I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 112: Another New Lecturer
Under the protection of Xue Yi, Wang Chi and Xiao Ling, Zhu Yijun ran three laps in the South Parade Ground and shot three arrows, hitting two of them, which was a mediocre performance.

After getting off the horse and throwing the reins to the guard, Zhu Yijun, with beads of sweat on his forehead, said happily: "It's really refreshing!"

Having a good body is the foundation of being a king.

Many things in this world require time to persevere.

If you can make it through, you will win big and go down in history. If you can’t make it through, you will fail at the last moment and regret it forever.

There were not many long-lived emperors in the Ming Dynasty, but there were many long-lived princes, with the longest living to be ninety-two years old.

In addition, the fact that Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty died at the age of 71 shows that the genes of the Zhu family were not like those of the Zhao family of the Song Dynasty, and they were born with defects. The emperors did not live long, mostly due to acquired reasons.

Zhu Yijun was determined to break the longevity record of the Ming emperor.

If the life span is long enough, at the very least, it can kill off all the stubborn backbone members and wait until the new generation of talents cultivated by itself grows up completely.

In the evening, Zhu Yijun accompanied Emperor Jiajing to read memorials, make comments on them, and practice Taoism as usual.

The next morning, after breakfast, Zhu Yijun went to Xi'anmen Academy to study.

When he reached the door, the new lecturer Chen Yiqin greeted him with a complicated expression.

Chen Yiqin was the tutor of Prince Yu. Since Prince Yu was promoted to the crown prince, he has been working hard for three days and drying his nets for two days.

Emperor Jiajing also knew his son's temperament. He thought that the prince had reached adulthood and needed to be familiar with state affairs, so he issued an edict to remove him from the position of imperial tutor.

Chen Yiqin was also transferred to Xi'anmen Academy.

There is a shortage of people here.

Previously, Zhu Yijun's teacher, Li Chunfang, entered the cabinet and took charge of the Lifanyuan; Zhang Juzheng began to gain experience in the six ministries in preparation for entering the cabinet; Pan Jixun began his career in river management and was stationed in Henan as the Minister of Works.

Zhao Zhenji had to take care of the increasingly busy affairs of the Coordination Bureau, while Xu Wei was busy with military and border affairs in the Advisory Office.

Zhu Yijun was completely let go.

So Emperor Jiajing transferred Chen Yiqin over.

After teaching for a few days, the ambitious Chen Yiqin's heart was half sea and half fire.

The flame is that Zhu Yijun is extremely talented, and he is incomparable to his last student Zhu Zaigui. He has a photographic memory, can draw inferences from one instance, is wise and savvy, and has the qualities to become a wise ruler of the revival of the times.

However, Zhu Yijun was too smart and had his own understanding of everything, which was often in opposition to Chen Yiqin's views. After a debate, Chen Yiqin found that although he was not convinced by the prince, he could not convince him at all.

The rising flame of hope was extinguished by the sea water.

"Morning, Mr. Chen!"

Zhu Yijun bowed respectfully.

"Good morning, Grandson." Chen Yiqin bowed in return.

Chen Yiqin has tried it. If you dare to imitate the old pedant or the old sour scholar and give Zhu Yijun a bad face, he will leave without saying a word.

He is even more upright than you.

If you are polite and courteous, he will be even more polite than you and observe the etiquette of a student.

Well, Chen Yiqin thought that all geniuses had such a rebellious character.

Sitting down in the classroom, Zhu Yijun spoke first: "Teacher, what lesson will you teach today?"

"Today, we will continue to talk about the "Zizhi Tongjian" and the history of the Tang Dynasty. During the Tianbao period, the Anshi Rebellion broke out and the former Tang Dynasty went from prosperity to decline. Then, there were many vassal states, eunuchs were tyrannical, and warriors were in power.
Today, we will talk about the An-Shi Rebellion. Your Highness, can you tell me where the An-Shi Rebellion originated from?

Chen Yiqin knew that if he wanted to subdue a genius, he had to show his real talent.

So he humbly asked Zhang Juzheng, Li Chunfang, Zhao Zhenji and others for advice, and after much thought, he decided to start with history books.

What prompted Chen Yiqin to make this change was a conversation he had with Zhu Yijun a few days ago.

At that time, Chen Yiqin explained to Zhu Yijun the Zhongyong chapter in Zhu Xi's "Collected Commentaries on the Four Books".

As Zhu Yijun was learning, he began to doze off. Chen Yiqin became furious and asked Zhu Yijun to copy the chapters of the Doctrine of the Mean silently.

Zhu Yijun was not annoyed, but asked calmly, "Teacher, what do you want me to learn by teaching me the Annotations to the Four Books?" Chen Yi said diligently, "So that you can understand the teachings of the saints."

Zhu Yijun said disdainfully: "The doctrine of sages? It was only after Taizu issued an edict and stipulated it as part of the imperial examination that it was called the doctrine of sages. Could it be that the doctrine of sages is related to the imperial examination?"

Chen Yiqin said angrily: "The teachings of saints are spoken by saints, which penetrate heaven and earth and educate all things."

Zhu Yijun smiled faintly and asked, "The sage's principles are all-pervasive. He has been traveling around the world to educate all living things. It has been thousands of years. What has he learned?"

Chen Yiqin was so angry that he was gasping for breath. Zhu Yijun continued, "Of course, you can say that it is because people in the world do not follow the teachings of the saints and cannot live up to the standards of the saints that such things that damage morals and violate discipline and laws occur.

Since it is impossible to do so, what is the meaning of this principle? "

Chen Yiqin was stunned by this sentence.

If it cannot be done, what is the point of this principle?
Ambitious and well-educated people like Chen Yiqin also had their share of troubles.

If everyone followed such wonderful teachings of sages, the world would have been a harmonious place long ago.

But why can't people all over the world learn and follow it well?
Zhu Yijun's sudden words today were like the sound of a bell in Chen Yiqin's heart.

Maybe the teachings of sages are good, but the standards are too high. Only a few people can achieve them, while it is difficult for most people to do so.

Thinking of this, Chen Yiqin softened his tone and said, "As the crown prince of the next generation, you still need to understand some of the principles of saints."

Zhu Yijun replied bluntly: "I just need to know the principles of governing a country."

Chen Yiqin immediately replied: "The principles of sages are the principles of governing a country."

"The principles of sages are only part of the principles of governing a country, not all of them. You Confucian scholars always like to simplify complex issues and attribute all the problems in the world to moral issues.

It is believed that as long as a person's moral cultivation improves, most problems will be reduced.

This is fine for education, for academic research, and for being a person. But if this is also true for governing a country, many problems will arise.”

Chen Yiqin was stunned again.

He couldn't believe such words came from the mouth of a twelve-year-old boy.

It makes sense, but it is also unorthodox.

Although it doesn't make sense, it seems that it can be used to answer some of the questions that I and others have been thinking about.

Chen Yiqin is not a pedantic person.

If he was really a pedantic person, he would have died together with Zhu Zaigui when teaching him.

So Chen Yiqin decided to change the teaching mode and start with history teaching.

After hearing Chen Yiqin's question, Zhu Yijun yawned lightly, but when he saw the old man's unfriendly look, he forced himself to hold the yawn back.

"The reason is very simple. During the Tianbao period, the former Tang Dynasty's finances were facing bankruptcy and could not afford the heavy expenses of the border towns. So the genius Emperor Xuanzong of Tang came up with a trick and delegated power to the Jiedushi of the border towns, allowing them to solve the food and grass problems on their own and get rid of the financial burden.

As a result, the feudal lords had both military and financial power, especially An Lushan, who was the governor of Pinglu, Fanyang, and Hedong. If they did not rebel, they would have nothing to pursue in life.

Ah!
Chen Yiqin was stunned when he heard this.

The prince's answer was very different from the mainstream Confucianism and the thoughts of knowledgeable people.

The mainstream answer must be that Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty distanced himself from wise ministers, favored villains, did not practice benevolent governance, was corrupt and extravagant, and even wanted to take possession of his own daughter-in-law, which was against the will of heaven.

But in the minds of knowledgeable people like Chen Yiqin, there are several answers.

For example, he believed that too much power was concentrated in the border towns, and that Emperor Xuanzong of Tang favored the treacherous minister Li Linfu and dismissed virtuous and good officials.

In order to change the rules of promoting generals to become prime ministers and prevent anyone from competing with him for the position of prime minister, Li Linfu deliberately ignored the defenses of the Xia and Yi peoples and wantonly promoted Hu generals, causing this disaster.

As a result, the Crown Prince gave a completely different answer, starting directly from the financial situation of the former Tang court, which stunned Chen Yiqin.

But does this statement make sense or not?

(End of this chapter)