I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 497: A strange phenomenon appears in the sky. Who is the traitor?
Ge Shouli took a booklet and a note from the steward. After reading them, his face turned as black as the bottom of a pot.

"Is this what you received on the street?"

"Yes, sir. Nowadays, people often distribute these pamphlets and posters on the streets, and there are also storytellers in teahouses and restaurants telling stories about the things in these pamphlets and posters."

"The people in the capital love to hear these things. A bunch of people in short robes, who can't even get enough food, are worrying about the affairs of the court. What do these things have to do with them?
And these brochures and posters, where did you receive them?"

"Master, it's at the intersection of Hengliang Lane in Jiaozhongfang and Chongwenmen North Street in the north city."

"There!" Ge Shouli stroked his beard and thought for a while, "There is a book market street there, and the whole street is full of bookstores. Students from the Imperial College and several colleges all like to go there to buy books.

These guys are pretty smart.”

After flipping through the booklet and the notice, Ge Shouli frowned, "The printing of this booklet and the notice is very ordinary."

"Master, a few years ago you and your good friends published two collections of essays. I was in charge of the process and got to know several friends who print and sell books.

They told me that the best printing houses in the Ming Dynasty are in the Imperial Household Department, Suzhou, and Hangzhou. No one can predict where the best printing houses are in the past two years. You certainly can’t guess it, Master.”

"where?"

“It’s the Imperial Observatory.”

Ge Shouli was shocked: "Ah, the Imperial Astronomical Observatory that prints the almanac?"

The steward nodded and replied, "Yes."

"How come those people who observe the celestial phenomena and calculate the celestial calendar have become the place with the most sophisticated printing?"

"Master, you don't know. When Yang Gonggong, the eunuch of the Ministry of Finance, was still in the southeast, he reached a strategic partnership with the Imperial Observatory and recruited a group of skilled craftsmen to make some kind of machine.

The looms and spinning machines in Shanghai were all improved with the help of the Imperial Observatory. A lot of money was made, and a lot of it was shared with the Imperial Observatory, so those people became more enthusiastic about working on them.

When Eunuch Yang returned to Beijing to take charge of the Shaofujian, he cooperated more closely with the Imperial Observatory. It was heard that many machines of Luanzhou Iron and Steel Company, Kaiping Coal Company and Taiyuan Iron and Steel Company were improved and manufactured by them, and they made a lot of money. So they recruited skilled craftsmen who were proficient in machines from all over the world. In addition, the gentlemen of the Imperial Observatory who were good at fortune-telling, made various machines very successful.

A few days ago, a new type of printing press was invented. It can print books a hundred times faster than woodblock printing and is more sophisticated. It is said that the Prince of Yongding of Rong Fan made great efforts and was named Yongding Printing Press by the Emperor.

Sir, this almanac was printed by the Imperial Astronomical Observatory Printing House using the Yongding printing press. Look, it is so clear and beautiful. "

Ge Shouli turned his head and looked at the almanac hanging on the wall. It was densely packed with 365 days printed on a piece of cardboard, one grid for each day. In addition to the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, it also noted things to avoid or do.

The big characters are as big as tea cups, and the small characters are as small as sesame seeds, but they can be seen clearly.

I never noticed it before!

Ge Shouli looked at the booklet in his hand again. Damn, God knows how it was printed. It's simply a pile of shit.

The manager added, "Master, this booklet and the notice are obviously privately printed. The workmanship of engraving and printing is extremely poor. One copy is worth at most 20 or 30 taels of silver. The worst pirated books sold on the street are better printed than this."

Ge Shouli narrowed his eyes and said quietly, "I don't care how it is printed, the key is the content on it, which is full of heart-piercing words.

As soon as the new emperor took over the throne, some people jumped out impatiently. "

The steward laughed and said, "Master, our Emperor Wanli is in a more secure position than Emperor Chengzu. Who dares to get angry at this moment? It's like going to the toilet with a lantern, looking for death."

Ge Shouli glared at him and scolded him, "What do you know? When Emperor Shimiao ascended the throne, there was a great dispute over etiquette, which implicated many famous officials and turned the court upside down."

"Master, we don't understand these things. We only know that our lives have been better in recent years. We are not as oppressed as before.

Apart from other things, beggars on the streets of the capital were almost extinct. The young and strong were said to be sent to Luanzhou and Kaiping to work. The old and weak were sent to the welfare house.

In the past few years, those upright censors criticized the Coordination Office and the Donation Bureau every day, but they actually built bridges and roads, established public schools and clinics, and opened orphanages and infirmaries.

The common people have seen all these real things. The words in the booklet about the strange phenomenon from heaven warning the people and the emperor's previous chaotic politics are simply nonsense.

These strange phenomena are indeed warnings, but the warning is that there are still traitors hidden in the court. These people are rats and snakes hiding in the dark in the court. On the surface, they are righteous, but in fact they are thieves and prostitutes. On the surface, they are upright gentlemen, but in secret they are rats and moths.

Ge Shouli was shocked and asked quickly, "Where did you hear that?"

"In the teahouses and restaurants in the capital, storytellers, singers, and several major opera troupes have put on some new plays, all of which are about those scumbags. Although they didn't mention any names, everyone knew who they were as soon as they heard them.

There are also "Business Daily", "Wenfeng Daily" and "Zihua Daily", which all publish scandals about some great scholars and celebrities, saying that these people have usurped high positions and gained fame in vain.
The gods could not bear to see this, so they sent down a strange sign to warn our emperor not to be fooled by these people and be deceived by them."

Ge Shouli stood up and asked, "Do you still have those Commercial Daily, Wenfeng Daily, and Calligraphy and Painting Daily?"

The Commercial News only published articles on business and industry, and scholars in the literati circle felt that it was too tainted by the smell of money.

The "Wenfeng Newspaper" published all kinds of stories about the rich and powerful, the love affairs of the people in the streets, the gossips of the families, and the disputes between monks and Taoist priests over nuns, all of which were stories that the common people loved to read. Too vulgar!
The Calligraphy and Painting Newspaper is even more amazing, not only does it have text, but it also has pictures and truth. The illustrations are lifelike, such as Cui Yingying's secret meeting with Zhang Sheng, and the recently popular "Plum Blossoms". It not only publishes the full text, but also invites famous painters and engravers to carefully make illustrations and then carefully carve the plates, all of which are famous scenes.

As soon as it came out, it was sold out! Countless people rushed to buy it.

In particular, many famous scholars and great men loudly denounced the book as shameless and vulgar, while ordering their servants to queue up all night to buy the book.

Unfortunately, since the carving of illustrations takes a lot of time, I only publish one issue every two weeks, and I am urged to update every day.

The steward replied, “Yes.”

"Quick, bring them all here."

The manager hesitated for a moment, turned around, went back to his residence to get the newspapers, and handed them to Ge Shouli.

Ge Shouli took a quick look, rolled them all up, and said to the steward, "Let me lend them to you for a while. Go, prepare the carriage, the master needs to go out."

The manager responded and hurried to prepare the car.

When helping Ge Shouli get on the carriage, the steward couldn't help but say, "Master, the other newspapers are easy to deal with, but it was very difficult for me to buy the Calligraphy and Painting Newspaper. Please make sure to return it to me." Ge Shouli responded unhappily, got into the carriage, and said loudly, "Let's go to Gaogebu's residence."

When they arrived at Gao Gong's mansion, they informed him and soon a steward came out to greet them.

"Master Ge, my master is waiting for you in the study."

"Su Qing has guests?"

"Mr. Zhang from the Hanlin Academy has been here for a while."

"Feng Pan is here too."

Ge Shouli hurried into the study and saw Gao Gong, wearing a plain Taoist robe and a square scarf on his head, sitting at the top.

Zhang Siwei, dressed in a plain-colored gown and a navy blue felt hat, stood up, bowed and said, "To Lord Chuan.

"Purge, Feng Pan."

"Yu Li, please take a seat." Gao Gong called, "Bring us some tea."

Ge Shouli couldn't wait to put out the pamphlets, posters and newspapers.

"Su Qing, Feng Pan, look."

Gao Gong and Zhang Siwei glanced at each other and looked normal.

"You all know?"

Gao Gong did not answer. Zhang Siwei joked, "It is hard to get a copy of Calligraphy and Painting Magazine. I didn't expect Mr. Chuan to have such a taste for it."

Ge Shouli waved his hand and said, "My housekeeper bought it. I've been so busy these days that I don't have the time to look at these."

Gao Gong and Zhang Siwei looked at each other and realized that it was indeed the case.

First, the Crown Prince got married, then the Emperor Longqing passed away, the state mourning was arranged, and then the new emperor's coronation ceremony. The main force was the Ministry of Rites, and Ge Shouli, as the Minister of Rites, was the busiest person in the court.

He really didn't have time to read the newspapers, and it was only during the last batch that he learned about the recent fierce "public opinion war" that was secretly going on.

"Su Qing, Feng Pan, now that you know about this, what do you think?"

Gao Gong said nothing and looked at Zhang Siwei.

This kind of public opinion warfare was Zhang Siwei's forte. He was very versatile and had connections everywhere, even with Zhang Juzheng.

Zhang Siwei said: "This matter has been stirring up trouble since a few days after the earthquake, led by Wang Jijin and others. He actively worked to win over a group of people, preparing to use the excuse of a strange phenomenon from the sky to warn the people, in order to create public opinion and force the emperor to write a confession of guilt."

At this point, Zhang Siwei sighed, "When this statement came out, everyone in the court was shocked. Hu Zongxian, Li Chunfang, Zhang Juzheng and others were in a panic, but the emperor didn't take it seriously.
Back in the day, the emperor would hold a ritual to offer sacrifices to the heavens when the sun and moon were hazy. When there was an earthquake or a rainbow piercing the sun, he would be so shocked that he would issue an imperial edict of amnesty to seek forgiveness from the heavens.

Only the emperor disdained to say that God was in charge of the heavens, and he was in charge of the earth as the emperor, each of them was in charge of their own affairs. He made his own rain, and I cursed his mother! We were even!
I am afraid that only Emperor Taizu can be compared to him in terms of not fearing the power of heaven and earth."

Ge Shouli thought about it, and recalled the various deeds of the emperor when he was still the crown prince and the prince, and couldn't help but sighed: "Ah, the emperor is really like this!"

Gao Gong said quietly, "Wang Anshi of the Song Dynasty once said, 'Natural disasters are not to be feared, ancestors are not to be followed, and people's words are not to be pitied.' Our emperor has the same temperament."

Zhang Siwei slapped his thigh and continued, "That's right. Seeing that the emperor was in such an attitude, Wang Jijin and others could not scare the emperor, so they had to think of another way. So they attributed the strange phenomenon from the sky to Li Shoufu, Hu Ruzhen and Zhang Shuda.

Not only did he publish these pamphlets and notices, he also incited local officials, together with famous scholars, to submit a petition to impeach the three of them, claiming that the strange phenomenon from heaven was the fault of treacherous officials.

However, the Taichang Temple was not willing to be outdone. It administered the newspapers and the Propaganda Bureau, and instigated storytellers, singers and actors to get involved. The mastermind behind the scenes was indeed Cai Huaqiu.

Judging from the current situation, the Taichang Temple's offensive is very methodical and varied, with one card after another in hand, making it difficult for Wang Jijin to cope.

Fortunately, the theory of the correspondence between heaven and man is deeply rooted in people's minds. Many ignorant people and scholars believe it. They think that the strange signs from heaven should be attributed to the people in power, either the emperor or the powerful ministers. This is how we can barely draw a tie."

Ge Shouli nodded.

Fear of heaven and earth is a common problem among all people today. Not everyone has the courage to not take the strange phenomena of heaven and earth to heart.

How can ordinary people, who can't even recognize a few words, understand the principles of heaven and earth?

The scholars only read the Four Books and Five Classics, and their thinking is all "philosophical thinking" without any "scientific thinking" at all. If you show them a telescope or a microscope, they will find it completely unbelievable.

For what they cannot understand, they simply attribute it to ghosts or strange tricks, and like everything they cannot control, they subconsciously reject it!

It was for this reason that Wang Lin was full of confidence. However, he never expected that after Cai Maochun made a fuss, everyone thought that the strange phenomenon from the sky had nothing to do with the emperor.

The emperor is still a wise and benevolent ruler. The strange phenomenon is that there must be treacherous ministers in the court, but who those treacherous ministers are is a matter of debate.

Everyone said their own thing, making the whole place chaotic.

Ge Shouli noticed something unusual on Gao Gong's face. He raised his eyebrows and asked bluntly, "Su Qing, what are you thinking?"

Gao Gong evaded the question: "What do you think?"

Ge Shouli did not let him go and asked him bluntly: "It is about this matter. The strange phenomenon fell from the sky and there are treacherous ministers in the court. Who do you think is the treacherous minister? In other words, which side are you on?"

Zhang Siwei couldn't help but look at Gao Gong.

There was silence in the study.

(End of this chapter)