Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 345 Big Times, Small Destiny!
a long time.

Li Shanchang moved his body, and his cloudy eyes gradually regained some color, as if he had thought of something, and regained some color. He looked at Xia Zhibai, his eyes full of solemnity and indifference, and said: "You think that my future fate can only be Li Si and Sima Yi, but I don't think so."

"I have no selfish motives towards Your Majesty."

"For so many years, I have been loyal to Your Majesty."

"I am not only loyal to Your Majesty, but also to Your Highness. My loyalty to the Ming Dynasty is evident to all."

"."

Li Shanchang still had some words to defend himself, but as he spoke, his voice became smaller and smaller, and in the end, he was completely silent, because what he said could, to a certain extent, apply to Li Si and Sima Yi.

But Zhu Yuanzhang is not Ying Zheng, nor is he Cao Cao.

Xia Zhibai sighed, stood up and poured a glass of wine for Li Shanchang, and poured another glass for himself, tasting it carefully and said: "Although the wine is good, it should be consumed in moderation. As a Grand Tutor, anything you do is actually wrong."

"Perhaps the Grand Master wants to withdraw now."

"But Grand Master, do you still remember Liu Ji and Liu Bowen? Didn't Liu Ji want to step down back then? But after he stepped down, did the result change? Where there are people, there are rivers and lakes, and naturally there will be power struggles. And in this land of China, there has always been a tradition of people leaving the tea cold."

"The Grand Master has been in the court for so many years, how could he not have offended someone?"

"I'm afraid the Grand Tutor wouldn't dare to completely withdraw, and he would definitely contact the officials in the court."

"And this is a big taboo!"

Li Shanchang was silent.

He did as Xia Zhibai thought and thought of retiring early.

But after Xia Zhibai mentioned Sima Yi, even his plan to retreat became unsuccessful, because Sima Yi had used the same method before. For a moment, Li Shanchang felt inexplicably irritated, and he felt an unprecedented disgust for Sima Yi, who had ruined his own future.

What Li Shanchang was most anxious about was that he could no longer find a reason to escape unscathed.

Even if there is, His Majesty may not agree.

As long as I live one more day, His Majesty's suspicion of me will secretly increase.

As for dying directly, he would naturally not consider it.

Li Shanchang pressed his body heavily on the table, his breathing became heavier. Finally, he looked at Xia Zhibai with a dull look in his eyes. He was afraid that this was the real purpose of Xia Zhibai's coming, which was to convince himself to go the same way as him.

Li Shanchang smiled bitterly and said, "As expected, every generation has its own talented people. I was on guard against everything, but you still tricked me."

"You just said a few words, but you have completely provoked my uneasiness. You can just walk away, but I will be in a long period of anxiety and uneasiness. You are really amazing. In the whole world, besides Liu Bowen, you are the second person who makes me restless."

"You win!"

Li Shanchang admitted defeat very humbly.

He knew that he had been completely tricked by Xia Zhibai. He originally came to ask Xia Zhibai something, but Xia Zhibai trapped him with just a few words. Now the seeds of fear had been planted in his heart, and he was doomed to no longer pretend that nothing had happened. He would live in fear all the time.

If I can't get out of this state quickly, I'm afraid His Majesty's sword will fall soon.

Because of my abnormality, it will be magnified a lot in the eyes of His Majesty.

Sometimes it's enough to cost one's life! Xia Zhibai shook his head.

He said calmly, "Grandmaster, you are joking. When have I ever played chess with you? Of course, there is no question of winning or losing."

"The Grand Master has indeed narrowed his path."

"Or maybe it's not the Grand Tutor's fault, but the position he holds. In the past, the Prime Minister took on this risk, but now that the Prime Minister has been deposed, the risk naturally falls on the Grand Tutor, who holds a high position of power. This has been the case in every dynasty."

"However, I do have a solution, but the Grand Master may not accept it."

Li Shanchang had calmed down his flustered mood, drank the wine in the glass vigorously, and said, "Tell me, I want to hear what you can think of in this place of life and death, but this may not be prepared for me, or this idea itself is prepared for your own future."

Li Shanchang gave Xia Zhibai a cold look.

Xia Zhibai smiled and did not comment, and the two did not say much about it.

Xia Zhibai said: "With the current status of the Grand Master, it is basically impossible to retreat unscathed, and the Grand Master is unlikely to accept leaving alone. Therefore, in order to ensure that the Grand Master still has a certain prestige, but not to arouse the suspicion of Your Majesty, in my opinion, there is only one way."

"Abolish the lifelong tenure system for officials!"

One word fell.

Li Shanchang's pupils shrank slightly, and a hint of surprise appeared in his eyes.

Xia Zhibai continued, "The suspicion between the emperors and ministers in every dynasty all stems from the fact that the emperor has been in office for too long, formed many cliques, and eventually became too powerful to be controlled in the court, threatening the emperor's power. Therefore, the emperors of every dynasty have been very cautious about powerful ministers, but at certain times, the court urgently needs powerful ministers to appear."

“Therefore, the court is always in a relatively contradictory state.”

"The compromise is to abolish the lifetime tenure system and replace it with a yearly limit."

“Set a maximum length of service!”

"The higher you go up the career ladder, the more you'll have to stick to the age limit. Unless there are special circumstances, you'll be dismissed at the end of the term."

"As for these retired officials, the court will give them certain preferential treatment, allowing them to participate in some major decision-making, or allowing them to directly submit petitions to the court, in order to ensure that the power of retired officials does not decline quickly, and they always have a certain influence and voice."

"As long as you advance and retreat in an orderly manner, even if you have great power, it will not arouse too much suspicion from Your Majesty, unless you really make a political mistake."

"However, even proposing this idea is extremely difficult, and the resistance it faces will be surprisingly great, including resistance from both court officials and local officials. But this method is indeed the best way to solve the current predicament of the Grand Tutor."

“It’s also the most compromise.”

"Of course this is just my superficial opinion."

"The final choice of the Grand Master is up to him to decide."

"As for what the Grand Tutor wants to ask, I have already told him the answer. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has changed. He no longer wants to be under the protection of His Majesty. He wants to break away and do something on his own. A big part of this is reforming the system!"

"Reform some unreasonable systems in the world, and create some systems that are more beneficial to the world."

"Big times, small destiny."

“The world is a big stage, but the fate we can choose is very small. Therefore, we should give full play to our talents in our current positions, live up to our youth, live up to the people of the world, and live up to the journey we have taken over the years.”

(End of this chapter)