After Ming Dynasty

Chapter 44 In the Name of the Ancestors

"Tang Zun, what is the meaning of this letter written by Mr. Zhu? Hiding his head and showing his tail, and writing the name of Confucius, is it possible that he is saying that the master is a saint?" Master Fang was full of suspicion.

But Yan Zibin frowned, pondered for a long time, couldn't help but slapped his forehead, and woke up like a dream.

"What a powerful Mr. Zhu, what a clever method! If this trick is used, I'm afraid the court will be in trouble for a while."

Master Fang rolled his eyelids, very helpless, why couldn't he see something clever?
Yan Zibin snorted coldly, "Idiot, after this time passes, I can still be an official, I must change to Shaoxing's master, I don't need you, a waste of money stuffed in my head!"

Master Fang was dumbfounded. Master Fang is not a medicinal material, so how could he still talk about the place of origin?

Yan Zibin didn't bother to talk to him, but the answer actually lay in the conversation he had with Zhu Yiyuan.

God is sorry, he really didn't lie.

The world only knows that the Kong family has accumulated millions of acres of land, and the entire Yanzhou mansion is theirs.

But they don't know that the Kong family is also the largest grain merchant in the north, not one of them!

As early as after Zhu Di moved the capital to Beiping, the north was maintained by grain from the south, and as time went by, this gap became bigger and bigger.

Especially after the opening of Longqing, the best land in the south of the Yangtze River was generally planted with mulberry trees and cotton, and Jiangxi and Huguang became the most important commodity grain production areas.

There are many lands of fish and rice in Nanzhili, and they can't even be self-sufficient in food.

Since the Apocalypse, basically the grain from Huguang, Jiangxi has been sent along the Yangtze River to the south of the Yangtze River, part of it has been supplied to the south, and part of it has been transported by water to the nine sides of the capital.

In the vast world, the food problem has become tense to a limit.

The Kong family guarded Yanzhou. Although the grain output was not as good as that of Jiangnan, it was not bad.It is also close to the canal and the transportation is convenient.Moreover, the Kong family has a good way of squeezing, and is very good at fishing in a sustainable way.

Because of this, the Kong family played a pivotal role in the food issue.

This guy Yan Zibin is indeed a bit of a Taoist. Except for the capital, many cities in the north have grain shops of the Kong family, or grain merchants buy grain from the Kong family.

Holding the jobs of millions of people, the Kong family can be unscrupulous. Otherwise, relying on the name of Yan Shenggong alone is not enough.

Otherwise, Zhang Tianshi, who is also hereditary, why doesn't he have such a big momentum?
From the Ming Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, the status of the Kong family not only did not decline, but because of the war in the south, the food shortage became larger and increased day by day.

In the war of literary works, the generals on both sides plan strategies and come up with clever schemes, which makes people very addicted.

But the war in reality is about money, food, and civilians. With a little bit of calculation, when it comes to the real battle between soldiers, generals and generals, and the decisive battle, that is already the finale.

With Zhu Yiyuan's strength, even if he captured ten Laiwu counties, it would be useless. If you can fight, the Qing army can take them back.

The enemy is strong and we are weak, so why turn the tide of battle?

Facing this almost impossible task, Zhu Yiyuan came up with his answer...to encourage the common people to boycott the land rent of the Kong family.

If the land rent is paid less, the Kong family will not be able to get enough food.

And the grain of the Kong family, on the one hand, supplied the Qing army in the south of the Yangtze River, on the other hand, it supplied Shandong, and even sent some to the capital... Hong Chengchou was very cunning, recruiting the south, how capable are you, after the shortage of food, how do you use your troops?

Shandong has mobilized tens of thousands of soldiers and horses to clean up Xie Qian, but the food is gone, how can these people fight?
At first, Zhu Yiyuan just felt that he would harass the Qing army's rear, cut off the food road, help Xie Qian, and deal with the Qing army.

Frankly speaking, he was still very empty at that time, and the sense of powerlessness was still there.

He didn't think he could win, he was just organizing a rebel army and resisting based on instinct.

Anyway, I can't shave my hair and make clothes easy, so I'll call my emperor long live!

But when Zhu Yiyuan arrived in Laiwu and learned about the property of the Kong family here, he kept thinking and pondering over and over again.Finally, let Zhu Yiyuan see through this move.

I also saw clearly the seven inches of the Qing court.

No matter how many soldiers and horses there are and how powerful the combat power is, as long as the food is cut off and the source of income is cut off, the battle cannot be fought.

I found the way and gained confidence.

After entering Laiwu, Zhu Yiyuan has been completely reborn, and his style of doing things is different.

"Uncle, I wrote this letter to the Kong family and sent it together with Kong Fan's head. But this is just a small dish. The key is to contact Wang Jun in Fei County and the Yuyuan Rebel Army, and don't want them to really mobilize troops , as long as they can let go and encourage the people, resist land rent, and refuse to give food to the Kong family. Whether it is Shandong or Jiangnan, the situation will be much better."

Ye Tinglan was dumbfounded by the chess game that Zhu Yiyuan drew.

"Good boy, you are just outside the small Laiwu city, and you are going to influence the overall situation of the world, you dare to think too much!"

Ye Tinglan shouted in shock.

But at this moment, Mr. Dongshan Zhao Shizhe stood up.

"Young Master Zhu, although your plan is clever, neither Wang Jun of Fei County nor the Yuyuan Rebels may have your skills. If you want them to encourage the people to pay less land rent, I'm afraid it won't work."

Zhu Yiyuan took a deep breath and said solemnly: "Dongshan Gong, who do you think can do it?"

Zhao Shizhe chuckled, pointed to his nose, "Old man!"

"You?" Zhu Yiyuan was quite surprised, "Dongshan Gong, it's not because he was born late and didn't believe in seniors, it's just a matter of life and death, so we can't be careless."

"Hahaha!" Zhao Shizhe laughed loudly, "Mr. Zhu, scholars have their own bones. At this time when China is in decline, there are so many people with lofty ideals who are willing to stand up! What's more, you, Mr. Zhu, have given everyone It’s not an excuse, it’s not to fight against the Qing Dynasty, but to pay less land rent so that the common people can breathe, what’s wrong with that?”

That's right, and it's justified and justifiable.

At this moment, I have to mention the terrifying identity of this Mr. Dongshan. Zhao Shizhe became famous very early. He founded Shanzuo Grand Society in Shandong alone, and this Shanzuo Grand Society is the northern branch of Fushe.

Strictly speaking, Zhao Shizhe is the leader of the Shandong literary circle, but not strictly speaking, he is the leader of northern scholars... In short, he is a big man with full influence.

In addition, he came with an old man and a young man. The old man was called Song Jicheng, and the young man was called Song Lian. They were a father and son, and they were also members of Fushe.

Anyone with a little common sense of the history of the late Ming Dynasty should know how influential Fushe was.

Just being a scholar may not be able to reverse the sky.

But now is the perfect time.

The autumn harvest has already begun in some places, Hong Chengchou led the troops southward, and the Qing army in Shandong was restrained by Xie Qian... Having got into Zhu Yiyuan in Laiwu, it was equivalent to the monkey grandson in the belly of Princess Iron Fan.

So what are you waiting for, let's start the show!

Zhao Shizhe was not polite. He immediately swiped his pen, referring to Zhu Yiyuan's meaning, and wrote a letter to the Confucian family, asking the Confucian family to cherish the people and not to collect too much land tax. Only by gaining the support of the people can we stabilize the country.

A letter is well-written, just read the superficial meaning, it is impeccable.

It's just that this letter was sent out, and all kinds of accusations came out in an instant.

Coincidentally, Gong Yinzhi's 55th birthday is coming soon.

The dynasties have changed outside, and there are turbulent winds and clouds, but their Kong family will always be prosperous and honored, and they laugh at the situation.

This is the kindness of the ancestors.

Kong Yinzhi led his descendants to the Confucian Temple to offer sacrifices and offer incense to their ancestors.

As usual, they arrived outside the gate of the Confucian Temple and were about to enter when they suddenly found eight words on the door: Unworthy descendants, why do you see me?

The handwriting is ancient and clumsy, is it really written by Confucius?
Obviously, this was a prank.

Kong Yinzhi asked people to tear it up quickly and burn it with fire.

When he came back from the Confucian Temple, he received a lot of posts celebrating his birthday, but among the pile of posts, there was a pure black cover, so he took it over to have a look.

Kong Yinzhi was mad again.

"Slave of the Tartars, treasonous official. Disrespectful to descendants, ashamed to ancestors."

Dude, this is a slap in the face.

At this moment, another person ran in in a panic from outside the mansion, holding a bloody head in his hands.

There was also a letter nailed to his forehead with a dagger.

This letter was exactly written by Zhu Yiyuan, but it has been polished, which is much better than the version Yan Zibin saw.

"The old man, Kong Zhongni, restored Zhou rituals all his life, and never stopped until his death. I don't know if his descendants will inherit his legacy and be loyal to the country? The old man advocates benevolent government and kingly way. Can future generations assist the virtuous monarch and benefit the people? Have you conquered the barbarians and made China great? This old man is friendly to his fellow countrymen and loves his neighbors. Can his descendants show benevolence to the people and be admired by the neighbors? The old lady has three thousand disciples, and there are no distinctions in education. Can future generations be virtuous to educate the world and be admired by others?"

Faced with this series of questioning, Kong Yinzhi's old face turned redder than a monkey's butt...

(End of this chapter)