Chapter 128 Worry
The emperor's words caught everyone off guard. After a moment of silence, the honest man Li Jurong spoke carefully:
"Your Majesty means..."
"What I mean is," said the True Lord in a cold voice, "To be able to get so much silver, there must be Spanish people supporting you from behind!"
Li Jurong was even more confused. Da'an was not as closed and isolated as the Qing Dynasty, but as a Celestial Empire in a nutshell, it had little interest in news from its foreign vassal states. Li Jurong was born in the south of the Yangtze River. He was able to identify that there was a "Spain" among the Western countries, which was a rare erudition among the civil servants. If you wanted him to know in detail the details of Spain's rise and prosperity and its involvement in Southeast Asia, that would really be difficult for him.
So...so he hesitated for a while, and finally spoke carefully:
"This is a serious matter. I would like to ask Your Majesty how you know this."
Master Feixuan... Master Feixuan suddenly fell silent.
Of course, there is absolutely no problem with the emperor's inference. Six million taels of silver could not have fallen from the sky. Considering that the Fushimi Silver Mine in Japan has not yet been mined on a large scale, only the colonies developed by the Spanish in America can provide such a large amount of silver reserves. The New World is truly rich in resources. The output of gold and silver in the Potosí silver mine in Mexico alone is equivalent to half of the world's total. Only minerals of this level can support the Spaniards' extravagant spending and feed the long and dense smuggling chain along the coast. Therefore, after confirming the amount of silver, the culprit could not be anyone else.
This reasoning is extremely meticulous and brilliant, and can be regarded as the culmination of Master Feixuan's understanding after reading the Heavenly Book in detail; but the problem is, how can he explain this reasoning clearly to Lord Li who knows nothing about it - the Jinyiwei does not manage overseas affairs, and there is no other way to obtain intelligence in the palace. He can't just speak carelessly and leak the Heavenly Book in his hand, right?
The emperor could only remain silent.
This silence made Li Ge Lao even more confused; he looked around cautiously, fearing that he had inadvertently violated some taboo. But after looking back and forth, Yan Fenyi and Xu Shaohu who were standing in front and behind him held their breath and looked terrified, but they did not look shocked or surprised. It was as if they had anticipated the emperor's inference and did not doubt it - no, why don't you doubt it? !
Is it possible that there is some tacit understanding between these two old men and the emperor that cannot be told to outsiders? Is the cabinet also starting to engage in workplace bullying such as exclusion and blockade? This is too messed up!
Li Jurong was horrified, sweating profusely and in a state of embarrassment. In such an embarrassing situation, it was actually the Prince of Mu who was standing behind him who stepped forward and spoke to help him out:
"I, Qi Yuanjing, Hai Gangfeng and others have interrogated the captured Japanese pirates and have indeed found solid evidence that the Spanish have ulterior motives and have committed many illegal acts along the coast."
This sentence gave the hesitant True Lord a way out. He snorted just in time:
"That country has such evil ambitions that it is so arrogant!"
The prince lowered his eyes and did not agree with anything else. To be honest, in the Age of Discovery, it was simply rigid and had a kind of Ah Q-like beauty to occupy the moral high ground and condemn "wolf ambitions". At a time when the world situation was turbulent, which force that was able to cross the ocean with all its national strength was not ambitious?
In fact, if the confessions of the Japanese pirates were really sorted out one by one, it would be more than just Spain that coveted the coastal areas. Portugal, England, the Netherlands, France, Thailand are all full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers, and none of them who have emerged from the colonizers' old nest will be easy to deal with; if we really want to make a big deal out of this, then this matter will never be fully investigated - to put it bluntly, in this era of great contention, discipline has been lost, and what matters is that if the enemy can come, we can also conquer a country by simply placing cannons on the coastline; in such a world of great contention, it is definitely useless for you to engage in moral criticism, unless you can drive a warship to the other side's home and criticize the ancestors of the Westerners for eighteen generations.
Obviously, the emperor did not expect a few empty words to have any effect. All the arrangements and foreshadowing were just for the most important sentence. He adjusted his posture on the bed and expressed his dissatisfaction in a condescending manner:
"The Spaniards have been plotting to take over the coast for so long, and the Ministry of Rites knew nothing about it! The ministers have been so ungrateful and neglected their duties that it has come to this. I have given them the responsibility of handling the border affairs of the vassal states, but they have made it into this state. If the Ministry of Rites continues to be perfunctory, I am afraid that the court will not wake up until the Spaniards bombard Tianjin Port!"
These few words were so stern and powerful, like thunder and lightning, that there was absolutely no room for rebuttal. Everyone quickly fell to the ground and apologized, unable to bear the fear. But the True Lord did not stop, leaning on the soft pillow and continued firing:
"With such decadent spirit and neglect of duty, how can we expect them to accomplish anything? The affairs of state are at such a critical juncture, and the Cabinet should shoulder the heavy responsibility entrusted by me!"
Everyone lay on the ground and pretended to be dead; but when he heard the words "pick up the burden", Lord Yan's heart skipped a beat and he instinctively smelled some sweet and delicious smell.
"This old minister is faint." He said carefully: "Your Majesty means..."
"Find a few trusted ministers to take charge of the affairs of the West first." The emperor said stiffly, "We can't let the Ministry of Rites deal with matters at sea any more! Previously it was the Japanese who invaded, now it's the Spanish, and next it will be some foreigners who will cause trouble? If there are major events in the future, there must be a government office to manage them, so there won't be any chaos. We still have plenty of time now, so let's set up the government office first, and it won't be too late to deal with things later."
It really is the smell of power!
The officials in the imperial court each had their own duties, and they were conservative and could not be shaken; since Emperor Gaozu established the "Great Edict", all diplomatic and tribute affairs were under the charge of the Ministry of Rites. Even though the power of the cabinet rose rapidly, it could not be easily shaken - in essence, the cabinet ministers were just secretarial positions temporarily set up by the emperor. In terms of formal rank and legal authority, they could not directly suppress the powerful Grand Secretary of the Ministry of Rites; even someone as powerful as the current Yan Ge Lao could only attack the Ministry of Rites indirectly and barely achieve his goals by shady and cunning means.
It is also because of this that although the emperor's rebukes seemed harsh, every word struck the hearts of the cabinet ministers - with the public guarantee of the emperor's words, the cabinet had the legal authority to intervene in diplomatic affairs; once it had this legal authority, with the experienced and sharp political tactics of Yan Fenyi, Xu Shaohu and others, it would take less than half a year to lift the Ministry of Rites to the sky and make it another obedient mascot in the capital. Status is power, power is influence, and who wouldn’t like to get such enormous influence for free?
Therefore, the emperor's rebuke was truly full of partiality towards his close ministers, and was tantamount to a huge reward for the cabinet's political stance. The important officials were trembling outwardly but delighted inwardly, and could only bow obediently to express their great gratitude.
The emperor snorted, vaguely feeling a little tiredness that was difficult to conceal after venting his emotions. For Old Deng, who likes to lie down and do things perfunctorily, being willing to take the trouble to cut up the power adjustment agency is already the limit of his efforts to govern the country, and he doesn't need to bother with anything else; all the trivial and complicated matters that follow should naturally be handed over to the considerate white gloves, without the need to trouble the supreme and noble emperor.
He closed his eyes and rested for a moment, then waved his hand casually and ordered the guests to leave:
"That's it. Go down and draft the decree. Let's get things done first."
·
Several important ministers left the palace one after another, only to see that it was already snowing outside the door. A cold wind blew in their faces, blowing a handful of fluttering snowflakes onto their heads. In just half an hour when the emperor and his ministers were talking in the palace, the palace walls were already covered with snow, making it difficult to walk. Everyone had no choice but to stand on the imperial steps, waiting for the eunuchs to sweep the remaining snow and call for the warm sedan chair.
Everyone looked at the red wall hidden in the snow, and they were silent for a while. It was not until the palace servants who were accompanying them turned back to check the candlelight that Li Ge Lao, who was standing in the crowd, spoke softly:
"If the emperor gives his will, the world may be in turmoil again."
Elder Yan was stunned for a moment, as if he had not expected that Li Mianhua would speak first, so he smiled slightly and tried to be perfunctory:
"The cabinet is going to take over all of Taixi's affairs, so of course it's going to be a lot of trouble."
After saying this, even the Prince of Duke Mu couldn’t help but glance at Lord Yan – wow, in the emperor’s decree, the cabinet was only asked to “take charge” of Taixi’s affairs; but when it came to Lord Yan’s words, it became “take over all”; every word is worth a thousand gold, and every word he says has profound meaning, this old bureaucrat who has been in the industry for many years has a high political level.
Li Jurong hesitated for a moment, but then said, "If it's just a little more trouble in the cabinet, it's actually nothing. I'm just afraid that if Ziwei takes action, the comet will enter the room and the wall."
Upon hearing this, the expressions of the important officials all looked a little subtle. All those present were erudite scholars who had passed the examinations (well, maybe the Crown Prince didn't count, but he could go back and ask Zhang Taiyue), and of course they knew what Li Jurong meant. Among the five elements of celestial phenomena, the so-called "a comet comes out of a room or a wall, and war will break out all over the world". If a comet passes through the sky and shakes in Ziwei, it is a sign that a country is about to go to war. What Li Jurong said was actually a tactful way of expressing his own concerns - it didn't matter if the emperor set up a new institution, but what was the purpose of setting up a new institution?
Obviously, as close ministers who were close to the imperial power and enjoyed the emperor's grace in real time, everyone in the cabinet could clearly understand the emperor's intention - when he was sick in bed and exhausted, he was still obsessed with depriving the Ministry of Rites of its authority and integrating the agency that handles Western affairs; then, I would like to ask, after this new agency was established with so much difficulty and even beyond all previous conventions, would it be satisfied with only the nonsense of following the rituals?
Just based on the weird attitude of Zhenjun when he summoned the ministers, you can't say that he is pro-Western, right?
Now that things have come to this, there is no point in covering up any further. Elder Yan was silent for a moment and could only sigh:
"When you have a sharp weapon, you will naturally want to kill. This is natural and nothing is surprising."
It is indeed not surprising, and can even be said to be completely expected. When you have an invincible military force, of course you want to slap everyone you see, and it would be best if you could even shake the yolks off your enemy's eggs. In his early years, Emperor Xiaowu was also very careful and prudent, and handled foreign relations very meticulously; but after he had Wei Qing and Huo Qubing in his control and confirmed that his cavalry was invincible, it was immediately like the waves of the ocean, each one higher than the last; the Xiongnu, Dayuan, Kuzi, Korea, and the Southwestern Yi, all of them received the emperor's touching kindness. Not to mention, the weapons at the disposal of the current emperor are more numerous and more reliable than those of Emperor Xiaowu in the past, and there is absolutely no risk of his untimely death disrupting the strategic layout - with such a huge advantage, how can you expect Lao Deng to resist wasting it?
Since ancient times, emperors of the Central Plains have basically been in only two states: either they are closed and self-defensive due to the decline of national strength, and have to shrink into a small piece of land and become a heavenly kingdom; or they are powerful and ambitious, and they want to whip the world and become the father of all the countries in the world. Of course, the latter goal is often too grand, so most wise rulers can only do their best, as the saying goes, "Don't forget your original intention", and be as big a father as you can; but now it is different. After reading a series of battle reports and rocket production data, several people in the cabinet have reached a consensus: judging by the firepower that is about to be armed, Master Feixuan may really be able to announce it to the whole world!
...For the important officials who have lived in peace and stability for decades, this is actually not an interesting thing. So everyone was silent.
Perhaps because the atmosphere was too tense, the skilled and flexible Lord Xu spoke up to comfort them:
"Brother Li, why are you so worried? According to the emperor's order, the so-called government office for handling Western affairs is only a temporary arrangement. There will naturally be other arrangements in the future."
"It's a temporary government office." Li Jurong shook his head. "Why should Shaohu deceive himself? According to the emperor's intention, the future wars against Spain and Portugal will most likely be led by this government office. You should know that such a government office can't be easily abolished in the future?"
——Of course not!
When he said this, the other ministers were fine, but the prince who had been following behind silently suddenly looked up and glanced at Minister Li with a rather strange look on his face:
A temporary establishment that integrates military affairs, is composed of ministers trusted by the emperor, and is only responsible to the imperial power - isn't this the Grand Council?
It can only be said that the methods used by all emperors throughout history to centralize power are almost the same. If you read too much history, you will always have an inexplicable sense of déjà vu, and you don’t know who should pay the copyright fee to whom. But based on past experience, such nominally "temporary" institutions tend to remain temporary for hundreds of years until the six official ministries are completely hollowed out and military and financial power is completely seized - this trend is often unstoppable.
They are all old foxes who have been around for thousands of years. Even without the experience of the Military Affairs Office as a hint, everyone knows what Master Feixuan is up to. So Li Jurong sighed:
"In fact, it doesn't matter whether it's a government office or not, but the sudden outbreak of war always makes people panic..."
He turned around to look at Mu Shi and then smiled:
"...Of course, with the prince's firearms, overcoming difficulties will not be a problem. But the affairs of the world are not just about victory and defeat..."
After all, in front of outsiders, Li Jurong stopped at the right time and did not say anything discouraging like "even if you win every battle, the country will be in danger." Everyone stopped talking and understood each other's point.
·
After standing and waiting for a while, the eunuchs finally called the sedan chair over. Horses were not allowed in the West Garden, so everyone had to walk out of the corner gate in the snow, say goodbye to each other, and get into the sedan chair.
When the sedan door was lowered, Mu Qi deliberately looked outside for a while, his eyes sweeping over the faces of Yan Fenyi and Xu Shaohu - most of the people who have risen to high positions in the Da'an Central Government have a poker face that does not show their emotions; but after all, he has been with these old men for such a long time, he can vaguely guess what is behind the poker face: after a conversation, the joy that Lord Yan and Lord Xu had previously felt because of the expansion of the cabinet's power has disappeared, and they may have developed some different worries as a result.
——[Confucian scholars should not be underestimated]
Mu Qi watched silently, with only this thought vaguely echoing in his mind.
·
It is indeed not to be underestimated. Judging from the authority, the Ministry of Revenue, which Li Jurong was in charge of, would not be affected by this institutional adjustment. The reason for his long hesitation was not because of Li Mianhua's complaints after his interests were damaged, but because of some kind of intuition and instinctive warning from the scholar-officials.
Of course, perhaps it was because he did not think it through enough, or perhaps he could not speak freely in the palace; Li Jurong could only be vague in his words. With his political intuition honed over decades, he might have really sensed some risk in the emperor's hasty and ruthless military actions, but he probably still hasn't figured out what this risk specifically refers to, and can only refer to it by vague references to the classics of sages. In a sense, this is also the veil of ignorance that pioneers must inevitably face.
But as one of the initiators of the whole incident, Mu Qi understood the reason for this risk very well, and he could not help but admire this instinctive sharpness - Lord Li's guess was correct. For the Da'an court and even the entire feudal imperial power, a large-scale war was indeed very dangerous.
- Oh, I'm not talking about casualties or anything like that here; in fact, after technological innovation achieved unprecedented advantages over the enemy, the losses in war were greatly reduced, and we might even make a profit (such as the Shangyu and Sino-Japanese naval battles). It's possible that Lao Deng saw this novel change and suddenly became ambitious and had the aspiration to swallow the universe. But sometimes, the biggest risk may not be this little money.
War is one of the most violent actions of the state apparatus. The larger the scale of the war, the more manpower is mobilized; the higher the intensity of the war, the higher the requirements for the quality of manpower. In other words, once a large-scale industrial war was launched, the imperial court had no choice but to mobilize the poorest, most destitute, and most homeless people, teach them how to use weapons and observe discipline, and some of the smarter ones might even be able to recognize a few words or even read a few books; then they would go to the battlefield, get used to killing, see the strongest and most fragile side of the entire state machine, and be taught the logic of power by the cruel reality...
When these people leave the battlefield, what do you think they will do?
A system that is too corrupt and conservative cannot mobilize because it simply cannot control the mobilized forces. An advanced system can cut off the chains and allow people to become human again. If a backward system cuts off the chains, the slaves who crawled out of the underworld will eat them alive.
“Turning weapons upside down and covering them with tiger skins will show the world that there will be no more use of war.” This is what the sages mean when they do not talk about military affairs.
Therefore, as an ideology that begins and ends with feudal imperial power, Confucianism is still quite powerful. The sages of all dynasties earnestly advised kings not to start wars rashly. In fact, it was not entirely for the interests of the so-called Confucian scholars and civil servants, but mostly for the stability of the imperial power itself. Of course, it is difficult to speak openly about such a sinister calculation, so it can only be packaged with various moral quotations and even astronomical warnings; but no matter what, there is one point that should be the consensus of all Confucian scholars:
If a large-scale mobilization is really carried out, some big guy might be released.
On this point, Li Jurong's concerns can be said to hit the nail on the head, with a long-term vision and profound planning, and are by no means pedantic moral rhetoric. Otherwise, it would not have been possible to impress the two cunning cabinet ministers in an instant, and even cause unpredictable emotional fluctuations... After temporarily abandoning the obsession with power, the IQs of these two old men once again occupied the high ground; decades of reading of sages' books were not in vain, and they probably realized the same hidden worries.
...Speaking from this perspective, Confucianism is truly an incredibly powerful thing, and it is worthy of being the most stubborn and reliable pillar of the feudal era. The wisdom of the ancient sages is infinite and mysterious. If the emperor could really carefully abide by the teachings of Confucian ethics, restrain his desires and maintain the etiquette system, and set an example for his subordinates and remain committed to it, then the feudal system would be quite difficult to destroy.
But unfortunately, how could our Lord Feixuan be such an obedient and sensible emperor?
To put it even more seriously, even if Yan Fenyi and Xu Shaohu were well-read scholars, even if they were truly enlightened by the reminders of their colleagues and recalled the teachings of the sages, how long could this rare conscience be sustained in the desire for power?
Preserve the laws of nature and eliminate human desires; but human desires are always so difficult to eliminate. Therefore, the permanent stability that the saints earnestly hope for is ultimately just a fantasy.
Mu Qi pondered for a moment. When the carriage in front of him started moving, he finally lowered the curtain and waved to the coachman to set off as soon as possible.
"I'm afraid we should speed up the process," he said to himself.
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