Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 252 The sword is sheathed and the arrow is drawn!
Lian Zining frowned, his eyes becoming more and more confused.

What does this have to do with the people?
Do they still have to persuade people one by one?

Furthermore, although they hold positions in the court, will the local people really recognize them?
See this.

Xia Zhibai smiled slightly.

It is indeed a bit difficult to understand this.

He pondered for a moment and said in a different way: "You and Hua Lun are mainly acting as mouthpieces this time. You can use your own means to privately convey some of my ideas to the heroes in the south. I am doing all this only to break the impasse."

“It’s also to build momentum for myself.”

"Ask yourselves, what situation will you face if you go south now?"

"If you were a southern official and knew in advance the purpose of my trip south, would you have planned to target me?"

Lian Zining looked at Xia Zhibai suspiciously, but nodded and said, "That's for sure. You went south this time to target them. If they got the news in advance, they would have to prepare in advance. Otherwise, they would be caught by you and targeted by Duke Xin and the Imperial Guards. They would be walking into a trap."

As soon as the words came out, Lian Zining was stunned.

Xia Zhibai looked at Lian Zining with a half-smile and said slowly: "Now you understand."

"If we go south without preparation, even with the help of Duke Xin and the Imperial Guards, it will still be difficult to accomplish anything in the south where the meritorious forces are strong. We may even be restricted by various excuses."

"Even if you take precautions carefully, there will always be a loophole."

"But it takes a lot of time and energy to discover these 'oversights'."

"We also have to compete with local forces in a battle of wits and courage."

"I personally think that after this fierce battle, I'm afraid my black hair will turn into a few white ones. How can I just fall into the trap of others?"

Lian Zining nodded.

Now he understood.

The court was leaky, and the words Xia Zhibai said in the court might have been leaked to the south by someone with ulterior motives.

The southern government is now on high alert, having made strict deployments in advance and will not let Xia Zhibai succeed easily. Even if Xia Zhibai can rely on the power of the court, a strong dragon cannot defeat a local snake. Unless Xia Zhibai can really make Duke Xin and the Embroidered Uniform Guards work for him, he will be unable to move forward in the south.

This is almost an open question.

at this point.

Xia Zhibai knew it, the court officials knew it, and the people in the south knew it as well.

The south now is like a big bag, waiting for Xia Zhibai to jump in.

Xia Zhibai was such a smart person that he naturally didn't want to fall into the trap, so he had been thinking about ways to break the impasse early on. He called himself and others in to boost his own power and to promote himself.

Xie Min and Ding Zhifang looked at each other, with a hint of solemnity and fear in their eyes.

They are from the north.

I don't know much about the situation in the South.

But seeing that Xia Zhibai looked as if he was facing a great enemy and even had to make arrangements in advance, he couldn't help but feel frightened.

Jie Min said, "I roughly understand some of it, but what can we do? Our official positions in the six ministries are indeed not low, but they are not high either. If we were in the entire South, I'm afraid we would also end up being insignificant. Isn't this still the same as before?"

Xia Zhibai smiled faintly, his eyes slightly closed and he said, "It's not easy to break the deadlock in the south."

"There are many interest groups in the South, and after so many years of operation, the regions have long been tied together. It can be said that they prosper together and suffer together. Even the imperial court finds it difficult to effectively target them. With only this few manpower, it is extremely difficult to break the targeting of the South."

“Therefore, we cannot directly confront the official and gentry system in the south.”

“We have to jump out!”

"The South is deeply tied to each other for the sake of interests. I will run into them head-on when I go south this time. With their layers of blockades and obstructions, it will be difficult for me to get any benefits. I may even be calculated by them and put all the problems in the South on my head."

“In this situation, you can’t just dive in.”

“We must break the targeting of the South.”

"But the southern forces have strong control over the local areas. As long as the officials are in contact with me, they will basically respond."

"so."

Xia Zhibai paused, a hint of coldness in his eyes, and said, "We have to pull the lower-class people in. The lower-class people are the largest in number and the most difficult to control. They don't have that many thoughts and calculations, and it is difficult for local forces to control so many people."

“That would create a loophole in their calculations.”

Hearing this, Lian Zining's eyes lit up, as if he understood something.

He said excitedly, "I know."

"When the government does normal things, it usually contacts the local government, and the local government has already taken precautions, so it is easy for them to fall into the calculations of others. But you directly take advantage of the situation. Isn't the local government setting a trap? Then jump out of this trap and take the initiative to convene a meeting of officials and businessmen."

“Transform passivity into initiative.”

"That's why we took advantage of the power of Duke Xin and the Imperial Guards."

"This has disrupted the local government's original plan and put the local government in a passive position."

"There will also be a workers' meeting later, with no officials or businessmen participating. This will allow them to face the most direct situation and understand the most fundamental problems, which will completely defeat the local government's targeting."

"Under normal circumstances, we would be surrounded and suppressed by local forces if we went south. But now, after this operation, we have thrown the problem to the other side."

“It puts pressure on the South.”

"wonderful."

Lian Zining couldn't help but applaud.

Xie Min seemed to be thinking about something, but couldn't help asking, "That being said, can't the local forces cheat? Invite a bunch of fake worker representatives? Or some bribed ones?" Lian Zining smiled and said, "You're worrying too much."

"Duke Xin and the Imperial Guards are also accompanying us south this time."

"You dare to cheat under the noses of Duke Xin and the Royal Guards. This is a direct provocation to His Majesty."

“They don’t have the guts.”

"Moreover."

"How do you know that the Jinyiwei didn't send people to investigate in advance? The details of what happened in the south, and how many meritorious officials and officials were involved in the secret, are indeed impossible to find out in a short time, but how can we not find out the stove owner who led the riot?"

"To cheat in this regard is simply an insult to the Jinyiwei's ability."

Xie Min was stunned.

Then a look of enlightenment appeared on his face.

He smiled bitterly and said, "I didn't think this through."

Ding Zhifang's eyes rolled around, and he said thoughtfully: "Brother Xia's approach is to maximize the use of the 'Duke of Xin' and the 'Jinyiwei'."

"Although Duke Xin and the Imperial Guards will follow Brother Xia south, Brother Xia's official rank is not high enough to really send them there."

"So Brother Xia chose to take a different approach and openly stated what he was going to do. Previously, the pressure from Duke Xin and the Royal Guards was obvious but not direct. After this, it became direct pressure."

“It takes advantage of the situation to the extreme.”

"And it directly puts pressure on local officials."

"They want to make some small moves, but they can't help but be cautious, so the original targeting is difficult to form."

Lian Zining nodded in agreement.

He glanced at Xia Zhibai secretly and realized once again how powerful Xia Zhibai was.

Xia Zhibai always seems to like to anticipate things in advance.

He seemed to have guessed what kind of situation he would encounter when he went south. When he came here just now, he had privately thought about what he would do if he were a southern official facing Xia Zhibai going south. He would definitely make Xia Zhibai feel comfortable and cater to him in everything so that Xia Zhibai would not be able to find any problems.

And whatever Xia Zhibai asked him to do, he would agree to do it.

Basically, we will respond to all requests.

If there is something to do, do it.

In this situation, even Duke Xin and the Embroidered Uniform Guards could hardly find fault with them, but they did not know that all decisions made by Xia Zhibai would ultimately be made by local officials, and they had the final say on how to do it.

What's so difficult about pretending to obey but actually disobeying?

They may do bad things with good intentions, appear to be working hard but ignore everything behind the scenes; it is all up to them.

What can Xia Zhibai do to them?

All the face-saving things were given and all the orders were followed, but it couldn't be done. This can't be the fault of the local officials. They will then either push the problem onto those unruly people and keep themselves out of it, or they will be ruthless and escalate the situation further and directly submit a petition to the court to impeach Xia Zhibai.

They can all provide evidence.

The rebellion in the South was caused by accepting Xia Zhibai's idea.

A smile hides a knife.

The open sword is sheathed and the hidden arrow is drawn.

This is the best way for local governments to deal with it.

But Xia Zhibai guessed it and didn't fall into the trap at all.

Jumped out directly.

He did not give the local officials a chance to respond with a smile, and directly issued orders in the name of the "imperial court". He then used the power of Duke Xin and the Embroidered Uniform Guard to throw all the problems onto the local authorities, forcing them to make a choice.

Whether it is the meeting of officials and businessmen or the subsequent workers' meeting.

These are all things that were unexpected by the local authorities.

What was said and discussed in these two so-called conferences was all controlled by Xia Zhibai. Others could not guess anything, let alone respond or counter it. The offense and defense were reversed.

Xia Zhibai will also take complete control of the initiative.

As long as these people are not well prepared and Xia Zhibai finds something to hold against them, it would be easy to break the situation.

Lian Zining raised his head and looked at Xia Zhibai with complicated eyes.

He thought that he had been in the court for so long that he had surpassed Xia Zhibai in many other aspects. However, after what happened before his eyes, he suddenly realized that he still had not caught up with Xia Zhibai, and was even falling further and further behind.

Xia Zhibai is very knowledgeable about politics.

It's just that he's usually arrogant, which makes people subconsciously look down on him.

immediately.

He thought of Xia Zhibai saying that they were messengers, and his eyes darkened as he thought to himself, what roles would they play in this? Now, he no longer simply thought that Xia Zhibai had called them here just for fun, but was afraid that he really had something for them to do.

And most of the time it puts pressure on the South.

But can they really put pressure on the South?

Lian Zining looked suspicious.

But he had already sensed the intrigue involved.

(End of this chapter)