The Great Seminary

Chapter 189: Catch the ducks and put them on the shelves

Faced with Zhang Gui's astonished expression, which seemed to defy both truth and falsehood, Zhang Jiuqing smiled calmly and said:

"Since ancient times, it has been said that 'only names and tools should not be lent to others.'"

Prince Zhen, out of a desire to protect his reputation, used you, General Longhu, who had the power to "make decisions arbitrarily and expediently at the start of campaigns against the barbarians," as a tiger's skin...

"Cousin, wait a moment. What you're saying sounds very familiar."

Next, are you going to say:
Since the rise of the "Nine Islands and Ten Cities" campaign, I, this "fake," have been seen as utterly fake by officials and gentry.

But for the general public, it's hard to tell whether 80% of them have never read any books and 90% are busy making a living for their families.

But true prestige lies precisely in the reputation held by millions of ordinary people.

On the contrary, those powerful and influential families who worship Buddha from all sides are not worth paying attention to.

Anyway, as long as someone from the Ming-Song Zhao family is emperor, they won't cause a major upheaval.

And this gave me the opportunity to create a fake that was indistinguishable from the real thing.

After Zhang Gui finished speaking, Zhang Jiuqing asked in surprise:
"Brother Gui, who told you these words?"

"It's not that someone else said it to me, but that I used this line to coax others before."

"Without support or assistance, these words are indeed just rhetoric."

However, with the support of the Ming Song emperor, things became completely different.

"Can't you even understand such a simple truth?"

"Cousin Jiuqing, is it you who doesn't understand, or me who doesn't understand?"

Is the "sky-reaching white jade pillar and sea-spanning purple-gold beam" of Prince Zhen's "temporary residence" the Nine Islands and Ten Cities?

No, it's that Mr. Yin.

Great power originates from its own extraordinary world.

When facing a powerful being who may be at the Heavenly Rank, without an equal force to counter him, all schemes and tricks are just paper tigers.

Hedging, do you even understand hedging?

"Although I haven't heard of hedging, I still have the ability to interpret things literally."

Don't worry.

As far as I know, Mr. Yin comes from an ancient sect. As long as you are in officialdom, then according to the ancient rules...

He won't attack you unless you provoke him first.

Zhang Gui curled his lip upon hearing this.

“Cousin, the word ‘provoke’ has a thousand and one meanings.”

I glanced at Mr. Yin; perhaps that would be considered 'a provocative expression, deserving of death.'

Seeing that he couldn't coax him, Zhang Jiuqing stopped trying to appease him.
"Cousin, how can you achieve great things without taking any risks?"

Besides, now that the Emperor has chosen you as a pawn, do you still have the option to refuse?

The imperial edict replacing the temporary residence of Prince Zhen, officially designating the nine islands and nine cities of Tianmeng, Tianwei, Tianfu... in the Eastern Inner Sea as the Longhu Shogunate's fundraising and troop deployment areas, is likely already on its way.

"Aren't you forcing a duck onto a shelf?!" Zhang Gui shouted angrily, his face flushed red.
"Since you've decided to force me to do this, why did you ramble on for so long?"

"This is what is called 'courtesy before force'."

"But please don't be angry with me, my dear cousin. We brothers are actually in the same boat."

I will soon become the Imperial Censor of the Eastern Guangdong Province.

Compared to you, a hollow big shot who's all name and no substance for now.

Prince Zhen is probably even more annoyed by me, a mere sixth-rank civil official.

Imperial Censor was an official title that existed in Dongshengzhou during the medieval period.

It originated in the pre-Qin period.

Originally, they were historians responsible for recording the words and deeds of the emperor and feudal lords.

The Records of the Grand Historian, in its chapter on humorous figures, states that "the emperor was above, the historians were beside him, and the imperial censors were behind him."

It means that even though no one can control you as emperor, your absurdity can still leave a mark on history and last for thousands of years.

This indicates that this official position was used to check and balance the emperor.
Later, the censors not only restrained the emperor and feudal lords, but gradually they also began to be able to intimidate all officials.

Today, they have become professional spies who report on others to the emperor or ruler. Although their rank is not high, their power is enormous.

Especially the censors in the provinces outside the capital.

Although the yamen was only set up at the provincial and prefectural levels, and the chief official of the provincial censorate, the censor-in-chief, was only a civil official of the sixth rank.

His rank was probably even lower than that of a county magistrate in a large county.

However, in terms of real power, the Imperial Censor could impeach even high-ranking officials in charge of a region.

Furthermore, they had the privilege of 'reporting based on hearsay,' meaning they could sue without any evidence.

No one can do anything about it.

This is a perfect example of the so-called "mutual restraint between the large and small".

"I see. It seems His Majesty truly regards Prince Zhen as a major threat."

"Once you have nine islands overseas, you can build nine large counties on them, gather millions of people, and train tens of thousands of soldiers through military aggression."

How could it withstand several charges from the three thousand Flower Dragon Riders?
But if the same situation were to happen to Prince Zhen, who could know whether the general who commanded the Flower Dragon Cavalry would meet him on the battlefield?

They bowed down to him, thus gaining the merit of following the emperor.

You know, there were many similar stories when the Prince of Yan swept through the north.

After saying this, Zhang Jiuqing stood up.

For a moment, the wind rustled the trees in the yard, but then everything returned to normal.

Only then did Zhang Gui realize that he had sealed the space with a treasure, which was why he was chatting with him so casually.

He couldn't help but chuckle, "It seems you're much more meticulous than I am, cousin."

As the old saying goes, "If a ruler does not keep secrets, he will lose his ministers; if a minister does not keep secrets, he will lose his life."

It's best to be careful in everything you do.

Since my cousin has said all he wanted to say, I will take my leave now.

After speaking, Zhang Jiuqing cupped his hands in farewell to Zhang Gui, as if he were about to leave.

But then he stopped just before leaving.
“Cousin, if you’re really that afraid of death, why don’t you follow my example?”

Then he pushed open the door and disappeared into the night.

As for Zhang Gui, he was so bewildered by this sudden turn of events that he lost all interest in eating the stir-fried noodles.

He told his mother he was tired, went back to his bedroom, and fell into a deep sleep.

I didn't wake up until noon the next day.

As for the future, Zhang Gui, yawning, summarized it in his dream with seven words: "There's always a way out."

"Emperor Hezheng and Prince Zhen, these two grandsons, one is stubborn and self-willed and does not know how to repent;
One is arrogant and conceited, blinded by petty gains.

"They're putting me under so much pressure now; sooner or later they'll get their revenge."

With these thoughts in mind, he dressed neatly and took a bath in the courtyard using the well water.

Seeing that his mother and two aunts were not at home, they must have gone to the large general store at the dock to start work.

He couldn't help but mutter something.

"Is Amu now addicted to her career? She doesn't even care that I only come home once in a long while."

Ignoring whether there was any food left by Tsuneo Doge in the kitchen, she went out and headed towards the beach.

They had just jumped off the main road in town and stepped onto the beach.

Suddenly, Zhang Gui felt a gust of wind behind his head, as if a sharp weapon was attacking him.

In an instant, his will moved with his heart, and several 'Zongheng Ruyi' acupoints within his body spontaneously responded.

Its entire body shrank, hovering in mid-air like a sphere, and then it flew and disappeared more than a hundred meters away.

His posture straightened again, and his gaze fixed on a young couple. He said expressionlessly:

“Miss Zhen, I don’t know your companion, but we are old acquaintances.”

I haven't offended you, whether it was on the Octopus Fish Machine Boat or in Zhihai Town.

Why should I be judged by others now?

(End of this chapter)