"What? The people have all left?"
The Imperial Guards held Luo Yangxing's secret letter in one hand and looked at the spies who came in to report with the other.
"How is this possible?"
The scout nodded repeatedly, his face full of admiration, and recounted what had just happened to the Jinyiwei commanders.
Finally, he added, "What Lord Zhou said is truly insightful; the people were already wavering after he finished speaking."
"At this point, he tried to appease the people first, then resorted to force, ordering General Li to go out and making a gesture as if to arrest someone, and the people scattered in all directions."
After exchanging glances, the officers felt something was amiss.
“Zhou Yanru wasn’t this capable before; there must be more to the story.”
"Maybe someone gave him some advice... Oh well, it's none of our business!"
They whispered among themselves for a few moments, and their mood improved noticeably.
Zhou Yanru did not need their help to render the gentry's elaborate schemes ineffective, thus gaining the upper hand.
They were happy to have an easy time.
"Someone, send a message to the capital immediately."
"Just tell them that things in Jiangnan are going very smoothly, so please don't worry, Commander!"
On the other side, after seeing that the people had all left, Zhou Yanru looked at Zheng Chenggong beside him with a smile.
"Little Zheng, was what I said just now good?"
Zheng Chenggong chuckled a few times.
"Lord Zhou, your flattery skills are quite impressive."
He heard it clearly; Zhou Yanru had just casually praised Gao Qingyun a few times.
It was obvious that they were trying to curry favor with Master Gao.
Zheng Chenggong turned around and went into the house, climbed onto a chair and sat down, swinging his short legs.
"It's a pity that you're too old, Lord Zhou, to be Mr. Gao's student."
Zhou Yanru quickly went over, sat down next to Zheng Chenggong, and said with a smile:
"That's not necessarily true. As Han Changli once said, there is a sequence to learning the Way."
"Although I am not young, I still have a thirst for knowledge."
"Even if I were to become Mr. Gao's student, I would do so willingly."
Zheng Chenggong naturally knew his ulterior motives; Zhou Yanru had no interest in learning whatsoever.
He simply wanted to take the opportunity to get in touch with Gao Qingyun and become Zhu Youjian's confidant again.
Although Gao Qingyun's disciples have only two left the mountain so far.
However, those with discerning eyes in the court could see that these students would inevitably become pillars of the Ming Dynasty.
Some people planned to send their children to become Gao Qingyun's disciples.
Zhou Yanru clearly intends to take charge himself.
Zheng Chenggong said nonchalantly, "It's not up to me to decide this. You can talk to His Majesty yourself after we return to the capital."
Zhou Yanru nodded slightly.
Then he got down to business: "The people here have been scattered by my words, and the local gentry will definitely resort to other means."
"This is always a reactive approach, which is rather passive."
"It's time for us to take the initiative!"
Zheng Chenggong nodded and smiled.
“Lord Zhou is right. We should take advantage of the situation in Guazhou to send people out to capture the local gentry.”
"At the same time, it also allows the soldiers outside the city to prepare."
"When the gentry of Nanjing see that we are serious, they will definitely be ready to fight to the death, and their servants and clansmen in their estates will start a riot."
"These people can't be persuaded to back down with just a few words."
Zhou Yanru naturally understood this better than Zheng Chenggong.
He nodded and said, "Those people have received tremendous benefits from the gentry on a daily basis, and their fortunes are almost tied to those of the gentry. Naturally, they will not be swayed by the benefits I offer."
"Fortunately, we're not going south alone this time; we've brought tens of thousands of troops with us!"
"As long as they are there, Jiangnan will not be turned upside down."
Zheng Chenggong clapped his hands: "Haha, Lord Zhou is right."
"With tens of thousands of people here, what trouble can those gentry possibly cause?"
The capital city.
"Um?"
Gao Qingyun suddenly frowned.
He heard a system notification in his ear, telling him that he had gained another 3,000 reputation points.
"Where did this come from?"
He was unaware that not long ago, Zhou Yanru had flattered him in front of the people of Nanjing.
Although the common people did not know who Master Gao was or what he had done.
But since Zhou Yanru said so, they decided to believe him for the time being.
"It's a pity that this little bit of reputation is not enough to buy anything good."
He stretched and sat back down in his chair.
Our Great Ming Emperor Taizu was a super workaholic. After he ascended the throne, he decreed that the official holidays in the Ming Dynasty would only be a dozen days a year.
Later, Emperor Chengzu added a few more days, but it was still not much.
However, Gao Qingyun still follows the custom of later generations, attending classes only five days a week.
Today is the weekend, so Gao Qingyun didn't teach the students.
As he was thinking, he suddenly heard footsteps behind him.
Zhu Youjian walked over with a smile.
"Master Gao, didn't you give them a lesson today?"
Gao Qingyun turned around in annoyance.
"Xiao Zhu, what do you mean by that? Does it mean the higher-ups are going to adjust the work schedule again?"
Zhu Youjian was taken aback, not understanding what he meant: "Resting time off in lieu of leave?"
Gao Qingyun waved his hand.
"Never mind, judging from your expression, you're probably going to have to take another day off."
"Sigh, the higher-ups are just messing around."
He called out to the outside, "Old Cao, call all the students back. We still have to continue teaching today."
Upon hearing this, Cao Huachun dared not delay and immediately called back all the students who were playing outside.
They were having a great time when they were suddenly told they had to go to class, so naturally they were all unhappy.
But they didn't dare to vent their anger on Zhu Youjian and Gao Qingyun, so they could only sulk in their hearts.
Zhu Youjian noticed this and felt somewhat embarrassed.
He coughed a few times, then turned to leave.
But when he reached the door, he remembered that he had come for a serious reason.
"Master Gao, could you come out with me for a moment? I have some questions for you."
Gao Qingyun nodded indifferently. He first let the students study on their own, and then went straight outside.
Having lived here for a long time, he is extremely familiar with the surrounding area.
No longer do we have to fumble our way around like we did at the beginning.
The two walked outside together, and Zhu Youjian asked:
"Master Gao, do you remember when you told me that the only way for the Ming Dynasty to alleviate its financial difficulties was to open up the seas?"
Having spent a long time with Gao Qingyun, Zhu Youjian began to use vocabulary from later generations when he met him.
In the past, he would never have mentioned financial difficulties.
Gao Qingyun nodded with a smile: "That's right, of course I remember that."
"Xiao Zhu, why did you suddenly bring this up?"
Zhu Youjian wore a smug smile.
"Master Gao, tell me, if the Ming Dynasty can successfully open the seas, wouldn't that be a tremendous achievement?"
He was like a child who had gotten a high score, hoping to receive praise from Gao Qingyun.
However, Gao Qingyun chuckled lightly.
"This is not something that can be done so easily."
"How could the gentry of Jiangnan stand by and watch the imperial court take away the meat from their own pots?"
"Won't they still cause a scene?"
Zhu Youjian felt even more smug and said, "Even if they want to cause trouble, do you think they can outrun tens of thousands... cough cough."
He almost let it slip, so he quickly changed the subject and said:
"What trouble could they possibly cause? They'd just get their own tenants to cause some trouble."
"This is nothing."
Gao Qingyun shook her head.
"Xiao Zhu, you still don't really understand them."
He hesitated for a moment, then thought that "Little Zhu" in front of him was in a good mood and he could tell him a little about the awful things that happened in the Southern Ming Dynasty.
It would also let Xiao Zhu know that those gentry in the south would do anything for their own benefit.
He coughed and began to speak eloquently.
After a moment, he asked the silent Zhu Youjian, "Little Zhu, do you understand what I mean now?"
“If the Ming Dynasty really wants to open up the seas, or even seize the land of the gentry, they will not resort to petty tricks.”
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