Ming Dynasty: My Father Zhang Juzheng

Chapter 182 Fierce Debate

Out of the palace gate.

The sun was shining outside, but Zhang Yunxiu had a gloomy face.

Wei Qing walked side by side with him, chuckled, and said comfortingly: "Oh, my dear Zhang Sicheng, you can't ruin your bright future because of this little thing."

"The Kong family is revered by all the scholars in the world. If you mess with them, you will have trouble getting into the cabinet, let alone the Imperial Academy. You have to distinguish the importance of this matter. The emperor has already said that he wants to investigate, so you are not the one who will do this."

Zhang Yunxiu forced a smile and clasped his fists, saying, "Thank you, Eunuch Wei, for reminding me. I almost made a mistake."

"Well, who are we going to follow?"

Wei Qing raised his graying eyebrows, quickened his pace and led Zhang Yunxiu to the inner treasury.

That evening, Zhang Yunxiu returned to the Grand Secretary's residence with gifts, looking unhappy. Xu Ruoxi went to meet him, but when she saw her husband's expression, her joy faded a little.

The two of them sat down in the hall, and Xu Ruoxi asked quietly, "What's wrong, husband?"

Zhang Yunxiu realized that he had lost his composure, so he suppressed his sadness, forced a smile and replied, "Nothing, I'm just a little tired recently. I'm not being mean to you, don't think too much about it."

Xu Ruoxi nodded slightly.

Since her husband didn't want to talk, she didn't want to ask more questions, lest she ask too much and make her husband angry. She just smiled obediently, walked gently behind her husband, and massaged his shoulders.

As she raised her jade hand slightly, Zhang Yunxiu closed her eyes slightly.

The hateful face of the Kong family, who levied heavy taxes and oppressed the people, emerged in my mind.

Yes, Confucianism is extremely compatible with the rule of feudal dynasties.

The Kong family was able to have such a status because successive rulers relied on him to consolidate their rule.

"The ruler is the ruler, the minister is the minister, the father is the father, the son is the son."

"Preserve the laws of nature and eliminate human desires."

"."

But when powerful ships and cannons entered China, could those corrupt sages' words stop them? Confucius' words were indeed correct, but they had been developed for more than a thousand years and annotated by Zhu Xi.

It has already changed beyond recognition.

"It's time to change." Zhang Yunxiu murmured and suddenly opened his eyes.

Xu Ruoxi, who was standing behind him, noticed the change in her husband's aura and paused. She opened her mouth to ask, but in the end, nothing came out.

The moon is hanging in the middle of the sky, and the sky is filled with stars.

Zhang Yunxiu, wearing only a single garment, slowly walked into Zhang Juzheng's bedroom.

Inside, Zhang Juzheng leaned against the head of the bed, holding a folder in his hand, and with the help of the light of the oil lamp, he patiently peeked at the words on it.

Beside him, Yuqin stood respectfully, ready to take orders from Master Hou at any time.

Seeing Zhang Yunxiu coming in, Yuqin smiled and walked forward, motioning him to speak in a low voice. Zhang Yunxiu nodded and said with a smile: "You go down first, I have something to talk to my father."

"Okay, but don't be too late, the master's body can't stand it."

"I can spare it."

The two exchanged a few words, Yuqin hurriedly left the bedroom, and Zhang Yunxiu stepped forward.

Zhang Juzheng threw the book in his hand to the left, glanced at his son, and motioned him to sit in front of him. The two of them understood each other tacitly, and Zhang Juzheng asked directly: "Tell me, what trouble have you encountered?"

"It's a little big." Zhang Yunxiu smiled awkwardly.

"How big?"

"Even you don't dare to interfere easily."

After hearing this, Zhang Juzheng felt a desire to fight. But he soon asked cautiously, "Is it about the nobles?"

"No."

"what is that?"

Apart from the nobles and the royal family, there is nothing major happening in this world.

Zhang Yunxiu glanced at his father's puzzled face, tilted his head, and whispered, "Kong family."

"Who?" Zhang Juzheng didn't hear clearly and urged Zhang Yunxiu to continue.

"The Kong family in Qufu." Zhang Yunxiu repeated it again.

Zhang Juzheng heard it clearly now. His face darkened and he almost wanted to kick his son to the ground.

The Kong family was respected by scholars all over the world, and he himself relied on this to advance into an official position.

Are we going to attack the Kong family now?

Wouldn't that be against everyone in the world?

Not to mention his political enemies hiding in the dark, even his own cronies would jump out and say "No"!
But Zhang Juzheng had been in the officialdom for many years, so he did not show his anger immediately, but asked calmly: "What's the reason?"

Zhang Yunxiu told Song Ming what he had said truthfully.

"Not enough." After hearing this, Zhang Juzheng closed his eyes and shook his head repeatedly.

"not enough?"

"You can't just focus on Qufu, you have to look at the whole world. In fact, there are quite a few people in Shandong who have submitted memorials to criticize the Kong family, but do you know why the Kong family has always been as stable as a rock?"

"In order to maintain stability in the world?" Zhang Yunxiu thought for a moment and replied.

"That's right. If you want to do great things, why should you be afraid of a few common people?" Zhang Juzheng nodded and said, "You don't have to worry about this matter anymore. The court will investigate it. At most, the Kong family will quietly withdraw the land they have taken."

Or spit it out quietly.

Zhang Yunxiu was furious. The Kong family's behavior was entirely caused by these scholars and officials.

"Father, Confucius traveled around the countries, feeling as anxious as a lost dog. Now his descendants are rich in Shandong, but they are still not satisfied. If Confucius knew that his descendants were like this, he would probably be so angry that he would jump out of his coffin." Zhang Yunxiu replied angrily.

"How dare you!" Zhang Juzheng slapped the bed and shouted, "Don't you know how powerful you are? It's not the common people who control the world, but the scholars and officials. If you attack the Kong family, even the emperor can't protect you."

Zhang Yunxiu gritted his teeth and replied, "Water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it. If Shandong doesn't care today and Henan doesn't care tomorrow, if a piece here is rotten and a piece there is rotten, if everything is rotten, the people of this world will rise up in rebellion!"

"May I ask, father, before the Ming Dynasty, have the dynasties lasted for more than three hundred years?"

Zhang Yunxiu's words were powerful.

After hearing this, Zhang Juzheng moved his lips slightly but said nothing.

Seeing this situation, Zhang Yunxiu simply said: "Since ancient times, those who finally caused chaos in the world were not the four barbarians, but a few common people. The Qin Dynasty was strong and annexed the six kingdoms. It was not the six kingdoms that destroyed Qin, but a few common people like Chen Sheng and Wu Guang.

When the Tang Dynasty was strong, all nations came to pay tribute. However, those who eventually caused chaos in the world were not the four barbarians, but a few common people like Huang Chao and Wang Xianzhi.

The Yuan Dynasty was so powerful that it swallowed up the Jin Dynasty and destroyed the Song Dynasty. In the end, it was not the Jin Dynasty or the Song Dynasty that caused chaos in the world, but a few common people like Han Shantong and Liu Futong. "

"Han Shantong and Liu Futong are just a few refugees. If they raise their arms and shout, the whole country will be torn apart."

"Father, do you still think that the world is ruled by those scholars and officials?"

Although they knew that the common people would rebel if they didn’t have enough food, the rulers of successive dynasties always chose to ignore it.

Future generations will mourn without taking note of it, which will also make future generations mourn for future generations again.

"You are right." Zhang Juzheng looked at his son's serious expression, suddenly smiled approvingly, and said, "But I am old, I am afraid I can't do this anymore."

(End of this chapter)