HLnovel Chapter 283 Betting on Life
Chapter 283 Betting on Life
Chapter 283 Gambling with Life
After chatting with Emperor Chongzhen for a while, Wang Wenzhou left the Imperial Study feeling dejected. He had thought that with his understanding of historical trends and his extensive knowledge of later generations, he could succeed in anything he did in the Ming Dynasty. Now he realized that the power of the civil service was truly immense.
The civil service not only controlled the Ming government but also firmly held military power. Although the Ming Dynasty also sent eunuchs as military supervisors, after Wei Zhongxian, the power of the eunuchs was greatly weakened by the civil officials, and the military supervisors sent by Chongzhen had no power at all.
Fortunately, the nobles of the Ming Dynasty sided with Wang Wenzhou because they did business together, and Wang Wenzhou was also from a noble family. However, the power of the noble group was much smaller than that of the civil officials; they were only nominally more prestigious.
On the way back, Chen Yuanyuan saw Wang Wenzhou looking worried and reminded him, "Wang Wenzhou, wake up! Don't make enemies of the officials anymore, that's a path to death."
"Hehe!" Wang Wenzhou said seriously, "Yuanyuan, do you think I'm really crazy? I'm doing all this for the sake of the Ming Dynasty. If the peace talks fail, the Ming Dynasty will perish in a few years!"
"Madman!" Chen Yuanyuan cursed Wang Wenzhou in her heart. He was a madman. Even if the Ming Dynasty encountered some setbacks, with the strength of the Ming Dynasty, it was impossible for the country to perish.
Cao Huachun hurriedly came forward and said hastily, "Lord Wang, you're finally back."
"What happened?" Wang Wenzhou asked.
Cao Huachun said with a wry smile, "Four senior officials have already fainted. I have invited the imperial physician, who said that they all suffered from heatstroke."
"Pfft..." Wang Wenzhou burst out laughing; he had actually suffered heatstroke in the winter.
Cao Huachun continued, "Without you, I dared not let them leave. Now that you're here, you can go and explain to them."
Wang Wenzhou, with Chen Yuanyuan in his arms, went over and saw four people lying on the ground, each surrounded by several people taking care of them.
"Did Lord Kong suffer from heatstroke?" Wang Wenzhou asked with a smile.
Kong Zhenyun looked up at Wang Wenzhou and said irritably, "Wang Wenzhou, hurry up and get me some water, or I'll haunt you even as a ghost!"
"Drink water? Do you even have the nerve to drink water?" Wang Wenzhou asked, cursing.
If this drags on, people will really die. Wen Tiren could stand by and do nothing, but Qian Qianyi couldn't ignore it, because the four people lying on the ground were all members of the Donglin Party.
Qian Qianyi earnestly said, "Wang Wenzhou, are you going to stand by and watch us die? Those present are all important officials of the court!"
Wang Wenzhou said irritably, "Lord Qian, are high-ranking officials of the court human beings, but aren't the soldiers fighting for the country on the front lines human beings? You heartless bastards have actually cut off the food supplies of the front-line troops! Those brave men who risked their lives to protect their country are almost starving to death. Are you doing this for the good of the country, or for your own reputation?"
Qian Qianyi frowned. This was indeed a scheme orchestrated by the Donglin Party to coerce Emperor Chongzhen into abandoning the peace talks.
Wang Wenzhou said nonchalantly, "I'll give you two more days. If you still don't agree to negotiations, then we'll fight to the death. I'll kill you all and make you pay with your lives!"
"You...you're a madman!" Qian Qianyi said angrily.
"Someone come here!" Wang Wenzhou shouted.
"Your subordinate is here. What are your orders, Lord Wang?" the guard captain asked.
Wang Wenzhou commanded, "Pass on my order: from this moment forward, no one is allowed to leave this place. Furthermore, no item is allowed to enter this place. If even a drop of water or a grain of rice enters, I will kill your entire family!"
"Your subordinate obeys!" The guard commander curled his lip; it seemed Lord Wang really wanted to fight the officials to the death.
"Come here, all of you!" Wang Wenzhou beckoned to the eunuch tending the stove.
The eunuchs rushed over.
Wang Wenzhou said angrily, "How did you light the stove? Why is it so cold here? Listen up, if it's still this cold after an incense stick has burned, I'll skin you all alive!"
"Lord Wang, please don't be angry. We'll go and stoke the fire right away." The eunuchs, who had been bribed by the officials and had deliberately lowered the furnace temperature, were now being threatened by Wang Wenzhou. They didn't want to die, so they all ran back to add coal to the furnace.
"Wang Wenzhou, have you considered the consequences?" Qian Qianyi asked fiercely.
"Heh!" Wang Wenzhou sneered, "Lord Qian, now is not the time for me to consider the consequences. I am the butcher and you are the fish on the chopping block, don't get me wrong! Lord Qian, are you threatening me? Do you think I'm easily scared? I think I haven't killed enough people. I need to kill a few more before you know fear!"
"You're a madman!" Qian Qianyi could do nothing but curse a few times.
Wang Wenzhou laughed and said, "Almost everyone, when faced with death, doesn't want to die. Isn't it wonderful to be alive? Lord Qian, putting everything else aside, you're almost 70, and you can still sleep with beautiful women, how great is that! If you only had two days left to live, and a deity gave you an elixir that would extend your life by 20 years, but this elixir has a side effect: it would turn you into a scumbag that everyone despises. Lord Qian, would you take the elixir?"
Qian Qianyi declared passionately, "To die for the greater good of the nation is a death I would have no regrets!"
"Pah!" Wang Wenzhou cursed inwardly, "Old Qian, you're shameless!"
In Wang Wenzhou's timeline, Qian Qianyi not only surrendered to the Manchus but also became the Vice Minister of Rites. Of course, Wang Wenzhou hated Qian Qianyi for another reason: in his timeline, Liu Rushi (his daughter) married him.
When the Manchu army approached Nanjing, Liu Rushi urged Qian Qianyi to drown himself with her and die for his country. Qian Qianyi pondered silently, and finally went down into the pool to test the water, saying, "The water is too cold, I can't go in." Liu Rushi "threw herself into the pool," but Qian Qianyi held her back.
This is Qian Qianyi, who constantly proclaimed himself to die for the greater good of the nation. This learned scholar who rose to the highest ranks of officialdom, Qian Qianyi, was actually inferior to a former prostitute!
“Alright!” Wang Wenzhou nodded solemnly and said, word by word, “Old Qian, you’re threatening the Emperor with grain supplies. He’ll give me two days. If you don’t agree to peace talks after two days, I’ll kill you first! Don’t think I’m threatening you. You can think about Qian Shisheng.”
Qian Qianyi's expression changed. Wang Wenzhou, that madman, was truly bold and daring. Yesterday, he had said that if Qian Shisheng didn't come to court, he would exterminate Qian Shisheng's entire family. Although Qian Shisheng was still alive, it was practically the same as exterminating his entire family.
"You dare!?" Qian Qianyi said, still shaken.
"Haha!" Wang Wenzhou laughed loudly, "Old Qian, we'll see! Anyway, you're already trying to kill me, and I just don't like you. Before I die, I'll definitely drag you down with me!"
After Wang Wenzhou finished speaking, he put his arm around Chen Yuanyuan and swaggered away.
Qian Qianyi frowned, lost in thought.
Wen Tiren smiled slightly. It seemed that forming an alliance with Wang Wenzhou was feasible! After getting rid of Qian Qianyi, no one in the court would be a match for me.