Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 177: Gentlemen are guided by righteousness, while villains are guided by profit! (Second update)

Zhang Yu stood where he was.

Looking at group after group of people coming over happily.

He was still very confused.

Didn’t the people hate forced labor the most in the past?

Xia Zhibai called them here, which was obviously an alternative form of service, and this "service" could not exempt them from future labor service. This was a thankless task, and a complete waste of effort. Why would the people be willing to do it?

Zheng Yuanqing didn't care about that.

He gave an order to Mei Jiu, asking him to organize these people and prepare to start the formal construction.

Everyone is here.

Of course you can't just stand there.

After a period of work, Xia Zhibai wiped the sweat from his forehead. After a period of hard work, with the efforts of more than a dozen people, they had successfully dug a large pit ten feet deep, which was prepared for the subsequent construction of a public toilet.

Zhang Yu came over.

He looked at Xia Zhibai in confusion and asked, "Xia Zhibai, why can you convince these people?"

"They don't know that what happened in the city has something to do with you."

The purge in Peking during this period has always been led by Zhu Di, and Xia Zhibai has never been publicized. No one else knew about it except the soldiers who were present at the time. Most of these soldiers are now serving and it is impossible for them to publicize these things. Moreover, the reputation of the city during this period belonged to Zhu Di.

It has little to do with Xia Zhibai.

But why can Xia Zhibai still attract so many people?

This shouldn't be the case.

Xia Zhibai licked his dry lips and said with a smile: "Guard Zhang, didn't you just ask someone? He should have given you a reason, but you just didn't want to believe it. And I guess it's not that you don't want to believe it, but that you can't understand it."

"In other words, why not eat meat?"

Zhang Yu frowned.

Xia Zhibai continued, "Most of the people who came here today are refugees and beggars. I have come into contact with these people. It is true that the court has allocated land to them and rented them food, but you have overlooked one thing, which is that they will not have a rent-free period for several years."

"Because they are not reclaiming wasteland, but directly distributing arable land."

"That's the problem."

"When the autumn harvest comes next year, they will not only have to pay back the high-interest grain they rented, but also pay land rent and taxes, as well as other exorbitant taxes. After all this, they won't have much grain left, not even enough to feed themselves. I really didn't provide them with any other benefits."

"But I was able to feed them for more than a month."

"The food saved will greatly reduce their survival pressure after the harvest next year."

"Besides."

"I started out as a salt dealer."

"I can't guarantee anything else, but I can guarantee that they will not be short of salt while working for me. Even these refugees and beggars can consume as much salt as they did in the past year after working for me for more than a month."

“You actually discovered it, too.”

"Most of the people who come here are former refugees and beggars, as well as some people with ragged clothes and poor family conditions."

"Because they are the only ones who are forced to do so for that little bit of food."

“The work is hard and tiring.”

"But it can keep people alive!"

"The food they have saved over the past month is enough for their entire family to get through the long winter. I called these people here to do hard labor. The hard labor I asked them to do is even longer and harder than what the court required, but they have no choice."

“Because they are the lowest class in society.”

“They want to keep living.”

"You are confused because the people in your mind are different from the real people. The people you see are the citizens in the city. Although they cannot eat three meals a day, they still have two meals a day, and their food and clothing are barely enough. But the vast majority of people in the world are not like that."

"Most people only have one set of clothes per household, and when winter comes, they have to count the grains of food to survive."

"As for the use of salt, they are even more stingy. They don't use it if they can avoid it. Some even scrape salty mud and eat it with it. This is the current situation of most people in the world. You used to be an official of the Yuan court and a scholar, so you can't understand it and you can't comprehend it."

"Since you have read books, you should also have read The Analects."

"There's a sentence in it."

"A gentleman is guided by righteousness, while a villain is guided by profit."

“That’s what I did.”

"The officials of the Ming Dynasty were all gentlemen, but now the morals of the world are declining. The 'gentlemen' of the world are scrambling for benefits, while the 'villains' are forced to talk about 'righteousness'. People's hearts are no longer the same as before, and the world is fickle."

Zhang Yu's face was blue and red.

He knew that Xia Zhibai was mocking him for being out of touch with the world.

Xia Zhibai said indifferently: "You all have too high vision. You can only see the prosperity of the world, but not the suffering of the people."

Xia Zhibai had rested enough and continued to join the crowd.

Looking at Xia Zhibai's figure merging with the people, Zhang Yu's lips trembled slightly, and finally he let out a long sigh. The remaining dissatisfaction and complaints in his heart also disappeared at this moment.

He understood why the Yuan court was driven away. Because the officials of the Yuan court, from top to bottom, all looked up to the sky.

He has never cared about the local people.

But the Ming Dynasty was different.

The officials of the Ming Dynasty will eventually serve the people. He finally understood why Xia Zhibai had done so many unorthodox things and so many things that made people dissatisfied, but was still able to live happily ever after, because Xia Zhibai could not die.

If the historical Wei Zheng was the mirror of Emperor Taizong of Tang.

That summer white is the mirror of the people.

It is easy to break a mirror, but it is impossible to restore it.

When Xia Zhibai died, it was the time when the Ming Dynasty gave up the support of the people and it was also the time when the Ming Dynasty officially began to decay.

the other side.

Looking at the crowd that continued to pour in, Mei Jiu felt a little tingling on his scalp.

Too many people came.

The number of people registered by him alone exceeded a thousand, and more people kept coming. What surprised Mei Jiu even more was that there were not only beggars and refugees from the past, but also some military households, slaves, and some lower-class people, all gathered here at this moment.

His mind was blank now.

He couldn't figure out how Xia Zhibai had called these people here and how he had gathered them together. Xia Zhibai had only been in Beiping for half a month. In such a short time, what had he done here to win such popularity?
This is crazy.

Looking at the crowd that kept pouring in, Heiwa held his chest high, with a look of pride on his face.

This is all due to him.

He has been very busy in the past few days.

He had been in contact with the beggars and vagrants he had contacted in the past, but he had not expected that Xia Zhibai had such an accurate estimate of these beggars and vagrants. He knew that these people would worry about their livelihoods, so he just advertised that they would be provided with food and accommodation, enough salt, and a certain amount of oil and water every day, and many people were excited to come.

He asked these people to help promote the event, and thousands of people came today.

Heiwa came close to Xia Zhibai, secretly gave him a thumbs up, and asked curiously: "Brother Xia, why are you so accurate?"

Xia Zhibai smiled and said meaningfully: "Because the court is unwilling to suffer losses, the court did distribute land to them, but it will not exempt them from taxes."

"The autumn harvest has just passed, which means they have to rely on borrowed grain for the whole year. The grain borrowed from the court is very expensive. Nine out of 13 are returned, which is considered to be the kindness of the court. But they cannot be exempted from taxes, and they have to pay back a year's borrowed grain during the autumn harvest. How can this life be stressful?"

"Before, I had no choice but to be a homeless beggar."

"Now the imperial court has given them a way to survive, but it has also blocked this way. Naturally, they have to save themselves. Winter is coming in Peking, and the weather is very cold. There is no other way to survive. Moreover, the common people passing by will not give up these opportunities to earn extra money."

“What I offer is the best option at the moment.”

Heiwa nodded thoughtfully.

Xia Zhibai looked around, pondered for a moment, pointed to a place outside the plan, and said, "We still have to save money. Most of the people who came this time haven't had a full meal for a few days. They don't have good physical strength and get tired easily. The food distributed by the court is limited. It is impossible to give it unlimitedly. We must save a little in other ways."

"After the officials leave, we'll build a vegetable garden around the area and plant some vegetables, such as onions, sunflowers, garlic, and cabbage. I'll bring some salt over and make some kimchi to eat with the food."

"As for oil and water, it all depends on the situation."

"in addition."

"Dalu, Ma Tao and others will also move here in the future."

"The house in the city has been returned."

"I won't stay here for too long. Once the iron smelting is running normally, I will let Fang Mo watch over it on my behalf, and you guys will supervise as well."

Hear the words.

Heiwa looked at Xia Zhibai suddenly and asked, "Xia Zhibai, are you going back to Kyoto?"

Xia Zhibai nodded, then shook his head and said with a smile: "I won't be back for a short time. I want to pay a visit to the King of Qin, King of Jin, King of Zhou and other northern vassal kings before the iron factory is fully put into production. Since the court has agreed to let me integrate the northern salt market, I naturally can't end it so hastily."

“Steady and steady is certainly feasible.”

“But sometimes we need external help to speed up the process.”

Heiwa smiled bitterly.

A Peking and a Prince of Yan both cost Xia Zhi a lot of effort. There were nearly a dozen princes in the north. Although some of them had not yet been established, none of the princes of the Ming Dynasty were easy to get along with. It was extremely difficult to convince these princes and get them to agree.

Xia Zhibai touched Heiwa's head and said calmly, "You don't have to think too much."

"It is indeed difficult to persuade the princes of the Ming Dynasty, but there may be a chance. Besides, I don't need to visit every princely state. I only need to visit the first few princes, and the others will basically agree."

"The difficulty lies with the King of Qin and the King of Jin."

"As long as we convince these two, the salt market in the north will be settled."

"You and Ma Tao should study hard and learn how to read and write here. There will be many places where we can use you in the future."

"Don't be lazy. You can't be lazy when studying."

Heiwa smiled awkwardly, scratched his head and said, "Brother Xia, don't worry, I will definitely study hard and will definitely keep an eye on the Zunhua Iron and Steel Plant for you."

Xia Zhibai smiled and nodded.

(End of this chapter)