The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

Chapter 399 The fragrance of wine is not afraid of deep alleys
The sixth day of August.

It has been half a month since Zhu Houzhao ran away from home. On this day, Yang Peng almost crawled and rolled to the Qianqing Palace. Regardless of Zhu Youtang who was reviewing the memorial, he rushed in almost recklessly and shouted: "Your Majesty, I found it!"

"what?"

Zhu Youtang stood up with a look of horror.

He knew that he was referring to his son, but the words "found" had too many meanings. It could be said that he had found a person, or he could have found a corpse, or he knew his whereabouts.

Xiao Jingben was in charge of delivering the memorabilia, and scolded: "Say it clearly."

"The prince's whereabouts have been found, and he is safe and sound... He has passed Xuzhou now... On the way to Nanjing, he is safe and sound." Yang Peng told all he knew in a row this time.

"call!"

Hearing this, Zhu Youtang finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Although I don't know how his son went south to Xuzhou, at least his son is safe now, that's luck.

Xiao Jing said in surprise: "Your Majesty, just say that now the Ming Dynasty is prosperous and the people are prosperous, so how could there be treacherous evils that are not good for the crown prince?"

Zhu Youtang closed his eyes, tried his best to suppress the excitement in his heart and said: "The prince is different from ordinary people when he goes out. If you don't pick up things on Guo'an Min'an Road, you can't stop someone from thinking badly about him. Where is he? Are you already on your way back to Beijing?"

Yang Peng said: "Your Majesty, this is the report of Jin Yiwei... It was Tang Zhongcheng, the governor of the Bohai Sea sent by Lai Guogong, who found the whereabouts of the prince on the ground in Shandong, and sent people to follow him secretly into Xuzhou..."

"Cough cough..."

Knowing that his son was not on his way back to the capital, Zhu Youtang was naturally a little upset.

But when he knew that Zhang Zhou had found his son, he felt a little relieved.

With Zhang Zhou around, even if Zhang Zhou didn't go there in person, with Tang Yin, his son's safety can basically be guaranteed.

……

……

Zhu Youtang took Jin Yiwei's melody and looked at it, and confirmed that Tang Yin was leading a team of five or sixty Jin Yiwei to protect his son in secret.

"Your Majesty, the Jinyiwei brought by Tang Zhongcheng are all people close to the Duke of Lai. After the Jinyiwei was notified, a large number of Jinyiwei came to help. The crown prince has not been alarmed yet. According to Tang Zhongcheng, this is according to the instructions of the Duke of Lai. If the crown prince knows, I am afraid that he will... use some extraordinary means to break away. It may not be easy to find it by then."

Yang Peng was still making notes.

"Crack!" Zhu Youtang slapped Jin Yiwei's secret report on the table.

"How old is the prince? How can he have such a great ability? From the capital to Xuzhou? How did you manage your errands?" Zhu Youtang always thought that his son was hidden around the capital because he was not found.

Only now do I know that my son went south to the land of Xuzhou after going through many blockades.

This is a lot of fun.

The people sent out by Emotional Zhen are all for nothing, why not be as capable as Zhang Zhou?Just a short notice, and they were found?

Xiao Jingdao: "Your Majesty, the purpose of the Prince's journey south is to find Duke Lai."

"You don't need to remind me." Zhu Youtang said with a grim expression, "I just want to ask, how did he go south? The few he brought are still there?"

Yang Pengdao: "Gao Feng, Liu Jin, Qiu Ju, and Ma Yongcheng, four servants, have always been around the prince. It is said that the prince first took a carriage out of the city, left the carriage in the farm, hired a carriage to pretend to go north, changed into ordinary clothes, took a bullock cart to Tongzhou, and went south with the scholars who went south. Along the way, he participated in cultural meetings. Usually... all under the pseudonym Zhu Shou..."

"Cough cough cough..."

Zhu Youtang heard it.

Good guy.

My son going south is really good at playing, and he's trying to hide it from the Jin Yiwei, and he's getting along with the scholars, and he even learned how to join a boat with others?Still going all the way to participate in the literary conference with a high profile?

No wonder you can't even find anyone, the feeling is that the prince played brilliantly, it's because you didn't realize the truth of "darkness under the lights"!

Xiao Jing asked: "The crown prince's journey to the south by boat is the most important thing to be prepared for. Didn't Dongchang and Jin Yiwei search the boats along the way?"

Yang Pengdao: "Now is the canal's summer flood season. Ships going south and north almost block the river, and they dare not disclose the identity of the prince to the outside world. They only gave some portraits and characteristics of Jin Yiwei. It is difficult for them...to find the whereabouts of the prince among the crowd."

"Incapable!" Xiao Jing was cursing.

Indirectly is also highlighting oneself.

Take a look, Your Majesty. As far as you think Yang Peng is capable, let him take charge of the East Factory. Can this be compared to when I was the admiral of the East Factory?Why don't we hurry up and replace the person, let the incompetent person do something incompetent, so as not to embarrass himself.

Zhu Youtang raised his hand and interrupted Xiao Jing's questioning, he said: "It's good that the prince is safe and sound, I never expected that the prince... went south in such a way."

In my heart, I resented my son for running away from home without saying hello, and secretly admired my son's ability to hide the truth... It can be said to be angry and sigh, you people are not as capable as the prince!
When the father found out that there was a problem in communicating with his son, he was more angry than tolerant, but it developed to the point where he forced his son to run away from home. Zhu Youtang would also reflect on whether he had done something wrong.

"Send more people to protect the prince, and leave it to Duke Lai... and Tang Yin, so nothing will happen to the prince." Zhu Youtang ordered again.

Xiao Jing said in surprise: "Your Majesty, the crown prince is out now, in a dangerous place, why not..."

Zhu Youtang said: "Bingkuan is right to be worried. If others don't know his identity, there is no threat to him. On the contrary, after knowing his identity, it is his biggest disaster. Even if he is sent to protect him, he will be suspicious if he is discovered secretly. Can you ensure that the prince will not flee privately on the way back to Beijing?"

"This..." Xiao Jing was speechless.

As a father, he actually agreed to let his son go to Nanjing?
"Although the prince is messing around, he also has a bit of courage." Zhu Youtang said, "He did what I wanted to do but didn't dare to do. After he returns to the palace, I will definitely punish him severely, but now I still have to ensure his safety. Yang Peng, you go to Nanjing in person. You must not only protect the safety of the prince, but also cooperate with Duke Lai in doing things."

"Yes." Yang Peng took the order.

Xiao Jing reminded: "But Your Majesty, the affairs of the East Factory of the capital..."

"No problem." Zhu Youtang said, "Whatever happens in the East Factory of the capital, you can just report it to me directly. Isn't there Mu Bin, the commander of Jinyiwei? You take Guo Ang, the governor of Beizhen Fusi, along the way, and anyone who secretly monitors the prince and whose origin is unknown will be killed! Duke Lai has the right to do things cheaply in the south of the Yangtze River. You cooperate with him, but you will obey all orders given by Bingkuan, and I will not hold you accountable."

"Yes."

Yang Peng heard it.

Going to the south with Zhang Zhou this time is for "big things", not just to protect Zhu Houzhao's safety.

It was originally a bad thing, but now it seems... because Zhang Zhou found him, Yang Peng became a "hero".

When he slightly raised his head to observe Xiao Jing's face, he found that Xiao Jing's face was almost green with anger.

……

……

The news that Zhu Houzhao's whereabouts were found also reached Zhang Zhou.

After Zhang Zhou read Tang Yin's report, he immediately felt that Tang Yin was beginning to be able to do things. It didn't matter how high-minded Tang Yin was, as long as he could follow his orders to do things, at least there would be no major deviations.

It's not that Zhang Zhou is capable, but Zhang Zhou has the emperor's backing. As long as Tang Yin obeys orders, even if he commits a serious mistake, he doesn't need to be blamed.

But if Tang Yin made his own decisions, even if he didn't do things perfectly, he would become a stain on his official career.

"Master Zhang."

After confirming that Zhu Houzhao's side is fine, Zhang Zhou can also go south smoothly, and prepares to go to Nanjing in the shortest time to serve as Minister of the Nanjing Ministry of War.

Xu Jing, on the other hand, went to Nanjing as an advance party and came back to greet him.

Originally, Zhang Zhou asked Tang Yin to take Xu Jing to find Zhu Houzhao, but Xu Jing was afraid of causing trouble, so he insisted on exploring the way for Zhang Zhou first.

"Speak." Zhang Zhou was on the boat, holding a book, looking at Xu Jing who had just boarded the boat.

Xu Jingdao: "This time, representatives from various schools in Jiangnan have arrived. The leader is naturally the Lingnan School. I heard that there is a man named Zhan Ruoshui. I don't know how knowledgeable he is, but he is very famous among Lingnan scholars... Many students from Fujian, Guangdong and other places are his fellow students."

"Tell me something else." Zhang Zhou had long known that Zhan Ruoshui was here on behalf of Chen Xianzhang to discuss the study of mind.

Now is not the time to distinguish who is orthodox in the study of mind, or to say that it is not yet the time to pick the fruit, and we should first discuss Neo Confucianism.

Xu Jingdao: "The School of Neo-Confucianism, Jiangxi School has the most people, and it is divided into two schools. One school is said to be the children of Hu Jingzhai and Lou Yizhai. They argued hard and believed that the study of mind is a different theory, so that scholars in Jiangxi, Huguang and other places hold this argument. In addition, there are many people from the Northern School, but they are not systematic."

"Ah."

Zhang Zhou nodded.

Hu Jingzhai is Hu Juren, a master of Neo-Confucianism. Together with Chen Xianzhang and Lou Liang, they are all disciples of Wu Yubi, a master of Neo-Confucianism and the master of the Chongren School. It is just that Chen Xianzhang founded Xinxue later, but Chen Xianzhang’s Xinxue is more like a supplement to Neo-Confucianism, and has not completed the synthesis.

Among the three brothers of the same school, even Chen Xianzhang passed away in February of the 13th year of Hongzhi, which means that the leading figures of each school are not there.

Xu Jing also mentioned this point: "... people from the Lingnan School came to the capital to discuss studies with you at the beginning of the year. However, because Chen Shizhai died of illness at the beginning of the year, most of his disciples kept their filial piety and never traveled far.

The academic atmosphere in the Ming Dynasty was very strong, but it was the habit of southern scholars to treat themselves with factions.

In other words, most of the scholars in the north are stragglers, while those in the south are grouped together, and there is a situation of seeing who is upset and going with the brothers.

Zhang Zhou smiled and said: "If you can't talk about me, why don't you die for your studies with me?"

Xu Jingdao: "It's not impossible."

Zhang Zhou waved his hand and said, "Are there any other schools with such a straight head?"

Xu Jing thought for a while, then shook his head and said, "Other schools are not as persistent as those in Lingnan, but you have to be careful. You haven't arrived in Nanjing yet, but there are many people who give lectures in Nanjing, and most of them are promoting their own academic ideas. There are also your fans... No, it's your followers. They have already taken the lead in Nanjing, and most of them are the disciples of the local school in Nanzhili."

"Really?" Zhang Zhou smiled and nodded.

Before his own people went, someone had already started to stand for him.

The motives are impure.

But it is still worthy of encouragement, and can help him share the firepower at critical times.

"Master Zhang, your literary name is not only unique in the south of the Yangtze River, but also enjoys a high reputation among the northern schools, especially the scholars of Shuntian Prefecture, who respect you the most. It is also because your classics originally came from Shuntian Prefecture, and some people call your theory "Beimen Xinxue"." Xu Jingdao.

Zhang Zhou said: "Beimen? When did I become a northerner?"

"No, it's just for the convenience of comparing with Lingnan Xinxue, and because most of your followers are students from the north like Shuntian Prefecture, and many provinces in the south have their own schools. Even if your academic thinking is unprecedented, you will not be recognized by them for a while."

Xu Jing himself is from Jiangyin, and he knows the academic system of southern scholars very well.

Zhang Zhou also knew that Xu Jing was not lying.

Among the scholars in the south, especially those who have become famous, they all form cliques, and they are also easy to form cliques... It seems that when Wang Shouren promoted the study of mind later, he also opened forums to preach in various places in the south, and finally developed the study of mind into a national academic theory.

So in Daming, if you want to promote a new academic, the first choice is Jiangnan.

Not only are there traditional schools of thought, but people here are also more likely to accept some new schools of thought, as long as you have a good reputation, are academically sound and easy to be understood by others, and are more likely to resonate with the academic community.

"Very good, you have worked hard this trip." Zhang Zhou said.

Xu Jingcheng said in fear, "The students didn't work hard at all."

Zhang Zhoudao: "You don't need to call yourself like that in front of me, and I don't plan to take anyone as a disciple. You and Bohu are still friends, so you are my peers."

"Don't dare." Xu Jing was eager to worship under Zhang Zhou's family.

Xu Jing also expressed his request in this regard by the way, "If you don't give up, Master Zhang, the students are willing to serve you. You may not know that your school has formed now. Many people claim to be your disciples, but they all know that you have never formally accepted disciples. Even the grandson of the British Duke is only temporarily learning the art of war under your name, and no one recognizes it."

"Ha ha."

There is nothing wrong with that.

Zhang Lun never regarded himself as Zhang Zhou's disciple, and old man Zhang didn't seem to care about his grandson's mentor.

If Zhang Lun is his disciple, doesn't that mean...he is a generation shorter than old man Zhang?
Besides, Zhang Lun is not a material to study.

Xu Jingdao: "Nowadays, students from all over the world have spontaneously promoted your academic activities, and they all hope to get your approval, and take advantage of this discussion to become a teacher."

"Oh. I don't have any academic background. Bohu is my only fellow apprentice, of course in alchemy." Zhang Zhou laughed.

Xu Jing added: "There are not a few people who want to pay homage to Tang Bohu's family."

"Haha."

Zhang Zhou couldn't help laughing.

Tang Yin was "flying to the branch", because he was Zhang Zhou's fellow apprentice, and others could not worship Zhang Zhou's sect, so they wanted to join Tang Yin's sect... Zhang Zhou would feel a little absurd when he thought about it.

"This is summarized below. The list of schools from various places who went to Nanjing to participate in the discussion, there are also some famous Confucian names, and some official letters from the local government. You should read it first."

Xu Jing displayed what he had summarized and gave it to Zhang Zhou because he knew that Zhang Zhou was very organized.

Because Zhang Zhou was fine, he asked Tang Yin to write the report.

"En." Zhang Zhou nodded.

Xu Jingdao: "Let me take my leave first, and look back at your arrangements in Nanjing. If you need some private arrangements, even if you tell me, I have nothing to help you. I still have a little family background. I will help you as much as possible. In addition, I have published a thousand copies of classics on the study of the mind... I dare not give it away privately. I have prepared it for you. It will only wait for you to arrive in Nanjing, just in case you need it."

Zhang Zhoudao: "You can't do well at this point. I can do things like publishing books myself. But since you are ready, then stay in Nanjing and wait for the time when you preach the teaching of the mind, you can take the opportunity to make a deal. The money you collected will help Bohu build a ship. He came to the south of the Yangtze River to collect funds."

Xu Jing said with a smile: "I will also help you with all my strength."

……

……

Zhang Zhouren has not arrived in Nanjing yet, but Nanjing has already become very lively because of his upcoming arrival.

Not only those who are preparing to discuss studies, but also many who are purely for fun. This also makes Nanjing the center of Ming Dynasty’s academic thoughts, and it is also a place where schools of thought from various places collide and communicate... Not only is there a dispute between Psychology and Neo-Confucianism, but there are also schools of thought within Neo-Confucianism.

Academic thoughts are all stereotypes, but whatever is instilled in the mind, even if it is wrong, it is difficult to change.

This was also felt when Zhu Houzhao went south to participate in various literary conferences.

"Brother Sun, you said that they are all speechless by what we said, so why are they so stubborn?"

After attending a local literary meeting in Xuzhou that day, when Zhu Houzhao, Sun Che and others returned to Yanhe Posthouse, they were curious about this matter.

Sun Che smiled without saying a word.

Gong Yeping on the side said: "Young Master Zhu, you may not be aware of this. In theory, there is never a distinction between right and wrong. It is useless to reason with them. The most important thing is to make those who are watching feel that we are reasonable. Pull those people in and just stop following them in the future."

"Damn!" Zhu Houzhao said, "Then I am talking for nothing?"

Gong Yeping said: "You didn't say it in vain. You didn't see the few students who came to listen today. They all handed us name cards after the event. Instead, those who claimed to be the local school of Neo Confucianism all left in despair? Now they are still stubborn. When some of them quit, in the future when discussing locally, Neo Confucianism will not be able to gain the upper hand. When they are alone, they will understand that they must seek change."

"so complicated."

Zhu Houzhao had never experienced school disputes, so he naturally didn't know such a complicated matter.

Sun Che said with a smile: "It's rare to have you here, Mr. Zhu. You don't know that our journey to the south is very beautiful. As soon as we finish the discussion here, before we go back to the next place, the reputation will spread, and people will come to vote."

"So fast?" Zhu Houzhao grinned.

Sun Che said: "You have a reputation, and it will spread quickly. In the academic world, the smell of wine is not afraid of deep alleys."

(End of this chapter)