Ma Shiying agreed with Gu Zhenhua's proposal, but after thinking about it, he couldn't help but say: "Brother, running a college is not a matter of one or two days, and even if you are a student, it will also cause material discussions. It may be difficult to destroy Donglin's foundation immediately."
In normal times, things may be handled urgently and slowly, but in the present, it will definitely not work. Gu Zhenhua frowned, and after thinking about it, his eyes suddenly lit up.
"Yuanfu, it's hard to start the imperial examination, but there is no problem with my general's mansion. I now have only a group of martial artists and not many literati who can do things. Besides, I am preparing to restore the Central Plains and need a large number of talents. It just so happens that I can hold a temporary exam and recruit co-appointed personnel. I think the scholars in the world will be smart enough. As long as they see that they can become officials, they will know how to choose!"
Gu Zhenhua did this, not only dig out the ancestral grave of the Donglin Party, but also recruited talents for himself, and the best of both worlds. When Ma Shiying heard this, he nodded frequently. He had no ambition to restore the Central Plains. If Gu Zhenhua was willing to do anything, let him go. What's more, recruiting officials in the exam can just find some livelihood for these idle scholars who have nothing to do, so as to avoid criticizing current affairs every day and causing trouble for himself.
"After saying this, I have to go and manage the Central Plains. It's fine, there's nothing else. Ma toast three cups and practice it for me!"
After drinking, Gu Zhenhua said goodbye to the little emperor Zhu Cilang and the king of the Fuguo Zhu Yousong. Needless to say, the little emperor was respectful and afraid of Gu Zhenhua along the way, and regarded him as his biggest backer.
"Duke Ji, when I go to the Northern Expedition, the Anguo army is less than 10,000 yuan, and the money and food are limited. I am a little worried, not to mention that I cannot live without the Duke!"
"Your Majesty, the further you go north, the safer your Majesty will be. If I run back one day, that would be a huge danger. As for the military problem, I try my best to solve it. I also hope that Your Majesty, the governor of the country, and the head of the horse can help. After coming out of the capital, there are only a few hundred soldiers, and now there are tens of thousands of soldiers. As long as I have enough autonomy, I am sure to build a wall of iron to block the Qing Dynasty from going south!"
"I feel relieved if you have Duke Ji's words. I'll entrust all the affairs of the Central Plains to Duke Ji. You can take responsibility for it with all your strength!"
Everything was explained, so Gu Zhenhua officially bid farewell to the little emperor and went directly to the dock to prepare to head north.
"Brother Seven, we have just searched the homes of several high-ranking officials in Donglin. Although these people are hypocritical, they seem to have taken some money to tarnish their reputation, but no one can stop investigating Qian Qianyi's property alone, after counting, there are 30,000 mulberry fields, 5,000 mulberry fields, and more than 100,000 gold and silver. The old thing was sent to Qiongzhou, and the others were almost the same. Let them die in a smoky place, so as not to harm the world!"
Zhou Yingjie said angrily: "Brother Seven, not only do they produce a lot of gold and silver, but they are all beautiful maids in the mansion. The brothers' eyes are straightened. If you pick out one, they will all catch up with the immortals."
Gu Zhenhua laughed: "Then send a few people to buy all these maids. After arriving in Xuzhou, whoever trains honestly will help him become a matchmaker!"
"Brother Seven, your move is too high. I guarantee that everyone will have to sell their lives."
"Do you have to settle down and establish a career? My brothers' personal problems must be solved. If you calm down, everything will be easy."
As Gu Zhenhua said, he took out an imperial edict and stuffed it into Zhou Yingjie's hands.
"I asked the emperor for this to be conferred general Zhou. Your Zhou family is a loyal and martyr, and the court also praised it for conferring titles to King Jin and allow General Zhou to enjoy the Wu Temple!"
When Zhou Yingjie heard this, he knelt on the ground with his knees, held the imperial edict high above his head, and burst into tears.
"Thank you, Brother Qi, thank you for our Zhou family."
"You're welcome. The people who should thank us are those of us who are alive. In the future, we will build a ancestral hall to worship the brothers who die in battle, and their families will also take good care of them!"
"Black and thank Duke Guo for his great kindness!"
After scrubbing, all the soldiers on the dock knelt down together, and tears filled their eyes with tears. They were willing to follow Gu Zhenhua. In addition to Gu Zhenhua's words and giving them generous treatment, there is another thing that is more precious, that is respect.
With respect from the heart, Gu Zhenhua could sit with them naturally, chew dry food, share the joys and sorrows, and never be as arrogant as other generals, treating soldiers as servants and beating and scolding them at will.
In fact, the hierarchy is a very fatal dregs in Chinese culture. Of course, compared with Western aristocrats, it is still very advanced.
However, the existence of strict hierarchy will have many negative effects. For example, although China abolished the slave system early, there were still slaves in the Ming Dynasty, such as the wives and daughters of officials, and the servants of large families, all of whom were semi-slaves.
As for the army in the late Ming Dynasty, the family servant system was a continuation of slavery. Under this system, many soldiers did not know why they were fighting for wars, they did not have independent personality, but just blindly followed the top. Without a straight backbone, they would no longer have the fighting spirit to fight to the death, which would have a considerable impact on the combat effectiveness of the army.
Gu Zhenhua also knew that the accumulated problems of thousands of years could not be changed overnight, but he had to start with the army, give respect to soldiers, instill the idea that they were all brothers, comrades-in-arms, and everyone was equal, so that they could find their own value.
It was the first step that Gu Zhenhua had to take to make every soldier feel dead. Obviously, ordinary soldiers also empathized with it and were particularly excited. The shouts of long live on the dock caused a surprise to merchants who had never seen such a fanatical army.
Just as Gu Zhenhua was about to board the boat and leave Nanjing, two sedan chairs suddenly rushed over, one after another, and a tall and majestic old man came down from the sedan chair in front and walked quickly to Gu Zhenhua.
"The lower-ranking official Ruan Dacheng has met Duke Ji."
Gu Zhenhua also knew that Ma Shiying would have been going to use Ruan Dacheng long ago. Speaking of which, although Ruan Dacheng was regarded as a eunuch and scolded him, to be fair, his character was certainly not good, but at least he was still a little talented. Nanjing was originally a failed official concentration camp, and Ruan Dacheng was among the losers, and it was a little better.
Just after taking down Qian Qianyi, Ma Shiying successfully suppressed the Donglin Party and decisively activated his old comrade-in-arms Ruan Dacheng. Gu Zhenhua had no objection to this appointment.
"Ruan War Ministry, it was abrupt and had no time to say goodbye to the adults. It was really rude!"
"Where is the Duke of the Kingdom of China's aspiration to be in the Central Plains, and the officials are very impressed. In the future, the Ministry of War will do its best to assist the Duke of the Kingdom of China."
"Thank you, Lord Ruan!" Gu Zhenhua bowed with a smile.
Ruan Dacheng said again: "Dude, the imperial court has been established, with no power or hope. Especially the four towns in Jiangbei, they rely on their decision-making achievements to be domineering and oppress the people, and they need to be exhausted. As soon as the officials took office, they received three documents urging military pay. As they did this, even if the imperial court had a golden mountain, they would have to be emptied!"
"Hahaha, the war is not very good. I am scrambling to escape one by one. I am quite diligent in asking for things. Ruan Ministry of War, don't worry, after going north, I will find a way to cooperate with the Ministry of War and suppress their arrogance."
"If you have the words of the Duke of the State, you will feel relieved."
Ruan Dacheng felt relieved and smiled and pointed to a sedan chair behind him, saying, "Duke, the emperor has something to give him to him, so please give him a look!"
Ruan Dacheng pulled Gu Zhenhua to the front of the sedan chair, gently lifted the curtain, and Gu Zhenhua also looked inside. He saw a woman in her twenties sitting in the sedan chair, with a pink neck hanging down and a light green dress, fresh and refined. Although he was sitting, he was not low in height, with thin shoulders, thin waist, and a very attractive figure.
The moment the curtain was lifted, the woman also raised her head, just facing Gu Zhenhua's eyes. Her white jade-like forehead, curved eyebrows, black grape-like eyes, high nose bridge, small lips, and pointed chin perfectly outline the image of a beautiful Jiangnan woman.
At first glance, it was like a picture of a lady, elegant and quiet, graceful, and a unique charming aura invaded my heart.
Ruan Dacheng was also secretly looking at Gu Zhenhua's expression. When he saw his eyes lit up, he felt happy. His successful comeback had a lot to do with Gu Zhenhua's suppression of the Donglin Party, so Ruan Dacheng was thinking about what to give.
Just as he was searching Qian Qianyi's mansion, he heard rumors that Gu Zhenhua had snatched Liu Rushi away. When Ruan Dacheng heard the news, he immediately felt intent and immediately found a beautiful woman and handed it to Gu Zhenhua himself.
"Duke Ji, the woman's name is Li Xiangjun. Originally, she was following Hou Fangyu, but the boy fled for fear of crime, and the official dared to take his own initiative and sent her to the Duke."
Li Xiangjun!
This is also one of the eight beautiful women. Including Chen Yuanyuan, there are already three beautiful women in his hands, but they are just beautiful, but they don’t have time to taste it. Thinking of this, a sense of evil spirit surged in Gu Zhenhua’s heart. He smiled and said, “Ministry of War is intent, this gift is very good.”
"It's good if the Duke of the State is satisfied, and the official said goodbye." Ruan Dacheng left immediately.
At this time, Li Xiangjun had already stood up from the sedan chair, stared at Gu Zhenhua coldly, and asked, "Did you sing that song "Reorganizing the River and the Country to Wait for the Young Man"?"
"What do Miss Li think?"
"No, compared to Houlang's literary talent, you are much worse. I am already a member of Houlang, so I will definitely not betray Houlang!"
Li Xiangjun said as she gritted her teeth, suddenly pulled out a pair of scissors from her sleeve, and stabbed it in her chest.
"Houlang, I'm going to the spring to wait for you...ah!"
Just when Li Xiangjun was about to poke him, Gu Zhenhua quickly glanced and grabbed her wrist, like a vise pliers, and the weak Li Xiangjun couldn't move at all.
Gu Zhenhua showed a smug smile on his face: "Miss Li, it's really interesting to talk about the Qinhuai River. Teaching you poetry and books is to please literati. As a result, you believe in loyalty, filial piety, benevolence and righteousness. But those scholars forgot all these things. It's really a pity."
As Gu Zhenhua said, stretched out his strong arms and hugged Li Xiangjun tightly in his arms.
Chapter completed!