Chapter 300

Su Qiao's words echoed over the empty Xingshan.

Behind him, countless corpses seemed to be staring at Zhu Youjian.

Finally.

Su Qiao stared fiercely at Zhu Youjian and said,

"Rather than waiting until that time to make a desperate catch-up while the common people suffer, it is better not to give them a chance to surpass Great Ming!"

"Why must we wait until they use their ironclad ships and powerful cannons to pry open our Great Ming's national gates?"

"Does Great Ming truly have no brave men to knock open their national gates?!"

"That is all I have to say."

"If Your Majesty wishes to be the wise ruler of the potato era, there is no need to overthink it."

"Issue a single imperial decree, send a large army pressing at the border, and Huang Taiji can be destroyed with a snap of the fingers."

"Next year, when the potatoes are harvested abundantly and spread throughout Great Ming, Your Majesty's name will be immortalized in history."

"But I can place these words here."

"The Westerners have wolfish ambitions and will surely become a great calamity!"

166, Su Qiao: No silver spent, with treasure notes circulating alongside!

On Xingshan.

A gentle spring breeze blew.

Zhu Youjian eagerly expected Su Qiao to appear like Kongming descending to the world.

To help him properly restore the Great Ming Heshan.

But Zhu Youjian never in his wildest dreams expected.

That from Su Qiao's mouth, he would receive such an answer.

After a long time.

Su Qiao gazed from afar at the Dalinghe, where ice and snow were melting.

He took a deep breath and said,

"Two thousand years ago, Emperor Wu of Han abolished the hundred schools and established Exclusive reverence for Confucianism; the Central Plains rose because of the scholar-officials."

"To this day, these scholar clans throughout the court have clearly become a tumor above and below the court."

"Your Majesty must know that whatever Your Majesty does now is nothing more than cutting away a few pieces of this tumor."

"But it will not take long for this tumor to grow larger and larger; one day, the future rulers of Great Ming will once again retrace the old path Your Majesty has already walked!"

"Your Majesty can consider it further."

Having spoken, Su Qiao took the already prepared incense sticks from Wang Chengen's hand.

Before the remains of these imperial clan members, he solemnly offered three sticks of incense.

As the incense smoke curled upward, Su Qiao's words still echoed in Zhu Youjian's mind.

"Do not let the blood of the Zhu family flow in vain!"

Zhu Youjian's figure swayed slightly.

After a moment.

Zhu Youjian slowly raised his head and looked at the emperors in the chat group.

"Great-Grandfather, is your son truly not cut out to be the Son of Heaven?"

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Zhu Youjian with some heartache.

Through this chat group,

Old Zhu had already learned the conduct of these future rulers of Great Ming.

Zhu Youjian was unquestionably the most diligent among them.

But on another point, Old Zhu could not deny.

Zhu Youjian was indeed, among so many emperors,

the one with the most mediocre talent.

Let alone the godlike existence of Jiajing in his twenty-eighth year.

Even compared to Longqing or even Zhu Yijun, Zhu Youjian was far inferior.

This point, Zhu Yuanzhang knew, and Su Qiao, who had thoroughly studied Ming history, also knew.

Even if he were to repeat the events from Old Zhu's time in the Chongzhen reign.

Given Zhu Youjian's stubborn and self-willed character,

it would not take many years.

Zhu Youjian would, with his pride, fight another great battle against those merchants.

By that time,

not only would Zhu Youjian surely be defeated,

but the people of the world would once again suffer the hardships of war.

Rather than that,

Su Qiao would rather do nothing and let these people live peacefully in an era built upon potatoes, sweet potatoes, and corn.

And at that time, one could only hope that

when the Westerners crossed the eastern sea,

a Great Ming without the strict barrier between Manchus and Han could turn its rudder in time and make a desperate catch-up.

Inside the chat group, it was silent.

No emperor spoke.

But often at such moments, silence speaks louder than words.

Finally, under the gaze of the Emperor and his entourage.

Zhu Youjian stared fiercely at Su Qiao in the distance, gritting his teeth as he said.

"Please, Mr., act boldly."

"I will surely give my full support!"

Su Qiao, who had just finished offering incense, turned around in confusion, looking at Zhu Youjian and asking.

"Does Your Majesty truly mean this?"

Zhu Youjian gritted his teeth and said.

"Truly!"

"Good!"

A flash of ferocity suddenly appeared in Su Qiao's eyes; he then rose, got back into the carriage, and urged.

"Your Majesty, let us return to the capital quickly."

Zhu Youjian said no more, followed closely behind Su Qiao, and hurried back to the capital.

On the way back to the capital, Su Qiao already had a rough plan in his mind.

Upon arriving at the capital, an Embroidered Uniform Guard outside the carriage looked at Su Qiao seated inside and asked softly.

"My lord Su, where shall we go first?"

After a moment of hesitation, Su Qiao.

said in a low voice.

"To the Grand Secretariat."

"Yes."

Long before Su Qiao arrived at the Grand Secretariat, Zhu Youjian's edict had already been issued.

Ordering the ministers of the Grand Secretariat to strive to assist Su Qiao.

Du Du Yinxi looked at Sun Chuanting before him with a puzzled expression and asked.

"Grand Secretary Sun, who is this Mr. Su? What great power is he?"

Sun Chuanting shook his head and sighed.

"I do not know. I have heard Your Majesty mention him many times before; he must be a great sage resting in some famous mountain."

Even a scholar-official like Sun Chuanting.