Chapter 450 Nail House
A rain last night washed the sky clean. In the early morning, the sunrise looked particularly refreshing. A few white clouds floated in the air like cotton, with their edges dyed red by the sunrise.
On the moist brick wall, moss is growing hard, and a few tender grasses are stubbornly poking their heads out from the cracks in the wall.
A bird stood on the wall, and its clear chirping sound was particularly ethereal in this quiet morning.
A cat quietly climbed up the wall and approached quietly.
It walked slowly step by step, the bird lowered its head and preened its feathers...
The cat arched its back, ready to pounce.
"Duoduo!"
The bird was startled by the call and saw the cat not far away. It was startled and immediately flapped its wings and flew away.
"Meow!"
Duoduo watched the prey fly away in annoyance.
"Come down!"
Huang Yaner stood under the wall, with her hands on her hips, "It's time to take a bath today."
"Meow!"
Duoduo looked into the distance, seemingly disappointed.
"But do you miss your uncle?" Huang Yaner said with a smile.
Duoduo easily got down from the wall, rejected Huang Yan'er's embrace, and followed Huang Yan'er with a step that Jiang Qingzhi described as "unrecognizing relatives."
Li Tian was in charge of the affairs of the board, and Fu Cheng was whispering about the situation on the farm this year.
"Han Shan is honest and dutiful, so we can rest assured. But he came yesterday and said that there were a few people in the village who were restless."
"Those who are restless should be punished." Li Tian, wearing a turquoise dress, looked calm. "My family treats people in a way that distinguishes public from private. If anyone is in trouble, we will lend a hand without asking for anything in return.
But we must do what we should do. If we act cunningly or at the expense of the public, we should punish them accordingly.
I only have one thing in mind: rewards and punishments should not be confused, but should be clearly distinguished. Let people know at a glance what can be done and what cannot be done. "
"Yes."
Fu Cheng reported a few more things, and finally mentioned the land outside the city. "Some people have built huts on that land. I think if we let it go on like this, it will be troublesome to take it back in the future."
Li Tian frowned. "That's my home, who doesn't know that? Those people..."
"They are all untraceable." Fu Cheng smiled bitterly, "It's really hard to do anything."
"But there is such a big place outside the city, why did you choose to go to our barren land?" Li Tian's eyes were cold, "Let the guards in the mansion investigate this matter... and inform Mr. Hu."
Jiang Qingzhi took Xu Wei away and left Hu Zongxian in the capital to look after the family because he admired Hu Zongxian's overall vision.
When Hu Zongxian got the news, he asked his guards to find out the situation.
The news came the next day.
"There are now more than ten families living in that piece of land outside the city. The houses are dilapidated, and they just randomly build walls with mud and put some thatched roofs. We tried to probe them, and those people said that someone told them that the master is kind and what...what love the Mohists talked about..."
"Universal love!" There was some coldness in Hu Zongxian's eyes.
"Yes, universal love." The guard said, "They are having a hard time. Since the Mohist School advocates universal love, they will settle down in the place of the great master. I think he will not refuse!"
"Haha!" Hu Zongxian laughed, "There are plenty of vacant lands around that place, but those people chose to go to our land. The smell here is interesting."
He went to see Fucheng.
"Someone must have planned this."
Fu Cheng was inspecting the kitchen when Hu Zongxian picked up a piece of dried meat - this was prepared by Li Tian for Jiang Qingzhi. Of course, most of it went into Sun Chonglou's stomach.
The dried meat is very hard, which is Sun Chonglou's strong request. He said that it is more flavorful and interesting this way.
It's actually a teeth grinding thing.
Hu Zongxian regretted it the moment he took a bite, and chewing it was extremely painful.
Fu Cheng sneered, "I knew there was something fishy going on here. But what is their purpose?"
Hu Zongxian said, "The Lord wanted to start construction on that land this year, to build some workshops and so on, and the Mohist School would also move there in the future."
"That is the foundation of the Mohist School." Fu Cheng said, "If that piece of land gets into dispute, my Lord's plan will be delayed."
"Interesting!" Hu Zongxian laughed, "Those people seem to have figured out what Master Bo was thinking, and took advantage of his absence to intercept him."
"If we take action, those people will make a big noise, saying that the Mohist school advocates benevolence and non-aggression. Such meanness is hypocritical." Hu Zongxian swallowed the dried meat, "This matter cannot be underestimated, we must hurry up."
"Before Uncle left, he said that Mr. Hu would be in charge of all matters outside. Just follow Mr. Hu's instructions on how to do things." Fu Cheng had a very accurate positioning of himself, which was to assist Li Tian in managing household affairs.
Hu Zongxian said: "But I still need to report this to my wife."
"Butler, there is a letter from the uncle." someone shouted.
"Just right." Fu Cheng took the letter and delivered it to the backyard personally.
Li Tian held Duoduo in his arms and took the letter. Fu Cheng said respectfully, "Mr. Hu said that the land outside the city is very useful to the Lord. Someone guessed the Lord's intention and wanted to cause trouble for the Mohist School. If we expel them, it will go against the purpose of the Mohist School, and those people will attack the Lord and the Mohist School..."
Li Tian opened the letter and said, "Let Mr. Hu handle it properly. My husband once said that managing a family is like managing an army, be tolerant but not indulgent."
"Yes." Li Tian unfolded the letter.
In his letter, Jiang Qingzhi described the customs and culture of Yunnan, but did not mention a word about the crisis he might encounter.
——This place is like spring all year round, making people forget their worries. After a few years, when you and I grow old, if we have time, we can come here to settle down. There is no torture of hot summer and cold winter, you can enjoy the blooming flowers and the fluttering butterflies...
Li Tian couldn't help but feel fascinated.
……
"...Mu Chaobi was ambitious. When I was approaching Kunming, I was attacked in the middle of the night. Fortunately, I was well prepared and fought back to defeat the enemy. Afterwards, I tortured the captives and learned that they were Mu Chaobi's trusted men..."
The Taoist priest sat cross-legged with his eyes closed. Huang Jin looked up at him and saw that he did not move, so he continued to read: "After this battle, I know that Mu Chaobi has the intention to harm me. I have guessed his mind, and the only benefit of my death is that it will allow the Mu family to make a desperate move and make them loyal to their side..."
"Is this an attempt to establish a new regime or to rebel?" the Taoist said slowly.
"Let me see..." Huang Jin looked back, "Chang Wei Bo said that since that night, there have been people watching the surrounding area."
"Mu Chaobi..."
The Taoist opened his eyes and said, "Order Yan Song and others to come."
Ever since Jiang Qingzhi went to the southwest, the atmosphere between the emperor and his ministers in the court has eased a lot. Although the secret struggles still exist, there is less life-and-death fierceness.
"I think it would be a good idea to let Marquis Changqing go to Yunnan to work as the provincial governor for a few years." Yan Song sincerely hoped that Mr. Jiang would not come back.
Zhu Xizhong laughed and said, "That place is remote. How about letting Yan Siqing go?"
The so-called Yan Siqing refers to Yan Shifan, the Minister of Taichang Temple. However, Taichang Temple is still managed by Jiang Qingzhi's father-in-law Li Huan, and Yan Shifan is just a figurehead.
Cui Yuan looked even more spirited. "Yesterday, someone impeached someone who said that someone in Mohism blasphemed the Confucian sages. What he said was that... Dong Zhongshu did not hesitate to modify Confucianism in order to make Confucianism the only doctrine. It can be seen that he has no moral integrity. He can bend to power today, and he can do anything for power tomorrow..."
"Am I wrong?" Zhu Xizhong asked.
The old dandy has read a lot of books and knows all these things very well. "It is said that the Dao is unshakable. But Dong Zhongshu modified Confucianism to cater to Emperor Wu of Han. What has Confucianism become? It has become a tool for grabbing power and interests. How can it be unshakable? Haha!"
Yan Song was helpless, "Don't argue about this anymore. How about you go to Xin'an Lane and make them calm down?"
"Qingzhi once said that if one is upright, he is not afraid of his own shadow. Whether it is Confucianism or Mohism, Confucianism or Mohism, if one has nothing to hide, he will not be afraid of what others say. And that is just talk, not slander. If Confucianism feels that it is slander, it can come out and refute it."
What's the point of arguing... Cui Yuan thought that what Saint Dong did back then was not right, but with the whitewashing of later generations, it became a great and glorious thing.
When they saw Emperor Jiajing, everyone bowed.
Huang Jin briefly stated the contents of Jiang Qingzhi's memorial.
"You bastard!" Upon learning that Jiang Qingzhi had been attacked, Zhu Xizhong gritted his teeth and said, "If this wasn't done by Mu Chaobi, I would dig out these eyes."
Yan Song frowned, "Since Mu Chaobi has taken action, the situation will definitely not stop. Your Majesty, it's too late to say anything now."
Cui Yuan said, "Does Mu Chaobi really dare to secede from Yunnan?" He looked up and glanced at Dao Ye, "Chang Wei Bo has never concealed his hostility towards Mu Chaobi. When he goes to Yunnan this time, will Mu Chaobi guess that the court has other intentions..."
——Your Majesty, you shouldn’t let Jiang Qingzhi go to Yunnan!
When Mu Chaobi heard that his enemy had arrived, he subconsciously felt that the court was plotting against him.
Yan Song suddenly gave him a sharp look.
Cui Yuan was shocked and found that the Taoist had opened his eyes at some point.
"Is Lu Bing not here yet?"
Huang Jin said: "Commander Lu was on duty at the Jinyiwei yesterday, and he will probably be on duty later today."
"Your Majesty, Lu Bing is here."
Lu Bing hadn't slept all night, and there were bloodshot in his eyes. He came in with a serious expression.
"Your Majesty, the Jinyiwei sent a secret report. After Mu Chaobi learned that it was Chang Weibo who led a thousand cavalrymen to Yunnan, he said that a storm was coming. He also inspected the army many times and had too close contact with the chieftain..."
What he didn't say was that if Jiang Qingzhi behaved himself, Mu Chaobi would have nothing better to do than target him.
Everyone looked at the Taoist priest, waiting for his decision.
"damn thing!"
This is the first time that Daoye has cursed someone in public this year.
"Send a fast horse to Yunnan immediately and tell Qingzhi to return quickly!" A worried look flashed in Emperor Jiajing's eyes.
The Mu family had been working in Yunnan for many years, and it was no exaggeration to say that they were local tyrants. He had sent Jiang Qingzhi to Yunnan with the intention of giving him a warning. But he did not expect Mu Chaobi to be so crazy.
The Taoist felt a little regretful.
"Yes." Lu Bing was about to make arrangements, but after taking two steps he turned back and said, "Oh, by the way, Your Majesty, the Royal Guards reported earlier that some people had built thatched huts on the land outside the city owned by Chang Wei Bo, and this morning someone from Xin'an Lane had an argument with them, and it seemed like a fight had taken place."
Zhu Xizhong's eyes turned cold, "That's Long Wei's place."
"But those people are poor, haha." Cui Yuan knew what was going on as soon as he heard it. Those Confucian people took advantage of Jiang Qingzhi's absence and instigated those people to occupy that land.
If we don't take action, others will follow suit and that piece of land will soon become a slum.
If they take action, most of those people will be in trouble and let out a few screams. If the Confucians continue to add fuel to the fire, Jiang Qingzhi and the Mohist school will become infamous.
The two things happened at the same time, making Yan Song feel a chill.
The coldness comes from the Taoist priest.
He asked coldly, "What is the Wucheng Bingmasi for?"
(End of this chapter)
