Good morning Daming

Chapter 1106 Fighting Side by Side
Xia Yan returned to Bo's house and asked if Jiang Qingzhi had returned.

"The Lord is inspecting the Beijing Guards."

"understood."

Xia Yan walked under the eaves and sat down. Hu Zongxian, who happened to be looking for him for something, saw that he looked tired and hurried over to ask.

"No problem!"

Xia Yan waved his hands and patted his waist with his backhand, "Since I was dismissed from office, this is the first time I have seen the majesty of an emperor. That kid! He made me suffer for him."

"The ground is cold." Hu Zongxian reached for the stool and helped Xia Yan sit up.

"You are..." Hu Zongxian saw the joy in Xia Yan's eyes, so he smiled and said, "Did you enter the palace?"

Xia Yan nodded, "Qingzhi... is too honest to others."

"What?" Hu Zongxian's heart tightened, "Did someone betray Lord Bo?"

"You are so perceptive, you have made great progress." The old man said, "It's not a betrayal, it's an informant."

Hu Zongxian's brain started working at full capacity, trying to figure out who it was.

"Don't think about it." Xia Yan shook his head. "No matter who he is, let him be. Do you understand?"

Hu Zongxian was startled, "What if it's someone close to the uncle?"

"That's up to him." Xia Yan said calmly, "Holding the power of the new policy, leading the elite troops of the Ming Dynasty to go to war, being open-hearted to the emperor when he returns, being the teacher and uncle of the two princes... How would all this happen if it were another emperor?"

"There must be suspicion, checks and balances, using them on one hand and suppressing them on the other," said Hu Zongxian.

"Has your majesty suppressed Qingzhi?"

"Never."

"So, do you think it's excessive to have someone keep an eye on the Bo's house?"

"Not too much."

"A gentleman is cautious when he is alone." Xia Yan said, "Your Majesty has done the best he can. As a subject, Qingzhi should also be at peace with himself. If you are selfless, you naturally have nothing to hide."

"I understand." Hu Zongxian said, "I will go and tell my uncle about this."

"Ok!"

Jiang Qingzhi came back in the evening. As soon as he came back, Sun Chonglou complained that he was hungry. Hu Zongxian laughed and asked, "Is this training?"

"Today I led 300 cavalrymen to practice encirclement. It was so exciting!" Sun Chonglou took the dried meat handed to him by Fucheng and munched on it.

"Uncle, there is something." Hu Zongxian gave Jiang Qingzhi a look.

The two walked to the big tree in the front yard. The setting sun was shining on them from the west, which was very comfortable.

"Mr. Xia entered the palace today." Hu Zongxian chose his words carefully and told the story of Xia Yan entering the palace and confessing Jiang Qingzhi's plan to be the emperor.

"I understand." Jiang Qingzhi took out the medicinal cigarette with a calm expression.

Someone beside him handed him a match. Jiang Qingzhi lowered his head to light the incense. When he saw it was Dou Jialan, he smiled.

I wanted to pat my hands to express my gratitude but I stopped myself.

"Uncle, there is a spy in the house." Dou Jialan whispered.

"I know." Jiang Qingzhi took a puff of herbal smoke, "Where's Mr. Xia?"

Hu Zongxian said, "At home."

"I'll go find him."

Xia Yan is drinking tea.

Right in my own little yard.

In the setting sun, an old man with gray hair and beard sat quietly under a tree, with a desk, two chairs and a pot of tea.

"coming."

"Ok!"

"I took the initiative to come to the palace and confess this matter. I am sorry to have put you in a difficult position."

"If you don't tell me, I will tell you one day."

"Ok?"

"With your majesty's intelligence, the plot of the virtual monarch can be concealed for one to two years at most, or even shorter, before he sees through it. Rather than letting him see through it, it is better to tell him proactively."

"Then why didn't you bring this matter up at the beginning and discuss it with His Majesty?"

"I want to give Your Majesty a process from guessing to getting some clues, and then slowly accepting it."

"You are worried that if you suddenly say it, the emperor's instinct will make His Majesty reject it outright."

"Yes." Jiang Qingzhi sat down, shook off the cigarette ash, his face shining in the sunset, "He guessed it, and then he would think about it. After thinking about it, he would naturally know that this is the best way for the Zhu family and the Ming Dynasty."

"You are too bold." Xia Yan sighed, "If you change the emperor, your head will have to move."

"So I took over the new policy." Jiang Qingzhi said lightly: "If there is another emperor, I will take people to sea."

"Leave the Ming Dynasty behind?"

"I will use another method to change the Ming Dynasty."

"What method?"

"Establish a foundation overseas, lure them with benefits, and entice the Ming Dynasty to open its doors. Use the vigorous development of overseas foundations to trigger internal reflection in the Ming Dynasty. Once that trend of thought surges, Mr. Xia, no one can stop it."

Jiang Qingzhi is very confident.

Xia Yan narrowed his eyes, "Using interests to drive the scholars?"

"Ok!"

"The emperor will become a lonely man. Tsk! You are going to be a figurehead from the beginning."

"Since the emperor has become a guard dog, then just sideline him." Jiang Qingzhi took a puff of medicinal smoke, letting the breath circulate in his lungs for a few circles before slowly exhaling.

"Your Majesty, it's not easy!" Xia Yan said.

"I know, so I won't eat dinner at home."

"Alright."

When Jiang Qingzhi arrived at Yongshou Palace, it was already past the Taoist's dinner time.

"His Majesty is waiting for you." Huang Jin came out. "Okay." Jiang Qingzhi entered the hall.

A table, all the food, two sets of bowls and chopsticks, a pot of wine, and two wine glasses.

Daoye seemed to know he would come, "Sit down."

Jiang Qingzhi sat down.

The Taoist priest poured him a glass of wine. Jiang Qingzhi was stunned. "Your Majesty..."

The sound of wine dripping was monotonous. After Dao Ye sat down, he picked up the wine glass and said, "You could have concealed your identity as a leader of the Mohist School, but you took the initiative to announce it to the world. This is public spirit."

Jiang Qingzhi nodded, "Since you want to turn against Confucianism, let's do it thoroughly."

"Only in this way can we raise the banner and recruit soldiers. You are taking a risk. If you just want to grab power, you don't have to do this."

"As long as I stand beside your majesty, I can become the third force in the court, with power in my hands, and I won't offend the Confucians too much."

"So what are you doing for?"

"for……"

Jiang Qingzhi's eyes were dim, "For the continuation of the Ming Dynasty, for the people to live and work in peace, for..." He looked at the Taoist priest and said seriously, "For my wife and children, for my children and grandchildren not to be enslaved by foreign races, and for this glorious Ming Dynasty to stand at the top of the world!"

He didn't say it was for the Taoist priest.

No need to say.

"Then, let's drink this cup."

The two drank it all in one gulp. Daoye picked up the wine pot and Jiang Qingzhi smiled bitterly, "Let me do it!"

"No need." Daoye filled Jiang Qingzhi's glass with wine again, and after sitting down, he picked up the wine glass and said, "When Altan's army marched south, the whole world was terrified. I was also quite worried."

This was the first time that Dao Ye was honest with others about his mentality at the time. "No one dared to lead the army to the battle, except you. Tens of thousands of troops went out to fight, and most of them had never experienced the hardships of a major battle. I don't understand the art of war, nor do I understand battle formations. I also know that this battle is extremely dangerous. We will lose more than we win."

Jiang Qingzhi nodded, "In order to deal with Altan Khan's southward advance, I seemed calm and confident for the past six months, but in fact I was quite anxious and could not sleep or eat well."

During that period, Jiang Qingzhi slept in the study quite often, and his excuse every time was that he needed to study something.

"I spent the whole night in front of the map, staring blankly at it, thinking of all sorts of scenarios and outcomes."

“What’s the worst?”

"The worst thing is... after the great defeat, Altan's army took advantage of the victory and attacked, approaching the capital. The capital's guards were crippled, and the capital was almost undefended. The emperor and his ministers were in a panic... Your Majesty refused to go south, and eventually the capital was broken, Your Majesty..."

"I, what's wrong?"

"Kill yourself."

The Taoist priest noticed a look of sadness in Jiang Qingzhi's eyes, as if this had really happened.

"That tree." Jiang Qingzhi murmured, "The ministers fled south with the two princes and rebuilt the Ming Dynasty in Nanjing."

"This is an old story from the former Song Dynasty." During the former Song Dynasty, Bianliang was destroyed, and Zhao Gou fled south and established his capital in Lin'an, thus starting the Southern Song Dynasty, which was a cowardly society.

"Altan Khan occupied the northern part of the Ming Dynasty and only wanted to plunder and then flee. Who would have thought that the small court in Nanjing would not make progress but instead fight for power and profit."

Emperor Chongzhen committed suicide, and his ministers fled south and established a small court in Nanjing. Logically, they should have taken advantage of Li Zicheng's unstable position to strike back, but they were busy fighting for power.

Wu Sangui opened the pass and let the Man Qing enter. Li Zicheng was defeated, and the Man Qing really just wanted to plunder and escape.

What a shame!

They discovered that the small court in Nanjing was actually... they were actually intoxicated by the struggle for power.

There was no counterattack or advancement at all.

So, let's take a break for a while?

After resting for a while, Man Qing was even more surprised that those people in the south were still fighting among themselves.

What the hell!

What are these people thinking?
As a result, the thinking of the Man Qing upper echelons changed.

How about we try to settle down?
What followed was a disaster and massacre.

"Such a situation..." Jiang Qingzhi shook his head, "I just thought about it, and I felt it here." He pointed to his heart, "It hurts a lot."

"What you said is similar to the fall of the Song Dynasty." said the Taoist.

"Han fell because of its strength, and the civil war killed nine out of ten families. It seemed that it was spared from the massacre of foreign races, but this lesson was eventually learned by the Former Jin Dynasty."

The Five Barbarians invaded China and killed almost all the Han people.

"The lessons of the former Tang Dynasty were made up by the former Song Dynasty."

"The Ming Dynasty is not as powerful as the Han and Tang Dynasties, and will experience this lesson firsthand."

Jiang Qingzhi looked up. "I only have one thought, to reverse this damn lesson and turn it around."

"So even though you knew that you would most likely die and be disgraced if you led your army into battle, you still did not hesitate."

"Yes."

"To that, here's a drink."

The third glass of wine was poured by Daoye himself. He picked up the glass and said, "The news of the great victory in the Northern Expedition has arrived. The external threat has been eliminated. I have been patient for many years and have started a new policy again."

Jiang Qingzhi ate a piece of lamb chop. The fatty lamb chop tasted so good that he squinted his eyes and savored it carefully.

"Shang Yang's reforms succeeded, but he was eventually torn to pieces. Wang Anshi's reforms failed, and he was eventually hidden away and became a rat on the street. Yan Song and his son were greedy for power, but they still didn't dare to take over the new policy. Confucianists hated you to the core, but you took on this matter without hesitation. Tell me, were you sure at that time?"

Jiang Qingzhi shook his head. At the beginning he was only 30% sure.

"Why do you insist on doing this again?" The Taoist looked at him with sharp eyes.

Jiang Qingzhi thought about it carefully.

After returning from the Northern Expedition, Jiang Qingzhi learned that his emperor had started a new policy. His first reaction was that he was too hasty.

"At that time, I felt that the new policy was best implemented without saying anything." Jiang Qingzhi raised his head, "At that time, I..."

"You returned victorious from the Northern Expedition. You could have made many excuses, such as injuries or lying dormant because of your great achievements... No one could say anything about that. But you took the initiative to stand up. Why?"

The Taoist looked at him very seriously.

Jiang Qingzhi also thought about it seriously.

"I just want to fight alongside your majesty."

(End of this chapter)