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

Chapter 305: Solve Shen Guanyi’s doubts

When Wang Wenlong knew that his "Book of Documents" was popular in the capital, it had already reached the end of June in the thirty-first year of Wanli.

After Xu Xueju read Shen Yiguan's letter, he said to Wang Wenlong: "Jianyang doesn't know something. Now you have become famous in the capital, but Mr. Shen Ge is being roasted on the fire."

Seeing that Xu Xueju was worried, Wang Wenlong asked, "What happened to Mr. Shen Ge?"

"Do you know about the case of King Chu?"

King Gong of Chu passed away more than forty years ago, leaving behind two posthumous sons, Zhu Huakui and Zhu Huabi. In the eighth year of Wanli, Zhu Huakui and Zhu Huabi came of age. Zhu Huakui inherited the title of King Gong, and Zhu Huabi was also named King Xuanhua.

Now Zhu Huakui has been King Gong of Chu for more than 20 years. Until a few months ago, Zhu Huabao, a descendant of the Prince of Chu's palace, suddenly revealed to Wanli that the old Prince Gong was unable to have children. Zhu Huakui and Zhu Huabi were born to Princess Gong's brother. After Prince Gong's death, he was taken into the palace to be raised by the palace officials, and he was claimed to be the posthumous son of Princess Gong.

The memorial was delivered to the capital more than a month ago. King Zhu Huakui of Chu was afraid that things would get serious, so he bribed Shen Yiguan, the chief minister, and also tried to bribe the Ministry of Rites to suppress the memorial.

Zhu Huabao also mobilized his connections and went to the capital to file a petition. He also mobilized more than 20 people from the King of Chu's clan to sign the memorial, accusing the Ministry of Rites and Shen Yiguan of accepting bribes from King Zhu Huakui of Chu.

On the surface, this matter is a struggle between the Chu clan for the title, but behind the scenes it is a fight between the Zhejiang Party and the Donglin Party.

Facing the worried Xu Xueju, Wang Wenlong said: "Jing Yugong, this matter is as I think, and the Holy One has already made a judgment."

The reason why Zhu Huabao dared to make things big was because he had the support of the Donglin Party members behind him.

Wang Wenlong nodded. He knew that the Donglin Party and the Zhejiang Party were still wrestling with each other. This case had been going on for more than 20 years. Even if there really was a civet cat replacing the prince, the relevant people had already been dealt with. In fact, both parties There is no reliable evidence, only the words of stakeholders, and the final outcome depends entirely on partisan fighting.

As for Shen Yiguan, in addition to being the head of the cabinet, his disciple Li Tingji, the left minister of the Ministry of Rites, was also involved in this matter.

Chu Gong Wang Zhu Huakui wanted to settle the matter by bribing officials. Shen Guanyi accepted money to support Zhu Huakui, but Guo Zhengyu, the Minister of Rites, severely refused.

Then within a few days, news spread in the capital that King Chu Gong had given Guo Zhengyu a bribe of 100 taels of gold, and promised to reward him with 10,000 taels of gold after the event was completed.

Xu Xueju was stunned and asked, "How do you say that?"

This incident was actually a confrontation between the Donglin Party and the Zhejiang Party.

Among them, the top leader of the Ministry of Rites, the Minister of Rites, Guo Zhengyu, is inclined to the Donglin Party, and behind him is the cabinet elder Shen Li, who is inclined to the Donglin Party.

The relevant department that handles clan cases is the Ministry of Rites.

"Still anxious." Xu Xueju said with a headache: "The Holy One has asked the local governor and police to investigate, but they all said there is no evidence. The most unfavorable thing for King Chu is the testimony of Zhu Huabao's wife, who is the niece of Princess Gong. , very firmly insisting that the King of Chu is a false king. Princess Gong has passed away, but when she faced such rumors, she strongly denied it. The King of Chu had the testimony of his mother as evidence. Both sides insisted on one thing, and the ministers in Beijing had no idea. I have a fixed opinion. I saw that Mr. Shen Ge was also worried about this matter in his words."

Wang Wenlong asked: "How is the case of King Chu being handled now?"

Wang Wenlong said: "The old princess is dead. The Chu king's clan first issued a complaint and spread the news that Shen Ge was dishonest. Then the clan's wife came out to testify. All the evidence was in favor of Zhu Huahuo. However, the emperor still sent it back for further discussion. , the meaning of supporting Mr. Shen Ge is already very clear."

Xu Xueju thought for a while, nodded and said: "I was in the middle of it but I was not conscious. In the end, Jianyang saw it clearly."

Xu Xueju stood up and walked around the room twice with his hands behind his back, and said with concern: "It's just that this matter is extremely dangerous, I'm afraid it will damage Shen Ge's old reputation." Time came to the thirty-first year of Wanli, and the form of party struggle in the Wanli court It has become increasingly obvious that Xu Xueju was only inextricably linked to the Zhejiang Party two years ago and was not considered a member of the Zhejiang Party, but now he is bound to the Zhejiang Party.

Xu Xueju and Shen Guanyi are both from Zhejiang. Just because of this fact, the Donglin Party is unlikely to help Xu Xueju, and Shen Yiguan therefore tries to help Xu Xueju in many ways.

Even if Xu Xueju proves that he is not a member of the Zhejiang Party, once something goes wrong with Shen Yiguan, Xu Xueju will be hindered by the Donglin Party members if he wants to do anything.

Wang Wenlong came up with another idea: "I guess the Holy Emperor will most likely hand this matter over to the court for discussion. I have two suggestions for Mr. Shen Ge."

"Please tell me." Xu Xueju was quite anxious.

"First, the Donglin Party is the best at stirring up public opinion. They will definitely play tricks on the court proceedings. Since Shen Ge always has a holy family, the outcome of the court proceedings will not suffer this time. In this case, one of them can be secretly investigated. Those who go too far in tandem will have their actions reported for impeachment, and the other party will be accused of 'concentrating group discussions and not hearing the truth'."

Xu Xueju was overjoyed when he heard this: "This is a good idea, they will definitely show their flaws."

The Donglin Party's method of connecting government affairs is very straightforward and simple. One or two people will definitely rush in and kill. These pawns crossing the river will definitely expose their shortcomings. As long as Shen Yiguang is determined to catch them, there is nothing he can't catch.

Wang Wenlong further analyzed and said: "As long as one or two fierce generals in the Donglin Party can be captured, Mr. Shen Ge can also give an explanation internally."

"Indeed," Xu Xueju nodded and asked, "What about the second point?"

Wang Wenlong replied: "After this incident, I observed that there must be great contradictions within the Chu King's clan. Otherwise, the incident that happened more than 20 years ago would not have suddenly come out, and dozens of clans would join the petition together. Even if the Chu King is saved this time, Out of the friendship between the Heavenly Family and the Heavenly Family, the Holy Spirit will not clean up all the royal families of the King of Chu. He will only deal with one or two lawsuits at most..."

Xu Xueju thought about it and said, "Jianyang means to ask Mr. Shen Ge to remind King Chu?"

"No reminder, it's best to cut as soon as possible." Wang Wenlong said.

"So powerful? If King Chu Gong keeps the throne, with his energy, he will definitely clean up the local clan. Someone has done the proofing. Who dares to make trouble again?" Xu Xueju was quite puzzled.

Wang Wenlong shook his head and said: "Futai, these clans have gathered more than 20 people to file a lawsuit, which shows that not only is there a lot of information about King Chu's affairs, but more importantly, it proves that King Chu's local power is not taken seriously by them. If If the King of Chu is really capable, why would he spend ten thousand taels of gold to bribe the Minister of Rites?"

"This time, dozens of people from the King of Chu's clan came out to oppose the brothers of King Chu. Even if the incident subsides for the time being, the reputation of King Chu will be damaged, and the ability to intimidate the local clan will not be greater, but will be smaller. Moreover, the Donglin Party in Wanli 20th After nine years of Beijing inspection, they suffered great damage, but in just two years they have regained their strength and are able to fight back, which shows their ability to win over party members in the DPRK."

He asked: "Even if Mr. Shen Ge can really use this matter to attack the Donglin Party, can it be more effective than the Beijing Chariot in the 29th year of Wanli? The Donglin Party was temporarily hit, but its power is still growing. . This time they helped the King of Chu’s family. When they recuperate and come to their senses, won’t there be a second time?”

Wang Wenlong said: "Moreover, the Donglin Party only produces one or two minions, but Mr. Shen Ge personally takes up the challenge. If there is a loss, he will exchange gold for soil."

Wang Wenlong finally concluded: "So I think that if Mr. Shen Ge gets a benefit this time, he should stop immediately and draw a clear line from King Chu's affairs. Otherwise, the Chu clan will cause trouble again soon, and the Holy Emperor will not always be able to stand by Shen Ge." The old side. Even if both sides fight fifty times each, the damage to Mr. Shen Ge will be huge."

After hearing what Wang Wenlong said, Xu Xueju suddenly became enlightened. He nodded repeatedly and said: "Jianyang is really a dragon in the world. He has analyzed this matter so clearly without leaving Fujian. I will write to Mr. Shen Ge to discuss the details."

Wang Wenlong sighed.

"Fighting one's own family against one's own, party struggle will only harm the country's strength. Whoever wins will gain what?" He thought about it, took out a letter "On the Nation and the State" from the drawer and said: "Futai, can you send this letter this time?" This letter is also brought to the capital, recommending Shen Pavilion to Lao Yi Temple?"

(End of this chapter)