Late Ming Dynasty: Special Forces in 1645

Huang Daozhou arrived in a huff, and after talking at length until his throat was dry, he found that Li Chengming remained unmoved. It was like punching cotton; Huang Daozhou had no power at all and could only leave dejectedly.

Li Chengming knew that it was impossible to reason with a Confucian scholar in his sixties who had firm beliefs, so he simply let him vent his emotions and then left quickly.

In addition, Li Chengming also wanted to know how scholars would view the new policies, and whether he could win over other scholars.

Judging from Huang Daozhou's reaction, the higher up a person's position in the "pure stream" (a term referring to the corrupt and upright faction), the less likely they are to be won over.

On the contrary, the Restoration Army was trying to win over Zhang Xiyan and Yang Xuedong, who had grassroots experience, and scholars who had not yet become local gentry.

Seeing Huang Daozhou leave, Liang Zicheng, who had been silent until now, said, "He originally came to offer us amnesty, but now he'll probably give up on that idea."

Li Chengming shook his head and said, "Who knows? Maybe I'll come again. But you can come and chat with me, but let's not talk about the amnesty again."

Liang Zicheng pondered for a moment and said, "Captain, we should be advancing into Fujian by next year at the latest, right? As for the Zheng family, we should naturally either subdue them or crush them, making their maritime resources available to us. But what should we do with Emperor Longwu?"

Li Chengming said, "In the Longwu court, those who are truly loyal to Longwu are scholars like Huang Daozhou, whose ideals do not align with ours. This is not easy to deal with, so let's keep them under control for now."

Liang Zicheng said, "Under what pretext should we control the Longwu court? What if Longwu calls upon the entire nation to come to his aid? Wouldn't we become the target of everyone's ire?"

Li Chengming said indifferently, "If we implement such new policies, we will inevitably become the target of public criticism sooner or later. Besides, the banner of Longwu can no longer rally the people. There is no need to worry too much."

After pondering for a long time, Liang Zicheng said, "Captain, not all scholars oppose us. There are quite a few people like Zhang Xiyan and Yang Xuedong. Perhaps we can cooperate with the Longwu court, ask them for a legitimate reason, and then win over the scholars. This way, the resistance to implementing our new policies will be much smaller."

Li Chengming chuckled and said, "Then, like Cao Cao, you'll hold the emperor hostage to command the feudal lords? You gain this righteous pretext, but you'll have to pay it back sooner or later."

"Holding the emperor hostage" was never a good reputation to begin with, and then we ended up deposing this "emperor," which made the reputation even worse.

We don't need others to give us the title of righteousness; serving the country and the people is the greatest righteousness!

If one day we pacify the world, we can proudly tell future generations: The Restoration Army has never been subservient to anyone!

After listening to Li Chengming's words, Liang Zicheng gave a wry smile, understanding that Li Chengming was unwilling to take shortcuts in politics, so he did not delve further into the topic of surrender.

......

Huang Daozhou wandered around Xinzhou City with a displeased expression. Although Xinzhou City was not large, it was more vibrant and energetic than Fuzhou City, which made him feel very uneasy.

Before he knew it, Huang Daozhou had been standing in front of a shop for quite some time. Looking up, he saw a few neat characters carved on the wooden plaque above the shop: Qianbao Huiju Fang!

As Huang Daozhou stepped into Qianbao Huiju Fang, Manager Zhao immediately came to greet him, warmly asking, "What would you like to see, esteemed guest?"

Huang Daozhou shook his head, simply walking around and looking at things without saying a word.

Having been in business for decades, Manager Zhao was an expert at reading people. Seeing that this lean old man was well-dressed, had an extraordinary air about him, and was accompanied by three servants, he concluded that he was no ordinary person. Therefore, when Huang Daozhou entered the shop, Manager Zhao personally came over to greet him.

There were quite a few people buying things in the store, but when they saw Huang Daoyi coming over, they all subconsciously gave way.

After walking around the shop, Huang Daozhou said to Manager Zhao, who was standing next to him, "Are you the manager here?"

Because he felt deep down that businessmen were "greedy and treacherous," Huang Daozhou spoke in a somewhat condescending tone.

Manager Zhao didn't seem to mind, and cupped his hands in greeting, saying, "My surname is Zhao, that's right!"

So Huang Daozhou casually inquired about the situation in Xinzhou City, and Manager Zhao answered him one by one.

Finally, Huang Daozhou asked seemingly casually, "Manager Zhao, do you think the Restoration Army's entry into Xinzhou City has been a good thing or a bad thing?"

Mentioning the Restoration Army, Manager Zhao's expression relaxed, and he said with pride, "Of course it's a good thing. The Restoration Army has strict discipline and never disturbs the people. They collect taxes in an orderly manner and never use any pretext to overcharge. The tax rate is also acceptable, which is a good thing for the people. Look at my little shop, business has improved a lot since the Restoration Army came."

As he spoke, Manager Zhao pointed outside and said, "See that small open space over there? Before, on every market day, people would sell their children there. Now there are far fewer. The Restoration Army is implementing new policies in every town and village, distributing land to the poor and lowering tenant farmers' rents. Now that they can support their families, who would want to sell their children?"

After listening to Manager Zhao's words, Huang Daozhou was filled with complicated thoughts. He then sighed and shook his head as he left the general store.

Manager Zhao watched Huang Daozhou leave, vaguely hearing Huang Daozhou say things like "short-sighted," "people's hearts are no longer what they used to be," and "treating the symptoms but not the root cause."

A waiter came over and asked, "Shopkeeper, who is that with such an air of importance? I heard that the generals of the Restoration Army are all quite young. Is that person not from the Restoration Army?"

Manager Zhao shook his head and said to the waiter, "Don't worry about that, get back to work."

After leaving Manager Zhao's grocery store, Huang Daozhou stopped an old farmer selling firewood on the street and asked him for his opinion on the Restoration Army and the new policies.

At first, he was asking normal questions, but when he heard about the Restoration Army, the old farmer couldn't help but praise it. Once he started praising it, he wouldn't stop, leading those who didn't know better to think he was a shill for the Restoration Army.

Finally, Huang Daozhou couldn't help but mutter under his breath, "Foolish man, easily deceived!" This provoked the old farmer to shout, "Whether the new policies are good or not is none of your business! I only know that the Restoration Army was able to get back the land that was taken from me decades ago. Besides the Restoration Army, which other official can uphold justice for me?"

Seeing that the old farmer's son had already rolled up his sleeves and was ready to beat someone, Huang Daozhou hurriedly led his men away.

This isn't Fuzhou City. Even if Huang Daozhou got beaten up, he could only swallow his pride and seek justice from the Restoration Army.

Huang Daozhou was unconvinced, so he sought out some people who had come to the city to sell firewood, grain, livestock, and herbs, and asked them for their opinions on the new policies.

Some impatiently chased Huang Daozhou away, while others patiently answered his questions. Without exception, none of these people said a bad word about the Restoration Army; on the contrary, many praised it.

Huang Daozhou was somewhat dejected. The empire was on the verge of collapse, and apart from the Restoration Army, he could find no other force to rely on.

The Restoration Army has always proclaimed itself as an army from the people, whose purpose is to do practical things for the people.

So these days, Huang Daozhou has been seeking the truth, and hopefully finding a reason to persuade Li Chengming to abandon or revise the new policy.

Deep down, Huang Daozhou also wanted to find enough reasons to convince himself to accept the new policies and the Restoration Army!