Chapter 604: Sun Chonglou, a good teacher, lets the dog bite people, Emperor Jiajing
Spring comes earlier in Xiyuan than in the outside world. Jiang Qingzhi was moved when he saw several unfamiliar flower trees that were surprisingly lush and green.
"My Lord, His Majesty has ordered that if I let you dig up another flower tree, I will suffer the consequences."
The eunuch in charge of 'greening' said with a bitter face.
"Forget it, I'll just take a look." Jiang Qingzhi said regretfully.
The eunuch smiled complacently, and after Jiang Qingzhi left, he said to the eunuchs who accompanied him: "Let's just say that there is no other way. Chang Wei Bo is soft-hearted. If we say this, he will definitely not want to implicate us."
Jiang Qingzhi didn't know that he was being fooled. When he arrived at Yongshou Palace, he saw two princes outside the palace, talking to the Taoist priest through a door.
"The fourth child wants to study medicine, which is not bad. The third child wants to learn horse riding and archery, which is also okay."
Prince Yu wants to learn horse riding and archery?
Jiang Qingzhi bowed and said, "Your Majesty."
Emperor Jiajing was sitting behind the door. When he saw him come in, he waved his hand and motioned him to go to the side.
"Father, I think riding and shooting can not only strengthen the muscles and bones, but also sharpen the will. My uncle said that a man can be incompetent, but he must never be without ambition."
When the hell did I say that?
Jiang Qingzhi felt that he had become a shield for his two nephews, but then he remembered that whenever he had something he couldn't explain, he would always push it onto Mo Jia's head.
This is the same idea.
But this matter is a little subtle.
Prince Jing studied medicine, and Prince Yu learned riding and archery.
Jiang Qingzhi smiled.
Did these two discuss this beforehand?
But it's not bad.
Emperor Jiajing gave some instructions and then each of them arranged their destinations.
Prince Jing can go to the Imperial Hospital to study if he has nothing to do. Prince Yu is in some trouble and it is not easy to teach riding and archery in the palace.
"You can go to your cousin's house." Prince Yu said, and looked at Jiang Qingzhi again, looking very sincere.
Jiang Qingzhi laughed and said, "Your Majesty, there are no brave generals in my family."
"Where is that Asura?" asked Emperor Jiajing.
Prince Yu's face changed instantly, "Father, this is absolutely not possible."
"Why?" Emperor Jiajing said in a deep voice, "Since you want to learn, then learn well. The teacher is the most important. Sun Chonglou is a fierce general that makes the foreign tribes on the grassland tremble in fear. What's wrong with learning horse riding and archery from him?"
Jiang Qingzhi thought of the scene of Sun Chonglou teaching Xu Wei to practice sword skills this morning, as well as the screams made by Xu Wei.
Ha ha!
He smiled unkindly.
"Father..."
"That's it." Emperor Jiajing said without any rejection, "Anything else?"
The two princes took their leave. Before leaving, Prince Yu glanced at Jiang Qingzhi with a pleading look in his eyes.
Jiang Qingzhi turned a blind eye.
The two men left.
"Why are you unhappy?" asked King Jing.
"Sun Chonglou is a heavy-handed guy. I heard Xu Wei mention it last time, and he swore never to let Sun Chonglou teach him swordsmanship again." Prince Yu shuddered when he thought of Xu Wei's miserable appearance last time.
"I study medicine because I like it, but I know you have no interest in riding and archery. But you insist on learning them. Why bother?"
"Who said I'm not interested?"
"You are such a mean person! Actually, you are a mean person." King Jing sighed, "You are worried that after I study medicine, I will gradually fade out of the so-called struggle for the throne. You are the only one who is pushed to the front..."
"You think too much."
"The situation in the court is getting more complicated now. The war between Confucianism and Mohism seems to have relieved the emperor's worries. But those ministers and even the scholars and officials of the world have been keeping an eye on the palace. Are you worried that you will be watched..."
Prince Yu stopped and said seriously: "I just don't want to take advantage."
King Jing looked at him, "You..."
"If we want to hide, let's hide together. Don't let those ministers find opportunities to sow discord." Prince Yu said.
Inside the palace, Emperor Jiajing said, "Yan Song and his son have been taking it easy lately. I just found them a job to check the losses at the Ministry of Revenue."
Tobe!
Jiang Qingzhi's eyes narrowed, "You want to... reorganize the Ministry of Revenue?"
The reorganization of the six ministries is inevitable, but in Jiang Qingzhi's opinion, the time is not right now.
If we want to rectify the situation, we have to wait until the external environment improves. Otherwise, once internal conflicts break out and Altan Khan takes the opportunity to move south, the situation will get out of control.
"I know." Emperor Jiajing looked at his cousin with satisfaction. "I heard that you have been thinking about children recently, which is not bad. But a man should have great ambitions. You should also visit the martial arts school from time to time and teach the students a few lessons."
"Yes."
The martial arts school had invited him several times, but Jiang Qingzhi had never been there, with all sorts of excuses, such as going fishing today, cooking for his wife tomorrow...
When the reason was passed on to the Taoist, he was so angry that his Taoist faith almost collapsed.
Jiang Qingzhi immediately took his leave. As for the affairs of the two princes, it was not his place to interfere at this moment.
Mounted shooting?
Jiang Qingzhi was walking in the West Garden, and he couldn't help but laugh when he thought about what would happen to Prince Yu.
Sun Chonglou likes to be a teacher. When he sees someone coming to him to be abused, that feeling... is quite satisfying.
"Prince Yu?" Sun Chonglou was indeed delighted. "Don't worry, young master. I will definitely teach him how to ride and shoot."
Even Mo Zhan lowered his head, as if he was mourning for Prince Yu.
Sun Bu Tong smiled unkindly and said, "After all, he is the prince, not Mr. Xu. You should at least be gentler."
Just as Jiang Qingzhi was about to mount his horse, someone came out and said to him, "Second Master, the Duke wants you to come over."
What's the matter with the old dandy? Jiang Qingzhi went to Zhilu.
The old playboy's eyes looked a little big, and when he saw him come in, he asked someone to make tea.
"You..." Jiang Qingzhi pointed at his eyes, "Be careful with your waist."
The old playboy pounded his lower back with his backhand, "Your sister-in-law saw that your sister-in-law was pregnant, so she is thinking about having another child. I have been... hard to describe these days."
The old playboy was forced to work hard for a while, and the Duke's wife's belly was flat except for fat. Disappointed, he let him share the spoils and continued to work hard with the concubines.
"Brother, I told you to stay healthy, and your sister-in-law said that if I give birth to another son, my ancestors will protect me and let me live another fifty years."
This theory!
Invincible.
The tea came and Jiang Qingzhi took it and took a sip.
"I asked you to come here for something."
Zhu Xizhong said: "Some time ago, someone in the Ministry of Revenue suggested that the budget is getting tighter and the expenditure is greater than the income every year. If this continues, the Ministry of Revenue will find it difficult to support it."
Zhu Xizhong's eyes were cold, "Your Majesty ordered the Huben Zuowei to expand its army by 2,000, and you didn't ask about this matter..."
Jiang Qingzhi said: "Your Majesty has been very kind to me, so I can't make things difficult for him."
Daoye said that Jiang Qingzhi, the left guard of the Tiger Guard, should just go ahead and do it. But Jiang Qingzhi knew how powerful the combat effectiveness of the left guard of the Tiger Guard, who was about to complete the change of equipment, would be.
He kept his distance from the Huben Zuowei, which was actually a signal to the outside world: Chiang never intended to become a military giant.
Zhu Xizhong smiled, "Many things are beyond your control." He then said coldly, "The Ministry of Revenue said that the expansion of the Tiger Guard Left Guard by 2,000 soldiers cost a lot of money. The Ministry of Revenue knows where the money and grain go. This money... is difficult."
The Ming Dynasty’s finances were actually never that good.
By the time of Emperor Jiajing, the situation was even more strained. By the time of Emperor Wanli, the prime ministers had become tinkerers. In the end, it was Zhang Juzheng who stepped in and temporarily filled the big hole.
However, Wanli's three major expeditions exhausted the empire's last vitality.
It can be said that without Zhang Juzheng’s reforms, the three major expeditions of the Wanli period would not have been possible at all.
The sound of a cannon is worth a fortune. This means that war is a money-eating beast.
And he is a money-eating beast with no bottom.
Later, England was known as the country on which the sun never sets, and it plundered countless money and food resources from its colonies around the world every year. However, it still almost exhausted its wealth in the two world wars and eventually became a bankrupt country.
The equipment of the army was very expensive, from armor, military pay to weapons, especially flintlock rifles, which were much more expensive than previous firearms.
First, the flintlock mechanism needs to be carefully crafted, second, rifling is time-consuming and labor-intensive, and third, the material requirements for the barrel are increased.
Fourthly, the propellant of the flintlock rifle is also different from that currently used by the Ming army.
These four factors result in the high manufacturing cost of flintlock rifles.
Unlike cold weapons, firearms troops must maintain a high frequency of training intensity, which consumes gunpowder and wears out the rifling of muskets...
But there is no such trouble with knives and guns. If they are dull, just sharpen them; if they are rusted, just apply a layer of grease and that's it.
"grass!"
Jiang Qingzhi was furious, "That's the model your majesty wants to create."
Emperor Jiajing wanted to make the Huben Zuowei a model, but he encountered a sniper attack in the Ministry of Revenue.
Damn!
Jiang Qingzhi was furious, "I'll find a reason to give the Ministry of Revenue a lesson later."
Zhu Xizhong said: "Your Majesty knows you will think so."
The old dandy said sinisterly: "Your Majesty asked Yan Song and his son to investigate the corruption in the Ministry of Revenue..."
What the hell!
The battle between Confucianism and Mohism turned Yan Song and his gang from being the targets of attack by the literati into spectators.
The Taoist priest asked Yan Song and his son to go to the Ministry of Revenue to investigate corruption, which was clearly a provocation.
——The dog I raised is here, are you going to beat it or not?
"Those people want to use this to cause trouble for Your Majesty." Zhu Xizhong laughed gloatingly, "Your Majesty, just throw Yan Song out to cause trouble for them."
Taoist, you are so great!
Jiang Qingzhi thought this was a wonderful thing.
"Second Master." An attendant came in. "Someone is coming from the Jinyiwei, please come over, Second Master."
"What does Lu Bing want me to do?" Jiang Qingzhi was puzzled.
Zhu Xizhong thought for a moment, "I haven't heard anything about it recently. Could it be that you have something to ask for?" As he spoke, the old dandy's eyes lit up, "Aren't you looking for guards at home? There are many eliminated members of the Jinyiwei, and they are actually quite good."
Jiang Qingzhi kept thinking about this matter on the way, but he felt it was not appropriate.
If Lu Bingruo took advantage of the situation and planted spies there...
Then he laughed at himself for being stupid.
If the Jinyiwei really wanted to plant spies in the Bo's mansion, there would naturally be many ways to do it. They could block one but not the other.
Just be an open and honest person.
When Jiang Qingzhi arrived at the Jinyiwei, he felt like he was at home.
However, those Jinyiwei who had a fierce reputation outside were a little afraid when they saw this gentleman.
This was especially true when he saw Mo Zhan behind Jiang Qingzhi.
After entering Lu Bing's duty room, Jiang Qingzhi felt that the atmosphere was not right.
"...From now on, someone will deliver the money and rations every month. I know that some people have tried to take advantage of it in the past, but if anyone dares to take advantage of it this time, I will chop him off."
"Yes." Shen Lian responded and then took his leave.
"Old Lu, what's the matter?" Jiang Qingzhi asked as he sat down.
Lu Bing said: "The Imperial Guards reported that Altan Khan has decided to go south this year!"
(End of this chapter)
