Chapter 459 Keep a secret
In the capital city in summer, after a few days of heavy rain, the grass is growing and the birds are singing. The temperature has also dropped a lot. It is a good time to travel.
Young people took advantage of the slight coolness to go out for travel, and groups of young men and women gathered outside the city, making the old men who went out of the city in search of poetry and painting couldn't help but stroke their beards and miss their youth.
"Gone and never to return!"
Xia Yan said with a sigh.
"Mr. Xia said yesterday that he wanted to live to be a hundred years old, why do you feel old now?" Hu Zongxian said with a smile.
After Jiang Qingzhi took back Yunnan, public opinion in the entire capital suddenly changed, and many more people sang praises for him and the Mohist school.
"Although Confucianism suffered a setback this time, it is still a giant and cannot be shaken. Qingzhi said that I will definitely see the rise of Mohism in my lifetime. At least I have to live a few more years to avoid embarrassing him."
Hu Zongxian smiled, and Xia Yan said, "Qingzhi mentioned Toungoo in his last letter, and he also mentioned this matter in his memorial to Your Majesty. He wanted to take advantage of the situation to strike a blow to Toungoo and buy time for the cleanup of Yunnan.
But King Mang Shwe Ti of Toungoo was a powerful ruler who had fought in battles all his life, and he even had elephant soldiers to help him... How many times have you been to the Ministry of War? What do you think, Wang Yiqi?"
Hu Zongxian said: "Minister Wang has only one sentence, I will not guess how Chang Wei Bo will use his troops!"
"Are you afraid of being embarrassed if you guess wrong?" Xia Yan couldn't help but laugh.
"The current political situation seems stable, but it's all an illusion." Hu Zongxian said, "Those people are waiting for the return of the Lord to see what the Lord will do next."
"They are worried about the Mohist school." A gust of wind blew by, Xia Yan put his hand in front of his eyes, squinted his eyes and said: "After the news of the recovery of Yunnan came, many scholars came to Xin'an Lane, and they were all willing to join the Mohist school.
This is a good momentum. After Qingzhi returns, this momentum will be even greater. How could those people just sit there and do nothing? Now they are just waiting."
"I heard someone was looking for Lord Xia?" Hu Zongxian said with a smile, "I didn't ask anyone to keep an eye on Lord Xia. I heard it from someone else."
Xia Yan sighed, "Those people came to look for me, to see if they could bring me back."
"Oh!" Hu Zongxian didn't expect those people to have such an idea, and his heart turned cold.
"But I can't bear to give up that kid's cooking skills!" Xia Yan smiled. Hu Zongxian looked at him from the side and saw tenderness in the old man's eyes.
"I have watched Qingzhi move forward amidst oppression. I also want to watch him fight back and pull Confucianism off the altar. Watch him..."
Xia Yan suddenly paused, "Even if I die, I want to watch how he drags this Ming Dynasty from dusk to dawn. Watch his children and grandchildren... bring them to my grave to nag and drink a few cups with me.
Alas! When a person gets old, he starts to have wild thoughts, and the more he thinks, the more he can’t bear it.
Last night I dreamed of Qingzhi. He seemed to be ill. I went to find a doctor for him, but when I came back I only saw Duoduo. I cried out loudly and woke up suddenly, only to find that it was all a dream. "
"Am I getting old?" Xia Yan felt a little disappointed.
"You are not old yet!" Hu Zongxian said sincerely, "My uncle once said that having an old person in the family is like having a treasure. With you at home, the whole family can feel at ease."
"Mr. Xia!"
At this time, several riders came from the front, and a middle-aged man in the lead bowed with a smile.
"Lord Xia, I heard that Lord Xia rejected our good intentions?" The man's name was Ding Mao. He smiled and said, "Chang Wei Bo's recovery of Yunnan was a great achievement, but the young man was greedy and took the initiative to provoke the powerful ruler of Toungoo. Lord Xia, don't you leave yourself a way out?"
This statement was made blatantly and without disguise, and it was full of contempt.
Xia Yan laughed, "What kind of retreat do I need?"
Ding Mao said: "No one's life will be smooth. Famous generals like Guanjun Hou died young because they were too smooth. Lord Xia is not afraid..."
Snapped!
Xia Yan retracted his hand, looked at Ding Mao who was covering his face and looking at him in disbelief, and said: "I am old. If you curse me to die tomorrow, I will just laugh it off. But you shouldn't curse him!"
Ding Mao's eyes were filled with coldness. "Who is Jiang Qingzhi to you? Why would you be willing to accompany him all the way to the end?"
"Do you think I covet something from him?" Xia Yan said calmly, "Although Xia Yan is lonely, he will not bow down for power."
Xia Yan's eyes were filled with murderous intent. "I think you have long forgotten my methods in the past. If Qing Zhi opens his mouth, I will do the same as Feng Fu and fight with you. Let's see if Xia Yan, who is old, can still make a living!"
"Old dog!" Ding Mao was furious. "Are you all dead? Attack!"
"Who dares?" Hu Zongxian waved his hand, and the two guards who accompanied him stepped forward.
But the other side has more people.
Da da da!
The sound of horse hooves was getting closer, but both sides turned a deaf ear to it. Ding Mao and his followers rode their horses and rushed over.
No one dared to use a knife, but a stick could still beat someone half to death.
"Break their legs!" Ding Mao shouted.
Back then, Xia Yan had made Yan Song cry without tears and had made the Taoist priest angry, but he had to continue to use him.
Such a person became Jiang Qingzhi's strategist, which greatly increased the prestige of Jiang Qingzhi and the Mohist School. That's why someone came forward to win over Xia Yan, but was rejected by Xia Yan without hesitation.
The sound of horse hooves stopped behind him.
Ding Mao saw Xia Yan looking behind him and the others, shaking his head and smiling, as if he was relieved and concerned.
There was kindness in his eyes.
Ding Mao shuddered.
"Fight!" A voice sounded behind him, followed by the sound of horse hooves rushing towards him.
A group of cavalrymen, holding long scabbard swords, beat their followers severely on the head and face, knocking them off their horses.
"Who is it?" Ding Mao asked in a hoarse voice. He turned his head slowly and prayed in his heart that it was not that person...
The two guards from the Bo Mansion dismounted.
salute.
"Hello, uncle!"
Ding Mao turned back slowly.
A fist hit him head on.
Bah!
Ding Mao was dismissed.
In the summer of the 29th year of Jiajing, Changwei Earl Jiang Qingzhi returned to Beijing.
As soon as he arrived outside the capital, he severely beat up Ding Mao and other famous scholars in the capital.
Standing outside the city, Jiang Qingzhi looked up at the majestic city walls, feeling a bit excited as if he was returning home after a long absence.
Of course, there is also apprehension.
He stirred up trouble in the southwest, and Daoye and others in the capital were caught off guard. Hu Zongxian said in a letter that Daoye was ready to break with the ministers and order the Beijing guards to go south.
My wife at home must have been worried for a long time, as well as Old Wang and others in the court.
And there was Tang Shunzhi. Who could have thought that the master of psychology would actually go south alone to avenge him?
"Damn it! This world!" Jiang Qingzhi muttered to himself, and walked to the city gate with some emotion. Because of his trepidation, he did not tell the capital the exact date of his arrival in Beijing.
"You are smart." Xia Yan said, "Recovering the sovereignty of Yunnan is a great achievement, but too much achievement is not a good thing. Those people are preparing to lift you up high, and when the time comes, they will kick you down from the clouds."
The higher you stand, the farther you pee... no, the harder you fall.
Jiang Qingzhi is well aware of this truth.
Besides, he doesn't like things like welcoming and seeing off guests.
"Oh, I forgot one thing." Jiang Qingzhi said.
"What's the matter?"
"I forgot to write about the capture of the Toungoo king, Mang Shwe Thi, in the victory report."
"You..." Xia Yan covered his forehead, "Are you going to shock the capital again?"
As they were all carrying weapons, they should have been questioned, but no one asked for a long time, so Jiang Qingzhi withdrew his gaze from the top of the city wall.
"Why, you don't want to check..."
His words stopped abruptly.
"Stand still!" A general flag-taker was kicking and hitting his subordinates.
Dozens of soldiers stood in a hurry, and the general flag officer came over and saluted.
"Welcome, Lord!"
Dozens of soldiers said in unison: "Welcome, Lord!"
Jiang Qingzhi was stunned.
The flag-gathering officer looked up, his eyes burning.
The dozens of soldiers all had the same look in their eyes.
Jiang Qingzhi nodded slightly, "Thank you."
The pedestrians and merchants took shelter on both sides. Some people did not recognize Jiang Qingzhi and murmured, "Who is this powerful family that can make the soldiers guarding the city line up to welcome him?"
"Shut up!" Someone shouted at him, and seeing that he was not convinced, he said, "This is Long Wilbur."
The man was stunned. "Is it Chang Wei Bo who took back the governance of Yunnan?"
"Exactly."
The man blushed and said, "I was wrong."
Jiang Qingzhi went into the city.
The news reached Xiyuan.
"He is back."
Yan Song, who had just enjoyed a period of good times, said sadly: "I'm afraid our good days are coming to an end."
Cui Yuan smiled bitterly, "He led the Mohist School to charge forward recklessly, but we are the ones who have to clean up the mess they created."
Yan Shifan said: "It's not good to live too peacefully. It may seem calm, but there are undercurrents. If Jiang Qingzhi stays out for a few years, those people will target us."
Yan Song naturally knew this truth, but the time had been so peaceful recently that he felt like he was living a peaceful life.
"Your Majesty, Long Wilbur requests to see you."
The Taoist was woken up by someone, and before he could even get mad at himself for getting up, he froze.
"This idiot didn't tell me in advance?"
"Yes."
Huang Jin lowered his head, thinking that Chang Wei Bo was probably worried about being dealt with by you, so he came to Beijing in a low profile.
"Let him come."
Jiang Qingzhi entered the palace and saw the flowers and trees along the way. He couldn't help but envy them, "Are these... replanted this year?"
It was Zhang Tong who came to greet him, "Chief Wilbur, they said these are not easy to transplant."
It's difficult to transplant, so it's useless for you, Jiang Qingzhi, to dig it up.
Hey!
Jiang Qingzhi was angry.
When he arrived in front of the Yongshou Palace, Jiang Qingzhi saw Emperor Jiajing wearing a Taoist robe and looking sideways at the side hall opposite. It was as if he was looking up at the starry sky at a 45-degree angle.
Jiang Qingzhi felt a little guilty, "Your Majesty, I greet you."
"came back."
"Yes."
“How is Yunnan?”
"Zhang Shou is mediocre, but he is good at guarding Cheng. With the help of a group of officials and the awakening of local officers and soldiers, the situation in Yunnan has stabilized."
"Not timid."
"Isn't this the courage given by His Majesty?"
"How dare you talk back!"
"Yes."
"If Mu Chaobi had been a little bolder and had taken action directly, your 1,000 cavalrymen would have been trapped in Kunming. You are being foolish!"
"Yes."
"Then you actually took the initiative to attack Burma. It would be fine if you won, but have you ever thought about the change in the situation in Yunnan after you lost? The remnants of the Mu family will cooperate with Mang Ruiti to turn Yunnan and even the southwest into a quagmire in one fell swoop! In this way, all the previous efforts will be wasted... you!"
Emperor Jiajing sneered, "Have you ever thought about this?"
Jiang Qingzhi laughed dryly: "But I am back now, right? And, Your Majesty, the celebration banquet..."
"It's ready." Taoist said coldly.
"It's just right. I brought some people to dance to liven up the atmosphere."
"Who?"
"Mangrui body!"
(End of this chapter)
