Chapter 787 Let’s take the initiative to knock on their door
In the West Garden, Jiang Qingzhi was in a good mood looking at the familiar exquisiteness.
Especially after seeing the newly planted flowers and trees, Mr. Jiang coughed and said, "These...are wasted."
The guard who brought him in said with a bitter face, "My Lord, you dug up most of the flower trees last time, and His Majesty... was furious!"
"Your Majesty is actually quite cheerful." Jiang Qingzhi couldn't help but laugh as he thought of the Emperor Jiajing's furious look.
"That is..." Jiang Qingzhi squinted his eyes and saw a person standing under the tree in front of him.
Isn’t that Zhu Laosi?
"Fourth!"
The man turned around slowly, and when he saw Jiang Qing, his body trembled, "Uncle?"
King Jing was stunned. "Shouldn't my cousin still be on the road?"
Jiang Qing dismounted and walked over. Seeing King Jing looked a little disappointed, he smiled and asked, "Lost?"
My cousin is really... King Jing said with a straight face, "No."
"If you're disappointed, then you're disappointed." Jiang Qingzhi patted his shoulder. He had a good impression of this nephew, so no matter how others persuaded him or how the situation developed, he never took sides between the two nephews.
It's not that he was unsure, but he knew that if he took sides in advance, this proud kid in front of him would feel very disappointed.
"Your inner pride won't let you show weakness, but sometimes... just go have a drink!" Jiang Qingzhi didn't know how to comfort the kid. "If you can't, go to Xin'an Lane and bring some good wine. Xu Wei is that bastard. Anyone can become his friend if he has good wine."
This is nonsense... King Jing asked: "What if it is Yan Shifan? Or Qiu Luan?"
"You kid..." Jiang Qingzhi slapped him on the shoulder, and King Jing grinned.
"No one is alienating you." Jiang Qingzhi said softly, then nodded, "I will go to see His Majesty."
The prouder a person appears, the more he fears loneliness and being alienated and abandoned by the group. This is the case with King Jing.
Jiang Qingzhi brought Prince Yu with him on this trip, and Prince Yu performed brilliantly in this battle, shocking the people of the world. They thought, could Prince Yu, who was so weak that he couldn't even fart, be so amazing?
Prince Jing, who used to be able to suppress Prince Yu, has become a background figure.
He will feel that everyone is laughing at him.
Even the care from Concubine Lu was to comfort herself who had failed...
What proud people are best at is imagining.
Jiang Qingzhi scratched his head, "Damn it, if I had several sons, I would also have a headache!"
Thinking of his son at home, his heart was burning with joy and he wished he could fly back to Xin'an Lane.
But he ran back secretly. If he went home first now... the Taoist could kill him with a palm thunder.
Dao Ye is looking at Lu Bu at this moment.
Read it word by word.
He seemed to see the war and iron cavalry.
It was as if I saw the fearless charge of soldiers on both sides.
It was as if I saw the two army commanders fighting a battle of wits and courage.
"In the battlefield, every second counts!" The Taoist looked up.
Just then, Jiang Qingzhi was talking in a low voice to Huang Jin outside the hall.
"Hey, Old Huang, I haven't seen you for a few months. How come your belly has gotten bigger? Are you pregnant?"
Huang Jin didn't know the master's attitude yet, so he said awkwardly: "Wait for me to report first."
"What do you want to report?"
Jiang Qingzhi stepped in and said, "I'm going home, not visiting!"
Looking up, Jiang Qingzhi saw the Taoist priest with a stern face.
He smiled and said, "Your Majesty, you have gained weight too."
Zhang Tong couldn't help laughing.
He thought Long Wilbur was really funny, funnier than anyone else. And Long Wilbur's smile... made him feel very sincere.
Most of the smiles of the people in the palace were fake, and Zhang Tong was simple and could easily tell them apart. But Jiang Qingzhi's smile was different, there was no falsehood at all.
Emperor Jiajing had gained some weight... After the army went to war, he became a little lazy about practicing Taoism, and his Taoist skills had decreased a lot. Moreover, his appetite had inexplicably increased, and he ate a lot.
Emperor Jiajing touched his lower abdomen and felt the slight bulge, which made his heart skip a beat.
Poor Dao...
I seem to have been a little indulgent recently.
"came back?"
"Yes."
Jiang Qingzhi then bowed seriously and said, "Your Majesty."
Previously it was just a greeting between cousins, but now it is between the king and his subject.
There was silence in the hall.
Huang Jin waved his hand, and Zhang Tong and others quickly left.
On the way back to Beijing, Xu Wei and Hu Zongxian analyzed the Jiajing Emperor's mind many times, saying that suspicion was inevitable, it was just a matter of degree. Hu Zongxian suggested that Jiang Qingzhi lie low for a while.
Hibernation can temporarily dispel the emperor's suspicion. But Xu Wei, that bastard, opened his mouth and said, "My Lord, defile yourself!"
What is self-pollution?
It's like putting shit on your own head!
Or take the initiative to do bad things, especially bad things that can ruin your reputation.
For example...
"I am wondering whether I should bully men and women."
Jiang Qingzhi's sudden remark made Huang Jin want to go out and hide.
"He was a famous general of the Ming Dynasty. No, he was a famous commander. After returning victorious, he would stay at home to serve his wife and children. When he had nothing to do, he would lead his slaves and parade around the city with a bird cage in his hand, bullying men and women... Not bad."
Emperor Jiajing nodded, and then asked, "What impact will this battle have on Altan Khan and the grassland?"
Jiang Qingzhi originally wanted to take the initiative to speak out his suspicions so as to appear to be open and honest, but Dao Ye suddenly asked about the follow-up of the battle.
Jiang Qingzhi glanced at Dao Ye and saw that he looked calm, with his hands rubbing something in his sleeves, no different from usual.
He had thought about this question on the way, and now he was confident, "In this battle, Altan lost 60,000 troops, which is half of his army. Among this half of troops, many are his own trusted followers. After returning to the grassland, the first problem he faces is... how to control his subordinates!"
The Taoist nodded, "He came here with great momentum, drooling over the colorful world of the Central Plains, dreaming of breaking through the nine borders to plunder, or even capture the capital and destroy the Ming Dynasty. He didn't expect to be beaten up. What do you call this?"
“Gap.”
"Hmm! Gap, that's a good word." The Taoist stroked his beard and nodded, "The gap is too big, the tribal leaders under Altan will definitely complain."
"Your Majesty, the foreign tribes on the grassland are different from us. In the eyes of the foreign tribes on the grassland, there is no such thing as loyalty, let alone the ethics of monarch and subject. In the grassland, strength determines everything, and what determines people's hearts, in addition to strength, is interest."
Jiang Qingzhi's views on the foreign tribes on the grassland can be said to be second to none at the moment. "In this battle, Altan Khan and his tribesmen lost most of their lives, and their savings of the past two years have gone down the drain. Those tribes will secretly contact each other and prepare to overthrow Altan Khan's rule..."
Altan must be extremely worried at this moment... The Taoist said, "Do you think Altan can survive this disaster?"
Jiang Qingzhi smiled and said, "I think so!"
"Oh!" Emperor Jiajing was a little surprised. "At the court meeting a while ago, someone said that if this battle can be won, Altan will definitely die. But you think he can get through this safely. Tell me why."
These people really know how to dream... Jiang Qingzhi smiled, "The grassland was quite scattered before Altan Khan, and it was Altan Khan who unified many forces through his conquests. For those tribes, stability is always better than chaos. After all, it is better to be a dog in peacetime than a man in troubled times."
Compared to the Central Plains, which would experience a cycle of rise and fall every few hundred years, there would be a great chaos in the world, with nine out of ten houses being killed. The wars on the grasslands almost never stopped.
"…The general trend of the world is that after a long period of division, there will be unification, and after a long period of unification, there will be division. The Central Plains has a cycle of prosperity every few hundred years. The grassland is even faster. When the country is falling apart, the tribes will fight endlessly for self-protection or expansion. After a long time, a powerful leader will emerge and unify the grassland through conquest. For the grassland people, this leader is their benefactor… the benefactor who allowed them to have a brief period of peace."
"Altan Khan was defeated, but his prestige will not disappear in a short time. Those tribal leaders will definitely rebel against him, but the tribes under their command may not."
"People seek stability." Emperor Jiajing narrowed his eyes. "In the Qin and Han dynasties, the Tang and Song dynasties, people could endure even when they were starving. That's why."
"Yes." Jiang Qingzhi said, "People seek benefits and avoid harm. Unless they reach a point where they cannot survive, ordinary people will choose to endure. Until they can no longer endure it."
Emperor Jiajing looked at Jiang Qingzhi, which made him feel uneasy. He lowered his head to check his clothes and even wiped his face before saying, "Do you think this is advising me?"
Jiang Qingzhi smiled, "Your Majesty, if you think it is admonition... I am admonishing you."
"You are telling me that this is the situation in the Ming Dynasty. The burden on the people is getting heavier and heavier, and many people are hungry. They are enduring it now. If the emperor does not show sympathy, the people who can no longer bear it will rise up..."
Emperor Jiajing said with amusement: "But many people say that this is a prosperous era."
Ha ha!
Jiang Qingzhi smiled and said, "Your Majesty, those people... are more hateful than flatterers."
It is precisely those people who use the prosperous and peaceful times to deceive the king and whitewash the peace in order to cover up their own incompetence and their own worries and anxieties about the current crisis.
"I am not the kind of emperor who would be confused by a few words from his subjects. I never took this seriously!" Emperor Jiajing said sarcastically, "When I was in Anlu, I often went to the market and looked at what the people ate and wore...
Over the past ten years, their food has become worse and worse, and their clothes have become more and more patched. I knew at that time that the Ming Dynasty... was falling into the abyss. "
"Celebrate it."
"His Majesty."
"As soon as I entered the capital, I showed my goodwill to the prime minister and the ministers. It's not that I want to win them over, but I feel that the Ming Dynasty is in crisis and reform is urgent."
"Yes." Jiang Qingzhi took a deep breath and suddenly wanted to cry.
He was able to see the crisis of the Ming Dynasty from small things, and after ascending the throne, he was able to think about reforming the Ming Dynasty. He showed goodwill to his subjects and was ready to unite all the forces that could be united to pull this empire that was sliding into the abyss out.
Is this a wise ruler?
Yes!
But what response did this wise ruler get?
It's suppression!
Yang Tinghe, ah Yang Tinghe, were you drunk or were you blinded by power to do such stupid things!
Jiang Qingzhi looked up and met the calm eyes of Emperor Jiajing.
"So, I say, Yang Tinghe deserves to die! What do you think?"
"Yes!"
"Tell me, how many years can the North be peaceful?"
"I think... three to five years at most!"
"Ok?"
"unless……"
"Unless what?"
"Let's take the initiative and knock on their door!"
(End of this chapter)
