Dechuán Jiaqi was completely fooled.
As the saying goes, the highest realm of a lie is nine parts truth mixed with one part falsehood. However, everything Zheng Jiangfu told Dechuán Jiaqi was entirely true—the Great Qing's Mount Tai stone being blessed by the current Celestial Master of Longhu Mountain was true, its placement in the Forbidden City to absorb imperial energy was true, and allowing Japan to worship Mount Tai stone to suppress Japan's national destiny and dragon veins was also true!
The only thing Zheng Jiangfu didn't tell Dechuán Jiaqi was whether Japan's dragon veins and qi could withstand the suppression of the Mount Tai stone!
To give a simple example.
If Mount Fuji is considered the location of Japan's dragon脉, would it become obedient after being suppressed by the Mount Tai stone, no longer erupting every now and then like before?
On the surface, it seemed so.
However, as the imperial energy on the Mount Tai stone slowly disappeared, Mount Fuji, suppressed for who knows how many years…
Bang!
The above conclusion was purely told to Zhu Jinsong by some Taoist priests. Zhu Jinsong implemented this plan with the attitude of "whether it works or not, you have to try."
Of course, Zhu Jinsong didn't implement such a plan, whose effectiveness was unknown, purely out of boredom.
The deeper reason for borrowing the Mount Tai stone to suppress Japan's dragon脉 was that Zhu Jinsong intended to continue conning Japan and its people—as long as these short, ugly Japanese believed that the Mount Tai stone could truly suppress Japan's national destiny, they would boldly run out and act like mad dogs!
Along the way, there were also rules about which mountain's stone to use for construction, and it had to be found carefully.
So, wouldn't the Taoist priests from the Celestial Master's Mansion have to personally visit Japan to survey the feng shui? Wouldn't it be normal for them to bring a few junior officials from the Ministry of Works dressed in Taoist robes?
The map of Japan produced by the Ministry of Works, and one that was produced openly, would definitely be more detailed than maps obtained through other channels.
…
While the short, ugly Japanese were cooperating with the Taoist priests from Longhu Mountain to find stones, Zhu Jinsong was making eyes at Zeng Cheng and other big shots from the Great Ming court.
It was indeed satisfying to con people, whether it was conning those short, ugly Japanese or those barbarians from Europe.
The problem was that the barbarians were getting desperate from being conned.
The anti-Russian coalition, led by the Habsburg family, perfectly executed the Austrian art student's strategy and tactics, advancing towards Russia through a surprise attack, beating Russia black and blue, and incidentally looting Russia's home with a "zero yuan spree"—the anti-Russian coalition led by the Habsburg family was like a swarm of locusts, taking everything, be it gold, silver, or jewels, or grain and seeds. Anything they couldn't take, they burned to ashes!
This was "slightly" different from the initial expectations of Zeng Cheng and the other big shots.
In the minds of Zeng Cheng and the other big shots, Russia was definitely going to get beaten, after all, Paul I's son Alexander was not behaving very honestly, and if he wasn't made to suffer a little, he wouldn't know who was in charge.
However, Russia should absolutely not be beaten too badly, because Russia, no matter what, was one of the "Five Great Benevolent Ones" of the small broken pot, so if it was beaten into a dead dog, what about the reputation of the "Five Great Benevolent Ones" of the small broken pot?
But unexpectedly, Russia almost became a dead dog!
When the news reached the Great Ming, Zhu Jinsong, the Emperor of the Great Ming, as well as Zeng Cheng, the head of the civil official system, and Liu Hemíng, the head of the military affairs department, were all stunned.
Regardless of whether this matter was in the interest of the Great Ming—of course it was not.
The key was that no one expected Russia to be beaten so badly, and almost had its capital besieged!
If the Habsburg family coalition's army was not primarily cavalry and lacked siege capabilities, perhaps Russia's capital would not have been saved!
Zhu Jinsong tapped his fingers on the table: "Russia has been beaten into this pathetic state, what do you all think?"
Zeng Cheng rolled his eyes and thought to himself, I'm watching while sitting, lying down, and rolling—Russia is being beaten precisely because the "Five Great Benevolent Ones" of the small broken pot indulged the Habsburg family alliance?
They had played themselves!
Liu Hemíng, however, frowned and said, "Russia being beaten, neither Paul I nor Alexander will let this go. Your humble servant believes that France and England should intervene to mediate as soon as possible."
Zeng Cheng shook his head and said, "Your humble servant believes that France and England absolutely cannot intervene to mediate at this time, at least not until Russia has vented its anger."
Liu Hemíng's face was filled with speechlessness: "When Russia has vented its anger, the Habsburg family will probably cease to exist. Wouldn't that be even more detrimental to our Great Ming?"
Zeng Cheng retorted, "If you were beaten, and someone jumped out to mediate before you could vent your anger, would you listen?"
"I would be beaten?" Liu Hemíng laughed heartily, "If I were beaten, who..."
As he spoke, Liu Hemíng suddenly stopped.
Yes, if he were beaten by someone else, would he still accept mediation from others?
Or from another perspective, if someone provoked the Great Ming, would the Great Ming accept mediation from other countries?
Thinking of this, Liu Hemíng suddenly shook his head again and said, "No, Paul I and Alexander are not me, and Russia is not the Great Ming. The Great Ming will not accept anyone's mediation, but the current situation is that Russia has suffered a great loss, and it would not be an exaggeration to say it is severely weakened. Even if they don't want to accept mediation, they probably won't have the extra strength to retaliate against the Habsburg family, right?"
After speaking, Liu Hemíng turned his gaze to Ke Zhimíng and asked, "Does Commander Ke have any intelligence regarding the Russian court?"
Ke Zhimíng said, "Russia's attitude is to retaliate—since the Habsburg family alliance engaged in 'zero yuan sprees' and 'bonfires' on Russian territory, Russia can naturally do the same on the Habsburg alliance's territory."
"And the Habsburg family alliance, because they obtained firearms produced by northern armaments and southern industrial production, coupled with the secret assistance of England and France, their strength cannot be considered too weak."
"Russia probably guessed these things too."
"Therefore, Russia does not plan to directly retaliate against the Habsburg family this time. Instead, they plan to attack their Polish cousins first, and then gradually advance towards Austria."
Hearing Ke Zhimíng say this, Liu Hemíng's brow furrowed even tighter.
Russia was beaten quite badly, and wanting to retaliate was understandable. At this time, whoever intervened to mediate would offend Russia.
Although the Great Ming did not care about offending Russia, it was not worth falling out with Russia for the sake of a Habsburg family.
Just as Liu Gong Hemíng was calculating, Ke Zhimíng continued, "The Habsburg family's secret channels have reported that although the Habsburg family alliance beat Russia badly this time, they themselves also paid a great price."
Liu Hemíng's interest was immediately piqued, and he pressed: "What happened to the Habsburg family?"
Ke Zhimíng said, "In order for the other countries in the alliance to agree to the surprise attack plan, Franz II promised a lot of benefits."
"However, the gains from Russia were not enough to compensate for the Habsburg family's losses."
"Of course, Franz II himself did not expect to recoup his losses on the battlefield."
"What he was concerned about was how to force Russia to sign a peace treaty, recover his losses from the treaty, and even bite off a large piece of fat from Russia again."
Liu Hemíng was a bit confused.
From a purely military perspective, Liu Hemíng could not imagine how Franz II could force Russia to sign a peace treaty with him—this statement was as absurd as a mouse finding a way to force a cat to sign an equal treaty.
From a political perspective… As the leader of the Five Army Commanderies, Liu Hemíng also understood political maneuvering, but no matter how hard he racked his brains, he couldn't figure out Franz II's confidence.
Was it truly a desperate move, intending to fight Russia to the death?
Or, was Franz II betting all his chips on the Great Ming protecting the Habsburg family?
Just as Liu Hemíng was lost in thought, Zeng Cheng, sitting opposite him, frowned and said to Ke Zhimíng, "Did the Habsburg family collude with France and England?"
Before Ke Zhimíng could answer, Liu Hemíng said first, "Impossible. The Habsburg family was just beaten by France and England, how could they have colluded so quickly?"
"Even if Franz II threw away all his pride, and even if England and France didn't care about their past grievances with the Habsburg family, George III and Louis XVI would definitely be wary of their relationship with Russia."
"Therefore, the Habsburg family's confidence definitely cannot be England or France."
"Compared to that, I would rather believe that Franz II is betting that the Great Ming will protect the Habsburg family."
"For example, that enclave of Bavaria."
Zhu Jinsong's face immediately darkened—the Habsburg family had indeed intended to give Bavaria to the Great Ming as an overseas enclave, but the condition for the Habsburg family to give up Bavaria was a political marriage with the Emperor of the Great Ming, with a son of the Emperor of the Great Ming inheriting the Duchy of Bavaria and the Emperorship of Austria.
If this condition were proposed by another country, Zhu Jinsong might have agreed, after all, it was the entire Bavaria plus an entire country, and trading a son for it was not a loss.
At worst, it would just cost a bit of his "kidney."
But!
This condition was proposed by the Habsburg family—given the Habsburg family's chaotic nature, Zhu Jinsong would rather not have Bavaria, and rather have trouble later, than agree to a political marriage with the Habsburg family.
Therefore, upon hearing Liu Hemíng mention Bavaria, Zhu Jinsong's face darkened, and he stared at Liu Hemíng unhappily, saying, "Why don't I send someone to discuss with Franz, and let you, Commander Liu, be the one to marry? If you are willing, Bavaria will be yours, and Austria will also be yours. I will immediately send someone to kill that art student. How about it?"
Liu Hemíng was immediately startled and said with a wry smile, "Your Majesty, please calm your anger. Your humble servant spoke out of turn—but I really cannot figure out what Franz II's confidence is."
Zhu Jinsong gave a cold laugh and did not pursue Liu Hemíng further: "Franz II has no confidence at all. England might have colluded with the Habsburg family, but France absolutely cannot.
"Don't forget why France fought with the Habsburg family before—as long as Madame Deficit is alive, the Habsburg family cannot collude with France."
"The current situation is clear: either Franz II intends to completely give up and bet that our Great Ming still needs the Habsburg family."
"Or, Madame Deficit has been married off again, and the Habsburg family has once again entered into a political marriage with other European powers."
After Zhu Jinsong finished speaking, Ke Zhimíng immediately cupped his hands and bowed, "Your Majesty is wise! Indeed, the Habsburg family's Madame Deficit has been married off again, and what's more..."
Seeing that Ke Zhimíng was even stammering, Zhu Jinsong couldn't help but ask, "And what?"
Ke Zhimíng gritted his teeth and said, "Madame Deficit was sent to England by Franz II. On the surface, she was married to some Earl in England, but in reality, she might have become a mistress to George III?"
As soon as Ke Zhimíng finished speaking, Zeng Cheng and the other big shots erupted.
"Shameless!"
"Shameless!"
"Simply no sense of shame!"
"The collapse of rites and music!"
"..."
The former Queen of France, married to an English Earl, was this considered a "downward marriage"?
Of course, whether it was a downward marriage or not was irrelevant, but the act of becoming George III's mistress…
Burn!
So burn!
Too burn!
Just as he was scolding, Zeng Cheng suddenly realized, "So, the Habsburg family's confidence is England, and England is very likely to clash with France because of Madame Deficit?"
Ke Zhimíng's expression became even stranger, "Not very likely, but inevitable—according to common rumors, George III is very fond of Madame Deficit, and even ordered a new castle to be built for Madame Deficit."
"It is also a common rumor—Louis XVI was so angry upon hearing this news that he smashed more than ten cups, and even his beloved lock was shattered. He vowed never to let George III and Madame Deficit off the hook."
Hearing this, even Zhu Jinsong, the transmigrator Emperor, couldn't help but frown—although Zhu Jinsong already knew that the European nobles were quite playful, he never expected that the European nobles would be so playful!
What was even more outrageous was that the operation of Madame Deficit remarrying into England gave Zhu Jinsong a strangely familiar feeling?
Big trouble has arrived!