Daming: The system rejected my request for salted fish

Chapter 973

"Master, whether or not there are any officials who object to the road construction at court tomorrow morning, you don't need to argue with them."

"All you have to do is tell His Majesty that you want to do something for the Ming Dynasty, and ask His Majesty to hand over the land reform in Nanzhili to you."

"Of course, if you find it troublesome, then forget about everything else and just focus on the areas of Changzhou, Suzhou, and Songjiang."

Having said that, Master Zheng smiled complacently, and then continued:

"This is a matter of great importance, involving land. If it were someone else, His Majesty might be worried, but since you asked, His Majesty will definitely not refuse."

"When the time comes, you will use your status as a Duke and the momentum of the imperial court's land reform to overwhelm them. You will be able to use your power to crush them until they can barely breathe."

"Unless these Jiangnan gentry want to rebel, they can only endure it. The key is that this move is equivalent to strangling their lifeline."

Previously, Wei Wu was planning to use his power to suppress others, relying on his status as a Duke, but Master Zheng's move was even more powerful.

Not only is he a Duke, but he is also bound by the court's policies. The combination of the two makes his situation unmatched.

As for the lifeline that Master Zheng mentioned, this was very simple, and Wei Wu immediately responded.

"You mean land and fame."

"Yes."

Master Zheng nodded, and then continued:

"Why are those people able to act so tyrannically in Jiangnan? Isn't it because they control a large amount of land and resources?"

"Land is their foundation, and then they use a lot of resources to cultivate scholars and let them gain fame, and so on and so forth."

"But the land tax, which was distributed according to the land area, undermined half of their foundation, and the abolition of the privileges of scholars undermined the other half."

When Master Zheng said this, a cold light flashed in his eyes. He raised his hand and turned his palm into a knife to make a cutting gesture.

"They're obstructing the road construction! Then we'll dig up their roots. If no one wants to build the road, we'll arrest the gentry and scholars and make them build it."

"It's not the busy farming season right now. These people don't do any production and don't have any special privileges. Since they're in need of people to build the road, let's just let them do the corvée."

Zhang Hai could only understand part of what Master Zheng said, and this happened to be the part he could understand.

So after Master Zheng finished speaking, Zhang Hai couldn't wait to interrupt.

"Old Zheng, your trick is useless. In our dynasty, corvée labor can be replaced by paying money. Those people in Jiangnan have plenty of money."

Hearing Zhang Hai's words, Master Zheng raised his head slightly and said with a smile:

"Their money is useless. The power is in the hands of the young master. The young master only wants people, not money. Can they still rebel?"

"At worst, we could have them use their connections to file a lawsuit against the imperial court. Given the relationship between the young master and His Majesty, do you think they can succeed?"

"If they fail to file a lawsuit, they will just have to bear it. If they succeed, it will only be His Majesty cooperating with them, allowing the young master to get into trouble and use it as an opportunity to tarnish his reputation."

After hearing Master Zheng's explanation, Zhang Hai finally realized that he had been thinking too simply.

On the other side, after finishing his explanation, Master Zheng turned around and looked at Wei Wu again.

"But Master, if we really do this, there's no guarantee that some of these people might become desperate and do something stupid."

"So this time when we go to Jiangnan, it's best to bring the Impermanence Squad with you. With their protection, those people won't be able to cause any trouble."

However, just as Master Zheng finished speaking, Wei Wu shook his head.

"The Impermanence Squad is not in the capital. I asked them to follow the Crown Prince out of the capital to do some business. Only Shen Lin remains in the capital."

Master Zheng's expression froze, and he quickly said:

"If that's the case, then we can't follow the plan I just mentioned. Without anyone to protect us, the risk is too high."

"It doesn't matter."

Wei Wu smiled slightly, waved his hand casually, and then said:

"Even if the Impermanence Squad isn't here, these people can't do anything to me, even if they bribe the local guards."

Wei Wu was not bragging when he said this, but he really didn't care whether the gentry in the south of the Yangtze River would attack and kill him.

You know, he even visited the capital of Japan several times, not to mention that Jiangnan was still the territory of the Ming Dynasty.

Not to mention that those people in Jiangnan are not capable of dealing with the local garrison, after all, this is not far from Zhu.

Even if they could really do it, so what? There are only a few thousand people, even if you count the servants and guards.

It just so happens that most of the Impermanence Squad are not there. If only Shen Lin and Zhang Hai were there, Wei Wu's mobility would be higher.

When the time comes, he just needs to take out the tank and three people get inside, and those people in Jiangnan can only watch him leave.

Master Zheng didn't know about the tanks in Wei Wu's hands, but seeing that Wei Wu was so confident, he stopped trying to persuade him.

At this time, Wei Wu spoke.

"Regarding the issue in Jiangnan, we will proceed according to the plan you mentioned, Master. You and I will go there together when the time comes."

"It's getting late now, and you must be tired from the long journey, so go and rest first!"

After hearing Wei Wu's instructions, the two of them didn't say anything more. Zhang Hai pushed Master Zheng and prepared to leave.

But at this moment, Wei Wu looked at Zhang Hai and spoke again:

"Oh, by the way, Zhang Hai, after you settle Master Zheng, go to Shen Lin. He wants to see you."

When Wei Wu said this, a barely perceptible smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. After all, he said it on purpose.

Shen Lin did not look for Zhang Hai. Shen Lin did not even know that Zhang Hai had returned. The reason why Wei Wu did this was...

The main reason was that Zhang Hai had just disgusted him, so he had to get back at him, and Shen Lin was his helper.

You have to know that Zhang Hai's act of forcing Shen Lin to take drugs and practice martial arts almost turned Shen Lin into a disabled person.

He just got a fiancée and was already preparing to get married. How could he not be angry when something like this happened suddenly!

Although it was later verified that there was no problem, Wei Wu still heard Shen Lin say several times that he wanted to have a good "chat" with Zhang Hai.

Now the opportunity has come! And I'm afraid Zhang Hai must be feeling uncomfortable knowing that Shen Lin has a fiancée!

We were all single at first, but my brother suddenly found a fiancée, and she's so beautiful. Who can stand this?

As for Zhang Hai, he was originally planning to look for Shen Lin, so he didn't think much about it and responded immediately.

"Okay, I understand, Master!"

After saying that, he hummed a little tune and pushed Master Zheng away.