In the capital, the chill of winter had completely receded. The bright spring light lazily sprinkled on everyone. It was really a good time to sleep.
Forbidden City, inside the Hall of Valor.
The Hall of Martial Valor was located west of Xihe Gate of the Outer Court. It was five rooms wide and three rooms deep. It was opposite to the Hall of Wenhua in the east of the Outer Court. At this time, the noon sun shone through the glazed windows in the hall, showing the gorgeous and exquisite structure of the inner hall.
The news that the consultant team had received a warm welcome at Brantar Harbor had already been sent back to the capital. At this moment, the Great Ming Chief Wang Weixin was leading the civil and military officials to discuss countermeasures with the Emperor!
"Your Majesty, the second fleet to support the countries of the East Continent is ready to set off. The third and fourth fleets are also in preparation. Even the large number of civilian voyage fleets are rubbing their fists. But won't we annoy Britain by doing this? If this caused another conflict between the two countries, would it be a small loss?”
As soon as he said this, the civil officials all nodded in agreement. Of course, the generals subconsciously frowned and showed disdain.
"Grand Secretary Wang is worrying too much! When did our Celestial Empire ever need to look at the face of a mere barbarian?”
Without a doubt, General Qi Jisheng directly objected. This war on the other side of the ocean was related to the military budget of the entire Ming army for the next five years, or even ten years! Once the plan succeeded, she would be a young model in the club, eating meat! But if he failed, he could only continue to eat dirt or even the northwest wind!
As the saying goes, cutting off a person's source of wealth is like killing one's parents! Ever since the economic crisis half a century ago, the Ming army had been in a state of hunger and starvation. Their equipment hadn't been changed for years, and some of the equipment in their hands had already been repaired and sent away by several batches of soldiers…Now, they finally had a chance to eat until their mouths were full of oil, and there was actually someone who dared to jump out and stop them.
"F * ck you, Mara!”
At this moment, the eyes of all the generals were red, and they were gritting their teeth. If they weren't in court and the emperor was right in front of them, these old killers would have already raised their fists and rushed over!
However, Wang Weixin did not care about the other party's grimacing expression at all. He still said with a mocking expression,"General Qi, you're so impressive! In that case, how did your navy lose to this barbarian in the ocean battle five years ago?”
These words were simply heart-wrenching! The fiasco five years ago had caused Great Ming to lose face in front of all the countries in the world. Not only had they suffered heavy losses, but they had also given up a large area of the sea territory. If it wasn't for the emperor's final protection, many of the military officials present would have been directly sentenced to prison by the Military Law Department. This was already a thorn in the hearts of all the military officials in Great Ming! But now, someone had actually torn it apart in front of them without any scruples and displayed it in blood.
"Shut up!"
"Old Wang, how dare you insult us martial artists!”
Two voices rang out at the same time. The first one was from Qi Jisheng, while the second one came from a tall old man.
This person had white hair and beard, a lion's nose, a wide mouth, a wide face, and big ears. When he was angry, he was like a lion that was daunting!
The old man's surname was Zheng, and his name was Xiao. He was already in his sixties. He was the chief of the Ming Dynasty's navy, the Lord of Guangning, and was conferred the title of General Jinghai! Of course, as one of the four great generals of the Ming Dynasty, Zheng Xiao should have been a marquis. However, he had suffered a great defeat in the battle of the ocean. Even if the emperor wanted to protect him, he could not be too biased. Therefore, all the naval generals involved were stripped of their titles and fined their salaries for half a year! As the leader of the navy, Zheng Xiao himself had been demoted from Marquis Wu Ping to Earl Guang Ning!
Qi Jisheng, Zheng Xiao, and the other military bigwigs flew into a rage. Old Man Wang didn't use any vulgarities when he scolded people, which immediately made the already furious General Group even more furious. Therefore, regardless of the occasion, he simply opened his mouth and spat out countless vulgarities.
The swearing was very unpleasant to hear, and it fully expressed the strong desire of the generals to use their male organs to have a relationship with Wang Weixin's eighteen generations of female ancestors. After all, he was a hot-tempered general, so he was naturally not as refined as a civil official when he scolded someone!
Under the barrage of insults, the faces of the civil officials turned green. This group of vulgar people actually dared to speak so recklessly in front of the emperor. It was simply an insult to the cultured world.
Thus, under Wang Weixin's lead, these well-read scholars immediately joined the war of words. For a moment, both sides were scolding each other. It was very lively. The Imperial Palace, which was supposed to be a meeting between the monarch and his subjects to discuss state affairs, was about to become the Hall of Justice for Liangshan heroes!
"All of you, shut up. Look at yourselves. What a disgrace! Simply throwing my face?”Zhu Jianyi couldn't stand it anymore and stood up with a livid expression.
"Your Majesty, please calm down!"
Seeing that the emperor was angry, the civil and military sides hurriedly stopped fighting and bowed to Zhu Jianyi.
Thus, the chaotic scene immediately calmed down. The monarch and his subjects acted as if nothing had happened and continued to discuss the matter of supporting the East Province. The atmosphere of the court session returned to calm once again. Everyone was discussing the matter as it was. How good and harmonious was this!
The court session continued, but it was obvious that the matter was in a state of anxiety. Everyone was arguing about whether they should intervene in the war in the East Continent. It could be said that both sides were right.
"We still have to consider the matter of supporting the East Province, Your Majesty! My Great Ming is no longer the same as it was in the past. If we rashly intervene, we will only fall into the quagmire of war. The consequences will be unimaginable!”
Wang Weixin insisted on his own point of view, and the six ministers behind him, as well as the officials of the various departments, all expressed their support without exception. They all believed that if the Great Ming angered Britain, it would easily trigger a second Great Ocean War between the two countries.
All of a sudden, the other officials in the civil service group voiced their agreement with the chief assistant's point of view and quoted various classics, saying," A gentleman is not good under a dangerous wall. A gentleman is proud but does not fight!"”What do you mean by "to convince people with strength, not convinced, strength is not enough;" Those who convinced others with virtue would be sincerely convinced by the heart…All of this was thrown out. In short, these civil officials had the same meaning: the country was not allowed to continue intervening in the war in the East Continent, even if the emperor wanted to earn money from the war to earn foreign exchange for the country.
There's a saying that goes,"All talk is about ideology, but all heart is about business!" It could be said that in terms of eloquence, civil officials were naturally superior to generals.
Just as Tian Zi and the military officials were disgusted by these hypocritical and hypocritical hypocrites, a voice suddenly sounded, causing the civil officials who had the upper hand to fall into chaos.
"Everyone, are you afraid of Britain?”
As soon as he said this, the civil officials 'expressions changed drastically. They all turned their heads and glared at the tall figure standing among them.
"Ever since our dynasty was established, it has been six hundred years of ups and downs. What kind of enemies have we not encountered and what kind of situations have we not experienced? Thinking back to the time when Taizu expelled the Tartar Krupp, restored China, and created the Ming Dynasty's great foundation as a commoner; Yongle Chengzu even conquered the desert five times and went to the west seven times to expand the territory of our Ming Dynasty…It is precisely because of such a wise monarch and virtuous minister that our Ming Dynasty is proud of the world and has an unprecedented golden atmosphere! But now? Britain, a small country that had only risen for a few decades, yet you are so timid. That's right, the sage advocated benevolence and advocated governing the country with etiquette! However, Sage Kong also had a saying. Could it be that all of you learned scholars do not know?”
For a moment, the Imperial Palace was silent. All the civil officials were ashen as they gritted their teeth and looked at the person who should have been one of them. Now, he was standing on the opposite side of them.
" Repaying evil with kindness, how can you repay kindness? Repaying evil with justice, repaying kindness with kindness! "Didn't the Sage tell us that if the British Empire is obedient, then everything will be fine? If they dare to intercept our Great Ming's fleet and obstruct our interests, then we can use this opportunity to use our navy to attack the British Empire and take back the sea territory that we lost five years ago!”
After saying that, everyone's expressions were complicated. There was admiration, indifference, sympathy, and hatred...
Finally, the civil servants exploded. Wang Weixin no longer cared about the reservedness of a scholar. His finger trembled as he pointed at the man and gritted his teeth."Zhao Jingchu! You…you speak without shame. You are simply a Confucian scholar, and we scholars are ashamed to associate with you.”That's right, this person was the Minister of War, Zhao Ze, also known as Jingchu.
Zhao Ze, who had a stern figure and a refined appearance, had a pair of red phoenix eyes that were filled with integrity under his two curved eyebrows. He said expressionlessly,"Grand Secretary Wang, you're wrong. When have I ever insulted a saint? Please advise me!”
"You…"
Wang Weixin was at a loss for words. What advice could he give? Others might not know what kind of person he was, but how could he not know? He immediately flew into a rage out of humiliation and said,"The art of war is deceitful! Today, you started a war without authorization and trapped the people of Ming Dynasty in fire and water. You bewitched the king to engage in militarism and waste the country's money in vain. That is disloyalty! Wasn't such disloyalty against the teachings of the saints?”
However, before Zhao Ze could retort, Zhu Jianyi, who was sitting on the dragon throne, changed his livid expression and said proudly,"Grand Secretary Wang, you're wrong! The matter of supporting the East Continent was a righteous act. Britain was a country with wild ambitions. Not only did it have no ethics, but it also frequently engaged in militarism. How could the Ming Dynasty, as a superior country, allow such an uncivilized barbarian to do as he pleased!”
For a moment, Wang Weixin's expression became extremely ugly. The other civil officials also had stiff expressions. They knew that the emperor's words were the final word. They could not change anything.
After all, the matter of supporting the East Province was already set in stone. Even the agreement had been signed. The civil officials led by Wang Weixin could not change anything with just a few words. Of course, they didn't really want to change all of this. It was just that the military was the main force in this rescue operation. In the end, the emperor and the generals would take the majority of the gains, and they would only be able to eat some leftovers! This unequal distribution of benefits naturally caused dissatisfaction among the civil servants, as well as all the noble families, officials, and relatives who stood behind them.
"Alright, now that the agreement has been signed, it is a foregone conclusion that my Great Ming will assist the countries of the East Continent in resisting Britain. Do you all want me to take back this step that I have taken?”
Seeing the Emperor's unfriendly expression, the group of generals led by General Qi Jisheng hurriedly bowed and said,""This action will damage His Majesty's dignity and even damage the reputation of my Great Ming Empire.”
The situation had been decided, so the civil officials naturally did not dare to continue to provoke the emperor. They bowed and said,"We have nothing to say. Please calm down, Your Majesty!”
"Since all the beloved ministers have agreed, I will leave that matter to General Qi and Lord Zhao. All the ministers must also cooperate fully.”
"I respect Your Majesty's orders."
……
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