Chapter 134 Radical
Master Feixuan and Master Wanshou sat cross-legged on the cushion, feeling pain in every bone.
This isn't the first time. The emperor has not been in good health since he caught a cold while offering sacrifices at the Taimiao last year. In winter, he caught colds and was bedridden; in spring, he had a severe rhinitis and sneezed constantly; in summer, when the external evils were finally reduced, he took the eunuchs for a stroll in the Imperial Garden. After returning, he immediately got a heat stroke, vomiting and diarrhea, and body aches. He summoned the imperial doctors for seven or eight days before he saw any improvement. To this day, he still feels unbearable pain and itching in the joints of his bones, and even finds it difficult to persist in meditation.
Having fallen ill so many times in just one or two years, anyone with a little common sense should have known that the emperor was getting old and his physical condition was failing, and he might be about to die. Of course, this is not surprising. After all, Master Feixuan had been refining elixirs and taking medicines for more than ten years, and three years ago he was hit on the back of the head by the legendary alchemist Shen Yunzi; with the combined effects of internal and external attacks, it was a miracle that he could still survive until now. Judging from the average life span of the Da'an Emperor, no one would be surprised if the True Lord died immediately; according to common sense, now is the time to prepare for the Crown Prince to take charge of government affairs and become familiar with the court, and prepare for the expenses of the Emperor's funeral...
But the question is, is our Master Feixuan a normal person who would succumb to common sense?
This is of course an impossible wishful thinking. In fact, even though he was sensitive to the fact that his physical condition was about to weaken, Zhenjun's ardent desire was still unquenched, and his greed for immortality was getting higher and higher. He almost hysterically threw away his fear and greed - the past immortality techniques of refining elixirs and burning green words could no longer be used, so Zhenjun simply turned his attention to overseas, hoping to find the secret recipe for becoming an immortal in the vast ocean according to the hints in "Journey to the West" and "A Mortal's Path to Immortality"; to this end, he rejected all objections and approved all suggestions put forward by the Foreign Affairs Office since its establishment in an almost arbitrary manner, and expanded outward at all costs.
A large fleet worth millions of taels? make!
The Spaniards who dared to block the road? beat!
A plague official who is hampering maritime trade with his weird attitude? kill!
Yes, these measures were hasty, radical, and not conducive to the long-term. Many policies even directly violated the instructions of Emperor Gaozu and Emperor Taizong, and were a slap in the face of our ancestors, greatly damaging the emperor's reputation. The True Lord even knew that many officials were unwilling to obey in their hearts. Although they were afraid to say anything out of fear of his majesty, they might complain in private. If resentment continued to accumulate, it might lead to disasters that would threaten the foundation...
——But what does this matter?
Yes, ancestral teachings are important, reputation is important, and the mentality of officials is also important, but no matter how important they are, how can they compare to one ten-millionth of the secret of immortality? Things have their priorities. We cannot abandon the longevity promised by the Heavenly Book just for the sake of national plans and the stability of imperial power!
Wu Zixu was at the end of his rope, so he resorted to perverse means; the current emperor is on the verge of decline, and his thoughts are similar - as long as the ministers cannot rush into the palace, drag the emperor out and hang him, then he will resort to perverse means and do it to the end. Longevity is within reach, and immortality is in sight. For the prospect of this glorious crown, what does it matter even if rivers of blood flow?
He killed members of the royal family, aristocrats, and civil servants. Within two years, the number of heads rolled and the people trembled, but the emperor remained undaunted; this was the courage that lay in his chest.
Of course, such development at all costs is still very beneficial. At least the Ministry of Foreign Affairs really plundered good things for the emperor from overseas. For example, when the emperor had been suffering from a long-term cold and bone pain, the prince of Duke Mu presented him with a kind of medicinal powder called "Qingmeisu", which was said to be a rare substance extracted from the juice of some "corn" overseas. After one dose of the medicine, the symptoms disappeared immediately. It was truly like a magical medicine made by immortals, and was definitely not something that the mediocre doctors in the Imperial Hospital could achieve. The emperor's confidence in exploring overseas markets in pursuit of the secret of immortality was gradually strengthened by reading one copy of "Qingmeisu" after another, and eventually became unshakable - since overseas could produce elixirs far superior to those of the Imperial Hospital, they could certainly also produce secrets of immortality far superior to those of ordinary alchemists; as to whether this inference was logical or not, that was not within the scope of Zhenjun's consideration.
…However, we may have to try to speed up the process now. Although the chance of getting sick is decreasing after the hot weather, the old arms and legs that creak everywhere when you sit cross-legged in meditation will not lie. Especially recently, I have been in a daze and even feel tired when I am meditating. The symptoms of illness were so obvious that even with a true master's deep scheming, he could not help but feel some uncontrollable panic and even anxiety.
No matter what, for the sake of the immortality secret that the Chinese emperor is obsessed with, the Spaniards should die as soon as possible!
The emperor let out a long breath, closed his eyes again, and fell into a familiar confusion.
·
The emperor would meditate in seclusion and, as a rule, would not allow eunuchs to disturb him. But Li Zaifang and Huang Shanggang were lying outside the door, feeling very worried. To be honest, things are different now than in the past. In the past, the emperor could jump around, act weird, and it would be no problem for him to lock himself in the palace for a few hours. But now... now, seeing the two miserable dark circles under the emperor's eyes, everyone can't help but feel suspicious.
There's nothing wrong with practicing in seclusion, but what if...
Li Zaifang shuddered inwardly and dared not think about it anymore.
But whatever you fear is bound to come true. The eunuchs knelt on the ground outside the door, holding their breath and listening carefully. And in this silence, there was a slight clanging sound from the tightly closed door, as if something really was breaking. Li Zaifang did not hesitate. He immediately turned over, broke open the door, and crawled into the hall. As expected, he saw the emperor slumped on the ground with his head hanging on his chest. Li Zaifang was so frightened that he slid to his knees and rushed to the emperor's front. He bravely reached out his hand, but heard a gurgling sound in the emperor's throat. His eyes suddenly opened wide and his eyeballs rolled up!
“Emperor Gao! Emperor Gao!” Master Fei Xuan lifted his legs and rolled over, shouting hoarsely, almost breaking his voice: “Please forgive me, Emperor Gao. I don’t know what I have done wrong. Ouch——”
The cry was shrill and harsh, but it was full of energy and could be heard clearly by everyone in the hall; it did not sound like the wailing of a sick person, but rather like the cry of a ghost having a nightmare. Li Zaifang fell to his knees, grabbed the emperor's clothes, and kowtowed:
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty!"
After shouting like this twice, Zhenjun's eyes finally rolled down. He stared blankly for a moment before he finally let out a long breath and lowered his sweaty, pale face:
"It's you guys."
"It's this servant." Li Zaifang said carefully, "Is the emperor having a nightmare again?"
Yes, ever since the emperor offered sacrifices at the Taimiao a year ago, he has started to have strange dreams intermittently. When he was meditating, he often couldn't help himself and fell asleep while sitting, and then he had some inexplicable dreams from time to time. These dreams were both good and bad. After a good dream, I felt refreshed and elated, but occasionally I would have a few nightmares that would make me indulge in them. I needed the eunuch to wake me up in time, otherwise I would roll on the ground and speak nonsense...
Of course, the details of the dream were the emperor’s absolute privacy, and Li Zaifang never dared to explore them at all. But today, by chance, he heard the words "Emperor Gao" when he came in. The nightmare involving Emperor Gao was really...
Li Zaifang did not dare to guess too much, but just lowered his head to signal the eunuch who followed him to quickly get hot water, towels and incense, in preparation for washing the emperor. But the emperor was silent for a moment, then suddenly spoke in a low voice:
"I...I just dreamed of Emperor Gaozu and Emperor Taizong."
Li Zaifang kowtowed quickly:
"The ancestor's presence in the dream must be a reward for the emperor's kindness. This is an auspicious sign for peace and prosperity for the country and the people. I sincerely congratulate the emperor!"
The eunuchs around him quickly crawled over and kowtowed to congratulate the emperor. But while everyone was talking excitedly, they were all worried in their hearts - it might be true that the ancestors appeared in their dreams, but what about the emperor rolling on the ground and begging for mercy? Whose auspicious omen is to scare people to the ground?
In view of this, after congratulating him, everyone dared not say a word more and could only kneel there and observe the emperor's mood. The True Lord also sat cross-legged on the soft couch, his expression changing from yin to yang.
During Master Feixuan's decades as an emperor, there had indeed been signs that his ancestors had appeared in his dreams. But this kind of dream is mostly hazy and vague, and the flashbacks are just scattered impressions captured from memory. Its political significance mostly depends on the wizard's ulterior motives in interpretation. But his recent dreams were quite different. He did not dream about his biological parents whom he would never forget, but about Gaozu and Taizong, about whom he had no impression at all. These two people were not the blurry and abstract faces in the Taimiao portraits. Their facial expressions and behaviors were no different from living people, and they even spoke with some incomprehensible accents. The entire dream was clear and distinct, completely beyond previous experience. If the previous dream could be described as "thinking about something every day", then this dream seemed to be explained as the appearance of the ancestors...
However, if this is a sign of the ancestor appearing in the dream, then the result it implies is probably...
The emperor's face darkened.
Generally speaking, this kind of dream sign also develops gradually over time. At first, this dream was born on the night when Zhenjun reported to the Taimiao after defeating the Japanese pirates. At that time, the dream was still very peaceful and simple. He was led in front of Gaozu and Taizong by his own father, and tasted the sacrificial wine with the grace of his ancestors. After waking up, the fragrance was still lingering in his mouth, and he was proud of it. But starting from half a year ago, the signs of the dream became more and more wrong - Gaozu and Taizong first scolded, then cursed, and finally even took off their belts to whip Zhenjun Feixuan so that he would spin like a tornado. The two ancestors who were born as military generals were strong and powerful, and a whip from them could make the old Taoist roll on the ground in pain. If it weren't for his father Emperor Xingxian who tried his best to stop him, Zhenjun would probably have just cried...
The corner of Zhenjun's mouth twitched slightly, and he touched his arm under his thin Taoist robe unconsciously, as if he still felt phantom pain.
It is said that a good son is born under the stick, but such a whipping on the head also has great side effects. Zhenjun remembered the excruciating pain of rolling on the ground completely, but he completely forgot all the words that Emperor Gaozu and Emperor Taizong had uttered in their rage after he woke up. The emperor had suffered a lot of sins in his dreams these days, but he could not remember at all why his ancestor was so furious. The only thing was that feeling of shock and panic was vivid in his mind and it still could not be dispelled.
However, it doesn't matter if he can't remember. Zhenjun is extremely intelligent and can guess the weak points of Emperor Gaozu and Emperor Taizong - suppressing the Japanese pirates, subduing the Western barbarians and training the army would definitely not anger the ancestors; but over the past year or so, Zhenjun has become more and more eager to achieve immortality, and he has not hesitated to harm members of the royal family and whip officials in his crazy outward expansion, disregarding the ancestral teachings of his ancestors and acting on his own. These measures greatly shook the stability of the government and of course aroused great indignation among our ancestors.
——But what does this matter?
If you don't be a cruel person, you will never be able to achieve enlightenment. If you are obsessed with even this little bit of power outside of yourself, how can you ever seek immortality? Besides, the threats from the ancestors are certainly very scary. With Gaozu and Taizong, two powerful generals, guarding the underworld, if the True Lord ever rides a dragon to heaven, he will most likely be beaten so hard in the underworld that one Buddha will be born and two Buddhas will ascend to heaven. Even his own father will be unable to save him. But on the other hand, as long as the emperor can achieve immortality by cultivating the great way and bid farewell to the underworld and the ghost world forever, what can his dead ancestors do?
Don’t fear fate! Don’t worry about what people say! Our ancestors are not worthy of following our example! If the emperor is afraid of even a few strange dreams, then he would be unworthy of being called Feixuan Zhenjun, Wanshou Emperor, and Qingmiao Emperor!
Obstacles, obstacles, everything is an obstacle for him to become an immortal; to be liberated, one must be liberated from ancestral teachings and human relationships; I will save you from the sufferings of the three evil realms and grant you the nine blessings; when you are about to receive food, all the heavens will praise you… At worst, after returning to the truth, I will go into the underworld to recommend all your ancestors. Things are big and small, urgent and slow. For the grand plan of becoming an immortal, the laws of ancestors are nothing. The more the ancestors oppose, the more it proves that they are right!
The emperor took a deep breath and reaffirmed his unshakable determination.
Of course, before making up his mind to act recklessly, the True Lord still needs to be sure of the power in his hands. So he raised his hand and called Li Zaifang:
"Call the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, call the Ministry of War, call the Cabinet!"
·
Important officials from several confidential agencies arrived soon, but when they arrived they could only stand and wait outside. This was a new habit the emperor developed after he started having nightmares, because Master Fei Xuan was often whipped by his ancestors in his dreams and spun like a top. After waking up, he would feel pain all over and have dark circles under his eyes, so he needed a caring palace maid to massage his muscles and bones, apply hot compresses to his eyes, and summon the ministers only after everything was ready. This time can be long or short, and those who come early can only wait outside and chat.
When people gather together to chat like this, one can see the persistent hierarchical bullying in the Da'an officialdom. The ministers who were in charge of confidential matters could hide in the shadows near the palace gate and sit on a chair to enjoy the cool air. The next-ranking ministers of the six ministries could also stand in the shadows to enjoy the breeze. However, the most inexperienced temporary workers who were "learning to walk" in the External Affairs Office could only hide outside the eaves, with half of their buttocks exposed to the scorching sun outside, and they would often sweat profusely and look very embarrassed.
However, the situation today is much better. In early November last year, in order to prove the superiority of reinforced concrete in construction, the Ministry of External Affairs used new technology to renovate several dilapidated palaces in the Western Garden so that the emperor and his father could live and relax. Although the wooden building materials were not completely replaced, the newly added steel bars and cement have greatly enhanced the structural strength, so the craftsmen were able to remove a large number of beams supporting the roof, freeing up enough height and span to make the space refreshing and bright. In summer, the cool breeze from the pond garden can greatly relieve the summer heat. The best part is that this thing is made of both cement and steel, so it doesn’t catch fire easily!
This is extremely important for His Majesty who has been criticized time and time again!
So it is no wonder that the emperor favored the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and strongly supported the new political reforms. The benefits of new technology are so obvious that even conservatives have to give up. After thinking about it, I can only casually try to test the budget:
"What a spacious place! I wonder how much it would cost to build such a palace?"
There may be conflicts within the Foreign Affairs Office, but the office is united towards the outside world. Gao Suqing, Zhang Taiyue and others remained silent, but Yan Donglou, the Minister of Works, stepped forward and said:
"Not much, at most two or three hundred thousand taels."
Two or three hundred thousand taels! The eyes of several ministers who did not know the truth were about to bulge out - ever since the emperor moved to the Western Garden, renovating the palace and building a new residence had been put on the agenda, and he was wholeheartedly determined to build a comfortable nest for himself to live forever; but the matter had been entangled for more than ten years and had never been finalized, because the cost was too great: the timber in Yunnan and Guizhou had long been consumed in various construction projects, and the huge trees had to be transported from the mountains and Southeast Asia, and the freight was more than one million taels; now it could be built with only two or three hundred thousand, which was simply a miracle like the work of nature!
No one knows more about construction costs than Yan Xiaoge Lao, so everyone just shut up and accept this miracle. Of course, after a brief silence, some people still expressed their unwillingness:
"This palace was built so quickly, and the amount of labor involved was so great..."
"The labor used does not need to be a concern of the court." The young cabinet minister answered without any hesitation: "Spring is the time for farming. Of course, we cannot delay the important task of farming in order to build a palace. Therefore, we did not recruit civilians from the capital. We only asked the emperor for permission and managed to transfer engineers to the Western Garden for construction. It is convenient and reliable."
"This 'engineer' means ..."
"This is a variation of the 'worker-peasant-soldier' advocated by the prince of Duke Mu. The musketeers in the suburbs of Beijing are divided into two groups and take turns training. When half of the soldiers are free, they can be transferred to various workshops to help repair interiors and exteriors and assemble machines." Unexpectedly, the one who replied was Zhang Taiyue: "On the one hand, this is to enforce strict discipline and prepare the musketeers to get familiar with factories and seek a way to make a living in the future; on the other hand, it is also to save expenses and not waste the emperor's money and rice."
These few words were simple and clear, and there was absolutely no objection, but the crowd around them fell inexplicably silent. The old foxes present immediately heard the hints from the younger generation of the Foreign Affairs Office:
Are engineers important? Is it important to repair buildings? Is a new training regime important? No, actually they are all unimportant. The only important thing is the hidden sentence in the words - the emperor can now bypass the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Revenue, and most of the state organs and mobilize the troops quietly; and these troops are assembling machines and building palaces in the capital, and the important officials didn't even know a word!
If the troops can be mobilized at will, it means that they are trustworthy and easy to use; if there is no news, it means that the troops are disciplined and can be of great use. What does it mean to have an army that can be mobilized at will and has strict discipline lurking inside and outside the capital?
Sima Shi secretly raised 3,000 assassins, who, once gathered in one day, could immediately take control of the palace, depose the emperor, and lay the foundation for the Western Jin Dynasty. Similarly, when the True Lord possessed armed forces in the Forbidden City that were not subject to the constraints of the court officials, if he wanted to quietly get rid of someone, it would only take a flick of his finger!
The shift in power balance is always so cold and silent. A new era never leaves time for the old folks to sigh and lament. There was total silence outside the palace gate, and everyone could only stare at each other in shock. The silence lasted for a moment, and Li Zaifang finally walked out of the door and called everyone in.
As if he was waiting for this call, Yan Donglou shook his sleeves, raised his hand to adjust the crown on his head, and strode in with the eunuch with his head held high. Although he did not utter a word, his demeanor fully demonstrated his unbridled joy.
——Walk, walk with vigor and vitality, walk at a rapid pace, walk as if you are in another world!
That’s right, many people were dissatisfied with the new law, many people hated the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and many people were worried about the emperor’s rashness and radicalism. But what is there to be afraid of? Anyway, we have soldiers!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
