"Why hasn't the Jianzhou army arrived yet?"
It had been a few days since the newspaper reported that the Tian You army had entered Shanhai Pass, but the war situation in the north had not changed much. Zhang Rushen went to the streets to buy grain and oil, and he bought a copy of the capital's daily newspaper. The newspaper was quite lively, and the war situation was updated every day. It seemed like the end of the world would come in less than two days. However, the prices in the market were stable, and there was an adequate supply of all kinds of goods.
That brat Yang Jian said that Nurhachi would have a very powerful follow-up move, and he said it very vividly, and it was very convincing. However, he said it every day, and Zhang Rushen's ears were getting calluses from listening to it. He finally understood that Yang Jian was actually not confident, and he was just fooling people with the deceitful tactics of the Shang family. Everyone comforted each other.
A few days ago, the Revolutionary Army mobilized, saying that the Jurchen Tartars were going to attack the Central Plains and seize the Han people's land, causing panic in the capital region. Zhang Rushen and the others were inexplicably excited, they were very excited. Liu Fucheng also deliberately made connections everywhere, roping in many old friends in the capital city, intending to cooperate with the Jianzhou army when they arrived.
However, dreams were good, but reality was cruel.
Making connections in private was equivalent to an investigation. In the end, they found out that the Revolutionary Army had really dealt with the officials when they arrived in the capital. Some died, some were arrested, some learned, and some raided their houses. Those who were still alive were very obedient. They had no money, no soldiers, and not even a servant. How could they cooperate with the Revolutionary Army? Risking their lives with their heads? Then they would not accompany them.
The officials were all depressed, but Zhang Rushen and the others felt the power of the Revolutionary Army. Zhou Qingfeng clearly did not trust these people. It was a mercy not to kill them all. How could he let them retain their original power and privileges?
"Have you heard? The Grand Marshal is distributing land to the peasants outside the city. "
Zhang Rushen carried a bag of rice and half a barrel of oil as he walked on the street, listening to the idle people chatting on the side of the road. They chatted about the recent "distribution of land". The Revolutionary Army's land reform had been reported in the newspapers many times. The land reform in Tianjin and Liaonan had been completed, and all the land had been redistributed so that landless farmers could once again have the capital to settle down.
The capital had fallen, the officials were in trouble, and the commoners were only there to watch the show. Even though the newspapers reported that the seized assets of the nobles in the capital region had exceeded fifty million taels of silver, it was still shocking. Not only did he feel that those officials were really rich, but he also felt that the Revolutionary Army had made a lot of money. But what did these things have to do with the common people? No one cared.
However, the people had to be concerned about the land reform.
"I heard that 10 mu of land per person is exempted from taxes for the first two years, and after two years, it won't exceed 30%. If he became a soldier of the Revolutionary Army, he would get more. If he became a militia, he would get 20 acres of land. If he became a regular army, he would get 50 acres of land. Now, everyone is asking about how to become a soldier, "an idler said in a tsking tone. He was very emotional.
"That's right!" Another idler clasped his hands and smacked his lips. "When Grand Marshal Zhou first entered the city, everyone was just there to watch the show. A few days ago, when the Tatars were about to enter the pass, everyone was shocked, but no one wanted to go and curry favor. But when the "distribution of land" came out, it became lively. "
Zhang Rushen listened to the news and couldn't help but slow down. He had also heard about this matter and was amazed by the power of the Revolutionary Army. The Central Plains had a lot of plains and cultivated land, but the conflict between people and land was not the most acute. He came from Shanxi, so he had less land. The Shanxi merchants made money outside, so when they returned home, they also had to buy land. The more land was concentrated, the greater the social conflict.
Zhang Rushen was worried and resentful when he thought about how he was a rich farmer and a rich merchant, someone who was going to be eradicated and his property divided. Although he had colluded with the Kennu and colluded with the enemy, he had worked hard to earn his property. Why should he give it to those peasants? The peasants deserved to be poor. What did it have to do with him?
The Zhang family usually treated the tenants very well and was a rare philanthropist in Shanxi. The Zhang family had never been stingy in giving out porridge and rice during the years of famine. The local people praised them, and when they saw Zhang Rushen, they would call him "benefactor". But the Revolutionary Army did not look at Zhang Rushen's benefits and just wanted to destroy his property.
When Zhang Rushen thought of this, his heart was filled with grievance and indignation. He wanted to find Zhou Qingfeng and give him a good scolding. But he also knew that if he really saw Grand Marshal Zhou, he would die.
"The distribution of land is too powerful. I can only hope that the Jianzhou army will come quickly. Otherwise, all of us officials will die. "Zhang Rushen was depressed and walked on the street with his head lowered. He arrived at the door of an ordinary house and looked around before knocking on the door. Someone behind the door asked. When Zhang Rushen said the secret code, the door opened slightly.
Yang Jian recognized it was Zhang Rushen. After letting him in, he asked, "Is there any news today?"
"What news can there be?" Zhang Rushen asked angrily, "It's all because of the tension at the front line of Shanhai Pass. The revolution in the capital region is doing well, and we're about to face a disaster. Those ignorant people didn't seem to care about anything a few days ago, but these two days, they can't wait to lick Zhou Qingfeng's eyes.
You didn't see the long lines at the recruitment points in the city. There are countless people signing up to join the army. With so many people going, why would the Revolutionary Army need to do a physical examination? They won't accept those who are too weak or have bad composition. "
"Sigh, the poor don't have any long-term plans. If one person can be a soldier in exchange for a family to eat, naturally, a lot of people want to fight for it. Besides, being a soldier doesn't necessarily mean death. They can still get a good job after serving for a few years. Naturally, there will be people fighting for it. "Yang Jian said honestly as if he was speaking for the Revolutionary Army.
Zhang Rushen was surprised. Yang Jian said again, "I think it's useless for us to just hate the Revolutionary Army. If we want to cause trouble for them, we have to understand why they're successful."
"Hmm … that makes sense." Zhang Rushen nodded.
Yang Jian said, "I've been thinking about it recently and feel that Zhou Qingfeng isn't completely without weaknesses. He still has a big flaw. "
"What flaw?" Zhang Rushen asked hurriedly.
"The Han ancestors don't seem to like him."
"Ah …?"
"Although Zhou Qingfeng seized Zhu Ming's country, it's not too much for him to go to the Imperial Ancestral Temple to pay homage to Zhu Hongwu. But he seized the capital, and I don't see any plans to immediately establish a country and ascend the throne. Even if the country isn't stable, he should go to the Temple of Heaven to pay homage to the Emperor's Heaven and Earth and comfort the spirits of the ancestors. He won't do it. I'm afraid there's something mysterious about it. "
Yang Jian's words made sense, and Zhang Rushen suddenly sucked in a breath of cold air. "Hiss … what you said really makes sense. This Zhou Qingfeng destroyed the Kong residence and even dared to arrest Duke Yan and sentence him to death. How can the sages of our Han family tolerate him? We, the Han people, respect our ancestors the most. If he can't get the approval of our ancestors, it will definitely be a disaster in the long run. "
Yang Jian suddenly laughed and patted Zhang Rushen's shoulder. "Mr. Zhang, you really understand with just a hint. I want to start from this and shake the foundation of the 'Revolutionary Army'. Come on, let's work! "
Zhang Rushen was originally laughing, but when he heard the word 'work', he shivered and immediately asked in horror, "What kind of work?"
After working at the Smelly Ditch construction site for a month, Zhang Rushen was really afraid of 'work'. That would really be a disgrace, a loss of face, and tiring himself half to death without any benefits.
Yang Jian took out a piece of paper from his sleeve and spread it on the table in the room. "I wrote an article specifically to scold that Zhou Qingfeng for not having a Monarch or a father, not paying homage to his ancestors, and having no morals. With such a good article, shouldn't we publicize it and let the whole world know about it?
The newspaper of the 'Revolutionary Army' has a great influence everywhere. I decided to imitate them and make a few thousand copies of this article and secretly post it in the city so that the people can see the true face of this Zhou Qingfeng. It will definitely have a miraculous effect. Now that the article is finished, it's just waiting for you and me to copy it. "
Zhang Rushen followed Yang Jian into the room and saw Liu Fucheng grinding an ink stick with a bitter face. When the latter saw Zhang Rushen come in, he rubbed his sore wrist and said in a seemingly indifferent but actually urgent tone, "You're here, sit down."
The article written by Yang Jian had a few hundred words and had to be copied on a two-foot square piece of white paper. There was a thick stack of paper on the table, but only a dozen of them had been copied. This seemed to be a tiring work that was not inferior to digging in the mud.
"You, you …" Zhang Rushen really wanted to say, 'How can you do this? Can't you find a printing workshop? ' But after thinking about it, there really wasn't a printing workshop that dared to take this job. Now, not only was there no printing workshop, they didn't even have someone to copy it.
When the 'Heaven's blessing' army attacked Shanhai Pass, Liu Fucheng took the lead to contact the spy in the city. In the end, he didn't manage to contact the spy, and when he turned around, he found that Lu Xiangsheng and Sun Chuanting had run away. This forced them to quickly change places to hide. And in the next few days, Zhang Rushen's entourage also couldn't see hope and kept fleeing. This forced the three hardcore traitors to hide here and there like mice.
Now, they had to go out to buy grain and oil, cook at home, and even copy the article by themselves. Zhang Rushen picked up the article written by Yang Jian and looked at it. The content was not bad, but it clearly wrote the resentment in the hearts of the officials. If the ordinary people heard it, they would probably be worried and conflicted. After all, the matter of worshiping the ancestors was really too important to the Chinese.
If the ancestors didn't bless them, they would definitely not be recognized. The legitimacy of the rule would be questioned. Back then, when the Mongolian Yuan Empire occupied the land in China, they still had to confer the title of Duke Yan Sheng and Duke Guan. Then what about this' Revolutionary Army '? In the eyes of many people, they were probably born with defects.
Zhang Rushen had no choice but to sit down and pick up his pen to copy. After copying for a day, he found that he didn't copy much at all. However, these three people didn't have other subordinates, and ordinary people didn't dare to trust them, so they could only stay in the house and copy non-stop every day. At night, they had to take the copied article and post it everywhere in the city.
Needless to say, this trick worked!
The first to respond were the officials who were suppressed in the capital. These people had their money, food, and property taken away, and their status suddenly dropped. Although they were forcibly suppressed by the 'Revolutionary Army', they all behaved obediently in their hearts. Suddenly seeing someone write an article to scold the 'Revolutionary Army', this played the role of releasing the pressure in their hearts, and also set an example.
Soon, Yang Jian and the others found that they weren't the only ones who secretly wrote the article. Some of the old and young people's writing style was much sharper than Yang Jian's, and their words were also much more intense. When they scolded people, it was very unpleasant to hear. Moreover, these reactionary literati soon found that the 'Revolutionary Army' really had a big defect in inheritance.
The 'Revolutionary Army' wrote simplified characters, used vernacular, and talked about new knowledge. They really threw away a lot of the cultural essence of the past along with the dregs. It would be strange if the old ancestor was happy about this, so he became the target of criticism for a while.
Even a large number of naturalized literati within the 'Revolutionary Army' were quite dissatisfied with this matter. For example, Mu Sinian of the Propaganda Department had written many times, asking Grand Marshal not to abandon the culture of the old ancestor. Slowly, the 'Revolutionary Army's' newspaper also openly discussed this issue. Many people strongly called on Grand Marshal Zhou to hurry to the temple of heaven to worship the ancestors to comfort people.
Yang Jian and the others rejoiced about this, and they increasingly pondered how to pry the 'Revolutionary Army's' ideas. However, no matter how they pry their ideas, they still had to reflect reality.
After a while, Zhang Rushen whose wrist was already swollen asked, "Brother Yang, we've been scolding this' Revolutionary Army 'every day, but what's the use of scolding them? When will the Jianzhou Imperial Army come? "
Yang Jian immediately encouraged him, "Don't worry, don't worry, you can continue to scold them. As long as we scold them every day, from time to time, the 'Revolutionary Army' will soon collapse because of our scolding. At that time, the Imperial Army will come. "
Collapse because of this scolding?
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