The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 525 What does the old man want?

"Mencius said: If you can serve, then serve; if you can stop, then stop; if you can stay for a long time, then stay for a long time; if you can leave quickly, then leave quickly."

What does it mean?
As the Minister of Justice Xin Zixiu walked to the door of the imperial study, he heard the high-pitched and rhythmic recitation of Emperor Wanli from inside.

It's not that he doesn't know what this sentence means.

This sentence comes from "Mencius. Gongsun Chou, Part 1". Mencius was teaching his disciple Gongsun Chou that when it is time to be an official, one should be an official; when it is time to resign, one should resign; when it is time to serve for a long time, one should serve for a long time; when it is time to leave office quickly, one should leave quickly. This is Confucius' way of dealing with the world.

He didn't understand why Wanli suddenly said this before he even entered the door.

And, it’s not finished yet.

There are three more words at the end: "Confucius also", why not read it?

He was subconsciously stunned for a moment, but soon he raised his foot and walked inside.

Now that he has arrived at the imperial study, he can't just stand outside and not go in.

"Mencius said: If you can serve, then serve; if you can stop, then stop; if you can stay for a long time, then stay for a long time; if you can leave quickly, then leave quickly."

As soon as he entered the door, a childish voice rang out.

It is rumored that Wanli is personally teaching the third prince Zhu Changxun, and now it seems to be true.

This little guy seems to be only six years old, but he has learned "Mencius. Gongsun Chou, Part 1". Is he that amazing?
It seemed that he had just finished his enlightenment when he was over six years old and was studying "The Analects of Confucius".

It took him nearly two years to study the twenty chapters of "The Analects of Confucius".

He was over eight years old when he learned "Mencius. Gongsun Chou, Part 1".

Could this little guy be a child prodigy?
However, this is not the point.

The point is, the little guy didn’t even read the three words “Confucius ye”.

This means that Wanli deliberately did not pronounce the three words "Confucius also".

What does the little emperor mean?
After the emperor and his ministers exchanged greetings, he stood there in a daze, not knowing what was going on.

He is really old and his brain is not very sharp anymore.

Wanli looked at the old minister in front of him, with a thousand thoughts in his mind.

It was he who promoted this person. If it weren't for his support at the time, this guy would have been eliminated by Zhang Siwei's party, or by Shen Shixing's party or the Zhejiang Party.

Originally, he thought that this guy was from a military family and was upright, so perhaps he could be developed into a confidant.

Even the clear stream will turn back.

Meng Yanghao turned around.

Who would have known that this guy always regarded himself as a clean official, seemingly disdainful of flattery from the emperor, and never showed any signs of favoring him.

Moreover, as soon as Donglin appeared, this guy clearly favored Donglin.

As the saying goes, "He who keeps company with vermilion becomes red, and he who keeps company with ink becomes black." This guy clearly leans towards Donglin and wants to go against him as the emperor.

Then there is nothing more to say.

He directly picked up the stack of impeachment memorials and said expressionlessly, "Ziji, take a look."

What does this mean?
Meng Yanghao took action suddenly at the instruction of Emperor Wanli, without any prior summons.

Xin Zixiu naturally had no idea that so many upright people would suddenly impeach him.

He took the memorial and looked at it, and his brows instantly furrowed.

Confucius said: If a man is not respectful to his younger brothers when he is young, fails to pass on his teachings when he grows up, and refuses to die when he is old, he is a thief!

The poem says: The mouse has a skin, but the man has no manners. If the man has no manners, what is the point of not dying?

Yan Song was eighty years old when he was robbing sewage. What was the old man trying to do?
The old man was naturally not scolding Yan Song, but him!
If someone dared to curse him like this when he was young, he would definitely be furious and curse back.

However, he is now in his seventies and is no longer in the age of impulsiveness and anger.

He wasn't angry, he was just frowning in thought.

What does the old man want to do?
Is he serving the country and the people?
Perhaps, this is what he thought when he first entered the officialdom.

He seemed to be thinking this way when he risked being liquidated to help Prime Minister Zhang Juzheng implement the "Land Surveying Regulations".

Even when he became the Minister of Justice, he seemed to still think so.

So, since when did he stop thinking this way, or when did he no longer have time to think about these things?

He really can't remember clearly.

Probably after he became the Minister of Justice, he gradually had less time to think about these things.

Although the position of Minister of Justice is not very important, he is one of the six ministers and holds high power.

Since he became the Minister of Justice, more upright people have been surrounding him, and more carriages and horses have been passing his door.

Although he had no intention of taking bribes or breaking the law, he did not turn people away when they came to him.

After all, they are all Qingliu people, and as a famous Qingliu person, he cannot ignore his own people.

The more people see this, the more people will flatter. Some people's flattery is pure flattery, while others' flattery has a purpose.

He seemed to have slowly lost himself in the flattery. He would never accept money, but he would feel embarrassed to refuse if people gave him some local specialties during festivals.

Therefore, in recent years, every New Year, many people would find ways to send him "local specialties".

There were mountains of New Year's goods in his house, so he didn't even need to buy any.

You may not be able to finish it in the next few months or even half a year.

He gradually got used to it, and his family gradually got used to it too.

This is not a good habit, because it makes you feel soft-hearted when you take things from others.

Even if someone sends you a feather from a thousand miles away, the sentiment behind it is great.

He accepted the gifts, and if someone came to him and asked him to do something small, he would feel embarrassed to refuse.

For example, arrange for someone to have a relative work as a yamen runner in the Ministry of Justice or as a jailer in the Ministry of Justice prison.

For example, he could speak well of his disciples, relatives, and friends, or even find ways to greet other important officials in the court.

When he greeted others, other important officials in the court came to his aid. When other important officials in the court greeted him, he also had to help.

This is a matter of reciprocity, there's nothing we can do about it.

Apart from sitting on duty at the yamen over the years, he seemed to have been busy with these things and had no time to think about serving the country and the people.

Once a person gets used to being flattered by others, he will gradually become so high that he cannot come down from the sky.

He is indeed a little bit carried away.

This time, the young emperor ordered them to submit a memorial to explain themselves. He was even a little afraid of losing his position as the Minister of Justice.

There's no way. He's used to floating in the sky. He's not used to coming down.

Coupled with the instigation of other upright officials, he actually spoke nonsense to the little emperor!

He knew very well that the nonsense was somewhat threatening to the young emperor, but he still followed everyone in order to keep his position as the Minister of Justice. However, he did not really want to do anything to the young emperor, he just wanted to stay in the position of Minister of Justice.

As for why I can’t leave, saying that I’m doing it for the country and the people is bullshit.

He is just used to everything that comes with power, and he doesn't want to lose it all!
What does the old man want to do?
Xin Zixiu frowned and pondered for a while. Whether he was trying to comfort himself or just babbling nonsense, he suddenly said, "Your Majesty, I am old, but there are some things that young people cannot do. I am afraid that young people cannot suppress those corrupt officials."

Can you hold it down?
To put it bluntly, if you continue like this you'd be lucky if you could avoid becoming involved with corrupt officials.

Wanli was also puzzled and said, "You seem to have a good relationship with Yuan Yu and Wei Zhen, right?"

Wang Xijue and Xu Guo!

What does this mean?
He does have a good relationship with these two cabinet ministers.

However, they are not friends of gentlemen, and their interactions can be said to be purely utilitarian.

To put it bluntly, he values ​​other people's power, and other people also value his power, so everyone can help each other.

However, Wang Xijue and Xu Guo are not good people.

He also vaguely realized that these two cabinet ministers might be corrupt officials.

If it were when he first entered the officialdom, he would definitely be ashamed to associate with them, or even to oppose them, and he would probably investigate them and impeach them.

At this moment, he actually forgot his Qingliu identity and made friends with him, and even got used to being with him!

He had never thought of checking on these two people!
Isn't this slapping yourself in the face?

He also calls himself a clean official, and everyone says he is a famous clean official!
When Xin Zixiu heard this, he was stunned on the spot.

Seeing this, Wanli seemed to suddenly remember that he was still teaching little Zhu Changxun. He actually picked up the book and said aloud: "Come, Xun'er, continue reading. Mencius said: If you can serve, then serve; if you can stop, then stop; if you can stay for a long time, then stay for a long time; if you can leave quickly, then leave quickly."

Little Zhu Changxun also cooperated unusually, saying, "Mencius said: If you can serve, then serve; if you can stop, then stop; if you can stay for a long time, then stay for a long time; if you can leave quickly, then leave quickly."

Why are there still no three words "Confucius"?

What I mean is that the key point is the previous "if you can leave office quickly, leave office quickly"; if you should leave office quickly, leave office quickly!
Wait, not pronouncing "Confucius also" seems to have the intention of highlighting Mencius.

Meng Yanghao!
The little emperor was reminding him that Meng Yanghao was a descendant of Mencius!

What this means is that if someone takes the lead in impeaching him, he should not think of taking revenge on them after he leaves office!
The young emperor has already decided that he is too old to hold an official position!

If possible, do it as quickly as possible.

This is a dissuading ah.

What are the consequences if you don’t listen to advice?
What will happen if the little emperor can’t be persuaded?

I can’t imagine the consequences!

He is already in his seventies. Does he really want to lose his integrity in his later years or even be killed by the young emperor just to stay in the position of Minister of Justice for a few more years?
He has been the Minister of Justice for long enough, and it is time for him to step down and make way for someone more capable.

Xin Zixiu pondered for a while, then said with a bitter face, "Your Majesty, I beg to retire."

Well, just listen to my advice.

Wanli nodded slightly and said, "You are honest and upright. Although your family has no shortage of things, we don't have much money left over to support our old age, let alone support our entire family.

How about this? I will grant you fifty acres of good farmland according to the standards of a garrison soldier. This way, your family should have no problem having enough food and clothing."

It turns out the little emperor knows everything!

No, the little emperor has grown up and should be called Your Highness.

He always subconsciously thought that Wanli was the little emperor, because Wanli was indeed much younger than him.

However, Wanli was no longer a child at this time.

Upon hearing this, Xin Zixiu bowed repeatedly and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace."

Wanli nodded slightly, then raised his hand and waved.

Xin Zixiu quickly bowed and took his leave.

Little Zhu Changxun watched his back disappear through the doorway and couldn't help but ask, "Father, didn't you say it was either you or me this time? Why did you let him go so easily and even grant him fifty acres of good farmland?"

This also depends on the person.

Wanli shook his head slightly, then patiently taught: "There is a reason why Father chose him first.

He is indeed honest and incorruptible, and he is not the kind of official who wants to fight us to the death.

This fight to the death is not just a slogan or an idea, but a fight to the death between the two camps.

We must clearly identify who is in the enemy camp and who wants to fight us to the death.

Not all of the Qingliu people are in our hostile camp. Neither Meng Yanghao nor Xin Zixiu is one of them.

Xin Zixiu's greed is not that strong. He won't try every means to go against us. It is possible to persuade him to give up with some persuasion.

Because he listened to the advice, his father let him go and gave him fifty acres of good land. This set an example for those honest people who were not too greedy.

At the same time, by doing this we can also paralyze those officials who really want to fight us to the death, making them think that we will not take strong measures.

You must remember that a fight to the death is a process of struggle. This process will not take one or two days, one or two months, or even one or two years. You cannot be impatient.

For example, the three powerful families in Puzhou have been at war with me for a long time. Even after so many years, they are still hiding in the dark and trying to turn things around.

This battle will not end so easily. We need to be patient. Even if it is a real war, we can't just gather people and rush forward to fight.

The struggle in the court is full of intrigue and protracted, so we have to use some tactics. If we attack Xin Zixiu first, it will be a paralyzing tactic.

Xin Zixiu is actually of no use to them, but his position is useful to them. If we touch Xin Zixiu, they will not feel any immediate pain.
Moreover, we only asked Xin Zixiu to retire and even gave him fifty acres of good farmland. This cannot be considered a punishment.

Think about it, in this situation, will those officials who really want to fight us to the death ever consider whether they really want to fight us to the death?

We don't seem to have any intention of a life-and-death struggle. If they really want one, they'll have to think twice. This is a paralysis tactic."

Ugh, this is too complicated.

Little Zhu Changxun pondered for a long time, still somewhat puzzled, and said, "Father, this is either you or I die. Is paralysis useful?"

You still don't understand the struggle in the court.

Wanli shook his head slightly and asked instead, "Think about it, if Father doesn't take action to deal with them, would they dare to take action first?

If they take action first, they will be seeking death. The millions of troops under my father's command are not just for show. In a head-on confrontation, no matter how many of them come, they will die.

At the moment, they are not as strong as us, so they have no choice but to hide everywhere and look for opportunities. We can then take control of the major government offices step by step.

Don't think that the battle will be decisive as soon as it starts. This long-lasting struggle has just begun.

It is certainly useful for us to paralyze them. This is called boiling a frog in warm water. We just boil them slowly, and they don't feel any major discomfort. By the time they feel uncomfortable, they are already close to death.

Think about it, if we cook them over high heat from the beginning, wouldn't they try to jump out of the pot to escape or even fight back desperately?

Oh, this is the frog in boiling water.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Zhu Changxun nodded, seemingly understanding, and said, "I understand."

(End of this chapter)