The literary giants of the late Ming Dynasty began by copying books

Chapter 145 Shen Shixing’s helplessness
Shen Shixing couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief when he put down the book. It was really difficult for him to describe his current mood, because this book "The Wealth of Nations" had such a great impact on him.

Shen Shixing had a deep impression of the various contents in the book, because he had been in charge of the court for several years and deeply understood the importance of economics. According to the explanations of many contents in the book, he recalled what he had done when he was in charge of the court. As a result, Shen Shixing could find that many of his original ideas were contrary to economic theory.

But after thinking about it, there was no chance to repent.

In fact, what he did at that time was not entirely out of his original intention.

Shen Shixing was not from a traditional scholar family.

His biological father, Shen Shizhang, was a wealthy businessman in Changzhou. He had an affair with a nun and gave birth to Shen Shixing. He did not dare to take him home to raise him out of shame, so he entrusted the child to the then Suzhou magistrate Xu Shangzhen for adoption.

Xu Shangzhen adopted the young Shen Shixing into her uncle's home. Shen Shixing's surname was Xu when he was a child. He did business with his adoptive father who was a businessman since he was a child. Because his biological father and adoptive father were both businessmen, he was regarded as a descendant of a businessman since he was a child. To cultivate.

Later generations thought that Shen Shixing was old-fashioned, but in fact Shen Shixing relied on his smart mind to be good at business since he was a child. In terms of business skills, he was much better than many officials of the Ming Dynasty.

It's just that while Shen Shixing was studying business, he couldn't hide his talents as a scholar. In the extremely difficult Yingtianfu Township Examination, he got No. 3 in one fell swoop. At the age of 27, he went to Beijing to take part in the examination and won the top prize again. After that, Shen Shixing returned to his ancestral home and changed his surname to Shen.

This legendary experience of Shen Shixing is well-known in Suzhou.

At this time, a novel "Jade Dragonfly" was already on the market in Suzhou. The content of the novel is:
Shen Guisheng, a son of a wealthy family in Suzhou, was at odds with his wife Zhang and fell in love with Wang Zhizhen, a nun in Fahua'an. Unfortunately, Shen Guisheng died of illness in Fahua'an. Wang Zhizhen gave birth to a posthumous son who was adopted by the Xu family and named Xu Yuanzai.

Sixteen years later, Xu Yuanzaizhong got to know Yuan, and learned about his life experience, so he went to Fahua Temple to recognize his mother.

This play "Jade Dragonfly" is also called "Mother Recognition in the Nunnery". It later became a traditional play of the Wang School of Yue Opera. Its story is basically adapted from Shen Shixing's real experience.

In other adapted stories, the fame obtained by the protagonist of the story is often written higher to increase the sense of satisfaction, but in Shin Shixing's story, the fame he received is written down.

Shin Yuan-jae in "Jade Dragonfly" only passed the exam, but in real life, Shin Si-hyung won the top prize in high school at the age of 27. Probably the novelist felt that such an adaptation was too unrealistic. After all, in a place like Nanjing, twenty-seven-year-old Being able to pass the examination at a certain age is enough to be praised.

Shen Shixing was such a smart person and could handle it while studying business and studying at the same time. However, after Mr. Shen Ge became the chief minister, he still couldn't cope with the complex conditions of the Wanli cabinet.

When Shen Shixing was the first assistant, he was known as a peacemaker.

But in fact, he and Shen Guangxi are very different. Shen Ge is always a real mess, but Shen Shixing has a very strong moral sense.

After Zhang Juzheng's fall, Shen Shixing knew clearly that many of Zhang Juzheng's actions were beneficial to the Ming Dynasty.

However, at this time, small groups had formed in the court. During Zhang Juzheng's reform, he appointed private individuals, which offended the civil servant groups all over the world, and eventually the government could only be destroyed.

Even if Shen Shixing himself did it again, the outcome would be the same. What's more, Emperor Wanli had grown up by then, and Shen Shixing had no chance to control the emperor like Zhang Juzheng.

But what needs to be done still needs to be done. Zhang Juzheng's strong approach will not work, so Shen Shixing can only try another path.

He was essentially still doing the same thing as Zhang Juzheng, but Shen Shixing tried his best to show his sincerity to the emperor and officials.

He hoped to use his sincerity to mediate in the middle, so that the emperor and his ministers could work together as one, and in this way continue to implement the reform direction that Zhang Juzheng had not completed that year.

Every time there was a conflict between Emperor Wanli and the civil servants, Shen Shixing took the initiative: on the one hand, he helped the emperor appease the civil servants, and on the other hand, he did not forget what the chief assistant should do and expressed his sincerity to the civil servant group.

But the result was unpalatable to both parties.Emperor Wanli was fed up with the struggle with the civil servants, and he did not accept the superficial hypocrisy and compromise. He simply gave up his job for a long time, and the boss took the initiative to mess it up. No matter how hard Shen Shixing tried to paper it over, he could not satisfy the civil servant group.

The civil servants are increasingly giving Shen Shixing no face. They have formed their own group and can demonstrate the power of civil-official unity without relying on Shen Shixing.

At this time, Shen Shixing had actually completely failed, and it was only a matter of time before he was kicked out by the emperor and the civil service group.

Finally, nine years ago, when the Zhengguoben incident first occurred, Shen Shixing still used the same old method.

The public ministers were afraid that Emperor Wanli would abolish the eldest son and establish a younger one, so they asked Shi Xing to be the first to jointly sign the petition, but Emperor Wanli ignored it.

Shen Shixing understood Wanli's thoughts at that time and knew that Wanli wanted to wait for the opportunity to see if there was any way to establish Zhu Changxun as the crown prince.

Anyone with a discerning eye would have known from the beginning that the so-called struggle for national origin was simply an excuse for the party to fight against the imperial power.

In fact, what difference does it make even if Zhu Changxun becomes the prince?
From the perspective of the cabinet capital, Shen Shixing knew that the more imperial power was restricted, the less likely it would be to implement reforms.

He just wanted to get things done, and the best option was to continue papering.

Therefore, he did not object to abolishing the elders and establishing young ones in front of Wanli, and at the same time, he pretended to abide by etiquette and law in front of the officials to appease both sides.

Emperor Wanli also said that he would wait until his eldest son turned 15 before discussing the matter and help him deal with courtiers.

Shen Shixing was happy to think that the Zhengguoben incident would be over. At that time, he was exhausted mentally and physically, so he went home for a vacation.

He did not expect that the power of the civil service group had far exceeded expectations. Just when Shen Shixing was on vacation, the secret he gave to Wanli actually spread. Shen Shixing, the head of the Shangshu, said bluntly: "The emperor can make decisions on his own." "The words instantly caused an uproar across the world.

The ministers immediately attacked Shen Shixing on both sides. The public opinion was too strong. Shen Shixing was on vacation at that time. By the time he realized it, even Emperor Wanli could not protect him. Shen Shixing had no choice but to submit his resignation.

At this time, when I saw "The Wealth of Nations", Shen Shixing couldn't help but think back to the various economic policies he implemented during his years as chief minister.

He compared the effects of policies with the theories in The Wealth of Nations and was shocked to find that many unsuccessful policies often violated the economic laws pointed out in The Wealth of Nations.

He finally felt how powerful "The Wealth of Nations" was.

But Shen Shixing also felt powerless.

Because looking back at the time when those policies were formulated, didn’t I know there were compromises?

It's just that the reason for those compromises is not that he doesn't want to do it, but that he can't do it.

After Shen Shixing resigned and returned home, he saw the country's situation changing day by day, feeling anxious and painful in his heart.

But he has always been a smart man, and he knows that the civil servants in North Korea and China have regarded him as an object of contempt, otherwise he would not spread his bad name as a peacemaker to the world.

(End of this chapter)