Lin Haifeng walked all the way, examining and thinking about the reality that happened along the way. Approaching Zhenjiang, the noisy crowd gathering in the distance aroused his interest again.
A young man who looked very frail was tied to a big tree at the entrance of the village, with his baggage scattered at his feet. A dozen people with red scarves on their heads and long whips made of rattan in their hands maintained the noisy order and listened to a small leader preaching.
"Brothers and sisters, I am not cruel, everyone has seen it with your own eyes," the little leader pointed to the scroll of the books lying on the floor, and then raised a book in his hand high, "This foreign demon All we carry with us are demon books. The Emperor and Heavenly Father have repeatedly warned us not to read demon books or become demons, but there are always people who dare to defy us. According to the law of heaven, this person will be whipped a hundred times and then beheaded. Here, I would like to remind all brothers and sisters that the rules of heaven are ruthless and please do not violate them."
"That's right." A voice of praise sounded from behind the crowd.
People who were close could clearly see the dragon embroidered on the yellow robe worn by the speaker. They immediately stepped out of the way, knelt on both sides and shouted "Thousand years old, thousand thousand years old!" Those who were far away could not see it. It was clear, but those in front had already done so, so they all knelt down one after another. No one reported who was coming, so of course no one knew, and it didn't seem to matter. Anyway, people only believed in one thing: the one who can wear the dragon robe must be the king, and the mountain will be a thousand years old.
The little leader was also kneeling, kowtowing and shouting, and at the same time secretly peeping at the people approaching from the corner of his eyes. Based on his experience, he knew that the person who came was the prince Chitose, but unfortunately he didn't know how to read. There was a symbol on the prince's hat, but to him it was just a decoration.
Lin Haifeng first put a lot of effort into getting everyone to stand up, and then looked at the cautious little leader in front of him with a smile, "Are you the commander of this place?"
"Reporting to Chitose, the villain is the new soldier commander." The little leader replied in fear, while looking at the other men with red scarves on their heads, "They are also the two newcomers with the villain. Sima, Wu Commander, so I haven't had time to change my official uniform yet. Please punish Chitose."
"Haha, it's good not to change it, so as not to scare the villagers." Lin Haifeng smiled and took the book he just held up from the little boss's hand and flipped through it, "The Analects of Confucius, haha, it's really a local It¡¯s an authentic demon book. Do you know what is written here?¡±
"Reporting to Chitose, I am illiterate and cannot understand." The little boss lowered his head in embarrassment.
"It's not okay to be illiterate." Lin Haifeng bent down to pick up a scroll and unfolded it casually. He looked up at the young man tied to the tree, "Are you from Zizhou?"
The young man looked at the prince in front of him who had the words "True Destiny, Taiping Heavenly Kingdom An King" on his hat, and nodded.
"Well, your picture of Zizhou is pretty good. Did you draw it yourself?" Lin Haifeng asked with interest.
"Yes, ordinary people like this, and they draw and play at will." The young man replied calmly.
"Oh," Lin Haifeng put the scroll away and tucked it under his arm, and asked while loosening the binding, "What's your name?"
The untied young man moved his numb wrists, "Zou Guojian."
"You bastard, you still don't kneel down when you see the prince, who is a thousand years old!" The little boss looked at the poor look of the young man, and became angry and shouted loudly.
"Zou Guojian," Lin Haifeng smiled and waved to the little boss, looking at the young man seriously, "Well, the name is good, but it doesn't look like a scholar's name."
"The common people originally wanted to join the Heavenly Army, but no one wanted them." Zou Guojian twisted his neck. When he was first tied up, he had already made up his mind to die. Now nothing mattered to him.
"Surfing into the army?" Lin Haifeng laughed loudly and ignored him, but looked at the crowd around him, "At the beginning of the year, Heavenly Father taught us that the book of Confucius and Mencius is not without merit. The book just now In the Analects of Confucius, there are also contents that tell everyone to be gentle, kind, respectful and humble to others, and also tell everyone to learn to be diligent and thrifty in running a household. This is also similar to our Chinese dynasty. Our Chinese dynasty is to lead brothers and sisters to build a human being A paradise where people respect and give in to each other and everyone is equal. So there is no need to regard it as a scourge. Among brothers and sisters, I am afraid that not many can read. We should still respect those who can read. Without them For those people, at least we usually want to write something, send news to our relatives, etc. It¡¯s inconvenient.¡±
He pointed at the young man who claimed to be Zou Guojian, "Let's talk about him. Everyone has heard that he originally wanted to join the Heavenly Army. Why was he not taken in? I have to ask carefully. However, the bad guy Not all of them have these two words clearly engraved on their heads. He carries these books with him.??Maybe there are other uses, but do you know what I'm holding? "
He held up the scroll picture just now and said, "This is the map of their hometown. Marching and fighting are inseparable from maps. If our heavenly army really hits there one day, this thing will be a treasure. Tell me about it, he is a Bad guy?"
As he said that, he turned around and patted the little leader on the shoulder, and smiled, "It is right to implement the rules of heaven conscientiously and fulfill your responsibilities, but you must be cautious in using force. You are very vigilant, which is also worthy of praise. Treat The real enemy is to ruthlessly use violence to completely eliminate them. But for these books for reading, there is no need to use so much energy. If you think about it, there are people around us who sincerely support our dynasty. Are there more ordinary people, or are there more rotten scholars who work wholeheartedly for the Qing demon? I think there are still fewer of them. As the saying goes, those who are close to vermillion are red, and those who are close to ink are black. As long as most of us are loyal to the Celestial Empire, then , even if some corrupt scholars come among us, we will not be contaminated by them, but can influence and change them. In the future, we must be flexible in dealing with similar things. It doesn't matter whether Zhang's parents or Li's parents complain and say weird things. As long as they don't do anything that harms China, they can just pretend they didn't hear anything. China will not be ruined."
He waved again, motioning the village officials to come closer, and pointed to the whips in their hands, "Throw away these things forever. If it were in your own home, would you hold it all day long? What you face every day is Brothers and sisters in China should treat everyone like their own family members, helping everyone solve problems and improve their lives. When you have time, find a husband who knows more words."
The little boss and his men nodded submissively.
This is an era of centralization. As long as you have power, you can turn your hands into clouds and turn your hands into rain. Ordinary people have always been submissive. They are used to listening devoutly and passively accepting, and rarely ask why. Facing such people, Lin Haifeng did not sigh, but felt more emotion. The Chinese people are the most simple and kind-hearted. For them, there is still a long way to go.
¡°Okay, brothers and sisters, let¡¯s go do your own work,¡± he smiled and waved to the crowd, ¡°Everyone should do their own work well and live a prosperous life, which is the greatest support for the Celestial Empire.¡±
After saying that, he squatted down, gathered the scattered books on the ground, and looked up at Zou Guojian, "Why are you still trying to be a scholar? Aren't you going to join the army? Pack your things quickly and follow me."