Eagle-eyed and wolf-watching

Chapter 1582 The Emperor’s Worries!
Facing Pei Zhixiu's question, Ye Mingsheng was silent for a while before he slowly spoke:
"Jixiu, what do you think of Dongdao's organizational structure?"

Feeling Ye Mingsheng's serious tone, Pei Zhixiu didn't understand what Ye Mingsheng was thinking. After hesitating for a while, he said:
"Although the emperor of Dongdao seems to be of noble status, he is more like a prisoner than an emperor. The palace is their prison. The shogunate will send many people to monitor them. Whatever the emperor wants to do needs the approval of the shogunate!"

"Some of the members of the East Island royal family that I have come into contact with have already succumbed to the status quo and are living a muddled life every day. Some are unwilling to accept the status quo and dream of regaining power. They envy the emperor of Zhongyuan and believe that an emperor like Zhongyuan, who holds the power of life and death, is the real emperor!"

"Personally, I think the emperor and the royal family of East Island are very pitiful. They are like canaries in a cage. Although they have fine clothes and delicious food every day, they have lost their freedom and have become puppets of others!"

Ye Mingsheng said without comment:
"Pitiful?"

"Jixiu, you have never seen the lives of ordinary people. The annual expenses of dozens of royal family members are equivalent to the taxes paid by thousands or even tens of thousands of people!"

“Although they envy the emperor of the Central Plains for having real power, they don’t know how cruel the change of imperial power in the Central Plains is. Confiscating property and exterminating clans are common occurrences…”

At the end, Ye Mingsheng couldn't help but sigh. Although Pei Zhixiu could vaguely feel Ye Mingsheng's inner distress, she didn't know how to comfort Ye Mingsheng.

Originally, Ye Mingsheng didn't intend to tell anyone about these thoughts in his mind, but now that he had opened up the conversation today, Ye Mingsheng suddenly wanted to find someone to talk to, and obviously Pei Zhixiu was also a good candidate for talk!
Thinking of this, Ye Mingsheng no longer felt sleepy and immediately asked:
"Jixiu, what do you think of Daqian now?"

Pei Zhixiu said without hesitation:
"Very good. Now the farmers have food to eat, the residents have houses to live in, everyone has their own duties, the government is very clean, the national strength is growing day by day, it's like a prosperous era!"

Ye Mingsheng heard this with a complicated look on his face and said:
"I opened a Pandora's box!"

"Your Majesty, what does Pandora's Box mean? What kind of box is this?"

"This is a metaphor from overseas. I read it in a book. Pandora was the first woman created by the overseas gods. The gods gave her all kinds of charms, but at the same time, they also gave Pandora curiosity and a box. The gods told Pandora never to open the box!"

"But in the end Pandora couldn't resist her curiosity and she opened the box, and the disaster in the box was released!"

Pei Zhixiu frowned slightly when she heard this. Having been with Ye Mingsheng for so many years, she knew that Ye Mingsheng had many strange ideas, but now facing this Pandora's box metaphor, she still didn't understand Ye Mingsheng's thoughts.

After careful consideration, Pei Zhixiu said:
“Pandora opened the magic box and released the disaster, but your Majesty’s various reform measures have allowed the people of the world to live a good life! One is a bad thing, and the other is a good thing. They cannot be mentioned in the same breath…”

Ye Mingsheng smiled and shook his head when he heard this:
"Jixiu, what I want to say is that the disaster released by this Pandora's box is not for the people of the world, but for the emperor and royal family of Daqian!"

After hearing this, Pei Zhixiu, who didn't understand much to begin with, became even more confused.

Ye Mingsheng explained:

"Since the founding of the Qin Dynasty by Qin Shi Huang, the Central Plains dynasties have gone through more than ten dynasties, but the only changes are the emperor's surname and who the dignitaries are. Their organizational structures are basically the same, or even almost unchanged!"

"There are many reasons why this organizational structure has been passed down and continued, but I think the most important reason is that productivity has not changed much,"

"But things are different now. The First Manufacturing Bureau has already developed the steam engine. There are some problems with its actual use, but these are just minor issues that can be solved in three to five years at most!"

"By then, steamships, trains and other things will be available, and productivity will change dramatically! We will have more and more contact with other places, and everything will be impacted. We will impact others, but we will also be impacted ourselves!"

Speaking of this, Ye Mingsheng's expression became more and more complicated. Although he had not seen some things yet, he could foresee that this was bound to happen...

Seeing Ye Mingsheng like this, Pei Zhixiu hesitated for a moment and cautiously tried:

"Your Majesty, are you saying that these reforms you have made will impact your rule in the future?"

Ye Mingsheng shook his head and said:

"As a mere mortal, how many years can I live? I am afraid I will not be able to see that scene, but the future Emperor Daqian will bear all the responsibilities!"

Hearing Ye Mingsheng say this, Pei Zhixiu asked in confusion:
"Your Majesty, if you knew this would happen, why did you do this? Your Majesty, whether you reform or not is entirely up to you!"

Ye Mingsheng laughed in silence when he heard this. He pondered for a while and organized his words:
"Of course I can stop the reforms, or even close the country to the outside world like the Great Zhou, and bury my head in the sand like an ostrich!"

"I can decide for myself whether to make progress, but I can't stop others!"

"The wheel of history is rolling over us. You can either ride on it and crush others to death, or be crushed to death by others!"

Hearing what Ye Mingsheng said, Pei Zhixiu found it increasingly difficult to understand what Ye Mingsheng meant. Seeing this, Ye Mingsheng directly said:
“Jixiu, have you ever heard of the King Under the Law?”

Pei Zhixiu shook his head when he heard this.

"Then Jixiu, you must have heard that a prince who breaks the law is subject to the same punishment as a commoner, right?"

"Yeah! I've heard of this!"

“Although the two sentences have different literal meanings, the central idea is similar. The king is under the law means that the constraints of the law are higher than the king’s rights!

“Although there is a saying in the Central Plains that a prince who breaks the law is guilty of the same crime as a commoner, in reality, no prince is really treated like a commoner! In all dynasties in the past, including our Daqian, no matter how good it claims to be, the imperial power is above the law without exception…”

Hearing Ye Mingsheng say this, Pei Zhixiu couldn't help but ask back:
"Then can those kingdoms overseas really make the law greater than the power of the king?"

"Ji Xiu, if you are talking about absolute fairness, they can't do it. There is no organizational structure in this world that can be absolutely fair and absolutely perfect. But compared to our laws, their ability to constrain the emperor and king is stronger!"

"Take the Tudor Kingdom, which has a lot of trade with Jiangnan. Their current king is similar to Dongdao, a puppet, a mascot, but their leader is not the shogun!" "They are developing very fast, and they have found a huge overseas territory. If we can't develop quickly and build a fleet that can rival theirs, then what awaits Daqian is that the country will be opened by strong ships and powerful guns!"

Hearing Ye Mingsheng say this, Pei Zhixiu asked hesitantly:

"Your Majesty, are they really as powerful as you say?"

Ye Mingsheng gently stroked the scattered hair on Pei Zhixiu's forehead and spoke with emotion:
"They are far more powerful than you think, Ji-soo!"

"In the past few thousand years, the greatest foreign enemies of the Central Plains Dynasty have all come from the north. They were either the Huns or the Turks. But now the times are different. The greatest enemy of the Central Plains Dynasty will emerge from the sea!"

"And most importantly, they are very dissatisfied with Daqian!"

"Why are they dissatisfied with Daqian?"

"The reason is that these overseas countries have gained huge wealth through exploring the New World, but a considerable portion of this wealth has not been put into their pockets!"

Although Pei Zhixiu's thoughts were constrained by the times and had many limitations, this woman was still very smart. After Ye Mingsheng reminded her, she had an idea in her mind and said immediately:

"Did our Daqian earn this wealth through Jiangnan's overseas trade?"

Ye Mingsheng nodded slightly and said:

“Our Daqian’s porcelain, tea, and silk are best-sellers in their country. Every year, these businesses in Jiangnan earn millions, or even tens of millions of taels of silver from them. However, their products are not necessities for Daqian…”

"This also means that the millions of taels of silver earned by Jiangnan Merchants are almost all surpluses!"

"Those countries are naturally very dissatisfied with this. They want to change the situation, and the way they want to change it is to resort to force!"

"So we must develop as quickly as possible to make Daqian stronger!"

Pei Zhixiu nodded, not quite understanding what was said. At this time, Ye Mingsheng said in a low voice with some self-mockery:
"Sometimes I feel like a coward. I know what is right, but I just don't have the courage to take that difficult step!"

"As an emperor, I lack the courage to take my own life!"

"All I can do is trust in the wisdom of future generations and believe that they can solve this problem!"

Thinking of this, Ye Mingsheng shook his head helplessly. Ye Mingsheng didn't know how long his life span was, but Ye Mingsheng felt that he would not be able to see that scene, so he could do his best to lay a good foundation so that future generations could better compete in the future...
············
············
April 21, Erlunqin Grassland

Gao Shen slowly woke up from the tent at some point in the morning. Although he wanted to sleep in due to his age, his sense of responsibility and mission prevented him from doing so. After a quick wash, Gao Shen walked out of the tent.

Before he had taken two steps, Gao Shen smelled a foul odor. He looked to the north with a hint of doubt in his eyes. At this time, Jiang Chao came to Gao Shen. Gao Shen pointed to the north and said:
"If I remember correctly, Ibugele's camp is over there, right?"

When Jiang Chao heard Gao Shen ask this, he also understood what Gao Shen wanted to say, and immediately started to speak:
"I heard that supplies were tight at the front, so Ibugler ordered every household in the royal court to prepare dried meat and salted fish for the front. Ibugler's guards also set an example by drying a lot of salted fish and dried meat around the Khan's tent!"

"Drying salted fish and dried meat around the Khan's tent?" Gao Shen asked in surprise:

Jiang Chao nodded and said:

"I heard that Ibugler issued an order last night. The Khan's guards will take the lead, and the rest of the royal court must also be prepared!"

After saying that, looking at Gao Shen's frowning face, Jiang Chao asked with some doubt:
"Sir, is there something wrong with this matter?"

Gao Shen did not say anything after hearing this. After a long silence, he asked Jiang Chao:
"When was the last time Ibugele met with a foreign minister?"

Jiang Chao thought for a moment and said:
“About eleven days ago…”

Gao Shen was more certain of his thoughts after hearing this. Just when he was about to ask Jiang Chao to find Dai Qin, a guard came over hurriedly and said to Gao Shen:

"My Lord! Dariyachi has returned to the royal court!"

Gao Shen closed his eyes in pain when he heard this, while Jiang Chao asked in surprise:
"The war on the front line is tense right now. Why did he run back to the royal court instead of fighting the enemy on the front line?"

The guard scratched his head and said:
"Sir, I don't know why Dariyachi returned to the royal court. I only know that Dariyachi is indeed back!"

Just when Jiang Chao wanted to say something else, Gao Shen angrily shouted:
"Shut up! Daryaqi has come back to inherit the Khanate!"

"Inherit the Khanship? My Lord, are you saying that Ibugel is dead?"

Although Jiang Chao's reaction was a little slow, he immediately reacted when he heard Gao Shen say this.

Gao Shen said coldly:
"Why else do you think there are salted fish hanging outside the Khan's tent? They are just trying to cover up something!"

Having said this, Gao Shen turned his head and looked towards the north, saying with some resentment:
"You old bastard! You still want to defend yourself against me before you die. You are such an old bastard!"

Gao Shen looked very helpless after he finished speaking. Although he had realized before that he could not support Dai Qin to take the throne, he felt that he could take some collusion actions before Dari Achi came to power to create some difficulties for Dari Achi, thereby using this as a means of blackmailing him!
However, he did not expect that Darachi’s speed was much faster than he had imagined. This time, Gao Shen was caught off guard by the combined efforts of Ibugele and Darachi...