"He escaped from the north and was at the top of the core of Nanming," Xiang Xiaoqiang nodded and smiled, "Yes, I am the only one. So what? What does His Majesty the Emperor want to prove?"
Guangwu stared into his eyes and continued to smile:
"It's not that I want to prove anything. It's just that I have been thinking about some issues for the past ten years. After I took office recently, I have been thinking about these issues more frequently... Some of them are understood, and some are not. I think,
Now on both sides of the Yangtze River, in the north and south, only you, General Xiang, have the ability to
I have such an identity. In addition, I have thought about it, and now in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the only person who dares to discuss these issues with me freely is General Xiang. A person has these two rare conditions at the same time. If you say I won’t treat you to Xiang Xiang,
If you invite the general, who else can you invite?"
Xiang Xiaoqiang also stared into his eyes, pondering his words in his mind and guessing what he wanted to talk about. He hesitated and nodded slowly.
Emperor Guangwu smiled and said:
"Don't have any worries, General Xiang. The reason why I chose to have dinner with the General here is because it is surrounded by water. Except for the lake on all sides, it is impossible to hide an ear and listen to the conversation. Look, this waterside pavilion
There is only this table, three chairs, and not even a single extra piece of furniture. General Xiang doesn’t have to worry about what tape recorder I have hidden.”
This time it was Xiang Xiaoqiang's turn to laugh. After laughing, he shook his head and said:
"Your Majesty the Emperor doesn't need to think so much. Whether you have a tape recorder or not, it depends on what the topic is. Some topics, even if there is a tape recorder spinning there, I will say what I need to say. But some topics, even if there is no tape recorder, only
I can't tell you about the two of us. After all, we are not on the same side. Your Majesty the Emperor... I won't offend you by saying this, right?"
When Xiang Xiaoqiang mentioned "recorder", he lightly touched Zheng Yucong with his foot, put his hand under the table top, and pointed towards the bottom of the table. Zheng Yucong understood immediately.
Emperor Guangwu was startled, a little surprised, and then smiled and said:
"Of course not. You are right, we are not on the same side. But it is precisely because we are not on the same side that we can talk calmly like this. The ministers and generals below me are all on the same side with me, but except for
Other than "嗻嗻嗻", you don't dare to discuss issues with me... I believe General Xiang won't feel comfortable talking in front of Zhu Yourong, right?"
Xiang Xiaoqiang squinted his eyes and smiled, hearing that this was a little trick by Guang Wu. He was testing his relationship with Zhu Yourong. If he couldn't control his vanity, he would probably reveal the true situation. Not only did this
It is related to Zhu Yourong's reputation, and it is also important strategic-level political intelligence.
"oops!"
One of Zheng Yucong's chopsticks fell to the ground. Before Emperor Guangwu could react, Zheng Yucong had already quickly got under the table and picked up the chopsticks.
"Oh, it's already dirty..." she said with a smile, "Your Majesty, please ask someone to give me a new pair."
Guangwu didn't see any clues, so he clapped his palms twice and asked someone to get another pair of chopsticks.
During this period, Zheng Yucong tapped Xiaoqiang's feet twice with her toes and gave him a look of relief.
Xiang Xiaoqiang understood that there was no recorder under the desktop.
"Haha, His Majesty the Emperor," Xiang Xiaoqiang was completely relieved now and said with a smile, "It's rare that His Majesty the Emperor is so generous, I can't say enough. Alas... I compare to Her Majesty the Queen's new appointment. This is true, everyone.
You can all see it. But... alas, after all, it is the relationship between monarch and minister. The minister said in front of the monarch
You will never feel as comfortable as talking to your colleagues... His Majesty the Emperor really made it clear: You are the Emperor, but not my Emperor. I am a minister, but not your minister. It seems that we are the only ones.
This is not how you sit side by side so you can speak freely without any scruples! Hahaha..."
At this time, the hot dishes were served. Emperor Guangwu seemed very satisfied when he heard what he said. He invited them to eat the dishes with a smile, and then poured wine for them.
"Since General Xiang is so honest," Guangwu said with a smile, "then I would like to ask General Xiang: What if - ahem, just what if... if General Xiang was given a choice again, would General Xiang be more willing to stay in the Qing Dynasty?
Be an official, or are you still willing to be an official in Nanming?"
Xiang Xiaoqiang was a little surprised. He didn't expect him to ask such a question.
"if?"
"Yes, if," Guangwu looked at Zheng Yucong and said with a smile, "Don't worry, Princess, I'm just asking. I have no intention of inciting you to rebel against the general."
Xiang Xiaoqiang smiled and said:
"I have never been an official in the Qing Dynasty, but thinking about it, it is a hundred times more affordable to be an official in the Northern Qing Dynasty than in the Ming Dynasty. For example, a local official in a county in the Qing Dynasty is richer than the chief minister of the Ming Dynasty. I think this
I know... Obviously, if I was allowed to choose freely, I would definitely be willing to be an official in the Qing Dynasty. But the problem is, I'm afraid I don't have the ability."
Guangwu laughed and said:
"How can we see it?"
Xiang Xiaoqiang smiled and said:
"In the Qing Dynasty, 'promoted to an official position and made a fortune' was one word. But in the Ming Dynasty, 'promoted to an official position' and 'made a fortune' were two words. In our country, you cannot make a fortune by being an official. Although you have a generous and decent salary, you can't make a fortune by being an official.
If you can't make a fortune, you can only make a fortune by doing business and doing industry. Therefore, in the Ming Dynasty, the most capable people were concentrated in the business world, and only those with no ability like me would become officials.
"In the Qing Dynasty, you couldn't make a fortune by doing business and industry, and the money you earned was not enough to buy peace from the government. The only way to make a fortune was to be an official. Therefore, the most capable people in the Qing Dynasty were concentrated in the officialdom. The benefits
The more lucrative the place, the more intense the competition. This
It's common sense. The officialdom of the Qing Dynasty was the most prosperous officialdom in the world, so it also concentrated the talents of the whole society of the Qing Dynasty. People like me, Xiang Xiaoqiang, who can only make a living by playing tricks, will not be able to make a living in the officialdom of the Qing Dynasty.
It would be strange to be trampled into a scum by others, hahaha..."
Emperor Guangwu was startled, then laughed for a while and said:
"The general wants to say, why is Nanming richer than me, the Qing Dynasty? Haha... The general's high talk is quite new, and it is the first time I heard it today. But... to the general, 'rich' and 'powerful'
'But they are two different things. 'Wealth' is more often associated with 'weakness'. In ancient times, the Yuan Dynasty destroyed the Song Dynasty, and the Qing Dynasty defeated the Ming Dynasty... and today's Germany, Italy, the Soviet Union, the wealthy Britain and France were cowardly in front of them.
He's like a clown. General Xiang, what do you think?"
Xiang Xiaoqiang smiled and said:
"Your Majesty the Emperor, you are not talking about 'strong', but 'tough'. 'Tough' does not necessarily mean 'strong'. Countries like Germany, Italy, and the Soviet Union are of course very tough. That does not mean that they have the strength to be tough.
It's that their rulers need to be tough. That's not necessarily true.
For a person like Hitler who is self-aggrandizing, it goes without saying that he must be really tough most of the time. As for more rational people like Mussolini or Stalin, they will also use it from time to time when necessary.
Be tough. But...mostly you are tough to show your own people.
"There is no way. People like Hitler, Mussolini, and Stalin know that their rule in the country seems to be as solid as steel, but in fact it is very fragile. They artificially establish a few enemies, and then periodically and irregularly confront each other with half-truths and half-falsehoods.
If the 'enemy' becomes tougher, it can create a kind of atmosphere in the country.
The feeling of being "surrounded by powerful enemies" helps to draw the dissatisfaction of the people away from oneself and to the outside. It also helps to bind the people's hearts in the country to oneself, and then the chair under one's butt can continue to be stable.
...Ah, Your Majesty the Emperor, do you think so? Hahaha..."
Zheng Yucong was frightened and lightly kicked Xiang Xiaoqiang under the table to remind him that we are still in their hands, so don't talk so openly.