The Ming Dynasty's Five Hundred Years

Chapter 230 Three years passed quickly, the twentieth year of Yongle
In late autumn, the capital city was covered with fallen leaves.

The autumn wind rustled, scattering smoke and dust throughout the city. The lanterns hanging high on both sides of the Princess's Mansion swayed high in the wind, then fell heavily back down after the wind passed. Just as they fell, the autumn wind returned, rising and falling repeatedly.

Just like the undercurrents surging in the capital at this time, or perhaps they can no longer be called undercurrents, they are all laid bare in the open.

Since the re-election of the Confucian Temple, the schools of mind and principle have been at odds, engaging in open and covert struggles in various aspects. The most extreme groups even slander each other, reaching a point where "those with different beliefs will not marry."

Beyond the debate between the School of Mind and the School of Principle, there was another major event that swept across the entire Ming Dynasty: opening up pathways to higher education for those from humble backgrounds. This was spearheaded by Zheng Huan, the Minister of Rites, and Li Xianmu, the Minister of Revenue, who were vigorously promoting this cause.

It was quite normal; this matter naturally became part of the factional struggle. Zheng Huan and Li Xianmu were both masters of the School of Mind, so many people who opposed for the sake of opposing directly stood on the opposite side of them. Fortunately, the Duke of Ying successfully restrained nearly 60% of the nobles, greatly reducing the pressure on Li Xianmu, and he did not appear to be very isolated in the court.

In order to unite the current forces of Neo-Confucianism, starting from the eighteenth year of the Yongle reign, Zheng Huan, Minister of Rites, and Li Xianmu sent people to various provinces to explain the importance of this matter.

Officials of the Neo-Confucian school were required to submit a memorial and explain the matter to all scholars in the province, prefecture, and county.

It is imperative to keep public opinion on this matter under their control.

The Chinese people have always pursued fairness and justice.

Paving the way for those from poor families was politically correct, especially starting from the Song Dynasty. It was extremely inspiring for someone from a poor background to rise to a high position, and they often gained great prestige.

Therefore, even those who opposed Li Xianmu's policies dared not say that they were blocking the path for those from humble backgrounds. Most of them used arguments such as "their talents are not suitable for the job," "selecting officials based on their talents," and "fairness and impartiality" to oppose them. Li Xianmu countered with "true fairness."

After two years of publicity and confrontation, Li Xianmu successfully gained a great deal of prestige among children from poor families.

After all, there are still more people from poor families in this world.

Amidst the commotion and disputes, no victor could be determined at the grand court assembly, and the emperor remained silent throughout.

There are also many disputes among the people, and almost everyone has different opinions. Even in modern times, whether or not to give more resources to universities in poor areas would cause a huge argument, let alone in ancient times, when the resources given were resources that directly led to official positions, such as the imperial examination.

On June 15th of the 20th year of the Yongle reign, a momentous event occurred at the Imperial College in Nanjing, Southern Zhili, that shocked thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty.

……

As dawn broke, light shone on the bustling Qinhuai River, a place of nightly revelry and debauchery, reflecting the decadence and depravity of this ancient capital of six dynasties. Having lost its status as the capital, Nanjing seemed lost and unsure of where to go next.

But no one can deny that this place is still the ancestral home of the Ming Dynasty in the south, the spiritual home of the southern provinces. Here are the imperial palace, the Six Ministries, the Imperial Academy, and everything that once belonged to the capital. Here is also the Xiaoling Mausoleum of Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty. The number of scholars who studied here far exceeded that of other provinces.

In the past two or three years, the most intense conflict between the School of Mind and the School of Principle has erupted in this city. Zhejiang has gradually become the stronghold of the School of Mind, and the School of Principle has been forced to retreat step by step.

At the end of the seventeenth year of the Yongle reign and the beginning of the eighteenth year, Wang Gen served as the Vice Minister of Rites in Nanjing. After effectively taking charge of the Ministry of Rites, he immediately began to use his power to continue promoting the Neo-Confucianism to other southern provinces.

Out of a desire to counterbalance Wang Gen, Jian Yi, the Minister of Personnel, promoted and appointed a radical conservative of Neo-Confucianism as the Vice Minister of Rites. However, this Vice Minister of Rites was clearly no match for Wang Gen and suffered repeated defeats, managing to maintain his position solely by relying on his profound knowledge of Neo-Confucianism.

In particular, Wang Gen was from Jiangxi, and some people from Jiangxi came to him.

However, after the enactment of the law on the treatment of commoners, Wang Gen's progress suffered a huge setback. Jiangnan was the place where powerful families were the most concentrated, and the resistance encountered by the law on the treatment of commoners here was far greater than in the northern provinces.

On the fifteenth day of the sixth month of the twentieth year of the Yongle reign, at the Imperial College in Nanjing.

After the students got up and washed, preparing to go to class, they found more than a hundred people gathered in the academy, their faces solemn, like Jing Ke on the banks of the Yi River about to set off to assassinate the King of Qin, with a resolute determination.

This scene naturally attracted the attention of almost everyone, including the academy's teachers. A quick glance was enough to recognize that these were students from poor families with no power or influence.

"What are you doing?"

One of the stricter teachers felt uneasy and immediately stepped forward to reprimand him, "Disperse immediately, or you will be punished for violating the academy's rules."

"Fellow students!"

The leader of the group was a middle-aged man of about thirty years old. His clothes were very shabby, even patched, and his face was slightly dark. He did not look like a scholar, but rather had a weathered and bitter look on his face.

"My name is Lin Shengshuang. I am from Linjia Village, Sunji Town, Dehua County, Jiujiang Prefecture, Jiangxi Province. My family consists of my elderly parents, four brothers and sisters, and a few acres of meager land. When I was young, my teacher said that I had some talent for studying, so my parents sold everything they owned to support my education."

At this point, Lin Shengshuang's eyes were already filled with tears. "I barely passed the county-level imperial examination at the age of seventeen. I once thought that I had some talent. However, I failed the examination four times in a row. I wondered if I really had the talent to study."
It wasn't until I entered the academy that I realized it wasn't that I lacked talent, but rather that my own exploration was no match for the direct guidance of a master.

I ranked low in both selection examinations, and I cannot afford the tuition. Perhaps I will be expelled today, leaving the Imperial Academy without good teachers. I know I will never pass the imperial examinations again!

These words sent a shiver down the spines of almost everyone in the Imperial Academy. They would never pass the imperial examinations again. What despair these words were! They were like a rope wrapped around their necks, slowly tightening and making it hard to breathe. Only waves of pure darkness and despair washed over them, as if trying to drag them into the water.

When Lin Shengshuang said this, everyone could tell that he was referring to the decree for poor families issued by Lord Shouzheng, Li Xianmu. He desperately hoped that the decree could be passed and give him a glimmer of hope. However, saying these words here was useless, as no one here could make the decision.

"You failed the exam because you didn't work hard enough! You're not smart enough!" The instructor's shrill voice pierced the morning light in the courtyard, filled with extreme meanness and contempt. "All you do is complain here. If you had such extraordinary talent, why would you be wasting your time here? Countless poor families have risen to prominence throughout history. Why can't it be you?"

It's clearly your own incompetence that's causing trouble, yet you're trying to mislead people and have grandiose dreams. Let me tell you, the law against poor scholars will never pass, and the court will never allow incompetent people like you to get promoted. If even you can pass the imperial examination, then everyone in the Imperial Academy can!

This is reality!

Each word struck like a heavy hammer into the hearts of everyone present, including those from humble backgrounds or ordinary families. Those from aristocratic and wealthy families mostly wore a hint of arrogance in their eyes, while only a few frowned, finding the words inappropriate.

Lin Shengshuang was struck dumb upon hearing this, and the many scholars around him also turned pale. They all came from poor families, and the instructor's words were not only an insult to Lin Shengshuang, but also to them.

After a long while, Lin Shengshuang, who had been in a state of despair, gradually burst into wild laughter, his laughter filled with obvious sarcasm. "As expected, as expected, in this world, the only one willing to care about us poor scholars is Lord Shouzheng. You Neo-Confucianists are all just pedantic scholars!"

Wow~~
Lin Shengshuang's words were extremely serious, escalating the issue to a struggle between two schools of thought. Only then, as the crowd slowly dispersed, did the scholars and instructors notice books lying on the ground. Upon closer inspection, they realized they were the Collected Commentaries on the Four Books, clearly written by the great Neo-Confucian scholar Zhu Xi.

The sacred books were thus left lying on the ground, clearly covered with footprints and dust.

The instructors felt their blood rush to their heads, their eyes wide with disbelief. They could hardly believe what they were seeing. Although printing technology was advanced now, books were still very precious. How could they be treated like this? And these were not just storybooks, but the Four Books, the textbooks for the imperial examinations!

“You…” the group of instructors stammered, “What are you doing? How dare you treat the words of a sage like this, you…”

Lin Shengshuang's face was filled with deep sarcasm. The other scholars from poor families also threw their books out of their pockets. Then, some scholars poured tung oil on them, and others took out flints from their pockets.

All of this happened in the blink of an eye, before anyone could even react. But when the flint and tung oil appeared, almost everyone understood what had happened and what was about to happen.

Shock swept over everyone like a storm, leaving them speechless or frozen in place.

In the end, it was too late to stop it. The flint, along with the burning paper, fell onto the tung oil and ignited a raging fire, as if words were leaping up in the flames.

The blazing flames shone on the faces of the scholars, who wore expressions of relief, deep joy, and the satisfaction of revenge.

"I'm never studying science again!"

"The School of Neo-Confucianism should perish! The School of Mind should flourish!"

"If I were to look at Neo-Confucianism again in my lifetime, it would be like this book being burned in flames!"

"From this day forward, I am a follower of the philosophy of mind!"

"We kowtow in gratitude to Lord Li Shouzhen for his willingness to pave the way for the poor and needy!"

A series of impassioned voices were uttered from in front of the crackling flames. The teachers, who were trained in Confucianism, felt their minds go blank. The raging flames seemed to engulf them, and their bodies swayed precariously.

The students were also dumbfounded, never expecting that these scholars had such intentions; this was clearly a fight to the death.

Since the psychological battle began, although the struggle has been fierce, nothing has ever been comparable to what happened today.

In the Imperial College in Nanjing, a place with strong political connotations among scholars, a group of scholars from humble backgrounds publicly burned books on the highest principles of Neo-Confucianism!
The burning of books had a different meaning within the Confucian school!
Once this is done, these scholars will never be able to return to Neo-Confucianism again; it's a clean break.

The reason for this was clear to everyone present: in the matter of the law against the poor, regardless of the cause, Neo-Confucianism stood on the opposite side of the poor, while Li Xianmu had extremely high prestige among them.

Over three years, the decree concerning the poor was repeatedly postponed and never fully implemented. Li Xianmu debated the matter several times in the court, but could not resolve it. As the message spread among the people, their hearts gradually changed.

If they had never seen the light, they could have endured the darkness.

They could have simply gone with the flow if no one had ever shown them a better world.

If there is no hope, there will be no disappointment.

But the decree for those from humble backgrounds was introduced, and countless children from poor families saw the possibility of leaping over the dragon gate. Now, a group of people want to close the dragon gate. They toss and turn, unable to sleep day and night. In endless torment, they gradually despaired and finally did what they did today, did such an extreme thing!

Is this just an accident?

no!
This was an inevitable outcome given the current state of affairs in the Ming Dynasty. Even without the burning of books, there would have been fierce resistance from other poor scholars against Neo-Confucianism and against those who opposed the laws for poor scholars!

The world has reached this point!

Perhaps some instructors realized this, and their faces turned extremely ugly. Many more instructors felt a deep fear from the bottom of their hearts and immediately wanted to use the regulations of the Imperial Academy to suppress these scholars, so as to prevent more people from following suit.

It's too late!
Just as they ordered their men to take action, and the two sides were engaged in a fierce conflict, even resorting to fists and kicks, Wang Gen, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, had already received the news and rushed to the Imperial Academy.

Wang Gen could hardly contain his joy and excitement. The events at the Imperial Academy today made him realize that this was a good opportunity to unleash his power.

Scholars riot!

This matter could be a big deal or a small deal. If it were to reach the imperial court, even the emperor would have to reconsider his stance.

"Stop!" Wang Gen shouted. With this shout, the yamen runners immediately stepped forward to separate the crowd. Upon seeing Wang Gen, the scholars immediately bowed and paid their respects.

Those poor scholars who burned books were naturally delighted, while the instructors were devastated, their faces grim. It was obvious which side Wang Gen would take.

"The Imperial Academy is a vital place of the nation. Is this a place for you to fight and brawl?" Wang Gen reprimanded. "This is a disgrace to civilization! This is a disgrace to civilization!"

"What happened here?" Wang Gen asked deliberately, as if he knew nothing.

Lin Shengshuang immediately stepped forward and bowed, then recounted in detail everything that had just happened.

Wang Gen frowned more and more as he listened. After listening, he asked the crowd, "Is what he said true? If you have anything to add, please come forward and say it as soon as possible."

The crowd looked at each other, none of them stepping forward, because Lin Shengshuang's words were not exaggerated.

"Since no one is stepping forward, I will proceed according to Lin Shengshuang's suggestion. You are instructors from the Imperial Academy? I ask you, what wrong has Lin Shengshuang done?"

(End of this chapter)