Guangzong Yaoming

Chapter 217: Resignation Wave

It was October, the beginning of winter.

The Imperial College examination in Zhejiang has finally begun, and Xie Tingzan is not so busy during this period.

Xie Tingzan is not young anymore, he is 45 years old now.

But he is young, as he has only been an official for five years.

At the Shen family's home in Ningbo Prefecture, he stared at the retired Prime Minister in front of Shen Yikuan.

"Xiaoxuezhang Xie has a lot of questions to ask?"

Shen Yi Guan looked at him with a smile.

Of course, Xie Tingzan had a lot of questions to ask, but he didn't know where to start.

About the Zhejiang Party, about corrupt officials in Zhejiang, about Zhao Zhigao's rewards and the sudden positivity of people in Zhejiang.

"Is it Xia Qing who wrote the letter to Supervisor Xie?" Shen Yi Guan bowed, "Thank you very much for not revealing the evidence that we have been investigating for so long."

"... Lord Longjiang indeed knows everything." Xie Tingzan spoke in a complicated tone, looking at Shen Yiquan with some scrutiny.

"I am more than twenty years older than you, so I can address you as 'Yi Guan'." Shen Yi Guan asked his son Shen Tai Hong to serve tea and raised his glass to invite him. "I heard from Xia Qing that when you were in the Ministry of Justice a few years ago, you were arrogant and upright, and you often contradicted your superiors. But after following him to the south to do business, didn't you develop a special kind of friendship with him and have some respect for him?"

Looking at Xie Tingzan, Shen Yiguan's eyes were equally deep: "You have even less contact with me. I have nothing to do today, so it's a good time to chat."

Xie Tingzan certainly changed. After going south with Xiao Daheng, he did have some respect for Xiao Daheng's skills, and he did have a special kind of friendship with him - he still owed Xiao Daheng money.

"...It seems that Xiao Sinong had told Lord Longjiang a long time ago that I first wanted to investigate the deputy envoy of Zhejiang Post, but the more I investigated, the more I found out."

"But Xia Qing did not stop you from investigating, and even recommended you to be the Supervisor of Zhejiang Province. Investigating the gentry is easier than inspecting Zhejiang Province, and it is less likely to be implicated."

Xie Tingzan silently held the teacup and bent over: "Thank you, Lord Longjiang, for your support."

"Can't talk about it."

The two of them drank a cup of tea together, and Shen Taihong poured them half a cup.

Xie Tingzan looked at Shen Taihong, and then said to Shen Yikuan, "Your son is extremely talented and is determined to take the imperial examination. With the guidance of Lord Longjiang, he will be a pillar of the court in the future."

"Dean, you are so kind. I don't deserve it." Shen Taihong bowed modestly.

"It is necessary to teach by words, but not by example. I have been an official for many years, but I do not think highly of you."

Hearing Shen Yiquan say this, Shen Taihong felt a little embarrassed and Xie Tingzan was a little surprised.

"As for the way to be an official, you have to read and think about what is in books. But once you are really in the officialdom, you can only experience more, understand more, and make more decisions." After Shen Yikuan said these two sentences, he fell into deep thought.

After a long time, he sighed and shook his head.

Then he bowed to Xie Tingzan and said, "Xia Qing, please wait and see what happens, and don't investigate further. It's okay. Xia Qing, do you want me to listen to you, or do I ask Xiao Sinong for help?"

Xie Tingzan thought for a moment, then answered, "I know that after Duke Longjiang visited Lanxi, Duke Biyang submitted a memorial. After the Zhejiang officials came to visit Duke Longjiang, they also went to visit Duke Biyang. Not long after, they began to vigorously determine the exemptions for this year. After that, the Emperor Emeritus and Your Majesty jointly rewarded Duke Biyang."

He understood what he meant. This was obviously Shen Yi's operation.

But Xie Tingzan didn't know whether it was his "order" or his "request".

"What can I do?" Shen Yikuan looked at him with a smile.

Xie Tingzan looked at Shen Taihong, and then his voice turned colder: "The whole Zhejiang province is guilty of a serious crime! Duke Longjiang, Duke Binyang and Xiao Sinong are all implicated! Let me investigate first, is it to scare the whole Zhejiang province? Wait until the three of you use this year's pardon period to mediate, then the big thing will be reduced to a small one. In my opinion, it is all because of your majesty's divine power that the three of you are helping the whole Zhejiang province to protect itself!"

Shen Taihong was a little nervous, as the Academic Supervisor clearly seemed unwilling to accept this.

Shen Yi Guan nodded approvingly: "It is absolutely right that Tian Wei is coming. It is also absolutely right to help them protect themselves. It is not a matter of who listens to whom, nor is it a matter of who asks for favors."

"Are you finally willing to spend money to avoid disaster? You even need two retired prime ministers and the Nanjing Minister of Revenue to act as guarantors?" Xie Tingzan angrily drank a cup of tea by himself, "What about the people in Zhejiang who have had their land and shops seized, forced to sell their children, and even harmed for so many years? Why would you three help these officials who have committed so many evil deeds to protect themselves?"

"But that's not right." Shen Yi Guan replied calmly, "I'm not helping them to protect themselves just for selfish reasons, Xia Qing is not helping them just to get more support in the court in the future, and Duke Binyang is not just trying to spend his old age in peace. The three of us are helping them to protect themselves for the sake of His Majesty and the court."

Xie Tingzan didn't understand it for a moment.

"You might as well think about it. Why did Your Majesty send the White-Pole Soldiers of the Yongwei Battalion to Jiangnan last year, but blame Xia Qing for making the case bigger and bigger? Why did Your Majesty say that officials and gentry who harm the people will be exempted from punishment in the future, but also allow those who surrender this year to be exempted from punishment? Why did He strictly implement exemptions and increase commercial taxes, and exempt the silver for the education administration, water conservancy, roads and bridges for three years, and even exempt the burden of local post stations in the future?"

Xie Tingzan thought about it, and Shen Yiguan drank two cups of tea slowly. Finally, he sighed: "Being able to get things done is more important than being clean and happy. Although he is aggrieved now, he still endured it and only came to ask me privately. This is the first hurdle of being an official. It is only a matter of time before he can be promoted to the second or third rank."

“…but I can’t be happy.”

"Of course. Who among the officials in the court is happy and carefree all day long?" Shen Yi Guan said leisurely, "There is no such thing as clear stream or muddy stream. Once you start doing something, no matter who you are, you can't be clean in the end. It's just a matter of who is faster, who is slower, and who is dirtier."

After saying this, he first looked at Xie Tingzan, then at his son: "If you can reflect on yourself from time to time and cleanse yourself, you are already virtuous. If you can't face the changing times and be washed away, then you are already so dirty that you have blinded your eyes."

"… Lord Longjiang is saying that even if they have committed many evil deeds, they can still be used? Old clothes can be washed and worn again?"

"Let Supervisor Xie take up the position of an important official now. Is Supervisor Xie doing a good job?" Shen Yikuan's eyes became sharper.

Xie Tingzan was stunned when he heard this, and then he thought about what he had investigated during this period of time, and he couldn't help feeling a little uneasy.

"This is why Xia Qing thinks that Yue Ke is not qualified to inspect a region, and why we must help them protect themselves. It is also the reason why we are willing to offend fellow gentry for Your Majesty and force Zhejiang to be cleansed. It is also the reason why Your Majesty has shown so much grace and knows when to stop. It is also the reason why the Imperial College and the Taichang Temple should be re-established to study the great principles of learning." Shen Yikuan once again picked up the teacup: "If Yue Ke does not need to cleanse himself ten years later, and 30% to 40% of the wise ministers in the Ming Dynasty do not need Your Majesty to stir up a big wave to cleanse him, then it will be different. At that time, those who should not be protected do not need to be protected, and things that need to be done can still be done."

Xie Tingzan understood this time. He picked up the teacup with a heavy heart, and after a while, tears appeared in his eyes.

"Lord Longjiang, this is your fault!"

Shen Yi Guan smiled bitterly and replied: "Then it is our fault."

Having said that, this cup of tea is like wine, which brings out a long sigh after drinking it.

After seeing off this "evil guest", Shen Taihong looked at the desolate Shen Yikuan and called out softly, "Father?"

"My father is just a mediocre man."

Shen Taihong was stunned.

But Shen Yi Guan turned his back to him, muttering to himself: "If no one can control me, then I will be easily arrogant, can't stand bad words, and can't let go of power. If someone can control me, then I don't have a strong backbone, and I don't have the persistence to achieve any achievements."

"…Why would father hurt himself?"

"One hundred and thirty-six of the top three candidates passed the exam and became a Shujishi." Shen Yiguan laughed at himself, "If you are smart and hardworking, but don't have great wisdom, what else can you be but a mediocre person? Your Majesty hates stupid crimes the most. It is right for me to resign and return home early."

After saying that, he turned around and looked at his son, his eyes full of earnestness: "Your Majesty grew up in the deep palace, and is in his early twenties. Your thoughts, words and deeds are already more stable and sophisticated than Xie Yueke. If you pass the imperial examination, you must not be arrogant in front of His Majesty! You must remember that your father was fought out of the court by His Majesty!"

Shen Taihong was shocked. This was the first time his father admitted it very frankly: he came back because he lost.

If the emperor cannot control him, then he will certainly still want to dominate the government and unite with his party to fight against dissidents.

Perhaps Zhao Zhigao really wanted to do something to help the court and also considered his son's future, but Shen Yikuan dragged Xiao Daheng and Zhao Zhigao together to force the people of Zhejiang to surrender, but in fact he was the one who surrendered and begged for mercy.

He actually doesn't have a hard bone.

Now, Huating County, Songjiang Prefecture, has such a "hard nut to crack".

"Mei Gong, this Taichang scholar is also devoted to studying the great path of learning."

This tough guy in Huating County is now in Taicang. The Wang family where he teaches his disciples is not Wang Xijue's family, but Wang Shizhen's family.

The man who was called Mei Gong and was persuaded to become a scholar of Taichang was of course a famous scholar.

His name was Chen Jiru, with the courtesy name Zhongchun, but the literati called him Mei Gong, even though he was only forty-five years old this year.

"I have received instructions from my parents, and I dare to tell my master. I have laughed at the flock of chickens and never given up on snail horns. I read books and talk about the truth, and I wish to be like the ancients." Chen Jiru smiled and shook his head. "My hat and scarf have been torn, and my letter has been circulated everywhere. Do you think I am seeking fame?"

"Taichang Bachelor is also a professional scholar."

Chen Jiru sighed, "Is it because I once lived in the home of Prime Minister Wang Fu and was a close friend of Wang Chenyu that you have other hopes? Isn't this pushing me into a quagmire? Besides, the capital is noisy, how can it be a place to study and enjoy calligraphy and painting?"

"... Mei Gong is joking. But if Li Zhi enters the house, will he be allowed to..."

"They quarrel among themselves, what does it have to do with me?" Chen Jiru picked up a few books, "You all go and visit the owner of this place. Since I have been entrusted to be the tutor here, the studies of the Wang family's children cannot be delayed. My family is poor and cannot support my parents, so I can only borrow money from the tutor. Please come in."

After saying that, he went to Wang's private school to be his teacher.

On the one hand, the emperor summoned him to Beijing to serve as a scholar of Taichang and treated him as a great scholar, so he naturally received favors from the court.

One side is just the teacher currently employed by Wang Shizhen's family.

Wang Shizhen has been dead for many years, and his eldest son Wang Shiqi is now a doctor in the Ministry of Personnel in Beijing. How can he be compared?
Of course, they did hope that Chen Jiru could go to Beijing. With Chen Jiru's reputation in the Jiangnan literati circle and his potential at his age, he might become a Grand Secretary of the Ministry of Rites in the future - whether it was Shen Shixing or Li Zhi, they were both very old after all.

It’s a pity that Chen Jiru publicly announced eighteen years ago that he had given up his status as a Confucian scholar, and even gave up the status of a student he had already obtained.

They didn't know yet that Wang Shiqi had just submitted his resignation in Beijing with a firm attitude.

Zhu Changluo called Shen Shixing and Li Dai and asked, "What does he mean?"

"…Last year, in a major case in Jiangnan, his second brother's wife's family was convicted, and his second brother died of worry. It is understandable that he resigned and returned to his hometown to take care of his family." Shen Shixing only said this.

Li Dai said nothing.

Zhu Changluo was very dissatisfied: "How many people are like this?"

He was asking about Li Dai, who could only say, "There are too many people in the two capitals and other places who have surrendered and asked to resign. Your Majesty, are you asking?"

"I'm asking because you still resolutely resigned after the decree of pardon for Zhang Jiangling's sons was issued."

Li Dai lowered his head and said helplessly, "There are 73 people from the two capitals who have submitted their resignations to the Ministry of Personnel. There are already 135 people in the local areas. If you count those who are on the way, I'm afraid there are more than 300."

Zhu Changluo said sullenly, "Then it's all approved! The decree is clear, those who are afraid of trouble can just become free country gentlemen!"

"…Your Majesty, there are thirty-nine officials above the fourth rank, and a total of one hundred and sixty-seven officials above the sixth rank!" Li Dai reminded.

Zhu Changluo snorted coldly: "How to arrange it is the Jinxian Academy's business. If there is a real shortage, I will issue an order to hold the special examination next year!"

(End of this chapter)