Chapter 235 Wei Zhongxian! The third and fourth stages of land reform begin
Xu Mansion, hall.
"I welcome my father back home."
"The grandson respectfully welcomes the return of grandfather and congratulates grandfather on his return to the cabinet."
Xu Fan and his son Xu Yuanchun knelt in front of Xu Jie. Both father and son's faces were filled with excitement.
Looking at his son and grandson kneeling in front of him, Xu Jie couldn't help but feel his eyes red and his nose sour.
Eighteen years, eighteen years since I returned to the court.
Especially when seeing the capital city today, it can be said that the world has changed dramatically, and things and people are no longer the same. One can imagine the emotions in Xu Jie's heart.
This period of time is not long for a cultivator, but for someone standing at the pinnacle of power, eighteen years can be said to be a long time to experience many vicissitudes of life.
He was naturally very aware of his son's efforts over the past eighteen years, and he also knew what this son, who had always been under his protection, had experienced and what he had to face over the years.
He knew his son well and knew that he never liked the officialdom and was an honest man.
But in order to help himself return to the cabinet, he took on the future of the entire Xu family alone.
In the officialdom, he used his own unique way to move forward. If such a person had not had the skills to rely on, he might have been squeezed out of the court long ago.
After eighteen years, as far as he knew, Xu Fan still had few political parties in the court, which showed that he was really not good at dealing with people and things.
Otherwise, given his current status as the promoter of the entire "Spiritual Industrial Age" national policy, how could he not be surrounded by a group of political parties?
Even with Xu Fan's current political achievements, he has already met the criteria for entering the cabinet, but the emperor has never issued an edict.
The reason for this, naturally, was that his son's character and political skills were not enough to become a cabinet minister.
I think the reason why the emperor allowed me to return to the cabinet was not only because of my own ability, but also because of Xu Fan's accumulated merits.
"Get up quickly." The thought flashed through Xu Fan's mind, and he quickly bent down and helped his son and grandson up.
Especially when he looked at Xu Fan's grandson Xu Yuanchun, who was 44 years old and had already passed the age of 40. However, what made him quite satisfied was that his grandson's cultivation had now reached the late stage of Qi training.
Of course, if compared with his peer Yan Shaoting, there is still a big gap, but Xu Jie has long since let it go.
Everyone has his own path to follow. His Xu family now controls the entire Ministry of Works. It can be said that the construction of the Ming Dynasty was all supervised by the Xu family. As long as they manage the Ministry of Works well, this small piece of land in the court can continue forever.
For a cultivator, the number of years may be many or few, but it is enough to develop the family and let the generations of the clan members grow up. If this generation cannot compete, then compete with the next generation, and the next generation.
Why should a cultivator compete with others for a moment? What matters is the glory of a hundred, a thousand, or ten thousand lifetimes.
Soon after some greetings, the three generations of grandparents and grandchildren took their seats.
Afterwards, Xu Fan told his father Xu Jie everything about the court situation, the development of the Ministry of Works, and the layout of the "Spiritual Industrial Era" over the years, no matter how big or small.
After all, future court affairs will be entirely handed over to his father. At the same time, he also knows that when his father returns to the cabinet this time, he will face even more brutal and bloody party struggles.
There were some things he had to tell his father in detail.
As Xu Jie listened to Xu Fan's story, the expression on his face changed from time to time, sometimes gratified, sometimes solemn.
As for Xu Yuanchun, he listened quietly at the side and brought tea and water to his grandfather and father from time to time.
It can be said that Xu Yuanchun perfectly inherited his father Xu Fan's character and behavior.
He is also a quiet person who works silently.
Of course, Xu Yuanchun also has his own unique side, because he is also a cultivator with outstanding talent in both talismans and array cultivation.
Even though he was only in the late stage of Qi training, but in terms of formations and talismans, he was ahead of the talisman masters or formation masters who had reached the foundation-building stage in the "one pavilion and two academies".
"Huh," Xu Fan, who had finished reporting everything, let out a breath after about an hour, "Father, this is all about the Ministry of Works and the court's situation over the years."
After listening to his son Xu Fan's report, the expression on Xu Jie's face was completely replaced by solemnity.
For a moment, the atmosphere in the hall became solemn.
Although Xu Fan had told him in previous correspondence that the Ministry of Industry, which he now controlled, was filled with people from various factions, these people were naturally man-made in the "Aura Industrial Age".
But what he didn't expect was that after listening to Xu Fan's exact report, the situation was even more serious than he had imagined.
It can be said that the reason why the Ministry of Works led by Xu Fan can live in peace is entirely because Xu Fan, the Minister of Works, only knows how to do his work and does not interfere with power at all.
Xu Fan's goal is to successfully promote the "Spiritual Industry Era", accumulate political achievements from the emperor, and help himself return to the court.
Others wanted to use the "Spiritual Industrial Age" to complete their layout for the Ming Dynasty, and the two sides had a tacit understanding and hit it off immediately.
But now that Xu Jie has returned to the cabinet, if the power of the Ministry of Works is allowed to be hollowed out again, it would be tantamount to losing a major supporter in future party struggles, and Xu Jie would not allow the power of the Ministry of Works to fall into the hands of others.
"Prince Yu, Prince Jing..." Xu Jie murmured to himself, his eyes filled with thought.
"Father, although there are rumors in the court that the emperor has given up Prince Yu and Prince Jing, and the future crown prince will not choose between them," Xu Fan was a little hesitant at this time, and said: "But this matter is groundless after all. The emperor has never made it clear. It's all speculation by the ministers."
Seeing his son Xu Fan seeming to want to say something but hesitant, Xu Jie collected his thoughts and gave him an encouraging look.
"Tell me what you think." Hearing his father's words, Xu Fan nodded, then spoke slowly,
"From the Emperor's tolerance towards the Second Prince over the years, even if he didn't hand over his life, he still gave him a lot of spiritual resources and rewards. The Second Prince was able to break through to the foundation building stage because of this."
"All of this is obvious to everyone. It is impossible to tell that the Second Prince has fallen out of favor. I don't understand why you all seemed to have tacitly accepted such a simple truth and believed that the Second Prince was abandoned by the Emperor and would not be made the Crown Prince."
That’s right, Xu Fan didn’t understand why the upright people in the cabinet had parted ways with Prince Yu and drawn a line between themselves and him.
What is even more confusing is that even Yan Song's relationship with King Jing, whom he had always supported, took a sharp turn for the worse.
After listening to his son Xu Fan's words, Xu Jie nodded slightly, and then said: "The emperor did not say it clearly."
"But Prince Jing is greedy. Although he is most like the emperor, he does not have the emperor's ability to manipulate the world and make decisions on his own."
"Although Prince Yu has the qualities to be a king who maintains the status quo, he is too unlike an emperor. He is too dependent on his ministers, which makes him arbitrary and indecisive. This is not enough when the country needs change."
"If it were a mortal dynasty, such a king, as long as he knew how to employ people, was close to virtuous ministers and kept away from villains, even if the country needed to change, it could become better. But the current Ming Dynasty is an immortal dynasty."
"And it's only the beginning stage of the Immortal Dynasty."
"Looking through the history books, only our Ming Dynasty is an immortal dynasty, so we can only cross the river by feeling the stones. In the future, there will be more and more reforms to be implemented, and the direction of the immortal dynasty will be constantly adjusted."
"Even the emperor takes every step very steadily and carefully, fearing that he might make a mistake and taking every aspect into consideration."
"As the territory of the Ming Dynasty continues to expand, it may even include the entire... this star world within its territory, and even move towards the star world in the future. Who will be able to control such an immortal dynasty by then?"
"You have been truly trained in the court for more than ten years. Do you think Prince Yu and Prince Jing have such qualifications?"
Following Xu Jie's question, Xu Fan fell silent.
After hearing his father say this, he finally realized that the upright people in the cabinet had actually seen so far back in time.
Indeed, he could also feel how huge the Ming Dynasty would be in the future. If such an empire wanted to function, it must have a set of order that, once established, could not be easily reversed.
But the Ming Dynasty had to cross the river by feeling the stones. It needed to expand its own size while constantly reforming and reshaping the order.
Prince Yu and Prince Jing are indeed not qualified for this important task.
"In other words, regardless of whether the emperor likes them or not, the two of them are destined not to be crown princes." Finally, Xu Fan took a deep breath and sighed.
"That's right," Xu Jie nodded and said, "So, for such an Immortal Dynasty Empire, its successor must be extremely cautious."
"But how can you be sure that among the nine princes today, there will definitely be a suitable candidate for the crown prince?" Xu Fan asked, then shut up again and murmured, "It's better to miss it than to let it go."
"At least, the Ninth Prince has a better chance than the Second Prince."
"If one day he is not the right candidate, then for you, the worst that can happen is that you can just change your candidate and support him. Anyway, as long as a new prince is born, he cannot do without the support of his subjects."
"Let's not talk about this anymore." Seeing that his son Xu Fan had understood, Xu Jie waved his hand and said, "Tell me about the Ninth Prince. You are in the capital, so you know much more about it than I do."
"Yes." Xu Fan knew that his father would also join the party struggle, so he was about to speak, but suddenly he seemed to think of something and said, "Father, Gao Gong, Zhang Juzheng and others are probably..."
"No problem." Xu Jie was well prepared for Gao Gong and the other two.
Seeing his father like this, Xu Fan said nothing more, but honestly reported what he knew about the Ninth Prince.
Although his political skills in the court were not as good as others, he was not blind and knew nothing.
He could also see that if his father returned to the cabinet, he would inevitably choose one supported by the prince. The dispute over the foundation of the country was related to the ministers' philosophy of governing the country.
Therefore, he has not forgotten to help his father collect intelligence on the Ninth King over the years.
At the same time, Zhang Juzheng, Gao Gong, Zhao Zhenji and others began to report the intelligence about the Ninth Prince to everyone at their homes.
An invisible storm seems to be brewing. The future of the Ming Dynasty will surely be turbulent.
However, all of this happened under the watchful eyes of Jiajing.
However, his attitude remained consistent: fighting was the best, because fighting meant that the Ming Dynasty would develop faster and make the most profit.
Because now everyone knows that he does not oppose court struggles, but if the result of their struggle cannot bring benefits to the Ming Dynasty, then they will be punished.
To put it simply and bluntly, when you fight, you don't have to sacrifice your own interests, and it doesn't matter if you live or die.
Even if the party struggles get out of control and I need to step in to help you settle the situation, it is not impossible. However, if the Ming Dynasty does not benefit enough, the outcome will be extremely miserable.
The world of immortal cultivation, Central Plains.
A corner of Yanzhou, Beigang Town.
As the afterglow of the setting sun fell from the west, a group of dusty casual cultivators gathered in Beigang Town near the outer area of a primitive mountain range. In the open area outside the mountain range, there were a large number of exotic flowers and plants, and of course the flesh and fur of various ancient beasts. In addition, there were also pieces of refining ores that looked extraordinary.
Of course, the things collected and brought by this group of casual cultivators are just some small gadgets, not priceless things.
The reason why they collected these things was because there was a new immortal cultivation shop called "Mingri Tower" in Beigang Town, which specialized in purchasing some immortal cultivation items.
The main reason is that the price of "Tomorrow's Building" is reasonable and it is very friendly to independent cultivators, so naturally it has received the support of a number of independent cultivators.
Of course, the most important thing is that Beigang Town, where the "Tomorrow Tower" is located, belongs to a small sect, the "Fire Cloud Sect".
Beigang Town is the territory of the Zhao family, the direct descendant of the leader of the Huoyun Sect.
The Zhao family is an eighth-rank family.
According to the patriarchal system, the family territory is linked to the head of the clan's cultivation level, with nine pairs for Qi refining and eight pairs for foundation building.
Therefore, the head of the "Fire Cloud Sect" is a cultivator in the foundation-building period, and also a strong man in the late foundation-building period. Well, at least in this corner of the country, he is undoubtedly a strong man.
It is also rumored that the "Fire Cloud Sect" was founded by the disciple of an elder named Zhao from the large sect "Shangyan Cloud Sect" in Yanzhou. The cultivation level of this elder named Zhao is even that of the legendary Nascent Soul ancestor.
This is also the reason why a local sect in a small corner, which has existed for many years and has gone through three generations of leaders and is no longer protected by the academy, can still exist in the world.
In the world of cultivating immortals, many sects will face various external challenges after the "academy protection period".
Maybe one day they will be swallowed up by other sects. In order to ensure the combat effectiveness of their own sects, some sects will absorb some independent cultivators to be stationed there, or some immortal cultivation families to station their forces permanently.
These families or forces are allowed to do business in their own territories, and even if they see immortal seedlings that they like, they can freely recruit disciples within a certain amount.
Not only that, the taxes paid by the immortal cultivators who do business are also very low, and some small sects don't even collect taxes.
The only requirement is that if their own sect is attacked, these immortal cultivation forces must take action and cannot turn against the enemy.
This is the case with the "Fire Cloud Sect", which has attracted many independent cultivators and some individual practitioners to station in Beigang Town.
This "Tomorrow's Building" was founded by a casual cultivator in the late stage of foundation building. It is said that on the day when this "Tomorrow's Building" opened, the head and elders of the "Fire Cloud Sect" personally came to the platform to show their support.
For a time, "Ming Ri Lou" became the most popular shop in Beigang Town.
Although its prices are fair and it has taken over a lot of business from independent practitioners, thus offending many of its peers, "Ming Ri Lou" does not eat alone and will reserve a portion of its business for its peers.
Not only that, he is even willing to purchase some cultivation supplies from other colleagues at high prices.
In this case, naturally no one would say anything.
Of course, there are also rumors that behind this "Tomorrow's Tower" stands a great monk in the middle stage of the Golden Core Stage.
Because before this, a group of "immortal bandits" from across the river had targeted the guys of "Tomorrow's Tower", and then that day, the pressure of the golden elixir came, and the immortal bandits disappeared, while the guys of "Tomorrow's Tower" were safe and sound.
At this point, the position of "Mingri Building" in Beigang Town has been completely secured.
Many independent cultivators even took the initiative to ask for cooperation with "Ming Ri Lou" and even wanted to become a subordinate of "Ming Ri Lou".
He was even willing to collect some immortal cultivation supplies for "Ming Ri Tower" for free. His purpose, of course, was to make friends with the Jindan cultivator behind "Ming Ri Tower". "Ming Ri Tower" naturally agreed to this.
In the past fifteen years, the "Mingri Building" in Beigang Town has developed into a caravan, and its size has naturally grown.
The number of independent cultivators gathered under his command was more than a thousand. These independent cultivators usually practiced on their own, but at the same time they all had an identity, that is, they were all employed by the "Mingri Building".
As long as these casual cultivators have good things, they can take the initiative to hand them in, and then "Mingri Building" will appraise and buy them back. Putting aside the original price, there are even some "subsidies".
For example, if there is a spiritual herb worth ten taels of spiritual energy, if there is a second one, in addition to the twenty taels of spiritual energy that you should have gotten, "Mingri Tower" will also give a ten percent profit as a "subsidy" for the second one.
That is to say, starting from the second portion, for every ten taels of spiritual source, one tael of subsidy can be obtained.
Of course, the prerequisite is that the value must be higher than ten taels of spiritual source, otherwise there will be no second subsidy.
As a result, all the independent cultivators put in their best efforts to collect some high-value cultivation supplies from everywhere.
If they come across some good stuff, some independent cultivators may not be able to help but keep it for themselves, but more people still choose to sell it to "Tomorrow Tower". After all, it is not safe to keep good things on oneself. The key is that many high-grade materials cannot be used without sufficient cultivation.
It would be more economical to exchange it for spiritual source and buy the things needed for your current level of cultivation.
"Fellow Taoists, thank you for your hard work."
The person who spoke was the shopkeeper of Mingri Tower, an old man who looked to be about fifty years old and wore a white coarse linen shirt and had gray hair.
However, it is impossible to tell the exact age of a cultivator just by looking at their appearance.
In the world of cultivating immortals, many cultivators who have reached the Golden Core Stage or even the Nascent Soul Stage are accustomed to disguising their appearance to appear as young men, teenagers, or even children.
Some are used to maintaining the image of an old person.
For example, some sect leaders and elders all have a fixed image. For example, the leader is usually shown as middle-aged, while the elders all have the image of old men with white hair and beard and a sage-like appearance.
"Boss, you are too polite. Thanks to the 'Tomorrow's Building', our lives have become better over the years. Besides, we are not working for nothing, so isn't this a benefit?"
Seeing the shopkeeper of "Tomorrow Tower" thanking so politely, some independent cultivators also responded, which then caused everyone to laugh.
When others heard this, they also started talking at once, and some even threatened to pay the wages a few days later.
Many people also said that these were just some ordinary supplies and they could be regarded as free gifts to the "Mingri Building".
For a moment, the scene was extremely lively.
"Business is business, and we should not cheat anyone," the shopkeeper of Mingri Building smiled and shook his head, saying, "Don't worry, I will count the goods when I get home, and you can come to my door on time at noon tomorrow."
The shopkeeper of Mingri Building bowed to everyone.
He knew, of course, that words like "there's no rush" and "making friends for free" were just excuses.
What is life like for a casual cultivator? With his constant contact with the world of immortal cultivation over the years, he has already figured it out clearly. For a casual cultivator, cultivation resources are everything to them.
This group of people have no intention of making friends with anyone. In their world, cultivation resources are everything.
Even though there are many people here and they are all having fun together and look like fellow Taoists, if they were to find an uninhabited place, they might draw their swords against each other, kill people and seize treasures in the next moment.
Over the years, he made friends with many lone cultivators and met many familiar faces, but they gradually disappeared.
Many people could even see him on the day but not the next day, and the person responsible for selling supplies to him was replaced by someone else.
If I really believed what these people said and delayed paying my "wages", I guess they would immediately turn against me.
"Okay, the shopkeeper is generous," said a burly man with two axes on his back, bowing and saying, "If we continue to refuse, it would be our fault. Liu will come to your door on time tomorrow!"
After saying that, the sturdy man winked at his two companions beside him, then turned around and strode away.
When the others saw this, they all looked at the people around them, bowed and left with a smile, still saying some polite words.
After a short while, all the independent cultivators dispersed, leaving only the owner of "Mingri Tower" standing among the mountains of cultivation supplies.
"Buzz." The spiritual consciousness dissipated and swept across a thousand feet around the body. The shopkeeper of "Tomorrow Building" slowly retracted the spiritual consciousness and then covered this huge amount of supplies.
Then a small bronze tripod slowly emerged.
"Get up!" With a loud shout, the small bronze tripod was thrown high into the air, and then instantly grew larger in the air.
"Boom!" As a dull sound of landing was heard, the covers on all four sides of the bronze tripod opened, and a huge suction force was initiated. Suddenly, the piles of materials turned into a torrent and poured into the bronze tripod.
After a while, all the supplies on the scene disappeared.
"Boom, boom, boom." The blazing flames rose in the furnace and began to refine the materials.
I don’t know how long it took, the sun rose, the moon set, and the sun rose again.
Finally, the fire in the bronze tripod went out, but flashes of light appeared on the bronze tripod.
"Alas, this bronze treasure that the master gave us is really difficult to upgrade. After fifteen years, it still cannot break through the boundaries of spiritual weapons." Looking at the small bronze tripod in front of him that was slowly being retracted, Lu Fang sighed.
The owner of this "Tomorrow's Tower" is Lu Fang, who travels back and forth between the world of immortal cultivation and is responsible for the initial development of power in the world of immortal cultivation.
"But it's also the fault of these independent cultivators," Lv Fang thought to himself, "Fortunately, the Ming Dynasty doesn't rely on them to provide supplies, otherwise, with these junk, the Ming Dynasty would not be able to develop even if there were ten thousand years."
"The ancestor behind the 'Fire Cloud Sect' seems to be about to pass away. By then, the surrounding sects will not let go of this piece of fat meat." Lu Fang looked in a certain direction, his eyes flickered for a moment, and he made a decision in his heart, "Perhaps I can discuss it with the master."
"If possible, we can directly control the 'Fire Cloud Sect' in the name of 'Tomorrow Tower' and make it the first puppet sect of our Ming Dynasty in the world of immortal cultivation."
"It's been five years. It's already the seventy-fifth year of Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty."
"I don't know how the Ming Dynasty is developing now. A year ago, the master mentioned that the third and fourth stages of land reform have begun. I'm afraid that this time it's time to usher in an era of war..."
Thinking of this, Lu Fang had an idea. He took up his flying sword and left. He returned to the "Mingri Tower" in the town, and after giving some instructions to his godson "Wei Zhongxian" whom he brought from the Ming Dynasty, he returned to the Ming Dynasty.
Wei Zhongxian was another adopted son adopted by Lu Fang in the 68th year of the Jiajing reign, mainly because he was attracted by his ruthlessness and cleverness.
Moreover, the master was very optimistic about his new godson, and asked him to hand over his natal land to be placed together with Huang Jin and himself.
Afterwards, he even asked him to take him to the world of immortal cultivation. Although he didn't know why his master appreciated his new godson, since his master asked, he naturally obeyed.
Moreover, in order to develop his power in the world of immortal cultivation, he naturally needed someone he could trust, and it just so happened that this new godson was quite good.
So he took him to the world of cultivating immortals.
"..."
(End of this chapter)
