Chapter 95 Success
The effect of Yan Xiaoge Lao's seal was very good. The two eunuchs were stunned when they saw it, and they couldn't help themselves. Then they hesitated for a long time, and finally told the truth hesitantly. The truth was just as Mu Qi had expected: the Weaving Bureau was able to thrive in the smuggling and wine-brewing business in Zhejiang with the cooperation of local powerful people; and in the vague list of names given by the imperial prisoners, there were many people with connections to the great families in Jiangnan, retired ministers, and even powerful figures in the court. How could a young and inexperienced person easily mess with such a complicated network of relationships? Even though the prince of Duke Mu is in a high position of power, people are unwilling to make a rash bet.
But with the seal of the Yan family, the nature of the matter became different. If only the prince of Duke Mu had stepped in, it might be that Duke Madman got carried away and lost control and wanted to kill someone again, and the result would be hard to predict. But since the young cabinet minister was willing to hand over all the seals in the mansion, there was at least some careful planning by the leader of the Yan Party in this situation. No matter what the specific plan is, at least it is more reliable than a madman - people can't trust the prince, but can they not trust the elder?
Political struggles also depend on prestige. Yan Fenyi, a veteran minister of two dynasties who is good at maneuvering and has a great reputation, is obviously much more reliable than the completely uncontrollable and unimaginable madman like the Crown Prince. He who knows the times is a hero. The two eunuchs carefully identified the seal and then spit out everything, fully expressing their trust in Lord Yan. As long as they drag Yan Ge Lao into the fight, they can take the opportunity to escape.
There was no one else in the secret room except the prince, and there was not even a clerk to record confessions or guard the prisoners. The prince silently read the brief record of information, then stood up and left, pushing the door and walking into the compartment next to it where the torture instruments were placed.
This small quiet room was also empty. But Mu Qi stood at the door and waited for a moment, and suddenly there was a dripping sound in the air, and an invisible combination of swirling ions dropped a holographic light and shadow.
Although he was usually quite unremarkable, after putting on the complete set of the emperor's uniform, Liu Li's face actually showed dignity and solemnity, and his tone also became majestic:
"You got them all?"
"That's about it." Mu Qi pulled out a map from his sleeve. "The eunuchs have revealed almost all the warehouses storing sugar and glutinous rice, and the winemaking workshops have also been emptied out. However, what they can reveal are all the industries of the Weaving Bureau itself. The local big families also have many warehouses storing smuggled materials, but the Weaving Bureau doesn't know the details, and only knows the general location. For further investigation, I'll have to trouble you to help."
During the Shangyu naval battle more than ten days ago, in addition to a variety of homemade weapons such as rockets, water mines, and other weapons, Mu Qi's trump card was dozens of old agricultural drones purchased at a discount. He planned to use the drones to carry high-explosive drugs when necessary, but since the effectiveness of the rockets was beyond expectations, this trump card was retained; and today, by coincidence, it can play a huge role - the local smuggling warehouses must be tightly sealed, and even the local officials may not know the inside story; outsiders who rashly test the details will most likely alert the enemy; but no matter how tight and smart the blockade is, how can it be hidden from a pair of eyes in the sky?
However, drones also need someone to operate them; Prince Mu has to meet people at all times, and it is not convenient for him to stay in a secret room and stare at an electronic screen in a daze, so Liu Li, who has a lot of free time, has to do it remotely. But this was obviously not an easy task, so Liu Li complained a lot:
"I have to stay up all night to look after the drone, what are you doing?"
"Of course, we need to control the militia in Shangyu and be ready to take action at any time." Mu Qi said slowly, "As long as we can determine the location, I can directly raid the warehouse in the name of colluding with the Portuguese, and quickly ship it to the capital. This may be able to solve the urgent problem. After all, Lao Deng's previous order was to 'do what is convenient'."
The Battle of Shangyu may seem grand and spectacular, but it cannot be considered a war in legal terms. It was just a special security action against Portugal that was carried out in accordance with the emperor's order and allowed Prince Mu to act at his own discretion. Therefore, there was no way to report the victory to the Ministry of War through formal channels, nor was it easy to publicize it. There are certainly procedural problems, but more of them are due to Master Feixuan's usual cunning nature. He wants to win the battle but doesn't want to take any responsibility, so he comes up with this kind of empty, exaggerated, two-sided method. But this method just gave Mu Qi room to make some moves - after all, it was an advantage for Portugal, and the coastal nobles happened to be involved in foreign smuggling, so he could just take advantage of it.
If the people above are talking nonsense and trying to make the pan non-stick, then don't blame the people below for trying every possible means to take advantage of the situation and use chicken feathers as a token of authority. If the leaders follow suit, the whole country will be in chaos and will eventually be out of control. This is the great truth that Mu Qi taught Liu Li. I suggest you savor it carefully.
"You want to let the militia from Shangyu take action?"
"I'm afraid it will be difficult for the militia in Shangyu to solve the problem." Mu Qi said calmly: "How could the powerful and prestigious families have been able to occupy the south of the Yangtze River for so long without any precautions? As soon as the militia marches over, the local informants will tip off the clans that are closely related to them and will immediately come to obstruct them. Unless they start killing people right away, there will be endless tactics used by the Broken Shoes Party - the local scholars with meritorious titles will carry the tablet of Confucius to cause trouble; the elderly, the weak, the women and the children who have been praised for their chastity will go to the government to cry and beg for help; if things get out of hand, someone may even die in front of the militia, and then claim that the government's behavior is cruel and has caused people to die..."
One has to experience it personally to be impressed. Being able to enumerate the tactics of local clans one by one like the back of his hand, it is clear that Mu Qi has seen a lot in the cabinet. Judging from his experience, although this method is disgusting, it is indeed effective. Even if you encounter a shrewd and capable official, you will probably have to fight fiercely with the clan repeatedly before you can barely pry something out of the mouth of the local tyrant; if you are not careful, you will get yourself covered in a fishy smell. Food is in urgent need now, so of course we can’t do it so slowly.
"The militia in Shangyu was trained by Hai Gangfeng. We should protect such people. The water of Canglang is so turbid that we should not stir it if we can. Otherwise, it will be difficult to explain in the future." Mu Qi said, "So, we still have to make a feint to the east and attack in the west. When the time comes, Hai Gangfeng will lead the militia to launch a frontal assault to draw the attention of the clan. We will then sneak up to the warehouse with rockets, and you will use the drone to locate it and then use the rockets to bombard it. After breaking the siege, we will just rob and run. As long as the supplies are on the ship, what can they do?"
This method is actually quite appropriate, relying on modern technology to strike quickly and vigorously. By the time the clans that have united to watch the excitement discover that it is their own house that has collapsed, there is nothing they can do no matter how angry and infuriated they are. This method is comprehensive and feasible, and truly reflects the absolute advantage of dimensionality reduction attacks. But by listening carefully, Liu Li keenly captured some subtle and unpleasant details.
"Wait, what do you mean by 'we should still protect such people'? What do you mean by 'if we can avoid getting involved, we should not get involved'?" Liu Li was quite indignant: "Hai Gangfeng should not get involved in such dirty business, Hai Gangfeng should stay out of the mud and avoid the Canglang water; can I do that? Such a double standard!"
Throughout history, both in China and abroad, double standards are the most annoying thing. If Mu Qi humbled himself and used their old friendship to persuade Liu Li to condescend to do some dirty work, Liu Li might agree after some hesitation. After all, the trio was in cahoots with each other and had done a lot of dirty work in the past. Otherwise, where did Zhao Fei get the inspiration for those weapons that would definitely not pass the inspection? But doing the dirty work and practicing double standards at the same time will inevitably make old friends feel unhappy - buddies are close to you, but you are playing tricks on them; yes, yes, your Hai Gangfeng is noble, unworldly, extraordinary, and cannot touch these dirty things; what about us? We deserve it, right?
Who isn’t a baby who was raised in the palm of one’s hand? When Liu Li was working in his own family, his father-in-law never let him get involved in any dirty work; why should he have to suffer injustice at the hands of you, Mu?
The man surnamed Mu was a little embarrassed: "...That's not what I meant."
"I think that's what you mean." Liu Li said bluntly, quite angrily: "Behind every double standard there is an unspoken standard. I think your standard is consistent. You want to dig wild vegetables with a cold face and make selfless contributions, but it doesn't mean that I-"
"Enough!" Mu Baochuan, who was digging wild vegetables with a cold face, finally couldn't bear it anymore and could only shout angrily: "What nonsense is this? When you asked me to prepare a strong laxative for military use, did I say no? I still have to take responsibility for such a dirty thing for you!"
Emperor Zhaolie and Empress Dowager Cixi and Prime Minister Zhuge Liang were fighting against the Southern Barbarians. Originally, they planned to capture and release Meng Huo seven times to show their leniency and completely win over the hearts of the barbarians. However, they did not expect that after releasing Meng Huo three or five times, the tribe suddenly suffered from diarrhea, their legs were sore and weak that they could not stand, and they no longer had the ability to regroup. Why do the natives who have lived in Bashu for a long time suddenly suffer from diarrhea? Meng Huo was puzzled and thought it was a warning from God to punish his rebellion. He was so terrified that he had no choice but to surrender. Of course, this inexplicable and somewhat vicious diarrhea was not caused by his father, but by a Mr. Mu who did not want to reveal his name but had to take the blame. So the question is - I took the blame for your family back then, why can't you give something back? I didn't care about my father's affairs back then, why are you so nosy?
Liu Liyan went down.
The prince flicked his sleeves and snorted, "Have a good rest today, we will start in the afternoon. We will try to make a quick decision and finish it within two days. Your father wouldn't want you to stay up too late, right? So you have to work harder."
Liu Li snorted and said nothing more.
·
Mu Qi's guess was not wrong at all. After Hai Gangfeng led the militia to the door, he really attracted the attention of all the local wealthy families; especially Hai Gangfeng was under the banner of investigating smuggling, inspecting land and clearing taxes (doing things conveniently), which was a poke at the southern clans' ptsd which was deeply hurt; so a cloud-piercing arrow was sent to meet them, and as soon as Hai Gangfeng arrived, all the private soldiers, scholars, celebrities and even chaste women who had been widowed for many years rushed to the door in a hurry; they were united and determined to challenge the government.
This is the clan's way of survival, and it is not surprising. However, in this case, the number of personnel guarding several key warehouses will inevitably be greatly reduced, and defense will also be insufficient. However, the Prince of Duke Mu came prepared without any martial ethics. When he arrived at the door, he didn't even say hello and just set up rockets and started firing. He blew open the warehouse door and detained all the guards. Then he ordered the laborers to quickly transport the supplies - in order to facilitate smuggling, most of these warehouses were close to the coast; but since it facilitated smuggling, it would of course also facilitate theft. Several large Portuguese ships that had been barely repaired were already waiting by the side. They loaded up with supplies and set off immediately without wasting a moment.
Because things were done so quickly and so secretly, it was not until several large warehouses were completely emptied that the elders who were fighting on the front lines learned of the major events that had taken place in the rear. But at this time, the warehouse was empty, and anger and rage were of no use. He couldn't even find the culprit to vent his anger on - Hai Gangfeng? Governor Hai Gangfeng had been presenting facts and reasoning in front of them the entire time, so how could he pass on the blame to others? Besides, can the things in the warehouse be investigated in detail?
Of course, there were also fools who were blinded by greed. After hearing the servants' report, several key members of the smuggling industry who were particularly involved jumped up immediately:
"Uncle, we've been lured away from the mountain! We can't play words with this Hai guy anymore, send someone back with a knife immediately! That Mu guy may not have gone far, we still have a chance--"
The servant who reported the news was stunned for a moment, but still replied carefully:
"The Duke of Mu's son should not have gone far. According to the information they released at the scene, it seems that they are also going to rob a few small warehouses..."
"Asshole! Do you really think there is no one in our family? This man is so arrogant and shameless that I must fight him to the death!"
"They also said that they had left more than a dozen rockets, so they were not afraid of not being able to take down the warehouse..."
Elder: …………
Core: …………
"A gentleman is concerned with righteousness, while a villain is concerned with profit." Zhong Jian said firmly, "A little bit of material wealth is nothing, reputation is the most important thing! Uncle, I think we should first compete with this guy surnamed Hai, and then deal with that guy surnamed Mu!"
·
Before taking away the supplies, Mu Qi specially wrote a letter and sent it to the capital by express horse - since he had borrowed the name of the Yan family, it would certainly not be good to let the Yan family die in vain, so the cause and effect in the letter was explained very clearly, and the progress of raising grain was especially explained: rock honey and molasses are much more filling than ordinary rice; as long as the searched supplies are mixed with rice bran and distributed, it should not be difficult to get by for half a month; as long as this half month can be dragged through, 70% to 80% of the grain on Ruwang's side can be raised, which is enough to get out of the crisis.
This letter was sent urgently over a distance of 800 miles, and arrived at Yan's mansion in just seven or eight days. The young minister who opened the letter was well prepared, but was still shocked by the prince's handwriting: Weaving Bureau! Jinyiwei! A prominent family in Jiangnan! My god, you have done a great job!
The task was so huge that even the young cabinet minister was a little dazed. But Lord Yan was an experienced and prudent man after all. After taking the letter, he read it carefully without any extra expression on his face. He just put the letter down silently.
Yan Donglou couldn't help but said, "Prime Minister, what should we do?"
Isn’t this action a bit too big?
"What can we do?" Elder Yan said calmly, "Since you decided to ask this person for help, you should have expected this result. To be honest, it's not unexpected."
"But this move is too offensive——"
"It's better to offend the Jinyiwei of the Textile Bureau than to offend God." The old man interrupted him: "If the grain can't be transported, there will be a rebellion in the north, and the whole cabinet will be dead! Choose the lesser of two evils, don't you understand this principle?"
This remark hit the nail on the head, leaving the young cabinet minister speechless and he could only stand there silently - things have big reasons and small reasons, and the big reasons govern the small reasons; as the chief minister of the cabinet and the pillar of the court, the most important task is to maintain the operation of the state machine; only when this machine operates smoothly, will cabinet minister Yan have room to retreat and withdraw. If they really commit some unspeakable crime under the emperor's feet, they will be killed without a burial place!
Of course, even if one had to choose the lesser of two evils, the mess created by Prince Mu was indeed too big. So Lord Yan closed his eyes for a moment, and finally stood up.
"Write me a good poem, and I will bring it to the palace to present to the emperor." He ordered: "You still have to tell the emperor about all these things."
Yan Donglou was slightly stunned: "When I wrote to the prince before, didn't Dad tell me to do it in secret?"
"No matter how secretive we are, how can we hide it from His Majesty?" Elder Yan said calmly, "Family affairs, national affairs, and world affairs, is there anything that our emperor doesn't know? Remember, the poem must be written tactfully and movingly, and all the credit for raising grain and overcoming the crisis must go to His Majesty, and don't show any self-conceit."
The young cabinet minister nodded in agreement and went back to compose this extremely important poem. As for Lord Yan, he walked out of the door and stood in the cold air outside the courtyard, looking up at the sky without saying a word. His close family members gathered around him, but they all stood by his side with their hands hanging down, not daring to move.
This has been Mr. Yan’s habit for decades. Every time before entering the palace to seek an audience with the emperor, he would stand for a moment at the vent of the door, using the cold wind to calm his thoughts, and try his best to consider his words and actions when he met the emperor - the current emperor was extremely smart, extremely vicious, and extremely difficult to serve; even someone as soft and flattering as Yan Ge Lao had to be cautious and tread carefully as if on thin ice.
But today, before Lord Yan could figure out the reason, there seemed to be a cold foreign object in the fierce cold wind above his head. He raised his hand blankly and felt some fine ice chips on his forehead.
This is……
The second housekeeper of the Yan Mansion reacted the fastest. He immediately saw the white shadows flying down from the sky. So he burst into ecstasy from the bottom of his heart and couldn't help shouting out loud:
"Snow, snow, it's snowing!"
- Yes, after two and a half months of drought, when the drought was almost out of control, the moody God finally decided to have mercy on his miserable people and sent down the first snow of this winter!
With this snow, the capital is saved, and the north is saved! More than a million people in the city can finally let out a long sigh of relief!
...But unexpectedly, facing this life-saving snow that countless people had been looking forward to for many days, Lord Yan did not show any joy on his face. On the contrary, he stared at the snowflakes gradually falling from the sky, and his face turned paler and paler; even paler than the snowflakes.
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