"Brother Ma, are we still going today?"
In the West Market of Jingzhou, two young men wearing cloth shirts, straw sandals, and with their hair casually tied into buns were talking.
Ma Zhou looked at Zhang Han, who looked solemn, and said with a smile, "Of course I have to go. How can I not scold the aristocratic family for blocking our path to advancement?"
"But..." Zhang Han hesitated to speak.
"Brother Zhang, just say what you want to say. Why should we be so distant from each other?" Ma Zhou said.
Zhang Han sighed, "Well, Brother Ma, I'll just say it straight!"
"Although the aristocratic families were not fair in this incident, it was still caused by Your Majesty's policy of 'sharing labor service according to land'."
"If His Majesty revokes his order..."
"Shut up!" Zhang Han was interrupted by Ma Zhou before he could finish his words, "Brother Zhang!"
"Let's ask ourselves, is abolishing corvée labor and instituting paid employment a virtuous policy?"
"How many cases have you and I witnessed of families being torn apart and killed by forced labor?"
"After the implementation of the work-for-relief program, do the victims outside Jingzhou City still look like disaster victims? We have seen those fortresses with our own eyes. They are like paradises on earth!"
"Yes, Brother Ma, you are right." Zhang Han nodded in agreement.
Ma Zhou said without hesitation: "Since this is a benevolent policy that benefits the country, how can we scholars be used by the aristocratic families and become their swords?!"
Zhang Han nodded after hearing this, but a look of worry appeared on his face: "Brother Ma, you've been at the forefront these past two days. I think the noble families have noticed you. I'm afraid..."
Ma Zhou waved his hand and chuckled, "So what? If I can use my life to bring eternal infamy to my family and implement the new rules, then what does my life mean to me?"
"but……"
Zhang Han wanted to persuade him, but was interrupted by Ma Zhou.
"Brother Zhang, no need to say more. Let's go as soon as possible. I think there are already many of our comrades in front of Xie's house."
Seeing this, Zhang Han sighed helplessly and followed closely.
Soon, the two arrived at the gate of Xie's mansion. As expected, there were already thousands of people gathered in front of Xie's mansion.
As the number one family among the nine aristocratic families, it is naturally the most cared for by children from poor families.
As soon as the two approached, many people bowed to them.
"Brother Ma, Brother Zhang!"
Ma Zhou and Zhang Han also bowed in return.
"Brother Ma, let me host today's quarrel!" A young man saluted and said in a deep voice to Ma Zhou.
Ma Zhou looked at the worry in the other person's eyes and waved his hand: "No need. Now that I have come this far, the aristocratic family has already grudged me. If they want revenge, I will be doomed!"
"If you go forward now, you will only cause more bloodshed!"
After saying that, Ma Zhou turned around and walked out of the crowd. He glanced at the servants who were standing on high alert in front of the Xie Mansion, and a hint of mockery appeared on the corner of his mouth.
He waved his hand, and the cry of "old thief" burst out from the mouths of thousands of scholars.
The sound rolled like thunder, covering the entire Jingzhou City.
All the merchants and vendors who heard this sound knew that today's quarrel had begun again.
Suddenly, all the people who had nothing to do gathered at the gate of Xie's house.
There are many people who curse, but even more people who watch.
Since ancient times, people have loved to watch the excitement, and it is the same everywhere.
Especially, this kind of situation where a big family was attacked by thousands of students was unprecedented. This was definitely big news for the people of the Tang Dynasty who lacked entertainment.
If you look closely, you can see vendors carrying sackcloth bags walking through the crowd among the densely packed heads of people. They take out melon seeds, tea, candied haws and all kinds of snacks from their bags and sell them everywhere.
Naturally, there are quite a few people who buy things. Who doesn’t want to watch the fun comfortably?
Not to mention, it was a scholar, a high-ranking talent, who was cursing!
There are many tricks and the words are nice.
If a scholar cursed like an opera, the audience who were watching the fun would cheer and applaud together. Some people even bought tea for the scholars to soothe their throats. This was the greatest encouragement.
Suddenly, the scholars became even more excited!
As the saying goes, spit can drown a person, and at this moment, it really came true!
At the same time, in the Xie Mansion Garden!
Nine old men were sitting around a table, each sipping their tea.
He seemed to have not heard the deafening shouting and cursing at all, and even the smile on his face was not affected at all.
One of them put down his teacup and smiled at the crowd, "Listen, this girl is quite resourceful. We just raised the price of the book, and she used the scholars to fight back, and it's been going on for three days! I have to say, she uses this trick quite well!"
"Not only did he successfully put pressure on us, but he also earned some fame. Killing two birds with one stone!"
Upon hearing this, a person beside him put down his teacup and said calmly, "But has he forgotten that the scholar's lifeblood is in our hands?"
“That’s right!”
Another old man nodded heavily, his voice righteous and awe-inspiring: "Ninety percent of the books of the Great Zhou are in our hands. What can he use to play with us?"
"Now, the more they curse, the more they will have to pay. This time, we can't just ask the empress to admit her mistakes. We have to ask her to give up some official positions and some land. Otherwise..."
At this point, the old man snorted coldly: "We will not lower the price of books. After all, we are from aristocratic families and have books to read. What do we care about those poor children?"
"If we wait until next spring, I wonder how many of these poor students will be able to take the exam!"
"He wants to suppress us, so we'll cut off his roots!"
“That’s right!”
"Let's do it this way and see who gives up first!"
"You still want to suppress our family in this way? How ridiculous!"
"This time, let's show her the power of our family. If she doesn't succeed, we'll force her to abdicate and replace her with someone obedient!"
Everyone was talking, trying to put what they thought was the best possible ending to the matter.
After discussing for a moment, everyone turned their attention to the old man sitting upright with a cup of tea in his hand and said with a smile, "Mr. Xie, we can't take this scolding for nothing."
"Should we gather some scholars and surround the imperial city, so that Yan Jiaoran can have a taste of what it's like to be scolded?"
An old man smiled and said, "Old Wang is right!"
"This incident, in the final analysis, is because Yan Jiaoran was tactless and provoked us."
"You can't just take the blame for her for nothing."
Another old man laughed out loud: "Mr. Cui is absolutely right! This girl has crossed the line and actually came up with such a conspiracy!"
"If she doesn't compensate us properly, she will become the ruler of a fallen nation!"
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