Follow Zhu Yuanzhang to conquer the country

Chapter 36 Choosing to wrong Li Shanchang and Feng Guoyong

"A robber like Hu Yuan should be dealt with in a robber's way."

“Dispose of virtuous neighbors in virtuous ways.”

"In short, as long as the means are for justice, then any means is just, and this is also right!"

Zhang Cheng advised Yang Yuangao.

After Zhu Yuanzhang heard what Zhang Cheng said, he also felt that it was a good idea to install some Confucian scholars who were determined to restore China to serve as informants in the Yuan Dynasty. This was in line with Mr. Zhang's explanation of "building a high wall" in the past. Now, it is better to install some like-minded Confucian scholars. Going to Yuanting is equivalent to secretly building an additional protective wall to ensure that the rebels like themselves become stronger.

thus.

Zhu Yuanzhang also followed suit and said: "As Mr. Zhang said, don't all saints say, repay kindness with kindness and repay grievance with straightness? Treat the barbarians as barbarians!"

After hearing this, Yang Yuangao understood, and nodded and smiled: "I'm just being pedantic."

"Think of it, my ancestors of the Yang family are not immutable people. In that case, I will be this spark and serve Hu Yuan!"

Yang Yuangao said and bowed to Zhang Cheng and Zhu Yuanzhang: "Thank you both for your advice."

Zhang Cheng and Zhu Yuanzhang also bowed in return, and the three of them then looked at each other and smiled.

Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but take another look at the statues of the Yan and Huang Emperors still in the atrium.

Zhu Yuanzhang, who was born in a poor family and was still in the stage of accumulating a lot of knowledge, saw the Emperors Yan and Huang for the first time, and was also exposed to the concept of common ancestors of China for the first time.

and so.

Zhu Yuanzhang would be more interested in this than Zhang Cheng and Yang Yuangao, so he took the initiative to say to Zhang Cheng:

"Mr. Zhang, how about giving this statue of Emperors Yan and Huang to us?"

"If we want to have nothing to do, we can look around more, and we should always remind ourselves that all Han people in the world are descendants of Yan and Huang, and no one is nobler than the other. Therefore, after we rebel, we are not necessarily thieves, and those who serve as officials for Hu Yuan are not necessarily loyal and good. Senior, everything still depends on who is more in line with heaven."

When Zhang Cheng heard what Zhu Yuanzhang said, he knew that he still minded the Confucian scholars who were loyal to the Yuan Dynasty calling him a thief. Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang would now take the initiative to use the concept that he was also a descendant of Yan and Huang to persuade him not to rebel against the Yuan Dynasty. Being called a thief makes me feel inferior, and I really feel that I might be a thief.

In this regard.

Zhang Cheng was happy to see Zhu Yuanzhang emphasizing national consciousness in order to prove that he was not a thief, so he quickly took down the portrait and handed it to Zhu Yuanzhang: "In this case, I will give it to the superior!"

Zhu Yuanzhang was overjoyed and took it, looked at it a few times, and smiled from ear to ear. He rolled it up carefully and put it into his sleeve.

Seeing how happy he was, Zhang Cheng and Yang Yuangao both smiled and looked at each other.

Zhu Yuanzhang also said to Yang Yuangao because he was happy:

"Wen Su must be careful when he seeks an official position in Hu Yuan! In the future, please ask me to take a higher position, how about it? There is no need to call me a general to look more impressive!"

"I will obey the orders of my superiors."

Yang Yuangao replied.

Zhu Yuanzhang was even more happy because of this.

Then, Zhang Cheng suggested: "In order to prevent Wensu's righteous deeds from being known to the world after the restoration of China in the future, and instead being misunderstood by the world that he betrayed Zude and took refuge with Hu Yuan, we should prepare a copy for Wensu now. The document proving Wen Su Tou Yuan's love is a Chinese document, and each of them is kept so that it can be made known to the world in the future. I wonder what the superiors want?"

"Very true!"

Therefore, Zhang Cheng and Zhu Yuanzhang each wrote a certificate to Yang Yuangao, and both said they would keep it well and not show it to others easily.

Yang Yuangao expressed his thanks.

In order to deceive others, Zhang Cheng and Zhu Yuanzhang did not stay long and left the Yang family early.

After returning, neither Zhang Cheng nor Zhu Yuanzhang mentioned Yang Yuangao to anyone again.

On the night when Zhu Yuanzhang came to see Zhang Cheng, Li Shanchang did not go to bed early. Instead, he called his family member Li Bin and said:
  "Send someone to inquire in this area to find out who Mr. Zhang studied under!"

"This person's thinking is so thoughtful and so to the point. By comparing landlords and common people, he has revealed the truth that our philosophy is beneficial to scholars and disadvantageous to the people. He is not a simple person and should not be taken lightly."

Although Li Shanchang had not been exposed to the knowledge of class analysis, he also keenly felt that Zhang Cheng was able to refute his point of not advocating that the rebel brothers express their inner thoughts because Zhang Cheng directly compared the two classes of landlords and common people, unlike himself. The Confucian scholars I came into contact with, like myself, generally referred to landlords and common people as people without subdividing them into specific categories.

and so.

Li Shanchang followed Zhu Yuanzhang to the Qianhu Yamen School Ground and witnessed Zhang Cheng organizing the rebel brothers to sing, and also asked the rebel brothers to express what they thought, and then he also echoed Zhu Yuanzhang's statement that people should not express their opinions. , but was refuted by Zhang Cheng, and even his superior, Zhu Yuanzhang, was persuaded not to let him be responsible for giving lectures to him in the future. When he returned home, he decided to investigate Zhang Cheng secretly.

"Yes!"

"It's just that since this person is so powerful, I have to be careful."

Li Bin agreed and gave Li Shan a long instruction.

"You don't need to remind me."

"Whenever Zhang Cheng speaks from now on, I will give him a step ahead in terms of words!"

Li Shanchang replied.

then.

Li Shanchang asked again: "Call me up early tomorrow morning. Chuzhou City has just been captured and everything is waiting to be done. I can't let the superiors look down upon me!" "Yes!"

Li Shanchang decided to talk less and do more.

thus.

He also got up early the next day, went to the Zhizhou Yamen, and entered the shelf warehouse where the account books of money, grain, land, population, etc. were stored.

Li Shanchang was determined to sort out the situation of the common government in Chuzhou first, and then let his superiors know his diligence and ability, and then make himself the head of the civil servants' staff and take charge of the common government.

But as soon as Li Shanchang entered with a lantern, he saw a faint light in the cabinet. He was quite surprised for a moment and shouted loudly: "Who is in there!"

At this time.

Feng Guoyong walked out holding a lantern, yawning, and said to Li Shanchang: "You almost scared me!"

When Li Shanchang saw that it was Feng Guoyong, he hurriedly asked, "Why are you here?"

Feng Guoyong asked, "Then why is Shi suddenly here?"

"Of course I came here to check Chuzhou's land, population, money and grain account books for the sake of superiority."

Li Shanchang replied.

"me too."

Feng Guoyong replied, smiled coldly, and glanced at Li Shanchang. Seeing Li Shanchang's face as pale as pig liver, he felt even more proud, and couldn't help humming a tune, completely gone. He only slept for two hours last night. Secondly, the intense sleepiness caused by this.

After Zhu Yuanzhang returned to his temporary resting place, he also began to deal with the specific military and political affairs of Chuzhou City.

And because he thought of what he had discussed with Zhang Cheng and Yang Yuangao last night, Zhu Yuanzhang intended to confirm the personnel arrangements first, so he asked people to invite Li Shanchang and Feng Guoyong, two civil servants and staff.

But Zhu Yuanzhang learned that both of them had gone to Jia Ge Ku, so he rushed over and sighed with emotion: "You two are really admired by me. Even the stewards under my foster father are not as good as you!"

"Diligence leads to excellence, while playfulness leads to waste. We are the staff of our superiors. We feel the kindness of our superiors' knowledge and encounters. We should tie our knots with grass, work conscientiously, and dedicate ourselves to the great cause of our superiors. Therefore, we dare not have the intention of being idle."

Li Shanchang replied with a smile.

Feng Guoyong also followed suit: "That's right, superiors, we also want to set an example for others, and we don't dare to slack off."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded, and then asked Li Shanchang:
  "Shan Chang, what do you think of Zhang Cheng?"

Li Shanchang thought for a while and replied: "Mr. Zhang is loyal and outspoken, so he should be a criticizing minister. He is also good at managing the affairs of the army and the people. He can also be a capable minister and an arm of a superior! Moreover, Mr. Zhang is also good at both civil and military affairs, and is brave and resourceful. , this Chuzhou City can be captured, he also has great achievements!"

"We have always felt that you are kind and loyal."

"Now that I hear what you say, we feel even more that you are a kind and loyal elder."

Zhu Yuanzhang was sure that Li Shan would grow up.

Li Shanchang smiled dryly and said: "The superior praises you!"

Then, Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Feng Guoyong again: "Brother Guoyong is also a kind man. He received a slap in the face yesterday. Are you okay?"

"Thanks to the concern from the superiors, everything is fine. I was the one who was abrupt yesterday. I shouldn't be so excited and not aware of the overall situation."

Feng Guoyong also smiled.

Zhu Yuanzhang continued here: "This is what we think. Both of you are loyal and indifferent to fame and fortune, unlike Mr. Zhang! Although Mr. Zhang is talented, benevolent, and good at handling military and civilian affairs, he is very cautious. If we are inadequate, we cannot bear to be wronged, and we must focus on the great cause of ending the troubled times, restoring China, and re-establishing order in the world."

"So, we are thinking that although one of you is the eldest and the other joined us first, and both of them have contributed, the only thing left for now is that the loyal and older one of you will be a little aggrieved and let him be the secretary for the time being. He is also the official of Chuzhou’s magistrate.”

"Because if we don't let him do it, he'll probably leave in frustration. Even if we kill him to prevent him from leaving, it will be a loss to the great cause!"

"Besides, he was kind to us and now he has merit. Killing him will also alienate us."

"Do you think so?"

"He is a person who has to explain his salary or else he will not do anything. He is not even willing to work for more than a quarter of an hour beyond the prescribed time."

"Besides, he was the first to capture Chuzhou City, and he killed Daruhuachi in battle."

"It makes sense to let him take the blame, right? Otherwise, if he feels that he has been wronged, he will just give up?"

When Zhu Yuanzhang said this, he looked at the two of them.

Now Zhu Yuanzhang is still an independently developed general under Guo Zixing, so he cannot yet set up a marshal's office. He can only temporarily set up a general manager's office and appoint local magistrates and other officials.

However, after Zhu Yuanzhang expressed that he wanted Zhang Cheng to be the governor and secretary of the state, that is, to be the first civil servant he admired, neither Li Shanchang nor Feng Guoyong responded.

Zhu Yuanzhang continued: "But you two are different. You have both told us that you take the world as your own responsibility and do not care about fame and fortune, nor personal honor or disgrace. So I want you to feel aggrieved first. You are the secretary and governor of the state." Let Mr. Zhang do it."

"what!"

"Why don't you talk anymore?"

After saying that, Zhu Yuanzhang asked again.

(End of this chapter)