Chapter 809: Casting stones to ask for directions
Yan Shifan fell off his horse and was injured. It was said that his ankle was severely swollen and he had difficulty walking. After asking for permission from Emperor Jiajing, he returned home to recuperate.
"How many days will it take for Yan Song to arrive?"
Emperor Jiajing asked upon hearing the news.
"It's five days."
"This is quite interesting." The Taoist smiled, but there was a hint of sarcasm between his brows.
It was like discovering a clown.
"How many days will it take for Yan Song to arrive in the capital?" Xia Yan asked almost at the same time.
"It is said to be five days." Advisor Boll has been staying in Zhilu these days. This guy respects Xia Yan very much. He said privately that he had also seen the prime minister when he was in Portugal, but he only saw him from a distance.
Xia Yan was a living former prime minister, who was always in front of him. Moreover, the old man had a dignified demeanor, which made the consultant quite awed, saying that the prime minister of Lisbon looked like a thief.
In this era, the Western world, from emperors and generals to peddlers, all became bandits in the great benefits of conquering colonies. Fleets continuously brought various resources from the colonies, and those resources at almost zero cost made many people rich overnight. It also made many people greedy and wanted to join the army or go to the colonies as a way out.
The Ming Dynasty was different. The pride of the Central Empire made them choose a better way to eat, such as tribute trade, such as mutually beneficial trade...
"I have said many times that this world is a jungle and follows the law of the jungle. The better you treat them, the more they take it for granted."
In the study, Jiang Qingzhi began his first lesson after returning to Beijing.
Zhou Xia also came, looking much more mature, and brought a full-moon gift for his junior brother.
Ma Fang and Zhu Shitai were still moving slowly with the army, so they could not make it to their junior brother's full moon banquet.
Since Du He was not around, Xianzhang Marquis's Mansion had sent a number of servants over yesterday, saying they were just there to do the errands.
Ma even brought a carriage full of gifts to the Earl's house. When she saw Li Tian, she kept saying that she was becoming more and more charming. She then hugged the young Earl and praised him repeatedly. She even hinted to Li Tian that if she gave birth to a daughter, the two families could marry.
Li Tian took this as a joke, but Jiang Qingzhi knew that Ma was serious.
The powerful and wealthy build a network of relationships through marriage. The larger and more high-end this network is, the brighter the family's future will be.
Just like Lu Bing, if he died later, he would most likely have overwhelming power in the court and would eventually be taken away by the Taoist priest or killed by the new emperor Zhu Laosan.
"Teacher." Xiong Lou raised his hand. Jiang Qingzhi nodded. He stood up and said, "Since I was born, the teachers have always said that courtesy should be the first priority."
"What is a jungle?" Jiang Qingzhi nodded and motioned him to sit down. "The fat sheep and the wolf should be polite first. What do you think will happen?"
"I ate it." Xiong Lou was beaming with joy. "I told you that those old pedants were all corrupt scholars. Dad even spanked me at that time."
He is indeed my mentor!
Xiong Lou wished he could turn back time and study with Jiang Qingzhi since childhood.
"Would the Han and Tang dynasties ever tell other races that propriety and morality come first?" Jiang Qingzhi asked.
Xiong Lou shook his head, and Jiang Qingzhi said, "Han and Tang would first defeat the other party, and then talk to them about etiquette. This involves a concept..."
"Those who are not of my race must have different hearts!" Jiang Qingzhi tapped the table with his fingers, "This is the core of Mohism."
In fact, it is the core of Chiang's studies.
Jiang Qingzhi continued, "There is no eternal friendship between countries or between nations. There is only interest. If both sides can benefit each other, or if one side can benefit the other, then they are allies. Once their interests conflict, they will become enemies."
"Those who are not of our race must have different hearts, which is the truth." Jiang Qingzhi said: "For example, why do the foreign tribes on the grasslands repeatedly invade the Central Plains?"
Xiong Lou scratched his head. "I just got jealous of the glamorous world."
"But that's Central Plains's stuff, why are you jealous?"
"This..." Xiong Lou thought about it carefully, Zhou Xia smiled bitterly, thinking that he was here to accompany his child in his studies.
But he heard some hidden meaning in Jiang Qingzhi's words today.
It seemed to carry a murderous aura!
Is the teacher targeting some alien?
Zhou Xia was thinking about it when he was startled by a sudden loud noise. He looked carefully and saw Xiong Lou slamming the table. "The man is innocent, but guilty of possessing a treasure."
"That's right." This disciple was not hopeless. Jiang Qingzhi was relieved. "If we think back to the beginning, those who are not of our race must have different hearts. This is because an innocent man is guilty of possessing a treasure. The Central Plains has money, food, arable land, and a hardworking population... These are all benefits in the eyes of foreign races, and they are all treasures that cannot be obtained. If we think back further, this world is a jungle..."
"Disciple, I understand." Xiong Lou said excitedly: "There is no logic or etiquette between countries. There is only interest. In the eyes of foreign races, Zhongyuan is just a rich man..."
……
"...When they were strong, they beat the foreign races to pieces, just like a tiger in the jungle, no one dared to look directly at it. When the Central Plains declined, the foreign races showed their sharp teeth...
Grandfather, there is no real friendship between countries, there is only interest. If you want to survive in this jungle, you must sharpen your claws and keep an eye on those foreign races. "
Xiong Jia had just returned home from the government office and was testing his grandson on his first day of class. After hearing these words, he was inevitably surprised and asked, "So, what do you think?"
Xiong Lou said: "I think, why should we wait until our family is weak and then let others slaughter us? When we are strong, we should take the initiative to eliminate the threat for future generations."
"What does Long Wilbur think of what you said?" Xiong Jia was even more surprised.
"Teacher said that I have hegemonic thinking. It may seem powerful and domineering, but in fact... it can't last long. Even if we can eliminate external threats now, think about the Han and Tang dynasties. They beat the foreign races and made them flee in panic. It seems that they have eliminated the threat for their descendants, but what about now?"
Xiong Lou sighed, "It has suddenly dawned on me that alien races are just like weeds in the jungle. Wildfires cannot burn them all, but they will grow again in the spring breeze."
This grandson likes to play with guns and sticks, and has no interest in studying. Xiong Jia has always been worried that his future will be difficult. After hearing this, Xiong Jia's eyes lit up, "Did you come up with all this yourself?" "Yes!" Xiong Lou scratched his head, "The teacher said that I... a teachable child."
"What's next?" Xiong Jia's eyes flashed.
"The teacher asked me if there was any other solution, and I said... at worst, we can just cut the weeds. Every time the weeds grow, we can cut them!"
"Didn't Long Wilbur scold you?" Xiong Jia smiled.
"The teacher didn't do anything, but he said that this method would bring disaster to himself. He was still mumbling... I heard something about a world war and devastation... But the teacher said that this is also a method."
Xiong Lou sighed. "I later asked the teacher if there was a solution."
Xiong Jia narrowed his eyes and listened carefully. He asked his grandson to become Jiang Qingzhi's apprentice, which meant he wanted to take sides. And he did it quite cleverly, with a soft yet firm side.
Jiang Qingzhi told his grandson all this in the first class. Was it a hint... or what did it mean?
The current situation of the Ming Dynasty seemed good, and the external threat was temporarily lifted, as if it had entered a prosperous era overnight. However, Xiong Jia had been an official for many years and knew the family background and situation of the Ming Dynasty very well.
It looks brilliant on the surface, but is filled with crises in secret.
If you are not careful, you will fall into a catastrophic disaster.
This disaster did not come from outside, but from internal unrest.
The number of refugees is increasing day by day. It seems that the land is being annexed, but the population is increasing and the land is so small. How to divide it?
This is an unsolvable problem.
Historically, the Longqing Opening was equivalent to opening the country's door. The South took a big step into the commodity society, and various workshops sprang up, temporarily solving the employment problem.
Later, Zhang Juzheng's reforms temporarily solved the financial problem. The two reforms together extended the life of the Ming Dynasty by at least 50 years.
Without the opening of the Longqing era and the reforms of Zhang Juzheng, Jiang Qingzhi dared to say that Wanli might have been the last emperor of the Ming Dynasty.
Therefore, the current situation makes Xiong Jia worried. But the old man is a little hesitant about his obvious support for the new policy... He is not afraid of being implicated, but he is worried about his children and grandchildren.
Once the new policy failed, most of those who took sides did not end well. The former Song Wang Anshi stepped down, Sima Guang came on stage, and then the purge began.
When the New Deal faction came to power again, the same tactics were used again, and the two sides fought back and forth in an extremely brutal manner... This mutual revenge extended until the Southern Song Dynasty.
That was the former Song Dynasty, and no matter how brutal the war was, it had its limits. But in the Ming Dynasty, once the two sides got angry, blood would probably be shed.
That is, the white knife goes in and the red knife comes out.
So Xiong Jia used a clever method to push his grandson to Jiang Qingzhi.
In this way, I was forced to take sides.
Please forgive me, everyone!
Jiang Qingzhi knew this very well, so he gave a big lecture in the first class.
"Teacher said that the only way is world peace. But obviously that is not possible. As a second best option, when you are strong, you must constantly look for enemies for yourself and use offensive and commercial means to attack potential opponents."
"Business?"
"Yes, the teacher said that if business means are used well, they are more effective than swords and guns. They can kill people without shedding blood and easily dismember a country." Xiong Lou said in admiration, "Grandfather, the teacher is really amazing. You often say that I am unteachable, but the teacher says that I am teachable. It shows that grandfather is not as good as the teacher!"
"come here!"
"What are you doing?" Xiong Lou walked over carelessly.
Xiong Jia stood up suddenly and raised the tickler in his hand to hit it.
"Ow!"
"You bastard, you still dare to run?"
……
"What you said to Xiong Lou today, were you trying to remind Xiong Jia?"
Tomorrow is the full moon banquet. Jiang Qingzhi has been busy for a long time, but he finds that he seems to be busy with nothing. Fu Cheng is in charge of the household affairs, and Li Tian, who is out of confinement, is in charge of the backyard. He has nothing to do.
It’s not bad to be a Jia Baoyu.
Jiang Qingzhi and Xia Yan were drinking in the study, with a pot of wine and a plate of pickled broad beans, and the two were talking.
"Xiong Jia is an old official, and he knows the current administration and the general situation of the country very well. What I said to Xiong Lou was to remind him that the new policy cannot be delayed. And the implementation of the new policy will first affect the administration of officials."
Jiang Qingzhi took a sip of his drink. "He used the excuse of leaving his grandson to me as a reason for choosing a side. That's true. But... it's far from enough!"
"Yes!" Xia Yan nodded. "Those people will launch a crazy counterattack at that time. Xiong Jia's actions at this moment will be seen as indecisiveness in their eyes. This is a loophole."
"So, what I said is just a test. If Xiong Jia is interested, he should come."
"I'm afraid he's too old and won't dare to come because of his children and grandchildren." Xia Yan sighed.
"Master!"
Sun Chonglou said from outside, "It's said that so-and-so, Xiong Lou's grandfather is here."
(End of this chapter)
