Chapter 246: Dragon Scales
A quarrel broke out at the mission's residence.
"Jiang Qingzhi defeated the Khan's cavalry twice in Datong. I have said before that he should not be underestimated. It is better to test him slowly than to rashly provoke him. Now, one hundred thousand tiger soldiers are ready to fight. How should we respond? Turn against him? The Khan will kill us."
Huang He walked around the room.
Wang Shen said coldly: "You didn't object at that time."
"You are the envoy, how can I object?" Huang He stopped, "Now the situation is deadlocked, what should we do next?"
This person is cunning. He first threw the blame over and then tried to ease the atmosphere.
"We are now in the same boat, sharing honor and disgrace. Let's put aside the practice of civil servants blaming each other. The only way to overcome the difficulties is to work together!"
Huang He sat down and said, "Just pretend nothing happened from now on. However, the initiative has been taken away by Mingren."
"I didn't underestimate Jiang Qingzhi." Wang Shen tapped the table lightly with his fingers, smiling, "Do you think what I said was a lie?"
"What sentence?" Huang He's eyes narrowed.
"If the Ming people don't give it to us, the Khan's army will march south to take it for themselves."
"But didn't the Khan say...that's not right!"
"Did the Khan say when he would go south?"
"Hey! This is an excuse!" Huang He's eyes flashed with a strange light, "Let's spread the word now. When the Khan leads his army south, this will be a ready-made excuse for sending troops."
Huang He was suddenly startled. "So, you are deliberately trying to provoke Jiang Qingzhi?"
Wang Shen nodded, "I didn't want to anger him today, but there is news from the royal court that there is some fighting within the Ming royal family. It is said that it is a fight for the throne, and Jiang Qingzhi is also involved.
Today, the prince and Jiang Qingzhi are here, so I wanted to test them. But today, it seems that the two of them are very cordial with each other, and they are not ignoring each other as rumored. "
"What should we do next?" Huang He thought about how he had shirked responsibility before, so he volunteered, "How about I go and talk to Jiang Qingzhi?"
"Don't be in a hurry." Wang Shen pointed outside. Huang He went out to take a look and asked people to guard the place and not allow anyone to approach.
When he came back, Wang Shen lowered his voice and said, "For many years, even if the Khan's cavalry consisted of only a few hundred cavalrymen, they could terrify the Ming army. Even if they had tens of thousands of troops, the defending generals still did not dare to attack. This is one of the reasons why the Khan dared to plan to march south."
Huang He sat down, "Now there is one more person, Jiang Qingzhi."
"Yes, this guy defeated the Khan's men twice. The White Lotus Rebellion in Xuanfu was an opportunity, but Jiang Qingzhi took advantage of the situation to pull our people in and buried them all.
There is a public opinion in the royal court that Jiang Qingzhi is the biggest threat to the Ming army. "Wang Shen's eyes were cold, "Before this man, our army was always successful."
Huang He whispered, "Are you going to take action?"
"I have another mission on this trip, which is..." Wang Shen nodded, and his fingers were like knives, swinging down with force.
……
Jiang Qingzhi counterattacked Wang Shen's threat on the spot. Except for a few people who were dissatisfied, the Ministry of Rites had no objection. There were even many people who applauded.
"A petty official from the Ministry of Rites publicly rebuked his superior, saying that he was as cowardly as a mouse. The superior was furious and was ready to punish him, but the next moment he said that he wanted to join the army."
In the Hanlin Academy, Zhou Xia stood in front of a stone tablet with his hands behind his back. He seemed like an ascetic monk seeking truth, struggling to find an opportunity in the aphorisms of his ancestors.
The sound gradually approached.
"The official is dissatisfied?"
"Isn't it? The official said that peace is the most important thing. Wouldn't it be better if the wife is peaceful? Although what Long Wilbur said is gratifying, it is not beneficial to the overall situation."
"What do you think?"
"I……"
"Don't lie."
"I was terribly drunk last night."
"Don't you not drink?"
"But I couldn't help it yesterday. There was a lot of anger in my chest. Every time I took a sip, I thought of the grandeur of 100,000 brave soldiers going out to the border to fight against the Hu people... Brother Wang, how many years have passed? The Ming Dynasty has been frustrated for so many years!"
"But Jiang Qingzhi is our public enemy!"
"Public enemy, why is he a public enemy? Is it because Jiang Qingzhi is against us?"
"I am waiting for you, gentleman..."
"Stop talking nonsense, gentleman, gentleman, how has Jiang Qingzhi ever opposed gentlemen? Don't think I don't know that he opposed the preferential treatment of scholars and officials."
"You! Are you going to speak for him?"
"I am too timid to speak for him publicly, but I can drink with him in private and cheer for him. Is that ok?"
"You're so damn..."
"Who are you scolding?"
"I'm scolding you!"
Two officers scuffled not far away.
Zhou Xia looked at those aphorisms in silence.
"When the great way is practiced, the world is for all. What is the way of the world?"
He looked thoughtfully at the two officials as they separated. The official who had been drunk the previous night straightened his clothes and said, "Justice is in the hearts of the people."
"Those people are ignorant. How can they know what is justice? What is the right path?" another official wiped the blood from his nose and refuted.
The official said seriously: "Whether they know it or not, we must pretend that they know it. Only then will we be in awe."
"What are you afraid of?"
"People!"
"Hahahaha! You're crazy! Hahahaha!"
The official bowed and said, "From now on, you and I will take care of our own lives."
The official was still laughing, "You lunatic! You and Jiang Qingzhi are both lunatics, lunatics who are enemies of the whole world, hahahaha!"
Zhou Xia walked over slowly.
Seriously said: "He is not crazy, you are crazy."
……
"Some people say that this world is ruled by scholars and officials, and this is actually true."
Jiang Qingzhi is teaching three disciples.
After his pretense of madness was exposed, Zhu Shitai resumed his studies, but the two Prince Yu brothers still kept their distance from him.
Zhu Shitai raised his hand, and after getting approval, he said, "Second Uncle, when the emperor is angry, the scholars and officials have to bow their heads. That was what happened at Zuo Shunmen back then."
How did old Zhu Te teach her children?
Jiang Qingzhi frowned, "You have to remember that when the Zuo Shunmen incident happened, His Majesty was still young, so he adopted a hard-line approach. It was satisfying, but it planted the seeds of enmity between the emperor and the literati."
Prince Yu raised his hand, "Uncle, are you worried that without the literati, the world will be in chaos?" Jiang Qingzhi nodded, "The emperor must have weapons in his hands that are sufficient to support his power, either the backbone of the Ming Dynasty or the army."
King Jing said in a gloomy voice, "But the Ming army is a mess and not worth using. The so-called backbone force is the literati. This group of people wants to force the emperor to bow his head... In this situation, the emperor is in a dilemma."
"So, regarding the matter of Zuo Shunmen, Your Majesty... Your Majesty..."
Zhu Shitai suddenly saluted, "Your Majesty!"
"continue!"
Taoist priest walked in slowly.
He sat down slowly, "Well! Why not continue?"
What the hell!
You sit here, who dares to continue?
Jiang Qingzhi said: "This is an academic discussion."
"I didn't say this was slander." The Taoist said calmly.
But who doesn't know that you are stingy?
If I offend you, I will make things difficult for you, such as delaying the wedding date or something...
No, don’t I want to get married?
Why are you worried about postponing the wedding?
Jiang Qingzhi was stunned.
"I want to hear your opinions, just tell me." The Taoist took the tea offered by Fucheng.
The two princes didn't dare to say anything, but Zhu Shitai, who was pretending to be crazy, was very brave. "Your Majesty, weren't you afraid of offending those people at that time?"
"I'm afraid." Emperor Jiajing took a sip of tea, "but the arrow is on the string and must be shot."
He looked at Jiang Qingzhi and said, "You idiot, what's wrong? You don't dare to say it?"
Jiang Qingzhi came back to his senses, "I thought that Your Majesty could have just arrested Yang Shen and his men."
"Delay the conflict?"
"Yes, after all, you were alone at that time. This is not a personal vendetta, but a major event related to the fate of the Ming Dynasty."
"But those people will still be dissatisfied with me."
“New people can be trained to replace them.”
"Newcomers will still be corrupted by this officialdom."
"The newcomers I'm referring to are not the current students who have graduated from various levels of schools, private schools, and the Imperial Academy to serve as officials."
"Could it be possible to conjure something out of thin air..." Emperor Jiajing's eyes suddenly shrank, "I understand."
Jiang Qingzhi smiled and said, "I just spoke nonsense."
Emperor Jiajing stood up and looked at him deeply, "Continue."
Not long after Emperor Jiajing left, the cook came in, his face flushed with excitement, "My Lord, someone around His Majesty just rushed into the kitchen and took away half of the bacon."
Hey!
Jiang Qingzhi was furious, "This is too cruel!"
Return to the palace.
Emperor Jiajing sat alone in silence.
Huang Jin stayed with him until he was hungry, "Your Majesty, let's eat!"
Emperor Jiajing opened his eyes and said, "Starting a new business? That idiot is really bold."
Huang Jin didn't dare to respond and just listened silently.
"I was a little hasty in the matter of Zuo Shunmen back then!"
Huang Jin's body trembled, thinking that Emperor Jiajing was so arrogant, how could he be willing to admit his mistake?
"After that incident, I completely broke with the scholars. Qingzhi didn't mention it, and I pretended not to know. In fact, sometimes in my dreams at midnight, I was also worried."
"Your Majesty, then... let's negotiate peace!" Huang Jin felt that as long as the emperor showed goodwill, the literati would surely respond in droves.
"Do you think I'm worried about myself? Do you think Qingzhi is worried about me when he says this?"
Emperor Jiajing raised his eyebrows slightly, and the long-lost sharp aura made Huang Jin stand still, "I dare not."
"Prepare the meal!"
"Yes."
Huang Jin breathed a sigh of relief, "What would you like for lunch, Your Majesty?"
Emperor Jiajing thought for a moment and said, "Last time, Xia Yan praised the Jiang family's bacon as the best in the world. Let them make it."
"Yes."
……
"Your Majesty, I am not worried. I am worried about the emperor behind us."
Jiang Qingzhi and Xu Wei went out for a walk after dinner.
The spring afternoon is intoxicating, and the occasional cool breeze makes people feel refreshed.
"My Lord, are you worried that the scholars and officials will continue to be enemies with the emperor?" Xu Wei burped. "Give them some benefits, and they will naturally bow their heads."
"You underestimated them. No, you underestimated human desires." Jiang Qingzhi said, "Your Majesty wanted to reform the Ming Dynasty, but this move would inevitably deprive the scholars of their interests. At that time, the interests were not that great. When the interests become so great that people are reluctant to give them up, Old Xu, the world will be shaken."
"Isn't it just about annexing land and taking in people?" Xu Wei said with a smile, "I grew up in Jiangnan, and I know what those people think. If we want to curb land annexation, we can do it slowly..."
“It’s not just land annexation.”
"What other benefits can make them crazy?"
"Commercial tax!"
Xu Wei's face turned pale when he heard this. "My Lord, most of the scholars and officials in the South are engaged in business. This is their foundation. It's a hornet's nest! Whoever pokes it will be in trouble."
But when the Ming Dynasty opened its doors and maritime trade flourished, the commercial taxes brought about were so huge and the interests involved were so wide-ranging that just thinking about it is enough to make one tremble.
That's not a hornet's nest.
But a nuclear bomb!
On the second floor of the roadside, a man leaned against the window and watched Jiang Qingzhi and the other man slowly approaching.
He took a deep breath.
Jump down suddenly.
"kill!"
……
Asking for votes.
(End of this chapter)
