Chapter 81 War

As expected by the eunuchs in the Imperial Household Department, after receiving the materials, the current Master Feixuan, Wanshou Emperor, only read a few pages of the confession and his face immediately turned red!

After all, Hai Gangfeng is not a straightforward young man. Although he wrote straightforwardly, he still made slight adjustments in his report, trying to make his words sound gentle. Unfortunately, the gentler and more tactful Fei Xuan Zhen Jun was, the more he thought about it. The more he thought about it, the more glaring those lines of confession became:

Weaving Bureau! smuggling! One is the money that the True Lord cares about, and the other is the reputation that the True Lord cares about. A memorial hits two minefields at the same time, which is equivalent to slapping the emperor in the face - if True Lord Feixuan has no reaction to this, then his ability to endure can also allow him to ascend to become a god!

So Zhenjun immediately broke down, he grabbed the document and smashed it on Li Zaifang's face, his hands shaking with anger:

"Rebellion! Deception to God!"

This sentence again! I'm so angry that my brain doesn't work well. I can't think of anything weird to say. I can only utter this instinctive curse!

Li Zaifang immediately fell to the ground and kowtowed desperately:

"Your Majesty, please calm down. Your Majesty, please take care of your body!"

Li Shizhen repeatedly warned us not to get angry easily. If we get angry and a blood vessel is affected, wouldn't there be outcry in the palace?

Master Feixuan was panting heavily, holding on to the table with his left hand to prevent himself from slipping to the ground, and his right hand was trembling as he formed a Qingxin Seal. He recited Beidou's meditation mantra over and over silently nine times before he was finally able to suppress the irritation in his heart. It can only be said that the experience of being breached by the traitors and rebels of the Heavenly Book clan in the past year was very useful. At least it strengthened Lao Deng's cardiovascular system quite effectively. Otherwise, with the intensity of the sudden rush today, he would have collapsed to the ground and kicked his legs!

But now... now, after suppressing his anger, Zhenjun at least had the energy to ask carefully:

"Who judged this rebellious thing? Tell me!"

"The presiding judge is Hai Gangfeng, the former magistrate of Shangyu and current prefect of Shaoxing..."

"I know who presided over the trial!" The emperor panted, "I ask you who else has been involved in the trial!"

Li Zaifang was at a loss - since the case turned out like this, the primary responsibility should be on the presiding judge; but from what Master Feixuan said, it seemed like he was even helping Hai Gangfeng to pass the buck?

Why?

This is the fatal problem of information asymmetry. Eunuch Li obviously has no idea what a loyalty value of over 300 means, nor does he understand the profound and mysterious inner world of Master Feixuan. So after being stunned for a moment, he did not actually follow the emperor's wishes and find the person in charge to pass the blame - of course, there is no way to pass the blame on, because according to regulations, only the Silijian has read the confession in the imperial case. Should the eunuchs be asked to take the blame?

"In reply to Your Majesty, every page of this confession is signed by Hai Gangfeng and Wang Runlian..."

Master Feixuan:?

Zhenjun opened the confession again and saw the monogram at the footer - he had just scanned two lines and was in a hurry to get to Hong Wen, and actually missed such a crucial detail.

After discovering this detail, Zhenjun was completely stunned.

With the signature, this confession was definitely written by Hai Gangfeng. There was no room for excuses. It was a genuine blow to the emperor's face. Even the True Lord himself could not defend himself. But at the same time, the loyalty value of more than 300 that stood out from the crowd in the Heavenly Book was real and not false!

This, this, shouldn’t this be possible? How could a great loyal minister, a staunch loyal minister, and a great loyal minister certified by the Book of Heaven, insist on peeing on the face of Master Feixuan? !

...No, if you think about it carefully, this is actually possible. After all, he was a well-trained monarch who was familiar with history books. As long as Fei Xuan Zhenjun used his brain to think about it, he could immediately remember many legendary stories in which loyal ministers had to urinate on the emperor's face, such as Bigan and King Zhou, Guan Longfeng and King Jie of Xia, Emperor Yingzong and Yu Shaobao, and famous monarchs of the past dynasties who lost their country and their unlucky ministers.

Damn it, have I fallen to this level?

Thinking of this, Master Feixuan couldn't help but shudder!

There is a difference between dying for remonstration and dying for remonstration. Over the years, the emperor has killed many censors who disobeyed his will, but when he did so, he never caused any commotion because of the life of a minister. Because in the accurate judgment of the True Lord, these censors are tools and gloves, and they are the excuses for the ministers of different factions and identities to challenge the imperial power. If the dragon has a reverse scale, it will be killed. If these officials are not beaten, they will not know why the flowers in the Da'an Dynasty are so red; but now - now it is different. The loyalty value of more than 300 in the Heavenly Book has undoubtedly proved Hai Gangfeng's identity. He is a loyal and upright minister, a person without friends, parties, bias and selflessness. He is the absolute foundation and pillar of the imperial power and the unquestionable cornerstone of power.

...But now even the core base has to use this almost death-threatening method to offend the authority. What does this prove?

The emperor is not as mentally retarded as his grandson Baizong. He understands very well the laws governing the exercise of power. He would not feel bad if a thousand officials who did not belong to his faction died. As the saying goes, "Even if we drink together, we will not spare each other." He could kill a few of them with a big stick at any time to deter them. However, the people in his iron plate were more precious than each other. If any of them got into trouble, it would cause an earthquake and upheaval, which would greatly weaken the hard-earned power foundation of the True Lord and create unparalleled panic:

I can't even tolerate someone with 300 loyalty points. Am I really a foolish, tyrannical and unjust ruler? Is it true that the situation is still precarious and the country is about to be destroyed, but the emperor is just staying in the deep palace and knows nothing about it? !

The stimulation at that moment was even more intense than any offense, so much so that Zhenjun Feixuan and Emperor Wanshou were stunned on the spot. They felt a rush of hot blood to their foreheads, as if the imperial body and Taoist body that they had cultivated to achieve unity were also crumbling, and they could not help shivering!

Li Zaifang quickly got up and massaged the emperor's back to relieve his breathing, calling out:

"Your Majesty, please don't be angry. I will ask someone to arrest that Hai guy right now!"

Again, the emperor is definitely not a fool like Bai Zong, how could he arrest his own pillar? If Zhongliang were to collapse, and if they really sent people to force out Hai Gangfeng, a strong figure who was personally promoted, what difference would that make to political suicide!

Master Fei Xuan immediately waved away the eunuch's hand and spoke while panting:

"A-a jury..."

"The jury record has also been delivered." Li Zaifang carefully took out the official document from his sleeve: "There is also a secret letter from the prince of Duke Mu."

The emperor snatched the memorial from the chief eunuch and tore open the seal with a swish - things had come to this point, and Zhenjun was already quite nervous. If another of his iron-clad base did something ruthless, the emperor would probably collapse on the spot!

Obviously, the son of a noble family with many years of service still knew his limits. At least after opening the memorial, there were no frightening words like "speaking for Your Majesty with all my heart and courage" or "making suggestions at the risk of my life". Instead, it started with an attack on the coastal defense of Jiangnan.

It’s good to attack others, it’s wonderful to attack others! Although he knew that the prince was now in charge of coastal defense, criticizing Jiangnan’s defense was probably just to seize power. But the fact that his base still thinks about seizing power instead of fighting to the death to win back the emperor's favor means that there is still hope for him as an emperor. At least he has not ended up in a situation where he is deserted by his friends and relatives and suffers complete defeat.

Instead of reflecting on yourself, it is better to blame others. It's all very well to fight for power, but why do you have to do something as terrible as speaking out and making suggestions?

The emperor breathed a sigh of relief, spread out all the memorials, and carefully read the nonsense words.

Then I watched it again.

Finally watched it again.

He understood the defense of Jiangnan, but what about the "wandering Jianwen plan to collude with foreign barbarians" and "occupying small islands in the southeast and plotting to counterattack the mainland"?

The emperor rubbed his eyes, thinking that he might have been a little confused because of anger, otherwise how could he not even understand Chinese characters?

He threw away the memorial:

"Call Mu Qi!"

·

When Prince Mu was paying his respects and bowing, there was still a solemn and dignified atmosphere in the palace. The emperor was sitting on a cushion in meditation. After the ceremony, he immediately waved his hand impatiently and asked people to stand up. Perhaps he understood the prince's cultural level very well, so he didn't use any crazy riddles like "clouds in the sky, water in the bottle" and asked directly:

"What does your memorial mean?"

"In reply to your Majesty," the prince said respectfully, "I have read the files in detail and believe that this rebellion is vaguely related to Portugal and the Japanese pirates. It is one of the attempts by the remnants of Jianwen to usurp the throne and seize power."

here we go again! Emperor Jianwen has been dead for hundreds of years. Where did his remnants come from? Spring breeze brings new life, right? !

You don't even know how to find a better excuse!

The emperor was quite annoyed: "What nonsense are you talking about!"

"How dare I lie to your majesty?" The prince bowed his head and said, "The English merchant who is on good terms with me once told me in private that the Portuguese and Spanish have been coveting the Central Plains for a long time, and after colluding with the Japanese pirates, they have the ambition to replace the Chinese with the barbarians."

No one would believe it for no reason if you just say that the foreign vassals are coveting the Central Plains. But Master Fei Xuan had an idea in his mind, and he remembered the Battle of Luzon between China and Spain, which was highly mentioned in the book that day. Originally, he didn't understand why the Central Plains would travel thousands of miles to take care of a Western country, but now it seems...

Zhenjun was silent for a moment: "Do Westerners really mean this?"

"Every word I say is true." The prince said, "The merchants said that the Spanish governor in Luzon wrote a letter to the king, requesting that the king send elite troops to invade the coast as a springboard for conquering the whole country in the future. The facts are all there, and everyone knows it. I believe they can't deny it."

It is indeed undeniable. Because old colonial empires like Spain and Portugal expanded too smoothly and easily relying on their temporary technological advantages, they had deep-rooted contempt and arrogance towards the entire East. According to historical facts, the Governor of Luzon and the Spanish Congress did indeed draw up a plan to conquer China, but the plan was naive in a neurotic way - they believed that two hundred musketeers could capture Guangzhou, so as long as they had 6,000-8,000 troops with firearms, they would be able to successfully control most of the provinces and complete the conquest of all of China.

This number is really off the mark. If I tell the truth, Master Feixuan might just sneer and let it go. For the greater good, the prince had to do some artistic processing and blur some numbers a little.

Anyway, the Spaniards did plan to conquer China, he didn't lie.

The prince said sincerely: "In addition to Spain, the Portuguese are also eyeing us covetously. I have checked the reports of the Ministry of War and found that in recent years, Portuguese pirates have repeatedly harassed the coastal Macao - Haojing. What is their purpose? If we don't deal with it in time, the country's reputation will be completely lost!"

The emperor frowned: "What do you mean?"

"One punch is better than a hundred!" The prince blurted out, "Your Majesty, it's time to strike hard!"

It is true that one punch is enough to prevent a hundred punches from coming. Why did the Japanese in history dare to be so ambitious and arrogant, even attempting to use Goryeo as a springboard to invade the Central Plains and implement their incredible plan to conquer China? Because in the Sino-Portuguese Battle of Macau, the weakness and incompetence of the Da'an Navy allowed the Portuguese to see the real situation, so their missionaries took the opportunity to spread China's weakness and corruption to the Japanese high-level officials, and wildly advocated that twenty Japanese samurai could fight against hundreds of Da'an elite soldiers - with such a huge gap in combat power, they could defeat the west and the east in one fell swoop, which was the root cause of the Japanese pirates' ambitions.

If one punch fails to break the enemy’s defense, a hundred punches will follow; this is the cruel law of history. There are always people who think that shrinking and retreating can ensure temporary safety, but weakness must be paid for with blood. If Portugal's ambitions are not curbed in Macau today, then tomorrow we will have to send troops far away and spend billions of dollars to try our best to curb the Japanese ambitions in Goryeo; of course, if the Japanese ambitions cannot be curbed in Goryeo, then what will follow will be the collapse of the country and the earth, which will be a huge change that is unspeakable in the past five thousand years.

The wisest people can foresee the future and prevent problems from happening, and discern the direction of the waves from the details. Mu Qi does not have this ability; but he roughly understands the laws of this world - the true law of the jungle in the great navigation, and those who fall behind will be beaten. If you do not defeat the invading Portuguese so badly that they will be terrified and unforgettable forever and millions of people will be afraid of them when they mention you, then the subsequent storms will only be higher and higher.

For the sake of the public and the country, this wave must be withstood. As for personal gain——

The prince took a step forward:

"Besides, the Westerners' behavior is really intolerable! Judging from all the signs now, it is the Portuguese who colluded with the scum in the textile bureau, smuggled firearms and incited the princes to rebellion. Their thoughts are deep and sinister and cannot be guessed. All these actions are deliberately intended to smear your Majesty's holy name."

As long as the war breaks out, the blame can naturally be put on the Portuguese. Foreign war is the only way to divert internal conflicts. The literati and poets of Da'an understand the princes and the weaving bureau, but they definitely do not understand Westerners, so there is no risk of this black pot being exposed - besides, given the great shortcomings and viciousness of colonialism, no matter how much smearing, exaggeration and suspicion are spread, it can never be regarded as an injustice to these scums of the world.

If every colonist was shot, there would definitely be some that escaped. Even if all of them were shot, there would probably still be some that escaped. The crimes committed by this group of people would probably require more than one death penalty.

Seeing that His Majesty was quite interested, the prince struck while the iron was hot:

"Foreign invasions must be supported by internal forces. In my opinion, it is most likely that the remnants of Jianwen intend to occupy the island with the help of outsiders and join forces with the rebellious royal family to counterattack the mainland. This is part of the so-called Wandering Jianwen Plan—"

"What's the plan of wandering Jianwen?" The emperor could no longer hold back. "How can you talk nonsense in front of me? If this gets out, the whole court will be talking about it!"

The civil servants are not stupid. Anyone who sees this bullshit "Wandering Jianwen Plan" will know that you are talking nonsense!

Even the emperor cannot insult intelligence like this!

"How dare I say such nonsense!" The prince immediately protested: "If there was no plan to exile Jianwen, why would Emperor Taizong send Eunuch Sanbao to the West? If there were no remnants of Jianwen, why would Emperor Taizong conduct a large-scale search and expedition?"

"How can this be compared?" Fei Xuan Zhenjun was angry: "It's really a misleading analogy, and you are ignorant! You should read more books at home. Taizong was clearly——"

At this point, Master Fei Xuan suddenly reacted:

Was it because the black-robed Prime Minister Yao Guangxiao was eloquent and knowledgeable, and won the debate against Fang Xiaoru in the scripture debate that Emperor Taizong was able to make people change their tune and criticize Jianwen, and wipe out the deeds of his own nephew without leaving any trace?

What is nonsense? What is an insult to intelligence? Speaking of being ignorant and talking nonsense, is there anything in the world more absurd and more insulting to one's intelligence than changing the fourth year of Jianwen to the thirty-fifth year of Hongwu?

The fact is that he who has the strongest army and the most powerful soldiers is the emperor, and the essence of imperial power is the highest violence. It is better to win the orthodoxy once in Nanjing than to argue about it a thousand times in writing. Zhu Laosi was able to control the whole world and rebel against a small clan to become the major clan, not by some sophisticated rhetoric or patriarchal system, but by his real fists; with more than a hundred thousand cavalrymen roaming the northern desert and being invincible, his treasure ships sailed to the West six times with flags covering the sky. Of course, people in the world dared not say anything or get angry, but could only agree and curse Jianwen in unison.

Similarly, as long as Feixuan Zhenjun Wanshou Emperor can win a significant enough victory on the coast, then any explanation he gives is the truth, believe it or not; don’t say that Zhenjun only put the blame on the Westerners and the remnants of Jianwen, even if he accused the remnants of the Mongols of creating these incidents, then everyone must take action and expel all the Yuanshen from this world——

It is a general axiom that the victor is free from all blame. Steamed bun, are you not convinced?

In fact, imperial power is such a domineering and unreasonable thing. Master Feixuan still has to pretend to be mysterious and cunning and argue with his subjects with great effort. He can't even order the servants like the weaving bureau as he pleases. This is the result of a great decline in his authority - history has eloquently proved that a little bit of political intrigue cannot reverse the overall situation. When the military force supporting the emperor weakened, the subjects' awe of the monarch will of course be greatly reduced.

Therefore, as long as one can find a way to win a battle, the authority gained will be greater than that of ten million plans, so great that even Master Feixuan cannot help but be tempted - if one can use this opportunity to intimidate the powerful people in the south of the Yangtze River, then everything will be much easier in the future.

but……

"You keep saying you want to throw a heavy punch, but can you really win?"

Victory is of course a great thing, but losing is a shame. Back then, Emperor Yingzong wanted to monopolize power through military achievements, but he ended up losing everything in the Battle of Tumu, and his authority was completely destroyed. Master Feixuan is smart and perceptive, and of course he would not take such a risk.

"There is a 70 to 80 percent chance of winning." The prince replied respectfully, "The Spanish have strong ships and powerful guns, and it is difficult to match them at sea. But since they covet the Central Plains, they must find a way to land. In the past six months, Shangyu has been training its troops and preparing for military affairs, which has been quite effective. If a war breaks out around Shangyu, we can win it in one battle."

The emperor realized the key point: "Shangyu? You want to fight in Shangyu?"

"Yes." The prince said, "When Hai Gangfeng, the former magistrate of Shangyu, was in charge of coastal defense, he had seen through the ambitions of the Westerners, so he had been prepared. This time, when he was ordered to investigate the case, he also deliberately investigated the various treasonous and evil deeds of the Portuguese. In order to prevent disasters, Shangyu was particularly well prepared."

Master Feixuan... Master Feixuan suddenly narrowed his eyes.

The prince certainly would not lie, and there was no need for him to lie for a small local official. But it was precisely these words that made Zhenjun realize another possibility:

- Perhaps, maybe, or maybe, Hai Gangfeng was not intending to die by writing a confession to the heavens and fight with him as the emperor, but was just - just worried about the invasion of foreign vassal states, worried about the Portuguese's ambitions and deliberate plots to seize the imperial power?

...If you think carefully about the entire confession, this guess seems to make sense; what Hai Gangfeng was interrogating were indeed the maritime merchants, Western barbarians and Japanese pirates, all of whom were the sinister vassal kings who did not know what was good for them and were full of conspiracies and deliberately caused chaos, and he deliberately led the topic to the Weaving Bureau and the palace. And as for Hai Gangfeng...how could a newly appointed local official understand the subtle and unspeakable connection between the Weaving Bureau and the palace? He continued the investigation according to the prince's instructions, which was just a momentary oversight due to ignorance, and he definitely did not intend to reveal any cards to the True Lord.

In other words, those who had sinister intentions and deliberately tarnished his holy name were the princes, the clan members, and the useless weaving bureau that couldn't even clean up its mess, but definitely not his loyal ministers who were impartial, selfless, non-partisan, and had a loyalty value of 300. Hai Gangfeng's heart was always thinking of his king and father; the situation was originally bright, but it was ruined by the execution of his subordinates!

How dare you alienate us from our emperor and his subjects! The princes are so bad, the clan members are so bad, and the weaving bureau is so bad!

If there is no problem with the basic base, it means that there will be no problem with the power of the True Lord. As long as the power of the True Lord is not in jeopardy, that little turbulence in his reputation is actually nothing. Once he understood this, Zhenjun's expression changed rapidly, and then gradually softened. After holding back his anger for half a day, he finally let it out slowly:

"What did Hai Gangfeng say?"

"Hai Gangfeng said that he is confident that he can lead the Portuguese to land and defeat them with his strengths." The prince said with his hands down, "As long as the plan is well planned, the rebellion can be crushed in one fell swoop. Your Majesty, please observe it."

After a long period of expansion victories, the colonists had become extremely contemptuous of the world outside Europe, and could easily be lured in with just a snap of the finger. Of course, given Europe's huge weapons advantage at the time, this contempt was not entirely unfounded. However, once the generation gap in weapons is eliminated, the result of this arrogance...

Firearms and muskets are the least Western things in the world, right?

Hai Gangfeng's assurance was effective. Seeing the emperor's expression slightly changed, the prince bowed solemnly:

"The foreign barbarians are causing trouble, and this is a critical moment for our survival. We must strike back head-on! Your Majesty, please entrust this matter to me. If I cannot see any results, punish me severely for my dereliction of duty."

Instead of waiting quietly for Portugal to invade, it is better to take the initiative and quickly take control of the battlefield situation. Choosing the right time to start a war is the only way to victory.

Being so resolute, Master Feixuan's face was slightly moved.

Of course, he was not moved by the fact that the Prince of Duke Mu imitated Prime Minister Zhuge Liang's lines - there were so many people in the court who imitated famous ministers of past dynasties, and the Prince's acting skills were not even among the best; but the Prince's few words aroused another memory of the True Lord. He vaguely remembered that in that heavenly book, the "Jiayin Reform" was evaluated as flourishing martial virtue and being invincible in battle.

The performance of a rookie official is really nothing, but if there is a solemn guarantee in the Book of Heaven, the matter seems to be more likely to be settled.

"...In that case." The True Lord pondered for a long time, and finally could not resist the victory that seemed within reach, the power that was right before his eyes: "Then you should take over this matter and do it well."

The prince was slightly stunned by the ready agreement. But he reacted quickly, bowed quickly to express his gratitude, and accepted the order with great joy.

...Never mind him. He has prepared so many tricks anyway. As long as the war machine starts, Lao Deng will be unable to do anything wrong.

·

The foreigners have gone too far in bullying us, even colluding with the vassal kings with the intention of rebellion. Rather than hiding our heads and seeking meagre comfort, why not launch a large-scale attack to decide the outcome? I solemnly declare today: war on Portugal! Declare war on Spain! Declare war on Japan!