My Portable Ming Dynasty

Chapter 16: Establishing a Character

Zhang Juzheng arrived very early, and the officials of the National History Museum had not yet come to work. Su Ze knew very well that Zhang Juzheng came to the National History Museum at this time just to target him.

Four people stood in front of the public housing to welcome Zhang Juzheng. The first one was Shen Shixing, who had the highest position, and respectfully called Zhang Juzheng "Master".

Shen Shixing was indeed a wonderful person. The term "Master" not only referred to his teacher-student relationship with Zhang Juzheng, but also referred to Zhang Juzheng's position, which was a way of being close while maintaining a distance.

Luo Wanhua, Shen Yikuan and Zhang Juzheng had no such relationship, so they just called him "Lord".

This is also a standard title. As an official, Zhang Juzheng held many positions, and it is always correct to call him by his highest official position.

But Su Ze bowed and called him "Bachelor".

Zhang Juzheng looked at Su Ze with interest.

The Bachelor was naturally the Bachelor who was serving as a lecturer in the Hanlin Academy when Zhang Juzheng first met him.

Su Ze called Zhang Juzheng a bachelor instead of his other titles to emphasize his Hanlin origin.

The other four people present were also from the Hanlin Academy. The word "Bachelor" brought everyone closer together and also expressed Su Ze's respect for his predecessors.

More importantly, for scholars, the word "bachelor" also means complimenting knowledge.

For an official of Zhang Juzheng's rank, the only thing he needed to do was become the chief minister of the cabinet, and he would be second only to the emperor.

On the contrary, many cabinet chief ministers attach more importance to reputation in the literary world.

For example, Yan Song, the treacherous minister of the Jiajing Dynasty, and Xu Jie, the current Prime Minister, both of them were passionate about academics and even personally organized lectures.

Zhang Juzheng was naturally no exception.

When Zhang Juzheng heard Su Ze call him "Bachelor", he admired him even more.

"I am also the Vice President. I am just here to take a look around the History Museum today. We will talk after we go in."

The four people naturally did not believe that Zhang Juzheng was just here for a stroll, but since Lord Zhang said so, they had no choice but to welcome him into the public housing.

After sitting down, they chatted for a while about the work of the History Museum. Zhang Juzheng said:
"Time flies. When I was in the Hanlin Academy, my favorite thing was the collection of books. What books did you read in the Hanlin Academy?"

Everyone reported the titles of the books. After Su Ze reported a long list of titles, Zhang Juzheng picked out a few and asked about them.

Su Ze, who had eaten the [Memory Hu Bing], could naturally recite it by heart, which made Zhang Juzheng's attitude towards Su Ze even better.

The atmosphere gradually became harmonious.

Su Ze said again:
"A few days ago, while sorting through the memorials of the previous emperor, I came across 'On Current Affairs,' written by the Grand Councilor when he was serving in the Hanlin Academy. Even in his youth, the Grand Councilor had lofty ambitions, truly a role model for us."

Zhang Juzheng's eyes lit up even more. When he first entered the Hanlin Academy, he submitted a memorial entitled "On Current Affairs", in which he first listed the disease of "blood and qi stagnation", and then pointed out the five diseases of "swelling, paralysis and paralysis", systematically expounding his proposal for political reform.

However, the then Emperor Jiajing and Prime Minister Yan Song did not take Zhang Juzheng's memorials seriously. Later, Zhang Juzheng rarely submitted memorials and continued to study in the Hanlin Academy to avoid participating in political conflicts in the court.

Shen Shixing looked at Su Ze with strange eyes. He even began to doubt who was Zhang Juzheng's disciple?
His teacher was very strict with rules. He had seen him smile more times today than Shen Shixing had seen him in the whole year. Su Ze's compliments were not too corny, but they touched Zhang Juzheng's heart.

No, aren’t you from Gao Ge Lao’s faction?
Of course, the one who was even more surprised was Shen Yikuan.

He always thought that Su Ze didn't understand the ways of the world and was a young man who was arrogant because of his talent. His flattery of Zhang Juzheng today really made Shen Yikuan drop his jaw.

No, brother, are you so good at flattering?
Zhang Juzheng, who had been so angry that his mouth turned upside down, coughed, interrupting Su Ze's flattery, and then got down to business.

"Zilin, when you submitted the memorial "Three Matters Concerning National History", have you already made up your mind? What do you think about these three matters?" Everyone present looked at Su Ze, especially Luo Wanhua, whose eyes were the most passionate.

These days, Luo Wanhua has become a fan of Su Ze, and he also wants to know what Su Ze thinks about the "Three Emperors Problem".

Su Ze was already prepared. He pretended to think for a moment and began to speak:
"Now that Lord Zhang has spoken, I will offer my humble opinion."

"First, there's the Jingnan Rebellion. The reason Chengzu launched the Jingnan Rebellion is well known to the world. At the time, the Jianwen court was overrun with treacherous officials and was filled with incompetents! Chengzu's Jingnan Rebellion was intended to be a Duke of Zhou, but he didn't expect the Jianwen Emperor to disappear, and he ended up having no choice but to succeed to the throne."

"Emperor Chengzu's original intention was good, all for the sake of protecting our Ming Dynasty. However, if the chronicle of Emperor Jianwen is not included, then the ignorant people in the future may have some bad guesses. Nowadays, there are many unofficial histories among the people, and this is because the official history is unclear."

Shen Yi Guan looked at Su Ze with admiration, thinking to himself: "Brother Su, you are really the one who can lie with your eyes open!"

In fact, Su Ze's statements are exactly what Ming Chengzu Zhu Di said in "Fengtian Jingnan Ji", which is official political correctness. Naturally, there is nothing wrong with him saying this.

Zhang Juzheng was obviously not going to let Su Ze go, so he continued to ask:

"What about Jingtai's problem?"

Su Ze said:

"The Jingtai Emperor's problem isn't that difficult. He was seriously ill and had no heir, so it was his own wish to return power. Many of Jingtai's ministers were rehabilitated during the Xianzong Emperor's reign, so it's only right that they be included in the annals."

Su Ze continued:

"All three emperors have no heirs."

Zhang Juzheng looked at Su Ze, his heart filled with regret. Why wasn't Su Ze his disciple?

"The three emperors had no heirs", this is the key issue.

Of course, the three emperors Su Ze mentioned who had no heirs were Emperor Jianwen, Emperor Jingtai, and Emperor Wuzong of the Ming Dynasty before Emperor Shizong.

The three emperors had no heirs, so the issue of the three emperors does not involve the issue of legal legitimacy. Therefore, no matter how it is discussed, it will not hinder the legitimacy of imperial power.

Of course, as a powerful official who was experienced in political intrigue, Zhang Juzheng knew very well that although the three emperors had no heirs, it was still very difficult to get the emperor to clarify the issue of the three emperors.

After all, this involves the emperor's ancestral family affairs.

Therefore, it is likely that this compilation of national history will ultimately come to nothing.

Zhang Juzheng felt a little regretful. He was a person who liked to do practical things. If he could really complete the official national history, it would be an achievement. It was a pity that the issue of the three emperors made it impossible to compile the official national history.

The more Zhang Juzheng looked at Su Ze, the more regretful he felt. It was a pity that Su Ze did not pass the imperial examination a few years earlier. If he could pass the imperial examination in the same year as Shen Shixing, he would have been his disciple.

Thinking of the increasingly fierce struggle in the cabinet and the increasing difficulty of being sandwiched between Xu Jie and Gao Gong, Zhang Juzheng also showed a trace of fatigue.

Zhang Juzheng encouraged the four people again, asking them to study hard, and then said to Su Ze:

"When I was in the Imperial Academy, the treacherous minister Yan Song was wreaking havoc on the government. I returned home due to illness and witnessed a lot of local sentiments. Thinking about it now, it was a rare experience."

"Back then, the powerful minister Yan Song was at the height of his power, with all officials flocking to him. But where is he now?"

"Su Zilin has the talent to be a prime minister. I really can't bear to see you ruined by corrupt politics."

(End of this chapter)