Chapter 124 Proxy War? Are the Yan Party and the Qingliu trying something new? (Two in One)
After finishing the discussion, Jiajing returned to the Heritage Pavilion with Liu Quan's farewell.
"Sir, there is no time to lose. I will go to the wild market now to look for the disciple from the academy." After putting Jiajing down in the inheritance pavilion, Liu Quan did not stay for long and went to the wild market.
"It's too late. I'm afraid something might happen if we're late. If those women from Wuqing Mountain report it to the academy in advance, we won't be qualified to clean up the wasteland even if we want to."
Hearing this, Jiajing nodded and said, "Go ahead." Then, as if he had thought of something, he took out his storage bag and said, "Go buy me three more high-level talismans."
"Hey, sir!" Seeing Jiajing trying to take out the spiritual source, Liu Quan immediately raised his hand to stop him, "Why do you have to do this between you and me?"
"Isn't it just three high-level talismans? I can still afford it." Liu Quan grinned, raised his hand to stop Jiajing from taking the storage bag, and said, "What talismans do you want, sir?"
Seeing Liu Quan's firm attitude, Jiajing's serious face gradually relaxed, and he shook his head slightly and said, "Then I won't be polite to you."
"An earth-attributed attack talisman, a water-attributed attack talisman, and an air-controlling talisman."
This time, even though it was clear that he was going to prepare to break through the foundation-building stage, by which time he would be able to fly the sword with his own cultivation, Jiajing still planned to prepare another thing like the flying talisman.
Although he would most likely stay in the sect and would not rashly venture outside the sect, if he needed to go out or encountered an accident, the Flying Talisman would be a tool for escaping.
Of course, you can never have too many of these cards to escape.
"Okay, I'll go right away." Liu Quan said, folding up the flying carpet, then throwing out a stream of light, and the next moment a small flying shuttle weighing fifty stones, fifteen feet long and six feet wide appeared.
The outer layer of the shuttle seems to be made of a special spiritual wood material, decorated with golden vine patterns, giving it a simple and warm feeling.
There were faint golden rays of light floating on the shuttle.
The front end of the shuttle is decorated with exquisite unknown animal-shaped carvings, and the tail is decorated with a pair of light wing-shaped decorations. It is surrounded by a circle of low wooden railings inlaid with special gems.
Energy emanated from the gem, wrapping around the deck and forming an energy shield that blocked the strong winds.
This flying shuttle was the vehicle that Liu Quan bought with 50,000 taels of spiritual energy. It was used specifically for negotiating matters. Normally he rode a flying carpet.
"After all, we have to meet people from the academy. Maybe we even have to go to the White Horse Tower in Sifang City for dinner. We can't be too shabby." Liu Quan smiled at Jiajing and jumped onto the shuttle.
"Sir, we're leaving!" The voice came from the shuttle, and then the shuttle made a roar, the air vibrated, the shuttle was full of flashing light, and then it went towards the blood-red setting sun in the distance.
After watching the shuttle leave, Jiajing turned around, put his hands behind his back, and walked into the inheritance pavilion. However, as soon as he entered the door, he was greeted by a young man.
The boy was only twelve years old, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, and his face looked square and honest.
He was wearing a dark green linen robe, which made him look more stable. He was holding a book titled "General Knowledge of Kendo" in his hand.
Jiajing naturally had an impression of this young man.
Xu Shixing. One of the three future confidants he had secretly chosen.
He was also the oldest of the twelve children.
"Xu Shixing, nice to meet you, sir!" Seeing Jiajing, Xu Shixing bowed respectfully.
"Well," Jiajing nodded, looked at Xu Shixing, and said, "Why didn't you show up just now?"
Hearing Jiajing's question, Xu Shixing was startled, but he immediately bowed and answered, "Sir, I think that was not the right time to come out and greet you."
"Tell me." Jiajing's calm face relaxed slightly, and there was a hint of testing in his tone.
"Sir, you and the Great Elder may have important matters to discuss. If Shi Xing shows up, I'm afraid it will disturb you and the Great Elder." Xu Shi Xing expressed his considerations at the time.
"What if it concerns the sect's secrets and you heard it?" Jiajing asked again.
"This," Xu Shixing paused when asked by Jiajing. A look of confusion appeared on his honest face. Then he shook his head and said, "I don't know. Please tell me, sir."
"Either come out early to greet me, or pretend you know nothing and continue reading your book," Jiajing looked at Xu Shixing and warned him in a serious tone, "If you hear any secrets, you should not show up."
"Then keep this matter to yourself and don't tell anyone." Jiajing leaned forward slightly, stared at Xu Shixing, and said, "Remember?"
"Disciple...I've remembered it." Xu Shixing hesitated at first, then nodded heavily.
"You seem to have something else to say." Jiajing's expression eased slightly, and he said, "If you have any questions, feel free to ask."
"I don't understand," Xu Shixing said, a little hesitant and puzzled, "Sir, do you want Shixing to be alert and vigilant?"
"But in the sect, do we have to be cautious and on guard against teachers?"
Xu Shixing was a little confused.
He felt that the way he handled it just now was correct.
Although he is the eldest of twelve children and looks steady, he is still a little inexperienced in the ways of the world.
"It's a matter of degree." Jiajing raised a finger and said solemnly, "The teacher is also a human being and has secrets too."
"Since it is a secret, no one can know it... You must remember this."
"You can have no secrets from your teacher, but that doesn't mean your teacher can't have no secrets from you, and vice versa."
"Since you have seen him, you should have a better and more appropriate way to deal with it. Just like what happened just now, the most correct thing for you to do is to come out and greet him immediately instead of waiting in secret."
"This way, we can avoid a lot of unnecessary trouble. It would be fine if there were no secrets, but if there really were secrets, it would give the commander the impression that we were eavesdropping, and he would inevitably become suspicious."
Hearing this, Xu Shixing trembled, and looked at Jiajing nervously. He was about to explain, but Jiajing raised his hand to interrupt him and said, "I'm not blaming you, I'm teaching you."
Xu Shixing has a steady personality. He can understand that when the teacher has something to discuss, he should avoid it and not disturb him. This is the normal way of thinking in dealing with interpersonal relationships for a twelve-year-old child.
However, there is still a limit to what we can think of when it comes to these kinds of human relationships and the human considerations behind them.
After saying this, Xu Shixing lowered his head and thought.
Seeing this, Jiajing did not say anything, but just waited quietly. After a moment, Xu Shixing raised his head, bowed to Jiajing, and said, "Disciple understands, thank you for your teaching."
Some things need to be taught by example to be understood. It only takes one time for him to remember them firmly and become more mature and stable in the future. However, Jiajing wanted to teach him something more complicated.
"Actually, you should have another idea." Jiajing raised his hand and helped Xu Shixing up.
"Another... idea?" A look of confusion emerged on Xu Shixing's young face.
"Think and analyze the secrets you overhear, and then find the content that is beneficial to you and use it." Jiajing said, patting Xu Shixing's head. Seeing his wide eyes, he smiled and said, "This is your study today."
(Note: Juxue comes from the Book of Rites: Xueji: The teaching of the university must have regular work during the teaching period, and there must be Juxue during the rest period. In simple terms, it can be understood as homework after class.)
"When you figure it out, come and tell me." After saying that, Jiajing turned around and walked into the inheritance pavilion without paying any attention to the surprised Xu Shixing, then slammed the door shut with his sleeves.
Hearing the sound of the door closing, Xu Shixing, who was stunned by the four words "Today I am studying", suddenly came to his senses and looked behind him.
Even though he was always steady and mature, he couldn't help but be stunned.
He still hasn't figured out why, not only did he receive a private lesson from the teacher, but he was also given a separate "home study" assignment?
Although he was a little dazed, Xu Shixing still bowed to the closed door of the Inheritance Pavilion and left.
All the way to the sixth floor, the top floor of the Heritage Pavilion.
The overall layout of the top floor of the Heritage Pavilion is in the shape of a Chinese character “皿”.
On the left are several rows of empty bookshelves and some tables and chairs for study. In the middle is the reception room, and on the far right is Jiajing's inner room.
Jiajing did not return to the inner room, but came to the reception room, sat on the couch by the window, pushed open the window to let the sunset glow in through the gap, and large patches of orange-yellow sunset glow shone in.
"call!"
A breeze blew over, and looking at the vast mountains and green forests in the distance where fog was rolling, Jiajing enjoyed the tranquility of the moment. After a moment, the tranquility in his heart dissipated and he closed his eyes.
The consciousness came to the sea of consciousness, in front of the natal Ming.
Looking at the destiny in front of him, which could be said to have undergone a great change compared to the previous Ming Dynasty, Jiajing had a look of satisfaction on his face, and with a wave of his hand, his destiny enlarged.
Jiajing's gaze came to the courtyard behind the Yuxi Palace in the Western Garden.
Sure enough, Lu Fang was seen sitting cross-legged in the yard to the right of Lingtian Courtyard, practicing quietly, but he didn't pray. Apparently, nothing had happened in the Ming Dynasty during these three months.
Then, Jiajing's gaze shifted to Hai Rui's mansion.
When he left, it was still the first month of the Ming Dynasty. Now, three months have passed, and the national policy of stationing troops to promote agriculture has long been implemented. According to the previous arrangement, Hai Rui naturally returned to the capital.
But this time, he served as the Minister of Personnel.
The previous Minister of Personnel, Lin Anguo, was demoted to a commoner in the 41st year of Jiajing because of forming a clique for personal gain.
Both the Yan Party and the Qingliu wanted to appoint their own people to this position, but Jiajing denied it. He left it for Hai Rui.
With Hai Rui in charge of the Ministry of Personnel, the number of officials placed by the Yan Party and the Qingliu factions in the new Ming Dynasty would be restrained and controllable.
Now Hai Rui is like a sword in his hand, and when he was about to leave, he had already asked Lu Fang to do some arrangements.
Therefore, after Hai Rui returned from Datong, some of the things he did made many people dissatisfied, including both the Yan Party and the Qingliu Party.
"Gangfeng, I really can't understand why you agreed to the Yan Party placing its own people as the prefect of Ningbo Prefecture?" Wang Yongji clapped his hands and looked at Hai Rui who was writing at the desk with a face full of dissatisfaction.
"Ma Ningyuan was killed in Hangzhou, and Prince Yu's men took over." Hai Rui did not even raise his head, and continued to draw with the big brush in his hand, saying, "Ningbo Prefecture should be taken over by Prince Jing's men."
"Gangfeng," Wang Yongji heard this and immediately waved his hand and said, "That's not how you calculate the account!"
"Have you heard about what happened recently?" Wang Yongji stepped forward and said, "Oda Nobunaga of Owari Province and Takeda Shingen of Kai Province have both sent envoys to visit our Ming Dynasty."
"Humph!" However, upon hearing this, Hai Rui snorted coldly and said, "How dare a tiny country like you call yourself a country? You are a pirate, not a country!"
"Ha," Wang Yongji was also stunned when he heard Hai Rui's words, then shook his head and laughed, "It's really ridiculous." Then he said, "Let's not talk about whether it's a country or not, let's talk about this matter first!"
Wang Yongji's expression became serious.
"I heard that the envoy of Oda Nobunaga visited His Royal Highness King Jing. Do you know what this means?" Seeing that Hai Rui did not respond, Wang Yongji said in a serious tone:
"It means that after the Yan Party has laid out its plan on the Mongolian grasslands, it is now planning to lay out its plan on the Japanese island..." Wang Yongji was still talking when he suddenly realized that Hai Rui was looking up at him. He stared at him until his scalp was numb. Then he said:
"Gangfeng, why are you looking at me like that?"
"Ming Shou, are you sure you want to stand on Prince Yu's side?" Hai Rui did not say anything else, but spoke frankly.
When asked this by Hai Rui, and faced with that gaze that seemed like a knife that could see through people's hearts, Wang Yongji was startled. After a moment of silence, he took a deep breath and said:
"Gangfeng, nowadays, neither the Yan Party nor the Qingliu will harm the interests of the country. You understand this."
"Of course I understand. They don't have the courage." Hai Rui nodded, then walked out from behind the table, came to Wang Yongji, and put his hand on the shoulder of this close friend.
"I'm not blaming you. We all have our own masters..." Hai Rui smiled again, patted Wang Yongji on the shoulder and said, "These past few days, I've thought a lot about the court and governing the country."
“I also understand more and more that everyone has his or her own path to follow.”
"Whether it's Prince Jing or Prince Yu, everyone must obey the will of one person, and that's the Emperor..." Having said this, Hai Rui stopped talking, but Wang Yongji understood.
The way of an emperor lies in balance. There is a natural power struggle between the emperor and the princes, so the emperor needs them to fight!
However, this struggle was controlled under the emperor's will and served the emperor's will. As a result, as it is now, the Ming Dynasty is getting better and better.
And this is also the reason why Wang Yongji finally decided to take sides. In addition to being able to stick to his original intention and be a good official, he is also a human being, and everyone has selfish desires.
Although the cabinet had issued a gag order to everyone, including the top leaders of the six ministries, most people did not believe in the immortals' stories.
But as Zhan Shi of Prince Yu's Mansion, and with his relationship with Hai Rui, Prince Yu also tried to win him over and brought him into the core circle.
So, he also has other goals!
"Brother Gangfeng..." Wang Yongji suddenly felt guilty when he saw Hai Rui in front of him, who showed no sign of disappointment or surprise.
It was agreed that he would be a lone minister with Hai Rui and become the third force in the court to contain the Qingliu and Yan party factions.
But on this difficult road, I ended up leaving Brother Gangfeng alone to face it all.
Of course, he knew in his heart that he was different from Hai Rui. Hai Rui was the emperor's sword alone, and if he followed Hai Rui, he would either be protected or be forgotten by the crowd for the rest of his life.
Or, you can join Prince Yu's side and hope to embark on the path of immortality and achieve immortality in the future.
As for Hai Rui, he was not worried. Now that he thought about it, everyone understood that he might have already obtained the immortal fate bestowed by the emperor.
"Okay, let's get down to business," Hai Rui smiled, then walked to the window, looked at the gradually brightening sky, and said, "I'm sure His Royal Highness Prince Yu will not let His Royal Highness Prince Jing succeed..."
"So, Takeda Shingen's envoy also visited Prince Yu?"
Wang Yongji, who had suppressed his emotions, raised his eyebrows when he heard Hai Rui say this, and asked, "Brother Gangfeng, do you know all this?"
Seeing the smile in Hai Rui's eyes, Wang Yongji shook his head and said, "It seems that the emperor has given you a lot of power..."
"However, I can only tell you that the Yan Party has set its sights on Japan." Wang Yongji nodded and said, "I can only tell you this much. I'm sure you can guess it."
"The incident with Yisiha Hara gave His Royal Highness Prince Jing an advantage over the tribes on the Mongolian grasslands. His Royal Highness Prince Yu of Japan will not let it go."
"The two strongest forces in Japan today are undoubtedly Kai Province ruled by the Takeda family and Owari Province ruled by the Oda family."
Hearing this, Hai Rui seemed to be thinking about something and took over the conversation.
"They want to gain the support of the Ming Dynasty to help them swallow up the other side, or even the forces of other daimyo?"
"And our Great Ming is now strong. The emperor has not only cleaned up the bureaucracy, but also has sufficient military supplies and has exempted taxes for three years. The whole nation is united."
"From the fact that merchants from the southeastern coastal countries dared not bargain at all in the face of the price increase of silk, and even showed great respect to the Ming Dynasty, it can be seen that the prestige of the Ming Dynasty has risen again!"
"There's even a hint of restoration to the glory of the Yongle Era!"
"If they get the support of the Ming Dynasty at this time, their status among the countries will be recognized, and they will gain some nominal advantages and better achieve unification!"
"It would be even better if we could get some arms and financial support from the Ming Dynasty, right?"
"That's true." Wang Yongji nodded.
"What does His Royal Highness Prince Yu mean? How do you plan to attack Japan?" Hai Rui looked at Wang Yongji curiously.
Well, he really couldn’t think of this. How the two factions planned to deploy in other countries in advance.
"Lord Xu proposed stationing troops in Japan!" Wang Yongji said seriously.
Stationing troops in Japan? Upon hearing this, Hai Rui was stunned, almost thinking that he had heard it wrong. Stationing troops and then what?
"Brother Gangfeng, I can't tell you more. I've already said enough." Wang Yongji shook his head and said, "I came here today mainly to complain to you."
"Let's talk about this matter. I heard that you have some fine wine given by the emperor? Why don't you take it out and have a taste?"
Seeing Wang Yongji like this, Hai Rui instinctively thought that Prince Yu and his men would definitely not simply station troops in Japan to help the Takeda family unify Japan, there must be something more complicated going on!
However, he did not want to embarrass his friend, so he smiled and said, "That is spiritual wine, you are blessed!"
Spiritual wine?! Upon hearing this, Wang Yongji's eyes suddenly widened, and then he said in a lost voice: "Spiritual wine, this... is it okay?"
Magical wine, magic fruit, magic rice, magic melon, these words have become fashionable things that must be mentioned when the core circle of Prince Yu’s Mansion holds a meeting.
As a "newbie" in the new core circle, he naturally listened with great anticipation. Well, it seemed as if these elders were showing off in front of him intentionally or unintentionally.
Sometimes, he felt that these people looked at him as if he were a mortal. They were obviously mortals too, but that faint sense of superiority made him very depressed.
He knew that these elders must have eaten these immortal things, which was why they behaved like this.
He also wanted to eat, but these spiritual objects were used very frugally by His Royal Highness Prince Yu. He would occasionally take out a pot of tea made from spiritual fruits to share with the elders, so it was never his turn.
Well, his treatment has also improved relatively. The fine wine and high-quality tea that Prince Yu was reluctant to drink before are now given to him.
However, these mundane things are meaningless compared to the spiritual tea. He also wants to try the spiritual tea!
Now hearing that Hai Rui actually wanted to treat him to some spiritual wine, well, the word "spiritual" directly touched his sensitive nerves.
But soon, he calmed down again.
Hai Rui's magic wine was obviously a reward from the emperor.
Could he drink it without the emperor's permission? He didn't want to cause trouble to his best friend.
Seeing Wang Yongji like this, Hai Rui felt warm in his heart. He smiled and took out a jade box from a locked cabinet nearby.
When Wang Yongji saw the jade box, his breathing quickened.
Her eyes had never moved away from Hai Rui since he took out the jade box, and her heart couldn't help but pound.
Spirit wine, can he really drink it? From now on, can he stand up straight in front of the elders?
"Don't worry, Eunuch Lu said that I will take care of the wine myself," Hai Rui said in a serious and grateful tone, "Also, the Emperor has rewarded my mother and wife with elixirs."
"Help them recuperate..." Hai Rui paused, looked at Wang Yongji, and said, "Don't worry, I just told them that this is a tonic made by the imperial master in the palace and given to them."
"Eunuch Lu said that I can handle these spiritual wines by myself, and the emperor will not blame me for such a small matter." As he said this, Hai Rui opened the jade box, took out a jade wine pot, and poured a glass of jade wine glass. The strong aroma of wine made Wang Yongji close his eyes and began to take a deep breath, his face full of intoxication.
"Brother Gangfeng, just by sniffing it, I feel like I'm ascending to heaven. It's comfortable, so comfortable..."
"Ha," Hai Rui scolded Wang Yongji with a sneer as he looked at his expression, "Look at how useless you are. Don't worry, this pot of wine tonight is prepared for you!"
"Originally, this spiritual wine could not be preserved in a mortal place like ours, so I only took the elixir for my mother and wife to take that day, and kept the spiritual wine and spiritual fruit in the palace."
"I knew you were coming today, so I went to Yuxi Palace to ask Eunuch Lu for the reward. It's a good deal for you!" As he said this, Hai Rui handed the wine glass to Wang Yongji, who could no longer hold back and grabbed it.
Tilt your head back and put it into your mouth.
After taking a sip, Wang Yongji froze in place, his head tilted back, and he fell into a state of intoxication.
Seeing this, Hai Rui ignored it. The first time he drank the spiritual wine in the palace, he was not much better than Wang Yongji.
It can be said that the comfort from the inside out is enough to make anyone lose their composure.
While Hai Rui and Wang Yongji were toasting each other, Yan Song and his son were discussing something in Yan Song's study in Yan's residence.
"Dad, the envoy from the Takeda family has been received by His Royal Highness Prince Yu." Yan Shifan said with a cold look in his eyes, "We are still being targeted by those people from Qingliu!"
As he spoke, Yan Shifan suddenly seemed to have thought of something, looked at Yan Song, and said, "Dad, do you think Xu Jie and the others have seen through our plan? If they have, they will surely follow suit..."
"Humph," Yan Song, who was handling official documents with a pen in hand, raised his eyes, glanced at his son, snorted, and said, "He must have seen through it. Do you think Xu Jie is a fool?"
"What should we do?" Hearing this, Yan Shifan suddenly became anxious and said, "That Japanese island belongs to our Yan family!"
Well, the young cabinet minister has already regarded the Japanese island as his own private property.
"The original plan was very good. We openly supported Oda Nobunaga and sent Ming troops to garrison Japan. We secretly supported some daimyo and let Japan fall into a long-term chaos. When most of the people were dead, we would just drive them out to some islands to fend for themselves..."
"Leave the entire country to be used as spiritual fields!"
"When the time comes, 60% will be handed over to the court and King Jing, and the remaining 40% will go into our Yan family's account. If Old Xu and his gang of annoying guys also plan to do so, then this won't be..." As he spoke, Yan Shifan became anxious, looked around, clapped his hands, and said:
"Isn't this like giving someone a bite of the meat that's already in your mouth? No, not a bite, but half of it!"
"Dad, think of a solution!"
Looking at his impatient son, Yan Song snorted and laughed, and ignored him, continuing to draw slowly with his pen.
Only after Yan Shifan and others became impatient did Yan Song clear his throat and then slowly said, "Many daimyo in Japan have established their own kingdoms and are fighting against each other. They are ambitious and want to annex each other."
"The Imagawa family controlled the three provinces of Suruga, Totomi, and Mikawa, the Takeda family dominated Kai, and the Oda family dominated Owari..."
Yan Song spoke slowly, without even raising his eyelids, but he described the current chaotic situation in Japan as if he knew it in detail.
"Dad, had you already extended your hand?!" Upon hearing this, Yan Shifan stared at his father in astonishment.
When? Is it so soon?
"Ha," Hearing this, Yan Song glanced at his son, smiled like an old fox, and just said: "Guess, guess carefully!"
Seeing this scene, Yan Shifan was startled, then he took a breath and said, "You can't be that fast!"
"Unless, unless you have already made arrangements there? No, that's not right..." Yan Shifan said, shaking his head, and then suddenly seemed to think of something, and said: "Zhu Wan case!?"
"Qingliu said before that the case of Zhu Wan was caused by your connections in the southeastern officialdom, and you also said that Xu Jie took advantage of the situation and helped him to die. You cooperated with each other tacitly..."
"The root of the Zhu Wan case is that he wanted to ban the sea in order to deal with the Japanese pirates. And the Japanese pirates were mostly those families in the southeast who stole from the government..." As he said this, Yan Shifan suddenly realized:
"Dad, you also had some hand in this Southeast Japanese pirate incident?!"
"Back then, I asked Ruzhen to appease Wang Zhi, and it was successful. Unfortunately, the officials in the southeast did not want Wang Zhi to be appeased."
"At that time, Wang Zhi was extremely powerful and even proclaimed himself the King of Huizhou. He had a fleet under his command, including Mao Haifeng, Xu Yuanliang, Xu Weixue, etc...."
"If we control this force, it will be like Southeast China on the sea, and basically everything will be peaceful."
"In this way, the threat of Japanese pirates will be eliminated, and the private shipping will naturally be exposed to the public."
"So, Ruzhen was impeached and framed by the officials in the southeast for accepting bribes from Wang Zhi," Yan Song said, looking forward, as if recalling something, and said:
"Compared with Ruzhen, Wang Zhi is just a mere figure. I can just abandon him. Besides, I have other plans. So I asked Ruzhen to submit a petition to severely punish Wang Zhi. The original plan of recruiting him became a punishment..."
"As a result, Mao Haifeng and other ships naturally fled and were no longer under control. The threat of Japanese pirates took shape again, and the coastal areas fell into chaos again."
"Throughout this whole thing, those people in the Southeast have a fig leaf to hide, and we have gained the benefit of Ruzhen staying in charge of the Southeast forever!"
"As long as there is chaos in the southeast, Ruzhen can always stay in charge and ensure the stability of the southeast coast. My Yan family will have a pillar. This is a critical time to let the court know that the Yan family cannot fall, haha!"
As he spoke, Yan Song smiled and shook his head, saying: "But everything now is in the past. The emperor knows everything, and the past is in the past..."
"So, Dad, what you mean is that some of Wang Zhi's former subordinates have been in Japan. Are they actually your pawns?"
"It's just some idle chess." Yan Song smiled and put down the official document in his hand, picked up another one, and said, "Since Wang Zhi's death, the situation has changed drastically. Many people are out of control. We have only been in touch again recently."
After hearing this explanation, Yan Shifan finally understood why his father was able to make arrangements in advance.
It turned out that he did not make arrangements in advance to understand the situation in Japan, but contacted those idle chess pieces from the moment he wanted to make arrangements in Japan.
"But father, how did Xu Jie know?" Yan Shifan said, then paused and asked, "Same as you, father?"
"Yes, although the southeastern officialdom was uprooted and the Xu Jie family returned all the land, they have been operating for so long that they must have kept some 'Japanese pirates' as pawns."
"Dad, Xu Jie has seen through all your moves!"
"Prince Yu has entered the game. It is impossible to ask him to give up. Japan is in chaos right now," Yan Song said, looking up at Yan Shifan with an inexplicable indifference in his tone.
"Let's move up the plan. Tell His Royal Highness King Jing tomorrow that we have agreed to Oda Nobunaga's request."
"Originally, I was thinking about how to get those people in the cabinet to agree to interfere in the situation in Japan and help a certain family... Now, since everyone has the same goal, it will be easy."
"You will contact those pawns later, and contact some daimyo in Japan."
"Japan must be kept in war for a long time."
"When the Ming Dynasty's national strength is fully restored, we will then send troops there. If the civil strife continues..."
"Well, how many people are there in Japan?" Yan Song looked at Yan Shifan.
"I don't know the exact number, but it should be three to five million, right? With a long period of war and lords fighting for supremacy, there will be more deaths."
"Time can smooth out everything. When most of the people are left, we can let the garrison push forward. As for the rest of the population, we can rush to the sea."
"Leave that island empty and use it as a spiritual field for our Ming Dynasty."
The words were spoken lightly, as if it was not about arranging millions of people, but about wiping away a piece of dust.
"Oh, right? There are also small countries like Korea, Annan, Siam, and Champa. Although many of them regard the Ming Dynasty as their suzerain, they are no longer sincere since the 20th year of Jiajing..."
"We can do the same thing and let them mess around first."
"It's like when you're hungry you have to eat, but the meal has to be prepared in advance, haha..." Yan Song said with a kind smile on his face.
However, looking at the father in front of him, Yan Shifan seemed to see an extremely greedy monster who had lost all humanity.
Would it be too full if I kept eating like this? Well, the young minister now felt that his father had a big appetite.
He was afraid that he would be overwhelmed, but on second thought, it made sense. There were only so many resources. If they were given to the immortals, to the emperor, to the country, to the two princes, how much would be left in the hands of these people?
As for the spiritual resources, although they did not practice Taoism, ever since they had eaten the spiritual rice from His Royal Highness Prince Jing, they really could not eat any of the delicacies from land and sea that they had eaten before, and every day they felt like chewing wax.
I just feel that the things I ate before were all swill!
The most important thing is that spiritual resources, such as spiritual rice, spiritual springs, spiritual wine, spiritual fruits and spiritual melons, can make the body healthier and healthier when eaten. He is now afraid that there will be less resources in the future.
They dare not act recklessly within the Ming Dynasty, but they will do whatever they want outside, so they must create chaos in various countries.
Only in this way can they reap the harvest in the end and complete their plan for the country!
"It seems that we will have to cooperate with Qingliu again in the future?" Yan Shifan laughed self-deprecatingly.
"Remember, we know nothing!" Yan Song looked at Yan Shifan with a serious face.
"I know, it's a tacit understanding!" Yan Shifan naturally understood this truth, but he still looked like he was fighting to the death.
But behind the scenes, they cooperated with each other tacitly.
"Dad, do you think the emperor would blame us if he knew about this?" Yan Shifan asked again with some concern.
"The emperor will naturally punish us for meaningless fighting and causing losses to the Ming Dynasty," Yan Song shook his head slightly, and put down another document while speaking, saying, "But if we can earn more 'money' for the Ming Dynasty and the emperor, will the emperor blame us?"
"Your Majesty, it's still the same emperor."
"If there is a change, it is that the emperor used to want mortal money to practice Xuan Cultivation, but now that he has really embarked on the immortal path, he needs real cultivation resources. But after handing over the immortals, will the emperor still be satisfied?"
"So at this time, it is our Yan family's turn to share the emperor's worries and protect the emperor from the wind and rain..."
"If we do it well, it's our duty. If we don't do it well, we should also be prepared to be punished by the emperor."
"This is the meaning of the existence of my Yan family!"
Hearing this, Yan Shifan nodded. Ever since the emperor changed, his father has been reminding him of one thing. Even though he had already remembered it, his father still said it!
That is, the Yan family is a vicious dog in the hands of the emperor. All actions for the benefit of the emperor must be considered, the emperor first and then themselves!
Only when the emperor is full can the Yan family drink some soup and eat some bones.
……
At the same time, somewhere in the capital.
King Jing specially arranged accommodation for the envoys sent by Oda Nobunaga.
"Master Fujikichiro, you are looking for me!"
A middle-aged man with the unique hairstyle and beard of Japanese pirates came in and knelt in front of a young man who was only twenty-four or twenty-five years old and had a resolute face and was wiping a long sword.
The middle-aged man who was speaking was named Tokugawa Soemon. He was a member of the Tokugawa family, but he was a loser in the political struggle and finally joined Oda Nobunaga's army.
This time, he accompanied Kinoshita Tokichirō on a diplomatic mission to the Ming Dynasty.
"Soemon," the young man named Kinoshita Tokichiro did not stop what he was doing, but suddenly said, "Today, King Jing of the Ming Dynasty summoned me..."
"Really?" Hearing this, Tokugawa Soemon's face lit up and he asked, "The Ming Dynasty is willing to help us?"
Looking at the excited man, a trace of disdain flashed in Kinoshita Tokichiro's eyes. At such an age, he was not able to defeat his nephew Tokugawa Ieyasu, and was kicked out of the family as a failure. He was indeed stupid.
"He said he would give me a name..." Kinoshita Tokichiro looked at Tokugawa Soemon, who was full of surprise, and said, "Toyotomi Hideyoshi, what do you think of this name?"
Toyotomi Hideyoshi? Kinoshita Tokichiro thought for a moment and said, "It seems that there is no such surname as Toyotomi?"
Well, he was very sure that there was no such surname as "Toyotomi", at least they had never heard of it, or maybe it was some obscure surname?
"Toyotomi means 'the minister of abundance', which symbolizes prosperity and abundance. Hideyoshi, the name means 'glorious prosperity' and 'illustrious glory'."
Hearing this, Tokugawa Soemon was completely confused, but he could only listen quietly.
"He wants to use me for his own purposes!" Kinoshita Tokichiro raised his eyes, and his eyes seemed as sharp as a knife.
"He wants you to betray the daimyo?" asked Tokugawa Soemon.
"This Zhu Zaizhen is very ambitious, ha!" Kinoshita Tōkichirō sneered, "Cooperating with the Ming Dynasty is like seeking the skin of a tiger. If you are not careful, you will invite a wolf into your house!"
"Then, what should we do?" Hearing this, the dull Tokugawa Soemon suddenly tensed up and said, "Why not just forget it? The Ming Dynasty is stable from north to south now."
"Rumor has it that there is an immortal to help!"
"The Ming court is still recruiting elite soldiers and sending them to the southeast region. Those pirates who pretended to be us have been eliminated."
"If we take the initiative to invite the wolf into the house, I'm worried..."
"Tokugawa-kun!" However, before Tokugawa Soemon could finish his words, he was interrupted by Kinoshita Tokichirō's loud shout!
"You are so cowardly and timid, do you still want to defeat Tokugawa Ieyasu?" Kinoshita Tokichiro said, regardless of being hit on the sore spot, Tokugawa Soemon, with an ugly face, stood up and walked to the window.
He looked at the red sun that was rising in the east and said, "I heard that the Takeda clan's envoy, Yamamoto Saemon, was summoned by the Ming's Prince Yu, Zhu Zai'ao!"
"Before coming here, I had already investigated that the two princes of the Ming Dynasty were competing for the position of crown prince."
"The Qingliu and the Yan Party are fighting endlessly. What's wrong with trying to get the skin of a tiger? I want to lure the tiger out of its cave. They are beasts, and I am the tamer!" As he said this, he turned his head away, and the red sun shone on him.
For a moment, Tokugawa Soemon's pupils suddenly shrank.
Looking at Kinoshita Tokichiro who was wrapped in the sunlight at this moment, it was as if I saw a heroic lord.
"I will make the Ming Dynasty lose not only its wife but also its troops. I will make them understand what will happen if they underestimate us!"
"Mr. Kinoshita, what are you going to do?" Tokugawa Soemon subconsciously used honorifics!
"The Ming Dynasty wants to get involved in Japan? We can also use them to eliminate other daimyos in the country. In the end, it will only be us and the Takeda family fighting for the world. Then we can work together to force the Ming Dynasty to leave!"
"I think the Takeda family will also be willing to cooperate. Now we are the strongest with the Takeda family. We can use the Ming Dynasty to clear the way for us, and then force the Ming Dynasty to retreat..."
"I think Daimyo Takeda is not a fool. He won't let others reap the benefits!"
"Mr. Kinoshita has a great idea!" Tokugawa Soemon said excitedly.
……
The sight slowly moves away.
In the sea of consciousness, he saw and heard Jiajing of the Ming Dynasty, with his hands behind his back and his fingers gently moving.
He was thinking about the plans of Yan Song and others in his mind.
Well, he really didn't expect that the Yan Party and the Qingliu would actually want to swallow up Japan. To be precise, he wanted to prevent these two "evil dogs" under his command from fighting in the Ming Dynasty.
They actually found a battlefield for themselves.
And it seems like they have come up with something very new?
"Ha!" Suddenly, Jiajing couldn't help but shake his head and laugh, "It seems that the rectification of the bureaucracy and the purge have really scared them."
"Since you dare not cause trouble in the Ming Dynasty, you turn your attention to other countries, use them as battlefields, and regard them as fish and meat to be divided up?"
Muttering to himself, Jiajing couldn't help but think of a term that would only come into being in later generations: proxy war!
According to later generations, this so-called proxy war, to put it simply, is a war in which two major powers or forces do not directly participate in the fighting, but instead conduct it by supporting, funding or manipulating other smaller countries, regions or armed organizations.
Proxy wars serve many purposes.
For example, avoiding the risk of direct conflict between major powers.
Well, this is very similar to the relationship between the two factions in the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty has just been born, and I will not allow them to mess around.
Moreover, they are not willing to take risks and mess up the Ming Dynasty, so if they want to make arrangements in advance to defeat the other party before the future Immortal Dynasty begins, they can only change the form and change the country!
Secondly, proxy wars are also aimed at maximizing profits.
Major powers or major forces can influence or even change regional situations without directly investing large amounts of resources.
So as to maximize their own interests.
For example, by supporting proxies to attack the interests or allies of an opponent, thereby weakening the opponent's power and influence.
Well, it is obvious that the Yan Party and the Qingliu thought the same thing.
And they each supported the Takeda family and the Oda family of Japan.
At the same time, in order to achieve the actions of a certain country, it also supports other daimyo in order to immortalize the war and achieve elimination.
Moreover, proxy wars have their benefits. They greatly reduce the costs involved between major powers.
Great powers or major forces can enhance the combat effectiveness of their proxies by providing support such as funding, weapons, and intelligence without incurring the high costs of direct war.
This is what the Yan Party and the Qingliu are doing now.
Moreover, judging from the intentions of Yan Song and the Qingliu, they did not even intend to provide substantial support in the early stages. They only wanted to make their respective agents more legitimate in various countries and on the Japanese mainland in the name of the Ming Dynasty?
Look, the great Ming Dynasty has recognized me. Why don’t you big names quickly submit to me?
Well, there is a sense of following God's will in it.
In name, supporting the Takeda and Oda families could also make the two families let down their guard, after all, there was discord within the Ming Dynasty.
And while they get the greater good, they can also get some support in terms of firearms, military equipment and funds.
At worst, we can make peace, force the Ming Dynasty to retreat, and then divide Japan equally.
Thinking of this, Jiajing looked at Kinoshita Tokichiro, a smile appeared on his lips, and he said sincerely: "You have guts!"
"Beast Tamer? You want to play the Yan Party and Qingliu alone? I am looking forward to it too!"
"..."
Today’s content and plot are not suitable to be separated, because it will be difficult to read and understand, so they are combined together.
(End of this chapter)
