Chapter 431: Bewitching the Taoist, Opening the Map
Ever since humans formed tribes, the relationship between leaders and sub-leaders has been quite interesting. There is conflict amidst cooperation.
After the establishment of the dynasty, the relationship between the monarch and his subjects became more interesting.
In the eyes of outsiders, the emperor is high up in the sky, like a god, and his subjects should naturally bow down and obey him.
But if you look at the history books, you will find that the so-called history is actually the history of struggles between monarchs and their subjects.
Cooperation is needed between the monarch and his subjects. In the invisible place, the flashes of swords and sabers are faintly visible.
The emperor thought his subjects were a bunch of pigs, so he wanted to hold all the power in his hands.
The ministers thought that the emperor was just a decoration, and it would be best for him to not care about anything and just act like a human being.
Both sides kept probing and attacking...
You want to find something wrong with me, I want to find something wrong with you.
It's just a fight between open and secret.
And the court meetings are the best arena.
Why should the king be taciturn?
Why should we be cautious in expressing our views?
First, I am worried that making mistakes will damage my dignity... My words are golden! Do you still want to take them back? If you take them back a few more times, the emperor's words will be worth less than fart.
The second was that he was worried that his ministers would find out his mistakes and create public opinion in the outside world to suppress the emperor.
The same is true for ministers, especially important ministers, who should speak less. Whatever they say is either well thought out or perfect, so that the emperor cannot find any fault with it.
The more intense the struggle between the monarch and his subjects, the more such all-round ministers there are.
Don’t seek merit, but seek no faults.
Zhu Xizhong was originally such a person.
So when he heard that someone had volunteered to go to Yunnan to deal with the matter, he first cursed inwardly, and then was stunned.
This voice sounds so damn familiar.
He turned back slowly.
Outside the hall, Jiang Qingzhi stood tall.
Isn't this my younger brother?
Zhu Xizhong was furious and wanted to grab Jiang Qingzhi and make him swallow his words.
Yunnan is now in the hands of Mu Chaobi. It can be said that if Mu Chaobi is willing, he can establish his own regime in an instant.
If we go to Yunnan now, unless we are in charge of Mu Chaobi's succession to the title, Yunnan will be a den of wolves and tigers, and if we are not careful, the envoy will become a sacrifice for Mu Chaobi's rebellion.
But if he were to preside over the matter of Mu Chaobi's succession to the title, he would certainly be ridiculed as an incompetent person after his return.
Therefore, all the ministers remained silent.
Throw the problem to the Taoist.
You have the final say.
Just when the Taoist was in trouble, Jiang Qingzhi appeared.
There was a boom.
I'm going to Yunnan!
This shocked all the ministers.
Is this guy crazy?
Even a diplomatic mission to Japan is safer than going to Yunnan!
Moreover, Jiang Qingzhi never concealed his attitude towards Mu Chaobi: Mu Chaobi is a beast, and I think the Duke of Qian will die in his hands sooner or later.
It is said that Mu Chaobi hated Jiang Qingzhi so much that he had an archery target built in the back garden with the three words "Jiang Qingzhi" written on it. He could not even eat if he did not shoot a few arrows every day.
Jiang Qingzhi entered the hall and smiled at Zhu Xizhong.
Wang Yiqi shook his head slightly, indicating that his action was inappropriate.
All the ministers were unwilling to take action on this matter, but the Taoist priest was able to appoint one person to go.
This is the advantage of being an emperor, it is so obvious that you cannot refuse it.
In fact, Daoye had been thinking before whether to send Lin Qin to Yunnan.
As for Lin Qin’s leg being broken by the people... I am magnanimous and will send an imperial physician to accompany him along the way.
But Jiang Qingzhi spoke.
What can he do?
reject?
How could he refuse in front of so many people?
Yan Song looked up, looking relieved.
Emperor Jiajing sighed softly, he knew that Yan Song felt relieved.
After the Zuo Shunmen Incident, the scholars and officials were very excited and were planning to overthrow Chiang.
If Jiang Qingzhi continued to stay in the capital, a more intense conflict would sooner or later break out between the two sides.
Yan Song advised the Taoist to let Jiang Qingzhi leave Beijing temporarily, but the Taoist was such a proud person that he flatly refused.
Unexpectedly, Jiang Qingzhi took the initiative to leave Beijing, and Emperor Jiajing even saw several of his ministers looking relieved.
They were also afraid of Qingzhi.
For a moment, Daoye didn't know whether to be proud or annoyed.
"Yunnan is not a dangerous place at the moment, but it is not a good place either. Moreover, Mu Chaobi hates Chang Wei Bo deeply. Your Majesty, I think we should send someone else." Zhu Xizhong, regardless of arousing Mu's hatred, decisively stepped out to make amends for Jiang Qingzhi.
He knew that he had to go once Jiang Qingzhi asked.
But after saying this, if Jiang Qingzhi encountered setbacks or even made mistakes in Yunnan, Zhu Xizhong would be able to support him and speak out for him in the court.
"I admire Lord Changwei's courage in volunteering, but I would like to ask, Lord Changwei said last time that Mu Chaobi should inherit the title, so what about now?" someone asked.
Jiang Qingzhi said: "Governance should focus on the overall situation rather than personal likes and dislikes. At this moment, I still believe that Mu Chaobi should inherit the title. As for the future, we will talk about it later." Isn't this the same as the tinker's words?
The man chuckled.
Jiang Qingzhi stared at him. "You are so arrogant. Do you have any good ideas?"
The man was stunned and shook his head subconsciously.
"Then what are you laughing at?" Jiang Qingzhi shouted, "This is the imperial court, not a brothel!"
The man blushed but could not refute.
What the hell!
Cool!
Jiang Qingzhi said with a clear mind, "Your Majesty, Mu Chaobi must have made several preparations at this moment. If the envoys of the court do not handle it properly, the southwest may be in turmoil. I am not talented enough, but I am willing to go and deal with this matter."
Emperor Jiajing looked at him deeply and asked, "What do you think?"
If there were a few more people opposing it, the Taoist priest would have rejected this matter.
But no one said anything.
It was useless for Zhu Xizhong and others to speak up, as it might even lead to other officials coming out to support Jiang Qing's trip to Yunnan.
Go on!
It’s best not to come back.
At this moment, countless people are expecting Mu Chaobi to realize his ambition and chop Jiang Qingzhi to death with one knife.
"In this case, Chang Wei Bo will be my envoy to Yunnan..."
After the court was dismissed, Jiang Qingzhi was left behind.
"The Imperial Guards reported that Mu Chaobi once said in private that you are the first person who should be killed in the capital."
The Taoist priest stood in front of the hall. A cold wind blew past, and his voice seemed a little ethereal.
"Whether letting Mu Chaobi inherit the title will arouse his ambition is unknown at this moment. But it will make him look down on the court. If a person looks down on someone, he will become more and more daring.
Yunnan is a remote place. If something happens to the delegation, Mu Chaobi can just blame it on the bandits or the chieftains. Can the court still raise a large army to the south to avenge you?"
The Taoist turned around and saw Jiang Qingzhi taking out a piece of chocolate and giving it to Zhang Tong, rubbing the little eunuch's head with a kind face, as if he was petting a cat. He couldn't help but get furious.
"You treat my words as wind around your ears..."
"Your Majesty, I think it was right to let the Mu family take charge of Yunnan, but it was wrong to let the Mu family inherit the throne later." Jiang Qingzhi said: "Everyone in the court said that Yunnan is a wild and barren land, but they didn't know that it is spring all year round and has abundant resources. The wealth of the Mu family can make the court officials dumbfounded..."
"So!" Emperor Jiajing shook his head at Zhang Tong with his hands behind his back. Zhang Tong put the chocolate away regretfully, preparing to share it with Eunuch Huang later.
Huang Jin subconsciously licked his left big tooth with his tongue. The last time he ate a piece of chocolate, it was delicious, but his teeth felt extremely uncomfortable.
"So I am going to make some inquiries this time. If I can find an opportunity in the future, Your Majesty, I will take Yunnan under my control. Not to mention the increased taxes every year, with Yunnan as a starting point, we can plan for Burma in the southwest and Siam in the west."
"What are those places for?" Emperor Jiajing frowned. "I know you are obsessed with expanding the territory for the Ming Dynasty, but those wild and desolate places..."
"A wild land?" Jiang Qingzhi's eyes widened. "Your Majesty, do you know that Siam's climate is most suitable for farming and that it can easily produce three crops a year? As for Burma, once that place is under our control, the southwest of the Ming Dynasty will have an outlet to the sea."
"Outlet to the sea?"
Even a smart person like Dao Ye was confused by Jiang Qingzhi's map expansion.
Poor... Jiang Qingzhi shook his head and sighed, and quickly took a step back after Daoye raised his hand, "Myanmar is close to the sea, and across the sea is India!"
That’s the place where my third brother lives.
"If the Ming navy is stationed there permanently, it can control that large area of sea."
"What's the point of controlling it?" asked the Taoist priest.
Jiang Qingzhi had forgotten that the Ming emperor and his ministers had no interest in overseas affairs at all. It was not until his nephew Prince Yu ascended the throne that he made a small opening, opening the door to the sea, and countless silver flowed into the Ming Dynasty.
But those scholars and wealthy merchants only saw the money rolling in, and only thought about taking the benefits into their own warehouses, without any ambition at all.
At this moment, the great Western navigation movement was in full swing, and ocean overlords were taking turns to rule the seven seas.
This was a great pioneering era.
The Ming Dynasty, which has already fallen far behind, can't wait any longer!
Must keep up.
"Your Majesty, do you know the value of Ming silk, tea and other products overseas?" Jiang Qingzhi's voice was as tempting as honey. "No matter whether it is the emperor, generals, or wealthy merchants and nobles, they are all proud to obtain Ming silk and drink a cup of Ming tea... It is more valuable than gold! My majesty!"
Emperor Jiajing frowned, "How did you get into the money trap?"
Jiang Qingzhi sighed, "The current situation of the Ming Dynasty is that the south is peaceful, so it is prosperous, while the north is always on guard and has many external enemies, so trade is sluggish. After many years, the south feels that the north is just a poor relative, and there is a sense of separation."
Emperor Jiajing was aware of this.
Later, Wanli experienced it firsthand...the people he sent to collect taxes were severely beaten by the southern literati.
It’s like a poor relative comes to beg for food, and not only is he beaten up by the rich relative, but he also spits at him with contempt: Your Majesty’s biggest problem is greed for money, and you compete with the people for profit!
"If the southwest can go out to sea, we can create another south with Yunnan and Sichuan as the foundation. In this way, the southwest and the south will form a balance of power..."
Jiang Qingzhi knew that if this strategic concept was to be implemented, it would take at least 20 to 30 years given the transportation conditions of that era.
If the whole country joins forces, it will take at least ten years.
"I heard that transportation in the southwest is inconvenient?" Emperor Jiajing said lightly.
"Your Majesty, if you want to be rich, build roads first." Jiang Qingzhi said with a smile.
"Do you know how many civilians we need to recruit?"
"Why is it a civilian?"
"Ok?"
"Like...prisoners!"
There was a gleam of warmongering in Jiang Qingzhi's eyes.
Emperor Jiajing looked at him silently for a long time and said, "Be careful on this way."
Jiang Qingzhi nodded seriously, "Your Majesty, take care in Beijing."
(End of this chapter)
