Episode 164 Powerful and tough

"It's both from the north and at the top of the Nanming core," Xiang Xiaoqiang nodded and smiled, "Yes, so what?" What does His Majesty the Emperor want to prove? ”

Guangwu stared into his eyes and continued to smile:

"It's not that I'm trying to prove anything. But I've been thinking about something for almost a decade. Recently, I have been thinking more about these questions...... Some figured it out, some didn't. I think that now on both sides of the Yangtze River, in the north and south, only General Xiang has such an identity. In addition, after thinking about it, now in the Ming and Qing dynasties, the one who dares to discuss these issues with me freely is General Xiang alone. A person has these two rare conditions at the same time, you say that if I don't invite you to the general, who else can I invite over? ”

Xiang Xiaoqiang also stared at his eyes, pondering his words in his mind, guessing what he wanted to talk about, while hesitating, he nodded slowly.

Emperor Guangwu smiled:

"General Xiang doesn't have to have any worries, the reason why I chose to eat with the general here is because this place is transparent on all sides, and it is impossible to hide an ear to hear the conversation except for the lake on all sides. You see, there was only one table and three chairs in this pavilion, and not even a single piece of extra furniture. General Xiang doesn't have to worry about what tape recorder I've hidden. ”

This time it was Xiang Xiaoqiang's turn to laugh. After laughing, he shook his head and said:

"His Majesty the Emperor doesn't need to think about it so much. It doesn't matter if you have a tape recorder or not, it depends on what the topic is. There are some topics, even if there is a tape recorder spinning there, I just talk about it. But there are some topics that I can't tell you even if there is no tape recorder and just the two of us. After all, we're not on the same side. His Majesty the Emperor...... I don't offend you by saying that, do I? ”

When Xiang Xiaoqiang said "tape recorder", his foot lightly touched Zheng Yuxuan, put his hand under the table, and pointed to the bottom of the table. Zheng Yuxuan immediately understood.

Emperor Guangwu was stunned, a little surprised, and then smiled:

"Of course not. You're right, we're not on one side. But it is precisely because we are not on the same side that we can talk so calmly. The ministers and generals below me were all on my side, but they didn't dare to discuss issues with me at all, except for 'huh'. …… I believe that General Xiang will not be very comfortable speaking in front of Zhu Yourong, right? ”

Xiang Xiaoqiang squinted his eyes and smiled, hearing that this was a trick of Guangwu, and he was testing his relationship with Zhu Yourong. If you can't control your vanity, you're likely to reveal the truth. This is not only related to Zhu Yourong's reputation, but also an important strategic level of political intelligence.

"Oops!"

One of Zheng Yuxuan's chopsticks fell to the ground. Before Emperor Guangwu could react, Zheng Yuxuan had already quickly burrowed under the table and picked up the chopsticks.

"Oh, it's dirty......" she laughed, "Your Majesty, please have someone change it for me." ”

Guangwu didn't see the clue, slapped his palm twice, and asked someone to bring another pair of chopsticks.

During this period, Zheng Yuxuan's toes tapped twice on the surface of Xiaoqiang's feet, and gave him a relieved look.

Xiang Xiaoqiang understood that there was no tape recorder under the desktop.

"Hehe, Your Majesty the Emperor," Xiang Xiaoqiang was completely relieved at this time, and said with a smile, "It's rare that His Majesty the Emperor is so generous, and I will say everything." Alas...... I am more likely to be the new appointment of Her Majesty the Empress, which is true, and everyone can see it. But...... Alas, after all, it is the relationship between the monarch and the minister, and the courtier can never speak as freely in front of the monarch as he does with his colleagues. …… His Majesty the Emperor is really breaking down in one sentence: You are the emperor, but not my emperor. I am a courtier, but not yours. It seems that only when we sit together like this, can we speak freely without scruples! Hahaha......"

That's when the hot dish came up. When Emperor Guangwu heard him say this, he also seemed very satisfied, smiled and invited them to eat, and then helped them pour wine.

"Since General Xiang is so honest," Guangwu said with a smile, "then I would like to ask General Xiang: what if—ahem, just if...... If General Xiang were to choose again, would General Xiang prefer to be an official in the Qing Dynasty, or would he still be willing to be an official in Nanming? ”

Xiang Xiaoqiang was a little surprised, but he didn't expect him to ask such a question.

"What if?"

"Yes, what if," Guangwu looked at Zheng Yuxuan and said with a smile, "Don't worry, the county lord is just asking, and he doesn't mean to rebel against your general." ”

Xiang Xiaoqiang smiled:

"I haven't been an official in Daqing, but I think about it, being an official in Beiqing is a hundred times more affordable than being an official in Daming. For example, the magistrate of a county in the Qing Dynasty is richer than our first minister of the Ming Dynasty, I know this...... Obviously, if I had to choose freely, I would definitely be willing to be an official in the Qing Dynasty. But the problem is, I'm afraid I don't have that ability. ”

Guangwu smiled:

"How so?"

Xiang Xiaoqiang smiled:

"In the Qing Dynasty, 'promotion to official positions and wealth' was a word. But in the Ming Dynasty, 'promotion' and 'fortune' are two words. In our country, you can't make a fortune as an official, and although you have a good and decent salary, you can't make a fortune, and you can only get rich by doing business and running an industry. Therefore, in Daming, the most capable people are concentrated in the business world, and only people like me who have no ability will become officials.

"In the Qing Dynasty, you can't make a fortune by doing business and running an industry, and the money you earn is not enough to buy peace from the government. If you want to get rich, there is only one way to become an official. Therefore, the most capable people in the Qing Dynasty were concentrated in the officialdom. It is common sense that where the benefits are abundant, the competition will be fiercer. The Qing Dynasty officialdom is the most oily officialdom in the world, so it also concentrates the essence of the whole society in the Qing Dynasty. Like me, Xiang Xiaoqiang, a person who can only play clever and eat rice, it is strange that he will not be trampled on by others in the officialdom of the Qing Dynasty, hahaha......"

Emperor Guangwu was stunned, and he laughed for a while, and said:

"The general wants to say, why is Nanming richer than me? Ha ha...... This kind of high-minded argument by the general is quite new, and it is the first time I have heard it today. But...... To the general, 'rich' and 'powerful' are two different things. 'Rich' is more often associated with 'weakness'. In ancient times, the Yuan Dynasty destroyed the Song Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty defeated the Ming Dynasty...... And today's Germany, Italy, the USSR, in front of which the rich Britain and France are cowardly like clowns. General Xiang, what do you think? ”

Xiang Xiaoqiang smiled:

"Your Majesty, you don't mean 'strong', but 'tough'. 'tough' doesn't have to be 'strong'. Countries like Germany, Italy, and the Soviet Union are, of course, tough. It's not that they have the strength to be tough, it's that their rulers need to be tough. It's not necessarily tough. A man like Hitler, who is himself self-aggrandizing, has no need to say that he must have been more tough when he was really tough. And more rational people like Mussolini or Stalin, they will also be tough from time to time when needed. But...... Most of them are tough on their own people.

"No way, Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin and others know that their rule at home seems to be as strong as steel, but in fact it is very fragile. Artificially setting up a few enemies and then taking a hard line against the 'enemy' on a regular and irregular basis, half-truths and half-truths, can create a feeling of 'strong enemies waiting around' in the country, which will help to draw the dissatisfaction of the people from oneself to the outside, and even more help to tie the hearts of the people at home to oneself, and then the chair under one's ass can continue to be stable...... Ah, Your Majesty the Emperor, you said yes, right? Hehehe......"

Zheng Yuxuan was frightened and gently kicked Xiaoqiang under the table to remind him. We're still in the hands of others, don't be so open-mouthed.