Chapter 201: To Get Promoted and Make Money
Jiang Qingzhi would rather deal with a real villain than live with a hypocrite day and night.
There is no need to pretend when dealing with a real villain, but when dealing with a hypocrite, you must pretend as well.
When there are more and more hypocrites around you, you will involuntarily follow them and pretend to be a gentleman.
"Then the whole world was filled with gentlemen, but strangely, the world became worse and worse. Until the fall of the country, those so-called gentlemen were still wondering, saying that the court was full of people, and we gentlemen were in charge of government, so why did the country's situation take a sharp turn for the worse?"
Jiang Qingzhi and Wu Hua were drinking, and Xia Yan was beside them, but he didn't say a word.
Jiang Qingzhi raised his glass, and Wu Hua said, "Hypocrites are even more harmful."
"That's right!" Jiang Qingzhi didn't think Wu Hua was a villain, he was just narrow-minded. "The more hypocrites there are, the more dangerous the future of Ming will be."
Yan Song and his son were known as treacherous and corrupt officials, and everyone wanted to punish them. Xu Jie was known as a gentleman, and the Donglin Party that followed were even more famous for their concern for the country and the people, and they called themselves gentlemen.
But during the reign of the treacherous Yan Song and his son, at least the Japanese pirates were suppressed, and at least the capital was not conquered by Altan Khan.
However, when a group of gentlemen filled the court, the Ming Dynasty's national situation took a sharp turn for the worse.
After seeing Wu Hua off, Jiang Qingzhi came back.
Xia Yan was still drinking. When he saw him come in, he said, "Wu Hua is too sharp and narrow-minded. Such people are prone to provoke enemies. But you specially received him today... This is not the nature of a little fox like you."
"Lord Xia, the Yan Party is gradually gaining power, and the scholars and officials of the world are turning their anger towards your Majesty towards me, so your Majesty tacitly allows me to expand my power."
Jiang Qingzhi sat down, and a servant brought him tea. He took a sip and said, "In a power, there are all kinds of people. Wu Hua is narrow-minded and too harsh, but are those who seem generous really good people?
Those people also have a nickname, gentlemen!
The way to employ people cannot be black and white, but should be guided by supervision and based on performance."
"Practicality first?" Xia Yan seemed to be thinking about it.
Jiang Qingzhi nodded and said, "No matter who it is, as long as they have integrity and outstanding abilities, they are talents."
"You value profit over virtue!" Xia Yan sighed.
"The Ming Dynasty seems to be in a peaceful and prosperous era. Lord Xia has been in power for many years. He should know that there are undercurrents underneath this peaceful and prosperous era. Countless contradictions are accumulating. What the Ming Dynasty needs at this moment is not virtue, but profit!"
Jiang Qingzhi lit up the cigarette and took a puff. "The corruption case in the Ministry of War is just the tip of the iceberg. I once heard a saying."
Xia Yan put down his wine glass, and Jiang Qingzhi said, "When you find a cockroach in your home, it means there are already a thousand cockroaches in the dark."
……
"A thousand cockroaches..."
Early in the morning, Xia Yan was taking a walk in Xiyuan, with Jiang Qingzhi's words from yesterday filling his mind.
He had been in power for many years and naturally knew the meaning of Jiang Qingzhi's words.
——The Ming Dynasty is in danger!
Mr. Xia, if we continue to argue about gentlemen and villains at this time, it will only increase internal friction!
"Greetings, Your Majesty!" someone said behind him.
Xia Yan turned around and saluted.
"I have met His Majesty."
Emperor Jiajing walked slowly towards us in a Taoist robe.
"Xia Yan."
"The minister is here."
The two of them had once gotten along well with each other as king and minister, but unexpectedly, when they met again, they were speechless.
Emperor Jiajing looked at Xia Yan with his hands behind his back, "What do you think of the current Ming Dynasty?"
"I, your servant, dare not speak nonsense."
Xia Yan said calmly.
The morning sun shone on the emperor and his minister. The guards kept their distance and Huang Jin took the opportunity to take a nap... Taking a nap while standing was also his strong point.
"I allow you to say it." said Emperor Jiajing.
"In what capacity do I speak?" Xia Yan asked back.
Huang Jin's sleepiness suddenly disappeared.
Emperor Jiajing said coldly: "I am speaking as a minister who escaped death."
Although Jiang Qingzhi rescued Xia Yan, if Emperor Jiajing was determined to kill Xia Yan, no one could help.
I can spare your life, but I can also execute you at any time!
Xia Yan looked at Emperor Jiajing.
Emperor Jiajing was also looking at him.
One was the arrogant prime minister of that year, who looked down on everyone else and even the emperor.
One is a lonely emperor who has lived in the deep palace for a long time and seems to be indifferent to everything.
After a long while, Xia Yan lowered his head slightly, "The current Ming Dynasty... I don't know what to say. But I heard a wonderful theory yesterday. When you find a cockroach in your home, there are already a thousand cockroaches in the dark."
"You mean to say that under Lan Shou, there are countless corrupt officials who are corroding the Ming Dynasty!"
"Yes."
"So, how do you think we should deal with it?"
"Wang Anshi's reforms were intended to extend the life of the former Song Dynasty, but unfortunately they failed. As for the Ming Dynasty... I dare not speak rashly."
"You are not the Prime Minister today, so you can speak freely."
There are many flower trees on the roadside, most of which are withered at this moment.
"The Ming Dynasty is like these flowers and trees at the moment. Some say that it is only a matter of natural disasters and man-made disasters away from repeating the mistakes of the Han Dynasty. I do not believe it. But after the corruption cases of military pay in Xuanfu and the Ministry of War were exposed, I began to believe it."
Xia Yan said: "That person said there are a thousand cockroaches in the dark, I think he said too little. The current Ming Dynasty, the army is corrupt, the government is corrupt, these officials feel that there is a chance to save it, but the most fatal thing is..."
"Shilin!"
"Yes!"
The king and his ministers looked at each other.
Xia Yan said: "The scholars of today have cultivated what that person said... sophisticated egoists. From the day they were educated, they have been indoctrinated with selfishness. Why do they study? To get promoted and make money, they study with these thoughts... and then become local tyrants and officials...
The world is controlled by these people. So, what will happen to the Ming Dynasty under the control of these people? "
Emperor Jiajing waved his hand and Xia Yan took his leave.
Emperor Jiajing watched him go away and said slowly: "The Ming Dynasty is facing internal and external troubles. I want to revive it, but those people are thinking about suppressing me."
The voice was desolate, and Huang Jin felt it was unlucky. "Your Majesty, the man Xia Yan was talking about is probably a lunatic. It's fine to just listen to such words."
"Do you think someone who can say such things is a lunatic?"
Emperor Jiajing turned around with his hands behind his back, frowned suddenly, pointed at a few pits on the side of the road and asked, "Why is it so messy here?"
The eunuch who was accompanying him hurried over to explain, "Your Majesty, there were originally flowers and trees planted here."
"Where are the flowers and trees?" Emperor Jiajing looked at the eunuch coldly.
This is about to happen.
The eunuch's back was soaked with sweat. "Your Majesty, yesterday...yesterday someone dug them up."
"Who?" Emperor Jiajing asked.
"Long Wilbur."
The eunuch bowed his head.
Everyone knew that Emperor Jiajing was depressed by Xia Yan's words and was looking for someone to vent his anger.
Emperor Jiajing looked at the pits and suddenly said, "The man Xia Yan mentioned is the idiot who dug the pits!"
……
Today is the day when Wu Hua takes over as the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War. Jiang Qingzhi is at home discussing with Hu Zongxian and Xu Wei how to solve various problems in the army.
"Once the malpractices in the army are established, it will take time to change them." After all, Hu Zongxian had been an official for many years and knew that it was difficult to completely change the atmosphere in the army.
"If we want to completely change all this, we must do a thorough cleanup of the army." Xu Wei felt that a heavy hand should be taken, "clean up from top to bottom."
"Altan is watching us covetously." Hu Zongxian retorted.
"We can start with the Beijing Guards." Xu Wei said, "The Beijing Guards have changed, and Your Majesty will feel more confident. If anyone dares to mess up, the Beijing Guards will be dispatched, which is a good opportunity for training."
"The army involves various forces. Don't forget that if you push those generals into a corner..." Hu Zongxian said, "My uncle once told me that story. The court knew that the generals were like vassal states, ruling a certain area, and they also knew that they were nurturing the enemy for their own benefit, but they were afraid to act rashly..."
"In the final analysis, the army has become the generals' private army!" Xu Wei sneered, "We should thoroughly purge the generals in the army. Otherwise, we will not be able to revive the army!"
"Who will replace them?" Hu Zongxian retorted, "I have been patrolling the nine frontiers for several years. How could I not know that most of those generals are incompetent? But they are already the best in the army. Who will take over if we purge them?"
The two of them couldn't agree on a solution and looked at Jiang Qingzhi.
"There are no great generals in Shu, so Liao Hua is the vanguard." Jiang Qingzhi shook off the cigarette ash and patted Duoduo's back on his knees. "A change in the army will affect the whole body. In the north, Altan is eyeing us covetously, and in the south, the Japanese pirates are ready to make a move. Scraping the bones is good, but it is not suitable for the current situation."
According to history, in less than two years, Altan's army would march south.
Trying to scrape the bone to heal the wound at this juncture would be suicide.
Hu Zongxian glanced at Xu Wei, who sneered, "In the final analysis, we still have to scrape the bones."
That’s right, the Ming army was so corrupt that if it wanted to make a radical change, it had to carry out a major purge.
But timing is important.
"Oh, right." Xu Wei remembered something, "The two grassland smugglers who did business with the mansion disappeared."
Jiang Qingzhi was stunned. "Disappeared?"
"Yes." Fucheng was summoned and said, "I asked the guards to ask, and they said someone leaked the news to Altan, and the two merchants were arrested. There has been no news since then."
Most likely dead.
"Who did it?" Hu Zongxian asked subconsciously.
"Want to avenge them?" Xu Wei glanced at him. Hu Zongxian shook his head, "Too disgusting."
Jiang Qingzhi naturally would not seek revenge for the two black-hearted foreign businessmen, but what he did was indeed disgusting.
The key point is that while the Ming Dynasty blocked the grassland, it was also blocked itself.
Jiang Qingzhi thought of the group of businessmen in the northwest. After a few decades, those businessmen started to openly do the business of guides.
Imperial Merchant, what a great title.
The border wall can stop the smugglers from the grassland, but it cannot stop the internal pests.
In this way, the news became unilaterally transparent to Altan and the other ethnic minorities on the grassland.
This is almost a fatal flaw in the game.
This situation must be changed now.
Jiang Qingzhi thought of butterflies.
What if I, the butterfly, changed history... and Altan went south earlier?
"We must find out the news about the grassland!"
Jiang Qingzhi said: "Altan's envoys should not be killed anymore. We should open a loophole to facilitate smuggling on the grassland and also to facilitate the Ming Dynasty."
"Your Majesty..." Hu Zongxian sighed, "Since Altan Khan started sending envoys, Your Majesty has not spared a single one and has beheaded them all."
"Chen Pin is still alive." Xu Wei said, "But this is difficult. And most of the ministers will not agree."
“You have to try.”
The more Jiang Qingzhi thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong.
In history, Altan's tribe did not lose twice in Datong. If Altan had been defeated, he would have decided to move south in advance. Given the current situation of the Ming Dynasty...
Fuck!
Can't wait any longer!
(End of this chapter)
