Chapter 574: A Lesson Worth a Lot of Money, Concubine Lu Hanged
In the lobby of the Ministry of War, the voices of dozens of generals mixed together, as noisy as a busy city.
"…The guards of Beijing have been reorganized for a long time, and I want to find an opportunity to go out and kill the enemy. But the higher-ups always say that the time is not right, the time is not right."
"This time, Minister Wang said that he invited Chang Weibo to analyze the current situation around the Ming Dynasty. Tsk! What's the point of talking about that? Isn't the area around the Ming Dynasty Altan Khan? What's there to analyze? If an enemy comes, we will fight him with our generals, and if a flood comes, we will block it with earth."
"You know nothing!"
"Who are you talking about?"
"Is this your first time here?"
"So what?" the general asked angrily, seeming to want to take action.
The general on the other side pointed at his surroundings calmly and said, "This is the second time for most of us. If you don't want to listen, get out of here. Don't be so long-winded."
The general was furious. He slowly looked around and saw that the generals were looking at him unkindly. Someone said, "I have been looking forward to listening to the class of Chief Weber for a long time. If you are delayed by a bastard like you, I will kill you!"
"If you dare to question me again, get out!"
The general panicked and quickly bowed. "Isn't ignorance a crime? So, is this a class?"
"What do you think?"
"We thought we were going to discuss something."
"The chief minister, Wilbur, must be in the palace. This is the Ministry of War."
There was a sudden noise outside.
"Hello, uncle!"
"How is your uncle?"
"it is good!"
"Hello, uncle!"
"The minister is here."
Amid the noise, the footsteps outside stopped, and Wang Yiqi said, "After the reorganization of the capital guards, the new generals are very unruly. Last time, I invited an old general to teach them, but they refuted him and he left with his face covered. So I had no choice but to invite Chang Weibo."
"Are you asking me to give them a beating to scare them?" Jiang Qingzhi's voice was relaxed.
"It's better to teach them a lesson, so that they won't become arrogant and suffer big losses sooner or later."
"Alright."
Following this voice, Jiang Qingzhi and Wang Yiqi walked into the lobby together.
Wang Yiqi stopped and looked at the generals and said, "You have been making a fuss about the situation in the north recently. Today I have invited Chang Wei Bo to come. Please listen carefully and learn seriously."
Lao Wang had a lot of things to do, so he left after saying a few polite words.
Jiang Qingzhi walked to the front and sat in the seat that used to be Wang Yiqi's.
Sun Chonglou took out the wooden box and placed it on the table. It contained medicinal incense.
"Most of them are old acquaintances, so I won't go into details." Jiang Qingzhi's opening remarks were simple.
"The Altan tribe suffered a snowstorm last year, and this year they were ready to make a move, constantly probing in the Xuanfu and Datong areas..."
……
Yongshou Palace, the Taoist priest has just arrived.
"His Majesty."
Rui Jingxian arrived, "Wang Yiqi from the Ministry of War summoned all the generals of the Beijing Guards and invited Chang Wei Bo to give lectures."
This matter must be reported.
After all, Wang Yiqi is a member of the Mohist family, and Jiang Qingzhi is a Mohist master. The two of them joined forces...
Emperor Jiajing took the hot tea handed to him by Huang Jin, took a sip, rubbed his hands together to warm them, and then began to rub his face.
After rubbing his face, he held the back of his head with both hands and tapped it flexibly with his fingers.
Finally, gargle and swallow the saliva in three mouthfuls.
Rui Jingxian maintained a slightly bent posture.
Emperor Jiajing stood up, folded his hands and rubbed his lower abdomen slowly.
"Wang Yiqi has reported this matter. Why is there anyone dissatisfied?"
"Yes." Rui Jingxian said respectfully: "Some people say that Chang Wei Bo and Wang Yiqi can join forces to control the Beijing Guards."
"What to do next? Launch a coup or capture the capital."
Rui Jingxian lowered his head and dared not speak.
"What a bunch of idiots. Wang Yiqi never interferes with the affairs of the Beijing Guards. Aside from the Huben Zuowei, Qingzhi never had any disputes with the Beijing Guards, let alone socializing with the other generals. Even the Huben Zuowei, he hasn't been there for a long time. It's a waste of your time to be a villain..."
"Yes."
Rui Jingxian then took his leave. After leaving, he said to his confidant who followed him: "Catch the person who spread the message and torture him severely."
The confidant agreed, and then asked, "Superintendent, is this inappropriate?"
"Your Majesty seemed to be about to get angry just now, but for some reason he held back. If His Majesty gets angry, there are only us and Huang Jin in the palace, who will be punished?" Rui Jingxian's eyes were filled with cruelty, "You bastard, you are trying to trick us!"
Inside the hall, the Taoist priest sat down and closed his eyes.
"I dreamed of my mother last night. She asked me if the ministers had bowed their heads. I said no. My mother burst into tears and said that my son was called an emperor, but his life was so difficult..."
The Taoist said softly: "I am extremely unfilial to let my mother worry about me in her netherworld!"
Huang Jin quickly advised: "Your Majesty, the current political situation is much better than it was back then. As long as we suppress Altan in the north, the prosperous era will not be far away."
"An Da..." Dao Ye sighed, "I also want to follow the example of Emperor Chengzu and lead the army to the north, but if I lead the army, I am afraid that as soon as I leave, the bandits will cause chaos!"
Huang Jin lowered her head. "I thought of the Tumu Incident and the late emperor..."
"Tumu Fort, the late emperor!" Emperor Jiajing narrowed his eyes, "No one can explain what happened back then. That battle completely broke the backbone of the Ming Dynasty. As for the late emperor... let Yan San hurry up and investigate what happened back then."
"Yes." Huang Jin went out. Inside the palace, Emperor Jiajing said, "It's a stalemate right now. Only by defeating Altan can we suppress the arrogance of those villains!"
……
"As long as the foreign tribes on the grasslands cannot establish their own country, they are almost all fleeting. They may seem powerful, but when their leaders become old or the Central Plains becomes powerful, they will disappear in 20 to 30 years at most. Why?"
"Ben Bo said that a general should not only focus on one corner. What is the purpose of the grassland conquest? To plunder resources and population. The big tribes kept annexing the small tribes. At the beginning, they could still be controlled, but as their power continued to expand, the population under their command increased, and how to govern became a problem."
Outside the Ministry of War, King Jing was invited in by the doorman.
"Uncle is in the lobby."
King Jing nodded and followed him to the lobby.
In the lobby, Jiang Qingzhi lit up the incense and continued, "Why can the Central Plains lead the grassland tribes in many areas such as fortification, commerce, farming, culture... It is because of the ability to govern."
It is not just the ability to govern, but also the influence of social and cultural formation, the desire and recognition for great unification, all of which are manifestations of the cohesion of the Central Plains dynasty.
"The Liao Dynasty learned the governance methods of the Central Plains dynasties and established a country. Therefore, it was strong for many years."
Unfortunately, the Liao Dynasty, which learned from the Central Plains dynasty, eventually became like the old empire, rotting from the inside. Later, it became as rotten as mud, and it could not be strong no matter how it was. However, no matter how rotten it was, it could still beat the Song Dynasty at that time.
After the Liao Kingdom was severely beaten by the Jin people, the Song Dynasty's rulers and ministers thought, "Wow! Isn't this a great opportunity to replenish blood?" They killed them. Then they were beaten back by the Liao Kingdom, which looked like a piece of mud.
"And Altan's biggest headache right now should be the issue of internal governance." Jiang Qingzhi said: "He seems powerful, but the Mongols have a nominal Khan, no matter in terms of blood or anything else, it is not Altan's turn. Altan has countless small tribes, but he does not have absolute authority to intimidate them. There are many internal contradictions..."
One of the generals actually yawned.
A clerk nearby calmly wrote down his name.
Outside the door, King Jing whispered, "This is a temple divination, and it is also a lesson worth a thousand gold coins. That idiot didn't even listen carefully."
"Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will win every battle. This is knowing the enemy. Only by knowing Altan's current predicament can we analyze his possible next move."
Jiang Qingzhi saw the yawning general, but did not scold him. "If Altan wants his subordinates to be convinced, he has no choice but to establish himself as king."
Someone asked, "My Lord, but you said before that the Mongols had a Khan, and it was not Altan's turn."
"Become king!" Jiang Qingzhi once again pointed out those four words.
"Proclaim yourself king?"
"It means starting over again!" Jiang Qingzhi said, "Altan is a hero, but he is not Cao Mengde, and the grassland is not the former Han Dynasty, so he has no baggage. As long as he is strong enough, who would not submit to him becoming king? Then he would set up various tribes and official positions... In just ten years, he could build a powerful country."
"But before that, he must do one thing." Jiang Qingzhi stood up, "Go south and defeat the Ming Dynasty! Then return with the power, who dares not to obey?"
A general's eyes were full of enthusiasm, "No wonder the Altan tribe made frequent attempts last year."
"He's just testing the waters!"
Jiang Qingzhi analyzed: "Last year, the Altan tribe suffered heavy losses due to the snowstorm. If he were to force his move, he would not be sure. He is cautious, so he is just testing the waters. After a year of recuperation, next year!"
Jiang Qingzhi took a deep breath and said, "I am sure that the situation will change drastically next year!"
The generals fell into silence.
The earlier lofty sentiments of despising the Altan tribe had disappeared.
Some are just cautious.
"Are you scared?" Jiang Qingzhi asked.
"Not afraid!"
"My Jingwei has been reborn. How can we be afraid of Altan?"
The generals regained their fighting spirit, but saw Jiang Qingzhi laughing.
"Reborn?"
Jiang Qingzhi smiled and said, "This can't be considered a complete transformation."
Some generals were not convinced, "May I ask, Lord, what does it mean to be reborn?"
Under the attention of all the generals, Jiang Qingzhi said slowly: "Before the end of the year, you will see what it means to be reborn!"
Just when the generals were itching to get up, Jiang Qingzhi said, "Get out!"
He strode out and saw King Jing waiting outside, so he asked, "Is there anything wrong?"
"Uncle, can you teach me one more lesson?"
"Didn't you dislike the old man's class before?"
"Who said that? My respect for Lord Bo is like..."
Jiang Qingzhi said: "These people are the most shameless, hurry up and leave."
Once surrounded, it is difficult to escape.
After leaving the Ministry of War, Jiang Qingzhi felt relieved. "Tell me! What's the matter?"
King Jing said, "I want to go to the Imperial Hospital."
"Is he sick?" Jiang Qingzhi looked carefully and found nothing wrong with King Jing.
"Uncle, I want to study medicine in the Imperial Hospital." King Jing said seriously.
"Why?" Jiang Qingzhi asked.
"I am quite interested in medicine. Besides... my mother knows about my tomb robbing and corpse dissection."
Jiang Qingzhi: “…”
"My mother cried and beat me." King Jing wanted to pick up his clothes, but Jiang Qingzhi stopped him, "Go on."
"My mother asked me not to touch corpses again, but I refused."
"Your mother will probably be furious!" Jiang Qingzhi smiled unkindly.
"Mother hanged herself last night..."
(End of this chapter)
