After talking with the former cabinet chief assistant for nearly half an hour, Zhu Youzhen had to admit that the former chief assistant was really outstanding in terms of knowledge.

In the nearly half-hour conversation, he can always keep Chongzhen interested in chatting, even if the two of them talk about some topics that have nothing to do with state affairs.

And Feng Quan's bearing is also maintained very well, even if Zhu Youzhen often makes mistakes in calligraphy, painting and literature, he will not correct the emperor's mistakes in person, but carefully bring the topic to other aspects.

has such a courtier who protects his reputation everywhere, Zhu Youzhen probably understands why the emperor likes traitorous ministers.

However, he also understood, and it was probably a very difficult thing to get this Feng Ge Lao to take the initiative to get down to business.

Zhu Youzhen gave up the idea of having an idle relationship with Feng Quan, and he said to Feng Quan directly: "Master Feng was sparse with me before, agreeing with the national policy that cultivators have their own fields, and he is also willing to contribute 3,000 acres of fertile land to the imperial court and distribute them to the landless displaced people for cultivation.

Although Master Feng is recuperating in the countryside, he still cares about state affairs and does not forget his attitude of worrying about me, and I feel that he is really a model for his courtiers. If all the courtiers in the world are like Mr. Feng, what else can I worry about in the state affairs of the Ming Dynasty.

I summoned Master Feng here today, just to ask the government of the Bachelor, I wonder what the Bachelor thinks about the way that the Shuntian Mansion is now implementing and the cultivator has his own land? And is there a better idea for the implementation of the policy of the cultivator having his own land? ”

For the emperor's inquiry, Feng Quan's heart was greatly excited. Although he was young and ambitious, he joined the Hanlin at the age of 19, but because of his father's affairs, he was humiliated by a cadre of the Donglin Party, which made him have an urgent desire for power.

Feng Quan's father, Feng Shengming, was the Ji Liao soldier when he was preparing for the road. After King Kong Hao captured Liaoyang, Feng Shengming was in a dangerous place, so he fell ill and begged for rest. was convicted by Xiong Tingbi and imprisoned. He was also impeached and returned to his place of origin.

At that time, the Feng family was in a precarious state for a time. Although the Feng family is a big local clan, after losing the protection of power, the wealth of the Feng family has become the prey in the eyes of others.

Feng Quan first turned to the Donglin Party for help, but the Donglin Party people looked down on Feng Shengming, who fled from the battle, and also looked down on Feng Quan, who acted too softly. Especially Miao Changqi, a member of the Donglin Party who played with him, openly humiliated him in front of everyone.

Feng Quan finally turned to Wei Zhongxian, who was in need of supporters in the court, so he restored Feng Quan to his official position and released Feng Shengming.

After Feng Quan attached himself to Wei Zhongxian, he finally rose to the top, and became the first assistant of the cabinet in just a few years. And with the help of Wei Zhongxian's power, he took revenge on the Donglin Party members of the Hanlin Academy by the way.

However, because he did not agree with Cui Chengxiu and had a lot to do with Miao Chang's death, Wei Zhongxian, who carried the black pot for him, was dissatisfied and drove him back to the countryside.

Although Wei Zhongxian expelled him from the court, Feng Quan himself knew that the grievances between him and the Donglin Party were difficult to resolve.

Even though he still maintained personal friendships with many Donglin Party members, he could not hope to get open help from these Party members politically.

Therefore, Feng Quan has never turned his back on Wei Zhongxian, and from time to time he showed his loyalty to Wei Zhongxian, hoping to get Wei Zhongxian's understanding and return to the court.

His desire to be reinstated was shattered by the sudden death of the Emperor of the Apocalypse. He is rich in knowledge, and naturally understands the truth of a son of heaven and a courtier.

He immediately put away his allegiance to Wei Zhongxian and carefully observed Chongzhen's performance after ascending the throne. At this time, what he was thinking about was not to be reinstated, but not to be implicated by Wei Zhongxian's relationship.

However, when Wei Zhongxian was sent to Fengyang to guard the mausoleum, Cui Chengxiu just returned to his hometown, and the court still maintained a peaceful ending. Feng Quan's original intention to hide in his hometown to avoid political liquidation has changed again, after all, he is only in his early 30s now.

As a person who entered the cabinet at the age of 30 and also served as the first assistant. Now he is asked to stay in the countryside and become a landowner, even if he recites Buddhism and cultivates his temperament on weekdays, he can't suppress the feeling of emptiness that fills his heart.

So Feng Quan, who was about to move, finally contacted Xu Xianchun, who had been a good friend, and did not dare to be lonely, Shangshu supported Chongzhen's cultivator policy of having his land, hoping to return to the DPRK.

Today's emperor's summons and questioning made Feng Quan realize that his adventure was not in vain. And whether he can win the emperor's appreciation, the key lies in how he should answer Chongzhen's question.

In the previous conversation, Feng Quan, who had always been light-hearted, was silent for a long time because of the gains and losses in his heart at this moment.

Chongzhen didn't rush him, just leaned back in his chair, waiting with interest what kind of remarks the former chief assistant would make.

During the conversation with Xu Xianchun just now, Zhu Youzhen got some information that was not very optimistic. Unlike the counties of Shunyi, Changping, Miyun, Pinggu, and Samhe in the northwest and northern parts of Gyeonggi, the counties south and east of Gyeonggi have a small number of health posts, and the land is relatively poor, so the magnates have less land to occupy and therefore fewer conflicts between the military and the people.

Although the land in the southwest of Gyeonggi was fertile, the power of the local gentry far exceeded that of other regions, and the nobles of the court did not occupy much land. And because of the fertile land, the people here live a good life, and they are not willing to fall out with the gentry.

As for the area of Baoding further south of Gyeonggi, most of it was the land of the British government, and because of the emperor's order, Xu Xianchun avoided this area.

The coastal plain to the east of Tongzhou, with the exception of Tianjin Wei and a few counties, most of the land is abandoned wasteland. It's not that these places can't be cultivated at all, but that the input and output after cultivation are disproportionate, and they can't feed people at all.

In this way, if we want to imitate the way of Shunyi and forcibly implement the system of cultivators owning their fields and village communities, we will not get much support from the people. Instead, it would plunge the only grain-producing region in Gyeonggi into chaos, which was obviously not in the interests of the imperial court.

It was only at this time that Zhu Youzhen discovered why the division of land should be linked to the fight against local tyrants.

Dividing the land can only gain the favor of the beneficiaries, but fighting local tyrants can gain a firm group of followers.

Most people don't support a group because they have a liking for someone or a policy. But they will surround the leader because of a common enemy, which is determined by the human nature to huddle together for warmth.

Being able to force the nobles and gentry to take out some fields and collect the public land in the countryside to distribute to the landless poor is already the limit of Zhu Youzhen's turnover.

As for the slogan of fighting local tyrants, Zhu Youzhen can only shout in his head. After all, now, he is the biggest tyrant in the Ming Dynasty and the head of the landlord class of the feudal dynasty.

If he shouted such a slogan, it is estimated that even the Donglin Party members would have to put aside their grievances with King Fu and unite to Fengtianjing.

In desperation, he could only consider temporarily stopping and keeping the results of land reform in Shunyi County first.

But even if he is ready to put a halt to his radical land reform policies for the time being, he does not intend to let it go unnoticed. So, he wanted to hear what Feng Quan, the leader of the gentry who had a lot of land near Gyeonggi, and the former head of the cabinet, thought.

Feng Quan thought for a long time before he said slowly: "The minister thinks that the cultivator's strategy of having his own land is certainly a good medicine to cure the current situation of the Ming Dynasty, but if the overly drastic land change policy of Shunyi County is followed, I am afraid that the Ming Dynasty has not gone away, and the rural etiquette has been abolished."

Your Majesty should give priority to the system of respect and propriety, and the hierarchy of superiority and inferiority should be established, and the ethics will always be in order. When the social order is stabilized, the four people of Shinong, industry and commerce will be able to settle down and keep their own business. If the four people are not chaotic, the world will not be chaotic; If the world is not chaotic, the Ming Dynasty will be forever.

The land in the north is barren and the output is much smaller than in the south. Three acres in the south can feed about one person, and the fields in the north are twice as much.

In addition, most of the fields in the north are dry land, and the amount of irrigated land is very small. Most of the fields in the north are for watching the sky for food, and if there is little rain, it will be dry, and if it rains more, it will be waterlogged. Therefore, the people in the north have little savings, and if they want to stabilize the place and do not see the civil unrest in a disaster year, it is necessary for the local gentry to come forward to organize disaster relief or build water conservancy.

It is precisely because the gentry are the pillars of stability in the place that all the local people often depend on the local gentry to live. If there was a dispute between the villagers, most of them did not go to the yamen to argue, but asked the gentry to whom they were attached to the court to adjudicate.

If the power of the local gentry is swept away according to the land reform method in Shunyi County, if there are three disasters and two disasters in the local area, who will appease the people for Your Majesty and eliminate the hidden danger of the people's uprising? ”

When Feng Quan recounted his thoughts, he had been observing Chongzhen's expression, and seeing that Chongzhen had no dissatisfaction, he had the courage to continue to persuade the emperor.

However, when he realized that he had told the gentry about the importance of the gentry, Chongzhen frowned and seemed not to agree, and he quickly added: "... Naturally, the local gentry were not all law-abiding and humble moral gentlemen. There are also some local tyrants and gentry who oppress the good people and encroach on the people's land for no reason. But your Majesty can't, because a few weeds have uprooted the crops of the whole field..."

After listening to Feng Quan's thoughts, Zhu Youzhen pondered for a long time before he spoke: "What Master Feng said is not unreasonable, and it is also said in "Zizhi Tongjian": courtesy, righteousness, honesty and shame, the four dimensions of the country, the four dimensions are not open, and the country is destroyed.

Now that the land reform in Shunyi County has been completed to this extent, I have no intention of going back, even if it is used as a test area or a reference, there is nothing wrong with it.

Of course, land reform in other counties can be halted for the time being, and there is no need to rush to follow the model of Shunyi County, and other models can also be tried.

However, I think that there is only so much land in my Ming Dynasty, and Shengkou is multiplying every year. If a few people take the majority of the land, what will happen to the majority of the rest?

If the imperial court cannot solve the problem of feeding the people, then it cannot expect the four people to live in peace and stability in their respective positions. People always have to find a way to survive for themselves, and you can't expect them to sit at home and starve to death. ”