Chapter 613 Bet
Debate is a science.
Debate requires professional knowledge of the relevant topic, but rich professional knowledge is only a stepping stone. The most important thing is adaptability, that is, the ability to react.
And the ability to perceive the situation and act unconventionally.
In particular, playing against the rules can often catch the opponent off guard and completely destroy the opponent's prepared countermeasures.
The plan became useless, and the opponent was naturally at a loss, and could only stammer and make numerous mistakes in his response...
Jiang Qingzhi stood in front and roared at the ministers.
At this moment, he did not feel any pride or joy, but anger, and a sense of urgency of being disappointed with others.
It’s such a damn time now. Anyone with a bit of common sense can see from the lessons of past dynasties that the Ming Dynasty is sliding into the abyss, from the sunrise to the sunset.
The day of the country's demise is not far away, and you guys are still thinking about how to get benefits for yourselves. Do you really think that the postman dare not kill people?
Do you really think it looks good to wear a pig's tail?
"Those scholars are madly sucking the blood of the Ming Dynasty, but in your eyes, they are the heroes who educate the world. I am puzzled. They are madly annexing land, so that the number of refugees in the world is increasing day by day. What are refugees? The Yellow Turban Rebellion, the chaos in the world at the end of the Sui Dynasty, and the Huang Chao uprising at the end of the Tang Dynasty... Who are those people?"
“They are refugees!”
Jiang Qingzhi said coldly: "Those heroes who enlightened the world in your eyes are constantly creating refugees who cause the world to collapse. The more heroes like this there are, the faster the Ming Dynasty will fall!"
"How dare you!" someone shouted, glancing at Emperor Jiajing.
As the master of this empire, he had been watching from the sidelines, seeing his cousin go from being besieged to now being able to silence all the officials with his own strength.
But now Jiang Qingzhi said that the Ming Dynasty’s destiny was not auspicious... In the eyes of the ministers, the Taoist priest should at least reprimand him.
They need to take a break and plan a counterattack.
Jiang Qingzhi seemed to have the same firepower, and it was unknown how much ammunition he had in reserve.
Emperor Jiajing remained silent.
Play this with me?
However, Jiang Qingzhi knew what Emperor Jiajing was thinking. After the Great Ceremony Debate and the palace coup, in the eyes of Emperor Jiajing, scholars became a group of disgusting blood-sucking parasites whom he had to use.
Therefore, Jiang Qingzhi's words at this moment should make the Taoist happy and his Taoist heart stable.
"Does Minister Lu have any countermeasures?" Jiang Qingzhi asked aggressively. Just like the last time they aggressively questioned Zhu Xizhong, Wang Yiqi, and Li Huan...
Lu Song was silent.
As the Minister of Revenue, he certainly knew what the scholars were doing.
After the Ministry of Revenue made its annual calculations, he also knew where the missing fields and people had gone.
His instinct made him dissatisfied, but the general trend made him silent.
It was a huge group, and he was one of them. It was like a family, and if a family member made a mistake, as long as the mistake would not destroy the family, they would turn a blind eye.
This is a thought shared by many officials.
"Just sit back and watch?" Jiang Qingzhi said with a smile, "Every year we hear the Ministry of Revenue complaining and asking people to spend less, but why can't we hear anyone opening up new sources of income? Now that I have pointed out the way to open up new sources of income, does Minister Lu dare to open up this source of income?"
Zhu Xizhong finally sobered up from his excitement. "Last time, Minister Lu said that the Mohist school was redundant..."
Zhu Xizhong became too proud of himself...Emperor Jiajing glanced at the old playboy, but before the old playboy understood, Lu Song launched a counterattack.
"Since the Arms Bureau can make firearms, why do they start a new business and make them at the Mohist School?" Lu Song's eyes were sharp. "If it's not one business, what are two stalls? Why can't it be just one? How much money and grain will be wasted for this? Don't say that the Mohist School doesn't charge for making muskets! Where does the money come from? Taxes!"
As if those ministers were pardoned, they began to attack the emperor.
"Can Long Wilbur explain this?"
“Why start over?”
"I'm afraid he's using the power for personal gain! He's using the excuse of making firearms to help the Mohist School expand!"
"..."
Amidst all the chaos, Zhu Xizhong wanted to die… He was on duty yesterday and had not slept all night. He could have gone home to rest, but when he heard that his younger brother had entered the court, he thought of coming to help.
It’s empty, empty!
Zhu Xizhong thought that recently he was like a little bee, flying back and forth in the backyard of his home.
He was about to open his mouth to argue, but he heard his brother laugh loudly.
"Hahahaha!"
Jiang Qingzhi laughed particularly wildly, even with a bit of contempt.
The ministers looked at him in silence.
Come!
Let's see what your reasons are.
Jiang Qingzhi stopped laughing and said:
"Do you know the disadvantages of monopoly?"
The ministers were confused.
"Do you know the various drawbacks of government-run workshops?"
Continue to be confused.
Minister of Works Jiang Hua seemed to be thinking about something.
He naturally knew what shortcomings the workshops run by the Ministry of Industry had, such as slacking off or shoddy workmanship. If you asked for punishment, those old hands had plenty of ways to evade you.
Finally, the two sides reached a tacit understanding, and the craftsmen maintained a balance, a balance that could be met. In this way, everyone was happy.
monopoly?
Jiang Hua always felt that there seemed to be something here.
Jiang Qingzhi said: "You can trust me. Within a month, the Arms Bureau will be completely transformed because of the existence of the Mohist Workshop?"
All the ministers laughed.
Some even said, "Last time, Long Wei Bo and Lan Zhen challenged each other to a duel, and Lan Zhen lost in the end. Is he trying to intimidate us today? I am not talented enough, but I dare to make a bet with Long Wei Bo."
He stared at Jiang Qingzhi, but Jiang Qingzhi didn't even look at him, but stared at Lu Song. ——You scum, get out of here!
The official blushed and felt extremely humiliated.
"Does Minister Lu dare to witness this with me?"
But Jiang Qingzhi didn't even mention gambling... This guy loves to make bets with others. He has made several moves, causing the people he is betting with to either suffer heavy losses or die.
For example, Du He almost lost his family.
For example, Lan Zhen hanged himself.
Lu Song looked at Jiang Qingzhi. As the Minister of Revenue, he knew all the shit going on in the Ministry of Works. It was nothing more than a win-win for everyone.
The Armory Bureau had to go through the Ministry of Revenue to make firearms, and the money and grain had to go through the Ministry of Revenue.
Therefore, when the Ministry of Revenue discovered that the Armoury Bureau had spent a huge amount of money and grain, and the firearms produced accordingly were of uneven quality and insufficient in quantity, it questioned the Armoury Bureau several times.
But the Armory was an inner court agency and ignored them altogether.
Who can break this situation?
Are you Jiang Qingzhi?
impossible!
Even Emperor Jiajing couldn't break the inner court structure. Otherwise, once the existing interests were touched, what would happen...
Don't forget that when there was a palace coup, a few palace maids dared to kill the king.
That's just a palace maid.
The eunuchs in the palace control even greater resources and power. Once their interests are damaged, God knows what they will do.
Therefore, Lu Song was certain that Emperor Jiajing would not take action. Since the emperor could not take action, what could he, a minister, do? Could he really reach into the palace?
Moreover, not only outsiders cannot interfere in such matters, but relatives are also not allowed to do so. The closer the relatives are, the more they need to avoid this topic.
Jiang Qingzhi, are you preparing to intervene?
Lu Song asked with interest: "Chang Wei Bo likes gambling?"
"Except for matters involving myself, I don't gamble." Jiang Qingzhi understood the meaning of his words and raised his eyebrows, asking, "What does Minister Lu want to gamble on?"
Lu Song glanced at Emperor Jiajing. It seemed that the Taoist was practicing at this moment, completely forgetting himself.
But Lu Song knew that everything his ministers did was exposed to the emperor's eyes.
"So, if the Arms Bureau is reborn because of the Mohists, I will treat Chang Wei Bo to a drink."
Treating someone to a drink is almost like making an apology here.
This is an elegant gamble.
"If not!"
"Ben please!"
"A gentleman's word."
"It's hard to chase a horse!"
The bet was established under the witness of the emperor and his ministers.
Lu Song stepped back and immediately returned to his calm demeanor.
After the court was adjourned, the ministers gathered in groups of three or four, glancing at Jiang Qingzhi from time to time.
"I know the craftsmen in the Armory Bureau are the most lazy. Every minister has tried to rectify them, but once they start, the craftsmen will pretend to obey but secretly disobey, making all kinds of excuses... After that, the construction will either go wrong or be delayed. For the sake of their official hats, they have no choice but to accept it."
Li Huan said earnestly, "It's like a general who found out that his soldiers were afraid of death and wanted to discipline them. Those soldiers promised well, but when they went to the battlefield, they were afraid of the enemy and did not move forward, and even deliberately retreated when they met the enemy. After the defeat, the slap from above would naturally fall on the general. Either he would leave in disgrace, or he would be defeated and die. After so many times, who would dare to discipline those soldiers?"
The father-in-law was speaking with great sincerity.
Jiang Qingzhi said, "Don't worry, father-in-law, just watch."
Hey!
The father-in-law knew that he could not persuade his son-in-law, so he asked about his daughter's situation.
"I can eat and sleep. I have a good appetite and often need my persuasion or even my stopping."
Jiang Qingzhi felt scared when he thought about his wife's appetite.
"It's a good thing to be able to eat." Li Huan thought this was not a bad thing.
"Father-in-law, if a pregnant woman eats too much, she will get fat, which is bad for her health. The fetus will also get fat. The fatter it is, the harder it will be to give birth."
Li Huan heard that his son-in-law attached great importance to this baby and even ignored the conflict with Confucianists for this, but he felt that his son-in-law was a little obsessed.
When he returned home in the afternoon, he casually mentioned the matter.
Chang was immediately delighted and said, "This son-in-law is great."
"What's good?" Li Huan said with a smile, "Could it be that he is right?"
Being able to eat is a good thing!
A man who did not ask about his wife's diet after she became pregnant was very proud of himself.
"My husband, don't you know that the fatter the pregnant woman is, the more likely she is to have a difficult birth?"
Li Huan: “…”
Chang's eyes were red. "No wonder I was wondering why the kitchen was always cooking greasy food. If my mother hadn't mentioned that I shouldn't be too fat when she came to visit me, I... did my husband want to see me die? Yes, you also had a lover back then. The old one is gone, the new one is here..."
What the hell!
Li Huan was dumbfounded. "My wife, I don't have such thoughts. It's just..."
"What is that?"
Chang was annoyed and quarreled with Li Huan for a long time.
That night, from the Li family's study room, one could hear a man complaining from time to time.
——Women! How unreasonable!
(End of this chapter)
