Chapter 906 Two Families, What to Do
Xu Jie has been very busy recently, not with official business, but with personal matters.
Every day, there were constant visitors in his duty room, and the same was true when he returned home. The housekeeper looked at this scene with tears in his eyes and sighed with emotion, "I have finally waited for this day."
The doorman received so much tips that he was eagerly waiting for guests to arrive early in the morning.
The butler paced in the yard with his hands behind his back, as if he was ten years younger.
"Why didn't anyone come?" The doorman muttered, and came over with his hands in his sleeves, bending over and smiling apologetically, "Butler, why didn't anyone come today?"
"Are you crazy about collecting money?" The butler sneered and pointed at him and said, "Those people are waiting for you to take the lead. Do you understand?"
"Take the lead?" The doorman must be sharp-eyed and clear-minded. He must identify the different classes of guests as soon as he sees them, judge their purpose based on their identity and status, and then report.
A good door is a treasure that seeks profit and avoids harm.
Therefore, unless a taboo is violated or a big disaster occurs, the family status of the powerful and wealthy will hardly change.
The housekeeper coughed dryly, "Jiang Qingzhi has taken ruthless action against the dignitaries, and the land investigation is in full swing. More than ten dignitaries took the initiative to go to the Ministry of Revenue yesterday. The elder said that there will be at least thirty people today, and they will be getting more and more panicked... The threshold of the Ministry of Revenue will probably be trampled down tomorrow or the day after tomorrow."
Menzi was stunned. "The land and people are their lifeblood. Are they willing to give them up?"
"Life? Those people in the palace cut off their own life just to stay alive. The situation is like this now. If those powerful people are unwilling to castrate themselves... the sword hanging over their heads will fall."
"Oh my God!" Menzi understood everything at once, but still pretended to admire him, "You know so much."
The housekeeper was very proud. In fact, he had heard all this when he was serving Xu Jie and entertaining guests these days. He said calmly, "The powerful have bowed their heads, and those people are also panicking. They are worried that Jiang Qingzhi will target them next. So, they hurriedly came to the old man to ask for advice and support."
"Then...what about our home?" Menzi asked.
The housekeeper's expression suddenly became much uglier, "Our family... the Ministry of Revenue has not yet sent anyone."
"Didn't Yan Song declare it?" Menzi scratched his head. "We don't know how much land our family has either."
"Stop talking!" The housekeeper suddenly looked cold. Menzi blinked his eyes and said, "Yes." Menzi returned to the gatehouse in a sullen manner and sat down, warming his own small charcoal stove with a small kettle on top. Amid the creaking sound of water, Menzi chuckled and said, "Do you think I don't know? Yesterday, Hua Ting received a letter. The person who delivered the letter looked as if his parents had died. Most likely, Hua Ting's family is worried."
He picked up the small kettle, refilled his small teapot with water, stirred the charcoal fire in the small stove a few times, added charcoal, and then sipped the tea leisurely from the spout of the pot.
The tea was sent by the attendant of a certain scholar-official, and it was very fragrant. While drinking the tea, Menzi thought of his hometown Huating.
"There are no more fish and shrimps to eat! Last time my cousin came, he said that most of the fields in Huating were returned to his family. How many are there now?"
The doormen didn't know how many there were, but when Xu Jie went out in the morning, he almost tripped over the threshold by accident, which made the doormen feel disappointed.
The car and boat shops and footmen should have another door. People in these industries have a pair of sharp eyes and can see a person's identity and emotions at a glance.
Xu Jie was in a bad mood this morning, a very bad mood.
After arriving at Zhilu, he did not go to meet Yan Song, but went into the duty room and sat quietly alone.
As soon as the court decided to investigate the land holdings, Xu Jie sent an express horse to deliver a message to his family, asking them not to get involved.
I received a letter from home yesterday, which mentioned that the people in Huating were in a state of agitation recently. After hearing about this, the people were furious and said that they wanted to make sure that the people from the Ministry of Revenue would never return.
Who is coming from the Ministry of Revenue?
That's someone from the court!
After the officials from the Ministry of Revenue, it will be the censors who will go south. They will be stationed in various places to supervise the implementation of the land inventory.
People...
Xu Jie narrowed his eyes. What kind of personality does his son have?
Knowledgable and sensible.
The letter mentioned the people of Huating's earnest hopes for Xu Jie, hoping that this elder could speak for the elders of his hometown.
——Dad, the Xu family has a very good reputation in Huating.
The corners of Xu Wei's mouth curled up slightly.
What do you want as an official?
Seek power and benefits, but the ultimate goal is still to seek a good reputation.
In order to return home in glory and have a good reputation when they return home in old age, many high-ranking officials have privately advised officials serving in their hometowns to... well, show mercy.
In addition, if possible, please take care of the land and the people there for me.
Thinking of this, Xu Jie couldn't help but smile, but then his expression froze.
The letter from home mentioned the matter of checking the land, saying that the family had a few acres of small land and what to do if officials from the Ministry of Revenue came to the door.
This is to ask Xu Jie for instructions.
Xu Jie was hesitating.
Xu Jie had a rough idea of how much land the family had.
Quite a lot!
Xu Jie was hesitating whether to let his son continue to observe the situation or to prepare some measures.
After all, that is the family fortune!
When in office, one should benefit the people...Officials always say this, but they don't really do it.
Xu Jie would naturally not serve as an official and bring disaster to the local area. But that was another place, not Huating.
Huating, that is the foundation of the Xu family.
He is now the second in command, seemingly high and mighty, but he will eventually grow old.
Family, country and the world, cultivate yourself, govern the country and bring peace to the world.
This is the teaching I have been receiving since childhood.
Home comes first.
Before retiring, you should make your family assets more substantial so that after retirement you can return to your hometown to enjoy the company of your grandchildren. This will give you and your children and grandchildren a way out.
Otherwise, wouldn’t this position be in vain?
Think about it, when the prime minister was in office, he was so powerful that the wealthy merchants were as awed by him as mice were by a cat. But once he retired, his family's life was worse than that of a wealthy merchant, not to mention a local gentry.
How can I feel balanced?
The higher up one's career, the stronger this mentality becomes. Many officials indulge themselves in this mentality.
Xu Jie is a human being, not a god.
Besides, who hasn’t done this?
Yan Song and his son acted unscrupulously. In comparison, Xu Jie was incorruptible and had a good reputation in the capital.
Even if we want to gain benefits, we have to stay away from the capital.
Although his family was wealthy, Lord Xu in the capital remained a modest gentleman, spotless and untainted.
This is the true way to cultivate oneself, govern the country and bring peace to the world.
This is the meaning of family, country and the world.
Therefore, when the court was debating the issue of land inventory, Xu Jie secretly instigated people to oppose it, but he himself pretended to be nothing happened and seemed neutral.
“To declare, or not to declare?”
Xu Jie was very conflicted. Reason told him that it would be best to apply, and the sooner the better.
But his heart told him, don't worry, that is the foundation of the Xu family. Without those fields and people, how will the Xu family survive in the future?
His son's failure in the imperial examination was another source of worry for Xu Jie. Without the land and population, once he retired, the Xu family's influence would vanish.
"What?"
Xu Jie narrowed his eyes and was suddenly startled, "Those dignitaries bowed their heads, but the scholars panicked."
There are only a few powerful people, but the literati are different, they are everywhere in the world.
Someone will make a fuss!
There might even be bloodshed, and the bigwigs in the court were well aware of this. They were just waiting to see who would start the first attack and how Emperor Jiajing and Jiang Qingzhi would respond.
Once bloodshed occurs in a local area, officials whose interests have been damaged by the land inventory will become outraged and will launch a counterattack.
Until then...
Xu Jie narrowed his eyes, revealing a hint of coldness.
He ground the ink himself and wrote back to his family with just four words: Wait and see!
This process...will take at least one or two months!
As the New Year arrives, there are countless things to do everywhere, and the government is in a state of panic...
It will be the right time to take action when the time comes!
Xu Jie smiled and put the letter away, "Come here."
The attendant came in, "Lord."
"Have someone deliver the letter to Huating's home."
"Yes."
The attendant left, and soon a clerk came in, "Sir, something important has happened!"
"What's the matter?" Xu Jie asked.
"The Ministry of Public Administration just sent a lot of memorials. One of them was lost, so I helped pick it up. I saw that someone suggested that we investigate the land and population of the gentry."
The clerk looked at Xu Jie and saw the old man's eyelids twitch, so he knew he had done the right thing. He quickly added, "I just asked casually, and those memorials were all about this matter. The person who delivered the memorials casually said that it was all about this matter."
The powerful and wealthy turned against their invisible ally, and Xu Jie was the leader of the literati. How would he respond?
The scholars in the capital were watching him, and the gentry all over the world were eagerly awaiting him.
Waiting for Lord Xu to save me is like being in dire straits.
Elder Xu narrowed his eyes and said, "Get the letter back."
"What letter?"
The clerk was stunned. Xu Jie stood up suddenly and said, "Someone come here!"
The attendant went to deliver the letter, but there was no one outside.
Xu Jie ignored his identity and hurried out, shouting, "Someone come!"
His guards rushed over. "Lord."
"Bring the man back immediately, and get the letter back as well. Go quickly!"
The guard was startled to find that Xu Jie's face was ashen, which was a loss of composure that he had never had before.
"Yes."
The guards went to follow the followers. Xu Jie stood outside the duty room, watching the officials coming and going in the Zhilu. He suddenly smiled bitterly, "The rich and powerful were just the instigator. Yes, I was confused. I thought Jiang Qingzhi was using the rich and powerful as a prelude to make things easier, but I forgot one thing. The rich and powerful are now like a phoenix falling to the ground, no better than a chicken."
Jiang Qingzhi's goal was not to gain power and influence. His goal was to use this incident to force the powerful and influence to bite back at their ally, the Confucianists.
"Divide and rule! This is Jiang Qingzhi's goal. He has never been targeting the powerful, but... my Confucianism!"
Xu Jie looked grim, knowing that he had misjudged the situation.
The dispatch of officials from the Ministry of Revenue to various places would cause an uproar, and the scholars and gentry in various places would inevitably resist and use public opinion to create momentum.
That's what they did historically.
At that time, Emperor Wanli was alone and his ministers were all spokesmen for Confucianism and vested interests.
In the end, Emperor Wanli had no choice but to swallow his anger and choose to bow his head.
But Jiang Qingzhi successfully made the powerful people stand against Confucianism through various means.
At least the two sides are no longer allies on this matter.
"The wind is getting stronger."
There was hidden worry in Xu Jie's eyes.
Family!
Family!
Two homes, what to do?
(End of this chapter)
