Guangzong Yaoming

Chapter 235: If he deserves to be killed, go ahead and kill him!

"This is the evil result of the prosperity of culture and education over the years!"

Inside the Yangxin Palace, a file and a secret memorial were scattered on the carpet, and the teacup on the imperial desk in front was bounced up by the slapping of the hand.

"Your Majesty, calm down..."

Zhu Changluo could not calm down his anger: "On the one hand, he is taking the exam to seek fame, and on the other hand, he hopes that the country will be in chaos. This is the best scholar! On the one hand, he is receiving the reward for diligence and honesty, and on the other hand, he regrets that he did not show enough filial piety in the past. This is the official I want to protect!"

"Even you have been calculated!" Pointing at Kong Shangxian, Shen Shixing, and Wang Xijue who were kneeling below, Zhu Changluo said with gritted teeth, "Now that things have come to this, why should we calm down? I originally wanted to give it a rest for three years, but the evil heart is always ready to make a move! This time, they are using the Chu Zong case to stir up trouble. If there is a border incident or a natural disaster next time, will it be the same? Kill those who deserve to be killed!"

Shen Shixing closed his eyes in pain.

He had read Liang Yunlong's memorial, and he really didn't understand why Li Cai wanted to repay kindness with enmity.

Is it because he is too passionate about teaching, but now he wants to make major changes to Confucianism with the position of Grand Secretary of the Imperial Secretariat?
Kong Shangxian was also very frightened. He didn't know why Ding Weining wanted to frame Gong Nai and him. Was it because most of the burden of Shandong's strict preferential treatment was borne by them?

Wang Xijue no longer had any hope of luck, he really believed that if he didn't succeed, he would die.

"I think that since there are confessions, those on the list who have not yet been brought to justice should be arrested immediately!"

Shen Shixing's body trembled, but he didn't say anything.

Today is the day when the results of the imperial examination are announced... Just after passing the exam, you are thrown into jail right away?

"Catch them all!" Zhu Changluo said coldly, "Since I ascended the throne, I have never treated officials and gentry harshly. I have only been strict in exempting officials and gentry, always persuading them with earnest words, and also supplemented them with additional positions and salaries, re-establishing the Imperial College, increasing the number of candidates, and selecting scholars through special examinations. Their selfish desires have blinded their hearts, and since they won't listen to reason, then face the sword head-on! Tian Le, listen to my orders!"

"I'm here!" Tian Le took a breath and didn't try to persuade him.

"This year, the Beijing Army's competition has been changed to a training exercise." Zhu Changluo said in a cold tone, "Half of them will stay behind, and the other half will be divided into three groups. One group will go through Shanxi and Shaanxi to Sichuan, one group will go through Henan to Huguang and Jiangxi, and one group will go from Shandong to Zhejiang. The money needed will be paid from the treasury."

"I accept your order!" Tian Le bowed, "I will also summon my colleagues in the Privy Council to discuss this matter."

"Go ahead." Zhu Changluo looked at Shen Li again. "The Inspection Office should immediately send a letter to the governors and censors in various places to strictly investigate whether this year's summer tax and autumn grain have harmed the people. If you want to make a fuss, I will accompany you to make a bigger fuss! The second year of Taichang has passed. I want to see which counties and states will be exempted from preferential treatment this year, or whether the entire Ming Dynasty officials and gentry will be exempted from preferential treatment!"

Shen Shixing felt like things were about to break down. He winked at Shen Li and kowtowed repeatedly: "Your Majesty, please calm down..."

"They are forcing Shen Taichang so much, and you still want to beg for mercy?"

"It's okay for me to suffer some injustice, Your Majesty, we must not cause chaos. The Chu Zong case is making the vassal states uneasy..."

"If you want to cause chaos, do it sooner rather than later, even if it means temporarily postponing the major projects outside the court and local water conservancy projects, roads and bridges! I am going to send half of the Beijing troops out, how can we not see results?" Zhu Changluo shook his head firmly and just looked at Shen Li.

"If wealth and honor are to be sought, people will go against the rules and follow the customs; if snobbery and power are to be relied upon, people will go against their will and compete for advancement! This is the story of the master and his students. He is honored with the title of teacher, and all the officials who are in charge of the style and the officials who are in charge of the promotion can follow his example!"

When Shen Li said this, Shen Shixing couldn't help but turn his head to look at him.

Shen Li had an angry expression on his face. "In the 14th year of the Wanli reign, I submitted this "Memorial on Rites" because the world's teachings were declining and the ancient rites were abandoned! Now, we are lucky to have a holy emperor! Your Majesty is vigilant and strict, and we should be respectful and try to change the people below, so that the world will return to the truth! In the past, I was in charge of the Ministry of Rites and could not educate the world. Now I am willing to use the Inspection Office to integrate criminal justice into education, so that the world will believe without words and act without orders!"

These are the words from his memorials back then.

He once cried out so earnestly to the retired emperor, but the retired emperor, who had only been in power for a few years, began to slack off.

In the 16th year of Wanli's reign, Shen Shixing left the court in disgrace due to a memorial to the emperor.

During the fifteen years in the wild, Shen Li has been changing quietly.

At that time, he tried to restore the ancient system by reviving the court system and etiquette to return to the atmosphere of the founding of the country.

Now, he is different.

This is because, the various prefectures in Guide, his hometown, which suffered greatly from the floods of the Yellow River, had to rely on him, a retired old official, to plead for the people and work hard to build two river embankments.

Having worked on the construction site with the people for more than ten years, from his sixties to his seventies, he never thought that he would return to the court and meet such an emperor.

After returning to court, he got to know the emperor and the important officials in the court again.

No matter what disputes they had in the past, this time, using the Chu Zong case as an excuse, the emperor and Wang Xijue really wanted to consider the long-term and solve the problem of the burden on the Ming royal family.

But it seems that there are always some people who think that the opportunity has come, and they fan the flames to make the Ming Dynasty return to the days of a few years ago, when officials and gentry lived relatively free and easy.

But Shen Shixing remained the same, always thinking that he had considered things more thoroughly.

But Shen Li was no longer naive. He no longer thought that by revising the "Da Ming Hui Dian" and using it as a basis for compiling history and examining the source and flow, he would be able to correct the system of the generation and achieve the beauty of the New Deal.

He felt that the Censorate was very good. Teachers who taught students had to carry a ruler, so how could the imperial court that taught the world not carry a knife?

Zhu Changluo felt a little better. He stood up and saluted Shen Li solemnly: "I will accept your advice!"

Shen Shixing lowered his head sadly.

He is the Grand Secretary of Taichang and the Minister of Culture in charge of culture and education in the world.

A major reform of Confucianism was imminent, and Shen Shixing wanted to mediate in response to the reaction of the literati.

But the academic dispute may be just a superficial phenomenon, and the root cause is Shen Li's words: "If wealth and honor can be sought, people will betray etiquette and follow the customs; if snobbery can be relied upon, people will compete for advancement against their will."

Strictly enforcing preferential treatment and exemption is a struggle for profit, and the contention of a hundred schools of thought is a struggle for power. The past masters and sponsors may not be able to easily promote newcomers in the future; the past students may have to choose a new school.

The current chaos is just the beginning.

Zhu Geng silently watched the scene in front of him, and suddenly bent down to ask for permission: "I think that the "Xueyong" newspaper should be published earlier. The whole story of the Chu Zong case must be made known to the world. The chaos this year, where the disaster came from, the officials and gentry of the world should know."

"Okay! We'll have a trial issue next month, and Shaoqin will write and review the article himself!"

"I accept your order."

In the Yangxin Palace, only Kong Shangxian remained silent.

Ever since Wanli asked to stay in the capital in the 28th year of his reign, he has been feeling very uncomfortable here, but he cannot leave.

Today, the Imperial College next to the Confucius Temple has become a Hundred Schools Garden, where students spend every day eagerly trying to comprehend and refine the laws spoken by the emperor.

In the Confucius Temple, the Taichang scholars discussed that the words of the saints and wise men should not be regarded as the ultimate truth, and how the future generations should create an all-encompassing discipline, which subjects should be included, and which small paths should lead to the big one.

Can the Master still be called the Great Sage?
Whenever there was a problem with the morale of the scholars, whenever there was a large-scale problem among the officials and gentry throughout the country, he would be summoned by the emperor.

What is it for? Kong Shangxian knows it.
But he couldn't bear it.

"When I heard about this, I was deeply saddened. If you want to try to publish a court newspaper, I wonder if I can write an article to persuade the officials and gentry all over the world?" Kong Shangxian felt that it should be enough to express his position publicly in this way.

"I am very pleased that Duke Yansheng is so kind."

Zhu Changluo glanced at him calmly.

Taking it step by step, Duke Yansheng has first voted in public opinion. Will the gentry of the world still regard Duke Yansheng as their banner?

He was extremely interested in the land assets of the Kong family in Shandong.

It's also adorably stupid that he has to go to this center to deal with things.

Of course, it was because he, the emperor, often exerted pressure on him.

After they all left, Liu Ruoyu carefully picked up the file and the memorial.

He said with some concern: "Eunuch Chen said that the scholars in the capital were already outraged by the arrest of those candidates. Your Majesty, are you really going to arrest more?"

"Catch him!" Zhu Changluo sneered, "You are also a scholar, do you think your manners have been ruined?"

"...How dare I? I am only concerned about your Majesty's reputation..."

"Remember, if I want to do this for the people of the world, I won't have a good reputation. Tian Yi and Chen Ju are old, and you will be eunuchs in the future, and you won't have a good reputation among scholars!"

Zhu Changluo paused here, and then said: "But it is better for the common people to say a few good words to our monarch and ministers. You go to fight Qin Boyan and Yu Xiang. This time, the Chu Zong case is a good subject. No matter what the life experience of the King of Chu is, and why it has become like this this time, you should tell the world!"

"Yes, I will go right away."

Zhu Changluo looked at the files again and also read Liang Yunlong's memorial again.

In the capital, Wang Shouren confessed in the imperial prison. He was instigated by the officials in the Chu Palace who had been excluded from the interest circle by the Wang family for so many years. They dug up this old case.

The one who spread the news in the capital and the local areas was the gentry who, when Zhu Huakui was young, relied on the previous generation Prince Wugang, who was also in charge of the Chu Palace, to manage the Chu vassal's business.

And the fact that it could spread so quickly and so far was due to the friendships, relationships, and connections accumulated over the years.

After all, the contradictions between the Chu and the vassal states were huge, and they were confident that they could stir up a big disturbance in the local area. Wang Xijue proposed to reform the Zonglu, and some of the resentful gentry who had "suffered from the severe preferential treatment" could no longer endure it and thought that change had begun.

There are also academic moralists who have been exploited, and many families who have been wronged over the years.

This was not something that had been clearly stated in the files and memorials; it was the inference of Zhu Changluo and them.

Further investigation revealed that it was a general outbreak of conflicts since the 28th year of Wanli's reign. There were so many intertwined links that it was hard to say who the real mastermind was. There were only many people who passed by and intentionally or subconsciously fanned the flames.

But is that okay?

Isn't it rude to be mean and to do bad things?
At the end of September in the third year of Taichang, a strange spectacle occurred outside the Imperial Examination Hall.

Some people's names were crossed out on the list that had already been released, and then a new list was posted with the corresponding number of people's names, hometowns, and rankings.

Outside an inn in the city, people beating gongs and drums have arrived at the door.

"Good news! Good news! Congratulations to Mr. Zuo Guangdou of Anqing Prefecture for passing the imperial examination and being ranked 288th!"

Zuo Guangdou, who passed the imperial examination in the 28th year of Wanli, failed in the first year of Taichang, and failed in this special examination as well. He was feeling depressed after reading the list, and was ready to adjust his mood to take the regular examination in February next year.

After all, this is two consecutive exams, so I can still give it a try.

But affected by this turmoil, he, who had just won the third-class Jinshi in the 35th year of Wanli, suddenly got an advantage.

Looking at the person who came to announce the good news, he asked in a daze, "Two hundred and eighty-eight more people?"

(End of this chapter)