Chapter 875 You are in the first grade and I am in the fifteenth grade
In Yongshou Palace, the Taoist priest was holding a medical book in his hand. There was an incense burner beside him. A thin stick of sandalwood was burning, with green smoke curling up.
Jiang Qingzhi sat cross-legged opposite, holding the Sutra of Purity and Tranquility in his hand.
"The spirit of a woman likes to be clear, but her heart disturbs it; the human heart likes to be quiet, but desire pulls it..."
Jiang Qingzhi recited softly.
Taoist raised his eyes, "My heart wants to be calm but it doesn't stop."
Jiang Qingzhi laughed dryly and said, "Your Majesty's eyes are as sharp as lightning. I am a little uneasy."
"I only have a small farm, which was given by me as a reward. I don't feel bad about giving it all to the Ministry of Revenue. But the rich and powerful officials in the capital all have endless fields and countless slaves."
Emperor Jiajing put down the medical book and said, "You started with Yan Song, Cui Yuan and others. You did it for them to see. The Prime Minister and the Prince Consort, one is the head of the civil officials, and the other is the head of the relatives. If the two of them surrender, whoever does not surrender will go against the tide. The method is good. However, the land of Yan Song's family..."
Emperor Jiajing smiled, and Jiang Qingzhi sensed some gloating in his smile. "It should be quite a lot, right?"
"It's not a few, but too many." Emperor Jiajing said calmly: "According to reason, Yan Song is my dog, but I'm curious why I don't care about it?"
If the Taoist priest had given the order, Yan Song would certainly not have dared to annex land so wantonly.
"Yes." Jiang Qingzhi knew what the Taoist was thinking: You are greedy, be as greedy as you can. When the day comes when I think you are useless, or my children and grandchildren think your Yan family is an eyesore, I will slap you to death with one slap.
"I can take back those fields and people at any time." Emperor Jiajing expressed the emperor's intentions, which Jiang Qingzhi knew well.
"Yan Song and his son must be extremely worried. If they don't give it to me, they are worried about my wrath. If they give it to me, they will feel very sad. Yan Song doesn't have this burden, but Yan Shifan... it's hard to say." Emperor Jiajing said, "The capital is full of dignitaries, and I'm afraid there will be unrest in the next few days."
"I am ready."
"Don't underestimate them." Emperor Jiajing warned: "I underestimated Yang Tinghe and his son back then, so I was caught off guard by them. The Zuo Shunmen incident... I don't want to see it again. Remember, making enemies with everyone in the world is not the goal, it's just a helplessness."
This was the second time that Daoye admitted that the Zuo Shunmen incident was a disastrous defeat for him.
The Zuo Shunmen Incident seemed to show that the Taoist was very powerful and had the civil officials in check. However, from then on, he and the officials and literati parted ways and became rivals.
Jiang Qingzhi nodded, "Someone will resist, or even take action. I have already informed the Five Cities Military Department..."
……
At the Wucheng Bingmasi, several generals were shouting and urging their troops.
"Put aside your sneaky thoughts, put aside your selfish thoughts. He is sharpening his knife, just waiting for someone to show up so that he can strike. If anyone hands over his head, don't blame me for disregarding the friendship between brothers."
"Array."
The soldiers lined up and a general came over.
"You all know that something big has happened in the capital, and we have been ordered to keep an eye on the surrounding areas. I think you all understand what I mean, so I won't say more. Everyone, split up into teams and keep an eye on those people. If they start to take action..."
The general hesitated.
Another general came over and whispered, "If we go too far, those people will transfer their anger from Jiang Qingzhi to us. A wise man would not do that!"
The general nodded, "Remember, be polite and restrained. Don't fight if you can."
"Leader!"
Everyone then filed out.
Several generals looked at each other.
"Damn it! This matter... our Wucheng Bingmasi is caught in the crossfire!"
"How can those powerful people be easy to deal with? If they are angry, they may not dare to attack Jiang Qingzhi and Lu Song for a while, but we have become their vent for anger."
"This matter... Ouch! My old injury has relapsed."
"Alpaca! That's what I wanted to say."
Not long after, news that several generals of the Five Cities Army had suffered relapses of their old injuries reached the palace.
Jiang Qingzhi was still there. Upon hearing the news, he glanced at Emperor Jiajing. Emperor Jiajing said calmly, "Why are you looking at me? Do something!"
Jiang Qingzhi stood up and left. The Taoist watched him leave and said quietly, "This idiot is full of murderous intent, and those powerful people are also sharpening their knives. This time, will it be the second Zuo Shunmen, or..."
……
After returning to Zhilu, Jiang Qingzhi called Zhang Juzheng and said, "Go to the Wucheng Bingmasi."
Zhang Juzheng went to the Wucheng Bingmasi and conveyed Jiang Qingzhi's words.
"My Lord has ordered that since my old injuries are so severe, I am obviously not qualified for my current duties. My Lord is not a demanding person, and everyone in the army knows that... So, I will go home and recuperate."
The generals who stayed behind in the Five Cities Military Division had a bitter face and asked, "How long do you need to rest?"
"My Lord," Zhang Juzheng looked at the generals with pity, "Ten years, twenty years...when my Lord thinks they are good, we can talk about it later."
What the hell!
In less than an hour, all the generals who had been taken home earlier returned.
"Prepare the horses, I will take charge personally!"
"It's just a few dignitaries, let's go!"
……
Zhu Xizhong came to Jiang Qingzhi's duty room and said, "You, you should start with Qiu Luan. After all, your grievances with Qiu Luan are well known."
"Have some tea." Jiang Qingzhi said with a smile. Zhu Xizhong sat down. "The next day, you should start with Yan Song and Cui Yuan. Those people think Yan Song is our ally and a supporter of the new policy. If Yan Song shows some dissatisfaction, those people will stir up trouble and cause a lot of trouble for this matter."
"What do you think?" Jiang Qingzhi asked.
"Brother, I think we should put the Yan Party behind us. Move on to the others first. It won't be long before someone will stand up to resist. Then we can use this person... to scare the monkeys. This will give Yan Song and his son face and time. Then we can deal with them last. By then, it will be a natural thing and the Yan Party will have nothing to say."
Jiang Qingzhi took out the medicinal cigarette and said, "I wanted to do this, but Yan Song and his son were flirting with Xu Jie. Old Zhu, if he does it on the first day, don't blame me for doing it on the fifteenth."
Zhu Xizhong: "The overall situation is more important."
Jiang Qingzhi grinned and said, "I will use this matter to let Yan Song and his son know. Don't think that I will not take action just because you are hiding in the duty room and making some conspiracies and tricks. Brother!"
Jiang Qingzhi looked at Zhu Xizhong and said, "To deal with villains, you have to be more ruthless than them."
Zhu Xizhong sighed: "Are you going to break up with me?"
"I think so, but they don't dare." Jiang Qingzhi sneered, "Believe it or not, Yan Song will be more friendly to me than usual when he sees me now."
Zhu Xizhong stood up and said, "Brother, I will keep an eye on them and Xu Jie. You can just stay in Zhilu. If there is anything, send someone to tell them. Brother, I...ah!"
The Chengguo Mansion has been passed down for generations, and the family has a lot of land... How to say it! Maybe Zhu Xizhong himself didn't know it, it's not that he was lazy, but that he had too much land.
Jiang Qingzhi stood up and chased after him, "Old Zhu, wait a minute."
Zhu Xizhong stopped outside the duty room, turned back and forced a smile, "Don't worry, your sister-in-law and I both support this. The account books of the Duke's Mansion are ready."
"Can you trust me?" Jiang Qingzhi hooked his brother's shoulder and showed the relaxed smile that Zhu Xizhong was familiar with.
"Of course... I believe it." Zhu Xizhong thought about the couple's entanglement and torment for several days, and couldn't help but want to beat his brother to death.
"The land is not reliable." Jiang Qingzhi said softly, "From now on, the land is useless. If you want to get rich... just follow me."
"Follow you?"
"I said before, if I want to get rich, who else can be the richest man in Ming Dynasty but me?"
"Then your family's life... not to mention me, even Du He lives a more luxurious life than you."
"Is that enjoyment?" Jiang Qingzhi laughed. "In my eyes, it's for others to see. I live my own life, why do I need others' approval?
I think it’s good to live like this. As long as it doesn’t affect others, I will live like this.
Why do you have to have ten or eight dishes for a meal? You have to be surrounded by people when you go out. Women have to support dozens of men. Do they have enough kidneys? Whoever suffers for the sake of face is a fool! "
Zhu Xizhong pointed at him, and then Yan Song and his son came out in a hurry.
After seeing Jiang Qing, the father and son stopped and were stunned.
Zhu Xizhong subconsciously hooked his arm around Jiang Qingzhi's shoulders and glanced at Yan Song and his son. "Is the Prime Minister going home?"
Yan Shifan looked at Jiang Qingzhi, and a cold light flashed in his one eye.
"I have something to do at home." Yan Song said with a smile: "Qingzhi has been busy recently. When will he have time to come to my place for tea?"
Zhu Xizhong narrowed his eyes, and Jiang Qingzhi smiled and said, "No problem."
Yan Song and his son left, and Zhu Xizhong sighed, "There is a knife hidden in the smile."
"But I like to show the knife directly!" said Jiang Qingzhi.
Yan Song and his son hurried back. The officials from the Ministry of Revenue who were waiting outside the gate came over to pay their respects. "Greetings to the Prime Minister and the young cabinet minister. I am following your orders. Regarding the land matters..."
The veins on Yan Shifan's neck jumped, and Yan Song said, "Go ask in the East Tower first."
When Yan Shifan entered the house, Yan Song smiled and said, "I will think about this matter."
The official did not dare to force him and said, "I will come back tomorrow."
It is possible to force Qiu Luan, a half-impoverished family, but no one dares to force the powerful Yan family unless it is Hai Rui or Jiang Qingzhi in person.
When Yan Song entered the house, he heard a crackling sound in the hall.
He walked in and saw Yan Shifan holding an incense burner and preparing to smash it. He put it down after seeing his father.
Yan Song walked over amid the broken porcelain, sat down, and said, "The officials from the Ministry of Revenue will come tomorrow."
"Dad!" Yan Shifan snorted, and Yan Song coughed dryly, "Calm him down."
"Those are the land and people we worked so hard to earn." Yan Shifan stamped his feet, "In this matter... we should have registered the land in someone else's name from the beginning."
"We have so many fields in our family, how many people will have to take care of them?" Yan Song said.
"Then let those people make a fuss." Yan Shifan said, "Make it a big deal, so that Jiang Qingzhi can't clean up the mess! We can then take our time."
"Who should make trouble?" Yan Song pondered.
"Those people down there." Yan Shifan grinned and said, "How many people want to kill Jiang Qingzhi right now? We just need to instigate them from behind and he will be in a state of panic.
Dad, Wang Anshi’s reforms seemed to be a strong move, but the local area was in turmoil.
Many people in the capital are watching us. We don’t need to express our opinions, just keep silent. Those people will know that we are also forced to do so… So, if we don’t get involved, those people will definitely become more powerful when they see this…”
"In this case, what good is there in offending His Majesty?"
"Who? Mom?!"
Outside the door, Ouyang leaned on her cane and looked at the father and son slowly, "If I hadn't come, you and your son would have been in great trouble without knowing it!"
(End of this chapter)
