First Minister of Ming Dynasty

"This is what happened to Tuotuo... He is one of the few high-ranking officials of the Yuan court who still has a conscience. He sent troops to Gaoyou to kill the red scarves. As a result, he was suspected by the Yuan court. He changed generals and lost his life." .Loyal and righteous man, high position of Grand Master, even if this is the case, how can the actions of the Yuan court not make people feel chilling? First Timur witnessed what happened to his brother, how can he not hate, how can he not resent?"

Tang Su nodded, "I understand this. First of all, Timur really should hate Yuan Ting, and it is reasonable to work for Wu Guogong... But why Wu Guogong didn't reuse him, just let him be a veterinarian? Isn’t it too wronged? Also, how come Timur is willing to let him have it?”

Shi Boren laughed, "You should all have read Zhang Xiang's article. I was lucky enough to understand something because I was teaching in a school... Yuan Ting harmed Tuotuo, and then we used Yexian to act as a vicious dog to take revenge on Yuan Ting... …What is this? It’s a bit too low for retribution for grievances!”

"Zhang Xiangshi was a scholar who stripped his skin to the bone, and whipped it into the inside. After the Mongols occupied the Central Plains, they killed, looted, and ransacked the land. What they did was more than a hundred times evil. How can they give an explanation to the people of the world when they reuse this kind of person? How can they be worthy of walking to death? A fugitive creature?"

Many scholars nodded frequently, and another said: "Then, why didn't you kill him? Destroy him and turn him into ashes?"

Shi Boren said with a smile: "That's a good question. It's not that the Zhu family army didn't kill people. They just eliminated a few senior gentry who stubbornly resisted the great government. First of all, Timur has a heart of introspection, and he killed people like him with a single knife. , I’m afraid it’s too simple. You keep saying that Zhang Xiang is a sage, so how should a sage educate a guilty person? Just like Timur first, let him admit his mistakes, admit his mistakes fundamentally, and know the mistakes of the emperor of the Yuan Dynasty , know the evil of the Mongols to seize the Central Plains by plundering and killing, know the crime of dividing the people into three or six grades, and treating the Han people like horses and cattle... It is precisely because of these that there are red scarves everywhere, and there is Zhu Jiajun's idea of ​​driving out the Hulu .”

"Expelling the barbarians is not an order. It's as simple as killing all the barbarians inside and outside! Let them know where they went wrong...God has the virtue of being good at life. After they reflect on their mistakes and pay the price, they can still rely on their craftsmanship to live By the way, you may not know that not long ago, these captive generals of the Yuan court led the original soldiers, beat Ni Wenjun hard, and saved Tongling!"

When Shi Boren mentioned this matter, he was full of pride, what is enlightenment, this is it!

"what!"

Tang Su and Yu Yaochen were dumbfounded when they heard this. A group of captured people helped their captors go to war, and they fought bravely to be the first, not afraid of life and death?

My goodness!

Compared with them, those dutiful sons like myself who came from a rich family but came to join Zhu's army and were always ready to kill their family were nothing.

"Mr. Shi, why, why are there so many unnatural things? Wansheng really can't figure it out!"

Shi Boren chuckled, "I'm afraid this is about to reach the word I said."

"reason?"

"Well! Because Zhu Jiajun is reasonable! Even if you are the imperial envoy of the Yuan court, if you are willing to repent, you will be given a chance. But you must pay the price for your sins, and you must really reform yourself before you can regain your life. And after regaining a new life, it’s not about reaching the sky in one step, but relying on craftsmanship, hard work, and exchanging sweat for money to support the family.” Shi Boren said: “This approach, think about it, is it reasonable? Also post it first Why is Mu'er willing to be a veterinarian? Because he has experienced it, and he understands that in an unreasonable court like Yuan Ting, even if you are a prime minister or grand master, he will lose his life in a daze because of a decree! He crawled so hard No matter how high it is, what's the use?"

"Let me ask you a question, even if Yuan Ting gave you a prime minister, would you accept it?"

Shi Boren looked at this group of young people, maybe he would be willing, after all, one step to the sky, one can do whatever they want.But even people like Tuotuo may be killed casually. Is it really interesting for them to pass by?

Seeing that everyone was lost in thought, Shi Boren smiled and said: "If you don't talk about Yuan Ting, just talk about Zhang Shicheng. He is capricious. He came to my house several times to blackmail him, causing my family to be ruined. I am just a teacher in the school now. It's just to feed my hunger. But I feel at ease, I know that Zhu Jiajun will not throw me in prison for no reason and blackmail me."

"Even if the Zhu family's army wanted to suppress the powerful, they also wrote the truth in the article and explained it clearly. I think you are willing to join the Zhu family's army because of the reason. Just imagine, if the Zhu family's army entered Suzhou, what would they do? What to do? Maybe they will call me and ask me to hand over the extra acres. If I don’t agree, I will be arrested. Like Wei Han and others, they will hang their heads on the city wall of Jinling."

"Probably because the Zhu family army I know is different from other places, what should I do, you should think about it carefully!"

Shi Boren closed his mouth, looked at these young scholars again, all lowered their heads, lost in thought...

Chapter 267 Zhu Yuanzhang Returns

The boat sailed across the calm surface of Taihu Lake and berthed in Changxing.

Shi Boren greeted the young scholars to go ashore, but to his surprise, there was someone waiting here on the pier, and this person was the Right Prime Minister Zhang Ximeng who was respected by the scholars as a sage.

He actually came to Changxing in person, which surprised Shi Boren, after all, even if these scholars were reused, Zhang Ximeng would not come all the way here!

Could it be something big?

He did guess correctly, Zhang Ximeng was indeed here to deal with matters, and happened to meet him, so he came over to have a look, it was a fan meeting.

It's just that things are a little unexpected, which makes things not so happy...

Shi Boren came over first, and whispered to Zhang Ximeng: "There are 25 young scholars here, but after I told them about Zhu Jiajun's habits, three of them retreated, and they wanted to go back."

"Oh!" Zhang Ximeng agreed, and said casually, "In that case, you can send them back. Remember to be careful on the road, and there must be no accidents."

Zhang Ximeng answered simply and concisely, without any hesitation, as if it should be like this.

It was Shi Boren's turn to be surprised, "Mr. Zhang, they already know that someone has taken refuge with us. If they go back and leak it out and attract Zhang Shicheng's attention, that would be bad...not to mention that these people come from prominent families. Our opponent, please Zhang Xiang think twice!"

Zhang Ximeng didn't think twice, but said directly: "We are not bandits and grassroots bandits, let alone a den of bandits who kidnap people. They are willing to come, and they are naturally welcome. If they want to leave, we can't stop them. Zhang Shicheng will know sooner or later, you When you go back, persuade them more and let them keep it secret. After all, if it is leaked out, they have been here, which is a serious crime. As for whether they will become enemies in the future, don’t worry about it. I hope they can think clearly for themselves, don’t When our soldiers and horses pass by, help them think clearly."

Shi Boren pursed his mouth slightly, and was stunned for a moment, and it seemed that it was true.

This is a group of ordinary scholars who have a heart for Zhu Yuanzhang. There is no need to go to war. Only by guaranteeing the freedom of coming and going will more people be attracted. The door to Zhu Jiajun must be kept open.

As for Zhang Shicheng's plans, whether he will go to war and kill, it's hard to say.

If Zhang Shicheng really acted like this, without reason at all, maybe the Zhu family army would have rushed into Suzhou Mansion ahead of time, fulfilling this loyal minister of the Yuan Dynasty.

Shi Boren took note of Zhang Ximeng's words, turned around, and told everyone what Zhang Xiang meant.

This group of young scholars was stunned for a moment, and several of them couldn't help but exclaimed, they were indeed upright and upright!No matter how much Shi Boren talked, he just listened to it, but Zhang Ximeng's actions made the big guy intuitively feel Zhu Jiajun's work style for the first time.

The three people who planned to go back became extremely embarrassed, as if everyone around them despised them.After hesitating for a while, one of them gritted his teeth.

"I, I'm not leaving!"

The pressure at this moment fell on the other two people in an instant, are you still leaving?

Useless stuff!

But at the moment of stalemate, Yu Yaochen suddenly stood up, "I, I plan to go back!"

"What?" Tang Su turned pale with shock. He and Yu Yaochen brought this group of people together. They had sworn a long time ago that no matter what, they would stay here, pursue the way of sages, and achieve achievements that are famous in history. If you just came here, you have to give up halfway before doing anything formally.

"Yu Yaochen, if I knew this, you shouldn't have come here, I, I despise you!"

Yu Yaochen lowered his head, pondered for a while, and then said flatly: "Let's talk about it later."

He stepped forward, stepped on the gangway, and got on the boat. He suddenly turned his head and looked in the direction where Zhang Ximeng was standing. Then he gritted his teeth and went down to the cabin. Seeing someone taking the lead, the other two followed as if fleeing for their lives. .

As soon as a group of people arrived, a split occurred. Tang Su's mood was extremely depressed. He looked at the rest of the people fiercely, "Whoever dares to leave, I will beat him to death!"

The scholars who were frightened by his fierce appearance did not dare to go any further, so they could only wait at the pier.

Shi Boren left, he still had more scholars to take over, and he was busy with more things, he dared not delay for a moment.On the other side, Geng Bingwen hurried over with dozens of soldiers.

With Zhang Ximeng's approval, he came to welcome the big guy to live in the barracks temporarily.Zhang Ximeng also walked in the car with him. Seeing that the atmosphere was a little tense, these scholars were afraid to speak, so he explained to everyone with a smile, "I want you to go to the barracks, and I hope you can familiarize yourself with the rules of Zhu's army and adapt to life here. Take a little time to think about what you want to do and whether you can stay."

When Tang Su saw what Zhang Ximeng said, he thought it was because of Yu Yaochen's affairs. Zhang Xiang suspected their thoughts, so he gritted his teeth and said, "Prime Minister Zhang, we are different from those three soft-hearted bastards who love to relax, hate work, and want to enjoy themselves. Sincerely attached, I want to come over to do things. Prime Minister Zhang should recover now, or, if not, let me repair the hooves!"

In desperation, Tang Su even said this.

Zhang Ximeng was stunned, he didn't know how to pass it on, but someone said that he likes watching cow hooves being repaired, it's absurd!Only ghosts like to watch such a dirty scene!

It was only the first time we met, and it was difficult to explain. Zhang Ximeng paused, and then said: "The cow is a good thing. Not only can it plow the land and pull the cart, but the cow can also save lives."

"Help?" These scholars were all taken aback, they had never heard of it before, "Master Zhang, is it possible to save a starving ghost by killing the cow and eating the meat?"

I don't know which narrow-minded ghost yelled, and everyone immediately laughed.

After all, they are young people, so it is easy to chat.

Zhang Ximeng also laughed and said: "This is a great contribution...not to mention, the most important thing is that the cow can cure smallpox!"

These scholars were quite surprised and didn't know why.

Zhang Ximeng smiled and said: "You have read poetry and books, but do you know the method of human pox?"

"I know!" Tang Su agreed first, and he hurriedly said: "It is said that smallpox was prevalent in the Song Dynasty. Some people put the clothes of sick children on children who were not sick. nostril."

Zhang Ximeng nodded again and again. Vaccines appeared very early in the Central Plains. Therefore, the ancestors 1000 years ago knew how to fight against the epidemic scientifically. They are also human beings, so why is there such a big difference!

It's just limited by the level of cognition. The effect of using human pox in the Song Dynasty is slightly equivalent to directly spreading smallpox... But then people discovered that in the process of using human pox, some are so fierce that ten people can have eight alive. Yes, that is, the fatality rate is 20.00%.

However, the mortality rate in the case of "shunmiao" is almost negligible.

This is actually because there are two types of smallpox virus, one has a high lethality rate and the other has a low lethality rate. If you choose to follow the seedlings, the probability of death will undoubtedly be greatly reduced.

Smallpox isn't the safest option, though.

At this time, Zhang Ximeng is about to stand up and give full play to his strengths.

After all, Zhu Biao is less than two years old this year, if he contracted smallpox, the consequences would be unimaginable. In order to keep this little boy, Zhang Ximeng also tried his best.

"I also heard Yexian Timur say that some Mongolian women raise cattle, herd horses, feed fodder, and milk cows all day long. They hardly get smallpox. On the contrary, those men who are fighting everywhere are prone to be infected with smallpox and die. .I looked at his cowshed for a while, and I found that cows can also be infected with smallpox...but because the symptoms are mild, it is not fatal. I think this is a very weak virulent shun vaccine, which takes vaccinia and inoculates humans , It is estimated that it can prevent smallpox very well and save countless lives.”

After listening to Zhang Ximeng's introduction, the group of scholars were dumbfounded. Oh my god, there is such a saying?

Tang Su thought of one of his brothers, he died of smallpox, and he still had a few pockmarks on his face. If the method of cowpox works, it would be a good deed for the benefit of the common people!

"Prime Minister Zhang, is that really the case?"

Zhang Ximeng said with a smile: "We have tried a batch of them so far, and the effect is not bad. By the way, it is in the barracks."

At this time, Geng Bingwen also laughed and said: "Master Zhang's idea is really powerful. Since the cowpox was planted, no one in our army has been infected with smallpox again."

Geng Bingwen sighed and said again: "We are stationed in Changxing, we must guard against Zhang Shicheng's attack, and we must be careful at all times. If smallpox spreads in the army and everyone becomes a soldier, the consequences will be disastrous."

Zhang Ximeng nodded, "That's right, that's why I arranged the first stop in the military camp. In the army, from the military rations and salaries, to the military discipline rules, to the lecture evaluation... In fact, many policies are first established in the military. If it is implemented in the middle of the country, it really works well, so it will be used by the people. Speaking of which, the army is our biggest test field!"

Hearing Zhang Ximeng's generous words, this group of scholars is somewhat appetizing.

"Prime Minister Zhang, we all admire the Prime Minister's article, your proposition is better than a hundred thousand soldiers!" Tang Su praised.

Zhang Ximeng chuckled, "One hundred thousand soldiers? Without these hundreds of thousands of soldiers, my words are worthless. A while ago, someone came to poison me. I'm afraid I'm going to die right then. , is the magical weapon to achieve the goal, the Yitian long sword!"

Zhang Ximeng said earnestly: "I know that you are famous as talented scholars, and your background is relatively good, and because of some habits, you don't think highly of warriors, but I want to tell you that you can't get a broom and dust... Whether it is Yuan Ting , or Zhang Shicheng, they are not afraid of my articles, they are afraid of these brave soldiers. If I have to say that my articles are useful, it is to make this divine sword sharper, and when it cuts the enemy, it is more precise and sharp."

"You can experience it with your heart, and I believe you will gain a lot."

Everyone listened attentively. Although they regarded Zhang Ximeng as an idol, they were skeptical.Zhang Ximeng was not in a hurry, after all, they came here entirely on impulse, even with inaccurate information, and some messy fantasies.

Only after being tempered and beaten by reality can they agree with those propositions from the bottom of their hearts.

So, children, you still have to work hard!

Zhang Ximeng had just sent them to the military camp to settle down, when he suddenly got the news that Zhu Yuanzhang had returned from Hongdu, and this one had not gone to Jinling, but went directly to Changxing.

After seeing Zhang Ximeng, he immediately asked, "Someone assassinated Mr.?"

Chapter 268 Thunder Means

Zhu Yuanzhang's arrival surprised Zhang Ximeng.

Li Shanchang mentioned earlier that after Zhu Yuanzhang consolidated the defense of Hongdu and took Fuzhou, he planned to return.

But the problem is that Lao Zhu came directly to Changxing, which still surprised Zhang Ximeng.

"We came by way from Shexian County. The soldiers and horses are temporarily handed over to Mr. Xu Da and Mr. Fenglin. Nothing will happen." Zhu Yuanzhang didn't go back to Jinling first, but hurried over when he heard that Zhang Ximeng had come to Changxing .Even his wife and children were left in Yingtian, so no one cared about him.

"Sir, tell us that the assassin named You Fang, behind him is the Wang family? No one else?" Zhu Yuanzhang had repeated it in his mind no less than ten times on the way here. .

Stealing books, drugging, and then arresting You Fang, followed him to arrest the forces of the Wang family, and then implicated Zhang Shicheng.

Shunde is a bit suspicious.

Seeing that Lao Zhu was so keen, Zhang Ximeng had already thought of these things, so he told the truth, "My lord, I have also thought about it, maybe the problem lies with those few monks."

Zhu Yuanzhang pondered for a while, then slapped his thigh, and sighed: "Sir, you have hit the point. The temple is enshrined in all directions, and it specializes in making friends with powerful people. How could it only listen to the Wang family. And that Wang family dared to play our ideas, and even came up with something. Poison, he is in a hurry to assassinate, so it seems a bit hasty and unreasonable."

Old Zhu's eyes flickered sharply. He sneered and said, "If we guessed correctly, there should be other people involved. Judging by their posture, they also want to provoke a war between us and Zhang Shicheng, so that the fisherman can benefit."

Zhu Yuanzhang's analysis is quite reasonable.It shows that he cares about Zhang Ximeng's matter. According to reason, he even placed people beside Zhang Ximeng. He can steal manuscripts from Zhang Ximeng, so how could he just waste it? He should use him to get more information.

In other words, what does it mean to assassinate Zhang Ximeng? It would be great if we could wait until Zhu Yuanzhang came to the door and kill them all together!

All in all, the current choice is not ideal.

Could it be that the other party's brains are not enough?

Maybe it is, but there is another possibility, that is, as a businessman, Wang Jue cannot completely control his subordinates, and there are other people who are stirring up trouble and secretly fueling the flames.

Then who is this person?

Zhang Ximeng thought of Han Xiuniang's case again. A small matter, which was blamed one after another, almost caused Li Shanchang to overturn. Maybe too many people wanted to kill him, so this incident happened.

"Master Mingjian, you should investigate thoroughly!"

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded, but said again: "A thorough investigation alone may not be enough. Mr. Zhang, we in the past were still too polite. Some people's hearts can't be warmed up. I hope they will change their minds. Wake up, it's just wishful thinking. You and Li Xiang are our right and left hands, and they are almost at a disadvantage. If we don't make a thorough rectification, we are afraid that something big will happen. By then, it will be too late."

Zhu Yuanzhang's tone was extremely resolute, and it could be said that he was full of murderous intent. This expert murderer finally couldn't help but make a move.

Both Zhang Ximeng and Li Shanchang were too honest and cowardly.

Zhang Ximeng explained the truth clearly, but when it came time to strike, he was weak and powerless.Li Shanchang is also superficial, looking forward and backward.

"Mr. Zhang, those few articles of yours have explained the truth clearly. Don't you understand the small case of Han Xiuniang and the big case of assassinating you? The powerful gentry, the officials of the Yuan court, and some wealthy businessmen Wealthy merchants, even monks in temples...these people rely on the dominance of the Yuan court, so they are today. We don't want to condone them, these people are like being dug out of their ancestors' graves, and they will do whatever they can, either explicitly or secretly , Follow us and fight against each other. We talked too much in the past, and it’s time to actually implement it. There are some accounts that cannot be delayed.”

Zhang Ximeng opened his mouth slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but he didn't say it.Isn't Zhu Yuanzhang's awe-inspiring method the thunderbolt method!

Knowing that he could not keep up with Zhu Yuanzhang even if he flattered the horse, Zhang Ximeng was willing to play a supporting role.The matter has come to this point, he has explained the truth clearly, and the situation has been laid out, so there is nothing to stop.

"My lord, I fully support it... It's just that I think it's better not to hurt too many family members."

Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help laughing, "I know, don't worry, Mr. Shi Moyisun, that bastard, isn't his daughter still raising him! We know it well."

This time Zhang Ximeng took the position of a bystander to observe Lao Zhu's attack.