Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 385 Zhan Ding's Questions

After the Marshal's Mansion finalized the reorganization plan, Feng Guoyong took the plan to Huai'an again, ready to personally preside over the reorganization, especially the arrangements for personnel appointments. He needed to make some explanations on behalf of Lu Jin so that the generals of various departments could understand Lu Jin's intentions.

At the same time, Xia Yu also completed the task assigned by Lu Jin and returned from Xuzhou.

The current Xuzhou is more of a military fortress than a civilian city. The people in the city have long since moved elsewhere. The people in the city are either soldiers or civilians. The composition of the personnel is clear, and with the cooperation of Mao Gui and others, the reorganization will be easier.

Mao Gui's army had been reorganized and was still temporarily stationed in Xuzhou. Fu Youde's division had also been reorganized and was led by Xia Yu personally to Tianchang County to prepare for participating in the battle to encircle and annihilate Zhao Junyong.

After finishing all these, Xia Yu came back to report to Lu Jin about the situation of Xuzhou Iron Works.

"My lord, the coal and iron mines in Xuzhou are all ready-made and have not been destroyed. Most of the original craftsmen have been moved to the rear in advance, or stayed in Xuzhou as laborers, so the craftsmen are also ready-made.

"What we lack most now is food and officials. As long as we send officials to govern, send people to manage the ironworks, and transfer enough food, Xuzhou Iron and Steel can resume work and production at any time."

Lu Jin nodded when he heard this. "Food is easy to deal with. Xuzhou is a canal hub. We can just use the canal to transport a batch of food there. It's the people who govern Xuzhou."

Lu Jin frowned a little. The date of the imperial examination was a little late. It was originally scheduled for March 3 this year, but Xuzhou suddenly surrendered and the city in Huaibei was suddenly occupied. As a result, the Marshal's Office was not prepared and could not find a suitable candidate for a while.

Just when he was worried about having no one to use, his subordinates suddenly came to report that Fang Guozhen and his family had arrived in Jiankang. In addition to the three children and their mother, there were also Fang Guozhen's two nephews, and Zhan Ding and Qiu Nan, two of Fang Guozhen's advisers.

Li Dingbang, who came to report the news, immediately said, "General, the two Confucian scholars requested to see you first, saying that they have confidential matters to discuss."

Lu Jin nodded. He could understand. After all, Fang Guozhen had secretly surrendered and was still a minister of the Yuan court on the surface. He was still in a hostile relationship with the Shengwu Army. Lu Jin was still counting on him to be a white glove between him and the Yuan court in the future. Therefore, the fact that he sent a hostage naturally could not be known to everyone in the city.

So he said, "Bring them in."

"Yes."

A moment later, Zhan Ding and Qiu Nan were brought in. When they saw Lu Jin for the first time, they felt that Lu Jin was young. Fang Guozhen was 34 years old now, but judging from Lu Jin's appearance, he was only in his early 20s. They didn't expect that Lu Jin was so young, but he had already become a feudal lord with hundreds of thousands of soldiers and ruled a region.

After the two men exchanged greetings, Zhan Ding immediately spoke up, "Since the Marshal has asked General Fang to surrender secretly, can you please keep the matter of sending a hostage to Jiankang secret? This is also to save General Fang's life."

Lu Jin nodded immediately and said, "Of course, I'm counting on him to do things for me, how could he deliberately ruin his own business?"

Zhan Ding added, "There is one more thing that I need to inform the Marshal in advance. General Fang's three sons and two nephews have changed their surnames to avoid being seen by others. They will change their appearances in the future. I hope those who know about this in the Marshal's Mansion can keep it a secret."

Lu Jin nodded again and said, "That's no problem, but I'm curious, what surname have they changed to now?"

"The last name is Wan."

"The last name Wan? The Wan in wanwan?"

Seeing Zhan Ding nod, Lu Jin was speechless, "Who came up with this idea? The character Fang with one dot on the top is Wan. What? Does that mean I will definitely lose my head if I come here? This is not a demon cave."

Zhan Ding and Qiu Nan were also speechless. After a long pause, Zhan Ding said, "This was General Fang's idea. He probably didn't think so much about it at the time."

Well, Fang Guozhen is indeed illiterate, and probably didn't expect this.
Lu Jin deliberately stated, "Now that he has surrendered, as long as he works loyally in the future, how could I break my promise? I will definitely fulfill the promise I made to him, so he doesn't need to worry.

"As for the surname, let's change it. Fang means "correct", but there doesn't seem to be a surname this correct. So let's use a homonymous character, Guan Er Zheng. From now on, they will temporarily have the surname Zheng. After they have wiped out the Tartars, they can change it back."

Zhan Ding and Qiu Nan looked at each other and didn't know how to refute. After all, it was just a fake surname, so it didn't matter what it was called. So they nodded and agreed.

Lu Jin looked at the two of them and said, "I have heard of both of you, especially Mr. Qiu. Yang Jing mentioned you in the battle report. You two have done a great job in persuading Fang Guozhen to surrender. I will reward those who have done a great job. Would you like to serve in my office?"

Zhan Ding and Qiu Nan had this idea in mind, otherwise they would not have come so straightforwardly, so they immediately bowed and said, "Thank you for your respect, Marshal. It is what I wish for, but I dare not ask you."

Lu Jin nodded immediately and said, "Well, Mr. Qiu should go to Xuzhou to serve as the prefect first."

Qiu Nan was stunned when he heard this, then he was overjoyed, and then he asked curiously, "Isn't Xuzhou in the hands of Zhima Li?"

Lu Jin explained, "Something happened in Xuzhou, and they submitted to me at the beginning of this year."

Qiu Nan suddenly realized, and then asked, "I just arrived, and the commander-in-chief has given me a high position. Even if I have the merit of persuading General Fang to surrender, doesn't the commander-in-chief need to test my knowledge again?"

Lu Jin immediately shook his head and laughed, "What is knowledge? A bookworm who can only recite from a textbook may not be able to govern a place. I don't value knowledge, I only value the ability to do things.

"As for the assessment, just treat this appointment as the prefect of Xuzhou as an assessment. Xuzhou has just experienced war, and the bloodstains under the city walls have not yet dried. It is a difficult time now, and it is not easy to govern. You have to show your true ability. If you don't govern well, I will demote you to the position of chief clerk. You can do whatever you want."

Qiu Nan then realized the seriousness of the problem. It turned out that this was Lu Jin's test. However, he couldn't back down since it had come to this point. Otherwise, it would be difficult for him to make a breakthrough in the future. So he immediately promised solemnly, "I will do my best."

"Yes." Lu Jin looked at Xia Yu next to him and instructed him, "Yunzhong, you will tell Governor Qiu about the current situation in Xuzhou later and tell him everything that needs to be done."

"Yes." Xia Yu agreed immediately. So Lu Jin looked at Zhan Ding again, but just as he said the word "you", he was interrupted by Zhan Ding on the spot, and Zhan Ding hurriedly bowed.

"General, when I came here, I was asked by General Fang to help him look after the three young masters. A gentleman's word is worth a thousand gold, and I dare not break it. Therefore, I hope I will not be sent away. I also hope that the general can do me a favor and let me stay in Jiankang, even if it is just a lowly position."

Lu Jin was surprised when he heard this and said, "You are a man of good faith and good character. It is not impossible to arrange a position for you in the general's mansion, but I have to test you to see if you are good at civil affairs or military strategy, or other matters, so that I can arrange it for you."

Zhan Ding immediately bowed and said, "Thank you for the convenience, Marshal. As for the military and political positions, I am willing to take any position."

"Tsk." Lu Jin said with a tsk-tsk sound, "What a big tone, Mr. Zhan is really confident, then I want to test your vision and ability."

After saying that, he immediately took out the tax reform decree that was ready to be issued, handed it to Zhan Ding and asked, "This is the new tax reform policy that the Marshal's Office has just implemented. It is about to be issued to various places. I wonder what Mr. Zhan thinks of it?"

Upon hearing this, Zhan Ding took it and examined it carefully, and was immediately shocked by the tax amount of 20% on land with an area of ​​more than 10,000 acres. Such an outrageous tax rate would never be collected at this rate unless Lu Jin wanted to force the people to rebel. However, since it was a decree to be issued, it showed that its intention was not to collect taxes at all.

Zhan Ding is a smart man, so how could he not see the intention of suppressing the powerful? However, judging from this policy, the person who could come up with this idea is definitely not an ordinary person.

This is not a question of whether one wants to do it or not, but whether one dares to do it. If this policy is introduced, it will make enemies with all the powerful people in the world. Since they dare to implement this policy, both the policy makers and the monarch Lu Jin are people of great courage.

Zhan Ding did not express his opinion immediately, but asked Lu Jin in return.

"The one who can issue such a decree is definitely not an ordinary person. May I ask which minister in the palace suggested this, or did you come up with it yourself?"

Lu Jin said expressionlessly, "What's the difference between the two? What if it's someone else's suggestion or what if it's what I think?"

Zhan Ding then said, "The original intention of establishing this policy is indeed good governance. It can not only benefit the common people, but also curb the annexation of the big families. If it can be implemented correctly, it will definitely be a major event that benefits the country and the people.

“If this idea comes from a minister in the Marshal’s mansion, then this person must be a talent who can assist the king, and the Marshal is determined to adopt this strategy, which shows the style of a wise leader.

"If this is the will of the Marshal himself, and he is determined to implement this policy, then he must be a great leader of the time, and he will not only be determined to drive out the Tartars, but also to revive China."

Lu Jin didn't care about Zhan Ding's flattery, but said indifferently, "It's my own idea, not someone else's suggestion."

Zhan Ding opened his mouth, and then he understood what kind of person this young prince in front of him was. With such courage, it was no wonder that Lu Jin could conquer so many places in a year. He immediately bowed his hands in admiration and said, "Your servant Zhan Ding, I only regret that I have wasted several years and could not meet the lord sooner."

Seeing this, Lu Jin smiled and said, "It's not too late now. I have answered your question. Tell me what you think about this decree."

"Yes." Zhan Ding said solemnly, "It is indeed a good policy, but I am afraid that there will be great resistance in its implementation. The Marshal has just pacified Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and the people are not yet on board. If we rush to implement this policy, it may cause chaos."

Lu Jin said, "I have troops. The 300,000 troops of the East China Front Army are still in eastern Zhejiang and have not been withdrawn."

Zhan Ding nodded immediately and said, “The Marshal’s army is strong, there is no doubt about that. If it is enforced by force, the people will naturally not be able to resist, but those gentry who are forced to split up will inevitably feel resentful.

“If the Marshal can continue to make rapid progress in the next war, then even if they are resentful, they can be patient. If the Marshal shows signs of pacifying the four directions, they may abandon their resentment and take the initiative to curry favor with the Marshal, but this will also lay hidden dangers.

"If this policy is enforced by force, as long as the war at the front goes wrong, these gentry may cause chaos in the back."

This view makes a lot of sense. The gentry and the Confucian scholars will certainly resist if they can. But if they find that you are extremely strong and they cannot defeat you at all, they will naturally change their minds immediately and find ways to infiltrate your system, regain power, and then find ways to satisfy their own greed.

In modern terms, this is the weakness of the petty bourgeoisie. When they find that they are really powerless to resist, they will really surrender, but if they have the opportunity to betray, they will certainly do so without hesitation. Such people have no loyalty at all.

Lu Jin nodded immediately, "What you said makes sense, so do you have any countermeasures?"

Zhan Ding then said, "I think that governing the people is like governing a river. It is better to drain than to block. If we must implement this policy, we must use military deterrence, but we also need to guide those powerful people and give them some room to avoid them just knowing how to resist."

Hearing this, Lu Jin sighed, "This is not easy to do. Those so-called gentry want thousands of acres of fertile land and poetry and books to pass down from generation to generation. I can't give them these. If I satisfy them, ordinary people will have no land to farm, the state's household registration will be concealed, and taxes will not be collected. How can I guide them?"

Zhan Ding said immediately, "In fact, the Marshal has just said that poetry and books are passed down from generation to generation, and those who are good at learning will become officials. Those gentry with thousands of acres of fertile land are only after wealth and honor. These fertile land and beautiful houses are wealth, and high-ranking officials and nobles are nobility. Since we can't give them wealth, then we can use nobility to satisfy them.

"It is said that blocking is not as good as unblocking. This is just a method of guidance. Only those who are willing to divide the land and obey the government orders can participate in the imperial examination. If this is set as a threshold and there is military deterrence, and only one can be chosen between wealth and honor, then the wealthy and powerful families, unless they are stupid, will naturally know what to do."

But Lu Jin seemed to be looking for trouble and shook his head again, "Study hard and you will be promoted to an official, but this official position does not necessarily mean for me. If I am defeated by the Yuan court or other rebel forces, they can still serve others. Maybe I am not defeated now, but it does not prevent them from waiting in vain. In this world, I am not their only choice."

Zhan Ding was also helpless when he heard this. This policy was indeed a good policy, but the timing of its proposal was not right. It would have been best if it could be implemented a few years later, after a change of dynasty and pacification of the country.

Seeing that Lu Jin directly revealed the powerful man's thoughts, Zhan Ding simply spoke frankly as well.

"In fact, to be honest, I think that although the Marshal's policy is a good one, it is somewhat inappropriate. If it is implemented at this time, it will not only cause internal instability and hidden dangers, but if this policy is passed on to the unconquered areas, I am afraid that the gentry in those places that have not been conquered will use all their property to support the Yuan court, or other rebel forces to stop the Marshal.

"Isn't this just making it more difficult for me to pacify the four directions?"

(End of this chapter)