The struggle for the throne during the Jiajing reign

Chapter 87 Comrades

Zhu Zaizhen stood up and walked to the window. The morning light slanted through the windowpane, shining on his face. Looking at the layers of palaces and flying eaves outside the window, he felt that there was much to be done.

He was certainly aware of Zhang Juzheng's shortcomings, but to achieve great things, one should focus on people's strengths and overlook their weaknesses, as the saying goes, no one is perfect.

Compared to Zhang Juzheng's strengths, his weaknesses are not worth mentioning.

Zhang Juzheng sensed the excitement of Prince Jing, which made him both happy to be recognized and somewhat apprehensive.

"Your Highness, I am but a compiler in the Hanlin Academy, of low rank and insignificant position. Why have you come to me like this?"

He was successful in his youth and was once arrogant, but after arriving in the capital, he found that there were too many outstanding people. There were heroes all over the world, like carp crossing a river, and hidden talents emerged one after another.

Very few were able to stand out from the crowd, but among all the civil and military officials, King Jing firmly chose him.

So many days have passed, and Prince Jing's movements that day are no longer a secret. The first thing he did after leaving the palace was to go straight to the Hanlin Academy, and then to the Shuchang Hall.

He didn't think it was just a coincidence. A wise man like King Jing wouldn't treat him with the respect due to a national hero just because of a coincidence.

Zhu Zaizhen turned around, leaning against the window frame, the morning light casting a faint outline around him.

"Because we share the same ideals."

Zhu Zaizhen's tone was calm, but because his words came from the heart, they carried more weight than any eloquent or impassioned rhetoric.

"If it weren't for this, why would you have come here?"

Xu Jie has become the Minister of Personnel, so promoting you would be a piece of cake. You can simply follow the established path to get promoted and make a fortune.

With your talent and Xu Jie's support, you could become a cabinet minister or a high-ranking official, gaining both fame and fortune. Why not?

But you still came, knowing full well that choosing to stand on my side would ruin your reputation and make you unacceptable to the literati, yet you still came.

There could be no other reason besides the ideal in our hearts.

Therefore, I am very pleased; it is easy to find cronies, but difficult to find comrades!

Zhang Juzheng looked into Zhu Zaizhen's eyes, nodded slowly and solemnly, and then stood up to bow again. He felt very warm inside.

A lot has happened at the Hanlin Academy these past few days, the biggest dispute being who should go to the palace to instruct the two princes.

The competition was fierce on Prince Yu's side, while Prince Jing's side had very few people, mostly those who had been stuck in the Hanlin Academy for eight or nine years without achieving their goals.

When he stepped forward to volunteer to serve as the tutor to King Jing, everyone looked at him with astonishment, followed by disgust and rejection.

Those others were desperate; they entered the palace as tutors to Prince Jing only to gain seniority and be sent to remote areas. But Zhang Juzheng was different; his future didn't require such a path. So, there was only one possibility left.

He was truly going to assist King Jing, a betrayal that the Qingliu faction could not tolerate.

Several of his classmates immediately severed ties with him, vowing never to associate with him again!

But he didn't care. Just as King Jing said at this moment, it's easy to get promoted and make money together, but it's difficult to overcome difficulties and help the world together.

After realizing that Prince Yu was incapable of shouldering great responsibilities and unable to save the Ming Dynasty, he had made up his mind.

As long as King Jing remains steadfast in his ambition to revive the dynasty, he is willing to wholeheartedly assist him.

High official positions and generous salaries are what everyone desires, and leaving a name in history is also what everyone seeks. But compared to all of these, what he wanted to do even more was to save the world and the people, eliminate the long-standing malpractices in the court, and revitalize the Ming Dynasty!

"Yan Party—" This was the only thing that Zhang Juzheng found somewhat difficult to accept.

"Those are the imperialists," Zhu Zaizhen replied simply.

They were part of the Emperor's faction, not the Yan faction, and certainly not the Jingwang faction, so there was never any question of acceptance or rejection.

Zhu Zaizhen didn't say anything more, and neither did Zhang Juzheng. No matter how much they said, it was useless. Without power, any ideals or reforms were just empty talk.

Fortunately, they are both young, and if they start saving now, there is great potential!

Zhang Juzheng began his lecture, using the example of the university to explain his philosophy, while Zhu Zaizhen listened quietly.

"Uncle, did you really go?"

Xu Jie asked in a low voice, finding it hard to accept. Even when Zhang Juzheng wrote a birthday poem for Yan Song, he had never felt this way, because he had also written one.

However, going to teach Prince Jing is completely different from being passive or active. If you go passively, it is just the duty of an official of the Hanlin Academy. If you go actively, it is to surrender and show loyalty.

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Xu Jie didn't quite understand. He had already told Zhang Juzheng that he would wait two more years before transferring him to the position of Principal of the Ministry of Rites. This was considered the most prestigious and prestigious shortcut to promotion by scholars, a step-by-step and safe path.

He could remain completely untainted by the Yan faction's influence, while also cultivating his talents and reputation in the Hanlin Academy and the Ministry of Rites, patiently awaiting the opportune moment.

How could we abandon purity for filth, and discard excellence for inferiority?

He did cultivate disciples; throughout the court, there were quite a few people who had received his support.

But Zhang Juzheng was different. He truly regarded him as his successor. He read Zhang Juzheng's "Memorial on Current Affairs" several times, and each time he felt that Zhang Juzheng was more insightful and pragmatic than he was in his youth.

He originally intended to protect this peerless weapon, bide his time, and wait for the opportune moment to push it out of the mountains and rise to great heights.

Unexpectedly, the sword couldn't wait for its wielder and chose its own sheath, joining another guild.

Is it because Prince Yu is incompetent?

Or was it because King Jing promised him something that no one else could give him?

Xu Jie couldn't figure it out. He vaguely felt that Zhang Juzheng's move wasn't for promotion or fame.

"Minister, he should be expelled from the Hanlin Academy!"

Xu Jie shook his head, looking at the indignant scholars who were lecturing on the Five Classics: "He went to teach Prince Jing; which article of the Great Ming Law did he violate?"

"this--"

The lecturers were selected by imperial decree from the Hanlin Academy. Whether Zhang Juzheng volunteered or was recommended, he followed the established procedures openly and aboveboard.

Hanlin Academy Lecturer Liu Yong said with a stern face: "He is certainly innocent under the law, but this trend must not be allowed to continue!"

If he can take the initiative to attach himself to Prince Jing today, others will follow suit tomorrow, all vying to attach themselves to the princes and colluding with the Yan faction to disrupt the court!

If everyone acted in this way, where would the integrity of the scholars of our Great Ming Dynasty be? Where would the order of the imperial court be?

As soon as Liu Yong said this, the Hanlin scholars around him nodded in agreement, all of them showing indignation and shared hatred, as if Zhang Juzheng had not gone to give Prince Jing a lesson, but rather to undermine the foundation of the Qingliu faction.

Xu Jie remained calm. If he couldn't figure it out for the time being, he would wait and see. It wasn't that he didn't want to punish Zhang Juzheng, but firstly, he had no reason to do so, given that Zhang was just a newly promoted editor.

Aside from submitting a memorial on current affairs, writing a few poems for some high-ranking officials, and drafting several memorials, he did nothing else.

He did not embezzle or break the law, did not overstep his bounds or offend his superiors, and certainly did not cause any disruption to the court.

Without legitimate evidence of wrongdoing, it is difficult to remove a Hanlin scholar who came from the legitimate imperial examination system.

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