Chapter 196 Knight's Journey
"That Hai Rui is just a person who eats for nothing!" In the study, the young cabinet minister Yan Shifan paced back and forth, cursing.
"He only knows how to bully people in the court. Why didn't he just kill those barbarians right there!"
"Just fight a few battles when provoked?"
Listening to Yan Shifan's complaints, Yan Song pointed out Yan Shaoting's calligraphy, raised his eyelids to take a look and shook his head slightly.
"... Dad!" After a long while, Yan Shifan, who had been complaining, finally stopped talking, then looked at Yan Song and said, "What do you think about this matter?"
"These kingdoms are the most powerful countries overseas," Yan Song, who was already used to Yan Shifan's shouting, ignored his previous complaints and said in a gentle tone:
"Since Hai Rui has already dealt with them, let's just leave it at that for now."
"It's not time to send troops yet." Seeing that Yan Shifan was about to say something, Yan Song raised his hand and said:
“Would an elephant care about the rudeness of an ant on the ground?”
"Right now, we have more important things to do," Yan Song said, raising a finger and saying, "First, you only have one year left to carry out the reform, so hurry up."
"The second is to complete the layout within the court and prepare to take over the forces behind Qingliu and Li Chengwu."
"There's no need to worry too much about anything else."
"Once the layout is completed, these so-called overseas powers will sooner or later become just a province under the jurisdiction of my Ming Dynasty." Yan Song said it very lightly, as if incorporating many maritime powers into the territory was as easy as eating and drinking.
But it doesn't mean that Yan Song is arrogant.
Given his current status and position, as well as the strong foundation of the Ming Dynasty, he is not being arrogant at all when he says this, and anyone who hears it will think it is natural.
"Yes, I understand, son." After hearing his father say that the most important thing at the moment was not to plot against other countries, Yan Shifan nodded and temporarily suppressed his dissatisfaction.
However, he secretly took note of the people from the Kingdom of Spain in his heart, waiting to find a way to deal with them later.
Well, we can only say that since the Kingdom of Spain has been targeted by the poisonous snake Yan Shifan, its future fate is doomed to be bad.
"Oh, remember to write a letter back to Hai Rui, telling him that the court has learned about this matter, and ask him to arrange for the envoy to meet the emperor as soon as possible," Yan Song said in a submissive tone, "The emperor has just taken a concubine, so he has no time to take care of such a trivial matter. There is no need to bother him..."
"I understand." Yan Shifan nodded, turned and left the study.
The little incident that occurred among the envoys of overseas countries in Ningbo Prefecture did not cause any waves among the high-ranking officials of the imperial court.
No matter whether it was Prince Yu or Prince Jing, or Xu Jie, Gao Gong, Zhang Juzheng, Zhao Zhenji, Hu Zongxian, Wang Chonggu, Yu Dayou and others, they all just glanced at them and didn't bother to pay any attention.
They have the same mentality as Yan Song. As a mere mortal country, sooner or later it will be nothing but meat on the Ming chopping board and not worth mentioning.
At Xu Jie's residence.
"The emperor has been in the Qianqing Palace for several months." Xu Jie took a sip of the spiritual tea handed to him by his son Xu Fan, then looked at Zhang Juzheng and others sitting on both sides below and started the conversation first.
Since the news that the emperor was going to take a concubine was reported in the 49th year of the Jiajing reign, until the beginning of April of the 50th year of the Jiajing reign, a total of nearly half a year has passed, and Zhang Juzheng and others have not come to the Xu Mansion, including the last time Xu Jie took the initiative to invite them.
It was after that incident that cracks had actually appeared within the Qingliu faction, and this time it was Zhang Juzheng and others who took the initiative to tear it apart.
When Zhang Juzheng heard the words of his teacher, who was actually his disciple, a complicated look flashed in his eyes.
The current situation is very dangerous for Xu Jie.
"Perhaps, I should not have supported the teacher in the first place, but let him retire as Su Qing said..." If it was not a last resort, Zhang Juzheng was unwilling to fall out with this teacher who was actually his master and disciple.
But some things are beyond his control. He has his own ideals and ambitions for governing the country. Now that he has embarked on the immortal path, his future will be very long, and the Ming Dynasty will become more and more powerful. He has too much time to fulfill his ideals.
And this is his chance, he absolutely cannot miss it!
Qingliu? From now on, it will become a symbol existing in the Ming Dynasty court, rather than referring to a specific group headed by a certain person as before.
Perhaps the word "clear stream" should have returned to its original position long ago.
As his thoughts raced, Zhang Juzheng's heart hardened again.
As for the other two, such as Gao Gong and Zhao Zhenji, they were looking at their noses with their eyes and their hearts with their noses, looking calm and composed.
Needless to say, Gao Gong believed that Xu Jie should have retired long ago when he was rectifying the administration of officials. It was already a miracle that he could persist until now and bring his family to the current state.
From the day when the gentry families in the southeast were uprooted and Xu Jie and his family personally surrendered to Prince Yu, he was destined to go downhill.
No official dared to follow him anymore, as everyone was worried that they would become an abandoned pawn in the future.
Xu Jie wanted to become a powerful official under Prince Yu, similar to Yan Song, but he was too embarrassed to do the same as Yan Song. Most importantly, Prince Yu's power did not allow him to do so.
In addition, he had placed all his bets on Prince Yu alone.
But ever since Hai Rui broke the window paper between the Qingliu and Yan party and the two princes when he conferred the title of immortal official last time, Prince Yu no longer trusted him.
It can be said that it was not that he did not want to continue to rely on Prince Yu, but that Prince Yu no longer needed him and he was abandoned by Prince Yu.
For now, Xu Jie has only one way out, which is to choose one of the princes to assist the emperor after he gives birth to one.
But how can his family alone assist a prince? First of all, he needs more followers behind him.
Putting aside the senior officials of the six ministries in the court, almost all of them followed Li Chengwu. Even if Li Chengwu was defeated in the subsequent struggle, when these people were divided among them, they would not choose Xu Jie.
Lord Xu Jie, after all, was unable to change his fate and was destined to fall before the Ming Dynasty entered the Immortal Dynasty!
Gao Gong naturally understood clearly why Xu Jie had asked them to come here today. It was simply for them to get together for the last time and unite to face the outside world. However, this time they were not going to deal with the Yan Party.
This time, they have to deal with more than half of the high-ranking officials in the court, headed by Li Chengwu!
Looking at Lord Xu, who was in the top position and always made the final decision after they spoke first, Zhao Zhenji's eyes flashed with complexity and he couldn't help but sigh in his heart.
It's a pity for Xu Jie!
A cabinet minister whose ability and means were no less than Yan Song, was about to fall when the Ming Dynasty was about to enter the Immortal Dynasty.
But there are some things that Zhao Zhenji sees more clearly than others, and even much earlier.
The main reason why Xu Jie could become the second assistant of the cabinet and compete with Yan Song in the court was because of the gentry families behind him. However, the emperor was determined to rectify the administration of officials and make the Ming Dynasty reborn. The gentry families were the stones blocking the road and had to be kicked away!
In order to protect his family, Xu Jie had no choice, and he also saw how bright the future of the court would be.
Therefore, put yourself in their shoes and think about it. If it were you at that time, as long as there was a glimmer of hope, you would not hesitate to cut off your roots, and then hold on tightly to your hands and not give up.
But it's too late to say anything now.
"Yes," Zhao Zhenji said slowly after suppressing his thoughts. "I wonder why Lord Xu asked me to wait in his house today?"
Even though they both know the truth at this moment, they still have to say some polite words.
Hearing the good old man Zhao Zhenji speak first, Zhang Juzheng and Gao Gong also looked at Xu Jie.
"...These people!" Xu Fan, who had always stood beside Xu Jie and was always honest and simple, and only knew how to study the craftsman's skills, even if his reaction was slow, he realized that something was wrong in the atmosphere at this moment.
The current situation in the court, the six ministries have been pursuing my father relentlessly recently, Yan Song has been watching from the sidelines, the two princes nominally help the emperor to assist the cabinet, but recently they have stopped paying attention. The current cabinet is almost entirely ruled by my father Xu Jie.
But it was precisely because of this that Xu Fan realized that everyone, including Yan Song and his son, had cleared out.
It means letting my father fight against Li Chengwu and others alone.
If there is any mistake in this process, my father and even the entire Xu family will be doomed.
Moreover, he believed that because of the factional struggles in the court, those people would definitely make some moves.
At this time, Zhang Juzheng and others were still pretending to be ignorant even though they knew the truth, which made Xu Fan furious.
The knuckles of his fists under the wide sleeves were clenched white!
However, he, who has always been polite and courteous, knew that although he was the Minister of Industry, it was not his turn to speak here. Therefore, he could only endure it, but his face showed indifference without disguising it.
Zhang Juzheng and his companions naturally did not take Xu Fan's attitude to heart, but his expression of joy and anger made them shake their heads secretly. They thought that the Xu family might really be in decline.
"Heh," Xu Jie chuckled as if he didn't notice the others' acting attitude and said, "We have worked together for many years. I hope we can still be successful this time!"
"For the sake of the emperor and the Ming Dynasty, we must stabilize the situation in the court," Xu Jie said bluntly, "No matter who the crown prince is, we must fulfill our duties as subjects."
"The cabinet is now relatively balanced, and there is no need for additional voices outside the cabinet to influence the future development of the Immortal Dynasty."
"What do you think?"
Xu Jie's meaning was very straightforward, even Xu Fan could understand it. To Zhang Juzheng's people, these words sounded no less than plain language.
No matter what, they were literati and scholars after all, and they had to maintain their dignity at all times, and they had to be more subtle about party disputes. Of course, they had previously humbled themselves and said very bluntly in Prince Yu's Mansion that they were determined to fight to the death with the Yan Party.
But this is a different time. At that time, they were all under the command of Prince Yu. At that time, they did not know the existence of immortal magic, and the struggle with the Yan Party had reached a point where they were irreconcilable and it was a matter of life and death.
Times are different now, so we must maintain our dignity!
"I wonder what Lord Xu thinks," Gao Gong was the first to speak, "We will definitely do our best!"
Gao Gong was the most straightforward among the three in abandoning Xu Jie. It was naturally most appropriate for him to be the first to express his stance at this time. He also best demonstrated everyone's determination to unite and deal with Li Chengwu.
"Me too!" Zhang Juzheng and Zhao Zhenji also spoke up.
Seeing the three of them like this, Xu Jie knew that they agreed, so he nodded, but his eyes looked outside the hall.
It turned out that no one knew when it started, but suddenly a strong wind blew in, followed by a cloud of snowflakes pouring in, accompanied by a gust of cool breeze. However, since everyone present was a cultivator, they did not feel cold.
Under the night sky, heavy snow fell within a few feet in front of the door.
"What a nice snow!" Xu Jie exclaimed, smiled, stood up and walked to the door, then walked straight out of the door with his arms open, as if to welcome the heavy snow.
There was a lot of snow and fog at night.
It is April now, which is the time of late spring cold. It is normal that it suddenly snows so heavily.
In the past, when they saw such heavy snow, they would certainly worry about this year's crops and the livelihoods of the people, but today's Ming Dynasty no longer needs to worry about natural disasters.
Of course, this does not mean that the Ming Dynasty now has the means to control natural disasters, but that the Ming Dynasty’s national strength is now so strong that even if any natural disaster occurs, it can cope with it with ease.
However, at this time, several people focused their eyes on Xu Jie, looking at the old man who was standing in the snow with his back to everyone, admiring the snow. Although his back was still straight, it was slightly bent invisibly. They all had complicated looks and were a little dazed for a moment.
Xu Jie was about to fall, and he fell at the last moment of the Immortal Dynasty.
The road to becoming an immortal is long, and the path to becoming an official is even longer. Could everything that happened to Xu Jie today be a reflection of their future?
"Ke Zhao...Man Huying..." At this time, Xu Jie's powerful voice suddenly sounded in the snow, "The Wu Gou frost and snow are bright!" As he spoke, he raised his foot and took a few steps.
He was wearing a linen black shirt, standing in the snow. As Li Bai's poem "Song of the Knight-errant" came out, his aura suddenly rose. At this moment, he seemed a little crazy.
"...Father!" After seeing that his father's condition seemed to be not right, Xu Fan cried out and was about to go out to meet him, but was grabbed by Zhang Juzheng.
When he turned his head to look, he saw Zhang Juzheng shaking his head at him, signaling him not to go up and disturb him.
"The silver saddle shines on the white horse, and it rustles like a shooting star."
"Kill one person every 10 steps, and leave no trace in a thousand miles. When the task is done...I will leave, hiding my identity and name!"
After saying that, Xu Jie opened his arms and laughed out loud, as if he wanted to vent the helplessness and depression in his heart. However, the sound made Zhang Juzheng and others stunned.
If it was before, they would have thought that Xu Jie had called them here today just to gather them together to deal with Li Chengwu and the Five Military Commandery behind him.
But at this moment, after hearing the song "Xia Ke Xing", they suddenly understood Xu Jie's real intention in asking them to come here today.
Li Bai's "Song of the Knight-errant" tells a thoroughly tragic story - Lord Xinling stole the seal to save Zhao!
Perhaps many people would think that this is eternal benevolence and righteousness, but people in high positions like Zhang Juzheng understand that this is a tragedy for Lord Xinling, and now Lord Xu is going to follow Lord Xinling's example.
The knight from Yan and Zhao wore a square scarf, held a sword of green light, rode a white horse with a silver saddle, and galloped in the dark night, as fast as a meteor in the sky. He took the head in ten steps, and flew a thousand miles away without a trace. After achieving success, he disappeared without a trace, killing people with a sword but leaving no name.
Today, Lord Xu is an unrestrained and uninhibited assassin in the land of Yanzhao, who has abandoned his reputation before and after his death and has achieved enlightenment. No, he is a hero!
After three cups of good wine, this hero's promise is as heavy as a thousand pounds. How heavy is this promise? The Five Mountains are nothing more than this!
Promises, a gentleman's promise! This is what Elder Xu said to them, and it also told them to honor their promises!
After your eyes are dizzy and your ears are hot, your spirit will suddenly rise, and your heroic spirit will be like a cloud that is about to pierce the white rainbow, and the whole world will be shocked.
This is Xinling Jun's plan to "besiege Wei to save Zhao", and he used Hou Ying's strategy. Zhu Hai swung the big golden hammer, and his bravery and tenacity shocked the whole city. The two heroes of the ages, their unparalleled reputation made Daliang famous!
Even after death, their heroic deeds will be remembered forever. Being a knight is so good, who else can be like Yang Xiong, who stayed in his study and wrote the "Tai Xuan Jing"?
"The guest from Zhao wears a Hu tassel, and the Wu hook shines brightly with frost and snow. The silver saddle shines on the white horse, which gallops like a meteor. It kills one person every ten steps, and leaves no trace in a thousand miles..."
When Zhang Juzheng and others were distracted, Xu Jie sang another poem "Xia Ke Xing", "Even if I die, my chivalrous spirit will remain fragrant, and I will not be ashamed of being a hero in the world. Who can write for you, your Excellency, in your old age... Tai Xuan Jing!"
At this time, Xu Jie's originally neat and proper hair crown had fallen off, leaving his long hair disheveled. His unruly and crazy figure in the snow made him look like a knight in the land of Yan and Zhao, or the heroic Lord Xinling, or Hou Ying who gave Lord Xinling strategies.
But he is not the nerd Yang Xiong!
For a moment, Zhang Juzheng and his companions were shocked and moved. At this moment, they could not tell which one of the "knights" they were, or were they all of them?
After thinking about it, they suddenly realized sadly that they were not knights, because they did not have the loyalty of a knight to recommend himself to Lord Xinling's banquet without being invited, and to take the initiative to come to the eve of the campaign to besiege Wei to save Zhao!
They are not the two heroes Zhu Hai and Hou Ying, nor are they the courageous Xinling Jun who left his name in history!
Who are they then? The bookworm Yang Xiong? No, they are not running away. The power struggle is never a fight of loyalty. They are not assassins, let alone heroes!
They are politicians!
Xu Fan, who was standing aside, was crying silently, his fists clenched tightly, hating his own incompetence!
The sight slowly moves away.
Jiajing, who had once again visited more than a dozen concubines, lay in the bathtub, looking expressionlessly at everything that happened in the Xu Mansion on his natal plane, and suddenly snorted.
"This is my subject," Jiajing closed his eyes in disdain, leaned his head back, raised his chin, and said with disdain:
"Can the factional struggles in the court create something that will be remembered for eternity?" As he spoke, he raised his eyes and looked to the side, as if asking someone.
Well, I am very unhappy and angry now. I have worked hard all night but got nothing in return!
Lu Fang, who was massaging behind him, withdrew his gaze from his own body and touched the corners of his moist eyes. He was moved by Lord Xu, but it was a pity that his master seemed unable to empathize with him.
Sure enough, the warmth in the master's heart has always been very flexible. Only when he has extra warmth can he share some with others.
"Put away your cat urine, I just can't stand your behavior!" Jiajing snorted, "Do you think Xu Jie is a good person? Xinling Jun? He is just a politician!"
"Do you think this old man is just giving up? Humph! You are too naive!"
"..."
*
**
PS: After seeing the temple, let's take a look at the scenery of the Ming Dynasty's "jianghu" under the rule of the Xian Dynasty. Try to present a real and living world under the rule of the Xian Dynasty.
It is definitely not easy to write like this, but it must be written like this! Otherwise, just talking about the Xian Dynasty, and directly describing how powerful it was, how prosperous it was, how powerful it was, and how many people and countries it destroyed, is so empty, haha...right?
Also, please vote for me at the beginning of the month, everyone!
Please give some recommendation votes if you have any, don't let the data look too bad, thank you. In the new January, the author will try to restore the update status when it was first put on the shelves, and the update will definitely be awesome!
(End of this chapter)
