Chapter 510 Demon Book

San Yang returned to Yang Shiqi's mansion together. After walking to the side hall and sitting down, a servant immediately poured tea and water for them.

Yang Pu took a sip of the fragrant tea and said, "Everyone, what Hu Ruosi (Hu Yan) just said makes sense."

Yang Rong sighed and said: "But what Jie Jin said is not unreasonable. If we just look at the current direction of the government's governance, it is indeed not contradictory. It is just a drawback of this reform. It is not only reflected in education, but there is also a hidden worry, that is Human relations tend to be beneficial, and the world's moral standards are declining."

"Everything in the world is bustling for the sake of profit; everything in the world is bustling for the sake of profit."

Yang Shiqi took off his shawl and stood on the spot and said: "What Tai Shigong said was always right, but the situation is like this, what should we do?"

Both of them were silent.

The tide of the times is pushing these young heroes forward. From the original and simple political ethics, Sanyang has no resistance to rectifying the government. However, as he becomes more and more involved in the turbid dye vat of the temple, Sanyang... But they began to gradually realize that such a drastic reform move would definitely harm the fundamental interests of the gentry and civil servants. Once people sit in different positions, the things they think in their heads will naturally be different.

Sanyang has never imagined what it would be like if they were the ones responsible for the country.

But no matter how you ask about their true feelings, I am afraid that they will choose the fateful path of governing the country conservatively and adopting unrestricted indulgence and tolerance for the expansion of the gentry and civil servant class.

As for the reduction of redundant yamen staff, crackdowns on theft of state warehouses, and restrictions on procurement authority, it is probably impossible to happen.

Jiang Xinghuo dared to be the first in the world, but they did not. It was precisely because he realized the huge gap in administrative courage and style between himself and Jiang Xinghuo, and mixed with factors such as stance, that Sanyang's mentality changed. It has to be so twisted.

They want to be Jiang Xinghuo, but neither their political stance nor their class itself prevents them from betraying him.

But the current Ming Dynasty is not dominated by them.

Therefore, San Yang, who claimed to be a talented person in governing the world, could only drift with the waves of reform that swept over him one after another. While lamenting that the situation was changing, he could not help himself while living in the boat, never daring to jump into the water to fight the waves.

As a result, the current situation is formed where we want to be but cannot be, we want to do something but can't do anything, we can only gather together and sigh.

Two words, screw it.

"The momentum is set."

Yang Rong smiled bitterly and said, "If I'm not wrong, I'm afraid there will be a quarrel between the government and the public tomorrow."

Yang Pu was depressed for a long time, and then he frowned and choked out a sentence: "To rectify the administration of officials, it is bound to touch on the fundamentals. Jin Youzi and Lu Zhen's actions today are very suspicious, and they may not be intentional. You must know that the regulations on eliminating redundant yamen staff have just been handed down." Go to Shenfa Temple."

Yang Shiqi said calmly: "Lü Zhen's motives are indeed impure, but Hu Yan's worries are not unreasonable. It depends on how to understand the current trend in temples and the atmosphere among scholars and merchants. The disadvantages of valuing business and pursuing profit have existed since the Song Dynasty. It started, and it’s still the same now. If we don’t deal with it well, sooner or later the Ming Dynasty’s social customs will be the same as what Hu Yan said.”

"Are we going to do something?" Yang Pu hesitated for a moment and asked.

"Is there anything we can do?"

Yang Shiqi's rhetorical question left Yang Pu speechless.

Yes, although the three of them are in the cabinet and are very close to the empire's decision-making circle in terms of information, they all have inherent advantages. But in terms of actual power and rank, Sanyang is really the little Karami.

Now Zhu Gaochi is thinking about his mistakes behind closed doors. Jiang Xinghuo can not only do whatever he wants in the entire temple, but can also say that his will can be transmitted upwards and downwards. What should they do?

Standing out for Hu Yan?

Don't be ridiculous, friends are friends, but no one will waste their career for friends.

After a moment of reflection, Yang Rong said: "If you have the opportunity to speak, you still have to fight for it. Otherwise, if the wind changes, you may really lose the support of the Imperial College in the future."

Yang Shiqi nodded and said, "Just do your best."

Soon after, the other two people also returned home. Yang Shiqi sat in the study, feeling depressed.

The atmosphere within the Imperial College has changed drastically since last year.

The Imperial College in the early Ming Dynasty had a very special status in the temple. Because Lao Zhu liked to select talents from the Imperial College very much, there were many officials from the Imperial College. This led to the fact that even now, the Imperial College outnumbers the imperial examinations in terms of number. of.

And what do the supervisors of the Imperial College support?

Of course, they support policies that benefit them.

The concerns of these reserve officials are different from those of the officials who are currently working in their positions.

Moreover, they have the passion and righteousness of young people. Things like rectifying officialdom do not harm their interests at all and are in line with their views, so why won't they be supported?

——————

The incident unfolded faster than anyone expected.

It is so difficult to accurately define whether this is an accidental event, or whether it is just a powder keg accumulated by different contradictions and conflicts after the historical process reaches a certain key node, and is ignited by a fuse. huge explosion.

The next morning, Hu Yan got up early and had breakfast, then went for a walk in his courtyard. He was wearing a robe, black soap boots, a square scarf on his head, and a leather belt hanging around his waist. He looked like a great Confucian.

At this time, there was light rain in the sky, which wetted his clothes.

Hu Yan took a deep breath, looked up at the sky, and felt the coldness of the raindrops.

Spring rain is as precious as oil.

Today's spring rain seems to have come earlier than in Jianwen's time, and the rain is heavier.

The old mother walked out of the courtyard door: "Did you sleep well last night?"

Hu Yan smiled, turned around and said, "I slept well. Why are you up, mother?"

"I'm going to the temple to pray for blessings today, so get up early and prepare."

Later, Mother Hu continued to talk: "Let the Buddha bless my son's career to go smoothly. You are the only literary star in our family who has a glorious ancestor."

Hu Yan gave a wry smile and said, "It would be good if I don't get dismissed."

Mother Hu was stunned.

She held Hu Yan's hand and said anxiously: "But what did you do wrong? No, I, I have to..."

Seeing his mother panicking, Hu Yan patted her shoulder comfortingly and said softly: "Mom, you can go to the temple to pray. Don't worry about me. You know, my son has an upright personality and can't stand some things, so he said two things casually. Well, I don’t think anything will happen.”

"Oh, okay, okay."

Mother Hu looked at him doubtfully, but in the end she said nothing.

But when Hu Yan came to the Imperial College for duty, he found that not only was something going on, but it was also a big deal.

When Wang Siye saw him coming, he immediately came to greet him.

The person who took over the office of the Imperial College after Xun Zhan was no one else. It was Professor Wang Yunsheng and Wang who was recommended by the students of the Imperial College to debate scriptures when Jiang Xinghuo used contradictions to solve Tai Chi on Taiping Street.

Wang Yunsheng was originally a doctor from the Imperial Academy's Jiexin Hall. In the Imperial Academy system, the top managers are Jijiu and Siye, who are equivalent to the university presidents and vice-presidents in later generations; Jian Cheng is an official in charge of administration and academic affairs in the Imperial Academy, equivalent to later generations. The director of the Academic Affairs Office; the doctor is the director of the Imperial College responsible for teaching, equivalent to the deans of various colleges in later generations; the teaching assistants, Xuezheng, and Xueruan are the faculty and staff specifically responsible for teaching affairs.

And because of the rule set by Lao Zhu that "the imperial examination must be conducted in schools", the official school in the Ming Dynasty had the dual nature of an official educational institution and an imperial examination preparation institution. The core institution of the central official school was naturally the Imperial College as the highest institution, and the local-level official school. It mainly includes the various prefectures, prefectures, and county schools established according to local administrative divisions. There are professors in the prefecture, academic lecturers in the prefectures, and teaching envoys in the counties. That is to say, "the Imperial College is built inside to teach the world's talents, and there are prefectures and counties outside." "Learning is to educate the people to be handsome." Therefore, Wang Yunsheng, who had profound qualifications and was familiar with the classics, as a doctor from the Imperial College, was directly transferred to the professor of Songjiang Prefecture within the academic and political system, and served for one year. After getting out, he was naturally promoted and transferred back to the Imperial College, where he was promoted to Si Ye.

"Sacrifice wine, the students are already noisy."

Wang Yunsheng looked at Hu Yan and smiled bitterly.

Hu Yan was slightly startled and asked, "Why are we arguing?"

Wang Yunsheng explained.

Hu Yan knew as soon as he heard that the news circulating in the Imperial College was taking his words out of context last night, and then deliberately guiding public opinion and exaggerating the facts. The news circulating now has become that he opposed the rectification of officialdom. , and at the same time, he disagreed with the fact that the students of the Imperial College were taking the place of serving as officials at this time, which completely changed the meaning of his concerns about the academic style and world style at the beginning.

Taken out of context – Excerpted from “Don’t take things out of context.”

Then Wang Yunsheng sighed and said helplessly: "After I heard the news this morning, I quickly went to check and found out that it was caused by an anonymous letter. This anonymous letter stated that the imperial court was going to promote imperial students to become officials recently, and the sacrifice of wine was I object to this. I have confiscated many copies, but students in other departments and halls still distribute them everywhere, and in the process of spreading, they add more and more fuel to the story, arousing the excitement of the crowd."

He paused for a moment and then added: "In addition, I just received a letter from Jin Yiwei, asking about the recent situation in our Imperial College. It is said that some people take this very seriously."

Someone must be someone from above.

And what he said at the private banquet of middle and high-level officials last night could be spread throughout the Imperial College this morning. He said that no one was doing any conspiracy here. Even a person like Hu Yan would not be so naive to believe it. .

Therefore, there must be someone who wants to use this incident to incite the Imperial College, the most influential public opinion base among scholars, to achieve certain goals.

So, who are they, which factions are there, and what goals do they want to achieve?

This problem is very complicated. Without having accurate information, you can't figure it out even if you break your head for a while. It may even not be a certain faction at all, but everyone is adding fuel to the flames. Everyone is adding fuel to the fire of public opinion burning in the Imperial College, or even pouring oil on it.

Because Jiang Xinghuo's rectification of officialdom had such a comprehensive impact, the previous reforms basically only focused on minor repairs to the system, ideological confrontation, and economic actions. But now with the deepening of the reform process, it has Inevitably, we came to the most critical issue of official administration in the temple field.

This kind of matter involves fundamental interests, and no faction, force, or interested party can give in.

The most subtle thing is that although the Imperial College is only a low-level department, in the early Ming Dynasty, as the largest gathering place for scholars, it also served as the main position of public opinion and was also a testing ground for the wind direction of many temples.

For conservatives who have suffered losses in the process of rectifying government and eliminating redundant personnel, they hope to stir up trouble, even if doing so will push Hu Yan to the forefront or even sacrifice Hu Yan himself. These are unimportant. Hu Yan, a mellow scholar, was sacrificed in a tragic way, which was conducive to their subsequent counterattack.

For the reformists, of course they also hope to go further and push the reform to a new level in depth and breadth.

For the Peking clique brought by Zhu Gaochi and the officials who joined the gate wall, they hope that while promoting the reform, they will take the opportunity to make Jiang Xinghuo stumble, and Zhu Gaochi will come back to rectify the officialdom, thus giving them a bigger share. cake.

For those officials who were completely loyal to Zhu Di, the most effective way to consolidate imperial power was to stir up troubles, sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight, and watch the different factions fight to the detriment of both sides.

It’s so diverse and complicated, anything is possible.

No matter which faction they lean towards, for these students in the Imperial College, at this moment, their Lord Jijiu is a sinner who has betrayed their collective stance.

There are only individuals who betray the collective, but there is no collective that betrays the individual.

What's more, ruining a person's official career is a more fatal thing than ruining a person's financial path.

Therefore, Hu Yan can either publicly apologize for his "inappropriate remarks" in informal settings, or stick to his own judgment on social conduct and academic style, and be prepared to bear all the consequences.

Hu Yan was silent for a while, then suddenly smiled and said, "That means someone is adding fuel to the flames."

"How about letting Jin Yiwei come forward?"

It is not a secret that Jinyiwei focuses on monitoring the Imperial College, because the Taiping Street incident was too big last time. Although Jiang Xinghuo stopped him from knocking on the door, the impact was not good after all. In order to prevent this kind of chaos, the imperial court adopted a two-pronged approach. On the one hand, the strategy is to strengthen Jin Yiwei's monitoring of the Imperial College, and on the other hand, it is to prevent the students of the Imperial College from commenting on the government affairs at will.

But today’s matter, do you think it has something to do with commenting on government affairs? It is definitely related, but more importantly, it involves the vital interests of the students who are about to graduate from the Imperial College, so it is not easy to handle it completely in accordance with the previously issued regulations.

"Why should Jin Yiwei come forward to deal with the internal affairs of the Imperial College?"

Hu Yan had no interest in this kind of escape choice at all.

One person does the work and the other takes responsibility. Hu Yan is not a person who is afraid of talking.

Moreover, Hu Yan knew exactly what the crux of the problem was.

Rectifying officialdom is not a bad thing for everyone.

The imperial court transferred and dismissed a large number of officials through the imperial examination and Beijing inspection, including many grassroots officials, and these vacated positions needed to be filled.

During the Jianwen Dynasty, Zhu Yunwen only held one imperial examination, that is, in the second year of Jianwen, a total of 110 Jinshi in the top three were produced. Well, among the top six, including the number one scholar, the second person, and the third flower, five were Jiangxi people, only the second place in the top two is not.

According to the plan, the next imperial examination will be this year, which is the second year of Yongle.

But water from afar cannot quench the thirst for nearness. According to the temple practice during the Hongwu Dynasty, these middle and low-level official positions that are now vacant are to be used by promoting talents from the Imperial College. So many officials who were promoted before were from the Hongwu Dynasty. His background as a member of the Imperial College of Health in the later period clearly illustrates this point.

Therefore, the students who are about to graduate from the Imperial College are all eager to become officials. After so many years of hard work in the Imperial College, isn't it just for this moment?

If this opportunity cannot be grasped, then when the students of the Daming Administrative School, which has a four-year academic system, graduate and the imperial examinations begin one after another, then the opportunities for them, as the number of competitors, will increase. diluted.

To put it bluntly, these students entered the Imperial College just because they had the conditions not to squeeze through the single-plank bridge of the imperial examination.

Therefore, for the students of the Imperial College, as long as the rectification of officialdom is not carried out on their own fathers and uncles, they will have to say "good death". The more positions are vacated, the greater their chances will be. Our predecessors have proven this with actual experience.

Moreover, the reason why Hu Yan's remarks aroused huge opposition in the Imperial Academy was not just a matter of mid- and low-level official positions. Those were opportunities only open to the outstanding leaders of Suixingtang. The most important thing was actually the key point of Jiang Xinghuo. Clean up this group of redundant and petty officials.

You must know that the vast majority of the students of the Imperial College who entered the Liubu and Six Temples after graduation started as unranked officials. This ambiguity between officials and officials is what the students of the Imperial College are most concerned about. , If these redundant and petty officials are not cleaned up, how can they have a place to show their talents?

And Hu Yan opposed the rectification of officialdom from the side, which really ruined the future of these students who were about to graduate.

This is also the reason why Hu Yan believes that the atmosphere in the Imperial College has become increasingly impure recently with the change of policies.

The students had previously taken sides and argued with each other among the academic factions of Practical Learning, Neo-Confucianism, and New Learning, and the internal fighting was fierce. But once it came to becoming an official, they really united to support the rectification of officialdom.

Because of this, Hu Yan said those words at the banquet under the influence of the culture of competing for officials in the Imperial Academy and the culture of competing for profit and doing business in the market.

The time is right and the situation is right, it is due to fate that we have arrived here.

When he was in the cabinet, Hu Yan was the first to stand up and oppose the reform. His reason was that it was difficult to cultivate a beneficial class through the reform.

These words were like a boomerang, hitting him right between the eyebrows today, two years later.

As the liberator of the Imperial College, that is, the principal, Hu Yan's attitude and remarks were correct. Teaching and educating people must be sincere and upright.

It's a pity that he is on the opposite side of the students.

"Can you find out who wrote it?"

Hu Yan calmed down and asked.

Solving problems is hard, but solving people with problems is easy.

It is difficult to face tens of thousands of people, but it is easy to face one troublemaker.

In the former, only Jiang Xinghuo could convince others with his superb academic level, while in the latter, Hu Yan, as a sacrificial wine, was able to use the power in his hands to let him know what the rules were.

Wang Yunsheng shook his head and said: "We are not sure who did it yet, but there are signs that this letter came from an old student. You can check it, but I think it will be useless."

Hu Yan frowned. He thought for a moment and said, "I'll go see the students first."

In the morning, the Imperial College students gathered in the classrooms and square, and they were very excited.

Some people said angrily: "This time, we are asking for trouble. We can't blame others. We only blame ourselves for not living up to expectations and failing to pass the imperial examination. Otherwise, wouldn't we go to Beijing to take the exam and be awarded the rank of shujishi now?"

"But. We are all about to graduate. If this matter comes to the court, won't we be punished?"

"Punishment? I think it is right that the law does not punish the public."

"Having said that, the only regrettable thing is that there are people who are double-dealing. Is it possible that we, the disciples, will hinder his future?"

"I agree with making a fuss. When the court knows about it, it will take care of it!"

Everyone agreed one after another, and for a moment they were so excited that they seemed to have forgotten how they entered the Imperial Academy.

This is how young people are. As long as their own ideals and interests are concerned and they are encouraged by others, they can easily fall into this blind and manic state. The wind is like rain, and they will start to react to stress before they do anything. There are many examples throughout the ages. Has this been proven? Too many to count.

This kind of thing is neither big nor small. For everyone, it may be beneficial to make a big fuss, but there is no harm in being suppressed, so why not make a fuss? Only children who cry will get milk.

However, this exciting atmosphere did not last long, and was interrupted by a burst of rapid footsteps.

Then, a man ran in quickly. He was sweating profusely and said to everyone, "It's not good!"

Everyone quickly asked: "Why are you panicking? Speak slowly."

The man took two breaths, then pointed to the door and said, "The sacrificial wine is here! Let the doctors from each department inform the students gathered in the prison."

"The gate of the Imperial College is blocked! Many students who want to go out are making a fuss, but they still refuse to let go, even..."

He raised his eyes and scanned the crowd, swallowed his saliva, and continued: "There are also Jinyi guards here to stand guard."

While speaking, the student who came to report the news kept looking at Fan Weixing. Since the Taiping Street incident, he has become a representative figure among students who support new ideas. He actively formed a hot air balloon research group, studied and discussed in the Science Hall, and even A short academic article published was also published in Ming Pao.

Everyone around him seemed to be asking for his opinion.

A figure appeared in Fan Weixing's mind. The corners of his eyes twitched a few times. He lowered his eyes and tightened his lips. After a long time, he uttered a sentence: "Let's go see Master Jijiu and take a look at his gourd." What kind of medicine is sold there?"

"good!"

The west side of the Imperial College.

Hu Yan stood under the archway of the "Su Xing Hall" of the Imperial College, looking up at the towering door in front of the Sui Xing Hall, and murmured: "This door was once closed, and these Imperial College students went out from inside, and a few more Who can escape unscathed?"

Wang Yunsheng, who was catching up, gently pulled his sleeve and said, "Jijiu, why don't you leave?"

Hu Yan shook his head and said, "It's okay, let's go."

The Imperial College is a highly hierarchical institution. Here, as the highest official, Hu Yan, although he usually maintains a docile attitude, acts vigorously and resolutely at critical moments, and his will is immediately implemented.

The Jian Cheng directs the doctors in each department and hall, summons the teaching assistants, academic lecturers, and academic directors of his subordinates, and conducts temporary control according to the three levels and six halls.

Students in the Imperial College are mainly divided into three levels, that is, junior high school and high school. The junior class has three halls, Zhengyi Hall, Chongzhi Hall, and Guangye Hall; the intermediate class has two halls, Xiudao Hall and Chengxin Hall; the advanced class has only One hall is called Suixing Hall.

Those who were summoned to control were mainly Suixingtang, that is, the group of students who were about to graduate and enter official careers.

Of course, there were also students who came to watch the excitement, especially foreigners who were the most fearless.

There were several princes and sons of the Ryukyu Kingdom, with Luzon students who had just arrived in Nanjing not long ago, poking their heads on the low wall on the side.

The international students from Ryukyu actually came to Ming Dynasty just a few years ago.

There are two types of foreign students in Ryukyu Ming Dynasty: "official students" and "qin students". "official students" are generally children of Ryukyu aristocrats who are enrolled in the Nanjing Imperial College, while "qin students" study in the local prefectures and counties in Fuzhou.

The reason for this situation, according to Ryukyu Kingdom’s own words, is that “the country is remote in the sea. There is no school to educate talents or the teaching of scriptures. Although the Mongolian Dynasty repeatedly sent courtiers to visit the country, they could never read. Talents, I know that the Yi people do not learn how to dress and dress, and I am afraid that their customs will become more and more perverse. I am sending a tribute ship from my country here, and I am willing to go to the capital with them to study in prison."

The Ryukyu Kingdom was very upright and sincere, and Lao Zhu was very happy about this. In March of the 24th year of Hongwu's reign, he ordered the Ministry of Rites, "If the two kings of the Ryukyu Kingdom, Zhongshan and Shannan, are both converted, they can choose the male nephew of the village official's brother." , to serve as the imperial prisoner, and when he studies and understands the principles, he will be sent back to the country to write and make them understand."

The Ryukyu Kingdom is a general name for the external world, and internally it is a divided archipelago country. However, in terms of interactions with the Ming Dynasty, the attitude is basically the same. After Lao Zhu forwarded this edict to King Zhongshan and King Shannan of the Ryukyu Kingdom, it immediately received positive feedback. response.

In May of the 25th year of Hongwu, Chadu, the king of Zhongshan in the Ryukyu Kingdom, and his son Wu Ning sent their envoys Wozhou Jiezhi and others to pay tribute and pay tribute to horses. Chadu also sent his subordinates Rizimei and Kuoba horses to the village. Renyueci, the official's son, enrolled in Chinese studies. In December of the same year, King Shannan of the Ryukyu Kingdom Chengchadu sent his envoy Nandu Mei and others to pay tribute, and also sent his nephew Sangorowei and the sons of the village official Shita Luwei and He Duanzhi to study at the Imperial Academy.

These foreign students were all sent by the three royal officials in Ryukyu. Most of them were relatives of the king and children of Shuri nobles, such as the king's son, the son of the king's prime minister, the son of the village official, etc.

In addition to those who returned to inherit the throne, some new overseas students have also been sent in recent years. For example, after Zhu Di ascended the throne, Wang Yingzu, the king of Shannan in the Ryukyu Kingdom, sent Li Jie, a village official, and others to study at the Imperial College.

Therefore, the foreign students from Ryukyu who were watching the excitement were Li Jie and He Duanzhi from Ryukyu Shannan Kingdom. They brought with them the foreign students from Luzon Kingdom, that is, the eldest prince. Well, now he has a new name, Lu Gong, because The name translated from the local dialect of Luzon was too long, so Zhu Di gave him a name that was honest and elegant. If you are from Luzon, then your surname will be Lu, and the name Gong will make you respectful and respectful. Be honest and wait for the Ming Dynasty.

"Master Jijiu is here!"

As an international student who has studied abroad for ten years, He Duanzhi speaks fluent Nanjing local dialect. Just from his voice, you can't tell that he is a foreigner.

"What are they, Jie Shi, doing?"

Lu Gong, the eldest prince of Lu Song Kingdom, asked stumblingly.

His Mandarin is not good enough, but he does have a talent for language. Although he has only been in Daming for a few months, he can still communicate clearly with daily speech and gestures. Well, the reason is that his Mandarin is not good, and It’s not that he doesn’t speak Chinese well, it’s because the loose Chinese he learned before was the Hokkien dialect of the Han people in Manila.

Lu Gong, who was in a foreign country, the greatest spiritual inspiration he could get during this period was the story of Gou Jian's "suffering hardships while sleeping on a salary". For this reason, Lu Gong also specifically asked He Duan Zhi and Li Jie if he needed to stay in bed when the Ming Emperor was ill. Enter the palace to taste his feces.

Li Jie: "?"

He Duanzhi: "???"

He Duanzhi and Li Jie were busy eating this time. They simply explained to Lu Gong, regardless of whether he could understand the cause and effect, and began to stare attentively at what was happening in front of Suixingtang.

The doctor from Suixingtang walked out of the door, cupped his hands towards Hu Yan, and said, "Most of the students have gathered to offer wine."

There are nearly 10,000 students in the Imperial College, and most of them are from other intermediate and junior schools. Suixing Hall, which is a senior school, only has a few thousand students.

"Um."

Hu Yan nodded, then waved his hand in front of him, indicating that all the students should gather in the small square of the archway.

After a while, most of the students from Suixing Hall arrived. It was densely packed with people and a large area of ​​darkness. The effect when viewed from the front was similar to the feeling during the flag-raising ceremony of primary and secondary schools in later generations.

"Fellow students, please be quiet."

Wang Yunsheng walked up the steps, looked around at the people around him, and said loudly: "Some rumors happened today. Jijiu asked me and the doctors and teaching assistants in your hall to call you here to clarify it face to face."

Before he finished speaking, the crowd suddenly became confused. Some were angry, some were frightened, and some were filled with indignation.

"Please also ask Master Jijiu to explain why he opposes the rectification of officialdom?"

"I don't agree!"

Hu Yan looked serious and shouted: "Quiet!"

In an instant, the originally noisy small square gradually became quiet.

Hu Yan is an excellent teacher.

He has been working in the academic administration system all year round. When he was a teacher in Huating County, Songjiang Prefecture, he took the responsibility as a teacher and encouraged students to study pragmatically and practice frugality in order to change the academic style of Huating. Hu Yan also personally taught students every day He often lectured until midnight, even in the severe winter and sweltering heat, and he was highly regarded by local students and people.

Because of this, Hu Yan's dissatisfaction with the change in academic style really comes from his heart, out of his sense of responsibility as the Imperial Academy's sacrificial wine, rather than out of something like those who intervene behind the scenes and try to add fuel to the flames for greater benefits. Consideration of temple interests.

There are such pure people in this world who believe in the Tao they pursue and are willing to pay a price for it that is completely unworthy in the eyes of ordinary people.

Seeing that everyone had closed their mouths, they still looked at him with various expressions in their eyes.

Hu Yan took a deep breath and said in a deep voice: "The imperial court has laws, and the Imperial College has prison rules. You should all know what the rules are and how strict they are."

As soon as these words came out, everyone showed hesitation on their faces.

Seeing this, Hu Yan couldn't help but feel relieved, and continued to persuade: "A large part of you are going to serve as officials this year. I can understand your urgency as a sacrificial wine and as your division commander. As for what happened today, it is still unknown whether someone is secretly adding fuel to the flames. You are all about to enter the official career, so you should also be vigilant in your hearts and not be treated as pawns."

Students have a natural awe for their teachers. This awe will not weaken because they are about to enter the official career. On the contrary, it will increase during this period. In addition, in such a collective and serious occasion, the momentum will increase. Once overwhelmed, it is actually very easy to weaken.

The reason why the students were talking in private was that they got the news about Hu Yan's speech at the banquet last night. They believed that the attitude of offering wine and opposing the rectification of officialdom would affect their chances of becoming official, so they expressed their opposition.

This is a normal reaction, and in a public opinion field like the Imperial College, although it seems to be a quarrel, it is really not out of control.

These young students, who are relatively open-minded and generally pursue progress, are very energetic. They are so "powerful" on all issues, including academic debates on psychology, neo-Confucianism, and practical science, including debates on the principles of scientific experiments. Imperial College There are some seemingly noisy and almost earth-shaking arguments in the crowd, which are commonplace.

Therefore, in this normalized quarrel, what happened today was discovered and stopped early by Hu Yan. He came forward to make it clear and warned the students not to be used as pawns or guns, and that was the end of it.

Now that the matter has reached this point, Hu Yan only needs to explain it to the students, saying that the news circulating now is just his private opinions in private situations that have been taken out of context, so that they should not believe the rumors or those that have been deliberately amplified. Alarmist "facts" will put the matter to rest.

All the students need is an explanation that reassures them.

But at this moment, things took a dramatic turn.

Before Fan Weixing and others could say anything, Jin Yiwei came to the door.

In full view of thousands of people, Hu Yan was politely "invited" away by the royal guard.

The reason is that Hu Yan was jointly impeached by several censors from the Metropolitan Procuratorate. For this reason, he needed to go through the investigation process according to regulations.

This job did not belong to the Jin Yiwei, and the reason why the Jin Yiwei came was because the emperor had decreed that Hu Yan himself should be protected from any accidents.

Moreover, the censors who jointly impeached Hu Yan had a special identity. They were several censors who were from the Imperial College under Chen Ying.

The Lord Jijiu, who was speaking in public, was taken away in front of thousands of people. The impact was very bad. This directly caused the public opinion to stop boiling and boiled over.

With several foreign students looking confused, a strange atmosphere suddenly appeared in the Imperial College.

Everyone realized that something was going wrong.

——————

Jiang Xinghuo here just came back from work outside the city in the morning, and heard about Hu Yan at noon.

"There is no theory that the Imperial Court has been convicted for his words, and Hu Yan is the Imperial College's sacrificial wine. It is his responsibility to deal with the internal affairs of the Imperial College. How did the censor impeach him?"

"Drunk and discourteous, arrogant words."

Chai Che was obviously a little unbelievable, as this was quite outrageous upon hearing it.

"The imperial censor heard that he was going to do something, but he didn't do it like this."

Jiang Xinghuo rubbed the center of his brows. There was really no rest.

"You go do your business first, and I'll wait for the news."

"Yes, Imperial Master."

The old monk's news channel was reliable, and soon, more accurate news came.

Yao Guangxiao pushed the door open and entered in a hurry.

"There's a ghost."

"Submit him?" Jiang Xinghuo looked at him and joked.

For Jiang Xinghuo, although this matter is very difficult, it is not an urgent matter. Whether he calmly adapts to the situation or goes with the flow, he has enough confidence to deal with it. What he needs now Just fully understand the news and then make judgments and decisions.

"The kid is tough."

Yao Guangxiao's white eyebrows drooped along with his eyelids.

Fortunately, the old monk didn't have the habit of being a riddler, and he soon revealed the answer to the riddle.

"It should be Lu Zhen, the young minister of Dali Temple, who instructed Wuzhong, the chief minister of Dali Temple, to conspire with the impeachment conducted by the censor."

Yao Guangxiao handed a piece of paper to Jiang Xinghuo and said, "Let's take a look."

Jiang Xinghuo unfolded it and roughly understood it.

"Where's Chen Ying? What's your attitude? Without his nod, the Metropolitan Procuratorate wouldn't be able to proceed with the impeachment process so quickly, right?"

"Chen Ying suppressed it first, and then passed it quickly. He also bypassed the cabinet through the Chief Secretary and reported the matter to His Majesty. Your Majesty did not hesitate and directly asked the Jin Yiwei to invite the person to the Metropolitan Procuratorate for tea first."

Jiang Xinghuo said: "So, Your Majesty wants to make things worse."

Yao Guangxiao nodded and said: "Probably."

He then thought for a moment and then said: "For us and for the reform, it may not be a bad thing."

"That's true, but it just makes people feel uncomfortable, especially Hu Yan, who is obviously being plotted."

From a personal moral point of view, Jiang Xinghuo still has a bit of a moral obsession. It is one thing to have conflicting opinions and different positions in the temple, but now that Hu Yan has obviously been involved in the conspiracy and has become the center of the storm, he has become the center of the storm. Somewhat unbearable.

In other words, Jiang Xinghuo acted more openly and rarely used dirty tricks. He always felt that if he wanted to do great things, he had to do it in an upright way. Unless he had to, it was better to use less sneaky tricks.

On the contrary, Yao Guangxiao saw this very clearly and only said: "Hu Yan has such a personality, he can't hide his words in his heart, and he believes in his words. Sooner or later, he will be pushed to the forefront."

From the perspective of character determining destiny, Yao Guangxiao's words are not wrong.

"That's right."

Jiang Xinghuo still made some decisions in his heart. No matter what the outcome of the emergency was, Hu Yan himself did not want to be hung up as a target or even suffer some unfair and inhumane treatment. If he could be treated To protect him, we still need to let the empire's judicial process and impeachment process treat him fairly.

"These are unavoidable."

Yao Guangxiao glanced at Jiang Xinghuo: "Now that the reform has come, it is time to deepen the rectification of officialdom from the perspective of ideological and public opinion, and cooperate with the temple."

"I know."

Jiang Xinghuo nodded slightly and said, "When I reach this position today, I will not be soft-hearted."

At the beginning of the reform, the debate was about whether to implement the reform. After the three debates in the ideological circles, "Wang dominated the ancient and modern righteousness and interests", ideologically, it was established that practical learning, psychological learning, and Neo-Confucianism were on the same level. The imperial court regarded the application of practical learning in the world. guiding ideology and carrying out reforms.

Subsequently, on how to reform the law and whether to change the old economic system on a large scale, after the Fengtian Palace Debate, the Ming Dynasty version of the Salt and Iron Conference, it was established that actual taxation should be used to decide whether to shift from "emphasis on agriculture and suppress business" to " "All the people are the foundation", should we shift from the "sea ban policy" to "opening up the sea and enriching the country"?

After a year of the New Economic Deal, through checking salt taxes, developing overseas trade, and investing in specialized commodities, the Ming Dynasty's treasury has become extremely rich. After solving the most urgent problem of economic distress, the reform naturally has its way into the political field. capital.

It is against this background that this sudden incident occurred.

In fact, Hu Yan was just one representative of tens of thousands of scholars who held traditional views, and he happened to be at a point in the era when the academic style and world style began to change. He happened to be in the key position of the leader of the academic and political system of the Imperial College.

Just like Yao Guangxiao said - these are inevitable.

Even if there is no Hu Yan, there will still be Li Yan; if there is no Li Yan, there will still be Wang Yan.

The reform has reached this stage, which is to move from ideology to economy to politics, and finally return to the ideology, morality, and culture that are intertwined and inseparable with each other.

Establishing and guiding a correct style of work and study is also one of the key tasks of the reform.

But Jiang Xinghuo still showed some concern.

"It's too urgent. I don't know if Lu Zhen really wanted to climb up so much that he took the risk, but if a fly doesn't bite the egg, there must be someone who is too eager."

Of course, Yao Guangxiao quickly understood what Jiang Xinghuo meant.

"Jiang Sheng is saying that Your Majesty is too impatient?"

"yes."

Jiang Xinghuo rubbed his eyebrows, looking a little tired.

"It is not that simple to deal with this matter, and it is not absolutely safe. The backlash in public opinion will be huge. After so many years of accumulation, how can it be reversed in just a few words? I originally wanted to take it slowly. Guidance, the method of boiling frogs in warm water is slowly changing, but now it is at the forefront again."

"Now that the reform has reached this stage, debates about official style, academic style, and world style are naturally inevitable."

Yao Guangxiao expressed his calmness about this.

In terms of difficulty, the three debates of "Ancient and modern kings dominate justice and interests" and the court debate of Fengtian Palace are much more difficult than the current one.

However, in terms of breadth and influence, this debate must have a wider scope and be more protracted.

"The truth is unclear. Being reasonable is not a bad thing, but the current situation is not easy. I thought it would be better to do less than to do more."

Jiang Xinghuo seemed to be affected by the life of the people he saw yesterday, and his mentality was calm and even a little soft.

In fact, it is true to say that everything has been going smoothly recently, and the struggle has not been so fierce. In this environment, it is naturally different from the arrogant big cock before.

"The trees want to be quiet but the wind is not stopping. We want to do more than to do less. Some people want to do less than to do more. Some newly promoted officials are very ambitious and they will definitely not give up."

Seeing Jiang Xinghuo's expression as if he was worried, Yao Guangxiao asked, "What is Jiang Sheng worried about? Is the situation out of control?"

Jiang Xinghuo returned to the previous topic and said, "I'm worried that Your Majesty will lose control and kill people."

"kill?"

"The case of the Lianghuai Salt Envoy Department has already shown signs of such large-scale involvement, and it was forced to go down by all parties."

Jiang Xinghuo expressed his innermost concerns: "Your Majesty has a somewhat impatient temper, and he likes to solve problems with a sharp knife. However, in a few months, he will be marching to the north. He has been sitting in the south for two days. Years have passed, and the restlessness and bloodthirsty in his character were only released when he first came to the throne. Now he is undergoing a large-scale rectification of the government. Once someone fanned the flames of such an unexpected incident, it would easily lead to the four major Hongwu cases. The bloody tragedy did not actually accelerate the entire reform, but hindered it."

Yao Guangxiao did not deny it. Yao Guangxiao was more familiar with Zhu Di than Jiang Xinghuo, who had been his master and friend for many years. He knew very well that Zhu Di's bloodthirsty nature was indeed gradually awakening. In the past two years, Zhu Di, for Zhu Di's entire life, In fact, this is the time when I feel most depressed and least like myself.

Because he had just sat on the throne, in order to secure the dragon chair under his buttocks, Zhu Di had to control his nature and choose to be patient, weigh and compromise when he could choose to kill and make decisions.

"Can't lose control."

"I'm afraid it's getting out of control now. In order to vent their anger, the scholars will definitely use some extremely violent methods to fight."

Hu Yan's incident spread throughout the capital, and many people gloated and mocked Hu Yan behind his back, and some even scolded him for deserved it.

Of course, there are also some people who are aggrieved for Hu Yan and have some complaints about Hu Yan's impeachment. In their view, His Majesty the Emperor's actions are really a bit hasty.

But there were still people who took direct action.

Another day later, an anonymous post began to appear on the streets of Nanjing, and in the next two days, at a speed that even the imperial guards could not stop, it was quickly circulated among the National Examinations, Imperial College, Administrative School, etc. who were preparing to participate in this year's imperial examination. Rumors spread among local scholars and officials from various monasteries and monasteries in Nanjing.

The publication of this article, entitled "On Zhou Gong's Assistance to Government", ignited the conflict that had begun to become public.

"The Duke of Zhou assists the government and does not use punishment. Therefore, education can be emphasized and benevolent government can be carried out. Everyone will get what he deserves and everyone will be a gentleman. Punishment is used for evil, and evil comes from lack of education. It is necessary to raise people in the right way and teach them in the right way. , then food and clothing will be sufficient, propriety and righteousness will flourish, and the people will be free from evil, and will the punishment be meted out? Now I will assist Bi."

When Jiang Xinghuo saw this post, which was comparable to "Continued Worry and Crisis Hongyi", only three words came to his mind.

——"The Demon Book Case".

I would not say that the two are exactly the same, I can only say that they are extremely similar.

The Demon Book Case, one of the four major cases in Wanli, was the ultimate product of the temple party struggle, which was the early morning of November 11, the 31st year of Wanli reign of the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Geng, the then cabinet scholar, found a document with an inscription at his doorstep. For the unveiling of the "Continued Worry and Risk Hongyi", it was accused of Concubine Zheng's intention to depose the crown prince and install her own son as the crown prince. Not only did Zhu Geng receive this leaflet-like thing, but it had been widely distributed in the capital the night before, up to and including They are everywhere from palace gates to streets and alleys.

"Xu Wei Wei Hong Yi" uses "Zheng Fucheng" as a question and answer. The so-called "Zheng Fucheng" means that Zhu Changxun, the son of Concubine Zheng, the Prince of Fu, is regarded as the crown prince. The book says: The emperor had no choice but to appoint the eldest son as the crown prince. He will surely become the crown prince in the future. "More Easy"; Zhu Geng is used as the cabinet minister because "Geng" and "Geng" have the same pronunciation, which means "more easy".

This book only has about 300 words, but its content is like a bombshell, causing an uproar in the capital. People at the time called the book a "demon book" because of its "extremely weird words". After learning about it, he was furious and ordered Dongchang and Jinyiwei to dispatch the entire city, but the search was fruitless. Although it was finally quelled on the surface, the aftermath of the party struggle even directly affected the demise of the Ming Dynasty.

Just as "Xu Wei Wei Hong Yi" points directly at the great scholar Zhu Geng and uses his dialogue in the dialogue, in "On Zhou Gong's Assistant to the Government", the Duke of Zhou, Ji Ming Dan, the fourth son of King Wen of Zhou Ji Chang , the younger brother of King Wu Jifa of Zhou Dynasty, his fiefdom was in Zhou Dynasty, so he was called Zhou Gong and was granted the title of Qufu. In addition to the reflection of these ministers, the author even played with the surnames of Lu and Jiang in it.

This directly forced Jiang Xinghuo to suddenly face the surging public opinion storm.

This was a counterattack to rectify officialdom. Jiang Xinghuo knew this very well. He had no choice but to hide, he could only move forward bravely.