The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

Because Li Dongyang met his son and learned about Zhang Zhou's skyrocketing prestige among ordinary scholars, he felt depressed and couldn't bring himself to do anything.

After the morning court the next day, Li Dongyang was about to leave the palace, but Xie Qian may have discovered some clues about him and left the palace with him.

"Yu Qiao, what's wrong with you?" Li Dongyang looked over.

Logically speaking, Xie Qian should go to the cabinet to check in, and should not go with him.

Xie Qian said: "I see you are a little slack in court today. Could it be that you have something to hide? Sometimes it's hard to talk in the palace, but you can talk freely in private."

"Ugh!"

Li Dongyang sighed.

There are many so-called close friends around him, but perhaps Xie Qian is the only one who can get along with him day and night and understand his character.

Even Liu Jian didn't care so much about his happiness, anger, sorrow, and happiness because of his superior status.

Li Dongyang then told Li Zhaoxian about taking the provincial examination. After he finished speaking, he saw Xie Qian smiling at the side.

"Uncle Zheng's condition has improved, what are you worried about? Those who came out of Guozixue should not accept anyone who wants to take the exam, but should support him." Xie Qian seemed to admire Li Zhaoxian's taking the exam.

"You know that's not what I'm talking about." Li Dongyang said.

"Exactly." Xie Qian waved his hands and said, "If anything happens, just like Ming Jing, just pretend to be confused. Do you think there is a Gongsheng student in your family and not mine? Alas!"

Only then did Li Dongyang realize that the person who was worried about Zhang Zhou's hosting of the Shuntian Prefecture Township Examination was not only his father, but also another father.

That is Xie Qian.

"Could it be that I am trying to win over him..." Li Dongyang looked at Xie Qian.

"Yeah." Xie Qian nodded and said, "It's a shame to say that since he entered Guozixue, for some reason, I rarely see his face, and I have neglected the supervision of his knowledge. In the impression, he is still a He was a child, but he never thought that in the blink of an eye he would get married and start a family, and even try to walk to the court."

The son Xie Qian mentioned was his second son Xie Pi.

Although Xie Pi was from Yuyao, Zhejiang, he was able to study in the Imperial College due to his father's influence. Historically, he took the Shuntian Prefecture Provincial Examination in the 14th year of Hongzhi, and won the title of Jieyuan in one fell swoop, and ranked first in the palace examination in the 18th year of Hongzhi. Third, enter the court by exploring flowers.

After all, Xie Qian was also the number one scholar, and his son Xie Pi was also a genius. More importantly, Xie Pi once became a disciple of Li Dongyang, which is equivalent to being half of Li Dongyang's disciples. Therefore, these colleagues taught each other's sons. There is a layer of relationship involved.

Li Dongyang said: "Zhang Bingkuan compiled "Huidian" before, but his reputation is not obvious, but for some reason, he seems to be quite respected among the younger generation. Yu Qiao, do you know what's going on?"

"The study of the mind."

Xie Qian said, "I asked Yi Zhong and learned that nowadays, scholars in both the north and the south are advocating a kind of Confucian learning called Xin Xue, and the person who founded this academic discipline is Zhang Bingkuan. It seems that he is the same I have read some of his books. There are many absurd remarks, but they seem to be popular among young scholars. However, there are also some old scholars who are finding fault with him. If it were not for his deep understanding of Your Majesty trusts me, and with his current title, I am afraid that he will never be tolerated in the discussion of scholars."

"Ah."

Li Dongyang was also a little worried.

Everyone understands that Zhang Zhouquan relied on the emperor's praise, his title, and his status in the court to obtain the convenience he had today, both in the government and in the public.

Even in the direction of writing books and writing works, it is like a divine help, because those who want to go against Zhang Zhou are still afraid of being liquidated by Zhang Zhou, so that those old scholars who used to suppress the new forces with a straight face , but there was nothing he could do about Zhang Zhou.

If this were an ordinary person... he would have been criticized to a fault long ago, and he probably wouldn't be able to survive in the Ming Dynasty.

Are you still able to create and promote your own academic work?
Li Dongyang said: "Then is there any way to prevent scholars from pursuing his academic pursuits from the root?"

Xie Qian looked over in surprise.

He understood what Li Dongyang meant. Now that we know such a thing, we can't continue to sit back and watch Zhang Zhou become bigger and stronger. Then we must use our status as a cabinet minister and even a role model for scholars in the world to kill Zhang Zhou's knowledge. In the cradle.

"It's not easy." Xie Qian said, "If this had happened two years ago, it might have been okay. Who would have thought that the Xin Xue has spread all over the country quietly in the past two years, and the Xin Xue is also Confucianism, or It has its own meaning, but rashly blocking the spread may cause the scholars to feel uneasy."

Although Xie Qian also resisted Zhang Zhou's rise, in many things, Xie Qian also wanted to lose face.

If you want to use your own voice to suppress Zhang Zhou, you can do it in the court, but now you want to extend the battlefield to academia?

Wouldn't it be said that the big one bullied the small ones, or even relied on the old and betrayed the old?
Young people really may not follow their example.

They control the ministers of the DPRK and China because they have channels for promotion, and because they are all old officials, they are forced to side with the traditional civil servants.

But those young scholars can be said to be young and vigorous, and have little entanglement with the interests of their cabinet. They seem to be more free-wheeling in many things, and are more inclined to follow the call of their hearts, rather than being driven by interests to compete with Zhang Zhou. right.

Li Dongyang asked: "Then do you think Cheng Keqin ever stepped forward to help in this matter?"

Xie Qian saw Li Dongyang's persistence.

Li Dongyang had tolerated Zhang Zhou's rise to the greatest extent before, but seeing that Zhang Zhou was about to become famous in academia, Li Dongyang might not be able to bear it anymore.

After all, among the government and the public, the "famous teacher" who had always been the most respected and praised, or the person who was the teacher of scholars in the world, was not Liu Jian or Xie Qian, but Li Dongyang.

Many people are proud to visit Li Dongyang.

Now Zhang Zhou has robbed Li Dongyang of his title.

Xie Qian shook his head: "I don't know."

"Then why can a young man be so accomplished in learning? There were many unreasonable things in the previous compilation of "Huidian". It is absolutely impossible for him to compile it in just a few months at his age. "Huidian" has been repaired, or someone is helping secretly, Cheng Keqin should be one of them, right?"

Li Dongyang had a stubborn temper and seemed to insist on exploring the matter clearly.

Xie Qian said: "Although Keqin has returned to the Hanlin Academy recently, his reputation has not been prominent, and he has almost been forgotten. If you say that he is secretly helping Zhang Bingkuan, there is no basis for it."

Li Dongyang said with a bit of sternness: "Then start from him. Zhang Bingkuan's gang members should never appear in the Hanlin Academy."

Xie Qian asked: "Then help..."

This is asking, if you are still targeting Cheng Minzheng, do you want to deal with Wang Hao together?

"As a human teacher, why should Wang Jizhi have some respect? Doesn't he know that his disciple's status in the government is higher than his, and that he has no place to stand?"

Li Dongyang's intention was to target Cheng Minzheng first and completely suppress Cheng Minzheng until he left the court.

As for Wang Hao, although we are alienated from him now, he can still be saved after all, because being Zhang Zhou's tutor is also very stressful. Later, Zhang Zhouzhen was promoted in the Hanlin Academy system, and Wang Hao himself had no face. Retired on my own.

"Yeah." Xie Qian nodded. He seemed to understand where Li Dongyang was angry now, and he also understood that he had to start with the people around Zhang Zhou.Zhang Zhou was left alone.

This seems to be consistent with Xiao Jing's strategy of cutting Wang Shouren first.

……

……

Inside the Qianqing Palace.

Xiao Jing presented some of the memorials to impeach Wang Shouren to Zhu Youtang.

Several memorials were very purposeful and well-timed. It was obviously arranged by Xiao Jing behind the scenes, but there is no clue as to how they worked. Moreover, in the memorial of Wang Shouren, it also appears that It is reasonable and well-founded.

"...Your Majesty, although Uncle Xin Xin has outstanding abilities in running the army, he is too prominent in his bravery, the sudden appearance of an army, and even fighting alone, instead of fighting steadily step by step. With his talents and the ability to run the army, he has no security. The power. In several memorials, there are also memorials from Datong. In particular, the chaos in taxation and treasury in Datong was mentioned. Many people took the opportunity to make money. These people are the direct descendants of Uncle Xinjian... Uncle Xinjian said to these people, It’s also a little indulgent.”

Xiao Jing would never talk to the emperor like this in the past.

But now he is a dead pig and is not afraid of boiling water. He will be forced to leave anyway. Since he has to do something before leaving, he can't defeat Zhang Zhou, but he can't suppress a fledgling Wang Shouren?
Even if you, Wang Shouren, are not afraid, you should still worry about your father who is a Hanlin official in the court. It is precisely because you, Wang Shouren, also have "weaknesses" that it is often easier to attack.

Zhu Youtang said: "These people are still questioning Uncle Xin Xin at this time? Do they think they are more capable?"

The emperor was not targeting Xiao Jing, but those who participated in the impeachment of Wang Shouren.

Or from the emperor's point of view, Xiao Jing was regarded as the narrator rather than the culprit behind the scenes.

It is also because Zhu Youtang has always been too trusting in the people around him. Even if he knows that the people around him are full of tricks, he can protect his shortcomings and basically will not pursue them.

Xiao Jing said: "Your Majesty, the ministers of the DPRK have mentioned it before, saying that it is an expedient measure to use honorable men and nobles to concurrently serve as military officials. Now that Datong is relatively stable, it seems that there is no need to build a new governor for local military affairs. This can easily lead to a situation where there is no distinction between civil and military affairs, and between military and political affairs. This will make it difficult for officials below to do their jobs."

In the Ming Dynasty, there were two groups of people, one civil and one military, who mobilized and commanded the troops.

Those who mobilize troops naturally have the power to plan everything and manage all aspects of military and political affairs, while Wu Xun can just follow orders and act. Even when leading troops to fight, civil servants are often the leader.

But after Zhang Zhou's rise, the situation was very different from before.

Zhang Zhou's side...the people below are really helpless, even if they want to take action, they can't.

Then we can only take action from Wang Shouren, who is in a similar situation to Zhang Zhou.

Zhu Youtang was silent for a while.

It's not that Zhu Youtang doesn't trust Wang Shouren enough, but he also knows the rules of the court. Being both a player and a referee will inevitably lead to trouble. Zhu Youtang respects and trusts Zhang Zhou enough, and he doesn't let him. Zhang Zhou went to the northwest to command and mobilize troops. Now that Wang Shouren has been staying in the position of proclaiming the general system, it will seem unreasonable.

"Your Majesty, there are also ministers who have suggested that Bo Xinjian be allowed to return to the imperial court and serve in the Governor's Mansion. There is a camp in the capital that needs training, and there is also a need for training in the Yanwu Hall. After the generals from all over the country arrive in the capital, they also need There are capable people to cultivate it.”

Xiao Jing said, "I think as a slave, a capable person can fulfill his duty no matter what job he is on, and he will not betray your majesty's trust."

"Yes." Zhu Youtang nodded this time.

When the emperor looks at this matter, he will not feel that transferring generals away from the border means losing trust in them.

Otherwise, he would have sent Zhang Zhou to the northwest instead of staying in the capital.

Those who remain at the emperor's feet are often more capable.

With such an idea, the emperor would naturally feel that it would not be a big deal to transfer Wang Shouren back to the capital. Anyway, now is not the time to flatten the grassland. It will take several years of preparation. Then Wang Shouren will come back first to train more soldiers. Will... simply couldn't be better.

Seeing that there was something interesting about this, Xiao Jing climbed up the pole and said: "Your Majesty, the Minister of Civil Affairs, Ma Shangshu, has been recommending Liu Daxia, the governor of Xuanfu, saying that this person has the ability to make plans. Since this year, Xuanfu's treasury, taxation, etc. Things are much better than in the past few years. It seems appropriate for him to coordinate the affairs of Xuanda."

When Xiao Jing said this, he seemed to be waiting for the emperor's approval.

Then his plan will come true.

But he didn't expect that Zhu Youtang suddenly looked at him sharply and asked, "Why are you so anxious to transfer Uncle Xinjian away from the northwest?"

"Ah?" When Xiao Jing heard this, he suddenly felt that he was being fished out by the emperor to enforce the law. He quickly knelt down and said, "I have no such intention. I just want to make a request. It is to convey the opinions of the officials in the court. It is not selfless. To make a statement."

"is it?"

Zhu Youtang's expression was very stern, but he was not too annoyed and seemed not to do anything to Xiao Jing.

Xiao Jing could only think that this was the emperor's test of his attitude.

Xiao Jing said: "Your Majesty, if you are not sure about this matter, you can first ask Duke Cai Guo for his opinion."

"When I employ people, I don't have to ask Bingkuan about everything. Do you think I don't have any ideas?"

Zhu Youtang's tone was still stern, "Besides, let me ask Bingkuan how to call Uncle Xinxin, what can Bingkuan say? He personally recommended Uncle Xinxin, and watched step by step to see Uncle Xinxin reach his current status, regardless of whether Whether he is guaranteed or demoted, others will gossip about him. Some may say that he is jealous of talents, or others may say that he is shielding his cronies... I can even think of the faces of the people involved in this matter!"

Xiao Jing's heart was full of energy.

He was thinking, Your Majesty, you know the tricks of those ministers very well.

Ministers always do things over and over again and find the reason.

What Confucianism pays most attention to is sophistry.

"Uncle Xin Xin can return to Beijing, but not now." Zhu Youtang finally made his decision on the matter, "Not this year, not next year! I can't let Bing Kuan set foot on the battlefield, even if it's just to let Uncle Xin Xin be a frightening monster. The evil god, he should stay in the northwest. Otherwise, how would the Tatars know where the power of the Ming Dynasty lies? As for the financial and taxation matters, there is no need to bring them to me one by one!"

Xiao Jing felt a little disappointed.

He had obviously considered the emperor's thoughts and thought about all aspects of the matter, and felt very confident before bringing it up in front of the emperor.

Who knew that even if Zhang Zhouren was not in the capital, he could still protect Wang Shouren from a distance.

This made Xiao Jing extremely powerless.

It seems that he also understands that even if he wants to retreat, he will have no chance to shake the status of the people around Zhang Zhou in the court. This has nothing to do with the issue of whether Zhang Zhou can be saved or not.

But in that...

The emperor had identified this group of people. Unless Zhang Zhou said he had to change, others would not even have a chance to intervene. (End of chapter)