The Emperor laughed, "This time, I want to see if destiny lies with me, or with those so-called local gentry and wealthy merchants."
As the Emperor finished speaking, Zeng Cheng and Liu Hemming couldn't help but exchange glances, both seeing shock and bewilderment in each other's eyes.
In whose hands did destiny lie?
If one looked at the history of the Central Plains' hall development, no one could utter the foolishness that destiny lay with the Emperor. This was because although the Emperor held imperial power, that power could not reach the countryside. The Emperor's rule over the nation, no matter what, could not bypass the chain of interests from the court to local government offices to the local gentry.
But when it came to the Emperor wanting to test whose destiny it was, Zeng Cheng and Liu Hemming felt that destiny should lie with the Emperor.
The court and local government?
As long as the Emperor willed it, he could bypass any Provincial Administration Court, Prefecture, or Department and issue orders directly to the county. Even if all the county magistrates in the Great Ming sided with the local gentry, the Emperor could bypass them and issue orders directly to the village agricultural associations or even sub-village agricultural associations.
Local gentry?
The interests of the five hundred million common people of the Great Ming were inherently opposed to the interests of those local gentry. If there was no strong leader like the Emperor to stand up for them, it might be one thing. But once there was a leader like the Emperor...
Didn't the agricultural association guards from Chenjiazhuangzi report them even after Hu Wenhong and Zhang Xijin had created such a commotion? Moreover, the agricultural association guards went directly to the Embroidered Uniform Guard's commandery, bypassing the county yamen and the Censorate. This indicated that in the hearts of the common people, the government might not be trustworthy, and the censors might not be trustworthy, but the Emperor was trustworthy.
There was an old saying in the Central Plains' hall: "Heaven sees as the people see, Heaven hears as the people hear; the people's will is Heaven's will, the people's heart is Heaven's heart."
When the common people stood with the Emperor, in whose hands did destiny lie?
As long as no major turmoil occurred, and the people's stable lives were not significantly affected, destiny would only lie with the Emperor!
However, coming back to it, the logic was such, but the matter itself might not be so straightforward.
For example, if the Emperor intended to act against officials, local gentry, and wealthy merchants, and wanted to seek welfare for the five hundred million common people of the Great Ming, and all five hundred million people supported him, there would be no problem, right?
Absolutely no problem!
But would those officials obediently surrender? Would those local gentry and wealthy merchants willingly sit and wait for death?
Clearly impossible!
There is great terror between life and death, and those officials, local gentry, and wealthy merchants had all become accustomed to a good life. How could they willingly face death?
As long as they were unwilling, they would resist, and their resistance would inevitably bring a certain degree of turmoil to the Great Ming.
This had nothing to do with whose destiny it was, but rather with life and death.
After considering it back and forth several times, Zeng Cheng ultimately decided to try to persuade the Emperor again, "Your Majesty, this minister knows that destiny lies with Your Majesty, and also knows that those so-called local gentry and wealthy merchants have gone too far, but... but this is still an era of great struggle. It's like rowing upstream; if you don't advance, you retreat."
"Looking nearby, the neighboring country of Wa harbors ill intentions. Looking further, the foolish eagle and countless European countries are always thinking of surpassing the Great Ming, and the Ottoman Empire is also using troops."
"..."
Zeng Cheng was earnestly persuading, but the Emperor did not take a word of it to heart.
In fact, the Emperor was very clear in his heart that the short and ugly fellows from Wa would definitely be insatiable, and the foolish eagle and European countries would absolutely not be willing to be subordinate to the Great Ming. If there was an opportunity to surpass the Great Ming, it was likely that no country would easily let it go.
Even if France's interests were too deeply tied to those of the Great Ming, Louis XVI, who claimed to be the number one admirer of Ming, would never let go of any opportunity to surpass the Great Ming.
However, the Emperor was not very concerned – no matter how technology developed, it had a process of accumulating strength before it could be unleashed. And with the current level of technology on this small planet, it was likely that the process of accumulation had not even been completed, let alone the unleashing of its potential.
Do the foolish eagle and European countries want to surpass the Great Ming?
Let them first think about how to catch up!
Moreover, it was not certain that the foolish eagle and European countries currently had the leisure to surpass the Great Ming.
The Emperor took out a secret report from his desk and smilingly handed it to Zeng Cheng, "Minister Zeng, please take a look at this first."
Zeng Cheng, confused, took the intelligence from the Emperor's hand. After only a few glances, he fell into silence.
A group of rebels had appeared in the foolish eagle's country, a group of rebels had appeared in the goose's country, and even in England and the Habsburg family's European countries, there was a wave of rebels.
These fellows, who could not be said to be rebels or insurgents, were singing "There has never been a savior," all shouting for the elimination of vermin, for their countries to become like the Great Ming, for their people to live good lives like the people of the Great Ming, and then they revolted with swords and spears.
When rebels appeared in their own country, the foolish eagle, the goose, and the European countries naturally had to deal with those rebels first. After all, the threat from the Great Ming was external, while the threat from those rebels was internal. Allowing the threat from the Great Ming was merely being drained by the Great Ming, but allowing those rebels could lead to losing one's head. The kings, leaders, nobles, and bourgeoisie knew the difference very well.
Therefore, even if the Emperor made a big move this time and gave the foolish eagle and the goose an opportunity to surpass the Great Ming, they would likely not be able to seize it.
If viewed from another angle, it meant that the foolish eagle and the goose were currently unable to attend to their own affairs, which was a great opportunity for the Emperor to resolve certain issues!
Or perhaps there was another possibility – if the Emperor made a big move, would some fools think that the Great Ming was about to collapse? Would some people think that now was the best time to attack the Great Ming? If they really came to attack the Great Ming...
Think about how the Jurchen became so powerful during the Tianqi and Chongzhen eras? If other countries came to the Great Ming now, what would the people and the literati of the Great Ming think?
Thinking of this, Zeng Cheng couldn't help but gasp, greatly contributing to global warming.
After another moment of silence, Zeng Cheng resignedly said, "This minister will fully cooperate with Your Majesty's plan."
The Emperor smiled and nodded, then instructed Zhang Dequan, "Send out the article I wrote earlier. Use the telegraph directly with the printing houses in various places and have them print it directly and distribute it to the people for free."
...
Although the telegraph developed by the Royal Academy was a bit simple, even crude, any simple or crude telegraph system was an undisputed cutting-edge black technology for the Great Ming and the world at that time.
If we speak purely in terms of information transmission, no matter how simple or crude a telegraph system was, once it was systematically applied, its information transmission speed and breadth would be sufficient to replace traditional methods such as fast horse relay, carrier pigeons, and various other communication methods.
The biggest advantage of this thing was its speed, even faster than signal fires – the beacon fires on the Great Wall, at least, took some time.
When Mitsukuni Genzai and Kōko Keizai were troubled by Inukai Wen Hong and Shinojiri Nishijin, Tokugawa Ienari and the entire Shogunate were also vexed by Inukai Wen Hong and Shinojiri Nishijin.
Or it could be said: Inukai Wen Hong and Shinojiri Nishijin were dogs in front of the Ming merchants, and were those Ming merchants not fat pigs raised by the Ming court?
If you beat a dog, you must consider its owner; must you not consider the owner when killing a pig?
Don't be foolish, the sin of killing a pig is even greater!
Tokugawa Ienari knew very well that if he dared to touch those Ming merchants today, the Ming forces stationed in Wa would overthrow the entire Shogunate tomorrow to avenge those "pigs."
At that time, perhaps his head, along with those of Mitsukuni Genzai, would be displayed on a **jingguan** (a mound of enemy heads) to dry in the wind.
Thinking of the terrifying existence of **jingguan**, Tokugawa Ienari couldn't help but sigh, "Ambassador Chen, Ambassador Chen, you've given me a big problem!"
Just as he was gaining the cooperation of those daimyo and lords, and was about to block the leprosy, Inukai Wen Hong and Shinojiri Nishijin appeared again!
As the saying goes, your backside determines your head.
But Tokugawa Ienari was no longer content with merely being the Shogun; he had set his sights on the throne of the King of Wa.
For Tokugawa Ienari, who wanted to and felt he was about to become the King of Wa, Watanabe Uemon's words were very thought-provoking.
Could the Great Ming Emperor's words be followed, restoring the fallen and continuing the lineage, and I, Tokugawa Ienari, did not want to truly control Wa and become the ruler of Wa, second to none?
Thinking of this, Tokugawa Ienari asked in a deep voice, "Watanabe-kun, what do you mean by that?"
Upon hearing the words "Watanabe-kun," Watanabe Uemon's somewhat anxious mood immediately stabilized.
He had won the gamble!
Suppressing his excitement, Watanabe Uemon bowed his head and replied, "General, you are also well-read. Therefore, General must know the history of the Central Plains' halls."
Therefore, a large crowd of onlookers also gathered outside Yongcheng County Yamen, even more lively than a court case scene in a Qing drama.
If this continued, the people of the Great Ming would no longer fear officials, and would even wish to come to the county yamen to watch the fun.
The common people especially enjoyed watching officials interrogate wicked gentry.
This made the onlookers very curious.
What an eye-opener!
And Zhu Jinsong did not disappoint these people.
This is not like what is written in the plays!
Gao Dajin quickly lowered his body and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, show mercy, this commoner is truly wronged!"
Gao Dajin lowered his body even lower.
After finishing reading, Ke Zhiming sealed the letter again and sent it back to the desk in front of Zhu Jinsong.
Zhu Jinsong said, "Come on, explain to me what this letter is about?"
As Xu Yaozong began to act, the onlookers outside the hall also became excited, shouting one after another, "Beat him to death! Beat him to death!"
But who would have thought that there was such a far-reaching plan behind it?
Seeing that a disturbance was about to occur, Zhu Jinsong immediately slammed the gavel and shouted, "Silence!"
While the people were stunned, Zhu Jinsong shouted again, "I am here, would I still let these clowns have an easy time?"
The people finally realized that the person sitting in the hall was the current Emperor.
The fool Zhu Jinsong was referring to was Xu Yaozong, who was beating Gao Dajin.
However, as he was smiling, Gao Dajin suddenly couldn't smile anymore, because Zhu Jinsong was still staring at him expressionlessly.
A pearl covered in dust?
What was Gao Dajin worth!
Zhu Jinsong shook his head and asked the Censor standing in the hall, "According to the law, what crime should Gao Dajin be punished with?"
As Zhu Jinsong's words fell, the onlookers below the hall also shouted happily, "Well killed!"
"The thief Gao deserves to die!"
"Serves him right!"
But as they shouted, the slogans turned into a uniform "Long live the Emperor!"
And Zhu Jinsong wrote an article and sent it back to the capital by fast horse.
"Increasing wages to encourage workers to increase their working hours, what secrets are hidden behind it?"
Therefore, rather than saying Gao Dajin was a bad seed, it was more accurate to say he was both stupid and wicked.
What an eye-opener!
And Zhu Jinsong did not disappoint these people.
This is not like what is written in the plays!
Gao Dajin quickly lowered his body and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, show mercy, this commoner is truly wronged!"
Gao Dajin lowered his body even lower.
After finishing reading, Ke Zhiming sealed the letter again and sent it back to the desk in front of Zhu Jinsong.
Zhu Jinsong said, "Come on, explain to me what this letter is about?"
As Xu Yaozong began to act, the onlookers outside the hall also became excited, shouting one after another, "Beat him to death! Beat him to death!"
But who would have thought that there was such a far-reaching plan behind it?
Seeing that a disturbance was about to occur, Zhu Jinsong immediately slammed the gavel and shouted, "Silence!"
While the people were stunned, Zhu Jinsong shouted again, "I am here, would I still let these clowns have an easy time?"
The people finally realized that the person sitting in the hall was the current Emperor.
The fool Zhu Jinsong was referring to was Xu Yaozong, who was beating Gao Dajin.
However, as he was smiling, Gao Dajin suddenly couldn't smile anymore, because Zhu Jinsong was still staring at him expressionlessly.
A pearl covered in dust?
What was Gao Dajin worth!
Zhu Jinsong shook his head and asked the Censor standing in the hall, "According to the law, what crime should Gao Dajin be punished with?"
As Zhu Jinsong's words fell, the onlookers below the hall also shouted happily, "Well killed!"
"The thief Gao deserves to die!"