Chapter 9: Pointing at the Scenic Beauty of Rivers and Mountains

  Zhong Jinwei thought for a moment, then said to Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, I have just arrived in this world and am not very familiar with the current situation. I think it would be better if I first understood the current situation before giving you suitable advice based on my experience from later generations. What do you think?"

  The Chongzhen Emperor was delighted and said, "I knew you were a man of action. If you had just come with empty words, I would have worried that you were all talk and no action." Zhong Jiwei couldn't help but laugh along with the emperor.

  The Chongzhen Emperor smiled and thought for a moment, then said to Zhong Jinwei: "For the current situation, I will have my teacher come over to explain it to you. Wang Chengen will listen in and supplement. I have many things to attend to, so I'll go take care of them first. When you have some ideas, I'll come back to hear them, all right?"

  Zhong Jinwei listened and said, "No problem, Your Majesty can attend to other matters. I'll report back as soon as I have a result." The Chongzhen Emperor nodded, then instructed Wang Chengen, "Grand Companion, issue an imperial edict summoning Hanlin Academy's Reader-in-Attendance Wen Tiren to come and explain immediately." Wang Chengen hastily relayed the order.

  Zhong Jinwei took a look at the map and thought of something, then said to Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, these two maps are rare treasures in this world, especially the world map. But the notes on it are written in simplified characters of later generations, which is inconvenient for people to read now, and some place names are different. Do you think we should redraw a few copies according to this map?"

  To be honest, Emperor Chongzhen didn't particularly value these two maps. He was too busy with immediate matters to care. But after hearing what Zhong Jiwei had to say, he had to show some attitude: "Alright, I'll order someone to take care of it."

  Zhong Jingwei noticed that Emperor Chongzhen seemed to be taking a dismissive attitude, so he emphasized: "Your Majesty, don't underestimate this map. In the future, when Your Majesty competes for hegemony in the world, it will be like traveling on a road with twists and turns, and the direction of the journey will be clear at heart. Without this map, it would be like walking in the dark night, not only slow but also prone to falling."

  Zhong Jinwei felt that this metaphor was not very vivid and not tempting enough, so he continued: "Your Majesty, now in many places, you see here, here, are still inhabited by indigenous people. Above, there is gold, silver, copper, iron, and all kinds of resources. The soil is fertile, and the rice is harvested three times a year. Now Westerners have begun to explore this world, and then use large sea ships to transport shiploads of gold and silver back to their own countries. Can't our great Ming dynasty fall behind!"

  The Chongzhen Emperor's eyes lit up at once, ship after ship of gold!

  The Chongzhen Emperor began to imagine a not-too-distant future, the fleet he sent out returned triumphantly, with gold piled high in the holds, even overflowing onto the decks, shining brightly, and finally even the ships themselves turned into gold, how wonderful!

  Suddenly, Emperor Chongzhen felt his saliva was about to flow out, he quickly calmed down and excitedly confirmed: "Really?"

  Zhong Jinwei smiled and nodded, saying: "Your Majesty, our great Ming may seem very large, but in the context of the world, it's not even worth looking at. If we gather all the gold within the borders of our great Ming, I'm afraid there will be a lot, let alone the vast world outside."

  At this point, Zhong Jinwei suddenly realized something and couldn't help but feel a little regretful. He pounded his own head and said: "Why didn't I just buy a map of China's mineral resources and a map of the world's mineral resources? What a pity! Otherwise, there would be no need to think about other ways to make money, just find the gold mine and start digging."

  Zhong Jinwei was really greedy, normally people wouldn't go buy mineral resource maps, and not many vendors would be foolish enough to sell this kind of map.

  Chongzhen Emperor also felt a bit regretful, but there was nothing he could do about it. He replied to Zhong Xue: "I will arrange this matter immediately."

  "Good." Zhong Jinwei added on the side, "Your Majesty, the scale of this map cannot be wrong. Also, those small dots on the sea cannot be missed. A small dot is actually a very large island."

  Chongzhen Emperor nodded and let Wang Cheng'en carefully collect the two maps and go out to arrange for people to copy them.

  Emperor Chongzhen wanted to hear more from Zhong Jingwei, but there were still many things to attend to, and being a hands-on person himself, he could only temporarily leave it at that and go take care of his affairs.

  After Chongzhen Emperor left, Aqi looked at Zhong Jingwei with admiration and said, "Young Master, how do you know so many things?"

  Zhong Jinwei said proudly in front of the little beauty: "That's right, when it comes to this world, who understands the most, that is me." The loser started showing off.

  "A Qi looked at Zhong Jinwei's expression and knew he was being sarcastic again, but she didn't mind. She said to Zhong Jinwei: 'Young Master, can you tell me more about the outside world?'"

  "Outside world, what do you want to know?"

  A Qi was a bit shy, and said in a low voice: "It's all right, I've been growing up at home since I was a child, and I've never been out. At the age of 12, I was selected to enter the palace, and I have never left the palace. The outside world has never been seen before."

  Zhong Jinwei was taken aback, "Ah, I see. No problem, I'll tell you all about it. I'll share with you the few things that people in this world know, and it will surely broaden your horizons. But first, can you pour me a glass of water to drink?"

  A Qi heard this and happily went to pour water for Zhong Jinwei.

  Zhong Jin watched Aqi busily with a satisfied smile, thinking that this life wasn't bad either!

  When Wang Chengen came over again, he brought a civil officer with him. He was about sixty years old, with a thin chin and a long mustache, looking quite spirited.

  Zhong Jinwei thought to himself: "This is Wen Ti Ren, a person who was pulled into the treacherous officials by the Qing dynasty. I don't know if the information I saw online is accurate or not."

  Wen Ti Ren was also sizing up Zhong Jin Wei. On the way, Wang Cheng En had already told Wen Ti Ren about the events of the past two days in detail. Although Wen Ti Ren found it unbelievable, the person was standing right in front of him, and at first glance, it was clear that this person did not fit in with those around him. Without mentioning his hairstyle, just his posture, his demeanor, one could sense that he had a calm and peaceful attitude towards people, neither fawning nor flattering, and yet seemed different from the others.

  After Wang Chengen introduced the two separately, they sat down and Zhong Jinwei spoke first: "Lord Wen, please tell us about the current situation in the Great Ming Dynasty, speak truthfully."

  Wen Ti Ren stroked his chin whiskers with his hand and said: "Since I am following the imperial edict, I will naturally tell you the truth."

  Wen Tianren stopped for a moment, sorted out his thoughts, and immediately said: "The current dynasty's greatest disaster is the Northeastern Jurchens, who are attacking cities and occupying territories. Liaodong has basically been lost. The Jurchens have established a fake Jin state, with their capital in Shenyang, and the front line is at Ningyuan and Jinzhou. Korea is its vassal state, and many Mongolian tribes are its claws, making it unstoppable."

  Wen Tianren said this, looking at Zhong Jinwei, who seemed to be listening with a nonchalant attitude. He continued: "In the southwest of the imperial court, there were also local chieftains who rebelled from the Tianqi era until now, and have not been completely pacified. The governors of Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Yunnan, and other provinces are all in a state of turmoil."

  "The pirates along the southeastern coast are rampant, forcing the imperial court to adopt a maritime ban policy. Although Zheng Zhilong's forces have been pacified for now, their hearts are difficult to gather, and bandits rise in all directions, making it hard to bring peace to the four seas."

  Wen Tianren kept an eye on Zhong Jingwei, and found that he didn't look surprised at all. He continued to reveal more: "In the territory of the Great Ming, especially in the northern regions, the weather is extremely cold and disasters are frequent. Shaanxi and Shanxi have been suffering from drought for a long time, with thousands of miles of barren land, and occasional earthquakes. The people are easy to starve, and even eat each other's children. The capital city also suffered an earthquake last September. In Jiangsu and Zhejiang, the coastal areas were hit by strong winds and rain, flooding and drowning people and livestock, destroying countless crops. Locusts have risen in various places, especially in Shaanxi."

  When Wen Ti Ren was speaking, Wang Cheng En kept giving him eye signals, meaning don't say too much, leave some face.

  Wen Ti Ren Shi Er Bu Jian, Gu Yi Wang Zhong Li Shuo, Ba Qu Nian Fa Sheng De Shi Qing Ye Yi Bing Shuo Zhe, Xiang Dou Shi Yi Qi Fa Sheng De Shi Qing Yi Yang, Jiu Shi Xiang Kan Zhe Ge Ren Di Di You Mei You Ben Shi Neng Jie Chao Ting Zhi Kun.

  Zhong Jinwei listened attentively and thought about it in conjunction with his own understanding. Seeing that Wen Tiren was no longer speaking, he asked: "Is that all?"

  Wen Ti Ren did not speak, stroking his long beard with his hand, slightly nodding. In his heart, he thought, is this still not enough?

  Zhong Jinwei then stood up, walked to the front of the blackboard, and turned back to ask Archie: "Archie, do you have a rag?"

  Wen Ti Ren and Wang Cheng En both looked puzzled, staring at Zhong Jin Wei.

  "Aqi glanced at the focus on himself and couldn't help but feel a little flustered, hastily saying: "Young master, wait a moment.""

  A Qi went into the side hall and took out a silk cloth, asking Zhong Jinwei: "Young master, is this okay?" It was a piece of silk.

  "Okay."

  Zhong Jinwei took the rag and wiped away what was previously drawn on the blackboard, then drew a rough map of China and marked the places Wen Tiren mentioned one by one.

  Although Zhong Jinwei's handwriting was lacking in strokes and looked very ugly, Wen Tiren could still guess what it was, feeling that the entire situation of the Ming dynasty was clear at a glance.

  Zhong Jinwei finished writing and turned his head to ask Wen Ti-ren: "Lord Wen, is that so?"

  Wen Ti Ren nodded: "More or less."

  Zhong Jinwei smiled and said: "Lord Wen is probably still holding back a bit, isn't he?"

  Wen Ti Ren was taken aback: "Is there anywhere else you haven't mentioned?"

  Zhong Jinwei smiled slightly and said, "The official system! The officials in the capital and the local governments have all become corrupt. To borrow the words of Yue Fei from the Southern Song Dynasty, it has basically reached the point where civil officials love money and military generals fear death."

  Zhong Jinwei finished speaking and turned around to write a few large words on the blank blackboard: Wen Chen loves money, Wu Jiang is reluctant to die.

  Wen Ti Ren was taken aback, speechless. What he said earlier were just superficial words, the real concern hidden in his heart remained unspoken, because speaking it out would offend all his colleagues. It wasn't worth mentioning before reaching a certain position, and he didn't expect Zhong Jinwei to bring it up directly.

  Wang Chengen was secretly annoyed beside him, so bluntly, where would the face of Emperor Chongzhen be placed? However, Wang Chengen also admired Zhong Jiawei's words.

  Zhong Jinwei turned his head to look at the blackboard and began to ponder, these are the difficulties that need to be overcome to save the Ming Dynasty. The problems are all laid out here, how can they be solved?

  Zhong Jinwei thought for a moment, and on the words "wen chen ai qian, wu jiang xi si" he added two negative characters. Then he turned to Wen Ti-ren and Wang Cheng-en and said: "This is the problem that we want to help Your Majesty solve. Once this problem is solved, all other problems will be solved, and the world will be at peace!"

  Wang Chengen murmured: "Where can we find such civil and military officials now?"

  Wang Chengen's words were overheard by Zhong Jinwei, who smiled and said, "Hey, what a coincidence, I just so happen to know someone like that."

  "Who?" asked Wang Chengen.

  Zhong Jinwei looked at Wen Tiren and found that Wen Tiren was also looking at him.

  He smiled at Wen Ti Ren and said, "A scholar-official is far away in the sky, but near at hand." Wen Ti Ren and Wang Cheng En were both taken aback, looked at each other, then Wen Ti Ren humbly said, "I dare not presume to be one."

  Zhong Jinwei smiled: "Nothing to be ashamed of, history tells me. The representative of the martial arts is Lu Xiangsheng, who was a soldier in every battle and was invincible. In the end, he was harmed by treacherous officials and died on the battlefield." Wang Chengen listened and thought to himself: "This person is mentioned by Mr. Zhong for the second time, it seems that we really need to pay attention to him. Today's conversation must be reported to His Majesty without missing a single word."

  Wen Ti Ren spoke up: "Even if there are, it's only two people. Human strength is sometimes exhausted, how can we solve it?" After finishing speaking, he looked at Zhong Jin Wei with a sharp and spirited gaze, as if trying to see the answer in his heart.