When Shen Zhi went in, the Marquis of Jibei was still angry and couldn't restrain himself. When he saw Shen Zhi coming in, he said, "Shen Zhi, you said that the third child was smart when he was young, but he became like this when he got older. He doesn't want to make progress, and he doesn't want to make progress. Thinking about the Marquis Mansion is so irritating."
"Master Marquis, the Third Young Master is still a little confused. If you stay here for a few days, you may be able to figure it out." Shen Zhi persuaded slowly. When he saw the broken teacups on the ground, he shouted: "Someone, clean these up."
Someone came in from outside, cleaned the room silently, and then left silently.
At this time, a voice came from outside asking for permission: "Master Hou, Daoist Li has arrived."
The Marquis of Jibei and Shen Zhi looked at each other, and the Marquis of Jibei said calmly: "Please come in!"
At this time, the Marquis of Jibei regained his composure and drank tea slowly. A Taoist walked out and saluted the Marquis of Jibei when he saw him: "Master Marquis, Mr. Shen, the Taoist is being polite."
Shen Zhi looked at this Taoist. He was wearing a Taoist robe and a bamboo crown. He had a clear face and three long beards. He did look a bit unearthly. He didn't know why, but he felt a little disgusted. He asked coldly: "The Taoist is not here." You practice Taoism in the mountains, why do you want to come to the Marquis's residence?"
The Taoist bowed slightly and said calmly: "The Taoist is here to preach."
Shen Zhi didn't want this Taoist to be so direct, so he smiled: "Preaching is not about words. I wonder what magical powers people have?"
The Taoist looked at Shen Zhi silently and said, "You are right, there are hundreds of schools in the world that do not rely on words at all, but I will show you today - you are versatile and you were originally a talented person, but unfortunately you took the wrong path."
Shen Zhi sneered: "I would like to hear the details."
The Taoist said: "We don't talk about physiognomy or qi. You have been smart since you were a child. You read books at the age of six, wrote essays at the age of nine, and were called a child prodigy when you were more than ten years old. However, you are talented and profound in writing, but you have repeatedly failed. Being a scholar is inherently jealous of others and has a stubborn personality, but ask yourself, is your literary talent really comprehensive? How does it compare to Pei Ziyun?"
Shen Zhi's sneer solidified when he saw the Taoist saying again: "In addition to the Four Books and Five Classics, you are also good at playing grass, can play the piano, are familiar with music, love opera, and are especially good at ink painting. You are good at landscapes, figures, flowers and birds, bamboos and stones. Third Young Master The painting I learned was taught by you, right?"
"It's a pity, can these save my life?"
These words were stabbed at me like a sword. The Taoist paced and sneered: "I want to help my destiny, whether it is literary career, Taoist career, military career, or a rich family background."
"You come from a poor background. If you are willing to hide your literary talents, you might be able to win. But in your early years, you had a good reputation and became well-known in the counties. You were often jealous, and the equal share added a lot of resistance. If you want to get ahead, you have to be talented. , people have nothing to say, but you have distracted your energy and if you don’t strive for excellence in your literary studies, how can you succeed and improve your destiny?"
"After thirty years, your destiny has been decided. You can only achieve success by attaching yourself to the Ming Lord. The so-called green rope flying by itself is only a few trees, but if you attach it to the tail, it can fly thousands of miles!"
What this means is that cursive calligraphy, music and music, opera, and ink painting that you play are all things that cannot be developed unless you want to be an artist. You come from a poor background and do not take the imperial examination well. You are good at literature but not top-notch. , there is no destiny left to say, the only choice is to take refuge in others.
When the Marquis of Jibei saw that Shen Zhi was speechless and his face turned pale, he couldn't help but smile: "What about me? I'm not asking about good luck, but please tell me."
The Taoist smiled and said: "The Marquis is so generous. He is a very noble person. The time for regret has passed. There was another chance. One month ago, the youth of the Marquis was getting stronger, and the Governor's youth was mixed. It was shrouded in ashes and smoke, with the appearance of being lost, but now, it's the opposite."
"Now I'm afraid that not only will it be difficult for the Marquis to make further progress, but he will also be killed."
The muscles on Marquis Jibei's face twitched, and murderous intent gushed out. However, the Taoist remained calm and looked at him. Marquis Jibei suddenly realized that this Taoist was possessed of strange powers and had the Holy Prison Gate behind him. He was not a liar. Then he turned into a smile again: "Taoist Priest, did you know that I invited you to come?"
"I know that the Marquis wants to deal with the Governor, but the local Songyun Sect is unwilling to help. Both ends have even added insult to injury, so the Marquis is looking for us." The man said.
The Marquis of Jibei then calmed down and smiled: "It's good that the Taoist knows."
The Taoist turned his head towards Shen Zhi: "Mr. Shen, I advise you to persuade the Marquis to give up the Songyun Sect. Our sect has been optimistic about the Marquis for a long time."
As he spoke, he looked at the Marquis of Jibei: "Master Hou, the Japanese pirates contacted the Marquis from this sect. I believe the Marquis also knows the intentions of our Holy Prison Sect. It's a pity that the Marquis chose the Songyun Sect in the first place. Now he knows that this sect is unreliable. , Fortunately, the Marquis still has time."
"The way of destiny is predetermined and artificial. It is mysterious and indescribable. Now is not the time for the Marquis to give up."
The Marquis of Jibei took a sip of the newly served hot tea, and then said: "Taoist Master, since we are here, we will discuss things before saying these words."
"Yes, Lord Marquis." The Taoist saluted, but added: "This is natural, but to be honest, at this time and that time, Lord Marquis has to be sincere if he wants to get funding from the Holy Prison Sect."
"Oh? What kind of sincerity does the Taoist want?" Ji Beihou's face darkened, and he felt a little unhappy. Seeing this, Shen Zhi asked with a raised voice.
The Taoist's expression did not change: "Sincerity naturally comes slowly. Let's do things first and gain mutual trust. If the Marquis wants to kill Pei Ziyun, we can do it for him."
"This son has been against our sect many times, causing great losses to the sect, and even ruining the affairs of the Hou Mansion. I think everyone will not object to killing this son, right?"
"Of course, we can support the Taoist Master. The Marquis has secret saucers who are all elite soldiers. We can send some to you for deployment. But can you clearly catch his footprints?" Shen Zhi listened and asked.
"I don't need to worry about you now. Someone has done it for me." The Taoist smiled meaningfully.
"Let's get down to business!" The Marquis of Jibei said, "Have you read Pingwa Ce? How should we deal with it?"
The Taoist also calmed his expression: "After seeing it, I have some knowledge of the Japanese pirates. In terms of origin, this is a matter in Fusang. In Fusang, the shogunate with the title of Great General, who was sealed by the former King of Fusang, lost his strength, and the princes fought in a melee. Many losers had nowhere to go, so they took ships to plunder China."
"In the next fifty years, there will be a new shogunate in Fuso. Originally, there would be fewer Japanese pirates, but the Japanese pirates who have tasted the benefits will not give up. The most important thing is that the previous government closed the sea trade, and all the cattle, horses, military supplies, and iron Those who sell goods, copper coins, satin, silk, and silk cotton out of the country and sell them into the sea will receive a hundred sticks."
"First it is smuggling. If it fails, it is robbery. This is Japanese pirates."
"In the policy of pacifying the Japanese, there is a saying that is the key. If the city is open, the pirates will turn into merchants, and if the city is banned, the merchants will turn into bandits. This really captures the key point."
Shen Zhi saw that the Marquis of Jibei's face was getting greener and greener, and said, "Didn't the Taoist come here specifically to praise the enemy?"
The Taoist nodded: "Of course not. What I mean is that what Ping Wo Ce said was ruthless and accurate. There is no luck in this."
"But if there is a strategy, it must be implemented. We may be able to take advantage of the opportunity."
"I would like to hear the details." said the Marquis of Jibei.
"Pinging the Japanese policy was a bad thing for us, but a second thought turned it into a good thing." Taoist Kankan said: "Fusang has a great demand for China, first of all silk floss."
"Ping Wa Ce Nei said that when the silk cotton market opens, sea troubles will be calmed down. This really hits the mark. But just because of this, can't we take advantage of the opening of the port and open the market to make a lot of money?"
"You are the Marquis of Jibei. You have money, people and ships. If you are willing to enter the market, wouldn't you make the most profit?"
Shen Zhi and the Marquis of Jibei said "Ah" and were stunned, as if they had opened the door.
"Silk wool is the most abundant, followed by pots, porcelain, lacquer, and medicinal materials. Fuso produces a lot of silver. If we can take a big share of the trade, we can expect hundreds of thousands of silver."
"Master Marquis has this money, what's so difficult to do?"
"Moreover, if the Governor opens the port and opens up many markets at once, we can make huge profits, create trouble, stock goods and markets, send people to harass, and even take action on the price of rice."
"There are those so-called honest people who jump out into the ring with the governor and accuse everything of opening up the sea."
"Master Marquis, the key to success is a few years. As long as the Japanese pirates are still there and the coast is not peaceful, the court will not care about punishing you. The emperor is not in good health. As long as he dies, the prince will be in power again."
"At that time, you can advance or retreat."
After hearing this, the Marquis of Jibei seemed to be chewing an olive in his mouth, and sighed for a long time: "There are so many talented people in the world. If I tell you, bad things will become good things."
Shen Zhi had just been told that he was "unprofessional but unprofessional". At this time, he didn't say a word, but listened with faint eyes. At this time, he coughed, his face softened, and he smiled: "What the Taoist said is that since the general trend is irresistible, , whether it is the weather or the Japanese policy, then turn the disadvantage into advantage."
"Master Marquis, this is a very good policy. You can follow it."
"Oh?" The Marquis of Jibei was startled and paced back and forth to consider: "Taoist Master, the bigger this matter is, the more serious this matter is. I want to think about it. You should go back first!"
"Shen Zhi, you see the Taoist Master off."
"yes!"
After sending this man away, Shen Zhi returned to the study. He was silent for a long time and then stepped forward and said, "Master Marquis, you must guard against the ambition of the wolf in the Holy Prison Gate."
The Marquis of Jibei smiled coldly: "They have ambitions, but I don't care. As long as they can help me, these Taoists will be helpful, and I can tolerate them."
"But..." Shen Zhi wanted to speak, but the Marquis of Jibei stopped him with a wave of his hand and said, "There is no need to say these things. For the sake of foundation, these are necessary."
"Alas!" Shen Zhi could only sigh and said nothing more, but changed his words: "This Taoist reminded me, but I have ideas."
"Oh, tell me." Marquis Jibei's eyes lit up.
"That's what I'm saying. Since the general trend is irresistible, whether it's the weather or the Japanese policy, let's turn the disadvantage into an advantage. I didn't finish what I said just now - how to turn the disadvantage into an advantage?"
"The imperial court wants to reduce its military power, so should we actively cooperate with the imperial court's political affairs, openly respond to the imperial court's call, disarm and return the army to the fields, and actually break up the elite soldiers loyal to the marquis into pieces and turn them into maritime merchants?"
"In this way, you can make money and protect your foundation. If you have the right time, you can make progress. If you don't have the right time, you can pass on wealth and honor."
"You can also gain a respectful name in front of the court, which may greatly avoid the court's suspicion."
"Huh?" The Marquis of Jibei stood up, paced back and forth, and said, "Okay, okay, sir, you are indeed a great talent."
(End of chapter)