Chapter 236 The era of war has come, but the Ming Dynasty is not ready yet? Yan Shifan's evil plan
June of the seventy-fifth year of the Jiajing reign.
The entire capital city was shrouded in drizzle.
Silijian, the courtyard exclusively for the Grand Supervisor. As the space rippled, Lv Fang, dressed in a coarse linen shirt, appeared in the room.
Ever since Lu Fang kept traveling between the Ming Dynasty and the world of immortal cultivation, Jiajing specially connected his residence to the world of immortal cultivation.
The purpose of doing this is naturally for convenience, so that Lu Fang doesn't have to look for himself every time he goes back and forth to the world of immortal cultivation.
After taking a look at his residence, Lu Fang nodded with satisfaction, then raised his hand to remove the restrictions, talismans and magic arrays in the room, and then he sent his spiritual sense out of the yard, wanting to find a eunuch to bathe and change clothes, and then he saw Huang Jin walking towards him from afar with an umbrella.
Although Huang Jin's current cultivation level has reached the foundation-building stage, he is unwilling to change some of his mortal habits.
For example, on rainy days he doesn't like to use his spiritual energy to deflect the rain, but prefers to walk with an umbrella. Also, when traveling he prefers to take a horse-drawn carriage or a fairy track, rather than flying magic tools in the sky.
The reason for this, of course, was what he learned from Lu Fang, the elders in the cabinet and others.
After all, they are all standing at the pinnacle of the Great Ming Immortal Dynasty. It would be too unstable if they continued to fly around like ordinary cultivators.
Besides, if they were high-ranking people like them, they would travel in a carriage. How could a cultivator dare to fly above their heads? Wouldn't it be more stylish to go out like this?
If it were at the beginning, perhaps they would practice Taoism and like to fly in the sky on flying swords, but now they are already tired of it.
Only by hiding luxury in restraint, being approachable and not showing off can you give others the intimidation of "power".
It is also because of this that the immortal atmosphere in the capital city reveals a sense of ordinariness everywhere, but it also gives people a vague feeling of pressure.
If cultivators from other areas of Northern Zhili and Southern Zhili come to the capital, they will inexplicably hide their aura.
Sometimes, after living in Beijing for a long time, one will even develop an inexplicable low-key and restrained style.
He liked to travel in a carriage or sedan chair, and he also liked to hold an umbrella on rainy days, as if only in this way could he appear more tasteful.
Likewise, the atmosphere of cultivating immortals in the capital city has become very difficult to describe, but it can be felt everywhere.
"It's my turn now. You can go down and have a rest." Huang Jin put away his umbrella and handed it to the eunuch Chen Ju, who was about the same age as him and looked to be in his sixties. He said:
"The Imperial Master is also in seclusion, but Xuanpu Palace cannot be left unattended. You go over there and help me watch over it. I think he will be out soon. If he comes out midway, please use the communication jade token to let me know."
In five years, Jiajing moved a lot of mineral veins from the world of immortal cultivation and used them for various infrastructure construction projects in the Ming Dynasty.
For example, this "communication jade token" is a communication device that can input spiritual energy and enable people to communicate with each other thousands of miles away.
In the beginning, it was only used by the dignitaries in the court and the three major camps. Later, with the mining of mineral veins, gradually the "Great Ming Immortal Cultivation World" also began to use it, and then this thing became popular.
Huang Jin said, as if he had thought of something, he glanced into the courtyard and said, "It's been five years, and godfather hasn't come out yet?"
"No," Chen Ju shook his head and said, "In the past few years, Yang Jinshui and Feng Bao have been fighting fiercely. I heard that many people were killed in Fengyang Prefecture. Hai Rui was furious and insisted on this matter. He directly arrested several heads of families and sects of the Yuwang Mansion and Jingwang Mansion."
"Tsk," Chen Ju clicked his tongue and said, "Those who were arrested were at least in their 50s or 60s, or 60s or 70s. They were stripped of their pants and spanked in public. The entire Nanjing cultivation community was furious."
"This is the same with Hai Rui. There is no evidence to prove that these people did it, but he insisted on digging into some old petty accounts, holding them hostage and even caning them in public. This is too hurtful."
"Yes," Huang Jin couldn't help but sighed and said, "But the story behind this may not be that simple. Nanjing is a place where all kinds of people gather together."
"Don't forget that the garrisons in Nanjing are all from military families. They rely on their titles and don't take ordinary people seriously at all."
"With the return of Zhang Juzheng and others to the cabinet, the Nanjing garrison began to form small groups. There was a fight between the two palaces, but Zhang Juzheng and others also had their own mountaintops."
"The matter here is very complicated. I guess Hai Rui has been patient for a long time, and this is the only time he has taken down someone from the palace."
"I won't say anymore. If Yang Jinshui and Feng Bao ask again, just say that godfather is still in seclusion and will be back soon..." Huang Jin shook his head.
"Come in." However, just when Chen Ju wanted to speak, Lu Fang's familiar voice suddenly sounded in their ears.
Godfather?!
Hearing Lu Fang's voice, the two looked at each other and saw the surprise in each other's eyes. They didn't expect that they were still muttering just now, and then they saw their godfather coming out.
So the two of them didn't have time to think too much, they quickly tidied their robes, and then went to the room where Lu Fang was in seclusion.
"Greetings, godfather. Congratulations on your successful exit." Lu Fang sat cross-legged on the couch, looking at the two people who were bowing in front of him. He smiled with relief and raised his hand, saying, "Sit down, everyone."
"Thank you, godfather." Huang Jin and Chen Ju sat down, one on the left and one on the right.
"Yes, the foundation has been established." Lu Fang first looked at Chen Ju, the adopted son he adopted in the 26th year of Jiajing.
Unlike Huang Jin, Yang Jinshui, Feng Bao and others, this adopted son seldom walked around in the Western Garden and usually served in the palace.
In recent years, he was going to the world of cultivating immortals, and many of his adopted sons were arranged by him to live in the palaces of kings and princesses.
But the master needed someone to serve him, and there was no other choice except Huang Jin, who had been with the master since he was in the palace. However, Huang Jin was given to the national teacher Qingfeng.
In order to take over the class of the Imperial Master Qingfeng, Chen Ju was transferred to Xiyuan.
"This is inseparable from the cultivation of my godfather." Being praised by his godfather, Chen Ju immediately bowed to express his gratitude.
In response, Lu Fang did not refuse, but accepted Chen Ju's thanks calmly.
The fact that these adopted sons have been able to break through to the foundation-building stage is indeed entirely due to his efforts. Otherwise, they would still be struggling in the Qi training stage.
As for Huang Jin, his cultivation level has not changed, he is still only in the initial stage of foundation building, but his aura is obviously much stronger than Chen Ju's.
After nodding to the two of them to show their affirmation, Lu Fang finally started to get to the point.
"Jinshui and Baoer have been fighting recently?"
Hearing Lu Fang's question, the two were stunned and looked at each other. They knew that their conversation just now had been heard by their godfather.
"Godfather, let me tell you." Huang Jin took a deep breath and recounted the situation in the court over the past five years.
Chen Ju, who was standing by, added supplements from time to time.
About an hour later, Lu Fang also had a general understanding of the situation in the court in recent years.
It was pretty much what he expected.
In five years, with the return of Xu Jie, Gao Gong, Zhang Juzheng and Zhao Zhenji, the number of cabinet members suddenly expanded to nine, and the situation in the court became even more complicated.
The first was Xu Jie, who purged the Ministry of Works from other factions. Then Gao Gong was appointed by the Emperor as the lecturer of Prince Gong's Mansion, and Prince Gong was the fifth prince Zhu Zaichun.
The so-called lecturer is actually a master.
Everyone also knew that Gao Gong chose the fifth prince Zhu Zaichun as the person to support.
The person who immediately followed Gao Gong to become a lecturer was Zhang Juzheng.
Zhang Juzheng took the initiative to ask the emperor to become the lecturer of Prince An, the seventh prince Zhu Zairun.
It is obvious that Zhang Juzheng chose Prince An!
As for the Sixth Prince Ding Wang, the Eighth Prince Ping Wang, the Ninth Prince Xiang Wang, the Tenth Prince Ming Wang, the Eleventh Prince Hui Wang, the Twelfth Prince Xian Wang and the Thirteenth Prince Rui Wang, no lecturers have been appointed yet.
Xu Jie and Zhao Zhenji seemed to have no intention of choosing one of the princes as the one to support. They kept their troops on the sidelines, doing their duty as cabinet ministers. Of course, no one would think that they were content to be ordinary.
Perhaps they have already taken action, or perhaps they are watching from the sidelines, waiting for the right opportunity.
Or maybe Xu Jie is currently too busy with the Ministry of Works affairs.
As for Zhao Zhenji, he has always acted low-key and cautious. I am afraid that even if he secretly supports a prince, he will not expose it. This is in line with his usual style.
However, just a year ago, the situation in the court changed again, and this change caused a huge uproar.
Just because Prince An entered the palace and asked Wang Chonggu, a member of the New Party, to become the Chancellor of Prince An's Mansion, the Emperor agreed.
Everyone in the court knew that ever since the Ming Dynasty entered the Immortal Dynasty, the emperor had always turned a blind eye to the fights between the princes.
In addition, everyone assumed that the emperor wanted to choose a qualified heir, and the factional struggles in the court were also tolerated.
Therefore, as long as the prince requested it or the members of each faction already had an ideal candidate to support, they would agree to it directly.
But what really caused an uproar in the court was that Wang Chonggu was a member of the New Party, and he also served as the Minister of War. Most importantly, he was a direct descendant of Prince Yu!
Prince Yu and Prince An should be in a hostile relationship.
Moreover, there was already a Zhang Juzheng by Prince An's side. Wang Chonggu, a direct descendant of Prince Yu, defected to Prince An. The reason behind this was so complicated and logical that other people and the prince had to think carefully about it.
There are two possibilities. Either Wang Chonggu betrayed Prince Yu, just like the Qingliu people drew a line between themselves and Prince Yu back then.
Otherwise, Prince Yu and Prince An are cooperating!
But everyone knows that Wang Chonggu and Yu Dayou had followed Prince Yu and Prince Jing until the end.
The Emperor ordered all the people to hand in their real lives, but all the direct descendants of Prince Yu and Prince Jing refused to do so.
It is not an exaggeration to say that this is a token of allegiance.
Over the years, the two of them have been able to rise to prominence and successfully break through the foundation-building stage. It can be said that they could not do without the support of Prince Yu and Prince Jing's mansion. So as long as Wang Chonggu is not a fool, he will never betray Prince Yu.
Eliminating the impossible, the remaining one, no matter how shocking and unbelievable it is, is also the truth!
That’s right, the truth is that Prince Yu and Prince An have joined forces!
In other words, Prince Yu knew that he could not become the crown prince, so he decisively chose to support Prince An. Isn't this also planning for the future and getting the credit for following the dragon?
This time, in Fengyang, Prince Yu's Mansion and Prince Jing's Mansion were fighting each other to the death, and this might be one of the reasons.
Of course, the most important thing are the two royal palaces. Since Xu Jie intervened in the rectification of the Ministry of Works, the interests of both sides have been damaged.
But no one knew why Prince Yu and Prince Jing, who were originally very close and seemed to be working together to "kill all the other kings", would suddenly turn against each other without any warning.
Why did they fall out? Lu Fang naturally knew all this.
The reason is nothing more than the cooperation between Prince Jing and Prince Yu. It seems that both sides have made every effort to deploy the military and to lay out the world when the third and fourth stages of land reform are launched and the war era comes, but in fact, it is Prince Jing who has set up a trap for Prince Yu's Mansion.
If it weren't for the backup plan made by Crown Prince Zhu Yijun, Prince Yu would probably have ended up being sold out and still be counting the money.
Of course, he also learned all this from his master by following him.
“Have the last two stages of land reform begun?”
After hearing the general trend of the court situation, Lu Fang did not feel too shaken. After all, it was all foreseen long ago.
The only thing that surprised him was that Prince Yu actually chose to support Prince An. This move must have caught others off guard.
Hearing Lv Fang asking about land reform, Huang Jin continued:
"A year ago, in the 74th year of the Jiajing reign, under the command of the Ministry of Industry, the development speed of the 'Spiritual Industry Era' was unprecedented. However, so far, it has only completed the first stage proposed by Xu Fan, the 'Agricultural Spiritual Era'."
"There are 'Spiritual Energy Refueling Stations' across the country, and agriculture is now stable." Huang Jin paused and said:
"Among the three new grains, the annual output of 'gold grain' is about 667 million dan. The annual output of 'sweet potato' is about million dan. The annual output of 'yellow taro' is about 50 million dan."
"With the huge amount of grain, there are also many crises, such as storage crisis, and there are also some problems with the balance of grain supply and demand. Therefore, at the beginning of the year, the Ministry of Revenue hopes to increase trade with countries around the world."
"The problem of surplus grain has been solved, but the proposal was rejected by the young cabinet minister." Huang Jin paused for a moment and said, "Of course, the young cabinet minister rejected it, not because he didn't want to sell the grain to others."
"He hopes to use another method, such as selling the grain of the Ming Dynasty to solve the growing conflicts among the common people, and use this crisis to cause the collapse of the countries."
"In this way, once the Ming Dynasty completes the thorough reform of the 'Aura Industrial Age', it will be much easier to deal with the other countries."
"For example?" Hearing this, Lu Fang cast a curious look. He could understand the growing contradictions caused by selling grain to the people of various countries to solve the internal imbalance of supply and demand.
But this would cause other countries to collapse, which he did not understand at the time. If things got chaotic, how would the people of the Ming Dynasty do business?
Huang Jin looked at his bewildered godfather Lu Fang, and thought of the vicious plan proposed by Yan Shifan at the beginning of the year, and said:
"Young Minister Yan Shifan still wants to use the old methods, such as the method used to deal with the natives in Yingzhou Prefecture."
"Support a few forces among the overseas countries, so that the whole world, except Ming Dynasty, will enter the era of war first."
"The Ming Dynasty can also use some 'Cloud and Rain Talismans' to destroy the agriculture of various countries. In this way, once the war era begins, there will inevitably be a food crisis."
"This way, Ming can sell grain to other countries."
"However, the plan proposed by the young minister was jointly rejected by Zhang Juzheng and others, on the grounds that it was too detrimental to the harmony of heaven. It is disgraceful for a great country like the Immortal Dynasty to plot against a lower country like this."
"But the young minister said that the world falling into an era of war will clear obstacles for the Ming Dynasty and promote the development of the second stage of the 'Aura Industrial Age'."
"After all, the second stage of the 'Aura Industry Age' is the 'Aura Industry Embryo Age'. Once it is opened, Ming will set up aura workshops throughout the territory to create various equipment."
"The most important thing is that the second stage of the 'Aura Industrial Age' is also closely related to the grassroots people. Once these workshops are built, the grassroots people will need to join in the production."
"At that time, as the population grows, we will also face the crisis of overproduction. This law is to resolve the internal conflicts among the people."
"But according to Gao Gong, these countries will be annexed by the Ming Dynasty sooner or later, and then they will become the territory of the Ming Dynasty."
"Even if possible, we will also set up a provincial government to manage the people of those countries, and the people of other countries will also be our own people. Who will we sell our things to then? Will we kill them all?"
"By then, production will still be in excess, the world's population will plummet, and there will suddenly be no wars. How will the internal conflicts caused by the huge loss in the hearts of the people be resolved? After all, it is difficult to go from extravagance to frugality!"
"Then, the two sides argued endlessly, and the implementation of the reform of the 'Aura Industrial Age' was the main force, so it was delayed."
After hearing Huang Jin's words, Lu Fang could imagine how intense the political discussion in Yuxi Palace was at that time.
"What did the master say?" Lu Fang asked.
"In the end, there was no conclusion, but these issues are not the master's concern," Huang Jin said, his tone also dissatisfied with the cabinet, saying: "Does the master still have to worry about it?"
"Anyway, the master said that a charter must be produced by the end of the year, and the third and fourth phases of land reform will begin next year."
"Next year? There's only half a year left." Hearing this, Lu Fang nodded slightly. The start of the third and fourth stages of land reform means the arrival of the war era, which his master had mentioned to him before.
Once the master makes a decision, it will not be easily changed.
"Lv Fang." At this moment, Jiajing's voice sounded in Lv Fang's ears.
"..."
(End of this chapter)
