The Ming Dynasty's Five Hundred Years

Chapter 75 Please Rewrite History
After Li Qi returned to his residence from the palace, Wang Gen happened to be on leave from the Imperial Academy and came to visit Li Qi.

"You've lost some weight. With your knowledge, you'll have no problem getting into high school. The important thing is to take good care of your health."

Wang Gen has been studying diligently lately, preparing to take the imperial examination in the third year of the Yongle reign. Calculating the time, there are only one year and four months left.

"I am worried about bringing shame to my teacher. If I am ranked in the top three, I will truly be ashamed of my sect."

"How could that be? Throughout the capital, there is no one who can rival you. You will surely achieve the highest rank in the imperial examination."

Wang Gen served tea to Li Qi, saying, "Only Xianmu has such confidence. I can only work harder so as not to waste my life's learning."

"You're just too stubborn. Fang Xiaoru is dead, why bother getting angry with him and harming your health?"

Wang Gen didn't say anything upon hearing this, but just gave a simple, honest smile, looking somewhat embarrassed.

No one knows a son better than his father. As Wang Gen's teacher, Li Qi naturally knew his character. Historically, Wang Gen remained silent and then died for Jianwen. He was a man who was stubborn and inflexible.

Wang Gen participated in the imperial examination in the second year of the Jianwen reign, but was rejected. Naturally, he felt ashamed and was determined to do his best to get a good ranking so as to prove himself and his teacher. He believed that Fang Xiaoru rejected him not because he lacked talent, but because Fang Xiaoru abused his power for personal gain and had no tolerance for others.

“Teacher, I have come here with important news to report. Among the students of the Imperial Academy, there are many rumors about the Hu Weiyong case. After secretly investigating, I have confirmed that this matter was indeed done by Fang Xiaoru’s students and those from various counties in Zhejiang. The speculations in the government are correct. Their purpose is to prevent the government from exonerating and exonerating him.”

Wang Gen already knew about the Yuan Dynasty history that day, so why did he still go out of his way to investigate it?

This is Wang Gen's character. He is a true pragmatist. Although he believes that the judgments of his elders are correct, he still needs to confirm it himself to avoid harming innocent people. Now that it is confirmed to be true, then it doesn't matter.

This kind of personality is actually not very suitable for officialdom, which requires people who can get along with everyone, but that is exactly what Li Qi admires about him.

Wang Gen is talented and will surely have a bright future. He is also loyal, upright and honest, and can be a good friend of Li Xianmu. If he can take charge of the Censorate in the future, he will surely be a powerful figure in the Ming Dynasty and a good assistant to Li Xianmu.

"There have been many rumors circulating in Beijing lately. Should the teacher respond to them?"

There were indeed many rumors circulating in the capital. Some said that Li Qi was noble because of his Jiangnan bloodline, some said that Li Qi had long been in cahoots with the Prince of Yan in order to be given important positions, and some said that Li Qi was a sycophant of the Princess of Lin'an. In short, all sorts of rumors were aimed at ruining Li Qi's reputation.

Li Qi wasn't angry at all; instead, he chuckled softly and asked, "How many people believe it?"

Wang Gen recalled, "There weren't many people who completely believed it; they were mostly fools. Most of the common people in the capital were half-believing and half-doubting. As for the scholars, almost none of them believed it, especially those who had read your classics. At least, others already looked down on you, so whether this happened or not made no difference to them."

"This is it."

Li Qi took a sip of tea and said calmly, "As a teacher, I am a renowned scholar. The foundation of my life lies in my teachings. The so-called 'expressing one's aspirations through objects' is ultimately not as good as expressing one's aspirations through words."

What truly endures through the ages are those shining classics, and those who are willing to follow them will naturally not be disturbed.

As for the rest, it's pointless to say more. People's hearts are like flowing water. Right now, the voice of the Fang faction is louder, so people seem to be on their side. But once the Yuan History case is exposed, people's hearts will flow to our side.

These ethereal things are only useful at the most crucial moments.

It must be able to defeat the enemy or turn defeat into victory as soon as it is brought out.

Now that they can't kill their teacher, all this fuss is just a laughingstock.

……

The commotion in the capital had no impact on the imperial court.

The first two months of the Yongle reign passed quickly, and the first day of the first month of the second year of the Yongle reign was the day of the grand court assembly.

These court assemblies are when the most officials are present, and they are usually ceremonial, with no major events taking place.

However, if something happens during such a court assembly, the impact will be the widest because there are so many people involved. Even for the sake of the court's dignity, it must be dealt with completely and cleanly.

Li Qihou attracted much attention when he stood in front of the palace gate. He was a prominent figure in the capital recently, and the emperor wanted to overturn the case against the Duke of Han.

Many officials came up to him to try and get close to him.

After all, if the case is truly overturned, Li Qi will no longer be limited to his position as a fifth-rank Grand Secretary, but can be granted a prestigious title.

Although he was a relative of the emperor and, according to the regulations of the dynasty, could not hold the high position of one of the Nine Ministers, if he were to serve as a Vice Minister of a department and participate in state affairs, his prestige would be far greater than it is now. Moreover, he was not a lone official, but a renowned Confucian scholar. After Fang Xiaoru's death, no one in the Confucian community could rival him. If he were to raise his voice, many would surely respond.

As for the outcome, it depends on the result of the contest between the two sides. However, most people still favor Li Qi to win. After all, he has the support of a powerful emperor. If Li Qi is in an unfavorable situation, the emperor will immediately step in to support him, and the Zhejiang faction will definitely lose.

Throughout history, no emperor with real power has ever lost a power struggle.

hiss.

The ministers who thought of this couldn't help but gasp. Something was wrong. Wasn't this a sign of malice?
If the emperor were to actually take sides, it would inevitably damage both Li Qi's and the emperor's prestige.

Leaving the emperor aside for now, the most important thing for a great Confucian scholar like Li Qi is his reputation. If his reputation is affected, then things will get very serious.

Li Qi naturally thought of this point. He could only say that not everyone in the Fang faction was an ordinary person, after all, it was a place where outstanding people and resources were abundant.

Even Fang Xiaoru, whom Li Qi had always looked down upon, was simply misplaced. If he were put in charge of the Ministry of Rites, he would certainly be making the best use of his talents.

Li Qi and Xie Jin were talking. Today's grand court assembly was destined to be anything but peaceful. As the palace gates opened and the officials lined up to enter the palace, Xie Jin whispered, "Jinghe, don't worry. Today is the beginning of their demise."

The sky was still overcast and somewhat dark. Rows of palace servants carried lanterns as they walked out. Along the palace path leading into the palace, many lanterns were also hung high to light the way for the officials.

Such grand court assemblies are guided by officials who know how to walk and when to perform rituals. Anyone who has organized team-building activities knows that it is very difficult to get hundreds of people to work together.

Especially in ancient times, when there was no communication, it would take repeated training to get hundreds of officials to shout "Long live the Emperor" at the same time.

An interesting incident occurred during the Ming Dynasty. For a long time, court officials would shout "Long live the Emperor!" three times upon entering the palace, which is the "Long live the Emperor, long live the Emperor, long live the Emperor" often seen in TV dramas. However, Zhu Yuanzhang liked to do things differently, and he felt that no one could live to be ten thousand years old. Such congratulatory words were too empty, so he changed them.

The three shouts of "Long live the Emperor!" were changed into four-character phrases: the first shout was "Heaven has bestowed virtue upon us," the second was "Peace and tranquility throughout the land," and the third was "May Your Majesty be blessed with boundless happiness." As a result, just by adding two characters, the court sessions immediately became sparsely attended. Later, Zhu Yuanzhang had no choice but to change it back to the three shouts of "Long live the Emperor!" After that, no emperor ever had the time to change it again.

Once the officials entered the hall, the senior officials could stand inside, but many others had to stand outside. It was the dead of winter, and if they weren't dressed warmly enough, they might even fall ill after standing there for several hours.

Li Qi's official rank was not high, but as a Grand Secretary, he received preferential treatment. In addition, he was the consort of the eldest princess and an elder of many clans in the palace. Therefore, he not only had a place in the palace, but also stood at the front. He was not surrounded by other Grand Secretaries or other civil officials, but by other consorts, such as the consort of Princess Huaiqing, who was granted a marquisate during the Yongle reign.

There were many people in the hall. In addition to the Nine Ministers and the heads of various ministries, the censors of the Censorate, and the supervising secretaries of the Six Ministries, who were key officials of the Ming Dynasty, there were also princes such as Zhu Gaochi, Zhu Gaoxu, and Zhu Gaosui. However, they had not yet been granted titles because the emperor had not yet decided on a crown prince. Therefore, the Prince of Han and the Prince of Zhao had not been granted titles either.

After a short wait, His Majesty the Emperor finally entered the hall. After the officials shouted "Long live the Emperor!" three times, the normal meeting process began.

The moment the chief eunuch finished speaking, “Speak if you have something to report, otherwise the court is adjourned,” two voices rang out simultaneously in the hall.

"I have this note!"

All the officials turned their gazes in that direction, and their eyes immediately narrowed. Fang Xiaoru's student, Lin Jiayou, had come for Li Qi.

The other person was Xie Jin, a Hanlin Academician, who was highly valued by the Emperor after the Yongle reign. Most importantly, the whole court knew that he was a good friend of Li Qi, and he was demoted during the Jianwen reign because of Li Qi.

His sudden remarks at this grand court assembly could very well be related to Li Qi.

He truly deserves to be called the most influential figure in the capital these days; the moment the grand court assembly began, he became the center of attention.

Everyone turned their attention to Li Qi, only to find him looking down at his nose and ears, as if everything in the hall was irrelevant to him, without a single superfluous expression, somewhat like a stone statue in a temple.

"What do you wish to report, Minister Jie?"

As expected, the emperor chose to let Xie Jin speak first. The other person was quite regretful and indignant, but had no choice but to retreat back to the court, as he dared not be disrespectful in front of the emperor.

Xie Jin stepped out of the ranks under the curious gazes of the crowd, then kowtowed on the ground and said loudly, "Your Majesty, I have been appointed as a Hanlin Academician, in charge of historical records. The other day, I happened to see the history books of the previous dynasty, and I was immediately filled with resentment."

Historically, the purpose of recording the history of the previous dynasty was twofold: first, to definitively conclude its fate, indicating that its dynasty had already perished; and second, to inherit the succession and demonstrate the legitimacy of our own dynasty.

"Our Great Ming Dynasty has the merit of restoring China. Emperor Taizu once said that we inherited the dynasty of the Song Dynasty, so why should we write history for the Mongol Yuan Dynasty, and even write the 'History of Yuan' in such a grand manner? I request that the historical records be revised and renamed 'A Century of History of China Since the End of the Song Dynasty', to demonstrate the glorious achievements of our Great Ming Dynasty in restoring China!"

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P.S.: Another 10,000 words! Brothers, please vote with your monthly tickets! More tomorrow!

(End of this chapter)