The figure of Morini left a deep impression on Liu Hemin, Geng Rui, and the other senior officials.
He was a student who loved noodles, a student who was passionate about learning, and also a rather peculiar student.
This fellow had once clashed with some foreign students from England. However, because his home country, Italy, was no match for England, Morini intended to back down. Yet, the English foreign students were unwilling to let Morini off the hook and wanted to seize the opportunity to teach him a lesson.
Following that, Morini erupted, thoroughly beating up the English foreign students and forcing them to accept his surrender.
The final outcome was that Morini backed down, but those English foreign students were responsible for supplying Morini with noodles during his time studying abroad.
When this incident spread throughout the Great Ming Military Academy, even senior officials like Liu Hemin and Geng Rui were stunned.
Could such a thing be done?
It was simply godlike!
Deeply impressed by Morini, Liu Hemin, Geng Rui, and the other senior officials immediately decided to list Morini as a key developmental target and specially assigned people to teach Morini a great deal of convoluted theories.
Among these convoluted theories, a particularly important one was to inform Morini that England and its allies were not good people, but rather stumbling blocks on Italy's path to becoming a strong nation. If Morini wished for Italy to become one of Europe's major powers, he had to find a reliable ally. Looking at the major powers in Europe, there was probably no more reliable ally than that art student from Austria who had failed his exams. Like Italy, Austria had also been bullied by the major powers. That failed art student had no friends in the Great Ming, nor did he have any friends in Europe. Italy could completely band together with Austria for warmth.
The subsequent events largely unfolded as predicted by the senior officials of the Military Academy. Morini quickly became good friends with the failed art student from Austria, and their interactions did not cease after they returned to their respective countries.
Of course, the two were not entirely united. This was because the failed art student from Austria had learned the theory of distribution according to need, while Morini had learned the theory of distribution according to labor, similar to that of his fellow student de Gaulle.
In other words, while they had a basis for cooperation, they also had irreconcilable differences.
Now that Zeng Cheng had suddenly spoken of bringing Morini into the chaotic situation in Europe, Liu Hemin, Geng Rui, and the other senior officials naturally thought of the conflict between Morini and the failed art student from Austria.
Liu Hemin pondered and said, "Although Morini is friends with Adolf, their learnings differ, and the paths they took after returning to their respective countries are also different. Currently, there are many contradictions between Austria and Italy, and I fear it will be difficult for them to join forces against England and the Tsarist Russia. Even if they could reluctantly form an alliance, it would likely be one of superficial unity, right?"
However, Zeng Cheng chuckled and said, "It's precisely this superficial unity that's desired. If they could join forces to fight against England and Tsarist Russia, then they could naturally also join forces to fight against the Great Ming. This might not be a good thing for our Great Ming."
"Also, that failed art student from Austria is very resistant to industrialization. Although he has not abandoned Austria's musket and artillery manufacturing technology because of this, Austria's own domestically produced firearms and artillery cannot meet the needs of the entire Austrian army. Especially as Austria's army launches an offensive against Tsarist Russia, the shortage of firearms and artillery will become even greater."
"If there were muskets and artillery produced by Italy to supplement them, the Austrian army's shortage of firearms could be alleviated, allowing them to sustain longer. Europe would naturally be in chaos for a longer period."
"More importantly..."
Zeng Cheng's expression gradually became peculiar: "Italy itself is not a big deal, but there is a small region within Italy that has a considerable influence on Europe. It can even be said that for the past thousand years, the whole of Europe has been controlled by that small region."
Upon hearing Zeng Cheng's words, Liu Hemin, Geng Rui, and the other senior officials of the military government understood what was going on.
As the saying goes, a centipede dies but never stiffens, and a starving camel is still bigger than a horse. Although the Holy See, which controlled Europe for nearly a thousand years, had declined and its actual power was far less than before, it did not mean that the Holy See had no influence over Europe.
As long as the Holy See was willing, and Italy and Austria were willing to invest capital, even if the Holy See couldn't fully regain its past glory, it could at least increase its influence in Europe.
And the greater the Holy See's influence, the more chaotic and weaker Europe would become.
After all, the Holy See did not talk about science. Everything they preached was the grace of God, and anything that did not conform to scripture was heresy, often leading to the stake.
It could even be said that a powerful Holy See would be even more destructive to Europe than an entire army of the Great Ming. How many people were in an entire army of the Great Ming? And the supplies and ammunition required to deploy an entire army were enormous. But the Holy See...
While it couldn't be said to be zero cost to support the Holy See, it was at least far less than the cost of deploying an entire army.
Even Emperor Zhu was somewhat moved.
For Emperor Zhu, completely destroying Europe at this moment was not in the interests of the Great Ming. This was because completely destroying Europe was very easy. The Great Ming's existing army could directly advance to the Ottoman Empire and take up a battle formation to attack, thus completely destroying Europe. However, after completely destroying Europe, the Great Ming would lose a stable source of labor.
The Great Ming needed a vast amount of labor, and this demand was continuous rather than a one-time event.
The difference between a full meal and a single satisfying meal was quite clear.
Precisely because he did not intend to completely destroy Europe in one go, Emperor Zhu planned to cripple England and Tsarist Russia, thereby serving as a warning to the other European countries and making them obedient when bullied by the Great Ming in the future.
However, compared to Zeng Cheng's proposal, directly crippling England and Tsarist Russia was clearly not as effective as indirectly supporting the Holy See.
The former served as a warning, but the Great Ming would also have to get its hands dirty. The latter, however, was to support the Holy See through Morini of Italy, and the Great Ming would not have to get its hands dirty at all.
What was even more crucial was the sustainability.
However, even with support, how to control the Holy See was equally important. The coronation and crowning of European kings and emperors required the Holy See's investiture and coronation to possess legitimacy. How could the Holy See, which held such great power, be willing to be used by the Great Ming?
After thinking about it, Emperor Zhu turned his gaze to Ke Zhiming: "Later, find some Taoist priests and monks to communicate properly with those missionaries, or you from the Embroidered Uniform Guard can personally handle it and probe the Holy See's attitude."
Ke Zhiming immediately bowed in assent.
The so-called probing the Holy See's attitude was essentially to assess the Holy See's current strength and its attitude towards the Great Ming, and whether it could accept the investiture and management of the Great Ming Emperor like the Taoist priests and monks.
If the Holy See was willing to accept the Great Ming Emperor's investiture, it would mean that the Holy See was willing to place divine authority under the imperial authority of the Great Ming Emperor. The Great Ming could then naturally control Europe through the Holy See. If the Holy See was unwilling to accept the Great Ming Emperor's investiture, it would mean that the Holy See was also unwilling to give up control of Europe, and the Great Ming would have to prepare corresponding counter-measures if it wanted to support the Holy See.
As for whether the Taoist priests and monks were willing to cooperate with the actions of the Embroidered Uniform Guard... that was not important.
After all, Ke Zhiming did not believe that any Taoist priest or monk would dare to refuse the request of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
After arranging these matters, Emperor Zhu suddenly changed the topic and returned to the Great Ming itself: "After returning from the Ottoman Empire this time, I witnessed many things along the way. There were good things, and there were bad things. The good things should naturally be continued and promoted, while the bad things need to be examined to see how bad they are and how they should be handled subsequently?"
Emperor Zhu's words were neither light nor heavy, but to Zeng Cheng, Liu Hemin, and the other senior officials, they were like a heavy hammer striking a drum.
In fact, Zeng Cheng, Liu Hemin, and the other senior officials had already sensed that Emperor Zhu had been gradually letting go in recent years. This letting go was not about indulging himself or neglecting state affairs, but rather Emperor Zhu was deliberately delegating state affairs and corresponding powers to the Cabinet and the Military Government.
To put it plainly, Emperor Zhu had been continuously strengthening the roles of the Cabinet and the Military Government, and gradually diluting the role and presence of the emperor.
However, Emperor Zhu's current words clearly indicated that there were areas where the Cabinet or the Military Government had not performed adequately, which had led to Emperor Zhu's dissatisfaction.
The key was that Zeng Cheng and Liu Hemin, along with the other senior officials, did not know where the problem lay.
After thinking carefully for a long time without finding an answer, Zeng Cheng tentatively asked, "What does Your Majesty mean?"
Emperor Zhu chuckled, waved his hand, and said, "I'm not saying you haven't done well."
Frankly speaking, Emperor Zhu knew that Zeng Cheng and Liu Hemin had done their utmost. Even when compared to the capable and renowned ministers and officials in history, Zeng Cheng and Liu Hemin were not far off.
The most direct evidence was that the Great Ming had not declined over the years; on the contrary, it had flourished.
If Emperor Zhu had always firmly grasped all power and made meticulously detailed plans for the development of the Great Ming, such a situation would not be too surprising, as Emperor Zhu knew the trajectory of historical development and could easily avoid certain major pitfalls.
Conversely, Zeng Cheng and Liu Hemin, lacking Emperor Zhu's foresight of over a hundred years, had to be cautious and careful in every step they took in leading the entire Great Ming forward.
The fact that they had maintained a state of upward development while Emperor Zhu was subtly beginning to delegate power was enough to prove the abilities of Zeng Cheng and Liu Hemin.
However, it was precisely because Zeng Cheng and Liu Hemin lacked the foresight of over a hundred years that they often reacted slowly to certain situations in the Great Ming.
For example, clans, which had been suppressed, were beginning to emerge again.
For another example, the gentlemen who operated workshops were starting to reach into the bowls of ordinary people, and some bolder ones even wanted to completely turn the populace into laborers.
The emergence of clans was easily understandable, as human beings naturally had a gregarious nature, and banding together in the form of blood relatives and clans could be considered instinctual. Especially the people of the Central Plains had the genes of clan solidarity ingrained in them.
It was also easy to understand why the workshop owners wanted to reach into the bowls of ordinary people and turn them into laborers, as workshop owners opened workshops precisely to make money. Earning money honestly according to the laws of the Great Ming was not as profitable as oppressing the people.
However, in Emperor Zhu's view, these situations were incorrect.
Clans were not prohibited from existing, but clan laws absolutely could not supersede national laws. If the tendency of clans to band together was not suppressed, future clan elders would certainly seek more power, and gradually, clan laws would replace national laws.
There was even less to be said for the workshop owners. Emperor Zhu never disallowed them from making money, but while making money, they should not think of being superior, let alone wanting to turn the populace into laborers.
What was the difference between the laborers in their eyes and mere laborers or even slaves?
Of course, these were all still within Emperor Zhu's tolerance. After all, the emergence of clans could be continuously suppressed, and those workshop owners could be ruthlessly dealt with and replaced with more honest ones.
What truly made it unacceptable to Emperor Zhu were the officials in the Great Ming's bureaucracy.
Many officials had the idea of "storing weapons in the armory and letting horses rest in the stable."
In the officials' view, they had followed Emperor Zhu in fighting wars for so many years and governing the country for so many years. They had endured all the hardships and suffered all the torment. Now that the Great Ming was invincible in the world, shouldn't the officials be allowed to rest and enjoy themselves?
If this atmosphere were allowed to continue to spread, the ultimate outcome would be quite obvious.
The Great Ming would not encounter too many major troubles, as Emperor Zhu's initial prestige was still present, and there was no fool who had the courage of a leopard to provoke Emperor Zhu.
However, the people of the Great Ming would gradually develop a mindset of prioritizing money, and officials would also develop the idea of having money with officialdom. Merchants and clan elders would also find spokespersons in the officialdom, just like the local gentry and scholars of previous dynasties.
Well, this would bring everything back to its original state. Then, what was the point of Zhu's rebellion!
Therefore, Emperor Zhu specifically brought up these matters with Zeng Cheng and others today, asking to nip these problems in the bud.
However, upon further reflection, Emperor Zhu felt a headache coming on.