Although all the nearly a thousand scholars were aggrieved, they wanted to point at the red lady’s back and curse her, then walk away.
But in the end, no one chose to leave, but they all went to count more than 100,000 people honestly.
Almost a thousand of these people were either scholars or civil servants, and they were all obliged to respond to the call of the imperial court, especially civil servants.
If they really leave, it means they refuse to accept the call, and if the Red Lady dismisses them from their jobs, then there really is no reason for them to go.
Compared with failing to complete the task and being punished by the imperial concubine, everyone cares more about their own fame. Even the most courageous people know how to choose.
Besides, everyone didn't think that the Red Lady would really do anything to them. The most they could do was humiliate them. Being humiliated by the Red Lady was not really a humiliation anyway.
When the Red Lady returned to the city, she happened to encounter a group of cotton merchants kneeling at the palace gate begging to see Zhang Yan.
The red lady really didn't have any worries about these businessmen and immediately vented her anger on them.
Each person was directly rewarded with twenty big boards. For a while, there were constant wails and screams. Many people's buttocks opened, but the people watching secretly cheered.
"Don't you like to petition? Well, I will grant you permission. From now on, you will keep kneeling. No one is allowed to get up without my order!"
Although the red lady's anger had subsided a little, she still didn't intend to let them go. After speaking, she gave instructions to the female general Xu Lan beside her.
"Xu Lan, keep an eye on me."
"It's the empress."
Xu Lan waved her hand, and hundreds of female soldiers surrounded dozens of cotton merchants. Each of the cotton merchants was in mourning, and they did not expect that the red lady would come back so quickly.
And they just started fighting without asking the reason or making any sense.
The other big businessmen who were watching from a distance all had solemn expressions on their faces.
Everyone felt a little powerless against this kind of person who was unreasonable and used force to solve everything.
After this delay, the Red Lady did not return to the palace, but returned to the outside of the city again to check the statistics of the scholars.
For an hour, the scholars were naturally unable to complete the statistics and registers. They even finished allocating the people and were about to start the statistics and registers.
There are more than 100,000 chaotic people, including men, women, old and weak. It is very rare to be able to sort things out within an hour.
But the Red Lady still rewarded each of them with ten military sticks, and she beat them in front of hundreds of thousands of people.
In the past, the high-ranking scholars were now like ordinary people, lying on benches and being beaten. Thousands of people were beaten, which immediately caused a sensation in the entire city of Nanjing.
After all, since ancient times, a doctor has not been punished.
However, many scholars were beaten until they cried like ghosts and howled like wolves, and their ugliness was revealed, and they could no longer maintain the demeanor of scholars.
"Look at your miserable appearance. You are so miserable with just ten military sticks. What will happen if I really want to add swords and axes to your body?"
If you can't bear this little hardship, how can you take on the big responsibilities and benefit the country when you become an official in the future?
I will give you one more day, and if you still can’t finish it, I will reward each of you with twenty military sticks!”
Faced with the red lady's lesson, some people blushed and looked dissatisfied, some lowered their heads in shame, and most of them closed their eyes and pretended not to hear.
"What are you still doing? Why don't you get to work quickly?"
Seeing their appearance, the red lady immediately shouted again.
"Let's go!"
Looking at the limping scholars, the red lady became a little uninterested and no longer had any interest in punishing them. Compared with her husband, these scholars were as different as a candlelight and a bright moon. She punished them all.
waste time.
Chen Yuanyuan looked at the back of her former lover Mao Bijiang and sighed softly. Only she knew that although the empress deliberately made things difficult for these scholars this time, she also wanted to test them.
Who would have thought that so many people would be deceived by the empress's apparent arrogance and unreasonableness.
Three days later, the Red Lady led an army of 30,000 men and nearly a thousand brothel girls including Chen Yuanyuan, and took a boat to Yangzhou.
At the same time, all salt merchants were notified to go to Yangzhou to discuss the salt policy reform.
Originally, the Red Lady really wanted to select some scholars with real talents and knowledge to go to Yangzhou together, but the performance of those scholars made her so disappointed that she no longer even thought about taking the exam.
The dozens of cotton merchants knelt for three days and three nights. During this period, each of them was only given a bowl of water. They were so hungry that they only had half their lives left. Only then did Zhang Yan come forward and ask people to carry them back.
If there was a ranking of manufacturing output value in Ming Dynasty, Yangzhou and Suzhou would definitely be ranked first.
The two cities accounted for at least 30% of the GDP of Ming Dynasty's manufacturing industry. This shows how developed Suzhou's textile industry and Yangzhou's salt industry were.
As the news spread, not only salt merchants, but also countless other businessmen went to Yangzhou.
Fang Yizhi and nearly a thousand other scholars actually rented dozens of boats and headed to Yangzhou to join in the fun.
Many people were still writing furiously in the cabin, writing down all their reforms and opinions on the salt policy, ready to be presented to the Red Lady.
Almost everyone did not believe that Red Lady, a mere rebel leader, could come up with any new salt policy, so it must have been authorized by His Majesty.
Only then did I want to see how His Majesty would reform the salt policy in order to analyze His Majesty's attitude towards Jiangnan business.
The scholars naturally wanted to gain fame through this.
It can be said that every move of the imperial court now affects the sensitive nerves of the Jiangnan business gentry.
Although the imperial concubine went there with a large army, everyone only thought it was to intimidate. With so many businessmen gathered together, they would not believe it if the imperial concubine dared to go on a killing spree and beat them to death.
After more than a hundred years of development, merchants in Jiangnan seem to have formed a tacit understanding, that is, salt merchants can only sell salt, not silk and cotton.
Silk and cotton merchants could not interfere in the salt industry. Both parties abided by this tacit agreement, and no one ever dared to cross the line.
Similarly, these two most profitable businesses are firmly monopolized by both parties, excluding other businessmen.
The meeting took place in a manor outside Yangzhou City. This manor was extremely luxurious and huge. It was the property of the Duke of Wei in the past. When the Red Lady arrived, many businessmen had already gathered in Yangzhou City.
"I would like to inform you that the four great princes of Jinling and dozens of scholars are outside the manor asking for an audience."
Early the next morning, as soon as the red lady woke up, the female soldier came in to report.
"Hmph, a bunch of guys who only care about fame and wealth, take them to the side hall."
The red lady snorted coldly. Of the four young masters, only Fang Yizhi was somewhat bloody, so after thinking about it, she decided to meet them.
Fang Yizhi and others were overjoyed when they were brought to the hall. They were originally worried that the imperial concubine would not summon them.
The red lady was also dressed in military uniform and sat down directly after arriving in the hall.
"Greetings to the noble concubine, she is a thousand years old."
"Tell me! Why do you come to see me?"
"The salt industry is related to people's livelihood all over the world. We heard that the empress wants to reform the salt policy. We have lived in the south of the Yangtze River for a long time. We know the salt industry very well. We have some experience and want to contribute to the court. This is our response.
Some advice and insights into the pros and cons of salt!”
Fang Yizhi said, taking out a thick booklet from his arms, holding it in both hands and raising it above his head.
The female soldier on the side took the booklet and handed it to the red lady. Everyone looked expectantly.
Who would have thought that the red lady didn't look through it, but just put it aside.
"You know so much about the salt industry, know its shortcomings, and have good ideas in mind. Why didn't you write to the court earlier to advise on rectifying the salt industry?
You have to wait until I have arrived in Yangzhou before you can give me any advice. Do you really care about the people and want to contribute to the court, or do you want to take this opportunity to gain fame for yourself?"
After the red lady finished speaking, she stared at them straightly.
Everyone's faces turned red. They didn't expect that the imperial concubine was so shrewd. She could see their purpose at a glance and said it directly.
"The matter of salt administration is related to the Ming Dynasty. If you are not a group of scholars who only think about fame and wealth, and those who can make irresponsible remarks, please step aside!"
The red lady waved her hand.
Everyone's thoughts were revealed by her, and they were already very embarrassed. Seeing this, they all left.
I don’t have the shame to stay and participate in subsequent conferences.
"Fang Yizhi, if you really want to do something for the imperial court and the people of the world, I advise you to travel to the north instead of hanging out with these people on the banks of the Qinhuai River all day long and talking nonsense!"
"Thank you for the tip, ma'am."
When Fang Yizhi walked to the door, he paused, turned around, and cupped his hands towards the red lady.
