prosperous age

Jia Bangqi and Zeng Guang became familiar with each other. As a scholar, he was more knowledgeable than the charlatans and knew that they could not cause any big trouble in the remote area.

So, during a casual conversation, he discussed with Zeng Guang and others that the most convenient way to accomplish their goal was to unite with the local chieftains in western Hunan, use the military forces in their hands as capital, and then go north to Dongting Lake, advance eastward along the Yangtze River, capture Nanjing, and shock the world.

In this way, Christians in other places could also take advantage of the situation to start an uprising and achieve the goal of overthrowing the imperial court.

Just do it!

In order to demonstrate that he was "divinely granted the king's power", Jia Bangqi wrote a promotional brochure called "Daqian Qiyunlu" and made a seal with the inscription "Taiqian Taiji Emperor's Treasure".

Then he asked two of his trusted aides to take his handwritten letters and "Daqian Qiyunlu" to Xiangxi chieftain Peng Yongnian to lobby him to join their gang.

Faced with the two farmers' empty words, no matter how stupid Peng Yongnian was, he knew how to make a choice.

Raise an army and join you?

Challenge the Ming Dynasty alone?

Did you take the wrong medicine?

He immediately arrested the man, and then sent a letter to Guizhou Governor He Qiming and Huguang Governor Wang Zhiyuan, asking these two court officials to work together to arrest the man.

After all, it is not often that such merit can be easily obtained. Whoever sees it will get a share, and it also depends on the two of them to report the merit to the court afterwards.

Soon, all the leaders of the rebel gang except Zeng Guang were captured.

Now, what is placed in front of Wang Zhiyuan is this case file, which contains the information of the fugitive Zeng Guang.

In fact, the Zeng Guang case had a great impact on the Ming Dynasty, and Jia Bangqi and his book "Daqian Qiyunlu" were regarded as evil books.

The cases of student Jia Bangqi, the evil Taoist Jin Yunfeng, and Zeng Guang were reported to the capital. Not only did it attract the attention of the court and the public, it was also a shocking case. It was also used by Zhang Juzheng as a reason to rectify the public opinion.

In that year, some literati enthusiastically criticized the government while writing books and giving lectures to their disciples, which was called Qingyi.

The imperial court was very annoyed by this and regarded it as a rumor to confuse the people, regardless of whether the person in power was Gao Gong or Zhang Juzheng.

The file in front of Wang Zhiyuan clearly recorded that the fugitive Zeng Guang was a sorcerer.

"Demon, demon"

After some thought, Wang Zhiyuan quickly came up with a solution to the problem.

Zeng Guang worked as a Taoist priest in Huguang, Guizhou and other places, making many friends. He Xinyin also became a Taoist in his early years.

It doesn't matter whether there is evidence or not. He can just fabricate a few confessions and say that He Xinyin and Zeng Guang had contact. Then he can send people to arrest and interrogate them based on this.

By arresting people in this way, the sensitive new policy of banning lectures is perfectly avoided.

So Wang Zhiyuan took action immediately, completed the confession in a hurry, and immediately ordered the arrest.

Linking He Xinyin to the case of treason against the emperor would have a significant impact.

Just when the Huguang officials rushed to Xiaogan to arrest He Xinyin, He Xinyin, who had already received news from the capital, did not sit and wait for death, but decisively hid back in his hometown in Jiangxi.

Whether it is He Xinyin or Wei Guangde, they think that as long as they return to their hometown and have the care of their neighbors, even if the Huguang side has all the means, they will not be able to do anything to them.

After all, Jiangxi may not necessarily give face to you, the officials from Huguang.

However, what Wei Guangde, Tan Lun and others did not expect was that Wang Zhiyuan linked He Xinyin and Zeng Guang cases together.

Jiangxi officials cannot intervene in cases involving treason even if they don't want to.

So, even if he chose to hide, Huguang would send a notice to Jiangxi to arrest him.

The reason given by the Huguang side was that, after secret visits and investigations, they found that He Xinyin and his fellow countryman Luo Xun, both of whom had once become Taoist monks and who both liked to learn "witchcraft" such as astronomy and escape magic that were expressly prohibited by the court, seemed to have connections with the Taoist evildoer Zeng Guang and needed to be arrested and interrogated.

In this regard, Jiangxi did not dare to deal with it perfunctorily and could only transfer the Huguang order to Ji'an Prefecture for arrest.

As a result, He Xinyin was captured in Jiangxi and sent to Wuchang, Huguang.

It should be said that Wang Zhiyuan's methods were really clever. He knew that it would be difficult to arrest people if they still had to retake Jiangxi, so he used the Qin case as an excuse to force Jiangxi to arrest people.

Wei Guangde learned the news a month later, near the end of the year.

However, at this time, even if Wei Guangde wanted to discuss with Zhang Juzheng again and try to get the person out, it was too late because the person had already died in prison.

Huguang reported to the Ministry of Justice that He Xinyin died of illness. He fell ill while being escorted to Huguang from Jiangxi and did not survive and died in prison.

However, more people believe that He Xinyin was beaten to death in prison by Wang Zhiyuan, the then governor of Huguang. There are even rumors that He Xinyin's last words were: "How dare you kill me? How can you kill me? The one who killed me is Zhang."

In fact, this statement was first recorded in the "Taizhou School Case" in Huang Zongxi's "Ming Confucian School Case", and it contains a large amount of fabrication.

After all, even Wang Zhiyuan could not openly execute a scholar with honors, let alone the top scorer in the Jiangxi Provincial Examination.

So the news finally reached the capital.

"Master Prime Minister, the matter of Huguang has gone too far."

In the cabinet chief's duty room, Wei Guangde angrily found Zhang Juzheng with the news he had received.

"Shandai, why are you so angry?"

Wei Guangde rushed straight into the duty room, ignoring the clerk outside the door who tried to stop him.

He rushed straight in, and the clerk dared not stop him by force.

Zhang Juzheng came out from behind the desk, waved his hand to let the clerk go out, and then smiled and asked Wei Guangde: "What's going on? After all this trouble, I still don't know what I have done wrong."

"As for He Xinyin's case, he was beaten to death in prison. What crime should Wang Zhiyuan be charged with?"

If Wei Guangde was interrogated and convicted by the government, he would not argue, even if he was falsely accused.

However, being killed in prison without trial is a bit too much.

This is a very scary thing, as it means that the government can take human lives at will.

In feudal society, when human life was of paramount importance, this was unacceptable.

"Didn't he die of a serious disease?"

Zhang Juzheng asked hesitantly.

"Haha, He Xinyin's disciple sent news from Huguang, saying that someone was beaten to death in prison."

Wei Guangde said rudely.

"Are there any witnesses or physical evidence?"

Zhang Juzheng asked calmly.

When Wei Guangde first broke in, Zhang Juzheng thought something big had happened. But when he found out it was He Xinyin, he was naturally no longer worried and his mood quickly returned to normal.

When asked this question by Zhang Juzheng, Wei Guangde was immediately speechless.

"I remember seeing the document sent by Huguang before. He Xinyin died of illness in prison. If he was beaten to death, there should be witnesses and physical evidence before Huguang can be convicted."

Zhang Juzheng looked at Wei Guangde coldly and said.

"Master Prime Minister, I am grateful for your advice."

Wei Guangde knew that he was not in the right position at this time, so he had to bow and say something. However, he planned to go back and ask someone to investigate the cause of He Xinyin's death.

If he was really beaten to death, there would be no problem in finding witnesses and evidence, and Wang Zhiyuan would be the first person to be executed.

“Shandai, I know what you are thinking, but He Xinyin is dead, why get angry about him?

In fact, it would be better if he died, so as to avoid any more complications."

Zhang Juzheng continued, "In fact, you have nothing to do with him, and I'm afraid you don't even know who he is.

I know him and have discussed philosophy with him during his lectures, so I know him well.

If He Xinyin is not dead, even if he is exiled, I will still have people monitor his every move and arrest him immediately if he shows any sign of misbehavior."

Hearing this, Wei Guangde was shocked.

You have to know that He Xinyin had no intention of entering the official career. Even if he had offended Zhang Juzheng severely, they would not have been so hostile to each other.

"Wait a minute, I'll show you something."

Zhang Juzheng said something to Wei Guangde, turned around and went back to the inner room, rummaged through the bookshelf for a while, quickly took out a booklet, pulled out a few sheets of paper from it, then turned back and handed the paper in his hand to Wei Guangde.

Wei Guangde took it and saw that it was a detailed record of He Xinyin's life.

He Xinyin's real name was Liang Ruyuan. In the 25th year of Jiajing, he won the top prize in the Jiangxi provincial examination and later studied under Yan Shannong.

The subsequent record is that He Xinyin returned to his hometown in the 32nd year of Jiajing to establish Juhetang, and the part about Juhetang surprised Wei Guangde.

It records that He Xinyin devoted himself to studying the knowledge of Wang Gen, the founder of the Taizhou School, for eight years, and then returned to his hometown to establish the utopian Juhetang.

This Juhetang was not a simple community school, but an organization similar to the collective farms of later generations.

Here, all members are treated equally regardless of their origin, gender, or region. They work together, and the fruits of production belong to the collective and are distributed according to needs.

This model is a bit like the people's communes at the turn of the century and is full of idealism.

This may be the result of He Xinyin's eight years of study with Yan Jun, his desire to find a real way to improve society.

Many years later, Zou Yuanbiao, one of the leaders of Donglin Academy, praised Juhetang as "a place full of politeness, propriety, and faith." However, it is true that Juhetang brought about a significant change in social customs in the local area.

However, in the 38th year of Jiajing, the imperial court increased the tax of "yellow wood and silver".

He Xinyin led the Juhetang to oppose the tax increase, which angered the local bureaucrats. He was charged with "gathering unruly people to cause trouble" and was exiled to remote Guizhou. Juhetang was forced to disband.

Seeing this, Wei Guangde had a vague guess and knew why Zhang Juzheng wanted to deal with He Xinyin, and was even willing to use any means to kill him.

Perhaps, at the beginning, He Xinyin just wanted to use his own conditions to try to establish a new social system, create an ideal social model, a utopia that transcends the constraints of the existing system.

However, the fierce collision between Juhetang's ideals and reality made him repent.

When he was exiled to Guizhou, he was fortunately helped by his good friend Cheng Xueyan, the advisor of Hu Zongxian, the then Governor of Zhejiang. He persuaded Hu Zongxian to write to Guizhou to ask for the person in the name of assisting in military affairs, and thus he was exempted from punishment. As a result, He Xinyin went to Zhejiang and became Hu Zongxian's staff.

He entered Hu Zongxian's court to work, but after talking with him, Hu Zongxian directly commented that "this man is useless" and believed that he was of no value to the country and the people.

After being ignored, He Xinyin was very depressed.

So, He Xinyin left Zhejiang again and went to Beijing to study.

In fact, Wei Guangde was also in the capital at this time, but he was a down-and-out scholar, while Wei Guangde was a new upstart in the court, so it was naturally impossible for them to mix together.

Yan Song was in power at that time, and He Xinyin hated Yan Song's tyranny, so he made friends with Lan Daoxing, a Taoist priest trusted by Emperor Jiajing.

It can be said that He Xinyin also deserves credit for Lan Daoxing's willingness to help Emperor Jiajing dislike the Yan family.

There is even a saying that Xu Jie recommended Lan Daoxing to Emperor Jiajing, and many of the words Lan Daoxing used when facing Emperor Jiajing were taught by He Xinyin.

After Lan Daoxing was imprisoned, He Xinyin began to hide everywhere to escape the Yan family's pursuit.

During this process, he used the alias He Xinyin and has been using this name ever since, making people forget his real name, Liang Ruyuan.

After the fall of the Yan family, He Xinyin continued to give lectures everywhere and gathered many believers.

The last record is about He Xinyin setting up the Qiuren Guild Hall and giving lectures in Huguang. During the lectures, he publicly criticized the "prime minister for being unethical and abusing his power" and demanded that the court fully open up private lectures, otherwise he would go to Beijing to expel Zhang Juzheng to thank the world.

After seeing this, Wei Guangde finally understood why Zhang Juzheng wanted to get rid of him.

When others lecture, they just talk nonsense and praise or criticize current affairs, but he actually said that he wanted to go to the capital to confront Zhang Juzheng.

Although He Xinyin has not taken any action yet, the thought of this makes Zhang Juzheng unable to sleep or eat.

In fact, Wei Guangde could understand Zhang Juzheng's predicament very well.

No matter what, as long as He Xinyin goes to the capital with a big banner, Zhang Juzheng will have already lost, and nipping the bud is the best way.

Just as Zhang Juzheng said, He Xinyin is dead, so there is no point in arguing.

However, he was very interested in the Juhuitang that He Xinyin had established in his early years, and felt that it had some utopian elements.

Utopia, in Chinese, can be understood as "乌" means nothing, "托" means sustenance, and "邦" means country. The three words "乌太邦" together mean "utopian country".

Thomas More, the founder of utopian socialism, fictionalized the travel experiences of a navigator, Raphael Hythlodaeus, who sailed to a strange and exotic country called "Utopia" in his book "Utopia".

There, property is publicly owned, people are equal, the principle of distribution according to need is implemented, everyone wears uniform work clothes, eats in public restaurants, and officials are elected by the public.

He believed that private property was the root of all evil and must be eliminated.

This kind of thought was popular in Western Europe in the early nineteenth century. Its famous representatives included Thomas More, Campanella, Robert Owen, Claude Henri Saint-Simon and Charles Fourier. It advocated the establishment of an ideal society without class oppression and exploitation and without the drawbacks of capitalism.

The Juhuitang established by He Xinyin meets these conditions.

This gathering hall was built with funds raised by the tribesmen and includes a school, a clinic and a handicraft workshop.

Here, everyone cultivates the land together and all income belongs to the collective.

The money is first used to pay national taxes, and the rest is shared by all members.

In addition to meeting basic needs, members who encounter weddings, funerals, or difficulties in life are assisted by public funds.

Juhetang has formed a relatively closed autonomous community, basically achieving self-sufficiency and distribution according to demand.

However, when faced with additional levies imposed by local government on top of the regular taxes, He Xinyin went out of his way and actually organized a team to openly resist.

In He Xinyin's mind, the Three Bonds and Five Constant Virtues of ruler-ruler and subject-subject in society at that time had basically been thrown into the trash, leaving only the friendship between friends.

If people no longer take etiquette and morals seriously, the ruling foundation of the feudal dynasty will no longer exist.

Therefore, even though he was the top scorer in the provincial examination, he was imprisoned and exiled to Guizhou by the government at that time.

“Shandai, this person is very dangerous and a big trouble.

So what if he was beaten to death in prison?

If you can find witnesses and physical evidence, I think Governor Wang can too."

When Zhang Juzheng took back the paper, he said indifferently. (End of this chapter)