Chapter 408 No Regrets Crossing the River
"More than a dozen civil servants wanted to confront Long Wilbur, but in the end they didn't have the courage and backed off."
Just as it was about to happen, Emperor Jiajing got the news.
"Once Wang Yiqi leaves office, it will be a heavy blow to the Mohist School. And the reconstruction of martial arts cannot be separated from the cooperation of the Ministry of War. This is killing two birds with one stone."
Emperor Jiajing said, "Another conflict in the court... This is to contain Qingzhi. Even military tactics are used, which is quite interesting."
Huang Jin walked out, and Zhang Tong said, "Eunuch Huang, are those people bullying Chang Wei Bo?"
“This is not bullying.”
"what is that?"
Huang Jin looked into those clear eyes and said, "This is... that's all. You are still young, don't ask about these things."
The interrogation of the Jinyiwei in the Ministry of War has ended. When the last person walked out of the Ministry of War, someone whispered in the duty room: "Tell them to overthrow the king..."
……
"Wang Yiqi is helpless."
Yang Qing said: "Next we should consider how to expand our strength in the Ministry of War."
Han Yu smiled and said, "Jiang Qingzhi is good at using troops. If the Minister of War is replaced, we can just delay him secretly, not to mention tripping him up. Speed is of the essence in war. If he delays, what kind of famous general will he be..."
Yang Qing smiled, "What a hero Di Qing is, isn't he..."
……
Whenever the officials from the Ministry of War passed by Wang Yiqi's duty room, they would look at him with pity.
Wang Yiqi hasn't come out since morning.
"It is said that the thief who stole the documents has already left the capital. Long Wilbur said that he has been found and is probably being pursued!"
"But the wilderness is so vast, how difficult it is!"
"Minister Wang, what a pity."
"From the moment he joined Long Wilbur's army, I knew this day would come."
An official said, with a look of gloating in his eyes.
"What are you so proud of?" The Left Vice Minister Wu Hua came out.
Wu Hua is a person of small temper. Ever since he reconciled with Jiang Qingzhi, he has been constantly promoting in the Ministry of War that Chang Wei Bo is the most famous general of the Ming Dynasty, and has argued with many people over this.
But this guy has a narrow mind. Once he has a dispute with someone, he will make things difficult for the other party. For a time, everyone dared not say anything and said behind his back that he was Jiang Qingzhi's loyal dog.
The official coughed dryly, "I was just speaking casually. Besides... I didn't say this either, but it's been widely circulated outside. If Minister Wu has time, why not go out and take a look?"
——If you, Wu Hua, want to lick Jiang Qingzhi, then do it thoroughly. Go out and try to argue with those people.
Wu Hua sneered, "I don't care about other places, but in this small part of the Ministry of War, if anyone wants to take advantage of me, I will never tolerate it!"
Some people murmured, "When did the Ministry of War become the Mohist's place?"
Wu Hua had sharp ears, and instead of getting angry when he heard this, he sneered and said, "Could it be a Confucian place?"
This is using your own spear to attack your own shield.
Wu Hua said disdainfully: "A bunch of idiots!"
Even Te Niang’s rebuttal can’t be defeated by me!
Wu Hua went over and knocked on the door.
"Come in."
Wu Hua pushed open the door and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Wang Yiqi writing quickly at his desk.
"No need to worry!" Wang Yiqi looked up and smiled.
"I heard that there are many people in the court who are trying to impeach the minister." Although Wu Hua was confident about those officials, he was worried at this moment, "Does Chang Wei Bo have any solution?"
In Wu Hua's opinion, the matter would ultimately require the intervention of Emperor Jiajing, who would suppress it by force, and only then would Wang Yiqi have a chance of survival.
"Chang Wei Bo..." Wang Yiqi said calmly, "Just wait and see."
During lunch, Wang Yiqi walked out of the duty room and stretched.
In the cafeteria of the Ministry of War, officials avoided Wang Yiqi when they saw him.
Once Wang Yiqi falls, the new official will have three things to do.
According to convention, one of these three fires must be used to purge Wang Yiqi's confidants.
Who dares to approach Wang Yiqi at this time?
After Wang Yiqi prepared his meal, he did not go to the duty room. He found a place to sit in the cafeteria, looked a little depressed, and ate slowly.
Half of the officials' attention was focused on Wang Yiqi, and the sound of whispering became more frequent, like a group of bees buzzing.
"Cough cough!"
Wu Hua came. He never liked eating in the cafeteria, but today he brought his food and sat down opposite Wang Yiqi.
"You entered my duty room this morning, and someone must have remembered you. And now you are sitting opposite me." Wang Yiqi raised his eyes, "Minister Wu, aren't you afraid of being implicated?"
Everyone in the Ministry of War knows that Wu Hua is narrow-minded.
He looked at the officials with disdain and said, "Those people want to use this incident to force the Shangshu to bow his head, but the Shangshu refuses. May I ask why?"
Wang Yiqi said: "There are always some things in this world that people want to stick to. For example... this Ming Dynasty!"
Wu Hua looked at him. "For Ming Dynasty?"
Wang Yiqi nodded, "Chang Wei Bo said that Mohism is just a tool. Our goal is to serve the Ming Dynasty. If the Ming Dynasty can prosper, what's wrong with my Mohism retreating or even disappearing?"
Wu Hua stood up, and the officials in the cafeteria all exclaimed "oh".
"So Minister Wu is also afraid?" someone chuckled.
The laughter gradually became louder.
Wang Yiqi is leaving, who would be afraid of him?
Wu Hua looked around and then asked Wang Yiqi.
"Count me in as one!"
……
The cafeteria gradually became quiet.
Wang Yiqi looked at Wu Hua steadily, "Don't you regret it?"
"No regrets!" "You're not afraid of being beaten by everyone?"
"I was also brave and aggressive when I was young!"
"You're not afraid..."
"Does the Minister want to humiliate me?"
Wu Hua's face flushed. "I am narrow-minded, but here..."
Wu Hua beat his chest hard and said, "I also want to do something for the Ming Dynasty. But the years of officialdom have made me discouraged. I have seen too much petty intrigue and deception, and I am desperate.
I have thought about fighting back, but looking around, the entire officialdom, the entire government and the country are all their people. I can only respond to this fucked up world with sarcasm. Now the Mohist School has given me hope..."
Wu Hua said: "Some people say that the Mohist School is just Long Wei Bo and his cats and dogs messing around. But what I see is courage. Facing this fucked up world, the courage to roar and draw the sword! This courage, I also have it!"
He said seriously: "But I still hesitated for a long time. Today, I mustered up the courage to ask Minister Wang and Chang Wei Bo if the Mohist School is still short of a soldier? If so, I am willing to do it for this world, for this Ming Dynasty... and cross the river without regrets!"
Wang Yiqi put down his chopsticks and slowly stood up.
"I don't mean to humiliate you, but..." He held out his hands.
Across the long table, Wang Yiqi hugged Wu Hua tightly.
"Welcome, Old Wu!"
A clerk sitting in the corner stood up suddenly, his face flushed, and said, "I have such courage!"
The clerk looked at those officials and felt a little scared, but his blood boiled again. He said in a hoarse voice: "Not everyone is a coward. I am also full of blood! Just for this Ming Dynasty!"
……
Outside the canteen, an official sneered, "They are all ignorant of the danger."
"Master Wang." A minor official who arrived late bowed and went in.
Outside the gate leading to Wang Yiqi's duty room, a clerk was squatting there eating a cake.
He glanced around from time to time with a vigilant look in his eyes.
Outside Wang Yiqi's duty room, an official walked by seemingly casually.
He passed by Wang Yiqi's duty room, took a few steps forward, then suddenly stopped and turned back.
There is no one behind me.
The official stood there waiting for a while, and seeing that no one came, he quietly left.
I don't know how he managed to open the door lock easily, and then closed the door after entering.
The official went straight to the desk.
It seems that Wang Yiqi has learned his lesson. All the documents are locked in the box, but this does not pose a problem for this man.
The official unlocked the box and carefully found a piece of paper. He walked to the desk, took out a pen and paper, and quickly copied it.
Soon, the copying was completed. The official looked carefully at the desk, then looked down at his feet, and found no traces. He then put the paper back into the box and quietly left.
Later he appeared in the duty room of the officer Wang.
"Did you get it?" asked Director Wang.
The official smiled and said, "It's easy."
Wang, the chief official, laughed and said, "Who would have thought that Wang Yiqi's confidant is actually an expert in the art of unlocking locks? And he can also be a thief!"
"Take a look at this." The official handed what he had copied to Wang.
"The art of gunpowder, add 15% alum and 5% realgar..."
"Good!" Wang Zhushi said excitedly: "The last time we made a big splash outside the city, the court officials had a lot more favorable impressions of the Mohist School and Jiang Qingzhi. Now that we have the formula, we can also do something..."
The official sat down, "But what do we do with this?"
Wang said softly, "Spread it out!"
"This..." The official was stunned. "If everyone knows this, if it spreads to the outside world, Altan will have this thing and will be more powerful in attacking cities and strongholds. Master Wang, how about... reconsider this matter?"
"Do you know why you haven't been promoted for many years?" Wang said angrily, "You don't consider the overall situation and you are hesitant. What is our purpose? To make Jiang Qingzhi and the Mohists... um!"
Master Wang put his fingers together like knives and swung them down with force, with a ruthless look in his eyes.
"But what if Altan attacks us?"
"Yesen also captured the emperor of the Ming Dynasty and marched to the capital, but he returned empty-handed. What are you worried about? The capital is a strong city and it is very stable!"
Later, the clerk arrived.
"How is it?" asked Master Wang.
The clerk smiled and said, "Wang Yiqi entered the duty room and has been quiet since then."
"That's it."
Chief Wang's eyes were red with excitement. "This is a great achievement. Once Wang Yiqi leaves, we will naturally benefit from it."
After leaving the government office, Director Wang quietly went to a restaurant.
In the private room on the second floor, a man was waiting.
"Hello, Mr. Chen." Manager Wang bowed.
The man said, "You keep saying you have something important to say. What is it?"
Wang, the chief official, said: "Wang Yiqi was found copying the gunpowder formula by our people. I worked with them and copied down the formula."
"Great!" The man was ecstatic. "Last time I heard the sound of gunpowder was like thunder, and it was amazing. Once I get the formula, I can make Jiang Qingzhi and Wang Yiqi suffer... This is a great achievement!"
"Yeah?"
someone asked.
"Of course..." Manager Wang and Mr. Chen were suddenly shocked and slowly looked towards the window.
The window was opened, and an unnaturally burly young man was grinning at the two of them.
"Who are you?" Mr. Chen asked subconsciously.
"Yeah Sun Chonglou!"
(End of this chapter)
