jdhmnovel Chapter 1050 Li Shanchang: Destroy it all, fucking destroy it all!
Chapter 1050 Li Shanchang: Destroy it all, fucking destroy it all!
Zhu Biao glanced at the people of Xujiazhuang, his face turning ashen, as if he had swallowed a dead child.
"If the people of Xujiazhuang fear the tyranny of Master Xu, then the people of other prefectures and counties will surely fear their local officials and gentry as well."
"If this problem isn't solved, the people will still be afraid to stand up."
"It really proves the old saying that 'the people can't fight against the officials.'"
Zhu Biao sighed and said, "It is said that poor mountains and bad waters breed unruly people. Is it possible that the mountains in Jiangnan are not poor enough and the waters are not bad enough, so that they do not produce the unruly people in the eyes of officials and gentry?"
Yang Shaofeng suddenly felt offended.
What do officials and gentry see as troublemakers?
What's the difference between you pointing at the ID cards of Ningyang residents and calling them troublemakers?
Yang Shaofeng rolled his eyes and retorted, "In Your Highness's opinion, are the mountains in Xinghua County poorer than those in Ningyang County?"
"Is the water in Xinghua County worse than the water in Ningyang County?"
"Or are you saying that the mountains in one of the southern provinces are poorer than the mountains in Shandong?"
Zhu Biao paused for a moment, then said, "Fujian is mountainous, isn't it? Jiangxi is mountainous, isn't it?"
"The waterways in the Jiangnan region are well-developed, but they are not necessarily more suitable for farming than those in Shandong."
"Xinghua suffered from the wars at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, especially the devastation caused by Zhang Mingjian leading his beasts to devour people, leaving nine out of ten households destitute. It's not necessarily any better off than Ningyang County back then."
Yang Shaofeng chuckled and said, "Your Highness is simply ignoring the facts—that wretched place in Shandong has experienced far more than just the chaos of the late Yuan Dynasty."
"In fact, it has been experiencing constant warfare since the Song and Liao dynasties."
"What kind of good place can withstand years of ravages?"
"I have heard of people who have 100,000 strings of cash riding cranes down to Yangzhou, but I have never heard of anyone who has 100,000 strings of cash riding cranes up to Jinan."
"..."
After rambling on for most of the day, Yang Shaofeng finally steered the conversation back to the question of whether Shandong or Jiangnan was poorer.
"The best course of action now is to start with Xujiazhuang and use it as a starting point to expand our reach."
"Let's spare the lives of Master Xu and Guo Huai for now, and let the people of Xujiazhuang stand up first. They will be accompanied by the newly appointed Prefect of Yangzhou, the Prefect of Gaoyou, and the Magistrate of Xinghua County. They will then lead the opera troupe and Guo Huai and Master Xu on a tour of all the villages and communities in Xinghua."
"After visiting Xinghua, I'll visit Gaoyou; after Yangzhou, I'll visit Zhili."
"You can travel all over the Jiangnan region, whether it's morning or evening."
Zhu Biao's eyes grew brighter and brighter.
As the saying goes, everything is difficult at the beginning.
Regardless of whether the people of Xu Family Village were provoked or coerced by their brother-in-law, they still dared to stand up and testify against Master Xu.
With the example of Xujiazhuang, it will be much easier to manage villages and communities like Zhangjiacun, Wangjiawan, Lijiaping, and Zhaojiazhuang next to Xujiazhuang.
Similarly, with the example of Xinghua County as a precedent, it was only a matter of time before Gaoyou Prefecture, Yangzhou Prefecture, and even the entire Zhili region and the entire Ming Dynasty fell into the same trap.
"but……"
Yang Shaofeng changed the subject, carefully considering his words, and said, "It's easy to start something, but hard to stop it."
"After all, officials and gentry may not make sweet sugar, but they will definitely make very sour vinegar."
"These people are best at expanding things infinitely. They will try to involve all the officials and gentry in the world, and then blow this wind into the imperial court, eventually making even the common people feel insecure."
"If that day ever comes..."
Zhu Biao's lips, which had just curled up, froze instantly, and his forehead began to furrow unconsciously.
If that day ever comes, the consequence of officials living in fear will be that the imperial court and local governments will be unable to function properly. The consequence of the common people living in fear will be that false accusations will become rampant, and everyone will try to prove their innocence and righteousness by accusing others. The final result will be that the people will suffer, and the entire Ming Dynasty may even fall into complete chaos.
To solve the problem, at the very least, there needs to be a self-criticism edict, and at the same time, "correcting the wrongs."
The source of the "chaos" was none other than himself, the current crown prince, and his brother-in-law.
Who will take responsibility for this?
If we find someone else to be a scapegoat, even if the officials and gentry can accept it by holding their noses, can the people who have completely gone mad accept it?
Zhu Biao wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and looked at Yang Shaofeng expectantly, asking, "Brother-in-law, isn't there any other way to guard against them?"
Yang Shaofeng said with a forced smile, "Yes, there are two."
"First, wait."
"To put it bluntly, the reason why officials and gentry dare to act recklessly is mainly because they monopolize the dissemination of knowledge and take advantage of the fact that the rural people are illiterate and unaware of the laws and regulations of the court, so they can only let them distort the truth."
"Once community schools are fully established, all the people of the Ming Dynasty will be able to read and write."
"Wait until the Censorate, the Ministry of Justice, the Court of Judicial Review and other supervisory offices are restructured."
"The common people will not be easily fooled by officials and gentry, and then things will proceed little by little."
"The advantage of this method is that it is safe, but the disadvantage is that it is too slow. It cannot be completed without ten or even several decades of effort, and in the meantime, there is no telling how many people will suffer the same bullying as the people of Xujiazhuang."
Zhu Biao nodded unconsciously, agreeing, "Yes, it's too slow. What about the second method? Would it be faster?"
"As for the second method..." Yang Shaofeng smiled meaningfully, pointing towards the capital: "As the saying goes, two heads are better than one. The capital has the Duke of Han, the Marquis of Chengyi, and plenty of intelligent people. Isn't that better than the two of us here brainstorming?"
……
"What the hell is all this nonsense?"
The Zhu Emperor paced around the Qianqing Palace, cursing and swearing.
What is meant by the "Earning Plan for the Expansion of Master Xu's Case"?
"He's just some rich country bumpkin, why should we make any contingency plans for him?"
"So, they're bullying ordinary people, and we're supposed to compromise and back down?"
"..."
Emperor Zhu was cursing wildly, while Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen were wishing they were dead.
Destroy it.
Destroy them all, fucking.
The existing problems in the imperial court were already enough to give anyone a headache.
Now look what's happened! A huge, insurmountable black pot has come flying over from Xinghua and landed firmly on his head, impossible to pry off!
Li Shanchang glanced at the Zhu Emperor, who was circling and cursing, and then at Liu Bowen, whose face was full of despair. After a long silence, he finally spoke: "As for ascending the throne, I do have some ideas."
Emperor Zhu stopped in his tracks, looked at Li Shanchang, and asked, "What brilliant plan do you have, Mr. Shanchang?"
Adhering to the principle of "better to die than to die myself," Li Shanchang stroked his beard and said, "Your Majesty, regarding the issues raised by Your Highness and the Crown Prince, I believe the key issue lies in whether the people trust Your Majesty and the court."
"Whether the people can trust their superiors and the court depends on whether the concept of 'officials protecting each other' can be broken in their minds."
Under Liu Bowen's incredulous gaze, Li Shanchang slowly said, "To break the people's concept of 'officials protecting each other,' the key lies in whether the reformed Censorate can truly eradicate corruption."