Li Le did not sit down. He had been angry since he received the invitation, but what could he do?
Facing the threat from the Jin Party, Li Le had no power to fight back, so he could only come to the Quan Jin Guild Hall and meet these two people he didn't want to see at all.
Li Le should actually go to the Quanchu Guild Hall to discuss things with his master, but he didn't.
Wang Chonggu sat down, waved his hand, and as soon as the servants began to retreat, there were only three people talking at the scene.
"Sit down." Wang Chonggu gestured to Li Le to sit down and talk. Standing like this, he seemed agitated. This was because he was so loud and angry and wanted to discuss things. He was the second-ranking prince, Shaobao, and Li Le was just a new official who had only been in the officialdom for a few years. , if this face is not given, Wang Chonggu will really turn his back on others.
Li Le had no choice but to sit down.
Zhang Siwei turned sideways, poured a cup of tea for Li Le, and then said with a smile: "Li Le, most of these newcomers to the officialdom will be arrogant and think they can make this bad world better, but this is yours Lord, Mr. Yuan Fu, can he make it? He can’t make it either.”
"How about you just listen to me?"
"We have been fighting Beilu for so many years, from the 29th year of Jiajing to the 45th year of Jiajing. Have we won? No."
"The beating caused a bloody mess, and the beating made the people suffer. The Xuanfu of Datong originally had 420,000 households and more than 2 million people. During the forty-five years of Jiajing, only 200 people were left. There are more than 100,000 households and more than one million people."
"Death and escape, how miserable it is? Do you think the people are miserable?"
Zhang Siwei took a sip of tea and waited for Li Le's answer. He was not in a hurry. What he said was true. When a war broke out, only the people were affected.
When the enemy hits him, he just runs away. That sounds nice, but what about the expenses on the road? What about the resettlement costs once you arrive? How can the common people have that extra wealth? When a war breaks out, only the Jin gentry can escape, and the common people are the price of the war.
"I know the harm caused by military disasters. The Longqing peace talks and my payment of tributes have indeed stabilized the border areas." Li Le thought for a while and acknowledged the contribution of the Jin Party. The Jin Party facilitated the Longqing peace talks and my payment of tributes. tribute.
Zhang Siwei continued: "How many years have we fought between the Ming Dynasty and the Northern Lu? Counting from the first year of Wu, we have fought for 208 years! Has the result been achieved? No."
"When the Ming Dynasty was strong, they ran away. When the Ming Dynasty was weak, they went south to invade the border. You came and I fought. They have been fighting for two hundred years. The northern captives are like those weeds. Wildfires cannot burn them out, and they grow again when the spring breeze blows. , one crop after another.”
"We suffer, they suffer, all living beings suffer."
"Let's put it this way, will there be any results if we continue to fight like this? We are as powerful as Emperor Taizu Gao, and as brave as Emperor Cheng Zuwen. There were a total of eighteen Northern Expeditions. In the end, the country was uneasy and the people were uneasy."
"Is this the result of the Longqing peace negotiation and the tribute granted to me? From Genghis Khan to now, the northern barbarians are finally willing to surrender. Their self-proclaimed khan of the Golden Family is finally willing to accept the canonization of the Ming Dynasty. This is regarded as a sign of humiliation. If we do it small, we won’t be able to avoid military disasters and let the people live in peace and contentment. Isn’t that our main duty?”
"The people are the foundation of a country, and the foundation is the foundation of a country's peace."
Li Le thought seriously for a moment, then nodded and said: "Humiliation is humiliation. Today, I will give the Beibei a new year's gift. I will give it more and more. The invasion will become more urgent, so there will be no war. The victory of the strong and the weak has been decided. As for subversion, it is reasonable." Yes!"
"So I use the land to serve Qin, and now I use the years to serve the captives. It's like holding on to the firewood to put out the fire. If the firewood is not exhausted, the fire will never be extinguished!"
The book "On the Six Kingdoms" written by Su Xun, which Li Le quoted, gave the Northern Barbarians annual gifts. The more frequently they were given, the more eager the Northern Barbarians were to invade. Therefore, even if there was no battle, the winner between the strong and the weak was determined when the annual gifts appeared. , it has been doomed, so that subversion has become a matter of course.
Zhang Siwei just smiled. If you can win and penetrate, if you can beat the opponent and cry for father and mother, and if you can beat the enemy, you can escape thousands of miles away, then you can naturally say such things. It doesn't mean that you can't win. ?
In a situation like Li Le's, he always puts righteousness as his top priority. How could he know the difficulties of the matter?
Wang Chonggu said seriously: "The price of the horse is just silver. It is the money to buy the horse, not a yearly gift."
As for scholars, stealing is not stealing.
Zhang Siwei continued: "Back to the court from the border, Mr. Gao Ge was sent home by a decree. If Gao Gong is really the kind of unfaithful and unfilial person, he really doesn't obey the decree. Let's count. The Jin people in this court, including the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Husbandry, the Metropolitan Procuratorate, the Chief Assistant of the Cabinet, the Military Affairs Governor of the capital, and the General Military Governor of Datong in the Xuanfu, all have to help out, right?"
"However, after Gaoge Lao heard the decree, he just beat his chest and returned to his hometown to live leisurely."
Li Le looked at Zhang Siwei with a strange look on his face and said: "This is a big fallacy. Gaoge Lao returned home to live idle, not because Mr. Yuanfu was in the court. Prince Hubu was a maverick with lofty ambitions. Qi Shuai led the army. One hundred thousand to guard Jizhou?"
Zhang Siwei immediately asked: "Then how can we be sure that Mr. Yuan Fu is not the next Gao Ge Lao?"
This was a hole dug by Zhang Siwei, waiting for Li Le to jump into it.
Yesterday was Gao Gong, who promoted a lot of Jin people, and Jin people indirectly or directly controlled the inside and outside of the court through their fellow villagers, in-laws, tutors, recommendations, etc., and even threatened His Majesty;
What about tomorrow? Will Zhang Juzheng be the next Gao Gong?
You know, Zhang Juzheng is much more daring than Gao Gong!
Zhang Juzheng actually dared to monopolize the banquet, isolate himself from the inside and outside, and dare to take the imperial examination in the Wenhua Hall. What is this? Now Zhang Juzheng dares to take the exam to become emperor, how can he do so in the future?
It is tolerable, but what is intolerable?
Li Le was asked directly and didn't know how to answer. The Jin Party has become a clan party. Is it possible for Zhang Dang to become a clan party?
Zhang Siwei picked up the tea and said with a smile: "Drinking tea, Li Shizhong is a smart man, but I can't say that Zhang Yuanfu has noble aspirations and is loyal to the emperor and the country. I am willing to believe him, but in his position, many times, he is I can’t help myself, Li Shizhong, you’ll understand if you think about it carefully.”
Wang Chonggu looked at Zhang Siwei and nodded with satisfaction. His nephew was very good at debating, and he immediately got Li Le involved. Li Le was not a courtier, so how could he know the difference between a clique and a crony? Woolen cloth?
Seeing that Li Le became hesitant, Zhang Siwei clapped his hands, and the music gradually started to play. Two teams of Hu Ji with jade-faced faces danced to the beat of the music and walked out, with their waists exposed. Dotted with little golden ornaments, they kept shaking. The bells on the bare feet kept ringing with the dance steps, and bursts of fragrance came to the nostrils.
The music gradually became faster, and Hu Ji's dance became more and more bold.
Li Le looked a little sluggish. He had been studying and had never been exposed to the world of fireworks after getting the honors. He was a little sluggish. Zhang Siwei's slightly bewitching voice sounded in Li Le's ears: "You before If you pass the exam to be a scholar, you don't have to kneel when you meet the county magistrate; after you pass the exam, relatives you know and don't know will come to fawn on you. Many people want to put their fields in your name to save taxes. "
"Even Mr. Qingtian from the county has sent you an invitation, because if you win, you will be one of our own."
"But what if you won the Jinshi? You are a Jinshi of the Ming Dynasty. Do you still want to live in such poverty? You are a Jinshi of the Ming Dynasty. If you have the power, you have everything. Do you understand?"
"Ah?" Li Le looked at Zhang Siwei and asked with confusion.
Zhang Siwei said with a smile: "Don't you understand? All you need to say now is that you can choose one or two of these Hu Ji, and you can take them all away. If it is inconvenient to take them away, the Quanjin Guild Hall has The guest room, they will be yours from now on, do you understand your status?"
Zhang Siwei slowly raised his hand until he could no longer lift it, and then said: "You stand so high and still live so poor or even shabby. Your old mother only has a little space in her hometown." , Wulou Terrace Waterside Pavilion, you have made a career, you have become a Jinshi, but who knows? Are you so willing to not return to your hometown without returning to your hometown?"
"You stand so high! You should have more! This is a matter of course. If others have a soft sedan, you should also have one; if others have servants, you should also have one; if others have a luxurious ancestral home, you should also have one; If others have Meiji, you should too;"
"Isn't it?"
"Otherwise, all the hardships you endured in order to take the imperial examination and become an official were all in vain?"
"Think carefully." Zhang Siwei stood up, patted Li Le on the shoulder, and left the theater with Wang Chonggu, leaving the stage to Li Le.
"Will he agree?" Wang Chonggu walked out of the theater still a little worried. This Li Le is a well-known upright gentleman. Can he persuade Li Le? It involves inspecting the border and inspecting the Dingjian. What if? The Xuanfu and Datong affairs have opened the lid, and everyone will be in trouble.
Zhang Siwei said with a smile: "He is a gentleman, but he is a poor man."
"He has never seen the luxury, so he can be upright. Now that he has seen the luxury, it is as itchy as a cat's paw scratching his heart. It is within easy reach, so close that he doesn't even need to reach out to get it," said the uncle. , what will he choose?"
"If he can keep his heart, I really admire him as a man."
When Wang Chonggu heard this, he looked back at the theater and shook his head and said, "You, there are so many famous and wealthy people in Chang'an, you are not as good as you if you run out of agencies."
"Thank you for the compliment, uncle." Zhang Siwei is not ashamed, but proud. He comes from a businessman family, and it is his nature to pursue profit. He will do what is profitable, and obviously with a few Hu Ji and some money, he can The key is to pass this level without destroying the foundation.
Zhang Siwei said quite accurately: "People have selfish desires when they are alive. As long as they have selfish desires, they will have shortcomings. As long as they have shortcomings and flaws, they can be dealt with. For example, this Li Le, he is poor and does not live a good life. , drunkenness and wealth confuse people’s hearts, and he can’t keep it.”
"What about Zhang Juzheng's shortcomings?" Wang Chonggu said with a frown.
"Zhang Juzheng's shortcomings..." Zhang Siwei fell silent for a rare moment, and was no longer beaming with his talk. At first glance, Zhang Juzheng was full of flaws and shortcomings.
Zhang Juzheng formed a party, but most of his party members were in the same camp; Zhang Juzheng was corrupt, but his corruption was nothing compared to Yan Song and Xu Jie; Zhang Juzheng lived a luxurious life, but when he thought about it, it was The daily life of the chief minister of the Ming Dynasty is somewhat reasonable;
Only by finding Zhang Juzheng's real shortcomings can we deal with him.
