At this time in Yan's mansion, Yan Song was also praising his son's wisdom, but he didn't know his son's true thoughts.
To be fair, Yan Song never thought about what he wanted to do to Jiajing, let alone what he wanted to do to Daming. He still had this bottom line.
Yan Song could condone his son's murder, perversion, and greed for money, and even allowed his son to flirt with the Tatars in order to help his son get rid of Xiao Feng.
But Yan Song never wanted his son to get involved with Japanese pirates, let alone make friends with the White Lotus Sect. Therefore, Yan Shifan would never tell Yan Song about these two things.
Therefore, Yan Shifan naturally would not tell Yan Song that the real purpose of raising Xiao Feng to the position of governor of Jiangnan this time was to have Princess Chang'an follow him out of the palace and go south.
Yan Shifan seriously deceived Yan Song: "Father, today you spoke eloquently in the court, and Wansui directly appointed Xiao Feng as the governor of Jiangnan. I think Xiao Feng still doesn't understand why at this time."
Yan Song nodded with satisfaction: "Donglou, this is all your clever plan. The resistance to converting rice into mulberry in Jiangnan is so great. The people are strongly opposed to it, and some small landowners are also worried that they will be annexed by big landowners and start trouble."
If you want to implement it, you must have an iron fist and an iron heart, which will inevitably lead to bloodshed. At this time, lifting Xiao Feng to the position of governor of Jiangnan can be said to kill two birds with one stone.
If things go well, it will naturally be my credit, because I was the one who suggested changing the rice to mulberry! If things don’t go well, the responsibility will naturally lie with the Governor of Jiangnan for his incompetence!
The best thing is that with Xiao Feng's character, he will definitely not agree with this idea. But the day before yesterday, Long live approved this plan to the cabinet and ordered it to be fully implemented! If he dares to obstruct it, he will directly oppose Long live!
No one knows Banzai's character better than me. No matter how much he likes someone, as long as they touch the backbone of his dignity and self-confidence, he will never let it go!
By then, it will be a matter of time before Xiao Feng falls out of favor. The higher I praise him now, the more miserable he will be when he falls down in the future!"
Xiao Feng, who was in Xiyuan at this time, also thought of this question after hearing that Princess Chang An wanted to go south with him: Has Yan Song completely stood on the same front as Yan Shifan?
Probably not. According to Xiao Feng's speculation, the community of interests between Yan Song and Jiajing is still very stable. At least for now, he should not have the motive to cooperate with the White Lotus Sect.
Therefore, Yan Shifan probably would not tell his father the real purpose of this move. So, what reason did Yan Shifan use to convince Yan Song to appoint him as the governor of Jiangnan?
The so-called quelling the Japanese pirates and revitalizing the Ming Dynasty are all nonsense. Yan Song will never really let himself get such a huge benefit for this reason. With Yan Song's old duck's style of dealing with things, he must have dug a hole for himself.
"Brother, when I go to the south, apart from annihilating the Japanese pirates along the coast and eradicating the White Lotus Sect, are there any other major things I need to do?"
Jiajing couldn't help but burst into laughter: "You are so loud. You also annihilated the Japanese pirates and eradicated the White Lotus Sect. How can a single governor accomplish this?"
What's more, I don't intend to let you serve the full term. Zhang Jing retires, but he has a group of supporters in the court. At this time, if the cabinet recommends Yan Song's disciples and former officials, it will inevitably arouse fierce opposition from those people.
And if Zhang Jing's supporters are appointed, it will make people say that the court wrongly punished Zhang Jing. Therefore, Yan Song recommended you at this time, and it happened that neither group of people would strongly oppose it.
If you help the imperial court make a smooth transition for a period of time, I will naturally let you return to the capital to take up a post. Is there any reason for you and Chang An to stay in Jiangnan?"
Xiao Feng secretly sighed in his heart. Sure enough, no one should underestimate Jiajing. His senior brother seemed to be devoted to Taoism, but in fact he was extremely sensitive to matters in the court.
Yan Song thought he had persuaded Jiajing with a perfect set of principles and guided Jiajing to take a step according to his own plan. In fact, Jiajing also followed the trend and used Yan Song's suggestions to avoid a possible fierce party dispute and maintain the balance of power in the court.
"But since you asked, I really want to tell you something. The imperial court has gradually implemented the policy of replacing rice with mulberry in the Jiangnan provinces. This is a good thing to earn gold and silver from overseas barbarians and nomads.
The Ming Dynasty implemented a sea ban to prevent sea
The wild ambitions of the foreign barbarians. However, the silk and porcelain of the Ming Dynasty were sold overseas by merchants in various vassal countries, but the Ming Dynasty would not interfere.
Even the nomads outside the Great Wall, there are also wealthy nobles among them, are very envious of these good things. Since you have already presided over the mutual trade, you naturally agree to increase the production of these goods."
Xiao Feng listened quietly to Jiajing's words and raised a smile: "What the senior brother said is absolutely true. But I still have some concerns. Please refer to the details, senior brother."
Jiajing nodded. Huang Jin gave Jiajing more tea and picked up Xiao Feng's tea cup: "Master Xiao's tea is cold, so let's change it to something hot. It's not good to drink cold tea."
Xiao Feng smiled at Huang Jin: "Thank you, senior brother, Jiangnan has always been the granary of the Ming Dynasty. Changing rice to mulberry is a good thing, but you need to make some preparations in advance, otherwise good things may go wrong."
Just like trading with the Tatars, the Ming Dynasty also tried it before, but the Tatars were not disciplined, so the trading was difficult to sustain.
This time, thanks to the blessing of my senior brother, we defeated the Tatars. With this foundation, mutual trade will be much smoother."
Jiajing smiled and nodded. Xiao Feng did have some opinions on changing rice to mulberry, but he was very sensible and did not express any objection. He even flattered himself fiercely, which was very embarrassing!
"So, I suggest that the court build more granaries to increase grain storage. The Ming Dynasty needs to train more cavalry, and sorghum and other feedstuffs already need to be stored in large quantities.
And these feeds will be life-saving food if there is a famine. Now that the court has food in hand, it can calmly implement the conversion of rice into mulberry.
If people can earn money to buy grain, they will not be so fiercely opposed to converting rice into mulberry."
Jiajing nodded: "It's just that the matter of building warehouses to collect grain will be difficult to complete for a while. The Ming Dynasty's grain production surplus is not much, how can we increase grain production quickly?"
Xiao Feng smiled: "Beyond the Great Wall and east of Shanhaiguan, there are fertile fields everywhere, but no one is cultivating them."
Jiajing was stunned for a moment, then shook his head with a wry smile. He rarely showed weakness in front of his ministers, but he was sincere in front of Xiao Feng.
"Junior brother, although the Jurchen tribes outside the Guan Kingdom appear to surrender to the Ming Dynasty, they are actually weaker than the Mongols and do not dare to do anything to the Ming Dynasty.
But the Ming Dynasty doesn’t have the energy to station troops to protect the farming.”
Xiao Feng stood up and saluted Jiajing: "Brother, the Tatars are still eyeing the Ming Dynasty and are waiting for opportunities.
The Japanese pirates along the coast have not yet been calmed down, and the undercurrent of the White Lotus Sect is surging. The Jurchen tribes outside the pass are at peace with each other.
No matter how much silk the Ming Dynasty woven at this time, it would be difficult to exchange it for real gold and silver because it was surrounded by enemies and the trade routes were not smooth.
If senior brother can trust me, give me one year to at least create a business path for senior brother from these four directions.
At that time, junior brother will personally preside over the policy of converting rice into mulberry for senior brother. I hope senior brother will give his permission."
Jiajing's smile faded a little, and he drank tea in silence. He waited until the cup of tea was finished before speaking.
"You do have this intention, but you are actually not sure, so it is just a delaying tactic. I have not wronged you, right?"
Huang Jin lowered his head and sighed secretly. Xiao Feng, you have clearly seen through Yan Song's trap, why do you still have to jump into the trap?
Some things cannot be changed by you alone.
Xiao Feng was not frightened by Jiajing's coldness and heart-wrenching words. Instead, he calmly picked up the teacup and took a sip of tea.
"Serve the king with loyalty, and serve relatives with sincerity. In terms of monarch and minister, Long Live is the king, and the ministers must not be disloyal; in terms of Taoism, you are my senior brother, and I must not be dishonest.
After all, I am young and may not have enough knowledge, but I shouldn’t hide what I think of. As for whether it is right or wrong, I have the discretion to correct it.
This is the great Ming Dynasty, and I dare not be expert in it. I only know one sentence: If you seek to benefit the life and death of the country, how can you avoid it for the sake of misfortunes and fortunes?"
Jiajing was stunned, and silently recited the last sentence in his heart: If you live and die for the benefit of the country, how can you avoid it because of misfortunes and blessings?
Jiajing was moved by these words, but what really made Jiajing a little uneasy was not this famous and shocking sentence, but the penultimate sentence.
Yes, it’s this ordinary sentence: This
Long live the Ming Dynasty, I dare not be good at it.
As soon as I said "I", you became a minister. Then tell me, this is your Ming Dynasty and has a close relationship with me. You can do whatever you want to do.
It's you who want to cultivate Taoism by relying on the luck of the Ming Dynasty, not me. I have a household registration there.
I wholeheartedly help you get ashore, but you don’t know how to love yourself. Are you worthy of me?
Jiajing took a sip of tea helplessly, and then found that the tea cup was empty. Huang Jin was also thinking about Xiao Feng's words, and even forgot to refill Jiajing's tea.
Jiajing immediately found a place to vent his anger and placed the tea cup heavily on the table.
Only then did Huang Jin wake up and quickly refill Jiajing's tea. Jiajing stopped drinking in anger and stared at the luck of the cup of tea.
"Brother, I recently remembered reading a book in the fairy world. It said that there is a fairy vine overseas that takes root on the ground and produces endless fruits under the roots. It tastes sweet and can fill your stomach.
I have calculated that this thing should have already appeared in the West, but the sea route is far away, and the countries that obtained it regard it as a treasure and are not willing to spread it.
I have asked Zhang Tianci to buy it with a lot of money from the coastal area. Under the heavy reward, there will be brave men.
On those smuggling ships that secretly trade, some people will take desperate risks and bring fairy vines with them in order to get a high price.
When I promote this fairy vine in the Ming Dynasty, the people of the Ming Dynasty will no longer have to worry about food shortages, and senior brother's policies can be implemented calmly."
Jiajing felt hot. Although his junior brother was angry with me, he had been silently helping me find a solution. I even suspected that he was setting me up! Read the book La
Jiajing actually felt a little embarrassed. He took a sip from the tea cup to hide his expression.
"That's very good. I'll do as you say. I'll give you a year to prepare food and open trade routes."
Xiao Feng smiled faintly: "Senior brother, what if the cabinet impeaches me for violating the law and refusing to implement national policies?"
Xiao Feng knew that no matter how good Jiajing was to him, he would never do it to slap himself in the face by asking him to announce that what he had decided to do was immediately cancelled.
Jiajing glanced at him and said angrily: "You are the governor of Jiangnan and hold great power. The cabinet only has the role of supervision. Without my order, do you really think the cabinet can move Zhang Jing?"
Come on, Jiajing is playing rogue with his teacher. Huang Jin lowered his head and smiled secretly: "Long live, it's getting late, it's time to go to bed."
Jiajing frowned: "Is it very late? Xiao Feng will be gone for a long time, I still want to hear more from him."
Huang Jin didn't say anything, but accidentally knocked off the two plaques placed on the silver plate. One of them said Concubine Lu Jing, and the other was turned over and could not be seen.
Jiajing immediately stretched out and said, "Junior brother, I think that's all it takes. Just go ahead and do it. Don't worry, I'll take care of everything."
Xiao Feng stood up to leave, and Huang Jin lowered his head to pick up the sign. The two did not make any eye contact, but Xiao Feng knew that Huang Jin was helping him.
This is the best time to end the conversation. Sometimes it is much better to end the conversation when you still have something to say, rather than waiting until you have nothing to say. Especially when you are going to be separated from the person for a long time.