Yongchang 21st year, 1997, 24th of February, April Fool's Day!
On this day, the British army accepted the surrender of the last city of Wisdom and announced to the world the establishment of the 8th and 9th Divisions.
Since then, the entire East Continent had fallen into the hands of the British Empire. Its territory spanned across two continents and looked down on two oceans. It immediately became one of the superpowers and stood on equal footing with the old empires of the European Union and the Great Ming Federation.
Perhaps it was a coincidence, but as soon as they reached the east of Ryukyu, the Ocean Squadron in the waters south of Guam officially announced to the outside world,"
"A joint naval air defense and anti-ship exercise will be held in the nearby waters, warning all ships nearby not to approach!”
Alright then! They had dragged almost half of the country's fleets to a place thousands of nautical miles away just to conduct a joint military exercise. Such a ridiculous reason made the British side curse in their hearts. They thought that they had been overly nervous, but in the end, it was a false alarm. This made them extremely angry. However, when Britain came back to its senses, it suddenly realized that it had been fooled. From the beginning to the end, Da Ming had never said that he would support the two countries. All of this was just a smoke bomb.
In the end, because they misjudged the actions of the Ming Dynasty, the military made a decision to attack at all costs. After conquering the two countries, the casualties of the soldiers were extremely high. This made Britain, whose main population was only 300 million, extremely angry. After the army completely controlled the situation in the two countries, they cruelly purged the original military and political system. All the members of parliament and military leaders who had previously supported the resistance against Britain were secretly shot.
When Britain happily opened the vaults of the two countries, preparing to use the gold to replenish the national vitality that had been lost in years of war, the empty underground vault shattered its dream. The gold was gone. The exasperated military and the Ministry of Finance jointly complained to the great emperor, accusing the Central Intelligence Bureau of not doing anything and letting the cooked duck fly under their noses.
However, after a series of discussions that were not known to outsiders, a new law for all colonies was born. The law stipulated that 'all colony personnel must bear double the tax in order to continue to maintain their houses, identities, and jobs. If they do not comply, they will be stripped of everything and become slaves.'
This harsh rule made the colonists complain, but they could only accept their fate under the bayonet of the army. However, when they found out that Ah Nation and Zhi Nation, which was the 8th and 9th districts, would have to bear four times the usual taxes, most of the people were devastated and their hearts instantly calmed down.
Ming Dynasty capital, Forbidden City, Zhongji Hall.
A strange atmosphere pervaded the hall. It was supposed to be the place where the cabinet and the emperor discussed the details of the country, but at this moment, it fell into silence because of the chief assistant Wang Weixin's words.
Zhu Jianyi looked expressionlessly at the sanctimonious leader of the civil officials in front of him, but he did not respond to his proposal to ask the Counselor's Office to hand over the gold obtained from this operation. Everyone with discerning eyes knew that this operation was carried out on the surface by the General Staff on behalf of the military, but in fact, it was planned by the Emperor. Now that Wang Weixin and his cabinet were making things difficult for him, it was simply challenging the authority of the emperor.
Instantly, the atmosphere in the hall became oppressive, making Wang Weixin feel very uncomfortable.
Strange! According to the usual script, shouldn't the Minister of War, Zhao Ze, be the first to curse at him, followed by General Qi Jisheng? However, when he saw Zhao Ze sitting on the chair casually and Qi Jisheng's expression as if it had nothing to do with him, Wang Weixin was very puzzled. He could not help but wonder if these two guys had changed their personalities today!
At this moment, the silent Tian Zi suddenly opened his mouth and said with a smile that was not a smile,""Since Royal Pavilion Old He said so, the gold is still floating on the western sea, far from Quanzhou Port of the Ming Dynasty. Isn't it too early to mention this now? Moreover, the gold was supposed to be sent to the national treasury for future national affairs. Why did the old man ask when he already knew the answer?”
Zhu Jianyi's words rendered Wang Weixin and his inner court speechless. For a moment, the head of the Great Ming's civil officials revealed an awkward expression. He couldn't help but secretly curse those fellows for being impatient, causing him to lose face in front of everyone.
Under the mocking gazes of Tian Zi and the group of generals, Wang Weixin could only brace himself and say openly,""Your Majesty! It's not that I'm anxious, but I'm worried that this gold will fall into the hands of evil people, so I asked this question.”
"Oh, I didn't expect Grand Secretary Wang to be so worried about state affairs. Then please be at ease, Chief. The gold will definitely go into the national treasury.”
Since the Emperor had personally promised, as a minister, he naturally could not doubt anything. The Minister of War, Zhao Ze, said meaningfully,"That's right! Grand Secretary Wang should be more concerned about whether someone would use the gold for personal gain and embezzle the national treasury after it was stored!”
His words made the cabinet officials feel even more awkward. They knew what Zhao Ze meant. However, Wang Weixin, who had been in the officialdom for many years, was completely unmoved. He said with a serious expression,"Your Majesty, this minister's heart for the Ming Dynasty can be seen by the heavens. I will do my best to supervise and definitely won't let such a villain take advantage of it!”
"Your Majesty, we are loyal to the country and will do our best until we die!”The cabinet ministers present followed the chief assistant and kowtowed to the emperor as if they were performing a performance.
A scene that was like an ancient drama appeared in front of him. Zhu Jianyi's eyes were faint as he stared at the ministers who were bowing. Suddenly, he smiled and said to the ministers,"Dear ministers, please rise. With you all being so loyal to the country, my Ming Dynasty can only come to this day!”
"Thank you, Your Majesty. I will serve the country and share your worries.”
"Alright, alright. Everyone, you have to take care of your health too. Don't overwork yourself!”
The ministers and officials flattered each other. When it was almost time, Zhu Jianyi announced the end of today's meeting and dismissed all the civil and military officials.
When everyone left the hall, the smile on Zhu Jianyi's face disappeared, and an indescribable coldness emanated from his body. He expressionlessly said to the Great General and the Minister of War,"General Qi, Minister Zhao, did you see what happened just now?”
"Yes, I saw it very clearly. A group of hypocrites who are dressed like monkeys.”Zhao Ze and Qi Jisheng said in unison with a mocking expression.
"That's good. Now, Great Ming is controlled by such people. If this continues, our Great Ming will never have a day of peace.”
"Please rest assured, Your Majesty. The million strong army of Great Ming will always stand on Your Majesty's side and will sacrifice their lives for Your Majesty at any time.”General Qi Jisheng solemnly promised the emperor
When Zhu Jianyi heard this, he finally smiled and said,"It is precisely because there are loyal and brave officials like you that Great Ming has a glimmer of hope. Otherwise, how can I save the building by myself?”
The Minister of War, Zhang Ze, could not help but feel relieved."Your Majesty is too serious. It is precisely because Great Ming has a wise ruler like you that I have something to be loyal to. Otherwise, how could we, mere martial artists, shoulder such a heavy responsibility?”
At the same time, in the inconspicuous ceremonial supervisor in the northwest corner of the Imperial City, the future "Dragon Biting Room" was guarded by many foreigners of the East Chamber in black suits and round hats! The eight eunuchs were having a nervous meeting.
Gao Hai, who had always been calm and collected, was now excited. Greed flashed in his eyes from time to time." Eunuch Cai, have you found out? How much gold did Tian Zi get this time?”
Everyone looked at Cai Lishi, who was fat and tall, with burning passion. He was also extremely excited and said with a trembling voice,"Yes, according to the scouts, there are 1.5 million kilograms of gold. This is not including silver and countless jewels!”
Everyone gasped. They thought that Tian Zi was just taking advantage of them. Who knew that he would actually move back to a mountain of gold?
At this moment, Xia Wang, who was tall and thin and wore a pair of glasses, said,""Tian Zi is so generous! To steal food from the British Empire, and yet the British Empire did nothing about it.”
"That's right! We've all underestimated His Majesty. I'm worried that our plan is too risky.”Tong Lun, who was sitting at the side, also said worriedly.
This sentence was like a bucket of cold water pouring down, extinguishing the heat at the scene. This time, Tian Zi's methods were unexpected. It was obvious that Tian Zi had been pretending to be a pig to eat a tiger. This made everyone think of an ancestor who had a tragic ending, Liu Jin!
During the Zhengde era, the leader of the Eight Tigers was proud of his favor! Taking advantage of the fact that Wu Zong was out fighting all year round, he took the opportunity to monopolize power and power. It could be said that he was bullying the king and forcing the ministers! But what was the result? A few strokes of the imperial edict had caused this arrogant eunuch to be executed by a thousand cuts. And didn't the 'Eight Tigers' from back then correspond to the eight of them? This was too much of a coincidence!
Thinking of this, everyone could not help but break out in cold sweat. They were all worried that they would also fall into the tragic end of the Eight Tigers.
Gao Hai couldn't help but sneer when he saw how frightened these guys were. He said mockingly,""Why do you want to retreat now? Isn't it too late? You must know that your previous schemes were already treasonous, not to mention the dirty things you've done over the years. I can kill your heads ten times if you tell me everything!”
Gao Hai stopped talking. Seeing everyone's pale faces and at a loss, he comforted them,"However, don't worry, we are not fighting alone. In the Ming Dynasty, there were so many officials, noble relatives, princes, and grandchildren. Which one of them did not commit crimes and deceive their superiors and subordinates! If the emperor took back the power of the court, their good days would probably come to an end. "Therefore, this time, we have to unite these forces and resist Emperor Yong Chang's future retribution!
"Yes, what Gao Gong said is reasonable. Moreover, with so much gold in hand this time, it will be more beneficial for us to do things.”Zhao Hao also hurriedly affirmed.
Hearing this, everyone, whose expressions eased a little, laughed again. The short Tong Lun shrieked with laughter,"This time, Tian Zi and those martial artists never dreamed that the gold that they had painstakingly obtained would end up benefiting us. This is really a fight between the snipe and the clam, where the fisherman benefits!”
"That's right. The Minister of Revenue has long been one of our people. When the time comes, we'll have the final say in what to do with the accounts.”Xia Wang narrowed his eyes and said proudly.
At this time, the others were also relaxed and laughing as they planned how to divide the gold. Seeing that the atmosphere had been stirred up again, Gao Hai couldn't help but think proudly, It's time to think of a way to get military power. I wonder how the chess piece that I've set up is going? When the entire army listens to my orders, the disaster of the "Eight Tigers" will never happen again. At that time, it would be 'holding the emperor to command the vassals'!
Thinking of this, Gao Hai couldn't help but feel his blood boil…
Night gradually fell. At this moment, Da Ming secretly opened a large number of eyes and stared at the tempting gold that came with the ship.
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