Follow Zhu Yuanzhang to conquer the country

Chapter 87 Guo Zixing was inspired by Zhu Yuanzhang and no longer wanted to recruit people

In a moment.

Zhu Yuanzhang met Guo Zixing.

Moreover, Zhu Yuanzhang immediately rolled off his saddle and dismounted, and saluted Guo Zixing: "Father, commander-in-chief, please accept Yuan Zhang's bow!"

Guo Zixing accepted Zhu Yuanzhang's gift with a smile.

He left Haozhou City and came to Chuzhou City in embarrassment. He came here because he failed in the struggle for power with Zhao Junyong and other rebels.

Even when Guo Zixing was fighting for power with Zhao Junyong, he was once imprisoned by Zhao Junyong and was almost killed.

If not, Zhu Yuanzhang wrote several letters to persuade Zhao Junyong, and even threatened to send troops to Haozhou to rescue Guo Zixing, and bribed Zhao Junyong's people with large sums of money, Guo Zixing might have been killed.

Therefore, Guo Zixing can now meet Zhu Yuanzhang, which can be said to have narrowly escaped death. Naturally, seeing Zhu Yuanzhang also has mixed emotions.

especially.

After he saw Zhu Yuanzhang coming out to pick him up in person and recognizing him as his father, he could not help but burst into tears.

Sudden.

Zhu Yuanzhang said here again: "Yuanzhang apologizes to his father, Commander-in-Chief!"

"What is my son's crime?"

Guo Zixing asked in surprise.

Zhu Yuanzhang said: "When my father-in-chief fell into the hands of Zhao Junyong, Yuanzhang failed to come to the rescue immediately. He was really guilty and I am willing to be punished by my father-in-law!"

After hearing this, Guo Zixing hurriedly rolled off his horse, helped Zhu Yuanzhang up and said, "My son, please get up quickly. How can I blame you for this!"

"Besides, if you hadn't conquered Chuzhou and established a foothold in Chuzhou, we might have been killed by that Zhao man."

Zhu Yuanzhang also stood up and said with a smile: "Thank you so much for your forgiveness. Yuan Zhang is very happy that my father can come to Chuzhou."

Guo Zixing patted Zhu Yuanzhang on the shoulder and told Zhu Yuanzhang why he decided to come to Chuzhou.

Now, the two of them have not yet developed any rift with each other. After all, they are reunited after a long separation. Historically, the real conflict between the two would have to wait until they had stayed together in Chuzhou City for a long time.

This is how it is between people. It is natural to be very happy to meet again after a long separation. If we have been together for a long time, even if we are close again, there will inevitably be discord.

at the same time.

When Guo Zixing met Zhu Yuanzhang, Ren Zhigong said to Guo Tianlu, Guo Tianxu and Guo Tianjue:

"My lords, Zhu Yuanzhang is not far from us. This is the opportunity to shoot him to death with one arrow. In this case, his subordinates will be leaderless and will be annexed by us!"

"Chuzhou City will also be owned by us!"

"We are no longer here to surrender to Zhu Yuanzhang, but to capture Chuzhou City!"

“This seemed like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

Guo Tianjue couldn't help but say something.

Guo Tianlu and Guo Tianxu looked shocked.

Guo Tianlu glared at Ren Zhigong and said, "No, hurting someone with a secret arrow is not the behavior of a hero! What's more, how can we convince other heroes in the world in the future?"

"Brother is right!"

"We have no reason to kill him Zhu Yuanzhang."

Guo Tianxu also said something.

Ren Zhigong couldn't help but have a look of disappointment on his face.

Guo Tianjue also shut his mouth.

On Zhu Yuanzhang's side, after comforting Guo Zixing for a while, he pointed to the farmland in front of him that was being cultivated by the people and said:

"Commander Father, please look at this. This is the fertile land that Mr. Zhang and I acquired from our land. It already totals about 500,000 acres and has been given to the landless people for cultivation!"

"Let them pay grain and taxes when the time comes, and the people are indeed diligent. After getting the land, they started farming immediately, so now the place doesn't look so deserted."

"Mr. Zhang?"

"As a father, I saw you mention him several times in your letter."

Guo Zixing said with a smile.

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said: "My father doesn't know that Mr. Zhang is a man who really wants to bring peace to the world. If he hadn't proposed to clear the father-in-law, we wouldn't have known that the rich and powerful families in Chuzhou had hidden so much tax land, even if they are just the father-in-law. There are so many hidden fields that have been cleared from the fields of several families. If all the fields are cleared, it will not be a problem to raise tens of thousands more soldiers."

"What a great Mr. Zhang!"

Guo Zixing sighed.

Then, Guo Zixing smiled and said to Zhu Yuanzhang: "It's hard to find such a talented person for you!"

As Guo Zixing spoke, he saw an old woman sitting on the edge of the field, smiling and hugging a wooden block. He couldn't help but come over to the old woman himself and asked: "Old man, what are you doing holding this wooden sign?"

This old woman’s real name is Chen.

At this moment, Mrs. Chen said with a smile: "This wooden sign says the number of fields allocated to my family! I'm afraid that if someone steals it, the government will not recognize this field as belonging to my family."

After Chen said that, she asked Guo Zixing: "Are you also a rebel?"

Zhu Yuanzhang said: "Yes, old man, we are all rebels."

"Master of the rebel army, let's have something to eat."

"The bread I bake myself is the food my eldest son earns from the construction site."

Mrs. Chen hurriedly took out a few cakes wrapped in cloth from her arms.

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and refused: "Old man, please keep it for yourself, we are not hungry."

Guo Zixing fell silent when he saw this scene.

And because of this, Guo Zixing got back on his horse and started walking back.

Zhu Yuanzhang therefore followed and asked, "What's wrong with my father?"

"My father has never seen the rebels be so popular with the people."

"Even from the beginning, it was rare to find that ordinary people did not run away after seeing our rebels."

Guo Zixing spoke with emotion, then glanced at Zhu Yuanzhang and said: "Yuanzhang, you love the people more than a father!"

"Father is so handsome."

"This is all due to Mr. Zhang. Yuan Zhang himself never thought that he would have the opportunity to allocate land to the common people and make them love the rebels so much."

"If Mr. Zhang hadn't predicted the crimes of corrupt officials and evil gentry beforehand and caught a few corrupt officials and evil gentry, we rebels wouldn't have had this chance to clear our husbands."

Zhu Yuanzhang started talking.

After hearing this, Guo Zixing became more and more interested in Zhang Cheng: "Mr. Zhang!"

Guo Zixing then nodded: "As a father, I can imagine how difficult it is to clear a father-in-law. If someone is willing to do so, how difficult it is. Take me to the city. I want to meet this Mr. Zhang."

"Yes!"

After a while, Guo Zixing asked again: "How can the people start farming so quickly?"

"Mr. Zhang asked the people to set up a mutual aid society. The whole society uses farm tools together, and the government will provide any shortage."

Zhu Yuanzhang replied.

After hearing this, Guo Zixing sighed: "This Mr. Zhang is an able minister in governing the people!"

Next. Zhu Yuanzhang greeted Guo Tianlu, Guo Tianxu, Guo Tianjue, Ren Zhigong and others and exchanged pleasantries.

Zhang Tianyou and Zhao Jizu also chatted with Guo Zixing for a while.

Subsequently.

Accompanied by Zhu Yuanzhang, Guo Zixing arrived outside Chuzhou City.

then.

Guo Zixing saw the boats on the clear water of Chuzhou City, the rows of shops, and the endless crowds of people. He couldn't help but sigh: "This place is so prosperous!"

As he spoke, Guo Zixing said to Zhu Yuanzhang: "No wonder there are people along the way who say they want to come to Chuzhou City alive. This place is indeed much more prosperous and lively than the Chuzhou City that I saw when I came to Chuzhou for my father's army."

"Yuan Zhang feels the same way."

"Now Chuzhou has become much more prosperous than before since some corrupt officials and evil gentry were exterminated, trade was taxed and large-scale projects were carried out."

"This is still Mr. Zhang's credit!"

"Other Confucian scholars hoped that the rebels would suppress business and clarify land taxes, but Mr. Zhang took a different approach and proposed reforming commercial taxes, collecting luxury taxes, and making the tax administration independent. He also cooperated with merchants to collect infants and children, start projects, and clarify business regulations. , and a lot of things have happened in just a few months.”

Zhu Yuanzhang said with a smile.

Guo Zixing said with a solemn expression: "To be more careful, my father rarely knows about these political methods, and the literati and staff do not mention them."

"Yes!"

"According to what Mr. Zhang means, the rebel army must have a clear system for raising the army. It cannot grow by robbing the rich as before, nor can it accept donations."

"The former will be like bandits and will never get the support of the landlords, while the latter will gradually be bribed by the landlords and then become their lackeys, becoming more and more distant from the common people."

"first."

"It is necessary to have a clear military pay system so that soldiers can have military pay. Once there is military pay, there will be transactions, merchants will be able to make money, and the people who produce goods for merchants will also have work, and our rebels will also have military discipline. , no longer harming the gentry and the common people, they can turn to collecting taxes for the sake of paying them."

"In this way, we can win the support of most civilians by adjusting tax policies, and then have continuous income to support the army and the people."

After Zhu Yuanzhang relayed the story, Guo Zixing suddenly reined in the reins and stopped on the bank of Qingliu River. Then he looked at Zhu Yuanzhang with excitement and said:

"Father, I understand!"

"What does Commander-in-Chief understand?"

Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but stop his horse and asked.

Guo Zixing looked at the sails on the Qingliu River and the naked trackers pulling the boats on both sides of the sails and said:

"We are not as good as Zhao Jun in Haozhou City, but we are not as good as those Jin gentry!"

"It was they who tied up our hands and feet with their contributions and deceived us, making us only know how to recruit soldiers and buy horses, live a life of wealth and comfort, and then wait for recruitment, without knowing how to look like an official, no I know that I want my brothers to act like officers and soldiers, to pay and protect the people, but I don’t know that we need to establish a tax collection system, and we need to collect money openly, instead of just grabbing it and waiting for others to donate it.”

"Is there a Jin gentry in Haozhou City who persuades my father to accept the recruitment?"

Zhu Yuanzhang asked this at this time.

Guo Zixing nodded: "I'm not trying to persuade my father to accept the recruitment, but to ask my father to wait until he is recruited in the future! He said that this way he can become an official and clear his name of being a rebel!"

"They believe that although the imperial court has no intention to recruit the rebels from all over the world, as the world becomes more and more chaotic, sooner or later the imperial court will be unable to encircle and suppress the rebels, and will recruit the rebels from all over the world!"

"For this reason, they also expressed their willingness to help my father speak for these rebels in the court, and persuade the court to recruit my father as an official. For this reason, my father also gave them most of the money they robbed every year, so that they can Go get some help and ask an official for us!"

As he spoke, Guo Zixing added: "But now my father understands that if we don't become stronger, how can we be recruited as officials? I'm afraid that if we don't become officials, we will be wiped out by Yuan soldiers or other rebels!"

Guo Zixing was a local powerful man. He started the rebellion not because he could not survive, but because he saw the world was in chaos and too many people died of starvation. Moreover, because of the intensification of social conflicts, the space for class advancement was shrinking, and his family was becoming more and more serious due to government exploitation. As the society became more and more turbulent, there was a tendency to slide into poverty, and poor people in the same clan began to starve to death, so they thought of achieving class crossing through rebellion, that is, becoming a bureaucratic family.

Therefore, Guo Zixing had the intention of accepting the recruitment, and also the idea that he could really rely on rebellion and become a new powerful bureaucrat after the world was settled in the future.

In short, Guo Zixing is not more revolutionary than Zhu Yuanzhang, but his desire to be an official and king is greater than Zhu Yuanzhang!
  For Guo Zixing, it is not important whether he should be an official of the Yuan Ting or the new dynasty, whether he should be the king of the Yuan Ting or the emperor of the new dynasty. What is important is to become an official across the hierarchy and annex more interests. The Guo family is no longer just a local powerhouse.

of course.

Guo Zixing is not the only one who thinks so.

Most of the powerful rebels in the world think so.

Therefore, we cannot think that Guo Zixing is incompetent because of this. We can only say that Guo Zixing also has the limitations of his own class, just like Zhu Yuanzhang also has his own limitations.

It's just that after Zhu Yuanzhang was influenced by Zhang Cheng and witnessed the crimes committed by many scholar-bureaucrats in colluding with Yuan Ting, he no longer had much favorable impression of Yuan Ting. Therefore, he took the initiative to say at this time:

"Father, in fact, Mr. Zhang also said that what the rebels really need to understand is, why are we rebelling?"

"Rebellion is naturally about becoming an official and becoming a king, and seeking wealth and honor!"

Guo Zixing directly interrupted Zhu Yuanzhang and asked Zhu Yuanzhang: "Is there any other purpose?"

"Who in the world doesn't work hard for wealth? If you, Yuan Zhang, didn't work for wealth, would you come to your father to take you in?"

"Whoever rebels or is willing to be a thief is not for the sake of wealth and honor?"

"Song Jiang in Liangshan Heroes rebelled and killed officials because his brothers were rich and could eat meat and drink wine all the time, and then he was recruited as an official!"

After Guo Zixing said that, Zhu Yuanzhang continued:
  "According to what Mr. Zhang said, if the rebels want to be rich and honorable for a lifetime, and their descendants will fight for wealth and honor, they can't just be officials. They have to change the etiquette and establish new etiquette that was messed up by Hu Yuan. First of all, the Huayi etiquette must be rebuilt. .”

"present?"

This was the first time Guo Zixing heard this statement, so he said to Zhu Yuanzhang: "Please elaborate."

"Yes!"

Zhu Yuanzhang agreed, and began to use Zhang Cheng to persuade him not to think only about wealth but to think about changing etiquette, and said to Guo Zixing:
  "According to what Mr. Zhang said, Hu Yuan entered our country, colluded with the Han thieves and evil gentry, and messed up the etiquette of China!"

"The Han people are deliberately divided into southerners and northerners, and they also deliberately unite with the semu people to suppress us Han people, so that the noble officials can only be done by Mongolians and semu people. At most, they can be done by northern Han people. Anyway, even if I, a southerner, become an official, I will If you don’t have high officials, you can’t save the Han people in the world.”

"Originally, officials have the etiquette to bring peace to the people, but as a result, the official position has been monopolized by the Hu and the northern Han people. Unlike our original Chinese etiquette, which is to select the best talents from all over the world and recruit them to bring peace to the people. They were punished to calm the people, so now everyone wants to rebel, those who don’t have enough to eat want to rebel, and those who have enough to eat also want to rebel, which in turn has caused chaos in the world.”

"Does Commander-in-Chief Father know how abominable those Han thieves who colluded with Yuan Ting are?"

"When we interrogated Jia Zhili, the prefect of Hu Yuan, after his crimes were exposed by Mr. Zhang, Jia Zhili insisted that we southerners are inferior, and if we are hungry, we should starve to death, and if we are used as military rations, we should be used as military rations. !”

Zhu Yuanzhang knew that Guo Zixing was different from him. Guo Zixing had no intention of saving the people of the world.

But under the influence of Zhang Cheng, he began to have the ideal of working hard to prevent the people of the world from suffering from hunger and cold.

Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang did not directly inform Guo Zixing of Zhang Cheng's advice to him to change the etiquette in order to save the people of the world. He only first grasped Guo Zixing's desire to become an official and persuaded Guo Zixing.

Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to slowly persuade Guo Zixing to think about the people.

Because Zhang Cheng told him that you can't be in a hurry when convincing someone.

After Zhu Yuanzhang said this, he asked Guo Zixing, who had a solemn expression and clenched his fists: "So, Commander-in-Chief Father thinks, with a court like Hu Yuan who is disrespectful of etiquette, can we southerners achieve wealth and become officials?"

"I can't do it!"

"So, they are not recruiting yet!"

"Even if we become an official, I'm afraid we won't be able to get promoted and will have to be an aggrieved petty official. Even if we are lucky and become a bigger official, we will still be suppressed by the people from the north, the people with sex eyes, and the people from Meng."

Guo Zixing looked at Zhu Yuanzhang as he spoke: "Mr. Zhang is right, these barbarians have messed up the etiquette, and we rebels have to correct it. As long as the etiquette is not messed up, regardless of one's origin, one can become a great scholar by studying and becoming a Jinshi. As an official, you can honor your ancestors, but as a father, you will not take the path of rebellion!"

"That's why Mr. Zhang said that our rebel army wants to restore China and drive out the Tartars."

Zhu Yuanzhang said.

"Drive out the Tartars and restore China!"

Guo Zixing murmured, then immediately turned his horse's head and said:
  "When I enter the city, my father wants to see Mr. Zhang immediately!"

(End of this chapter)