Guangzong Yaoming

Chapter 174: Great Scholars Debate
Of course, there were cases of punishment for speech in the Ming Dynasty, but those were at least censors and court officials who angered the emperor.

Just because he said something outrageous in his daily life, he was arrested by the Jinyiwei and castrated. The gentry were really sympathetic.

too frightening.

Since Renzong and Xuanzong, the Ming Dynasty has never had such "high pressure" on the people, and the current public opinion environment can be described as quite relaxed.

Otherwise, how could there be such nonsense as Zhu Di killing Fang Xiaoru's ten clans spread in Jiangnan?
The emperor is far away and they know that the probability of having a Jinyiwei around them is much lower than in the capital, so they are now more sympathetic to the officials and scholars in the capital.

"The factory guards are rampant, and all the horses are silent!" Still in the Donglin Academy on the construction site, several people behind Gu Xiancheng shook their heads, "I really don't know what kind of horrible scene is in the capital now."

Thanks to Li Sancai's generous donation, plus the donations that Gu Xiancheng begged from some other people, Donglin Academy was bustling with activity.

"Everyone in the world can discuss what's going on! How can a benevolent king do such a brutal act? Killing people so that they dare not speak out, what good will it do to the country? What good will it do to the people?"

"I really can't understand it. Let's not talk about Wang Taicang. Why are Shen and Shen so unbearable in the court? During the Wanli period, they were able to stop the dispute over the national foundation repeatedly. Now, they are so cowardly that they don't move forward with such a matter that humiliates the gentry and culture?"

"They are not upright and are afraid." A middle-aged man with thin eyebrows and long beard sneered, "When I was in Beijing, the Grand Official was attacked during the Beijing inspection. Although I was just a passerby at the time, I defended the Grand Official and was attacked by everyone. I was demoted to a censor and then resigned and returned to my hometown. Why is the Beijing inspection so difficult? Most of you are not upright and want to be used for party struggles. How dare you be investigated and questioned truthfully?"

"Brother Cunzhi is right!" Several others agreed.

The man with thin eyebrows and long beard was called Gao Panlong. When he heard Gu Xiancheng say that Donglin Academy could be rebuilt, he came immediately after hearing the news.

Now Gao Panlong said again: "In the past, I was in the Xingren Division, and I studied the works of Cheng Yi and Zhu Xi in depth, and also compiled the Daily Reflection. In my opinion, now your majesty is angry at me for not fighting!"

The others looked at him in astonishment, but Gu Xiancheng stopped and looked back with a deep look in his eyes.

"It is because of their bad conduct and Your Majesty expects them to be virtuous that the officials in the court are ashamed and dare not speak out. How many of them can stand up to the investigation?" Gao Panlong was very excited. "Tycoon Xiao has investigated hundreds of families in Jiangnan, and he found the truth in every investigation. How do you think of the scholars now? You can pity their misfortune, but you should be angry at their lack of resistance! Your Majesty has dismissed the mining supervisors and tax collectors, eliminated fraud, cleaned up the occupation of labor, reduced expenses, and allocated internal funds to reward diligence and integrity. It is not Your Majesty who has failed the officials and gentry of the world, but many people have forgotten the teachings of the sages and failed Your Majesty!"

To be honest, many of the people who came to join in the fun did not expect Gao Panlong to hold such an opinion.

"I think this is not about not being able to discuss world affairs! Can we really ignore right and wrong? If one's body is not upright, then his words are powerless. If his words are powerless, then he will be like an ignorant fool who uses filthy words to insult others. Are such people worthy of being in the scholar circle? What do you think, Brother Shushi?"

Gu Xiancheng laughed, "What you said is very reasonable! The morals of scholars have been corrupted and officials have been hiding corruption for a long time. A branch of my Gu family has also been convicted. From a private and righteous perspective, I will try to rescue them; from a public and righteous perspective, I admire Your Majesty very much. The four sentences of Hengqu should be mentioned! The teachings of the ancient sages must not be forgotten! As long as one is upright and speaks reasonably, there is no problem in the world that cannot be discussed."

He stood on a high place and pointed at the mountain gate and said, "In the future, I will carve a couplet there, which reads: The sound of wind, rain and reading is heard by the ears, and the affairs of family, country and the world are all of concern! Our generation of lecturers should clarify the morals of scholars, cultivate talents for the emperor and father, and make the officials in the court ashamed!"

"Great sentence!" Gao Panlong clapped his hands and laughed. "Great sentence! That's exactly how it should be! As the saying goes, a righteous cause will have many supporters. If Donglin Academy declares its purpose, all the wise men will come!"

A group of people had complicated expressions: Why did it seem like Donglin Academy was advocating for the emperor?

They just didn't understand that Gu and Gao had already seen the fundamental reason for the current situation: the emperor was indeed standing on the side of justice and on the high position of maintaining the foundation of culture and education.

Most of today's officials and gentry are indeed selfish and have forgotten the teachings of the ancient sages.

It’s not that Gu and Gao are really flawless, but when it comes to court matters, stance has always been more important.

Now that they are in the opposition, since the emperor's position is clear, and since they can withstand more scrutiny than others, why not do it?
When a large number of positions in the court become vacant, it will be the time for the disciples and ideas of Donglin Academy to enter the court!
Zhu Changluo had no idea that the famous Donglin Academy was now preparing to become a great scholar to help him debate scriptures. Even if he knew, he would just smile.

The news is still spreading in the south, and it will inevitably cause greater controversy and promote more divisions.

In Nanjing, Chang Qing'an, the head of Changmingzhayang Company, arrived at the garrison and met Cheng Jing.

"According to your majesty's order, one hundred thousand taels of gold and silver should be kept in Nanjing this year, seventy thousand for the navy, and thirty thousand for the Xiaoling guards. I have brought the silver with me and will give it to garrison commander Cheng first."

Cheng Jing smiled and asked him, "You haven't collected it yet, give it to me first?"

"Of course, we have to help Duke Wei and Earl Pingyi to regain the morale of the army and strengthen the military preparations to prepare for any eventuality." Chang Qing'an bent over and lowered his head. "For Changming, it's nothing more than spending first and collecting later. Who dares to delay the gold and silver?"

Cheng Jing became curious: "Earlier, you ten families spent a lot of money buying grain from Changming Grain Store and bidding for Zhayangzong. Now you have taken out another 100,000 silver. How much silver have you prepared in total?"

Although this was a secret, Chang Qing'an did not hide it from him: "Your Majesty trusts us, how can we not work hard? In addition to the money that Your Majesty and the nobles gave us at the beginning, each of us borrowed money according to our shares and took money as needed, and we did our best. To be honest with you, Cheng Shoubei, after so many years of management, each of our families has a small fortune."

The specific number was not mentioned, but the meaning was that he could rest assured that the ten companies in Shanxi would seize this opportunity with all their strength.

Cheng Jing laughed, "Indeed, you are trustworthy. The Concubine Shu was chosen from the Fan family, and three of you have been granted official positions, so you should do your job well. As for the 100,000 taels of silver, you should bring it here with great fanfare, so that everyone in Nanjing will know about it."

"Yes."

It is no secret that the emperor used his treasury to train troops. This was the case in the Beijing camp, and of course it could be the same in Nanjing.

When had the Yangtze River Navy and the Xiaoling Guards ever been so wealthy?
But at the meeting of the Garrison Office, Xu Hongji was not so balanced. "Only Xiaoling Guard?" He looked at Cheng Jing in astonishment, "What about the Nanjing Guards?"

Cheng Jing narrowed his eyes and looked at him: "Duke Wei, why don't you submit a memorial to ask His Majesty why he only gave it to the Xiaoling Guards and not to the rest of the Nanjing troops?"

In Nanjing, there are still some imperial guards from the capital.

Xu Hongji knew the reason: it was enough to do ceremonials and patrol the city. Even for things like catching thieves, the Wucheng Bingmasi of Nanjing was better than the imperial guards of Liudu.

But the Wucheng Bingmasi was paid by the Nanjing Ministry of Revenue, and had nothing to do with the imperial treasury subsidies.

He just felt that he had much less control over than the navy.

"The Xiaoling Guards only suppress Yingtian Prefecture and the five prefectures of Susong, Changjiang, Jiaxing and Huzhou. The navy is different. Huguang, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, and the prefectures in the north of the Yangtze River. They need warships, military preparations, training of officers and soldiers, and river patrols." Cheng Jing said, "The Nanjing Ministry of War is now temporarily managed by Zheng Jizhi, and he will not take any more care. Tell Duke Wei openly that the Nanjing Ministry of War is reserved for Li Hualong, and he will take up the position after he finishes his mourning period next year."

"...Li Hualong?"

"In addition to the navy, Nanjing naturally needs a combat-capable infantry battalion. Compared with the direct imperial army in the capital, the Xiaoling Guard is a better foundation." Cheng Jing reminded him, "Duke Wei might as well spend more time thinking about how to spend the 30,000 taels this year, so that His Majesty knows that you have laid a good foundation. This is 30,000 taels! For just one Xiaoling Guard!"

"……I see."

Thirty thousand taels is indeed a lot. The Xiaoling Guard is just one guard, so each person has to pay nearly six taels of silver!
But Xu Hongji also knew that although the Xiaoling Guard had a relatively complete organization due to its special status, it could not be said to be fully staffed and not all of its members were young and strong.

After taking the 30,000 taels, we must at least ensure that the staffing is full and that there are young and strong people.

OK! Go recruit soldiers!

Daming Prefecture is the southernmost prefecture in Northern Zhili. This salient is deeply inserted between Shandong and Henan. The southwesternmost Changyuan County is separated from the Kaifeng Prefecture by the Yellow River.

Changyuan County is Li Hualong's hometown. Now Li Hualong is still wearing mourning clothes, observing the mourning period for his father.

The mourning period is now 27 months. His father passed away at the beginning of last year, and he returned to his hometown in August last year to start the mourning period.

It is reasonable that he should observe mourning until the end of next year, right? But the emperor has already sent him a handwritten order, asking him to go to Beijing to see the emperor in July next year, and then go south to Nanjing to serve as the Minister of War.

Although it makes sense, counting from the time his father passed away, it is twenty-seven months, but doesn't this invite criticism?

Li Hualong knew why the emperor was so anxious.

The latest news from the capital had also arrived, and imperial decrees were being issued to the provinces: starting from the second year of Taichang, if any official gentry was convicted of harming the people, all officials and gentry in the county would be exempted once if it happened three times in total, and all officials and gentry in the entire Ming Dynasty would be exempted once if it happened five thousand times in total.

It really is killing me.

Of course, there was a loophole: before the end of the second year of Taichang, Yun surrendered himself and returned the stolen goods to avoid punishment.

To be honest, Li Hualong did not expect that when he and Cui Jingrong impeached Liu Jing, the guy was not only not convicted but was also conferred the title of Earl of Zhangyong.

The addition of three marquises and seven earls at once was even more unexpected.

Li Hualong was also surprised that Tian Le took the initiative to stand up at the court meeting to support the emperor in promoting new policies.

Being the Minister of War in Nanjing means being at the forefront of the confrontation between the Emperor and the officials and gentry in the south of the Yangtze River. Li Hualong was frowning.

It’s not that I’m afraid of difficulties, but now it’s like just the beginning, and my spirits and morale are still good.

If these new policies really encountered soft but firm resistance, would the emperor still be able to persist?

According to his experience, officials and gentry have always had the ability to use various means to make the court uncomfortable and the emperor cautious, without openly resisting.

But Li Hualong can only do one thing now.

"First, check all our land, shops, and exemptions." Li Hualong instructed his son, "The prefectures and counties in Northern Zhili will naturally be the first to be included. Don't let the governor come to you."

If Northern Zhili cannot be pushed forward, the emperor will certainly not hesitate to let the Beijing troops come over.

If that kid Liu Jing came with his men, who knows if that little...boss would hold a grudge against him?

He was promised promotion to the official position of Shangshu and entrusted with important tasks so early on, so how could Li Hualong not repay the emperor's kindness?
But it was painful! The other gentry in Daming Prefecture would definitely curse him silently behind his back.

Is Li Hualong, who commands the army, a boneless loach?
(End of this chapter)