Chapter 229 The Dark Hand in the Ming Dynasty Court
"The trend of forming a party?" Suddenly, Yan Shifan snorted again and said, "In the court, let's not talk about the New Party. Behind them are the two princes. Behind Ruzhen is my Yan family."
"A small academy wants to make a big move?"
"From the moment Xu Jie and his men were kicked out of the cabinet in the 52nd year of Jiajing, when the imperial court entered the Immortal Dynasty, the situation in the court was set. How could outsiders intervene?"
Hearing his father say this, Yan Shaoting nodded slightly, but he did not agree with all of these words.
Although on the surface, the current court situation has been determined by various forces, and no other forces are allowed to interfere.
However, in recent years, all the nine princes have been crowned kings, and the political achievements of Zhang Juzheng and others in Nanjing have been extremely outstanding in recent years. The city of Nanjing is the foundation for the development of the "Spiritual Industrial Age", and it is an unshakable foundation.
Nowadays, all the "spiritual energy filling stations" in the entire Ming Dynasty are exported from Nanjing and the capital.
In order to ensure that the spiritual energy in the capital is sufficient and that it is a unique place in the Ming Dynasty, the spiritual energy in the capital is only intermittently exported to the spiritual energy pipelines across the country.
In this way, the importance of Nanjing city is further demonstrated.
These merits and political achievements were ultimately reflected in the political performance ratings and accomplishments of Zhang Juzheng and others.
This is obvious to everyone.
This also means that Zhang Juzheng and others can return to the cabinet at any time.
Not only that, there is also Xu Jie who is far away in Yingzhou Prefecture.
There is also Xu Fan in the court. The contributions he has made to the court over the years are so great that even the Yan family cannot compare with him.
Not to mention that the previous national policy of "Xianming Heavy Industry" can be compared with Dad's national policy project of "Qisi Innovation", just the national policy of "Spiritual Industrial Era" alone has already surpassed the Yan family.
Over the years, Xu Fan has frequently asked the imperial court for spiritual resources. His purpose, of course, is to demonstrate the importance of Yingzhou Prefecture.
After all, nowadays, the spiritual resources of the Ministry of Revenue and the national treasury, and even the immortal salaries of all officials across the country, are all supplied by Yingzhou Prefecture.
In this way, the achievements of the Xu family father and son are even more eye-catching!
Why did the Xu family father and son work so hard? Anyone with a clear mind and eyes could see that it was for political achievements!
Although Xu Fan was the Minister of Works and had made great contributions over the years, his character and political skills meant that he was doomed to never become a cabinet minister. But Xu Jie was different.
Xu Fan's national policy of promoting the "Spiritual Industrial Age" was well organized, and the whole country was under his industrial age layout. With Xu Fan's political means and vision, no one would believe it if he said that Xu Jie was not helping behind the scenes.
Xu Jie, Gao Gong, Zhang Juzheng and Zhao Zhenji are all potential forces, and they have taken many actions over the years.
"Father," Yan Shaoting said after organizing a statement that his father Yan Shifan could understand, "I think what grandpa said is not completely impossible."
Hearing Yan Shaoting's words, Yan Shifan just raised his eyes but did not get angry. Over the years, he has not only grown in age and cultivation, but his temper has also been relatively restrained.
Naturally, he would not be like before, like a powder keg that would explode at any time. Of course, the most important thing is that he has seen Yan Shaoting's performance over the years and he is very satisfied with his son.
Perhaps it was his self-esteem that made him never bow his head for the sake of face and personally admit Yan Shaoting's excellence.
But sometimes, fatherly love is heavy and silent. For example, this time, it was not that the old man did not want to see Yan Shaoting off, but he asked to come alone so that he could have more time alone.
Raising his eyelids, seeing that his father did not "explode", Yan Shaoting continued to speak in a lukewarm manner, "Gu Xiancheng, Gu Yuncheng, Gao Panlong, An Xifan, Liu Yuanzhen, Qian Yiben, Xue Fujiao and Ye Maocai."
"These eight people are quite famous in Changzhou Prefecture. In recent years, they have also been given the reputation of 'Eight Gentlemen of Donglin'," Yan Shaoting paused and said, "These eight people are a whole."
"These people gathered together to discuss government affairs and officials, demanding the re-enactment of immortal laws and regulations, opening up the channels for speech, eliminating the accumulated malpractices in the court and the public, and opposing the corruption and abuse of power by the powerful..."
"Humph!" This time, Yan Shifan couldn't help himself before Yan Shaoting finished speaking, and sneered, "Okay, commenting on officials? Opening up speech? This is targeting my Yan family, right?"
"Who in the court doesn't know that the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Rites, and the Ministry of Personnel are all from my Yan family?"
"Eliminate the accumulated abuses in the government and the country?" Yan Shifan became more and more angry as he spoke.
"This is clearly saying that my Yan family is misleading the country and the people! These beasts keep saying that speech is not open. If speech is not open, how can a small Donglin Academy allow them to discuss state affairs?"
"If this had happened before the 47th year of the Jiajing reign, I would have razed this damn Donglin Academy to the ground long ago!"
"You bunch of corrupt scholars, you never thought that I personally destroyed the Confucian "luck" and pulled Confucianism down from the altar. Now it is going to revive again?"
"Without Laozi's 'inspirational innovation', the sky of the Ming Dynasty would still be dark! They don't know who brought light to the world, who dispelled the darkness above the people's heads? And who removed the shackles on the people's minds? Without Laozi, would they dare to speak like this?"
"You are a bunch of beasts. You are eating my food and want to destroy my pot!"
Seeing his father Yan Shifan who couldn't hold back after all, Yan Shaoting acted very calm. He waited until his father had finished venting before he spoke again in a slow voice, saying:
"Gu Xiancheng, a Jinshi in the 59th year of Jiajing, was appointed as the Director of the Guangdong Division of the Ministry of Revenue. In the 65th year of Jiajing, he was demoted to the Magistrate of Guiyang Prefecture in Huguang," Yan Shaoting paused slightly when he spoke. "At the beginning of the year, when evaluating the performance of officials, the performance of several officials was true, and there was almost no error with the rating of the Emperor's Seal. This person was also recommended as the first examiner because of his fairness and integrity, and was promoted to the Director of the Ministry of Personnel's Performance Evaluation."
"That's all he has done over the years."
Listening to his son Yan Shaoting's words, Yan Shifan, who had been venting his dissatisfaction and gradually suppressing his anger, also understood what Shaoting had discovered and was analyzing for him.
"It's just a minor personnel appointment. Shenfu is in charge of this matter. He will definitely not have any problems."
Shenfu, the Minister of Personnel, was the courtesy name of Li Yuanming and a close confidant of the Yan Party.
(Note: See Chapter 204 for details)
"Father, have you forgotten that in the 59th year of the Jiajing reign, before Gu Xiancheng passed the imperial examination, His Royal Highness Prince Jing promoted a group of officials, and among them was Gu Xiancheng."
"Are you trying to say that Gu Xiancheng is King Jing's man?" Hearing King Jing, Yan Shifan's sensitive nerves were touched. "This grandson is the head of the Ministry of Personnel. Could it be that he is King Jing's man in the Ministry of Personnel?"
"King Jing wants to break the rules that we all agreed upon?"
At the beginning, Prince Yu and Prince Jing had already cooperated, and then kicked out Xu Jie and other people from the Qingliu faction, and the three parties divided the power of the court.
The Yan Party controlled the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Personnel, and the Inspectorate, while the two kings divided the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of War, and the three major camps.
This is an agreement that the three factions tacitly abide by.
Now speculating that King Jing might interfere in the Ministry of Personnel, Yan Shifan certainly could not sit still.
Looking at his father's imaginative look, Yan Shaoting shook his head slightly. He didn't think his father was thinking too much. After all, according to Gu Xiancheng's resume, he was King Jing's man.
"It's true that he was promoted by King Jing, but that doesn't make sense," Yan Shaoting shook his head and said, "At that time, Gu Xiancheng had just passed the imperial examination and had not shown any outstanding talents."
"In the 65th year of Jiajing, he was impeached by Hu Zongxian, Yu Dayou and Wang Chonggu of the New Party for interfering with the Ministry of Works' various projects in various places, including the private opening of the spiritual energy pipeline by the 'military government' for military supplies, and was then demoted to Guiyang."
"Everyone in the court knows that the Military Office is the exclusive domain of the New Party, and Prince Yu and Prince Jing are behind it."
"If this person is King Jing's man, why would he interfere in the affairs of the 'Military Mansion'? This is equivalent to giving our Yan family a handle."
"Until the beginning of the year, when the plateau was discussing politics, this man's achievements were outstanding, and that's when grandfather promoted him." At this point, Yan Shaoting thought of his father's words, 'Eat my father's rice and smash my pot', and shook his head and said, "Isn't that why father was angry?"
"He is a traitor and has no gratitude at all!" When Yan Shifan mentioned this, he became furious.
"Continue!" After cursing softly, Yan Shifan looked at Yan Shaoting again, motioning him to continue.
He naturally knew that his son Yan Shaoting must have made some discoveries since he said so much. At the same time, after hearing about Gu Xiancheng's resume, he also realized some problems.
In this case, Gu Xiancheng offended the New Party, so no matter how fair he was, he would not be one of the outstanding examiners.
Well, the factional forces of officials in the Ming Dynasty court seem complicated, but in fact the general direction has already been determined.
It is nothing more than the faction of Yan Party, King Jing and Prince Yu. As for the New Party, in the final analysis, it is still the faction of Yan Party and the two kings.
It is impossible for the Yan Party to offend the two kings because of a small achievement of Gu Xiancheng. Therefore, no matter how outstanding this person is, the officials of all ranks below will hide him completely and he will never set foot in the court until his death.
But this person was promoted during the period of the Plateau Political Consultative Conference. Doesn't that mean that this person was sent to the Yan family? The Second King and the New Party will definitely not promote him.
In the cabinet, the only one left in charge of the Ministry of Personnel is the Yan family. Who are the people sitting at the table when the government is being discussed on the plateau?
The most powerful people in the entire Ming Dynasty, including Xu Jie, Hai Rui, Zhang Juzheng, Gao Gong and Zhao Zhenji, were all there. Not only that, but also the people from the Imperial Household Department and the two imperial masters.
In such a public place, facing the excellent examiner sent to the door, why didn't you promote him? It was also because of this that Gu Xiancheng was promoted by Yan Song to be the head of the Ministry of Personnel.
"Hiss!" Thinking of this, Yan Shifan couldn't help but take a breath and stared at his son Yan Shaoting.
For some reason, at this moment he seemed to vaguely feel that there seemed to be a dark hand manipulating the court.
Without leaving any trace, he plotted against both the New Party headed by the two Wangs and the Yan Party, while the other side never showed up from beginning to end, and only used Gu Xiancheng as a small chess piece.
"It seems that father has realized it..." Yan Shaoting nodded slightly in his heart, feeling quite gratified that his father had become successful, so he continued, "Gu Xiancheng's teachers are Zhang Qi and Xue Yingqi."
"When Gu Xiancheng was fifteen or sixteen years old, he studied under Zhang Qi. Zhang Qi was once a student of Shao Gong of Yanghu. After hearing Yangming's theory of reaching conscience, he later became a student of Xue Yingqi."
"Xue Yingqi studied under Wang Shouren's disciple Ouyang De."
"Gu Xiancheng studied under Zhang Qi and Xue Yingqi, and was therefore deeply influenced by them. In terms of their lineage, Zhang Qi and Xue Yingqi were both students of Wang Xizhi's school, but their thoughts shifted from Wang Xizhi's school to Zhu Xi's school."
"Gu Xiancheng has Zhang Qi and Xue Yingqi as his teachers, so he can be said to be a third-generation disciple of the Wang family."
"But he respected Cheng and Zhu, and disparaged Lu and Wang..."
"However, nowadays, the immortal way is flourishing, the three religions are thriving, and hundreds of schools of thought are contending. Wangxue has been forgotten by the masses. Thanks to my father's 'inspirational innovation', now there is open speech, and many heresies have appeared in Wangxue."
"And Xue Yingqi might be disappointed about this..." Yan Shaoting shook his head slightly and said, "The above is all the information about Gu Xiancheng, including his teachers and his ideas."
"Where did you hear all this?" Yan Shifan asked curiously after listening to this detailed investigation.
"Father, have you forgotten that the Governor-General of Zhejiang Province, Tang Shunzhi, is the inheritor of Yangming's philosophy of mind and one of the leaders of the current practical school?"
"Gu Xiancheng also advocated practical learning. Not only that, Xue Yingqi's career activities have always been in Nanzhili..."
"It was because of the investigation of Gu Xiancheng that I visited Governor Tang and understood the reason. Gu Xiancheng also visited Governor Tang many times and the two of them also exchanged letters."
"Could it be that Tang Shunzhi is behind this Gu Xiancheng?" Yan Shifan, who had always had a prejudice against Tang Shunzhi, immediately showed a fierce look in his eyes.
"That's not certain yet," Yan Shaoting shook his head and said, "Governor Tang is indeed influential, but his hand probably can't reach the court, and he's not someone who likes to get involved in party disputes."
"You can only know a person's face but not his heart!" Yan Shifan heard that his son seemed to admire Tang Shunzhi very much, so he frowned and admonished him:
"Although you have reached the age of forty, given the long life span of immortal cultivators, forty or fifty years old is nothing more than a child in front of those old monsters who have lived longer!"
"People's minds are changing. To be fair, Tang Shunzhi doesn't seem like someone who can participate in party disputes, but don't forget that in today's Ming Dynasty, everything is based on cultivating immortals!"
"Tang Shunzhi is in charge of Nanzhili alone, and his governor's office is even in Nanjing. Logically speaking, there is no need to worry about cultivation resources. But don't forget that the real resources are ultimately controlled by the cabinet. If you are not in the cabinet, you will be a pawn!"
"Even if he doesn't care about himself, he has to think about the family behind him. Now, I have every reason to suspect that this Tang Shunzhi may have been planning how to enter the cabinet!"
After hearing what his father said, Yan Shaoting did not express his opinion.
People's minds are changing, especially in the Ming Dynasty today, and we can no longer judge every official according to common sense.
"All of these eight gentlemen of Donglin have close ties with the officialdom of Nanzhili or the local famous families," Yan Shaoting said, rubbing his brows and said, "Obviously, someone is using this Donglin Academy to lay out the court, or more precisely, the entire Nanzhili."
"Father, do you know what the biggest contradiction in the court is now?" Yan Shaoting looked at Yan Shifan.
"Resources." Yan Shifan spoke again.
"Yes, it's resources." Yan Shaoting glanced out the window and spoke slowly, "Grandpa said that the 'Power Tower' built by the emperor cannot be broken by any class. Therefore, in the 60th year of Jiajing, the spiritual resources of the three camps were stopped and the three camps were prohibited from breaking through the innate realm." "Now, ten years have passed. All the upper classes of the court have already established their foundations. The power tower is stable. Next, military supplies must be delivered as soon as possible. The court has only two 'Spirit Warehouses' so far."
"And these two 'spiritual warehouses' can be said to support the supply of all resources of the Ming Dynasty. There is no more surplus to be distributed to the three major camps, or the various military governors under the Five Military Commanders' Office."
"If we want to keep up with the supply of spiritual resources, we must build new spiritual veins and establish 'spiritual warehouses' outside the two capitals and one prefecture. In this way, Nanjing City will no longer be special."
"Since the spiritual veins have been laid, the emperor must make full use of them. Nanjing is now a veritable city for cultivating immortals, so what's the harm in having a few more?"
"As for the establishment of other 'spiritual warehouses', they must be centered in Nanjing and spread to the surrounding areas. Perhaps..." Yan Shaoting took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "It is the entire Nanzhili!"
"The next time the emperor comes out of seclusion, it will be the last chance for Zhang Juzheng, Gao Gong, Zhao Zhenji, and Xu Jie!"
"If they can't return to the cabinet this time, they will never have another chance. In addition, the nine princes at that time have all reached adulthood, have been crowned kings, and have no fiefs, but are still in the court."
"Can a Nanzhili satisfy the Ninth Prince's appetite?"
"If we can't satisfy their appetite, what can we do? We can only expand the scope. If Southern Zhili is not enough, Northern Zhili will also work! In this way, there must be new supporters behind the nine princes!"
"How are these supporters going to help the prince they support to fight for the position of crown prince?"
"Political achievements require more land and people!"
"Ten years of Ming Dynasty have yielded fruitful results," Yan Shaoting said slowly as he looked at the ground outside the capital city, which was gradually swooping down.
"When will the third and fourth stages of the land reform led by Zhang Juzheng begin? Once they begin, it will be a world of war!"
"By then, the number of cabinet members will increase, and the situation in the court will become more turbulent and unpredictable..."
"The dispute over the national foundation, grandpa is..." After saying this, Yan Shaoting couldn't say it out loud after all. He was just a junior, and naturally could not discuss the family development strategy originally formulated by his grandfather Yan Song.
The current head of the Yan family is still my grandfather Yan Song.
"Father knows what you are worried about..." After listening to his son Yan Shaoting's thoughtful, helpless and unwilling words, Yan Shifan sighed and said:
"At the beginning, I had the same idea as you. We must support a prince to ensure that in the future struggle for the country's foundation, we will not be coveted or eaten away by others."
"And we will not be hated by the future new emperor or the crown prince for always remaining neutral, and will not be liquidated." Yan Shifan sighed and said, "But we can think of it. Your grandfather is such a great man, how could he not think of this?"
"Your grandfather's mind, courage, and foresight are greater than ours!"
"In his words, the Yan family can rely on the imperial court to develop into an extremely large immortal family, but the road to becoming an immortal is long. Who of us dares to say that we will definitely become immortals in the end?"
“Even if you can live for a hundred, a thousand, or even ten thousand years, what happens after that? If you don’t become an immortal, you will ultimately be nothing more than a mortal cultivator.”
"But the family must always develop. It is impossible for one or two generations to stay at the top forever without decay."
"That's why your grandfather let the Yan family, this big tree, take root in Daming, with its roots spreading everywhere. Two trees become a forest, three trees become a forest, and finally it becomes a forest rooted in Daming."
“A tree may be big and hard to fall, but it will eventually fall. But if it is a forest, it will become part of the land. Even if it is cut down one day, there will always be saplings left.”
"Therefore, even if there is no one in the court one day in the future, my grandfather's Yan family can still exist."
"And our generation, as well as future generations, can practice with peace of mind and work hard to move towards the realm of immortals."
"Once someone from my Yan family becomes an immortal and always follows the emperor, then even if one day there are no more people from the Yan family in the court, the court will always protect the descendants of the Yan family."
"Because cultivating immortals, the ultimate goal of cultivating immortals is to become an immortal."
"Immortals are beings who fight to the highest level. Even the Ming Dynasty needs the eternal protection of powerful immortals."
"Your grandfather made preparations for both scenarios. What he was planning was a family path that would last forever and would never be destroyed."
"But father, everything grandpa has planned is based on the assumption that the emperor will not abdicate in the short term. This period of time must be long enough for someone in the Yan family to follow the emperor's footsteps and become an immortal!"
"Grandpa's vision is indeed long-term, and his goals are even greater, but it's a little... a little..." At this point, Yan Shaoting hesitated, but Yan Shifan said: "Flirtatious? Rough? Not safe enough?"
Hearing this, Yan Shaoting fell silent.
That's right, in his opinion, the move made by his grandfather Yan Song was not steady enough, and was even a little too ambitious. He was throwing everything at the table and pinning all his hopes on the emperor alone.
This is too risky!
If you ask him, it is safest to follow his method, take one step at a time and develop steadily.
After all, since ancient times, the winner of the battle for the foundation of the country has been rewarded with the merit of following the dragon, and the Yan family only needs to ensure that the family is strong enough and stands in the right position in every battle for the foundation of the country!
At the same time, they must gain a firm foothold in the court. This has been the path that all ministers who have followed the emperor have taken since ancient times.
As for why those families were eventually destroyed, it was simply because they interfered in state affairs and were feared by the emperor. Either they were abandoned after their death, or their descendants were incompetent. However, these still do not apply in the Immortal Dynasty.
There are many things that the Yan family could have completely avoided.
Instead of taking the steady path, they insisted on taking a dead end during the emperor's reign, without considering making any plans for the new emperor's court. It even seemed that the Yan family's power would only last for one person and one reign.
It seems that the Yan family will completely withdraw from the court in the future.
Yan Shaoting didn't understand and couldn't figure it out. He even wondered if his grandfather Yan Song was old and practicing Taoism, so he only cared about himself.
Looking at the silent Yan Shaoting, Yan Shifan opened his mouth, wanting to tell his son that the Yan family's power would last only during the reign of Emperor Jiajing!
Even in the future, the Yan family will gradually fade out of the court, because only in this way, on the one hand, they can strive to follow the emperor's footsteps and become an existence that protects the Ming Dynasty to ensure the family's eternal safety.
As long as the Ming Dynasty survives, the family will survive!
On the other hand, there is no need to worry about being feared by the royal family, so that every emperor wants to eradicate and weaken the Yan family. This is the way for the family to survive forever under the protection of the Ming Dynasty!
But he knew that even if he said these words, Yan Shaoting would have more rebuttals waiting for him.
For geniuses, understanding some truths is one thing, but actually taking action to do them is another.
If someone teaches you something but you don’t understand it, you will suddenly realize it when you are guided by experience.
There is no doubt that for a genius like Yan Shaoting, he needs to be taught by "things" rather than "people".
"Ga!" At this time, the falcon pulling the carriage cried, and the carriage landed steadily, breaking the silence in the carriage.
"Okay," Yan Shifan said in a rare gentle voice, comforting her, "As for the affairs of the court, with your father and grandfather here, there won't be any big trouble."
"As for you, it's time to move to a new position in Nanjing. As you said, when the emperor comes out of retreat and builds spiritual veins for the entire Nanzhili, you should also consider moving to another place."
"My Yan family's layout in Nanjing City is the entire 'Xianxian World'. We just need to continue to follow the plan."
"Foundation Building Stage, experience in the garrison, and a sixth-rank official title, it's too unfair to you, but with this ten-year experience, it's not impossible to recommend you as the garrison commander or prefect next time."
"Huh," Yan Shaoting took a breath of cool air and exhaled. Looking at his father Yan Shifan who suddenly became talkative and gentle, he temporarily suppressed his worries about the family's future and the affairs of the court. He bowed and said, "Farewell, father and grandfather are in Beijing. Take care of yourself and don't worry about me!"
"Well," Yan Shifan nodded, patted Yan Shaoting on the shoulder, and said, "Go."
Yan Shaoting didn't waste any more words and turned to get into the carriage. As the falcon cried, it pulled the carriage away into the air.
Yan Shifan stood there for a long time until he could no longer see the shadow of the carriage. Then he turned around and walked towards the carriage that had been waiting not far away.
A luxurious carriage pulled by two snow-white spirit beasts with double horns on their heads drove into the city gate, and the formation was automatically released.
Yan Mansion, study.
"Shao Ting left Beijing?" Yan Song, who was dressed in an ordinary white linen robe, put down the ancient book in his hand, looked at his son who was not very interested and seemed a little sad, and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Dad," Yan Shifan shook his head slightly and said, "Shao Ting said that someone in the court is using Donglin Academy to plot..."
Then, Yan Shifan repeated Yan Shaoting's analysis, and then looked at his father who remained calm, and said, "Who do you think it could be? Who dares to challenge my Yan family and the Second Prince so blatantly?"
"Don't you have a guess?" Yan Song said in a submissive tone, raising his hand. Yan Shifan understood and quickly offered him a cup of spiritual tea, guessing, "One of the nine princes?"
"I don't know." Yan Song simply shook his head.
Yan Shifan: “…”
"There's a letter from the palace. Tomorrow at noon, we'll hold a political meeting in Yuxi Palace." At this time, Yan Song spoke again.
"The emperor has come out of retreat?" Hearing this, Yan Shifan was stunned, and then seemed to have thought of something, and said: "Dad, according to what Shao Ting said, do you think the emperor will lay spiritual veins in Nanzhili?"
"Yes." This time, Yan Song said one word with certainty, "And, not only South Zhili, but also North Zhili."
"Today, all the upper echelons of the Ming Dynasty are at the foundation-building stage. In addition, there are more than three million soldiers who have practiced the immortal martial arts."
"Not only that, but there are also powerful equipment... The court can now speed up its pace."
"Nowadays, the strongest person in the so-called 'Great Ming Cultivation World' is only in the late stage of Qi training."
"In addition, only the superficial knowledge about 'weapon refining methods', 'talisman techniques' and 'array formations' has been circulated," Yan Song paused, and then said in a calm tone:
"Under the strict supervision of the imperial court, the strongest combat force of the 'Xiu Xian World' is always controlled at the same level as the soldiers who practice Xian Wushu and reach the third level of the acquired realm."
"Even if there are some extraordinary geniuses, they are all under control. They are either recruited by the court or executed..."
"So, within the Southern Zhili and Northern Zhili regions, it is also possible for all people to practice immortal cultivation."
"Your Majesty's goal is to make the Ming Dynasty a true dynasty of immortal cultivation. Sooner or later, the territory of Ming will be filled with immortal traces and become a world of immortal cultivation!"
"Moreover, the sudden expansion of the scope of the immortal path can also appropriately eliminate the tension and contradiction in resource allocation."
"Haha," Yan Song said with a smile, "After all, the population is growing too fast. When the internal demand is tight, the territory will be expanded. When the entire territory is filled, new internal demand contradictions can be transferred outward, such as war..."
Speaking of war, Yan Song waved his hand, a light flashed from the storage bag on his waist, and a scroll was spread out by him.
"Nearby countries, overseas continents, and islands can all be the territory of the Ming Dynasty. Didn't it say before that some overseas countries have united and want to do 'immortal magic business' with the Ming Dynasty?"
"It seems that if the Ming Dynasty doesn't cooperate, they will come and rob us. Aren't the envoys from the Spanish Empire, the French Empire, and the English Empire still in Hangzhou?"
"Let them wait a little longer, don't be impatient... We can save ourselves the trouble of finding a reason to start a war, that's great..." Yan Song looked at the map, his drooping eyes flashing with greed.
Yan Shifan on the side also became excited.
He had long been unable to hold back and wanted to take action against these overseas countries.
Not only that, there are also the territories of the surrounding countries. If they were all conquered and arranged as "spiritual warehouses", the Ming Dynasty's treasury would receive so much spiritual resources every year. It's exciting to think about it!
Unfortunately, the Ming Dynasty is still in the process of development and is too lazy to pay attention to the surrounding countries.
If the Ming Dynasty had completed the full coverage of immortal ways in its territory and become a true dynasty of immortal cultivation now, it would have been able to start the third and fourth stages of land reform long ago.
At that time, it will be the day of real expansion of territory!
"..."
(End of this chapter)
