Chapter 870 Rising Sun
"Many times, people are forced to do things against their will. Qingzhi, now that you've chosen this path, don't look back."
Old Zhu has been very busy recently. Today he finally got some free time and went to Jiang Qingzhi's duty room and drove everyone out.
"Old Zhu, this kind of seriousness is not typical of you." Jiang Qingzhi smiled.
Zhu Xizhong said, "The people from the Ministry of Revenue are ready to leave tomorrow morning. Lu Song will see them off in person. The wind is whistling and the Yi River is cold. The warriors will never come back. Even I can sense the tragic atmosphere. How could those people not know?"
"Worried about the capital?"
"There are many powerful people and high-ranking officials in the capital, and many of them have become wealthy for generations thanks to the tax-free land. They are watching the Ministry of Revenue and you! Someone has already said that sooner or later you will die on the street because of this!"
Jiang Qingzhi smiled, and Zhu Xizhong sighed, "I know this matter is like an arrow on a string, and it has to be shot. But brother, since you are in a crisis, don't hesitate. Hold the power tightly in your hands, just like a fist. Even if you don't shoot, your opponent will be afraid."
"Yan Song is facing a formidable enemy today, waiting for me to seize power. Xu Wei and Zhang Juzheng saw that I didn't make any move, so they couldn't help but put on a show. Hu Zongxian, the man with thick eyebrows and big eyes, is also urging me to take action. You are the same."
Jiang Qingzhi smiled, but Zhu Xizhong sighed, "The Ministry of Revenue officials causing trouble is a good opportunity. You took advantage of the situation to propose breaking the scope of the six ministries' authority, which is a brilliant move and makes people applaud."
"I can use this to break the power boundary and directly intervene in the six ministries. I should have gone to see Yan Song today and told him that the six ministries should obey my orders on the matter of land inventory."
"Oh! Brother, I thought you were confused." Zhu Xizhong said with a smile: "From this, we can control the six ministries step by step."
"The emperor and his ministers decide on political affairs, and the six ministries are the executors. If I control the six ministries, I can decide how political affairs are carried out. Isn't this the regent?"
"Shut up!" Zhu Xizhong's face turned pale. "What regent? Just listen to His Majesty's orders."
"This is like a whore putting up a memorial arch." Jiang Qingzhi said sarcastically: "The Ministry of Revenue is ready to go, but the one who is in the spotlight is not them, but the Zhilu, and me. Unfortunately, I disappointed them. The big show has not been staged."
"What are you hesitating about?" Zhu Xizhong sighed.
“I didn’t hesitate.”
"Then why don't you take action?"
"I just don't want to."
"In no mood?"
"Ok!"
"The six ministries subsequently made things difficult or shirked their responsibilities, and even set traps and stabbed us in the back. The Yan Party and those opponents stirred up trouble in the six ministries..."
"Old Zhu, you have a problem." Jiang Qingzhi sighed.
"What's wrong?"
"You pursue constancy and certainty. You want to control everything and do whatever you want. But you forget that good and bad are interdependent, and that the essence of all things in the world is impermanence, and that they are constantly changing in the impermanence..."
"You're getting more and more mysterious the more you talk."
"Not so mysterious." Jiang Qingzhi shook off the ash from his cigarette. "Even if I get hold of six units, what will happen next?"
"Once you have power, you can issue orders."
“And then I became a target!”
Zhu Xizhong was stunned.
"You still don't understand?" Jiang Qingzhi sighed, "Having seized the six ministries, it seems that I have the power in my hands. But what is the foundation of the six ministries? What are the officials of the six ministries? They are all Confucian disciples. Many people are vested interests. I seem to have seized the six ministries, but in fact I am sitting on a fire."
Damn!
Jiang Qingzhi shook his head. "They are all confused by power. Yes, power is sweet, who wouldn't be confused?"
Zhu Xizhong covered his forehead with his hands, "You mean... it seems like you have taken control of six ministries, but in fact you have taken control of six hot potatoes. It hurts to hold them, but you can't bear not to hold them..."
"Wang Yiqi's Ministry of War, Xiong Jia's Ministry of Personnel, Jiang Hua's Ministry of Works, and Lu Song's Ministry of Revenue... Although I don't control these four ministries, I can indirectly influence them. Xu Jie and Yan Song are in charge of the Ministry of Rites, and no one is in charge of the Ministry of Justice. Old Zhu, do I have to make them bow their heads and have my say to be in control? Even the emperor can't do that!"
Boom!
Zhu Xizhong seemed to hear a thunderclap.
"Emperors can't do that either!"
"When has Your Majesty ever completely controlled the six ministries?"
Emperor Jiajing never truly controlled the six ministries, allowing them to be divided up among his ministers.
"But Your Majesty...Your Majesty indirectly controls the six ministries through Yan Song. And you..." Zhu Xizhong's eyes sparkled, "You indirectly control the four ministries through the new policy."
"I didn't say that." Jiang Qingzhi took a puff of medicinal smoke.
"You, you!" Zhu Xizhong stood up, smiling like Maitreya Buddha, "Yesterday, a steward came from the south and brought a lot of dried seafood. Your sister-in-law vomited after smelling it..."
"Are you pregnant? Congratulations, brother." Jiang Qingzhi looked happy.
"Just do it!" Zhu Xizhong said with a smile, "Your sister-in-law said to send them all to Xin'an Lane. I'm afraid they have already arrived."
"You didn't tell me earlier!"
Jiang Qingzhi threw the document in his hand.
"Who are you going to throw all these things to?" Zhu Xizhong asked.
"Wen Chang, Lao Xu."
"Uncle." The person who came in with Xu Wei was Zhang Juzheng. There seemed to be some harmony between the two of them, which surprised Jiang Qingzhi.
As the saying goes, there is no first in literature and no second in martial arts. How can two of the world's most intelligent and arrogant people live in harmony?
Jiang Qingzhi pointed at the documents. "Don't be lazy during this good time. These things have been dealt with. If there is anything serious, send someone to find me in Xin'an Lane."
"Yes."
Jiang Qingzhi left, and the duty room remained silent.
"Who's coming?" Xu Wei asked.
Zhang Juzheng smiled and said, "How about you come?"
"You can come too!"
"Let's go together!"
"Alright!"
The two men sat down and began to review the documents, arguing about something from time to time.
Gradually, the atmosphere became wrong.
Hu Zongxian came in hurriedly, "Master forgot his gloves, eh! You two…"
Why is the atmosphere so affectionate? Hu Zongxian took the gloves and went back to tell Jiang Qingzhi with a smile.
……
Jiang Qingzhi returned to the mansion and first went to see his son, then went to the kitchen. Xia Yan was in the kitchen, looking at the dried seafood with curiosity.
"They are all smart people. If they can't tell who is better, they will temporarily join forces. However, it will probably be like what you said... the secret war will last for a long time."
"What's in it? Let me see." Jiang Qingzhi checked over the useful stuff.
Dried fish, fish maw, dried abalone, dried squid, sea cucumber...
More than ten kinds of dried seafood smelled fishy. Xia Yan covered her nose and saw Jiang Qingzhi was happy. "Can this be delicious?"
"You'll know when you make it. Wow! Scallops, holy crap! Such big scallops."
Jiang Qingzhi was itching to get a few baskets of seafood.
The big boss cooked the meal himself.
It takes a long time to boil isinglass, so we can’t make it today.
Steam the dried fish with some fermented black beans, throw in two old hens, dried squid and dried abalone and boil together, add scallops and dried scallops halfway through.
“What a hodgepodge!”
Jiang Qingzhi sniffed the smell and said intoxicatedly, "That's the smell. Oh, and make some ginger juice."
Freshly squeezed ginger juice and soup base made a big pot of noodles.
Sun Chonglou was outside the kitchen, craving for food. He had just taken Hua Yan to see Dapeng, and Hua Yan said it was really interesting. Hua Yan was about to leave, and Jiang Qingzhi asked her to stay. Unexpectedly, Hua Yan really stayed.
The ancients were honest and could not be deceived.
Jiang Qingzhi smiled. It was just a matter of having one more person to eat, and just one more pair of bowls and chopsticks.
After hearing the news, Li Tian said: "Although she is a generous woman, it is not reasonable for her to eat with men. Invite her to the backyard, and also tell my husband to let him..."
"My uncle said before that he would have dinner with Lord Xia and the others today." Huang Yaner said with a smile.
"Okay." Li Tian was a little curious. "My husband said he wanted to prepare a seafood feast. Is seafood... delicious?"
"They say it stinks." Huang Yan'er said with a bitter look on her face, "Madam, how about we have some snacks? We still have a box from the last time we bought it."
"Let's wait and see." Li Tian winked, and Huang Yan'er understood and quietly took the box of snacks.
The master and servant shared most of the food, and then the food was delivered from the front yard.
The one who came with us was Hua Yan.
"Greetings, County Lady." Hua Yan squatted down quickly, looking very unruly.
Very wild! Huang Yaner complained in her heart.
"It's time to eat." Someone outside said.
Hua Yan was smiling happily while eating. Li Tian and his servant had finished their snacks and were mostly full. Now they had no appetite after smelling the smell of the sea.
The staple food is seafood noodles, and the side dishes are steamed fish and braised shark meat.
"The taste... isn't very good. The noodles have a pungent smell." Huang Yaner identified them one by one.
"Try it!" Li Tian picked up a piece of noodles with chopsticks and slowly put it into his mouth.
Huang Yaner looked at her eagerly.
Li Tian's eyebrows suddenly raised.
"Miss..."
"Yan'er!"
"Miss."
"We shouldn't have snacks!"
……
In the front yard, Jiang Qingzhi took a bite of noodles. The spicy taste of ginger juice rushed up and blended with the deliciousness of seafood. For a moment, the spicy taste turned into an indescribable deliciousness.
Ginger juice stimulates the taste buds and amplifies the sweetness of seafood, while the sweetness of seafood dilutes the spiciness of ginger juice, making it milder.
"This..." Xia Yan was stunned, "It's just like..."
Xu Wei ate with great enthusiasm, and looked up when he heard the words, "Ginger juice is like a big man, and seafood is like a beauty."
Zhang Juzheng also came to eat today, and upon hearing this, he said: "Heroes and beauties complement each other."
"Delicious!" The three pretentious people were defeated by Sun Chonglou's straightforwardness.
The steamed fish is a bit salty, and the fishy smell is mixed with the aroma of fermented black beans. At this moment, I must have some noodles to mix the salty and fragrant taste. Suddenly...
"Consummated!"
Hu Zongxian praised.
Zhang Juzheng glanced at Jiang Qingzhi and found that the boss was in a trance. He remembered the rumor that the boss had a good family background when he was in Suzhou Prefecture, but he was a good cook. It can be seen that the story that they were bullied by Ye was true.
But without this kind of tempering, there would be no Jiang Qingzhi today!
The new policy is so difficult, isn't this a great opportunity for me to hone my skills?
Zhang Juzheng lowered his head, picked up a handful of noodles and ate with great relish.
elegant!
Throw the hell out of here!
After dinner, Xia Yan and Jiang Qingzhi took a walk in the yard.
"Tomorrow, the capital will keep an eye on you."
"I know."
"Thirty years ago, your majesty's reforms failed. Thirty years later, a new policy begins. What will happen to the Ming Dynasty?"
"Like the rising sun!"
(End of this chapter)
