Huangming

Chapter 33 Daily Sermons: Testing and Confrontation

Emerging from Duanbentang, Wei Chao felt like a walking corpse.

Having overthrown the ancestor Wang An, he originally thought he was the ancestor himself.

Unexpectedly, Wei Zhongxian suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

Although he was just a court eunuch, given His Majesty's high regard for him, it was probably only a matter of time before he was replaced.

Does this mean that in the future, he will have to call the person who calls him "father" "ancestor"?
Isn't this messing up the generational hierarchy?
"Hey~"

Wei Chao was walking when he bumped into someone, and the person he bumped into was none other than Wang Tiqian.

"Grandpa, are you alright?"

Wang Tiqian quickly stepped forward to help Wei Chao.

Wei Chao waved his hand and said, "Don't call me ancestor anymore."

Wang Tiqian raised an eyebrow and hurriedly asked, "Ancestor, has something happened?"

Wei Chao then recounted what had happened at Duanbentang not long ago.

After hearing this, Wang Tiqian immediately said to Wei Chao, "Congratulations, Ancestor!"

Wei Chao was confused by Wang Tiqian's words.

"This is a bad thing, so why offer congratulations?"

Wang Tiqian said, “Grand Ancestor, you may not know this, but thoroughly investigating corruption is something that offends people. Think about it! Since it is something that offends people, can you really get away unscathed? His Majesty’s decision not to use you is to protect you. It seems that it is only a matter of time before you are promoted to the position of Director of Ceremonial Affairs.”

Yup!

Wang Tiqian's words gave Wei Chao a sense of clarity, as if the clouds had parted and the sun had shone through.

So it turns out His Majesty wasn't fickle; on the contrary, he was protecting him?

"You're so clever. When it comes to making His Majesty happy, ten Wei Zhongxians can't compare to me."

He rolled his eyes and said, "Your Majesty seems to have taken a fancy to the palace maid Zhang Yun'er today. Prepare a room for her in Cining Palace and have her move out of the shared dormitory. Also, select some palace maids with good backgrounds and beautiful appearances to serve Your Majesty."

What the superiors like, the subordinates will surely follow.

In order to maintain its power, the Wei Dynasty had no choice but to rush down the path of keeping the emperor happy.

September 12th, the first year of the Taichang reign.

After Emperor Tianqi ascended the throne, the first lecture of the Ming Dynasty was held in the Wenhua Hall.

The Ming Dynasty's imperial lectures were not only academic activities, but also political ceremonies in which the emperor and his ministers discussed state affairs.

At this moment, the throne and lecture table have been set up in the Wenhua Hall. To the east of the throne is the seat for the lecturer, and to the west is the seat for the ministers in charge of the audience. Outside the hall, the red steps are lined with guards and ceremonial attendants.

The three speakers have already arrived.

They are Grand Secretary Fang Congzhe, Grand Secretary of the Dongge Pavilion Liu Yizhu, and Grand Secretary of the Dongge Pavilion Han Kuang.

The two officials in charge of displaying the books were one of them. One of them was broad-shouldered and narrow-waisted, with a full beard, looking exactly like a military general. He was none other than Sun Chengzong, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites and concurrently a Reader-in-Waiting of the Hanlin Academy.

The attending ministers included more than a dozen cabinet ministers and ministers of the six ministries, who were responsible for asking questions and participating in political discussions.

At the beginning of the hour of Chen (7-9 AM), Zhu Youxiao, dressed in ordinary clothes, rode in a carriage to the Wenhua Hall.

The music troupe in the Wenhua Hall immediately played "The Song of Saint An".

The emperor first went to the statue of Confucius in the east room of the Wenhua Hall and performed four bows before moving to the throne in the main hall of the Wenhua Hall.

The official in charge of displaying the books knelt down to display the classic texts, while the lecturer stood beside the table holding an ivory tablet.

Today's lecture is on the "On the Way of the Ruler" from the *Zhenguan Zhengyao* (Essentials of Governance in the Zhenguan Era). Han Kuang slowly read aloud the following passage:
"The way of a ruler is to first and foremost care for the people. If one sacrifices the people to enrich himself, it is like cutting off his own flesh to feed his belly; he will be full but die."

This is the first chapter of the Zhenguan Zhengyao (Essentials of Governance in the Zhenguan Era), which focuses on the discussion between Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin, and his ministers (such as Wei Zheng and Fang Xuanling) about "what kind of governance a monarch should follow".

Its core is not a single story, but rather reveals the fundamental principles of governance through dialogue between the emperor and his ministers and historical reflection.

The main principles are to put the people first, uphold morality and be cautious in punishment, and appoint virtuous officials and accept advice.

Clearly, Han Kuang chose to read this passage with the intention of educating the emperor.

After Han Kuang finished reading it once, Zhu Youxiao began to read along, repeating it ten times until he was sure that the punctuation and pronunciation were correct before stopping.

Immediately afterwards, Han Kuang began translating the contents of "On the Way of the Ruler" into plain language.

Each lecturer had a different perspective on the classics. After Han Kuang translated, Liu Yizhu followed, and then Fang Congzhe translated.

If you listen to both, it will be bright, and if you listen to one, it will be dark.

After the three lecturers finished their explanations, Zhu Youxiao lightly tapped the lecture table with his ivory tablet: "During the Zhenguan era, Wei Zheng advised Emperor Taizong that 'water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it.' Han Gong, do you think this saying has any relevance to this year's increased levy on the Liaodong military tax?"

Han Kuang, caught off guard by the young emperor's question, pondered for a moment and replied, "The people are like fish stranded in a dry rut; increasing taxes is like cutting flesh to heal a wound."

"What does Lord Liu think?" The emperor turned to Liu Yiju, who came from the Donglin Academy.

"Emperor Taizu established fixed tax rates; increasing them is not a long-term solution."

Zhu Youxiao then asked: "During the reign of Emperor Taizong of Tang, the people were as impoverished as fish stranded in a dried-up rut, which is why Wei Zheng advised that 'water can carry a boat.' I have heard that soldiers on the nine borders have even cut off the skin of their saddles to cook and eat. Gentlemen, please tell me—can the Zhenguan era and the Taichang era be compared? Should things be changed?"

Han Kuang, holding his tablet and bowing, replied, “During the Zhenguan era, the treasury was nearly empty, yet Emperor Taizong halted the construction of the Luoyang Palace to provide relief to disaster victims and dismissed the literati to clean up the bureaucracy. Now, the increased levies on Liaodong are like cutting flesh to mend a wound; the Taicang granary receives 4.5 million taels annually, while Liaodong consumes 6 million—this is not because the people are poor, but because the abuse of ‘profiting at the expense of the people’ has not been eliminated. Your Majesty should emulate Emperor Taizong’s way of ‘preserving the people,’ not by changing the old tax system, but by addressing the evil of concealed land occupation!”

Liu Yizhu slammed his tablet on the table and said, "The prosperity of the Zhenguan era lay in opening up channels for advice. Now, half of the positions of the Six Ministries' Censors are vacant, and the General of Jizhou falsely reported a beheading and received a reward of three thousand taels of silver! In the past, Wei Zheng submitted two hundred memorials a day, but now the court officials only know how to draft proposals with the words 'according to precedent.' If we don't change our approach—"

Liu Yiju suddenly turned to Fang Congzhe.

"This might lead to what Fang Xiaoru called 'rigid adherence to the past' during the Jingnan Rebellion!"

Fang Congzhe's hand trembled slightly as he held his official tablet and said, "Emperor Taizong overthrew the tyranny of Emperor Yang of Sui, and Emperor Taichang inherited the peace of Emperor Wanli. How can they be compared? Although some hidden lands have been lost, the system established by Emperor Taizu has remained unchanged for two hundred years. In my humble opinion, we should emulate Emperor Taizong's 'careful to the end as at the beginning,' not by abruptly changing the ancestral system, but by rigorously investigating corruption."

Han Kuang and Liu Yizhu began attacking Fang Congzhe.

Was she testing his attitude?
Zhu Youxiao pondered for a moment, then looked around at his ministers and said, "The matter is not about whether things change or remain the same, but about changing in a proper way! The ancestral system of the Ming Dynasty has protected our Ming Dynasty for more than 250 years. Can it be guaranteed for another 250 years?"

Clearly, Zhu Youxiao intended to make changes.

Fang Congzhe swallowed hard, feeling a sense of bleakness about his future.

Han Kuang and Liu Yizhu's eyes lit up, as if they had sensed some signal.

Han Kuang immediately said, "Your Majesty, please appoint more officials to ensure the smooth operation of the court!"

"Can!"

Zhu Youxiao had long wanted to add more officials, but those added had to be his own people or people he could use.

"The cabinet is vacant, so Li Ruhua, Minister of Revenue, and Sun Ruyou, Minister of Rites, are promoted to the cabinet."

Upon hearing this, Han Kuang and Liu Yizhu were not surprised; the entry of these two officials into the cabinet was actually within their expectations.

Fang Congzhe, however, had a bitter expression on his face.

Fang Congzhe concurrently served as Minister of Revenue, and only by taking charge of the Ministry of Revenue could he command all officials.

of course
In reality, the Six Departments didn't really pay him any attention.

Now that Li Ruhua, the Minister of Revenue, has joined the cabinet, doesn't that mean his authority in the Ministry of Revenue has been divided up?
Could it be that.
Is His Majesty hinting that I should resign?
(End of this chapter)