When Nurhachi sat in Shenyang, Zhou Qingfeng personally rushed to Shanhaiguan; and when Nurhachi was about to go to the front line in Jinzhou, Zhou Qingfeng quietly returned to the capital.
As the power of the 'Revolutionary Army' grew larger and larger, the internal relations became more and more complicated. Zhou Qingfeng was no longer a simple military commander. Whether he was willing or not, the people below him had to push him to a higher position — if he didn't reach a higher position, how could others rise? It was just that it was lonely at the top.
From Shanhaiguan back to the capital, Zhou Qingfeng walked very slowly all the way. It only took one or two hours to take the biplane, but he took four or five days to ride in a carriage. The carriage was bumpy, and it was actually uncomfortable to sit. He would stop for a while, stop for a while, and then continue to move forward.
Every time he stopped, the guards would set up a cordon, isolating Zhou Qingfeng from everything around him. Even if Zhou Qingfeng himself was the one with the highest martial strength here, the guards still had to do their duty and would not let anyone get close to him easily. This was the so-called 'lonely Taoist and lonely Taoist'.
Xu Bing was busy with state affairs, so she took the biplane back to the capital first. She directly told Zhou Qingfeng that it was his last leisurely days, and there would be a lot of things for him to deal with after returning to the capital. Before leaving, she also threw out some documents that must be reviewed by Zhou Qingfeng, and asked Zhou Qingfeng to approve them.
Casually flipping through, Xu Bing left behind some disciplinary measures of the Chinese Revolutionary Party, organizational work, and so on. These were the basic rules and regulations of the transmigration forces, and they were the most important. But Uncle Zhou only glanced at it a few times before looking up and sighing. He really wanted to go back to Shanhaiguan to discuss with Mangurtai — Why don't you stop tossing and turning and break out? I really don't want to go to the capital.
Zhou Qingfeng walked and stopped, and when he stopped, he flipped through and approved a batch. Besides the guards, he only had 'Dog Meat' to accompany him. A man and a dog would often sit on the ridge of a field by the roadside and stare at each other, bored and helpless.
The day before he returned to the capital, early in the morning, an old farmer drove a cow past the dazed Zhou Qingfeng. The guards wanted to ask the farmer to leave, but Zhou Qingfeng stopped them. The old farmer was not afraid. He carried the hoe and drove the oxen. He even glanced at Zhou Qingfeng a few times.
Zhou Qingfeng looked at the old farmer's wrinkled face and thought that he might be a good person to talk to. So he took the initiative to ask, "Old man, what are you doing so early?"
The old farmer was waving a small branch to drive the cow. He looked at Zhou Qingfeng with disdain and answered, "I'm working in the fields. Unlike you elite nobles who sit like fools early in the morning. "
The guards' faces were filled with anger, but Zhou Qingfeng smiled. He quickly waved his hand and shouted, "Sir, sir, don't go yet. Come sit with me for a while. Let's have a chat. "
"I don't have time for that. I'm busy." The old farmer still wanted to leave.
Zhou Qingfeng touched his pocket but didn't take out anything. He still shouted to the old farmer, "Talk to me for a while. I'll give you money."
"Money?" The old farmer finally stopped and turned his head to ask, "How much money?"
"One silver dollar." Zhou Qingfeng smiled and let the guard take out the money. "Just a quarter of an hour. It won't disturb your work."
"I'll give you money just for talking to you?" The old farmer stretched out his rough hand and took the shining silver dollar. "You rich people really don't care about money. One silver dollar can buy a lot of things, and you're giving it to me? Then I'll talk to you for a while. "
After taking the silver dollar, the old farmer probably realized that the young man in front of him was either rich or noble. His attitude was not as calm as it was at the beginning. He sat far below Zhou Qingfeng. After hesitating for a while, he actually knelt on the ground and said respectfully, "What does the noble want to ask?"
"Are you having a good life now?" Zhou Qingfeng asked.
"Poor people. It's both good and bad," the old farmer replied.
"How do you say it's good?"
"If you want to say it's good, the yamen runners from the government rarely came to the village since last year. In the past half a year, no one came to collect taxes. Not long ago, someone came to distribute land to the villagers. He distributed the land of several rich families to the poor people who had no land. Poor people like us got a good deal. In the past half a year, we have more money and fewer worries. Life is naturally better. "
"How do you say it's not good?"
"Life is suddenly better, but I don't feel at ease. A rich family's land that had been passed down for generations was suddenly divided. He hanged himself that night. Poor people like us got land, but we don't have enough manpower to hire people. Even if we get more land, we can't plant it.
Everyone says that there's a new Emperor Zhou in the capital. I don't know if he will last long. Also, I heard that there's a war in the north, but I'm worried about the tax increase. We commoners just want the world to be peaceful. We don't want so many things to happen. "
"Then do you want Emperor Zhou to last long?"
"That's hard to say. It's not up to us poor people to decide who becomes the emperor."
Zhou Qingfeng asked deeper, but the old farmer couldn't say anything. He was asked if he was willing to protect the new regime. He was also at a loss and didn't know how to answer. Clearly, he wasn't willing. Then he was asked if he had been to the capital. He couldn't help but laugh and shake his head, saying that he had never left the village in his life. Most of the villagers were like him.
Zhou Qingfeng nodded and let the old farmer leave. He looked at "Dog Meat" next to him and said with a bitter smile, "I've only changed the world a little, a very insignificant little. But it's already not bad to be able to do this.
There were so many civil and military officials in the Daming court, but they couldn't even change a little in one or two hundred years. Even someone as ruthless as Zhang Juzheng died. Everything returned to the way it was. I'm also worried if I've always been right. I'm worried if the world will return to how it was after I die. But everyone thinks I'm right, and I have to make decisions for everything. "
The carriage shook as it sent Zhou Qingfeng back to the capital. The little maid Ye Erniang came to pick him up and gave him a lot of documents to read. She said, "Sister Xu said you have to be more diligent in the future. There are some things that she can't make decisions on her own. You have to make the decisions. "
Official business, official business, official business. These were the things that bothered Zhou Qingfeng the most. They even told him about the construction of a drainage ditch in the capital. They said that it was a gift for the founding of the country, to give the city a new look. He picked and read on the carriage. Suddenly, he flipped to a recent summary of public opinion. Ever since he went to Shanhai Pass, he hadn't seen this thing for a long time.
Ye Erniang briefly said to Zhou Qingfeng, "Recently, there have been rumors in the streets that you don't respect your ancestors and are not recognized by them. They also say that your background is unknown and that you have no roots. You will definitely cause trouble. "
Only Ye Erniang dared to say this directly. Hearing this, Zhou Qingfeng was startled. His originally frivolous expression immediately turned cold. He shouted in a low voice, "Someone who can say this is not simple. My cheap Shixiong is still alive. I'm afraid he is playing tricks behind the scenes. Let Ma Keshi investigate. Maybe we can catch a big fish in the capital. "
Ye Erniang continued, "Recently, some scholars have submitted letters saying that they want to subdue people with virtue. They want the four barbarians to surrender and the ten thousand states to come to court. After defeating the Female Zhenren and driving them back, they can be appeased. The barbarians will certainly be deeply grateful and won't dare to rebel again. Only in this way can we show the dignity of our celestial court. "
"Who are these people saying this kind of nonsense?" Zhou Qingfeng asked disdainfully.
Ye Erniang said, "It seems to be a group of scholars from Jiangnan. There are also former Ming officials. A few days ago, the Taixi fleet was destroyed. The plan of the fake Ming Dynasty's northern expedition also came to nothing. A lot of Jiangnan officials are probably desperate. People are constantly coming to the north to inquire about the news.
In the past few days, they have become lively. They show respect to us, but they also want to criticize our decisions. They have even formed an organization called the 'Donglin Clique'. I think they want to persuade us to appease the Kennu and sound out the situation. If this matter is successful, then naturally we can also appease the forces in Jiangnan. Maybe we can even keep our own family assets. "
"Hmph hmph … These bastards think that there's no hope in a direct confrontation, so they want to infiltrate our internal department to cause trouble." Zhou Qingfeng frowned and asked, "Didn't the Publicity Department refute this kind of shameful speech?"
"There are a lot of people in the Propaganda Department who agree. Even Minister Mu Sinian has some contact with them." Ye Erniang said, "Many of those people are famous people with high prestige."
"Our revolution has not yet succeeded, and these guys are already trying to infiltrate our minds." Zhou Qingfeng immediately shouted, "Mu Sinian is also old. Let him retire."
Ye Erniang said in surprise, "Isn't this too harsh on the meritorious officials? This is about establishing a country. In any case, Old Master Mu is someone we followed when we started. "
"Then we'll dismiss him after the country is established. At any time, the people in the field of ideology must be my own people. " Zhou Qingfeng said this and looked at Ye Erniang. "You have always had a vicious mouth. You don't have an official job. Go to the Propaganda Department and be a deputy minister. It's a good time to make the best use of people. "
After returning to the capital, Zhou Qingfeng called Mu Sinian over and gave him a good scolding. The next day, he personally wrote an article and published it in the newspapers.
"As a nation, we Han people have always maintained an extremely open mind. As the saying goes, 'the sea can accommodate all rivers, and the tolerant is great.' We never resist advanced things from the outside. We never fear that others are stronger than us, and we never cover up our shortcomings. Because we firmly believe that we are the best, we never fear competition.
But our confidence in ourselves is not unlimited tolerance and understanding for the other races. In the past thousands of years, we have faced countless foreign invasions. Not only did we face heavy casualties, but we also had to bear the contempt and ridicule of the other races.
During the chaos of the Five Barbarians, the Han people were called 'two-legged sheep' by the barbarians. When the Meng Yuan Empire occupied the Central Plains, the Han people's lives were only worth a donkey. Now, the Kennu from the north have invaded China, and they still regard us as cattle and horses.
The barbarians have won a few battles, seized a few cities, and used their weapons to enslave millions of Han people. They think that they are better than the Han people. They loudly declare that it is the will of the heavens that they can replace us Han people, because they are stronger than all of us Han people.
They despise us, despise our writing, despise our language, despise our clothing and appearance, despise our tolerance and modesty, despise our people, despise everything about us!
We Han people are not weak cattle and sheep. Our tolerance and modesty are only for our friends. In the long river of history, the number of races that have perished in the hands of us Han people is not small. Today, we do not lack the Jurchen.
We are different from the barbarians. No Han people are born to fight. But for the continuation of our Great Han, the Kennu must be defeated, destroyed, and eradicated.
This is why the Han people of Liaodong are willing to follow us and fight.
This is why the farmers in the capital region are willing to work hard, and the workers in Liaodong are willing to work day and night.
This is why the youths of our Han family are willing to join the army and fight.
Because the Kennu are our enemies. Towards our enemies, we should not show any mercy!
It is better to pursue the enemy bravely than to seek fame as a tyrant. The problems that can be solved today cannot be left to our descendants. "
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