Chapter 27 Cutting Meat

Once Master Fei Xuan makes up his mind, he will be extremely efficient in doing things. Just seven or eight days later, he summoned cabinet ministers and officials from the six ministries and nine government offices to the Western Garden to discuss state affairs.

In the past few days, there has been a sudden disturbance, and the government has suddenly fallen into an unpredictable turmoil, with no clear direction for a while. A few days ago, the Prince of Duke Mu made a powerful attack, and Zhou Zhicheng and Liuliden withdrew from the stage in disgrace, and the momentum of the Qingliu faction declined greatly; but after the emperor went crazy, the East Factory attacked like a mad dog, and the bribery list involved was deeply related to the Yan party, which dealt a heavy slap to Lord Yan in the face. The two ministers were completely humiliated and now they had no choice but to keep quiet and not dare to speak easily anymore.

One colluded with the Japanese to seize power, the other accepted bribes and broke the law; one was the Sleeping Dragon, the other was the Phoenix Cub. This is probably the excellent matching mechanism of the imperial court - with two treasures serving the same country, how could the blessing of the people in the Central Plains be small?

Because of all these embarrassments, the court meeting in Xiyuan was very dull. Prime Minister Xia was determined to retire, and Lord Li was transparent as usual. The officials from the six ministries performed the formalities, and after saying a few words, they stopped talking. Everyone stood at their workstations in a daze, quietly feeling the cold wind in Xiyuan in the early morning.

But if the ministers stop making trouble, the Lord will have to use his ultimate move. Li Zaifang, who was standing beside the throne, coughed lightly. The commander of the Jinyiwei and the governor of the Eastern Depot who were in charge of the imperial case stepped forward together. They were ordered to report the progress of the trial and submit the confessions and evidences of the criminals one by one.

The Dongchang's interrogation method was indeed a bit crude, and often produced a bunch of inexplicable and unreasonable confessions; but now with the pressure of Master Feixuan's deadly KPI, the time-tested eunuchs still tried their best to collect the chain of evidence to be complete and irrefutable; and precisely because the evidence was so complete and beyond doubt, the shock brought about by the entire report was particularly shocking.

——Many years later, when they crossed the sea to invade Goryeo, the Japanese spies were even able to find out the layout of the emperor's bedroom and the date when the army would be dispatched. The ice is three feet thick, and it didn’t freeze overnight. The foreshadowing of future intelligence leaks was already laid at this time!

Although the government is in disarray now, it has not yet fallen to the level of the old Taoist priest Jin Sun, where everyone is in chaos. After the Eastern Depot finished reading out the shocking testimony, there was a dead silence in the huge Western Garden, and even the sound of breathing could not be heard.

Seeing that the atmosphere was already set, Master Fei Xuan spoke in a cold voice:

"Now that state affairs have reached this stage, what are your opinions, ministers?"

What more is there to say? Led by the cabinet elders, all the officials knelt down together, not daring to make the slightest sound.

"The heavens have entrusted the nine provinces to me, and my ancestors have entrusted the ancestral temples to me. I am the Son of Heaven, and I am the king and father. Now the world has become like this. The people are guilty, and the fault lies with me alone." Fei Xuan Zhenjun spoke in a cold tone, and every word he said was loud and clear, knocking on the rapidly beating hearts of all officials: "Now even the court officials are unreliable, and even the scholars who read the books of sages are unreliable. How can I be so unvirtuous, how can I be so unvirtuous!"

After all, he was an emperor who had been on the throne for decades and was decisive in killing and wielding power alone. He was a son of heaven who was cunning and controlled all officials like slaves. On normal days, important officials might have secret criticisms or intentional slanders against him, but when the emperor showed his firm determination, no one would dare to resist the majesty of imperial power.

The cold wind from the Western Garden blew in, making the emperor's robe flutter and chilling the blood of all the officials. Hundreds of years of accumulated power of the Zhu family was cold and vast, pressing down like a mountain and suffocating everyone's breath.

After a fatal silence, Prime Minister Xia took two steps on his knees, prostrated himself and kowtowed:

"The failure of the government is all due to the hesitation of our ministers, who have caused the country to suffer and left the emperor and father worried. I feel ashamed of the emperor and the people, and can only pray for God's punishment!"

The Prime Minister was in a high position of power, and the Emperor always had to give him some face. But Master Fei Xuan glanced at the cabinet, and his expression did not change at all. The cold and fierce look in his eyes made the ministers with a little experience tremble. Wow, they had only seen such a look once before, when the emperor went crazy and beat all the officials during the Grand Ceremony Meeting in the past...

Master Feixuan had no expression on his face, and he continued to exert terror and pressure with his silence. The emperor's majesty comes not only from imperial power, but also from his own political schemes and even the momentum of his every move. As a talented contestant in the profession of emperor, Zhenjun naturally understood how much advantage a well-timed display of anger could bring to the issues he was preparing to promote.

Of course, the emperor's acting skills are not as good as those of the well-trained ministers. In the past, in order to express the earth-shaking wrath of the emperor, the True Lord had to prepare again and again, fully mobilize his memory and brew his emotions (for example, recall the money that was divided up from him), so that he could enter this solemn and aggressive atmosphere more smoothly. But now there is no need for this at all. As long as Master Feixuan thinks about his own tortuous journey from a mortal to an immortal, a three-foot-high nameless fire immediately rises from his chest!

My heavenly book! My chance! Damn the Japanese pirates, damn the pirates! It’s all because of the eunuch Sanbao that he can’t eradicate all the evil. He can’t eradicate all the evil!

The court officials were the most sensitive and they immediately felt the emperor's extraordinary rage under his indifferent suppression. They trembled for an instant and could only crawl on the ground with their heads touching the ground, not daring to offend Lao Deng at this time.

But someone had to bear the wrath, and the cabinet elders kneeling in front had no choice but to kowtow together:

"My subjects have committed serious crimes, and even death cannot redeem them."

Zhenjun snorted and finally looked at them with grace:

What's the point of your death? I want the Japanese pirates to die! !

He finally spoke in a sarcastic tone:

"The Japanese's evil ambitions are obvious. If I let them do whatever they want, I'd better give up this chair! Now that the situation has come to this, what do you think we should do?"

What can I do? Prime Minister Xia prostrated himself and made a statement:

"Collusion between the inside and outside is the greatest disaster. It must be done with thunder and lightning to cleanse the filth. The grace and power all come from above. We, the ministers, are only following orders."

Elder Yan, Elder Xu and Elder Li also kowtowed together: "At this point, there is no room for hesitation, Your Majesty, strike hard!"

This statement is quite acceptable, and Zhenjun is basically satisfied. But then he threw out the next question:

"Thunderbolt, how do you mean thunderbolt? You guys are kowtowed here like pounding garlic, can you drive away the Japanese pirates on the sea and the island? If you really have such verbal skills, how can you allow such an island country to run rampant until now!" The emperor's face was still gloomy, looking around: "Let alone other things, the coastal areas are still harassed by the Japanese. You talk about 'cleansing the filth', which is really shameless. I don't want to hear these nonsense, I just want to hear the truth."

This sentence was so powerful that the ministers rolled their eyes and were speechless - the truth? What truth can you tell? Could it be that the coastal defenses have long been squandered by greed and plunder, and the largest portion of it has gone into the pocket of you, Master Feixuan?

At this point, why are you still pretending to be a sage and benevolent ruler, imitating the example of Emperor Taizong of Tang who accepted advice? It’s okay to deceive the ministers, but just don’t deceive yourself. The ministers were cheated and just licked the hook with a thick face, but the world belongs to your Zhu family!

Besides, in his early years, he was really brave enough to tell the truth everywhere, but now, hasn't he committed suicide by being hit by eight powerful crossbows in the back?

In silence, the emperor simply gave his orders:

"Ministry of War, please answer! With the current military equipment, what else do we need to drive the Japanese pirates out of the sea?"

Minister Chen of the Ministry of War raised his head tremblingly and began to answer. The Ministry of War has always been efficient and even when it was penniless, it still had a plan to clean up the Japanese pirates and the preparations were quite thorough. However, from the perspective of the court officials, this plan was basically just a pipe dream - naval warfare was a money-eating beast; just to maintain law and order and eliminate pirates, the number of ships and heavy artillery needed would be astronomical, not to mention that they would have to take the initiative to engage in a decisive battle with the Japanese pirates.

There are many smart people in the court. If the coastal defense could be improved with just three or five dollars, why would the coastal areas be in such a rotten state? Everyone knows the root of the problem, but no one dares to speak out.

After hearing the figures of armaments and manpower, Master Fei Xuan was silent for a moment, then turned back to ask the Ministry of Revenue:

"How much will it cost to buy these things?"

Minister of Revenue Li Ge Lao raised his head:

"To reply to the emperor, if this number is correct, then the annual expenditure will be at least 2.7 or 8 million..."

He hesitated for a moment, then whispered:

"Your Majesty, there are only three million taels of silver in the treasury now."

The mere three million taels of silver were the little savings that were barely saved after the house was ransacked. If there was any natural disaster or man-made calamity, it would be wiped out immediately, and even the salaries of officials might not be paid. How can the cost of two to three million yuan per year be justified if the rats in this inventory become depressed and commit suicide?

Although there was no explicit refusal, the implication was basically obvious. As long as Master Feixuan has not yet mastered the great magical power of turning stone into gold, even if he throws a tantrum and turns the sky upside down, he still won’t be able to squeeze out the silver.

A penny is enough to make the whole court civil and military affairs suffer. When they are at the end of their rope and have no more money, even if they are the emperor, they can only lay down their arms and think of a way to walk down. At most, they would issue a few edicts afterwards, urging the coastal provinces to "work hard," raid a few homes and dismiss a few officials to appease public opinion, and then everyone would go back to their homes and do their own things, pretending that the Japanese pirates had never existed.

Of course, the emperor's anger today is still very valuable, and the ministers are all planning to take a step back. If the emperor is not satisfied with just confiscating property, then they can also contribute a few of the main culprits to let His Majesty recall the glorious days when his ancestors skinned people - they have already been skinned and stuffed with straw, so the anger should have subsided, right?

Perhaps he felt that he should ease the atmosphere and give the emperor a way out, so the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites stepped out of the line, bowed, and respectfully presented the following:

"I don't agree with what the ministers said. The sage said, 'If people from afar are not convinced, cultivate culture and virtue to win them over.' He also said, 'Weapons are dangerous tools and should only be used when necessary.' Punishing without teaching is cruelty. Although the Japanese pirates are vicious, they should be educated with virtue to move their hearts. It is not appropriate to start a war. Besides, Japan was once listed as a country not to be conquered by Taizu. If we act rashly, we may hurt the hearts of foreign vassals. Your Majesty is wise and enlightened, and both Chinese and foreigners are convinced. Why should we compete with the Japanese for such a small profit..."

Everyone in the Ministry of Rites lives on their fixed salaries, so of course they are afraid that the True Lord will embezzle their salaries once he comes to power, so it is not surprising that they hold a conservative attitude, not to mention that they use euphemistic and respectful words and flatter the Emperor everywhere. But the True Lord listened expressionlessly for a moment, and his face became increasingly darker, unbearable, and he had no joy in being licked; after hearing this long speech, he finally burst into anger:

"—— Cultivate your virtues, cultivate your virtues, I will cultivate your grandmother's skin! What are the barbarians hurting? The more the barbarians oppose, the more it shows that I am right! If the barbarians do not object, it means that I am impeccable!"

The roar was like thunder, shaking the whole area. All the civil and military officials in the court were shaking like sieves, and they clamped their buttocks tightly together, for fear of accidentally leaking air. Only the Prince of Mu, who was standing blankly behind, was startled and could not help but glance around:

Shit, why does this sound so familiar?

These should all be my words, right? !

He pondered for a moment, but still couldn't figure it out. He could only blame it on coincidence.

The emperor was so angry that he spoke without thinking, completely unaware that he had unconsciously blurted out the golden words from the Book of Heaven. At this time, the wind was fierce and the horses were silent. Seeing that the emperor's wrath was about to come, the Minister of Rites had to defend himself:

"I have offended the majesty of Heaven, which is indeed a capital crime. But I am ignorant and pedantic, and I am only obsessed with the country and want to follow the teachings of Emperor Gao..."

Emperor Gaozu once listed Japan as a country that would not be conquered, and issued edicts many times to implement maritime bans. These two ancestral systems have far-reaching influences and have become a topic that cannot be avoided when discussing coastal defense in later generations. Respecting Heaven and following the laws of the motherland are the fundamental principles. In the past, whenever it came to coastal defense, the conservative civil servants would at least talk about the ancestral system for two or three hours, until everyone was exhausted and too tired to argue anymore.

Now the Minister of Rites brought up this ancestral rule just to use it as a shield for himself. If one simply follows the teachings of his ancestors in a foolish and pedantic way, then at most it is just a minor mistake of not knowing how to adapt. There were so many corrupt scholars in the Ministry of Rites that the emperor could only show leniency and at most reprimand them.

Of course, it was not convenient for Master Feixuan to argue with his subordinates about the teachings of his ancestors. But it doesn’t matter, there will always be caring people who will help you. Huang Shanggang, the eunuch in charge of the East Factory, immediately stepped forward, filled with righteous indignation:

"Your Majesty, the treacherous ministers have come out on their own! This Minister of Rites is one of them! I'm afraid there are more! What is the 'Teachings of the Emperor Gao'? The world passed down by the Emperor Gao is in the heart of the emperor. With your little knowledge, you dare to criticize the emperor and father and talk about serving the country? The coastal defense has become like this, and the emperor has tried every means to make up for it, but you are just making big talk and making mistakes. When have you ever thought about this country and this court!"

These words were like thunder and storm, not only giving the Minister of Rites a slap in the face, but also implicating many officials of the Ministry of Rites! What's more, his words were so vicious that he even mocked the great scholars for being ignorant - to be honest, even if you jumped up and greeted the great scholar's entire family, the anger you aroused probably wouldn't be that intense.

At this point, we have no choice but to fight back. The Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, who was accompanying him, spoke angrily:

"The knowledge that we have gained through the imperial examinations is probably not something that Eunuch Huang can judge at will."

The officials of the Ministry of Rites were, after all, Jinshi who had passed the imperial examinations twice and disciples of the emperor. They were high-ranking civil servants of great integrity and nobility. How could a shallow and impetuous eunuch like you ridicule them? Don't you even look at your own little ink?

In the past, this tactic of discrimination based on academic qualifications was particularly effective, working all the way from top to bottom, often making the eunuchs, nobles, and royal guards choke and roll their eyes (of course, in front of a shameless lunatic like the Prince of Duke Mu, sarcasm is not so effective). But today, Eunuch Huang was clearly well prepared. He sneered:

"The officials in the Ministry of Rites are indeed very knowledgeable. I vaguely remember that the two assistant ministers had appointed Hanlin scholars more than ten years ago, right?"

When masters fight, one strike is enough to kill. With just a few words, the two assistant ministers' faces turned from white to green, and they looked so ugly that they didn't look like living people.

Because of the case of "History of Yuan Dynasty", Master Feixuan abolished the glass egg, placed the Hanlin Academy under house arrest, and countless officials were angry with him. But such a shocking revelation was made in an official history book. The blame could not be borne by a mere glass egg, right?

——As I said, some things are only two ounces if they are not weighed, but they cannot be weighed even a thousand pounds if they are weighed. The Ministry of Rites has so many Jinshi who passed the double list, how come after spending most of their lives in the Hanlin Academy they can’t even pronounce the word “thief”?

If he emphasized that he was well-educated and knowledgeable about ancient and modern times, it would mean that he was deliberately indulging Emperor Gao in being a thief monk for hundreds of years. I am afraid that his nine clans would be very dissatisfied. So after thinking about it, I might as well admit that I am an illiterate who knows nothing because I didn't notice the mistake.

Therefore, although Eunuch Huang was deliberately sarcastic, he actually had good intentions in his heart and suggested that the great scholar from the Ministry of Rites should not be ungrateful.

This sentence made all the learned scholars in the court roll their eyes. Eunuch Huang turned around leisurely and bowed respectfully:

"To relieve the worries of the emperor and father, how dare I refuse to work hard! The East Factory and the Jinyiwei have also raided the family's house worth more than 800,000 silver in the past few days. All are at the disposal of the emperor."

No one could withstand the rage of Master Feixuan. Both the East Factory and the Embroidered Uniform Guards had made a fatal move. All the officials involved with the Japanese were sent to the imperial prison and tortured dry. Only then could they have such a rich harvest in just a few days. If a few big fish are involved later, the total number may increase further.

Seeing the pile of silver like a mountain, Master Fei Xuan felt a little heartache, but he still spoke resolutely:

"Find a warehouse in the palace and count the silver there first. Allocate 300,000 yuan a year as a special fund for coastal defense, which will also help the Ministry of Revenue. Yan Donglou, the memorial you and Mu Qi jointly submitted stated that the 'harvest will be abundant' after the opening of maritime trade. How much money do you think it can contain?"

Yan Donglou kowtowed quickly. He really didn't know much about maritime trade, so he could only make a report based on the estimate of the prince of Duke Mu:

"To reply to Your Majesty, the profit also changes year by year. It may not be much in the early years, but it will gradually increase in the future. In my opinion, after the opening of the sea, there will always be a net profit of 700,000 to 800,000 taels a year."

Master Fei Xuan nodded and said, "Then let's calculate it as 700,000 taels. In this way, the one million taels gap will be made up. Lord Li, I have thought of a way for you. How much more can the Ministry of Revenue give?"

Being pushed to this point, Li Ge Lao had no choice but to reveal his bottom line:

"Your Majesty, the Ministry of Revenue is indeed short of funds everywhere and it is difficult to make ends meet. Even if I were to patch things up here and there, I could only squeeze out 900,000 taels a year..."

As soon as the words came out, all the officials paused for a moment. The Ministry of Revenue could only squeeze out 900,000 taels, which meant there was still a deficit of one million taels that had not been addressed. This amount of money cannot be dealt with by any small tricks. If you want to fill the hole, you must take drastic measures.

Increase revenue and reduce expenditure, increase revenue and reduce expenditure. According to past experience, this means either cutting the salaries of officials or increasing taxes on the people.

And based on past experience, after doing such immoral and dirty things as giving birth to a child with no anus, the most holy and wise Feixuan Zhenjun, Qingmiao Emperor and Wanshou Emperor would definitely not take responsibility. He will only make the people suffer and then the minor officials suffer, and then let the ministers bear all the blame!

Damn it, I have to take the blame again!

The ministers were in a state of mental collapse, and Master Fei Xuan's face gradually became heavy, as if he was going to imitate his previous money-making style and use his superb acting skills to express the sadness and grief of having to increase taxes:

"The treasury is so empty. I respect heaven and cultivate myself, save money and love the people. I never expected that the court's expenses would be so high. Well, at worst, the palace can save a little money, and the people in the palace can wear rags and go out to beg for food..."

This is a usual complaint and blame-shifting, indicating that the deficit is definitely not the king's responsibility. The ministers should cooperate with the performance, vigorously praising the emperor and father's benevolence like heaven, and covering up the rotten sores with great fanfare. But now, there are some things that won't spoil him:

【beg? It’s good that this isn’t done. We can’t lose our ancestors’ craftsmanship! I think judging from Lao Deng’s appearance, he could at least order three dishes and a soup for a meal. 】

Master Fei Xuan's expression suddenly twisted, and he almost suffocated to death on the spot!

Damn it, even if one regards the insults in the heavenly book as a test for the banished immortal, this test is too destructive to his Taoist faith!

Can an immortal be so foul-mouthed? Do you guys in Heaven want to take care of this? Personal attacks, throwing tantrums! Being so crazy, is there any justice in the world or any law in the world?

The Taoist priest was alone and disheveled, while the officials below were kneeling on the ground, holding their breath and paying attention. No one dared to peek at the king's face. Even the Crown Prince - even the Crown Prince who had just complained and greatly damaged the True Lord's faith, was now looking down in worry. His feeling of panic was indescribable, for he was afraid that Old Deng Zhen would do something terrible.

For the prince of Duke Mu who holds the golden medal of immunity from death, the old Taoist priest and the wall lamps in the court may only be regarded as lovable and charming villains; but for the common people at the bottom of society, even a speck of dust falling from above can crush them to the point where they can never get up.

The world is in such turmoil, is there still room for evil? The prince really didn't dare to think about it anymore.

·

Lao Deng was silent for a moment, but finally he forced himself to use his true energy to swallow his anger. He had originally intended to explain his saintly virtue of wearing only eight sets of clothes for four seasons, but now he was really afraid of the unrestrained mouth of the Heavenly Book, so he had to change his words:

"Of course, the world is my home after all, and all the people are my subjects after all. I must always consider my subjects..."

At this point, even though he had already planned everything, Lao Deng still felt an unbearable pain in his heart. But what can we do about it? Taxes cannot be raised any further, otherwise it will inevitably lead to civil unrest, and the gap in coastal defense cannot be made up in the slightest… Never mind, silver is valuable, and the price of golden elixir is even higher; but for the sake of cultivating immortality, the whole world can be abandoned - for the sake of his own grand ambition of cultivating immortality, Lao Deng finally gave it his all:

"...The remaining one million taels of silver will be paid by the palace."

Xiyuan was quiet and remote, and the sound immediately spread throughout the area. But in an instant, the officials present all suspected that there was something wrong with their ears.

Then - without any prior agreement, everyone raised their heads at the same time and stared at the emperor on the throne in astonishment.

The emotions at that moment were probably complicated and indescribable, surpassing the ups and downs of decades of officialdom. Fortunately, the Heavenly Book was activated in time, exclaiming the common voice of the officials:

[The old Taoist priest has finally gone insane!] 】

·

Mu Qi stared blankly at the figure on the throne, the only words lingering in his mind were "going astray and becoming possessed".

Of course, this can't be blamed on him. Judging from the current situation, apart from "being possessed by the devil", there is probably no other explanation that can be thought of... Besides, isn't there a similar case in Taoist books? Some people take too much Jindan and become confused and irrational, which is completely opposite to their usual thinking...

So, what does this count as? Lao Deng's original intention was bad, but he asked Jin Dan to carry it out?

Ge Hong is so great, Tao Hongjing is so great, and the Golden Elixir Avenue is so great!