All attempts to dissuade Emperor Guangde were destined to be meaningless.
The two queen mothers have now lost real power. They are just mascots of the empire and can be used to appease people's hearts.
The new emperor Liu Kan has grown up, and it is time to change the direction of the empire and formulate a new order for the Qi Dynasty.
However, Jin Yuji had not yet realized the change in the situation. She still regarded Liu Kan as the weak and helpless prince twenty years ago, and tried to give the emperor a final dissuade.
"I don't care about expelling the Taoist priests. Those Taoist priests spend all day in Nanjing burning medicine, refining elixirs, and making trouble. If it weren't for them, the Emperor would not be here today. The marriage with the Swedes was just for the layout of Europe. This was the national policy set by the Emperor long ago. . How much manpower and financial resources has Daqi spent on this over the years... Seeing that good things are about to happen, His Majesty suddenly regrets the engagement? What does this make the King of Sweden think of us Daqi?"
Yang Qing'er glanced at Emperor Guangde and said nothing.
Emperor Guangde cupped his hands to the Cisheng Empress Dowager and said calmly: "Mother, please calm down. It's not that I want to regret my marriage, it's just a form of coercion."
After saying that, he waved his hand behind him, and the young eunuch Li Juying immediately stepped forward and unfolded a giant map.
Liu Kan pointed to the location of Europa on the map and said meaningfully:
"The war power of dozens of countries in Europe is far beyond that of Japan. Daqi has not even conquered Russia yet... Xiao Lizi, the Empress Dowager Cisheng urged me to marry a Swedish woman and conquer Europe. What do you think?"
The little plum Li Juying is the newly promoted valet of Emperor Guangde, and her status is similar to that of Dongfang Zhuzhi to the Supreme Emperor.
Hearing the emperor's culture, Li Juying was frightened and quickly put down the map and knelt on the ground.
"Your Majesty, this servant is just a shoe polisher in the Clothing Bureau. I don't know anything about national affairs. I dare not talk nonsense."
Liu Kan said disapprovingly: "I don't like hearing this anymore. Let's not talk about it. Before he became famous, Eunuch Dongfang was just a medicine merchant in Linqing. He settled down and followed the Supreme Emperor. Later he did so many great things. He can, Why can't you?"
The two queen mothers had already heard the implication behind these words, and their expressions became ugly.
Li Juying said with a flattering smile: "How dare I compare myself with the chief manager? Your Majesty said that I can do things, and I can do things."
"Okay, that's good." Liu Kan clapped his hands and laughed, then corrected:
"Dongfang Zhu is no longer a general manager. Yesterday, I issued an edict to retire and return to his hometown. He will return to Linqing to support his life. If you do well, you will be the general manager from now on."
Li Juying was so excited that her whole body trembled. She grabbed the ground with her head and thanked Emperor Guangde loudly: "Thank you, Lord Long Live, for your kindness! I am your Majesty's servant in life and your Majesty's ghost in death. I will not hesitate to go through fire and water!"
Liu Kan waited patiently for Xiao Lizi to finish and reminded the eunuch: "Then tell me about Europa."
Jin Yuji looked at Liu Kan standing in front of her with strange eyes, and suddenly felt that this child was so strange.
"Your Majesty, I think that the Swedish princess is not worthy of your Majesty at all. The enemies of Qi are not outside, but inside. It is not what a wise king should do if he does not eliminate the internal thieves, fails to unify the people, and meddles in Europa affairs without authorization. "
"Moreover," Li Juying raised her head and glanced at the two empress dowagers quickly, and said uneasily: "I dare you to say one more thing, the emperor is too harsh on his ministers. Many state, county and local officials are replaced every year because of embezzlement of three to five taels of silver. In the north, County magistrates and magistrates from various places were either beheaded or skinned, and their families were also exiled... so that many people now dare not serve as officials."
"Therefore, I just said that the enemies of Da Qi are not outside, but inside. If those harsh policies are not changed, I'm afraid..."
Before Xiao Lizi could finish speaking, Liu Kan became furious:
"The sage said that if you do not change your father's ways for three years, you can be called filial. I, the Qi Dynasty, rule the world with filial piety. I naturally follow the teachings of my father, but I must first calm down the internal affairs. I do this in order to better fulfill my father's mission in the future. My last wish is that in short, the troops stationed in foreign countries will be gradually withdrawn, and the plan to attack Guangdong and Guangxi at the same time and enter the southwest will also be postponed."
Jin Yuji and Yang Qinger had nothing to say.
"In that case, I will ask the Supervisor of Ceremonies to draft an edict and tell the world about this matter. My father's whereabouts are unknown, and my heart is cut by a knife. How can I still think about marrying a European."
Li Juying stood in front of him at a loss, not knowing what to do. After all, he was not a ceremonial supervisor, but a laundry eunuch who was promoted from the front line of the Clothing Bureau.
"Your Majesty, this slave cannot write."
Liu Kan waved his hand and said in a low voice: "Xiao Lizi, you will be the chief manager from now on. If you don't know how to write, just learn it quickly. I think Wei Zhongxian of the Ming Dynasty didn't know how to write before he entered the palace. He worked hard and made progress on his own. Finally, I can also help the emperor review memorials."
The pie painted by Emperor Guangde was big enough and tempting enough that it was impossible for Li Juying not to be tempted.
Jin Yuji knew that another bloody storm was coming. She tremblingly said to Liu Kan: "Your Majesty, I would like to treat the Supreme Emperor's old ministers kindly and stop killing people."
Liu Kan hesitated and replied something, but Jin Yuji didn't hear it clearly. When she looked up again, Emperor Guangde had already walked back surrounded by a group of retinues.
~~~~~
On the eighth day of November in the fifth year of Guangde reign, the State of Qi "sent the Swedish envoy out of the country as a gift" and set sail from Chongming Island back to Europe.
The leader of the mission was very angry at Qi Guo's capriciousness, but he only waved his fist and made no other movements.
Because this young supreme ruler of the Da Qi Empire was cruel and tyrannical.
Completely different from his father, he would not preach to his subjects. He was more willing to use violence to deal with those who had different opinions and severely punish those who were stubborn and determined to be enemies of the new dynasty.
The Swedish envoy left Nanjing in disgrace. Before leaving, the big-nosed red-haired foreigners did not forget to advise everyone they met, saying that Qi had broken the treaty for no reason this time, and it would be difficult for Qi to have a place in Europe in the future.
Emperor Guangde was not interested in European affairs, and there was still a war there. Liu Kan would not easily intervene before a group of blond and blue-eyed red-haired barbarians decided the winner.
The expulsion of Taoist priests also took place in November.
On November 11th, Liu Xingzuo was ordered to lead the coir raincoat guards to suddenly surround various Taoist temples around Nanjing. Jiang Liuer led the imperial guards to search the Taoist temples in the palace.
Both sides acted at the same time, and the intelligence work was done impeccably. I thought that they could catch all the Taoist priests in and around Nanjing who were pretending to be gods, cheating money and sex, but they ended up in vain.
The Taoist priests who originally surrounded the Supreme Emperor, such as Zhang Yixing, Qiu Fenghui, etc., fled without a trace early, and only caught some small fish and shrimps.
Jiang Liu'er and Liu Xingzuo rushed back to Fengtian Temple overnight to report to Emperor Guangde. They found very little and only captured more than 300 ordinary Taoist priests. It should be noted that at its peak, Hanshan Temple alone had 2,000 wandering Taoist priests on orders. .
"Your Majesty, those backbones escaped early and disappeared without a trace. Zhang Yixing's evil way even left a crooked poem before leaving."
Emperor Guangde asked with great interest: "What poem?"
Jiang Liuer was uneasy,
They are all treasonous and unethical words, and I dare not say them.
Liu Kan said disapprovingly: "Say, I will pardon your innocence!"
Jiang Liu'er took out a piece of rice paper filled with words from his arms and read it hard:
"Guangde seeks talents and visits sycophants, but Li Huan's talents are even more unmatched. It's a pity that Taizu's body is not cold. He doesn't need to seek immortals to kill Qi.
