Chapter 620 Who needs to be reborn
In the morning, after a busy night, Emperor Jiajing drank a bowl of porridge with only pickled vegetables as a side dish. If this configuration were put into the hands of ordinary people, they would certainly not believe that the emperor actually ate this.
Shouldn't it be dragon liver and phoenix marrow?
Taoism emphasizes tranquility, and a light diet helps to concentrate the mind and calm the spirit, allowing one to enter a state of tranquility faster during meditation.
Eating meat will make people anxious and restless.
These are all things that Emperor Jiajing experienced personally.
Yan San followed slowly beside him. "Normally, the late emperor had no intention of going on a lake cruise, but for some reason he suddenly became interested. The Yan cavalry has been investigating this matter. Liao Chen was accompanying the late emperor at the time. However, he is cautious and slippery, and we have not been able to find any evidence against him, so it is difficult to take action..."
"Qingzhi deliberately angered the Liao family and lured Liao Chen into the game. His tactics were good. However...it would be better if he could go one step further."
Emperor Jiajing looked ahead with his hands behind his back, "He dared to beat up a minister in the court, so why couldn't he beat up a marquis in the Duke of Chengguo's mansion?"
Yan San was startled, "Then I will remind him later?"
Emperor Jiajing shook his head. "Never mind. He is already domineering enough in the court. If he is still the same outside, I am afraid I will not be able to have peace."
"Your Majesty, Chen Shi, the seal holder of the Armament Bureau, is here." Huang Jin stepped forward to report.
Chen Shi trotted over, bowed, and stood with his hands behind his back.
Emperor Jiajing glanced at him and said calmly, "I heard that you've been complaining a lot recently?"
Chen Shi's heart skipped a beat, and he thought of what the manager and craftsman of the Armory Bureau had said yesterday.
"Your Majesty, I am guilty!" Chen Shi knelt down and swore that he had no knowledge of this matter beforehand. "I scolded those two yesterday afternoon and gave them twenty lashes. I am preparing to go to the palace to plead guilty."
Emperor Jiajing walked past him with his hands behind his back without making any comment, then suddenly stopped and said, "Someone come here!"
"exist!"
Two eunuchs came forward.
"Chen Shi failed to do his job well, and he will be punished twenty times."
Why is this? When have we ever failed to do our job well... Chen Shi: "..."
But he did not dare to argue. After being beaten with the stick twenty times, he was supported and brought over to express his gratitude.
Then the news spread.
Lu Song smiled bitterly, "This is cheating!"
Lu Ping said indignantly: "Your Majesty is expressing his position to your uncle. He said that the Arms Bureau is not doing its job well, so it is not doing its job well. The so-called victory or defeat of the bet is just a matter of the emperor's thoughts."
The Taoist priest actually openly cheated for Jiang Qingzhi, causing an uproar in the capital.
"This is too much." Yan Shifan couldn't help but express his envy and jealousy, "Your Majesty is blatantly biased."
Yan Song was silent for a long time. "I have served His Majesty for many years, and I have never seen him favor anyone like this."
Even if it was a hero in the Great Ceremony Debate, once he committed a crime, Emperor Jiajing would only take roundabout ways and would not cheat for him so blatantly.
"Jiang Qingzhi, you have a good life!" Cui Yuan sighed. He thought of himself, who had always been so cautious and diligent in serving the Jiajing Emperor. When he was impeached by the ministers, the Jiajing Emperor merely stepped in to protect him.
"But..." Yan Shifan suddenly laughed, "Your Majesty's move has put Jiang Qingzhi in trouble."
Yan Song nodded, "Even if he survives the crisis, in the eyes of the public, he is just surviving under the protection of your majesty."
Cui Yuan nodded, "It can be seen that His Majesty is not optimistic about this matter. Jiang Qingzhi was indeed reckless. And I heard that he also offended Liao Chen, the teacher of the previous emperor. It was unwise."
"Look!" Yan Song touched his belly. Since he started eating meat and vegetables, he felt that he got hungry faster and ate more.
The next day, Chen Shi limped into the Armory and called people to give a speech.
"Speak less recently." Chen Shi had not slept all night due to the pain, his eyes were red, "Let those craftsmen pay more attention. Also, beware of people stirring up trouble recently... Remember, after this period of time, if everything is safe and sound, we will give you a generous reward in private!"
"Yes." The fact that the stingy Chen Shi paid a huge reward out of his own pocket showed his dislike for Jiang Qingzhi.
"Don't worry, Eunuch Chen. It is the Mohist School that needs to be reborn, not our Armory Bureau!"
"Let's see how he justifies himself later!"
"..."
Chen Shi nodded and waved his hands. After everyone left, he stood up with the help of a chair and stamped his feet. "Chang Wilbur, don't blame me for turning my back on you. Who asked you to do that to me first? Let's wait and see! I hope you won't come to ask me for help and make things difficult for me."
If Jiang Qingzhi came to Chen Shi for help, Chen Shi would not dare to refuse given the severe punishment of twenty strokes of the cane by Emperor Jiajing.
But if people knew about it, it would be blatant cheating!
Then what bet still counts?
People all over the world will certainly despise scum like you.
Chen Shi chuckled.
At the same time, in the vanguard camp of the palace army, Commander Qin Yuan and the generals were waiting for something.
The generals behind him were a little restless.
"Commander, are these firearms as powerful as those of the Tiger Guards?"
"I'm afraid that Long Wei Bo will side with the Tiger Guards and leave the good stuff to them, leaving us with the defective stuff."
Qin Yuan frowned, "Hu Ben Zuo Wei changed his uniform first, who has any questions about this?"
Everyone shook their heads. The Huben Zuowei were the ones who had fought with Jiang Qingzhi and had made great achievements in battle. It was only natural for them to change their uniforms first.
"The next one is the turn of our palace army's vanguard. This is the kindness and favor of Lord Chang Wei. Don't be ungrateful!" Qin Yuan said with a cold face.
His relationship with the princess was becoming increasingly distant, and he devoted himself to the army, wanting only to wait for the warning and then follow the army into battle.
It is inevitable that a man will have an unvirtuous wife and unfilial children, so he should turn his attention to the battlefield and make a name for himself with his sword and gun.
Qin Yuan thought of Jiang Qingzhi's generosity towards him, and couldn't help but whispered: "The current situation is not right, and I don't know how the uncle will deal with it. If you need me, please..."
Qin Yuan changed his mind and realized that as a military man, there was no way he could get involved in such court disputes.
Thinking of this, Qin Yuan couldn't help but sigh, feeling guilty. "The military equipment bureau's convoy is here."
someone shouted.
Several large carts drove slowly over, led by a eunuch, accompanied by more than ten soldiers, all of whom looked around vigilantly.
And he even brought a crossbow, which shows how much he values this batch of goods.
"Greetings, Commander." The eunuch bowed. "I have been ordered to deliver this batch of firearms to the front guard of the palace army. Please check it. If it is correct, please sign it and we can go back and report."
"Easy to say."
Qin Yuan nodded, and his men couldn't wait to bring the cart in.
"Another convoy is coming."
Everyone stopped and looked back, and saw several large carts slowly approaching, accompanied by soldiers.
"It's Feng Yuan!"
The eunuch of the Armour Bureau sneered and said, "Are you here to fight? Perfect."
Feng Yuan led the convoy into the camp and bowed: "One hundred muskets have been delivered. Commander Qin, please check them."
Qin Yuan nodded, with some hesitation in his eyes.
The eunuch said in a sharp voice: "I heard that the last batch of firearms sent by the Mohists to the Huben Zuowei were unusable? But Commander Yan was good-tempered and actually endured it."
The so-called good temper was an implicit criticism of the fact that Yan Xu accepted all the substandard firearms in order to curry favor with his benefactor Jiang Qingzhi.
The generals behind him were immediately furious.
"What?"
"Is this true?"
Someone said, "I've heard that too. It's said that Tiger Guard Zuowei admitted it with gritted teeth."
"Then...then we can't take this batch of firearms!"
"Using such inferior firearms, I would rather use swords and guns."
Qin Yuan said coldly, "How outrageous!"
Everyone was silent, but their eyes were not right.
Weapons are related to the life and death, honor and disgrace of soldiers. Once on the battlefield, weapons are their most reliable brothers. But this brother suddenly caused trouble and could not kill the enemy.
The battlefield is changing rapidly. If you can't kill the enemy, the enemy will kill you!
Qin Yuan wanted to suppress it, but the eunuch sighed, "That's it... just pretend I didn't say anything."
He hesitated to speak, and Qin Yuan was in trouble.
Suppress it?
There are outsiders present. It is said that the Armament Bureau has announced that it wants to challenge the Mohist School. This eunuch will most likely leak the matter when he returns.
No suppression...
Someone observed and said, "We'll know if we give it a try. Maybe the Mohist one is not bad either."
The eunuch chuckled, "The craftsmen in the Ministry of Works have never made firearms before, and the craftsmen in our Armory Bureau are specialized in their fields. If they can compare... we will chew up this musket and swallow it!"
The generals looked at Qin Yuan, waiting for his decision.
Feng Yuan, who was standing beside him, coughed dryly and said, "Our batch of muskets is of high quality..."
"Then let's practice?" The eunuch said with a smirk, "There are countless people like Lao Feng in the Armory Bureau. You, Lao Feng, are the head of the craftsmen in the Mohist School, while those who are no worse than you are just ordinary craftsmen in the Armory Bureau..."
The gap in strength between the two sides is so huge that it's despairing!
The generals over there unloaded the car without waiting for Qin Yuan to speak.
A while ago, the vanguard of the government army selected elite soldiers to receive training from the Huben Zuowei, and they were familiar with flintlock rifles.
"Check!" Qin Yuan said stiffly.
Two hundred soldiers were divided into two groups to begin the inspection.
The eunuch walked up to Feng Yuan and said with a smile, "Isn't it that we are talking about this? Old Feng, you also know that what Lord Chang Wei said in the court was a humiliation to my Arms and Equipment Bureau. What do you mean by making my Arms and Equipment Bureau reborn? Was my Arms and Equipment Bureau very bad before? Eunuch Chen's good intentions have all gone to waste. Anyone would be angry, right?"
Feng Yuan smiled bitterly. The eunuch thought he was guilty and laughed even more happily. "Our Armoury Bureau put all its efforts into making flintlock rifles this time to show the world and to show Chang Wei Bo that it is not our Armoury Bureau that needs to be reborn, but... the Mohist School!"
This is a challenge!
It was also a counterattack from the Armory Bureau!
The eunuch raised his eyebrows and said, "Old Feng, just take this back with you later."
"ignition!"
bang bang bang...
Not far away, the soldiers were testing their guns.
"Check the target!"
"What the uncle means is that the Armament Bureau can be even better..." Feng Yuan said.
"Don't worry!" The eunuch said calmly, "This batch of guns is just right for us to try out and see who can do better."
"ignition!"
Bang bang bang!
"ignition!"
Bang bang bang!
The eunuch had his back to the shooting range. Seeing Feng Yuan staring at the target while testing his gun, he said, "Eunuch Chen said that if Lord Wei is willing to reconcile, that's fine. Please ask him to take back what he said..."
"Flintlock rifle from the Arms Bureau, four out of ten!"
"Not bad." The eunuch smiled. This was a good result.
"Mohist flintlock rifle, ten hits... seven!"
(End of this chapter)
