Chapter 888 Boy, You've Got the Wrong Way
Someone once said that when the Jinyiwei got serious, no one in the court was clean.
There was a strong sense of fear in these words.
There is a lot of evidence, correspondence documents, account books...
"How unscrupulous!" said Xu Wei.
Xu Wei, Hu Zongxian, and Zhang Juzheng were flipping through several boxes of account books. Looking at the glaring records, they couldn't help but sigh.
"He is used to being arrogant." said Hu Zongxian.
Witnesses also arrived, they were the steward and staff of the Bo's Mansion.
The housekeeper was very cunning. He avoided talking about the big things and just talked about things like bullying men and women.
The staff was kneeling beside him, with marks of torture on his body.
"...My uncle sometimes..."
Jiang Qingzhi pointed at the housekeeper and said, "Get him out and beat him up!"
Sun Chonglou carried the butler out with one hand. The butler struggled helplessly like a chicken, "I say, Master, I say... Yang Xiao..."
"Shut up!" Jiang Qingzhi frowned. Sun Bu Tong smiled and stuffed a ball of unknown color into the housekeeper's mouth. Sun Chonglou glared at him, "Whose stinky socks are these?"
"Pol's."
One of the reasons why Bol was rejected by the guards was that his body odor was too strong, and his socks were like biological weapons. Bol was also very distressed about this, but now he was laughing at the side.
Jiang Qingzhi took out the medicinal cigarette and glanced at his staff.
The staff shuddered, "Yang Xiao once wanted to do smuggling business..."
"Did it or not?" Jiang Qingzhi's eyes lit up.
"Did...did."
The aide lowered his head and said, "I have advised that this would aid the enemy."
Jiang Qingzhi and Tang Shunzhi exchanged glances, both looking a little excited.
Other things are within the scope of the law, and it’s a bit wrong to exaggerate, but smuggling in the grassland is different, that is aiding the enemy!
"Collaborating with foreign countries!" Jiang Qingzhi sighed.
"My lord, I have advised ..." The aide looked up at Jiang Qingzhi.
"Why didn't you tell us about the torture you suffered in Jinyiwei?" Tang Shunzhi asked.
"I know that the Jinyiwei are just dogs. If I tell everything, I will be a lamb to be slaughtered. I know that this matter depends on you, my Lord..."
"Smart guy!" Tang Shunzhi said, "It reminds me of those scholars who fled to Xixia during the pre-Song Dynasty."
"The Ming Dynasty has no shortage of smart people, but this environment..." Jiang Qingzhi said, "It's like a big dye vat. Once you jump in, you can't help yourself. Don't think about being alone, and don't think about showing off what you have learned. In this big dye vat, no matter how great your ability is, you have to lie down. If you dare to stand out, you will be beaten to death with a hammer."
In his previous life, Jiang Qing never understood that since the beginning of records, those who defected to the grassland were obviously just small characters in the Central Plains, or even just supporting roles, but once they arrived at the foreign race, they shined brightly.
Why?
Is it luck?
Or……
It was not until he arrived in the Ming Dynasty and gradually came into contact with the officialdom that Jiang Qingzhi suddenly realized.
From Bank of China to Zhang Yuan, he is still the dead extra. What makes them shine is not that their IQs have skyrocketed because they moved to a new place, but the water and soil of the grassland are not that magical.
It is the environment that has enabled Zhang Yuan and others to undergo a complete transformation and shine.
In other words, the alien races provided them with an environment in which to display what they had learned.
But in the Central Plains, if you have talent, you have to hold it back.
Once you stand out, your colleagues will stab you in the back, your superiors will be afraid of you... both the superiors and the subordinates will work together to suppress you.
How did you say that?
Say you can, you can, or you can't.
If I say you can't do it, then you can't do it, even if you can.
In this big melting pot, everything must be run according to the unspoken rules that have been in operation for thousands of years. It is like a huge cage that traps everyone.
"The Ming Dynasty has no shortage of talents." Jiang Qingzhi stood up, and his staff asked, "Can this be considered as surrendering?"
This man was quite cunning and could see Jiang Qingzhi's regret.
Jiang Qingzhi wanted to say that it didn't count. According to the crimes committed by the Guangning Earl's Mansion, the staff would at least be exiled.
"Half of it!" Jiang Qingzhi said, "Send him to the Southeast Army to make amends for his crime."
Is this exile?
The aide was about to beg for mercy, but was stunned and kowtowed, "Thank you, sir, thank you, sir!"
There is no such thing as making up for one's crime by doing meritorious service when being exiled. For example, when Yang Shen was exiled to Yunnan, there were countless scholars and officials who sympathized with him and his son. If it were possible to make up for one's crime by doing meritorious service, these people would have manipulated Yang Shen and he would have been able to return home and enjoy his old life.
"Are you soft-hearted?" Tang Shunzhi followed him out.
Jiang Qingzhi shook his head. "I just feel a little sad. The Ming Dynasty has so many smart people and so many talented people. Why is the national strength declining? What is the cause?"
Tang Shunzhi smiled, "It's just a rule." After resigning from office, he was willing to give up his comfortable life in order to sharpen his mind. He wore cloth clothes and straw sandals, and ate and dressed simply. Gradually, he saw his true nature, jumped out of his original thinking angle, and looked at the Ming Dynasty from another perspective.
"…From the government to the local government, everyone from top to bottom is struggling with this rule. Most people finally choose to bow their heads and enjoy the rules…"
"Since you can't resist, just close your eyes and enjoy it."
"That's a brilliant remark." Tang Shunzhi said with a smile, "Yan Song was also full of passion back then."
Yan Song was also indignant about the darkness in the officialdom, but in the end he chose to lie down and go along with the corruption.
This is the impact of the environment on people.
"If the Ming Dynasty wants to be reborn, it has to reform the rules and transform this cage." Tang Shunzhi now entered the assisting state and analyzed the current situation to Jiang Qingzhi.
"Reform the cage?" Jiang Qingzhi asked, "Why not break the cage?"
"The world is a cage." Tang Shunzhi smiled bitterly. "From food, clothing, shelter, and transportation to the sufferings of birth, aging, sickness, and death, everything is in the plan of heaven. From people to things, from birds and beasts to fish, all are in the cage of heaven. Struggling in the sea of suffering of birth, aging, sickness, and death..."
Jiang Qingzhi was stunned, "The world is a big prison?"
"Before leaving, Master Wang said, 'This heart is bright, what else can I say?'"
Two men stood under the eaves, one in cloth clothes and straw sandals, looking free and easy, the other with eyes as bright as ink, handsome and calm.
Tang Shunzhi looked at Jiang Qingzhi and said, "Master Wang's words have been misunderstood by many people, and countless articles have been written about them."
Jiang Qingzhi was listening. There were many studies on Wang Yangming in later generations, and there were various opinions. Most of them were chicken soup, such as learning not to be anxious from the study of the mind, or learning how to be a human being from the study of the mind...
"Master Wang knew he was about to die, and at that moment he completely understood the difference between the body and the mind." Tang Shunzhi stood with his hands behind his back and said, "The world is a big cage, and the small cage that traps people is the body."
Jiang Qingzhi narrowed his eyes and said, "The reason why I have such a big worry is because I have a body. If I don't have a body, what worries do I have?"
Tang Shunzhi nodded. "I have pondered over these eight words left by Master Wang for many years. Until recently, when I was traveling in the north, I saw an old man in a tribe pass away. Those people danced and cheered around the old man. I was a little puzzled, so I asked: Shouldn't we be sad when an old man passes away? Those people said that the old man's soul has escaped from the sea of suffering, so shouldn't we celebrate?"
"Life in the tribe was hard, and living was torture. It felt like being tortured." Jiang Qingzhi said, "So leaving was actually a relief."
"Everyone is afraid of death, and I am no exception." Tang Shunzhi said in a gentle voice: "The eight words that Master Wang said are actually the key to the study of the mind. The world is a big prison, and the body is a small prison. If you don't understand this, no matter how you study, you can't get rid of the shackles of the world."
"Then, Old Tang, can you transcend?" Jiang Qingzhi asked.
"No." Tang Shunzhi smiled and said, "It's still what you said. As long as mortals need to eat, drink, defecate and urinate, they will have desires. As long as desires exist, people will have greed, anger and ignorance... How can we transcend it?"
"So, everything is a problem of this little prison of the flesh."
"Yes."
"Old Tang, you wouldn't say these things in the past."
"You're too nervous."
"Have it?"
"I have traveled the world and met all kinds of people. Some are good at disguising themselves, but I don't know that everything can be disguised except the eyes. The eyes are the voice of the heart."
Jiang Qingzhi blinked.
"When I was in the capital, I saw you were strolling leisurely when you encountered something, but there was anxiety in your eyes. This time I was in the south preparing to go to sea, and I heard the news that His Majesty had launched a new policy and you would be in charge of it, so I thought of this."
Tang Shunzhi smiled and said, "I wonder if that young man who is so determined to save the Ming Dynasty can remain calm when facing this world? I think... he can't!"
"so……"
"So, here I am."
Jiang Qingzhi was silent for a long time, then smiled and said, "Okay! I admit that I am a little anxious."
"You are a human, not a god. You have a huge task on your shoulders, but not many helpers. You'd be a fool if you weren't anxious."
Xia Yan is here.
"Don't pretend, kid." The old man sighed, "I asked around today and everyone said you are ruthless, but I want to say that in terms of ruthlessness, you are far from it!"
Tang Shunzhi nodded, "That's right. Qingzhi, it's not a bad thing that you have great ambitions, but great ambitions must be matched with means. Being soft-hearted... will only hurt others and yourself."
"You are facing a dynasty, the rise and fall of a dynasty. Your soft-heartedness will only make your opponents proud and the new policy fail... Think about Fan Zhongyan and Wang Anshi. It is better to cry together than to cry all the way. This is the core of the new policy, not some doctrine... Boy, you are going astray."
Jiang Qingzhi smiled bitterly and took out the medicine cigarette, "You are all waiting for me here!"
"Do you think Xu Wei and Hu Zongxian didn't see it? They did." Xia Yan said, "But they knew they couldn't persuade you, so they quietly discussed it with me."
"What about Old Tang?" Jiang Qingzhi asked.
Tang Shunzhi said: "I was not involved."
Old Tang discovered Jiang Qingzhi's problem himself.
"I wanted to find an opportunity to talk to you about this matter, but I didn't expect Mr. Jingchuan to take the initiative. This is a good thing." The old man said with a smile.
"Am I too soft-hearted?" Jiang Qingzhi asked himself.
"That's right." Tang Shunzhi said, "Your attack on Yang Xiao may seem like a calculated move, but it's your hatred of evil that's at work. Qingzhi, if you're in charge of the new policy, you're in charge of the country. Hating evil is also a sign of being soft-hearted!"
These words were like thunder, leaving Jiang Qingzhi stunned.
(End of this chapter)
