I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 393: The Flow of Water and the Sand

Xu Jie picked up the teacup, took two sips to moisten his throat, and then spoke slowly.

"I am retiring and returning to my hometown. I took a boat from Tongzhou to the south and passed through Shandong. There are many of my students and former officials in Shandong, so they bothered me a lot along the way.

When they visited me, they mentioned that there were many tragic incidents in Shandong, where villagers gathered together and beat up officials.

Wang Yi'e's eyes flickered. "Beating up officials? Is there such a thing?"

Xu Jie shook his head: "The court is now implementing a new policy, and various new measures are emerging one after another. The central government and local governments are overwhelmed and in chaos. It is inevitable that something will go wrong."

"Teacher, who are these people who beat up the officials? Why doesn't the Shandong government do anything about it? Do they still care about the laws of the country?"

"I was also puzzled. Shandong's administration is not bad, so why is it so chaotic? So I made some inquiries and found out the reason."

"I am all ears."

"In fact, it was Gao Da Huzi's recent land survey. He surveyed the land in the nine border areas and cleared out 5.16 million mu of hidden land, which was a great success.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince personally held a summary meeting of the Nine Border Land Survey in the Imperial Academy. Gao Da Huzi was in high spirits. The success of the Nine Border Land Survey was crucial to his entry into the cabinet this time.

Wang Yi'e said calmly: "Most of the land surveyed in the Nine Frontiers was occupied by local wealthy families. When Emperor Taizu established the military household system for the military garrisons, there were about 400 million mu of land under the name of the military garrisons in the world. At that time, the military food in the Nine Frontiers could be self-sufficient.

After two hundred years of occupation, the Ministry of War and the Five Military Commands were left with a messy account, and no one knew how many acres were left. Gaobuge was able to survey more than five million acres from the nine frontiers, which was indeed a lot of hard work, but in the eyes of my disciples, it was not enough. "

Xu Jie laughed loudly, "I know that Zijian has great ambitions and cannot be compared with those sparrows. However, it is not easy for Gao Da Huzi to achieve these political achievements.

In the memorial he submitted to Xiyuan, he summarized his own ideas, one of which was to send ambitious, capable and knowledgeable sixth and seventh rank officials in the capital to form working groups to go down to the local areas and recruit local scholars and students. The court would arrange special funds as salary and allowances and give them preferential treatment.

After the work is done, the Beijing officials and local scholars in the working group will all be recommended and given a bright future. With money, official career, fame and fortune, the people in the working group will be full of energy and move forward courageously. "

Wang Yi'e smiled and replied, "I have also been a local official. I know that people below me are not easy to please, but they are also easy to please. They are a little dull, but as long as they are given enough money and food, they will be extremely brave.

If you have read some books and know some truth, and give them enough money and food, and then encourage them to be loyal to the emperor and serve the country, even gods and Buddhas cannot stop them. Gao Buge’s method should be in this category.”

Xu Jie also smiled and said: "You capable officials all have your own ways."

Wang Yi'e asked: "After Gao Buge successfully surveyed the land in the nine frontiers, he was rewarded by the Western Garden and became even more eager to try. He received an imperial decree to start surveying the land in the capital, Shandong, Shanxi, and Henan.

However, these places are different from the Nine Frontiers. The aristocratic families have been entrenched for a long time, and the relationships are complicated. Gao Buge has the courage, but I don’t know if he has enough means. "

Xu Jie glanced at him and said with a smile: "As for the method, we can arrest a group of people as examples, execute them and confiscate their property, and put an end to it all."

Wang Yi'e also smiled: "Master, this is testing your disciples. Killing people is not easy, and now the military power is in Xiyuan, killing anyone is just a piece of paper.

The question is what to do after killing someone? It is easy to break the old, but difficult to establish the new. Besides, the ministers in the court not only have to plan for the country, but also for themselves. The former King Jing Gong of Song lived in seclusion in Jiangning, bearing the world's infamy and died in depression, which was considered a good end. However, Shang Yang of the Former Qin was beheaded.

The Dharma survives but the people perish, benefiting the country but destroying oneself, who has such great ambition and courage? "I wish to serve the world with my deepest heart, not seeking personal gain." How many people can do what Zhang Shuda said? "

Xu Jie's eyes flickered across Wang Yi'e's face for a few seconds, and he nodded approvingly: "Zijian's insight has exceeded my expectations. You are right, 'It is easy to serve a wise ruler, but difficult to serve an average ruler; it is easy to serve an elder ruler, but difficult to serve a younger ruler.'

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is a wise ruler, but he is a young prince. This is indeed a difficult trick to grasp.

Gao Suqing was ambitious and courageous. He sent 12 working groups to Shandong to survey the land. In just five months, they were beaten more than 30 times by the mob, and five people died of their injuries. The resistance was the most intense in Shandong.

Wang Yi'e also knew that the important thing Xu Jie had told him was the huge contradiction that occurred during the land survey in Shandong.

His mind raced, and he roughly figured out the cause and effect. He asked tentatively, "Master, Shandong is resisting the land survey. There must be someone behind the scenes."

Xu Jie laughed and avoided the question, "Shandong is located in the hinterland, and the people there are very tough."

"Dear teacher, Shandong is the hometown of Confucius and Mencius. The teachings of the saints have been passed down for thousands of years. We should be more polite and righteous."

Xu Jie narrowed his eyes slightly. "In the hometown of Confucius and Mencius, what Zijian said is very true. Now the land survey in Shandong has been blocked, and the whole world is watching. How do you think Gao Suqing will respond?"

"Gao Buge has just entered the cabinet and is full of vigor and vitality. He is also a man of strong character. He knows that the land survey in Shandong is blocked and he is aware of the seriousness of the matter. If it is not handled properly, the land survey in the capital, Shanxi, Henan and other places may also be greatly affected.

My students guessed that he would take tough measures to deal with it. "

"Tough measures, killing people and confiscating their property?" Xu Jie asked back, "Killing people can solve some problems, but it can't solve all problems." Wang Yi'e nodded in agreement and said, "Master, you are right. I have killed many people in the process of rectifying the canal transportation, but I know in my heart that I can't kill all the canal soldiers.

I think Gao Buge will also encounter similar problems. He can't ask for permission to kill all the wealthy families in Shandong."

Xu Jie stroked his beard and replied, "Zijian is right. This is a dead end. Gao Suqing is distressed, and Xiyuan will also be distressed. Whoever can untie this dead end will contribute to future generations."

Wang Yi'e's eyes flashed.

Xu Jie saw his expression and knew that he understood what he meant, so he asked, "Zijian is thirty-six years old?"

"Yes, Master, I will be thirty-six soon."

"There are only a few 36-year-old vice ministers and governors in the past 200 years. Zijian, you have a bright future. You must continue to work hard."

"I will never dare to disappoint my teacher's earnest expectations."

After saying goodbye and leaving the ship, Wang Yi'e walked on the pier for a dozen steps and looked back at the three official ships.

My dear teacher, you hinted that I should deal with the Confucius Mansion and strike down the biggest mastermind behind Shandong's resistance to land surveying in order to gain merit from the heavens, but don't tie yourself up in knots!

Captain Yang Yunpeng of the imperial guards came forward. He was in his twenties, simple and honest, with a pair of particularly bright eyes. He said softly, "Prime Minister Xu's official ship is so impressive."

When Wang Yi'e was young, he worshipped the chief Yang Shun as his adoptive father. His original name was Yang Yi'e, but he changed his surname back to Wang after he became successful in the imperial examination. Yang Yunpeng was Yang Shun's youngest son, and he followed Wang Yi'e from a young age, and they were like brothers.

Wang Yi'e smiled faintly: "Xu Xiang's official ship is very imposing, but the people on board are servile and have mixed qualities."

Yang Yunpeng laughed: "A small steward who doesn't even look down on the Minister of Transport. How arrogant and ignorant. Brother E, I think you should stay away from his house."

"Haha, you are so smart. Brother Peng, I have an important matter for you to handle."

"Brother E, please explain."

"Take a few capable people with you, disguise yourself as a traveler and go to Yanzhou to secretly investigate the Confucius Mansion in Qufu."

"The Kong family, descendants of Confucius, the largest family in Shandong?" Yang Yunpeng asked in surprise.

"Exactly. The situation in Shandong is delicate right now. Be careful."

"Don't worry, Brother E. In the past, I have disguised myself and entered pirate lairs and mountain bandits' strongholds to gather military intelligence." Yang Yunpeng replied, patting his chest.

Wang Yi'e smiled and said no more, just repeating one sentence: "The running water never stops washing away the sand, and the next wave will appear before the previous wave dies down."

He shook his head and walked away.

After listening to Xu Kun's story about Li Changya's "good deeds" in the cabin, Xu Jie's turbid eyes flashed with ferocity and he stared at Xu Kun viciously, causing Xu Kun to break out in cold sweat on his back.

"Father, I will send this fellow away immediately."

Xu Jie said coldly: "Such an evil slave, should we still keep him to continue to use the name of my Xu Mansion to do evil? Will he continue to bring disaster to my Xu Mansion?"

Xu Kun's Adam's apple shook repeatedly, and he lowered his head and replied, "Son knows what to do."

That night, a small boat rowed to a secluded place in the lower reaches of the Yellow River, far away from the official ship.

Under the pale moonlight, two men stuck their buttocks out, tied a used iron anchor to a still squirming cloth bag, stood up and kicked the bag hard several times.

"You damned bastard, you're causing trouble for yourself, and you're causing trouble for us brothers who have traveled so far."

"Fourth brother, stop talking nonsense and send him off quickly. It's so cold and windy here, it's too scary."

The two men worked together to lift the cloth bag and threw it into the surging river along with the anchor.

With a splash, a wave appeared and quickly disappeared.

(End of this chapter)