After about half an hour, Qi Yu and Yin Jun walked side by side and arrived at Shi's Wine Shop together to prepare for lunch.
When the brothers of the Shi family saw the magistrate in person, they quickly made room for him in the best private room, made some tea, and respectfully invited him to sit down and enjoy his presence.
Qi Yu can be regarded as an old and familiar guest here. He is basically not polite and can be said to be a real guest.
But Yin Jun remained silent, immersed in his own thoughts, as if he was thinking about something.
This was his first trip south to Qiongzhou. In addition to novelty and curiosity, there was also some confusion and confusion.
why?
On the way, he specially observed some small details of this place, but found that it was very different from the Qiongzhou he imagined.
Commercial vehicles loaded with goods pass by from time to time, and the female weavers buy meat generously after their day off work. Even in the prosperous land of Jiangnan, this is nothing more than that, right?
What impressed him the most was the spirit of the people. At a glance, everyone was in high spirits, and when they raised their hands and stamped their feet, they all showed a sense of contentment and happiness. This kind of look was much better than those in the capital.
The proud people of heaven are no less generous.
How can Qiongzhou, which is so prosperous, be called ‘a place where no one lives’?
Could it be that Wu Wanrong lied?
I remember what he said when he returned to Beijing to meet the Holy Spirit: The land in Qiongzhou is barren, the people are tough, poisonous insects are roaming everywhere, and the people have no meat to eat all year round. It is not a place for people to live at all.
After hearing these statements, His Majesty could not help but sigh deeply towards the south: It is really difficult for Qi Aiqing to live in such a miserable place.
Some ministers also said with emotion: It is said that after Su Shi, a great scholar in the Song Dynasty, was demoted to Qiongzhou, he lived a miserable life with no meat to eat, no medicine for illness, no room to live in, no friends to go out, no charcoal in winter, and no cold spring in summer.
It seems this rumor is true!
However, facts speak louder than words, and what Yin Jun saw and heard directly shattered these rumors.
Not only is Qiongzhou not poor, it seems to be very well off.
Take the meals that have been served in front of you as an example. These dishes include not only meat, but also poultry and seafood. These combinations are almost comparable to the state banquet at Guanglu Temple.
To say that there is no meat to eat is nonsense!
Shrimp: How many times have I told you, I have no eggs.
Back to business.
Regarding this matter, Yin Jun did not hide anything and directly recounted what Wu Wanrong said when he met the saint. This is how he came to say that Qiongzhou is not a place where people live.
Cough, spit!
It's a bit insulting to say this. None of the people living here are human beings?
However, this is really not something that can be blamed on Wu Wanrong. You must know that he has enjoyed special treatment since coming here. It is strange that he has a good impression of Qiongzhou.
Speaking of this guy named Wu, we have to mention the late King Yong.
This is the focus of attention.
Therefore, Qi Yu put aside other questions for the time being and asked this matter first: "How did the court judge the death of King Yong?"
Yin Jun thought about it for a moment and then said: "In Wu Wanrong's statement, he said that King Yong regretted the sins he had committed and felt that he had no face to see the king again, so he chose to drown himself in the sea.
It’s death.”
Can the form be written like this?
Haha, Wu Wanrong, Wu Wanrong, you really deserve to be an old fox in the officialdom. You can even fabricate such a plot.
Qi Yu felt secretly happy in his heart, but his face remained calm, and he said calmly: "Then what is your Majesty's opinion on this matter?"
"Well... I believe it now!"
Qi Yu nodded and analyzed: "No matter what, King Yong died while Wu Wanrong was being escorted. He must bear some responsibility for this, right?"
"There is responsibility, but it is not big."
"Oh? How do you say this?"
Yin Jun replied: "Your Majesty has no actual accountability for him. He just gave him a few face-saving warnings and fined him this year's salary for dereliction of duty. In addition, there is nothing else."
He changed his voice and said with some hints: "However, the royal family is a bit unyielding to him and has been insisting on this matter. I estimate that he will pay some price for this."
As for the price, Yin Jun did not say it clearly. Thinking about it, it was just a common thing to lose money and eliminate disaster.
If the clan took this opportunity, how could they not knock some bamboo poles?
It is foreseeable that Wu Wanrong will lose money again.
Qi Yu sighed softly and said: "Oh, your Majesty is too tolerant of this traitor. In my opinion, he should be dismissed from his post and investigated, and never used again."
"How could it be?" Yin Jun was amused by him, shook his head and then explained: "Wu Wanrong's trip south to Qiongzhou this time has both merits and demerits. Even if the merits and demerits balance, it is impossible for His Majesty to investigate him."
"Also, according to my observation, it seems that Your Majesty does not want King Yong to live in the world. He died unexpectedly on the way north. Wouldn't it be true that he fell into the arms of the Holy Spirit? In this case, how could His Majesty express his anger towards Wu Wanrong?
"
Looking at it this way, I really guessed the Holy Will correctly before.
It can be seen that the emperor did not want to let King Yong live at all. It would be best to die in the prison of Qiongzhou.
In order not to get involved in this scandal, I had to set up a vicious plan to transfer this hot potato to Wu Wanrong. Looking at it now, the effect is pretty good.
Now that things have happened, King Yong's case can be considered truly settled.
Qi Yu came to his senses and continued: "Oh, by the way, you just said that Wu Wanrong had some meritorious deeds when he went south. I wonder what these merits are?"
Yin Jun smiled faintly and replied: "If you think about it, his contribution has some indirect relationship with you. It is like this. During his official duties in Qiongzhou, he lived up to the expectations of the emperor and investigated the important value of artillery.
, His Majesty was very happy after learning about it. This is his so-called credit..."
Just as the foreigner Andre said, His Majesty has indeed become interested in the emerging firearms.
Although this matter has been known for a long time, it is a different feeling to hear it from Yin Jun's mouth, because his words are more reliable than that of the foreigner.
Speaking of artillery, Qi Yu couldn't help but think of the book he wrote before, and he didn't know if he had persuaded His Majesty.
Yin Jun shook his head and told him the answer directly: I couldn't persuade him!
Ah? Why?
I have clearly explained it very thoroughly, and I have also pointed out various mechanisms one by one. It is impossible for Your Majesty to not understand it. Also, in that article, I specifically expressed my chivalrous courage and sincere loyalty, which can be learned by heaven and earth.
But why is Your Majesty not moved?
Yin Jun believes that this is not because the explanation is not good enough, nor because the loyalty is not shown enough, but because the water here is too deep, and it is not as simple as imagined.
"The water is too deep? What do you mean?"
"You really don't understand?"
"Of course I understand the literal meaning, but I don't know what kind of water you are talking about. I hope you can enlighten me." Qi Yu cupped his hands and asked for advice.
Yin Jun felt greatly benefited when he saw his humble request. He pretended to be profound and said: "This topic is quite big to talk about..."
Cough, spit!
You are said to be fat and you still have asthma?
Say it!
Yin Jun was stunned and immediately returned to normal. After sorting out the causes and consequences, he began to talk about it.
According to him, the scope of this matter is really quite big.
The cause of the whole incident must start with Qi Jing's march north to fight against Di.
The details are as follows:
After Qi Jing left the eastern coast in compliance with the imperial order, he went directly to the northern military fortress to fight against the invasion of Tatars and Oaras.
With his precise command and the brave resistance of the soldiers of the three armies, the chaotic situation was quickly brought under control. In a certain victory, he even almost captured the treasonous traitor Zhang Chengdong alive.
However, Qi Jing did not greedy for credit, but gave all the credit to the emperor.
He said in the above table that if the Holy Emperor had not overhauled the Great Wall a few years ago and made the defenses impregnable, the current victory and victory would not have been possible. Therefore, this is all brought about by His Majesty's foresight.
I, Qi Jing, have only received a little credit from the trees planted by my predecessors.
The emperor was overjoyed when he heard this. While praising Qi Jing, he also scolded the officials who had previously prevented him from overhauling the Great Wall.
Let’s continue talking about the war in the north.
After several fierce battles, the north returned to its original state of confrontation. The enemy and we each defended one side, and the beacon smoke temporarily extinguished.
At this time, the current situation of the Fuso Kingdom across the sea also experienced new changes. According to legend, the country had a military outstanding General Oda, who unified the entire Fuso with lightning speed.
It ended decades of war in the country.
No wonder the Japanese pirate attacks have suddenly disappeared in the recent period. It turns out that the island country has returned to unity.
The current situation in the world has changed, and Da Fengguo naturally has to revise his national policy. Therefore, after discussing with the cabinet officials, the emperor quickly decided on a tripartite strategy, as follows:
To deal with the powerful military enemies in the Great North, we still adopt strong and hard measures with an iron fist and will never give up an inch of our territory.
For the few ethnic groups in the West, the emperor adopted the policy of returning to their native land and returning to their hometowns as Qi Yu had previously remonstrated, and also used gentle appeasement.
As for the eastern coastline, we should use the mighty navy to intimidate it, reject it if it encounters an enemy, and defend it if it is invincible.
As for the small vassal states in the South China Sea, there is neither threat nor pressure and can be ignored.
In this way, three major national policies were formed: hard in the north, soft in the west, and resistant to the east.
However, among these three major national policies, the first has been realized and the second is being implemented, but the third has not yet been implemented.
As we all know, if we want to strengthen the defense of the coastline, we must vigorously strengthen the construction of the navy. So, how to strengthen it?
The emperor learned from the information obtained during the Tuen Mun naval battle that today's naval warfare laws have undergone tremendous changes compared to the past, and the crossbows and arrows of the Shenji Battalion are somewhat outdated.
Firearms will be the main battle weapon of the navy in the future.
Qi Yu never expected that the local war he initiated would inadvertently speed up the course of history and advance the age of firearms a lot.
This was not just the Dafeng dynasty. It is said that even the neighboring Annam, Laos, and the old enemy Fusang had placed orders for Western firearms dealers.