Li Zhi, don't be a coward

There was great chaos in Wu County, Suzhou, and the people of the prominent families were in panic. People were speculating on what Li Qinzai would do next.

No one dared to doubt the imperial envoy's methods anymore. He had already done all kinds of searches, and there was nothing else he didn't dare to do.

The most surprising question among the heads of the famous families now is that Li Qinzai went south according to the order and had already destroyed the Zhu family in Wu County. So what order did he follow? Was it to destroy only the Zhu family in Wu County and use this to defeat the rest of the famous families? , the emperor had the idea of ​​​​purging the famous families in the south of the Yangtze River.

When they were in Chang'an, members of the eight prominent families joined forces to attack Li Qinzai's car, ignored the laws of the court, and openly raided the ceremonial guards of the princes in the emperor's capital. Their lawless and domineering attitude was indeed too much. The emperor may have buried it in his heart at that time The thought of genocide.

The heads of the noble families became more and more uneasy as they thought about it, but the Lu family of Wu County was the only one who was calm and composed.

Mr. Lu was the quickest to give in, and of course he got the biggest reward.

Li Qinzai killed everyone in Jiangnan, but he would not touch the Lu family. This was the bonus of giving in.

The rest of the prominent families were not having it so easy, and they were suffering in their hearts.

After the Zhu family was confiscated, several prominent families gathered together many times to speculate on Li Qinzai's intentions and bottom line, but to no avail.

After Li Qinzai destroyed the Zhu family, five thousand troops were stationed outside Gusu City, and he temporarily lived in the camp outside the city.

The heads of several other prominent families were not far from Li Qinzai. The so-called prominent families in the south of the Yangtze River basically had their ancestral homes in Gusu and Kuaiji, so they could be reached in a short time.

But Li Qinzai did not summon them, and it was inconvenient for the heads of prominent families to come to them. On the one hand, they seemed guilty, and on the other hand, they fell into passivity.

Therefore, after the Zhu family in Wu County was wiped out, Gusu and Kuaiji, the hinterlands of Jiangnan, which were supposed to be in turmoil, actually fell into a strange state of calm. Regarding the demise of the Zhu family, in addition to the common people talking endlessly, the prominent families and officials in Jiangnan He remained silent and didn't say a word.

…………

Jiangzhou City Governor's Mansion.

Lu Yun returned to the city from the village. As soon as he entered the governor's mansion, his father Lu Songxi greeted him.

Lu Songxi is the current head of the Lu family in Wu County. He is in his fifties but has a strong body. When he was young, he was also a good son of a prominent family. He was trained to be the successor of the family since he was a child. He is very sophisticated in both knowledge and conduct.

At this time, the news that Li Qinzai had destroyed the Zhu family had not yet reached Jiangzhou, but Lu Songxi appeared here.

After Lu Yun expressed his loyalty to the court on behalf of the Lu family of Wu County, it was time for Lu Songxi, as the head of the family, to come forward. Originally, Lu Songxi planned to come to Jiangzhou to meet Li Qinzai.

One party represented the family, and the other represented the court. They formally discussed specific matters regarding the Jiangnan land, the choice of cooperation between the court and the Lu family, and other specific matters.

However, when Lu Songxi rushed to Jiangzhou, Li Qinzai happened to lead his troops to Suzhou, and the two missed it.

Lu Songxi then stayed in Jiangzhou and, like other prominent families, speculated on the purpose of Li Qinzai's trip to Suzhou. The father and son discussed it to no avail, but they were not anxious. Anyway, the Lu family knelt down faster, and Li Qinzai could not take advantage of Lu Songxi anyway. Shi slashed.

Today Lu Yun came back from outside the city. Lu Songxi had doubts in his heart, so he greeted him out of the courtyard of the Governor's Mansion.

After Lu Yun saluted Lu Songxi respectfully, Lu Songxi asked, "How was my son's trip?"

Lu Yun frowned deeply and said in a low voice: "The child went to a village outside the city. It is the village under the name of our Lu family. There are more than forty households in the village, but most of them are old and weak, women and children, and there are not many young and strong people. "

Lu Songxi hummed and said, "The Imperial Guards of the Tang Dynasty are hereditary. It is not surprising that most of the young men in Zhuangzi were recruited into the Imperial Guards."

Lu Yun shook his head and said: "My child asked the old people in Zhuangzi. The number of young men who were recruited into the army was about forty. However, more than half of the young men did not join the army, but left their hometowns to make a living in other places. Yes." Lu Songxi frowned: "Why is that so?"

Lu Yun sighed and said: "Staying in Zhuangzi, young people can only starve to death, because...the land in Zhuangzi basically belongs to our Lu family, and the farmers have become tenants of our family, and the tenants farm every year." After renting, there is very little left, and there is no way to support the whole family. There is no other way to survive except to go out to make a living."

Lu Songxi's expression remained unchanged. People who could be the head of a family would not be too kind-hearted. He didn't care much about the life and death of the poor and lowly class. He only had family interests in his eyes.

Seeing that Lu Songxi remained silent, Lu Yun hesitated for a moment and whispered: "Father..."

Lu Songxi waved his hand: "I know what you want to say. Yes, the land in Zhuangzi belongs to our Lu family. But when the Lu family bought these lands, they didn't rob or steal them. They were all consensual. Business, business is business, there is no need to mix in any thoughts of compassion."

Lu Yun was silent for a moment and said slowly: "The child just wants to tell his father that Duke Li suggested that the child go to the villages outside the city to experience the suffering of the people. Duke Li will not say these words for no reason, there must be his deep meaning."

Lu Songxi's expression tightened.

He may not care about the life and death of poor farmers, but he cannot care about what Li Qinzai said.

One class crushes the other, this is the rule of the game where the big fish eats the small fish.

"Yun'er, what do you think Duke Li means?" Lu Songxi asked, stroking his beard.

Lu Yun pondered for a long time and said hesitantly: "My child is not sure, but my child guesses that Duke Li's trip to Jiangnan is not just to deal with the promotion of planting sweet potatoes. This matter is not big. There is no need for the emperor to send someone like Duke Li." I am an important minister and will personally go to the south of the Yangtze River."

"So, Duke Li has another purpose in coming to Jiangnan? Perhaps one of the purposes is to beat up the famous families in Jiangnan."

"Jun Gong Li led five thousand soldiers and horses to the east. The boy guessed that one or two of the eight prominent families in the south of the Yangtze River must be in bad luck. To put it more seriously, they may be wiped out."

Lu Yun stared at Lu Songxi's eyes and said slowly: "However, I think that Duke Li's trip to Jiangnan should have other purposes besides promoting sweet potato cultivation and impressing famous families. In other words, this purpose is why he came to Jiangnan. main reason."

"What other purpose does Duke Li have?"

Lu Yun lowered his voice and spoke each word slowly but clearly: "Land!"

Lu Songxi was startled, his movements of stroking his beard froze, and his face gradually became ugly.

"He wants to renovate the land and properties owned by a prominent family in the south of the Yangtze River?" Lu Songxi's tone became colder.

Lu Yun nodded: "Although I'm not sure, looking at Duke Li's words and deeds after he went to Jiangnan, I shouldn't be wrong."

"The boy heard from someone in the governor's office that when Duke Li first came to Jiangzhou, he didn't see any local officials or prominent landowners. Instead, he led his entourage to a village outside Jiangzhou City and stayed in the village. I’ll be back in a day.”

Lu Songxi sneered: "How is he going to treat you? Do you want to confiscate the land owned by a prominent family and distribute it equally to the farmers who have lost their land? You are naive!"

Lu Yun said unhurriedly: "Xue Rengui's [-] troops are stationed in Yuezhou. The soldiers are on guard and waiting, and the soldiers are pointing directly to the south of the Yangtze River. Father, think about it again. Is Duke Li's idea really naive?"

Lu Songxi smiled: "Twenty thousand troops are indeed scary, but... haha, it's still not enough."

"How did the Sui Dynasty fall? Because Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty offended all the aristocratic families in the world, the Li family rebelled, and the aristocratic families in the world responded, and the Sui Dynasty was overthrown in less than a year."

"Yin Jian is not far away. Do you want to follow in the footsteps of Emperor Sui Yang today? Haha, it's impossible."