Who's home tonight, Bian Zhouzi

"Your Majesty, General Duan's troops went west to Yumen to attack the enemy the day before yesterday, killed a thousand, captured four hundred, and seized more than a thousand horses and weapons. Now General Duan is asking the court for food and grass for the next two months." "Quite. Extra. Give the soldiers a month's salary. It's a reward from me. Then let someone look at the preparations for the winter clothes, and they must be delivered during the Mid-Autumn Festival." "Yes."

Zeng Jingzhao's special treatment for this frontier guard is the most in this dynasty, and the courtiers are always talking about it.Some people think that she is desperate for Duan Dizhi's victory. After all, there is no civil and military man in the Manchu Dynasty who can match Duan Dizhi's military talent and understanding of the Western Regions; Always being refuted, because the emperor once tried to reward Duan Dizhi, but the other party sent him back all the way. The emperor was not angry, and he didn't express anything.

Zeng Jingzhao didn't think that the reward could represent anything, that reward was just a manifestation of his helplessness.What now?Now she is hopeless.Duan Dizhi didn't even want to talk to her directly. He didn't write any memorials or letters.

Maybe you still hate me.Although every time I ask you like this, you always smile and don't speak.Zeng Jingzhao was very worried that Duan Dizhi was injured on the battlefield.She knew that she was always the kind of general who was desperate to charge forward on the battlefield, and she also knew that years of exile had made her scarred body more riddled with holes.Before she left, she had to ask the imperial doctor to check her pulse.The imperial physician said that Mr. Duan is in very bad health.It stands to reason that there should be no expedition.She also wavered, but Duan Dizhi insisted on going.She said, Huo Qubing said, if the Xiongnu are not destroyed, why should the family do it?

But Duan Dizhi didn't tell her anything, and the news came back except for the battle report and the request for food, nothing else.Now she really wants to send someone to inspect, and send a superstitious letter to her adjutant, so that the person will continue to report Duan Dizhi's physical condition to herself.However, Duan Dizhi strictly prohibited excessive communication on the grounds that he was worried that he would be intercepted halfway, leading to the leakage of important information.

Of course, her physical condition is also one of the important information.

Only then did she realize that she had nothing to lose in this war.Since he succeeded to the throne, it seems that every battle has been such a gamble.And in such a gamble, she bet Duan Dizhi out again.She seemed to go back to the first day of the new year when she woke up with Duan Dizhi in her arms, back to the beginning of everything, even if nothing could be changed.

In the new year, before the courtiers had time to talk about the emperor's new actions, the Yuanhua emperor announced a new policy of reform in the name of the long-standing peace and population reproduction of the dynasty: First, she wanted to check the ownership of all the land in the country, Granting land on the basis of the head, any gentry family can only be counted by the number of people in the family, and the slaves kept are not counted.Anyone who exceeds it will be returned to the public.Second, any family can only have ten slaves at most.Anyone who exceeds is released immediately, or changed to an employment relationship {7}.The system of granting land by tiers that goes with all this will also be reactivated.As soon as this policy came out, there were heated debates between the government and the opposition.

Zeng Jingzhao's original intention was to liberate a large amount of labor for the use of the country and increase taxes at the same time.If the tax is only collected according to the field, it will not help corvee.She still favors a poll tax.But such a strict land inspection will inevitably touch the interests of the gentry.She needs an iron fist.The policy was announced on the first day of May, and the court discussed it for two months without any further conclusions.She is tired.At the beginning, she listened carefully to their discussion, hoping to hear from the opponents what she should correct.After listening for two months, I finally realized that they were just talking to themselves all day, delaying time.

She went back to the dormitory and asked Duan Dizhi——Duan Dizhi had to come to the dormitory at night to report important matters to her these years—should I not trust them?Duan Dizhi said, not necessarily, some courtiers are seriously thinking about the pros and cons of His Majesty's new policy, and some courtiers are not.To be treated differently.Zeng Jingzhao breathed a sigh of relief and lowered her head.Duan Dizhi looked distressed, and stretched out his hand to pat her on the shoulder - I don't know when exactly, she was able to treat her so intimately, which was absolutely impossible before, she dared not.Duan Dizhi was also a little surprised by her "recklessness", and Zeng Jingzhao's reaction surprised her even more—she stretched out her hand to cover her hand and stroked it gently, and said tiredly: "You know I don't have any idea of ​​building a big building and spending extravagantly, I am I really want to finish all the bad things in my hands, and when Dezhao succeeds, he can easily do what he wants to do. I will take care of any infamy."

She remembered that Duan Dizhi said to her gently but firmly at that time: "Okay. Leave the bad things to me."

Since the establishment of the school office, it has been focusing on dealing with the Yushitai corruption case headed by Zhu Xuwen in the early stage.The widest involvement in the case is already the most in this dynasty.A while ago, Zhu Xuwen was beheaded at the intersection with the most people in the capital. Recently, three pairs of official businessmen who colluded with each other were beheaded.These interrogations and processing only used less than one-third of the manpower of the school office. Duan Dizhi felt that these wolves and tigers should not be idle, otherwise they would not be wolves and tigers.The surveillance network she has worked so hard to set up for a year cannot be wasted.In the middle of March in spring, Zeng Jingzhao directly bypassed the courtiers and announced that the New Deal would be tried out across the country for three months. Except for the two states that were specifically selected to implement the New Deal in an all-round way, all the others would only do inventory work, and would not release slaves, confiscate land, or re-grant land; After two months, return to the court to discuss and revise. If it doesn't work, it can also be overthrown and restarted.

Most of the moderate conservative ministers in the imperial court accepted it, but the stubborn ones could not stand the approval of the majority.Before the New Deal was completely out of the capital, Duan Dizhi's school officials had already gone to various places.They have their own mysterious information exchange channels, which can be faster than the station and completely eliminate the possibility of being discovered by anyone.She arranged for her men to go to various places to secretly monitor the implementation of the New Deal, the attitude of the people, the attitude of the gentry, and the attitude of the officials.Zeng Jingzhao is particularly concerned about the attitude of officials, and in her eyes does not consider what the gentry thinks. In her eyes, the gentry is almost the natural opposite of her ideal.Duan Dizhi herself stayed in the capital to take command, and she herself could not leave easily. Now the government and the public seem to have formed the impression that "Duan Dizhi will have trouble with whomever he goes to".

It won't be long before they will form the terrifying impression that Duan Dizhi will die wherever he appears.

Spring is the busy season of farming, and the news Duan Dizhi hears every day is like thousands of chirping birds.After sorting it out roughly, she reported to Zeng Jingzhaohui that most ordinary people think that it is good to be able to get the land. The older gentry are a little afraid that they will have a small amount of property confiscated, and the big gentry basically resist. Review; "As for officials, there are those who support them and those who don't. Most of them are just implemented normally, and the efficiency is not high. Some people collude with the noble gentry. There are some upright officials who take the initiative to implement."

Sure enough, Zeng Jingzhao asked her for the list, and she reached out and handed it over.

"There are quite a few young people who are upright and upright in law enforcement. They should be promoted. The older ones are not so enthusiastic. But these few," Zeng Jingzhao fingered the list lightly, "it seems that they are in office. Those who haven't been promoted for several years, we will check whether they are upright people, and if they are, we must use them." Then he looked at Duan Dizhi with a smile.Duan Dizhi is also seeing her now—Mo Ruo said that she has become intimate—"What are you laughing at?" Since the king of the country has the idea of ​​molesting.She walked over and lightly touched Duan Dizhi's red face, and said, "Oh, it's even redder now."

Looking back at that time nine years later, I feel that the little red marks under the pale skin are so moving.There will never be any man who has unreasonable thoughts about Duan Dizhi, only women will have thoughts of love for her.At that time, I was already attracted by her charm, and there was a love in my heart that I couldn't even detect.And what about Duan Dizhi?She never told herself when she fell in love with herself, maybe she didn't know it herself.

For those who have been in love for a long time, how can they remember which sentence, which word and which hour later, it is no longer just a friendship.

Duan Dizhi blushed and became very shy, even hemmed and hawed. Seeing her like this, Zeng Jingzhao found it even more interesting.The two teased for a while with "I, I, I" and "Oh oh oh" before Duan Dizhi made it clear that she actually had all the information about these officials in her hand, even if she had a cow at home, she would know. Not to mention age, political experience, and family background.She said that she has all the superficial information in her hands, and if she wants to get deeper information, it just takes time.Zeng Jingzhao was overjoyed, on the one hand, he was happy that having Duan Dizhi was like holding a sharp weapon, and on the other hand, he was happy that Duan Dizhi was so caring: "When I pay homage to my father, I must tell him that the most precious legacy he left me is you."

As far as this is concerned, Duan Dizhi can't say anything like "the minister is so heartbroken" and "the minister is just doing his duty faithfully".She has a heart full of affection that she can't express.They are partners, the most important partners on this lonely road.Duan Dizhi even thought about whether she would stay and continue to protect the new emperor after Zeng Jingzhao abdicated in the future, or follow Zeng Jingzhao when she was free.She wanted to follow Zeng Jingzhao very much, and she had no other thoughts.She is absolutely unwilling to become "nothing to do" with her.

Her previous life was too desolate, and Zeng Jingzhao was the only torch and light she got.

The results of the continued investigation a month later were even more distressing.Zeng Jingzhao felt that the civil servants of the Manchu Dynasty were very stubborn, and there were always obstacles in governing, and they were stuck in the struggle between different forces from time to time.The news that Duan Dizhi brought back was full of all kinds of bad deeds of these civil servants forming cliques against each other, privately slandering the court and the emperor, and some local officials even collaborating with wealthy gentry.Zeng Jingzhao had never been so angry since she came to the throne.She thinks that those who are selfish can always catch their pigtails and be dismissed in the future.But those who form a party have no obvious mistakes, how can they be beaten to make them obey their own wishes?She confided to Duan Dizhi about this, and Duan Dizhi said, you can tell me what you said, just like a guy who talks about people behind his back is arrested.If you say this in front of the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty, some people will naturally be terrified.If you catch one or two who say too much, you will be punished.

Zeng Jingzhao looked into her eyes with burning eyes, she smiled and said, I will start to do it immediately.

A few days ago, in the court hall, she asked a little bit eccentrically why a certain minister greatly criticized my new policy during the banquet yesterday?During the court meeting, I didn't see that you had so many rustic words to be mean to me.Then he turned to another adult and said, "Zheng Aiqing discussed it as usual, and finally quoted Confucius saying that only women and villains are difficult to raise. Since all women in the world are villains, don't all men in the world be all villains?" A gentleman {8}?"

The civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty were silent.Prime Minister Liang Lie, who has always been serious and self-disciplined, seemed to stand up slightly, as if sullen.

"It's just you real gentlemen." Zeng Jingzhao turned around, picked up a stack of memorials on the desk, and threw down the crimes one by one while angrily scolding: "Why are you here, here, and here? So many bribes, and sharing so much spoils with others! I said why the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty opposed my new policy so much, it turned out that it was the fat that was cut on you!"

A few days later, another person was dismissed by the court because of his unreasonable remarks on the government.Some people came out to dissuade him, saying that it was not Mingjun who was convicted for his words, let alone drive away this person, where can he find a new official?Zeng Jingzhao took the list given by Duan Dizhi and suggested that XX and XX were upright, law-abiding, and talented, and they should be promoted, immediately.As for being convicted for speaking, that is disrespectful.She said that if you don't respect the king, you will do rebellious things. The kings who were killed that year are examples.If I say this in the future, I probably don't need to be deprived by the court and waste my time.

A few days later, in the middle of the night, Duan Dizhi, in order to cooperate with the emperor's golden words, arrested three courtiers who carefully gathered in the mansion to criticize the government.According to the emperor's decree, all of them were put into dungeons for strict interrogation.

Zeng Jingzhao looked around the court. Autumn was coming, and she immediately implemented her slightly modified new policy across the country.There is no waiting for a moment.For the first time, she fully experienced the sense of accomplishment brought by the pinnacle of power above ten thousand people.Fortunately, she was not alone at that time, she had Duan Dizhi.

The author has something to say:

{7} Theoretically, a tenant farmer is not an employment relationship, but a personal dependency relationship.What is described here is probably a kind of land equalization system.However, in order not to cause unnecessary bugs, specific regulations are not described - such as granting land by dime, how much land is granted per dime, whether livestock and maidservants are counted, whether women are granted land, etc.

{8}此语出自蔡尚思教授。蔡尚思（1905~2008），号中睿，1905年11月10日生于福建省泉州市德化县浔中镇诗敦村。著名历史学家，中国思想史研究专家。