Chapter 910: A Fire That Year, Confucianism Fell in Love with Me
"Gone?"
Jiang Qingzhi looked at Wang Yiqi in disbelief, "Those drawings were so precious, how could they be gone?"
That's a nautical chart!
In this era, nautical charts are worth a fortune. No, they are national treasures!
It is like the existence of stealth fighter jets in later generations.
When the Eagle Sauce was at its most domineering in later generations, it turned off the GPS, and the ships on the sea became blind and had to stop and wait for the signal to be restored.
The GPS of this era is the nautical chart.
Only with a nautical chart can the fleet find its way.
Without a nautical chart, going out to sea is a death wish.
Jiang Qingzhi really couldn't believe it. Such a treasure... a powerful weapon that was lost in the West fifty years ago and could have triggered a war between the two countries, was actually... gone?
Wang Yiqi was stunned. "Chang Wei Bo, you...that thing..."
"That is a national treasure!" Jiang Qingzhi asked angrily, "How did you get rid of it?"
This was an unprecedented anger and seriousness. Wang Yiqi was stunned, then thought for a moment, "It should have been during the time of the previous emperor. I have never asked about it since I took over as the Minister of War. Come here."
A clerk came in, and Wang Yiqi ordered, "Ask Minister Yang where the nautical chart of the voyage to the West is."
Isn’t that thing just an antique... The clerk glanced at Jiang Qingzhi and found that the big boss had a stern expression. He shuddered and hurried out.
He found the Minister Yang Xian and said, "Minister Yang, the Minister asked about the sea charts of the voyage to the West."
The last time Yang Xian wanted to join the army in the Northern Expedition, he took the initiative to go to Jiang Qingzhi to surrender, but was rejected. The dissatisfaction has been accumulating.
"Navigation chart?"
"Yes."
"Why did the Minister suddenly think of this?"
"I saw that Long Wilbur was there too."
Yang Xian's eyes narrowed and he stood up, "I will go now."
Yang Xian arrived outside Wang Yiqi's duty room, heard no sound from inside, and knocked on the door.
"Come in."
Pushing the door open, Yang Xian saw Wang Yiqi reading documents. Jiang Qingzhi was sitting upright, and his eyes were frighteningly cold when he looked over.
"Greetings to Chang Wei Bo and the Minister of State." Yang Xian's etiquette was impeccable.
Wang Yiqi raised his head and said, "Minister Yang, you've come at the right time. When Eunuch Sanbao sailed to the West, his fleet was huge. Where are those sea charts and shipbuilding blueprints?"
Yang Xian thought about this on the way and said, "During the time of the previous emperor, the Ministry of War suddenly caught fire and burned down."
"Burned?" Wang Yiqi also found it incredible. "How big was the fire?"
Yang Xian shook his head. "I don't know, but the Ministry of War has handed down the news... that the fire burned down several rooms where the blueprints were stored."
"What is stored in those rooms?" Jiang Qingzhi asked.
Yang Xian wanted to resist, but when he saw Jiang Qingzhi's stern gaze, he couldn't help but feel a chill down his spine. He subconsciously thought of this powerful official who was now in charge of the new policy.
"It contains some military books, as well as documents recording the distribution of food and military pay... and blueprints for building warships and various types of weapons."
The grim look gradually changed into mockery and anger.
"Put the swords and guns into the warehouse and let the horses go to the mountains! What a great Ministry of War!" Jiang Qingzhi said with a smile.
There was a hint of sarcasm in this laughter.
Wang Yiqi scratched his head. "It's burned out? This fire..."
Jiang Qingzhi sneered, "Why, you dare not say it?"
Wang Yiqi sighed, "There are two possibilities. First, the late emperor was fond of martial arts and had mentioned that he wanted to go to sea. In order to prevent him, those ministers might have burned the sea charts and the blueprints for building warships, leaving the late emperor helpless. Second..."
"How many people were excited about the fire back then!" Jiang Qingzhi looked at him, "Isn't this the reason why the Ministry of War covered up this matter?"
Wang Yiqi smiled bitterly, "The distribution of food, fodder and military pay... has always been subject to loss, which is the so-called loss. However... I estimate..."
"Most of it went into private pockets!" Jiang Qingzhi slammed the table, "Ministry of War, clean up!"
Jiang Qingzhi ran away.
Wang Yiqi stood up and said, "Chang Wei Bo, Chang Wei Bo, we need to think about this matter carefully, carefully consider it carefully!"
Jiang Qingzhi turned a deaf ear to him. After leaving the Ministry of War, he looked up at the gloomy sky and cursed: "This damn world is so chaotic that there is no peace at all."
During the reign of Emperor Taizu Gao, severe punishments were implemented. If corruption reached a certain amount, the official would be skinned and stuffed with straw. However, this did not scare off the corrupt officials, who continued to commit corruption.
The power struggle between the emperor and his ministers lasted for many years, and the ministers' power grew greatly, gradually suppressing the emperor. Subsequently, corruption gradually became public.
And this publicity means disappearance.
——It’s loss, not corruption!
Whoever dares to say that we are corrupt, let’s kill him!
Officials who have public opinion in their hands act recklessly. When the emperor speaks, they just say: It's not happening.
It disappeared on the road.
Normal damage.
The emperor in the deep palace also knew that something was wrong, but what could he do?
Make enemies with everyone in the world (scholars) just for this so-called disappearance?
Count the number of emperors in the history of the Ming Dynasty who were enemies of the world.
Emperor Taizu Gao, Emperor Chengzu, Emperor Jiajing, Emperor Chongzhen.
In the middle and late period of Emperor Jiajing's reign, he admitted defeat and retreated to the Western Garden, pushing Yan Song out as a barrier.
He really had no choice but to kneel. Later, Emperor Chongzhen refused to kneel, and ended up falling from power and becoming a lonely man.
His grandson, Emperor Wanli, was a man of insight. When he saw that things were not going well, he went on a hunger strike for a few days to cool off his anger.
As an emperor, are you anxious when you see the Ming Dynasty declining?
People say that the emperor is not anxious but the eunuchs are, but this time it has become the Confucians who are not anxious but the emperor is.
There's no point in being anxious, so I can only turn a blind eye to it and not be bothered by those officials who make me sick.
From then on, the emperor no longer held early morning court... The Wanli Emperor followed the example of his grandfather, the Jiajing Emperor, and I won’t play around anymore.
Seeing his boss staring into the sky in a daze, Boer asked Zhang Juzheng, "Master, what is this..."
Zhang Juzheng had overheard this outside the door and shook his head, saying, "My Lord is right." "What is right?"
"It's a mess,"
Wang Yiqi was also trying to sort out the mess. After some questioning, he learned that the fire that year not only burned these things, but also recorded the damage of various weapons.
“How audacious!” Wang Yiqi’s face turned pale.
"That was what the previous emperor said, the Minister of State, Chang Wei Bo..." Wu Hua also came. He had always disliked Yang Xian and said, "This matter should be investigated, but it's hard to trace back then. The grass on those people's graves is already three feet high. Otherwise, how about cleaning up the Ministry of War? At least put an end to this trend of drifting away."
"I would like to do the same, but the time is not right." Wang Yiqi narrowed his eyes. "The most important thing at the moment is to clean up the land. We must not make unnecessary troubles when we are faced with such an important matter."
Jiang Qingzhi ran away because he knew this truth, but he was still furious and made the entire Ministry of War suffer.
Wu Hua nodded and glanced at Yang Xian who was in deep thought, "It would be good to give it a try."
"You go and do this." Wang Yiqi said, "Besides... that's all. When Lord Chang Wei just said to rectify the situation, he actually meant that we should not be impatient. The main thing is to persuade them."
"Yes." Wu Hua glanced at Yang Xian and said sarcastically, "What is Minister Yang thinking about? Are you thinking about when to start another fire?"
Wu Hua is narrow-minded, and the only person who can make him submit is Jiang Qingzhi.
Yang Xian sneered, "Are you, Wu Hua, really clean-handed?"
"He traveled thousands of miles to be an official just for money" is a later saying. But it also reflects the officialdom atmosphere of that era.
The various tributes never ceased, and there were many names, such as ice tributes and charcoal tributes, but in fact they were bribery in another name. Did the emperor know?
know.
But the water is too clear to have fish, and the emperor could only turn a blind eye.
……
"Unspoken rules are rampant. Damn it, if we don't break these rules, it won't be long before everything comes back to haunt us."
Jiang Qingzhi arrived at Xiyuan and watched the officials coming and going. Each of them seemed to be wearing a mask of being a gentleman and sanctimonious.
What's Under the Mask?
If the Ming Dynasty wants to be reborn, it must be thoroughly cleansed.
This cleansing is not just superficial, but also involves cleansing in the ideological realm.
What about being a clean magistrate for three years and earning ten thousand silver coins?
Such thoughts as "books contain beautiful women and golden houses" should be suppressed.
But does it work?
Jiang Qingzhi thought about the future.
Superiors in ancient and modern times, both in China and abroad, have taken ruthless measures to deal with corruption and various unwritten rules in officialdom, and various means have emerged one after another, but it doesn’t take long for corruption and unwritten rules to resurface.
Someone summed it up in four words: When a person dies, his policy ends.
Jiang Qingzhi felt that all this was caused by human nature.
People’s hearts cannot be changed!
The core of human heart is desire, and desire is the whole meaning of human life and the value of existence.
"grass!"
Jiang Qingzhi stamped his feet outside the Yongshou Palace, "I don't care what happens next, but as long as I'm here, this matter will be suppressed!"
Each generation is responsible for its own affairs, but the emperor hopes that he can rule for a thousand years.
So the so-called ancestral system came into being.
These instructions I have given must be followed by future generations.
But all this was useless, either the descendants were unwilling or the ministers were unwilling. In the end, the so-called ancestral system became a tool for the struggle between the monarch and his ministers.
"coming."
The Taoist priest sat cross-legged on a cushion, and his voice was full of celestial spirit.
"Your Majesty." Jiang Qingzhi sat down without waiting for the Taoist to speak. After trying the double cross-legged position, he felt that this was asking for trouble, so he opened his legs. He looked up and found that the Taoist was looking at him with a mocking look on his face.
Jiang Qingzhi laughed dryly, "Your Majesty, I came here for something."
"Speak." Taoist said calmly.
——I'm busy! If you have something to say, just say it. If not, get out!
This attitude is wrong.
Jiang Qingzhi glanced at Huang Jin, and Huang Jin pointed outside. Jiang Qingzhi looked in the direction, which seemed to be the location of Changle's sleeping palace.
What happened to my niece?
Jiang Qingzhi suppressed the matter and said, "I just went to the Ministry of War and happened to meet the female general of the Wolf Army who said she wanted to go home."
"Female general?" Daoye had an excellent memory. "That Hua Yan?"
"Yes." Jiang Qingzhi said, "All the meritorious soldiers in the Northern Expedition have been rewarded, and she is the only one left."
"I remember now. Many people below said it was absurd for a woman to be a general. Some suggested that he be given the title of the father of the flower-appreciating beauty."
"Your Majesty, I feel that...in fact, women..." Jiang Qingzhi said with a smile: "Throughout history, there have been many heroic women."
"Hmm?" Dao Ye looked up, "Then what do you think we should do?"
The opportunity is coming!
Jiang Qingzhi said: "I think that in terms of merit, Hua Yan can be a thousand households!"
"Qianhu?"
"The lieutenant general also made it."
"Get out!" The Taoist pointed outside.
"Your Majesty." Jiang Qingzhi's eyes were piercing. "She has made great contributions but was not rewarded because she is a woman? I beg to differ!"
This guy is courting death again... Huang Jin shrank his neck.
(End of this chapter)
