Imperial Master of the Ming Dynasty

As Jiang Xinghuo shouted loudly and was repeated in unison by the soldiers around him, everyone in the mud was stunned.

But some people reacted quickly, got rid of the posture of prostrate prayer, and got up from the ground one after another.

"Jiang Xinghuo?"

Among the crowd, a voice came out: "Are you Jiang Xinghuo, the national master Jiang Xinghuo who wants to disobey the gods and let the two gods meet?!"

This question had already reached everyone's ears as soon as he finished speaking, and it immediately aroused the resonance of countless people. Everyone looked at the figure in green shirt on the causeway, their expressions full of disgust and anger. And a hint of fear.

These villagers, for generations, have lived in an environment where they believe in Pu God.

This custom can even be traced back to the Southern Song Dynasty. At that time, the Wusong River, which is part of the Taihu Lake system, and the current Dahuangpu, already had rich folk beliefs about Pu God.

Of course, any folk belief does not arise without reason, but has its profound geographical and humanistic conditions.

In the south of the Yangtze River, the lakes and rivers that store water are necessary for the people to irrigate the paddy fields and grow rice. However, frequent floods in the south of the Yangtze River and the insufficient regulation capacity of the lakes and rivers have also caused the destruction of their farmland and houses. The main culprit of the collapse.

In the long-term agricultural production process, worshiping various water gods, praying for water for irrigation, and praying to prevent floods has naturally become a kind of belief.

Of course, there are very, very few things in this world that money can’t solve. If they can’t be solved, more money just isn’t enough.

Is Jiang Xinghuo adding money enough?

Of course it’s enough!

In order to quickly solve a series of problems caused by gunpowder blasting of the barrier lake, Jiang Xinghuo asked Huang Ziwei, the prefect of Songjiang, to compensate nearly three miles of farmland on both sides of the Dahuangpu-Shanghai Pu Changdi at an amount much higher than the land transaction price on the market. payment.

As mentioned before, the county often maintains the dyke in Shanghai Pu, so there is not much farmland on both sides. The compensation targets this time are mainly from the unmanaged Dahuangpu Barrier Lake to the end of Shanghai Pu dyke. In part, because there is no one to manage it, many farmers who are desperately trying to open more acres of land to support their families have come to Pubian to cultivate.

But in fact, the problem was not solved by Jiang Xinghuo asking Huang Ziwei to add money. In this case, what no one expected was that this sincere increase in money would even have the opposite effect. The more you add, the stronger the reaction.

The high compensation costs for farmland damage can only solve the problem for some farmers whose farmland is on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.

But what about others?

There is a saying here. That is that some people are jealous, so they use it to make trouble.

Yes, just like in a village, a small half of the people received demolition funds due to road planning and became rich in the blink of an eye, while the remaining people still had to live a miserable life. Can you not be jealous? Can you not want to cause trouble?

Of course, they reported directly to the county and Songjiang Prefecture.

But how can such selfishness be satisfied by the government?

The government was executing Jiang Xinghuo's order just to clear a safe flood discharge area, not to show kindness to unrelated people.

Therefore, it was naturally severely rejected by the government.

After hitting a hard nail, people's jealousy began to work crazily. In addition, the White Lotus Sect saw the right opportunity and took advantage of the situation to encourage people. Naturally, this kind of attitude was established in the hearts of the villagers in more than ten nearby villages who had not received compensation. concept.

——What I can’t get, you can’t get either.

Anyway, the compensation fee has not been paid yet, so if we combine the public anger with the belief in Uragami and stop the gunpowder explosion of the lake for the common benefit of everyone, isn’t that the end of the matter?

In the eyes of the White Lotus Sect's senior leaders, this national master had indeed been bloodbathed in Changzhou Prefecture's eunuchs and was not considered a softie, but his various good deeds towards the people still reflected a weakness in him.

In fact, the White Lotus Sect is not a moral scholar. If it can achieve "a gentleman can bully his own side", it can use the people and public opinion to coerce Jiang Xinghuo, delay the dredging of Dahuangpu, and prevent Jiang Xinghuo from successfully achieving his goal.

Then the grain raised by Huating County cannot go up the gentle Wusong River and be delivered to the officers and soldiers in the Three Lakes Land. The White Lotus Rebels, who are compressed into a very small area, will naturally get a breather.

Therefore, there was a sudden attack after today's secret connection.

Looking at Jiang Xinghuo who had not responded, Wang Yihan, the leader of the White Lotus Church who was dressed as a walking figure in Pushen Temple, sneered secretly in his heart.

He had already heard from the upper echelons of the sect that, in addition to being knowledgeable in the mystical arts and full of economics, this imperial master also had an eloquent tongue. He was the most captivating person, and he could inadvertently speak to people who would be convinced or even fall in love with him. He was also highly educated. The more there are, the easier it is to get tricked.

Unfortunately, Jiang Xinghuo's ability has taken root among the people for many years, but it has a fatal weakness for the White Lotus Sect, which has sufficient experience in bewitching foolish men and women.

This means that reasoning and knowledge are almost useless to ordinary villagers in this era.

This was the early Ming Dynasty in the 15th century. These villagers who were born and raised in the fields of Jiangnan would neither listen to the truths told by others nor be inspired.

There are only two things that can impress them and make them obey. The first thing is interests, and the second thing is superstition.

And the White Lotus Sect happens to be very good at taking advantage of these two things.

"Why don't you speak? What are you afraid of?!"

Jiang Xinghuo couldn't help but frown as he listened to the messy sounds drifting in the wind. Of course he knew why he suddenly became the target of public criticism.

Seeing the crazy behavior of those people, Jiang Xinghuo also understood that if he really judged himself according to these people's logic, then he had indeed made a huge mistake. Otherwise, he would not have been reviled and hated by so many villagers. .

However, the matter has reached this point, and there is nothing I can do to change it. The only thing I can do is to try my best to solve the problem, and...

Thinking of this, Jiang Xinghuo glanced downwards.

Although he couldn't see anyone in the crowd, perhaps due to his sixth sense or some psychological suggestion, he felt a few cold eyes falling on him.

While Jiang Xinghuo was thinking, Wang Yihan, the leader of the White Lotus Church over there, continued to encourage; "Everyone, Jiang Xinghuo's silence has admitted that what he did was to collide with the two gods! In this case, we We can’t let him succeed even more!”

"Yes, the evildoers must be eradicated!"

"We must not tolerate adultery!"

As he was well-known in the local area and was ostensibly a member of the Pu Shen Temple, but secretly it was the words of Wang Yihan, the leader of the White Lotus Church, the crowd that had been hesitant at first completely erupted at this moment.

Each of them had red eyes, and even with bare hands, they dared to walk towards Jiang Xinghuo, who was guarded by soldiers. In this muddy ground, they trudged step by step towards Jiang Xinghuo, who was standing on a dike several feet high. , as if Jiang Xinghuo had committed a heinous crime and must be punished in the most cruel way.

"Uragami appears!"

The crowd swarmed in and the shouts shook the sky.

Jiang Xinghuo stood still, watching the crowd approaching him with a calm face, but a huge wave of emotions surged in his heart - for the first time, Jiang Xinghuo felt helpless in the face of the unintelligent people.

Again, in some places in this era, Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism's three cardinal principles and five constant principles are considered advanced in thinking. Even in rich areas like Jiangnan, there are still a lot of primitive, ignorant, and barbaric ideas and beliefs that occupy the vast majority of the country. The brains of lower-class farmers.

Really, please, why don’t you even engage in some feudal poison? It is much better than this kind of horrific sacrifices where boys and girls are often used as sacrifices.

Now, if you tell these passionate villagers that there is no God in the world and you have to believe in science, it is impossible for them to listen.

They didn't understand or were interested in learning. It was impossible to recreate the scene in Taiping Street where the Imperial College students were silenced.

so what should I do now? Should we just take the path we least want to take and let the army take action?

Jiang Xinghuo slowly closed his eyes, his temples beating suddenly due to the painful decision.

Song Li, Sun Kun, Huang Ziwei and other civil servants around Jiang Xinghuo were anxiously waiting for the imperial master to make the final decision, while Wang Bin, Cao Song and other guards and Jin Yiwei had already drawn their swords.

It can be said that these boys Zhang Anshi, Xu Jingchang, and Zhu Yong faced this kind of oppressive scene for the first time. They nervously clenched the handle of the knife. The sweat and rain mixed together, making the handle of the knife in their hands become dull. It became sticky.

Ye Zongxing, who had just awakened from the state of seeking knowledge, was soft-spoken and naturally could not say anything. He also knew that even if the Imperial Master ordered to attack these people at this time, it would be the right choice, but he still held on to something that he thought was unrealistic. fantasy.

Unfortunately, even Ye Zongxing knew that there was no good choice at the moment.

"Ura God bless you!"

"Kill the traitors!"

More and more people raised their hands high, the cold wind howled and the cold rain hit their faces, bringing them a cold and numb stimulation.

What flashed in their eyes was bloodthirsty and cruelty, as well as... a disregard for life.

In their hearts, Jiang Xinghuo was not only a treacherous evildoer who offended the gods, but also the culprit who caused harm to their interests. He was a heinous sin that could not be redeemed even if he died.

And by killing him, he and others were doing justice for heaven and eliminating harm for the people.

Therefore, once someone took the initiative and a fanatical atmosphere formed, they pounced on them without hesitation.

Thousands of people move like a swarm. Even if there is no plan, when you stand on the embankment, the overwhelming feeling is quite heart-stopping.

If Jiang Xinghuo opened his eyes, then he might be able to think of the most appropriate scene.

——That is, zombies are swarming.

PS: [Important reminder (there is no charge for this content)] Chapters 316 to 356 are about the rectification of officialdom and the suppression of rebellions in Jiangnan. They do not contain any theoretical knowledge. They are all practical content. If you are not interested, you can jump directly to Chapter 366. "Class" will contain theoretical knowledge content from now on.