Chapter 642 Your Dad is Still Your Dad
Jiang Qingzhi has always placed high hopes on his disciple Zhou Xia.
Jiang Qingzhi himself needed a representative in the court, and he liked to hide behind the scenes. According to Emperor Jiajing, the boy was lazy and did not like the tedious political affairs.
The Ministry of War and the Ministry of Works, two doctor positions are vacant, waiting for Zhou Xia.
"Resign?" Jiang Qingzhi was furious, but then he suppressed his anger and asked, "Why?"
Zhou Xia raised his head and said, "When I was an official in the Hanlin Academy, I was confused about why I was an official. Later, I followed my teacher to study and found the reason for my official career... It was to revitalize the Ming Dynasty. I then went to the Ministry of Rites..."
"But you can't bear the suppression from your colleagues?" Jiang Qingzhi asked with a frown.
Zhou Xia shook his head, "No. I know the teacher's good intentions in putting me in the Ministry of Rites. I actually..."
Zhou Xia suddenly laughed, "If your disciple is so frustrated by the Ministry of Rites' tactics that he doesn't want to be an official, do you think... is that possible?"
Zhou Xia is not a pushover and he has both abilities and skills, otherwise why would Xu Jie be secretly annoyed that he became Jiang Qingzhi's disciple?
Jiang Qingzhi took out the medicinal cigarette, and Zhou Xia continued, "In fact, I had this idea before this incident. Even if I become the Prime Minister, what can I do? The Ming Dynasty cannot be changed by one person... Maybe the teacher can!"
"Stop flattering me!" Jiang Qingzhi said indifferently.
"I often go to the school outside the city to watch Mr. Wang teach the children. I wonder what the Ming Dynasty needs me to do? Or, what I am more suitable for doing to benefit the Ming Dynasty."
“So you wanted to teach?”
"Yes." Zhou Xia lowered his head, "Disciple... has failed the teacher's expectations. Please punish me."
These days the relationship between a master and his apprentice is like that between a father and his son.
After becoming a disciple, the disciple's eating, drinking, defecating and urinating are all under the control of the teacher. But in return, the teacher can also punish the disciple and even decide his fate and future.
"Do you think that without you, the court will come to a standstill?" Jiang Qingzhi's anger gradually dissipated.
"Disciple dare not." Zhou Xia was panicked.
"Teaching..." Jiang Qingzhi looked at him, "It would be nice if I could have a teacher among my disciples."
Zhou Xia was delighted.
"But..." Jiang Qingzhi took a puff of medicinal smoke, and just when Zhou Xia was feeling uneasy, he said, "There are more and more things going on at the Mo family base outside the city, and I can't handle them all... Since you don't want to be an official, then go and manage that piece of land."
This!
Zhou Xia was ready to be punished, or even to be severely beaten... He had seen the teacher beat the two princes and Zhu Shitai for real. The three of them cried out in pain, but no one dared to dodge.
But Jiang Qingzhi not only did not punish him, but also asked him to manage the Mohist base outside the city...
"Teacher!" Zhou Xia looked up, tears rolling down her eyes.
"As a man, why would you pee like a cat?" Jiang Qingzhi sighed. "Come to think of it, I also hated that back then..."
In his previous life, Jiang Qingzhi hated doing business because he didn't like the intrigues, intrigues, and deceptions involved in business. Even if he made a big deal, he still wasn't happy.
He saw his own past self in Zhou Xia, and he hated everything about it in the same way.
Zhou Xia returned to the Ministry of Rites and immediately handed in a letter of resignation.
"Resign?"
Xu Jie looked at the document and couldn't help but be surprised.
"Yes."
Zhou Xia said calmly.
Jiang Qingzhi said that two positions were prepared for him, one of which was the Langzhong of the Ministry of Works or the Langzhong of the Ministry of War.
A bright future is right in front of you, but you want to quit?
Xu Wei looked up at Zhou Xia.
At this moment, Zhou Xia stood straight, no longer looking like he was meeting his boss.
It was as if the Xu Jie in front of him was just an old man from the neighbor's family whom he disliked.
"Have you thought about it?"
"Yes."
"What did your teacher say?" Xu Jie said with a smile, "Don't let him think that I forced him to do it."
Are you afraid of the teacher too?
Zhou Xia smiled inwardly, "The teacher has already nodded."
Jiang Qingzhi nodded, and there would be no resistance from the Ministry of Personnel and Emperor Jiajing. As for the Yan Party, this matter had nothing to do with them, and Yan Song and his son did not need to compete with Jiang Qingzhi for this.
"That's it!"
For a moment, Xu Jie felt relaxed.
It was as if a long-standing nightmare had dissipated.
He was shocked and thought to himself, does this mean I mind so much about Zhou Xia becoming Jiang Qingzhi's disciple?
"Farewell!"
Zhou Xia looked at Xu Jie deeply.
Turn around and go out.
Upon hearing the news, the officials of the Ministry of Rites came out of their duty rooms. Zhou Xia went into his duty room, packed up the things he had packed long ago, and put them on his back.
Zhou Xia walked out of the duty room.
He glanced at his colleagues.
There are many people here who have tripped him up.
But there are also many people who silently help him behind the scenes.
Just like this Ming Dynasty, many people are poaching talents, and many people are working hard for it...
Zhou Xia bowed and left silently.
The next day, news came that Zhou Xia went to the Mohist base outside the city.
"What a bright future!"
When Jiang Qingzhi entered the palace, he was invited by Zhu Xizhong.
"I am willing to do this, even if I have a lot of money to spare." Jiang Qingzhi said with a smile, "It just so happens that someone is needed to take charge outside the city, and I am wondering who to send..."
"Don't you feel bad?" Zhu Xizhong said with a smile, "He is a doctor. In five years, he will be able to get a glimpse of the position of assistant minister. An assistant minister is an important official and will be of great benefit to the Mohist School and you."
"Old Zhu, your biggest problem is that you always look at things from the perspective of interests." Jiang Qingzhi shook his head.
"But the Mohist school needs a general in the court." Zhu Xizhong said.
"Does Wang Yiqi count?" Jiang Qingzhi asked calmly.
"Of course it counts, but one Wang Yiqi is not enough!"
"But which family did Wang Yiqi belong to originally?"
Zhu Xizhong: "Confucianism, eh!"
Jiang Qingzhi smiled and said, "If I can make one Wang Yiqi change his sect, I can naturally make another Wang Yiqi join the Mohist School. Old Zhu." Jiang Qingzhi stood up and patted Zhu Xizhong on the shoulder. "To me, Confucianism is a treasure trove of talents!"
It feels great to poach other people's talents, especially when you find a talent like Zhang Juzheng.
When Jiang Qingzhi met Emperor Jiajing, Zhang Juzheng was accompanying him.
The Hanlin Academy's Shujishi have always been the reserve of important officials, so before they actually enter the officialdom, the emperor would occasionally ask them to accompany him, for example, to draft imperial edicts or observe government affairs.
Through these, the Shujishi can be tempered, and the emperor can also examine these people and use them according to their abilities.
"The Altan tribe isolated the Ming merchant caravan from trading outside. How should the Ming Dynasty respond? Yesterday, the Ministry of Rites suggested that we should send someone to reprimand them. If they continue to do so, we will cut off trade. However, the Ministry of War said that we must not cut off trade, otherwise the news will be cut off, which will be disadvantageous to the Ming Dynasty. Qingzhi, what do you think?"
Emperor Jiajing asked without looking up, holding the memorial in his hand.
Jiang Qingzhi glanced at Zhang Juzheng and said, "Your Majesty, there is no trivial matter in diplomacy, but diplomacy is not complicated. The Ministry of Rites... is acting as if they are facing a great enemy. That's too much."
Zhou Xia left the Ministry of Rites, so Jiang had to give back. His words were full of dissatisfaction with Xu Jie, and even Emperor Jiajing could hear it.
"Then what do you think we should do?" Emperor Jiajing put down the memorial.
Zhang Juzheng looked at Jiang Qingzhi. This was the first time he saw the communication between Jiang Qingzhi and Emperor Jiajing.
It doesn't feel like they are a king and his subjects, but more like... a very strange feeling that is hard to describe and explain.
"Diplomacy can be summed up in two words: equality!" Jiang Qingzhi said calmly.
"Equal?" Emperor Jiajing narrowed his eyes. "Equal... this is a brilliant statement."
Then the Jiajing Emperor ordered, "Let the Ministry of Rites send someone to rebuke them. In addition, all the merchants of the Altan tribe... must trade outside the capital."
In this case, the spies of Altan Khan's tribe would have a headache about how to sneak into the capital.
And Altan had no way to protest... We were the ones who started this, and the Ming people were just retaliating in kind.
This is the essence of diplomacy, equal response!
Retaliation means revenge, but the scope of revenge is set on a scale of equality so as not to cause more conflicts.
As expected, it was Emperor Jiajing who immediately understood this principle. Not only did he treat the merchants equally, he also went further to isolate the merchants of the Altan tribe outside the capital.
As a result, the Ming Dynasty's subsequent allocation of food and fodder and assembly of troops could avoid the eyes of Altan Khan.
The Ministry of Rites immediately received the order, and someone praised: "Your Majesty has adopted the advice of our Ministry of Rites this time, which shows that the elder has a far-sighted vision."
Someone sarcastically said, "This matter should have been handled by Jiang Qingzhi, but Your Majesty ignored it. It shows that foreign affairs still have to be handled by our Ministry of Rites."
How can Jiang Qingzhi, who changed career path lately, be compared with those of us in the industry?
Xiao Zhuo had a strange look on his face, and someone sneered, "Doctor Xiao thinks it's inappropriate?"
Xu Jie glanced at Xiao Zhuo and saw him sigh, then shook his head and said, "You all forgot that there is a follow-up to this matter."
"You mean His Majesty ordered the Altan tribe's caravan to be isolated outside the capital?"
Xiao Zhuo nodded, "Chang Wei Bo will enter the palace in the morning."
It was still morning, and Emperor Jiajing's order had just been delivered to the Ministry of Rites.
This was Jiang Qingzhi's suggestion.
In an instant, everyone in the Ministry of Rites had different expressions. The few people who had appeared before looked embarrassed and couldn't help but glance at Xu Jie.
Your father is still your father... Xiao Zhuo inexplicably thought of something Jiang Qingzhi had said unintentionally once.
Jiang Qingzhi was preparing to go home at this moment, but before he got home, he met Zhu Shitai.
Zhu Shitai was drunk, "Second Uncle!"
Two guards followed him. When they saw Jiang Qing, they bowed and smiled bitterly, "Second Master, the young Duke has drunk too much."
"Why?" Jiang Qingzhi frowned, "Stand still!"
Under the accumulated pressure, Zhu Shitai subconsciously stood up straight, but he was a little shaky.
"Uncle, you said someone like me... eh!" Zhu Shitai burped, "Who would look down on me?"
"Carry it here!" Jiang Qingzhi pointed at Zhu Shitai.
After returning to the Bo's Mansion, Jiang Qingzhi asked someone to take Zhu Shitai to rest.
"Have a good sleep."
"But I... my second uncle." Zhu Shitai suddenly choked up, "Last night... last night I heard my parents discussing it. They said there was no other way... so I had to sacrifice my old face and ask His Majesty to grant me a marriage."
Although Zhu Xizhong seems to be a carefree person, he actually cares a lot about face.
"Parents all over the world are pitiful." Jiang Qingzhi said, "Have a good sleep, I'll take care of the rest."
"Ok!"
Seeing him fall into a deep sleep, Jiang Qingzhi walked out of the bedroom.
Xu Wei was waiting outside and said with a smile, "To be honest, if word gets out that the young Duke wants to propose marriage, even with the slander from the Marquis of Linqing and his wife, there will still be countless families flocking to him."
"That's profit-seeking." Jiang Qingzhi shook his head. "This is my wife, the one I'll spend my life with. Old Zhu wants to find someone who understands my child."
Rather than simply marrying for the sake of profit.
Therefore, Zhu Xizhong hated the Linqing Marquis and his wife to the core and was just waiting for an opportunity to take revenge.
“It’s time to start this matter.”
Jiang Qingzhi immediately sent someone to the Duke's Mansion.
The wife of the Duke was complaining about Zhu Shitai's decadence in recent days when Huang Yaner came.
"Meet Madam."
This was Huang Yan'er's first time at the Duke's Mansion. She followed Jiang Qingzhi's instructions and said, "Master Bo said that we should get started on that matter."
The Duke's wife asked, "What's the matter?"
"My Lord said that he was slandering the young Duke."
In an instant, there was more coldness in the eyes of the Duke's wife.
"Qingzhi means... the current situation is settled?"
At first, Zhu Shitai was believed by the Marquis of Linqing and his wife to have a chronic illness. The Duke's wife wanted to conduct a thorough investigation, but was stopped by Zhu Xizhong, who said that there were strong winds and waves recently and that they should stop for the time being.
Huang Yaner said, "Master Bo said that Lu Song lowered his head. He has freed his hands now and is waiting for that clown to come out. Madam Guogong just needs to take action."
"Okay!" The Duke's wife's eyes lit up, "Someone come!"
"lady!"
"Call all the people in Dalang's yard!"
(End of this chapter)
