Chapter 208 On the plateau, Zhang Juzheng and others surrounded Xu Jie!
When Lu Fang heard his master mention that Xu Jie's son, Xu Fan, had actually proposed a national policy, he quickly took the memorial and began to read it.
Xianming Armament Institute, as the name suggests, is dedicated to researching military equipment for the imperial court. Xianming Heavy Industry Institute is mainly responsible for the transformation of the entire Ming Dynasty, which is a transformation in the true sense.
For example, digging mountains, moving mountains and filling the sea, rebuilding roads, etc. The main purpose was to change the appearance of the entire Ming Dynasty.
This is a huge project, but it is very practical. The Ming Dynasty, which has entered the Immortal Dynasty, does need a makeover.
For example, the "Record of Immortal Craftsmanship" records several immortal craftsmanship technologies that are beneficial to the development of the country.
The last item, the Immortal Weapon Pavilion, as the name suggests, is dedicated to researching weapons for the imperial court’s army of immortal cultivators.
According to Xu Fan's idea, the Immortal Weapon Pavilion should recruit cultivators who are talented in refining equipment. Not only that, the first target he set his sights on was the group of immortal seedlings in the "Daming Immortal Mansion".
"Heh," after a moment, Lu Fang chuckled after reading Xu Fan's memorial, raised his head and looked at Jiajing, saying, "Master, this Xu Fan is indeed a man with ideas."
"Just say whatever you want to say." Looking at Lu Fang's smiling face, Jiajing naturally knew that this old guy had his own ideas. He raised his hand and signaled him to speak frankly.
"Yes," Lu Fang bowed, organized his words, and then said, "In my humble opinion, the national policy of 'Xianming Heavy Industry' he proposed is for the construction of Ming Dynasty. Now that Ming Dynasty is about to start the third stage of land reform, it will take some time to digest and develop the fourth stage. During this period, we can transform Ming Dynasty. After all, it is the Immortal Dynasty. It can't just be a name, right?"
"The Immortal Dynasty should look like an Immortal Dynasty."
After saying this, Lu Fang stopped talking and looked at Jiajing, waiting for his master's decision.
"You are right," Jiajing raised his finger slightly, "Yan Shifan's reform has achieved initial results."
"Nowadays, there are hundreds of schools of thought, three religions, nine schools of thought, five elements and eight works, covering all aspects of people's livelihood. While people's thoughts are being liberated, the Ming Dynasty also needs an intuitive change."
"This Xianming Heavy Industry proposed that it could provide many jobs for the people, so that the entire Ming Dynasty could be fully mobilized."
"Moreover," Jiajing's serious face relaxed slightly, "I had planned before that the 12,000 immortal seedlings should be sent to the Ming Dynasty, just in time to be used for the implementation of the national policy of 'Daming Heavy Industry'."
Hearing Jiajing's words, Lu Fang knew that his master agreed, and immediately smiled and flattered him, "Master is wise!"
"Now, the six ministries in the court are all under the control of the Yan family and the two princes. Only the Ministry of Works, which is headed by Xu Fan, is independent..." At this time, Lu Fang seemed to have thought of something and hesitated to speak.
"You mean, after the national policy of Xianming Heavy Industry is proposed, it might not be Xu Fan's turn, but someone else's?" How could Jiajing not see what Lu Fang meant.
"You seem to be very optimistic about this Xu Fan?" Hearing his master's words, Lu Fang nodded without hesitation and said, "This Xu Fan may not be a good politician in the court."
"He doesn't have Xu Jie's political sense, nor does he have the acumen and tyranny of his peers, such as Yan Shifan. Now he has lost his protection," Lu Fang paused and said:
"Once the national policy of 'Xianming Heavy Industry' is implemented and successful, it will definitely be one of the greatest contributors to the Xian Dynasty. This political achievement may cause controversy and affect the national policy."
Does Lv Fang think highly of Xu Fan? Yes, that's because Xu Fan is a pure, honest man who only knows how to get things done. As long as it's for the good of the court and the master, Lv Fang will agree.
"Do you want to promote him to the cabinet?" Jiajing saw through Lu Fang's thoughts.
Lu Fang didn't say anything, just lowered his head.
"Oh," Jiajing shook his head. "The cabinet needs not only people who can get things done, but also people with political acumen. This Xu Fan has room for improvement in all aspects."
"Besides, Xu Jie was just demoted, and I promoted my son to the cabinet. The three hundred years have not yet passed..." Jiajing paused and said, "For the national policy of 'Xianming Heavy Industry', it would be OK if Xu Jie was the second assistant, but Xu Fan alone cannot handle it."
"My master is wise." Having said this, Lu Fang also understood that before the end of the 300-year penalty period, the Xu family was destined to not be able to restore its previous status in the court.
No matter how great his contribution is, it is impossible!
At this moment, Lu Fang finally understood what it meant to "offend the will of God"!
"Chirp!" A huge snow-white falcon flew through layers of rain and landed in the backyard of the prefectural government office in Yingzhou Prefecture.
"Crackling..." Dense raindrops fell on the eaves and the bamboo leaves behind the study, making the study even quieter.
"Swish!" Xu Jie, who was writing at the desk, paused with his pen. Then he felt a spiritual energy coming from afar. Then, a strong wind swept him down, and a huge spiritual falcon appeared outside the window.
"Ga." The falcon made a low cry, lowered its head and took out a wax-sealed letter from the cloth bag around its neck.
"A letter from Fan'er?" Seeing the words "From my father personally" written on it, Xu Jie knew that it was a letter from the capital. He was moved and hurriedly took the letter.
When he took up his post in Yingzhou Prefecture, he had already made an agreement with Xu Fan to write to him once every three months so that he could understand the situation in the court.
But now, before the March deadline, Xu Fan's letter had arrived, which clearly meant that something unexpected had happened in the capital again.
I opened the envelope and saw the following words written on it:
"Respectfully report to my lord father:
Your son Xu Fan, respectfully greets you. It has been a long time since I last saw your father's kind face, and I miss you all the time.
Yingzhou Island is far from the mainland. It is autumn now and the weather is getting colder. I wonder how is your father's health? Is everything going well?
I heard that a letter from home is worth a thousand pieces of gold, so I wrote this letter to express my deepest gratitude. I hope that you will reply to me so that I can rest assured while I am away..."
Even though they had just communicated via correspondence two months ago, Xu Jie did not feel annoyed when he saw his son Xu Fan's familiar handwriting and words. Instead, a smile appeared involuntarily on his solemn old face.
However, as he slowly looked down and saw the content of Xu Fan's letter, the smile on Xu Jie's face faded.
"I wrote this letter hoping that my father would not worry and that everything at home was fine. At the end of September, the Emperor discussed politics at Yuxi Palace and proposed the "Birthday Field". As the name suggests..."
"Now, all the ministers in the cabinet are considering whether to hand over my life. After much consideration, I have decided to hand it over, but I still have doubts in my heart, so I would like to ask for your advice, father.
There is another matter that I wanted to report to father earlier, but due to the great changes in the court and the fierce party struggles, my Xu family has suffered such a disaster, and it is too late... I hope my father will not be angry with my words.
Since Your Majesty has bestowed upon me the "Records of Immortal Works", the imperial court has been eager to develop the Immortal Dynasty, and I have been secretly preparing for it, and now it has finally been completed. I have submitted a petition to promote the national policy of "Immortal Heavy Works"...
I am extremely worried and I beg you to give me some advice so that I can make a decision. I hope you will take good care of yourself at home and I will be diligent and conscientious when I am away from home and live up to your trust.
Best wishes!
Son, respectfully presented by Xu Fan. "
Looking at the letter in his hand, Xu Jie fell silent.
Especially staring at the part about "Birth Field" in the letter.
"What the emperor wants is the future of all families." After a moment, Xu Jie said slowly to himself:
"In the future, the Immortal Dynasty will share the world with the family. When everything is over and the dust settles, we will have to undergo a reform!"
"The tail is too big to be removed. The emperor will not allow the situation in the future when the reform is carried out, in which the immortal cultivation families are unwilling and then waste manpower and material resources to complete the reform."
"The power structure of the Ming Dynasty develops from top to bottom. As long as we control the power at the top, the power at the bottom will be easy to handle..."
All I can say is that Xu Jie is worthy of being Xu Jie. He is at the same level as Yan Song. Both of them saw the essence of this matter.
"Fan'er's decision is right," Xu Jie sighed softly, and then looked at the back of the letter. He saw the national policy of 'Xianming Heavy Industry' proposed by Xu Fan, and suddenly laughed with relief, saying, "Fan'er is finally learning to shoulder the fate of the entire family."
At this moment, a comfortable smile finally appeared on Xu Jie's face, which had always looked a little tired.
At this moment, he suddenly felt that after this great change in the imperial court, in which he had lost all his money in a gamble, it might not be a bad thing to start all over again.
"A blessing in disguise..." With a sigh, Xu Jie stroked his beard, looking at the heavy rain outside the window and the bamboo forest swaying in the wind and rain. His mind suddenly became clear.
And in his sea of consciousness, the towering tree, which was glowing white as light, had a rich and steady aura, and beneath it was a dark and deep pond of water as calm as a mirror, and it was swaying rustlingly.
Ripples appeared on the surface of the deep pool.
"Pop!" There was a slight sound as if something was broken in the invisible world. Xu Jie's aura stagnated, and the 'Qi Drawing Technique' in his body started to operate, and spiritual energy surged out.
At this moment, his open-minded state of mind and the call of his destiny actually caused a fluctuation in his third level of Qi training.
Feeling the circulation of spiritual energy in his body and the fluctuations of his realm, Xu Jie calmly restrained his aura, took the letter and sat down at the table.
Looking at the middle and latter part of the letter, Xu Jie felt gratified but also shook his head when he saw that Xu Fan was planning to rely on the national policy of "Xianming Heavy Industry" to revive the Xu family and even help him return to the cabinet.
"Silly child..."
He muttered to himself and began to write.
"Respectfully reply to my son Xu Fan:
I have read your letter. The words are full of affection. As a father, I feel very comforted. I hope everything is fine. Don't worry. I am very pleased to know that you are working diligently and conscientiously for the country.
This time, the great changes and fierce party struggles have brought great disaster to the Xu family. It is really my fault. My son can remain calm and make preparations in secret, which is rare. As for the matter of handing over your life, since you have made up your mind, your father has no objection. I only hope that you will act cautiously and not take it lightly.
As for the national policy of "Xianming Heavy Industry", you have already submitted a memorial, which your father highly appreciates. This is a long-term plan that benefits the country and the people. I hope you will stick to your will, overcome all objections, and make more contributions to the country and the people..."
"Do your part well, and don't be impatient..."
Soon, the long letter was finished. Looking at the ink that had not yet dried, Xu Jie still felt unsatisfied.
Gently stroking the letter he had written, Xu Jie felt his pupils sore and his vision became a little blurry for some reason.
"Wow!" At this time, a strong wind from outside the window rushed in with water vapor, making Xu Jie, who was overwhelmed with emotions at the moment, instantly clear his vision. His slightly hunched back straightened again, and he withdrew his hand from the letter and clenched it into a fist.
"The disputes in the imperial court have always been like this. I, Xu Jie, have no regrets!"
"Chirp!" The whistle blew, and the falcon flapped its wings and came. Time had passed. He put the letter into the cloth bag hanging under the falcon's neck and patted the falcon's head, "Go!"
"Ga!" The falcon cried, turned around, flapped its wings and flew straight into the sky. After circling in the sky for a few times, it disappeared.
"Knock, knock, knock." At this time, the door of the study was knocked, and the servant's voice followed, "Master, there are Kunlun slaves on strike at the Gengzi 42 Spirit Cotton Experimental Field..."
It's this kind of trivial matter again, which is not uncommon in Yingzhou Prefecture.
There is still a lot of land in Yingzhou Prefecture that needs to be reclaimed. Especially after he took office, he has regarded Yingzhou Prefecture as a stepping stone for his future return to the court, so he must make drastic reforms. Planting spiritual seeds is naturally not the turn of these Kunlun slaves. Only the military households and civilians of Yingzhou Prefecture are qualified to come into contact with spiritual seeds.
They can even eat spiritual rice for their three meals. As for the Kunlun slaves, their three meals a day are just ordinary food of three meat dishes and one vegetable.
These Kunlun slaves are physically strong and powerful, and are natural laborers, but they also have many bad habits.
Being violent, barbaric, lazy and gluttonous, he cannot be cured without a whip. The key is that he only remembers to eat and not to be beaten, which is a waste of talent.
"What's the reason this time?" Xu Jie picked up the black gauze hat beside him and put it on, then asked casually.
"...This." Hearing Xu Jie's question, the servant suddenly hesitated.
"Hmm?" Xu Jie turned around and stared at the servant.
Feeling Xu Jie's gaze, the servant's heart suddenly tightened, and he felt the pressure suddenly dropped. He immediately said, "A Kunlun slave was seriously ill. His family ran to the spiritual rice planting area without permission, trying to snatch the spiritual rice for treatment. They were discovered by the soldiers guarding the spiritual fields and shot to death."
"Then a group of Kunlun slaves began to protest and go on strike..."
"Aren't these Kunlun slaves said to be sold here after being castrated? How could they have family members?" Xu Jie's face darkened.
"My lord," the servant panicked when he saw Xu Jie getting angry, and said, "The Kunlun slaves who died this time were originally sold by three brothers together, so..."
After hearing this, Xu Jie's expression finally relaxed.
"Also," the servant's voice sounded again, "the people in various states and counties have also expressed some opinions about the court's actions. They feel that the military households either beat or scolded the Kunlun slaves, and many of them cannot bear it..."
Previously, there were only garrisons on the island, and their families and some civilians who migrated from coastal areas had not yet been introduced.
The garrison troops are all elite and will obey orders, so they will naturally not consider anything else. However, now that there are civilians on the island, there are more voices. These Kunlun slaves are also human beings after all.
It is uncomfortable to see fellow human beings being treated like livestock.
Especially the next generation of Yingzhou Prefecture, Xu Jie intends to turn Yingzhou Prefecture, the resource bank of the Immortal Dynasty, into a prosperous place. He even plans to open a second Immortal Prefecture. Various plans...
In an instant, many thoughts flashed through Xu Jie's mind, and then he made a decision in his heart!
"Kunlun slaves, you can't stay here any longer!"
"The 'Earth Treasure Wheel' that Fan'er had previously supervised can probably be put into use. With this thing, reclaiming wasteland will be thousands of times better than with these Kunlun slaves..."
"Now that I have taken office as the prefect, the first step in the reform of Yingzhou Prefecture is to abolish these 'Kunlun slaves'!" Thinking of this, Xu Jie suppressed his thoughts and said, "Lead the way."
"Yes!"
It was almost noon on October 15, the 52nd year of the Jiajing reign.
In the side hall of Yuxi Palace, Jiajing sat quietly on the Taotai, and Lu Fang also sat quietly on the futon next to the Taotai.
Of course, at this moment, all the ministers in the cabinet, as well as Zhang Juzheng and others who were far away in Nanjing City, Hai Rui of Ningbo Prefecture and Xu Jie of Yingzhou Prefecture, were all wearing official uniforms and waiting quietly.
It’s because they all know that the emperor will summon all the ministers who have not refused to enter their natal fields today.
At that time, they will be allowed to plant their own destiny with their own hands!
At this moment, everyone was quietly waiting for what would happen next. The experienced people thought of the day when the emperor conferred immortal official titles on them.
Originally, they thought that they were in the Lingtian courtyard next to the Yuxi Palace where Eunuch Lu was in seclusion, but when they woke up, they found that it was just another mysterious place.
As for why that mysterious place was exactly the same as the imperial palace, since the emperor did not make it clear, they naturally would not ask.
"Let's start." As he said this, Jiajing's consciousness entered the sea of consciousness. Looking at the Ming Dynasty in front of him, which was already floating in the blue sky and clear and bright, a smile appeared in his eyes.
He still remembered that it was the end of the 39th year of Jiajing's reign, or strictly speaking the beginning of the 40th year of Jiajing's reign, when he first saw his own Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty was shrouded in black fog and looked dilapidated.
As someone who possessed memories of later life, he naturally knew that the final outcome of the Ming Dynasty’s devastation was its destruction.
Now it is the 52nd year of Jiajing, and in 12 years, he has completely transformed the Ming Dynasty. However, such a clear and bright Ming Dynasty is just the beginning.
In the future, he will make the Ming Dynasty become brilliant and magnificent, and become an existence even more vast than the world of immortal cultivation!
Temporarily suppressing the lofty ambitions in his heart, Jiajing's consciousness moved, and he entered his own destiny and came to a plateau.
As he raised his hand, a stream of light floated in front of him and Lu Fang's figure appeared. At this time, Lu Fang was still sitting cross-legged.
After realizing that his consciousness had entered another space, he opened his eyes, looked around, and immediately stood up, asking Jiajing in confusion: "Master, where is this place?"
The appearance of this Ming Dynasty is exactly the same as that of the Ming Dynasty. The master can use it to see and hear the world, and naturally he can also use his spiritual consciousness to enter any place in the Ming Dynasty. Lu Fang knows this.
But at this moment, standing on a plateau, looking at the vast green wilderness in the distance and the dense vegetation on the left, I suddenly felt particularly relaxed and open-minded.
Is there such a scenery in the Ming Dynasty?
"This is the southwest corner of our Ming Dynasty," Jiajing said, and with a wave of his hand, the entire plateau and the surrounding terrain were dug out separately and presented in front of him. Jiajing's hand moved from left to right and said:
"This place is one of the four great plateaus of China!"
"In the west, it begins with the Nujiang Mountains, Gaoligong Ridge, Biluo Snow Mountain, and Yulong Snow Mountain, all of which are majestic mountains. In the east, it reaches the Wuling Mountains and Xuefeng Mountains, in the southeast, it reaches the Yuecheng Mountains, in the north, the Dalou Mountains on the south bank of the Yangtze River, and in the south, it reaches the mountains and ridges at the border between Guangxi and Yunnan. It stretches more than a thousand miles from east to west, and its width from north to south varies from 400 to 800 miles, covering a total area of about 500,000 square miles."
As Jiajing told the story, the figure kept zooming in and out, rotating, and perfectly presenting the terrain of the entire plateau, and expressing the magnificence and grandeur of the mountains and rivers of the Ming Dynasty.
"It covers the eastern part of Yunnan Province, the entire territory of Guizhou Province, the northwest part of Guangxi Province, and the borders of Sichuan and Huguang Provinces..." Jiajing said, with an expression of pride and satisfaction on his face, and said:
"From now on, this will be the place where my natal field will be nurtured!"
"Master is wise!" Lu Fang looked at the magnificent place in front of him and felt somewhat refreshed.
Jiajing had an idea and waved his hand. Suddenly, streams of light fell from the sky. Yan Song, Yan Shifan, Yan Shaoting, Hai Rui, Wang Yongji, Xu Jie, Xu Fan and others all arrived.
He was sitting at home just fine before, but in a flash he appeared in another place. Everyone present was a little confused, but they were all cultivators, and they had experienced such an incident before, so they were not panicked for a moment.
Then, Yan Song and others saw the vast wilderness in front of them for the first time, and they couldn't help but feel fascinated.
The sky is a little gloomy today. The green lawn in front of me and the dense vegetation forest in the distance all seem a little gloomy.
However, after a brief moment of distraction, everyone reacted immediately and saluted Jiajing.
"Your subjects pay homage to the Supreme Great Luo Celestial Being, the Purple Extreme Immortal of Longevity, the Holy Wisdom and Spiritual Insight, the Ruler of the Three Origins, the Evidence of Jade Void, the Chief Administrator of the Five Thunders, the Xuandu Realm, the Longevity Emperor. May Your Majesty rest in peace!"
In such a shocking place, with all the ministers kneeling in worship, they would naturally shout out a name that better suits this scene.
Jiajing looked around at the ministers, his serious face relaxed slightly, and with his spiritual sense, he knew clearly who had come and who had not.
As expected, his two sons did not come.
First of all, there is Prince Jing Zhu Zaizhen. This kid has always had his own ideas. It can be said that he has been spoiled by his father. It is not an exaggeration to say that he is a little arrogant because of his favor. Although he has made a lot of progress in the past ten years, he has not given up the position of crown prince after all. Naturally, he will not give up his life.
Then there is Prince Yu Zhu Zaigui. Not to mention that he and Prince Jing have the same idea and will not hand over their own destiny. The suspicion between father and son will not decrease. Just talking about his destiny, there is nothing that can be done about it.
He doesn't even know how to find his natal object now. If in the future the supply is really based on the amount of cultivation input into his "natal field", then he will naturally have less than others.
Of course, the royal family certainly didn't consider these things. In the final analysis, it was still the suspicion between father and son and the struggle for the crown prince.
However, Jiajing was not surprised that Prince Yu and Prince Jing did not exchange their lives, and of course he did not care.
His main purpose is to obtain these immortal techniques, and what is important is that the most powerful immortal clan in the future Ming Dynasty is willing to hand them over.
Well, even though he said that there was no compulsion and it was all voluntary, his son could take it seriously and he could be tolerant of his son, but if these people in the court could not obey absolutely, then they would be disloyal.
Fortunately, these people did not let him down.
"Stand up," Jiajing said, raising his hand, and everyone was lifted up by an irresistible force. "Since you are all here, it means you are willing to hand over your life to me for safekeeping."
"I will not let you down. You just need to work hard on your natal items and repay your natal needs. Your natal fields will also repay you. In addition..." Jiajing paused, and then continued, "During festivals, there will be extra cultivation points from your natal fields, which will be used as your salary and reward..."
"If someone makes outstanding contributions to the court and the Ming Dynasty, his natal field will naturally be rewarded with more favors!"
Hearing this, everyone's breathing became heavier.
For them, they understood the profound meaning behind the natal fields and had already let it go. The most important thing at this moment was naturally the realm of cultivation, especially for the older Yan Song and Xu Jie.
Their life span is not much, and they are not sure whether they can break through the foundation building stage after the 150-year life span of Qi Refining is exhausted. So when they heard that political achievements can also be used to calculate their cultivation, their eyes lit up!
In terms of political achievements, who can compare with them?
The third and fourth stages of land reform have not yet begun, and foreign wars have not yet begun. The expanded land management and the education of the people of other countries are all political achievements!
"Okay, without further ado, you can choose your own land here and tell Lu Fang when you have chosen. After the summary, I will peel off your destiny and plant it in your destiny field."
Jiajing waved his hand, and after everyone saluted, they began to gather in groups of three or two.
However, at this moment, the atmosphere in the field was somewhat subtle.
People like Yan Song, Yan Shifan, Yan Shaoting and Hu Zongxian naturally gathered together, while Xu Jie and his son were surrounded by Zhang Juzheng and others.
This scene naturally attracted everyone's attention.
"Dad, there's something interesting to watch!" Yan Shifan said gloatingly.
"..."
(End of this chapter)
