Chapter 337: Mohist First Shot
Xin'an Lane was very quiet in the middle of the night.
The early autumn wind blew through the alley, rolling up a cloud of fallen leaves.
A dark shadow sneaked in quietly along with the fallen leaves.
Even in the alley, he was still cautious.
When I saw the gate of the Bo's Mansion, the shadow clung to the wall, inching closer and closer. It seemed to merge with the wall and the night.
After an unknown amount of time, the shadow turned around, jumped lightly, and grabbed the top edge of the wall with both hands. He pulled himself up and looked inside.
The entire Bo Mansion was like a sleeping giant beast. Two guards walked past from the left side. According to their patrol route, they should go to the warehouse next.
The shadow waited for them to pass, then turned over silently.
He looked around, sniffed a few times, and quickly ran to the side of the hall in front of him. He leaned against the wall and listened attentively.
The autumn wind blew through the branches, making a rustling sound, and the sound of the guards' receding footsteps was drowned out by it.
The black shadow crawled all the way to the backyard. He looked left and right and finally found the forbidden area.
He tiptoed to the gate of the forbidden area, looked around to see no one, raised the corners of his mouth slightly, and said in a low voice: "What Sun Chonglou, what the first knife, are all false names... Look, I'm coming in now, right?"
A cold voice came from behind, "If I had to see where you were going, I would have taken action long ago."
The black shadow froze all over, and just as he was about to raise his hand, he was hit on the back of his head with a bang. He hiccuped and passed out.
Soon, the lights in the cell came on.
Mo Zhan was not on duty tonight, but he still came.
Sun Bu Tong looked at the thief angrily, "This is the second one tonight. Damn it, why are you here?"
The thief looked really shifty, and before he could be tortured he spoke, "I came here for the fragrant dew."
"Who ordered this?" Mo Zhan asked.
"Villain..." The thief's eyes rolled.
Mo Zhan sneered, "Be ruthless and get the confession before Uncle gets up."
Sun Bu Tong chuckled, "I just feel grumpy after waking up..."
……
Jiang Qingzhi woke up slowly, and his first thought was to reach out and touch the person next to him.
"Husband." Li Tian murmured and turned over.
Last night, this woman was sitting cross-legged on the bed, checking the accounts with a smile on her face. In just one day, she sold more than a hundred bottles of perfumed dew at two hundred guan per bottle. It was a huge profit!
But Jiang Qingzhi said that he had his own plans for the money, which was to be used on the land outside the city, and then he was overwhelmed by his wife's enthusiasm.
woman!
I didn't even finish... Jiang Qingzhi swore he didn't mean it, but he always enjoyed activities that didn't require much effort.
"Husband." Li Tian woke up, and Jiang Qingzhi touched her waist curiously, "I don't see you doing any exercises on weekdays, how come your waist strength is so good?"
Li Tian was embarrassed and pinched him lightly. Jiang Qingzhi laughed and said, "By the way, the land outside the city..."
"Let's build a villa!" Li Tian had already planned it.
“It’s not a separate courtyard.”
"What then?"
"The Mohists have many methods, and they need a place to practice and study them. I plan to turn that piece of land into the Mohists' base."
"Mohist?" Li Tian, who was still a little confused, immediately woke up completely, "So much money?"
If all four thousand bottles of scented dew were sold, at two hundred per bottle, the total would be eight hundred thousand strings of cash.
"not enough."
"Shouldn't the court pay for that?"
"The court is so poor now that they are even stingy with the salaries of the officials. Even if they have money, do you think they will give it to the Mohist School?"
Jiang Qingzhi knew that his wife was distressed, so he quickly got up and ran away.
It's not that Li Tian is not generous enough, this is the standard of this era... Family comes first. For a woman who regards her husband and children as her only goal in life, in her eyes, the Mohist school and the world have to take a back seat in front of her family.
"Uncle."
After morning exercise, Mo Zhan came to report something.
"Three groups of people came last night. Two groups came for the fragrant dew, and one group came to explore the forbidden area. The two groups of people were all wealthy merchants. The one who was looking for the forbidden area said that a scholar paid him to spy on the forbidden area."
"Should we report this wealthy merchant to the authorities?" Sun Chonglou asked.
"If you want to do this kind of thing, do it privately. Who will care if you report it to the police?" Dou Jialan said.
"Who dares?" Sun Chonglou said.
"Evidence!" Dou Jialan stretched out his hand.
Sun Chonglou glared at her and Dou Jialan sneered.
Jiang Qingzhi said: "Leave the two thieves outside the gates of the two wealthy merchants. If they don't come to apologize before noon, find an opportunity to attack them."
"Yes. By the way, uncle, what is the standard?" Mo Zhan asked.
"Break your limbs."
Although Jiang Qingzhi expected that the perfumed lotion would attract the attention of noble ladies, he still underestimated their craze.
The shop was surrounded in the morning, and Jia Qian sent someone to tell them to bring the fragrant dew from his home over quickly.
"From today on, the limit is fifty bottles a day."
Jiang Qingzhi's order made the ladies jump up and down and curse, but there was nothing they could do; they had to queue up to buy the goods every day.
"What does Uncle want to do?" Hu Zongxian was thinking.
It’s all about making money, so why offend those ladies?
……
"In the northwest, the large-scale invasions by the Altan tribe have stopped, but small groups of troops are still harassing Datong and other places. Conflicts often break out between scouts."
In the court, Wang Yiqi's voice echoed with anger.
"Last month, the cavalry of Altan Khan raided a village and captured more than a hundred people. Datong sent people to negotiate, and the Altan Khan replied that they were horse thieves." Emperor Jiajing asked, "Are you sure it was the Altan Khan who did it?"
"Yes." Wang Yiqi said confidently, "The horse thieves don't dare to go to that place at all."
The bandits would only take advantage and would not risk going deep into the heart of the Ming Dynasty.
"Altan's envoy is in the capital, Your Majesty, you can ask him about this matter!" Yan Song said.
Emperor Jiajing looked at Jiang Qingzhi.
Jiang Qingzhi was whispering with Zhu Xizhong about Xianglu when he sensed the Taoist's gaze and quickly pretended to be listening.
"Your Majesty, the Japanese pirates in the southeast have been making a move recently. Taizhou Prefecture reported that the Japanese pirates landed in Jiantiao, Taozhu and other places and looted several villages."
The joint attacks from the north and the south made Wang Yiqi a little overwhelmed. He looked at Jiang Qingzhi with a wry smile.
Jiang Qingzhi nodded slightly.
Yan Song was watching all this. Yan Shifan told him that Wang Yiqi was now very close to Jiang Qingzhi, and if he took another step forward he would become a genuine general of Jiang's party and a pioneer of the Mohist school.
If the Mohists want to highlight their presence, they must speak out in the court.
Jiang Qingzhi really came out.
Cui Yuan glanced at Yan Song, but Yan Song remained calm.
In the past, Jiang Qingzhi and his small group were more like a small gang used by Emperor Jiajing to check and balance the Yan Party. Although Emperor Jiajing acquiesced to Jiang Qingzhi's forming a party, there were only a few small cats and they had no governance ideas of their own, making them more like a makeshift team.
But now it is different. Jiang Qingzhi standing there represents the Mohist school that emerged from the ancient coffin.
Every time Jiang Qingzhi opened his mouth, it represented that the ancient school was trying to gain a foothold and find a breakthrough.
Cui Yuan suddenly felt something was wrong. He looked at Yan Song, then at Zhao Wenhua and others, and felt that the Yan Party was more like a makeshift team formed by a union of interests.
Although Jiang Qingzhi has a small number of troops under his command, they have clear political goals and are more like a regular army.
"Your Majesty, I think Altan should be summoned and reprimanded." Jiang Qingzhi knew that every word he said would be interpreted by the outside world as the Mohist view of the world and the current Ming Dynasty.
The Taoist asked, "What if the messenger evades the question?"
Your Majesty is cooperating with Jiang Qingzhi... Yan Song's eyelids twitched and he glanced at the tablet, on which was written the important matters to be reported today.
"That's easy, just stop the trade between the two sides!"
The ministers looked at this Mohist leader and wondered if this was the Mohist philosophy.
——Antit for tat!
That was what the Mohist school did back then. They would fight each other over the slightest disagreement.
You say that you want to conquer people with virtue... If conquering people with virtue is useful, then what is the point of using swords and guns?
Wang Yiqi said: "When trade was first liberalized, many people were quite dissatisfied. Now it seems that this trade has become a weapon in the hands of the Ming Dynasty. If they are not comfortable, they can just cut it off."
Emperor Jiajing nodded and said, "You can handle this matter later."
Your Majesty, your intention to pave the way for the Mohists is too obvious... Yan Song sighed in his heart and said, "Your Majesty, the Japanese pirates in the southeast are ready to make a move. We must not allow chaos to occur in the north!"
——Your Majesty, Jiang Qingzhi is a ruthless person who gets into fights over a disagreement. If he and the envoy fall out, it could lead to unforeseen consequences...
"Your Majesty, the Japanese pirates will inevitably become a big trouble in the southeast region," said Jiang Qingzhi.
What the hell!
This guy actually endorsed Yan Song?
Zhao Wenhua and others were stunned.
"I believe that the root cause of the rampant Japanese pirates in the southeast is the corruption of local garrisons and the incompetence of officers and soldiers. If we want long-term peace and stability, we must solve the problem from the root."
Jiang Qingzhi glanced at Yan Song and said, "The trouble in the southeast lies with the soldiers. I think the capital should take the lead and set an example."
Wang Yiqi asked, "Does Chang Wei Bo mean the Jingwei?"
Jiang Qingzhi nodded, "Last time when the Beijing Guards were purged, each unit observed the training methods of the Tiger Guards Left Guards and practiced on their own after returning. Now the time is almost up, and I plan to go and inspect in the near future to see how effective it is."
"I second the motion." Wang Yiqi said.
Damn it, the two Mohists sang the same tune and actually treated the ministers as nothing.
Cui Yuan glanced at the ministers and found that many of them were in deep thought.
Zhu Xizhong left the class, "I second the motion!"
Forget about this old dude, he is a die-hard member of Chiang’s party.
"I second the motion." Today is an expanded court meeting, and Jiang Qingzhi's father-in-law Li Huan is also here.
"I second the motion." Minister of Works Jiang Hua actually spoke for Jiang Qingzhi.
But then no one came forward.
Fortunately, there are still only a few kittens.
Cui Yuan was secretly relieved.
"Can!"
The Taoist nodded, and the matter was settled.
After a while, Yan Song returned to the duty room. Yan Shifan, who was taking a nap, woke up, his one eye full of bloodshot. "Dad, what's wrong?"
This was the Mohist school's first shot in the court, and Yan Shifan was quite looking forward to it.
Yan Song sat down and frowned, saying, "Look at how tired you look. Go to bed early."
"No problem!" Yan Shifan sat up straight, "Does Jiang Qingzhi have any plans?"
Yan Song said: "Altan Khan attacked the border wall, which is not a big problem. However, Jiang Qingzhi is very tough and is willing to cut off trade to make Altan Khan surrender."
"This is the way of doing things that has been passed down from generation to generation by the Mohist school," said Yan Shifan.
"Then he brought up the matter and talked about the rectification of the imperial guards..."
"Tsk!" Yan Shifan closed his eyes and suddenly said, "I was wondering why he left the guards alone and ignored those people's perfunctory treatment. It turns out he was waiting here."
Yan Song said: "One is the emperor's close ministers purging the Beijing guards, and the other is the Mohist master purging the Beijing guards. The implications are completely different. This guy is very cunning and should not be underestimated."
"The Beijing Guard is a big melting pot. Is Jiang Qingzhi finally going to jump in?" Yan Shifan laughed instead, "Dad, tell our people not to act rashly."
"I know." Yan Song rubbed his forehead tiredly, "Those scholars are keeping an eye on Jiang Qingzhi. This time, the Beijing Guards will not be peaceful. Jiang Qingzhi... But I'm afraid that we in the Beijing Guards will be tossed around by him."
"Dad, once Jiang Qingzhi's identity changes, it will cause many changes in the court. We urgently need to re-arrange. As for the Beijing Guards... just do your best to protect them. By the way, Qiu Luan has been bored lately, let him go." Yan Shifan analyzed the matter casually, and then chuckled: "At this moment, the more chaos in the court, the better for us. Jiang Qingzhi, I hope you don't let me down."
(End of this chapter)
