Fang Congzhe had been living in the capital's Shun Prefecture for more than a year.
More than a year ago, during that reign of terror, because he had long heard that many big families had fiercely resisted the land reform and had their entire families slaughtered, he felt that Xiao Ruxun was not joking this time, and he also felt that Xiao Ruxun's heart of disobedience.
Different from many people who were in the same situation as him, he was very cautious. Out of his own caution, he personally went out to gather information, and found out a lot of news that made him tremble all over.
Then he walked around and observed the restlessness and tyranny of the common people in advance, and heard a lot of very valuable news. Seeing that the situation was getting more and more tense day by day, he realized that the situation was irreversible.
This time, Xiao Ruxun was playing for real, not fake.
Therefore, he smelled something wrong very early on, and rushed to hand over his land and family property before anyone else. Because of his good performance and high ideological awareness, he was courteously and praised by the person in charge of the land reform. He returned all the valuables in his family, and only took away the land.
At the same time, Fang Congzhe heard the news that Xiao Ruxun proclaimed himself emperor in the capital, overthrew Daming, and established the Daqin. Then, he was asked to move to the Shun Prefecture, not to live in his hometown.
The situation had completely changed, and Xiao Ruxun had become the person with the most power. After he understood all of this, he immediately brought his family away from his hometown and settled down in the Shun Tian Manor, perfectly embodying the attitude of an obedient citizen. Thus, he was able to avoid the calamity.
Then, in the Shun Prefecture, as an old farmer, he applied for land from the Daqin officials, and his family was given three hundred mu of land. Living in the Shun Prefecture, they did not lack food and drink.
In addition, he also had a lot of time to educate his children, so that they could learn more about the suffering of the common people, and learn agricultural techniques. The relationship between the family deepened a lot.
Then some of his old acquaintances, who had come from the south, found out his address, and came to visit him, and told him what had happened before and after he had left his native place.
It was then that Fang Congzhe realized that his friends back in his hometown had either been killed by the tyrannical masses, or had organized people to fight against the mob. In the end, they were wiped out by the Qin Army, who supported the mob from behind. Their entire families were executed, and only a few survived.
Almost all the gentry and tyrants in his hometown were killed, and he was the luckiest one. Because he retreated in the face of danger, he was able to save his entire family and a portion of their finances. He even found a new home in Shun Tian Prefecture. His entire family was safe, and it could be considered a blessing in disguise.
While sighing, Fang Congzhe's heart was filled with joy.
Originally, Fang Congzhe planned to spend the rest of his life like this, but he never thought that he would have the chance to re-enter the officialdom of the new dynasty.
When the recruitment order of the Daqin Emperor was delivered, Fang Congzhe couldn't believe it.
However, the official who came to announce the edict and the edict could not be faked. The Emperor of the Daqin summoned Fang Congzhe to the capital for an audience without delay and ordered him to enter the capital immediately the next day.
Was it that urgent?
Fang Congzhe hadn't even started to worry, but Madame Fang was already worried.
"The Emperor has taken our land, so he should give us a way out. Is he going to kill us all? That's not what those officials said at the time. "
Madame Fang nestled in Fang Congzhe's embrace, her heart filled with unease.
Fang Congzhe hugged his wife and sighed.
"Don't worry, the Emperor's imperial edict says that he wants to see me, not to find trouble with us. We've handed over our land, and since we came to Shun Tian Prefecture, we've been farming and studying. We've never done anything illegal, and we've never had any dealings with anyone who broke the law. The Emperor has killed so many people, but he didn't implicate us. We'll be fine."
Fang Congzhe was very confident in this point. He might not have many abilities, but he was very good at playing it safe. Thus, some people said that the 'Zhe' in his name was not the 'Zhe' of the previous sages, but the 'Zhe' of playing it safe, mocking him for being a coward.
However, he felt that there was nothing wrong with being a coward. He couldn't deal with people who could threaten his family's life, and he couldn't resist them. If he didn't admit his cowardice, who would help him if his family was destroyed? How would he live if he left behind an orphan and a widow?
Thus, he decisively admitted his cowardice to the eunuchs a decade ago, resigning from his position and returning to his hometown to protect his family. His family had been happy for the past decade. This time, the situation was the same as last time. His family was destroyed, so the choice he made wasn't any different from the previous one.
Whether it was following the sages or playing it safe, living was the most important thing. Everything else could be placed second.
This was Fang Congzhe's philosophy of life. It was also the reason why others thought he was weak and easy to bully. Most importantly, he didn't feel that there was anything wrong with it.
Look, those people had all gone to follow the sages, but he was still alive.
He didn't think that the Emperor would kill someone like him who was playing it safe and obedient for no reason.
As expected, his gamble was correct.
The Emperor didn't have any intentions of making trouble for him. On the contrary, the Emperor wanted to use him.
"Ye Xianggao, Ye Liu recommended you to me. He said that you have the ability to do things, look at the big picture, and are an upright person. I want to see if you are worthy of Ye Liu's praise and guarantee."
Only now did Fang Congzhe understand why he was so obedient and didn't cause trouble. So it was Ye Xianggao, the great god's suggestion.
He and Ye Xianggao could be considered old acquaintances. When they were still officials, the two had interacted a bit.
Wang Xijue, Li Tingji, and Ye Xianggao had a very complicated image in the eyes of the Daming's surviving officials.
For one, they were officials of the former Ming Dynasty and their status wasn't low. But now, they had become the assistants of the Daqin's cabinet, especially Wang Xijue. He had been the Grand Secretary before the Ming Dynasty and was still the Grand Secretary now.
Some people secretly called them disloyal officials, but no one dared to say it publicly. They didn't even dare to leak it out because they knew that the current Emperor was someone who would kill at the slightest disagreement. The great purge hadn't been long and no one knew if there would be a second one.
The blood of those who died hadn't been cleaned yet. Who dared to speak carelessly?
Because of this, Fang Congzhe looked down on those people.
He was unhappy and envied them for being able to survive in two dynasties, so he called them disloyal officials. If he had the chance, he would definitely jump up to them.
However, other than shooting their mouths off, they didn't know anything else. The human emperor looked down on them and would rather let two traveling merchants be officials than let them become officials. They were complete hypocrites. On the surface, they were honorable and honorable, but in private, they were all thieves and prostitutes.
Fang Congzhe was different. He was truly a coward and really wanted to be an official. Once he had the chance, he didn't care about anything else. Cowardice was cowardice. It wasn't shameful to be cowardly in front of the Emperor.
He was the biggest person in the world. He would kill at the slightest disagreement. I can't resist, so I told the truth. I'm really afraid.
Thus, Fang Congzhe knelt in front of Xiao Ruxun and expressed to Xiao Ruxun that he was willing to work for the new dynasty.
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