Chapter 303: Man rules society
Seeing these green men knocking the villagers who came to town to sell goods to the ground and beating them, Zhu Houzhao couldn't help but watch indifferently. After all, he was not a commoner, and he didn't need to be powerless because of his weakness.
Because these green men were beating the banker in front of Zhu Houzhao, Zhu Houzhao did not let Guo Rong speak to dissuade him, but directly ordered: "Stop!"
The green men stopped beating the seller, and only turned around and glanced at Zhu Houzhao.
Zhu Houzhao is not afraid of these green skins. In the eyes of the people, these green skins may be local snakes, tyrants, and people who cannot be provoked, but in Zhu Houzhao's eyes, they are not even a threat.
But when these green men saw Zhu Houzhao dressed in gorgeous clothes, they did not attack Zhu Houzhao like a farmer. Only one of the leaders came forward and threatened him verbally:
"This guest has an accent from Beijing. He must be a merchant coming from Beijing for the first time. He doesn't know the rules of our Nanxun town. Xing would like to advise you that you should leave your business alone. This banker If you break the rules, you should be beaten!”
Zhu Houzhao thought that he was the emperor of the Ming Dynasty. Within the area ruled by the Ming Dynasty, he was the only emperor who had the power to establish rules. He had established many rules, but it seemed that he had not established any rules that prohibited people from buying and selling.
then.
Zhu Houzhao asked: "Dare I ask, what rules did he break?"
"Of course it's the rule of our dental shop. All sales have to go through various branches of our dental shop. It seems that this merchant has come to Nanxun Town for the first time. If he wants to stay in a hotel, he must first find a shop to buy raw silk and cotton yarn. Naturally, you have to find a cloth dealer first, this is our rule in Nanxun Town."
After the leader Qingpi said this, he continued to order: "Hit me!"
As a result, the other green skins continued to fight.
And this banker seemed to be a man without rigidity. He just held his head and begged for mercy, and did not dare to resist.
"Wait!"
Zhu Houzhao shouted again at this time, and then ordered: "The rules you just made are not rules. The outline of the Constitution stipulates that only the emperor has the legislative power, that is, the power to establish rules, and your so-called rules are naturally invalid. Neither the dealers nor the merchants need to abide by it, and your beatings are a violation of the laws of the Ming Dynasty! "
The leader, Qingpi, stopped and couldn't help but laugh: "It seems that the guest officer is not a merchant, but an official?"
"Of course not. You don't have to ask about our identities, and you don't have the right to ask." Zhu Houzhao said and winked at Jin Yiwei Guo Rong. Guo Rong understood and ordered the beaten banker to be helped up.
At this time, the leader Qingpi also laughed: "Since you are not an official, why should you mind your own business? Of course, even if you are an official, you must abide by our rules when you come to Nanxun Town, such as the outline of the constitution, What kind of emperor, this guest, are you kidding me? Who the hell is he, the emperor, that he can even come to Nanxun Town?"
"The emperor is indeed nothing, but at least based on what you said just now, he can take your head, believe it or not," Zhu Houzhao also replied with a smile.
The leader Qingpi also saw that Zhu Houzhao spoke so politely, so he thought that Zhu Houzhao was not a person with a strong background, so he had no scruples. But what he didn't know was that Zhu Houzhao just didn't want to directly break the law and kill people.
"I believe it, but the emperor can know what I said, and how can you prove what I said?" The leader Qingpi started talking, thinking that if he really was a person with background, he would naturally I wouldn't be so patient to talk to him, Therefore, he thought that Zhu Houzhao was not someone who could not be trifled with, so he became even more emboldened: "I don't have time to make noise with you today, so keep beating me, break this guy's leg, and see if he dares to go into town to sell privately!" ”
After the leader Qingpi finished speaking, several Qingpi began to beat the banker again.
At this time, Zhu Houzhao winked at Jinyiwei Guo Rong. Guo Rong understood and whipped his leg to sweep away the Qingpi who was approaching the farmer. The leader Qingpi looked at it and said: "Oh, you guys are still here?" If you really want to mind your own business and dare to take action, don’t think that just because you are from the capital, you dare to run wild in our Nanxun territory. Brothers, let them remember!”
As soon as the leader Qingpi said this, several Qingpi greeted Zhu Houzhao and others.
But within four or five rounds, they were all knocked to the ground by Guo Rong and kept screaming.
Qingpi, the leader, saw that the people brought by Zhu Houzhao were very skilled and realized that he had met people with extraordinary fighting ability. He had no choice but to leave with his own people. However, he still shouted: "If you have the ability, these few people can't do it." Sun, don’t leave Nanxun Town, otherwise, I will kill you without a place to bury you!”
Zhu Houzhao ignored these green skins and did not take the threats from these green skins to heart. Instead, he only ordered Guo Rong: "Let the banker return to his hometown."
But the banker didn't take a few steps, but suddenly turned back and hugged Zhu Houzhao's feet: "You can't leave. You trampled on my raw silk and cotton yarn and beat me. You have to compensate me. This is... The lifeblood of my family! ”
Zhu Houzhao was stunned for a moment: "I... it's really strange, brother, if I hadn't helped you just now, those green men would have broken your legs long ago. Not only did you not thank me, you even said that I stepped on you." raw silk and cotton yarn, and said it was my people who beat you. You are very heartless in doing this!”
"What kind of green skin! Where can I find any green skin in Nanxun Town! It's you! It was you, a foreigner, who bullied me. I refused to sell it to you cheaply, so you trampled on my goods. You compensate me!"
The farmer did not dare to look into Zhu Houzhao's eyes. He only held Zhu Houzhao's feet and cried desperately.
At this time, an officer wearing a copper coin robe came over, but as soon as the officer in the copper coin robe came over, the banker ran up to the officer and said, "Mr. Zhai, you have to make the decision for me. Several guest officials claimed that they were from Beijing and wanted to lower the price. When I bought my raw silk and cotton yarn, I refused to say that I wanted to sell it to your shop, but they forced me to sell it. If I refused, they beat me and trampled on my raw silk and cotton yarn. My whole family depends on it. What a job! What can I do? ”
The farmer cried very miserably.
But the people around Zhu Houzhao were extremely angry at this time, because everyone knew that the banker was obviously lying and was trying to beat him up.
Zhu Houzhao was also very surprised. He had always thought that the evil in society existed in the privileged class. After all, the weak eat the strong. But now he discovered that the weak also have an evil side and will use their pity and kindness to achieve their goals. own interests.
People have conscience, but they also pursue maximizing interests. Now the banker obviously sees that he is kind and seems to be relatively wealthy, and he is still a foreigner. Naturally, he wants to frame himself and get a compensation to reduce his own losses. After entering the town, he was beaten by Yaxingqingpi and trampled on the raw silk and cotton yarn.
This kind of psychology is very understandable and seems to be a very smart approach.
But Zhu Houzhao was disgusted with this kind of cleverness, and was even extremely angry. He was even more angry than the ruling class oppressing the ruled class, because these people did not know how serious the consequences and costs of their actions would be. Perhaps only when they were suppressed by the government and local gentry Only when the evil forces oppress them to the point that no one is willing to stand up for them will they realize how serious the consequences and costs are.
Zhu Houzhao was very unhappy now and looked at the banker holding his thigh against him with displeasure.
The banker seemed to be aware of Zhu Houzhao's anger and did not dare to look at Zhu Houzhao, but he also seemed to know that Zhu Houzhao was a good person, a person who would not turn against him just to compensate him for some money, not to mention that he also had the boss of the dental shop who happened to come over. Mr. Zhai, he believed that Mr. Zhai would not be willing to see a merchant who wanted to forcefully buy goods directly from the dealer.
This member Zhai did come over, and he bowed his hand to Zhu Houzhao very gracefully: "I don't know this dear friend's surname, but I am the boss of the Southern Tour Clothing Store. Since this dealer is coming to town to sell The goods are naturally in compliance with the rules, but I don’t know that this person Why do merchants bully others and take away their livelihoods? Although Zhai is from his hometown, he does not dare to favor his hometown dealers. It is better for this merchant to compensate other dealers for their losses. This way they will not embarrass each other. There is no need to do so! Go to the government!”
"My dear Zhang Xia, Zhang really did not forcefully buy from this dealer or even trample his goods. Moreover, Zhang helped him. Otherwise, the dealer would only be beaten black and blue by those green men, and the goods would probably also be damaged. He was completely trampled by those green men, and instead of thanking him, the banker falsely accused Zhang, which really made Zhang sad. If he wanted to sue, Zhang would also want to sue him for false accusation! "
After Zhu Houzhao finished speaking, he glanced at the banker again and smiled faintly: "Brother, Zhang will give you another chance. Can you tell me if Zhang helped you? This person's conscience cannot be lost. If it is lost, it is There will be retribution. If all the good-hearted people in the world are falsely accused like this, then no good people will be willing to stand up for you in the future.”
Zhu Houzhao's words touched the banker very much, but he also thought that Zhu Houzhao's accent was just that of a foreigner. Even if he falsely accused him, it would not spread to the countryside, and it would only hurt him as a kind-hearted person, let alone this person. A kind-hearted person can tell that he is rich at first glance, so even if he loses some money, it is nothing. It will have no impact, and this person will not be able to cure me if he leaves Nanxun Town in the future. Although this person will sue the government, the master will naturally not punish a local because of a foreigner, and as long as Mr. Zhai is willing to help me, I don’t have to be afraid of this. People sued the officials because Zhai was a student of the Grand Master.
Therefore, the farmer shook his head: "No, that's not the case. There is no such thing as green skin. It's you and the strong men you brought who want to buy my goods at a very low price. I refuse to say that I want to sell them." For Yaxing, you instigated your strong men to beat me, made me kneel down for you, and trampled on my goods!”
After saying that, the banker continued to kowtow to Mr. Zhai and said, "Mr. Zhai, you have to make the decision for me!"
Seeing this, Jin Yiwei Guo Rong was busy trying to reveal his identity. Zhu Houzhao hurriedly grabbed Guo Rong and only smiled faintly: "In that case, report to the official."
Seeing that Zhu Houzhao was so cooperative, Officer Zhai said no more, "In that case, let's report it to the official. Zhai doesn't want to be partial to anyone, so he is willing to write a confession for you two and submit it to the grand master!"
"Thank you, just ask the county government to bring someone to the restaurant in front to find me!" Zhu Houzhao said and was about to leave, but found that the banker was still holding his feet, and Zhu Houzhao had to ask the banker: " Why, you still refuse to let go of your hand and insist on waiting for me to be arrested by the county government.”
The banker was obviously more willing to listen to Mr. Zhai, so he glanced at Mr. Zhai. Officer Zhai just pretended to be angry and said: "Let go! Whether this guest has bullied you or you have falsely accused this guest, the master will make the decision when the time comes. Even if this guest has bullied you, , he won’t be able to run away when the time comes, don’t bully others like this!”
After hearing what Zhai said, the banker let go of his hand.
Zhu Houzhao was able to pull away and walk away.
"Guo Rong, you really don't know the dangers of the rivers and lakes. Above the court, although it is difficult to guard against hidden arrows, there are checks and balances at least. We don't dare to act recklessly. But in this rural market, you are really relying on your power to dominate others. , tell me, shouldn’t I help that banker today?”
Frankly speaking, Zhu Houzhao was just a college student who had not been involved in the world for a long time in his previous life, and the more civilized modern system and the level he was exposed to did not allow him to have a clear understanding of human nature. Now he has been on the throne for a long time in the Ming Dynasty. With great power in hand, it is naturally difficult to feel the cruelty of society and the complexity of human nature.
Today's experience taught Zhu Houzhao a good lesson. He discovered that helping those in need is not as simple as he imagined. It is hateful to rely on the powerful to bully the weak, but the weak only pursue their own interests regardless of morality, which also leads to a lack of warmth and even cruelty in society. One of the causes of destruction.
"Your Majesty, I have spent some time in the wells of the capital city, and I know that people's lives are not easy. Sometimes they will do shameless things just to have enough food for themselves. It was only later that I received your Majesty's favor that I read some books and learned about food and clothing. A person who knows enough to know honor and disgrace, and a person who has enough warehouse knows etiquette. Perhaps this banker did this unethical act just because he didn’t want his goods to be lost in vain. His Majesty was certainly right to help him;
It's just that Your Majesty was too kind to help, making him feel that Your Majesty can be bullied. If Your Majesty kills those Green Skins, the banker can only be grateful to Your Majesty, and will not dare to make false accusations against Your Majesty, because he will know that he dares to kill these Green Skins with a complicated background. Whoever decides Of course, they are not easy people to offend, but His Majesty did not kill these green skins, which made the banker think that Your Majesty is easy to bully. In addition, Mr. Zhai appeared, and he was trying to recover the loss of his goods that were trampled. All we can do is frame false accusations against His Majesty! ”
Guo Rong replied that Guo Rong, who had worked at the grassroots level in the Beijing camp, knew these human natures better than Zhu Houzhao, so he answered truthfully.
After staying with Emperor Zhu Houzhao for a long time, Guo Rong also knew that it was important for superiors to obey the law and not abuse power, but he also had to admit that it was easy for His Majesty to not kill because he was the emperor. It's self-defeating, because neither the perpetrator nor the person being helped thinks that you just don't want to abuse your power, they only think that you are afraid and that you are not that strong.
"But those green-skinned men were just beaten. Even if I want to punish them with death, there must be a legal interrogation process. If I kill them directly, it will be a betrayal of the Ming Dynasty's laws. But what is ridiculous is that I actually did this. In the eyes of the villagers, it’s a sign that I don’t dare to kill them, and it’s a sign that I’m easy to bully! I finally understand why it’s so difficult to govern the country according to the law!”
"The people of the Ming Dynasty are really ignorant. They don't know how important it is for them to uphold the dignity of the law and maintain morality. Maybe one day they will no longer be the people, and they will not treat the people as human beings!"
Zhu Houzhao sat back on his chair with some frustration.
Guo Rong could also see the disappointment of His Majesty the Emperor, but he could not say anything and could only clench his fists. He was very angry. He was even angrier than Zhu Houzhao and also very helpless. His Majesty the Emperor must be extremely disappointed with his people at this moment. It may even become a He was a tyrant who no longer cared about the interests of the people, but he didn't know how to comfort him. He wanted to force the banker to admit his mistakes and repent to His Majesty the Emperor, but he knew that even if he did that, it would be a lie. The banker was not really repenting, but It is fear of one's own power.
At this time, people from the county government came over: "My grandpa has an order to take Zhang Xia and others into custody in court!"
Because there were many people around Zhu Houzhao, the county government officials could see that Zhu Houzhao was not just a commoner, so they did not forcibly take Zhu Houzhao away, but only summoned the county magistrate's order.
Guo Rong couldn't help but prepare to draw his sword. As long as Zhu Houzhao gave the order, he could kill all these government servants now.
However, Zhu Houzhao did not give an order. He only whispered: "Come with me and see how the county-level government manages the place. If you don't have personal contact, you really don't know the secrets inside. There is no need for those in the dark to reveal their identities. Those of you who are following me in the open, come with me.”
Zhu Houzhao stood up first as he said this; "Please lead the way!"
The yamen officer, Zhu Houzhao, was so polite. Naturally, like most people, he believed that those who obeyed the rules and acted politely were weak and weak, so he just snorted lightly and walked to the county yamen with Zhu Houzhao and others.
……
This time.
Zhai Yuanwai had already arrived at Meizhen, the magistrate, and pushed a envelope of silver coins in front of the master. He then said to the magistrate: "Master, today's public case is actually not complicated, but since the banker said that the merchant is It is a taboo in Nanxun Town to buy raw silk and cotton yarn directly from the merchants. No matter what, this merchant must be taught a lesson.”
"What is the background of this merchant? Have you checked it?" asked the magistrate of Meixian County. Most of the merchants from Gyeonggi who can come to Jiangnan to purchase are high-ranking officials, so Meizhen has to be cautious.
"The student has checked and found that he is not from a high-ranking official's family, and there is no one named Zhang Xia. Moreover, there are indeed no big people who have come to Nanxun Town recently. The teacher does not need to worry about anything going wrong. However, Zhang Xia's name is There are a lot of servants, and I am afraid he is also the son of a wealthy businessman. He must be able to extort ten or twenty thousand silver dollars. "
Zhai Yuanwai said.
"I already know, you go down first and spend more time on Qiu Wei. You can't easily take over this lawsuit in the future," said the county magistrate Meizhen.
Zhai Yuanwai also hurriedly handed over his hands and said yes.
At that time, the yamen servant had come to report: "Master, Zhang Xia and Pei Zhuanghu have been detained and brought to justice!"
"Open the court to inquire about the case," Mei Zhen ordered, then put on his official uniform and came to the central hall.
Here, Zhu Houzhao and the farmer were already waiting in the hall.
After a while, Magistrate Na Mei came out and asked, "Why don't the people in the hall kneel down?"
Zhu Houzhao couldn't help but be stunned, thinking that he had already issued an order to ban people from kneeling before officials for trial. He had been emperor for twenty years, and he had made this imperial edict in vain. Officials still made common people kneel, and The civilians did not realize that it was against the rules to kneel down for trial.
"The outline of the constitution stipulates that the people of the Ming Dynasty have no reason to kneel down easily. Although officials govern one party, they cannot treat the people as slaves and trample on the dignity of the people!" Zhu Houzhao said.
This Mei Zhen intended to give Zhu Houzhen a killing blow and shouted: "If you dare not to kneel down, you are contemptuous of the court and will be beaten by me!"
As soon as Mei Zhen finished speaking, several Zaoban Yamen servants came over with sticks in their hands.
But the banker knelt down first, and couldn't help but feel proud of himself when he saw this. He thought that when he saw this man not kneeling at first, he thought he had some kind of fame, and he was going to wait until the master showed up to reveal it. In that case , I'm afraid I won't be able to eat it and carry it around Let's go. After all, the person who unintentionally offended was a person with fame. At present, it seems that he is just a common person without fame. Just like himself, as a common people, he has to kneel when he should kneel. He also talked about the outline of the constitution. What is the outline of the constitution? Does the county magistrate's words mean anything?
"Wait a minute, my young master is Zhang Xia, the nephew of Shouning Marquis. He is already a member of the Imperial Guard, so it is naturally inconvenient for him to kneel down!"
Just when Zhu Houzhao was thinking that he could no longer pretend anymore, Jin Yiwei Guo Rong said this first in a hurry, and even revealed half of the Jin Yiwei Feiyu robe under his robe.
Zhu Houzhao nodded: "Yes, I am Zhang Xia, the commander of Jinyiwei."
Bang!
At this time, the county magistrate Meizhen couldn't help but rolled down from his chair, and his official hat fell to the ground. After a while, he got up from the public case: "You, what did you say, you are the nephew of Shouning Hou?"
Zhu Houzhao is indeed Shouning Hou's nephew, and he can be regarded as a nephew. This is naturally correct.
At this time, the county magistrate Meizhen didn't know what to do for a moment. He just looked at the farmer and said: "Pull out this unruly man who is slandering the emperor's relatives and beat him to death!"
The banker also had a confused look on his face, and at the same time he realized that something was wrong, and hurriedly kowtowed to Zhu Houzhao: "Forgive me, sir, I didn't expect you to be such a noble person. I have eyes but don't recognize Mount Tai. I shouldn’t have falsely accused you. Please spare my life because it’s not easy for me to support my family.”
Zhu Houzhao didn't speak at first, because he didn't know how to deal with the matter for a while. He thought that he couldn't suppress these people with the outline of the constitution and the law, but why did Guo Rong just make up an identity casually, and it was just the Marquis of Shouning? My nephew, I was so scared that these people were pissed off. Sure enough, in Ming Dynasty, individuals still governed society.
The author is really mean. He knows that book friends like to read warm and relaxing plots, but he always writes with a sense of reality. Especially after reading books such as History of the Late Ming Dynasty and Hidden Rules, it turns out that after the development of the commodity economy in Jiangnan towns, You can write about the development of infrastructure and the changes in people's lives, but you are always used to writing about presentations. Things from the dark side come out, such as the gangsters and green skins of Jiangnan Town, and the behavior of common people betraying heroes and even falsely accusing heroes of good Samaritans. I feel like there are no good people in my works. Alas, the author needs to change this style and be more sunny. Try to get closer to this aspect in the future, and always remember that you are writing a fun article for the Internet! If you don’t have that kind of writing power, you shouldn’t be able to play with this level of depth, sorry!
(End of chapter)