Wanli 1592

Chapter 483 How can there be eggs under the nest?

To be an official like Mei Guozhen, no matter whether he is an honest or corrupt official, his eyesight is absolutely not bad.

Since ancient times, it has been difficult to be a corrupt official, and it is even more difficult to be a clean official than to be a corrupt official. It is even more difficult for a capable official like Mei Guozhen to be caught in the middle of the two.

Too clean is like Hai Rui, the lone wolf in the officialdom, everyone is afraid of it, it can't be smashed, it can't be smashed, the halo of incorruptibility protects the body, it is invincible in the world, and it makes corrupt officials sweat profusely, but such an official can't do it For things, officials who do not follow the rules of the officialdom will not be able to do things.

It’s okay to be too greedy. They don’t have the mind to do things at all. They are all focused on how to make money, and there are quite a few people who get mad because of making money.

Only by wandering between the two, armed with a low level of greed—smooth to protect oneself, and using one's own eloquence and thinking to accomplish one thing in all kinds of difficulties, these capable officials are particularly valuable practical talents, It is precisely because of such talents that the Ming Dynasty did not collapse.

Mei Guozhen is one of them. If he wants to maintain a relatively embarrassing standard, he can still be an official and hold the position of governor, and he can also hold a certain amount of power. What he needs is not only principles and character, but also human feelings. Sophisticated, this point is the same no matter what time it is.

Therefore, in Mei Guozhen's eyes, the faces of those country gentry, powerful and wealthy businessmen should not be too ironic.

As expected, Du Shi who was sitting next to Kang Shi spoke first.

"Futai, doing things for the country, that's what we have been doing since our ancestors. We are deeply grateful for the country's grace, and we are able to do business here. We have always kept our identity and responsibilities in mind, and dare not One day neglected.

But Futai also knows that the sky is getting colder, and it's not just ordinary people who are affected by the disaster, we are also affected by the disaster!The food also freezes to death and cannot grow in the ground. We have a lot of land, but there are also many tenants, and there are more mouths to eat.

It looks like a wealthy party, but in fact we all know the pain, we never talk about it, we knocked out our teeth, and swallowed blood in our stomachs, no one would say anything bad, but we people open our eyes every day. Now, we have to serve hundreds of people to eat, drink, and scatter. Our income is a little more, but the expenses are also high! "

Liu Shi beside Du Shi also spoke.

"That's right, Futai, what Du's family said is very reasonable. We people look beautiful on the surface, but in fact our lives are no better than others. The common people are poor, but we don't need any filial piety. We It's different.

Doing this business, eating this bowl of rice, there is always a lot of filial piety in the imperial court in that place, tens of taels here, hundreds of taels there. Talk about those tenants, those long-term and part-time workers, the servants and maids at home.

As Du Dangjia said, even if this is a good harvest year, hundreds of mouths are waiting for us to serve every day, the bigger the family, the higher the expenses, how many mouths can really fall into our mouths?Don't you think so?The pain in this can only be said to be like a person who drinks water and knows whether he is warm or not. "

After Mrs. Du and Mrs. Liu finished speaking, everyone nodded their heads and said yes one after another, voicing bitterness one after another.

Kang saw that the heat was almost ready, Mei Guozhen's complexion was getting worse and worse, and he hurriedly said: "Okay, don't talk anymore, Futai is already busy and annoying enough on weekdays, you still need to take these things to bother Futai with such things? Don’t you think that Futai’s government affairs are not busy enough?”

A group of people immediately shut up and apologized repeatedly.

Kang took the opportunity to say to Mei Guozhen: "Futai, although these people don't know good and bad, and talk nonsense, but I have to say that there are some things here that are true. It is said that my Kang's property in Datong has 100 tenants. There are many families, and there are 50 servants and maidservants in the family.

As soon as I open my eyes every day, hundreds of people are waiting for Kang to pay for the food and drink, and I have to spend it before I have any income. It has dropped by [-]% to [-]% year-on-year, and we are also in a loss. Even the foundation of the family has to make up for the shortfall. It is really difficult to survive! "

Seeing that Kang Shi also expressed his intentions, Mei Guozhen knew that if he didn't take a dose of strong medicine, he would have nothing to say, and today he couldn't take a grain of food away.

So Mei Guozhen took a glass of wine and drank it, and said slowly: "Everyone, do you know how far the Tumed tribe outside the customs has reached?"

Everyone quickly shook their heads.

"The weather is severe and the harvest is poor. I haven't traded with them for some time. I don't know the specific situation."

Kang answered together on behalf of everyone.

"The three ladies were all forced to come to Datong to ask for food. The situation of the Tumote tribe has reached the verge of collapse. If there is food, people will be at ease, and they can continue to defend the border to resist the Mongolian cavalry that may come from the north. Without food, people are starving to death, who cares about the covenant?

Ladies and gentlemen, I am definitely not scaremongering. Once food is cut off, in order to survive, the Tumet people will never sit still and go south to Datong to invade the border. At that time, Governor Wang’s 20 years of painstaking efforts will not be reported, and the war in Datong will resume. , the common people suffer, I am afraid that your life will be difficult, right? "

Mei Guozhen looked at the gentry and rich men around him, and seeing the hesitation on their faces, he felt a little excited.

"My official is the governor of Datong, appointed by the imperial court. Naturally, he is reasonable and talks about the law, but the Ming law is only useful to the Ming people. Those Mongols don't care about your Ming law or not. They only need food, money and women. I don't hide from you that the army of Datong is short of food.

The court’s food does not know when it will arrive, and the situation is extremely critical. If there is no more food support, the situation will be out of control. At that time, the Mongols will go south to invade the border, and the soldiers will be hungry and unable to resist. If Datong is broken, Shanxi will not be able to If Shanxi is not protected, the Central Plains will be in danger.

As the old saying goes, how can there be eggs under the overturned nest?If Datong is over, these fields, these stored grains, these gold and silver treasures, these singers and dancers in your hands, including your own lives, are probably all honoring the Mongols, right?Those barbarians can't reason, they only recognize steel knives. "

What he said was soft and firm, Mei Guozhen thought that he had already said what he should say and what he should not say, and the next thing would depend on the consciousness of these squires.

He felt that these country gentry still had a little bit of the most basic view of the big picture and a conscience, how could there be no eggs under the overturned nest?

I am afraid that ordinary people understand this truth. Once Datong Town is destroyed, it will not only be a simple loss of life. Many people in Shanxi will suffer for it. Ji Town and Taiyuan Town will also be involved, and the matter will become big. up.

(End of this chapter)