Chapter 167: I Shall Establish a New Academy

Before Sun Shenxing submitted his routine memorial of resignation, Zhu Youxiao already felt he would not behave himself, and might even try to stir something up.

Zhu Youxiao had guessed this much already—he just hadn't expected Sun Shenxing to stir things up in this particular way.

In Zhu Youxiao's view, Sun Shenxing was simply picking a fight!

In the case of the Donglin Faction, Sun Shenxing was absolutely not innocent.

Sun Shenxing knew that no matter what, he might be implicated afterward, which was why he chose to do things this way. Now, because of this matter, he had placed himself in opposition to the Emperor, and he would gain the support of countless people, while his reputation among the common folk would soar.

If afterward this Emperor did anything to Sun Shenxing, then in everyone's eyes it would look like he was taking revenge on him.

In that case, when the histories were written, Sun Shenxing's reputation would be extremely high; by that point, the bad reputation would belong to this Emperor.

One didn't even need to wait for the histories—the moment this news spread, Sun Shenxing's reputation would soar.

Especially among those who opposed Chen Kedao, Sun Shenxing would become the banner of these people, the model for these people.

If anyone said Sun Shenxing hadn't done this deliberately, Zhu Youxiao wouldn't believe it even if he were beaten to death.

If he had a blade in hand right now, Zhu Youxiao truly wished he could walk over and cut Sun Shenxing down with a single stroke—though of course not entirely for the sake of his own reputation. As for his reputation, Zhu Youxiao had long since cast it to the back of his mind.

By doing this, Sun Shenxing would obstruct the policies about to be implemented, making it far harder for Zhu Youxiao to push them through.

He had just declared that practice is the sole criterion for testing truth, and Sun Shenxing chose this moment to oppose him in this posture—this was a declaration to him, a statement to the whole world of his determination to defend.

What Sun Shenxing defended was all the academies under heaven; what he defended was the freedom of lecturing. He would inevitably be lauded by these people and become a brand-new standard-bearer!

This was forcing this Emperor to deal with him, because he could not possibly let him go home.

At the same time, Zhu Youxiao felt deep regret in his heart—if only he had known, he would have bestowed a few of Han Li's longevity elixirs upon Sun Shenxing earlier.

Looking at Sun Shenxing, Zhu Youxiao's face quickly darkened.

If he let Sun Shenxing go home, he would be a living standard-bearer, and in that case these people would have a leader, and the opposing forces would grow even stronger.

But if he killed Sun Shenxing, this Emperor's own prestige would suffer, and matters would become very difficult to handle.

This was forcing his hand!

How could Zhu Youxiao possibly feel pleased about this?

At the same time, Zhu Youxiao roughly understood why the Donglin Faction had been able to defeat so many people. The Donglin Faction truly had no fear of death, and they truly could push you into a corner where you had grievances but couldn't voice them.

Did he have any way to explain himself to others? He had no way to explain himself to others.

Looking at Sun Shenxing, Zhu Youxiao remained silent for a long while.

The officials in the court also did not speak; the Grand Secretaries of the Grand Secretariat were all shocked as well, especially Han Kuang.

Han Kuang had not expected Sun Shenxing to be so resolute. He had to remember that the impression Sun Shenxing had given him before was that of a man who was cunning and calculating, selfish and self-serving.

When Sun Shenxing had framed him, he had truly been ruthless, and Han Kuang had even come to hate him somewhat. But now, seeing this scene, Han Kuang felt that he no longer hated Sun Shenxing as much.

Han Kuang suddenly understood—Sun Shenxing was winning back his reputation. Once this matter spread, the outside world's assessment of Sun Shenxing would be higher than ever before.

By then, no one would bring up Sun Shenxing's past deeds again; even if someone did, it would be regarded as slander and defamation against him.

It might even turn old Han himself into a villain. Han Kuang raised his head and glanced at Zhu Youxiao, eager to know what his Emperor would do.

After all, Sun Shenxing was forcing the Emperor's hand—would the Emperor retreat?

Xu Guangqi, Second Grand Secretary of the Grand Secretariat, was the most worried about this. If the Emperor truly retreated, then people like himself would be in trouble.

Zhu Youxiao knew he naturally could not retreat. If he truly retreated, matters would become thorny, and he would never be able to do anything again afterward.

The fist resting on the dragon throne's armrest tightened again and again. He gave a light smile and said with an unruffled air: "Since that is the case, then I shall grant your wish."

"Someone, strip Sun Shenxing of his office and throw him into the Imperial Prison of the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

The moment these words landed, another person suddenly stepped forward, removed his official hat, knelt on the ground, and spoke respectfully: "Your Majesty, since that is the case, your subject also requests to resign."

Zhu Youxiao looked over and saw it was Gao Panlong. A smile immediately appeared on his face again—though this time it was a smile of anger.

"Good, very good. So this is your path of the sages, this is what you learned from reading the books of the sages, this is your way of loyalty to the sovereign and service as ministers. Very good, very good!"

Zhu Youxiao practically ground these words out through his back teeth, then ordered: "Someone, take them away."

His gaze swept coldly across the assembled ministers.

Everyone shrank their necks and lowered their heads.

"Are there any others? If so, step forward now, and I shall grant all of you your wishes at once." Zhu Youxiao's face was all smiles, yet everyone knew that this was when the Emperor was most dangerous.

Han Kuang watched Sun Shenxing and Gao Panlong being dragged away, his expression darkening severely.

Han Kuang knew these two had pulled off another big play—except the ones being screwed over were not themselves, but those who truly wished to protect the way of the sages.

Pressuring the Emperor like this, the Emperor would certainly not yield, and then lecturing and the academies under heaven would be in trouble.

Under such circumstances, doing such a thing was truly unwise. This was intensifying the conflict, and the only ones who stood to benefit were themselves.

Sun Shenxing and Gao Panlong would rise like the sun at noon; they would earn the admiration of everyone—but what use was that?

Matters were instead sliding in an even worse direction. What had originally been a struggle between minister and minister had become the Emperor personally stepping into the fray.

They had dragged the Emperor directly into it, and the Emperor had no choice but to come in.

Thinking of this, Han Kuang's heart turned vicious—he wished he could simply have Sun Shenxing killed inside the Imperial Prison—but he knew he could not do that.

He could not even dare to speak a single word against Sun Shenxing, because if he did, he would certainly be attacked by the crowd, and his reputation among the common folk would be ruined.

Seeing that no one spoke, Zhu Youxiao said: "Since that is the case, let us continue our deliberations. The Grand Secretariat should produce a candidate for Minister of Rites as soon as possible."

After a pause, Zhu Youxiao continued: "The prohibition on lecturing and academies shall be trialed in Shuntian Prefecture. This remains the same statement: practice is the sole criterion for testing truth. As for how things truly are, we shall know once we try."

"Reporting to Your Majesty, your subject has a memorial to present." Xu Guangqi stepped forward this time and spoke respectfully.

Originally Xu Guangqi had not wanted to step forward, but at this moment he felt he had no choice but to do so—the Emperor urgently needed support.

At a time like this, if he did not support the Emperor, then truly no one would support the Emperor.

Xu Guangqi wanted the Emperor to see that not everyone was Sun Shenxing, not everyone was Gao Panlong.

People like themselves supported the Emperor; they felt that what the Emperor said made sense.

After all, the things Xu Guangqi and the others wanted to accomplish required the Emperor's support—otherwise they could never be done. When the Emperor faced such matters, they also had to step forward, and so Xu Guangqi stepped forward without hesitation.

Zhu Youxiao glanced at Xu Guangqi, waved his hand, and said: "Step aside for a moment, my minister, and hear me out."

Zhu Youxiao's words left everyone stunned.

No one had expected Zhu Youxiao to say such a thing. After all, Xu Guangqi was the Second Grand Secretary of the Grand Secretariat, and also a minister Zhu Youxiao favored greatly. On top of that, he was an elder of Chen Kedao. Everyone could guess what he would say.

In other words, Xu Guangqi was about to take the blame for His Majesty — he was going to step forward. But His Majesty had shoved Xu Guangqi back instead.

Everyone looked at Xu Guangqi with different eyes now. His Majesty truly did care for him.

In fact, that was exactly what Zhu Youxiao was thinking.

Zhu Youxiao never underestimated these men's resolve to defend their orthodox tradition. Sun Shenxing and Gao Panlong dared to do what they did, and Xu Guangqi and his kind would dare as well. Li Zhi could slit his own throat for his ideals, and Xu Guangqi and the others would surely inherit that same spirit.

But under these circumstances, since he had already been dragged into the water himself, he might as well not drag Xu Guangqi in too. Xu Guangqi was the man he used to get real things done — once Xu Guangqi was dragged in, things would become hard to manage.

He could not allow Xu Guangqi to become the starting point of factional strife.

Since you've dragged me into the water, then let's have ourselves a good game.

Zhu Youxiao hardened his heart and said expressionlessly: "Since academies and lectures have been banned, the court cannot entirely disregard the prestige of scholars either. Spreading the teachings of the sages is still a necessity. What I hope for is regulation, not outright prohibition."

"Therefore, I will establish a new academy in Shuntian Prefecture, run by the education authorities of Shuntian Prefecture and overseen by the Ministry of Rites. As for what is taught and how it is taught, the Ministry of Rites will set the rules. As for those who wish to give lectures, they may do so in the government-run academies, provided the academy agrees."

"Beyond that, all private lecturing is prohibited, and all privately run academies are prohibited. Anyone who violates these prohibitions will be severely punished without mercy."

Originally Zhu Youxiao had not planned to bring this out so early, but now he had no choice. If he did not bring it out, then truly nothing else could be done.

This was a way out, a direction to ease the conflict. He could not really let the scholars rise up in turmoil.

"One more thing: from now on, the provincial examinations of Shuntian Prefecture will select their questions from the academy textbooks." Pausing slightly, Zhu Youxiao spoke again.

This statement was the real key point of what Zhu Youxiao wanted to say. Since you don't agree with my methods, then don't serve as my officials. If you want to serve as my officials, then obediently lower your heads.

"Anyone who enters the academy to study may directly participate in the provincial examinations." Zhu Youxiao spoke once more.

This was like throwing a bomb right into the court!

Everyone knew that to participate in the provincial examinations, one had to hold the xiucai title — otherwise, don't even think about it. This single decree from Zhu Youxiao directly abolished that requirement, letting students skip the xiucai examination and take the academy route instead.

Zhu Youxiao continued: "Every year, the academy will hold a year-end assessment. Anyone ranking in the top ten in the year-end assessment may skip the provincial examinations and directly participate in the metropolitan examinations."

These words were even more shocking. As long as you studied well in the academy, you wouldn't even need to take the juren examination — you could go straight to the jinshi examination.

This was dividing and co-opting!

Those who stubbornly resist to the end get killed; those who surrender get rewards.

This was: those who follow me prosper, those who oppose me perish!