Chapter 30: Attaining Sagehood on the Spot

Although Yang Lian made it sound simple, the reality was far from it.

Yang Lian's youth coincided with the rise of the Donglin Faction. He deeply admired Gu Xiancheng and others for their spirit of taking the world as their own responsibility, defying power and influence, and daring to criticize court affairs.

Whenever a Donglin lecture gathering was held, Yang Lian would go to great lengths to rush to Wuxi, discussing the philosophy of human nature and principle with the Donglin gentlemen, and deliberating together on the way to govern the state. The two sides shared the same aspirations and gradually became rising stars of the Donglin Faction.

It could be said that Yang Lian represented the future of the Donglin Faction, while men like Gao Panlong were already yesterday's flowers, with no great drama left to play.

"Gu Xiancheng spent his life teaching and educating, advocating loyalty and righteousness—I am familiar with his thought as well." Zhu Youxiao looked at Yang Lian, his expression utterly unchanged.

In Zhu Youxiao's view, there was nothing wrong with the Donglin Faction's ideology itself; what was wrong was the shady dealings they conducted in secret. The Donglin Faction's slogans were shouted loud enough to shake the heavens.

As a man from a later age, Zhu Youxiao deeply understood the importance of ideology, so he had no intention of overturning the Donglin Faction entirely. At the very least, their ideology could be encouraged—loyalty to the sovereign, for instance, and serving the state.

Of course, some things would also need to be added, such as "empty talk ruins the state, solid work prospers the nation."

If the Donglin Faction adopted this ideology and stopped being a faction of mere lip service, that would be excellent.

As for not wanting to pay taxes, wanting more tax exemptions, and concealing land—these things were not done only by the Donglin Faction. Did the Qi, Zhe, and Chu factions not do them too? No, they did as well.

On this matter, all these so-called factions were simply forming cliques for private gain; there was essentially no difference between them—it was just that the other factions were not as good as the Donglin Faction at packaging themselves.

At least the Donglin Faction was consistently powerful in propaganda and consistently skilled at rallying people.

When Yang Lian heard these words from Zhu Youxiao, his expression immediately became somewhat agitated. After a long pause, he spoke: "Your Majesty's ability to judge men is rarely seen in ancient or modern times. Your subject is deeply moved and full of admiration."

Zhu Youxiao waved his hand, then said with a smile: "There is a passage by Gu Xiancheng that I remember very clearly: 'Serving as an official at court with one's aspirations not on the sovereign; serving as an official in the borderlands with one's aspirations not on the people's livelihood; dwelling by the waters and forests with one's aspirations not on the ways of the world—a gentleman does not act thus.' I have always kept this passage fresh in my memory. If all officials could live up to such words, why worry that the Great Ming would not prosper?"

"Serving at court with loyalty to the sovereign, serving in the borderlands with care for the people's livelihood, and dwelling in the mountains and forests while contemplating the learning that sustains the world—this is not only excellent for officials, but also excellent for how one conducts oneself as a person."

"Thus the ancients spoke of establishing merit, establishing virtue, and establishing words. Gu Xiancheng did very well in establishing words, and I believe he can be compared to Master Yangming!"

Master Yangming naturally referred to Wang Yangming—the most formidable figure of the Great Ming dynasty. He was powerful in both thought and military affairs, and especially the Yangming School of Mind he developed truly made him a great thinker of his generation.

Of course, Zhu Youxiao bringing up Wang Yangming at this moment was not for these reasons, but because in the twelfth year of Wanli, fifty-four years after Wang Yangming's death, Wang Shouren, together with Xue Xuan, Hu Juren, and Chen Xianzhang, became the four scholars of the Ming dynasty to be enshrined in the Confucian Temple.

Wang Shouren's enshrinement signified that Wang Yangming's School of Mind had ultimately received official recognition.

Zhu Youxiao's meaning was very clear: Gu Xiancheng had the opportunity to be enshrined in the Confucian Temple—this was a chance to attain sagehood on the spot. In this way, Donglin would become a proper school of learning.

Upon hearing these words, Yang Lian immediately became excited, his body nearly trembling. He believed in the Donglin Faction, so of course he wanted this. Once Gu Xiancheng was enshrined in the Confucian Temple, the Donglin School would become the dominant learning.

Zhu Youxiao watched Yang Lian's reaction, his face still carrying a gentle smile. This was, of course, a pie he had painted in the sky.

Whether this pie could be realized, and when it would be realized, would depend on how the Donglin Faction conducted itself.

"Your subject thanks Your Majesty on behalf of Teacher Gu." Yang Lian immediately lifted his robes and knelt to the ground, speaking loudly, his eye sockets already turning red.

Zhu Youxiao made a gesture of raising him up with a smile: "Enough, rise!"

In fact, Zhu Youxiao's intentions were far from kind. One had to know that the School of Principle and the School of Mind were currently the dominant learnings of the Great Ming. The Donglin School could not even get on the stage; to become the dominant learning, it would depend on the Donglin Faction's own efforts—which would provoke a counterattack from the School of Principle and the School of Mind. Within the Donglin School itself, there were also those who believed in the School of Mind and the School of Principle.

Once this news spread, they would probably start fighting among themselves. Although people of later ages did not care about these empty reputations, in this era, there was no small number of scholars who gave their lives for the orthodox lineage.

When Yang Lian stood up, Zhu Youxiao felt the time was about right and continued: "My dear Yang, these past days many people have impeached Wei Zhongxian, mostly over the matter of those Censors. You are the Left Assistant Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate—I would like to hear your thoughts." Saying this, Zhu Youxiao smiled as he looked at Yang Lian, waiting for him to speak.

Yang Lian's emotions were still somewhat stirred. Upon hearing Zhu Youxiao's words, he calmed himself for a long while before speaking: "Your subject believes this matter is highly improper."

"When court officials previously impeached Wei Zhongxian, it was only because Wei Zhongxian had clouded Your Majesty's wisdom and recommended a demonic Daoist into the palace to bewitch Your Majesty. Your subjects acted out of utter sincerity, and there was nothing improper in their conduct. Wei Zhongxian, being vindictive over the slightest grievance, framed those Censors and threw them into prison, subjected them to severe torture, and slandered them wantonly—this is truly the conduct of a power-grasping eunuch." Yang Lian's expression was very grave: "Your subject believes Wei Zhongxian should be severely punished and the Censors released."

Zhu Youxiao nodded, then nodded to Chen Hong: "Hand those confessions to my dear Yang for his perusal."

Chen Hong hurriedly walked over from one side, handed the confessions to Yang Lian, then bowed and retreated to a spot even farther away than where he had been standing before.

Taking the confessions from Chen Hong's hands, Yang Lian began to read through them. With each line he read, his face darkened a shade further. By the time he had finished reading them all, Yang Lian's face was as black as the bottom of a pot.

Zhu Youxiao looked at Yang Lian and spoke: "If my dear minister thinks these are not genuine, you may go to the Eastern Depot and see for yourself—you may even take the men away with you. These people also came from under Master Gu Xiancheng's tutelage, yet what sort of things have they done? Colluding with the border regions, accepting bribes, framing ministers guarding the frontiers—is this how they practice Master Gu Xiancheng's thought?"

"I believe they are bringing shame upon Master Gu Xiancheng. Do these people even deserve to call themselves disciples of Master Gu Xiancheng? If the Master were still alive, who knows whether they would have angered him to death."

Yang Lian listened to these words, and his face grew even darker. It was too shameful—especially since he was the Left Assistant Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, and these men were all his subordinates. What they had done was utterly disgraceful.

"My dear Yang, how do you think this matter should be handled?" Zhu Youxiao looked at Yang Lian, speaking without any expression on his face.

Yang Lian, his face grim, spoke slowly: "To answer Your Majesty, your subject believes they should be severely punished. Without severe punishment, there would be no warning for those who come after. This case may be tried to the very end—there must be no leniency whatsoever."

ps: Second chapter delivered. Good night.