Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 96 Father's Art of Controlling People

Zhu Changluo originally wanted to reveal the origin of the word "reasonable" himself, but Zhu Youxiao's memory was better than he expected. So Zhu Changluo could only follow up on this topic and ask: "Do you still remember whose opinion I agreed with?"

Zhu Youxiao lowered his head and bit his lower lip with his upper teeth. This was his standard gesture when thinking. "Father asked Prime Minister Fang if there was someone behind the actions of Yang Yuan, Feng Sanyuan, and Gu Xu. After Prime Minister Fang replied that there was no one, Father nodded in agreement, saying, 'That makes sense.'" Zhu Youxiao suddenly looked up and cried out, "Is he lying!?"

"Do you know why Fang Congzhe lied?"

"Prime Minister Fang is the mastermind behind these three people." Zhu Youxiao did not have a deep understanding of the court situation and his sources of information were limited, so he subconsciously thought that the lying Fang Congzhe was the initiator of this attack.

Seeing Zhu Youxiao was silent again, Zhu Changluo gave him an encouraging look. "I just said, if you want to ask anything, just ask it directly."

"Father, since you know that Prime Minister Fang is deceiving the emperor and confusing right and wrong, why don't you reprimand him, but instead call him 'reasonable'?" The expression on Zhu Youxiao's face seemed to be saying: Father, why are you confusing right and wrong?
Zhu Changluo pushed his nose and was silent for a moment before he spoke: "Although lying is wrong, Fang Congzhe's act of lying is indeed 'right'."

Zhu Youxiao was even more confused.

"Xiong Tingbi was ordered to stabilize the precarious situation in Liaodong at a time of crisis. However, Yang, Feng, Gu and the other three ignored and even fabricated facts and attacked Xiong Tingbi. Have you ever thought about why these people did this?" Zhu Changluo coaxed.

"For my own selfish reasons." Zhu Youxiao replied immediately.

"Well said. But what does 'private' mean?" Zhu Changluo asked.

"Yang Yuan is Yang Hao's uncle. When Yang Hao was imprisoned, Xiong Jinglüe replaced him. The word 'private' here refers to 'private grudge'." Zhu Youxiao thought for a moment.

"What about the remaining two people? They have nothing to do with Xiong Tingbi." Zhu Changluo reminded.

Zhu Youxiao wanted to say that Fang Congzhe was jealous of his talent and took advantage of his misfortune, but before he could even utter the word, the image of "Fang the Liar" came to his mind. Since Fang Congzhe was lying, this answer was wrong.

"Since there is no personal grudge, there is no personal resentment. Is it for personal gain?" Zhu Youxiao thought for a while before saying tentatively.

"Now that Xiong Tingbi has gone down, it's not their turn to go up." Zhu Changluo said in denial, but nodded.

"Are they trying to profit for others?" Zhu Youxiao understood. "Prime Minister Fang wants to govern Liaodong!"

"Ah?" Zhu Changluo's gentle persuasion was stuck.

"Prime Minister Fang wants to govern Liaodong!" Zhu Youxiao thought his father didn't hear clearly, so he puffed out his chest and repeated his proud guess in an affirmative tone with emphasis.

"Fang Congzhe is going to Liaodong, and I'm afraid he'll die on the way." Zhu Changluo was at a loss whether to laugh or cry. "And who would have planned to demote himself?"

"Isn't it?" Zhu Youxiao felt a little disappointed.

In a split second, Zhu Changluo understood how Zhu Youxiao had arrived at this outrageous conclusion: even the most brilliant person couldn't arrive at the correct answer with such incomplete information. So, he began providing more material for analysis to the sole student in this impromptu imperial class: "A gentleman is reserved but not contentious, and he is a group but not a faction. You've probably heard this before."

"The Analects of Confucius, Duke Ling of Wei." Zhu Youxiao nodded.

"But if we really judge by this standard, then no one in the court will be a gentleman." Zhu Changluo chuckled: "They are not only in factions, but also fighting!" "Aren't Prime Minister Fang, Feng Sanyuan, Gu Xu and others in the same faction?" Zhu Youxiao was not surprised by the factional fighting in the court. He just subconsciously thought that the shelterer and the sheltered belonged to the same party.

"Let me tell you, Fang Congzhe and Xiong Tingbi can barely be considered to be in the same party." Zhu Changluo revealed the answer.

"Huh?" This time it was Zhu Youxiao's turn to be stunned. "Why would Prime Minister Fang protect the people who attacked General Xiong?"

"Because some things can be said but not done, and some things can be done but not said." Zhu Changluo explained: "If Fang Congzhe uses this to attack his colleagues in the grand court, in full view of the public, then his position as a civil servant leader will be over."

"Why?" Zhu Youxiao was puzzled.

Zhu Changluo wanted him to come up with the answer himself: "No matter how much you fight in private, you still have to be humble and modest in public. At the very least, you can't openly violate the teachings of the saints."

"Are you referring to the Analects, Duke Ling of Wei?" A crack appeared in Zhu Youxiao's worldview, built on the words of the sages. "If Prime Minister Fang uses this incident to publicly attack his colleagues, then not only is he accusing someone within the court of forming a faction, but he's also implicitly admitting that he's also forming a faction."

"Brilliant!" Zhu Changluo exclaimed heartily. "Whether there are any 'partisans' in the court is still debatable, but if he uses this as an attack, his own 'attack on dissidents' is a foregone conclusion."

"But they have indeed united to attack those who are different from them. Haven't they already attacked Xiong Jinglüe?"

"It was Yang, Gu and Feng who attacked. Fang Congzhe wants to accuse his colleagues, does he have any evidence?" Zhu Changluo asked back.

"Aren't there Jinyiwei?"

"When did the Imperial Guard come under the control of the Prime Minister?" Zhu Changluo lied a little. He hadn't obtained solid evidence from the Imperial Guard; his source came from the future. "Of course I have the Imperial Guard, and I've already identified the mastermind behind this attack through solid witness testimony. But why would I help Fang Congzhe?"

"Why not?" Zhu Youxiao was about to ask, but he stopped mid-sentence. "Prime Minister Fang is also a member of the party."

This kid's comprehension is really high! Zhu Changluo nodded with satisfaction and said, "Party unity and attack dissidents. In other words, if you are the same, you will form a party, and if you are different, you will attack. This is human nature. I can certainly use this as an excuse to purge all the Donglin Party members. And the anti-Donglin Party forces will definitely take this opportunity to add insult to injury, just like when Zhang Juzheng was liquidated in the tenth year of Wanli. But what will happen after that? Will the vacant positions still need to be filled? Will these people who fill them again form a party and attack dissidents? The party is not just a knife to attack people, but more often it is a shield to prevent dissidents."

"If the Donglin Party collapsed, the small group centered around Fang Congzhe would immediately lose their 'commonalities' and gain 'differences,' launching new attacks. The Ming Dynasty was too vast, with two capitals and thirteen provinces governing thousands of counties and a population in the tens of millions. People would come together because of certain 'commonalities,' and would also fight each other because of certain 'differences.' This was unchangeable no matter what."

"The role of an emperor is to unite the disparate people under his rule through a larger, common good. And to use this combined force for his own benefit. Xiong Tingbi was a member of the party, but did this deteriorate the situation in Liaodong? Yang Lian and Zuo Guangdou were Xiong Tingbi's enemies, yet during this attack, they submitted a memorial to protect Xiong Tingbi."

Zhu Youxiao said nothing, just thought silently.

"The emperor consolidates the power of the people, uniting the whole nation, but he cannot allow this power to form another center elsewhere. Therefore, he must not only utilize similarities but also differences. By eliminating 'bad similarities' like Yang, Feng, and Gu, while retaining a certain amount of 'good differences', and allowing factional struggles to continue within a controllable range, the emperor can maintain absolute authority. This is the art of controlling people." Zhu Changluo finally asked, "So do you understand the 'reason' behind Fang Congzhe's lies?"

"These are the rules set by the sages and the tacit understanding between the monarch and his subjects. Father is using Prime Minister Fang to give a subtle warning to the people behind Feng and Gu."

Just as Zhu Changluo was about to end the lesson with satisfaction, he heard Zhu Youxiao ask, "Father, you taught me the art of controlling people, but I want to ask you more about the art of being a ruler."

"Brother, are you asking Father for the throne?"

(End of this chapter)