Although it was just a matter of mobilizing troops and attacking the wealthy families in the south of the Yangtze River, it would be wrong to take this matter for granted and think that the emperor kept his word.

Aristocratic families, wealthy families, and gentry, these people have both money and land and don’t have to pay taxes. Of course, today’s aristocratic families no longer have as much say as the former aristocratic families, but they just changed their ways and continued to become scholars and landowners. The Lord continues to drink the blood of this world.

To use the simplest example, it doesn’t matter to them who is the emperor and who owns the world. The money belongs to them but not the court. If they pay more money, they will be the ones who suffer the loss. Anyone who takes money from them is cutting their flesh.

What's more, paying taxes honestly is equivalent to being on the emperor's deposit blacklist. Think about Shen Wansan's ending.

Nowadays, a long time has passed since the two emperors Taizu and Taizong, and the corruption situation has become more and more serious in the wealthy land.

As a highly centralized country, there is always an inevitable phenomenon: collusion between officials and businessmen to get rich together. This kind of thing has been banned in all dynasties, but it has been banned repeatedly, and the double-headed phenomenon that eventually resulted has become more and more obvious, that is, the most popular People with money are often the most powerful people.

The south of the Yangtze River is rich and wealthy, and many officials have already colluded with these people to the death. Otherwise, to inspect a tax, it would be necessary to send 10,000 people to protect the tax inspection team? Isn’t that because of the guards here? It’s unclear whether all the military households can still be used. If a big problem is found in this investigation, it will cause trouble, even trouble that can break the sky.

In the final analysis, it is because of what happened during the years when Baozong ruled the country. It has become difficult for the imperial court to bring deterrence and pressure to many places in Jiangnan. The military households in the guard no longer have the combat capabilities they used to have. For them, being soldiers is really not as good as before. Farming used to be a proud military household and could bring many benefits to the family, but now the situation has begun to gradually reverse.

During Taizu's time, the entire Ming Dynasty could raise more than two million soldiers without spending too much money. This was also the thing Taizu was most proud of. But if we look at the same thing now, it would be a dream. There are already many Military households would rather farm land for the gentry than continue to fight for the court. Why? Is it because it is becoming more and more difficult to survive?

Although this situation is still relatively rare, it is the most common in wealthy places, and gradually such situations will become more and more common until they are completely irreversible.

The topic is far off topic, but the resistance faced by those who want to check the taxable land in Jiangnan is huge today, and it is possible to provoke a civil uprising. At this time, when Zhou Yu is most unstable, the consequences of a civil uprising will be The threat will be infinitely magnified. This group of people with no bottom line may even take the initiative to invest and take the initiative to welcome Baozong back and send him to Nanjing.

How high the possibility is, Zhou Yu can only say 100%.

But now, Zhou Yu can kill two birds with one stone by taking advantage of the opportunity to attack Ningxia Mansion first. He will take advantage of this opportunity to mobilize the still-usable guardsmen to prevent local officials who have been hacked from taking advantage of the opportunity, and wait for him to leave first. The army has gathered and is watching the area south of the Yangtze River eagerly to do whatever they want. Anyone who dares to object will have his or her house ransacked.

The most important thing is to let the army really get the benefits, so that everyone will follow you.

Just like the Tang Dynasty soldiers at their peak, once they went to the battlefield, many of them even prepared their own horses. However, the trophies on the battlefield were also theirs. The trophies harvested were theirs, and they could still get rewards from the court and make meritorious deeds.

The title of marquis made the imperial troops in the Tang Dynasty extremely aggressive.

This is similar to the situation in the Ming Dynasty, but once this system cannot expand and the distribution of benefits cannot satisfy the bottom class, the army with strong combat capabilities will quickly lose its combat capabilities.

This time is a good opportunity for Zhou Yu to spread his influence to places outside the Gyeongsang region. He can completely connect the Gyeonggi region and the Jiangnan region, and then connect Nanjing and Fujian together. Then he can

He will be the emperor who truly controls an empire, the king who speaks the truth.

Ma Shun led his troops and set off, followed by a thousand fine cavalry to protect the envoys. They escorted about ten carriages and slowly left the capital in the direction of Datong.

In the capital, Zhou Yu left the palace from the Shenwu Gate lazily leaning on his luxurious carriage.

Cheng Jing seemed to hear something in the carriage. When he got out of the carriage and came back, he had a secret letter in his hand and handed it to Zhou Yu with both hands.

"emperor."

Zhou Yu took the secret letter and opened it. The content of the secret letter was that Princess Changde had a secret meeting with several people late at night. After the city gate opened in the morning, Princess Changde's people left the capital in a carriage. Of course, the carriage did not go far.

He was stopped by the Jin Yiwei people. After confirming the identities of the people in the carriage and their purpose, the Jin Yiwei immediately sent the news to Zhou Yu.

"These people still don't give up." Zhou Yu handed the secret letter to Cheng Jing and asked, "Who is doing this now."

"I know Lu Zhong." Cheng Jing thought for a while and said, "It's a hyena that can bite people."

"Lu Zhong..."

Zhou Yu naturally knows this person. The commanding officer is equivalent to Ma Shun's deputy. If Ma Shun is the director, this Lu Zhong is the deputy director. How could Zhou Yu, who is acting as a messenger for Zhou Yu, not know that this Lu

Zhong is indeed a dog that can bite people as Zhou Yu said.

"Forget it, let him check it out."

Cheng Jing nodded and asked: "Your Majesty, now that the witnesses and physical evidence are conclusive, I'm afraid nothing will be found if we continue the investigation."

"The human and material evidence are conclusive, but what crime did they commit?" Zhou Yu glanced at Cheng Jing, raised the book he had put down and put it in front of his eyes: "Welcome the late emperor or set up a sign for the demon queen? Should I welcome the late emperor?

They have a deep love as brother and sister, and setting up a card for the Demon Queen is a sign of deep love between mother and daughter. What reasons should I use to convict Changde?"

"There are still a lot of things to investigate. We must investigate Changde clearly and leave nothing behind. This Changde has relied on the Baozong and the Demon Queen to amass money and develop their power over the years. I have heard before that the court in the palace is the emperor.

But outside the palace, Changde has the final say. What I want is evidence that can completely crucify Changde's party, do you understand?"

Cheng Jing nodded: "I understand, I will do things beautifully."

Zhou Yu nodded and stopped talking. Soon the carriage stopped in front of a courtyard.

Zhou Yu got off the carriage, looked up at the big brand new sign, and nodded slowly with the three characters "Imperial Academy of Sciences" written in it.

The royal guards and the heavily armed imperial guards knelt in a row in front of the door, and the officials in charge of the craftsman's workshop came out to greet them. Cheng Jing's son Cheng Kai was among them, and they all came out and knelt under the steps.

"See the Emperor."

"Everyone, get up." Zhou Yu waved his hand and strode out of the yard.

This is the new location of the Royal Craftsman's Workshop. It is right on the edge of Long Live Mountain and can be reached in a short time from the palace. Moreover, the surrounding area is more open and quiet than the previous place. It is sparsely populated and safer. It is also the Forbidden City Guards.

patrol area.

Now the Royal Workshop has been renamed the Royal Academy of Sciences, an academy dedicated to conducting scientific research for the royal family. In the past, Zhou Yu often went to the old workshop and took these craftsmen to create brand new firearms and more powerful weapons.

New gunpowder, cement was re-improved.

Traces of the use of cement and concrete can be seen everywhere here. The entire Royal Academy of Sciences has also been divided into different areas for different work and research, and there are also very strict management regulations, like

The amount of gunpowder is strictly limited. Even if it is ignited and explodes, it will only injure people but not collapse the house. It can be said that under the guidance of Zhou Yu in a short period of time, there are dangerous things everywhere, but they are all

It's not a very dangerous thing.

After letting the steward introduce the situation, Zhou Yu just took a casual look and left. Xing'an took a holy book and read it out to Zhou Yu after he left.

The first is to determine the craftsman hierarchy, starting from third-grade craftsmen to no-grade craftsmen, and three to no are exactly eight levels, which represents the eighth-level craftsman system. The higher the grade, the better the treatment. It is also divided into six grades and bonuses.

The difference between the six grades.

This time, almost all the people in the Royal Academy of Sciences were arranged directly from the sixth grade. After all, the craftsmen who were able to enter the Royal Academy of Sciences in the first place were already the best craftsmen from various craft workshops, and according to

Zhou Yu's observation has now led to such an imperial edict.

Several senior masters of the sixth grade were not only outstanding, but also because they took the initiative to hand over the things inherited from their families. Another young sixth-grade master seemed particularly awkward among them, because he handed over a large number of craftsman's books.

There are even some blueprints of the treasure ship. Therefore, although his technical level cannot be compared with the masters of the sixth grade, his contribution made him a prize sixth grade.

Zhou Yu, who was sitting on the carriage, smiled when he heard the loud shouts of thanks coming from the Royal Academy of Sciences. After a short period of contact, Zhou Yu found out that these craftsmen were indeed powerful. He changed to modern times and gave them some time to get familiar with them.

At a glance, everyone is at the level of an eighth-level master, and they are all masters of hand rubbing.

Although there is no systematic scientific explanation now, the things passed down by these craftsmen from generation to generation have already penetrated into physical chemistry. What is missing is the systematic arrangement, and this is the next step for Zhou Yu to let people know.

things to do.

Whether it is the sixth grade, whether it is the sixth grade, Zhou Yu has set an example. With these examples and the craftsmen of the Royal Academy of Sciences who have received practical benefits, the development of Ming Dynasty's industry is just around the corner.

Not long after the carriage got on the road, it turned around and arrived at the edge of the Imperial City, across the river from the high wall of the Imperial Palace, and entered a large courtyard directly.

"Quickly inform Madam that the master is here!"

The moment Zhou Yu appeared, there was a flurry of excitement. A large number of people rushed out in a panic to see the gift and then were driven back.

Cheng Jing stared coldly at the steward who was standing aside with sweat profusely: "How can there be such no rules in this family? It seems that you have completely forgotten the rules in this palace. It seems that you are a stable and reliable person. How long have you been...

The true colors are revealed.”

The steward hurriedly knelt on the ground and kowtowed. Without explaining, he just begged to admit his mistake: "I know my mistake. I know my mistake. Please forgive me."

This steward was also a eunuch selected from the palace. He was chosen by Cheng Jing to be Li Xiyue's steward because of his reliability. However, he did not expect that this courtyard would be so unruly.

Zhou Yu waved his hand and glanced at the eunuch kneeling on the ground: "Forget it, my dear companion, there are servants just like the masters."

"Yes, sir." Cheng Jing bowed to Zhou Yu and handed over his hands, then looked coldly at the steward who was kneeling on the ground: "I'll beg you for mercy this time. I have to go and receive the punishment myself next time."

"Thank you, sir. Thank you, sir."

Zhou Yu smiled, shook his head and walked away. Cheng Jing quickly followed and heard Zhou Yu's voice.

"Li Xiyue has become much more lively after coming out of the land of fireworks, but she still knows the rules. It's not that the people in this family don't have rules, but I'm afraid they have too many rules and are too lively."

Cheng Jing was stunned for a moment: "The emperor means that it's because they are too lively and well-behaved. When they know the emperor is coming, they rush out to see the emperor, which is why they create such a mess."

Zhou Yu pointed everywhere: "Just look at the piles of things in this courtyard. What can you do in such a hurry? You can only kneel down and kowtow."

Cheng Jing looked at both sides of the corridor and immediately discovered what Zhou Yu said. The shelves were filled with all kinds of things. The originally beautiful yard now looked like a workshop, but the things made were the same as those of the royal family.

The stuff at the Academy of Sciences is different, mostly flower petals, vegetables, fruits, garlic and the like.

"This..." Cheng Jing said with a bitter smile: "It has only been a few days since this yard was ruined like this. If I had known better, I would have arranged for Miss Xiyue to build a workshop next door."

Zhou Yu smiled and said, "Let's take a look first."

Before Zhou Yu entered the back hall, he saw Li Xiyue walking out quickly, with a half-true smile of surprise and deep affection on her face.

"master!"

At this moment, Li Xiyue jumped directly into Zhou Yu's arms, looked up at Zhou Yu and said eagerly: "My master has not been here for many days, but Xiyue misses him so much."

"I have so many things to do that I have no time to come." Zhou Yu smiled slightly, touched Li Xiyue's hair and said: "Okay, you have a gift to give me, and I was looking forward to Xiyue's gift on the way here.

"

Li Xiyue pursed her lips and smiled, holding Zhou Yu's hand and walking quickly to the back hall: "This gift is definitely a rare treasure that will be of great use to the world. I will definitely reward Xiyue well in the future. Can I reward Xiyue at that time?"

A request."

"Okay, if it is really as Xiyue said and will be of great use to the world, then I will agree to your request."

"A gift and a request."

Zhou Yu was stunned for a moment: "???"
Chapter completed!