Wanli Ming Emperor

Chapter 231: The smeared lips and tongue, the public cannot cross the river

"I have already responded to Hero He's question."

After Ge Cheng finished speaking, he calmly sat on the doorstep and said no more.

But while he was catching his breath, someone took advantage of the opportunity.

"General Ge did not hesitate to publicly declare the crime of killing an official to respond to the doubts of outsiders. He, hero, don't you dare to face the suffering of the people under the corrupt policy of land reclamation?"

"He Xinyin, if you can't come to an agreement, get out of here as soon as possible. We can still spare your life!"

As Ge Cheng clearly showed his hostility towards the government, the shouting in the field immediately became aggressive.

Several key members talked at once and shouted at He Xinyin.

This time, Ge Cheng did not help He Xinyin out, but just waited quietly for He Xinyin's reaction.

Naturally, He Xinyin could no longer avoid the issue this time.

He glanced at everyone in the room, some were looking up to ask questions, some were whispering to each other, and some were cowering with their heads down.

At this moment, all eyes were on him.

He Xinyin met these gazes without any hesitation.

In a trance, it was exactly the same as when he first gave a sermon many years ago - dissatisfaction mixed with expectation, expectation mixed with doubt, and doubt mixed with infinite confusion about his own situation.

He Xinyin subconsciously took a few photos of the old carved railings along the edge of the courtyard.

"quiet!"

The authority of teachers has always been deeply engraved in people's minds. A sound of silence actually calmed the situation among the red people.

"I am here to respond on behalf of General Ge and many of the villagers."

Responding naturally is the real response.

After confirming that Ge Cheng was willing to negotiate, He Xinyin immediately decided to put aside all conspiracies and tricks, and not play the Confucian and chivalrous tactics, and truly explain the pros and cons of a land survey to the people.

This is a good time to seek the truth.

After advising the emperor, he was refuted by the emperor. The emperor narcissistically declared that he could be a good emperor, but not everyone could be one. To be a good emperor? There is no savior.

The path cannot be imagined out of thin air; we can only continue to move forward following the footsteps of our predecessors.

If "getting a king to practice the Way" doesn't work, then one must "awaken the people to practice the Way." This is the purpose of the Taizhou School, and each person in the school has a different direction.

Now is an opportune time to put it into practice.

He wanted to see whether the red people could distinguish right from wrong and weigh the pros and cons.

He wanted to try and see if his remarks, besides being grandiose and poignant, could be regarded as classics.

Awakening people.

The road.

Rather than a negotiation, it is more like an alternative conversation.

He Xinyin's mind was full of thoughts. He looked into the distance with an arrogant look and spoke slowly: "I'm sure you are all questioning me in your heart. The rich have abandoned farming, the wealthy merchants have closed their shops, the machine workers and peddlers have nowhere to go, the slaves have gone out of their homes, and the rents of hired farmers have increased sharply. Is all this caused by the imperial court's land survey and household liquidation..."

He glanced at everyone without pausing: "Of course!"

As soon as the words fell, the place suddenly fell silent.

I was shocked by the bluntness and ruthlessness of the words, confused by the stance of this hero, and most importantly, it was frightening that he admitted it so frankly.

Shake head in disappointment.

Silent mockery.

A confused look on his face.

"If we talk about right and wrong, this is not the fault of the court."

He Xinyin continued speaking expressionlessly.

"There are only a few million hectares of farmland in the world, and the people, the landlords, and the court all eat from the same pot."

"You have more and I have less, you have less and I have more, so disputes are inevitable."

"The court and the landlords were not necessarily happy, but the common people were the weakest, so naturally there were countless people with nowhere to go, countless people who fled due to disputes over land, and countless people who were insolvent."

The words were spoken in a plain and straightforward manner.

For those who are in the situation, this is really unpleasant to hear.

Some people stared blankly at the scabs and frostbite on their fingers, as if they were thinking of the scene where they worked sleeplessly all night and were finally driven away in a panic because the workshop "cut back on costs."

Some people seemed to imagine the landlords arrogantly collecting rents, and in a trance they saw their penniless families and their children who were drowned by them and were not enough to grow up into the labor force.

These personal pains seemed so insignificant in He Xinyin's cold tone.

Just like the ants on the roadside that were unfortunately crushed to death by a horse-drawn carriage.

The man with the gutter nose sneered and said, "Okay, let's discuss right and wrong first!"

"The imperial court has the responsibility to keep the people safe, but it is greedy for taxes, eager to make money, and forcing land surveys, causing the people to panic and lose money, and the people to be displaced. Is this right?!"

These words revealed the language habits of Gutter Nose, causing the people in the field to whisper among themselves.

"What do you mean?"

"They said that the imperial court was crazy about money and issued a money-grabbing decree, which harmed us all."

This statement drew agreement from many people present, who nodded their heads in agreement.

Seeing this, He Xinyin couldn't help but sigh silently for the credibility of the court.

He turned around and asked, "Greedy for taxes, eager to make money? Is this how your master arranged it?"

When the man with the groin nose heard the word "master", his arrogance froze.

Coming back to his senses, he quickly covered up his uneasiness with an angry look: "He Xinyin, stop talking nonsense!"

He Xinyin shook his head and ignored the man.

He turned his gaze to the common people and said earnestly: "Let me speak a fair word for the court. It is simply nonsense to say that they are greedy for taxes and eager to make money!"

"My fellow villagers, the original intention of the imperial court to conduct land reclamation is also to ensure the safety of the people!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the audience was stunned and booed.

I originally thought that not increasing the tax would be the limit of He Xinyin's response, but I didn't expect that he would say something so counterintuitive.

Everyone had different expressions, but the common point was that almost no one believed it.

The desire to pacify the people?

The imperial court had to collect taxes from him, and it had been like this for thousands of years, but this was the first time I heard that collecting taxes was for the benefit of the people.

The backbone behind him sneered and responded without giving any face: "Liang Ruyuan, you are really willing to be a lackey of the court now, and you can even say such words!"

He Xinyin had expected this and didn't care much about it.

His expression was as solemn as in class, and he continued to ask, "Have you heard of Qiu Jun?"

At this moment, He Xinyin seemed to be about to make a long speech to argue for the right and wrong of the court, and the people looked at each other in confusion.

It’s just that the questions were a bit baffling, and I only got a bunch of blank expressions.

On the contrary, a key member beside Ge Cheng seemed unable to hold back the urge to show off, and stepped forward and said reservedly: "I know that he was an old minister in the Jingtai, Tianshun, Chenghua, and Hongzhi dynasties, and died while serving as the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue and the Grand Secretary of the Wuying Palace. He was posthumously awarded the title of Grand Tutor."

"The emperor bestowed upon him the title of a famous minister of Neo-Confucianism. The scholars built a shrine to him and called him the ancestor of the literary officials of his generation. Even among the common people, his reputation was excellent."

Showing off is certainly not good, but answering with explanation is often the skill of the best students in the class.

He Xinyin nodded with satisfaction, "It is this person. When he was alive, he wrote a book called "The Great Learning Supplement".

"I will donate a few copies to the charity school in the future, so that you can copy and borrow them."

"The Supplement to the Great Learning is Qiu Jun's commentary on the Confucian classics. In this book, he discusses the origin of the measurement method."

The atmosphere of the storytelling gives me the feeling of a school.

Ge Chengqing couldn't help but sit on the ground and listen to the lecture.

Some people in the audience couldn't help but ask the more educated folks: "What are you talking about? Why are you talking about books?"

The person being asked obviously didn't know either, so he just waved his hand in a pretentious manner: "It's just to raise the reputation, to make it seem like this is something the court has been thinking about for a long time, not something He Xinyin made up. It's just an old trick that the masters are used to using to fool people, but it's actually not that important."

He perfunctorily greeted the villagers, and did not forget to stretch his neck and shout mockingly: "The origin of the land survey? Isn't it just for the court to collect money?"

Naturally, such voices could be heard everywhere in the crowd.

He Xinyin patted the carved railing in front of him and corrected himself: "Accumulating wealth is only an external manifestation of the origin, just like the skin of a fruit. The core of the land survey is equal distribution of land!"

When these words were spoken, everyone was stunned.

Almost everyone knows the meaning of the two words "equally distribute the land" - not only because of the good literacy rate in the Ming Dynasty, but more because of the weight of the two words themselves.

To say the most outrageous thing, if one were to shout out such slogans during a rebellion, it would be easy to gather tens of thousands of people.

However, no matter how heavy the weight is, what does it have to do with surveying?
"Mr. He, are you talking nonsense? This is totally unrelated."

Land surveying has always been for the purpose of collecting taxes, but I have never heard of distributing land to poor farmers for the purpose of doing so.

"It's not the equal distribution of land itself."

He Xinyin pondered for a moment, as if he was organizing his words.

"Everyone in the world knows that no matter the Three Sovereigns or the Tang and Song dynasties, all land systems in the past dynasties can be summed up in four words: equal distribution of land and peace for the people."

After a pause, He Xinyin continued to explain: "The word 'equal' here does not mean to divide equally. According to Qiu Jun's interpretation, 'equal' means everyone gets what they deserve."

"Different people have different distributions. He is the emperor, and you are the excrement collectors. Naturally, the wealth you each get is different."

"At the same time, there should be a limit to the 'division' of different identities. Common people should not be starved to death, and the emperor should not renovate the palace. The people can accept the prime minister's luxurious living, but owning 200,000 acres of land is considered greedy and detested by everyone."

“This is what everyone gets!”

"Land is the most important of all wealth and goods, so it is the first thing to be distributed equally. To keep the people safe, the first thing to do is to distribute land equally."

"The imperial court began to distribute land equally a thousand years ago..."

He Xinyin omitted the details that were too profound.

The specific land system is not discussed at all. The common people themselves have no understanding of it. If we explain at length what the well-field system and the equal-field system are, it would be putting the cart before the horse.

As for the court's efforts to keep the people safe, it is considered a prerequisite. To discuss the motivation involves the achievements of Taoism and the nature of the court - the world is "trapped in unsolvable self-contradiction, split into irreconcilable opposites and unable to get rid of these opposites" and in order to seek mutual survival, ease conflicts and keep such conflicts within the scope of order - these words are really too profound.

So He Xinyin simply omitted them all.

Don’t ask about the land system, you just need to know that the court wants to distribute land equally.

Don’t ask why; the imperial court is good and it naturally loves the people.

The guiding ideology of its land policy for thousands of years has been "equal distribution of land"!
As He Xinyin spoke, the Chimin listened attentively, whispering to each other from time to time and asking each other about what they did not understand.

"What does land measurement have to do with equal distribution of land? Can the imperial court give me a few acres after measuring the land?"

There were questions and answers, and the negotiations on this civil unrest were increasingly like He Xinyin's sermon.

The familiar scene made He Xinyin feel like a fish in water.

He Xinyin shook his head and patiently explained, "That is an outdated practice. Even if we give it to you, it will be taken back sooner or later. The court will only suppress annexation, but will never divide the land equally."

The man who asked the question was discouraged when he heard this.

"but……"

He Xinyin changed the subject: "Although the division of land was abandoned from the previous Song Dynasty to this dynasty, it did not mean that they just left it alone. Instead, they found the key to the root cause."

He spoke very slowly, almost enunciating each word.

After years of preaching, He Xinyin's ability to answer people's questions and resolve their doubts from the simple to the complex and to guide them step by step has been ingrained in his bones. At key points, he would pause once or twice to give people time to think.

Even though everyone present had no education, they could still understand most of what was said.

"The key? What is it?"

Someone asked.

He Xinyin nodded gently: "That is, to even out the burden of taxes and labor service, so that everyone in the world can live in peace!"

There was another long pause.

When everyone showed confused expressions, He Xinyin spoke again and explained slowly: "To use the words of the "Supplement to the Great Learning", it is..."

"At that time, those who understood the fundamentals of state governance all lamented the benefits of equal distribution of land, but in the end there was no possibility of restoration... So there came a way to measure the land or investigate tax evasion to equalize the burden of land rent and tax."

"Although the burden of equal rent and tax is not as direct as the equal distribution of land, it also makes those with more land pay more taxes and those with less land pay less taxes. In the end, the taxes are used to pay military salaries at the border, provide relief to disaster victims, and build water conservancy projects, so that people all over the world benefit. Isn't this also a kind of 'equality'?"

"This was not the original intention of the equal distribution of land during the Three Dynasties. This policy went straight to the core when the equal distribution of land failed, but it was also a last resort. It was actually equal distribution of land with equal taxation."

"That is what the Ministry of Revenue has announced now: the wealth of the world is distributed first through taxes!"

Similarly, He Xinyin once again omitted the historical context and only threw out a simple conclusion.

In fact, this evolution is the result of thousands of years of exploration.

The division of land by the well-field system began in small countries with few people during the time of the Three Emperors.

Since the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, there have been increasing struggles among nobles at all levels to divide rooms and seize land. The well-field system began a major evolution in the Spring and Autumn Period, and eventually collapsed. Land was no longer distributed by the state, but became personal property.

By the time of the Han Dynasty, the name field system, as private property, the annexation of land became more and more intense. Shi Dan proposed to limit the name fields of the people to curb the annexation of land, but unfortunately the effect was minimal. Then Wang Mang came up with the "King Field System" and attempted to restore the well-field system of public land ownership.

Everything is for the purpose of "equal distribution of land".

Afterwards, Wang Mang rose and fell quickly, and the system of named fields was restored in the Later Han Dynasty. It continued to evolve until the Wei and Jin Dynasties, when the court issued a law on occupying land, openly recognizing that landlords could legally occupy land. The descendants of scholars could occupy land according to their social status, and even the king was not allowed to control other people's private property, and even the emperor could not touch the land of aristocratic families.

The situation of land annexation has reached its highest peak in history.

Everything has its limits. During the three hundred years between the Sui and Tang dynasties, the equal-field system was revived, and all land was publicly owned and could not be bought or sold.

It was not until the middle of the Tang Dynasty that the Equal Field System was once again defeated, and Yang Yan took the opportunity to propose the Two Tax System. The competition for the land system finally began to gradually shift to the land tax.

The court and the landlords, ideals and reality, the two sides were constantly in a tug of war.

Until this dynasty, the idea of ​​equal distribution of land was occasionally revived, but no matter what the original intention was, it would eventually turn from the ideal of equal distribution of land to the reality of equal taxation.

It is precisely because of this thousand-year evolution that the Ministry of Revenue can openly say "tax adjustment and distribution" this year.

Of course, there is no need to explain these overly obscure historical processes to the people.

"My fellow villagers, if we are to discuss right and wrong, is the court's original intention really wrong?"

He Xinyin is a good teacher because he can speak eloquently, clarify the pros and cons, and distinguish between friends and enemies.

In particular, certain fixed words have an unparalleled influence among the people.

"Equally distribute the land" - these two simple words still have a strong impact on people.

Even Ge Cheng, who prides himself on standing up for the weak, is not so confident anymore.

Equal distribution of land? Equal taxation? Regulating the wealth of the world?

At first glance, it sounds like a very righteous principle, and Dutian is full of awe-inspiring righteousness. On the contrary, these suffering people are the mantises in the chariot, not worth a single laugh.

Is that really the case?
The truth needs to be pondered, especially these words, as there are many things that need to be understood.

Not only Ge Cheng, but also the people who could understand were frowning and thinking hard, while those who could not understand were asking questions around.

"I don't understand what you're saying. Does this mean that the court doesn't have enough money to spend, so they're taking money from the rich and powerful, and they want to give me a share of it, so that it's all evenly distributed?"

"Of course not. From what you said, if we plunder less, it will be fair."

"Oh, then we should bow down to the emperor and thank him for his kindness, right?"

"Oh, and they also said that the money they collected was used by us in the end, so it was considered fair."

"You say it as if you don't commit corruption..."

"Let's keep things one."

In the past, there would have been endless sounds of admiration. However, today's audience was different from the students who simply listened to the lectures in the past.

Talking about morality and principles does not seem to impress the people who have direct interests at stake.

The sound of suspicion was heard among the crowd.

Some people even suddenly pushed through the crowd, walked closer and shouted loudly.

"Master He, if you ask the workshop to call me back, I will believe that the court has good intentions!"

"I will believe it if the city reopens after the strike!"

This statement aroused the sympathy of many red people, and soon some people responded in agreement.

"Master He, you always insist that the imperial court's land reclamation is for us, and we want to believe it, but when the land reclamation comes, I still can't bear it!"

This is a hurdle that cannot be overcome.

Even if I believe that the court has good intentions and cares about the world, the question is, what about me?
The price of great politics? The pain of the times?
He Xinyin certainly understood this.

He had the same idea when he was asked to collect the imperial wood and he directly gathered his servants and killed the officials.

He Xinyin was filled with emotion, but he put on an indifferent look on his face: "Yes, I am also very curious."

"It was the gentry who abandoned farming, the landlords who increased rents, the wealthy families who cleared out the hidden households, and the big merchants who dismissed the laborers..."

"The governor's office will take care of this chaos, don't you fellow villagers have something to worry about?"

"Why do they insist on forcing you to die once the land survey is completed?"

While speaking, He Xinyin turned his head and stared at several key members beside Ge Cheng, almost questioning them face to face - who was obstructing everything and who should be blamed.

The latter was looked upon with great discomfort.

The person who was speaking was also a little speechless, and he just shrank his neck: "The master said that the court increased taxes, and they had no choice but to fill the hole..."

You may be able to think of some reasons, but they are not important.

If you explain it too clearly, how can you make a living from the host family you live with day and night?
He Xinyin nodded, seeming to understand very well.

He sighed with emotion: "So you were deliberately encouraged to bargain with the court."

"Is this because they think the court is reasonable, or are they bullying the court because the law does not punish the masses?"

When the court acted at its discretion, it did much more than the Ming Dynasty laws.

No matter how big the demonstrations are, whether they are civil uprising or civil disorder is just a matter of the chief official's decision.

The usual practice has always been that the common people go back to their homes, while the main criminals are either killed or imprisoned. Just as Ge Cheng himself said, if there are people from above who protect him, he will be released after serving a few years in prison.

To the extent that abandoning farming and striking business have almost become a common means of expressing dissatisfaction.

If it weren't for the critical moment of national policy and the stubborn Shen Li, there would be no consequences at all.

As a result, these red people are completely unaware of the seriousness of the situation and are still bargaining here.

When the red people in the field heard these heart-piercing words, their faces changed several times.

The man was about to reply: "I..."

He Xinyin did not give him room to interrupt. He leaned forward suddenly, staring angrily: "Since you dare to rebel against the imperial court, how can you accept the rent increase from your master?!"

The words sounded like a roar, and everyone was stunned.

The person who was scolded was so frightened that he trembled all over and took several steps back!

After He Xinyin finished speaking, he suddenly turned around and glared at Ge Cheng: "General Ge, didn't you want to argue with me about right and wrong just now?"

"You know this very well. Tell me why you are so indignant about the land reclamation policy that is trying to turn the tide, but turn a blind eye to the gentry who are obstructing it!"

The question startled Ge Cheng so much that he sat up from the doorstep.

Faced with the aggressive He Xinyin, Ge Cheng was hesitant to speak.

Hesitated for a long time.

Ge Cheng sighed in disappointment and turned his head away in shame: "Excuse me, Mr. He, I and my fellow villagers really don't have the ability to do this..."

Today, Ge Cheng showed his powerlessness for the first time.

A man who dares to speak out and is not afraid to rebel, but sighs in despair at the bad behavior of the gentry and wealthy families.

Why did he act so aggressively towards the imperial court but remain submissive in front of the gentry?

Of course, they bully the weak and fear the strong.

Although it sounds ridiculous, only Ge Cheng himself knows how difficult it is to gather thousands of people today.

To put it bluntly, only the imperial court, which has been disgraced by the country, can become the target of hatred for the majority of people, and under the guidance of those with ulterior motives, they can easily gather together.

What if it was a big customer?

Each village has its own landlords, each village has its own gentry, the common people who are dissatisfied with the wealthy and powerful, and the small workers who are unable to gather together and hate the big merchants.

If Ge Cheng had the ability to gather a group of people and seek justice from the landlords, why didn't he just take the main seat in the government?
Even if we take a step back, even if we can gather people together as a gang.

But the problem is that whether it is clearing out hidden households, dismissing laborers, or even increasing rent for tenants, these have been the means of disposing of one's own property for thousands of years. Who can say it is wrong?
Can you force the wealthy merchants to hire workers? Or force the landlords to pay rent for their land? You can't force them to buy new slaves after they have driven them out, right?

Only the imperial court is capable of shouldering this responsibility.

Couldn't Ge Cheng see that the gentry and wealthy families were fanning the flames? Didn't he know that the Zhang family of Taicang was trying to use him to guide the situation?

of course I know.

However, the people are facing the prospect of dying, and the only one who can bargain is the imperial court, which adheres to the principle of maintaining stability.

It is okay if some words are unkind, but as soon as these words came out, He Xinyin's face turned red.

He smashed the carved railing in front of him with his palm and shouted, "Bullshit!"

It seemed that he was extremely angry about this remark.

Sawdust fluttered to the ground, and everyone was stunned. Several key members subconsciously took a half step back.

He Xinyin looked at the palm that he subconsciously slapped out, and quickly clenched his fist and pulled it back behind his back, quickly suppressing his anger in the surprised eyes of everyone.

"Skill? Ha!"

He Xinyin suppressed his anger and said in a muffled voice: "General Ge may underestimate himself, but how can he underestimate the people?"

"After arriving in Yanzhou, I was ordered to visit Zou County and Teng County to investigate hidden households and register them. I also talked about family matters with many villagers."

"The conversation with the tenants of the Kong family left the deepest impression on me."

"It is said that the Kong family is insatiable. They rely on their thousand-year-old family background and the Duke's family status to control the county government and set the rent very high. They make temporary levies every now and then, and the first wife comes first, the second wife comes second, and it never stops."

"Although we are common people, we are not ignorant animals."

"The rent has been raised so much that we can't even survive. Are we just going to accept it willingly?"

"Wei Village in Sishui County is an official village allocated by the emperor. It has more than 20 hectares of land owned by the Confucius Mansion. Because of the resistance year after year, a few years ago, they gathered together to resist and severely taught Jiang Shuyong, the manager sent by the Confucius Mansion, a lesson. Jiang Shuyong was so angry that he died."

"The Kong family was unable to control them, so they had no choice but to report to the court, saying that they were 'stubborn and cunning, and had a habit of resisting payment', and the rent was cut in half."

"There were also tenants in Teng County who joined forces to revolt during the Longqing reign. Because there was a locust plague that year, they gathered together to 'work together to rob the government' and took all the harvest from the Kong family at night, leaving not a single grain behind."

"It would have been fine if they had just done it, but then they asked Song Xingli to write down the oath, and it became a tradition during times of famine."

"..."

"I can't even count all these things!"

"Didn't General Ge keep saying that I look down on the red people? Isn't the general the same?!"

"You don't have this ability? This is a great ability! It's a natural ability of the Red People!"

"The red people also have moral principles, and they also know right from wrong. If someone gives you something unfair, we will take it back with our own hands! If someone blocks our way to live, we will ask for it back from him!"

"General Ge is using the common people to oppose good policies and governance, which is trampling on the conscience of the people!"

He raised his arms and shouted, spitting everywhere.

Ge Cheng was the first to be hit, and his thoughts became increasingly confused.

He glanced at the people in the courtyard, his expression becoming increasingly confused.

Ge Cheng opened his mouth to argue.

"certain……"

I opened my mouth, but didn't know where to start.

He Xinyin originally thought that land surveying was a way of disregarding the lives of the people and greedily amassing wealth, but now He Xinyin told himself that the court was trying to distribute taxes equally across the country.

He thought he was a hero for conspiring with the wealthy and bargaining with the court, but now He Xinyin's questioning reminded him that what he was doing was tantamount to aiding and abetting the evil.

He thought he was a hero for standing up for the weak and for the people. But now He Xinyin told him that the people were heroes and he had led them astray.

In this case, what on earth am I doing?
He Xinyin had no time to listen to Ge Chengfen's explanation at this moment.

He was completely oblivious to himself at this moment, and almost shouted at the top of his voice: "...Fight for your life!"

"Before I left, Governor Shen had promised me that the Governor's Office would be able to resolve the difficulties faced by the villagers in a few days. The townspeople would be able to reopen, the farmlands would be able to resume, the workshops would be able to hire workers, and the hidden households would be able to settle down again."

"This is not charity from the government, it is earned by you all!"

"Not only in front of the court, even if I leave you, even if General Ge is not here, even if the master is in front of you, you still have to fight for your life!"

"Don't always hope that outsiders will give you a way out, don't always seek profit and avoid harm, and don't be coerced by others! The common people also have right and wrong! We should also follow our own way!"

"You have to walk the path of the red people on your own!"

It is a very painful thing for the people to practice the Dao.

He Xinyin's altruistic sentiment of "treating the country as one's own home" made him care about the country's own joys and sorrows.

He Xinyin's love for the people, of "treating others as oneself", made him regard the suffering of the people as his own pain.

It is a common phenomenon that good policies cannot be implemented and the people cannot be educated. This is also the source of suffering for the people in practicing the Way.

At this moment, He Xinyin was passionate and shouted loudly, with emotions gushing out of his chest.

He is looking forward to the people's choice, he is longing for the people's understanding, he dreams of the people being able to distinguish right from wrong, just as Wang Yangming said, the people can "awaken."

Is it right to do the land survey? Who is causing the suffering of the Chimin? Can Shen Li's promise to let the Chimin settle down and live happily be trusted?

He Xinyin said everything he needed to say.

As for whether to believe it or not, it is up to these confused people in front of them to decide.

"Fellow villagers, awaken the people and practice the Way..."

He Xinyin muttered to himself.

Just as he tiredly opened his mouth to say the last sentence.

A large hand like a palm-leaf fan pressed on his shoulder.

He Xinyin turned around subconsciously.

Ge Cheng just shook his head expressionlessly.

"Master He, that's enough. Let us close the door and discuss this among ourselves."

He Xinyin looked at Ge Cheng in a daze and opened his mouth to speak.

Ge Cheng pinched He Xinyin's shoulder and said earnestly, "Master He, please forgive our ignorance."

When He Xinyin heard these words, his body shook and he suddenly came to his senses.

Looking up, the red people I saw looked so confused and ignorant.

He Xinyin realized belatedly that he seemed to be too immersed in the role. He talked more and more, and his words became more and more complicated. As time went on, fewer and fewer people could understand him.

A feeling of helplessness suddenly surged into his mind, and he looked at Ge Cheng expectantly, almost as if asking for help.

Fortunately, Ge Cheng nodded without hesitation: "Of course I understand."

He Xinyin felt relieved and let out a long sigh.

"I was just about to explain a few things to my people using dirty words so that we can come to a conclusion. Please wait outside the temple, Mr. He."

Ge Cheng repeated it again.

This time He Xinyin did not hesitate any more. He immediately clasped his fists and bowed to express his gratitude.

Then he turned around in embarrassment.

He Xinyin turned to the outside of the hall, and wherever he went, the red people in the courtyard made way for themselves.

Ge Cheng looked down from a high place and watched He Xinyin leave the temple.

When the latter's figure completely disappeared, Ge Chengcai put his palms towards his face and flexed his five fingers several times.

The gang members gathered around again. Ge Cheng looked at their puzzled eyes and pondered for a moment: "What Hero meant was that the court has implemented good policies this time, and if we provoke them again, we will be in trouble. So, what he meant was..."

"Let us go and divide up the tyrants for half a day, then we can take off our armor and return to the fields and be good citizens again!"

……

Waiting for results is often agonizing and boring.

But when the result is unexpected, it is even more panic-stricken.

When He Xinyin stood with his hands behind his back on the bank of the Si River, waiting expectantly for Ge Cheng to surrender with courtesy, but then he saw several groups of horses swarming out of the temples and monasteries and rushing past, dumbfounded was not enough to describe He Xinyin's mood at the moment.

"Teacher, Ge Cheng is going to take people away!?"

Lu Guangwu looked at the clouds of dust rising outside the temple and cried out in surprise, reminding his teacher.

He Xinyin looked at the scene in disbelief, how could this be!
Ge Cheng had clearly wavered just now, and looked like he was about to turn against his allies and lay down his arms, so how could this be the result!?

Could it be that he is really such a thief that he is determined to occupy the mountain and become the king, and only repents when Shen Li’s army is approaching!

He Xinyin didn't have time to think too much and stood up and walked forward.

Lu Guangwu quickly blocked the way and said, "Teacher, the thief's mind is hard to predict. Please allow me to protect you."

Just now, to show his sincerity, the teacher went alone, which would have been fine, but now the situation is quite chaotic, and there is no reason for him to sit in the hall.

He Xinyin hesitated for a moment and nodded heavily.

Lu Guangwu immediately responded and hurriedly protected He Xinyin as they squeezed into the temple against the flow of people.

Unexpectedly.

When the master and his disciples arrived in front of the temple, they did not turn hostile as imagined, but someone came out to greet them.

"Hero He, my brother invites you in."

Upon hearing this, He Xinyin frowned and looked at his disciple.

The two men became increasingly confused about Ge Cheng's purpose, and had no choice but to follow the guide cautiously.

The group climbed the stairs silently in silence throughout the whole process.

Until everyone stepped into the temple gate.

The scene before them shocked everyone!

The splattered blood sprayed all over the temple walls, and the sticky black blood flowed down the stairs from the Buddhist hall, leaving bloody footprints on the ground.

Corpses and body parts were scattered everywhere.

There were only a few heads with eyes wide open, neatly placed in the main hall of the temple.

The bandit leader named Ge Cheng was sitting on the threshold of the main hall in dishevel.

He Xinyin looked unhappy, hesitant and questioning: "General Ge, this is..."

Ge Cheng raised his head.

Seeing that He Xinyin had returned, he was very happy: "Hero He!"

He showed his fierce white teeth and smiled sincerely, "There's nothing I can do. Every time I want to discuss a result, there are always people who are not convinced. I have no choice but to settle the outcome."

In a nutshell, the air is filled with murderous intent.

He Xinyin, who was originally going to call for an explanation, was so frustrated that his arrogance was dampened.

He frowned and scanned the faces of dozens of heads in the hall.

Although it was stained with blood, he could clearly see that all the key members just now were among them!
Seeing his surprised look, Ge Cheng continued to smile: "Isn't Governor Shen going to beat and kill people in protest? Hero He can just take it and hand it over."

He Xinyin was speechless.

Instead, his disciple Lü Guangwu blurted out: "How do you know!?"

Ge Cheng waved his hand nonchalantly: "I don't know where they got the information from, and they just used it to intimidate me, so I just used them."

After saying that, he raised his head and stared at the face for a long time before he asked in surprise, "Could it be Lu Wudi in person?"

Lu Guangwu felt uncomfortable being stared at by him, so he took a half step back and bowed perfunctorily.

Ge Cheng quickly stood up and bowed seriously.

Lu Guangwu was a true disciple of He Xinyin's Four Gates Society. Every year he "spent thousands of gold traveling around the world, secretly seeking out extraordinary talents."

He has been in the underworld for many years, and although his reputation in the underworld is not as great as Xin Yin's, it is more legendary.

His personal bravery was particularly well-known. During the Jiajing period, Lu Guangwu once challenged the monks at Zhaoqing Temple and challenged them one by one. Within a few days, he injured 73 monks.

Even when the imperial court issued a recruitment notice for military service, this Lu Wudi stood out as the second best in the world.

But He Xinyin did not give Ge Cheng a good look. He separated the two of them and asked in a deep voice, "From what the general said, shouldn't we disperse the troops? Why did several of your troops just now rush away with banana leaves in their hands?"

"Could it be that you want to use the head in front of you as a stepping stone, use me to paralyze the court, buy time for the general, and then go into the mountains to become a bandit!?"

At this moment, He Xinyin had already lost trust in Ge Cheng.

This would not only ruin the court's affairs, but also ruin his own career!

If He Xinyin had said so much earnestly, but the people were still easily coerced, then how could he not have doubts about "awakening the people and practicing the Way"! ?

"Heh, Hero He, don't worry."

Compared to He Xinyin's urgency, Ge Cheng's mentality was extremely relaxed.

He gestured to He Xinyin to find a place to sit, and he sat down in a pool of blood in the hall.

"I really took Mr. He's teachings to heart."

"Since the imperial court's policy of land taxation is to equalize taxes and save the country, I will definitely not confront it anymore."

He Xinyin opened his mouth to speak.

Ge Cheng interrupted with a wave of his hand: "Hero He said that the Chimin people earned their own way to survive. I was also greatly inspired."

"The court may not be able to clean up the situation to our satisfaction. There are too many officials at every level, and I cannot trust all of them."

The court’s empty words cannot be trusted.

In an irregular court, it is normal for the whole country to be corrupt, make false statements, and fabricate unjust cases.

Even within the regular imperial court, there are also people who go back on their words, play double-dealing, and refuse to acknowledge past debts.

Even if the intention above is good, the following can still be implemented incorrectly.

When He Xinyin heard this, he vaguely anticipated Ge Cheng's thoughts.

as predicted.

"Instead of waiting for the court to clean up the situation, we might as well gather people and do something now."

Ge Cheng looked at He Xinyin and grinned: "So, I let them go to the cellar of the rich to earn half a day, and then become good citizens again."

There is always a way to deal with an urgent situation.

He Xinyin was suddenly speechless.

Probably because he didn't know how to judge such behavior.

Good? Bad?
He Xinyin couldn't tell the difference for a moment, so he just put it out of his mind: "In this case, General Ge should go and argue with Governor Shen."

After saying that, he walked up to Ge Cheng and was about to take people back to the county government office.

However, Ge Cheng shook his head.

He Xinyin frowned in confusion.

"If I follow Hero He back to the county government, I'm afraid I'll be in trouble." Ge Cheng raised his head, smiling, "Don't the counties in Yanzhou need my head to intimidate them and pacify them as soon as possible?"

As soon as the words fell, the hall suddenly fell silent.

After a long silence, He Xinyin slowly spoke: "Governor Shen will make the decision."

Ge Cheng shook his head.

"I just realized today after meeting Hero He that if you want to make a name for yourself in the underworld, you must study hard."

"Mr. He is a great scholar from a famous family, who can debate with the emperor; he is also a great hero from the underworld, who can preach to the common people. But I can only read three or five characters, and I do things that violate the law with force all day long. I claim to be able to distinguish right from wrong, but in the end, I am still used as a gun by the scholars."

"Although the common people applaud a young hero like me, when it comes to speaking up for the people, I am not as good as a hero."

"Now that I can see the difference with my own eyes, I feel that my life is worthwhile."

"However, I still have one doubt before I die."

His tone was calm, but it revealed a firmness that could not be changed.

He Xinyin stared at Ge Cheng, who seemed determined to leave, with mixed feelings.

Should Ge Cheng die?

According to the law, there is no redemption.

But then again, for people in the underworld, killing a few tax officials and starting a few civil riots is no big deal.

Even as Ge Cheng said, if you really go to the yamen and let the three judicial officials judge according to the law, it will be difficult for you to die.

But Ge Cheng himself didn't want to live anymore.

Perhaps it was because of his faith that the people in the counties of Yanzhou Prefecture really needed the head of this "originator" to intimidate them.

Perhaps it was a gunfight that killed a friend, and he could only pay off his debt with death.

Perhaps Ge Cheng was entrusted by his "friend" to do so, but now he has turned against his friends and is speechless.

There may be many reasons.

The only thing He Xinyin could confirm was that he could only bring back Ge Cheng's head.

One of them was sitting and the other was standing, with their backs to the main door of the Buddhist temple.

The sculpture of Buddha is looking down from above, quietly watching the scene.

The light and shadows were mottled, and the accompanying disciples, the gang members on the left and right, and the neatly arranged heads all became the background.

The scene was strange yet harmonious.

After a while, He Xinyin turned his back and said, "General, please ask."

Ge Cheng wiped his temples and slowly stood up: "Hero He just said that Juemin Xingdao, I have seen it several times at the Taizhou School, what does this mean?"

He walked around to He Xinyin and looked at him for advice.

He Xinyin had no choice but to meet Ge Cheng's gaze.

The two looked at each other intently.

After a moment, in the expectant eyes of Ge Cheng, He Xinyin sighed, feeling lost: "I understood it when I was studying, but decades later, I no longer understand it. I only hope to figure it out in my lifetime."

This answer made Ge Cheng feel quite disappointed.

He smacked his lips, shook his head, and said no more. He walked straight to the Buddha statue, bowed three times in succession, and picked up a long knife from the incense burner.

Seeing this, He Xinyin seemed unable to bear to watch it and walked away silently.

Just as he stepped over the threshold, Ge Cheng's voice came from behind him: "Master He, I can't do it! Give me a hand!"

He Xinyin paused, turned around helplessly and gestured to Lu Guangwu beside him.

The latter bowed and responded, then turned around and walked back into the hall, closing the door considerately.

He Xinyin pushed away the broken limbs hanging on the carved railing, leaned against it, and slowly closed his eyes.

The temple is filled with Buddhist atmosphere.

The clouds roll and unroll in the sky.

The Si River flows day and night.

Click.

There was a crisp sound, and a touch of crimson quietly appeared on the palace door.

There was a faint sigh outside the hall, and no one knew what he was thinking.

……

The book ends with Ge Cheng's death.

He Xinyin's eyes were blurry and his words were choked with sobs.

Feng Congwu was also moved. After a little hesitation, he comforted him, "Brother Lu's swordsmanship is superb. He can cut iron like mud without any pain."

The consolation was really inappropriate.

After hearing this, He Xinyin could no longer control himself. He just waved his hands, covered his face and left.

"Please finish it up."

In a word, a student was left alone in the room.

Feng Congwu sighed. This teacher was indeed a man of the world and a man of character. So he did not feel too upset. He just felt regretful - how could ordinary people get involved in the waters of political struggle?
He shook his head and had to read the entire text again to fulfill his teacher's order.

The more I read, the more I felt sad, and I developed a great fear of the political affairs of the world.

He looked towards where he had stopped writing.

After sitting there for a long time, Feng Congwu picked up his pen again.

The poem given:
You are not allowed to cross the river!

The river is bottomless, with dragons and turtles in it. Their long gums and sharp teeth are like spears, and they lick their feet at the river head to watch people passing by.

Why do you want to cross the river?
You don't see the peaceful breeze and calm sun, the ducks and geese bathing in the white reeds in Qingpu, and the dancing fishing boats and lotus boats. Suddenly, a thunderstorm comes in the middle of the river, and the waves surge like mountains.

You are not allowed to cross the river!

The ancients would first strike a tree before looking at a well. Don't waste seven feet of water. The wide roads are far away, and the green mountains are high and steep. Driving a horse and a carriage is tiring, but it is better than the changing winds and waves. Chiyi Wujiang, Sanlu Miluo died for thousands of years, and their loyalty and righteousness will never fade.

Why do you want to cross the river now?
The man with his hair and face covered is a demon. His wife came to pull at his clothes, and he was angry and yelled. His death is not worthy of pity, but the qin song is sad.

Alas!
The Duke did not cross the river.

(End of this chapter)