Naturally, the new scholars are not as wealthy as the Xu family. This imperial sword is so precious, especially since it has the words "emperor's disciple" on it, it is enough to serve as a family heirloom.
Even if they were born as Jinshi, they could claim to be disciples of the Emperor, but they were the only ones who could be considered legitimate. There were witnesses and material evidence. Looking at the history of the imperial examinations for thousands of years, this was also the only honor.
As the saying goes, a scholar dies for a confidant. How the emperor should repay his father for treating him like this seems to be easy to figure out.
Zuo Yutian took the lead, and the new scholars bowed to him again.
Zhu Di smiled and said: "Although I have rewarded you with a sword, you must listen carefully. This is not a Shangfang sword, and I did not allow you to kill it first and then show it. On the contrary, I gave you the sword to keep it in your hearts.
, there is such a sword. If you fail to live up to your gratitude and fail to deal with the affairs of the place, and you do not need me to issue an edict, just use this sword to kill yourself!"
Sure enough, the emperor's things are not that easy to get!
"Your Majesty, please rest assured that I am willing to die to serve the country. If there is any corruption and perversion of the law, I am willing to cut him to pieces as a warning to others!"
Zhu Di nodded and gave some words of encouragement before letting everyone disperse.
Then these new scholars, equipped with swords given by the emperor, set off from Yingtian and headed straight for Shandong.
Xu Jingchang had also arranged corresponding guards for them to protect their personal safety.
Among them, Zuo Yutian, the number one scholar, took over Yuan Gang's position, and his rank did not change. He was still the fifth-rank magistrate of Qufu... He was working hard and did not dare to stop at all.
It only took five days to arrive in Qufu.
He took over Yuan Gang's job.
Zuo Yutian worked as a scribe in the capital. His nearly twenty years of experience have given him extraordinary acumen for low-level cases... The people of the Ming Dynasty would not go to the yamen to file a lawsuit if it was not an urgent matter. What is it like?
Things like damage to reputation are beyond our wildest dreams.
And the local area is a society of acquaintances, and there are not many lawsuits involving human lives.
Those that are worthy of coming to the Yamen to discuss the rights and wrongs are basically property lawsuits. There are big families occupying land, and there are also awkward situations where brothers separate their families...
Zuo Yutian knew very well that in almost 70% to 80% of these lawsuits, it was obvious at a glance who was justified and who was not.
As for the few remaining cases, the circumstances are complicated and difficult to explain clearly.
But after all, take care of the poor people, that's all.
Therefore, after Zuo Yutian took over, he solved cases like a god, quickly dealt with the backlog of cases, and returned the land and property to the people... In less than half a month, everyone in Qufu praised him, saying that there was Mr. Yuan before him, and now there is Zuo Qingtian.
"Yes, it's not a waste to use these people." Xu Jingchang said with a smile.
Zhu Gaochi has been hanging out with Xu Jingchang these days... He thinks what this guy said makes sense.
I really can't rely on the information from Lao San to understand the world's affairs.
For example, when Duke Yan came to Beijing to deal with the Confucian family, these things could easily become a hit, so Di Bao devoted all their efforts to publicize it.
But when it came time to deal with local government affairs, they showed a lack of interest.
But these things are the foundation of a country and cannot be taken lightly.
"Cousin, do you have any important news?"
Xu Jingchang smiled and said: "It depends on which aspect you ask... Jin Yiwei secretly reported that Zuo Zhuangyuan went to Culai Mountain."
"Culai Mountain? Want to see the scenery?" Zhu Gaochi asked curiously.
"No, I went to meet a group of bandits from Culai Mountain."
"Robber?" Zhu Gaochi almost spit out the tea he drank.
"What's going on? Is he crazy?"
Xu Jingchang said: "He is a little crazy. After this trip, he actually persuaded more than a thousand bandits to put down their weapons and surrender to the court. He has pardoned these people's sins, registered them in Qufu household registration, and granted them land.
.”
Zhu Gaochi was dumbfounded and still couldn't believe it.
"You want me to figure it out...a champion, go to the mountains to meet with the bandit leader?"
"That's right!"
"Not only did the bandits not kill him, but they also agreed to surrender, lay down their weapons, and become ordinary citizens?"
"That's right!"
Zhu Gaochi screamed strangely, "Isn't this right? It's so wrong. Why don't the bandits kill people? It doesn't make sense!"
Xu Jingchang thought seriously, "Maybe this is Shandong!"
"Shandong?"
"Yes, there are three types of unfilial piety, fame is the greatest!" Xu Jingchang said with a smile, why do we, the land of Qilu, the hometown of Confucius and Mencius, always care about the establishment of fame and fame the most.
Zuo Yutian, the number one scholar in the imperial examination, is the best in the establishment, and the star of Wenqu is descended to the earth.
He is willing to go into the mountains in person and hand over every detail, even if it is a bandit or bandit, he still has to sell face.
Of course, this is only a small aspect... In fact, what frightens the bandits is that Duke Zhuangyuan went to the local government to become a local official, which means that the imperial court attaches great importance to Shandong.
Moreover, the origins of these bandits are not a secret.
Many of them were former officers and soldiers who were dispersed during the Jingnan Campaign, or violated military regulations and fled to the mountains to avoid disaster.
Now that the world is peaceful, they won't be able to maintain it for long.
If we wait for the imperial army to attack, it will be a dead end.
Take advantage of the moment and return as soon as possible. You can become a good citizen and get a piece of land of your own. Why not do it.
Zhu Gaochi was curious, "How many bandits are there now?"
Xu Jingchang said: "According to the data from all parties, there should be more than 10,000... Although compared to the huge number of bandits, it is still too small, but it is a good start after all. Moreover, I have mobilized Jin Yiwei and informed Ping An
, when necessary, strike hard at the gangsters!"
Zhu Gaochi's eyes lit up, he nodded and said: "It's time to strike hard and smash these bastards!"
It is absolutely impossible to solve the problem of bandits just by relying on nice words.
Strong force is the foundation.
Those who are disobedient must be killed. Only when they are intimidated can they know how powerful they are.
Only at the critical moment of life and death will they repent and correct their evil ways.
As for those who are still unwilling to correct themselves, there is no place for them in this world. Xu Jingchang does not mind sending them to hell to correct themselves in that world.
A large-scale suppression of bandits can bring too many benefits to Shandong.
"Without the interference of bandits, it will be much more convenient for people to farm and do business with peace of mind, without having to worry."
"And these bandits are also good laborers. It is very important that they can repent and repent, which can fill the empty space and speed up the progress of land reclamation and farming."
Xu Jingchang explained excitedly that Shandong is a province with a large population and a lot of agricultural output.
Shandong has stabilized, regained its strength, and produced enough food, which has an unparalleled effect.
Among other things, Shandong now needs to allocate grain from Jiangnan, and the land in Jiangnan is being replanted with mulberry trees and more silk is woven, so it also needs to allocate food from Jiangxi and other places.
Zhu Gaochi nodded and said: "I understand. After Shandong recovers, it does not need to consume food from other provinces. It can even allocate food and send it to Jiangnan, so that more land can be used to plant mulberry trees and produce silk, right?"
Xu Jingchang said with a smile: "That's not all. When Shandong prospers, the situation along the canal will be much better. Then, with frequent exchanges between Peiping and Yingtian, and the flow of goods, the two thousand miles along the way will prosper."
Zhu Gaochi couldn't help but slapped his thigh in excitement, "Wonderful, this way, the whole situation comes alive. My father gave Zuo Yutian and the others the sword. It's really well deserved. These people are the Ming Dynasty's divine sword."
"Cousin, I'm going to find my father and ask them for credit."
Xu Jingchang nodded, "This is a good idea, just let them set an example."
After the two of them had discussed it, they were ready to enter the palace. But at this moment, a message came from the General Administration Department, asking them to come.
Xu Jingchang and Zhu Gaochi hurried over,
Xie Jin was waiting here with a solemn look on his face, "Your Highness, Duke Ding, something is not good... Annan's soldiers and horses invaded the Ming Dynasty's territory, killed our border residents, and robbed a total of fifty-nine
Village land.”
When Xu Jingchang heard this, he frowned and said, "What is going on? Didn't Hu Yuancheng agree to cede the port and trade with each other? How dare you invade the territory? Do you really think that the Ming Dynasty is easy to bully? Going back on your word is abominable!"
Jie Jin hesitated for a moment, then said: "This time they invaded Siming Prefecture in Guangxi and Ningyuan Prefecture in Yunnan. The chieftains of these two places complained to the court and asked the court to send troops to severely punish Annan's disobedience.
.”
While they were talking, Liu Jun, the Minister of War, Xia Yuanji, the Minister of Household Affairs, Jian Yi, the Minister of Personnel, and others arrived one after another.
After listening to the narration, Liu Jun couldn't help but said: "Annan is a capricious villain in the country of jackals. It was originally a God-given opportunity to attack the rebels, but in the end, he was greedy for small profits and missed the opportunity. Now the border residents are being
He was killed and his territory was taken away. If the Ming Dynasty does not send troops to conquer, how can it convince the people?"
Liu Jun looked at Jian Yi and Xia Yuanji, "Our Ministry of War proposes to immediately mobilize 50,000 troops, select good generals, falsely claim to be 100,000, and send troops from Yunnan to attack Annan. Let the Duke of Guizhou lead the troops in Yunnan and cooperate with the troops.
Annan was completely crippled in one battle."
Zhu Gaochi frowned and wanted to send troops again!
"The two places where wars are currently occurring are both under the jurisdiction of chieftains. In the past, conflicts often broke out here. Is it a small gain to send troops hastily?"
Liu Jun shouted: "Your Highness, the attack has already reached the door of our house, how can we endure it?"
Zhu Gaochi became increasingly angry. Although Annan's behavior was irritating, the situation now was very complicated.
The chieftains in the border areas did not completely obey the orders of the Ming Dynasty... some of them even paid tribute to the Hu Dynasty, taking advantage of both sides.
It is really unwise to go to war for these chieftains.
Moreover, it is still difficult to determine whether the current situation was authorized by the Hu Dynasty. If it was a private act by the local government, the Ming Dynasty would directly send tens of thousands of troops, which would be too much of a waste of people and money.
"Your Highness, it's time for us to send troops!" Xu Jingchang suddenly said quietly: "It's time to unsheath Ming's divine sword!"
