Jiajing Chengming

Chapter 216: In order to rectify the annexation of temples, stir up controversy!
When Yan Song received Zhu Houcong's latest edict, he was organizing student aid activities and an essay competition with prizes at the Jingzhou Prefecture School in Huguang.

That's right!

Yan Song, the envoy in charge of observing customs and rectifying social practices, did not just do harsh things.

He would also do things to win over and guide scholars.

After all, the core purpose of his mission is to guide public opinion, that is, to guide public opinion, so that the mainstream public opinion of the entire Huguang will eventually conform to the will of the emperor.

to this end.

Yan Song specifically provided financial assistance to the poor students in the provincial school in the name of the envoy for observing customs and rectifying social practices, and said that as long as he, the envoy, was in the school, he would give them special subsidies every month.

of course.

The only requirement Yan Song had for these sponsored poor students was to have them write letters of thanks in which they could express their support for the court's new policies. He would comment on these letters and present the outstanding ones to His Majesty on their behalf, with the intention of recommending them.

Few scholars from poor families could resist such temptation.

Simultaneously.

Yan Song also organized a writing competition with prizes, requiring literati in the Huguang region to sing praises of the current new policies from various angles.

Those who perform well will be rewarded with thousands of silver dollars.

Moreover, he would report the outstanding ones to His Majesty and ask for permission to exempt them from the provincial or imperial examinations.

Many literati could not resist the temptation and participated in this activity.

Yan Song not only did this in the Jingzhou Prefecture School, but also organized related activities in prefecture schools, state schools, county schools and even private academies in other regions.

This made many prefecture schools, state schools, county schools and private academies in Huguang begin to welcome Yan Song's arrival.

After all, Yan Song really gave money and opportunities.

The professors and instructors of the prefectural, state and county schools, as well as the presidents of the academies, were unable to resist Yan Song, the Chief Censor, and also needed his support.

The gentry and their children who were dissatisfied with the new policy no longer clamored to spread the word that Yuan Zonggao was competing with the people for profit by lending at low interest rates, nor did they call Shu Sheng and Gui E cruel officials. They just stamped their feet and sighed secretly.

Because their voices were no longer as loud as those of the royal family members and scholars from poor families organized by Yan Song.

What's more, Yan Song also founded the "Huguang New News" in the name of the envoy of observing customs and rectifying social practices, which was dedicated to publishing various collected articles and poems praising current affairs, as well as interviews with the grassroots people.

Yan Song did follow the emperor's wishes and hired many royal family members and scholars from poor families to serve as journalists. They went to the countryside to interview common people and collect their views on low-interest loans and severe crackdowns.

"Old Man Wang, do you think you are living a good life now?"

Wang Zhigao, who entered school at a young age, also became an interviewer for the Huguang Xinbao.

However, he had no experience, so he just rigidly asked some reference questions provided by Yan Song to Wang Sanshi, a farmer in Shishou County.

Because Wang Zhigao was young and did not look like a government official, Wang Sanshi was not wary of him and thought he was just an ordinary Confucian scholar. He naturally said while chopping wood:
“Much better than before!”

"Why is it good?"

Wang Zhigao asked Wang Sanshi curiously.

Wang Sanshi said: "Since I started to remember the Hongzhi Dynasty, I have never met such a good emperor! I have never met such a good emperor who cares about us peasants with lowly lives."

Wang Zhigao was somewhat displeased when he heard this, and asked with a forced smile, "You mean, he is better than Emperor Xiaozong?"

"Who is the Emperor Xiaozong you are talking about?"

Wang Sanshi asked.

Wang Zhigao said, "It's the Hongzhi Dynasty you mentioned."

Wang Sanshi said, "Oh!" and then said, "The current emperor is even better! He knows that we are in trouble, so he asked his teacher to lend us money with almost no interest. Because of this money, I didn't sell my daughter."

Wang Zhigao was deeply touched, so he did not continue the question, but only asked: "Now that the crackdown is severe, do you think the government is too cruel?"

"What is cruel?"

"It's just too cruel and inhumane."

Wang Sanshi laughed and asked, "When has the government ever been humane?"

Wang Zhigao was stunned.

Wang Sanshi’s answer made him at a loss as to how to continue asking.

But soon, he understood and realized that in the eyes of the people, the government seemed to have no humanity.

Wang Zhigao had to ask in a different way: "Then do you think that now that the new Zhongcheng and Bingxian have come, what is different from the past?"

"When did the master change?"

Wang Sanshi asked.

Wang Zhigao replied: "About the past six months."

Wang Sanshi stopped chopping wood, thought carefully, and then said:
"No wonder!"

"I was wondering, why haven't there been any officials bringing people to the town to capture people for menial labor in the past few months?" "It turns out that the master has been replaced!"

"It seems that this new master is a good and upright master. He has made those evil officials behave themselves and they dare not come to the countryside to bully poor people like us."

"Master Qingtian?"

Wang Zhigao did not expect that Wang Sanshi would make such an evaluation of Governor Shu Sheng and Military Governor Gui E.

And this seemed to open up a new world for him.

Because he found that the gentry's evaluation of Shu Sheng and Gui E was completely different from the common people's views on Shu Sheng and Gui E!
Wang Zhigao, who was only twelve years old, was hired to join the Huguang Xinbao because he was interested in collecting folk songs.

The circle he usually interacted with was mainly composed of scholars and officials, so he heard more criticisms of Shu Sheng and Gui E, as well as criticisms of the crackdown policy.

Therefore, after collecting folk songs, Wang Zhigao has developed a new understanding of the world.

Wang Zhigao wrote Wang Sanshi's answer on paper and asked Wang Sanshi to sign it. Wang Sanshi was rewarded with one copper coin.

This was a rule set by Yan Song, which allowed the journalists to pay people so that they would be willing to spend time answering their questions.

Although the people were not very interested in state affairs, they did not care much about their own time. As long as they were paid some money, they were willing to spend time answering the questions of the journalists.

In this way, Yan Song gained the voices of many people.

Many of the royal family members and scholars who participated in this matter also gained a new understanding of Huguang's current situation in the process. Many of those who were usually unwilling to think proactively were forced to start thinking about the real pros and cons of the new policy because they were exposed to different viewpoints from different classes.

However, Yan Song's actions made it even more difficult for the stubborn landlords and local officials to accept and they were very resistant.

"This Huguang Xinbao actually collects the opinions of the common people!"

"What can those stupid people understand?"

"The scholars are the leaders of the four classes of people. Only the scholars can represent the way of the saints, the righteous way of the world, and the true will of the people. The ignorant people only need to wait to be educated by the scholars and obey the law. But now they are asking them, does the court want to share the world with them?"

The local official Deng Mo was extremely angry when he saw the content of the latest issue of the Huguang New News, which was sponsored by Yan Song, the envoy of observing customs and rectifying social practices.

Huang Wensheng, who was with them, had also read the newspaper a long time ago, and said, "We have to go talk to this Yan Qianxian! I hope he won't disrupt public opinion like this! He is destroying the foundation of the world by doing this!"

Deng Mo nodded: "Go!"

Yan Song knew that doing so in compliance with imperial orders would cause dissatisfaction among the local officials.

But when he was demoted to Nanjing by Yang Tinghe and left to sit on the bench, and saw his student quickly become one of the Nine Ministers because he dared to expose the ugliness of the literati, he understood.

Fate has already destined him to be tied to the ritualists who stand on the emperor's side, and he can only make progress by being concerned about his emperor and father's concerns and thinking about what his emperor and father think about, otherwise, he will be a loser both inside and outside.

Therefore, Yan Song not only sent the folk songs records signed by the people to the capital, but also organized the poor scholars to write letters of thanks and excellent articles praising the new policies and Yuan Zonggao to send to the capital.

He did this so that the emperor could see that he had greatly corrected the public opinion in Huguang.

of course.

Yan Song also sent to the capital the poems, articles and notes of some gentry from Huguang that slandered the government and defamed the late emperor and Your Majesty, and impeached these people for treason and confusing right and wrong.

When Yan Song received the emperor's new task to assist the governor of Huguang and guide public opinion on matters such as the rectification of monks and nuns, he just smiled faintly and said to himself: "Your Majesty is indeed deeply motivated. All the preparations before must be for the purpose of taking back the land tax that was invaded by the temple today!"

Because he was well prepared and guessed that the emperor would do this, he had already asked someone to investigate the situation in the temple.

Therefore, after receiving the imperial edict, Yan Song immediately began to guide the criticism of the fact that there were too many monks and nuns in Buddhist temples and that this seriously affected the stability of the country.

to this end.

He came to the famous academy in Huguang, Fengqi Academy, which gathered many poor scholars and even many poor royal family children, and said:
"Do you know how much land the temples have occupied now?"

"Throughout Huguang, some clan members and scholars still don't own a hundred acres of land, but monks and nuns have land all over Huguang!"

"Some of the clan members and scholars still have straw quilts and cloth clothes to cover their bodies, but the monks and nuns have all gathered brocade clothes!"

“Some of the royal family and scholars still live in houses made of weaved fences and thatched grass, but they cannot protect themselves from wind and rain when sitting or lying down. However, monks and nuns live in luxurious houses with double doors, comparable to those of kings.”

In order to stir up conflicts between poor royal family members and lower-class scholars and monks and nuns, Yan Song specifically compared the current situation of monks and nuns with theirs.

What Yan Song reflected was indeed the truth, so these people felt deeply about it. After listening to Yan Song's words, many of them nodded with serious expressions, and some even clenched their fists.

Some people even raised their arms and shouted: "Destroy Buddhism!"

"Destroy the Buddha!"

"Destroy the Buddha!"

At once, many people started shouting.

Yan Song naturally smiled secretly at this. When he met Shu Sheng, Gui E and other Huguang officials, he said: "The east wind has arrived. From now on, it depends on how you govern!"

"It's too early to talk about this. Mr. Deng and other local officials have come to see Yan Qianxian and the governor. Should we meet them or not?"

At this time, the Inspector Chai Wen walked in from outside.

(End of this chapter)