Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 387 Hidden evil intentions!

Watching Xia Zhibai walk away.

Chang Sheng couldn't help but curse, "How dare this kid call us arrogant? Isn't this even more arrogant than us? A mere civil servant is trying to reason with us? This is really outrageous."

After a moment of daze, Chang Sheng started cursing.

Chang Mao also looked unhappy. He just stared at Xia Zhibai's receding figure and said meaningfully, "I think what he said makes some sense. This man is very smart, even a little too smart. He should have guessed our thoughts immediately after knowing our identities."

"He has been in the court for less than two years, and he has been making all kinds of outrageous remarks, which have angered His Majesty a lot. This is the first time I have seen such an outrageous level, and he has not been punished by His Majesty yet."

Lan Yu interrupted Chang Mao and snorted, "So what?"

"He's just a cheap talker. If I drag him to the battlefield, I wonder how scared he would be. It's just that I can't do anything in front of everyone. Otherwise, I would beat him until he cries for his parents. He even comes to lecture me. He's really rebellious."

Lan Yu looked displeased.

He had no good feelings towards Xia Zhibai.

Having become famous at a young age and having made a name for himself on the battlefield, his self-confidence had already overflowed. However, in the past two years, the ideas proposed by Xia Zhibai were contrary to his ideas. Not only did he intend to slow down the court's attack on the Northern Yuan Dynasty, he also proposed to make friends with the Northern Yuan Dynasty, which were all unacceptable to Lan Yu.

He had already been feeling dissatisfied.

It's just that he never found the time to vent, so now he wanted to use this as an excuse to teach Xia Zhibai a lesson, to tell him to be "careful with his words and actions" and not to talk nonsense in areas he is not good at. However, Xia Zhibai was so eloquent that he couldn't get a word in after just a few words.

As a military commander.

He had an amazing passion for fighting.

He longed to fight on the battlefield and charge into battle, rather than stay in Yingtian Prefecture, bragging and drinking with a dozen generals. Although this kind of life was very comfortable, what he wanted to do was to go to the battlefield. More than half a year ago, the imperial court had even made a plan to attack Nahachu.

And he was also ready to go.

As a result, Xia Zhibai had brought out a bunch of new firearms from Peiping at some point in time, which made generals such as Feng Sheng and Fu Youde unable to take their eyes off them. The originally active pro-war faction suddenly fell silent, which made Lan Yu feel indignant for a long time.

He had seen the firearms.

It is indeed very sophisticated and powerful.

But he didn't need those to fight a war. The court only needed to give him 200,000 soldiers and horses. If he dared to issue a military order to His Majesty, he would definitely be able to bring Nahachu's head back to the capital. However, no matter how he asked for war, he never got His Majesty's consent. The court kept asking them to wait until the Zunhua Iron and Steel Plant produced more firearms.

This made Lan Yu even more angry.

He just couldn't understand why they had so many firearms in the past? Didn't they still win the battle? Now the imperial court had strong soldiers and horses, and it was the right time to send troops. Why were they still waiting and delaying? What was the point?
Wouldn't it be better to just send a large army to attack and defeat Nahachu?
As for so much extra effort?!

Chang Sheng said, "Forget it. We came here just to scare him, and we didn't intend to really hit him. He is now a person trusted by His Majesty and His Highness. If we beat him, we might get scolded. Although it's not a big deal, it's still unnecessary."

"From what Xia Zhibai said, His Highness should be fine."

"I guess so."

"Even if His Majesty is dissatisfied with Your Highness, nothing serious will happen, but you still have to be careful."

"Recently, the Prince of Jin and the Prince of Yan have been making small moves. Not only are they actively promoting salt policy reform, they are also working on postal services, which have been quite effective. It is said that in just half a year, several thousand taels of silver have been brought into their accounts. Beiping is also responsible for refining new firearms." "Xia Zhibai's actions have clearly strengthened the various princes."

Lan Yu said gloomily, "I have long seen that Zhu Di has two minds. He is very ambitious and very patient. He is not easy to deal with. It's a pity that His Highness has never listened to me. Now under Xia Zhibai's management, the north has recovered a lot. Especially this time when he went south, it seems that he also robbed a lot of people from the south. Many of them were divided up by the Prince of Jin and the Prince of Yan. It's not a good thing for one to gain while the other loses."

Lan Yu also calmed down.

He is crazy, but not stupid.

He was just a little arrogant, not that he couldn't understand the situation in the court. He had always been wary of the King of Jin and the King of Yan, and therefore had been actively requesting war, just to pacify the north as soon as possible, and then write to the court to weaken the power of the various vassal kings.

Otherwise, these princes will become a great threat to Your Highness.

The more this happened, the more they disliked Xia Zhibai.

In their opinion, the North's gradual growth is closely related to Xia Zhibai.

Xia Zhibai not only provided financial resources to the north, but also sent people and made some new firearms. King Zhou also seemed to be making some moves. Now the south seems to be bustling, but in fact the development speed of the north is not slow at all, and is even faster than that of the north.

Right now, the Prince of Jin and the Prince of Yan are working very hard in their fiefdoms and have received a lot of praise, but Your Highness has made mistakes repeatedly, causing His Majesty's dissatisfaction. Is this a good sign?

All this is because of Xia Zhibai!

Chang Mao said: "As your highness's close ministers, we can no longer let it go. We must find a time to remind your highness not to be so willful. If you continue to be so willful, you may be replaced by other princes."

"You must also keep your distance from Xia Zhibai."

"This person has bad intentions."

"In my opinion, this man is not of the same mind as Your Highness. Otherwise, why didn't he give Your Highness any good advice, but instead caused Your Highness to be constantly criticized by His Majesty?" Chang Sheng also said indignantly, full of complaints.

The three of them discussed it and left quickly.

back home.

Xia Zhibai looked a little serious.

The sudden visit of Lan Yu and the other two was somewhat unexpected to him.

The information revealed between the lines of Lan Yu and others' words made him feel helpless. He had vaguely realized that he was too close to Zhu Biao and had put forward too many ideas, which had caused dissatisfaction among many people, especially Zhu Biao's supporters.

As the prince's wings, they did not want Zhu Biao to take risks. They hoped that Zhu Biao would ascend the throne steadily so that they could continue to maintain their high positions and generous salaries.

When one reaches a certain height, many things are beyond one’s control, and the people behind him will push Zhu Biao forward.

Not everyone can resist it.

Lan Yu and others might have had some objections before, but they were not so resistant. This time, Zhu Biao was scolded and even reprimanded by Zhu Yuanzhang, which made Lan Yu and others a little nervous. They and Zhu Biao would prosper together, and if something happened to Zhu Biao, none of them would be well.

They have chosen to stand on the opposite side of themselves.

(End of this chapter)