Chapter 110 The secret of digging into the ancestral graves of the nobles
In Shanggui County, Tianshui County, 20,000 Shu troops formed a neat military formation and withdrew from the official road.
Passing farmland along the way, the people in Longyou all ducked and gave way, even the farmers working in the fields. Most of them stayed far away and quietly observed the big Han soldiers and horses.
Seeing the reaction of the people in Longyou, Ma Di just shook his head slightly and lamented that Longyou had been in turmoil for too long.
He remembered that when the Shu army left Sichuan from Hanzhong, the farmers and people on both sides of the road were as safe as ever, and they were not afraid of the soldiers and horses crossing the border. Only in places where there has been turmoil for too long, the people are as afraid of soldiers as they are of tigers, and they often dodge the troops as they cross the border.
But it's okay, Longyou is now the territory of the Han Dynasty. Sooner or later, he will make sure that the people of Longyou will not be afraid of soldiers and horses crossing the border, so that farmers in the fields can work safely.
"Tell all the ministries that anyone who damages farmland will be compensated at the original price. Anyone who disturbs the people will be dealt with under military law, regardless of their identity, do you understand?" Ma Di turned around and ordered, ordering all ministries to march cautiously.
"General, there is no need to worry. The prime minister has already explained this." The deputy general replied.
"That's fine, but it needs to be emphasized more. I don't want anyone in the Han army to die in military law rather than on the battlefield." Ma Di nodded and calmly instructed.
Under the leadership of Ma Di, the Shu army maintained strict military discipline, and Qiu passed through the counties without committing any crimes and returned to Xi County.
After settling the various Shu troops, Ma Su also temporarily acted as the agent for Tianshui County's affairs.
Although he is said to be an agent, Ma Su is not actually required to do anything. Tianshui County has been governed by Zhuge Liang and Li Yan for more than half a year, and the backlog of government affairs has basically been dealt with.
As for Li Yan's plan to follow the land equalization method, he also has a complete plan among his confidants.
I have to say that if Li Yan was not so greedy for power and money, he would be considered a talented official. In the way he handles many affairs, he is much better than Ma Su.
The only hidden danger is the number of officials in Tianshui County. The relationship between the officials in Sichuan and the local officials was not good, and they often fought for power.
However, this is not something Ma Su can handle. All he can do is to hold a bowl of water indifferently and not help each other.
After checking it carefully, Ma Su found that he had nothing to do.
It was already spring, and it was the farming season when corvees could not be assigned. Even if Ma Su wanted to build water conservancy projects, now was not the time. There is Li Mu in Longxi County, so he won't be needed in the short term.
With no more work to do, Ma Su began to use his brain to think about what he could do. It would be best to create something that would cause trouble for the nobles. It would be even better if it could make them feel murderous.
After thinking for a while, Ma Su suddenly had an idea when he saw the bamboo slips on the chopping board.
I guess, why did I forget about papermaking?
This is a great thing!
If there was anything that had the biggest impact on the gentry, it would definitely be papermaking and printing. These two technologies are the key to breaking down the intellectual barriers of the gentry and popularizing education.
In fact, the biggest problem of the gentry is not how many private soldiers they have, how many acres of land they have, or how many hermit houses they hide. Rather, it lies in the uniqueness of the classical knowledge they possess. If you don’t use them, no one will be able to use it.
As one of them, Ma Su can clearly feel that there is a clear difference between the children of noble families and the children of wealthy families.
Even the most down-to-earth gentry's children can be several steps ahead of the poor in terms of education.
One of the most important reasons for this is the cost of studying.
Even the cheapest paper costs hundreds of pennies per piece. As for bamboo slips and silk, not to mention, even the down-to-earth nobles could not afford them.
Without this thing, the probability of children from poor families receiving education would be greatly reduced. Coupled with the aristocratic family's academic monopoly and control over the interpretation of knowledge, the children of wealthy and humble families could not understand these classics at all.
For example, Shu Ji, as the leader of the Dong Qiang clan, can learn a little about the art of war. This was something he barely understood until he forced the kidnapped nobleman to explain to him with a knife.
The final result was that even if Ma Su wanted to use the poor family, the children of the poor family who knew nothing about local governance were simply useless. If he did not use the nobles' sons, Ma Di would not be able to govern the place well.
At this time, papermaking and printing became particularly important.
"Since we want to carry out the imperial examination system, papermaking and printing are indispensable." Ma Di touched his chin, feeling as if he had found a new trick to commit suicide.
If Juntian was using a knife to cut off the flesh and blood of the gentry, then the popularization of education and the imperial examination were digging into the ancestral graves of the gentry. If these policies were pursued, the assassins who came to kill him could form an army.
And the most critical part of all this is the papermaking technology. Only by improving papermaking technology and bringing down the price of paper can we achieve the first step in popularizing education.
Thinking of this, Ma Di immediately summoned the officials from West County to ask.
"Does the Longyou clan have craftsmen who are good at papermaking? Where do they live now?"
The local Tianshui official glanced at Ma Su, then lowered his head and answered respectfully.
"Master Zunfu, there are indeed craftsmen in Tianshui County who are good at making paper. However, the papermaking business in Longyou is basically the responsibility of the Yang family in Ji County, and no one else is allowed to interfere."
"And all craftsmen who can make paper are basically servants of the Yang family. If the master is interested in this, he can talk to the head of the Yang family about cooperation."
"Yang family?" Ma Su was slightly startled, and after thinking for a moment, he quickly realized who it was.
The Yang family in Ji County is still a large family, and it is basically the most powerful family in Longyou. Their family head is quite famous, named Yang Fu.
He was the famous Longshang scholar who fought against Ma Chao to the end and finally forced Ma Chao into despair.
The specific level of Yang Fu is unclear, but as a member of the Longyou clan, he was able to meet Duke Wei and make suggestions during Cao Cao's westward expedition to Ma Chao, so his status can be imagined.
Unexpectedly, their family was not only powerful, but also monopolized the papermaking industry in Longyou.
But that’s right, how can you monopolize an entire industry if you don’t have some power? You can't do it just by relying on technology. You still have to talk about status and power when you come out to hang out.
This is good, very good, awesome!
It just so happened that Ma Su's hands were itchy these days, and he was planning to find a family with no eyesight to practice. This Yang family is just the right height, fat and thin, so I'll do the surgery on you!
"In that case, send someone to send an invitation to the head of the Yang family in Hebei County, and ask this wise man from Longyou to come to Xi County for a while." Ma Su nodded, thought for a moment and said.
"You must make it clear to the head of the Yang family. I, Ma Di, admire his reputation very much and hope to say something heartfelt to him."
"Of course, if he doesn't come because he doesn't have time, I can go to Ji County to find him."
Ma Su was afraid that his reputation would frighten him and he would not dare to come, so he would have to make one more trip.
That would be very tiring and not cost-effective.
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