijun had to decide whether to arrest him or not. Firstly, although credibility is something that cannot be seen or touched, it is extremely difficult to establish.

"And Hou Yuzhao is a little strange. He can distinguish between friend and foe. This is somewhat magical. Just like this time when Cai and Xu fought, he made the right judgment, and more than once. It is a bit like Sun Wukong's Fiery Eyes and Golden Pupils, which can tell whether it is a human or a demon."

"He can always accurately judge whether a person is an enemy or a friend. I trust his judgment more. I came to Zhejiang on a southern tour and I am not in Zhejiang all year round. Since he has judged that he is not an enemy, I want to arrest him to destroy his reputation." Zhu Yijun explained in detail why he did not arrest him.

Secondly, he didn't want to be Tang Sanzang who couldn't tell good from evil. While Hou Yuzhao was fighting monsters, he was making enemies for Hou Yuzhao everywhere. This kind of boss who deliberately made things more difficult for his subordinates was extremely hateful.

Zhu Yijun trusted Hou Yuzhao's judgment of the position. When encountering a situation, he could quickly judge the enemy and us, and then do the work. He did so in Liaodong and he still did so in Zhejiang.

"It is indeed a bit strange and hard to describe." Wang Chonggu led the official factory and also supervised the Dingjian project. He had a lot of contact with poor people and laborers. There were bad people among the people. It was really difficult to distinguish between good and bad people among the people.

As Wang Chonggu said in his "The Way of Being an Official" and "The Self-cultivation of the Five-Step Snake", we should maintain sympathy and concern for the group; we should also be vigilant and keep a distance from the individual;
The strange thing about Hou Yuzhao is that he can accurately distinguish between enemies and friends, which ones must be defeated, which ones can be tolerated, which ones can be united with, and which ones must be supported.

Who are our enemies and who are our friends?
This question will probably bother people for a lifetime, and we must clarify this issue in everything we do.

Hou Yuzhao did it.

There is a very miraculous case. There was a captain in Luomuying of Hangzhou Prefecture. His surname was Wu and his name was Wu Shangwen. He was the eldest son of the Wu family of Lin'an. Wu Shangwen's father and grandfather were typical bad gentry.

He is a very bad gentry. Wu Shangwen said:

I have been eating bloody rice since I was a child. My family is a local tyrant in Lin'an. My grandfather likes to bury alive the tenants who don't pay rent or money. My father keeps a group of ruffians and bandits. They will rush into the house and smash and rob anyone who disobeys them. They will kill the men and take the women back to the village!

Old bandits gave birth to young bandits, old tenants gave birth to young tenants, old slaves gave birth to young slaves, and this cycle continued endlessly. My grandfather and father were in Lin'an County for more than 40 years, and no one dared to control them, not even the county magistrate.

The magistrate did not dare to ask more questions. Otherwise, who would pay the taxes? Who would support the yamen runners? Who would collect the labor? Who would take the lead in handling affairs?

In the 13th year of Wanli, His Majesty wanted to quell a rebellion. My grandfather was so frightened that he wanted to hang himself, and my father was so frightened that he wanted to jump into the river. As a result, the yamen runners rescued my grandfather from the rope, fished my father out of the river, and after finding out the truth, they beheaded them in public.

This powerful and influential person, whose hands were stained with blood, had his property confiscated by Hou Yuzhao. At that time, Wu Shangwen was the captain of the Luomuying in Hangzhou. Everyone, including Yan Shixuan, suggested that Hou Yuzhao arrest Wu Shangwen as well to prevent future troubles.

You, Hou Yu Zhao, confiscated the family property and exterminated the whole clan, leaving behind such a remnant. Aren't you asking for trouble?
Hou Yuzhao did not follow the advice. He did not arrest anyone. He also asked Wu Shangwen to return to Lin'an County and let Wu Shangwen preside over the return of land to Lin'an County.

Everyone felt that Hou Yuzhao was going to suffer a great loss! This was no different from letting a tiger go back to the mountains.

After his grandfather and father were beheaded in public, Wu Shangwen returned to Lin'an and personally returned all the land that originally belonged to his family. He also called several wealthy families in Lin'an to his home and forced them to return the land.

Yan Shixuan didn't understand, so he went to ask about the return of the land, and took the opportunity to ask Wu Shangwen why he made such a choice.

Wu Shangwen said that he had a good mother who worshipped Buddha. Every time his grandfather and father committed murder, his mother would cry and recite scriptures non-stop in front of the Buddha statue.

Since he was a child, he has witnessed those crimes time and time again. He has committed too many evils and will be punished. It's not that there is no retribution, but that the time has not come yet.

Later, Wu Shangwen's mother died under unclear circumstances. Wu Shangwen's father and grandfather were both beheaded. No one knew why his mother died. Wu Shangwen himself did not dare to ask. If he heard that his own father had killed his mother, Wu Shangwen really didn't know whether he should live or die.

After his mother's unclear death, Wu Shangwen no longer had any sense of identity with the Wu family and went straight to Luomuying to join the army.

After the land was returned, Wu Shangwen felt that his sins were somewhat relieved. Wu Shangwen remained in Luomuying, and he went on patrol every year to repair bridges, roads, dikes and dig canals, and only then did he get a moment of peace.

Wu Shangwen felt that he was a sinner as long as he was alive, because he had been "cannibalizing" people since he was a child. The rice, flour, grain and oil that he used to fuel his body were all the flesh and blood of the people.

During the years when Wu Shangwen was growing up, the Wu family had been lending money at high interest rates, forcing tenants to commit suicide. There were at least ninety households with such loans, if not a hundred.

A family that accumulates good will surely have good fortune, but his family does not accumulate any good or virtue at all, and all they accumulate is blood debt.

Wu Shangwen said that he was actually very scared. When the Sochi incident happened in Jiangnan, Wu Shangwen was extremely scared.

When some gentry instigated tenants to cause trouble, Hou Yuzhao sent Wu Shangwen to deal with them. Wu Shangwen came forward and spoke bluntly to the crowd, shouting: Whoever opposes returning the land, let him become a tenant in my house!

This sentence is equivalent to sending someone to the eighteenth level of hell. For a family like the Wu family, which is a notorious evil gentry, this sentence is even more effective than an imperial edict. Being a tenant in the Wu family is really the same as going to hell.

The gentry, who had originally relied on the people to protect their dignity, lost their strongest card inexplicably because of Wu Shangwen's betrayal.

The instigated tenants were afraid of the owner and the Wu family, saying that the Wu father and son ate children's heads. Zhu Yijun looked at the files in front of him, each of which was a tragedy that he could not bear to read. He said helplessly: "Wu Shangwen's father and grandfather did not eat children's heads. This is a rumor, but Wu Shangwen's mother was indeed beaten to death by Wu Shangwen's father."

Hou Yuzhao found out the truth that Wu Shangwen did not dare to find out and wrote it in the case file.

When Wu Shangwen's father and grandfather committed evil, Wu Shangwen's mother did not dare to persuade them to stop, so she kept chanting sutras. This made Wu Shangwen's father annoyed, so she beat him to death. There was no resentment or other quarrel; he was just killed by the Buddhist shrine.

Not many people knew about this, so Hou Yuzhao did not tell Wu Shangwen.

"What a beast." Wang Chonggu sighed after reading the case file.

"What on earth is Hou Yuzhao thinking? He dared to use Wu Shangwen. Your Majesty has been watching Wang Yi'e and Zhou Liangyin for ten years." Zhang Juzheng was also amazed. It was indeed a bit strange that Hou Yuzhao would make a judgment on the position first.

It's even weirder than Yan Shixuan's metaphysics.

"Next time I see him, I will ask him and let him share his experience so that I can learn from him." Zhu Yijun had noticed Hou Yuzhao's magical ability very early. When he was in Liaodong, he had already mastered this ability to perfection.

Hou Yuzhao stood in the center of the court, looked around, and then gave Zhu Yijun a list of those who had ulterior motives, those who were loyal to the emperor but were actually rebellious, those who were worth the effort to unite, and those who could be trusted.

This magical skill of judging friend and foe is so useful to the emperor!
"Hou Yuzhao is the person chosen by the Ministry of Revenue. Now that the Zhejiang incident is over, we can let him return to the court to serve as Junior Prime Minister." Zhang Juzheng made a suggestion to allow Hou Yuzhao to take another step forward.

When you do something, you must make progress, otherwise no one will work for the emperor in the future.

"I think it's a good idea." Wang Chonggu agreed.

Qi Jiguang hesitated to speak and did not express his opinion.

Zhu Yijun naturally saw it and asked with a smile: "What does General Qi think? There are only a few of us here, and it won't be heard by outsiders."

"Actually, I think it's okay for him to be the Junior Sima. After all, he has been the military commander in Liaodong for so many years, he rides a horse well, and he has also helped Marquis Ningyuan do a lot of things. Without Hou Yuzhao in Liaodong, Marquis Ningyuan could not have expanded his fields to Heilongjiang." Qi Jiguang felt that it was a bit of a waste of Hou Yuzhao's talent to work in the Ministry of Revenue.

The position of Minister of War is extremely important for military affairs. As a general, Qi Jiguang actually prefers Hou Yu Zhaolu to be the Minister of War.

"The Ministry of Revenue pays for money and food, and the Ministry of War selects elite soldiers. So, let him go to the Ministry of Revenue and then take charge of the military affairs of the Beijing camp." Zhu Yijun chose a compromise and added responsibilities to Hou Yuzhao.

There is another thing about Hou Yuzhao, that is the Liaodong Agricultural Reclamation Bureau.

This agricultural reclamation bureau was even more important to the Ming Dynasty than the Western Regions. Once the water bubbles in the endless grasslands of Liaodong were drained, they could be used for farming. Even if only one crop was harvested a year, it could supply food to the north.

There was a huge loss of grain transported from the south to the north, but there was sufficient grain in Liaodong, which was great news for the towns in the north.

If necessary, Zhu Yijun could even accept Li Chengliang's return to Liaodong to become a local emperor and reclaim Liaodong.

Talking about industrialization and transformation of production relations is all nonsense without agriculture.

There is no country in the world that can develop industry without developing agriculture well. Even Japan in later generations had to rely on the five-star emperor MacArthur to launch land reform, which liberated the farmers.

"If we are unable to do so, the Agricultural Reclamation Bureau should be the main one." Qi Jiguang approved of His Majesty's compromise plan. The Minister of War did not have to be Hou Yu Zhao, but the Agricultural Reclamation Bureau still had to be headed by Hou Yu Zhao himself.

"What about Hou Yuzhao's future cabinet? Sir, Deputy Prime Minister, do you think he can join the cabinet?" Zhu Yijun frowned and said, "The burden of the Agricultural Reclamation Bureau may not be borne by a Minister of Revenue."

"Hou Yuzhao is capable, but his temper is such that Your Majesty needs to be more tolerant of him." Wang Chonggu thought there was no problem with Hou Yuzhao joining the cabinet.

The only problem with Hou Yuzhao's entry into the cabinet is that the emperor might have to forgive him many times. Hou Yuzhao speaks directly and does not like to beat around the bush. He is the kind of person who may not even realize that he is wrong when he contradicts His Majesty.

Hou Yuzhao often goes against the flow with others. This happens many times. This is obviously wrong, so why can't we say anything about it?
For example, he initially felt that the merit award for taking a head was unreasonable. The soldiers, generals, and even the officials in the Ministry of War all felt that it was unreasonable, but no one said anything.

Hou Yuzhao then spoke up and proposed a five-level reward system.

"If the Farm Reclamation Bureau does well, he will be angry with me every day, and I will have no choice but to tolerate him. If the Farm Reclamation Bureau does not do well, I will try my best to protect it, but I am afraid it will also cause criticism." Zhu Yijun hesitated for a moment before saying, "I had a nightmare yesterday."

"I dreamed that I was in the Huangji Palace. The palace and the Danbi Square outside the palace were full of ministers. Each of these ministers had countless heads, and each head had countless faces. Each face had countless mouths, and each mouth had countless tongues. These tongues were praising me at the same time."

"Even Concubine Ran was frightened and kept apologizing."

Zhu Yijun was not talking nonsense. Whatever you think about during the day, you will dream about at night.

That day, Cai Shuchang told Chen Mo that Hou Yu Zhao might have embezzled the ship certificate and ship deed. Zhu Yijun had this dream. In the dream, he hid from those tongues, but wherever he went, he was praised by His Majesty for his wisdom.

Zhu Yijun cut off those tongues, and they grew back after being cut off. Zhu Yijun knew it was a dream, but he just couldn't wake up. Ran Huiniang was really scared, and she couldn't be awakened no matter how hard she called, so she called Queen Wang over.

When Queen Wang arrived, she also called the imperial physician over. Li Shizhen was too old to accompany her, so three great medical officers, Chen Shigong, Wu Lian, and Pang Xian, came together.

Oddly enough, as soon as Wang Yaozhuo arrived and called out twice, Zhu Yijun woke up. Apart from sweat all over his forehead, there was nothing unusual about him.

The three great doctors consulted together, and after examining the emperor, they determined that he was fine, except that he was too worried.

Zhu Yijun was actually very worried that the news that Cai Shuchang had heard was true.

Hou Yuzhao was his most trusted minister and a member of the young and vigorous faction of the Wanli Reform. If Hou Yuzhao took advantage of the land return issue to make a fortune and disrupted the land return situation in Zhejiang, Zhu Yijun would not be able to accept the feeling of betrayal by such a trusted minister.

If it was true, Zhu Yijun felt that his suspicion would become even worse.

Fortunately, Hou Yuzhao is just weird, not bad.

"Eh!" Wang Chonggu shuddered, waved his hands and said, "Your Majesty, this dream is too scary!"

"Should I guard the palace gate?" When Qi Jiguang heard that His Majesty had such a nightmare, he gave his own solution: guard the palace gate.

Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin, often had nightmares in his later years, and he had no choice but to let Qin Qiong and Yuchi Gong guard the gate. It was called a nightmare, probably to prevent rebellion. After all, in the Xuanwu Gate Incident, the Xuanwu Gate guard Chang He was Emperor Taizong's man, and he was the key figure in the success of Xuanwu Gate.

"That's not necessary." Zhu Yijun said with a smile: "I am just angry that I can't kill those weirdos and cut off those weird tongues."

"I obey your order." Qi Jiguang bowed his head and said. If he, a great general, went to guard the gate, His Majesty would not be able to sleep. What if this great general wanted to become emperor?
"Your Majesty, it would be better to conduct a southern tour every few years. State affairs are busy and this southern tour can be considered as a break." Zhang Juzheng gave a suggestion.

Your Majesty's concerns are mostly about state affairs, so it would be better for you to take some time to rest.

Zhang Juzheng knew very well that His Majesty was a living person with flesh and blood, with his own joys and sorrows. He was not as cold and ruthless as he appeared to be, like a ruthless political machine. It was only because he shouldered the responsibility of supporting the country that His Majesty became like this.

This time, Zhu Yijun convened the Prime Minister, the Second Prime Minister, and the General to discuss matters, mainly to decide whether to reduce the land tax in Zhejiang, whether to arrest the people on the fourth-level list, and the personnel arrangements for Hou Yuzhao.

Wang Chonggu carefully reviewed the memorials from all parties and finally added: "The Ming Dynasty has to deal with a new crisis. The population is exploding. This is an opportunity, but also a challenge."

The population growth in Zhejiang became obvious, especially when the Tiqi visited the countryside and found that a child was born in almost every family. Some were carried on their backs, some were at home, and some were under the trees at the entrance of the village. The women sat on rocks, holding their children, or watching their children.

The explosive population growth is a good thing for the Ming Dynasty at present, but overpopulation is not good for the Ming Dynasty either.

The population explosion, the total ecological collapse, the small glacier climate, the complete annexation of land, the monopoly of means of production, the chaos in the court, the civil unrest, and the raging war. These mountains will probably cause the most tragic scene in the history of the Central Plains.

Zhu Yijun thought that he should just live as hard as he could. If it really didn't work, he could just go out to sea with the three-inch round dragon flag and all the sins would be his responsibility alone.

The emperor was incompetent and could not feed the people. In order to prevent excessive internal pressure, the emperor's throne was overturned. This was the only way. Zhu Yijun was a feudal emperor and he had his own limitations.

After the ministers left, Zhu Yijun summoned Hou Yuzhao and explained the situation.

"Old Zhao, you'd better get ready and return to Beijing in the spring of next year to be the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue." Zhu Yijun congratulated Hou Yuzhao, saying that as a time-tested feudal empire warrior, he had made further progress.

Hou Yuzhao looked hesitant. He was not trying to correct His Majesty. His last name was Hou, and everyone started calling him Ningyuan Hou. He thought for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, how about letting me stay in Zhejiang for another five years?"

Hou Yuzhao did not want to make any progress and even rejected the emperor himself to his face.

Over the years, no one dared to refuse Zhu Yijun!
"Oh?" Zhu Yijun was stunned. This Marquis Yu Zhao had not even entered the cabinet yet, but he had already started to go against the emperor! Was he stupid, or was he innocent?
"I'm afraid there will be some setbacks in Zhejiang's land restoration. It's just like farming. If you reclaim land but don't grow it well, it's a waste."

"These officials in the hinterland are all a little afraid of things. Even the brave Shen Shixing is afraid of wolves in front and tigers behind. I don't know what they are afraid of. I just think that it's no big deal. If it doesn't work out, they can go back to Liaodong to farm." Hou Yuzhao explained his reasons.

Hou Yuzhao would not commit suicide like Zhu Wan. He would only plant his enemies in the ground and make compost.

After returning from Liaodong, he found that these officials in the hinterland all had a lot of rules. They couldn't do this or that, and they put a lot of shackles on themselves.

Hou Yuzhao was completely different. He learned some banditry from Li Chengliang. In fact, he felt that farming in Liaodong was much better than engaging in intrigue in the hinterland, so he had no scruples.

The land return in Zhejiang may be repeated, and there may be bandit groups returning to their hometowns. This is what Hou Yuzhao is most worried about. Whenever bandit groups returning to their hometowns wreak havoc, it means that the land return in Zhejiang has failed.

"The next is Ningbo Ocean Trading Company. There are problems with these merchant managers and shipowners." Hou Yuzhao said with a frown.

"What's the problem? Tell me in detail." Zhu Yijun asked with a frown.

Even Zhejiang people don't like Ningbo Ocean Trading Company very much, because they think it's not very convenient. Is it really just that simple? I'm afraid not.

Hou Yuzhao said with certainty: "I don't know either. I just think that there is something wrong with their position."

"Old Zhao, why do you think there is something wrong with them?" Zhu Yijun asked curiously.

"Feeling." Hou Yuzhao gave a very clear answer, it was just a feeling.

Zhu Yijun understood that this was a person with extraordinary talent.

(End of this chapter)