Chapter 2017: Building a House in the Human World

Xu Jingchang took a nap, and when he got up, he asked someone in detail about what happened in Jinan during this period, and then he was thoughtful.

It was getting dark, so Xu Jingchang went to find Fang Xing.

Fang Xing was writing an article and didn't stop when he saw Xu Jingchang coming, so Xu Jingchang came over and took a look.

Then……

"You're crazy!"

The Tang and Song dynasties were not destroyed by foreign enemies, but by greed and the long-term laziness of peace!

"...the greed of the gentry has no end. Their thirst for land and slaves can almost destroy the world. Gods will kill gods if they stand in the way, and Buddhas will kill if they stand in the way of Buddha..."

"...the imperial military system was the reason why the former Tang Dynasty prospered, but it died due to annexation!"

"...the former Song Dynasty continued to annex, the gentry were powerful and greedy, and Duke Jing was defeated, and all hope was lost..."

"...When it came to our dynasty, there was still plenty of land in the early days, so the people could live in peace. Now that annexation has resumed, refugees are everywhere..."

"... Taxation is the foundation of a country. Emperor Taizu Gao allowed students from poor families to be exempted from taxes and labor, and it has become a weapon for mergers and acquisitions... The method of tax avoidance is spectacular!"

"... From a poor family, I see now that the gentry of the Ming Dynasty all came from a poor family. They must have had no overnight food at home, so they took advantage of it..."

Xu Jingchang smiled bitterly and said: "Those scholars will fight you tooth and nail!"

Fang Xing put down his brush and sighed: "I have seen many common people, Numb! All I see is Numb. Duke Ding, you are well clothed and well fed. Go and see. Those are the most important people in the Ming Dynasty. They Numb, what’s the point of trying any harder?”

Xu Jingchang had a good vote today, so Fang Xing was willing to analyze it for him.

"There must be an undercurrent in the court. Most officials will not agree to exempt the gentry from preferential treatment. No, they are strongly opposed to it. It's just that they are watching for the time being, waiting for something to go wrong on my side and cause a big trouble. Then they will They will attack him in groups, and even if Emperor Wen is reborn, he will change his color!"

Dusk fell, and the study was a little dim.

Xu Jingchang read the article written by Fang Xing and said with a headache: "Why didn't you move when Emperor Wen was here? Oh! I see. You must have known that Emperor Wen was unwilling to act rashly, so you waited until now, but... …His Majesty’s prestige today…”

Fang Xing took the piece of paper over.

He called Xiaodao in and asked him to give the article to Wang Shang. Then he had someone bring food to him, and he drank with Xu Jingchang in the study.

Xu Jingchang drank a few glasses of wine and suddenly said, "Dehua, brother, I admire you!"

Fang Xing shook his head and ate a piece of beef. He felt that Xu Jingchang's mouth was quite tricky, and it was indeed good.

Someone was walking by outside carrying a lantern, and the light and shadow reflected the branches and leaves of a small tree outside on the window paper, making it look like a ghost waving its teeth and claws.

Xu Jingchang watched the shadow outside the window paper gradually dimming, and couldn't help but think of his grandfather.

"Emperor Wen is always staring at the north, which is the great enemy of Ming Dynasty, so he needs to stabilize the internal affairs of Ming Dynasty..."

Fang Xing glanced at Xu Jingchang and felt that this guy had been hiding his clumsiness in the past.

The person who can say these words is naturally not an idiot, so most of Xu Jingchang's words and deeds in the past were self-defeating.

The Xu family has made great contributions, and they are also a two-state family.

If such a relative of the state extended his hand further, the emperor would probably be unable to sleep.

Then every emperor would sneak out Xu Jingchang and threaten him. This was probably a tacit understanding between the two parties.

Xu Jingchang's eyes flashed with memories, and he said with a smile: "His Majesty trusts you now, so you risk everything to carry out this dangerous task. If it fails, you will probably run away with your family, right?"

Fang Xing raised a glass to invite the two of them to drink.

When Xu Jingchang saw that Fang Xing did not answer, he said: "If you want to stand in front of His Majesty and take on the matter, even if it fails, Your Majesty will still come out to clean up the mess, and the Ming Dynasty will not be in trouble. But those gentry are probably It’s getting more and more arrogant.”

"You're interesting!"

Xu Jingchang raised his glass and said with emotion: "I will bear it all!"

"Can you represent our relatives?"

Fang Xing cleaned the brush in the brush wash and hung it on the pen holder.

Xu Jingchang said awkwardly: "That's what your Majesty means, but you know, relatives must also have interests. Without interests, they will fall out at any time."

Seeing that he was a little apologetic, Fang Xing said, "It's all for profit, and so am I."

Xu Jingchang was even more embarrassed. Fang Xing's interests were the Ming Dynasty, while his relatives' interests were himself. This comparison made him superior. He felt that he was a head shorter than Fang Xing.

"What will they do next?"

"Instigating those farmers who contributed to cause trouble."

"They are still waiting and watching to see if things will turn around. Also, they want to see the reaction after this policy is implemented throughout the Ming Dynasty. They..."

Fang Xing said sarcastically: "They all like to let others make the first move."

Xu Jingchang was shocked and said: "That... will be very troublesome. Those farmers are making trouble. As long as someone lights a fire, there will be smoke all over the place at any time."

Fang Xing pointed to the door and left the study first.

A heavy rain a few days ago washed the night sky clean, the stars twinkled, and everything was quiet.

In late autumn, the flowers wither.

When the weather gets cold, there are more bird nests on the trees.

Fang Xing stood under the tree, listening to the occasional murmur of a bird, and felt that the tranquility does not lie in the place, but in your heart.

"My home is in the human realm, and my mind is far away. Unfortunately, I am not interested in Buddhism or Taoism."

Fang Xing touched the tree trunk very lightly, as if he was worried about disturbing the birds on the tree from sleeping.

"I have been dormant for this period of time, just wanting to see the various classes of the Ming Dynasty."

The bird's murmur stopped, Fang Xing let go of his hand, looked up, and then stepped back a few steps.

"Tired?"

Xu Jingchang felt that Fang Xing was like a lonely warrior, attacking a behemoth.

Fang Xing nodded and said, "It is a bit tiring, but I like such days. The sense of mission is driving me to keep moving forward. I think I will be proud of this period of time before I die."

Xu Jingchang suddenly felt a little sad.

"They will not give in easily. You... take your time, or just use the army to deter them and kill those who don't obey!"

Fang Xing shook his head, knowing that this was Xu Jingchang's words to comfort himself.

"How many people will have to be killed! Now is not a chaotic world. If we kill them all, people will be afraid of being killed. Then we can have peace for a while, but the Ming Dynasty will no longer have...soul!"

"I don't want to see a Ming Dynasty that only cares about interests. What if the world is silent? If we kill all those people, the people will be afraid. Then the emperor will be alone, the officials will be like walking corpses, and the people...I don't think that's the Ming Dynasty in my mind."

"At least there must be...if there are consequences, at least millions of people."

Xu Jingchang shuddered, thinking that what he said just now was too much of a lie.

If millions of people were really killed in the Ming Dynasty, no one dared to imagine the scene.

Fang Xing smiled and said, "This is not the way of the Ming Dynasty, so what we have to do now is..."

"Go and explain to the people?"

"No!"

Fang Xing looked up at the sky and said, "Let the people know that the one-tax system will be the policy that the Ming Dynasty must implement in the future!"

Xu Jingchang turned his head away and said uncomfortably, "You are digging up the roots. Even the nobles and relatives will be affected. If you want to annex land in the future, I'm afraid even my family will be gone."

"Which is more important, the world or you?"

Under the starry sky, Fang Xing frowned and said, "Only when the small rivers are full can the big rivers sail."

Xu Jingchang said indifferently, "My family has enough money."

Fang Xing said helplessly, "Don't pass this idea of ​​yours to your descendants. It's embarrassing."

Xu Jingchang just shook his head. He was a noble relative, and his descendants would probably be difficult to be reused, so it's not bad to pretend to be a local tyrant.

"You came at the right time. I'm going back to Beijing right away."