Chapter 592: Crossing the River by Feeling Hou Yuzhao, Following the Tracks

Lin Fucheng was writing travel notes again. He was discussing outside the Great Ming, and also discussing the Hu people. For the Hu people, Lin Fucheng used a word to describe them, which was "Su Lu" (Rope Barbarians). This word was a derogatory term, with a derogatory meaning, and was not created by Lin Fucheng.

"Su" means rope. The original meaning referred to the northern Hu people who, for the convenience of nomadic life, tied their hair into braids. After the two emperors of Western Jin were captured by the Xiongnu, the Jin family moved south, opening the Northern and Southern Dynasties era. During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, when the Southern Dynasty mocked the Northern Dynasty for lacking etiquette, they liked to use the term "Su Lu."

But Lin Fucheng's citation here was to indicate that the Hu people were thin and small, like a rope—skinny, skin attached to bone, no meat on the body, like rats, like insects, like badgers. Going up the mountain, they were weak; going down the mountain, they were incontinent. Their momentum was weak.

Similarly, Lin Fucheng noticed that the Northern Barbarians in Kaiping Guard generally had large frames, but they were just so thin and weak. This was the result of low productivity leading to extremely un-rich materials, not naturally so short and thin.

Many Northern Hu Ren nobles were big and round, fat and strong. The good hands among them wore an iron ring around their necks, and colored ribbons were tied to the iron rings. These ribbons were picked off from the opponent's body after winning in one-on-one wrestling.

Those with the most ribbons were "Baturu," which means warrior.

Baturu were all in line with the Great Ming's impression of Northern Barbarians—tall, burly, and good at fighting. But the vast majority of grassland people were thin and weak.

The thinner and weaker they were, the easier it was to resort to gods and Buddhas, hoping that mysterious power could change these sufferings, eventually completing self-deception.

The alienation of people by religion—this kind of case was everywhere on the grassland.

The shortage of iron pots, salt, and food on the grassland far exceeded the imagination of people in the interior. Especially the mutual attacks between them led to every tribe having to raise horses. And horses cannot carry people just by eating grass, because horses that carry people must be fed bean dregs and salt. This further aggravated the shortage of food on the grassland, which in turn caused universal shortness and thinness.

Lin Fucheng said more sadly that the omnipotent production capacity solution could not solve the stubborn disease of religion.

The Great Ming now had a theory of "production capacity only," which was that everything was caused by insufficient production capacity leading to social contradictions.

Under the continuous improvement of production capacity—that is, the ability of humans to change nature—all contradictions would dissipate with the improvement of production capacity. When materials were saturated to a completely saturated level, human exploitation of humans would have no meaning, then classes would disappear, and freedom would be realized.

But this theory encountered resistance, which was religion.

The progress of production capacity could not cure the stubborn disease of religion.

Lin Fucheng was not just looking at the poor people on the grassland. With his character of getting to the bottom of things, he would never observe the poor people one-sidedly. For the nobles of the grassland, Lin Fucheng also observed deeply. He found that the nobles were generally even more pious than the poor people.

This did not conform to Li Zhi's religious theory at all. Li Zhi believed that religion was an escape from reality's suffering and a pursuit of the other shore.

And these nobles had no reality's suffering at all, nor any pursuit of the other shore, because they had been on the other shore since birth. But their firm belief in Buddha made Lin Fucheng sigh in admiration.

The reason was that religion was one of the important tools for exploiting the bottom and establishing personal dependency—and it was very easy to use!

The theory of limited freedom and its advocated ideal country were challenged. After the great abundance of materials, exploitation indeed lost its meaning, but the non-material needs of people to enslave others' spirits—that is, religion—would still exist and further strengthen.

This was Lin Fucheng's thinking. He was still seeking answers on the grassland, like a ship lost on the sea, not knowing when he would find the answer.

Wan Shihe got the draft of the Ministry of Rites for the next chapter. Lin Fucheng said some things too straightforwardly and needed to be modified so that the article didn't look like it was overly provoking the majesty of imperial power. And Wan Shihe only used half an hour to completely polish the manuscript.

The method of polishing was very simple: adjust the structure, put Li Zhi's flattery in the front, and expand it partially. Lin Fucheng's content was not deleted. However, in the final part, Wan Shihe also looked forward to the future of the Great Ming. Generally speaking, the future was promising.

Wan Shihe also changed the title from *Great Ming, a Shell Without a Soul* to *Great Ming Surpasses Han and Tang, and Resembles the Two Songs*. In this way, the impact of this article became much smaller.

If the article had been published directly according to Lin Fucheng's first draft, Lin Fucheng would have been labeled a rebel immediately and lost his current status as the leader of the literary world.

Surpassing Han and Tang and resembling the two Songs—these words looked very contradictory because Han and Tang were completely different from the two Songs. Could this be mentioned in the same breath?

Great Ming, like Han and Tang, had the ability to distribute and redistribute downward. Great Ming also relocated wealthy households to enrich the capital, and it had been doing so during the Hongwu and Yongle years. This was redistribution. Great Ming also had a land system. The land system was an important means of downward distribution. Great Ming stood on the foundation of Han and Tang, and the land system and grassroots construction formulated were "surpassing Han and Tang."

But time passed, and Great Ming gradually forgot these. Instead, like the two Songs, it governed the world with the scholar-officials. The land system existed in name only, the world was trapped in annexation, and ambitious people had aspirations that could not be displayed. Base scholars filled the court.

Grand Secretary Wan sent the polished article to the Tonghe Palace. Lin Fucheng's rebel remarks, after polishing, were published in *Xiaoyao Yiwen* in a relatively mild appearance. Wang Qian felt it would sell very hotly, so he printed five thousand copies. As a result, it was sold out in the morning of the same day. Wang Qian had to print another five thousand copies, which was barely enough to supply.

Because the pen-pushers went on a study tour, *Xiaoyao Yiwen* had stopped publication for a long time. Many people thought Lin Fucheng and Li Zhi had been silenced. As a result, after the new issue was published, the attack power was as strong as ever. This was still a weakened version by Wan Shihe, but it still impacted the literati in the capital, unfolding a discussion that covered the sky and the earth around the "soul theory" proposed by Lin Fucheng.

This was exactly the result Wan Shihe wanted. He secretly recruited a group of scholars to continue compiling *Compilation of the Masters*. When praise, criticism, and abuse were all concentrated on Lin Fucheng, the compilation of *Compilation of the Masters* was no longer noticed by people.

Wan Shihe wrote a book for the Emperor, discussing public opinion. People deep in public opinion are blind, follow the crowd, and are easily attracted by new public opinion, forgetting the follow-up of the current matter. Very few people care about these follow-ups. People seem to care more about expressing their emotional output than the influence.

In the public opinion field, new hot spots always cover old hot spots. People are always forgetting. Only what happens in front of their eyes is the most important.

Wan Shihe was manipulating public opinion and executing the Emperor's decrees.

The capital was very lively. Zhu Yijun wore a top and trousers and headed towards the North Earth City. He was going to take a group of scholars to plow the land today. This batch of scholars had 550 people.

"Wasn't there only 400 people before?" Zhu Yijun was a bit strange. Compared to the initial registration, there were 150 more people.

"I have no choice. Some scholars who lived far away arrived in the capital, but the registration had already ended. It is not easy to live in the capital, and after a long journey, they had no extra money. I could only add another batch after the New Year, plus the part that was cleared out before, there were 150 more," Feng Bao explained the reason.

They had studied for a lifetime, and the long gown on their bodies could no longer be taken off. And besides reading, they seemed to know nothing else. The imperial examination was their only hope, so no matter how slim the hope was, they were willing to come and try.

And there were age restrictions—only those under thirty-five could register. This was already screened, but the number of people was still very large.

There were truly many scholars in the Great Ming.

"Then let it be 550 people. The Son of Heaven specially bestowed an imperial examination, once every three years. It's actually not much," Zhu Yijun still approved of this number.

Zhu Yijun's attire truly gave all the scholars a big jump. In their hearts, this Emperor they had never seen should be in silk and satin, very majestic. This meeting with the Emperor was just for the Emperor to say two words of encouragement.

But the Emperor's top and trousers, short-jacket attire made all the scholars sincerely have a doubt: could the Emperor really farm? Or was it a persona created based on political needs? Could the Emperor really want to take these scholars to farm together?

Zhu Yijun looked around at the scholars on the Baoqi Hall and nodded with satisfaction. These scholars were dressed the same as him, in short jackets with tops and trousers.

"Students pay respects to Your Majesty. Long live Your Majesty, long live, long live." After the shock, the scholars hurriedly performed the great ceremony to meet the Emperor.

Zhu Yijun looked at everyone and stretched out his hands, saying: "Exempt from ceremony."

"You have taken the imperial examination three times and failed to pass the Jinshi examination. There may be many reasons, but what I want to tell you is that there are 50,000 mu of fields in front of you. Before the next imperial examination, if these 50,000 mu of fields can produce 70,000 shi of grain a year, you will get another chance to take the examination."

50,000 mu of fields, 70,000 shi of grain—it's actually not much. 1.4 shi of grain per mu, two harvests a year in the north, plus water and fertilizer without needing to nourish the land, livestock, and machinery—this condition was already extremely good.

It looked easy to complete, but 550 people farming 50,000 mu of land was still a huge challenge because any action involving more than 50 people needed an organization. When the Great Ming army marched, any camp of more than 50 people had to build a toilet because they could no longer solve it anywhere.

"I remind you, honor and disgrace are shared. I only examine this collective of yours. The agricultural officials of the Baoqi Department only teach you how to farm and are not responsible for judging cases or criminal law," Zhu Yijun made the rules clear. This was completely different from the Ministry of Rites' original design.

The Ministry of Rites originally planned to divide every 110 people into a Li (neighborhood), compete between Lis, and finally based on the number of harvested grain. Only the Li with the most harvested grain would have the qualification to participate in the metropolitan examination again.

Zhu Yijun rejected the Ministry of Rites' design and replaced it with another design: overall examination, sharing honor and disgrace. What was cultivated was unity, cooperation, organization, and mutual help.

Two Five-Classic Doctors came from the Imperial Academy of Sciences. This was a very good social practice. Five-Classic Doctors not only studied science but also social science. This was a very good observation case regarding production.

Zhu Yijun's speech was extremely concise and short. He began the spring plowing this year. Prince Lu, Zhu Yiliu, and the eldest imperial son, Zhu Changzhi, followed behind the Emperor. They were mainly playing. Farming was also not done well. Zhu Changzhi finally stopped peeing and playing with mud. Zhu Changzhi, who was one year older, now started catching crickets everywhere.

"The most useless thing is the scholar," Zhu Yijun wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked at the scene of spring plowing in the distance, saying sincerely.

According to the reports of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the agricultural officials of the Baoqi Department, these scholars were high-minded and low-skilled, with a pile of opinions, each with a bigger idea than the other. They didn't take the content taught by the agricultural officials to heart at all. If it weren't for the agricultural books being compiled by the Emperor personally, they probably wouldn't even bother to look at them. They always felt that reading was such a difficult thing that they could pass the Juren examination, so farming shouldn't be simple?

"Lacking awe, always feeling that heaven is number one, earth is number two, and they are number three. Your Majesty, the land will teach them how to remain humble. After falling enough times, they will naturally understand. It's like training a dog," Feng Bao said slanderous words on the side, saying a bunch of bad things about scholars again.

If you don't listen to the agricultural officials, you will fall. After falling enough times, you will naturally listen.

Although Feng Bao's words were unpleasant, the logic was indeed sound; soon, various bizarre incidents occurred, such as people getting injured due to improper operation of farm tools, people being too tired to work after a short while because of incorrect posture, and people wasting half a day's work because of laziness and lack of deep plowing.

Plowing is also a technical job, and farming has its own principles, not just what one thinks.

After finishing his work and watching the scholars' jokes for most of the day, Zhu Yijun left with satisfaction. These scholars farmed during the day and reviewed their homework at night. It was actually very hard, but there was still a chance to leap over the dragon gate. No matter how much grievance they suffered, they would persist.

After returning to the Tonghe Palace, Zhu Yijun inquired about Zhou Liangyin's performance.

In Zhu Yijun's impression, Zhou Liangyin was still a base scholar. He had returned to the capital to report on his duties three times, but he hadn't been summoned by the Emperor. Feng Bao simply reported Zhou Liangyin's performance.

Zhou Liangyin followed behind Hou Yuzhao, secretly learned how to reclaim fields, took root in Daning Guard, and led the Han people of the Northern Parallel Military Commission to start reclaiming wasteland.

Over the years, under Zhou Liangyin's leadership, a total of 13,000 qing of regular fields—that is, 1.3 million mu—were opened, 37,000 qing of grassland were opened, 754 military forts were built, Daning Guard, Huining Guard, and Rehe Guard were repaired, and two military horse enclosures were repaired, which were part of the million-horse field. And this year, the horse scale of these two enclosures reached 300,000. In these ten years, more than 210,000 Han people were settled.

"Even if he faked it, I will give him a chance." Zhu Yijun had a heavy account book in his hand. The Five Matters of Reclaiming Fields was the wasteland reclamation regulation that Hou Yuzhao requested the court to implement back then, and Zhou Liangyin didn't violate these regulations and implemented them very well.

In the past memorials of Daning Guard, there were even strange news. Daning Guard even appeared to have annexation.

Annexation appearing in the border area could be said that the Wang Hua of this land had been completed halfway, and the rest was the matter of culture and education.

"Who did he rely on?" Zhu Yijun asked curiously. Who would Zhou Liangyin choose to rely on?

Jin Party, Chu Party, or Zhang Party?

Feng Bao whispered: "He is now in Wan Ge-lao's house because when Hou Yuzhao entered the capital last time, he also relied on Wan Ge-lao. For these years, Zhou Liangyin had been following behind Hou Yuzhao. Whatever Hou Yuzhao did, he did. He had no opinions of his own."

Zhou Liangyin crossed the river by feeling Hou Yuzhao and became addicted to it. Even the people he relied on were the same as Hou Yuzhao. The main point was that Hou Yuzhao would be unlucky first, and then he would be unlucky...

"Very good." Zhu Yijun smiled. Zhou Liangyin could also be considered a hot figure, and he was also a figure that the three parties wanted. As a result, Zhou Liangyin looked around and followed in Hou Yuzhao's footsteps.

Zhou Liangyin was at Wan Shihe's mansion at this time. Unlike the 80 mu of the Quan Jin Quanchu Quanchu Huiguan, the 70 mu of the Quan Chu Quanchu Quanchu Huiguan, and the 20 mu of the Quan Zhe Quanchu Quanchu Huiguan, the mansion of the Emperor's party leader Wan Shihe only had a three-entry official residence.

This was still bestowed by the Emperor. To set up a mansion in the capital, with Wan Shihe's salary, he would have to save money for five or six years.

Su Shi's brother, Su Zhe, saved money for half his life, just wanting to buy a mansion in Kaifeng Prefecture. As a result, Su Shi had an accident, and Su Zhe could only take this money out to settle the matter.

"This Jin Party is now existing in name only. Vice Minister Wang is the leader of the Industry Party. If you rely on him, not to mention anything else, when you are a Governor, the official factory group creation method can still be taught to you, and the connections are also a benefit of worshiping under Vice Minister Wang," Wan Shihe introduced the changes in the capital.

The benefits of relying on Wang Chonggu were obvious, that is, there would be many resources for official factory group creation, such as experienced skilled craftsmen, organizational construction in official factory practice, safe production, etc., all of which were benefits of worshiping under Vice Minister Wang.

Zhou Liangyin shook his head and said: "Vice Minister Wang is a rebel. It's a bit dangerous."

"Don't talk nonsense. The Emperor has already forgiven him!" Wan Shihe's eyes went dark as soon as he heard it, and he hurriedly said.

Zhou Liangyin said with a solemn face: "I have been working in the border area for a long time. The border area is: the enemy and I are distinct. There is no such thing as 'using merit to make up for faults'. In the border area, any rebellious act has only one end: being hanged by the villagers at the entrance of the village."

In the eyes of the current Zhou Liangyin, the court actually allowing Wang Chonggu to continue working in the court was simply incomprehensible. A rebel, not killing his whole family, was the reward of imperial favor, but he should also be let go home. There was no middle ground.

Non-black or white—this was a way of thinking that would inevitably be cultivated in a war zone for a long time.

The phenomenon of private lynching in the border area was very serious. If you sold the news in the camp to horse bandits or barbarians, as long as it was discovered, you would be hanged. You wouldn't tell the guard yamen at all. This was also a typical example of not being fully Wang Hua.

"Jiangling Gong (Zhang Juzheng) concurrently manages the Ministry of Personnel. If it is your merit, it is your merit; no one can take it away. Of course, Jiangling Gong's way of doing things is also very fair. If it is not your merit, you can't take it into your hands. It is mainly about believing in rewards and punishments." Wan Shihe introduced the advantages of Zhang Juzheng's Chu Party: fairness.

Zhou Liangyin shook his head and said: "Jiangling Gong does not accept base scholars. I made a mistake in the first place. No matter what, Jiangling Gong will not accept students into his sect."

"You have already repented," Wan Shihe shook his head and said.

"Gao Qiyu has also repented, but Jiangling Gong doesn't even see him." Zhou Liangyin was in the border area, but he also knew about the affairs in the capital. No matter how many merits Gao Qiyu made, it was useless work.

Wan Shihe smiled and said: "You were not Jiangling Gong's student before."

Zhou Liangyin said with some embarrassment: "Then I dare not worship Jiangling Gong even more. I am dull. I have read books for so many years, but I was confused and actually pointed at Qi Shuai and Ningyuan Hou."

Zhou Liangyin ate sand outside the Great Wall for ten years and understood one thing: he was not smart. If he was not smart, there was no need to run to Zhang Juzheng's sect. Zhang Juzheng's means of clearing the party internally were also unusually ruthless.

"Then what about the Zhe Party? Grand Minister Wang Daokun is broad-minded, but his main influence is still in the Ministry of Works. Compared with the other two, he is a bit declining, but he can be considered a backer." Wan Shihe introduced the situation of the Zhe Party. The two Zhe Party leaders were not interested in operating the Zhe Party.

But it could be considered a backer. If something happened, Wang Daokun could also speak up.

"I am willing to worship under the Ge-lao's sect," Zhou Liangyin said his purpose for this trip.

"Ah?" Wan Shihe was extremely surprised, thinking Zhou Liangyin came to ask for opinions, referring to which mountain to worship. As a result, it turned out that he came to worship his own mountain!

This Zhou Liangyin and Hou Yuzhao were somewhat fond of going against people. For so many years, there were not many scholars willing to worship under Wan Shihe.

"Hou Yuzhao is a heart of sincerity, thinking less. To put it ugly, he is stupid. Those human relationships, he doesn't understand. What about you? What is the reason?" Wan Shihe asked with some doubt.

Zhou Liangyin thought for a long time and chose to tell the truth: "Hou Yuzhao did the right thing! Following him, you won't go wrong. This is the experience I got from long-term practice."

Reclaiming wasteland in the border area, Zhou Liangyin found in practice that although Hou Yuzhao liked to go against people, every time he went against people, he got good results. Seemingly abnormal choices often led to good results.

For example, private lynching in the border area was serious. Hou Yuzhao didn't ask at all. At first, Zhou Liangyin wanted to manage it, but he found that he couldn't manage it at all; for example, the camp reclamation method—building camps before reclaiming wasteland. Zhou Liangyin originally wanted to reclaim wasteland first. After all, building camps cost a lot of grain. As a result, in the border area where horse bandits and Northern Barbarians were rampant, he could only build camps first.

Things like this happened many times, and Zhou Liangyin stamped himself with the thought that "Hou Yuzhao is right."

Following the tracks, not seeking merit, but seeking no mistakes—this was Zhou Liangyin's way of survival.

"What can you learn by following me? How to slander and flatter? If you follow Hou Yuzhao, won't you live in his shadow for a lifetime?" Wan Shihe said helplessly.

He was a flatterer, and the court officials wished he would die quickly. Following him, for promotion, it was all negative influence.

Zhou Liangyin said quite definitely: "Hou Yuzhao is now the Governor of Liaodong. I can still follow him for a long way. In the future, when he is promoted to the capital, I can still follow the tracks."

Wan Shihe didn't need to teach anything. Zhou Liangyin needed the status of the Emperor's party. If he was scolded for being a flatterer, let him be scolded. Zhou Liangyin didn't have the integrity of a backbone in the first place.

"That's fine. Anyway, I don't have any rules here." Wan Shihe didn't make things difficult. He was the party leader, but he was the Emperor's party, and the real party leader was the Emperor.

"Student Zhou Liangyin has met the teacher." Zhou Liangyin breathed a long sigh of relief, bowed deeply, and performed the apprenticeship ceremony.

Zhou Liangyin asked with doubt: "Does the court have any arrangements for me?"

"You will be promoted from Daning Guard. It will probably let you be the Vice Censor-in-Chief, supervising Yanmen Pass, stationed in Datong, and Governor of Shanxi," Wan Shihe revealed the personnel appointment. This was discussed before and passed by the court. If Shen Shixing had problems, it would be Zhou Liangyin to Liaodong and Hou Yuzhao to Songjiang Prefecture.

"Very good. I am good at dealing with Hu people," Zhou Liangyin breathed a sigh of relief. He had experience in how to promote the Wang Hua process in newly opened lands. Stationed in Datong Prefecture and Governor of Shanxi, the main work was actually to cooperate with Suiyuan Governor Pan Jixun to Wang Hua Suiyuan.

This work, he was good at. Letting him partner with fierce people like Li Chengliang, he was afraid that he would be chopped up by Li Chengliang to feed the dogs. You know, when he was demoted from the capital to Daning Guard to reclaim wasteland, it was because he accused Qi Jiguang of being greedy for merit and accused Li Chengliang of being harsh on the censors and releasing tigers to scare them.

This was a feud. Although it had been ten years, Li Chengliang's vengeful personality—when he arrived at the local area, Li Chengliang could really take revenge. Li Chengliang's bandit spirit was too heavy.

"Zhou Liangyin, tell the truth. What do you think of the situation in Liaodong?" Wan Shihe asked in a low voice: "Does Li Chengliang have any rebellious acts? Or have you heard any similar rumors?"

"No," Zhou Liangyin shook his head and said: "Except for liking to go out hunting and not being able to find anyone, I haven't heard any other rumors. Last year, there was a rumor of a dog growing a horn, but it was a tuft of hair, not a horn."

Zhou Liangyin knew why Wan Shihe asked this. It was very simple. Last year, there was a rumor of a dog growing a horn, which was actually very unfavorable to Li Chengliang.

Li Chengliang liked to go out hunting very much. He often left Jilin and went as far as Heilongjiang, mainly to investigate the movements of the Jurchens, and secondly to prepare New Year's gifts for the Emperor. There was no rumor of wanting to be king.

"Teacher, the court did not treat Liaodong badly. The Han people in Liaodong are more loyal than those in the capital. Those words of the pen-pushers in the capital—if they were in Liaodong, they would be hanged." Zhou Liangyin said with doubt: "The court did not treat Liaodong badly. The Han people in Liaodong are more loyal than those in the capital. Those words of the pen-pushers in the capital—if they were in Liaodong, they would be hanged. The pen-pushers in the capital—are they so bold? Especially that Lin Fucheng, who has already accused the Great Ming of losing its soul and being just a shell. Is he crazy?"

All the city gates in Liaodong facing the capital were called Tonghe Gates. This was the loyalty carved on the city gates. And because the Great Ming adopted the policy of borrowing money to settle down in Liaodong, the Han people who arrived in Liaodong only felt gratitude in their hearts because there was no interest. Borrowing one shi of grain and returning one shi of grain, all operating costs were paid from the internal treasury.

Even farmers could buy wool coats at a fair price. These were all components of kindness.

The capital might focus too much on Li Rusong leading elite cavalry to make contributions, focusing too much on top-down, but Zhou Liangyin was in Daning Guard, and he knew more about Liaodong. What he saw was bottom-up. Even if Li Chengliang had a rebellious heart, there was no foundation. If Li Chengliang wanted to rebel, the Han people in Liaodong wouldn't agree.

"That article." Wan Shihe said with slight embarrassment: "I wrote it. The Emperor asked me to polish it."

"Ah?" Zhou Liangyin was extremely surprised. He said sluggishly: "The Emperor is indeed an extraordinary person. He can tolerate such rebellious words. It is truly going to do extraordinary things. The Emperor is so broad-minded, why should the Great Ming not flourish?"

"Right, right, right, this is the taste. You are already a qualified Emperor's party," Wan Shihe said, it was the right taste!

If you can't flatter, you still want to be the Emperor's party? Supporting all the Emperor's decisions is the core proposition of the Emperor's party. ===== CHAPTER 593 =====