Chapter 197

"And the crux is that blood was finally shed in the Taimiao that day."

"The Prince of Ning wants to set aside past grievances with the great families of the southeast; look at these shrewd scholars—do you think they would believe his claim of setting aside past grievances?"

The chain of suspicion has already been built.

Now I help you, Prince of Ning, to rebel.

If you truly ascend the throne, what if you turn your back and refuse to honor your word?

Right now you are begging us, but once you become Emperor, we will become fish on the chopping block!

Zhu Youjian still did not quite understand, so he asked.

"But Great-Grandfather, in the historical records, this Jiang Bin also harbored disloyal intentions. If the Prince of Ning abandons his collusion with the great families of the southeast and instead colludes with Jiang Bin…?"

Hearing this, Zhu Di could not help but smile and shake his head, saying.

"Collude with Jiang Bin?"

"What can the Prince of Ning give Jiang Bin?"

"The current Jiang Bin has already reached the pinnacle of officialdom; the Prince of Ning cannot give Jiang Bin anything."

"Moreover, the Prince of Ning has his own close ministers. Once the Prince of Ning ascends the throne, Jiang Bin will be worse off than he is now; what would he gain?"

It is true that Jiang Bin harbors suspicion.

But the things Jiang Bin wants, the scholars of the southeast cannot give, and the Prince of Ning certainly cannot give them either!

After the court session ended.

Sitting in the dragon carriage, Jiajing looked at the various Emperors in the chat group and let out a long sigh, saying.

"My fate is simply not as good as my elder brother's fate… If during my reign there had been no Altan Khan, or if a great general on the border had achieved a great victory at Yingzhou, the things I wished to do would have been much easier."

In the eyes of the various Emperors, the Zhengde reign, which was nearly a hellish start.

In Jiajing's eyes, was as simple as a beginner's village.

Moreover, after Jiajing arrived, it happened to be the Zhengde reign, right after the Great Victory at Yingzhou had just concluded!

Even if these scholars thought of that strategy of 'Southern Japanese pirates and Northern Barbarians', they could not implement it!

Northern Barbarians, Northern Barbarians—you must have Barbarians in the north for them to cause trouble, right?

With the Great Victory at Yingzhou standing here.

Within ten years, the various tribes of the grasslands will have no power to move south again!

The civil officials have lost one chess piece in their hands: the 'Northern Barbarians'.

And in the Son of Heaven's hands, there is now an extra chess piece: the 'Prince of Ning'.

After today's court session, the entire southeast is interlocked; the influence of imperial power in the southeast is likely to be several times stronger than in the Jiajing reign!

Because currently, in the southeast, there are three forces.

No matter which side, they must beg the Son of Heaven!

If any one side is abandoned by the Son of Heaven, they will immediately be jointly besieged by the other two sides!

Even if they fight each other in the southeast until their heads are broken and blood flows.

When they see the Son of Heaven, they must still kneel three times and kowtow nine times in strict order!

Jiajing's control over the court situation is an existence nearly unprecedented and unrepeatable!

If time were frozen at this moment, and the court situation of the Zhengde reign at this moment were broken down and analyzed in detail, one would realize that everything fits perfectly, like a exquisite work of art.

The three forces are like being locked together by a yin-yang clasp, interlocking their teeth in the southern half of the realm.

And Gu Dayong, the Provincial Military Commander of the Western Depot, is the final safeguard Jiajing placed in the southern half of the realm.

Gu Dayong will become the Son of Heaven's representative in the southeast.

He will become a pair of gloves that slowly pushes events toward the direction the Son of Heaven wishes to see!

And on the other end, the Jiajing reign actually follows the same line of thought.

Those who truly ban the sea are not necessarily those who actually want to ban the sea.

Inside the chat group, Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Zhu Youjian on the other end, his brows furrowed, and asked.

"Youjian, do you understand the situation on this side?"

Currently, the members in the chat group.

The greatest obstacle to opening the sea is Zhu Youjian.

The Zhengde and Jiajing reigns have already been sorted out to a large extent.

Even during the Hongwu, Yongle, and even the Zhengtong reigns, the scholars of the southeast had not yet grown so powerful.

Even if the Emperor wanted to open the sea, it would be something that could be implemented merely by arguing on the court platform.

Zhu Youjian nodded slightly and said.

"Reporting to Great-Grandfather, Sun Er understands."

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Zhu Youjian with deep feeling and sighed, saying.

"Listen more, watch more, ask more; there are no outsiders in this group, I know, you child have a heart… Alas."

Zhu Youjian was very much like a student of mediocre talent.

He was clearly doing his utmost to be a good Emperor.

But he simply did not have the talent that Jiajing possessed.

Even by imitating the Emperors of the previous reigns and creating a Wang Chengen, he still could not form control over the court.

Jiajing, having come to his senses, gradually turned his gaze toward Zhu Youjian in the chat group.

Playing with several scrolls of scriptures in the reporting office, he asked as if casually.

"The descendants of the Prince of Yu's branch are still too young; they opened the sea, yet let those scholars ban the sea again…"

Having said this.

Jiajing seemed to suddenly notice something.

He suddenly raised his head, staring fixedly at Zhu Youjian in the chat group and asked,

"Wait, how did the sea opened by Prince Yu compare to the seas opened by your elder brother and your imperial grandfather?"

Zhu Youjian in the chat group was startled by Jiajing's gaze.

He immediately blurted out,

"Reporting to Great-Grandfather, during the Longqing reign, Yue Port was opened as a single gateway, facilitating exchange between China and foreign lands, bringing great benefit; annually, eighty thousand taels of Bai Yin were remitted to the treasury..."

Hearing that only Yue Port had been opened as a single gateway.

Jiajing's face, which had been brimming with self-satisfaction, instantly turned iron-green.

Jiajing's teeth chattered incessantly as he roared with a grotesque expression,

"Eighty thousand taels?! Eighty thousand taels?!"

"How can the vast Celestial Dynasty's annual revenue from maritime trade amount to merely eighty thousand taels!"

The data from the former Song Dynasty stood right there.

The Great Ming possesses two capitals and thirteen provinces, while the Southern Song held only half of the Jiangshan, yet annually still had ten million Wan Guan entering the treasury.

The Great Ming has only eighty thousand taels of silver?!

Hearing this, Jiajing suddenly realized.

He feared he had been deceived by these scholar-officials.

"My money!"

"They took tens of millions of taels, giving my son only eighty thousand taels!"

"They have deceived Heaven!"

"Crash!"

Jiajing overturned the vessels on the imperial desk before him.

"Where is that Wang Zhi?! Where is that Wang Zhi?!"

"Did not Hu Zongxian submit a Memorial to the throne last month stating that Wang Zhi was willing to surrender?!"

Zhu Youjian in the chat group was truly frightened by Jiajing's reaction.

He hurriedly said, "Great-Grandfather, Wang Zhi, as soon as Wang Zhi stepped ashore, was lured and killed by the Imperial Inspector Wang Bengu."

Jiajing slammed the table and roared,

"Insolence! In the Great Ming, executing a criminal requires the Son of Heaven's approval; why have I never seen a memorial approving the execution of Wang Zhi?!"

Zhu Youjian spoke in a low voice,

"Because, because Wang Bengu did not report to the Ministry of Justice, but directly executed him by force..."

In an instant, Jiajing felt the world spin around him.