Chapter 308 Solving the Problem (Thirteen)
Zhenjiang in spring is very beautiful. Chen Mingtai looked at Gao Pang's paintings and thought they were not good. However, Chen Mingtai said nothing, because his own paintings were not good either.
He picked up the pen and quickly wrote a plain text to recruit tree planters. After finishing, Chen Mingtai was a little puzzled. "Gao Pang, isn't it said that people who move people live and trees who move people die? What you mean is that you want to plant the trees and then dig them up."
Gao Pang smiled and said, "Teacher, don't ask me. I just read the instructions. I actually don't know anything about planting trees."
Chen Mingtai found this interesting and asked, "What if I open a tree-planting site?"
Gao Pang quickly advised: "Teacher, this is very hard work. Planting trees is not gardening, or just arranging a few potted plants at home. I am exhausted just by picking up a hoe and going to the fields."
Chen Mingtai fell silent. He didn't expect that in the eyes of his disciples, he was a person who couldn't carry anything, and he didn't expect that his disciples would say it so bluntly.
After a moment of silence, Chen Mingtai asked unhappily, "Since you want to plant trees, why don't you prepare a nursery?"
"Because the announcement of afforestation has just been made." Gao Pang answered casually, busy with his work. All kinds of propaganda cannot be just text. There must be pictures. Even in Jiangnan, not everyone can read. In Zhenjiang, it is not surprising to say that half of the people are illiterate.
The Governor of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, Gao Pang, had finished drawing the picture. The teacher had already left, so Gao Pang asked others to evaluate whether the picture was simple, clear, and easy to understand. After getting approval, he posted it.
Looking at the teacher's manuscript again, Gao Pang sighed, "This is too literary. People who have not read books cannot understand it."
Gao Pang wrote down the real plain text and gave it to his secretary to send to the printing room. The tree planting in Jiangnan can only go so far. Without a nursery, we have to rely on publicity.
As soon as the construction work was completed, Gao Pang was faced with the task of destruction. There was another disturbance between Zhenjiang and Songjiang Prefecture, and Songjiang Prefecture requested troops to be dispatched.
Gao Pang was not very familiar with the prefect of Songjiang Prefecture, but he knew that this guy was a tough brother in the army. Gao Pang always felt uneasy about such a tough guy. When sending people here, Gao Pang called the person in charge of political work in the dispatched troops and said, "In Jiangnan, it is better to kill as few people as possible. After all, the human head is not a leek, which can grow back after being cut."
The political cadres here received the order and soon arrived at Songjiang Prefecture. Before the troops arrived outside Songjiang Prefecture, the reconnaissance troops saw a large number of people making noise outside the city of Songjiang Prefecture.
How could the troops allow the bandits to cause trouble here? They attacked from behind and killed them all. After interrogating the prisoners, they found out that the current governor of Songjiang Prefecture had ordered the full implementation of the nationalization policy of land in Songjiang Prefecture. This guy aroused full opposition. Some of the people outside the siege were indeed instigated, and some of them really rebelled.
Huo Chong got the news in May. When he was reading the content, he was holding his son. When he was almost finished, his wife took their son from Huo Chong so that he could read the report.
He turned his head to look at his wife, and saw that although she was holding their son lovingly, she looked a little unhappy. Maybe she felt that Huo Chong was not paying enough attention to the child. This made Huo Chong feel very guilty and indescribably unhappy.
This unhappy feeling is quite similar to the emotions expressed in the two reports.
Huo Chong felt that he was not doing nothing, but he had no experience in taking care of children. He could only do it according to the ideas of the 21st century. However, his wife was from the 18th century, and her ideas on taking care of children were obviously from the 18th century.
Even if Huo Chong proposed the 21st century idea, Huo Chong himself only knew that there was such a thing. Huo Chong could not really use the 21st century child-rearing idea to solve all problems.
So as the old saying goes, there is no place where the spoon does not touch the pot. The parents had some conflicts over taking care of their children.
Gao Pang and the prefect of Songjiang Prefecture faced the same situation. The prefect of Songjiang Prefecture accused Gao Pang of indulging the gentry in Jiangnan, while Gao Pang believed that the prefect of Songjiang Prefecture did not distinguish between the primary and the secondary. Just looking at the content of the report, it is impossible to say who is right and who is wrong.
The lawsuit was brought to Huo Chong, who was thousands of miles away, and Huo Chong was asked to make a decision. And the incident happened at least half a month ago. What could Huo Chong do at this time?
Thinking of this, Huo Chong could only follow the old routine and ask both parties to calm down first. Then he could not write down the solution.
How to solve it? Huo Chong didn't know how to solve the situation that he had no idea what was going on.
After thinking for a while, Huo Chong could only write: "First, kill the main culprit. For those who have been confirmed as counter-revolutionaries, do not let them go. For other accompanying personnel, see if they have caused any consequences. Those who kill people must be dealt with. But it is better to kill as few as possible and be cautious."
After writing this eight-part essay, Huo Chong was very disappointed. But the situation was indeed like this. When the Chinese court acquired the enclave, many things were beyond imagination.
Compared with the situation in Jiangnan, where Gao Pang was supported by isolated strongholds, the situation in Jiangsu, which was adjacent to Shandong, was much easier to deal with. At least things there were still going on.
At the committee meeting the next day, Huo Chong simply told everyone what had happened. After hearing this, Qian Qing said unhappily: "Did Gao Pang not order the extermination of the families of those Qing officials?"
Huo Chong was stunned. His apprentice had a strong desire to kill. But there was nothing he could do about it. Qian Qing's family died at the hands of the Qing government, and his hatred for the Qing was engraved in his heart. When Huo Chong started the rebellion, Qian Qing didn't even frown, and threw himself into the war with passion.
While thinking about this, Lei Hu sighed, "Sir, I think it's a bit hasty to take action against the small landlord now. We didn't do that in Shandong."
Huo Chong suddenly understood something. Are the landlords in Songjiang small? Songjiang Prefecture is famous for weaving, and the rich are indeed landlords, but most of them are those who have diversified businesses.
Thinking of this, Huo Chong replied: "Tiger, well said. I suddenly remembered something. Find someone who is steady and capable of investigation."
Qian Qing asked puzzledly: "What did you remember, sir?"
"I remember that Jiangnan is very different from Shandong. It is also very different from Henan and Jiangsu. Changing rice to mulberry is a national policy. Have you heard of it?"
Everyone was stunned by Huo Chong's words. Only the acting Minister of Revenue, Wei Bo, thought and answered: "My lord, are you talking about the Jiangsu and Zhejiang industry and commerce?"
Huo Chong nodded, but did not answer. He told everyone the content of the TV series.
This happened in the Ming Dynasty. After the so-called treacherous minister Yan Song and others persuaded Emperor Jiajing to issue the national policy of "changing rice to mulberry", Yan's party happily went to eat Yuanxiao with Emperor Jiajing. However, the Qingliu gathered around Prince Yu to discuss how to "overthrow Yan". In the end, they planned to let Tan Lun persuade Hu Zongxian, hoping that Zhejiang could start a fire to accelerate the fall of Yan's party!
So as a national policy, from the perspective of industrial countries, it is indeed beneficial to the people, so why don't ordinary people buy it?
"Why?" Huo Chong asked.
Everyone looked at each other, but no one could tell.
Huo Chong did not expect everyone to understand, so he explained, "Because national policy must be fully implemented. Once it is fully implemented, those local officials will deliberately make it radical and excessive. No matter whether the other party knows how to grow mulberry trees or whether it is suitable to grow mulberry trees, they will all change rice to mulberry trees."
"Tsk tsk!" Qian Qing couldn't help but gasp. With a murderous look on her beautiful face, Qian Qing sighed, "Aren't these people afraid of death?"
"This is what we call the atmosphere of a founding nation. What is the atmosphere of a founding nation? Everyone has worked hard to achieve it. Everyone from top to bottom knows what discipline is. As long as there is discipline, even if something is done wrong, it will not lead to a complete collapse. Instead, it will provide an opportunity to solve problems, accumulate experience, and adjust the situation. Just like a child who falls down, even if he cries in pain, he will still stand up and continue walking. If an old man falls down, he will be really broken."
After hearing this, all the brothers and sisters who were about to conquer the world lost interest. Instead, Weber asked, "My lord, what's next?"
"After that? After what?" Huo Chong asked in confusion. Then Huo Chong understood what Weber was asking. After talking for a few words, he felt that the story was too long and not suitable to be told. After thinking for a while, he said, "I'll let the art troupe rehearse it."
"Acting? Is it interesting?" Qian Qing became interested.
Not only Qian Qing, but others also showed some interest. Lei Hu sighed, "Sir, there hasn't been a new play for a long time."
Huo Chong knew that there had been no new plays for a long time. The previous plays such as "White Haired Girl", "Put Down Your Whip", "Brother and Sister Reclaiming the Wasteland", "The Kitten Fishing" and so on were all copied by Huo Chong. Although they were classics, they were copied by Huo Chong.
Including many inspiring songs, all of which were plagiarized by Huo Chong.
These songs and dramas did play a huge role. Huo Chong was not surprised by this, but if Huo Chong did not catch these things, no one would do it anymore.
Thinking of this, Huo Chong's thoughts became more open. He asked Weber, "Do you know anyone who can write a script?"
"Screenwriter? Are you going to act?" Weber looked confused.
In the Qing Dynasty, actors were considered a lowly profession. Although the princes and ministers all liked to watch plays, they regarded these people as playthings. Serious people would not do this, let alone scholars.
Huo Chong could only sigh. It seemed that he had to do these things by himself.
A month later, Gao Pang got the news that a cultural troupe was coming and he wanted to organize officials and cadres to watch the new drama brought by the cultural troupe.
Since he was sent by Huo Chong, Gao Pang was of course very supportive. He had seen many new dramas in Shandong, and Gao Pang quickly organized local personnel according to the official document requirements to adapt the Shandong dialect drama into the Jiangsu and Zhejiang dialect drama.
However, scholars from Jiangsu and Zhejiang also understood Mandarin, so Gao Pang invited teachers and other scholars from Jiangsu and Zhejiang to come and watch the latest civilized drama, that is, drama.
When Chen Mingtai received the invitation, he was scolding his daughter at home. When he was interrupted by the servant, he was so angry that he shouted at his daughter: "I won't let you become an official. Look at the regulations. That's not becoming an official, it's becoming a black-hearted clerk!"
After scolding, Chen Mingtai picked up the invitation letter, looked at it for a few seconds, and asked the servant to tell the messenger that he would go to the theater.
Miss Chen knew that her father would not agree, so she was relieved. "Dad, the regulations say that the Chinese court will no longer separate officials from civil servants, but will make all officials public servants. According to this system, I can become a governor or even a prime minister in the future..."
Chen Mingtai slammed the table in anger, "Nonsense! Are you going to be like Shangguan Wan'er? What happened to her?"
"Shangguan Wan'er's death was a political struggle. I am just an official, which is different from her."
Chen Mingtai was even more angry. "A new emperor appoints new ministers! Where did you get this book? Did you get it into a dog's stomach?"
Miss Chen bit her lip. This was the most impolite rebuke she had ever received in her life. It couldn't even be called a rebuke, but a humiliation.
Feeling intense shame and uneasiness, tears welled up in Miss Chen's eyes and she turned and walked away. She literally ran away crying.
Seeing his daughter's appearance, Chen Mingtai immediately regretted it. After all, she was his daughter. Chen Mingtai felt that he had gone too far. But after all, she was his daughter, and Chen Mingtai didn't want his child to be involved in such a storm with an unknown future.
Finally, Chen Mingtai went to the back and called his wife over, "Tell her that she wants to unbind her feet. I agree. If she can't get married, then she can't get married."
"What? Didn't you say you wanted to be with Gao..."
Chen Mingtai quickly glared at his wife. Only then did his wife understand. In fact, everyone in the Chen family knew that Chen Mingtai had actually accepted the marriage of his daughter to Gao Pang, but it would be cheap to say such a thing.
Generally speaking, Gao Pang had to come to the Chen family in person and solemnly propose marriage. If Miss Chen heard about it, or if the news spread, it would be considered that Chen Mingtai was trying to climb up the social ladder.
After all, Chen Mingtai is a well-known person, how can he lose this person!
When the play was performed, Chen Mingtai took his wife and children to watch it.
In the theater, a man who looked like a storyteller came up first and told everyone the general background of the story in a localized way.
When Chen Mingtai heard that it was a story from the Ming Dynasty and about changing rice to mulberry, he immediately became interested.
The first scene is, of course, how the policy of replacing rice with mulberry trees was formulated. It is probably because Yan Song and other officials agreed to replace rice with mulberry trees in Jiangnan, believing that growing grain in Zhejiang was no longer profitable, and a considerable number of people were willing to do so. Therefore, it was more appropriate to do this on a large scale.
After listening to the story, Chen Mingtai agreed with it. He was also somewhat surprised at the cultural level of the Chinese court.
Even the scholars in Jiangnan didn't understand such past events, even though these events happened in Zhejiang.
Then the drama begins.
In Chun'an, Zhejiang, across a river from a farmland, the scene suddenly changed, and all you could see were fully armed Ming soldiers riding horses and trampling on the seedlings, and ordinary people kneeling on the ground...
In fact, seeing this, I believe that many people do not understand that "changing rice to mulberry" is a good thing. One acre of land produces less grain than one acre of land produces mulberry leaves. And the tax remains unchanged. For ordinary people, it is not a bad thing. Why are they unwilling?
If the local people had agreed to convert rice into mulberry fields and voluntarily changed their own farmland into mulberry fields, then the subsequent dike burst, disaster relief and land sales would all have ceased to exist. It was supposed to be a best of both worlds, but it ended up triggering a national storm from here.
The Governor-General of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, Gao Pang, and the prefect of Songjiang, had quarreled so much over previous events that they hardly spoke to each other.
Although Gao Pang was the governor of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, the prefect of Songjiang was a military man. Gao Pang knew that he could not really destroy the prefect of Songjiang. It was not that the prefect of Songjiang could not be removed by Gao Pang, but that the prefect of Songjiang himself represented the largest force in the current Chinese court.
This force was a group of people who followed Huo Chong in the rebellion. If this group of people was defeated, it would mean that Huo Chong's original group of backbones had been purged.
Gao Pang had read a lot of books and knew very well that such a thing could only happen after the Qing Dynasty was destroyed. At the moment when they only occupied limited land, moving these people at will would be digging into Huo Chong's foundation.
At that time, Huo Chong would remain silent . As the leader of the army, Qian Qing, who was known as the big sister, would be the first to jump out to deal with Gao Pang.
Since he couldn't defeat the other party, Gao Pang naturally wouldn't do it. Besides, this play was sent by Huo Chong, so Huo Chong's plan should be in it. Gao Pang watched it seriously.
Then Gao Pang couldn't understand why things turned so bad.
The storyteller on stage also appeared again, directly telling the contradiction that should have been hidden. "Even the prefect of Hangzhou, Ma Ningyuan, couldn't figure out how things turned out like this."
Then the storyteller left the stage, and the actor who played the role of Magistrate Ma came on stage, shouting in confusion: "Changing rice crops to mulberry trees is a national policy, which benefits the country and you. I don't understand why this great thing cannot be implemented?"
From the chronological point of view, the national policy was formulated on the 15th day of the first lunar month, which was around the end of February, while the rice seedlings were planted in Chun'an, Zhejiang Province, which was around the end of May. There was a three-month gap between them. Based on this, it can be inferred that Ma Ningyuan should have persuaded the people more than once not to plant rice but to plant mulberry trees instead. In the end, the people still planted rice seedlings, and finally had no choice but to carry out the destructive seedling trampling operation.
After Magistrate Ma left the scene, the storyteller came up again and narrated the story: Due to our preconceived notions, we may think that Hangzhou Magistrate Ma Ningyuan was a bad official who deliberately trampled on the land of the common people.
In fact, if you think about it, a prefect who went to the front line in person to direct the industrial adjustment of rice farmers, worked tirelessly and persuading people to promote national economic construction and increase the income of the people, it was really hard. From this detail, it can be seen that Ma Ningyuan is actually a capable general who does practical things. As long as the instructions from above come, he will definitely go all out!
His original intention was good, and he was eager to complete this task, but the way he did it made people feel uncomfortable...
After the question was raised, the plot took a sharp turn. When the people saw the soldiers coming, they became even more worried that the situation had reached an irreversible point, and all of them began to stop them.
Then, an official saw the crowd pushing and shoving and shouted, "Rebellion! These people are rebelling!"
