Chapter 1189 Complying with Heaven's Will
Bin Sheng faced the greatest crisis since infiltrating the Ming Dynasty.
Yanzi was angry!
They say a reformed prodigal is worth more than gold, and Yanzi wasn't too upset about Bin Sheng having been a Jin national in the past. What angered her was her husband keeping secrets from her.
“I'm not talking to him! I'm absolutely not talking to him anymore!”
Yanzi pouted, stomping off to the cafeteria kitchen to cook, adamantly refusing to speak to Bin Sheng.
“Help me, someone! Who can give me an idea?” Bin Sheng, usually incredibly capable, a quick study, diligent, and seemingly omnipotent—a production pacesetter, a Labor Model, and one of the Ten Outstanding Young People—was now utterly helpless. He could only ask the blind for directions, frantically shaking a group of subordinates who understood women even less than he did. “How can I make Yanzi stop being angry?”
One subordinate ventured, “Perhaps if you gave her a gift, she'd cheer up?”
Another subordinate added, “Our navy brought back some rouge and powder from Jiangnan. I hear women love that stuff. Madam Yanzi will surely like it too.”
Bin Sheng exclaimed, “Oh, you're absolutely right! Let's go, quickly, to buy gifts!”
Yanzi flew into a rage. “He made me angry, and instead of coming to soothe me, he ran off to Xi'an? What kind of man is he?!”
Her female colleagues added fuel to the fire, “That's outrageous! Give him a piece of your mind, you absolutely must!”
“The Heavenly Lord was just here, even bestowing us with cooling balm! Let's go ask the Heavenly Lord to arbitrate!”
And so, with a large crowd of female workers rallying behind her, Yanzi rushed to the spot where the Heavenly Lord had just bestowed the cooling balm. She looked up at the sky. “Heavenly Lord, Bin Sheng is bullying Yanzi! You must preside over justice for Yanzi!”
Immediately, a large sheet of paper floated down from the sky, bearing the inscription: “The Heavenly Lord finds it difficult to arbitrate domestic disputes!”
Li Daoxuan was certainly not wading into that muddy water; he quickly vanished!—
Mi Qianhu, escorted by the local Jinyiwei from Xi'an, also boarded the great train.
The rumbling, monstrous vehicle genuinely startled them, but what terrified them more was that they had never heard of such a fearsome, strategic-level transport in the capital.
Mi Qianhu, his face darkening, couldn't help but berate the Xi'an Jinyiwei. “The local Jinyiwei are all in league with the rebel faction, aren't they? Has news truly stopped leaving Shaanxi? Not a single word about such a crucial mode of transport has reached the capital!”
The leader of the local Jinyiwei, a hundred-household commander named Zhou, had formerly been Shi Kefa's deputy. When Shi Kefa was transferred, Zhou was promoted to his current rank.
Hundred-Household Commander Zhou turned to Mi Qianhu. “Commander Mi, news of this great iron vehicle was actually written into a memorial several years ago by then-Governor Wang Shunxing and submitted to the Emperor. However, after reading it, His Majesty declared that Governor Wang was speaking nonsense and deceiving the throne, and subsequently dismissed him from office.”
Mi Qianhu gasped, “What?!”
Hundred-Household Commander Zhou continued, “Naturally, the next Governor, Lian Guoshi, dared not memorialize on this matter again. Who would foolishly seek their own dismissal?”
Mi Qianhu was utterly aghast. “It's normal for the Emperor to dismiss a single governor's report as false. But what about the local Censor-Inspector? The local Jinyiwei? If all of you had submitted memorials together, His Majesty, seeing reports from several different channels, would naturally have believed it.”
Hundred-Household Commander Zhou grinned. “At that time, the Censor-Inspector Wu Shen was one of our Heavenly Lord Daoist Sect members, and the Jinyiwei Hundred-Household Commander Shi Kefa was also one of ours. Of course, we wouldn't memorialize!”
Mi Qianhu declared, “So, for years, you've all been part of the rebel faction.”
Mi Qianhu and his entourage felt their hearts sink into an ice-cold abyss.
They had truly never imagined that the entirety of Shaanxi was in league with the rebel faction. If this were true, Shaanxi could launch a Jingnan Campaign at any moment, at Zhu Yujian's command. The Ming Dynasty was in grave peril.
“Huh? Wait! Something's not right!”
The Censor-Inspector Wu Shen he had mentioned, who served in Xi'an back then, wasn't he now the Governor of Shanxi?
And the Jinyiwei Hundred-Household Commander Shi Kefa from that time, wasn't he now the military administrator of Anqing and Chizhou?
Mi Qianhu groaned miserably. “Dreadful! The rebel faction already wields military and administrative power over three provinces. If they were to rebel, the consequences would be unimaginable!”
Hundred-Household Commander Zhou remarked, “You must think of us as unforgivable villains now.”
Mi Qianhu challenged, “And aren't you?”
Hundred-Household Commander Zhou merely said, “You'll see.”
The train chugged along, and soon, Xi'an was reached.
Zhu Cunji was already waiting at the train station for this very train...
As soon as the train pulled into the station, the Jinyiwei guards escorted Mi Qianhu and his entourage, presenting him before Zhu Cunji.
This was Xi'an, and Zhu Cunji naturally made no pretense. He wore his princely heir's robes, accompanied by a large retinue of palace attendants, displaying immense pomp.
The moment he stood before Mi Qianhu and his group, Mi Qianhu's heart sank to the bottom. “So, even the Prince of Qin's Residence is part of the rebel faction! You... you're colluding with Zhu Yujian, defying Heaven's will?”
Zhu Cunji chuckled. “Defying Heaven? It's hard to say who exactly is defying Heaven's will.”
He pointed a finger at the sky, speaking with an uncharacteristic solemnity. “This heir is complying with Heaven's will! Heaven itself believes that Zhu Youjian isn't doing a very good job, so the old man is personally intervening, teaching us how to govern. We are all following Heaven's guidance, striving to make this world a better place.”
Mi Qianhu snapped, “Stop spouting such nonsense! What 'Heaven itself' and 'old man'? It's all just an excuse for rebellion fabricated by you, like those empty slogans of the Eternal Venerable Mother and the True Void Homeland. All designed to deceive the ignorant masses!”
Zhu Cunji retorted, “Only to deceive the ignorant masses? Why don't you say that to Wu Shen, or to Shi Kefa, or to the current Governor of Shaanxi, Sun Chuanting? Are they ignorant masses? Don't their character and insight allow them to discern who truly means well for this realm?”
Mi Qianhu visibly flinched.
Zhu Cunji spread his hands, smiling. “But none of this concerns this heir. This heir has no desire to rebel! This heir detests court affairs! I simply enjoy eating, drinking, reveling, and admiring the scenery. The only things this heir has done for this realm are building two railways. Oh! And planning for a third has already begun, hehehe... This time, this heir intends to open a rail line from Hanzhong Prefecture to Guangyuan, then extend the railway all the way to Chengdu. Once the entire line is operational, the West Han Railway will become the West-Chengdu Railway.”
Mi Qianhu was abruptly startled, recalling the enormous iron vehicle he had just ridden.
If this vehicle were to connect Xi'an to Chengdu, capable of transporting over a thousand people through the perilous mountain passes of Shu, what an utterly astounding feat that would be!
What a significant strategic breakthrough that would represent!
However, Mi Qianhu's forehead immediately stiffened as something occurred to him. “You dare build this railway to Chengdu? Are you not afraid that the people of Sichuan will report your rebellious scheme to the Emperor?”
Zhu Cunji let out a hearty laugh. “Sichuan? It's already ours for the taking.”
Mi Qianhu: “!!!”
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