Kang Zijiao was born in a poor family, which is recorded in the official documents of the Ministry of Officials. In fact, his family background is lower than that of the "poor family", and he has almost no family. Before the age of ten, he was a slave of the family. Because of his young age, he could not do heavy work. , accompany the host's children to study, so he can read and hyphenate words, and the teacher praises him, but he is not qualified to take the title.
When he was ten years old, when his father went out to do business with his master, he fought several road robbers alone and saved his master's life.
The owner is kind-hearted. He ran for the Kang family and gave them a small piece of land. He heard that the son of the Kang family was good at school, and he used his relationship to help the Kang family to modify the household registration and erase the records of the slave son, so that he could Take the exam.
The father does not have such great ambitions, and hopes that his son will do business or farming, and be an honest person. The ten-year-old Kang Zijiao has already seen his own way, insists on studying, and changed his name to "Zijiao" because he knew , On this road, he must encourage and improve himself.
The household registration has been revised, but the identity is not. In the school, Kang Zijiao is still regarded as a "slave" by his classmates, especially the children of the old master. write homework...
Kang Zijiao accepted it, because his father reminded him almost every day: "You have to be grateful, it is the master who gave you the status you are now, you are a slave, it is good to be able to read, and it is also right to work hard to be a scholar. The master has an explanation."
Kang Zijiao nodded every time, but felt bored in his heart. In the school, he had no friends, and occasionally he had free time.
Kang Zijiao successfully passed the exam and wanted to continue his studies, so he had a big fight with his father. The father couldn't get out of bed and couldn't control his son. Tian Baiguang."
His father's prediction came true. In less than ten years, Kang Zijiao had indeed "destroyed" his family property - he had to go to Beijing to take the exam, so he had to sell his property to raise money.
But my father didn't see it. He had passed away. Not long after that, my mother also went with my father. The land in the family has been rented to others for farming, but it was not affected.
Since becoming a scholar, Kang Zijiao has gotten rid of his former classmates, including the host's son, and he is the only one among the children in the same village who has passed the exam as a scholar and can go to the city to continue his studies.
But he was still a "slave", and people in the county school often joked about it, and even expressed their willingness to pay to hire him as a follower.
Kang Zijiao couldn't bear it anymore, and every time he met ridicule, he would fight back with harsher words, and his temper became more and more arrogant. No one liked him except a teacher.
Kang Zijiao did not cut off contact with a few childhood friends. Every time he went home, he still visited and chatted casually. Therefore, he always felt that he understood the sufferings of the common people better than most scholars.
He not only thought so, but also said so, and even dared to say it in front of the emperor.
Han Ruzi really didn't like Kang Zijiao very much, so he stayed by his side and did not appoint an official for a long time, but he admired his outspokenness, and at the same time felt annoyed, "In the face of the enemy, I still do not forget to release private slaves, do not forget Rent reduction and land reclamation, yet you say that I don’t know about the suffering of the people?”
"Has Your Majesty really lived among the poor?"
"No, but I've seen it before. Many of the military guards around me are from poor backgrounds." Han Ruzi was referring to those fishermen. Although there were only a few hundred people, they were the most reliable protectors around him.
"What about the private slaves of each family? How many times has Your Majesty seen them?"
"I haven't seen it before." Han Ruzi told the truth. When Kang Zijiao used his aggressiveness on others, the emperor was still very happy, but now he's reaping the consequences, feeling even more embarrassed, "Could it be that private slaves don't want to leave the old master?"
"Why do you want to? When the sky collapses, the owner's family bears it, but now he is leaving the house clean. Who will carry it when the sky collapses?"
Han Ruzi frowned, "Why do you have to say 'the sky is falling'?"
"In the past, life was disrupted. I used to have a house to live in and food to eat, but now I have no fixed place to live. I have one meal and worry about the next meal. People take food as their heaven. 'The sky is falling'."
"I have passed a decree that when private slaves leave their homes, they must be compensated, and if they are willing to join the army or reclaim wasteland, the government will also distribute the land."
"Has your majesty sent an edict?"
"Of course, and you saw it with your own eyes." Han Ruzi was getting more and more annoyed, but he didn't want to show it completely.
"Who was the will passed on?"
"Kang Zijiao, what do you want to say, just say it directly, there is no need to beat around the bush." Han Ruzi said coldly.
Kang Zijiao apologized, "Your Majesty's imperial decree will be advanced to the Prime Minister's Mansion, and then to the various ministries and departments, and will be distributed by the post to all the counties in the world, and the county will be copied to each county, the county will be transferred to the township, and the township will inform the people. It takes several steps, each of which is under the control of officials. And these officials, either from aristocratic families or with inextricable ties to aristocratic families, are exactly the group of people your Majesty wants to suppress. Let me ask, they are willing to be truthful Do you convey this decree?"
The anger in Han Ruzi's heart disappeared all of a sudden, and his tone softened, "What did Kang Qing hear?"
"It's not what I heard, but what I saw with my own eyes. Just outside the capital, many private slaves were weeping on the road, refusing to leave the old master, thinking that they would be nowhere to be found from now on."
Han Ruzi was silent for a while. He had been concentrating on fighting with the ministers. The fierce reaction of the officials made him think that he was only one step away from victory. Only now did he realize that he had hit the "sound in the east and attacked the west" and was fighting in the wrong place. A battle that has nothing to do with the overall situation can be won or lost.
"Is the private slave willing to join the army?"
"Only a few are willing. They are used to planting land and are extremely afraid of war. The north is about to go to war. No matter how much land is given, many people don't want to join the army, not to mention that the land promised by Your Majesty will not be available until three to ten years later. Poor people are afraid of officials and don’t believe in officials, and when they hear about it three years later, they don’t believe it anymore.”
Han Ruzi was silent for a longer time.
It's really hard to be an emperor, but this sentence can only be hidden in the heart, Han Ruzi said, "Is there any evidence for what you said?"
"Your Majesty can send someone to investigate. It doesn't take too far. There are many large manors outside the capital. Ask them if they don't understand the full content of the imperial decree, and are they willing to leave the old master and establish their own portal?"
Of course, Han Ruzi will send someone to investigate, "Does Kang Qing have a plan to solve the predicament?"
Kang Zijiao replied: "Why did the government and the people live in harmony at the beginning of this dynasty and the government order was smooth? It was because all the heroes came from the common people, and they were familiar with the suffering of the people. If something goes wrong, I only feel that I am suffering, how can I know that there is more suffering in the world, real suffering? Your Majesty asked for a good plan, there is only one plan for the ministers, and using the children of the poor family as officials may make the court know the people again."
Han Ruzi nodded, feeling that Kang's self-correction plan was not "good enough", "You step back first, let me think about it."
Kang Zijiao resigned, and finally said, "Kang is not humble and thinks he has the talent of a prime minister. If your majesty wants to use the poor family, you can start with Kang."
Han Ruzi laughed and waved his hand to order Kang Zijiao to step back.
Kang Zijiao didn't hide his ambition to seek officialdom, and Han Ruzi didn't care either, but thought carefully about what he said.
Han Ruzi was the emperor. Even when he was forced to abdicate, most of the people he met were willing to serve him. Those who were more free and easy would retire bravely after something happened, so it was difficult for him to understand that there were still people who were willing to be slaves. rather than being self-sufficient.
He couldn't just listen to one side of the story. Han Ruzi had to investigate clearly. After thinking for a while, he felt that Jin Chunzhong and Jing Yao were not suitable, so Zhang Youcai called Chao Jing.
After being pampered for a long time, Chao Jing is no longer like a poor fishing village boy, but his eyes are shining, and he looks around everywhere, and he looks like a thief.
Han Ruzi explained the matter clearly, and asked Chao Jing to go outside the capital to inquire about the situation, and specially reminded: "Don't reveal your identity, you can't do it like this."
"Can't the clothes? I'll change."
"Well... it's not just clothes. You used to be black, but now you seem to have turned white."
"Really?" Chao Jing touched his face, "Compared to Zhang Youcai, I'm still quite dark."
Zhang Youcai coughed.
"And also fat." Han Ruzi looked up and down, "Don't you usually participate in military training?"
Chao Jing's face blushed, he was smart and understood what the emperor meant, "I understand, His Majesty wants to find someone who can talk to ordinary people and not be recognized as his true identity, right?"
Han Ruzi nodded.
"It's simple. Let Ma Da and I go together. He's so dark that he can't cover it with powder. He's still as short and strong as before. As long as he changes his clothes, no one will recognize him as a Soldier of the Guards."
"Ma Da's temper..."
"With me watching, don't worry, Your Majesty." Chao Jing turned around and left, as if this was not an order from the emperor, but an acquaintance.
"After so long, he hasn't learned the rules." Zhang Youcai said dissatisfiedly.
Han Ruzi smiled, "Rules and truth - I prefer the latter."
Zhang Youcai bowed and said, "Your Majesty can bear the truth if it hurts people. There are still a few generals outside, do you want to see your Majesty today?"
"Tomorrow." Han Ruzi was really tired, so he turned back to the harem and greeted the queen mother. He didn't go to Qiuxin Palace or visit Concubine Shu Deng Yun. He went back to Tai'an Palace. He needed to be alone for a while.
Soon after dark, the queen sent someone to bring the emperor's usual pajamas.
Meng E put down her clothes and turned to leave, but Han Ruzi stopped her, "How is the princess today?"
"Very good, I broke a cup." Meng E replied.
Han Ruzi smiled, but this was not the real reason for him to stop Meng E. He hesitated, and finally asked, "I once boasted that I mastered the art of emperor, but now I am not so sure."
Meng E waited for a while and replied, "Your Majesty once said to me that people mature twice in their lives, the first time they know what they can do, and the second time they know what they can't do."
"This is what Yang Feng said." Han Ruzi's heart moved, and suddenly he didn't have much to say, "Thank you."
Meng E hummed and bowed to exit.
"Can't do anything." Han Ruzi whispered to himself, in a trance, Yang Feng seemed to be standing opposite him, looking at him coldly, waiting for him to give an answer, "What can't the emperor do?"