My father is Jiajing

Emperor Jiajing was also surprised by Zhu Zaigui's evaluation of the author of this poem.

Emperor Jiajing asked, "Is this man really so amazing?"

Zhu Zaigui nodded solemnly, "His extraordinary achievements are rarely matched by anyone, even in the past and present."

The Jiajing Emperor was fascinated by Zhu Zaigui's high evaluation of the person in his "dream". "If this person is really as you say, then he only exists in your dream memory. It's really a pity."

Zhu Zaigui laughed and said, "Yes, it's a pity that he only exists in my dream memory. If he knew that my father had such comments about him, he might even become my father's close friend."

When Emperor Jiajing heard this, he couldn't help but laugh again, "Can you be my confidant?"

Zhu Zaigui couldn't help laughing when he saw the somewhat mocking look on Emperor Jiajing's face.

It seems that this is what people often say: ignorance is fearless.

Even the emperor who is high above them is like this.

Of course, it is not the Emperor Jiajing’s fault for being conceited. The main reason is that Zhu Zaigui was unable to tell the story of the poet in a systematic way.

Because once the story of this great poet was told, Zhu Zaigui would have to come up with countless reasons to justify it.

But obviously Zhu Zaigui would not do so. He would just treat this matter as a magical story and tell it briefly.

Zhu Zaigui accompanied Emperor Jiajing for a while. At this time, the father and son had finished chatting about interesting things between them and finally returned to real issues and discussed current affairs.

Emperor Jiajing asked, "San'er, you have been the regent for several years. Do you find this burden easy to bear?"

Zhu Zaigui said to Emperor Jiajing: "I was always worried when I was a child. This burden is really too heavy. Sometimes when I have to do something, I always think about how to satisfy all parties and how to benefit the people."

"However, when we actually do something, it is inevitable that some people will be dissatisfied, so that they will also bear a grudge against me and slander me to the utmost."

Emperor Jiajing laughed, "I have experienced all of this. The power in my hands is great, and the burden on my shoulders is heavy. In the early years, I also used Zhang Cong and others to try to reform. Unfortunately, both I and Zhang Cong underestimated the strength of our opponents."

"When I attacked the interests of the royal family, these people thought that this was an opportunity for them to be promoted and gain fame. They all rushed to the front with high spirits, trying desperately to find the crimes of the royal family and nobles, so as to enhance their reputation of being upright and incorruptible."

"But in my opinion, these people only pick on the weak. Although the royal family is respected and the nobles are noble, after Jianwen's reduction of the power of the princes and Yingzong's Tumu Fortress Incident, both the royal family and the nobles have declined."

"Bullying them and forcing them to give up the wealth and land they have accumulated for generations is satisfying, but compared to the land and wealth taken away by these people, it is nothing."

"When Zhang Cong was about to turn his guns and start targeting illegal activities other than the royal family and nobles, he was forced to resign and I was forced to compromise and accept my fate."

"So the problems and slanders you are facing now are just appetizers. When you really touch their core interests, you will find out how hypocritical these people who are well-read in the poetry and books of saints are."

"But unfortunately, they are still needed to rule the world and to keep it safe. Otherwise, when these people are tied together, they will really help to stir up a storm and backfire on us."

Listening to Emperor Jiajing's words, Zhu Zaigui also found it unbelievable. It seemed to have nothing to do with the greedy Emperor Daojun in his impression?
Could it be that the reason why the Jiajing Emperor in history was so greedy was that he saw through the true nature of the gentry in the world?
So that's why you want to be more greedy so that the gentry can take less?
But this doesn't seem logical.

Because as long as the emperor was a little more greedy, these gentry would immediately turn that extra bit into ten points and impose it on the people.

Therefore, in the end, not only will it be of no help, it may also force the people of the world to have even less chance of survival.

If this continues for a long time, wouldn't it be just digging your own grave?

Although when governing the country, the emperor must work together with the scholar-officials to maintain peace.

But then again, if a dynasty wants to last long, its foundation still lies in the people.

If you are blindly greedy and don't know how to show kindness to the people, this will happen over time.

Once they encounter insurmountable difficulties, won’t the people’s resentment and hatred be concentrated on the interest groups represented by the emperor?

As long as those officials are not particularly stubborn or unlucky.

As long as they can identify the general trend and change their family fortune, they can almost always continue their wealth for several generations.

Therefore, in the end, the only ones who truly bore the wrath of the people were the emperor and his family.

After all, in people's simple understanding, the reason why the emperor is the emperor and enjoys the support of the people of the world is that he and his people should bear all the responsibilities.

And when they can't afford this responsibility, they have to pay with their lives!

Therefore, this is also the fundamental reason why the emperor’s family would be slaughtered when dynasties changed.

First, the founders of the new dynasty would regard them as potential disasters, while the simple people would regard them as enemies who had bullied them for dozens or hundreds of years.

So when all the royal family members were slaughtered, except for a few "rationalists" who felt sorry for the changes in the world, most people felt that this was a gratifying thing.

The common people don’t care who the emperor is. What they really care about is their current feelings and the tangible benefits they can get.

Of course, sometimes when ordinary people feel inexplicably stimulated, they will be very excited even if there is no benefit.

This is undoubtedly a direct reflection of human nature that only cares about the present and momentary pleasure.

It has nothing to do with the so-called advanced or backward civilization.

Because humans are selfish animals by nature. Although they may sometimes be sentimental and kind, the objects of their kindness are almost without exception those who are weaker than themselves.

Zhu Zaigui continued to support Emperor Jiajing as he walked, and he also had his own opinions and views.

Zhu Zaigui said: "I think if we want to change this situation, we should use the method of 'using your spear to attack your shield'. In this way, we can transfer most of the contradictions and put ourselves in an invincible referee position." Emperor Jiajing looked at Zhu Zaigui in surprise. He did not expect Zhu Zaigui to express such an opinion.

However, as an experienced person, Emperor Jiajing also knew that this method was only temporary. When the critical moment came, even the emperor as the referee would have to step down.

Otherwise, there is no way to turn the tide.

This is just like Shang Yang's Reform in the pre-Qin period. If Shang Yang was the only one charging in the front, but Qin Xiaogong could not personally support him and give him strong support, even if Shang Yang had extraordinary talent, he would not be able to accomplish anything.

After all, it was not just the Qin State that carried out reforms in the pre-Qin period.

The reason why other countries failed to succeed in reforming was, firstly, that the monarchs who supported the reforms were not determined enough, and secondly, that the monarchs who supported the reforms did not live long, and their successors did not realize the importance of the reforms and only thought about the struggle for immediate interests.

Therefore, it was already so difficult to survive in a time of great conflict like the Warring States Period, where change meant destruction, let alone the current era of unification?

You must know that although the unified world was much stronger in overall history than the seven kingdoms in the Warring States Period, it was precisely because of the unification that the original small regional problems instantly expanded into big overall problems.

Faced with such a big problem, it is extremely difficult to change, let alone maintain it.

Therefore, sometimes the problem is simple to talk about, but it is not so easy to do it.

However, Emperor Jiajing was very pleased that Zhu Zaigui could say this. At least in his opinion, Zhu Zaigui had already grasped some of the essence of governing a country and employing people, and was not so reckless as to try to change the world by relying on his personal will.

For this, Emperor Jiajing nodded slightly and praised: "Yes, I am very pleased that you have such thoughts and ideas."

"But everything should be done in moderation. If the method of 'using your own spear to attack your own shield' could always work, I would not have to let Zhang Cong go, kill Xia Yan, dismiss Yan Song, and use Xu Jie instead."

"They were all the spears in my hand, but when they were not in position, they became shields that hindered me. So if you want to keep using the method of 'using your spear to attack your shield', you must find a balance point so that the spear in your hand is obedient and sharp enough."

"Otherwise, the spear might be broken by the shield. Then, not only will the spear be gone, but you will also be hurt by the shield."

"So, in addition to these factors, luck is also something you need to get things done."

Emperor Jiajing's words were also extremely insightful and directly pointed out the essence of the matter.

It seems that the reason why Emperor Jiajing in history did not truly become a ruler who revived the country was probably because his "luck" was not good enough. He never had a sharp enough spear in his hand to help him break the situation.

The spears he could use were either not sharp enough or had problems.

So this may also be the important reason why Emperor Jiajing was never able to expand his real influence beyond the Forbidden City.

After all, if a Son of Heaven or an emperor wants to be truly supreme and have the final say, he cannot achieve his wish by relying solely on power and tactics.

He must have a sharp spear.

Just like Emperor Wu of Han, the reason why he could be compared with Emperor Qin Shi Huang was that the talents under him emerged one after another like bamboo shoots after a spring rain.

In terms of civil administration, there are Dongfang Shuo, Zhufu Yan and others; in terms of military affairs, there are peerless generals like Wei Qing and Huo Qubing!

On the other hand, among the people in the hands of Emperor Jiajing, except Zhang Cong who was useful in the early period, none of the others were reliable, and none of them were truly in the same mind with him.

In terms of martial arts, Emperor Jiajing wanted to train Qiu Luan as a sharp weapon he could rely on, but it turned out that Qiu Luan was not only a fool, but also greedy. He took the trust and favor given to him by Emperor Jiajing for granted.

Therefore, the biggest reason why Emperor Jiajing did not continue his wise and decisive achievements and the momentum of revival in his early years was because his "luck" was too bad. When he wanted to use people, the people he had were either not strong enough or simply a bunch of scoundrels.

Under such circumstances, it is not easy for Emperor Jiajing to hold on for so many years.

Zhu Zaigui said: "Father, I think the Ming Dynasty's luck has come."

When Emperor Jiajing heard what Zhu Zaigui said, he couldn't help but look at him in surprise.

"What do you think?"

Zhu Zaigui said: "First of all, I have the blessing of my father and elder brother. Not only do I have the achievements and abilities I have today, but I also find that there are several useful people in the court, whether they are civil officials or military generals."

"For example, the two gentlemen my father assigned to me, Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng, both had a strong determination to be the first in the world. There was also Hai Rui, who was even more so. Although Hai Rui did not have the ability and scheming of Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng, he was a sharp blade that could cut through the stubborn disease that had been unable to be cured before."

"There are also Hu Zongxian, Qi Jiguang, Yu Dayou and others. They are talented as both commanders and generals, and they can also independently establish meritorious services."

"If we can use them all well, at least in the next twenty years, the Ming Dynasty's national destiny will not be in any trouble, and we can even make achievements comparable to those of the Tang and Song dynasties!"

"Therefore, I think the future may develop in accordance with my father's long-cherished wish! The Ming Dynasty may regain its glory, break free from the shackles, and enter a new stage."

As Emperor Jiajing listened to Zhu Zaigui's words, the figures of the people Zhu Zaigui mentioned flashed through his mind.

Although he had never seen some of them, this did not hinder Emperor Jiajing's imagination.

Emperor Jiajing's mood was indeed cheered up when he thought about the talents and ages of these people.

"You're right! These people are truly rare talents! I never thought I would be so lucky to meet such a group of brilliant talents in my lifetime. God has really been very kind to me!"

Emperor Jiajing's mood was instantly filled with endless hope, as if he had already seen these people, under Zhu Zaigui's control and reuse, making unprecedented contributions to the Ming Dynasty.

So at this moment Emperor Jiajing was in a very happy mood. He often compared himself to Emperor Wen of Han Dynasty. Now, after seeing these talents pointed out by Zhu Zaigui.

Emperor Jiajing felt that his historical mission was just like that of Emperors Wen and Jing, which was to accumulate strength for the next generation and bring the country to a new peak!
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