Chapter 616 Western Chief Advisor
Jiang Qingzhi's words were thrown out in the court and then reached Chen Shi's ears.
Chen Shi was angry.
When mentioning this matter to his confidant, Chen Shi said that it was fortunate that he regarded Jiang Qingzhi as a close friend. The last time he was competing with the Ministry of Works, he gave him advice and even covered for him, and was willing to lend him some craftsmen from the Armory.
But this person actually sold me out. How dishonest of him! You can't judge a person by his appearance.
In Chen Shi's opinion, Jiang Qingzhi's move was to use the Military Affairs Bureau as a target.
In order to transform the Armoury Bureau, the Armoury Bureau was in a state of chaos and he, Chen Shi, was extremely useless.
When these words reached the craftsmen, they immediately caused a wave of anger.
The craftsmen all said that Jiang Qingzhi relied on the Armoury Bureau in the beginning. From Feng Yuan to those beds, to the flintlock rifles made by the Armoury Bureau at this moment, all of them were helpful to the Mohist School and him, Jiang Qingzhi.
But you turned against me!
Hey!
The craftsmen began to slack off on their work that day.
Chen Shi also turned a blind eye.
Someone sent the news to Lu Song, who simply smiled and said, "It's not surprising that young people are full of vigor."
"Uncle." At this time, a man in his twenties came in. This man was Lu Ping, the nephew of Lu Song. He failed the imperial examination, so he came to help his uncle.
"Sanlang!" Lu Song asked, "Is that matter settled?"
Lu Ping said: "Wang Yiqi from the Ministry of War said that although there is no war in the nine borders at the moment, money and food are indispensable. The Ministry of War can help ease the situation by delaying the war for ten days this time, but... this kind of thing should not happen too often, otherwise the army will lose their fighting spirit and it will cause big trouble."
"I don't want to do this either, but I don't have enough money and food at the moment. There's nothing I can do. Wang Yiqi has the overall situation in mind." Lu Song was very satisfied.
"By the way, uncle, people say that Long Wilbur has fallen out with the Armory Bureau?"
"Ok!"
Lu Ping laughed and said, "Jiang Qingzhi thought he was omnipotent, but he ended up hitting a snag with his uncle. That's why he lost his mind and went to provoke those eunuchs. Now it's going to be a big deal. Don't even talk about making the Armour Bureau reborn. I think the Armour Bureau might even be in a slump because of this."
"People's hearts are hard to predict." Lu Song said, "Also, don't underestimate Jiang Qingzhi."
"In the past, he was always successful because my uncle was too lazy to work with those idiots." Lu Ping said proudly.
"I don't care about winning or losing." Lu Song took a sip of tea. "Jiang Qingzhi has made several moves, whether it was gunpowder, fighting outside the Great Wall, or biogas tanks... the last time he even made such a sharp firearm, which made me look at this guy with new eyes."
"But he is the arch enemy of Confucianism after all!" Lu Ping is a die-hard Confucian disciple. Although he failed the imperial examination, his whole family are beneficiaries of the imperial examination and Confucianism.
I will support whoever benefits me. This is human instinct.
Lu Song said: "This boy is very talented. To be honest, if he were not a great scholar of the Mohist school, I would have become his friend regardless of age difference."
"Uncle..." Lu Ping was surprised, "You think so highly of that person?"
"More than optimistic." Lu Song said: "If he is a Confucian disciple, I will support him with all my strength... and replace the Yan Party!"
Most capable people are proud, and Lu Song is no exception.
Lu Ping could not help but remain silent as he heard his proud uncle say such words.
"Putting aside the dispute between Confucianism and Mohism, who do you think can be compared with Jiang Qingzhi in the current scholar circle? I am talking about ability, not poetry and songs. Even if it is poetry and songs, those people are not his opponents."
Lu Ping thought about it and said, "Really not."
"This is a great talent, a great talent for the country, what a pity, they have different paths!" Lu Song sighed. It was quite regrettable.
Lu Song felt sorry for Jiang Qingzhi, and Jiang Qingzhi also felt sorry for Lu Song.
"This person is neither arrogant nor impatient. Even if I criticize him as a miser and a person who doesn't know how to increase his income, he can remain calm. If he were not a Confucian disciple, I would definitely pull him over."
Jiang Qingzhi held Duoduo, who looked pretty after taking a bath, and strolled in the yard with Xia Yan.
In the spring sunshine, Duoduo was a little restless and tried to slap the shit shoveler with his paws several times. But Jiang Qingzhi was only concerned with talking to Xia Yan and ignored it.
A bird with emerald green feathers was singing in the tree. The sound was so pleasant that Duoduo wanted to pounce on it several times.
"This person is not ordinary." Xia Yan said: "Confucian scholars are talented, but unfortunately they have different paths."
"You are wrong, Mr. Xia." Jiang Qingzhi said with a smile, "It is not the Confucians who are talented, but the Central Plains, and I, the Han people, are talented."
"That's right." Xia Yan smiled. "By the way, the eunuchs in the Armory are very radical. Your words must have offended Chen Shi. What are you going to do next?"
"Follow-up?" Jiang Qingzhi smiled. "For many things, I just need to sit at home and they will be solved naturally."
"Then I'll wait and see how you solve it."
Xia Yan went out to meet an old friend, and Fu Cheng went into the backyard.
"My Lord, that...that Portuguese man said he has something confidential to discuss with you."
"Pol?"
"Yes." Fu Cheng muttered, "Those foreigners are just vulgar, and their names are ugly, such as son and grandson."
Last time, the Ministry of Justice abandoned Boer at the Bo's house and left him there. Jiang Qingzhi then had him abandoned in the front yard, very close to where the guards lived. If that guy tried to escape, they would break his legs first.
But Boer was very honest. Except for the half-hour of exercise time, he stayed in his room obediently. Compared with the prison in the Ministry of Justice, he could get some exercise and see the outside world in Bo's mansion. There were also many novels to read. However, he was good at speaking Ming language, but he didn't know many words. He made up for it a lot recently.
"Greetings, respected lord! How are you?" Bol knelt on one knee, which reminded Jiang Qingzhi of the loyalty of knights in movies and TV dramas.
Boll, wearing Ming Dynasty clothes, looked a little out of place. In Jiang Qingzhi's eyes, he was just a poor man. Moreover, there are many stories about Western sailors, most of which are about cheating for food and drink, and cheating on ignorant girls.
"I heard...you have something confidential to tell?" Jiang Qingzhi asked casually while holding Duoduo, but he was thinking of Altan.
The news brought by the Jinyiwei was consistent with Jiang Qingzhi's assessment of the situation. He remembered that the Taoist looked at him with relief in his eyes and almost said "my family has a thousand-mile horse" again.
This battle was not only to resist foreign enemies, avoid the tragic defeat in history, and restore the lost national destiny and national prosperity, but also a test of the military innovation of the Ming Dynasty in the past two years.
If he wins, Emperor Jiajing can use his power to promote the reform of the garrisons and completely reverse the current situation where Ming officers and soldiers are not even as good as watchdogs.
If he wins, the emperor's majesty will be demonstrated, and the implementation of various reform policies will be more effective.
If they win, the prestige of the Mohist school will be greatly enhanced.
If they fail, the so-called military reform will be questioned and faced backlash.
Those military heroes will mobilize all their strength to fight back, trying to bring the situation back to the old order.
The Confucians will take advantage of the situation to counterattack. They will launch attacks both in the court and the public, using public opinion and various means to force Emperor Jiajing to bow his head and retreat to the Western Garden.
And they will launch an even more frenzied attack against the Mohist school and Jiang Qingzhi.
"Respected Lord, your loyal servant remembered something." Boll didn't notice that Jiang Qingzhi was distracted. "Before going to Burma, I heard the sailors on the ship say that someone sold firearms to the Japanese."
Hearing the word "Wa", Jiang Qingzhi instantly came to his senses and said, "Continue."
"Yes." Seeing his master's sharp eyes, Boll couldn't help but feel overjoyed, knowing that he was half right in his bet, and the remaining half depended on his performance.
As a slave...Boll considered himself to be Jiang Qingzhi's slave, and his life and death depended on the thought of this young and powerful Ming Dynasty official.
"I have heard that in the naval battle that took place off the coast of Guangzhou more than 20 years ago, the Ming navy was defeated in the first battle."
Jiang Qingzhi nodded. This was the first time that the powerful ships and guns of the West showed their power in the East. The officers and soldiers of the Ming navy were beaten to a pulp and were stunned.
Can naval battles be fought like this?
Firearms are so powerful?
"The fleet commander was overjoyed and prepared to gather forces to attack Guangzhou and other places. But when they launched the attack again, they found that the Ming Dynasty's firearms were also quite sharp, and the generals were very skilled. In return, they suffered heavy losses and fled in embarrassment."
Bol said admiringly: "Later they learned that it was the Ming navy that got the Portuguese firearms and successfully copied them in a short time. This shocked the fleet. So they spread the news to Portugal, causing the king, who was about to send a huge fleet to conquer the Ming, to hesitate again and again, and finally gave up the plan."
The Portuguese are really preparing to conquer the Ming Dynasty, this is not fake news!
"They say that Orientals are very smart. This is true for the Ming Dynasty. So, are the Japanese, who are also Orientals, also like this?" Bol said sincerely, "Your loyal servant is worried about this... Japan's bad deeds in the southeast of the Ming Dynasty are outrageous. If they succeed in imitating..."
This was undoubtedly valuable news, but Jiang Qingzhi had already known it.
"The Japanese have already successfully imitated it and it's called the Iron Cannon." Jiang Qingzhi said expressionlessly.
Just a few years ago, two muskets were purchased from Tanegashima and began to be copied. They were then introduced to the main island of Japan.
But there were not many muskets in Japan at the moment, and as for cannons, they were even rarer. There were only a few that were considered light Portuguese cannons in the eyes of the Ming Dynasty and were regarded as treasures.
"You actually knew that?" Bol's face was ashen, and he felt that his future was bleak.
"Although this is not a secret, I am glad that you can tell it to me." Jiang Qingzhi drank a sip of hot tea and felt warm all over.
"You..." Bol didn't expect the situation to turn around, and immediately said: "Your loyal servant is willing to die for you."
“You are Portuguese.”
"Yes." Bol said, but he felt something was wrong. "No, I am from the Ming Dynasty. From today on, I am a Ming Dynasty person."
Jiang Qingzhi glanced at him, and Boll felt that he was wrong again, "No, I am from wherever you say I am from."
Jiang Qingzhi thought of the loyal dog.
He would certainly have to travel to the West after this, so it would be nice to have a Westerner by his side, at least to provide consultation and advice.
"So, Stone."
"Young Master." Sun Chonglou was right beside him.
"Tell the butler that from today on, Bol has been released and will be with the guards. His salary will be... 70%."
Mr. Jiang protects his own people, and 70% of the time he thinks he is very magnanimous.
And Paul was so grateful that he knelt down on his other leg, wishing he could lick his master's toes.
"But I have to give you an identity." Jiang Qingzhi pondered.
The guards were half family to him, but this poor sailor was not qualified at the moment.
Boll looked up and looked at Jiang Qingzhi eagerly.
"Just call him... Chief Advisor of the West!"
(End of this chapter)
