Chinese dining table

Chapter 1254: Nameless Struggle and Sacrifice

Yun Chu rode back home on horseback, sat in the flower hall, looked at the emerald green forsythia and sighed.

The Wu brothers were no longer afraid of his beatings.

In other words, they came here today just to get beaten.

They have already been beaten by Yun Chu.

You can only beat him, not kill him, which makes Yun Chu very embarrassed.

Ever since the Tang Dynasty's political power was divided into three parts, Yun Chu's situation has been very difficult.

The emperor loved him, but he loved Yun Chu himself, not Yun Chu, the garrison commander of Chang'an. If Yun Chu abandoned all his duties and went to Jiucheng Palace with Li Zhi to raise bears, take walks, chat and play cards, Li Zhi would just treat it as a joke even if Yun Chu killed the Wu brothers in a fit of rage.

Unfortunately, Yun Chu refused to do it because he loved his Chang'an more.

Crown Prince Li Hong respected him very much. Similarly, he respected Yun Chu himself, not Yun Chu, the garrison commander of Chang'an and the General of the Zhenjun Army. If Yun Chu was willing to give up his current position and go to the Eastern Palace to be a teacher for his two children, Li Hong would have no problem respecting him as his father.

Unfortunately, Yun Chu refused to do it. He felt that Chang'an or the people of the Tang Dynasty needed him more.

The Queen actually had no prejudice against Yun Chu. If Yun Chu was willing to go to the Academy of Bachelors to be a scholar, reciting poems and composing essays all day long, or burying himself in piles of old papers, the Queen would actually be very willing to discuss academic matters with Yun Chu and would give him absolute help in this regard.

Unfortunately, Yun Chu refused to do so. He even rarely wrote poetry recently and still held on to Chang'an, an important city of the Tang Dynasty, and was unwilling to let go.

Politicians always look at people in two ways.

Since Yun Chu chose politics, he should be treated in a political way. The three qualified politicians are very clear about this point.

Because politics has never had anything to do with personal feelings.

In the past, when Li Zhi was the sole ruler of the Tang Dynasty, Yun Chu had only one superior, and he only had to carry out his political arrangements targeting this one superior. But now, the problem is that there are three.

Moreover, these three people each firmly controlled three different fields, forcing Yun Chu to divide his energy into three parts to deal with them separately.

In theory, when one person is in charge, things can be done most efficiently. But now there is a situation of three powers in a balance of power. They restrain each other, guard against each other, and attack each other, which makes it many times more difficult for the grassroots to get things done.

The foundation of politics is attack, defense, and contention. As for the livelihood issues that the people are concerned about, they are actually not a priority in the eyes of politicians.

For thousands of years, China's politics has been mostly internal, which is why China has such strong power but cannot even break out of Asia.

However, doing so is a good thing, and internal friction also has its benefits. While everyone is engaging in internal friction, if they continue to cultivate this piece of land politically and militarily, the possibility of division will be greatly reduced.

After all, politicians and military strategists have watered this land thoroughly with their blood, and losing any piece of it would be as painful as cutting flesh for them.

Therefore, over thousands of years, the basic foundation has never been lost.

Because of its long history, Chinese politicians never argue about short-term gains and losses when looking at issues. China has had too many glorious times and too many times of decline. Politicians do not care much about temporary victories or failures.

Their plans generally leave enough room for development and focus on the next few decades or even hundreds of years. Such strategies sometimes succeed and sometimes fail.

In short, there is no certainty.

These words may sound like nonsense, but it is the truth contained in these nonsense that has allowed China to stumble through the next 1,400 years.

Thinking of this, Yun Chu sighed, took a sip of the warm tea at hand, and said to Yu Xiurong who was waiting beside him: "Jin'er is back today, why is there no one here at this time?"

Yu Xiurong came over and said, "The debate at Louguan Terrace has reached the point where people are dying. He probably won't have time to come back."

Yun Chu smiled and said, "Is it the monk who died, or the Taoist priest?"

Yu Xiurong sighed and said, "The monks performed how to sit and die immediately, and the Taoists performed how to dissolve their weapons and ascend to heaven."

"Didn't Master Xuanzang and Immortal Sun stop it?"

Yu Xiurong shook his head and said, "Those people were so fanatical that they didn't wait for Master Xuanzang and the old immortal in Chang'an to stop them. Dozens of high-ranking monks and Taoist priests either sat down and passed away immediately or had their heads chopped off with steel knives. It is said that the stench of corpses is now overwhelming at Louguan Terrace.

After hearing about this, the old immortal Master Xuanzang issued a strict ban, but even so, monks and Taoists continued to die.

Yesterday, a foreign monk from Wuwei Big Buddha Temple, Zhang Dunhejie, died after being hit on the head with an oil hammer. It was said that there was not even a bump on his forehead from the oil hammer, but he passed away immediately after sitting in meditation. The monks then found two large vats and locked Zhang Dunhejie in them. According to Zhang Dunhejie's great wish before his death, his body would not decay for a thousand years.

Husband, how do those monks and Taoists know that they will die on that day? "

Yun Chu shook his head and said, "Master Xuanzang and Taoist Priest Sun can really die as soon as they say so. I don't think others can do that."

"So, they all committed suicide?"

"It could also be possible that he was murdered!"

When it comes to political conspiracy, Yu Xiurong kept silent. She always felt that this should be her husband's responsibility and it was not something that she, a woman in the inner chamber, could interfere with.

Yun Chu took the deaths of monks and Taoists lightly.

He felt that these should be a group of people who dedicated themselves to their grand ideals and should be respected no matter what.

Even if they are not willing, they should be respected. After all, sacrifice is real. You can't say that their sacrifice is meaningless just because they are forced.

As for sacrifice, in Yun Chu's opinion, it usually refers to the pig's head, cow's head, and sheep's head placed on the altar, which are all sacred and inviolable. People and non-people will kowtow and bow in front of the sacrifice. This is the meaning of sacrifice.

The first one to return home was Yunluan.

This is a young man in blue clothes. He originally had a chubby figure, but recently it seems to have become slimmer, and some lines have started to appear on his round face. Because he is impatient to wear a hat, he lets his hair down with a ponytail hanging behind his head. It seems that he does not like long hair very much. The ponytail has obviously been trimmed and hangs behind his head in a playful manner.

Yun Chu didn't know if the book under his arm was for decoration, but, dressed in a blue shirt, a sunny boy, and with a book in his hand, he looked very comfortable.

"Aye, mother."

Yunluan was passing by the flower hall and saw her parents were there, so she ran over to greet them.

Yu Xiurong now thinks that her son is good in every way, especially as he becomes more and more handsome, she loves this youngest son even more. She pulls him over, looks him up and down, left and right, and even takes out a handkerchief to wipe the thin layer of sweat on her son's face.

"Stay away from Taiping from now on."

Looking at his son's eyes as bright as stars, Yu Xiurong instructed.

Yunluan smiled and said, "Taiping doesn't like children like this."

Yu Xiurong frowned and said, "That was in the past!"

Yun Luan smiled and said, "Would you like to eat more tonight?"

Yu Xiurong pulled her son to Yun Chu like presenting a treasure and said, "Look at the good son I gave birth to for you."

Yun Chu glanced at Yun Luan and said, "You went to the second workshop again?"

Yun Luan smiled and said, "I went to see the microscope. The craftsmen there thought that the spherical lens should be able to improve the recognition. I saw that it can indeed improve the recognition. Unfortunately, there is some distortion."

Yun Chu nodded and said, "Don't go to the yard next door."

Yun Luan nodded and said, "The child can't get in either."

Yun Chu nodded, then looked at Yu Xiurong and asked, "Is Taiping in Chang'an?"

Yu Xiurong said: "In Prince Yong's Mansion, invite Jin'er to attend the banquet."

Yun Chu looked at Li Si who came hurriedly and frowned, "Didn't you invite Sisi?"

Yu Xiurong shook her head and said, "Their relationship is not that serious."

Li Si, who had hurried over, heard what her mother-in-law said and said quickly, "Father, Taiping came to Chang'an with Junior Tutor Jian Congxiu, Junior Teacher Liang Tong, and six Northern Gate scholars. They said they were here to study, but I think they have bad intentions.

I will release the poisonous dragon tonight to scare Taiping and drive her away as soon as possible."

Yun Chu shook his head and said, "That would only make things more obvious. There is nothing shameful in Chang'an, so just let him be."

Li Si shook his head and said, "Father, you can't underestimate Taiping. She is a lawless person."

Yun Luan said with a smile: "Sister-in-law, it is unreasonable for Taiping to come to Chang'an for a banquet but not invite the two of us."

Li Si looked at Yun Luan and said, "Are we going to be the bad guests?"

As he spoke, he walked around Yunluan again and said, "I'm just afraid that you won't come back."

Yunluan smiled and said, "Taiping is a simple-minded girl."

Li Si shook his head and said, "Even if she is harmless, don't forget that she is the most beloved child of my father and mother. She doesn't eat people, but my father and mother don't.

Besides, there are wolves all around her. I even suspect that the reason why she invited Yunjin to the banquet but not us is that she is waiting for us to fall into her trap.

Just let the poisonous dragon go. I don’t believe she isn’t afraid!
Anyway, it would be rude for her to hold a banquet without inviting me, so it is only natural for me to deal with her."

Yun Chu sighed in his heart. Ever since the Wu brothers started talking about the second workshop in the morning, he knew that the Queen was determined to get the second workshop this time.

Originally, the second workshop was just researching some simple guns and cannons, which was nothing shameful. But to be honest, the guns and cannons researched here were used to deal with the Queen, so it would be better for the Queen not to know about it.

It was originally a matter of trying without much success, but Yun Chu did not expect that after one year of Qianfeng, those craftsmen actually made a flintlock rifle that could barely serve as a killing weapon. After that, he invested a large amount of money in it.

Nowadays, although the guns have not yet met Yun Chu's requirements, six cannons have been cast. The emperor saw those cannons when he came last time.

Li Zhi was stunned by the sight of some shabby smoothbore cannons that were not as powerful as the rain-inducing cannon that Lian Yunchu had used before. Even Xue Rengui was so scared that he fell to the ground.

A total of twelve shots were fired, and six shrapnel shells exploded when they hit the ground, while the remaining six shells did not explode at all. The six iron balls smashed six holes in the ground.

Compared to cannons, Yun Chu cares more about guns.

Because the cannon is too heavy, it is fine to use it for defense, but using it for attack will only cause trouble.

Nowadays, the Tang army is invincible in the world, and all it needs at all levels is to attack. There should be no general who is willing to carry a seven or eight ton cannon and walk thousands or tens of thousands of miles to attack cities and strongholds.

No matter it was a gun or a cannon, Yun Chu didn't care whether Wu Mei would know about it or not. Anyway, this thing was a very high-tech thing at present. The Second Workshop was guided by Yun Chu and was still moving forward by trial and error. With those guys under Wu Mei who only knew a lot of nonsense, it would take a long time for them to understand the firing principles of cannons and muskets.

Plus, artillery is supposed to be a deterrent, and keeping it hidden from view is not really a good idea.

However, Li Zhi did not think so. He felt that this thing was a national treasure and should only be in his hands. No one else was qualified to know about it.

This has led to the current embarrassing situation.

However, it is also very interesting to see the emperor, the prince, the queen and some unknown people killing people in secret for the second workshop.

(End of this chapter)