novelhk Chapter 329: Confrontation
Chapter 329: Confrontation
What made the hundreds of dismissed officials depressed was that the white-clad scholars who were temporarily taking over the positions were surprisingly adept and efficient in handling government affairs.
This made them even more restless. They had originally thought of waiting to watch the joke, as the government affairs in the yamen were handled in a disorganized manner and with frequent mistakes, and the regent's wish of begging them to be reinstated was shattered.
They were like ants on a hot pan, running around in circles but unable to think of a solution, so they all went to their leader Gu Pingzhou who had instigated them.
After being blamed for a long time, Gu Pingzhou's face turned pale, and the two iron balls he was playing with in his hands were almost crushed.
"We are all doing this for the long-term benefit of our family. We have all said that we will fight to the death against the new policies. It's just that you lost your official position. You haven't even fought to the death yet, so why are you so panicked?
You can write to the head of your family and ask him whether this official position is more important or resisting the implementation of the new policy? If the new policy is implemented in all parts of the Song Dynasty, will there be a place for our aristocratic families and wealthy and powerful families? No matter how rich you are, you will eventually fall into poverty!"
The hall immediately became quiet. Everyone sitting in the room or standing at the door fell silent.
Lord Gu is right, they care about official positions, but family interests are more important.
"Master Gu, please tell us what we should do next?" asked a young man standing at the door.
Gu Pingzhou turned the tiger gall in his hand a few times, and a cold and sharp light shot out from his slightly narrowed eyes.
"Everyone present here is well-read. Pick up your pens, write letters if necessary, write poems if necessary, and spread the harm of the new policy as much as possible.
In addition, find the students from the Imperial College who come from wealthy and powerful families and ask for permission at the gate of the imperial palace!
I just want to see if Regent Zhao Defang is afraid of the people's resentment."
Writing is their strong point. Everyone agrees with Lord Gu's good idea, which is both insidious and effective. Which dynasty is not afraid of the rebellion of scholars? Most of the scholars belong to their camp. Those who are not from wealthy families have to rely on them to survive.
Moreover, the policy in the New Deal that the imperial government paid money to allow poor children to learn to read and go to school would definitely arouse the indignation of scholars all over the world. If everyone could read and write, wouldn't it be a dead end for those who passed the imperial examination and became officials?
This group of people who were dismissed from their posts immediately became excited and were eager to show their skills.
"Master, look what this is? I just bought it from the street, and a group of people were trying to snatch it." The housekeeper of the Gu family squeezed in through the crowd with a few pieces of paper.
: "Da Song Daily?..." Gu Pingzhou read it carefully.
The more I read, the more frightened I became, and the more angry I became! In a prominent place on the paper, the entire article was boasting and explaining the new policy reforms of His Royal Highness the Regent.
There is also an article praising the specific achievements of the soldiers on the front line who fought bravely and recovered the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun.
Just when he was about to launch a war of public opinion, the other party seized the right to speak so quickly.
Turning to the back, it was a few small things that happened in the streets of Beijing that were not presentable. The funny thing was that there were a few store promotions in the corners. The silly princess's perfume shop and canned food shop, and the Sichuan Burning Hot Pot City were also squeezed in.
It's really out of place and laughable!
Gu Pingzhou was so angry and annoyed that his expression was full of contempt and sarcasm when he saw the end.
Everyone looked at Lord Gu's changing expression and wondered what was written on the paper.
Contempt and ridicule aside, Gu Pingzhou did not underestimate the power of this new thing. The best propaganda method to incite and mislead people is word games.
Gu Pingzhou handed the Song Daily to Cui Zhengqing next to him. After Cui Zhengqing took it and flipped through it, he said solemnly: "I didn't expect that the Regent King would have this trick. He acted quickly enough."
Gu Pingzhou's face straightened, "Everyone, the regent is good at leading troops in battle, but we are good at this kind of propaganda war. The family behind us has a lot of money, so we should also publish a newspaper like this to compete with the "Da Song Daily"!"...
Xue Zhicheng was a poor scholar from a poor family. His parents sold all their property to support his studies, but he failed the imperial examination. When his family could no longer afford to support him to continue his studies, a stranger found the Xue family and introduced him to the Mingfeng Academy.
Mingfeng Academy does not require tuition or miscellaneous fees, and provides three free meals a day. Pens, ink, paper, and books are also provided to students free of charge. For some scholars from declining families, it is truly a holy place.
However, the "Mingfeng" Academy not only teaches the Four Books and Five Classics, but also teaches some new knowledge such as arithmetic, physics, chemistry and biology. Martial arts and horse riding and archery are also compulsory courses.
It was extremely difficult for Xue Zhicheng to get the opportunity to study, and he cherished it very much. He was the most hardworking one among the first batch of students in the academy, and his grades were also among the best.
After His Royal Highness the Regent and the Princess Royal personally gave a lesson to the advanced class, the more than 30 students in this class came to know that the "Mingfeng Academy" was funded by His Royal Highness the Regent and his wife.
This made their hearts beat wildly with excitement. The lessons taught by the handsome and unparalleled Regent and the extremely beautiful Regent Princess each made the students fascinated and intoxicated!
Although they were strictly ordered to keep it secret, they would still laugh and mutter in their dreams, "His Royal Highness the Regent and the Princess gave us lessons in person."
Fortunately, the advanced class was in a separate courtyard from the dozen or so ordinary classes, and the dormitories were also separate four-person rooms. The secret was kept secret for a year and a half without being leaked.
Thinking of this, Xue Zhicheng's lips curled up into a smile. When he looked up and saw the courtyard with the sign of "Da Song Daily" hanging on it, the smile in his eyes became even more intense.
"Editor-in-Chief Xue, you are here?" The two sturdy young guards guarding the gate were there, and there were ten such young guards in the yard. The twelve guards with strong kung fu skills were sent by the prince to protect them.
Xue Zhicheng clasped his fists and saluted the two young guards in return, "Two brothers, thank you for your hard work!"
"We are all serving the prince, it's not hard!" The two young guards had confidence and determination on their faces.
Xue Zhicheng could roughly guess that these twelve guards should be the prince's Mo Yunqi personal soldiers in disguise, so he did not look down on or disrespect them at all.
After greeting several colleagues along the way, Xue Zhicheng walked into his office. The princess was generous and said that the writing place must be brightly lit, so she replaced all the windows in the courtyard with expensive glass windows.
Xue Zhicheng sat at his desk, picked up a pen and paper, and began to write the front page of tomorrow's newspaper.
Editor Feng Gong rushed in, waving a newspaper in his hand and angrily said, "Brother Xue, someone has copied our newspaper. The content of this Jinghua Evening News is all critical and derogatory of the new policy, and it is full of slander and incitement!"
Xue Zhicheng took the Jinghua Evening News and read it carefully, then said in a deep voice: "The prince had anticipated this. We will immediately rewrite the front page of tomorrow's newspaper and perform this drama with them!"