Chapter 429: Magical Instruments and Bad News
Daoye was in a very good mood today. After getting up, he paced outside with Jiang Qingzhi, looking quite energetic.
"How did you come up with the idea of inciting the people to take action?"
Jiang Qingzhi said: "Your Majesty, the people who feel the most deeply about the Ming Dynasty are not the so-called scholars, but the emperor and the people."
"Tell me about it." Emperor Jiajing asked with great interest.
"As the Ming Dynasty declines, the people will inevitably have a hard time. This is the most direct feeling. They will look at the government and the meat eaters, waiting for these people to save them."
“Why should we expect their salvation?”
"Your Majesty, in my opinion, the common people and the meat-eaters are partners. Both parties have signed an invisible contract. The common people contribute by paying taxes and serving in the army, and the meat-eaters should respond with peace and prosperity for the country. This is a complete contract. When the dynasty declines, it means that the meat-eaters have broken the contract..."
What will follow is a storm, and the people will vote with their feet and use the smoke of war to choose another partner.
"Your Majesty, Concubine Jing is here."
Concubine Lu Jing came and saw that Emperor Jiajing and Jiang Qingzhi were both fine. She couldn't help but pat her chest and said, "I heard the shouting from Zuo Shunmen earlier, and I was worried about Your Majesty..."
"Dad, uncle!" The little girl also came and said happily, "I was worried about you!"
The Taoist smiled gently, "I'm fine." He nodded to Jiang Qingzhi, "Go on."
"As the empire declines, there will be feedback from all regions, which will be sent to the emperor through memorials and other means, and when summarized, it will form a picture of the empire's sunset."
Jiang Qingzhi said: "The emperor would worry about the fall of the dynasty, because he knows that all the ministers can surrender, but only the emperor cannot. The captured Former Shu said that he was happy here and did not miss Shu. It seems that he has avoided the disaster, but who knows the sadness of being in danger at any time?"
"Once the dynasty declines, chaos will break out everywhere, and foreign races will take advantage of the situation to invade... The whole country will be filled with smoke, and the people will be reduced to pigs and dogs, and nine out of ten houses will be killed..."
"Your Majesty, I take my leave."
Jiang Qingzhi left halfway through his words.
Concubine Lu seemed to be thinking about something. Emperor Jiajing stood with his hands behind his back, watching Jiang Qingzhi's retreating figure, and whispered, "Is he trying to say... that the people are the emperor's real support?"
"People?" Concubine Lu was stunned. "What can those people do?"
"Yes! I used to think so, but today Qingzhi showed me another side of the people." Emperor Jiajing frowned, "The boy still has a lot to say."
Changle said: "Dad, my two brothers must know."
Dao Ye followed suit and said, "Let them come."
Later, the two princes and the Taoist priest conversed across the screen.
"...My cousin said that the most unreliable people in this world are those with vested interests."
"Why?"
"My cousin said that human nature is greedy and there is no end to it. The more vested interests there are, the greedier they are. They will use any means necessary to devour the Ming Dynasty."
"Well! What about the people?"
"My cousin said that the people are the most underestimated force in the past thousand years." King Jing said, "If the king can successfully use this force, he will be invincible. But I think my cousin's words are a bit exaggerated about the role of the people."
"After today, do you still think so?" asked the Taoist.
"Yes." King Jing said, "If it weren't for the Tiger Guards and Left Guards guarding Zuo Shun Gate today, those soldiers would be able to easily drive them away with just one order."
"Go!"
After the two princes left, Emperor Jiajing pondered for a long time.
“The power of the people!”
He was pondering the implication of these words.
"Your Majesty, the impeachment has arrived."
Soon, the Taoist no longer cared about the power of the people.
The impeachment memorials rushed into the imperial city like a snowstorm.
——The most ridiculous moment in the country in over a hundred years!
——If Jiang Qingzhi is not severely punished, the country will no longer be a country!
——The people of the world are greatly disappointed with Your Majesty...
The words used in the memorials became more and more unscrupulous, and one could see the thoughts of the ministers through these words.
Panic, anger, madness...
……
But all this has nothing to do with Jiang Qingzhi.
He finished what he was supposed to do, went home, took a shower, and lay down.
"Husband, the families that sent New Year gifts to our family last year have not responded this year." Li Tian looked at the gift list and said worriedly, "I don't care about those gifts, but..."
"Don't worry!" Jiang Qingzhi held his wife's hand. "This matter will break out sooner or later. The sooner the better."
"Why are those people here?"
"It's all for power. In a nutshell, it's all for fair and square sharing of the spoils." Jiang Qingzhi said, "There will be some waves in this matter. Tell your family to be careful recently."
"Hmm!" Li Tian said softly, "What about my husband?"
"They will counterattack, but after Zuo Shunmen, their momentum has been largely lost, and the rest is just a way to vent their anger."
Jiang Qingzhi stretched and asked, "Sleep together?"
Li Tian pouted lightly, stood up and said, "It's the end of the year and I have a lot of things to do. You can go to sleep by yourself."
She walked out of the room and told Huang Yan'er, "We will no longer have any dealings with those families. Tell Fucheng to return all the gifts they gave us in previous years!"
Huang Yan'er was stunned, "Madam, are you sending back the ones from previous years as well?"
"This is not a matter between two families, but a national affair. Since our paths are different, let's break off the relationship completely!" Li Tian said coldly.
After Fu Cheng learned about this, he sighed, "This is Madam's way of expressing her stance, telling those people that Xin'an Lane's position will never change. From now on, those who have different beliefs will no longer have to interact with each other!"
The reward from the palace came immediately, and was held in Huang Jin's hand. "This is your majesty's magic weapon."
Huang Jin's face was flushed as he held up a whisk that he had used for many years and looked at it. "Many people want to see it but cannot. His Majesty said that it should be given to Qingzhi for protection!"
Jiang Qingzhi took the whisk and shook it a few times, and the horsetail hair got on his face, which made him feel itchy.
……
"His Majesty is also expressing his stance through this. His will is as strong as iron and cannot be shaken!"
Han Yu said: "He even used the whisk to warn us that Jiang Qingzhi is under his protection. Anyone who takes action... will be his enemy!"
The Taoist priest holds a grudge not just for a while, but for a lifetime.
If you are his enemy, you must be prepared to be retaliated against at any time in your life.
Yang Qing held the chess manual in his hand, "Those people swore that if Your Majesty remains indifferent this time, they will mobilize more people..."
"Sweeping the world?" Han Yu asked sarcastically, "How many people are willing to follow them?"
"When their own interests are not harmed, those people will not take risks." Yang Qing dropped a piece, "Some people even expect Your Majesty to launch a new policy, preferably with great fanfare."
"Just like in the previous Song Dynasty, Fan Zhongyan and Wang Anshi made great fanfare and momentum... When the name of the new policy is known to the world, the new policy will not be far from collapse."
"So, our emperor always does things without saying anything. To be honest, compared to him, the former Emperor Renzong and Emperor Shenzong of Song Dynasty are far inferior."
"The scholars and officials in the early Song Dynasty were so powerful that they put us, the younger generation, to shame."
"Just wait and see! They will take action in the next few days."
On the second day, memorials continued to pour in, and then memorials from the capital area also came to the capital...
Memorials represent emotions.
"Many officials have stopped doing their jobs."
Zhu Xizhong came to Xin'an Lane and picked up Duoduo and wanted to play with him.
"Meow!"
How could Duoduo be so shameless... He raised his paw and clawed.
As soon as Zhu Xizhong let go, Duoduo fell to the ground, stretched his body to cushion the impact, called out to Zhu Xizhong a few times, then quickly grabbed Jiang Qingzhi's trouser leg and climbed into his arms.
Then she rested her head on his belly and patted him with her paw, as if to say, don't disturb my sleep.
"This is a disguised way of forcing Your Majesty." Xu Wei said, "It's what Lord Bo said about... slacking off."
All officials began to slack off.
A large number of state affairs were put on hold, and now that it was the end of the year, there were countless things happening in various places, all waiting for the court to deal with and decide.
Emperor Jiajing summoned his close ministers to discuss the matter, but Jiang Qingzhi did not come.
"Chang Wei Bo said that there are many people in the world who are waiting to be officials. If someone doesn't want to do that, then he should go home and farm."
"That's ridiculous." Cui Yuan laughed angrily. "An official who can manage things needs to go through a lot of training to become a talent. Can you just grab a juren or jinshi and let him work in the Ministry of War? That will only cause trouble."
But everyone knows that we can't give in on this matter.
However, Jiang Qingzhi's abdication inevitably caused some dissatisfaction among the ruling Yan Party.
"Simple." In the duty room of Zhilu, Yan Shifan glanced at the smiling Xu Jie and said, "Those people only care about food and not about fighting. If we capture some of them and reward them, they will naturally calm down after internal division."
Xu Jie smiled and said, "But the contradiction remains."
Yo!
Old Xu actually spoke. Yan Shifan felt that if he did not respond, he would be unworthy of his courage. He smiled and said, "Old Xu, do you want Your Majesty to deal with Chang Wei Bo?"
Xu Jie shook his head, "I think it would be better for Chang Wei Bo to leave the capital for a while."
It's just a temporary stay out of Beijing, not a long-term one.
Tsk!
This black snake really came up with a good idea.
Xu Jie immediately returned to the Ministry of Rites.
He had been silent for too long, and he spoke today in order to make Emperor Jiajing remember him... At the critical moment, it was I, Xu Jie, who came up with a good idea for Your Majesty.
"Let Qingzhi leave Beijing?" The Taoist narrowed his eyes.
"Yes." Yan Song did not dare to hide it. "I think we can arrest a group, reward a group, and divide them. But what Xu Jie said is also right. If Chang Weibo is still in the capital, this contradiction will not be resolved."
But Dao Ye was a man of character. He said calmly, "That idiot has no children yet, why are you in such a hurry?"
But how long will it take for Jiang Qingzhi to succeed in having a baby?
Yan Song smiled bitterly in his heart.
Then he saw Lu Bing.
And a eunuch.
The eunuch spoke first, "Your Majesty, Mu Chaobi, the deputy governor of Yunnan, has urgently reported that the Duke of Qian... passed away due to illness."
The hall suddenly became quiet.
Jiang Qingzhi's words were echoing in everyone's mind.
——If Mu Chaobi is not allowed to inherit the title, Mu Gong will surely die!
"Lu Bing!" The Taoist looked at Lu Bing.
"According to the Jinyiwei, Duke Mu Gong of Qian has passed away due to illness. However, our people in the Duke's Mansion have reported that a conflict occurred in the mansion a few days before Duke Mu Gong passed away."
"Qingzhi was right. Mu Chaobi is indeed as ferocious as a wolf." The Taoist said slowly.
When Jiang Qingzhi heard the news, his first reaction was: "How many years will it be worth to get Yunnan back?"
Then, he found that Uncle Ding started to speed up.
"This is……"
(End of this chapter)
