Chapter 146 Leak
These few words just flashed by and then disappeared without a trace. But Master Feixuan obviously would not miss such crucial and fatal news. He pounced over with a swiftness that was totally inconsistent with his age, and began to shake the poor heavenly book frantically!
If it were possible that the Heavenly Book could not record voice, Master Fei Xuan would have roared and angrily accused it of deceiving the Heaven!
The effort paid off. After shaking violently, the heavenly book squeaked and squeezed out a new paragraph of content. Although it was mixed with a lot of "hot, hot, hot", "pound, pound", and "404 not found", it was still barely recognizable:
[The following content is not suitable for public disclosure - Error! mistake! Kunkun hot hot hot——】
[…On the surface, the result of the Sino-Western naval war seemed perfect; the emperor, the court, the officials, the emerging bourgeoisie on the coast, the common people at the bottom, everyone reaped rich fruits from the victory of the war, it was just that the fruits were more or less; the cake was so rich and sweet that it was enough to smooth out all the contradictions and disputes in the country, unite all classes, and continue to expand.
But, is such a wonderful cake really free of charge?
For a long time, historians like to use "honey on the cliff" to describe the results of the Jiayin Reform - the bear trapped on the dead tree on the cliff licked the honey dripping from the top of its head, unaware that the rotten tree was about to fall into the abyss; similarly, after the Jiayin Reform, the Da'an court was also intoxicated by the rich and juicy rewards, immersed in the false prosperity created by the war dividend and the improvement of productivity, and even ignored their increasingly weak ruling foundation:
Feudal ownership was disintegrating, new outrageous ideas were spreading, radical workers were infiltrating the army in large numbers, and weapons of violence were no longer reliable; and on the shaky foundation was a court that was becoming increasingly shrinking, dry, and incompetent. As we have pointed out, more than ten years after the Jiayin Reform, the court's fiscal revenue expanded several times, but the affairs handled by the central government did not increase at all. Western scholars who are ignorant of the situation may promote this as a great victory for liberalism, but anyone familiar with Chinese politics can immediately smell a terrible odor from it - it means that the central nervous system is withering and necrotizing, and the efficiency of governance is collapsing; the court cannot control this huge empire at all, and governance has become merely dependent on inertia...
】
The emperor's eyes opened wide and he suddenly let out a horrible and desperate scream!
The dragon has a reverse scale, which cannot be touched. If touched, the dragon will be killed. And today's book is not just touching his reverse scale, it is simply holding a knife and stabbing it into the deepest and most painful place of Feixuan Zhenjun and Wanshou Emperor!
Rebellion, rebellion, rebellion! ! !
The emperor's roar echoed in the empty palace, shaking the bells and screens on all sides. If it weren't for the fact that all the palace servants and eunuchs had been dismissed earlier in order to keep the secret, this scream would have been enough to scare the experienced attendants out of their wits, leaving them paralyzed and speechless.
But no matter how loud the noises were on all sides, Zhenjun himself turned a deaf ear to them. He just stared at the Heavenly Book with his eyes wide open, and the whites of his eyes were bloodshot, almost bursting out; and in this rage, his gaunt face became even paler, almost no blood could be seen - this was the so-called "internal heat in the heart", a sign of uncontrollable hot blood; for a person who has been taking elixirs for a long time and then suffered such a rage, the damage to his internal organs would be immeasurable; if there was an experienced imperial physician accompanying him, he would probably tremble with fear at the sight of his face.
However, Zhenjun no longer cared about this little abnormality. He exhaled a large breath of anger, with only one thought in his mind:
How could this be? How could this be? !
Fortunately, the heavenly book flickered for a moment, and new content popped up:
【
...However, in such a prosperous situation, few people are aware of the risks involved. Perhaps only the ministers in the cabinet who are in charge of national affairs can vaguely perceive some trends from the changes in official documents. But the building is about to collapse, and it is obvious that it cannot be supported by a single piece of wood.
If we carefully examine the memorials submitted by cabinet members, we will find that starting from Emperor Muzong Longqing, Gao Suqing and others had shown a clear sense of crisis in their memorials. They were keenly aware of the disasters lurking behind the huge financial revenues, and repeatedly advised the emperor to stay sober, forge ahead, eliminate redundant officials, reform institutions, and absorb all kinds of ideas - in short, to create an upper-level institution that could adapt to the surging productivity.
If these reforms can be successfully implemented, Da'an may be able to continue. Unfortunately, the imperial power in the Muzong era was lenient and benevolent, and gave full trust to the cabinet. However, precisely because of this leniency and benevolence, it was unable to enforce the law strictly. In the Wanli era, Zhang Taiyue relied on the trust of Empress Dowager Renshou and Cishou to exercise full power when the emperor was young and successfully implement his ideals. In fact, he almost achieved his goal - during the fifteen years in power, Zhang Taiyue streamlined the officials, adjusted the institutions, eliminated bad habits, changed customs, absorbed a large number of emerging classes into the newly established institutions, and expanded the base of his rule.
Through these measures, after fifteen years of hard work, Zhang almost completed the modernization of the state apparatus and partially coordinated the conflicts between the upper and lower levels. This is an incredible achievement, unparalleled talent, and a deed that will be recorded in history forever. If we use familiar things as an analogy, then Zhang Taiyue is equivalent to replacing the engine of a high-speed fighter plane in real time. The slightest mistake will result in the destruction of the plane and the death of everyone on board. What is incredible is that Zhang Taiyue almost succeeded in the replacement.
】
Zhenjun's eyes bulged even more. There is no doubt that as the most intelligent and perceptive emperor, he has smelled terrible signs from the words in the Heavenly Book that seem to praise but are actually regretful; and the most terrifying thing is that these signs seem to be describing the emperor's future sons and grandsons, but in fact every word is piercing the heart of Feixuan Zhenjun Wanshou Emperor.
A subtle and ominous premonition quietly crept into the emperor's heart.
【
Yes, “almost”.
Zhang Taiyue may have been extremely talented, but the weapon he relied on, reform, was only a temporary transfer of power during a special period. The gifts of imperial power are sweet, but every gift received from the emperor is secretly marked with a price.
Therefore, people saw the fragility of this so-called "reform" very early on. As early as when Zhang Taiyue expounded his ambition for reform, Mu, who was close to him, presented him with a doggerel poem written by an unknown author. It was half exhortation and half ridicule, and almost a prophecy of Zhang Taiyue's life. The first two lines were particularly famous, as if they had written the whole life of Zhang Taiyue:
"All birds come from the end of the world, and they all know how to love the talents of this life."
Every bird is a phoenix. Phoenix, oh, Phoenix, what a beautiful and auspicious bird! But such a beautiful auspicious bird happened to arrive at the end of the turbid and chaotic world. Therefore, those who are knowledgeable can only feel infinite regret and sorrow in their admiration for the Phoenix, and suffer from the Phoenix’s irreversible fate.
"Phoenix, Phoenix, why has your virtue declined?" This is the song sung by a madman in Chu for Confucius. When virtue and fortune are declining, even a saint can only weep and sigh that his doctrine will decline. Prime Minister Zhang’s talent is truly brilliant and profound, but how can he reverse this inevitable trend?
According to the notes of people at that time, after reading this poem, Zhang Taiyue "remained silent, with only a bitter smile on his face."
There is no doubt that he has realized his own ending, an ending that is clear and unchangeable - "Crying towards Jinling, things are even more sad", and that's all.
】
Every word was a terrible prophecy, but the emperor didn't care about it. His eyes were fixed on a certain part - a poem that was so familiar that it made people crazy:
"Crying towards Jinling, things are even more sad"!
】
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
