The shock of Xu Qi and Liu Rong is understandable.
They endured without confessing and suffered so much.
But who would have thought that the real owner would be easily captured by Jin Yiwei.
But now, this person has become a prisoner, then... everything is over.
Zhu Di didn't need to ask who had been arrested. In fact, just by looking at the reactions of Xu Qi and Yang Rong, he already knew that the unattractive old man in front of him must be the real culprit behind the scenes.
His eyes were full of doubts, and he obviously couldn't imagine that the dying man in front of him could control the situation behind the scenes, and even almost put him, the emperor, to death.
Zhu Di's eyes wandered and he shouted: "Who is it?"
Although the old man looked embarrassed, he still had a calm expression on his face and sighed: "Hey, I never thought that today would happen."
He then smiled again and said: "Although the situation is over, it can be seen that the times are also good. Unless we do our best, the destiny is not mine."
Zhu Di sneered and said: "Does a mere old scholar dare to talk about destiny?"
The old man was speechless.
Zhu Di said: "I ask you again, who are you?"
But the old man looked at him and said: "I just want to know why I was captured?"
A person can fail, but a noble and conceited person like the old man must want to know why he was captured.
He said slowly and authentically: "Are they Xu Qi and Liu Rong?"
He glanced at Xu Qi and Liu Rong calmly.
The two of them gritted their teeth and remained silent.
He just looked at their faces and seemed to notice something, and asked again: "Could it be those friends?"
The so-called friends he mentioned were the county magistrate and the Confucian scholar who supported him.
But soon, he rejected it again.
Because these two people, when they saw the Jin Yiwei coming, they fought tooth and nail, and now they are both dead.
There was a look of suspicion on the old man's face, and he obviously couldn't understand this.
Finally, he looked at Zhu Di and said: "If your Majesty wants to know the truth, then please tell me. Otherwise, your Majesty will not get the real answer."
Zhu Di felt calm and relaxed at this moment. He smiled and looked at Zhang Anshi.
Zhang Anshi said: "If I want to capture you, I can capture you easily. It doesn't take any effort at all."
The old man looked at Zhang Anshi: "Is this the famous Zhang Anshi?"
Zhang Anshi said: "You also know me?"
"Of course I know." The old man didn't show any indignation. He looked at Zhang Anshi and said, "I just never thought that such a young man would be like Deng Tong."
Deng Tong was the favorite of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty. He was young and light and was extremely favored by Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty...
Of course, in the Confucian discourse system, this is a traitor.
Zhang Anshi only smiled: "Now you still want to show off your rhetoric?"
The old man shook his head and said: "It's just words from the bottom of my heart. Since you said it would be easy to take me, I would like to know how easy it is."
Zhang Anshi said: "You are as cunning as a fox. You think you are smart, but in fact, you are arrogant."
The old man said nothing, looking like he was patiently waiting for the next step.
Zhu Di looked at Zhang Anshi in surprise. If this old man was an old fox, then... Zhang Anshi could catch him so quickly.
Isn't this gentleman just a first-rate little fox?
He also wanted to know how Zhang Anshi did it.
Zhang Anshi continued: "It is easiest to deal with arrogant people."
Zhang Anshi paused and continued: "I first ordered people to guard the ports and ferries everywhere, and then ordered people to set up defenses on the official roads everywhere. Do you really think I want to use this to capture you?"
The old man sighed, and he seemed to have begun to realize something.
"But the truth is, I'm just borrowing these to make it more difficult for you to escape."
"Now that officers and soldiers have blocked the main roads, it is no longer possible for you to escape by yourself, so you must find another strange way. But finding another strange way means that you need to use your
relation."
The old man smiled and said: "You mean, the more people I use, the more flaws there will be?"
Zhang Anshi raised his chin slightly and said: "Of course it is! One person can do one thing and two people can keep it secret, but it involves seven, eight, or even ten or dozens of people. The more people involved, then
The bigger the flaw, the higher the probability that the news will spread."
The old man frowned slightly and said, "But as far as I know, I only asked two people for my trip this time."
Zhang Anshi laughed, his eyes full of sarcasm and ridicule.
The old man looked at him puzzled and said, "Why are you laughing?"
Zhang Anshi said with a smile: "That's why I said you are arrogant. That's why you were captured."
The old man looked at him confused.
Zhang Anshi said: "Here comes, please invite him in."
Zhang Anshi's incomprehensible words made people even more suspicious.
But at this moment, a man came in tremblingly. He bowed his head and said, "I've seen... I've seen..."
He had obviously never seen a big scene, so he felt extremely uncomfortable and couldn't even speak.
Everyone looked at this man.
Zhang Anshi said to this man gently: "Don't be afraid, His Majesty won't blame you, just get up."
Zhu Di also nodded.
The man stood up carefully.
Zhang Anshi pointed at this person and said to the old man: "Do you know this person?"
The old man looked suspicious, but finally shook his head.
"Of course you don't recognize it, but you definitely don't know that the person responsible for your escape is this person!"
The old man's expression suddenly changed.
Zhang Anshi continued: "In the eyes of a scheming person like you, your plan is naturally seamless, and can even be said to be perfect. But your problem lies in that you think that only a few people are familiar with your plan, but only a few people know it.
I never thought that those people who really work for you are not just humans at all in your eyes."
"The man in front of you is the servant of the Confucian scholar. The Confucian scholar really regarded you as a god. When he learned that you were going to escape, he naturally tried every means to assist you. He lived in seclusion in Meiling and was very familiar with the place. With his help,
It’s really something that gets twice the result with half the effort.”
Having said this, Zhang Anshi showed a sarcastic look on his face, looked at him and continued: "But have you ever thought about where your power comes from? You don't really think that your power comes from yourself, do you?"
The old man looked at Zhang Anshi, and at this moment, he slowly began to understand something.
Zhang Anshi continued: "You think you can turn everything around, and you attribute all the success of your schemes to yourselves, and you are superior to others. But you have just forgotten that the real vanguards for you are precisely the ones you treat as cattle and horses.
Driven slaves. So in your mind, there are only two people who are familiar with the plan, but in fact, there are dozens of people who actually arranged it."
"Do you still think that when the Confucian scholar accepted your request, he would personally arrange the boat, prepare the food and wine, and even support the boat for you? And personally protect you?"
The old man opened his eyes slightly and sighed: "One move is missing, one move is missing..."
Zhang Anshi looked at him contemptuously and said: "What a bad move! It's just stupidity and arrogance. Why pretend that you are so secretive?"
"You regard these slaves as people who have been driven by you since they were born. You think that they are just cattle and horses. They will naturally be loyal to you. They are just limbs that you hang on your body. You think that they cannot think. As long as you give orders, they will be loyal to you."
Naturally, someone will complete it, and this is the fundamental reason why you are seeking death today."
The old man said: "If you are a slave and are unfaithful, what can you say?"
Zhang Anshi couldn't help laughing, because he found this person's shamelessness amusing, and said: "How much money did you give them? What kind of food did you give them on weekdays? What kind of treatment did you give them on a daily basis? I but
I see that you have plenty of food, delicious food, many wives and concubines, live in luxurious houses, and wear beautiful clothes, but you are fed only scraps and dressed in burlap clothes, and yet you still have such delusions that they will give you
Are you risking your life?"
"If he refuses to sacrifice his life for someone like you, but you can talk about being a slave and being disloyal, then what kind of thing are you, an old dog? The court gives courtesy to people like you, and Kai Enke allows you
When you are an official, you are high-ranking and well-paid, but you just bite back like a mad dog. This kind of virtue is really worse than that of a dog!"
"It's just a dog. It's full of food and drink, but it can still wag its tail and beg for mercy. But you, an old dog, like Xu Qi and others, are just unfamiliar dogs. It's not your turn to be a slave and disloyal.
When you scold your slaves, the real ungrateful people are yourselves."
The old man closed his eyes and looked sad.
Of course, his grief was obviously not caused by Zhang Anshi's heartbreaking words. For people like the old man, they considered themselves to be superior to others and were different from others, so naturally they would not compare themselves with lowly slaves.
Go to analogy.
They have their own set of moral standards and value systems. How could they feel ashamed just because of Zhang Anshi's insults?
What he was grieving about was that he obviously did not expect that he would end up like this due to negligence and be humiliated by a cruel official like Zhang Anshi who he despised.
After a moment, the old man opened his eyes and said calmly: "But... I would like to ask, how did you find these slaves?"
Zhang Anshi smiled proudly and said, "They came to the door themselves."
The old man is still confused.
Zhang Anshi continued: "It is actually very simple to solve this problem. Under normal circumstances, these slaves are ordered by their masters. Even if they want to sue, they will definitely not succeed easily. After all, they have no knowledge, and
It’s hard to make up your mind when being coerced by the head of the family. So if you want to solve this problem, you have to disseminate the government’s instructions as widely as possible overnight.”
The old man was slightly shocked and couldn't help but said: "How did you do it overnight...?"
Zhang Anshi spit out three words: "Send eggs."
elder:"……"
Zhu Di: "..."
Zhang Anshi said: "Giving eggs is a small favor on the surface, but in fact... it is very attractive to the common people. If you memorize the government notices, you can receive eggs! Maybe in your eyes,
This is just a joke, but for ordinary people, it is the most important thing. Therefore, if it is spread to ten, it will be spread to hundreds of people, and it only takes one night for everyone to know about it."
This method of delivering eggs may only be spread within a small area in later generations.
But in this era, it is almost a dimensionality reduction blow. After all, this is the first time in the world, and the craze it brings is unimaginable by those in high positions.
The enthusiasm for collecting eggs will spread crazily and spread quickly to every corner of Nanchang Prefecture.
Zhang Anshi continued: "This alone is enough for word of mouth to spread from mouth to mouth, and the content of the notice is also very simple and catchy. It only states that... one of the corrupt officials' associates is wanted. This person is a Confucian scholar, aged four years.
More than ten days, you are in a hurry, you don't dare to walk on the main road, and other key information. This way, you can ensure that the slaves who helped you escape can notice something strange and report it to the official."
elder:"……"
The old man obviously didn't expect that it was so simple.
Just when the old man still found it difficult to accept it, Zhang Anshi said again: "Do you know what people in the world hate the most?"
"..."
"Crooked official, and you are a confederate official! These slaves have always been deceived by you. Before they succumbed to slavery, they must have had a painful experience. No one made the decision to redress their grievances. Therefore, after hearing this and noticing that you are acting secretly, it is inevitable that
Some of them will be willing to report to the official."
The old man sneered and said: "Ah... I have always been innocent. The people I have met, even people like Xu Qi, are mostly honest and self-sufficient. You are just trying to confuse the stupid people..."
Zhang Anshi smiled, but looked at the servant who was standing by and said, "What's your name?"
The man stammered: "The villain Wang Fu, no, Zhou Fu."
Zhang Anshi said: "Is it Wang Fu or Zhou Fu?"
The man said: "My original surname is Zhou, but later I became a servant and changed the surname of the master of the family, so my surname was Wang."
Zhang Anshi said casually: "He said that he and the officials above and below the Chief Envoy Department are clean-minded, honest and self-reliant. What do you think?"
"I don't dare to speak nonsense, but... but..." Zhou Fu answered very carefully, but still said: "But I feel that if Emperor Taizu Gao is here, I am afraid that all these people will be killed.
The light is gone."
Zhang Anshi couldn't help laughing.
Zhu Di had a sullen face, a little surprised.
In fact, in Zhu Di's view, Emperor Taizu Gao's reputation among the people was not good. After all, he was too strict and frequently caused large prisons, implicating hundreds or even thousands of people.
But I didn't expect that it seems that in the eyes of some people, there is another side.
Zhang Anshi continued: "He said you were unfaithful as a slave, but did you?"
Zhou Fu was too frightened to speak this time, but he seemed to feel that he was a little sorry for his family leader.
Zhang Anshi did not continue to delve into these words, but instead said: "Why do you want to report their whereabouts?"
"I...I..." Zhou Fu was frightened and trembling, and said as if he was trying very hard: "The villain only thinks about...just thinks about these corrupt officials who teach us that we can't build the railway..."
Zhang Anshi laughed and said: "Whether the railway is successful or not, what does it have to do with you?"
"I heard that the railway was built in Zhili. Once the railway was built, people would live a good life."
Zhang Anshi said: "Who did you listen to?"
"Xiao Ren... Xiao Ren's fellow villager, he went to Zhili to work a few years ago... He said he could eat three meals a day and one meal of meat every three days."
Zhang Anshi and Zhou Fu were asking and answering questions, but the old man became furious and shouted: "Shameless."
But Zhang Anshi laughed and said: "You hear that this person only cares about having three meals a day and one meal every three days. You think he is despicable and shameless. He betrayed his family head just for this, right?"
The old man sighed sadly: "A villain is a villain. Since ancient times, a virgin has not served her two husbands, and a loyal minister has not served his two masters. If I were bribed by you with a lot of money, it would be fine. I never thought that such a villain would only serve for
Such petty profit..."
He had a sad look on his face.
Zhang Anshi smiled even colder: "If the head of his family is really as good as what you said, he is charitable and has a benevolent heart, even if Zhou Fu can eat three meals a day and one meal of meat every three days, what will happen to him?
As for envying Zhili? So in the final analysis, the really shameless people are precisely people like you! You are well-dressed and well-fed, but you teach others to eat chaffy vegetables. The imperial court levies such a small tax, and you moan and groan, but Zhou Fu
Such people just want to eat better, so you immediately call them shameless,"
"A person like you can speak more beautifully than anyone else, but in reality you are just a mad dog who can only speak beautiful words and talk about moral principles. Now that you have reached this point, don't worry, there will be more shameless things next
waiting for you."
The old man was furious, but wanted to say something, but Zhang Anshi said at this moment: "Such a traitor, why do you let him stand and talk?"
As soon as he said this, the escorting school captain finally realized that someone kicked the old man's heel hard. The old man was in pain, and he knelt down with a bang. He let out a miserable cry.
Zhang Anshi turned a deaf ear to this miserable cry, but clasped his hands towards Zhu Di and said: "Your Majesty, I have fulfilled my mission, and I have obtained it within the time limit."
Zhu Di put his hands behind his back, stared at the old man and said, "I ask you for the last time, who are you?"
The old man howled. Although he was only kicked once, it felt like he was in pain. He bared his teeth and grinned. After a long time, he finally said: "My surname is Wu."
Zhang Anshi continued to listen, but also wanted to know the origin of this person.
But after Zhu Di listened, he seemed to understand something all of a sudden.
He took a deep look at the old man and said, "Jiangyou Wu family?"
The old man closed his eyes, showing a sad look, and said: "That's right."
Zhu Di said: "I never expected that the person who caused the chaos would be someone like you."
The old man said with a cold face: "The one who succeeds is a prince, the one who loses is a thief! Now that things have happened, I have nothing to say. It's just that I have never disgraced my family name. Now I will die out of loyalty."
Zhu Di's eyes showed a fierce light, and with anger, he said sternly: "The Ming Dynasty is very kind to you. I never thought that you would be so wolf-hearted!"
The old man said: "If it is not thin, why did Taizu punish the world with torture? If it is not thin, he has implemented the New Deal and taught the people of the world that life is worse than death?"
He raised his head slightly, looked at Zhu Di fearlessly, and said in a louder voice: "This world is not your Zhu family's world. Your father is just a commoner in Huaiyou. He only supports his own troops and takes care of the world.