The Great Qing Emperor smiled, "This time, I want to see whether destiny lies with me, or with those so-called local gentry and wealthy merchants."
As the Great Qing Emperor's words fell, Zeng Cheng and Liu Heming couldn't help but exchange glances, seeing shock and bewilderment in each other's eyes.
Whose destiny?
Looking at the history of the Central Plains Hall's development, no one could utter the foolish words 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 how it was achieved, could not bypass the interest chain from the imperial court to local government offices, and then to the local gentry.
But when it was the Great Qing Emperor who wanted to test whose destiny it was, Zeng Cheng and Liu Heming felt that destiny should lie with the Great Qing Emperor.
The imperial court and local government?
As long as the Great Qing Emperor willed it, he could bypass any provincial administration, prefecture, or county at any time and issue direct orders to the county. Even if all the county magistrates of the Great Ming stood with the local gentry, the Great Qing Emperor could directly bypass them and issue orders to the village farmers' associations or even sub-district farmers' associations.
Local gentry?
The interests of the ordinary people, numbering five hundred million, were inherently opposed to the interests of those local gentry. If there was no strong leader like the Great Qing Emperor to stand up for them, it might have been different. But once there was a leader like the Great Qing Emperor…
Didn't the members of the farmers' association in Chenjia Zhuangzi report the large stir created by Hu Wenhong and Zhang Xijin? Moreover, the farmers' association guards directly reported to the Embroidered Uniform Guard's hundred-household office, bypassing the county yamen and the Censorate. This indicated that in the hearts of the common people, the government might not be trustworthy, and censors might not be trustworthy, but the Great Qing 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 will of the people is the will of Heaven, and the heart of the people is the heart of Heaven."
If the common people stand with the Great Qing Emperor, whose destiny is it?
As long as no major upheaval occurs, and as long as the peaceful lives of the common people are not greatly affected, destiny will only be on the side of the Great Qing Emperor!
However, on the other hand, it's one thing to understand the principle, but the matter itself might not be that simple.
For example, if you, the Great Qing Emperor, intend to target officials, local gentry, and wealthy merchants, and want to seek benefits for the five hundred million ordinary people of the Great Ming, and all five hundred million people support you, there's no problem with that, right?
Absolutely no problem!
But would those officials honestly surrender? Would those local gentry and wealthy merchants willingly sit and wait for death?
Obviously not!
There is great terror between life and death, and those officials, local gentry, and wealthy merchants are accustomed to a good life. How could they be willing to die?
As long as they are unwilling, they will resist, and their resistance will inevitably bring a certain degree of turmoil to the Great Ming.
This has nothing to do with whose destiny it is, but rather with life and death.
After carefully considering it back and forth, Zeng Cheng finally decided to try to persuade the Great Qing Emperor again: "Your Majesty, I know that destiny is with Your Majesty, and I also know that those so-called local gentry and wealthy merchants have gone too far. But… but it is ultimately an era of great competition, like rowing against the current; if you don't advance, you fall back." "Speaking of closer matters, the nearby Wa country is harboring ill intentions. Speaking of farther matters, the silly eagle and countless European countries are always thinking of surpassing the Great Ming, and the Ottoman Empire is also engaged in military operations."
…
Zeng Cheng advised earnestly, but the Great Qing Emperor didn't take a word to heart.
In fact, the Great Qing Emperor was very clear in his heart that the short and stout people of Wa country would definitely not give up their ambitions, and the silly eagle and European countries would never willingly be subordinates to the Great Ming. If there was an opportunity to surpass the Great Ming, I'm afraid no country would easily let it go.
Even though France's interests were too deeply intertwined with those of the Great Ming, and Louis XVI, who was known as the number one admirer of the Great Ming, would never miss an opportunity to surpass it.
It's just that the Great Qing Emperor didn't care much. Technology, no matter how it develops, has a process of accumulation before it can flourish. At the current level of technology on the small Earth, it's likely that the process of accumulation hasn't even been completed, let alone flourishing.
Do the silly eagle and European countries want to surpass the Great Ming?
Let them first think about how to catch up!
What's more, the silly eagle and European countries may not have the leisure to catch up to the Great Ming right now.
The Great Qing Emperor took out a secret report from his desk and smiled as he handed it to Zeng Cheng, "Minister Zeng, why don't you take a look at this first."
Zeng Cheng took the intelligence from the Great Qing Emperor with a puzzled expression. After only a few glances, he fell silent.
A group of rebels had appeared in the silly eagle's country, and a group of rebels had also appeared in the goose's country. Even European countries like England and the Habsburg family had similarly seen a wave of rebels.
These fellows, whose identities as rebels or insurgents were unclear, were singing "There has never been a savior." One by one, they were shouting about eliminating parasites and making their countries like the Great Ming, and letting the common people of their countries live as good lives as the people of the Great Ming. Then, they raised their swords and spears and rebelled.
When rebels appeared in their own homes, the silly 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. Letting the threat from the Great Ming go meant being drained by the Great Ming, while letting those rebels go could lead to losing one's head. The kings, leaders, nobles, and bourgeoisie were very clear about which was more important.
Therefore, even if the Great Qing Emperor made a big move this time, giving the silly eagle and the goose an opportunity to surpass the Great Ming, I'm afraid they wouldn't be able to seize it.
If viewed from another angle, it means that the silly eagle and the goose are currently preoccupied with their own affairs, which is a great opportunity for the Great Qing Emperor to solve certain problems!
Or perhaps there is another possibility: if the Great Qing Emperor makes a big move, will some fools think that the Great Ming is about to collapse? Will some people think that now is the best time to attack the Great Ming? If they really come to attack the Great Ming…
Think about how the Jian Yi became a force during the Tianqi and Chongzhen reigns. If other countries come to the Great Ming now, what will the people and the literati of the Great Ming think?
Thinking of this, Zeng Cheng couldn't help but gasp, making a significant contribution to global warming.
After another moment of silence, Zeng Cheng resigned himself and said, "Your subject will fully cooperate with Your Majesty's plan."
The Great Qing Emperor smiled and nodded, then instructed Zhang Dequan, "Send out the article I wrote earlier. Use the telegraph to directly contact the printing houses in various places and have them print it out and distribute it to the people for free."
…
Although the telegraph developed by the Royal Academy was a bit simple, even crude, any telegraph system, however simple or crude, was undoubtedly a cutting-edge black technology for the Great Ming and the world at that time.
If we talk about information transmission alone, once a telegraph system, no matter how simple or crude, is systematically used, its speed and breadth of information transmission are enough to replace traditional means of communication such as fast horse post and carrier pigeons.
The biggest advantage of this thing is speed, even faster than the speed of beacon smoke transmission—the beacon smoke on the Great Wall, it takes at least one or two.
When Kōkaku Kenjin and Kanō Keijin were distressed by Inukai Monbon and Nojiri Seikin, Tokugawa Ienari and the entire shogunate were also troubled by Inukai Monbon and Nojiri Seikin.
Or one could say: Inukai Monbon and Nojiri Seikin were dogs in front of the Great Ming merchants, and those Great Ming merchants were like fat pigs raised by the Great Ming court.
If you beat a dog, you must consider its master. Do you not need to consider the master when killing a pig?
Don't be foolish, the crime of killing a pig is even greater!
Tokugawa Ienari knew very well that if he dared to touch those Great Ming merchants today, the Great Ming's stationed troops in Wa country would raze the entire shogunate tomorrow to avenge those "pigs."
At that time, perhaps his head and the heads of Kōkaku Kenjin and other idiots would be displayed on the trophy monuments to dry in the wind.
Thinking of the terrifying existence of trophy monuments, Tokugawa Ienari couldn't help but sigh, "Ambassador Chen, Ambassador Chen, you have given me a difficult problem!"
Just as he was about to gain the cooperation of those feudal lords and daimyo to seal off leprosy, Inukai Monbon and Nojiri Seikin jumped out again!
As the saying goes, one's position determines one's perspective.
But Tokugawa Ienari was no longer satisfied with just being the Shogun; he had set his sights on the throne of the King of Wa.
For Tokugawa Ienari, who wanted and felt he was about to become the King of Wa, Watanabe Uemon's words were worth pondering.
The Great Ming Emperor could make his word law and restore what was lost. Did I, Tokugawa Ienari, not want to truly control Wa and become the sole ruler of Wa, second only to heaven?
Thinking of this, Tokugawa Ienari asked in a deep voice, "Mr. Watanabe, what do you mean by that?"
After hearing the name Mr. Watanabe, Watanabe Uemon's somewhat anxious state of mind immediately stabilized.
He had won the gamble!
Suppressing his excitement, Watanabe Uemon bowed and replied, "Your Excellency the General is also well-read. Therefore, Your Excellency the General must know the history of the Central Plains Hall."
Therefore, outside the Yongcheng County Yamen, a large crowd of onlookers had also gathered, even more lively than the scene of an trial in a Qing dynasty drama.
In the long run, these common people of the Great Ming would no longer fear officials, and would even eagerly come to the county yamen to watch the excitement.
The common people especially enjoyed watching the officials question those corrupt 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 opera!
Gao Dajin quickly bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty, please be merciful. This grass-roots subject is truly wronged!"
Gao Dajin bowed his head even lower. xxs壹贰
After reading it, Ke Zhiming sealed the letter again and sent it back to the table 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, "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 trouble was about to break out, Zhu Jinsong immediately slammed the gavel and shouted, "Quiet!"
While the crowd was stunned, Zhu Jinsong also loudly declared, "I am here. Would I still let these clowns have their way?"
Only then did the crowd realize that the person sitting on the throne was the current emperor.
The fool Zhu Jinsong was referring to was Xu Yaozong, who was beating Gao Dajin.
But as he smiled and smiled, Gao Dajin suddenly couldn't smile anymore, because Zhu Jinsong was still staring at him expressionlessly.
A pearl covered in dust?
What was he, Gao Dajin, worth!
Zhu Jinsong shook his head and asked the Censorate official 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!"
"Gao the villain deserves to die!"
"He deserves it!"
But as they shouted, the slogans turned into a uniform "Long live His Majesty the Emperor!"
And Zhu Jinsong wrote an article and sent it back to the capital by fast horse.
"What secrets are hidden behind increasing wages to encourage workers to extend their working hours?"
So, rather than saying Gao Dajin was a bad seed, it was more accurate to say he was both stupid and bad.
What an eye-opener!
And Zhu Jinsong did not disappoint these people.
This is not like what is written in the opera!
Gao Dajin quickly bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty, please be merciful. This grass-roots subject is truly wronged!"
Gao Dajin bowed his head even lower.
After reading it, Ke Zhiming sealed the letter again and sent it back to the table 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, "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 trouble was about to break out, Zhu Jinsong immediately slammed the gavel and shouted, "Quiet!"
While the crowd was stunned, Zhu Jinsong also loudly declared, "I am here. Would I still let these clowns have their way?"
Only then did the crowd realize that the person sitting on the throne was the current emperor.
The fool Zhu Jinsong was referring to was Xu Yaozong, who was beating Gao Dajin.
But as he smiled and smiled, Gao Dajin suddenly couldn't smile anymore, because Zhu Jinsong was still staring at him expressionlessly.
A pearl covered in dust?
What was he, Gao Dajin, worth!
Zhu Jinsong shook his head and asked the Censorate official 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!"
"Gao the villain deserves to die!"
.
Tianhuang Guizui reminds you: Please remember to collect after reading.