After exhausting myself to death

The carriage stopped at the entrance of Yingzui Building.

"What's wrong with you?" Shen Minghuan glanced at Chen Xin. He looked distracted and almost fell down when he got off the carriage.

Chen Xin blinked blankly, suddenly realizing that his expression was horribly sad. He lowered his head slightly and said as calmly as possible: "The people are ignorant, so they have despair."

Shen Minghuan glanced at him in surprise, thought for a moment, and said: "In the past, when Saint Kong traveled around the world, he should have been more desperate than you."

Not because of the suffering of the people, but because of the eyes of those ignorant, uncivilized, monsters and beasts.

It was an era when rituals and music were in ruins, so the saint spent his whole life teaching people regardless of class, sowing the seeds of knowledge in every corner of the world.

He taught the world what "benevolence" is, what "propriety" is, what "virtue" is, and what a "gentleman" is.

Chen Xin was stunned, and so was Lu Suiping.

Confucius is known as the "Teacher of All Ages", and everyone who has read "The Analects" is his disciple.

The master dared to lead the world. Their road was much easier than it was back then. If they still don't have the courage to move forward at this time, wouldn't they make the saint despair again?

Shen Minghuan ignored the two literati who were in a daze. He took out a folding fan from his sleeve and crossed the threshold of Yingzui Building.

Chen Xin stared dumbly at the man's back, which never looked back, as if he heard the man say to him with a smile: "Go and enlighten the people, so that future generations of scholars will no longer have to despair because of this."

Lu Suiping patted him on the shoulder, "Chen Xin, this matter is difficult, but -"

Don't stop doing it just because it's difficult.

"Me, Brother Qu, Brother Lu Zhi...we will all help you."

Chen Xin turned his head and smiled at him: "Let's go together."

*

When Luo Xiuyuan was still the Spirit King, out of caution, he had very complicated message channels with his subordinates, and even had different contact methods with different people.

After he became the emperor, he continued to use it for a short period of time. Later, his subordinates discovered that Shen Minghuan didn't care about it at all. They acted like fools in defending the east and west, so they slowly abandoned it.

After all, although it is safe, it is really troublesome.

To this day, when Luo Xiuyuan's subordinates come to him with something, they either write a letter openly or openly enter the palace.

So when Luo Xiuyuan received the message requesting a meeting from a channel he hadn't used for a long time, he was a little confused.

No, if you ask to see him and enter the palace directly, is it possible that Chang Mao won't let him in?

Looking at the person who sent the message again, Luo Xiuyuan understood that it was Shen Duo.

Everyone knows that the head of the Shen family has been replaced by another person. Shen Minghuan violated the ancestral precepts and sought power to usurp the throne. The former head of the Shen family, Shen Changqing, expelled him from the Shen family.

And Shen Duo is a righteous man who has no personal interests. He has surrendered to His Majesty a long time ago, and somehow he got hold of Shen Minghuan, which made him surrender to His Majesty and have to accept His Majesty as the emperor.

Naturally, Shen Minghuan was offended by the Shen family's actions.

Nowadays, there are people guarding the outside of Shen's mansion every day, which is no different from house arrest. Although there is no explicit order prohibiting entry and exit, even if the servants go out to buy, there will be guards following them.

Luo Xiuyuan knew that was not the case.

After Shen Minghuan killed Xue Huai, he became infamous all over Yanling overnight. There were servants of the Shen family who were outside. In order to protect their son, they fought with the gossipers.

After Shen Minghuan learned about this, he suppressed the news, then turned around and sent people to surround the Shen residence tightly.

People with dark minds see it as imprisonment and take it as proof that the relationship is broken.

But they knew that it was actually protection, which not only blocked Youyou's mouth, but also guarded against the villain.

Otherwise, given the frequency with which Shen Minghuan was assassinated, his family would not be so peaceful.

"Uncle, long time no see. How are you?" Luo Xiuyuan looked complicated. Shen Duo didn't look like he was "well". In just a few days, he became much thinner than the last time we met.

Shen Duo coughed twice. He had just recovered from a serious illness, and his voice was still a little hoarse, "Your Majesty."

Luo Xiuyuan stretched out his hand to stop him from saluting, and whispered: "Uncle, Ming Huan didn't blame you, you...why bother yourself."

Everyone in the world has the right to blame Shen Duo for not trusting Shen Minghuan and repeatedly causing that person to feel sad, but he, Luo Xiuyuan, could not do it because Shen Duo acted like this because he was loyal to him.

Luo Xiuyuan felt aggrieved inexplicably.

Luo Xiuyuan was very willing to help his friend resolve his knot. He knew that the other party was also looking forward to reconciling with his father, so he and Shen Duo didn't have a few words to talk before asking Chang Mao to invite Shen Minghuan over.

Even if that person is concerned about the family, Yingzui Building is his territory, and he can still guarantee the safety and concealment here.

The system cried so loudly in Shen Minghuan's mind. He was still immersed in the scene just now: [Host, you are so pitiful. This is so touching. Woohoo. ]

[Is it that exaggerated? ] Shen Minghuan was helpless: [Do you think I am burdened with great suffering and want to save all sentient beings from fire and water even if I am misunderstood and cast aside by thousands of people? Xiaojiu, I am not this kind of person. ]

Just when the old man knelt down and spoke his first words, he suddenly thought of a brilliant idea. The silence and appropriate vulnerability that followed were somewhat of an act.

Shen Minghuan admitted that he had resentment in his heart.

He is an evil ghost crawling back from hell, and he is incompatible with this human world.

Chang Mao quickly passed him and opened the door for Shen Minghuan before Chen Xiaoyu. Chen Xiaoyu glared at him viciously.

Shen Minghuan seemed a little surprised when he saw the people in the room.

"Your Majesty, there is also," he suddenly smiled: "Father."

Shen Duo was a little uneasy. He didn't know how to position his hands and feet, so he responded awkwardly: "Ming, Ming Huan."

Luo Xiuyuan looked at Shen Minghuan's expression and felt relieved when he saw that the man was not angry. At first, he was worried that the man would blame him for meddling in his own business.

But Luo Xiuyuan suddenly realized that with this person's temperament, even if he was dissatisfied, he would not show it, he would just keep it silently in his heart and embarrass himself, so he probably wouldn't be able to see it.

Luo Xiuyuan was a little frustrated for a while.

"Your Majesty," Shen Minghuan asked, "Why did you summon me to come... Your Majesty?"

"Ah, oh oh." Luo Xiuyuan came to his senses, "Ming Huan, you sit down first, that... you feel free to do it."

Luo Xiuyuan had an inexplicable premonition, as if Shen Minghuan was deliberately placing himself in the position of a minister and being more respectful and polite to him.

If it were in the past, this person would have sat down by himself, let alone use the word "summon".

Luo Xiuyuan couldn't stand Shen Minghuan's humiliation. This man was a proud man of heaven, and even he was not qualified to ask him to bow down.

Therefore, it is indeed better to let Ming Huan be the emperor, so that he will be above tens of thousands of people.

Shen Minghuan didn't know what the other party was thinking, so he nodded: "Thank you, Your Majesty."

Lu Suiping and others also came in afterwards. After bowing, they took their seats. Everyone was on pins and needles, and they all felt that the atmosphere was very strange.

Luo Xiuyuan coughed dryly. He asked Shen Minghuan to come here just because of Shen Duo. How could there be any other reason? Now I can only quickly find other excuses.

Luo Xiuyuan said with a guilty conscience: "I heard that the Cui family is still unwilling. Does Ming Huan have any clever ideas?"

In fact, this is not a problem at all. The Cui family is unable to survive alone. They alone cannot reverse the trend of equalizing land. Compromise is inevitable, and it is nothing more than the length of time.

"Brilliant plan? What happened in the past will be what it is now." Shen Minghuan said lightly: "Kill."

"...Don't be ridiculous." Luo Xiuyuan frowned, "The Cui family is different from those families that do evil things. They are generous to their tenant farmers, and many people have benefited from their kindness."

Luo Xiuyuan was very firm: "The Cui family has no fault and has not violated the laws of Daqi. I do not agree with you forcing them to donate their land."

Luo Xiuyuan had stopped Shen Minghuan from killing people countless times. The first few times he was afraid that Shen Minghuan's reputation would be damaged, but this time it was because of the justice he insisted on in his heart.

"Offer fields?" Shen Minghuan emphasized the word "offer" and suddenly smiled.

"Your Majesty, does he know the price of one acre of fertile land?" Shen Minghuan said, "Seven taels of silver."

"If the weather is good and there are no droughts or floods, after a year's work, this acre of land can earn about twenty taels of silver. But the people can get less than two taels."

"Barely supporting the family's livelihood and not starving to death, that's all. But the aristocratic family can earn at least fifteen taels by doing nothing, without having to face the loess and back to the sky, and without having to endure the scorching sun and take care of the seedlings."

"One mu is fifteen taels, and one hundred acres is one hundred and fifty taels. With this money, it will take a family seventy-five years without food or water." Shen Minghuan sighed: "Many people will not even live to be seventy-five years old. "

Shen Minghuan looked at Luo Xiuyuan: "Your Majesty, those are not farmland, those are poisonous snakes that are wrapped around the people and suck blood."

"I can buy it at eight taels per mu, which is one tael more than that. That's half a year's income for the people. But as you can see, they are still not satisfied."

"Do you feel like you're losing money? No, they still make money, just not as much as before. But," Shen Minghuan paused, "They shouldn't have made so much in the first place."

No matter how much Luo Xiuyuan loves the people like his own son, he is still a royal nobleman who is ignorant of the sufferings of the people. This is the first time that he has heard so intuitively the contrast between the lives of the common people and those of aristocratic families.

He was silent for a moment, but still shook his head firmly: "But..."

"There are no buts." Shen Minghuan interrupted him, "I am just giving back to the people what should belong to them. If we can only barely have enough food and clothing after a year of hard work, then it is the incompetence of those of us who live above the temple."

"If the Cui family is truly as generous and kind as His Majesty said, they should take the lead instead of repeatedly delaying and hindering the implementation of the land equalization law. Their intentions should be punished."

Luo Xiuyuan still shook his head. He had his own opinions and was not an emperor who could be led by others with just a few words. "I know what you said is reasonable, but Ming Huan, that's unfair to the Cui family. Although the Cui family has wealth, it has been accumulated by them for several generations, and every cent of the money is pure and legitimate. They have done nothing wrong. If The imperial court took it away by force, so how are we different from bandits and wolves?”

He looked at Shen Minghuan and refused to give in. "Unless they commit a serious crime, we can only wait for them to figure it out on their own."

This "thinking through" can actually do a lot of tricks. This can be regarded as Luo Xiuyuan's compromise with Shen Minghuan. It can be calculated, but Luo Xiuyuan's bottom line is not to hurt others or use force to rob.

Shen Minghuan looked at him steadily and suddenly asked: "Your Majesty, are you sure to protect the Cui family?"

Luo Xiuyuan pursed his lips: "Yes."

The two were in a stalemate and were silent for a while.

After a long while, Shen Minghuan nodded: "I understand."