Chapter 59: A Single Stone Stirs a Thousand Waves

Zhu Youxiao thought for a long time, then suddenly heard someone cough. Startled, he turned his head in annoyance.

Who was that? How dare they interrupt his thoughts — did they have a death wish?

Chen Hong stood not far away with an awkward expression. Seeing the hint of irritation in the imperial gaze directed at him, he quickly glanced toward Xu Guangqi, who was kneeling on the ground.

Only then did Zhu Youxiao notice that Xu Guangqi had already knelt down at some point.

Zhu Youxiao was taken aback. He hurried down from the steps and reached out to help Xu Guangqi up: "Beloved Minister Xu, what is the matter?"

Xu Guangqi was even more bewildered. Wasn't he supposed to be punished? He had knelt on the ground, and His Majesty hadn't told him to rise for a long time — his heart had long since sunk to the bottom.

Now watching Zhu Youxiao help him up with a look of concern, Xu Guangqi couldn't quite grasp how things had developed. What was His Majesty doing?

"Beloved Minister Xu, I ask you — of those who carry on Li Zhi's thought, who has inherited the most and has the most original ideas?" Zhu Youxiao looked at Xu Guangqi and asked with a smile.

Xu Guangqi hadn't expected the Emperor to ask such a question, but he still thought for a moment before replying: "Your Majesty, if you seek such a man, none other than Master Li Zhi's disciple Chen Kedao would fit. Chen Kedao followed Master Li Zhi from childhood and can be said to have received his complete legacy; at the same time, he has his own views. These years he has devoted himself to compiling Master Li Zhi's writings and has no intention of sitting the imperial examinations."

Zhu Youxiao nodded at these words, roughly understanding Xu Guangqi's meaning. This Chen Kedao knew he could never pass the exams, so he had devoted himself wholly to scholarship instead.

But that was fine as well — Zhu Youxiao didn't need these people to do anything else; it was enough that they pursued their studies properly.

Although Xu Guangqi's status was also quite suitable, Zhu Youxiao still decided not to use him. Since both Xu Guangqi and Luo Sigong had recommended Chen Kedao, it was just right to see what this Chen Kedao was made of.

Xu Guangqi's value should be shown in practical matters. This kind of verbal sparring — let Chen Kedao handle it!

"Alright, I understand." Zhu Youxiao nodded, while gesturing that Xu Guangqi could take his leave. He needed to think things over himself.

Zhu Youxiao was well aware in his heart that this matter was best kept from any entanglement with Xu Guangqi. So who would be the most suitable to handle it?

The answer was simple — of course, the Embroidered Uniform Guard's Regional Military Commissioner, Luo Sigong.

After all, the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard didn't care about their reputations anyway. Having them handle it was most fitting — and if any trouble arose, he would still have room to maneuver.

But Zhu Youxiao didn't think the problem would be very great. In his previous life, Wei Zhongxian had destroyed the academies of the realm, and no uprisings had broken out anywhere.

"Then your servant takes his leave." Xu Guangqi knew His Majesty was dismissing him, so there was no way to stay any longer.

Though he still had many questions in his heart, Xu Guangqi could not continue asking.

Zhu Youxiao nodded, then said: "Beloved Minister, go home and rest well. In a few days, I will have an important task for you." With that, he watched Xu Guangqi leave.

Once Xu Guangqi was out of sight, Zhu Youxiao turned to Chen Hong and instructed: "Convey my decree to Luo Sigong, telling him to summon Chen Kedao to the capital."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Chen Hong quickly nodded in assent, then bowed and withdrew — evidently off to deliver the decree.

With matters arranged, all that remained was to wait. Zhu Youxiao could now look forward to things with some anticipation.

Over the following days, Zhu Youxiao did nothing else. There wasn't much business at court, and the matter of selecting the Empress proceeded in an orderly fashion, with Zhu Youxiao not interfering overly much.

Apart from that, the cases at the Three Judicial Offices still showed no progress. The prisoners had changed their confessions again and again, and the Three Judicial Offices simply couldn't close the cases.

Qi Jin had not yet entered the capital, so military training had not yet begun. As for the Liaodong war that Zhu Youxiao had been worrying about — news had arrived these past two days.

Nurhaci had attacked, but no outcome had been reached yet. Xiong Tingbi's routine memorial merely stated that he would defend Shenyang and Liaoyang to the death.

However, one matter had indeed developed — namely, Zhu Tongmeng's impeachment of Zou Yuanbiao and others over their establishment of the Shoushan Academy.

Although the academy had not yet opened, Zhu Tongmeng had already submitted his impeachment. Originally, few people paid attention to this impeachment, but with Wei Zhongxian stirring things behind the scenes, it directly stirred up waves.

Numerous routine memorials flooded into the capital, all impeaching officials for giving lectures, directly branding such lecturing activities as forming factions.

The memorials all said essentially the same thing: either hold office, or give lectures. To hold office and give lectures was to form cliques for private gain.

Zhu Tongmeng's impeachment could be said to have stirred up a thousand waves with a single stone.

One should know that the Great Ming Code contained the Statutes on Officials — laws specifically targeting officials.

The Statutes on Officials comprised two sections, "Regulations on Office" and "Official Formulas," with thirty-three articles in total. They mainly stipulated the rules of office and official duties that civil and military officials should follow. Among them, "high ministers arrogating sole authority," "civil officials being enfeoffed as dukes or marquises," "forming cliques and confederacies to disturb court governance," "cultivating improper relations with close attendants of the emperor," and "arbitrarily altering established laws" were all capital offenses.

If the charge of forming cliques for private gain were once established, then these lecturing officials could not escape the death penalty — their families could even be directly confiscated and executed.

This was because the current Ming Emperor was useless. If this had been Zhu Yuanzhang, a great case implicating tens of thousands of people would have come about.

Wei Zhongxian still wasn't ruthless enough. If this had been in Zhu Yuanzhang's time, the Donglin Faction would absolutely have been dug up from head to toe.

As for the charges — weren't they simple enough?

Forming cliques for private gain was sufficient — confiscate their property and behead them all.

As Zhu Tongmeng's memorial spread, countless people began submitting their own memorials. Their goal was simple: they wanted to brand the Donglin Faction as forming cliques for private gain.

One should know that although the Donglin Faction now held power, their enemies had never disappeared. Otherwise, in the original course of history, even if Wei Zhongxian had been favored, he could not have expanded his power to such an extent in such a short time — even managing to destroy all the academies of the realm without anyone rebelling.

To wield such great power, the talents under Wei Zhongxian's command were the key — and these men were all enemies of the Donglin Faction.

Flipping through the memorials before him, Zhu Youxiao discovered an interesting man. This man was named Ni Wenhuan, and his official post was Censor.

The content of his memorial was quite interesting. In it, he raised a concept — namely, "false learning."

In Ni Wenhuan's view, the things these people lectured about were all false learning that deluded the masses. Aside from causing people to lose their hearts and minds, they served no purpose whatsoever. Therefore, not only should these people's academies be destroyed, but the source should also be purified — their classics should even be burned and their publications banned.

"A talent like this not going to the Great Qing — what a waste." Zhu Youxiao sighed in admiration.

If this Ni Wenhuan went to the Great Qing, he would absolutely be a master at playing the literary inquisition game!

"But then again, he's not unusable." Zhu Youxiao tapped on Ni Wenhuan's memorial with his hand, beginning to ponder how to proceed with the next step.

The arrangements were now mostly in place. Perhaps it was time to make a move.