Chapter 295: Winner is King, Loser Dies
When Jiang Qingzhi returned home, the first thing he did was to drink.
"Bring me some ice cream."
Jiang Qingzhi taught the cook several ways to make summer drinks and was about to try them out.
There was a lounge chair in the yard. I lay down on it and slowly relaxed.
The hustle and bustle of the Imperial Academy gradually faded from his mind, and Jiang Qingzhi tried his best to empty his mind...
But the thoughts still kept coming.
A spoon was put into his mouth, and Jiang Qing drank it subconsciously.
"Cheese...why isn't it cold?" Jiang Qingzhi opened his eyes and closed them again.
"My husband's health still needs to be taken care of." Li Tian said.
"How can we live without ice in this hot summer?" Jiang Qingzhi missed the fat house happy water of later generations very much.
"I am accompanying my husband."
When faced with a woman like this, Jiang Qingzhi could only sigh in silence.
The couple ate the cheese, Li Tian waved her hand, and the maid left.
"I heard them say that my husband went to the Hanlin Academy to cause trouble today?" Li Tian was very curious.
"Yes, but it's not the Hanlin Academy."
"Where is that?"
"Confucianism."
"Confucianism, my husband destroyed the Confucian... place?"
"Shocked?"
Li Tian was stunned. "Confucianism?"
"Yes."
"Weren't you beaten up?"
"Almost. By the way, aren't you afraid?"
"Marry a chicken, follow the chicken; marry a dog, follow the dog; marry a monkey, follow the mountains."
"She is indeed a good wife."
The couple was just playing around, but Jiang Qingzhi knew that his wife would be worried about it.
In the afternoon, someone from the Li family came and asked to meet Li Tian alone.
"My wife has also heard about this and is very worried. She asked me to ask you what the rules are here."
The maid was someone close to Chang. She watched Li Tian grow up and was very kind.
"Tell mother, just say... your husband is helpless."
"Can……"
"Those people are pushing us too far, as evidenced by what happened to the Crown Prince. If you were a bit weak, who would be the next to die?"
When the maid returned home, Li Huan had just left the government office.
"…The Second Lady said that if the son-in-law showed any weakness, he would most likely be the next one to be killed."
Li Huan sat down, and Chang sighed, "My son-in-law has angered the Hanlin Academy..."
“Not only that, there are also the scholars in the capital, and then the Confucian scholars all over the world.” Li Huan looked very calm.
"Although I haven't read much and haven't seen much of the world, I know how powerful those people are. What is my son-in-law thinking? How can he be so unwise?" Chang said angrily.
"The prince's death is not simple." Li Huan said softly: "I heard that someone may have poisoned him."
"What?" Chang was shocked. "Oh my God! Who dares to do this?"
"They are the people you mentioned." Li Huan said, "Those people dared to kill the prince. What does a son-in-law mean to you? Are you going to let your son-in-law sit there and wait for death?"
"But the son-in-law can withdraw, right?" Chang roared at her husband like a mother animal protecting her calf.
"Hey! You woman." Li Huan said with a wry smile: "Many things are beyond our control. Do you think everything will be fine if your son-in-law retires?"
"Do they want to kill us all?" Chang said.
"Cutting the grass and eradicating its roots is exactly what this generation is best at. Once the son-in-law retreats, those people will become more aggressive..."
"What can they do?"
"They would impeach their son-in-law, making him miserable, and then find all sorts of excuses to banish him to some wild place. Do you know how Di Qing died in the early Song Dynasty? He was forced to death by these people."
"Oh my God! Then... doesn't Tian'er have to go with you?"
"She can choose not to go, but don't you know Tian'er's personality?" Li Huan said, "If so, she will definitely follow her son-in-law. What's more terrible is... those people will not stop there."
"Do they dare to kill us all?" Chang couldn't believe it.
"Their people are all over the country, everywhere. As long as my son-in-law is still in the territory of Ming Dynasty, he can't escape their pursuit. This is not a political struggle, do you understand?"
"What is that?" Chang's mind was filled with the scene of her daughter and Jiang Qingzhi being chased by someone, and she felt a little panicked.
Li Huan stood up by pressing the table and said slowly: "This is a dispute over the orthodoxy of Taoism, which started from the Spring and Autumn Period to the Former Han Dynasty, and ended when Emperor Wu of Han abolished all schools of thought and respected Confucianism alone. But do you know what happened to those schools of thought?"
Chang looked up and saw her husband's expression was melancholy. "The winner will be king, the loser... will die!"
……
In the Hanlin Academy, Zhang Juzheng and Gao Gong stood under the eaves.
Not far away, two officials were arguing with their colleagues.
"If we Confucians can govern the country, then why can't we escape the cycle of order and chaos?"
"No matter who comes, it won't work. This is the way of heaven."
"Heaven moves vigorously!"
"Uh!"
"In addition, we used to regard farming, military affairs, and construction as menial tasks. Chang Wei Bo said that they are the foundation of a country, and I agree with him. Then why don't we Confucians delve into such knowledge?"
"That's a job for lowly people. Do you want to go there too?"
Everyone looked at the official, who nodded seriously, "As long as it's beneficial to the Ming Dynasty, I'm willing!"
"You are talking nonsense!" The man ran away.
"Chang Wei Bo said he has a way to solve those three problems. What do you think, uncle?" Gao Gong asked with his arms folded.
"I don't know either." Zhang Juzheng frowned and said, "There are only so many fields, but the population is increasing. How can we solve this problem? I think... the only way is to take taxes and population from those families."
"You are courting death." Gao Gong sneered, "Jiang Qingzhi has parted ways with Confucianism today, and will certainly face crises everywhere from now on. Do you want to repeat the same mistake?"
"If everyone is afraid of this and that, what about the Ming Dynasty? Will we just let it decline and perish?" Zhang Juzheng looked at Gao Gong, "Since we are here at this time, how can we not do something for this world!"
"It's difficult!" Gao Gong sighed, "It's just a matter of working hard to govern the country."
"What are the means?" Zhang Juzheng asked.
"It's nothing more than increasing revenue and reducing expenditure," said Gao Gong.
"It's still the same old routine. The Han and Tang dynasties fell into ruin by following this routine. Can the Ming Dynasty escape? I'm not optimistic." "I'm more worried about that Lord Wei." Gao Gong rubbed his arms with both hands. "He said in public that he had ways to solve those three problems. With so many people present today, if he can't do it..."
"Then he will be ruined." Zhang Juzheng said in confusion: "But why do I feel that he is very confident?"
……
"If you don't have confidence in yourself, you're no better than a salted fish!"
Jiang Qingzhi was giving lessons to the two princes and Zhu Shitai.
"People will encounter many troubles in their lives. For example, Lao San, if you had not been treated coldly by others over the years, would you know the warmth and coldness of human nature? Would you look at everyone around you with a critical eye?"
"Be more confident. Although we have many competitors now, our business has a bright future."
Seeing that the three disciples were still somewhat depressed, Jiang Qingzhi said, "Do you think it's interesting for a person to have an extremely smooth life?"
"interesting!"
Zhu Shitai said this subconsciously, and then was hit by a ruler and cried out in pain.
"Uncle, think about what you can use to shut up the Confucian students in the capital!" King Jing said with a wry smile, "You said in the Hanlin Academy that you can solve those three problems, and that the results will be seen within ten days. If..."
"Someone opened the plate." Prince Yu said, "One to five."
"Who's going to win?" Zhu Shitai asked, covering his palms.
How come this idiot is a classmate of mine... King Jing looked at him with disdain, "Of course I bet on my cousin to lose."
"Then I'll go home and tell my dad!" Zhu Shitai said happily.
"What do you mean?" asked Prince Yu.
"Let my father place a bet on my cousin to lose. This way, even if he loses, at least he will still have money in his account."
This kid might be better off doing business.
Jiang Qingzhi turned around and looked for his wife, "Wife, how much cash can you take out from home?"
"Forty thousand strings of cash, what's wrong?" Li Tian asked.
"Let's get some more together." Jiang Qingzhi said, "Someone outside is betting on me to lose, and I'll pay you five to one!"
"Then how about..." Li Tian looked conflicted.
"If I lose the bet, I will still get the money." Jiang Qingzhi was very pleased that his wife had mastered the hedging method without any guidance.
"Forget it." Li Tian gritted her teeth, "Marry a chicken and follow the chicken. Yan'er, accompany me to the warehouse! We can't live like this anymore."
The wife got furious and dragged the maid to count the treasury. In the afternoon, she lay on the kang that Jiang Qingzhi had just built, groaning with back pain.
"I can't live any longer. My waist is mostly broken."
"Then I can just marry a new beauty." Jiang Qingzhi was lying on the other side, thinking comfortably about the comfort of lying on a warm kang in winter.
"Then I will turn into a ghost and watch over you two at the bedside every day..."
Jiang Qingzhi shuddered, "Women are indeed the most vicious."
"Qingzhi." The old dude is here.
Jiang Qingzhi went out, and Zhu Xizhong pulled him aside and said, "We just happened to have something to discuss, let's go out for a drink together."
"Madam, Lao Zhu and I are going out." Jiang Qingzhi shouted.
"Yes."
Zhu Xizhong listened to the gentle voice and praised: "You are indeed chaste and virtuous, unlike your sister-in-law, who sometimes gets angry..." As he spoke, the old playboy subconsciously rubbed his lower back.
"The kidney is not working?" Jiang Qingzhi laughed.
"Don't mention it." Zhu Xizhong said, "The old woman cuts me down every day to prevent me from having affairs with other women!"
The two of them walked out of the alley and walked slowly on the main road.
"Long Wilbur!"
The lights were just coming on, and people were meeting after dusk... Cui Yuan was standing by the roadside, and when he saw Jiang Qingzhi approaching, he said, "I support you in this battle, but that doesn't stop me from betting on you to lose."
Cui Yuan was a veteran of three dynasties, relying on the emperor's favor. Since Daoye had decided to fight that group of people to the end, he could only risk his life to stand on the side.
This was the case with him and Lu Bing in history, but although they took sides, it was impossible for them to turn against the literati.
Even the Taoist priest couldn't make them do this.
On the contrary, Yan Song and his son and the literati were irreconcilable.
So who is loyal and who is treacherous.
Who knows?
"How much was deposited?" Jiang Qingzhi asked.
"30,000 strings of cash." Cui Yuan smiled and said, "Also, I heard that many people bet on you to lose."
"I also spent a lot." Jiang Qingzhi said.
"How many?"
"Fifty thousand strings of cash!"
"Are you trying to destroy the family?"
"One to five, two hundred and fifty thousand strings of cash." Jiang Qingzhi felt that he was about to get rich.
"You said in the Imperial Academy that there will be a result within ten days, so I will wait and see." Cui Yuan lowered his voice, "If you lose, it won't be my turn to add insult to injury. Countless people want to kill you. You'd better take care of yourself!"
Jiang Qingzhi said calmly, "I want to see what it will be like when those people lose so much that they have to pawn their pants. Also, Lao Cui, you bet 30,000 strings of cash. Are you going to lose all the princess's dowry?"
"You!" Cui Yuan was furious, then he said calmly: "I'll wait and see."
The next day, news came.
"Someone bet 300,000 strings of cash on Lord Bo to win." Xu Wei was very excited. "300,000 strings of cash, what a big bet!"
Who is it?
The entire capital was speculating about this person's identity.
The Taoist priest also held the first court meeting after the death of the crown prince.
Someone started to make trouble as soon as the court meeting started.
"Long Wilbur has raised three issues concerning the fate of our country, and he claims that he can find solutions. Within ten days, there will be results that will shock the world. Today is the third day. May I ask Long Wilbur, have you found any solutions?"
Started to get angry.
Lu Bing glanced at Jiang Qingzhi and admired his courage from the bottom of his heart, but he felt that this was a way to seek death.
Jiang Qingzhi laughed, "Your Majesty, the weather has been nice these days. Staying in the palace for a long time is bound to make you feel depressed. I would like to invite Your Majesty to go out of the city for a walk."
coming!
What traveling? This must be Jiang Qingzhi’s response.
Everyone's eyes lit up.
They all looked at Emperor Jiajing.
Daoye looked at his cousin deeply and said, "Yes!"
(End of this chapter)
