Chapter 16 It hurts so much Beijing is a big city. But it looks a bit dilapidated and has fallen into disrepair. Jiang Qingzhi remembered that a few years later, when the barbarians from the grassland were at the gates of the city, the city was in chaos. That was also the second time after the founding of the Ming Dynasty that it was almost successfully counterattacked by the foreign tribes on the grassland. If the Ming Dynasty had lost that battle, it would have been swept into the dustbin of history early. "Master, why don't we go into the city?" Sun Chonglou was young at heart and couldn't wait to go to the capital to take a look. Fu Cheng looked at the capital with mixed feelings, his mind filled with the years in the palace, and he said, "This is waiting for your Majesty's orders." "Is it a good thing or a bad thing?" Sun Chonglou asked. "Of course it's a good thing." Fu Cheng smiled and said, "If Your Majesty doesn't value me, then what are you waiting for? Just enter the city quietly. Someone will report to Your Majesty in a few days." "How does that seem like... sending away poor relatives?" Sun Chonglou said indignantly.
"Hehehe! You are right, kid." Fucheng laughed. Not long after, more than ten riders left the city. "I've met the young master." Jiang Qingzhi nodded, and the man said, "Please wait a moment, sir." "Not urgent." A passerby on the road asked about it and heard that the nobleman came from Suzhou Prefecture. He thought that Suzhou Prefecture was rich, but in terms of grandeur, it could not compare with the capital. The nobleman must be dumbfounded! He looked carefully and saw Jiang Qingzhi looking lazily at the people entering and leaving the city gate, as if he was used to it. Fu Cheng came over and whispered, "Sir, someone is probably here to greet you." Jiang Qingzhi nodded, very curious about who Emperor Jiajing would send to greet him. A eunuch? Is it Huang Jin, or someone else? After waiting for a quarter of an hour, the soldiers guarding the city gate suddenly stood up straight from their lazy state. Fu Cheng was also very curious: "Could it be that a member of the royal family came out to greet us? That would be great." "I have met His Highness!" When a boy who looked to be in his early teens was escorted out of the city by the crowd, the soldiers guarding the city gate saluted in unison. "It's actually the prince!" Fu Cheng was shocked. Dou Jialan reminded, "Sir, it's His Royal Highness Prince Yu!" Prince Yu Zhu Zaigui, later known as Emperor Muzong of the Ming Dynasty. The Taoist priest made it a bit too grand!
Jiang Qingzhi smiled as he watched the young man and the others approach, then took a few steps forward to salute. "Uncle, no need to be polite." Zhu Zaigui is twelve years old this year and looks a little thin. The two exchanged a few pleasantries and then went into the city. "His Majesty has ordered the young master to enter the palace." When they arrived outside the West Garden, the eunuch who followed them said. Zhu Zaigui smiled and said, "In that case, I will send my cousin here." Jiang Qingzhi was startled, and then he thought of something. Emperor Jiajing had quite a few sons in his life, but most of them died young or due to illness. This made Emperor Jiajing quite sad and worried. At this time, the Taoist priest Tao Zhongwen, whom he trusted, advised Emperor Jiajing that the two dragons should not meet, otherwise one of them would be injured. At the moment, Emperor Jiajing was still in a state of half-belief and half-doubt, but he tried not to meet his sons. Jiang Qingzhi smiled and said, "Thank you, Your Highness." Zhu Zaigui looked at this young cousin who was only one or two years older than him, and suddenly felt some warmth. He had an elder brother, the Crown Prince, and his mother was not favored, so he lived like a nobody. Even the palace servants were lazy when they saw him perform the salute. On the way, the cousin spoke very cordially about the customs and practices of the south, which not only broadened his horizons but also made him feel friendly. All the way into the palace. Arrive and wait outside the temple where Emperor Jiajing practiced Taoism. At this moment, there was a eunuch reporting in the hall. "...More than 30 Japanese pirates were burning, killing and looting. Your Excellency took the initiative to set up an empty city plan and commanded the accompanying escort soldiers to defeat the Japanese pirates." "Zhang Mao, the captain of the Qingtian Thousand Households, led his troops to come to our aid. Your Excellency suggested taking advantage of the enemy's unpreparedness and heading straight to the seashore. Afterwards, Your Excellency led the army to defeat the Japanese pirates..." "Whose plan is this?" asked Emperor Jiajing. "Yes... the Jinyiwei said that it was your plan. They also said that your talent in military tactics seemed to be there." "Talent in military operations?" Emperor Jiajing raised his eyes with a calm expression. "Yes. When you were returning, a local official wanted to take credit for your achievements, but you ordered your servants to slap him..." When Huang Jin heard this, he looked up at the eunuch and sneered in his heart. After Emperor Jiajing ascended the throne, he reformed the rewards and treatment of the imperial family and abolished the hereditary system of titles for relatives by marriage. This was also a form of vigilance against relatives by marriage. This is to flatter that noble person!
Whose handiwork is this? "Your Excellency met the former Prime Minister Xia Yan outside Tongzhou City. They sat side by side... and talked for a long time." Huang Jin's eyes narrowed. The emperor ordered the Royal Guards to arrest Xia Yan and bring him back to the capital to punish him. How dare that nobleman talk to Xia Yan... The emperor must be angry. He looked up and glanced quickly at the Emperor. The thin face was calm as Emperor Jiajing spoke calmly, "The most feared thing for those who practice Taoism is the demons. They make people feel confused. There are also various demons in the mortal world who want to interfere with my practice." Huang Jin shouted: "Catch him!" Two burly eunuchs rushed over, their faces pale, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, your servant..." "Shut up!" Huang Jin shouted. When Jiang Qingzhi was brought into the hall, his nose was itchy from the smell of incense. "Ah!" Who the hell dares to sneeze in the emperor’s monastery without being afraid of disturbing the gods! But Jiang Qingzhi fought anyway, and he fought with great enthusiasm. Several eunuchs thought that this guy was most likely a bumpkin. But Emperor Jiajing looked at him with interest. "I have met His Majesty." Jiang Qingzhi had been taught the etiquette of audience with the emperor on the road, and now he seemed to be quite proficient in it. Emperor Jiajing asked about his uncle Jiang Gan's situation, and Jiang Qingzhi answered one by one. "Before my mother passed away, she was still thinking about my uncle." When Emperor Jiajing mentioned his mother, the admiration in his eyes was undisguised. Jiang Qingzhi said: "It's a pity that my father is not blessed." "Yes!" Emperor Jiajing nodded, "What a pity." "However, my father was quite free in the year before he passed away." Jiang Qingzhi told some interesting stories about Jiang Gan, and Emperor Jiajing listened with great interest. This is his rare free time. The ministers waiting outside to report government affairs waited for a long time, and some were curious about who could make the eccentric Emperor Jiajing so patient. "…My father said that Qingzhi was the name given to me by my grandfather, and that my grandfather also said that Qingzhi was also the courtesy name of my minister, so the names were one. Later, my father said that I was weak and sickly because of the name Qingzhi, and that when I got married and had children in the future, he would definitely spend money to go to Hanshan Temple to ask a monk to give his grandson an auspicious courtesy name." How can a name and a surname be one? Besides, the name Qingzhi is a bit strange. Celebrate, what are you celebrating? This child killed his mother, but he was not killed, so we are celebrating it? But no one exposed this lie. Huang Jin even thought that as a son-in-law, Jiang Qingzhi should have taken his mother's surname, Ye. But he took his father's surname, Jiang, which must have been a struggle.
If things go wrong, the price will be the loss of his name. Emperor Jiajing said sternly: "The surname cannot be changed, but the name must be chosen carefully." "But I feel that a name is just a name after all. Since it is destined by heaven, then giving this name must be God's intention." Jiang Qingzhi felt that the Taoist priest was quite kind. Emperor Jiajing was startled for a moment, then nodded, stroked his beard and said, "You do have some understanding." What the hell! Taoist master, please don’t let me practice Taoism with you! Jiang Qingzhi spoke smoothly, treating Emperor Jiajing as if he were a neighbor and chatting with him, and his chat went on without limit. "His Majesty." An eunuch came in and reported, "Jinyiwei Commander Lu Bing wants to see you." Jiang Qingzhi shut up tactfully. Emperor Jiajing said: "You have just arrived in the capital, so settle down first." "Yes." Jiang Qingzhi resigned. Walking in the palace, Jiang Qingzhi finally had the mind to slowly look around the West Garden. "I've seen the commander." Someone in front greeted me enthusiastically. The eunuch leading the way stopped and looked at the middle-aged man walking in front of him with a smile. He was as thin as Jiajing, but looked fairer and had a scholarly air between his brows. If you meet such a person while walking in Suzhou City, you will definitely think that he is a scholar. But the person in front of him was the powerful commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the Jiajing Emperor's brother, Lu Bing! Lu Bing also stopped at the same time and looked at the young man in front of him. A cloth robe fluttered in the wind, his eyes were dark, and there was a smile on his pale face. Handsome. And sickly. This was Jiang Qingzhi's first impression of Lu Bing. "I've met the young master!" Lu Bing bowed. "Greetings, Commander." Jiang Qingzhi bowed. The atmosphere is a bit weird! The eunuchs leading the way on both sides felt it.
Lu Bing smiled and said, "The deputy captain outside Tongzhou City was blind and offended you, young master. I just had him beaten with thirty sticks and rushed to the northern grassland to get information." These words seemed to be a gesture of goodwill, but Jiang Qingzhi sneered in his heart. Lu Bing, what the hell! You are cheating your father! ——I know that the deputy captain has offended you, and I am worried that you will say bad things about me, Lu Bing, to His Majesty, so I had no choice but to deal with my subordinates. This can show Lu Bing and the Jinyiwei's respect for Emperor Jiajing. But it also shows Lu Bing's fear of Jiang Qingzhi, the upstart. Gee! Kill two birds with one stone! It was indeed a rare Jinyiwei commander who had a good ending. Lu Bing was the foster brother of Emperor Jiajing and a trusted minister. Jiang Qingzhi was a new noble and the cousin of Emperor Jiajing. There seems to be a disagreement between the two. Lu Bing took action first. How did Jiang Qingzhi respond? Everyone slowly looked at Jiang Qingzhi. Jiang Qingzhi was able to make a comeback in a foreign country, not by luck. He was not bad at this kind of tricks. And he had an advantage, knowing the fate of Emperor Jiajing and Lu Bing, as well as their attitudes towards certain people. Jiang Qingzhi's expression remained unchanged. A dry cough. "I heard that all the civil and military officials in the court called the commander a talented person. Seeing him today..." Jiang Qingzhi sighed, "Indeed, he is extremely talented." After that, Jiang Qingzhi ordered: "It is not easy to live in the capital. Does Your Majesty have a house to reward me? If not, I will go to the palace and sleep on the floor outside my cousin's bedroom." You are mocking Lu Bing's loyalty to His Majesty... It's not pure! The eunuchs were dumbfounded. The eunuch who led the way trembled slightly, "Yes, there must be someone outside waiting for you to settle down." "Then what are you waiting for?" Jiang Qingzhi said with a smile, "I can't wait to see what the new home looks like." "Yes." Jiang Qingzhi nodded to Lu Bing and then left. Lu Bing turned around with a smile and looked at Jiang Qingzhi's back, with a cold look in his eyes. Before Jiang Qingzhi came, he was the only relative trusted by Emperor Jiajing. Trust comes from the identity of being a milk brother. We drank milk together, together...
In the eyes of the sentimental Emperor Jiajing, Lu Bing was his own relative. But now a real relative has come. It would be fine if Jiang Qingzhi was mediocre. However, according to the report of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Jiang Qingzhi twice encouraged Chen Ba and Zhang Mao to send troops and twice planned to defeat the Japanese pirates. He can be said to be a man of both civil and military talents, which is amazing. Would Emperor Jiajing make use of such a young man? But when you see the new people laughing, you hear the old people crying... Lu Bing naturally doesn't want to be that lonely old person. So, today he took action to test it. But I didn't expect Jiang Qingzhi to slap me back without any hesitation. What the hell! it hurts! …… It’s the new book season and I’m in urgent need of support. Please vote! (End of this chapter)