Qi Jiguang was worthy of being a military commander who had been able to bury wire reports for the central government when he was a frontier commander in other places. He could actually guess that the person behind Empress Dowager Li's back was Li Wenjin. Gao Pragmatic couldn't help but be a little surprised after hearing this. Based on this political insight alone, Qi Jiguang
Even if you become a civil servant, I'm afraid you won't do too badly.
Of course, Qi Jiguang in the original history can be said to have the most reliable political vision among the famous generals of his generation. Isn’t it true that Yu Long, Qi Hu, Bei Ma, Nan Liu were the best? As for Wanli who was transferred ten years later
Guangdong, so that he died in depression, it really cannot be blamed on his political vision - who knew that Zhang Juzheng died so early? Qi Jiguang was not Li Shizhen, how could he have such ability.
Speaking of which, Qi Jiguang is a person that Gao Pragmatic finds particularly interesting since his time travel. When people in later generations who don’t study history very much think of Qi Jiguang, they probably only have the words “Fighting against Japanese pirates, national hero” in their minds, but in fact Qi Jiguang is far from that “simple”
A very complicated person.
From Gao Pragmatic's point of view, the most interesting thing is that Qi Jiguang, who was born and raised in the Ming Dynasty, actually has similar characteristics to himself as a time traveler.
Putting aside the well-known situation of the national hero, the most "contradictory" thing about Qi Jiguang is that he was corrupt throughout his life but also incorruptible throughout his life.
This seems like a joke. It seems that people should not be so contradictory in history and reality. But unfortunately, all kinds of strange things will happen in Chinese history, especially in a system like the Ming Dynasty with its own distorted ancestral system.
If you want to be an official or a general, if you never take corruption or take bribes and still want to achieve a great career, then it is really impossible.
The only exception is the hard-nosed Hai Rui, who was the most upright official established by the Ming Dynasty. According to records, he is probably the most upright official in Chinese history. But apart from Hai Rui, it is really difficult to find a few such officials.
He had become a clean official. Moreover, although Hai Rui had done a good job in his official career, it is actually difficult to define whether he had accomplished something in his career.
As for the national hero Qi Jiguang, who has indeed accomplished a great career, he certainly does not belong to the ranks of upright officials, but he has indeed lived an honest life.
At that time, Mingyue commented on Qi Jiguang in the book "Those Things in the Ming Dynasty": "Qi Jiguang - a person who is good at building relationships, catering to leaders, entertaining guests and giving gifts, and forming cliques. In countless history books, Qi Jiguang is the embodiment of bravery and fearlessness.
, he can make good decisions and is invincible. All this is true, but he also has another side. For example, every time he goes to a place, he must first visit the dock, treat guests and give gifts, eat and drink, and then identify with his clan and find his ancestors.
, we are all brothers, but based on his salary, it is impossible to afford such high expenses, so the conclusion is: Qi Jiguang is a person who both accepts gifts and gives bribes."
Although Mingyue used very popular terms to evaluate Qi Jiguang back then, and did not really provide evidence, but just said "because of that", this evaluation is actually basically true.
A system like the Ming Dynasty has never been about "high salary to support integrity", it can only be about "low salary to support corruption", because the salaries of officials in the Ming Dynasty are very low.
If you are an official in the Ming Dynasty and do not plan to use your own money to fill the gap, then you do not engage in corruption, bribery, or even accept all kinds of filial piety. In the end, there is only one result: not only can you not maintain various relationships in the officialdom,
Even raising a family can be difficult.
Serving as an official in the center of the imperial court, such as when Gao Pinggong was in the Hanlin Academy, if he were not a former small cabinet elder and a future star of the practical school, he would actually be able to save money. However, that is also based on the fact that he does not need to
On the basis of too much entertainment, in fact, except for the Hanlin Academy, there were very few officials in the Ming Dynasty who did not need too much entertainment.
If a general like Qi Jiguang does not engage in corruption, bribery, or even accept filial piety, he will not be able to recruit an elite army under his command. He will even be like Hai Rui, who not only becomes a beggar-like official, but also
He let his whole family live like a beggar. He was so poor that he couldn't even afford a pound of pork all year round. But occasionally buying a pound of pork would become news that shocked the whole city.
In fact, an upright official like Hai Rui can only become someone who is highly commended by the court, so that his official status will not be shaken. However, such figures are always only exceptions and cannot be universal, as Gao Gong finally said
It's the same as Hai Rui's "hanging high" - you are only suitable to be a role model and never suitable for real use.
The officialdom of the Ming Dynasty is complicated and dangerous, as has been explained before. If you are an official in the Ming Dynasty, if you have no faction support, no teachers to take care of you, no peers to help you, and not enough money to open up connections and connections, you still want to have a prosperous official career and be safe and sound.
It is basically impossible to save an official and his life.
Therefore, Qi Jiguang had long ago abandoned his ancestral precepts, followed the local customs, and sang whatever songs he went to in the mountains. Now that he had entered the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty, he had no choice but to become a corrupt official.
However, Qi Jiguang really did not want to be corrupt or accept bribes, because he was indeed an ambitious person. As he said in his own poem: It is not my intention to be a prince, but I hope Haibo will be peaceful. In fact, this is also the case.
Qi Jiguang held numerous positions in his life, and fought in more than half of the Ming Dynasty, from Fujian, Guangdong, and Hainan in the south to Mongolia and Liaodong in the north. He served in both poor and rich areas; he served as both a junior general and a general. However, every time he
When you leave a place, you leave penniless and clean, and you don't even leave any inheritance for your descendants.
It can be seen that whether Qi Jiguang is corrupt or accepting bribes, he basically goes in with his left hand and goes out with his right hand. All the money he gets will be spent, used up, and given away before he leaves office. He does not want to be a miser, he
The money gained from corruption and bribery is not only used to support the army, but also to pave the way for one's official career.
Just like Gao Jingshi is not short of money at all, but Qi Jiguang has never missed a single gift on any important festival, including Gao Jingshi's birthday - even though he knows Gao Jingshi's family background and personality, he doesn't need to give Gao Jingshi a gift
He cares about the value of the gift itself, but he never fails to give it once.
Why is he doing this?
Looking at the fate of his boss, Hu Zongxian, who was also an anti-Japanese hero, it is easy to understand that officialdom relationships are very complicated and subtle. If you are not careful, not only will you fail to succeed in your official career, but you will even have to move your head.
When Hu Zongxian wanted to be an official and make a career, he almost had no choice but to join Yan Song and his son. For the sake of his own future, Qi Jiguang first curried favor with his Shangguan Tan Lun, and after his status was improved, he leaned on the newly appointed cabinet minister.
Zhang Juzheng, finally, after Zhang Juzheng was deposed by Gao Pragmatic, he completely surrendered to the pragmatic school.
If we look at his personal integrity alone, Qi Jiguang does not meet the standards praised by Chinese dynasties. His official style also favors both sides, and whoever is forced to follow him has a lot to do with it. However, Gao Pragmatic understands his approach very well.
Because Gao Pragmatic felt that Qi Jiguang was the same as himself, "As long as my ambition does not change, the specific means can be discussed, and periodic compromises are okay."
What is pragmatism? This is pragmatism. Many things in the world are not based on personal will. Otherwise, how could there be disputes over the origin of the country in the original history? There are many things that the emperor cannot stick to his original intention, let alone those of them who are ministers.
It was precisely because of his "original intention" that Gao Pragmatic did not care too much about Zhu Yijun's continuous favors to King Lu, or even deliberately interfered.
Why? Because Zhu Yijun's continuous favors may not be his intention. In fact, he just had to do so because of his triple status of emperor, son and brother.
Do it for your mother, do it for the world to see.
Who made the Ming Dynasty pay attention to governing the world with filial piety and respecting brothers, friends and brothers? Why did he constantly emphasize in the edicts that "my vice-deputies are friendly and united"? The reason is: even as an emperor, he is afraid that people in the world will say that he is unfilial.
In the Ming Dynasty, no one can bear the charge of "unfilial piety". Once you are labeled as "unfilial", no matter how many abilities you have and how many changes you have, all that awaits you is to be despised, ridiculed or even denounced.
Yang Wei was invited back to the court by Zhang Siwei to be a Heavenly Official, mainly because his filial piety moved the world, so there was no objection when he returned to the court. The reason why Wang Xijue was previously appointed by the Xin School to succeed Pan Sheng was mainly because his filial piety moved the world.
The world.
Now when it comes to Zhu Yijun, there is actually no essential difference.
His favor to King Lu most likely came from the fact that he had to follow the wishes of Queen Mother Li. There is obvious evidence for this: in the original history, when Queen Mother Li died, King Lu was shocked and sad, and soon he himself also
He died of illness - he knew that once his mother's protection was gone, his royal brother would probably change his attitude.
Therefore, Gao Pragmatic felt that what Zhu Yijun did was not necessarily out of his original intention, he just had to put on a show, and even if the cost of putting on a show was very high, he had no choice but to do it.
As long as it is politics, who in the world will not put on a show? Not only Zhu Yijun has to do it, but Qi Jiguang has to do it. How can he not do it if he is so pragmatic?
Gao Jingshi said calmly: "Li Wenjin knew that the Queen Mother dotes on her young son, and he has always relied on the Queen Mother to achieve his current success. Naturally, he had to follow the Queen Mother's wishes and find ways to keep King Lu. As for King Jing's legacy,
That is the tool he uses to block the mouths of people in the world."
Qi Jiguang opened his mouth, as if he had something to say, but hesitated for a moment and finally fell silent.
Gao pragmatic glanced at him and asked, "What does Mr. Nantang want to say?"
Qi Jiguang smiled bitterly and said: "The general is just worried that if the affairs of the King of Lu cannot be settled, the imperial court will never have the capital to launch a final attack on Tumen."
Gao Jingshi knew that he still had reservations about what he said, so he said calmly: "If the emperor insists on collecting the full amount of King Jing's legacy to give to King Lu, I don't think it can't be done. We can still complete it in our hands by then.
The final blow to the Tumen."
Qi Jiguang smiled bitterly and said: "Young Sima has just passed his weak years, so he can naturally wait until that day, but the last general is already not young. If we look at the situation of the two commanders in the north, Ma and Nan, Liu will
In three or four years, I'm afraid it will be time for me to resign from my current job and all my other posts, and go back to my hometown to roam around in the woods."
Oh, so you are worried about this.
Gao Pangshi nodded inwardly and thought to himself: This is very "Qi Jiguang". He is worried that he will not be able to catch up with the final battle against Bei Yuan. Also, how can he, a person who wants to do a big business, be willing not to be like this?
A lasting mark in an important war?
But on the matter of King Lu... Zhu Yijun is unlikely to compromise.
Perhaps seeing Gao Pragmatic seeming thoughtful, Qi Jiguang ignited some hope and asked in a low voice: "Young Sima has always taken one step at a time, and there is no difficult thing that you can't handle over the years. Look at this."
Things...is there still a chance to change?"
Gao Pingshi twitched the corner of his mouth slightly and said to himself: Well, it is indeed Qi Jiguang himself, this rainbow fart is going to blow me up to the sky.
But he really didn't want to reject Qi Jiguang. After all, Qi Jiguang's starting point was not bad, and it was reasonable for him to want to show his strength in the war against Tumen - "West Huaidong system" for so many years, he had been letting Li Chengliang stay in Liaodong
He was killing everyone, but he could only guard the gate of the capital, and he wouldn't be willing to do it to anyone else.
Besides, Gao Pragmatic himself also felt that he should quickly let Qi Jiguang show off, because now Li Chengliang seemed to be determined to join Shen Shixing. If Qi Jiguang didn't show up, the first victory in a battle would really go to the Xin School.
, then don’t I also have to sit on the wax when someone is taller than me?
He finally couldn't sit still anymore, so he stood up and walked up and down. Qi Jiguang, who was never rude, stood up immediately and stood aside respectfully, waiting for Gao Pragmatic to think of a solution.
I don't know how long it took, but Gao Pingshi suddenly stopped. He seemed to be talking to Qi Jiguang, and seemed to be talking to himself: "The reason why King Lu's kingdom cannot be accomplished seems to be because King Jing's inheritance cannot be obtained, but in the final analysis
, or it lies in the interests themselves.”
Qi Jiguang was thinking about it just now. He failed to keep up with Gao's pragmatic thinking and subconsciously said: "Profit itself?"
"Yes, the interest itself." Gao Pragmatic said with certainty: "Actually, whether King Lu or the Queen Mother, what they really care about is not necessarily whether what he gets is the legacy of King Jing. That is not important. What is important is that he gets it.
The benefits cannot be less than the amount left by King Jing."
Qi Jiguang frowned and said, "But isn't this still the same? King Jing's legacy has been returned to the people, and now the court can't take it out. If they want to give another person the wealth of 'King Jing's legacy', the Ministry of Household Affairs will probably be blinded as well."
"
Gao pragmatic shook his head and said: "Otherwise, as long as we can work around this, there is still hope for things to change. I am afraid that the emperor or the queen mother will admit death and insist on holding on to King Jing's legacy and not let go. That will be a headache."
When Qi Jiguang heard that there was hope, he didn't bother to ask Gao Jingshi anything else, and asked directly: "Young Master, has there been any solution?"
Gao pragmatic pondered and said: "I have an idea, but I'm afraid this method has to be 'first in the trend'. I don't know if I can convince the Queen Mother and Queen Lu and her son... It seems that I have to talk to the Queen Mother and King Lu in person.
talk."
Qi Jiguang immediately presented him with a rainbow fart: "With Young Sima taking action, what difficulties will there be in the world? I will first wish Young Sima success!"
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Thanks to book friend "Cao Mianzi" for your reward and support, thank you!
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PS: A little spoiler in advance: King Lu’s incident is not only a single incident, but will also lead to clan issues.
