Late Ming Dynasty: Oops, I am surrounded by the Donglin Party

In order to ensure the smooth progress of land reform, Zhang Shikang did not rush to the south of the Yangtze River with his army. In three months, he traveled to most of the prefectures in Shandong and Henan.

The national policy was indeed being implemented step by step, but Zhang Shikang became even darker, and Bao Zheng had to give him a thumbs up and call him brother whenever he saw him.

"Your humble servant, Guo Shouqi, the magistrate of Fengyang Prefecture, leads the officials of the prefectural yamen and the students of the prefectural school to welcome the Grand Marshal!"

As they spoke, three or five officials, led by Guo Shouqi, knelt down and saluted Zhang Shikang.

According to the usual practice, there would be no need for such a grand ceremony, but the entire Southern Zhili is in chaos now, and being a local official is guilty no matter what.

"Why are there only a few of us?" Zhang Shikang dismounted from his horse and said as he walked forward.

Fengyang Prefecture is the central capital of the Ming Dynasty and the birthplace of the Zhu family, and it has a large number of officials.

The Tongpan was just a minor official of the sixth rank. Although Zhang Shikang roughly knew the reason, he could basically have an official of the Tongzhi level to greet him in other prefectures.

"To reply to the Grand Marshal, they all...all ran away." Guo Shouqi did not dare to stand up and answered truthfully.

Although he had always known that the Grand Marshal was definitely not as cruel and cannibalistic as those corrupt scholars said, his reputation, the extermination of Duke Yansheng and the massacre of the Donglin Party members were enough to make him terrified.

"Why don't you run?" Zhang Jiakang walked up to Guo Shouqi and said.

"I have an old mother at home and it is my duty." Guo Shouqi did not make too many excuses.

"It's just that I killed the Duke of Yansheng. I didn't say anything bad about Confucius.

Besides, I have left a Confucius Temple for you. Look at you all, you are so petty. Get up now."

Zhang Shikang said with some disdain.

Although he had just arrived at the Huai River, he knew what had happened there a month or two ago.

The extermination of Duke Yansheng dealt a heavy blow to Confucian scholars, including the officials who did not escape. Zhang Shikang himself did not believe the fact that they had no resentment towards him.

But he didn't care, and even felt like laughing.

"Since the prefect has run away, you are the highest-ranking official in Fengyang Prefecture, so you will temporarily take over the prefect's position.

Later, the factory guards will investigate local corruption, and if you are truly honest and dedicated, you will be promoted. "

As soon as these words were spoken, Guo Shouqi and several minor officials behind him all showed joy on their faces.

"And you students! You've all been studying so much that you've become stupid, right?

Mencius once said, "The people are the most important, the country is second, and the king is the least important." You all talk about this every day, don't you know that the current national policy is for the people of the world?

The people's possession of land is the foundation for the stability of our Ming Dynasty. That group of Donglin rebels just fooled you and you acted as their minions on impulse!

Little do people know that those so-called great scholars who are well-versed in the classics are extremely greedy for money.

You guys are still so self-righteous and think you are so righteous. I really want to arrest you all and exile you to the border to teach you what justice is!

From now on, any student below the level of Juren who dares to speak out about politics will not be allowed to take the imperial examination for five years. Those with serious offenses will never be admitted again!"

Zhang Shikang looked at the students in front of him, feeling a bit indignant at their misfortune and angry at their lack of fighting spirit.

Students are the future of the country, this is true both in the past and now. But at the same time, students are young and energetic after all. When they encounter things, they do not know how to look at them dialectically and are easily self-righteous and paranoid.

This situation is even worse in the current Ming Dynasty than in later generations.

The reason is very simple. At that time, those who could read and write were already respected. If one could pass the examination and become a scholar, he would be respected even more.

After all, everything is inferior except reading. Those who can study in the provincial school all have a sense of arrogance. This arrogance is not entirely the so-called arrogance of literati, which is just the literal meaning.

Zhang Shikang disliked this kind of atmosphere very much. In his view, officials could discuss politics, nobles and gentry could all argue, including old farmers in the fields and slaves of landlords.

But the only thing that cannot happen is the students, especially the teenagers who can’t even pass the exam to become a scholar. They know nothing about politics.

Although the old farmers in the fields cannot speak of profound principles, they are old after all. When it comes to national policies that concern themselves, the crude words they say are sometimes more insightful than those of a group of pedants.

Therefore, he must curb the unhealthy trends among the student group.

It is too easy to deal with them. As he said just now, if you dare to talk nonsense again, your chances of taking the imperial examination will be cut off.

For a moment, all the students were silent.

Zhang Shikang did not blame him too much. After saying that, he walked towards Fengyang City under the protection of a team of personal guards.

It’s no wonder that Zhang Shikang is so cautious. In these three months alone, he has encountered more than a dozen assassination attempts.

Fortunately, Zhang Shikang's personal guards had been trained many times by Sun Weifan and Lu Xiangsheng, and with the repeated instructions and orders of Emperor Chongzhen, Zhang Shikang was not really injured again.

However, several of his personal guards were murdered in Xuzhou, and several were poisoned to death while tasting food.

Zhang Shikang was furious because of this. The wealthy families and Donglin rebels in Xuzhou City who did not have time to escape were exempted from even the trial process and were all beheaded by Zhang Shikang as a warning to the public.

There is no doubt that as the sworn enemy of the literati, the Donglin rebels, and the gentry and landlords, Zhang Shikang will live under their revenge for a long time.

This is the price of reform.

Of course, Zhang Shikang was mentally prepared. He was a born optimist, and apart from the loss of a few capable subordinates which made him angry, he still ate happily and slept well every day.

"Prefect Guo, are there any oranges in the city? Bring some over here. They have to be local." Zhang Shikang said as he walked towards the city.

Although it is not the season for oranges to mature, rich people always have a way, as oranges can be stored more easily.

Guo Shouqi didn't dare to say much, but just sent people to look for it.

Zhang Shikang and his brothers behind him, including Sun Dasheng, gave each other a strange look.

It is said that oranges grown in the south of the Huai River are oranges, while those grown in the north of the Huai River are tangerines. Fengyang City is right on the bank of the Huai River. A group of people who had never left the capital since childhood made a bet on what the oranges here tasted like.

Fengyang City was in chaos. Many shops were closed because their owners had run away. People from the Imperial Household Department were promoting the new national policy. A large number of people gathered to listen to the people from the East Factory explain the new land policy.

After the northern provinces were back on track, the troops of the Imperial Household Department followed Zhang Shikang's large army and moved to the more chaotic north and south of the Huai River.

The current plan is to first resolve the two sides of the Huai River, including southern Zhili, and then the northern part of Huguang.

Of course, the resistance will also be greater. Xu Hongji, Qian Qianyi and others are currently focusing on the area south of the Yangtze River.

To defend the Yangtze River, you must first defend the Huai River. This is a principle that even dogs know. Gao Jie and his troops are all talented people, but they disappeared after just one battle. It's really a joke.

At present, Huang Degong, the general of Luzhou, is stationed in Yangzhou. Although Zhang Shikang has appointed Cao Bianjiao as the governor of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, he temporarily leads 10,000 people to be stationed in Chengtian Prefecture because of the war.

When they arrived at the prefectural government office in Fengyang City, Zhang Shikang sat at the head, followed by senior generals such as Sun Dasheng, then the backbones of the factory guards such as Tian Jingwen, and finally local officials such as Guo Shouqi.

"Governor Guo, I heard there are several newly-started bandits here. Please tell me about the situation here first."

……