Imperial Master of the Ming Dynasty

"Oh? Are you here to join me?"

Jiang Xinghuo looked at the right minister of the Ministry of Rites with a half-smile but not a smile.

As the saying goes, everything in the world is for profit, and all the hustle and bustle in the world is for profit. He, Jiang Xinghuo, had never known Master Song, and he asked himself that he did not have the ability to make him bow before him.

So, what does Mr. Song want? Why give him a "gift"?

"Of course, I have admired Wang Jinggong since I was a child. I am completely different from those pedantic people who slandered the reform. I just want to give my Ming Dynasty a bright future!" Song Li said seriously.

"Master Song said it well."

Jiang Xinghuo suppressed his smile and looked at the other party coldly.

"Then Master Song, do you want to be Lu Huiqing?"

What this means here is that Lu Huiqing was the number two figure in Wang Anshi's reform. During the early years of Xining when Wang Anshi was in power, he helped him promote several reforms such as the Qingmiao Law and the Market Change Law. After Wang Anshi was dismissed as prime minister for the first time, Lu Huiqing served as political counselor on behalf of the reform faction and continued to promote the reform, but he tried to replace Wang Anshi's position and became a traitor within the reform faction.

After hearing this, Song Li, who had just said that he admired Wang Anshi, could not fail to hear the sarcastic meaning in it. According to common sense, he should have become angry from embarrassment.

But to Jiang Xinghuo's expectation, Song Li shook his head with a smile and said, "Lu Huiqing, this is not what I want."

"What do you want, Master Song?" Jiang Xinghuo narrowed his eyes slightly.

Song Li bowed his head and said, "I would like to follow Li Si's story of holding a lamb."

Jiang Xinghuo was startled when he heard this. This man is a bit interesting.

There is an allusion here, that is, in the era when "The Rites of Zhou" was popular, people used "The Book of Songs: Lamb" as a metaphor for officials with high moral character and matching moral status, which also means that the party is not a group.

Carrying a lamb and giving gifts is the highest etiquette for a minister to flatter high-ranking officials such as the state minister. According to the requirements of "Zhou Rites", the process of giving gifts is also very particular. The lamb must be dressed and its four feet must be tied with ropes. , hand over its back from the belly, tie a rope on the chest, and when holding the lamb, you have to hold the front and rear legs of the lamb with both hands, just like holding a deer.

According to widely circulated unofficial records, when Lu Buwei was the Prime Minister of the Qin Dynasty, Li Si, as soon as he turned white, asked for an official post from the Qing Dynasty official, and gained Lu Buwei's favor. After Lu Buwei's fall, Li Si took over as the Prime Minister of the Qin Dynasty and continued to preside over the reform.

"Where is the lamb?" Jiang Xinghuo asked.

Song Li looked at Jiang Xinghuo's uncertain eyes in the shadow of the warehouse and suddenly smiled slyly.

He pointed at Miyagi not far away.

"The Nine Layers Palace is the lamb below."

Jiang Xinghuo said softly: "Sir Song, you are so brave."

This sentence almost clearly told Jiang Xinghuo that the emperor sent him here.

In fact, Song Li had no intention of hiding at all. He knew very well that there is no airtight wall in this world that cannot be hidden.

What's more, what I did was too rough and abrupt, and the look in Rong Guo Gong's eyes just now made him suspicious.

So Song Li simply revealed his intention.

I am the emperor's undercover agent. Will your reform faction accept me?

If you don't accept me, what will the emperor think? Are you establishing an independent kingdom before you even start the reform?

If you accept me, then I have the status of an emperor's undercover. When it comes time to make decisions and share the credit, do you want to think more about it?

But at the same time, Song Li did not push too hard. He also said that he did not want to be Lu Huiqing who usurped the power of the reform faction. He wanted to be Li Si.

"As a prisoner, the national master can plan the destiny of a country in the imperial prison. He can control the world without leaving a small area. The ancient conspirators were nothing more than this. I have also heard of the so-called "On the Destiny of the Country". If you talk about courage, Big, I am far inferior to the Imperial Master." Song Li replied seriously.

"Then why does Mr. Song think that he can be Li Si?"

Jiang Xinghuo looked at the other party and said unhurriedly: "Jiang is much younger than Mr. Song."

Song Li said without mercy: "Did Shang Yang, Lu Buwei, and Wang Anshi end up because they were old?"

If it had been anyone else, these words would have stabbed the lungs and stabbed the heart.

But Jiang Xinghuo was silent for a few moments, then suddenly smiled and said: "Lu Buwei died miserably, and Li Si died miserably."

After hearing these words, Song Li's heart that he had been forcing himself to lift finally returned to his stomach.

Song Li concluded that he was not wrong based on what he had heard from Li Zhigang and his recent silent observation in the Gunpowder Department of the War Bureau.

This national preceptor was not seeking personal gain in order to implement reforms.

He is someone who really wants to do things and do big things.

Such people don't care how long they can live, or whether they survive in this world.

This kind of person only wants one thing, that is, that his ideals can be realized and his spirit will last forever.

Therefore, the national master needs power not because he is greedy for power, but because it is a necessary means to achieve his goal, nothing more.

When the time comes, he is not shy about handing over power to others.

——Then, as long as you can do your best in the reform sect and implement his reforms wholeheartedly, what kind of person do you have and what purpose do you have in joining?

"A man should never be without power for a day."

Song Li gave his final answer.

A smile appeared on Jiang Xinghuo's Qingjun face: "Jiang is too blind to recognize talents, but it seems that Uncle Liu Huang mistakenly recognized Pang Tong as Bailihou. Fortunately, Mr. Song recommended himself to Song Li. Mr. Song has the talent of Feng Chu. It’s actually Jiang’s good fortune today, otherwise his left eyelid would have been twitching.”

Jiang Xinghuo didn't lie, his eyelids were indeed visibly twitching.

For Song Li, successfully persuading Jiang Xinghuo to join the reform camp was indeed a happy event.

Next, just say a few polite words.

But Song Li observed carefully for a moment, and it seemed that only to him, this was the left

Song Li laughed dumbly, it was just that the other party was looking for something to say on the spot.

What are you serious about?

It's all superstition

"——National Preceptor, it's not good!"

The brief conversation between the two under the warehouse was quickly interrupted.

Zheng He pursed his lips tightly, with a somewhat disbelieving look on his face.

"What's wrong?"

Jiang Xinghuo asked as he rubbed his twitching eyelids.

Zheng He took a deep breath and said in a deep voice: "Thousands of the Imperial College students have risen up to cause trouble!"

Hearing this, Jiang Xinghuo's heart sank.

He actually knows better than anyone else how strong the resistance to reform is.

But from the beginning, there was no room for relaxation, and the methods used to obstruct the reform became more and more intense.

From the blood oath of Jing Qing to the current riots among the Imperial College students, there may not be a capable hand behind them. This is the most troublesome thing!

If there really is something like the Donglin Party, it would be much easier to deal with. It would be an organized sweep to catch them all.

But the problem is that there will not be a fictitious "Jiangnan Gentry United Secret Organization" at all. Instead, the entire Ming Dynasty has the right to speak, and countless atomized individuals at all levels of society are fanning the flames of the situation in some way. Increasingly, the hard-line attitude seems to be inevitable. Consciously or unconsciously, instigated or instigated, we are involved in this storm.

Zheng He added: "Duke Rongguo and the second prince have already entered the palace to face the saint."

"You can't mobilize troops!"

Jiang Xinghuo and Song Li said almost in unison.

The two of them looked at each other. Perhaps, in a sense, this was a situation where the boat started leaking as soon as they got on the boat, but they had to work together to help each other?

Song Li unconsciously paced on the spot: "This is the same as the principle of water control. Blocking is worse than sparing. The Imperial College's supervisors are not only from Nanjing, but also princes and nobles from all over the south of the Yangtze River and even vassal countries. We must not do this. Dry!"

Then, Song Li stopped talking at the right time.

If there is no simple and profound truth, the reform can be said to be difficult. Whether you can pass this second hurdle depends on the level of the national teacher. Just show your attitude and show your ability.

Therefore, Song Li began to observe Jiang Xinghuo's reaction and decision-making.

"What is the reason why the Imperial College students are causing trouble? What are their demands?"

After Jiang Xinghuo thought for a while, he asked Zheng He.

"I don't know. It's a mess now. Miyagi has already started to be on guard." Zheng He replied helplessly.

Things started in a hurry, and no one can figure out what the situation is now. They only know that thousands of inmates in the prison building started to cause trouble. It is not clear why, what they want, and who organized it.

This means that the Imperial College of the Ming Dynasty was established in a vast area south of Fuzhoushan-Jilongshan.

To the north of Fuzhoushan-Jilongshan is the city wall of Nanjing, and further north is Xuanwu Lake.

And the most terrible thing is that if you go southeast from the Imperial College, you will reach the palace city after passing the small school field! Or a harem!

It is now approaching night, and the mobilization of the army will inevitably cause more chaos. There is a precedent for this. When the King of Rigu rebelled, Li Jinglong and Zhu Gaoxu went to the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion to request information channels there so that the emperor could order an emergency deployment of troops. , there were a lot of troubles, but the people who took the opportunity to cause trouble in the end were all regarded as the Valley King family, so no trouble happened just now.

Moreover, in fact, regardless of the chaos of the troop deployment itself and the associated effects, these are still controllable. Even the thousands of supervisors of the Imperial College are controllable. But if you think about it more deeply, will this result be possible? What does the other party want?

There are already many resistances to the reform. Now that serious confrontations arise, will the three public opinion policies just laid out still be implemented?

etc.

A flash of lightning suddenly flashed in Jiang Xinghuo's mind.

It was impossible for the students of the Imperial College to cause trouble for no reason, and it was also unlikely that they would make trouble the same night they caught him and return to Beijing to express something to him.

So the only explanation is that they were stimulated by some news.

What kind of news could he be excited about?

Jiang Xinghuo looked at Zheng He and asked quickly:

"Is the printing shop of Di Bao located in the Imperial College?"

Zheng He was a little confused. Since he followed Zhu Di across the river and entered Nanjing, he had actually spent most of his time supervising work in the shipyard, digging guano at sea, and fighting Japanese pirates. He was not particularly familiar with many situations in Nanjing.

Song Li was also shocked when he heard this. He seemed to have realized something, and then replied.

"Yes, the largest printing factory in South Zhili, or in other words, the largest printing factory in the world, is the printing factory of the Imperial College. The 'Prison Edition' of the Classics and History Collection and the guidance books for the imperial examination are beautifully engraved and the sales volume is very good."

That’s it!

The Di Bao is the information collected by the Sixth Section, which is equivalent to the reporter, and then sent to the editorial department of the Cabinet. The Cabinet sorts it out and then sends it to the printing house of the Imperial College for printing.

Regarding the "natural principles of rain", it was directly entered into the cabinet without going through the six subjects. It was implemented by the cabinet. But how could the cabinet have the courage to interfere with such a matter that the emperor personally ordered?

In this case, I’m afraid the problem lies in the printing process!

Jiang Xinghuo no longer hesitated and said directly: "Master Feng and Master Song will follow me into the palace to meet the Holy Spirit first."