From a son-in-law to a favorite of the empress

Chapter 685

Unlike the bright sunshine of the previous few days, it rained lightly today. The air was chilly and made people feel more melancholy.

With everyone waving, Zhou Yuan and Cai Ni got on the carriage and headed south.

Parting is always sad, so reunion is precious.

The carriage was covered with cushions, the walls were sewn with soft bags, and there was a small iron stove under the small table, which was very warm.

Zhou Yuan almost didn't sleep much. He got up too early, and the carriage was really comfortable. He half-closed his eyes and fell asleep quickly.

He didn't know when he woke up. He only smelled the fragrance. He opened his eyes dazedly and found that the carriage had stopped in a small town.

Cai Ni had already put the food on the table. She didn't participate in the activities last night and was very excited. She poured tea for Zhou Yuan and whispered, "Young Master, drink some tea to wake up first."

Zhou Yuan nodded and subconsciously looked out the window. He saw a big fat face squeezed in through the window hole, revealing an honest smile.

Xiong Kuohai's eyes were originally small, and they looked even smaller when he squinted. He laughed and said, "The Duke is really living a fairy-like life. There are fruits and stoves in the carriage, and beauties serving him. It's really enviable."

This time, Zhou Yuan brought three people with him, namely Cai Ni, Xiong Kuohai and Wang Ang.

After all, the Internal Court Department has only been established for more than ten years. The internal guards' penetration and understanding of remote areas are far less thorough than the Jinyiwei. Xiong Kuohai and Wang Ang rose from humble beginnings and have very rich experience in struggle. They can help a lot.

Cai Ni mainly plays the role of bodyguard. She is good at using poison and identifying poison. She has a clear understanding of the vicious means in the underworld, so she can avoid many dangers.

Although it is a secret visit, Zhou Yuan dare not guarantee that his whereabouts must be secret. After going deep into the Miao village, there are more and more dangerous things waiting for them.

"Stop talking nonsense, roll up and eat together."

Four people and two carriages. Lao Wang and Lao Xiong used to travel around frequently. They were used to hard times, so they didn't care much.

As a result, it was freezing cold in the car. At this moment, they were invited to Zhou Yuan's side and were excited for a while.

"Great! Great! This small stove is really great!"

Xiong Kuohai rubbed his hands, sat down with Wang Ang next to the wall of the car, picked up chopsticks and started eating.

Seeing the appearance of the two, Cai Ni couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh. She leaned against Zhou Yuan's body and whispered: "The dishes are all poisonous."

One sentence seemed to freeze time.

Xiong Kuohai and Wang Ang were both stunned, unable to hold their chopsticks steadily.

But when they saw Zhou Yuan eating, they couldn't help laughing again.

Lord Wang Wang said, "Miss Cai Ni, please don't tease us. We have struggled for decades and finally got to this point. We cherish our lives the most!"

Xiong Kuohai also nodded and said, "If you want to talk about your fate with Lord Zhou, it is also because of me and Lao Wang's matchmaking. When we were in Yunzhou, we didn't arrest you for his sake, not to mention when we were in Lin'an Prefecture."

Cai Ni tilted her head and smiled, but still said, "Thank you two adults, Cai Ni is very grateful."

She is sincerely grateful to anyone who helps her and the young master.

This made Lao Wang and Xiong Kuohai a little embarrassed. They laughed awkwardly a few times and talked about business while eating.

"Mr. Zhou, what are your plans? Why don't you go to Sichuan first, and then to Guizhou?"

Xiong Kuohai believed that Guiyang Prefecture had been lost, and the Tusi had already established a foothold in Guizhou, and their power had grown, so it was not easy to take them down. The Tusi of Adu and Wumeng in Sichuan were a loose alliance, and they were united based on short-term interests, so it was easy to defeat them one by one. The Han tenants who were making trouble were tempted with benefits and divided with land, and they collapsed in an instant.

Solve the easy ones first, and then solve the more difficult ones. This is the basic logic of doing things.

As the commander of the Jinyiwei, Xiong Kuohai was not a fool, and he did a lot of homework in advance.

Wang Ang also had doubts in his heart. He had talked a lot with Mr. Xiong in the past few days, but the result after each discussion was to deal with Sichuan first. Who knew that Mr. Zhou would go directly to Guizhou?

"To deal with a rebellion in a place, the first question is not whether we can win or not, but to analyze the fundamental reasons and find the crux of the problem so that we can prescribe the right medicine."

Zhou Yuan picked up a roasted sweet potato and started to eat it. His eyes lit up and he said, "This is really good!"

Cai Ni took out a silver spoon from the box and said with a smile, "Sir, use this to eat."

So Lao Wang and Lao Xiong looked at each other and couldn't help shaking their heads and sighing. They were eating so much that their faces were black, like hungry pigs.

Zhou Yuan said as he ate, "The crux of the Liangjiang rebellion is the ambition of Han Tuo and Cheng Ping, and the crux of the Central Plains bandits is the officialOfficials exploited, natural disasters came, and the people could not survive. "

"So to quell the rebellion in Liangjiang, it was only necessary to defeat the armies of Han Tuo and Cheng Ping, and the most important thing for the pacification of the Central Plains was the division of land and the reform. Without these two items, everyone could become a refugee again, and another Zhang Bailong would stand up. "

"What is the crux of the southwest?"

Xiong Kuohai frowned and said, "Where?"

"Poverty."

Zhou Yuan said indifferently, "Poverty is the fundamental contradiction there."

"The Miao people originally lived in the lower reaches of the Yellow River and the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Today, Shandong, Jiangnan, and Huguang are all their settlements. After Chiyou was defeated in Zhuolu, the Jiuli tribes in the lower reaches of the Yellow River migrated southward, controlled the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, gradually strengthened their power, and began to expand northward. "

"At that time, the Miao people were called the 'You Miao' tribe, and their momentum was huge, but they encountered Emperor Yu and were defeated again, and the world was unified. ”

Speaking of this, he looked at the two people and said in a deep voice: "The reason why I talked about the origin of the Miao people is to tell you that they have been the people of this land since ancient times, but the tribes are different, and they belong to Jiuli, not China."

"After Emperor Yu conquered the Sanmiao and unified the world, they became part of our entire civilization and were close relatives and compatriots connected by flesh and blood for thousands of years."

The two nodded slowly. They were not literati, and they did not understand this. At this moment, they expressed their approval.

Zhou Yuan said: "Based on this premise, we cannot treat them like alien races, trying to annihilate and suppress them."

"At least, I won't do that. I have a better way."

His attitude of talking freely made Cai Ni's eyes shine, and her face showed a gentle smile of fascination.

Cai Ni especially likes the way the young master talks about business. She can't tell why, but she likes it.

And Zhou Yuan continued: "Let's get back to the crux, the so-called poverty."

"Why poor? ”

“During the Sanmiao era, the Miao people migrated to the Huguang area, and then due to the chaos of war, they continued to migrate southward, some to Sichuan, some to Xiangxi, and more to Guizhou.”

“For a long time, they lived in the mountains, away from the troubles of the world, but... the world is changing, the system does not change, and the people will only suffer more and more.”

“The crux of poverty lies in the Tusi system.”

“Tusi has the highest power in the local area, including administration, justice, military, and imprisonment, which means that they can oppress the ordinary people under their rule at will, exploit them like pigs and dogs, and use the internal conflicts of the people under their rule to hinder development.”

“This system is essentially a feudal system and a serf system. The competition for territory will even restrict the development of wasteland and the reclamation of fields.”

“In such extreme poverty, if you are a Miao man, will you pick up your weapons and do something?”

“Faced with the brainwashing of the Tusi, will you blame all the suffering on the Han people and the government? ”

“Is suppression useful? Is killing a solution to the problem?”

Wang Ang sighed deeply and clasped his fists, saying, “Lord Zhou, we are rough people and think too simply about some things. I have benefited a lot from this teaching.”

Zhou Yuan waved his hand and said, “What I want to say is that the real way to solve the problem in the southwest is to abolish the Tusi system and break the shackles on the Miao people.”

“This requires not only us, but also their own awakening.”

He looked at the two and said in a deep voice, “Why go to Guizhou instead of Sichuan first? It’s because the Tusi of Guizhou is the foundation of the Tusi of Sichuan. The reason why the Tusi of Wumeng started the rebellion is probably supported by the Tusi of Guizhou.”

“Whether it’s catching the thief or finding the root of the problem, Guizhou must be dealt with first.”

“If Guizhou is not dealt with, even if Sichuan is pacified, it will only be a temporary solution.”

“Xiang Yong and Deng Su have the ability to stabilize the situation. I promised them three months.”

“Within three months, we must change Guizhou. "

Speaking of this, Zhou Yuan laughed and said softly: "My two lords, you used to do tasks such as killing people and confiscating property."

"This time is different. You are going to save your compatriots who are living in extreme poverty and oppressed by the chieftains."

"This time, you are not doing something shameful, but the greatest thing in the world - liberation."