Chapter 815: Yan Song's cunning and Jiang Qingzhi's reputation
The army is marching forward in full force.
Starting from yesterday, Yan Song ordered the march to be accelerated.
"Prince, there are local officials welcoming you ahead," the scout reported.
Zhao Wenhua said softly: "Foster father, the officials in the capital...it's important!"
Officials who can take charge of local affairs in the capital are naturally not simple people. If a few of them can be won over, it will be of great help to the Yan Party.
Yan Song narrowed his eyes and looked at the city ahead, "The army cannot stop, pass!"
"Godfather!" Zhao Wenhua's journey was extremely glorious. He was the vanguard wherever he went and received many benefits. He also won over many officials and made the acquaintance of many local tyrants. It was a great harvest.
He was a little disappointed and wanted to persuade him again, but Yan Song snorted coldly, "There are many eyes and ears in the capital."
At this moment, Emperor Jiajing was looking coldly at the army, waiting to see whether he would be complacent or...
"Faster!"
Yan Song knew that he had to act like a loyal dog.
The army began to speed up, and Du He said to Du Bao: "Yan Song is a little panicked."
Du Bao said, "Dad, why is Yan Song so panicked?"
Du He chuckled, "Chang Wei Bo handed over the army to him. Think about it, as the Prime Minister, he has a large army and both civil and military affairs under his control. Doesn't Yan Song worry about being feared?"
"Then why is he so proud all the way?" Wherever he went, local officials and powerful people came out to greet him, followed by a banquet, and Yan Song almost accepted everyone who came. In Du Bao's opinion, he was getting carried away.
"It's difficult for Yan Song too." Du He smiled sinisterly, "If the army moves too fast, someone will spread rumors that he is trying to rush to the capital to rebel. If it moves too slowly, someone will say that he is watching the situation in the capital and preparing to rebel..."
"It's hard to be fast, and it's hard to be slow. Tsk!" Du Bao scratched his head, "Dad, I'd better join the army in the future!"
"Why?" Du He's requirement for his eldest son was to be both civil and military. It would be even better if he could follow the path of literature, thus escaping from the military class.
Since the Song Dynasty, military men were considered to be raised by stepmothers, to be candidates for rebellion, ambitious, domineering, arrogant, cruel...all negative words were used to label them.
In the Ming Dynasty, the status of military men was better during the reigns of Emperor Taizu Gao and Emperor Chengzu, but then the Ming Dynasty followed the old path of the former Song Dynasty. What was different about the Ming Dynasty was that it was a military household system, which meant that military households served in the army for generations.
Once you become a warrior, you are no different from a slave. The same is true for your children and grandchildren.
Du Bao said: "These civil servants have too many thoughts, I am afraid I can't beat them."
"Come here." Du He waved his hand. When his son came over, he slapped him on the back of the head and scolded him, "With Long Wilbur here, you only need to learn 50% of what he can do. No, 30% is enough. If you learn 30%, you are afraid of nothing!"
"But...but Master doesn't teach such brain-intensive knowledge."
"Fool." Du He laughed and said, "These are not academic knowledge."
"what is that?"
"That's the experience gained through hardship."
"Ah!" The newly-minted former dandy was stunned.
"My father has suffered a lot for half his life to be where he is today." Du He thought about the bet he made with Jiang Qingzhi. He lost everything in the bet, and was finally forced by Ma to surrender in Xin'an Lane. Only then did he get the glory he has today.
Thinking of this, Du He sighed: "Da Lang, do you know what is the most important thing in a man's life?"
"Power, connections, money, knowledge, ..." As expected of a son of the rich and powerful, he immediately revealed the foundation of their family.
Power and network of connections come first. With power and network of connections, you can have money whenever you want it.
The monetization of power has always been a common practice. However, the difference in the Ming Dynasty was that after the opening of the gates during the Longqing reign, the financial power of merchants expanded rapidly, and along with it, their ambitions also expanded.
The wealthy merchants were unwilling to stand outside the government, so they used various means to link up with the officials. In the court and in the localities, their representatives were everywhere...
The pattern of the Eagle Sauce in later generations also has some of this flavor, but the difference is that the narrow vision of the wealthy merchants of the Ming Dynasty can make later generations sigh that it is unjust that the Ming Dynasty did not perish.
These idiots only care about their own interests. What long-term planning, what strategy, what overall situation... Sorry, it has nothing to do with me. I just want money and power...
Once this group of people directly or indirectly controlled the Ming Dynasty through various means, the pattern of the Ming Dynasty's demise could no longer be shaken.
"No." Du He sniffed in the cold wind and said with deep emotion: "The most important thing for a man in his life is to marry a good wife."
"Greetings, Prime Minister!" The local officials and powerful people in front saluted.
Zhao Wenhua rode out. In his eyes, these people were just walking money and walking connections. He said distressedly, "The army is running low on food and fodder. We need to return to Beijing quickly and not stay there any longer."
Zhao Wenhua rode back, and Yan Song asked calmly, "How much food and grass is left in the army?"
"Two days." Zhao Wenhua said, "But the Ministry of Revenue has made arrangements."
Once the army arrives in the capital, there is no need to carry large amounts of food and fodder with them. Not only will it slow down the march, it will also be very costly.
"The Ministry of Revenue said that a lot of food and fodder were lost in this war, so the more we can save the better." Zhao Wenhua felt that Lu Song was a little stingy.
"The army has been away for several months, and the loss of food and fodder transported from various parts of Ming to the capital, and then the loss of food and fodder transported from the capital to Datong... Yuanfu, the number is shocking!"
As think tanks and staff, Shen Jun and others not only had to give advice to Yan Song, but also had to be responsible for paperwork and other matters. This time following the army, Shen Jun felt that his horizons were broadened.
Yan Song nodded. "It's almost the end of the year, and there's not much food left. It's not easy, so we need to save as much as possible."
Zhao Wenhua looked back at the officials with regret, and at this time several riders came galloping towards him.
"It's someone from Donglou's side." Zhao Wenhua waved his hand, and several riders came over. The leading man saluted, "Greetings to the Prime Minister, and to the Minister of Public Administration."
"Is there something wrong in the East Tower?" Yan Song asked. "The young cabinet minister accidentally fell off his horse and sprained his ankle. He is resting at home."
"Is it serious?" Yan Song asked anxiously.
"It's just that my ankle is a little swollen."
Yan Song breathed a sigh of relief, and suddenly thought of something, "Is Jiang Qingzhi's baby's full moon coming soon?"
The visitor lowered his head and said, "It's today."
Yan Song sighed, "Donglou! Donglou! What is he doing... oh!"
No one knows a son better than his father. Yan Song connected the two events together and knew the secret behind the incident of falling off a horse and spraining his ankle.
After the visitor left, Zhao Wenhua said, "Foster father, I'm afraid His Majesty will implement a new policy."
They received various messages in the past few days, and all of them were filled with questions: Yuanfu, should we follow or not?
Yan Song smiled bitterly, "This full moon banquet is an opportunity to take sides. If I don't go to the East Tower...what will His Majesty think?"
Zhao Wenhua said: "Your Majesty cannot leave his adoptive father and Donglou."
"Idiot!" Yan Song said coldly, "I am the Prime Minister because of my loyalty. If I play both sides and wait and see, do you think His Majesty will be cautious? Shen Jun."
"Prime Minister."
"Write a petition immediately, I... apologize!"
Shen Jun's eyes showed more admiration, "Yes."
Someone immediately prepared the four treasures of the study, and Shen Jun drafted the memorial on horseback.
"Godfather, that place is a den of dragons and tigers, it's hell!" Zhao Wenhua felt that Yan Shifan's choice was right.
"Do you think we can escape if the new policy fails?" Yan Song sighed, "If the new policy fails, Your Majesty is afraid... we will become scapegoats."
Zhao Wenhua was greedy by nature. Hearing this, he said, "We have so many people, how can we be afraid of them?"
This guy was so arrogant in history that he was eventually used by Xu Jie and filed a complaint with Emperor Jiajing.
"You still don't understand." Yan Song said softly, "If the new policy fails, Your Majesty will have no choice but to abdicate."
Zhao Wenhua shuddered. Yan Song said, "If you don't abdicate, you will become a puppet. So it is better to abdicate and let the new king clean up the mess. When the new king takes the throne, the situation will be precarious. He will have no choice but to throw Jiang Qingzhi and us out to calm the anger of the scholars and officials. Otherwise... there will be wars everywhere!"
"We are trying to pull chestnuts from the fire." Zhao Wenhua smiled bitterly.
"No." Yan Song shook his head. "It is Jiang Qingzhi who is trying to take advantage of the situation!"
Zhao Wenhua thought of this old enemy, "Yes, he and the Mohists are at the forefront. With the new policy, he is the second Fan Zhongyan and Wang Anshi. It's also good for us to hide in the back and wait and see!"
"So, why do you think I am willing to lead the army? It seems to be a glorious journey, but in fact, I am suspected by the emperor all the way?" Yan Song said softly: "Jiang Qingzhi returned to the capital, and His Majesty can't wait to launch a new policy. The emperor and his subjects get along well... Who else can be the number one general of the new policy except Jiang Qingzhi? If this old man is here..."
"I'm afraid my godfather is being attacked by everyone at this moment." Zhao Wenhua's heart trembled, and he secretly admired his old godfather's shrewdness.
"I think Xin'an Lane will be very lively today." Yan Song looked towards the capital.
"If Jiang Qingzhi died, the new policy would certainly come to nothing!" said Zhao Wenhua.
Yan Song remained silent.
This is also why he is wary of Jiang Qingzhi.
Emperor Jiajing relied too much on his cousin, which was a deterrent to Yan Song and his party.
"Why... don't you die?" Zhao Wenhua's voice drifted away in the cold wind.
……
In a tavern outside Xin'an Lane, Ma Laoliu, a burly man with a dark face, glanced at his brothers and said in a deep voice, "We have been plundering outside the capital for a long time. This is our first time entering the capital. Is the capital prosperous?"
There were more than twenty big men, some with their shirts unbuttoned, some with their sleeves rolled up. The table was filled with food and wine, and the meal was a mess.
"Brother, this capital city is indeed prosperous. When can we come and plunder it?" someone asked.
"Today is the opportunity." Ma Laoliu took a sip of wine, "I have never told you the purpose of my trip to Beijing..."
Everyone put down their chopsticks, chewed slowly, and waited for him to solve the mystery.
"Someone found me that day and offered me a reward of 300,000 coins. 300,000 coins, 10,000 coins for each of my brothers, would make me happy for a long time. I was tempted and asked what he wanted to do. As long as it wasn't to kill the emperor, I would dare to do anything."
When everyone heard the price of three hundred thousand coins, greed appeared in their eyes.
"Brother, are you going to kill the nobleman?"
"Ok!"
"who is it?"
"Jiang Qingzhi!"
Bah!
A wine glass fell to the ground.
There were more than twenty bandits, most of them had pale faces.
(End of this chapter)
