The conflict between Xiao Ruxun, the Emperor, and the Shen Yicheng Group had progressed to this point in this way.
This was something Mei Guozhen had not expected.
Similarly, he did not expect Xiao Ruxun to have the courage to help the Emperor regain his power.
He thought on a deeper level that if Xiao Ruxun raised his army to the north, he would have to face all the gentry and nobles in Jiangnan. That was an extremely powerful force. Could he really succeed?
But on second thought, Mei Guozhen knew that his political future and even his life were already dead in Daming. They had been deprived by those despicable gentry. Xiao Ruxun's actions were actually the same as what he really wanted to do in the depths of his heart.
He had also laid his hands on the gentry and nobles in order to defend the city.
The two were actually the same.
The worst that could happen was death, but it was better than living a life worse than death.
Mei Guozhen also nodded in agreement.
Ma Gui's family had already moved to Myanmar and lived under the protection of Xiao Ruxun, but Mei Guozhen's family did not. Therefore, in order to protect Mei Guozhen's family, Xiao Ruxun decided to let Mei Guozhen change his name and join the Zhennan Army on the northern expedition.
Ma Gui thought about it and felt that it was better to change his name, lest Xiao Ruxun's weakness was caught, and there would be more complications.
Xiao Ruxun thought about it and agreed, so she let the two of them decide for themselves. Ma Gui directly chose the same surname as Xiao Ruxun, changing it to Xiao Gui. Mei Guozhen also changed his surname to Xiao, using his courtesy name as his given name, changing it to Xiao Kesheng.
Ma Gui was directly incorporated into the army, and Mei Guozhen became Xiao Ruxun's adviser, advising Xiao Ruxun.
The meeting lasted from morning to afternoon before Xiao Ruxun roughly finished assigning the tasks. When it finally came to an end, Xiao Ruxun let out a sigh of relief. He sat on the chair and closed his eyes, relaxing his tense nerves.
Yuan Huang looked at the exhausted Xiao Ruxun and pursed his lips. In the end, he still decided to say what he wanted to say.
He used to be an official, so he knew what Xiao Ruxun was doing now.
"Ji Xin, have you really decided to suppress Shen Yicheng?"
Xiao Ruxun opened his eyes and looked at Yuan Huang.
"What other way do I have? Deacon Yuan, I won't resign myself to death. "
Yuan Huang sighed and nodded.
"I know, but Ji Xin, if you go on a northern expedition, you will be facing all the gentry and nobility in Jiangnan. They have deep roots in the area and their relationships are complicated. Although I know they do many illegal things, they are also the foundation of the Daming. If you get rid of them, who will be the official?
The mayors you recruited in Burma Town may be capable, but they are only the talents of a county. The Daming is so big, how can these few hundred people make a big difference? Even if we succeed in rescuing the Emperor, we still have to hold the imperial examinations and recruit scholars! "
"This world lacks anything but officials."
Xiao Ruxun said coldly, "I don't believe that every single one of these 300,000 scholars is my mortal enemy. I also don't believe that those scholars' moral integrity is really that high. If they had moral integrity, then it wouldn't be just Song Butang and the old Grand Secretary who died for His Majesty.
Deacon Yuan, don't you understand those people? When a knife is held to their necks, can they still maintain moral integrity? Do they have moral integrity? This time, I'm not going to reason with them. I'm going to flip the table. "
Yuan Huang opened his mouth but was momentarily speechless. Mei Guozhen frowned and said, "Killing alone cannot stabilize the world. Ji Xin, if you want to crusade against Shen Yicheng, you must obtain their support. You will always need scholars to work for you.
To say something disgraceful, if you attack the city and kill all the officials, who will govern the place for you? If you kill the families of those scholars, they will all be intertwined with each other and no one will be able to distinguish their family relationships. You will make enemies everywhere. Without the support of the scholars, you will not be able to govern the world. "
Xiao Ruxun did not completely agree with this.
The world had three parts: the upper, middle, and lower.
The upper was the high and mighty imperial power. The army that obeyed the imperial power was the most important vassal and ally of the imperial power.
The middle was the elite of society, the scholar-officials and landlords. The lower was the common people.
Throughout history, when a country was strong, it was always when the upper was strong and the middle was relatively weak.
In order to maintain the stability and prosperity of a country, it was necessary to weaken the middle to make up for the upper and lower. This was because once the middle was too strong and broke away from the restrictions of the upper, the country would have problems.
There was a key point in Legalism, which was the dynamic combination of cutting off the middle to supplement the two ends and the two ends to supplement the middle. Governing officials was more important than governing the people.
To control the landlords and the scholar-officials, to prevent them from using the monarch's power to seize the center, to prevent them from annexing land, to oppress men and women, and to prevent them from becoming too weak and allowing the army to expand. This was the cornerstone of a country's stability and health.
The triangular model was as stable as Mount Tai. What about the diamond model?
Daming's middle was too strong. If it was not weakened, how could the country be stable?
If it was not attacked, how could the country return to normal?
The Manchu Qing's massacre of the scholar-officials in the south and the subsequent Literary Inquisition had objectively weakened the scholar-officials' endless expansion since the middle of the Ming Dynasty. After Yongzheng came to power, the Manchu Qing government's victory over the scholar-officials, landlords, and powerful people of the middle.
However, Yuan Huang and Mei Guozhen might not understand this. Even if they understood, they might not agree.
Xiao Ruxun took a deep breath.
"When the Song Dynasty fell and the Meng Yuan Empire went south, didn't those who claimed to be irreconcilable with the barbarians eventually submit to the Meng Yuan Empire? They didn't have the courage to die, nor did they have such high moral integrity. Don't worry, Deacon Yuan, I have my own ideas. "
"Ji Xin, do you want your subordinates in Burma Town to help you manage the place temporarily after the Northern Expedition?"
Mei Guozhen asked.
"I watched them develop Burma from a barren land to where it is today. It's true that they don't have scholarly titles, but in terms of governance, can a scholar who has just taken the imperial examination compare to them?
In terms of agriculture, architecture, irrigation, and road repair, they have all passed my test. They can completely solve my urgent needs. When I sweep across Jiangnan and cross Jiangbei, will there be no one who will submit to me? I have soldiers! What I need to think about is how to win the war! "
Mei Guozhen and Yuan Huang were speechless.
They would indeed think more, but they also had to admit that in human history, every major event had the power of the army behind it. Military power was the foundation of power, and controlling the army was the foundation of everything.
Compared to the heart of a scholar, it was obvious that the army was more worth fighting for.
Force was the strongest power. This was the truth.
If Xiao Ruxun was really unreasonable and really threw away the burden and shed all pretense of cordiality, the fragility of a scholar would be exposed. Once the mask that they used to suppress the army and civilians in times of peace was broken, and their true colors were revealed to the world, what would happen?
This was the reason why Shen Yicheng had to kill Xiao Ruxun no matter what.
He had control of military power, and he knew the horror of military power. He also knew the terrible consequences of a famous general's call.
Yuan Huang was very clear about this.
That was why he was worried that Xiao Ruxun's northern expedition might bring a different ending to Daming than expected. Neither he nor Xiao Ruxun might be able to predict this ending.
Just now, just now, Yuan Huang saw the anger and excitement in the eyes of those generals.
Excitement, why were they excited?
This was a terrible thing. Apart from anger, they were also excited. They were actually very excited!
Because they could finally break through the shackles.
They could break through this shackle openly without being hindered or criticized by anyone.
Once this shackle that had suppressed them for more than a hundred years was broken, it would release a terrifying power that might even exceed Xiao Ruxun's expectations.
But Yuan Huang knew that he couldn't stop all this. Xiao Ruxun was the master of this army. From the top to the bottom, from the generals to the soldiers, no one would disobey Xiao Ruxun's orders. This was completely Xiao Ruxun's private army.
When Xiao Ruxun wasn't here, Yuan Huang could manage it. When Xiao Ruxun was here, no one could go against his will.
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