Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 244 Sima Yi is also loyal!
Li Shanchang looked at Xia Zhibai fiercely, a sharp cold light flashed in his eyes, and he said coldly: "You dare to threaten me!"

Xia Zhibai shook his head and said calmly, "Grand Master, you are joking. With the power of the Grand Master now, how many people in the world dare to threaten the Grand Master? The reason why the Grand Master is afraid is not because of me, but because everything I just said could really happen."

"Perhaps in the eyes of the Grand Master, I do not fight or compete in the court."

"Your Majesty is always the most important thing."

"Although I have some selfish motives, I only covet some money. I have never thought of betraying Your Majesty, or even disobeying Your Majesty. But this is ultimately the Grand Tutor's own idea. Looking at the court, who doesn't know the Grand Tutor's power? Who doesn't know it? Who doesn't fear him?"

"As a minister who has followed Your Majesty through thick and thin, the Grand Master enjoys certain privileges and a high position in the court. All of this is as it should be."

“No one in the world would criticize this.”

"However, times have changed, and the Grand Master is trapped in the past."

"This world is made up of two sets of orders. The first set of rules is fairness, justice, morality, etiquette, etc. advocated by the upper class, while the second set of rules is the most bitter and indifferent struggle for interests in the world."

"Morality is appearance, interest is reality."

"Confucianism educates and governs people through appearances. Through the knowledge it controls, it makes the first set of order its own means of doing things, and the purpose is to achieve the second set of rules. The moral rules are on everyone's lips, while the profit rules are seen and remembered by everyone in the world."

"You are now the same as the scholar-officials killed by His Majesty."

"It's just using appearances to cover up the reality."

"They say that the world is for the public and that Your Majesty is the most important thing, but in reality they all put their own interests first. This is perfectly normal."

"It's just that the Grand Master only took care of the front, but didn't take care of the back."

"Master, your tail is exposed!"

"As the ancients said: The hustle and bustle of the world is all about profit."

“What a profound statement.”

"It's just that this sentence is too veiled, and it's hard for people to fully understand. In my opinion, this sentence should be directly changed to: 'There are no eternal friends in the world, only eternal interests.' Once the interests change, the so-called enemies and friends will change quickly. And all this has changed since the establishment of the Ming Dynasty and the meritorious officials were awarded high positions and generous salaries."

"Yang Xian and Hu Weiyong are fools."

"They don't know how to hide themselves, and they don't know how to immediately use the first set of rules to package themselves when their ambitions arise, and put on a moral coat for themselves, so they are quickly exposed and end up with their heads and bodies separated."

"The Grand Master is smarter than them."

“Always give yourself some wiggle room.”

"I have always tried my best to avoid being in the spotlight."

"But just like the current emperor, he should be in a position to make decisions. When the Grand Tutor is in this position, there are some things that he cannot tolerate. Even if he does not want to, the people behind him will push him forward, just like the riot in the south this time."

"Perhaps the Grand Master doesn't know much about this."

"But when letters from old friends and colleagues arrived, asking the Grand Tutor to speak for them, the Grand Tutor, after weighing the pros and cons, still chose to speak up. The Grand Tutor could not let himself be 'isolated' by others because of this 'little thing'. Although the Grand Tutor holds a high position and has great power, he cannot do everything himself. He also needs help from others."

"It's just that it's been a long time since the Grand Master looked back."

"Now in this huge court, only the Grand Tutor is left standing proudly."

Li Shanchang's expression changed slightly.

A rare look of surprise and anger appeared in his eyes.

"Xia Zhibai, you dare to sow discord between me and His Majesty? You are seeking death!" Li Shanchang shouted angrily.

Xia Zhibai chuckled, glanced at Li Shanchang calmly, and said slowly: "Grandmaster, do you really not understand? The court today is no longer the court of the past. Xu Da, Chang Yuchun, Li Wenzhong and others who once had great prestige in the army are all dead."

"And Liu Ji, who had fought with the Grand Tutor for many years, also died."

"And those rising stars, such as Yang Xian in the early years and Hu Weiyong in the later years, also failed. In the past, the Ming Dynasty was mainly divided into the Huaixi Group and the Zhejiang Group. With the deaths of Yang Xian, Liu Ji, Song Lian and others, the Zhejiang Group has become a mere formality. Although there are still some remnants, they can no longer influence the situation in the court."

"But Huaixi is different."

"Huaixi is now a country that has both civil and military capabilities."

"When your majesty ascends the throne, the only person these people can get close to is the Grand Tutor."

Li Shanchang's face changed drastically.

His body was already shaking uncontrollably, and his eyes looking at Xia Zhibai were filled with shock, anger, and fear. He pointed at Xia Zhibai tremblingly, but looked around in panic, and then took a few quick steps and closed all the doors and windows of the lobby.

After everything was done, Li Shanchang walked back in shock.

He looked at Xia Zhibai viciously, bowed respectfully towards the Fengtian Hall, and said in a deep voice: "Shut up, you little brat, how dare you confuse right and wrong here? I, Li Shanchang, am loyal to Your Majesty and have never had any other thoughts. How can I allow you to slander me?"

"If you dare to say these treasonous words again, don't blame me for personally taking you to the Ministry of Justice!"

The shock in Li Shanchang's eyes took a long time to disappear.

He was really frightened by these words.

Zhu Yuanzhang was a murderer. If these words fell into Zhu Yuanzhang's ears, I was afraid that no matter how much I explained, I would not be able to escape imprisonment.

He is over sixty years old and doesn't want to suffer this.

Facing Li Shanchang's vicious gaze, Xia Zhibai smiled and sneered, "Grandmaster, why do you have to deceive yourself? When you are in this position, second only to one person and above ten thousand people in the court, many things are beyond your control." "Even if you don't have this intention, but you have this ability, then it is your sin."

"This sin was already committed when you took this position."

“It’s just that there were other officials who acted as checks and balances before.”

"Now it all depends on your Majesty's tolerance."

"I am already old." Li Shanchang said coldly.

Xia Zhibai said: "Whether the Grand Master is old or not, it is not up to the Grand Master to decide."

"Your Majesty has the final say"

"Besides, Your Majesty is also old. Haven't you heard of Sima Yi in history? An old horse in the stable, with ambitions to run a thousand miles? As for the word loyal minister, it is not just a matter of words. In history, Cao Cao was a loyal minister of the Han Dynasty, and Sima Yi was also a loyal minister of the Wei Kingdom. But in the end, what happened?"

"Are you really loyal?"

"Don't you see, during the time of Li Shimin, Li Jing was still extremely terrified."

"The Ming Dynasty is a picturesque place. Who would dare to really believe your one-sided statement, Grand Master?"

"Who dares to gamble the foundation of the empire?"

Li Shanchang's face turned red with anger.

He looked at Xia Zhibai in shock and anger. He wanted to refute, but when he opened his mouth, he didn't know how to argue. The only way to defend himself was to die prematurely. But how could he want to die so early?

to this moment.

Li Shanchang finally got scared.

He also showed his timidity.

Xia Zhibai smiled lightly, looking calmly at the distraught Li Shanchang, and said leisurely: "In the past, the Huaixi Group was headed by Your Majesty. However, when Your Majesty ascended the throne, Your Majesty was destined to no longer focus on Huaixi, but to look at the whole world. To a certain extent, the Huaixi Group has become an obstacle to Your Majesty's governance of the world."

"It's just that His Majesty rarely targets me out of consideration for our old friendship."

“And tolerated it again and again.”

“But this tolerance will not last forever.”

"Especially the interest groups headed by the Grand Tutor, they will not be willing to give up their own interests, and will even find ways to take them from Your Majesty. In your opinion, you have made contributions to the Ming Dynasty, shed blood, and risked your life for Your Majesty, so you deserve more."

"But there is not only one Huaixi in the world."

"It can't just be Huaixi!"

"But the current situation, Grand Master knows better than me."

"Huaixi people, relying on their great contributions and hard work, selfishly want to gain more benefits for the Huaixi region. Little do they know that this has violated a taboo, and it is a big taboo. However, the Grand Tutor speaks for these people without knowing the truth. Has the Grand Tutor ever thought about how much trouble he will suffer?"

Xia Zhibai looked at Li Shanchang coldly.

Li Shanchang's face turned pale.

He looked at Xia Zhibai with gritted teeth. He didn't understand why Xia Zhibai had to bite him?

They have shed blood and worked hard for Your Majesty, don't they deserve special treatment?
His Majesty said nothing about all this.

Is it Xia Zhibai's turn to speak?

Li Shanchang said, "Xia Zhibai, don't think you are right. Things in the world are not as simple as you think, and they can't be done in a snap of the fingers. Do you think that by convincing me and getting His Majesty to agree with your ideas, you can change the dissatisfaction of the entire South?"

"You have no idea how important the South is to the Ming Dynasty."

"It is precisely because the South is so important that as a minister of the Ming Dynasty, we must keep the South in our hands, rather than 'raising a tiger to cause trouble'." Xia Zhibai did not hold back at all, and said tit for tat: "I also know the importance of the South."

"Today, the South accounts for nearly 70% of the world's economy, and pays 70% to 80% of the taxes. To put it bluntly, the entire Ming Dynasty is supported to a certain extent by the South."

"But the more this happens, the more the imperial court will seize the South."

"Otherwise, how will the court collect taxes?"

"Relying on the population of a million or so in the north to support such a large defense line, and the huge expenditure of the court? Now a small salt policy reform has caused an uproar in the whole south. If the court takes new actions against the south in the future, will the south directly rebel?"

"The South is the South of Ming Dynasty."

"How can priorities be reversed?"

"I can tell you clearly, Grand Master, that the imperial court will definitely seize the tax source of the south. Anyone who tries to interfere or try to stop it will be cut off by the imperial court. I am here to persuade you sincerely. If the Grand Master still refuses to change his mind, don't blame him for being killed in the future."

"Master, don't forget it."

"You are now the head of all officials, and also the head of the South!"

"You can't escape!"

"I don't want too much blood to be shed in the world. This is the purpose of my trip. But if the Grand Master insists, then rivers of blood are bound to flow."

(End of this chapter)