Tie Xuan and the other three left hand in hand, while Li Zhigang sat in a chair with a gloomy expression on his face.
Not long after, the attendant stood at the door and coughed softly.
An elegant official in his early forties but not yet fifty came in slowly from the door and sat down silently next to Li Zhigang.
Li Zhigang didn't have many friends. To be precise, he didn't have many friends. But this person who came in could be regarded as his close friend.
This person is Liu Guan, the Chief Secretary of Zhejiang Province and the right political advisor.
The reason why men can become close friends must be because they have a common affinity, but Liu Guan and Li Zhigang are special cases because they are incompatible people.
Liu Guan is a man of few words. He doesn't like to fight with others, let alone quarrels with others. He just goes with the flow and never stands out from the crowd.
But as for Li Zhigang, he likes everything Liu Guan doesn't like...
But the reason why Liu Guan became Li Zhigang's only friend was because he was a good person.
He does not follow the good guys and the bad guys, nor does he add to the cake, nor does he add insult to injury.
As long as others are kind to him, he will be kind to others silently. He may not bring substantial benefits to his friends, but if his friends make mistakes, he will help them, and if his friends get carried away, he will
A few words of advice.
He is happy when something good happens to his friends, and sad when something happens to his friends... In short, he is a good person who is used to thinking about others.
~
"Shaoying..." Li Zhigang addressed Liu Guan by words and said with a wry smile, "There are so many gentry and gentry besieging me outside, why did you come in so aggressively?"
Liu Guan was wearing official uniform and said in a low voice, "I am your friend, there is no need to hide it!"
"I'm afraid that you'll be hurt by me and won't be able to be an official in the future!" Li Zhigang smiled bitterly again, "If you listen to the scolding outside, I'm almost like Qin Hui!"
Liu Guan was silent for a moment, "You are not!"
"Ha!" Li Zhigang laughed, "These three words are so obvious!"
"I don't drink!" Liu Guan shook his head, "I don't like drinking, you know!"
Li Zhigang then laughed, "You don't like drinking or women, so what do you like?"
"Actually..." Liu Guan pondered for a moment, "Actually, I love money...I'm not like you who come from a wealthy family and live a life of wealth and wealth. My family has dozens of people to support, and life is very tight!
But..." He paused and said, "But I am timid, and I don't dare to be greedy even if I love money!"
Li Zhigang was silent for a moment after hearing this, and asked tentatively, "The Chinese New Year is almost here, have you prepared all the New Year's goods at home? I heard that your eldest niece is getting engaged, are you ready for the dowry?" He paused again, and then said, "Dowry
But you can’t be shabby, otherwise your husband’s family will look down upon you after you get married!”
At this point, he pondered again, "I know you don't have much money. I'll ask someone to give you a note later, and the amount won't be too big. Even if I give the eldest niece the money to press the box, how about it?"
Liu Guan shook his head, "No!" He said, looking at Li Zhigang, "Between friends, getting money will change the taste!"
"Hey, you are pedantic!" Li Zhigang scolded with a smile.
Afterwards, both of them were silent.
~
"Yi Xing, you should know!" Liu Guan said after a long time, "The emperor doesn't want Tie Buzheng and the other three to get involved in right and wrong, so why do you want to drag them into trouble?"
"It's not that I pulled them into the water, but that they and I are on the same boat of the New Deal!" Li Zhigang squinted, "Now that we're on the boat, if we want the boat to row fast, we have to contribute! I can't row the boat myself.
As a boatman, they eat, drink and have fun as guests, right?"
He said with a smile, "I know the emperor doesn't want to, but the emperor doesn't want to and the emperor doesn't want to see it are two different things! If they are as brave as Li, the emperor will definitely be pleased!"
"Furthermore..." At this point, Li Zhigang pondered for a moment, with a bit of ruthlessness on his face, "How can those old foxes in the court express their opinions without dragging them into the water? Political achievements are not mine alone.
I can’t carry it alone!”
Liu Guan was silent. He knew exactly what Li Zhigang meant.
Behind Tie Xuan and others, in fact, in addition to the emperor, there are also the powerful northern clique bosses who hold great power in the court.
"If you do this, the fire of the New Deal will become more and more popular!" Liu Guan advised.
"The emperor hopes that the fire will be strong." Li Zhigang looked at the charcoal basin in the house, "Only when the fire is strong can the dregs be burned cleanly!"
He said, laughing at himself, "Actually, I...well...you know, it doesn't matter to me whether there is a new deal or not. With or without the new deal, I will be an official. But if I want to become big
Official, to reach the highest level of my Ming Dynasty, you must follow the emperor's wishes."
"If you are like this..." Liu Guan was silent for a long time again, then he opened his mouth and said, "Aren't you afraid of the future...?"
"What's the future like?"
"The bird is gone and the bow is hidden!" Liu Guan said one word with difficulty.
This is a relatively euphemistic word that he came up with after thinking for a long time, but being able to say such a word shows that he is really Li Zhigang's friend.
"When the birds are gone, the bows are hidden? It should be the rabbits that are killed and the dogs are cooked!" Li Zhigang laughed, "Or in order to appease the public anger, kill me to thank the world, right?"
Liu Guan didn't say anything, which was his acquiescence.
"Don't worry, it won't happen!" Li Zhigang touched the soft mink fur on his body, "You don't know much about our Long Live Master. The more he does things, the more he protects them. Even if he makes mistakes, he will bear them!"
Liu Guan frowned, "But offending too many people is not good after all!"
"You will suffer losses in this life because you don't want to offend others. Otherwise, with your qualifications, you would have been a minister of the Ministry of Finance!" Li Zhigang smiled, "Think about it, I am a minister of Long Live Lord, I can use it.
Are you afraid of offending others? Besides, in this world, if you don't offend others, can you have a good ending?"
"It's too strong and easy to break!" Liu Guan said again.
"I can't break it!" Li Zhigang's eyes were clear, "If I break it, the New Deal will be a joke!"
Suddenly, Liu Guan looked at the other party in surprise.
"Do you know what is the most difficult and most criticized aspect of the New Deal?" Li Zhigang said, "It is not that the people are divided into acres, nor is it that the officials and gentry are relieved of the post of grain director, but that all of them work as errands and pay for the grain!"
"I know that many people in the yamen are also dissatisfied!" Liu Guan said with a sigh, "Since ancient times, those who have learned and excelled will be officials. When you become an official, you must be distinguished from the common people. Officials mean management, and management means power! The imperial court does it
This new policy treats the officials and gentry as enemies and bandits!"
"You still haven't seen the root cause!" Li Zhigang shook his head and said, "The officials and the gentry are a class...a class that is superior to the common people. But who are the common people? Are they just farmers?"
Liu Guan was stunned and speechless.
"Common people can also be big landowners or big businessmen! They can also be small landowners and small businessmen!" Li Zhigang said with a smile, "The country has established ancestral family laws since the time of Emperor Taizu Gao. People without fame can even wear silk.
People who cannot wear it and have no fame are collectively called common people!"
"Even if the common people have a huge fortune, for status, they still have to rely on the officials and gentry... You may think this is a matter of course. But have you ever thought about it, whether it is businessmen or landlords, they are really willing to do so.
Are you going to hand over your interests to officials and gentry who do nothing?"
"Contradiction!" Li Zhigang said sternly, "The contradiction between imperial power and the gentry, the contradiction between the gentry and the common people... Just as far as Jiangnan is concerned, there is also the contradiction between the traditional gentry class and the new rich!"
"Perhaps the contradiction is not obvious now... but what about later?" Li Zhigang exhaled deeply, with a hint of worry, "Officials and gentry are above all common people, which is not conducive to the independent development of various industries among the people!
"
"This is not just a matter of treasury revenue. Why did the emperor let Tie Xuan and the others stay here for several years?"
"Keep an eye on the officials and gentry and don't let them dictate to those big merchants and large trading houses, keep an eye on them and don't let them use their privileges to suppress business and monopolize!"
"Allow the common people to spontaneously engage in Beijing-based trade, allowing small and medium-sized households to make money. Let more landless people turn from tenants to helpers, and even from helpers to family workshops..."