Chapter 85: The Court's Priorities
Chapter 85: The Court's Priorities (First Order)
Seeing that Zhu Zaigui was still surprised by this, Hai Rui thought that Zhu Zaigui must have believed that someone had taken the Li problem seriously.
So Hai Rui explained: "The Li people in Qiongzhou have been plagued for a long time. I wrote a "Strategy for Treating the Li People" in this year's provincial examination. I suggested opening a cross road, setting up a county town, and setting up a military preparation road in Zhongzhi to strengthen control and governance in order to quell the Li people's plague."
"It's a pity that I am a lowly person and my words are not taken seriously by the superiors. This time I come to Beijing for the imperial examination. Regardless of whether I can pass the examination or not, I will submit a plan to pacify the Li people so as to attract the attention of the court and quell the Li threat in Qiongzhou."
After Zhu Zaigui finished listening to Hai Rui's words, he looked at Gao Gong again and asked, "Uncle Gao, what do you think about the Li crisis in Qiongzhou?"
When Gao Gong heard Zhu Zaigui mention him, he thought for a moment and replied, "Qiongzhou is too far away from the imperial court. It is almost like the end of the world. It is really difficult for the imperial court to pay attention to the Li people there."
"And now the focus of the court is on Anda in the north, so I don't think the problem of the Li people in Qiongzhou can be solved by relying solely on the power of the court. It may take more hard work for the people and officials in Qiongzhou. We can only solve the problem after the court solves the problem of Anda in the north."
Gao Gong's words immediately made Hai Rui feel disappointed. He never expected that the imperial court had not paid any attention to the Li people's suffering in Qiongzhou. For Hai Rui, who was born and raised in Qiongzhou, this was emotionally unacceptable.
But reason also told him that this was the case, and although he did not feel much about the threat from Anda in the north, the court always had to prioritize when dealing with crises.
Moreover, Hai Rui also understood from Gao Gong's words that, compared with the threat from Anda in the north, the threat from the Li people in Qiongzhou was indeed the "lightest" one and would indeed be "alleviated" by the court.
But how long would it take? After all, the people of Qiongzhou were also the people of the Ming Dynasty, and they were often threatened with death by the people of Qiongzhou. For Hai Rui, this was a real and urgent matter happening before his eyes.
So at this time, Hai Rui couldn't help but ask, "Is there no other way?"
Hai Rui looked at Gao Gong eagerly. He believed that as a Hanlin lecturer, Gao Gong should be better than him, a juren, when it came to speaking about the Li people's suffering in Qiongzhou.
Therefore, at this moment, Hai Rui could not help but show his weakness and hope for help, hoping to get help from Gao Gong, so that the people of Qiongzhou could have some hope and feel the care of the court for them.
Gao Gong couldn't bear to reject Hai Rui, but he knew more about the situation in the court than Hai Rui, a scholar from the end of the world.
He had a personal experience of how much the court was short of money and how miserable it was. If his family had not sent him some money from time to time to supplement his life in Beijing, Gao Gong would have starved to death in Hanlin Hutong long ago, given the court's financial situation of owing salaries every other day.
Moreover, now that he had the job of tutor in Prince Yu's mansion, if it weren't for the respectful Prince Yu who sent people to deliver some daily food and daily necessities every now and then, Gao Gong would not have dared to be so extravagant as to light a charcoal fire in the house during the day in this cold winter.
Therefore, if Gao Gong really wanted to find a way to help Hai Rui and get the court to pay attention to the Li problem in Qiongzhou, it would be extremely difficult for him at the moment.
After all, the Gao Gong of today is not the Prime Minister of the Ming Dynasty who would have power over the government and make decisions on the country a dozen years later!
He is now just a fifth-rank Hanlin academician and cannot influence the court's decision-making and focus at all.
Looking at Gao Gong's embarrassed expression, Hai Rui had to face the reality. It seemed that the imperial court really did not care about the suffering suffered by the people of Qiongzhou.
For a moment, Hai Rui didn't know whether he was sad or angry. He could understand the court's difficulties, but why didn't the court care about Qiongzhou?
Just because Qiongzhou is thousands of miles away from the imperial court, can the imperial court turn a blind eye to the troubles in Qiongzhou? Even if the imperial court paid a little attention to Qiongzhou and adopted any of his policies in "Governing the Li River", it would be a good thing for the people of Qiongzhou, at least there would be hope.
Zhu Zaigui, who was sitting nearby roasting charcoal and drinking tea, looked at the embarrassed Gao Gong and the helpless Hai Rui, and couldn't help but interrupt again.
Zhu Zaigui said: "In fact, I think the key to solving the problem of the Li people in Qiongzhou is not to cure them, but to relieve them. There is an old saying: 'Poor mountains and bad waters produce unruly people'. Although this saying is unfair, it is also a helpless portrayal. Qiongzhou is an outlying island and has been regarded as a place of exile since ancient times. Whether it is the people living here or the officials appointed here, they all have some 'criminal' mentality psychologically."
"So, I think if we want to solve the problems in Qiongzhou, we have to look beyond the surface and see the essence. Think about why the Li people in Qiongzhou are still suffering. Is it because the Li people themselves do not accept the rule of the king? Or is it that the Han people's governance is not going well?"
As soon as Zhu Zaigui said this, both Gao Gong and Hai Rui focused their attention on Zhu Zaigui, wanting to hear his next analysis.
Zhu Zaigui felt the inquiring gazes of the two people and decided to show off a little.
Zhu Zaigui said: "My suggestion is not very mature, but just my personal opinion. You two gentlemen should listen to it and see if there is anything to recommend it."
Hai Rui bowed slightly to Zhu Zaigui and said, "Please speak frankly, sir."
Zhu Zaigui was flattered to see Hai Rui bowing to him. He quickly called out to Hai Rui and Gao Gong, "Uncle Gao, Mr. Hai, please sit down quickly. I feel pressured if you two stand here."
After hearing what Zhu Zaigui said, Gao Gong and Hai Rui also showed courtesy to each other and sat down on both sides of Zhu Zaigui.
Although Hai Rui did not know Zhu Zaigui's identity at this moment, from the position where Zhu Zaigui was sitting and the respect that Gao Gong showed to Zhu Zaigui everywhere, Hai Rui naturally saw the extraordinary nature of this noble young man.
However, the young master was unwilling to reveal his identity, so Hai Rui did not dare to ask any further questions.
Zhu Zaigui picked up the teapot and poured two cups of water himself, then handed them to Gao Gong and Hai Rui in turn with both hands.
Seeing Gao Gong leaning forward slightly to greet him with both hands, Hai Rui could not help but take the tea handed to him by Zhu Zaigui.
After both of them caught the tea that he poured.
Zhu Zaigui also began his performance.
Zhu Zaigui said: "In my humble opinion, the biggest reason why the Li people in Qiongzhou continue to cause trouble is not that the Li people are difficult to accept the imperial rule, but that Qiongzhou is poor and the Han people are not prosperous. If there is a way to change the current situation and make Qiongzhou play its own advantages and get rid of poverty and become rich, not only will the Li people not cause trouble, but the Han people will also flock to it. When there are more Han people and fewer Li people, the Li people will naturally not cause trouble."
"So I think the key to curing the Li problem in Qiongzhou is not to strictly control the Li people, but to make full use of the benefits of Qiongzhou itself. Simply curing the Li people is only a temporary solution, not a fundamental solution. If we can make full use of the benefits of Qiongzhou itself and make Qiongzhou benefit both Han and Li people, this is the fundamental solution!"
(End of this chapter)