Jiajing Chengming

Chapter 389 Jiajing attended the imperial lectures diligently, pretending to be humble and making things difficult for Confucian officials!

Weng Wanda's words indeed made many officials from wealthy families furious.

Because Weng Wanda was obviously mocking them as villains!

Zhang Kui, the Right Censor of the Criminal Department, who was also queuing here to receive his salary, could no longer tolerate it at this time.

After all, the news that the imperial court's financial strength would increase again because of Iwami Silver Mine was enough to make officials like him who stood on the side of the interests of the gentry and wealthy families irritated.

And now, Weng Wanda was deliberately provoking them, and Zhang Kui also sneered at his colleagues such as Shen Han, the Imperial Secretary, and said:
"How ridiculous!"

"Everyone knows that the silver coins used to pay salaries today were obtained by robbing foreigners of their wealth. This is unjust and unjust profit. How can a true gentleman be happy about this? Only villains are happy!"

"Makes sense!"

After hearing this, Shen Han couldn't help but nodded in agreement.

Zhang Kui continued to advocate because his colleagues echoed him:
"So, go up, gentlemen, don't be in the same world as them!"

"That's right, I won't serve in the same court with treacherous officials, and I won't accept even a penny of ill-gotten gains from them!"

After Shen Han said this, he stopped queuing up to receive his salary and walked away.

The wealth of Shijian Silver Mine was collected by Huo Tao and others who were members of the Yili faction. Therefore, in Shen Han's mouth, this became the wealth collected by the treacherous and corrupt officials.

But Zhang Kui pulled him back: "That's not the case!"

"Don't associate with evil people, but it's okay to take their money to help others!"

Then Zhang Kui said another sentence.

Shen Han stood back in confusion.

It is said that there were many officials like Zhang Kui who, under the banner of "benevolence, righteousness and morality", described the additional financial profits obtained by Zhu Houcong's officials as ill-gotten gains.

Even if these foreign profits were not obtained directly through looting, but were handed over voluntarily by the local rulers.

Even their families have achieved considerable wealth growth in the country by exploiting and blackmailing the people.

But because they did not want to see the Ming Dynasty achieve national prosperity through external expansion, they still double-standardly raised the banner of "benevolence, righteousness, and morality" and began to argue about the justice of the way of increasing financial revenue.

Therefore, Liao Daonan, the Imperial Lecturer, did not go to collect his salary.

When his fellow Hanlin Tong Chengxu came to ask him why he did not go to collect his salary, he said frankly: "I would rather die of heat in the summer because I cannot afford ice, or freeze to death in the winter because I cannot afford charcoal, than accept this ill-gotten gains obtained by defrauding foreigners!"

After saying this, Liao Daonan continued to read classics in the Hanlin Academy.

After hearing this, Hanlin lecturer Tong Chengxu could not help but bow to Liao Daonan and said, "You are truly a gentleman!"

Liao Daonan returned the greeting.

"It's just that my family has been officials for generations, so they are not short of money!"

"Why are you pretending to be so noble? Do you have the guts to stop your family from sending money?"

At this time.

Hanlin Wen Zhengming heard Liao Daonan's words as he passed by, and he began to sneer at him with disdain.

Liao Daonan blushed after hearing this: "The family's money is not ill-gotten gains, why can't we use it?"

"Isn't it ill-gotten gains to eat the rent of the people and to take the profits from taxes from the court by accepting contributions?"

Wen Zhengming asked again.

Liao Daonan was immediately furious: "You!"

"The profits that the imperial court has taken from outside are all because the Japanese first killed our people without courtesy, and then were not good at governing the country, and did not have benevolent policies for the people. Only then did our imperial court accept them and pacify the people and stop the war."

"So, how can it be ill-gotten gains? It is clearly the legitimate return for helping them open mines to protect the people, stop fighting and stabilize the local area! It is obtained in a proper way!"

Wen Zhengming also continued speaking here.

Tong Chengxu nodded again after hearing this: "That makes sense!"

"What a reason!"

"Which side are you on?"

Liao Daonan laughed and questioned Tong Chengxu about his position. Tong Chengxu asked blankly, "Which side?"

Liao Daonan pulled him aside and whispered, "The court is getting richer and richer, which is not good for us gentry!"

"Your family has been officials for generations. Do you really want more and more lowly people to be able to take advantage of the opportunities opened up by the court in the future, so that the efforts of one generation can equal the efforts of several generations of us?"

then.

Liao Daonan asked Tong Chengxu again.

Tong Chengxu, who was younger and relatively naive, was also surprised when he heard it.

"What is this, a pariah?"

"Aren't they all His Majesty's children?"

"Besides, if the efforts of one generation can achieve the achievements of several generations, isn't that a good thing?"

"It's like, originally a poor family needed several generations of hard work to get enough food and clothing, but now because the court has made good use of external resources, this poor family can get enough food and clothing with just one generation of hard work."

"When the granaries are full, people know etiquette; when they have enough food and clothing, they know honor and disgrace; if the poor can become rich more easily, it will also be more conducive to making the world's morals pure, right?"

After Tong Chengxu said this, Liao Daonan could no longer refute and sneered:
"You will understand why I say this sooner or later!"

Finished.

Liao Daonan left the Hanlin Academy with his hands behind his back.

……

“So a wise ruler regulates the people’s production so that they can support their parents and their wives and children, so that they can be well fed in good years and avoid death in bad years. Only then can he drive them to do good, and the people will readily follow his lead.”

Wenhua Hall.

Zhu Houcong was listening attentively to the Hanlin lecturer Tong Chengxu explaining the way of the sage to him at the imperial lecture.

Although Tong Chengxu did not understand Liao Daonan's statement, he still advocated at the imperial lecture that the emperor should follow the teachings of the sages and take it as his responsibility to enrich the people in order to achieve the goal of being respected and admired by the people of the world.

Zhu Houcong was not opposed to following these Confucian ideas.

Therefore, even though he now had great power, he still did not neglect the imperial lectures and would still have his Confucian officials explain the principles of the imperial lectures to him on schedule.

This was what Confucian officials such as Wang Ao requested of Jiajing when he ascended the throne at the age of 15. They liked that he was diligent in governing the country while also not forgetting to teach.

For this purpose, Wang Ao specially wrote two memorials, "Governing Personally" and "Lectures", and presented them to Zhu Houcong when he first ascended the throne.

Zhu Houcong did not disappoint Wang Ao and others, and basically he never cancelled the imperial lectures regardless of the season.

Anyway, he knew clearly that the sophisticated egoists among the bureaucrats actually advocated Confucianism in appearance and Legalism in essence, and did not really want the emperor to promote Confucianism.

Therefore, the more these people openly emphasized Confucianism to Zhu Houcong, the more reason Zhu Houcong had to carry out reforms under the banner of Confucianism, to truly establish the great harmony society envisioned by Confucianism, to truly become a ruler like Yao and Shun, and to truly enrich the people.

"Your Majesty, according to Mencius, if you can make your people support their parents, marry and have children, and not suffer from hunger and cold in good years, and not starve to death in bad years, then you can be a wise ruler."

"The saint hopes that the monarch will love the people."

Tong Chengxu replied.

Zhu Houcong nodded after hearing this: "Good!"

Then, Zhu Houcong asked the Prime Minister Yang Yiqing: "Are there still hungry people in the world now?"

Prime Minister Yang Yiqing then replied: "Your Majesty, there are still tens of thousands of starving people who have not been resettled in the capital alone!"

Zhu Houcong sighed after hearing this: "It seems that I am not qualified to call myself a wise ruler. I can only be regarded as a mediocre ruler! Because not only are there starving people in the capital, but also after sending imperial envoys to investigate the situation of the royal family recently, I found out that there are still many royal family members in the world who are still widows and widowers at the age of thirty or forty! It shows that I have lost my virtue!"

"Your Majesty's forgiveness!"

"I don't mean that. I think Your Majesty is a wise ruler like Yao and Shun!"

"Although there are famine victims in the capital, no one is dying of starvation. As for the misfortune of the royal family, it is not your Majesty's fault, but the fault of corrupt officials!"

Tong Chengxu hurriedly prostrated himself on the ground and kowtowed in response.

He didn't understand why the emperor was so humble. Compared with the period before the Ming Dynasty, the number of refugees in the world had been greatly reduced, the national treasury was no longer in deficit, and the annual revenue had greatly increased. The people were also permanently exempted from many taxes, such as the craftsman's silver and the bamboo and wood tax.

If it were any other emperor, he would have been complacent and contented, enjoying the prosperous life of an emperor, waiting to get a good temple name after a hundred years. But the current emperor keeps saying that he is not qualified!
(End of this chapter)