Chapter 633 A blind eye
Who is Lu Song?
If we talk about official positions, Lü Song is in charge of the Ministry of Revenue, and he can discuss matters with the prime minister. It is not difficult for him to enter the cabinet.
If we talk about Confucianism, Lu Song is a great Confucian general.
Since the war between Confucianism and Mohism, Lu Song has not taken any action. Some people took the initiative to approach him, but were turned away... At that time, Lu Ping was ordered to reply to those people: My uncle said that the Ministry of Revenue is busy and he is busy.
Lu Song disdained to get involved in a dispute of personal pride, so he just sat back and watched the two sides fight each other.
When Emperor Jiajing was going to add one person to the cabinet, many people thought that Lü Song was the candidate. But in the end, the idealistic Xu Jie was selected. Many people felt sorry for Lü Song, but he just smiled and said, "When serving the country, why should we distinguish between the positions and the superiors?"
When faced with personal honor and disgrace, he is calm and unrestrained.
He was calm and confident when faced with major and minor matters in the Ministry of Revenue.
Lu Ping had never seen his uncle lose his composure like he did today.
The agony seemed to have squeezed all his marrow out, and it also seemed to have pulled his nightmares out from the depths of his soul for him to savor.
Former Song!
Lu Ping thought of the process of the fall of the former Song Dynasty.
Previously, Renzong ordered Fan Zhongyan, Han Qi and others to launch a new policy, but they were immediately opposed by the literati and officials and soon disappeared.
Later, Emperor Shenzong ordered Wang Anshi to launch a new policy. This time, Emperor Shenzong was determined and Wang Anshi was strong... but there were many opponents, and the new policy gradually became unsustainable amid party struggles... In the end, Wang Anshi resigned in disgrace, and Emperor Shenzong died young.
Afterwards, the new and old parties continued to argue endlessly, with the issue being either this or that, either black or white.
When the Jin army marched south, they swept away all the disputes... the king was taken prisoner and humiliated along the way. The former Song Dynasty... was destroyed!
As for the Song Dynasty founded by Zhao Gou who fled to the south, in Lü Ping's eyes, it was just a lingering dynasty and could not be considered orthodox.
Jiang Qingzhi's words... Lu Ping wanted to refute, but found that he had no way to refute. He thought carefully, and suddenly his body was shocked.
"What is the difference between the current Ming Dynasty and the former Song Dynasty?"
Jiang Qingzhi's voice was very soft, but it sounded like a loud bell, which made Lu Ping couldn't help but scream, "Different, of course different. If Your Majesty can accept advice readily in the Ming Dynasty..."
"Can those advice solve the problems of the Ming Dynasty?" Jiang Qingzhi asked.
"Take it slow..." Lu Ping suddenly wanted to slap himself. Jiang Qingzhi had said before that in the eyes of the emperor, the Ming Dynasty was his own home. If there were big problems at home, who would take it slow?
"Does Lord Changwei think that if nothing changes, the Ming Dynasty...will not last long?" Lu Song recovered quickly.
"The guard post is corrupt, do you think so, Minister Lu?"
"Yes."
“It’s not financially sustainable.”
"Yes."
"The bureaucracy is corrupt."
"……Yes!"
"Land is scarce and the number of refugees is increasing."
"Yes."
"The external enemies are strong and are eyeing us covetously."
"Yes."
Jiang Qingzhi raised his glass, "So, Minister Lu thinks that if all this remains unchanged, how long can the Ming Dynasty last?"
"As for Altan, can the current guards of Beijing resist?" Lu Song asked.
Jiang Qingzhi said: "You may not have this confidence, but I do!"
"In this way, without the issue of foreign enemies, can the country gradually reform?"
"How to reform?" Jiang Qingzhi sighed with a smile, "Where did the refugees come from? Where did their fields go? The finances are unsustainable, who is sucking the money and grain from the world? Who is absorbing the population... The government is corrupt, who is corrupt?
"Lü Gong, I don't know the true face of Mount Lu because I am in it. You are a Confucian disciple, so you will naturally make excuses for Confucian disciples. This is human instinct. But now that you are sitting in the position of Minister of Revenue, can you still use the perspective of a Confucian disciple to look at the world and govern the world?"
Jiang Qing drank it all in one gulp, stood up and said, "This world is not the world of Confucianism, nor is it the world of the emperor. It is the world of all people!"
Jiang Qingzhi nodded and left.
The spring rain is still falling, but the sound is so soft that you can't hear it at all if you don't pay attention.
"Jiang Qingzhi is confident that he can stop foreign enemies for the Ming Dynasty, but the country's accumulated problems are..." Lu Song smiled bitterly, "The refugees come from land annexation, and the financial difficulties come from the decreasing number of fields and people paying taxes. The government is corrupt... Aren't all officials Confucian children? All of this... all of this..."
"Uncle, Jiang Qingzhi is just quibbling." Lu Ping said, "Those people are Confucian disciples, but without them, the world would have been in chaos. As for annexing the land, we can discuss it with them and take it back step by step..."
"You don't understand. You can't get it back." Lu Song shook his head and sighed, "Human hearts! They only take in but never give out. All these accumulated evils... In the past, I always thought that they were not a big deal. If I dragged it on, maybe it would be fine.
I don't know the true face of Mount Lu because I am in it. Jiang Qingzhi enlightened me. I used to be blinded by a single leaf and didn't see those drawbacks. It's not because I'm stupid, but because I looked at the world as a Confucian disciple and took many things for granted...
All Confucian disciples are one family. But what about the Ming Dynasty? What is it? "
Lu Song suddenly slammed the chopsticks on the table, "It's a tool!"
He suddenly burst into laughter and laughed so hard that he fell backwards.
“It’s a tool!”
"I have been in the officialdom for decades, and have always regarded it as my duty to assist the emperor and achieve prosperity, but I didn't know that I have always regarded this Ming Dynasty as a tool. Hahaha!" Lu Ping looked at Lu Song with some concern, "Uncle, without the support of those people, many things cannot be done."
"What do you think those annexed fields and population mean?" Lu Song asked.
Lu Ping blurted out, "It's a reward for the local tyrants who govern the place."
As soon as he said this, Lu Ping regretted it.
"You said that without those Confucian scholars, the world would have been in chaos long ago. You had selfish thoughts at that time. I don't blame you for having such thoughts. As Jiang Qingzhi said, human nature is selfish and greedy. But what about the Ming Dynasty?"
Lu Song suddenly smiled bitterly, "The Ming Dynasty has become a feast for scholars. The fall of the country... Who would have thought that the Ming Dynasty would fall? Jiang Qingzhi thought about it, and he obviously thought about it seriously."
"Uncle." Lu Ping's eyes suddenly lit up. "The expansion of the Huben Zuowei army still depends on your ability to manage finances. With this, you can hold this man hostage..."
"Ah!" Lu Song sighed, "After seeing the complete transformation of the Armory Bureau, I realized that Jiang Qingzhi was never worried about the money and food for the expansion of the Huben Zuowei Army."
"Then why did he make a bet with his uncle?"
"I was also confused, but after listening to what he said earlier, I now understand." Lu Song said, "He wants to use this bet to show me, and more importantly, to let the world see the true face of our Confucianism that disregards the overall situation and only pursues one's own selfishness."
Lu Ping: “…”
"How important is it for the Huben Zuowei to expand its army?" Lü Song thought of the news that Altan Khan would go south this year, and said self-deprecatingly: "This is a major national event, related to the safety of the country. But I am obstructing it. What was I thinking at that moment?
Jiang Qingzhi is right. I am a person in the middle of the situation. I put Confucianism first. For my own selfishness, I would rather sit back and watch the country fall into crisis... I..."
Lu Song's old eyes were slightly red, "This old man... was blinded by one leaf, I was totally wrong!"
Lu Ping lowered his head, "Uncle, that's the Mohist school."
"During the pre-Song Dynasty, the New and Old parties were like this. It was either black or white, either us or the enemy. The current Confucian-Mohist war is also showing this trend. If it continues like this... how many years will the Ming Dynasty have left?"
Lu Ping looked up, "Uncle, are we just going to sit back and watch the Mohist School expand?"
"Since I was a child, I have been learning Confucianism and practicing Confucianism. Mohism is just an evil and crooked way." Lu Song's eyes regained their calmness, "Mohism should be destroyed!"
Lu Ping felt relieved. "I was worried that my uncle would join forces with Jiang Qingzhi, which would definitely lead to attacks from the whole world."
"I will take it as my responsibility to destroy the Mohist school." Lu Song drank the wine in the bowl, stood up and looked across, as if Jiang Qingzhi was still sitting there.
He said seriously: "Revitalizing the Ming Dynasty is not an idea that only you or the Mohists have. Here, I..."
Lu Song pointed at his heart. "I am still passionate. I will still fight for the Ming Dynasty... even if I die, I will never regret it!"
……
The alley was still quiet, and Jiang Qingzhi saw a man walking slowly in front of him.
Mo Zhan put his hand on the hilt of the knife, and Dou Jialan whispered, "It's the Jinyiwei."
"How do you know?" Sun Chonglou asked.
"It smells." Dou Jialan said, "Look at that man walking, with his toes on the ground, and his right hand at the side not swinging with his steps. This means he is ready to respond at any time. Look at his stiff neck and slightly lowered head. This means he is listening to the movement behind him... Look..."
"Don't look at it. I admit defeat."
The man turned around and saluted, "Jinyiwei spy greets Lord Bo. Greetings to Captain Dou."
Jiang Qingzhi smiled, "Jia Lan has good eyesight."
The man said, "I came here on orders, please forgive me, sir."
Jiang Qingzhi naturally wouldn't blame this person, but he was a little curious about Lu Bing's actions, "Old Lu asked you to keep an eye on Ben Bo and Lu Song, what information are you trying to find out?"
The man smiled bitterly, "I'm just a spy."
"Could it be that he is afraid of something?" Jiang Qingzhi's mind flashed with lightning, "He is worried that Lü Song will join forces with me! He is worried that Xu Jie's position will be threatened by Lü Song. Hey! When did Xu Jie become his, Lu Bing's, man? No, Old Lu... bastard, are you trying to form a marriage alliance?"
……
"... Jiang Qingzhi and Lu Song were drinking in the alley. Jiang Qingzhi's guards were outside, so I couldn't get close to them. But I could hear them laughing from time to time. They seemed... quite friendly."
The spy appeared in the duty room of Jinyiwei Lu Bing.
"Who's going first?"
Lu Bing asked while playing with the jade pendant in his hand, "Today the Jinyiwei were ordered to search the house. This is a gift from my subordinates."
The jade pendant is warm and feels very comfortable when rubbed.
"Jiang Qingzhi."
"It must have ended in bad mood." Lu Bing's eyebrows relaxed, "Otherwise, with Jiang Qingzhi's character, he would have come out at the same time as Lu Song. And this time when the two met, Lu Song was at a disadvantage!"
The spy hesitated to speak, and Lu Bing asked coldly: "Have you found anything else?"
"I was discovered by Dou Jialan who was beside Jiang Qingzhi. Jiang Qingzhi said..."
"What did he say?" Lu Bing was in a good mood.
"He said that the commander was worried that Lü Song would join forces with him. He also said..." The spy looked up, "The commander wanted to marry Xu Jie."
In an instant, the spy saw Lu Bing's expression change drastically.
"Prepare the horses and go to the Ministry of Rites!"
(End of this chapter)
