Chapter 21 Hai Gangfeng
In order to plan for the replacement, Mu Qi sorted out the historical materials and checked the list that day, and was busy until midnight, but he still couldn't get to the point. Eventually he could no longer hold on and fell onto the couch, snoring soundly until the sun was high in the sky. He finally got up and wanted to ask the servant to bring him some water to wash up, but when he looked up, he saw the butler standing in front of him with an embarrassed look on his face.
Mu Qi was caught off guard and was shocked: "What are you going to do?"
The housekeeper gritted his teeth and said, "Let the prince know that a guest has brought a visiting card to the mansion and asked to see the prince. He has been waiting in the side room for a long time..."
Mu Qi hasn't woken up yet and is still a little slow to react. To be honest, his image as a psychopath was widely known among the upper class and was irreversible, so no one would easily pay attention to him; let alone wait for a long time and must meet him. So I blurted out:
"Who is it?"
The butler leaned forward and said, "It's Mr. Gui, and he brought a friend with him."
The steward was a seventh-rank official sitting in front of the mansion. He had seen many nobles before and did not take this unknown Mr. Gui seriously. If it were not for the prince's previous instructions, he would probably not have been willing to come up and disturb the master's good dream. Of course, the steward was still loyal to the Duke Mu's Mansion, so he specifically instructed people to give a good reception, serving delicious food and wine one after another, and only said that the host was busy and could not be seen, for fear that the guests would notice that the prince was sleeping like a dead pig in broad daylight.
Zai Yu was sleeping during the day, and Confucius said that a rotten tree cannot be carved; the reputation of the Prince of Mu in the upper class has been completely tainted and is beyond redemption; but maybe he can still hide it in front of the lower-class literati?
The butler bent down, wanting to remind his master not to reveal the truth; but he saw the prince was stunned for a moment, then jumped up immediately:
"Really your last name is Gui? Why didn't you say so earlier? Quick, get my clothes!"
"Not this dress, I want the big dress for meeting guests, quick!"
·
A quarter of an hour later, the prince dressed neatly and walked quickly into the side room. As soon as he entered the door, he smiled and took the initiative to greet:
"I have long heard of Mr. Gui's great name. I am so delighted to meet him today!"
The man in blue who was sitting beside the rosewood square table stood up immediately, saying that he dared not, and bowed to the prince in return. The prince helped him up, feeling secretly proud:
——I can actually meet and talk to people whose names appear in the Chinese textbook. Oh my god, I am so successful!
People with the surname Liu and Zhao were born with SSR because of good fortune. To be honest, it’s nothing to worry about! I am the one who was recruited by myself through courtesy and humility, I am no worse than them!
He happily pushed Mr. Gui for a few words, then turned to look at the dark and thin man beside him:
"This is..."
Gui Zhenchuan quickly introduced: "This is my friend, Mr. Hai Gangfeng, from Qiongshan, Guangdong, and he is also going to Beijing to take the exam this time."
Prince: …………
The prince took a deep breath and decided to take back his words immediately. He is more than just as good as Zhao Fei and Liu Li. Now there is this buy one get one free opportunity, it is clearly a good opportunity to kill these two stinky seals!
Mom, you are a European emperor, and I am also a European emperor! We are all European emperors, who are we afraid of?
He was so excited that he could hardly speak. When he finally reacted, he immediately unbuckled his belt.
The Mu Mansion’s housekeeper followed behind him, and was dumbfounded when he saw this action: Could it be that the prince was suffering from a sudden onset of hypochondria and was going to go crazy in public again? It was in broad daylight, and with two outsiders witnessing it, there was no way to cover up this action; should he rush forward and knock the prince unconscious with the inkstone first?
Fortunately, the prince acted quickly, untied his belt in no time, placed it in front of Hai Gangfeng, motioned him to accept it, and spoke loudly:
"I think Mr. Hai has an extraordinary appearance. He will be very prominent in the future and will definitely be a pillar of the imperial court. When that time comes, this belt will be of great use to you!"
The prince's coat was elegant and luxurious, decorated with gold and jade, and his untied belt was also sparkling, showing extraordinary nobility. Hai Gangfeng stood there in a daze, looking confused; Mu Qi turned around and handed Gui Zhenchuan another jade pen:
"I think Mr. Gui is full of literary talent. He will surely be a great figure in the country in the future, and his writings will be immortal. This jade pen is just what he needs! This is the big pen that Dongpo used to write memorials. It would be unworthy of being in the hands of others. Only you are worthy of using it."
Fortunately, he had gotten some treasures from Zhao Fei before, otherwise how could he step down now? As for the belt given to Hai Gangfeng, it was a unique piece of craftsmanship and not something that could be told to outsiders.
As expected, Gui Zhenchuan's eyes almost popped out after just one look at the jade pen. Although he repeatedly declined, saying that he dared not, his eyes always unconsciously glanced at the two words "Su Mansion" on the pen cap. Scholars do not pursue fame and wealth, and if the prince brought out gold, silver, jewelry, and other antiques, it would not be difficult for Mr. Gui to refuse politely - but that was Su Dongpo's pen! When Gui Zhenchuan wrote poems and essays, he learned from the masterpieces of Mr. Su Dongpo!
Is there really any scholar in the world who can resist the temptation of Su Dongpo's relics? Well, maybe except for Yi An. But Mr. Gui is not Li Yi'an, he just made the same mistake that all the literati in the world would make!
So after hesitating for a moment, Mr. Gui finally accepted this valuable gift.
Mr. Gui accepted it, so Mr. Hai certainly had to accept it, but he still felt a little embarrassed when accepting it:
"This is too precious, and I dare not accept your words, Your Highness..."
The Mansion of Duke Mu is already a first-class family in the dynasty. Compared with such a family, what is meant by "prominent"? Hai Gangfeng is just a small scholar now and he really can't afford it.
But the prince was very confident: "Mr. Hai is too modest. My face reading method has never been wrong. You will know it in the future."
If we talk about history. Hai Gangfeng took the imperial examinations several times, but always ended up failing. He was disheartened at the age of 48 and went to a remote county to be a teacher as a juren. Before he died at the age of 73, he had been promoted to the positions of Nanjing Chief Censor and Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. In other words, with no support, no family background, and no jinshi title, he rose from the director of the Education Bureau of a poor county to a powerful vice-ministerial level official in just 25 years - this can't be called progress, it can only be called ascension!
Oh, by the way, during this twenty-five-year ascension period, he also wrote a memorial that went down in history, which made the old Taoist so angry that he almost ascended to heaven on the spot; he himself was arrested and thrown into the imperial prison, and was delayed for two years.
Just being “half a step ahead of God”, you dare to be so arrogant? Today, I, Hai Qingtian, am determined to defy Heaven!
For such a person and such a role, Mu Qi is absolutely full of confidence, even more confident than himself. This is not because he blindly believes in history, but because there is real evidence to support it. Hai Gangfeng ascended to the vice-kingdom in the 25th year, and he had offended countless people; but even the old Taoist priest tore off his face and took action himself, but he could not find any mistakes in Hai Gangfeng's actions; that is what it means to be true gold refined by fire and tested over time. Hai Qingtian is high and hard, and his reputation is well-deserved.
Hai Gangfeng was still a little hesitant, but finally accepted the belt and thanked him repeatedly.
·
Having accepted the jade pen from the Duke's Mansion, he basically agreed to the Duke's Mansion's offer. Gui Zhenchuan chatted with his future host for a while, and the more he talked, the more relaxed he became. He felt that the prince of Duke Mu was indeed different from other noble children. Although his handwriting was a little ugly, he knew his own articles very well and had deep insights that were unexpected. However, some of his opinions were inexplicable, which confused him:
"I would like to ask." Mu Qi said earnestly: "In Mr. Gui's "Xiangjixuanzhi", there is a sentence 'so much joy, so much sadness'. Does it express Mr. Gui's homesickness at that time?"
Mr. Gui was stunned for a moment: "... probably."
How could he possibly still remember how he felt decades ago? Besides, who would inquire into the author’s homesickness when reading an article? What does it have to do with you whether the author misses home or not? !
Mu Qi was very interested and continued to ask:
"I read in Mr. Su's "Xiangjixuanzhi" that there is a description of scenery: 'The bright moon hangs on half of the wall, the shadow of the osmanthus tree is mottled, the wind moves the shadow, and it is lovely'. Did he refer to Su Dongpo's "Record of a Night Tour of Chengtian Temple" in which 'the courtyard is like a pool of water, with algae and water chestnuts crisscrossing in the water, which are probably the shadows of bamboo and cypress', and used the writing method of parallel prose?"
Mr. Gui: …………
"...Actually, I just wrote it casually." He said tactfully.
·
Although the topic of conversation was very strange, we still had a good time in the end. When Gui Zhenchuan said goodbye, he agreed to pack up his luggage at the inn within five days and move to the Duke's Mansion to do business; Hai Gangfeng paused for a moment and bowed to Mu Qi:
"May I ask if you would excuse me for a moment?"
Mu Qi naturally wanted it very much, and took the initiative to invite him into the study room next door and ordered the butler to serve tea. Hai Gangfeng thanked him solemnly, and waited until the servants left the room before he spoke quietly:
"Let the prince know. I have taken the liberty of going to the Ministry of War to retrieve the court reports from the past few years."
Mu Qi was slightly surprised. The court bulletins were originally documents for conveying court announcements, and were printed and distributed separately by the six ministries. However, after the rise of the cabinet and its encroachment on the power of the outer court, the source of the court bulletins also shifted to the central government. The circulars issued by the six ministries are basically just a running account of departmental business, and few people care about them.
Of course, no matter how boring the account book is, it is still an official document after all, and it is difficult for a mere scholar to borrow it. Hai Gangfeng must have put a lot of thought into it to achieve this. He said sincerely:
"Thank you for your hard work, sir."
"I dare not take responsibility for it." Hai Gangfeng said, "The officials of the Ministry of War are quite arrogant. It was only because a scholar named Zhang passed by and explained a few things to me that I was able to retrieve the official report."
Mu Qi: "...Wait, your last name is Zhang?"
Oh shit! Oh shit! Damn, this world can’t be that small, right?
Hai Gangfeng nodded, "Yes. I heard that this scholar named Zhang is from Jiangling, and is highly regarded by the Governor of Huguang, Gu Lin, and is also very prestigious in the scholars of the capital, so the Ministry of War was lenient with him."
Hai Gangfeng specifically mentioned this, probably because he wanted to recommend the famous Mr. Zhang to the Duke Mu's Mansion; but Mu Qi was stunned, and his thoughts were full of "Wow, it's really Zhang Taiyue!" and "My God, he can still use SSR continuously!", but when he heard the words "Governor of Huguang", he couldn't help but shudder immediately!
Who understands, my family members? The scene where he just gave the belt to someone was the same as the scene where the cosplay Zhang Taiyue was appreciated by Gu Lin when he was a child!
Damn it, the meme was actually danced in front of real people!
By the way, Hai Gangfeng probably hasn’t heard about Zhang Taiyue’s childhood, right? If he had heard it, shouldn't he buy a boat ticket and set sail immediately, or even better, live in another continent?
Mu Qi was so shocked that he could only force a smile on his face:
"Really? Then I am also somewhat interested in this Mr. Zhang... By the way, Mr. Gangfeng retrieved the official bulletin of the Ministry of War. I wonder what he is looking for?"
"I just have some doubts and I'm taking the liberty to inquire." Hai Gangfeng said, "I checked the records of the Ministry of War one by one and found that the prince had frequently consulted the records about the Japanese pirates, more times than the rest of the people combined. He also used official documents to order the Military Department to search for a general named Qi..."
Mu Qi: …………
Well, these were indeed all his work. Back then, he was anxious to guard against the Japanese pirates, so his actions were indeed a bit blunt, and there was no time to clean up the traces. I originally thought that no one would care about the piles of waste paper in the Ministry of War, but I didn't expect that Mr. Gangfeng could see the big picture and actually revealed the truth to him.
SSR is SSR. Even if it is just the title of Juren, his vision is experienced and sharp, and irresistible.
He sighed:
"I didn't expect the gentleman would actually check this."
"I am sorry for the offense." Hai Gangfeng bowed solemnly, "It's just that I heard that although the reputation of the prince in the capital is quite debatable, since he took office in the Ministry of War, he has always been on duty on time and has never been late. It seems to be quite different from the rumors in the market. I was also puzzled, so I went to read the official bulletin of the Ministry of War."
Now that things have come to this, there is no point in hiding it any further. Mu Qi was silent for a moment, but suddenly said:
"I wonder if Mr. Gangfeng has any plans for his career?"
Hai Gangfeng was a little stunned.
If it were an ordinary scholar, he would probably be so excited that his heart would beat fast and he would not be able to control himself if the Prince of Duke Mu asked about his career. But Hai Gangfeng was very calm, and after thinking for a while he said:
"I dare not mention the word planning. I am old and not good at writing. If I can go back to my hometown and become a county magistrate and do a few things for my hometown, I will be satisfied."
Hai Gangfeng was very self-aware. He knew that his essays were not liked by the examiners and it would be difficult for him to succeed in the imperial examinations. Even if he passed the exam, his ranking would certainly be very low. How far can a low-ranking scholar with no background and no recognition go in his life? I'm afraid it's just a delusion to even have an official position.
But the prince only smiled and said, "As the saying goes, self-cultivation, governing the country and pacifying the world, local officials can certainly benefit the local area, but if you really want to carry out your ambitions, I'm afraid you still have to be in the government to have a chance. Don't you have this wish, sir?"
Hai Gangfeng: ………Is this guy really crazy?
Why do you think I have no desire to be in the upper echelons of government? Is it because I don’t like it?
He could only say politely: "You are joking, my Lord."
"I'm not kidding. I've said it before, my face reading method is always correct and never wrong. My belt is never given away for free... This is a gift from the emperor. If I can't wear it in the Forbidden City in the future, wouldn't it be a great disgrace to it?"
The prince said this crazy thing as if nothing had happened, then paused and said:
"Of course, Mr. Gangfeng is wondering why I checked the military archives. I can't explain it right now, but I just want to make an agreement with you."
"Please speak, my lord."
"According to the procedures of the Ministry of Rites, the examination will be held in about one or two months. Success is determined by heaven, and no one can predict the outcome. But I want to make an agreement with you. If you pass the exam, I will invite you to the Ministry of War to gain some experience. After reading the reports from the coastal areas in recent years, you will naturally understand my intentions in retrieving these records." Mu Qi said calmly, "Of course, if something goes wrong, I am willing to help Mr. Gangfeng seek an official position."
Hai Gangfeng frowned slightly and said nothing.
"Mr. Gangfeng, do you think I am corrupt and selling the country's official position for personal gain?" Mu Qi laughed, "I am not such a considerate person... I want to seek for you the position of county magistrate of Shangyu County in Zhejiang, which is also responsible for receiving tribute merchant ships from various countries - it is definitely not a good job."
Jiangsu and Zhejiang are the richest provinces in the world, and officials from Zhejiang have always been popular; but Shangyu County is an absolute exception - seven or eight years ago, a small group of Japanese pirates invaded, landed in Shangyu, looted the county town, and killed all the officials in the government office. There is a trend of unrest along the coast now. Anyone with a little connection would not want to go to Shangyu to die. The post of magistrate here has been vacant for more than a year.
The position of chief officer had been vacant for more than a year, and the chaos in Shangyu can be imagined; pushing people to be officials at this time was by no means a promotion, but a direct way into the fire pit.
Hai Gangfeng flipped through the Ministry of War's official bulletin and of course knew about the almost complete defeat of the situation along the coast. So he was silent for a moment, then bowed to the prince:
"...I remember all your words, Your Highness. But please forgive me for being disrespectful and asking you a few questions."
Mu Qi smiled: "Sir, please speak, I will tell you everything I know."
Hai Gangfeng asked, "May I ask, Your Majesty, when did you set your sights on Shangyu County?"
Mu Qi said: "Two years ago."
For two years, he has been collecting information and deploying people, and has been working on various plans, but still to no avail. Until today, something earth-shattering happened, which brought the key to breaking the deadlock.
Hai Gangfeng added: "As a small county magistrate, Duke Mu's Mansion should be able to handle it easily. Why did the prince delay until now?"
"Of course it's because there are difficulties."
"May I ask what the difficulty is?"
"Although the Japanese pirates' rebellion a few years ago has been quelled, the aftermath has never brought peace to Jiangsu and Zhejiang." Mu Qi said slowly, "Because of the various constraints of the court and the local governments, there are countless spies, secret agents, and smugglers stationed along the coast, who can bribe officials and protect them. Some secretive Japanese even donate money to become officials in the imperial court and parade around with government tokens! In such a complicated situation, ordinary local officials would either become corrupt and collude with them, or be tied up and left hanging. If they investigate too deeply, I'm afraid they might even be in danger of their lives."
These words were clearly stated and logically sound. How could they be anything like the Dian Gong that was previously rumored? Hai Gangfeng was silent for a moment. However, he did not care about the so-called "life-threatening situation", but was seriously concerned about the near-decayed and collapsed situation of the coastal areas as described by the Prince of Mu.
Prince Mu said that he had been preparing for more than two years, and it seems that he was not lying. You would never see such a shocking reality just from the official documents of the Ministry of War.
Hai Gangfeng was silent.
"Jia Yi said in his memorial on public security that the world is clearly in danger, but only a handful of people have noticed it; most people are foolish or flattering, and are just singing on a leaky boat. The current situation in Jiangnan is roughly the same." Mu Qi said: "The upper class is greedy and the lower class is stupid, the land is crumbling and the fish are rotting; those with connections go with the flow and engage in smuggling with the Japanese; those without connections hide their heads and try to make a living. The whole situation is a stagnant pool of water, and it will inevitably be dragged to the point where the building collapses and the people suffer. Faced with such a situation, someone must be sincere and forge ahead to open up the situation in Jiangsu and Zhejiang first."
Historically, the Japanese pirate rebellion spread to the southeast and could not be quelled for several years. Although there were the consequences of a weak central government and a disorganized military, the cowardly fleeing of officials along the coast made the Japanese pirates extremely powerful and impossible to pacify. The plight of the people living along the coast was even more miserable - you couldn't expect the Japanese pirates to have any humanity, so you can imagine what happened to the victims.
Since we already know the outcome, we can only save as many as possible. Even if we can save one more county, we can accumulate more vitality for the future. What's more, wasn't it the weakness of coastal officials that led to the rapid expansion of Japanese pirates' invasion in the future? “One punch is enough to open the door, so as to prevent a hundred punches from coming.” What if one punch fails to open the door, but instead you fall to your knees and beg for mercy? The earth-shattering situation along the coast when the Japanese pirates attacked was simply terrifying!
He must choose a person who is as strong as steel and cannot be defeated by him, so that he can withstand the tsunami of the future like a nail!
Such a major event cannot be concealed in the slightest, and it must be done with willingness and common purpose. So Mu Qi did not pretend and told the truth directly.
Hai Gangfeng was slightly moved, but still sighed.
"...If Southeast has really reached this point." He said slowly: "With my meager power, I may not be able to save anything. I am afraid that it will even affect the overall situation."
Without mentioning personal life, death, honor or disgrace, but only discussing the overall situation of the anti-Japanese war, the implication is very clear.
"Since I recommended you, of course I have to take responsibility to the end." Mu Qi pointed at the belt on the table: "As long as you take this belt and take office, all the power of the Duke Mu's Mansion in Jiangnan will be under your command. It's hard to tell who will win between a powerful dragon and a local snake, but they can always make people wary of them. In addition, there will be a big change in the court soon. If you can use the power of others to fight against them, you will definitely get unexpected gains... At the very least, you can wipe out the Japanese spies and leave no future troubles."
Hai Gangfeng was stunned: "What will happen?"
If it is true as Prince Mu said, that the Japanese spies have become so rampant that they can openly carry tokens and parade through the city, then they must have been deeply rooted and difficult to eradicate; even for a noble like the Duke's Mansion, it would be difficult to wipe them out. Unless... unless the current emperor has made up his mind, he will strike with thunderous force, even at the cost of disrupting the political situation.
But would Lord Feixuan and Emperor Qingmiao be people who care about the people living along the coast?
As a close minister who has accompanied the emperor for several years, Prince Muguo can tell you responsibly that it is not.
But in front of Hai Gangfeng's puzzled expression, Mu Qi just smiled:
"Well, this is a secret that cannot be leaked."
Perhaps remembering the status of the Duke Mu's Mansion, after the prince showed off his "I have someone above me" attitude, Hai Gangfeng seemed to be finally convinced. He pondered for a moment, then bowed:
"If it is really as the prince said, I am willing to do my best to help."
·
With the power of Duke Mu's Mansion, it would be more than enough and effortless to arrange a county magistrate for Shangyu; Shangyu was also the focus of the Japanese pirates' attacks in all previous times, so it should have been developed vigorously. But the situation on the ground is so bad that sending officials rashly would be a mistake. It has been delayed until now due to repeated indecision.
Now that he is lucky enough to draw Hai Gangfeng's SSR, Mu Qi can finally feel relieved. The situation in Jiangsu and Zhejiang is extremely complicated. I am afraid that only by asking for the magic sword Hai Gangfeng can we suppress the situation and prepare for coastal defense. On the other hand, according to history, it was a sheer waste of time for Shanghai Gangfeng to take the imperial examination for more than ten years. For a big shot like him, he would shine wherever he went, and his brilliance could not be concealed at all. If he had followed the agreement and entered the official career a dozen years earlier, he would not have been just a mere Chief Censor or a minor vice-chancellor.
——That’s right, to a person like Hai Gangfeng, the Chief Censor is just a small thing.
Although according to the old system of the dynasty, only Hanlin scholars could enter the cabinet; but there was still hope of becoming a minister of one of the six ministries. If we calculate based on the time, when Hai Gangfeng was promoted to the position of Minister of State and Assisted in Mechanical Works, it was also the day when Zhang Taiyue achieved enlightenment and officially became the Regent. The day when the two top masters confronted each other in the Forbidden City, the thunder and lightning that struck the earth, and the strong tension of the historical turning point made the prince tremble with excitement!
Damn it, I’m determined to eat this melon!
·
This enthusiasm lasted for a long time. Only after Mu Qi personally saw Hai Gangfeng off did he enter the study room with great interest. He looked around at first, feeling pleased with his own creativity while pondering. Then he ordered someone to grind ink and spread paper, and picked up the brush that had been idle on the wooden shelf for a long time.
When one reaches the level of Duke Mu, he would have the help of Qingke Xianggong when writing memorials and official documents, and he didn't even have to think about the wording; when he had to write it himself, he basically had to use his ultimate moves.
This is indeed a big move. Mu Qi held his breath and concentrated for a long time before finally making the first stroke:
【dense】
——Yes, this is a secret letter.
While the old Taoist priest was obsessed with elixirs, he also did not forget to consolidate his power. In order to restrain the officials from controlling the situation, he granted many of his confidants the power to make secret reports, allowing them to "report things based on hearsay" and "not be bound by common sense." The contents of the memorials were often fanciful and far beyond normal logic. The Duke Mu's Mansion is a staunch supporter of the Emperor, so of course the Crown Prince also has such a secret silver seal, but the nobles have all laid waste and rarely use it.
But now that he has been pushed to the extreme, Mu Qi no longer cares about the rules of the past. He wrote down his experiences and observations during the negotiations with the Japanese in recent days, emphasizing Japan's "respect for both China and Japan", "Eastern Emperor and Western Emperor" and Goryeo's "pacification" - of course, Eunuch Huang from the East Factory would certainly bring the same news to the Taoist priest, but how to interpret the intelligence was up to the person who wrote the letter.
For example, after writing about all the lies told by the Japanese, Mu Qi did not denounce their disloyalty like an ordinary minister would, but instead wrote about the rumors about the "descendants of Jianwen" in Japan.
First there were the "descendants of Jianwen", and then there was the "co-respect between China and Japan". Don't you think this is too coincidental, Your Majesty?
Of course, this is just hearsay, a hidden chess piece planted in advance to see the results. But given Mu Qi's identity, he was particularly suitable to plant this hidden chess piece - his ancestors followed Emperor Taizong to Fengtian to quell the rebellion and went all the way south; because of this family background, no one understood the remnants of Jianwen better than the prince of Duke Mu!
As for why there are remnants of Jianwen in Japan, it is actually not difficult to explain. When Emperor Taizong ordered people to travel to Southeast Asia six times, wasn't he trying to find the trace of his nephew overseas? It was a consensus in the dynasty that Jianwen should go overseas.
As we all know, Emperor Gaozu planned carefully and had already prepared many ways of escape for his descendants. Even if you really want to escape by sea, your shelter will not be limited to the South Seas. The best strategy is to travel around and hide at all times. The reason why Emperor Taizong's efforts were in vain was that he did not see through his own father's tricks!
Mu Qi had been planning for a long time. At this moment, inspiration burst out and he wrote hundreds or even thousands of words in an instant, expressing his thoughts. In terms of elegant rhetoric and quotations from classics, he is certainly far from being comparable to the Hanlin scholars; but in terms of sufficient historical materials and rich imagination, who in the world can be his rival? He listed many historical materials of Japan, Korea, Annan and Myanmar, analyzed and compared them one by one, carefully pondered them, and finally came to his own rigorous conclusion:
Judging from all the evidence, Emperor Jianwen and his remnants must have prepared a plan to flee overseas and scatter in all directions; they attempted to use overseas forces to counterattack the mainland and restore the monarchy.
——This is the wandering Jianwen plan that lasted for two hundred years and extended to nearly ten generations. Do you civil servants know about it?
It doesn’t matter if he can’t recognize them. Prince Mu has sharp eyes and has seen through the schemes of the remnants of Jianwen at a glance. He could even boldly conclude that the overseas Japanese country was an important base for the remnants of Jianwen to counterattack the mainland. The Japanese were ambitious and difficult to tame, so they were so rebellious and rebellious!
You said Japan has no such intention? Then let me ask you, if they were not planning to counterattack the Central Plains, what else were they planning to do by placing spies along the coast, sending Japanese pirates, and bribing officials in Beijing?
——Look, all these clues are connected one by one, right? With the ironclad facts before us, who would dare to slander the prince as being crazy and talking nonsense? Such meticulousness and foresight, what else could it be but loyalty to the country!
At the end of his writing, Mu Qi changed his tone and set the final tone for his secret memorial:
[…Precisely for this reason, we must strengthen the navy, prepare for coastal defense, and comfort the heroic spirit of Emperor Taizong in heaven. After all, the friendship between China and Japan has a long history, and we will never allow a small group of Jianwen elements to hinder the overall situation of Sino-Japanese diplomatic relations! 】
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