Chapter 102: I have paved the way for you, the reasons and the steps. How can you resist such temptation?
"clang!"
As everyone was stunned, a buzzing sound was heard from the side hall, and everyone in the cabinet finally came to their senses.
At the same time, they also knew that the emperor was asking them to express their opinions.
We absolutely cannot do this. Once we do this, war may break out immediately. This thought came to the minds of the Qingliu people.
"How can the affairs of the country be easily decided by the will of heaven?" At this time, Gao Gong, who was upright and hot-tempered, spoke first and said, "The words of the Imperial Master are too frivolous. Gao Gong cannot agree with them!"
In the past, the emperor had acted in a methodical and excusable way, and they could all understand it. But this time, in his opinion, it was just nonsense.
Closing the "mutual trade" and expelling many Mongols will only lead to one consequence, and that is war with Mongolia!
The northern border is not stable yet. If we rashly start a war at this time, once a war breaks out, we will have to face not only the Tumed tribe led by Altan, but also the three Uriankhai tribes.
Once war breaks out in the north, the Japanese pirates in the southeast might also wait for an opportunity to take action.
The Ming Dynasty's current military strength can barely maintain a balance with the Japanese pirates in the south and the Mongols in the north, and it also has to allocate part of its military strength to suppress some rebellions within its territory.
A single move could affect the entire body. If a war really breaks out, the Ming Dynasty would probably be thrown into complete chaos.
In his opinion, the emperor's behavior was pure nonsense.
After hearing this, the other members of the Qingliu faction nodded secretly in their hearts to show their approval.
"Master," Zhang Juzheng took a deep breath and stepped forward, "According to astrologers, although there is a viable solution, if we hastily close the trade and expel the Mongols, it may lead to war..."
"The northern border is unstable now. If it falls into war, it will affect the entire body. Please think twice!" Zhang Juzheng said this sincerely, but he was actually talking to Jiajing in the side hall.
Altan Khan's invasion was an unexpected event that was beyond Jiajing's orderly plan.
However, since this accident has happened, Jiajing will not avoid it.
His current cultivation level is not enough to sweep across the entire Mongolian territory with a wave of his hand, but if he uses the earth-attributed attack talisman to destroy all the elite troops of the Tumed tribe led by Altan, it would still be possible to cripple him.
Of course, with his cultivation level at the fifth level of Qi training, if he imitated the anger of an ordinary man and attacked personally, it is not impossible for him to kill people in a terrifying way.
But he would not do such a butcher's act. An emperor would not easily lower his dignity or compromise his own nobility. This is the truth.
All you need to do is to gather the spiritual energy and magic formulas above the sky and drop a small piece of talisman paper, and you can bury all those thousands of troops.
"Please think twice, Imperial Master!" At this time, everyone from the Qingliu Sect began to persuade him.
Of course, it would be better to say that it was to persuade Jiajing rather than to persuade Qingfeng.
They knew that the only person who could hold the power was the emperor, unless... unless the emperor really believed the nonsense of this witch, believed that a natural disaster would befall the northern border, and hoped that the natural disaster would bring punishment to the Mongols.
Above, Prince Yu frowned.
King Jing, who was standing by, did not act rashly after receiving a signal from Yan Song. But to be honest, he was also curious about why his father did this. It was really hard to understand.
Below, Yan Song lowered his head and remained silent.
Yan Shifan was no longer impulsive. Well, he was eager to see Qingliu go against the emperor's will, so he was naturally happy to watch the show.
It would be best if this group of people who claim to be upright died here for their remonstrance, died in Yuxi Palace, and died completely!
Yan Shifan said this with gritted teeth in his heart.
Well, he really hated these people to the core.
"Everyone, rest assured," Qingfeng said calmly, "The sky will not make mistakes, there will be disaster in the North!"
"Once the disaster subsides, the trade can be reopened and transactions with Mongolia can proceed as normal."
"Then may I ask the Imperial Master, when will the disaster subside? We can ask the various Mongolian tribes about the reasons so that we can give them answers, so as to avoid an unprovoked war and cause our Ming Dynasty to fall into an unprovoked disaster!"
Gao Gong still had that bad temper.
"Ding!" However, at this moment, another buzzing sound came from the side hall. Hearing this sound, everyone was startled.
Lu Fang glanced at everyone, stepped forward and spoke.
"The weather is unpredictable. It is already very difficult for the Imperial Master to predict that there will be a disaster in the North. You all also want to know when the disaster will retreat. Isn't that a bit difficult for you?"
Lu Fang stared at Xu Jie and the others, his tone becoming increasingly serious, "Or do you want to take these and give an explanation to the Mongols?"
"Why should we, the Ming Dynasty, explain to the Mongols about our actions? Is the Ming Dynasty a vassal state of the Mongolian tribes?"
"When the Southeast changed, wasn't it because the Imperial Master observed the stars at night, discovered the war and disaster, and then went to the Southeast to pray for blessings, which calmed the Southeast down?"
"Now that you are questioning the Imperial Master, I also want to ask you something," Lv Fang said, looking around at everyone, and said in a gloomy tone, "May I ask you, is the Southeast matter resolved or not?"
This group of people are questioning their master's decision here. It seems that they are forcing the national teacher, but in fact they are forcing the master to back down.
In Lu Fang's view, this was a slap in the face.
How can the master's will be swayed by his subjects? You are simply shameless, so don't blame me for not giving you face.
"This..." Seeing Lu Fang come out to express his opinion, Xu Jie, Gao Gong, Zhang Juzheng and others were suddenly speechless.
At this point they also realized that the situation had reversed.
It is not a wise move to give advice at this time.
Yan Shifan had just planted a seed of doubt in the emperor's heart. If he were to bring up old accounts in the southeast at this time and remind the emperor, wouldn't that be asking for trouble if he were to pursue the "Gengxu incident"?
After figuring out the key, Gao Gong and the others suddenly fell silent and stopped talking.
Seeing Qingliu calm down, Lu Fang's tone also softened a lot, and he said gently: "The cabinet's concerns are not unreasonable..." Lu Fang paused slightly and said: "I do have a suggestion. Why not let the cabinet draft a notice and the Ministry of Rites draft a notice and send it to the northern border to explain the reason."
"In this case, it is not considered that the Ming Dynasty has lost its manners." After saying this, Lu Fang looked at Prince Yu and Prince Jing, cupped his hands, and said:
"I wonder what your Highnesses think?"
At this point, Prince Yu already knew that they had lost the third round of the Battle of the Northern Border.
The seed of doubt has already planted in my father's heart. It depends on how he deals with it.
If the emperor does not pursue the matter and pretends nothing happened, there may be a chance of recovery. But if the emperor pursues the matter, then in Prince Yu's view, in order to rectify the administration of officials, the emperor will definitely target his people.
As for the national policy of stationing troops and promoting agriculture in the northern border, it actually doesn’t matter whether the Yan Party fails or not.
The key point is the emperor’s holy will!
"Fourth brother, what do you think?" Thinking of this, Prince Yu looked at Prince Jing.
"I think what Eunuch Lu said is right." King Jing looked around at the people below and said, "My Ming Dynasty is not a vassal state of the Mongols."
"The trade was opened by our Ming Dynasty. We can close it whenever we want. No one can question it!"
"Posting notices to Mongolia is the etiquette of the great Ming Dynasty." As he said this, King Jing stood with his hands behind his back, looking down at the cabinet and the Imperial Household Department below, as if declaring his victory.
"Lord Yan, how about you personally supervise this matter and send it to the northern border as soon as possible?" Although he was asking, his tone was unquestionable.
Everyone looked at King Jing, who seemed to exude the aura of an emperor, and they were a little dazed. He looked so much like him!
Prince Jing is so similar to the emperor when he first ascended the throne. He is confident and calm!
Let’s look at Prince Yu again. Although he has developed a calm temperament due to years of caution, he still lacks the aura of an emperor.
"I obey your order." Yan Song stood up and said.
"Ding!" At this time, with the humming sound of a copper chime, Lu Fang also spoke up and said, "Everyone, it's getting late. If you don't have anything else, please don't disturb the master's meditation..."
"We, the ministers, shall take our leave." All the ministers, including Prince Yu and Prince Jing, bowed to the side hall before turning around and walking out of the hall where a light rain was falling.
"Wait a minute, Imperial Master." Seeing that Qingfeng was about to leave, Lu Fang smiled and took out a palm-sized gourd of mutton-fat jade-colored wine, handed it to Qingfeng, and said, "The master has already instructed me in advance. This is the imperial wine awarded by the master. Drinking it will help maintain your health."
Looking at the beautiful jade gourd in front of him, Qingfeng blinked his pure eyes without any impurities, then took the gourd with a smile and said:
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for the reward."
"Imperial Master, I have a question. Could you please help me solve it?" Lu Fang looked at Qingfeng who took the jade gourd calmly and asked with a smile on her face.
"What does Eunuch Lu want to ask?" Qingfeng stopped playing with the jade gourd, put it in the pocket of his robe, and looked at Lu Fang.
"Master, do you know what the outside world will say about today's imperial meeting?" Lu Fang asked bluntly.
"Hmm," Qingfeng nodded slightly. After a moment's silence, a smile appeared on his cute oval face, and he said crisply:
"Eunuch Huang has taught me a lot these days. There is one sentence I always remember. He said that officials serving in the mountains should remember to eat the salary of the emperor and share the worries of the emperor."
"I am the Imperial Master of the Ming Dynasty. As long as I can help the Emperor, I understand that a high position and great power bring with it a heavy responsibility."
Seeing Qingfeng in front of him, who was only sixteen years old but had such an open mind, Lu Fang was startled, but then he smiled and said, "The mind and understanding of the national teacher are rare."
"I am worthy of the title of Qingfeng Xuanling Shouzhen Huiwu Zhenren bestowed by my master. I deserve the title of National Master!"
"Ha," Qingfeng smiled, turned around and bowed to the side hall, saying, "Qingfeng will take his leave."
After saying that, he turned around and walked out of the hall. The eunuch waiting at the door immediately opened an umbrella and escorted Qingfeng away.
When Lu Fang arrived at the side hall, he heard Jiajing's slightly smiling voice, "How is it? My little imperial teacher sometimes sees things more clearly than some people in the court."
"Those upright scholars and officials will not take the initiative to throw dirty water on themselves just for me."
"The literati and scholars, well-read as they are, are not as good as a child in understanding the principle of eating the salary of the emperor and sharing the worries of the emperor."
"Master, what you said is that these clear-minded people, whether they seek fame or material things, ultimately think of themselves."
Lu Fang immediately agreed, "Nowadays, people only care about high positions and great power, but forget that responsibility is as heavy as a mountain. The national master does not care about material things and has a pure heart. He can see things most clearly."
After saying this, seeing that Jiajing's expression relaxed slightly and he did not pursue the topic further, Lu Fang spoke again.
"Master, once the news of closing the trade and expelling the Mongols comes out, it will definitely anger Altan. He will probably gather his troops again. This time it really gives him a reason to start a war again."
"I have prepared all the reasons and steps for him. I am just afraid that he will not gather his forces. Otherwise, how can we catch him in one fell swoop..."
Jiajing believed that Altan would soon receive the news that the Ming emperor was becoming more and more incompetent. Not only did he practice Taoism and not attend court, he also listened to the Taoist nonsense and was bewitched by it, and even wanted to close the trade.
Such a foolish and incompetent emperor can once again force the Ming Dynasty to cede interests to them!
Just like in the 29th year of Jiajing, the Ming Dynasty forced the opening of trade under the Mongolian cavalry.
This time, the increasingly foolish and incompetent emperor made them see more benefits that could be gained.
Jiajing didn't believe that Altan could resist this temptation.
The most coincidental thing was that Ma Fang, who used to be the general in Datong and the most capable general in the north, was transferred to Ningxia to serve as governor in order to make room for the Qingliu and Yan party.
The most capable fighters in the northern border today are Governor Tang Shunzhi, who is familiar with the Japanese but unfamiliar with fighting in the northern border, and Wang Chonggu, the general who was originally in Ningxia.
It can be said that everyone in Datong is a group of "newcomers".
As long as he gathered enough elite troops, he would be able to advance to Datong. Even if he was fast enough, he could march straight into the capital and shock the Ming emperor, whom he considered to be incompetent.
"..."
It’s a new week, everyone, please give some votes if you have them, thank you, don’t make the data too ugly, let’s just look at these first, there is one more, I will make a small climax plot later~~~
(End of this chapter)
