Chapter 893 Night Banquet (Part 1)

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The chief minister of Wenyuan Pavilion is the most spacious among the seven straight houses. In the middle of the courtyard is a bluestone road leading directly to the main house. Except for a large copper water tank for fire protection on one side of the road, there is no tree planted in the courtyard, only some flowers and plants are dotted.

It was already long in April, and it was early morning. As soon as the sun came out, the yard was filled with sunlight. On the ring chair under the stone steps of the hall, the chief minister of the cabinet, wearing a loose black Taoist robe, was silent and reading the book in his hand casually. The sunshine in the morning shone on his thin face, making the chief minister who has suffered from work in recent years feel a little relaxed.

Today is the day when the court officials are resting. This empire and its surroundings will not cause any trouble because of the court holidays. As the ruling of this empire, there is no holiday in silence. Especially after the Li Chengliang incident two years ago, silence is always tense, even if he is sleeping, he is afraid that the two capitals and thirteen provinces will cause any more trouble and catch himself off guard.

However, every day and night, various events still emerge from time to time, forcing him to cheer up and deal with it. Day after day, year after year, the Chief Aunt was tortured and exhausted physically and mentally. Especially after the eighth year of Wanli, he was in a state of anxiety...

In the eyes of ordinary people, the Prime Minister has nothing to worry about. Although the country has suffered many disasters, the weather has been good for six or seven consecutive years. In order to avoid low grains and hurt farmers, the imperial court purchased a large amount of grain, and all the granaries in the world were full, enough to consume for twenty years normally. Even if the warehouse is opened to provide disaster relief, it would not be a problem to persist for ten or eight years.

If the people can have a meal, naturally no one will rebel. Although there are chieftains in Guangxi and Annan in the southwest, they are in a safe and sound state under the strong guard of Wu Baipeng and Yu Dayou. In Liaodong, after the Changdingbao incident, Li Chengliang did not dare to do anything wrong again and wanted to earn his title as soon as possible. So Tuman and Duoyan's troops were attacked and were driven to the Sanjiang Plain by him.

There was nothing wrong in all directions. In the court, his political friends and confidants had an absolute advantage. Of course, there were also some dissidents who kept them silent because he was well aware of the principle that things would turn against each other. Sometimes it was more appropriate to leave some enemies than to kill them all. However, these people were alone and alone, and they were not a problem.

So in the eyes of many people, he should be the happiest person in the world.

Those who know me say I am worried, and those who don’t know me say I am worried... The silent mood is far from being as clear as people imagine, but is always in a state of haze. Especially after entering the eighth year of Wanli, he had to use great perseverance to overcome the impatience and frustration that surged from the bottom of his heart.

The feeling of waiting for half a lifetime, finally waiting for the golden opportunity but not being able to strike with all his strength was really bad. So he gradually lost confidence in the path he insisted on... In the past year, he often asked himself whether his choice was wrong? Why can't he get the national soaring for half his life? Instead, he is deeply trapped in the quagmire of internal struggle and cannot extricate himself from the abyss of failure?

Although Emperor Wanli seemed to have retreated and compromised after repeated failures, he knew very well that behind this compromise was irresolved hatred, and sooner or later it would explode... The situation evolved bit by bit, leaving the original imagination, and he was no longer the person who was hidden behind the scenes, but was trapped in it and became a pawn confrontation at the forefront.

The cold reality tells Chen Si that no emperor will give up his own power. The premise for them to hand over government affairs is that authority is not threatened! The final showdown is inevitable, but what makes Chen Si feel desolate is that he has been operating in a miserable life and the accumulated power is enough to control this huge empire, but he cannot help him win this duel with the emperor. Even if the emperor is young, weak, absurd and unwise, he still has no chance of winning.

There is only one reason, because the other party's identity is the emperor, the person standing at the top of this society, is the sky of this world! No matter how hard you work, it is just a dark cloud. Although it can cover the sky for a while, the clouds will always clear and the sun will rise.

This is an infinite gang boxing match with the condition that he was knocked down. Although he was only forty-four years old, he had been in this position of prime minister for eight years. Although he tried his best to avoid making enemies, sitting in this position is a sin and he was born with endless opponents. The eight-year-old prime minister is already the longest record since Yan Song. If he wants to work for another eight years, he must have a bad brand like Yan Song. At that time, the 26-year-old Emperor Wanli can climb high and shout in the posture of a mature king. Naturally, there are people who oppose him to jump out to compete with him, and sooner or later he will knock him down...

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After a while of excitement, the book in his silent hand slid down to the ground, and he actually sat on a chair and fell asleep. He was stunned and felt someone cover himself with a blanket. When he opened his eyes, he saw his son bent down to pick up the book that fell to the ground.

"I fell asleep early in the morning." Chen Silent sighed.

"Dad, you are too tired." Yongqing patted the book clean. Seeing that his father had no intention of taking it, he had to hold it in his hand and stand on the side.

"You don't need to come here today." Chen Si smiled and said, "If you don't take advantage of Xiu Mu to accompany your wife, your daughter-in-law will scold me as a father-in-law."

Yongqing smiled shyly and said, "She is not that ignorant."

"Sit down and talk."

Yongqing moved a slap and sat down at his hand. He looked at Ku Xiao's face silently when he was young. He couldn't help but feel relieved. He said a little guiltyly: "Does the father blame him on the Emperor's List?"

When Yongqing heard his father mention this, he became affectionate and depressed, but then he smiled and said, "Dad, you are too worried. How could you be so ignorant? I know you are for my own good."

"You are a smart child," said nodding silently and comfortably: "Where are there parents in the world who are not good for their children? Who is the father who doesn't want his son to become the top scorer? What's more, he can make a story about "father and son's top scorer." He said: "The reason why you are transferred from first place to second place to second place is actually because of your father. Who made your father the chief assistant and your senior brother is the chief examiner? If you win another top scorer, it will be harmful to your future."

Yongqing nodded, expressing his agreement with his father's words: "In fact, there is no essential difference between the second and second grade and the first grade, and the child knows this."

"Actually, your knowledge is good. I have read a few copies of this batch of papers, which is enough to be among the top three." Looking at him silently, "Don't you feel wronged?"

"I'm really not wronged." Seeing that his father still treats himself as a child, Yongqing felt a little embarrassed and quickly changed the topic: "Why does my father read "Zuo Zhuan"?"

"Read Zuo Zhuan and understand the past and present." Chen Si said lightly: "It took me twenty years to read this book, but now I have realized it."

"Oh..." After hearing that his father gave this book such a high evaluation, Yongqing opened it casually and turned to the page he had just read silently. He saw it was the "Xianggong Chapter" and handed it to his father.

He looked up at his son in silence: "I won't read it anymore. If you read it for me, just recite the six sentences after 'Shuye, I will do one person'."

Yongqing was talented and received many times better education than his father. Although he was young and had a reputation as a strong person, his reputation spread throughout the capital, so he could not even hold a book. What's more, his father and son were united and immediately understood the profound meaning of his father's six sentences. The depression caused by the "decline of the imperial examination" in recent days suddenly became sad. He lowered his eyelids and chanted softly: "The poem says: 'I have not been able to explain it all over the night, so I will serve one person.' Now Ningzi regards you as a chess player as a chess player. How can he avoid it? The chess player is undecided and cannot defeat his couple. Besides, he will not be able to settle the king? It will definitely be inevitable. The nine generations of nobles destroyed them in one fell swoop. How sad is it..."

Yongqing's voice became smaller and smaller, and the air in the courtyard was completely frozen.

"Do you know why Dad wants you to read this paragraph?" Chen Si asked after breaking the silence.

"..." Yongqing felt a little clear in his heart and said softly: "Dad, what's the matter undecided?"

"..." Chen Si did not answer, but said quietly: "Yesterday, the emperor was in the palace and listened to the "Hua Yue Cihuan Ji" performed by the internal opera troupe. There was a sentence in it, "Zhengyou Ning, Ji Zezi I. After hearing this sentence, the emperor stood up and left, and changed back to the dragon robe..."

When Yongqing heard this, he raised his head in shock and looked at his father: "Dad knows everything in the palace?"

"The emperor hates that your father is in the bones. Do I dare not know what happened in the palace? Can a tiger take a nap after eating a tiger? Do your father dare take this nap?" The silent and clear face appeared, and murderous intent flashed by.

Although Yongqing was a mature young man, he was still as shocked as a child when he heard this incident of "Nine Generations of the Religious Clans, destroyed in one fell swoop". He moved his son to his father and asked in a trembling voice: "Dad, will you break up with the emperor?"

"You answered the question I just now, basically correct." Silent said slowly.

He still didn't want to see the relationship between Yongqing and Wanli, who grew up naked, the day when his father and the emperor broke up. He heard that he was undecided and could not help but hold one-tenth of hope and asked, "Dad, can't you reconcile?"

"Reconciliation? It is said that I hold a big handle for a long time. The way of heaven is avoiding it. Residents must retire. With the wise ministers." Chen Shu smiled and said with a terrifying smile: "Child, your father has done many things that are confusing in the past eight years. In fact, there is only one goal, that is, boycotting the imperial power! Now, when it comes to handshakes and making peace, what should I do if more than 10,000 officials have been added in the past eight years? What should I do if the officials who have been promoted in the past dynasty? What should I do if the governor of Kaifu Jianya go? There are also the navy in Nanyang, Li Chengliang outside the pass, and the volunteers who are preparing for the expedition in Maohaifeng..." After a series of questions and answers, Chen Shu sighed: "This Ming Dynasty can no longer go back to the past. How can I let go halfway and let these people and things be abolished? The Ming Dynasty cannot withstand such torture..."

"Dad, why do you want to tell me this today?" Yongqing said softly.

"I left you in the capital. When I saw a big change coming, I couldn't keep you in the dark." Silent smiled: "If dad encounters any accident, you have to shoulder the responsibility of taking care of the two mothers."

"Dad, are you really out of control?" Yongqing said with a pale face: "You can't retreat, but you can't. Will Dad have hope of winning?"

"..." After pondering for a moment, he slowly said in silence: "Who do you hope can win?"

"Of course it's dad." Yongqing said without hesitation: "I am your son."

"..." Chen Si smiled with relief. But in the end he did not tell his son whether he had hope of winning.

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The father and son spent a short time alone and were soon interrupted by a knock on the door.

Yongqing asked in a low voice, and the guard reported that it was Master Tang.

Yongqing stood up and opened the door. Tang Ruji, the Grand Secretary in charge of Rongzheng, walked in and said to the silently: "Yuan Fu, Nanyang urgently report!"

"What's the situation?" Chen Si stood up with his seat.

"Spain really annexed the Francoin machine!" Tang Ruji said excitedly: "The Governor of Malacca is begging to join our country!"

"That's great!" Silent and excitedly hit each other: "I'll live up to my ten years of preparation!"

"Yuan Fu is really a magic trick!" Tang Ruji said in great admiration: "It is really good to be able to make the Europa princes thousands of miles away!"

"Where are there..." Chen Jian's old face turned red, and he quickly changed the topic: "Immediately ordered the Nanyang Navy to move to Malacca, and from then on it will be their base!"

In the sixth year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty, in 1578 AD, the young Franchise king Sebastian, despite dissuasion, crossed the ocean and finally wiped out the entire army. The king himself died in Morocco, North Africa. Because the young king had no heirs, his uncle, Cardinal Enrique, inherited the royal power. However, because of his religious identity and no son, he still had to choose an heir for the empire. Among the few people with inheritance rights at that time, there was the Spanish King Philip II, who was the grandson of King Franchise king.

However, the nobles in Franchise were generally worried that they would be annexed by the powerful Spain, so they excluded Philip II from the candidate sequence. However, the other heirs had their own shortcomings and no one could convince the public. Among them, Antonio, the most prestigious, was rejected by Enrique, who maintained the orthodox status of his illegitimate son, and exiled him abroad. Two years later, in a quarrel, Enrique had no mention of who would inherit the throne in his will, but appointed a joint ruling government composed of five people to temporarily perform the king's duties before the new king was born.

After Enrique's death, Antonio, who was once expelled, returned to the country and was favored by fanatical supporters as the king of Portugal, and then began to march towards Lisbon. The people of the capital opened the city gate and warmly welcomed him. Seeing this, the five consuls fled to Spain by boat and signed documents, announcing Philip II as the king of France of Franchis, and Antonio and his followers were traitors! A large number of elite Spanish troops gathered on the borders of the two countries had been moved and rushed to the city of Lisbon unstoppable.

Franco was originally weak in national strength, and the well-trained elite troops in China were buried in North Africa by Sebastien. Although he tried his best to resist, he was still defeated in the face of the No. 1 military power in Europe. Seeing that there was no hope of continuing the war in the local area, Antonio fled to the Azores. Unfortunately, the Spaniards had the best naval strength at the time, and the little Mars that he had finally accumulated was soon trampled and destroyed by the enemy. Antonio fled to Britain alone.

In the eighth year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty, in 1580 AD, Philip II entered Lisbon and officially served as the king of Portugal. He also issued an edict to various overseas colonies, demanding that they accept their own rule.

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Chapter completed!