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Another scholar asked: "Then tell me, should widows remarry? I think they should remarry, but Zhu Zi advised widows not to remarry. Is Zhu Zi a sage? If he is a sage, based on what you just said, the sage supports it. Even if Li supports it, is it also an act of indecency for a widow to remarry?"

Zhang Erqi said: "A widow should not remarry according to the etiquette, but everything has the right to change. Now the north has gone through wars, husbands lose their wives, and wives lose their husbands. If widowers and widows can reorganize their families, they can help each other and prosper People, this is the way of human relations. Human relations are also rituals."

"Haha, human relations are love, so what is etiquette?" The scholar said with a smile, "Widowers and widows get married, and it is reasonable to break the etiquette. What does this mean? It shows that when there is a chance of change, love should be the first. Ruthless etiquette, then It's evil etiquette and fallacy!"

Zhang Erqi said: "No, no. Marriage of widowers and widows is a contingency change in the dynasty. If the population is prosperous in the future, widows should not remarry. Widows don't marry, and they stick to each other. They are like loyal ministers and good generals. The Son of Heaven is from one to the end. These three cardinal principles and five permanent principles must never be changed."

"Fart, women are human too. Widowers can remarry, why can't widows remarry?"

A scholar shouted wildly: "It's only right and proper for widows to remarry. Your Majesty encourages widows to remarry, and you are a wise king in this world. Is it possible that you still want to criticize Your Majesty? I think you are a traitor and a traitor sent by the Tartars to disrupt public opinion!" "

Zhang Erqi was also angry: "Don't slander me! Your Majesty encourages widows to remarry because of changes in the troubled times, so revive the north as soon as possible!"

The two sides couldn't figure it out at all, because everyone had different definitions of love and propriety.

Don't feel that you are full. This is really a national event. They want to use their own ideas to build the social values ​​of Datong New Dynasty.

Zhang Erqi in another time and space, because the Manchu Qing Dynasty entered the Central Plains, his views became more conservative.

In the society at the end of Ming Dynasty, the ideological atmosphere was divided.

Some are extremely conservative, some are extremely open, and there are more and more open people.

Open-minded people, advocating self-worth, pursuing equality between men and women, and advocating comity and affection.Moreover, the academic mainstream is tracing back to the pre-Qin philosophers. Even those who abide by Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism like to study the value of various schools of thought, and the combination of theories of the philosophers is also recognized.

Historically, after the Manchus entered the customs, the ideological atmosphere took a sharp turn for the worse.

People don't pursue themselves anymore, and they don't talk about equality between men and women. They still think that courtesy should be used to restrain affection.Hundreds of schools of thought were rejected and slandered, and they only recognized Cheng Zhu Neo Confucianism, and the combination of kings and tyrants was changed to only respect the way of kings.

Now that Zhao Han established a new dynasty, he did not castrate social thinking, but instead aroused more complex and diverse academic trends.

There are even heterogeneous suggestions: Men can take concubines, but why can't women have multiple husbands?The imperial court should support the freedom of marriage. As long as women are capable, they can also marry more husbands.

This is an era when a hundred flowers bloom, and it is also an era when demons dance wildly.

Cao Fengji, who worked in the Qing dynasty, was standing beside Qian Qianyi at this moment, listening to these scholars discussing love and etiquette together.

Cao Fengji sighed: "Nanjing's style of writing is prosperous, it really far surpasses that in the north!"

Qian Qianyi said: "Your Majesty, although you are self-willed, you do not intervene in academic disputes. This is also very good. It's just that it is too chaotic. There are hundreds of theories in various places, and there are many eccentric theories. This is not conducive to the imperial court. Rule, His Majesty should be a little restrained."

Cao Fengji asked: "Does the shepherd think that the Datong court can last long?"

"Naturally, it will last forever," Qian Qianyi said with a smile, "Could it be that the intruders in the northwest and the Tartars in Liaodong can still win the world?"

Cao Fengji nodded and said, "Wansheng also thinks the same."

Qian Qianyi suddenly complained: "The new dynasty is at its peak, but we can only watch from the sidelines. In such a situation, what can we do? It's a pity, it's a pity."

Cao Fengji took the opportunity to say: "The shepherd has countless disciples and old officials, why not form a literary club and teach your own knowledge? The old Li Ge (Li Banghua) in the cabinet heard that the children of the family are quite powerful in the court and the army. Such a powerful minister , the family dominates, sooner or later it will be taboo by His Majesty. If this person falls from power, he will definitely be reused by His Majesty as a sage of the people like Mu Weng."

This spy actually wanted to stir up party disputes in Nanjing.

Qian Qianyi looked quite moved, and sighed again: "The new dynasty is not like the old dynasty, and with my reputation, I can't respond to everyone. In the past, many wealthy businessmen and scholars donated money to restore the society. Now I don't have the financial resources to do it." Big movement?"

Cao Fengji said: "I was born late and I have some money in my hand. I would like to help the shepherd."

Qian Qianyi did not directly agree, but instead asked: "Are you the secret agent sent by Li Zicheng?"

Cao Fengji was startled, then smiled and said, "The shepherd has good eyesight."

Qian Qianyi said: "Li Zicheng can't do anything, but if he wants to give me money, I can do something for him. Well, I can't be in a high position in this life, and I can only get some money to support my life." gone."

Cao Fengji had no doubts, because this kind of operation was normal, and Chongzhen had a lot of similar people under his command.

Cao Fengji's mission to go south this time is not to lure anyone to join the enemy, because that is obviously unrealistic.His task is to bribe officials and scholars, and obtain all kinds of intelligence and information. It is best to mess up the Nanjing court and make Zhao Han suspicious of those important officials who can do things.

The two stopped talking and went home separately.

In the afternoon, Zuo Xiaocheng came to Cao Fengji's home: "Shopkeeper Cao, I have been contacted, but this person has no ambitions and no abilities."

"No rush, take your time." Cao Fengji smiled.

Zuo Xiaocheng spread his hands: "Shopkeeper Cao, that... I'm a little tight."

With a kind smile on his face, Cao Fengji asked someone to fetch five taels of silver, stuffed it into Zuo Xiaocheng's hand and said, "Do something for me, there is plenty of silver, and there will be great rewards in the future."

What Zuo Xiaocheng came into contact with was the grandson of the son-in-law of the previous dynasty, that is, the son-in-law who brought Zhu Cihong and Zhu Yuxi to Nanjing.His family was also brought to Nanjing to settle down in the spring of the following year.

Cao Fengji intends to engage in the trick of the restoration of the Ming Dynasty prince. He does not seek success, but only seeks to make trouble. It is best to involve some important officials in Nanjing.

As for Zuo Xiaocheng, he met him when he was holding a literary conference, and he was the first one to be bribed by him.

The details have been found out, the great Ming Jiangxi scholar.When Zhao Han's territory consisted of only one town, Zuo Xiaocheng helped the government to suppress it, and took refuge in several governors, governors, prefects, and general soldiers.

Today, Zuo Xiaocheng is completely down and out, wandering around Nanjing all day, making a living by doing cultural favors for people.

And Zuo Xiaocheng is good at gambling, the casinos in Nanjing have long been banned, but there are always outlaws who gather to gamble in private.

Down-and-out, fond of gambling, and having a grudge against the Emperor of Datong, wouldn't it be easy to buy him off?

Zuo Xiaocheng took the silver and went straight to the Qinhuai River, happily inviting people to drink flower wine.After closing the door, he said to the people who drank the flower wine together: "This is a whimsical plan. It actually wants to encourage the former prince's son-in-law to bring the former prince back to the throne, and also wants to involve the children of the ministers of the court. The action is generous. Give money every time you do something."

The person at the same table ordered: "You should do your best to do what he asks you to do. After the incident fails, it would be even better if you can escape back to Liaodong with him."

Zuo Xiaocheng became anxious immediately: "Don't, Liaodong is bitterly cold, Tartars are everywhere, isn't this asking me to die?"

The person at the same table said: "There is an order from above to develop detailed operations in Liaodong. They are not ordinary spies, but those who can talk to the nobles of the Tartars. We will take good care of the children born in your outer room. We will take the exam and become an official in the future." Definitely extra points. If you can come back alive from Liaodong, the whole family will have [-] acres of farmland as a reward. Don’t worry, the Tartars are very good at fine farming, and you can eat delicious food and spicy food when you go to Liaodong. If you are captured by the Datong Army, you can report it Identity, just bring you back."

Zuo Xiaocheng reluctantly agreed: "Okay, let's go to Liaodong."

Chapter 474 [The State of the World]

Ran Zaijing was very happy in the past two years, but at the same time he was not very happy.

His grandfather was the son-in-law of the Ming Dynasty, and Emperor Chongzhen was his cousin.But to be honest, it's very boring, the family has no real power, and there is nowhere to start if you want to be greedy for money.

In history, Li Zicheng tortured his salary in Beijing and beat his son-in-law half to death, but he couldn't find any silver taels.

After Ran Zaijing was brought to Nanjing, he felt like a fish in water.When he was in Beijing, he was a minor player among the nobles.But when he arrived in Nanjing, as Chongzhen's cousin, many dudes took the initiative to play with him.

There is no need for Ran Zaijing to pay for the usual high-end consumption.

The value of his existence is to have fun with these dudes.The majors are so perfect, cockfighting and running dogs, cages and birds, flowers, wine and tea, interjections and singing...Ran Zaijing is proficient in everything!

Occasionally tell some interesting stories about the imperial palace of the Ming Dynasty, and tell about the entertainment activities of the nobles in Beijing.No matter how he made it up, the group of bumpkins in Nanjing gathered around him and listened carefully, and they were amazed when he talked about the wonderful things.

It's a pity that no matter how many stories you have learned, there will be a day when they will be finished.

The playboys in Nanjing gradually lost their freshness to him and became a dispensable existence, and often stopped bringing him along for fun.

Today I finally got taken advantage of, invited him to Goulan to drink flower wine, and slept until the next morning before returning home.

"Where have you been fooling around?"

As soon as he passed through the yard, Ran Zaijing heard his grandfather's voice.

Ran Zaijing didn't take it seriously, and replied with a playful smile: "Back to my grandfather, I drank too late last night and rested at a friend's house."

Ran Xingrang snorted coldly: "It's those cronies again!"

"Just playing together." Ran Zaijing argued.

Ran Xingrang sighed suddenly: "Oh, with you father and son, in what life have I committed crimes!"

Although Xu Ying's meticulous work brought the son-in-law's family to Nanjing.But the princess (the daughter of Wanli) died of illness halfway through, and her worry-free son and eldest grandson all went out of business after settling in Nanjing.

This father and son met in Dachawei, Qinhuai River.

At that time, they each went to the brothel to seek pleasure, but they couldn't get to see famous prostitutes, so the two groups were arranged to drink tea together.The father and son bumped into each other head-on, staring at each other, and it was inconvenient to recognize each other, so they called each other "Mr."

Ran Xingrang called his grandson into the study, and said, "I got rid of this old face and asked my relationship to find a job for you. There is a lack of a warehouse boy in the Physics Museum of Qintianyuan. Although he is not an official, if he does well, You can also be promoted to be an official. What's more rare is that this job is very leisurely, as long as you can read and write. You can also read more books when you are usually doing things. You must be assessed for promotion to be an official. One test is Datong Theory , the second test is the rules and regulations of the physics museum."

Ran Zaijing suddenly became anxious: "Not even an official? If you want to be an official, you have to be promoted? Isn't that a handyman in the government! Grandfather, no matter what, we are also the clan of the old dynasty, so where are we going to put our face on it?"

"You still want to lose face?" Ran Xingrang was furious, "The name of your father and son has been spread all over the Qinhuai River! The old man had to bite the bullet and ask for help. He could have arranged official affairs. When people heard that it was you, they would die I don’t want to help. The old man begged hard, so he agreed to let you do a handyman first! Three months, as long as you don’t miss work and don’t make troubles, you can become an official!”

Ran Zaijing said impatiently: "Father is not working, let him do chores."

"Say it again!" Ran Xingrang trembled with anger.

Of course Ran Zaijing didn't dare to disobey, he lowered his head and said perfunctorily, "All right, I'll do it for a few days."

A few days later, Ran Zaijing was fired because he was late and left early for no reason. He also contradicted the warehouse supervisor and scolded the supervisor's ancestors for eighteen generations in public.

He didn't dare to go home, so he was recommended by Zuo Liangcheng to Cao Fengji, who took him to enjoy the painting boat for three days in a row.

Ran Zai Jingle didn't think about Shu, and said one day: "The shopkeeper Cao is happy these days, even if he is a god, he won't do it."

Cao Fengji smiled and said: "My uncle is a wealthy businessman from Shanxi. This time I came to the South to handle business, and I have my own staff to obey the arrangements. As for myself, I make friends with gentry and celebrities, and make good relations with officials in Nanjing. There are acquaintances in this official, business Wouldn't it be easy to do?"

"Cao shopkeeper is really rich and honored, eating, drinking and having fun all day is considered a serious business." Ran Zaijing envied.

Cao Fengji said: "Your Excellency is also rich and honored. How prestigious is the honor of the previous dynasty. I heard that Lord Chongzhen is still your cousin?"

Ran Zaijing waved his hands again and again: "Don't say it, don't say it, I get angry when I say it. I am very rich? My grandfather turned down his face and asked for help, but he only found a job as a government servant. Today's His Majesty is also stingy. Why don’t you give me a decent house, give it to some errands in the government, and send some silver taels every month as regular money?”

Cao Fengji echoed, "That's how it should be."

"Drink, drink!" Ran Zaijing became angrier as he thought about it.

Cao Fengji said with emotion again: "A few years back, Your Excellency is an honorable clan, but I am just a grassroots person. Now Sansheng is lucky to be able to have a drink and talk with such an honorable person as Your Excellency."

"What kind of nobleman am I? No, no." Ran Zaijing was actually very happy that someone finally recognized his identity.

One applauded vigorously, the other smugly, after drinking, Ran Zaijing already regarded Cao Fengji as a confidant.

Finally, Cao Fengji asked casually: "I heard that it was Grandfather Ling who sent Daming's prince and daughter to Nanjing. This is really a great contribution!"

Ran Zaijing became more and more resentful: "Your Majesty is very mean and ungrateful. No matter how great my grandfather's contribution is, he only rewarded a few dozen taels of silver, and the house he bestowed was also very shabby. With so many people in my family, the house is not I can’t live there! You don’t get a monthly salary, and you have to earn your own living. In the past, in Beijing, everyone had a salary!”

Seeing that Ran Zaijing was already drunk, Cao Fengji asked, "Aside from grandfather Ling, who were the loyal ministers from the old dynasty who escorted the prince south?"

"There are no loyal ministers in this world, they are all..." Ran Zaijing thought of someone, and suddenly sneered, "There is one loyal minister. At that time, the eunuch and guards escorted him out of Beijing under the pretext of offering sacrifices to the ancestors. He pretended to be a thief and killed him. The eunuchs and guards I was so frightened that the birds scattered. There was a red-helmet guard who didn't run away and devoted himself to protecting the prince. This person is also in Nanjing now, and he is also the captain of the patrol. Do you think he is stupid? His monthly salary is not much, and he has to support his family , To actually buy pastries for the prince and princess every month as a filial piety."

Cao Fengji's eyes lit up, he unlocked a new character, and hurriedly said: "This loyal minister is also a righteous man, it's a pity we can't see him!"

Ran Zaijing smiled and said, "It's not easy to see him? He leads patrols every day, and he can be seen on the street. He is a dignified red-helmet general and the emperor's bodyguard. When he comes to Nanjing, he can only be a catcher."

Hurry up!

Cao Fengji became more and more happy.

He continued to inquire about the news and learned that this person was named Zhou Yingyuan, so he went to secretly investigate the situation the next day.

It soon became apparent that Ran Zaijing's news was delayed.Zhou Yingyuan is not a patrol captain, he has been promoted long ago, and he is in charge of the security of the entire Anbifang—roughly equivalent to the deputy director of the Public Security Bureau.

Cao Fengji then asked Ran Zaijing to introduce him to him, said some words of admiration, and said that he missed the old dynasty and liked to make friends with loyal ministers and righteous men of Ming Dynasty.

But Zhou Yingyuan said with a dark face: "What is the new dynasty and the old dynasty? Now there is only one Datong court. You must not talk nonsense and harm the children of Lord Chongzhen. You should do your business honestly, and you must not visit everywhere in the future, otherwise you will be killed." Catch them and treat them as spies!"

Cao Fengji quickly apologized, and said with a miserable expression: "General Zhou, don't get angry, the grass people are just... ah! The grass people are also born as scholars, and those who have fame, who don't bathe in the emperor's favor? The country has been supporting scholars for 300 years, but we wait for scholars. I can't repay you. Now His Majesty Chongzhen is gone, and I happen to come to Nanjing to do business. I really... I can't help it, I want to see the royal family of Ming Dynasty. But I don't dare to be presumptuous, for fear of offending the princes and daughters Disasters, you can only make friends with loyal ministers like generals."

Zhou Yingyuan saw that he spoke with sincerity, couldn't help feeling a lot, and immediately said in a relaxed tone: "It's good if you have this kind of heart, it's not easy, and you are not the kind of ungrateful person. But you must also remember that today's Holy Son, The royal family of the old dynasty was not weak. All the princes and daughters could study, and they could take the imperial examinations to be officials when they became adults. If you are really loyal to Lord Chongzhen, don't bother the Ming bloodline. If you know that your children can be treated like this, your majesty must be able to Smiling Jiuquan."

"General Zhou is right." Cao Fengji didn't dare to say more.

Inciting a rebellion did not happen overnight, and he had plenty of time to plan.If it doesn't work for one year, it's two years, and if it doesn't work for two years, it's three years. It's best to delay it until the Qing Dynasty is destroyed.

Cao Fengji likes life in Nanjing, which is much more comfortable than Liaodong and Shanxi.

He is indeed from Shanxi, but he is not Cao Sanxi's nephew, but a descendant of the Fan family of the "Eight Great Imperial Merchants".

Their whole family is doing business in the Zhangjiakou area. With the sparse population in Beizhili, the family business is not easy to do.The Manchus withdrew to Liaodong, and even took some family members of the "Eight Great Imperial Merchants" away, and now they are all held as hostages in Shenyang City.

Traitors belong to traitors, and making money belongs to making money. The Tartars see that they can't do it. Since they can't exchange for prosperity and wealth, who the hell is willing to work like a dog?

Sometimes, Cao Fengji even thought that he might as well give up his wife and children in Liaodong, and just vote for the Datong court in Nanjing.

But Cao Fengji was not the only one who came to Nanjing to work carefully.

Cao Fengji didn't know exactly how many there were, let alone where they were hidden.He was afraid that after he betrayed, not only his wife and children would be gone, but he would also be silenced.

Half of Cao Fengji's energy is now being a spy, and the other half is crazy about making people.The maid he brought from the north was kept in the room and tossed about every night, just hoping to give birth to a son as soon as possible.

Once you have offspring, you can pass on incense.

At that time, when things were not going well, he took his youngest son and turned himself in, asking for the blessing of Emperor Datong.

After seeing the prosperity of Nanjing and the living environment of merchants in the south, Cao Fengji really wanted to do business in Nanjing.

Chapter 475 [Information]

Fei Rulan was shaking the spinning wheel in the house, spinning carefully with careful attention.