Zhu Gaochi did not stay in Shandong for long, and then returned to Yingtian with Kong Yanjin, Duke Yansheng.
He really did what he said, and handed the little boy to the Crown Princess Zhang, and told Mrs. Zhang to take care of him as his own child. He would rather wrong Zhu Zhanji than wrong this child.
Mrs. Zhang rolled her eyes at him and said, "You have a dark heart. You were brought to the capital at such an early age and left your hometown. You are not afraid of being poked in the back."
As she spoke, she hugged Kong Yanjin in her arms. Suddenly her expression changed and she couldn't help but say, "Why is he so light? When our son was so old, he was as calm as a meat roller!"
Zhu Gaochi smiled helplessly, "You should take good care of him. If he is fat, it doesn't mean we have treated him badly."
Mrs. Zhang nodded vigorously, and Zhu Gaochi went to find Xu Jingchang again.
During this period of separation, he was busy traveling back and forth, while Xu Jingchang was immersed in construction.
He opened up a large area inside Chaoyang Gate, a residence of Duke Yansheng, and a Royal Library of the Ming Dynasty. He also acquired a large piece of land outside Chaoyang Gate in preparation for building a school.
Xu Jingchang has always been worried that construction progress may be very slow due to the limitations of building materials in ancient times.
But when he actually supervised the construction of a project, he found that this was not the case at all.
Take the buildings of the Ming Dynasty as an example, they are generally made of bricks and wood, and the frame structures are all made of wood, and such wood is not piled together casually.
Instead, there are strict rules, such as what is the ratio of length to width, how big is the opening, how thick is the diameter... This is a complex system that exists in the mind of every carpenter.
In other words, as long as the wooden parts are made according to the rules, they can be assembled together at will. The typical representative is the bracket structure.
Xu Jingchang was surprised to find that building a house in the Ming Dynasty was almost like building blocks, which was very interesting.
As long as the foundation is done well, the construction can be completed quickly.
Even a project as big as the Fengtian Temple can be completed within half a year if all efforts are made.
Of course, there is a prerequisite, that is, there needs to be enough materials. Especially the aniseed materials that are decades or hundreds of years old. The expensive golden nanmu, one pillar costs ten thousand taels of silver.
The huge Fengtian Hall is really made of gold and jade.
"It is not difficult to build the Confucius Mansion, but it is a library. In order to prevent fire, it is best to use bricks and stones without wood or paint. It will take a longer time... By the way, do you have any books in the Confucius Mansion?
Didn’t you get it?”
Zhu Gaochi hummed: "I really want to get it, the Kong family should also have it!"
"There are no books in their saint's house?"
Zhu Gaochi said helplessly: "Their family has a lot of land deeds and IOUs for several houses. The oldest ones can be traced back to the Sui and Tang Dynasties."
Xu Jingchang was shocked, and then said: "So, it is still a cultural relic! You must get it for me. I will build a museum in the future to display these things, so that the people will always remember the great shortcomings of the Confucius family... their great kindness and virtue."
Zhu Gaochi said in his heart that when it comes to bad water, there are still too many people. This will definitely ruin the reputation of the Kong family!
"Cousin, what's going on with the Kong family now is just an introduction. Yuan Gang has gotten the king's order flag, and there will be a violent storm throughout Shandong!"
Xu Jingchang also sighed, "It's not that there is, but it's already here."
With that said, Xu Jingchang took out an urgent report and handed it to Zhu Gaochi.
On the way back to the capital, His Highness the Crown Prince, Yuan Gang had already taken action. He, the governor of Shandong, was the only one in the entire Ming Dynasty to be given the imperial flag.
At present, the governor has not yet formed a custom, and he is a full-fledged imperial envoy. The first person in the Ming Dynasty to hold the title of governor was actually Prince Yiwen Zhu Biao... Later, there were many important ministers who went to local places on errands and also held the title of governor.
When the matter was over, he returned to the capital and did not stay there long.
Therefore, to a certain extent, the current governors are much more terrifying than the customized governors formed in the middle and late Ming Dynasty.
Not to mention that Zhu Di also rewarded the king with a flag, and officials below the fifth rank could be killed or killed with just a thought.
It is almost enough to say that Yuan Gang was the local emperor of Shandong.
"Father has also become ruthless. The chaos in Shandong cannot be delayed any longer, otherwise a popular uprising will be necessary." Zhu Gaochi murmured in a low voice.
Xu Jingchang was also stunned, "Is it really this serious?"
Zhu Gaochi nodded, and then he told Xu Jingchang the reason... On the surface, Shandong was the main battlefield of Jingnan, and the two sides were back and forth. Places like Jinan were even more devastated by war, so the problem was naturally serious.
But this is only the first level of things.
Because of the war, especially when the Confederate army often had hundreds of thousands of troops, it was necessary to mobilize the attitude of the civilian husbands. Shandong was the main place for Latin husbands to be captured.
After four years, not to mention young men and women, even women have been dragged into the battlefield.
The whole of Shandong, including parts of southern Zhili... large livestock such as cattle, horses, donkeys and mules have been exhausted. In addition, chickens, ducks, geese, dogs, pigs and sheep have also been eaten up.
The people simply could not make a living, and many people fled everywhere, including those like Lin San who arrived in the capital.
There are many more people who simply turn into bandits and occupy the mountains to become kings.
In Shandong, there are more than ten times more gangsters than when the People's Republic was founded.
Xu Jingchang frowned when he heard this, "Jingnan has ended the dilemma. The court and the people are resting and recuperating. They haven't recovered yet?"
Zhu Gaochi smiled bitterly and said: "Recovery? It's not that easy! Cousin, you said that there are no strong laborers and no big livestock. The land has been abandoned for several years. If you want to cultivate it again, can you do it with a bunch of old, weak, women and children?"
Xu Jingchang shook his head, "Of course it won't work."
"Also, those who are used to being bandits can make a living by looting. Are they still willing to farm the land honestly?"
Xu Jingchang shook his head again.
Zhu Gaochi added: "There is a third layer here, that is, although the people of Shandong have suffered a lot, some large households not only have not been damaged, but have become more powerful, and the number of farm slaves in the family has increased several times. There are even some large households, they have
To guard against thieves, many thugs were secretly recruited. These people spared no expense and made the house look like a fortress. There are emperors everywhere, and everyone is a king! "
Xu Jingchang took a sharp breath, and now he understood where the servants of the Kong family came from.
Of course, given the situation in the Confucius Mansion, no matter how many people there are, they cannot compete with the officers and soldiers of Shandong Dusi.
However, there are still countless large households in various places. In places where the government can't see them, they still call the shots and do whatever they want.
Xu Jingchang finally figured out that a war would not only bring about the loss of people and wealth, but also a change in the mentality of the entire society.
There is a lack of labor, farming is unprofitable, and you can't even support yourself. In order to survive, bandits are everywhere, and the number of bandits increases, which in turn leads to the rise of armed landlords. As the landlords become more powerful, they will squeeze the people even more... The loop is closed!
Xu Jingchang pondered for a long time and said slowly: "I seem to understand why Emperor Taizu used heavy codes in troubled times. In such a situation, it is impossible not to kill him."
Zhu Gaochi nodded and said: "In the past, I thought Grandpa Huang had gone too far, but now that I think about it, those local officials colluded with the big families, and they have become too big to lose. It is impossible to turn around without killing people. Now it is just Shandong, but at that time it was still
The entire Ming Dynasty, I really don’t know how it got here.”
Xu Jingchang hesitated for a while and then said: "Your Highness, do you want to support Yuan Gang now and kill all the officials in Shandong?"
Zhu Gaochi nodded and said: "I learned about it in detail when I was in Qufu. Many of the local officials in Shandong are still sent by the Jianwen Dynasty. In order to appease the world, my father did not immediately change the officials... In other places, it is better to say,
Shandong failed because Jianwen sent a bunch of corrupt officials here at the beginning...No one wants to come to good officials who are upright and honest. And even if they are good officials, if they fall into the quagmire and struggle and wallow, they will inevitably become filthy."
Xu Jingchang sighed again, "I really didn't expect that Shandong would be so severe. It's shocking."
Zhu Gaochi smiled bitterly and said: "Not only that, there is another even more terrifying thing. I didn't dare to report it to my father."
"What's the matter?" Xu Jingchang asked.
"Although you made up the Nishan Hongru Society, I discovered the White Lotus Sect in Shandong, and it actually exists."
"White Lotus Sect?"
"Yes!" Zhu Gaochi said: "According to what Yuan Gang said, just because Shandong is too chaotic, some bad guys are making trouble down there... They use the excuse of Maitreya coming to the world, and they say they have no biological parents. Anyway, it's a mess, and there is someone who calls himself Han Shantong.
His grandson wants to restore the country of Han and Song Dynasties."
Xu Jingchang was stunned when he heard this, "What kind of monsters are these?"
Zhu Gaochi said: "Yes, it's true that we can't do anything without dealing with it. I support Yuan Gang's murder. In troubled times, heavy codes are used. Our father and son cannot escape the blame for what happened in Shandong. It's just that I'm a little worried now, lest I kill these people."
, the replacement is the same, it will be difficult to handle."
Xu Jingchang nodded slightly, he thought for a while, and then said: "I am now writing to Your Majesty to add a group of Jinyi Guards in Shandong. The local situation must be clearly understood before we can prescribe the right medicine. The remaining problem is the vacancy. It just so happens that this year's new Jinshi will be sent to them.
Go to Shandong."
Zhu Gaochi's eyes also lit up, but he was still worried, "I'm afraid they won't be able to deal with those local snakes. If they are bribed again, it will be bad."
Xu Jingchang said: "Your Highness has forgotten? Half of these new scholars are experienced veterans. There is no problem in letting them deal with local snakes. The only thing worth worrying about is that they will be bribed... Actually, that's okay.
Whatever you do, the worst case scenario is to continue killing!"
Zhu Gaochi was shocked, "Hey, although Heaven is kind, but at this time, the only way to do it is to have a Bodhisattva heart."
While they were discussing, Yuan Gang had already taken action. Yanzhou Prefecture, Qingzhou Prefecture, Jinan Prefecture, Dongchang Prefecture, and more than a dozen magistrates were captured by him. The main crime was that he failed to appease the people and a large number of refugees failed to return home.
, the land was not distributed to the people.
"This old Yuan is so quick." Xu Jingchang sighed, "I will go to the Ministry of Personnel now to discuss with Official Jian Tian and send someone over as soon as possible."
