My Portable Ming Dynasty

Chapter 23: The Style of Teaching
"Since we are going to compile the Illustrated Explanation of the Imperial Mirror, I am asking Brother Jianwu to copy the Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government so that you can compile the book better."

Hearing this, Shen Yiguan said seriously:
"I see! I'll go copy the book right now!"

Su Ze looked at Shen Yikuan with some surprise, but he quickly remembered that Shen Yikuan was also the top scorer in the national imperial examination in the Ming Dynasty.

No, those who can become Shujishi are the best among the kings.

With the road to success right before his eyes, how could Shen Yikuan not work hard?

Seeing Shen Yikuan like this, Luo Wanhua also lowered his head and continued reading, and the public housing became quiet again.

There was a lot of noise outside the public housing complex, but inside it there was only the sound of flipping pages.
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Meanwhile, in the cabinet.

Xu Jie sat at the head of the cabinet, with Gao Gong, Zhang Juzheng, and Chen Yiqin sitting to the side. Today, the four cabinet ministers did not deal with memorials, but listened to Xu Jie's lecture at the head.
"The so-called benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and wisdom are all fully present, and compassion, shame, remorse, respect, and the sense of right and wrong are expressed according to one's feelings. In my humble opinion, this is the essence of conscience."

"The word 'sincerity' is extremely powerful in learning. Sincerity is the way of heaven, and sincerity is the way of man. If one fails to maintain sincerity in a single thought, one loses conscience, let alone hopes to attain it."

As the chief minister of the cabinet, Xu Jie wanted to give lectures in the cabinet, and naturally the other cabinet ministers had no way to stop him.

However, when faced with Xu Jie's constant mention of "upholding conscience", the three people had different attitudes.

Gao Gong is a clear disgust.

Gao Gong did not dislike Wang Yangming, but he disliked the trend of lecturing in the court.

What the superior likes, the subordinates must follow. Because the chief minister of the cabinet, Xu Jie, was obsessed with Yangming's philosophy of mind, the trend of lecturing was very popular in the capital, and scholars and literati gathered together to talk about "attaining conscience".

Moreover, Wang Yangming had been dead for a long time, so the School of Mind gradually developed into different schools. In Gao Gong's view, the theories of many schools have even deviated from Wang Yangming's original intentions.

For example, the Taizhou School, which was quite popular in Southern Zhili, advocated that the daily life of the people should be the way, and Gao Gong did not object to this.

However, the Taizhou School emphasized obedience to desires, and its disciples behaved eccentrically and had flamboyant personalities. There were even mad scholars like Li Zhi who directly cursed Confucius.

Then there was the School of Stillness led by Xu Ge Lao's teacher Nie Bao, who secluded themselves from the world and sat in meditation all day long, talking about conscience all the time, just like Zen monks. As soon as they opened their mouths, they would talk about mysterious things like "body theory" and "mind theory", which was similar to the group of people who talked about abstruse things in the Wei and Jin dynasties. This was what Gao Gong disliked the most.

Of course, Lord Xu was talking about another school. He was a more worldly-minded "pragmatic school" that emphasized honing oneself through doing things, so as to reach the level of conscience.

Gao Gong did not object to this theory, but Xu Jie was too obsessed with selling his theory. Not only did he lecture in the cabinet all day long, he even took the position of Prime Minister and personally promoted lectures in the capital.

The largest event, the Lingji Palace Conference in the 44th year of Jiajing, was personally promoted by Xu Jie.

That lecture attracted 5,000 people and invited famous Confucian scholars from all over the country. It was a huge event. From then on, the scholars and officials in the capital were proud to give lectures.

How many of them truly enjoy studying Wang Yangming's work, and how many do so to curry favor with him?

As Xu Jie's disciple, Zhang Juzheng naturally could not show obvious disgust, and had to pretend to be listening attentively.

Zhang Juzheng also hated lecturing.

Zhang Juzheng believed that the trend of lecturing had polluted the local area. Academies gathered disciples, ostensibly to give lectures, but in reality they were discussing the imperial court. Once something happened, they would gather to cause trouble. Every year, scholars in Jiangnan would carry out the tablet of Confucius from the Confucian Temple to cause trouble.

In the capital, officials at all levels also gathered together to give lectures, forming factions in the name of lectures, making the court a chaotic place.

Chen Yiqin was also an avid fan of the School of Mind, and could be considered a fellow traveler of Xu Jie's in the field of the School of Mind. So among the people present, Chen Yiqin was the one who listened most attentively.

After listening to Xu Jie's "high-level theory", Chen Yiqin echoed:

"Benevolence is the human heart. The heart is the most empty and spiritual. Emptiness means being impartial, and spirituality means being responsive. Conscience is the manifestation of this emptiness and spirituality. Knowing benevolence is simply knowing one's own conscience." Xu Jie was immediately excited when he heard Chen Yiqin agree with him. He immediately said:
"Mr. Chen, your opinion is excellent! Conscience and ability have not been lost, but old habits have not been eliminated, so we must cultivate this heart."

Gao Gong was about to roll his eyes. It must be said that this Lord Xu was really obsessed with Wang Yangming to a certain extent.

He often copied Wang Yangming's portraits and liked to collect Wang Yangming's relics and manuscripts. If he were in modern times, he could definitely be a celebrity fan.

After finishing his speech, Xu Jie still felt unsatisfied and said:
"It's a pity that Li Zishi is not in the pavilion."

Hearing this, Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng became alert.

Especially Zhang Juzheng, his eyes met Gao Gong opposite him, and then quickly separated. Both of them were smart people and quickly understood the meaning of each other's eyes.

Li Zishi is Li Chunfang.

Li Chunfang entered the cabinet as early as the end of the Jiajing period, and now he also holds the position of Grand Secretary of Jianji Palace.

There were unusual movements at the border a while ago, and Altan Khan in the north showed signs of invasion again. With Gao Gong's "strong recommendation", Emperor Longqing sent Li Chunfang to inspect border affairs.

Li Chunfang was Xu Jie's close comrade-in-arms. Gao Gong had finally managed to squeeze him out of the cabinet. Xu Jie suddenly mentioned him, obviously preparing to recall Li Chunfang.

Zhang Juzheng's emotions were even more complicated.

Originally, Xu Jie and Gao Gong were above him. If Li Chunfang returned to the cabinet, given his close relationship with Xu Jie and his own reputation, he would be under great pressure again.

You should know that Li Chunfang was the top scholar in the imperial examination. During the Jiajing Dynasty, he was known for his excellent Qingci writing skills and was deeply loved by Emperor Jiajing.

Li Chunfang was also an avid fan of Yangming's philosophy of mind. He was also the main promoter and planner of the Lingji Palace Conference, and he and Xu Jie were fellow researchers in the study of the philosophy of mind.

Zhang Juzheng was also unwilling to let Li Chunfang return to the cabinet.

Chen Yiqin added:

"It would be nice if Zhao Dazhou were here."

Hearing this, Zhang Juzheng and Gao Gong looked at each other warily.

Zhao Dazhou is Zhao Zhenji, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel.

Zhao Zhenji was from Taizhou, Nanzhili. He was fond of studying the Taizhou School of Mind Learning and was also a fellow scholar of Xu Jie in the study of Mind.

The current emperor likes Zhao Zhenji very much and often summons him to the palace to give lectures. He meets all the requirements for joining the cabinet.

When Chen Yiqin mentioned Zhao Zhenji, Zhang Juzheng, a political animal, instinctively activated. He understood that this was Chen Yiqin hinting to Xu Jie to bring Zhao Zhenji into the cabinet to check and balance Gao Gong.

Thinking of this, Zhang Juzheng felt even more uncomfortable.

Zhao Zhenji was a Jinshi in the 14th year of the Jiajing reign and was Zhang Juzheng's predecessor in the imperial examination. He, Xu Jie and Li Chunfang were all interested in the School of Mind and had a close relationship with each other.

If Zhao Zhenji entered the cabinet, he would be ranked above himself.

With a strange mood, Zhang Juzheng returned home. After it was completely dark, he sent his confidant to call his disciple Shen Shixing.

(End of this chapter)