Chapter 25: Journey to the West
After a short scream, the Heavenly Book stopped making any sound and returned to the cold silence. Master Fei Xuan's heart was filled with turmoil, but his expression remained calm. He just questioned the "scholar named Wu" mentioned by Li Jurong in great detail, as if he was quite interested in him.
Li Jurong was a little surprised, but also very happy. He and Sheyang layman Wu Cheng'en had known each other since childhood, and their friendship did not change in the slightest due to the change in their respective status. However, Wu Cheng'en had little success in his career. After more than ten years of hard study, he still hadn't even passed the imperial examination, which he deeply regretted. Fame and fortune all depend on the will of the emperor. Wouldn't it be a good thing if you could show your face in front of the emperor?
Master Feixuan listened carefully and considered it over and over again, but after thinking it over, he still couldn't figure out what the relationship was between Wu Chengen and the Heavenly Book. He could only memorize the three words "Journey to the West" and wait to check them the next day.
The Heavenly Book has finally revealed some useful information, how can we let it go so easily? Master Fei Xuan was so overwhelmed with emotion that he even forgot to be angry for a moment.
·
The court meeting in the Forbidden Garden lasted until noon. But this accidental court meeting triggered unimaginable consequences. At noon that day, Master Feixuan ordered Li Zaifang to pass on the imperial edict to dismiss Liu Mengjing from all official positions and titles, destroy all his writings since his birth, and throw him into the East Factory to await trial. At the same time, he severely reprimanded the Hanlin Academy for being "greedy and cowardly and harming the country" and "ignorant and incompetent". He ordered them to study and reflect on themselves behind closed doors and never interfere in government affairs again!
Anyone with a discerning eye knew that such a huge omission in the "History of Yuan Dynasty" could not be borne by a mere glass egg; the fact that all the scholars in the Hanlin Academy rose and fell together was at least a crime of negligence and disrespect. It was just that the status of the Hanlin academicians was too high, and dismissing them all would shock the court and the country, so the emperor had to tolerate it temporarily. But the imperial edict was menacing, and the implication was also very clear - when new candidates are selected in this imperial examination, I will immediately drive you to a remote and desolate place where no one lives to watch turtles hatch eggs!
Are you calling Emperor Gaozu a thief monk? Your ancestors for eighteen generations shouldn’t sleep too deeply at night!
Master Feixuan may act all the time, but when he gets serious, no one dares to treat him lightly. As soon as the court meeting was over that day, the eunuchs of the East Factory, who had received the strict imperial edict, rushed out in full force, searching the capital like vicious dogs pouncing on their prey, arresting people according to the list of people who had colluded with the Japanese given by the young cabinet minister and the prince of Duke Mu. The emperor was so furious that his men had no choice but to double their efforts to enforce the order, and they no longer cared about the rules and decency of the past. Not only were a large number of officials of all ranks arrested, but even the confidants who were secretly sent by the Japanese envoys to contact the inside and outside were blocked on the road and thrown directly into the Sky Prison.
The eunuch from the Eastern Depot has been through many trials and can even pry words out of a dead person. But this time he was probably too anxious and his methods were a bit rough. He tortured the Japanese confidant several times but still couldn't get any information out of him. He originally thought that he had caught a well-trained big fish by chance, but he alarmed the eunuch above and went to check it out personally, and only then did he find a clue - this guy's Chinese is terrible, how could he be expected to confess?
No wonder he kept shouting “Baga” and “Da Mie” when he was being tortured. The eunuchs even thought that this kid was dissatisfied and was cursing the Holy Dynasty!
In order to follow the clues, the East Factory asked the young cabinet minister to appoint an interpreter who knew Japanese as a juror. But perhaps because he had only beaten the prisoner without asking any questions, he burst into tears and confessed everything after the interrogation began. However, the details of his confession were…
"Stop fighting, stop fighting, I admit it!" The Japanese confidant burst into tears and was close to mental collapse: "You ask Jianwen - Emperor Jianwen? Yes, the fire that Emperor Jianwen set in Nanjing was set by me!"
After the interpreter translated, the eunuchs who were hearing the trial fell silent.
After a moment of silence, Eunuch Huang finally slammed the table and stood up:
"You still dare to speak nonsense after all this! Hit me hard, my friends!"
"Great destruction, great destruction, stop fighting, oh - what on earth do you want me to confess?! Well, it was me who instigated Emperor Jianwen to reduce the power of the feudal lords! I did everything - Oh my god, oh my god, ah my father!"
·
In any case, after Guo Chao Dingding confessed all the bad things he had done, the experienced eunuchs sorted out a lot of useful information from the prisoner's collapsed nonsense, and quickly sent people to deliver it to the young cabinet minister and the prince of Duke Mu - Zhenjun's oral order, asking these two to "take over together", and the East Factory would of course fully cooperate and provide support at any time. Even if something goes wrong later, at least there's someone to share the blame.
Mu Qi was overjoyed as if he had received a treasure. He sorted out the news carefully, then changed into inconspicuous clothes, quietly went out from the corner door with a few confidants, and under the pretext of showing respect to the wise, he went to visit Mr. Gui who was still packing up to move. He ordered the servants to help clean up and tidy up the place; he then naturally got rid of everyone and walked quietly into Hai Gangfeng's room.
The two sides had already reached a tacit understanding and after a few pleasantries they got straight to the point. Mu Qi informed Hai Gangfeng of the major changes in the government in the past few days. Mr. Gangfeng was stunned for a moment, then overjoyed:
"The imperial court has made a resolute decision to eliminate the Japanese spies in the capital! Your Majesty is a wise man, and it is a blessing for all the people in the world!"
Mu Qi was stunned for a moment, then reacted. Although he could see through Lao Deng's dirty thoughts under his Taoist robe at a glance, as the saying goes, "A piece of donkey dung shines on the surface but not on the surface." Lao Deng was shy and weird, and he had been cosplaying as a sage and benevolent ruler for decades without any self-forgetfulness. At least he still had some reputation among the grassroots. After all, Mr. Gangfeng was a student who studied hard in a remote village, so it is understandable that he could not understand the old wall lamp for a while.
But it doesn’t matter. After Mr. Hai has been working in Zhejiang’s officialdom for two years, he will probably have a basic understanding of the degree of personification of Master Feixuan. Before this, any explanation would be useless - he couldn't tell Mr. Gangfeng that he had actually overthrown the Japanese and their spies through literary inquisition, right?
The prince of Duke Mu may be shameless, but Mu Qi still has to have some dignity!
Mu Qi could only change the subject and talked about the details of the Dongchang's interrogation of the criminal. At the same time, he took out a roll of paper from his sleeve, slammed it on the table, and pushed it forward quickly.
He sighed and said, "The East Factory is indeed quite capable. The interrogation records contain a lot of key information. If you can take a look at them, you will definitely be able to understand the situation along the coast. They will be more useful than the documents from the Ministry of War."
Hai Gangfeng stared at the paper roll. He couldn't help staring at it because the prince was about to stab it in his face:
"This is……"
"Of course this isn't the interrogation minutes of the East Factory!" Mu Qi said righteously, "The East Factory is your Majesty's household servant. Although there is no explicit regulation, ordinary ministers should be as less involved as possible. How could I knowingly commit a crime and bring out the interrogation minutes? This is such a big mistake!"
Hai Gangfeng: …………
"So what is this?"
"This? Well, this is a fictional nobleman who got some fictional information from a fictional spy agency, and then used this fictional information to write a completely fictional book." The prince said seriously, "Any similarities are purely coincidental. So this is a worthless conjecture. Do you understand, Mr. Gangfeng?"
Hai Gangfeng...Hai Gangfeng's mouth twitched for a moment.
Really, in such a brief moment, Hai Gangfeng almost doubted his previous judgment - perhaps the rumors circulating in the capital were not wrong, and this Prince Mu was really a lunatic?
Who in their right mind would say something crazy like that?
But what can he say? He could only remain silent for a moment, and then replied dryly:
"I see."
The prince was very satisfied:
"I understand. You must never forget it in the future. By the way, is there a tea stand here? I want to buy a few pots of hot tea to quench my thirst!"
·
Although there was a large bucket of hot tea in the guest room, Prince Mu still got up leisurely and strolled outside for two quarters of an hour. When he strolled back into the room, Hai Gangfeng was still sitting upright with a silent expression. The paper roll in front of him was still wrapped tightly, and there was no sign of movement.
After the prince sat down leisurely, Mr. Gangfeng bowed to him and said solemnly:
"I originally thought that the Japanese pirates' spies were only in the remote countryside in the south, but now it seems that I was greatly mistaken. These Japanese in the capital tried every means to inquire about the deployment of coastal defenses, the movements of the inner court, and the strength of coastal troops. Their intentions are truly questionable. The prince's concerns are indeed very reasonable, and I cannot help but admire them."
Mu Qi blinked:
"The Japanese are asking about coastal defense? Oh, I really don't know where you got this information from! I didn't leak a single word... Of course, if we assume that this information is true, then it would indeed be huge news - with the current peace of mind and military power in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas, the coastal defense is basically equal to zero. If the Japanese really find out this, I'm afraid the next invasion will be just around the corner."
For the first time in his life, Hai Gangfeng was choked by someone else's performance and was a little speechless. After a moment of silence, he simply changed the subject:
"The situation in Jiangsu and Zhejiang is not something I can judge at random, but we should restore the old system of Emperor Gaozu and first rectify the people in the key areas so as not to give the Japanese pirates an opportunity to take advantage of us."
Although he is a rookie, Hai Gangfeng's sharp and experienced political vision has already been revealed. No matter how worried he was about the Japanese pirates, Hai Gangfeng was still clear about the current situation. The military and political affairs along the coast are complicated and it is impossible for outside forces to interfere; let alone he is a mere juren, even if he borrows the power of the Muguo Mansion after becoming a local official in the future, it is unlikely that he can stir up that mess - unless you really intend to spend several years to kill people carefully and bloody.
But let alone Duke Mu, even Lao Deng could have such ruthless courage? It's very difficult!
Hai Gangfeng is just upright, not pedantic, and he has long been thinking about finding a new way. In the 20th year of Xuanwu, Japanese pirates also invaded the coastal areas. Emperor Gaozu issued an edict, asking the people to "prepare knives and kill first" and "I will reward the good people who chop off their heads." It was truly a vast ocean of people's war, which killed the Japanese pirates and made them flee in fear. With the help of this imperial edict, he could now train the militia in Shangyu and consolidate the defense of key areas first.
The Prince of Mu listened attentively and nodded repeatedly, as if he was also very appreciative. He took out the ink pen from the table, hurriedly wrote two names on the rough paper, and handed it over:
"I admire your strategy, sir. Of course, I can only agree with it. However, training troops requires expert guidance. I am not talented enough, so I will help you with some plans. The two generals Yu and Qi mentioned on this paper have some connections with the Duke's Mansion. If you take my letter to them, they will definitely help you."
Hai Gangfeng stood up solemnly, took the thin piece of paper with both hands, folded it carefully and put it in his arms. The two sides had a tacit understanding, so there was no need for any extra words, but he was silent for a moment, but still sighed:
"...But even if I exhaust all my energy, I am afraid that I can only save one town and one county in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. If the Japanese pirates invade, tens of millions of people in Jiangnan will suffer! I am really ashamed of the expectations of the prince, and I really dare not take it...How can a small scholar influence the overall situation? In the current situation, only with the courage of thunder and lightning, refining bones and washing marrow, and the courage of Emperor Gaozu who fought against ten thousand people alone, can we save a little bit!"
These words were spoken sincerely and powerfully, with each sentence carrying a burning heart. Mu Qi heard every word clearly, but was speechless for a moment - he had been acting crazy and complaining since he traveled through time, and could handle all kinds of slick old men with ease (or thought he could handle them with ease); but such a frank and sincere confession was something he could not handle no matter what!
Damn it, don’t use your sincerity as a knife to kill me!
He could smile and talk slickly a thousand times, but this unconcealed sincerity, which was more precious than gold, could instantly pierce through all his ridiculous defenses, revealing the terrible reality underneath his complaints and slacking.
inability! weak! Afraid of death! I have been traveling for so long but have accomplished nothing. I have been jumping up and down like a monkey for so long. I have tried my best but couldn't even stop a Japanese pirate!
Every man has his share of responsibility for the rise and fall of his country; what's more, you are a prince of a duke, living off the fat and blood of the people! The world is in such turmoil now, don't you have any responsibility? Are you without sin?
What can Mu Qi argue? He couldn't utter a word in rebuttal. He could only look left and right, too embarrassed to utter a word.
...Of course, Hai Gangfeng's words were by no means a deliberate innuendo, but came from the heart; but precisely because they were sincere, their destructive power was so great - perhaps misled by the previous intention to thoroughly investigate the Japanese, Hai Gangfeng actually had a glimmer of hope for Lao Dengsheng; he hoped that he could show the courage of Emperor Gaozu and make up his mind to turn the tide. But the greatest tragedy in the world lies here. Compared with Lao Deng Tianliang's discovery and display of courage, it is better to hope that Emperor Gaozu will return like lightning, and after seeing the great achievements of his descendants, he will not be angered to death again, and will still be able to kill people.
The trust of kind-hearted people is the most precious thing in this world; but there will always be someone who wastes it. The earthen pot makes thundering sounds, the golden bell is broken and discarded. There is nothing more sad than this.
...In any case, trusting Lao Deng too much is bound to get hurt; if the fantasy is bound to be shattered, it is better to shatter it earlier than later. Mu Qi hardened his heart and decided to be the evil villain himself.
"...Sir, you think it's too easy." He said expressionlessly: "According to the Ministry of Revenue's estimate, just rebuilding the coastal defense and preparing a small-scale fleet will cost more than one million taels of silver a year. Sir, do you think the court can afford this amount of money?"
Hai Gangfeng also remained silent.
·
“Is this Journey to the West?”
Master Fei Xuan shook the rough yellowed pages of the book, and his tone did not reveal whether he was happy or angry.
Li Zaifang kowtowed and said, "In reply to your Majesty, the Imperial City Bureau and the Imperial Guards have checked carefully and it should be this Journey to the West."
After court yesterday, the emperor immediately summoned his trusted eunuchs and ordered them to investigate Wu Chengen's relationship with Journey to the West. The spies from the Imperial City Bureau used all means to find out that "Journey to the West" was actually a storybook written by Wu Cheng'en when he was bored at home. When he went to Beijing to visit his old friend, he brought the manuscript with him and asked Li Jurong for his guidance.
He is just a failed scholar. Even if he is connected with Li Jurong, he is not worth mentioning. He can snatch the manuscript away by force. But Master Feixuan ordered to keep the matter secret, so the Imperial City Bureau spent a large sum of money to bribe the servants of the Wu family, secretly stole the unfinished manuscript, and urgently sent it to Xiyuan.
I originally thought that since His Majesty was urging me to do so, it must be an important article. But after Li Zaifang got it and flipped through it, he was completely confused. Although it has been presented now, I still carefully reminded:
"I'd like to let Your Majesty know that this book is full of gods, demons, witchcraft and mystical magic that are talked about in the market, as well as disrespectful and slanderous words. I'm afraid it will pollute Your Majesty's eyes..."
Everything else would be fine, but the monkey named Sun in the book not only made a big fuss in the Heavenly Palace, but also kept saying, "The emperor takes turns, it will be my turn next year." Wouldn't such rebelliousness and boldness surely make the emperor furious?
But unexpectedly, when Master Feixuan heard this, not only was he not angry at all, but his eyes lit up slightly - gods, demons, ghosts and monsters? Witchcraft and mysterious magic? Isn't this just the right taste!
For several months, he had been reading the heavenly book painstakingly, but apart from complaints, insults, and nervous attacks, he did not see anything that could be related to immortal magic, which made him privately doubtful. But now that "Journey to the West" has come out of nowhere, it has dispelled all the old Taoist's doubts and once again aroused his endless enthusiasm!
The banished immortal specifically mentioned a strange book full of gods, demons and monsters. What does that mean? What is the hidden relationship between this strange book and the immortals' magic?
What's this? This is clearly an opportunity to become an immortal!
In the face of this opportunity, what harm can a few words of slander do? Master Feixuan has always been broad-minded and would never care about this little offense.
Of course, the secret is not to be passed on to others, and the True Lord is unwilling to reveal such an important private matter in front of his confidants. So he coughed and picked up the dangling manuscript:
"Although it is just a bunch of gossip, it can sometimes reflect some of the public opinion! I occasionally flip through a few pages and take a look, which can be regarded as an understanding of the public sentiment."
After saying that, he leaned back on the couch and flipped a page at random.
After half a cup of tea, His Majesty, who was just casually browsing, narrowed his eyes and turned to the second page.
…and then page three, and page four.
·
After the last page was turned, Master Feixuan finally raised his head. He slowly turned his neck and felt a crackling sound in his cervical vertebrae. He also felt a rare soreness in his shoulders.
Zhenjun looked up blankly and saw the sun setting in the west in front of the door.
...He vaguely remembered that when he turned to the first page, the sun was still at its zenith?
Of course, this is no longer the point. The True Lord was silent for a moment, waved away the eunuch who stepped forward to press his shoulders, and summoned Li Zaifang who was waiting outside the palace:
“Isn’t this book finished yet?”
Li Zaifang nodded and replied, "Long live the wise emperor! I heard from Wu Chengen's servants that he was supposed to finish a chapter in the next few days, but because he visited friends everywhere after entering the capital, the matter was delayed."
Upon hearing this, Master Feixuan immediately became furious!
——A book editor and novel writer, instead of staying at home to update every day, is actually wandering around, not doing his job! Besides, it would be fine if Wu’s part was broken somewhere else, but it happened to be broken at the critical moment of “The Three Strikes on the White Bone Demon” when Sun Wukong returns to the Flower-Fruit Mountain! What else is there for me to look at? !
It’s really deceiving!
The old Taoist priest was furious and could not control himself, but perhaps out of consideration for the face of the Heavenly Book, he did not lose his temper in the end, but instead frowned and ordered:
"You guys quietly think of a way to get that Wu to finish the book quickly. Don't delay. Do you understand?"
Li Zaifang was confused and quickly agreed. The old Taoist thought for a moment, and then gave another cold order:
"Think of a way to secretly pass on a message - don't say it was said by me! - and tell that Wu that if Sun Wukong is wronged and can't vent his anger any more, tell him to watch out for his own skin!"
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