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Birds of a feather flock together.
Qin Mu attached great importance to Gu Yanwu, not only because of his extraordinary knowledge and reputation among the literati, but also because of his integrity and personality. Such a person would definitely make friends with many people of integrity and righteousness.
If I can really tame such a person and use him for my own benefit, it will have the effect of leading by example.
However, it is not easy to make someone like Gu Yanwu willingly serve you.
After entering the city, Qin Mu set up a banquet and warmly entertained Gu Yanwu. Although there were only a few home-cooked dishes, it was very rare for someone to be invited to a banquet by him alone, so it was considered a high honor.
On a midsummer afternoon, the sky cleared up after the rain, bringing a rare coolness. The glazed tiles were washed clean by the rain. In the silent garden, only the cicadas were chirping. Qin Mu and his companion sat in the octagonal pavilion, drinking and talking.
Gu Yanwu was very concerned about the measures for resettling refugees in Huguang, and asked about the matter in detail at the beginning.
Qin Mu smiled faintly and said, "Do you know how much money and grain I have invested in resettling the refugees who fled south in the past few months?"
"How many?"
"More than three million two hundred thousand taels."
This figure made Gu Yanwu stunned. You know, if the Ming Dynasty did not pay salaries, the treasury's annual income would be several million taels. Qin Mu invested more than three million taels in the resettlement of refugees in the past few months. This was unbelievable.
"Huguang is a land of vast water and land. If it is well developed, the grain output will be no less than that of Jiangnan. Unfortunately, the court did not pay enough attention to it in the past. Last year, Huguang and Jiangxi suffered from wars, and hundreds of thousands of innocent people died in the war. Zhang Xianzhong and Zuo Liangyu forced hundreds of thousands of people to serve as soldiers, causing a serious population shortage in Huguang, Jianghan and other areas, and much of the land was barren.
Last year, I used work-for-relief to develop water conservancy, reclaim new fields, and promote dryland crops. All of these have further increased Huguang's demand for population.
According to the latest reports from various prefectures, the Jianghan area alone is more than enough to resettle another 500,000 people. Now land is not a problem. If refugees come and are willing to settle down here, they can immediately be allocated land.
It’s just that resettling so many people requires a lot of money and food. For this reason, I have to temporarily suspend the pace of the Northern Expedition. Restoring the Central Plains is certainly important. But it is also urgent to allow thousands of refugees to survive. "
Qin Mu's words were by no means intended to deceive Gu Yanwu. At present, Huguang and Jiangxi had become the safest places in the world. After hearing the news, countless refugees flocked to Jiangxi and Huguang.
Qin Mu couldn't harden his heart and turn a blind eye to the miserable scene of refugees suffering from hunger and cold, without food or clothing. Besides, the areas of Huguang and Jianghan did need a large amount of labor to farm.
Gu Yanwu's question about this matter was exactly what Qin Mu wanted. He felt that in order to convince a man as determined as Gu Yanwu, he had to divert his thoughts from "loyalty to the emperor" to "love for the people".
Gu Yanwu was not someone who could be easily fooled. He thought for a moment and said, "Sir. After all, the land of Huguang is limited, and the number of people that can be resettled is also limited. Now the people north of the Yangtze River are suffering, and the war is endless. The only way to solve the problem is to recover the land as soon as possible."
"I understand Ningren's feelings, but there are so many refugees fleeing south. We can't stop them. If they are not properly resettled, the refugees struggling on the brink of death will definitely cause chaos. Once the backyard is on fire, the Northern Expedition will become empty talk.
It can be seen that we should not be too ambitious in everything. Now that the new emperor has just been established, the government has not yet been restored, and there are many things to be done. If we rashly launch an expedition to the north, we will only bring about our own destruction.
Take Huguang for example. More than 100,000 soldiers were newly recruited and lacked training. The reason we were able to defeat Zhang Xianzhong before was only because Zhang was unpopular and his troops were all newly recruited victims of the disaster, so they were prone to collapse at the first touch.
But Li Zicheng has become a powerful figure and cannot be underestimated. What is more worrying is the Qing army. Ning people will not believe that the Qing Tartars are really here to help our dynasty suppress the bandits, right? "
"How can the Jiannu's wolfish ambitions be hidden from everyone? The Ming Dynasty was destroyed by Li Zicheng, which was the destruction of the country. It was destroyed by the Qing Dynasty, which was the destruction of the world. We must be careful."
Qin Mu was very interested in what Gu Yanwu said, so he asked, "Please tell me in detail, what is the difference between the destruction of a country and the destruction of the world?"
Gu Yanwu straightened his face and said solemnly: "Changing surnames and names is called the destruction of a country; when benevolence and righteousness are filled to the point of beasts eating people and people eating each other, it is called the destruction of the world. Those who protect the country are the king and his ministers, and the meat eaters are responsible for it; those who protect the world are the humble men, and they are also responsible for it!"
"Well, you are a humble man, and you have the responsibility!"
Qin Mu couldn't help but clapped his hands after hearing this. Gu Yanwu's words hit the nail on the head. No matter how useless Li Zicheng was, he would never destroy our clothes and castrate Chinese civilization after gaining the world. However, the death of a foreign race would be a catastrophe for Chinese civilization.
Gu Yanwu had such a clear understanding, and proposed that defending the Ming Dynasty was the responsibility of high-ranking officials and dignitaries, while defending the world was the responsibility of every citizen.
Qin Mu thought about it. If he had such an understanding, then in the original history, he devoted his life to resisting the Qing Dynasty and visited the Ming Tombs ten times, which meant that he was not necessarily loyal to the Ming Dynasty.
For him, perhaps who became emperor was not the most important thing. The key point was that he could not bear to see Chinese civilization fall under the iron hoof of foreign races. His ten visits to the Ming Tombs were just a remembrance of the orthodoxy of the Han people.
This can also explain why he chose not to go to Nanjing, but went directly to Wuchang. After thinking this through, Qin Mu became more confident in persuading Gu Yanwu.
"Yes, if we raise an army to fight against the bandits now, it will only allow the Jian Nu to reap the benefits. The most urgent task is to eliminate party disputes, rectify the administration, accumulate national strength, and improve military preparations. When the Jian Nu and the Li bandits are both defeated in the future, we can then wipe out these ghosts in one fell swoop."
Gu Yanwu was full of passion, and although he couldn't bear to see the hundreds of millions of people in Jiangbei suffering, he knew that what Qin Mu said was indeed the most urgent task.
He sighed and said, "Let's not talk about anything else. Just eliminating party disputes and improving military preparations are not easy. The officials in Nanjing are already at loggerheads over the issue of supporting a new emperor. I'm afraid they will inevitably slander and exclude each other.
The military discipline of the four towns in northern Jiang is bad, they are unruly and unruly, and their harm is no less severe than that of the rebels. Now they are even more disregarding the safety of the country, fighting against each other. The imperial court not only failed to stop them, but also promoted them to higher positions to appease them, which will only make them more unruly and difficult to control. "
"The four towns in northern Jiang... Haha, I never counted on them. As for the factional strife in Nanjing, it took a long time for the ice to freeze three feet thick. It's impossible for them to put aside their past grievances. Let's not talk about it."
"grown ups... ... ... ."
Qin Mu suddenly said calmly: "The news was spread in the court that he died in Tongguan. I went up Coal Hill alone and was saddened to see the national mourning. Everything is destined."
"Sir!" Gu Yanwu stood up suddenly in shock, looking at Qin Mu with wide eyes, "Sir, you have also heard these words? May I ask where did you know them from? Do you know the explanation for the last few sentences?"
"Since it is a fixed number, what difference does it make whether you know it or not? Ningren. A large number of people have fled south in distress, and the resettlement work is very arduous. Moreover, since the amount of money and grain involved in disaster relief is huge, it is inevitable that corrupt officials will make false reports, harm the people, and enrich themselves. It is very difficult to investigate and deal with them. Ningren, you are well-educated and upright. I intend to let you inspect this matter specifically, punish the lawless, and rectify the rules. I wonder if Ningren is willing to take on this important task?"
Qin Mu obviously didn't want to talk about the visit. This made Gu Yanwu feel even more unfathomable, and he quickly replied: "It's not that I don't want to, but I don't dare, sir. I'm a new student..."
"Ningren," Qin Mu interrupted him, "you don't have to belittle yourself. Do you know why I want to hire you? This officialdom is like a big dye vat. It is precisely because you are new here and have not yet been contaminated that I want to hire you. Ningren, just answer whether you dare to take on this important task. There is no need to say anything else."
This kind of important position has always been what scholars yearn for the most. When they first met, Qin Mu entrusted him with such an important task. Gu Yanwu was very moved by this trust. He gritted his teeth and replied, "I am grateful for your kindness. I am willing to do my best."
Although Gu Yanwu accepted the assignment, he did not express his loyalty and spoke very tactfully.
Qin Mu also knew that unless he had a righteous cause, it would be impossible to get someone like Gu Yanwu to follow him wholeheartedly all at once, so he had to take it slow.
"Okay, okay, Ningren, Huguang has a lot of things to be rebuilt and is in urgent need of talented people to govern. I hope you can recommend more talented people to come here. I will definitely be waiting for you."
"Thank you, sir."
The banquet lasted for an hour. During the meal, the two men talked a lot and ate little. They discussed the general situation of the world and their conversation was quite speculative.
After the banquet, Qin Mu had just asked Li Shi to take Gu Yanwu down to settle down, when Yan Gaofei hurried over and reported: "Sir, Yuan Zongdi did indeed withdraw troops to the north, but not many, only 10,000 troops."
Qin Mu frowned slightly after hearing this. Yuan Zongde originally had more than 40,000 troops in Xiangyang, and now he has transferred 10,000 to the north, leaving more than 30,000. His own troops in Wuchang and Jingzhou were no more than 60,000. If he left another 10,000 to 20,000 to defend Wuchang and Jingzhou, the actual number of infantry and cavalry that could be sent to attack Xiangyang would be no more than about 40,000.
The walls of Xiangyang City are high and thick, so it is difficult to capture it if the forces are equal.
"Where are Su Jin and Li Jiu now?"
"Your Excellency, General Li has already retreated to Jingmen to rest, and General Su is currently in the Zhaojiawan area."
"Send a message to Su Jin, have him harass the 10,000 enemy troops heading north, and try to hold them back as long as possible to see how Yuan Zongdi in Xiangyang reacts."
"yes."
After Yan Gaofei left, Qin Mu was alone in the pavilion thinking. He wanted to occupy Xiangyang, a strategic point, but Yuan Zongde had left a large number of troops to guard it, so he really couldn't do anything to him.
It would be extremely foolish to put all our military forces into a fight with the Dashun Army now, which would be tantamount to helping the Qing Dynasty to attack Li Zicheng from both sides.
But after the previous lesson with Zuo Liangyu, Qin Mu didn't want to let a strategic town like Xiangyang fall into the hands of others again. There was a big contradiction between fighting and not fighting.
"The best strategy is to attack the enemy's plans, the next best is to attack their alliances, the next best is to attack their troops, and the worst is to attack their cities..." Qin Mu muttered to himself, thinking about how to take Xiangyang at the lowest cost, when he suddenly heard footsteps behind him. "Who?" Qin Mu jumped up and turned around...
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.(To be continued..)
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