Chapter 57: One family, one enemy
Zhu Xizhong always felt that most of the Ming Dynasty's military heroes were useless, but of course, he himself was not.
Military honors are what the early Song Dynasty called generals.
Compared with the former Song Dynasty, the military families of the Ming Dynasty were more powerful.
For example, Zhu Xizhong, Qiu Luan, Qi Jiguang, Yu Dayou...
The father is a warrior, and the son is also a warrior.
Such inheritance may seem to have many disadvantages in the eyes of later generations, but it seems to be perfectly normal at this moment.
Ordinary people had no chance to come into contact with martial arts, let alone learn archery and horse riding, let alone the art of war.
And where are these abilities?
Right at Wu Xun's house.
The kind that is passed down to sons and not daughters.
There are two ways for the Ming Dynasty to promote military generals: one is to be from a military family, that is, a military family with military honors, and the other is to be a general who has fought his way up from the army.
Today, Wu Xun has lost the prowess he had in the early days of the founding of the country, but he still occupies the top position in military affairs, thanks to his profound family knowledge.
Jiang Qingzhi won two battles in the south, and most of the military circles in the capital thought that this was Emperor Jiajing building momentum for his cousin.
Your Majesty forged it with his own hands, so we should just pretend we were blind.
It was not until he heard Jiang Qingzhi's words that Zhu Xizhong knew the truth.
"It's me, your brother, who is blind, not those military honors!"
The more Zhu Xizhong looked at Jiang Qingzhi, the more he liked him and the more friendly he became.
"You can choose any woman from the Zhu family!"
The old dandy rogue's aura was too strong, but Jiang Qingzhi shook his head, "My wife must be to my liking."
"Damn it! Which young lady is lucky enough to marry my brother!"
Zhu Xizhong sighed.
Jiang Qingzhi took out a cigarette and said coldly, "Have you heard enough, you outside?"
Prince Jing and Prince Yu entered one after another.
It's these two idiots!
Jiang Qingzhi glanced at Fucheng and realized that it was not his fault.
"Don't listen to what is inappropriate, but if you follow the rules, my brothers and I won't be able to hear your uncle's brilliant remarks today." King Jing apologized.
Prince Yu pleaded guilty, "Please punish me, uncle."
This attitude... Even if the emperor Jiajing disliked this prince, who would dare to punish him?
Zhu Xizhong smiled, thinking that Prince Yu was retreating in order to advance.
Prince Jing came over and lit a cigarette for his uncle, which stunned Zhu Xizhong.
Jiang Qingzhi took a puff of herbal medicine cigarettes and said, "I get up at 1:00 . every day and run three miles. I do this for a month."
Although Prince Yu was not favored by Emperor Jiajing before, he was still pampered and had never suffered such hardship. Hearing this, he cried and said, "Uncle, spare my life."
"I'm saving your life." Jiang Qingzhi said meaningfully.
The opening of the gate during the Longqing reign was the work of Prince Yu. If this trend continues, the Longqing reign would likely have a small heyday.
But Zhu Zaigui was too lustful and died young.
"A beautiful lady in her twenties has a body as soft as butter, and she carries a sword at her waist to kill ordinary men."
Jiang Qingzhi recited softly.
"Yes." Zhu Zaigui looked at King Jing with a bitter face.
King Jing was holding the fire match, smiling.
Look, you are such a fool and you just don't know how to read people's expressions.
"King Jing, go back and copy the Heart Sutra a hundred times and hand it in within half a month."
King Jing was stunned, then bowed and said, "Yes."
The two sides responded naturally and smoothly. Jiang Qingzhi waved his hand and said, "Go back!"
"Yes."
The two princes said goodbye.
Jiang Qingzhi stretched out his hand and waved it in front of the dazed Zhu Xizhong.
"Go, go?"
Zhu Xizhong blinked his eyes, "Qingzhi, I'm not saying anything bad, but even though you are my cousin, those two are still princes. I never dare to neglect anyone from the royal family, even if they are just children, for fear of offending them and causing trouble in the future..."
This is what I say from the bottom of my heart.
At this time, cheers were heard outside.
"Go back to the palace!"
This is Prince Yu's voice.
Then King Jing said with some reserve: "Tell my mother that I will come to my cousin's place to study from tomorrow."
There was confidence and joy in these words.
"Damn it!" Jiang Qingzhi cursed, "He is indeed a descendant of a royal family. His ability to take advantage of others' situation is really amazing."
He took a puff of his cigarette with a sad face, "I'm afraid these peaceful days won't last long."
What the hell!
These two were actually ecstatic.
Zhu Xizhong got on his horse feeling a little dizzy and returned home.
After a bowl of hangover soup, the steward came to ask for instructions, "Duke, several guards obeyed the orders of outsiders before, and now they come to apologize."
At that time, Jiang Qingzhi's words moved several guards, who were asked to squat at the stairs and capture the man who was setting up a honey trap.
This kind of thing is a taboo in wealthy families.
The steward turned around and said, "Come in now."
Several guards came in dejectedly.
"Please punish me, Duke."
The guard leader knelt beside him and said, "I have failed to lead the troops well. Please punish me, Duke."
The steward stepped back.
The atmosphere suddenly became solemn.
Zhu Xizhong placed the jade bowl on the coffee table beside him and stood up.
Several guards trembled.
"reward!"
Steward: "..."
Guard Commander: “…”
Several guards: "..."
……
"Earlier, the buyer from our mansion met the buyer from Duke Cheng's mansion. That person was very kind and spoke to us as if we were one of our own family members..."
Early in the morning, Fu Cheng smiled particularly happily, "Our purchasing people asked, and they said that yesterday, Duke Cheng said that from now on, the young master is his real brother, and the young master's orders are equivalent to his orders." He finally won over a military leader, a heavyweight nobleman.
"Old Rich."
Jiang Qingzhi walked out of the study.
"The old servant is here." Fucheng followed behind him.
"We need to make as many friends as possible, so that we can be invincible!"
"That enemy..."
Shouldn't there be few enemies?
"I'm afraid we will have many enemies," said Jiang Qingzhi.
"Not too many, right?" Fu Cheng thought that at most there were Yan Song and his son, plus Lu Bing. As for Cui Yuan, he was quite old, and he might have passed away at any time.
"There will be a lot."
What affects the Ming Dynasty?
What is dragging the Ming Dynasty into the abyss?
It's those idiots who are sucking blood from the Ming Dynasty.
If you want the Ming Dynasty to survive for another 500 years, you have to suppress those idiots.
The backlash is naturally imaginable.
Just thinking about it made Jiang Qingzhi's scalp tingle.
He occasionally wanted to lie down, but the big tripod always glowed at this time.
As if to say: Do you want to die?
If you want to die, just tell me and Master Ding will help you.
Moreover, Jiang Qingzhi wanted to go back.
Return to the afterlife that he didn't like very much, but didn't hate either.
……
"...Chang Wei Bo said that Altan Khan has been attacking the Ming Dynasty continuously for more than 20 years. This is not a friendly gesture. Deep down, he still wants to restore the glory of the Mongols."
Emperor Jiajing sat cross-legged on a cushion, as if he was asleep.
But the eunuch who reported the incident did not dare to neglect it and continued, "As for why Altan did not march straight in, Chang Wei Bo said that it was because there were still constant disputes within the grasslands, and before fighting against foreign enemies, we must first stabilize the internal situation. Before completing internal integration, Altan would not invade on a large scale."
Emperor Jiajing opened his eyes and said, "In the 22nd year of Jiajing, Altan defeated the enemy in Qinghai. Since then, there has been no major enemy. Why haven't they invaded until today?"
The eunuch said, "Your Majesty is wiser. Chang Wei Bo said that although Altan Khan seems to have unified most of the grassland, there are still many contradictions within. He needs a common enemy to promote internal unity."
Emperor Jiajing exclaimed, "This... means that Altan Khan is using the Ming Dynasty as a whetstone to unite the people against the enemy."
"Yes."
Emperor Jiajing closed his eyes and said, "He did say when Altan will take action?"
"I asked Chang Wei Bo, and he said..." The eunuch tried hard to recall Jiang Qingzhi at that time.
The young man shook off the ashes from his cigarette and said in a pleasant voice, "If the overall situation remains unchanged, in two to five years, Altan will surely lead his army south!"
"Two to five years..." Emperor Jiajing suddenly laughed, "He really can predict the future? But his thoughts and analysis are better than many so-called military experts."
"His Majesty."
Yan Song is here.
Then came Zhu Xizhong, Cui Yuan, Lu Bing...
This is the group of confidants around Emperor Jiajing. The major events of the Ming Dynasty are decided by this group.
"Datong General Zhang Da is already on the way." Lu Bing reported.
"Yes!" Emperor Jiajing nodded, very satisfied that his brother could understand what he meant.
Yan Song asked, "Your Majesty, the situation in Datong..."
Let’s discuss this today.
Emperor Jiajing nodded.
Yan Song coughed dryly and looked at Cui Yuan.
Lao Cui, it’s your turn.
Their plan was to replace Zhang Da and put Qiu Luan in power.
If successful, Yan Song's party would have a powerful ally in the military.
The army under the command of General Datong is second to none among the nine borders.
Whoever takes over, Emperor Jiajing will pay special attention to his advice when making military decisions.
Qiu Luan is in power and cannot afford to make any mistakes!
Cui Yuan stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, Datong is an important place in the Nine Borders and cannot be lost. Zhang Da is reckless. I think he is not suitable for this important task."
Emperor Jiajing did not comment. He raised his eyes and slowly moved his gaze from Yan Song to Cui Yuan.
His gaze continued to move until it reached outside the palace.
Who else wants to come?
Emperor Jiajing closed his eyes.
Obviously, this is waiting for someone.
Without this person, Emperor Jiajing would not initiate the discussion.
The sound of footsteps came.
Yan Song wondered which general it would be.
Cui Yuan was thinking about the civil servants in the capital who knew about military affairs, and whether it would be beneficial to his side. After all the calculations, it was beneficial, and he couldn't help but smile.
Lu Bing glanced at Zhu Xizhong.
Zhu Xizhong made a gangster gesture at him, and the old playboy sneered.
The sound of footsteps came from far to near.
The bright sunshine reflected in from outside the temple.
A figure walked out of the hall in the sunlight.
Took a look inside.
He lifted up the hem of his robe and walked in.
"Your Majesty, I am Jiang Qingzhi!"
Yan Song's body shook.
It turned out to be him!
Cui Yuan's face turned pale.
Lu Bing lowered his head.
He knew that the young man in front of him would eventually become his archenemy.
Emperor Jiajing opened his eyes and glanced at Jiang Qingzhi.
"continue!"
(End of this chapter)
