Chapter 113: The young Emperor angrily rebukes the Donglin elders

The core combat power of the North and South is the eighteen taels of silver in annual military pay for the Qi troops.

This statement is extremely accurate.

Being able to find and obtain this silver to distribute as pay, and being willing and able to ensure that this silver is successfully delivered to every single Zhejiang soldier, is in itself an extremely difficult task.

The words "eighteen taels of silver" represent the cognitive military thought and practical military construction of the most elite fighting force in a feudal dynasty.

In the thirty-seventh year of the Jiajing era, the Shizong Emperor issued an edict to manufacture ten thousand bird-beak muskets, which are the individual firearms now widely equipped by the Great Ming's Capital Battalion, the Nine Frontiers, and the guest troops.

Qi Jiguang's infantry battalion had a total of 700 officers and soldiers. That year, they were equipped with 1,080 muskets, a coverage rate of 40% for individual firearms. Qi Jiguang's infantry battalion alone received one-tenth of the court's individual firearms.

Zhang Juzheng was extremely wary of the resourceful Yin Zhengmao, because although Yin Zhengmao didn't say it, he was likely self-funding his military pay. Once an army's finances become independent, a warlord faction is formed.

Qi Jiguang, on the other hand, had always been consistent; he had never engaged in self-funding military pay. This was the reason Qi Jiguang could lead the troops from the south to the north, commanding the three garrisons of Jizhou, Yongping, and Shanhai Pass, which guarded the capital. Because from beginning to end, Qi Jiguang never had any intention of using his troops to assert his own power.

The southern troops under Qi Jiguang ate the court's grain, took the court's pay, and served the Great Ming court.

Zhu Yijun made a decision that went against the ancestral teachings: he would not play the game of having civil officials supervise the military in the Capital Battalion. He would let Qi Jiguang go out to fight without any shackles, allowing him to act as he pleased.

"Your Majesty, this is probably inappropriate." Wan Shihe was the first to object. The last time a young Emperor and a widowed mother had a general leading troops on an expedition, the general's name was Zhao Kuangyin! The Chen Qiao Mutiny and the donning of the yellow robe were stories everyone knew well. As the Minister of Rites, Wan Shihe naturally had to object.

No matter how much the Emperor trusts a general, he cannot play like this; playing with fire will lead to bed-wetting!

At this moment, Qi Jiguang didn't know whether to speak or not. If there really was no one to coordinate military affairs, even if he won, he would lose.

Regarding the decision not to set up a Governor of Military Affairs for the Capital Battalion, most of the court officials held opposing views.

"Sir, you previously said that if generals are controlled by civil officials, they are no better than slaves. If they cannot cultivate their sharp spirit in peacetime, how can one expect them to have the courage to break through enemy lines when facing the enemy?"

"Minister Wan, when did the Great Ming start having civil officials supervise military generals and oversee the army? Or rather, since when did the Great Ming have a system of supervising the army?" Zhu Yijun asked a question. The system of civil officials supervising military affairs had not appeared before the Xuande era.

Wan Shihe was momentarily stunned by the question. After thinking for a long time, he said: "It started with Wang Ji, the Marquis of Jingyuan, during the Zhengtong era."

Zhu Yijun continued to ask: "So, during the Hongwu, Yongle, and Xuande eras, there was no talk of civil officials supervising the army. Since it started in the Zhengtong era, can Minister Wan tell me what exactly happened?"

Wan Shihe thought for a long time before saying with difficulty: "In the second year of the Zhengtong era of the Yingzong Emperor, the Regional Commander Jiang Gui led troops to suppress the Hu bandits and was defeated at Lake Buyu. In May of the same year, the Emperor sent Wang Ji to inquire. Wang Ji rode rapidly to the army and gathered all the generals. Wang Ji asked: 'When pursuing the enemy at Lake Buyu, who retreated first and caused the defeat?' Everyone said: 'Regional Commander An Jing.' Wang Ji, acting on a secret decree, executed Regional Commander An Jing and had him beheaded at the camp gate."

Zhu Yijun continued to press: "In the second year of the Zhengtong era, whose secret decree did Wang Ji act upon to execute Regional Commander An Jing?"

Wan Shihe was silent for a long time before saying with difficulty: "The Yingzong Emperor."

"How old was the Yingzong Emperor at that time?" Zhu Yijun had no intention of letting Wan Shihe off and continued to press.

"Ten years old." After Wan Shihe finished speaking, he fell silent.

The young Emperor before him was wise enough, but the Emperor had never told any official to go and execute a Regional Commander.

Zhu Yijun looked at Wan Shihe and said: "If my reading of history is correct, in the twenty-first year of the Hongwu era, the Grand General Lan Yu crushed the Northern Yuan at Lake Buyu, completely destroying the Northern Barbarians' imperial title. Since then, the Hu barbarians have not established a court."

"Lake Buyu is extremely far, deep in enemy territory. Regional Commander Jiang Gui and others led troops to suppress the bandits and were defeated. What was the actual reason for that defeat?"

"Fine, let's not discuss the reason for the defeat. Let's talk about Wang Ji acting on a secret decree to execute Regional Commander An Jing without trial. According to the rites and laws of that time, was that legal?"

"Your subject does not know." Wan Shihe refused to answer this question.

Seeing that Wan Shihe would not answer, Zhu Yijun immediately said: "Then, according to today's rites and laws, is it legal?"

Minister of Justice Wang Zhigao bowed his head and said: "Your Majesty, please allow your subject to report in detail. The Great Ming Code states: 'For all public matters handled by the Six Ministries, the Censorate, the Surveillance Commission, and other offices, if they involve military officers or if there are reports of misconduct by military officers, they must be reported in a sealed memorial; one is not permitted to detain or question them without authorization.'"

"According to today's laws, it is also not legal."

As the Minister of Justice, Wang Zhigao dealt with criminal law. Since the Emperor asked if it was legal, he naturally had to come out and explain whether beheading a general at the camp gate was legal or not. According to the explicit regulations, Wang Ji's execution of the Regional Commander was illegal.

"It is not legal." Wan Shihe had no choice but to bite the bullet and say.

After so many years of promoting literature and suppressing martial arts, the current situation of civil officials being superior to military officials in the Great Ming was even worse than in the second year of the Zhengtong era. Even now, with civil officials being superior, they still couldn't pull off a stunt like beheading a Regional Commander at the camp gate.

For the dozen or so Assistant Regional Commanders like Ma Gui and Ma Jin, Zhang Juzheng's handling of them was to question them slowly, and after Yang Bo intervened, Zhang Juzheng did not obstruct them further.

In the second year of the Zhengtong era, Wang Ji had already beheaded a general at the camp gate, and the one he killed was a Regional Commander—the chief official of military affairs for a province. This was a classic case of "You talk about the King's Law, but Wang Ji finds it laughable."

Zhu Yijun said with some emotion: "The past is the past; we will not discuss it anymore. However, granting the power of life and death to others—doesn't that lead to the situation where generals are controlled by civil officials like slaves?"

During the Northern Song era, Han Qi unjustly executed Jiao Yong, and Han Qi's housemaid mocked Di Qing for being a "spotted one" because of the tattoo on his face, calling him a "thief-soldier." Wang Ji's beheading of a general at the camp gate set a very, very bad precedent.

"Your Majesty is wise." Wan Shihe bowed his head helplessly and said.

Zhu Yijun continued to ask: "Everyone said: 'Regional Commander An Jing.' Who said this?"

"The Investigating Censor in charge of military readiness, Cao Yi." Wan Shihe really wanted to say, Your Majesty, please stop asking. If you keep asking, you'll really dig up something.

Zhu Yijun asked suspiciously: "When did civil officials start being in charge of military readiness?"

The power of life and death over military generals was Wang Ji's doing, but who was the initiator of civil officials getting their hands on military affairs?

Wan Shihe bowed his head in a hurry and said: "It was this Investigating Censor in charge of military readiness, Cao Yi. He was the first to be in charge of military readiness, and this position also started with Cao Yi."

"I see." After Zhu Yijun finished speaking, he fell silent, letting the court officials digest this. Wang Ji beheading a general at the camp gate, Cao Yi being in charge of military readiness—the court officials of the Wanli era felt the shock from the Zhengtong era.

Looking at Zhang Juzheng again, they noticed something different. In the Zhengtong era, were civil officials really that bold?

Zhu Yijun said with some surprise: "Minister Wan, you've said so much, but you still haven't answered my question: when did civil officials start supervising the army in the Great Ming?"

Wan Shihe had no choice but to open his mouth and say: "In the third year of the Zhengtong era, the Northern Barbarians, A-Dai Khan and Duozhibo, invaded. In April, Regional Commander Ren Li was granted the seal of the General Pacifying the Qiang and served as the Regional Commander to suppress them. The Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, Chai Che, and the Assistant Censors, Cao Yi and Luo Hengxin, participated in military affairs, while the Minister of the Ministry of War, Wang Ji, and the Eunuch Wang Gui supervised them."

"Since then, civil officials began supervising the army and controlling military generals."

Zhu Yijun said with certainty: "So, civil officials supervising the army is not an ancestral law. Now that military administration is ruined, the Grand Secretary says we must revitalize martial spirit. To give loyal and brave generals authority, we will not set up a Governor of Military Affairs for the Capital Battalion."

Zhang Juzheng bit the bullet and said: "Your Majesty, please allow your subject to report: no matter what, it must be set up."

Qi Jiguang also bowed his head and said: "Your Majesty, your subject also believes that a Governor of Military Affairs must be set up."

The logic is the logic. Civil officials supervising the army is indeed not an ancestral law from the Hongwu, Yongle, or Xuande eras, but it is an ancestral law from after the Zhengtong era. So, is this an ancestral law or not?

Whether it is an ancestral law or not, in practice, Qi Jiguang cannot lead troops on this expedition without a Governor of Military Affairs. Otherwise, even if Qi Jiguang wins, he will lose. When the time comes, the censors will cry to the heavens, making everything a mess, and no one will be able to stand it.

Zhu Yijun was not angry, nor did he argue. He nodded and said: "Then you all make a recommendation."

The court officials fell silent again. Who would coordinate military affairs for Qi Jiguang became a difficult problem.

Ge Shouli said tentatively: "How about bringing Wang Chonggu, the Governor of Xuan-Da, to the capital? Or never mind. The border regions in the Northwest rely heavily on Wang Gong. For an expedition to the Northeast, there might be border incidents in the Northwest. It is better for Wang Gong to continue governing Xuan-Da."

Ge Shouli nominated Wang Chonggu and then refuted himself. Wang Chonggu was not suitable; if he were suitable, he wouldn't have returned to Xuan-Da to continue governing.

Wang Chonggu was of the Jin faction, and Qi Jiguang was of the Emperor's faction. However, Qi Jiguang still had strong colors of the Zhang faction and the Zhejiang faction. If Wang Chonggu came to coordinate Qi Jiguang's military affairs, and then Wang Chonggu and the Regional Commander Ma Fang joined forces to sideline Qi Jiguang, that was something one could imagine with their backside.

If they lost the battle, they could all just commit suicide in front of the Changling Tomb to apologize.

"Let your subject go." Tan Lun said with certainty: "Your subject will definitely not go to the front lines to kill the enemy."

Only on the matter of going to the front lines to kill the enemy, Tan Lun's promise was like paper; if one believed a single word, the young Emperor would lose.

Zhu Yijun thought for a moment and said: "How about this? Revoke the mourning period. The country has public business. I will wrong Liang Menglong for now and have him coordinate military affairs. After this matter is settled, he can return home to observe the mourning period. How about that?"

"The court has wronged Liang Menglong. The sages established the rites of mourning, but now, by gradually revoking the mourning period, I also feel uneasy in my heart. Revoking the mourning period is not appropriate for a well-governed age, but the state's affairs are currently drifting, and the Northern Barbarians and Jianzhou Jurchens are humiliating our Great Ming."

"Sir, you taught me: 'To slander the subject as one who forgets his parents for the sake of position will invite heavenly wrath and lead to severe punishment.'"

"For a son to serve his parents, the funeral is the most important; to be an unfilial son is wrong. To forget one's parents for the sake of position and invite heavenly wrath is to be an unfaithful subject. I am placing you, my beloved subject, in a state of being both unfaithful and unfilial. This is truly an expedient measure for the state's public business."

Zhu Yijun revealed his true intentions and proposed revoking the mourning period.

Now, a multiple-choice question was placed before the court officials: either do not set up a Governor of Military Affairs for the Capital Battalion, or revoke the mourning period for Liang Menglong and let him return home to observe the mourning period after the matter is settled.

"Then let's revoke the mourning period." After weighing the pros and cons, Wan Shihe agreed to revoke the mourning period. If he didn't agree to set up a Governor of Military Affairs, revoking the mourning period would at most cause a little controversy. But if they didn't set up a Governor of Military Affairs, and Qi Jiguang arrived in Jizhou, donned the yellow robe, and led 100,000 troops back to the capital, how would they deal with that?

"What do you all think, wise officials?" Zhu Yijun looked at everyone and asked.

"Your Majesty is wise." Zhang Juzheng and Qi Jiguang looked at each other and bowed their heads.

"Your Majesty is wise."

When Zhu Yijun said he wanted to tear off the roof, everyone disagreed, but when Zhu Yijun said he wanted to open a window, everyone agreed.

"Let the Wenyuange draft the edict." Zhu Yijun ended the topic of coordinating military affairs for the Capital Battalion.

Zhu Yijun wanted to see if it was Zhang Juzheng who revoked the mourning period, or if it could cause such a massive stir as in history. Were those censor officials opposing the revocation of the mourning period because they opposed Zhang Juzheng, or did they truly follow filial piety and believe that if the Emperor revoked the mourning period and the subject did not commit suicide to fulfill filial piety, they were not human?

Was the contradiction between mourning and revoking the mourning period a tool for political struggle, or a requirement of the rites?

The court discussion continued. Only regarding how Li Chengliang should suppress the bandits, no plan was drawn up. Instead, Li Chengliang and Zhang Xueyan were ordered to act according to circumstances. If they felt it was time to fight, Li Chengliang would fight; if they felt it was not, they would hold their ground.

In the second year of the Wanli era, when the Great Ming mobilized troops, it could still put on such a formation and scale. In the twenty-third year of the Wanli era, when the Regional Commander of Jizhou, Wang Bao, said, "Do not bring armored troops when distributing pay today," and slaughtered all the Zhejiang troops in the old camp, the Great Ming could no longer put on such a formation when mobilizing troops.

After the court discussion, the Ministry of War began to request orders, the Wenyuange drafted the edict, and several drafted edicts entered the Directorate of Ceremonial. After the Emperor applied his seal, Feng Bao went to the Six Ministries to order the Six Censors to go to various places to proclaim the edict.

This rusty machine of the Great Ming began to turn slowly. Liu Yingjie led the Regional Commanders of Jizhou, Yongping, and Shanhai Pass, including Chen Dacheng, Wang Rulong, and Tong Ziming, to select 30,000 elite troops to exit Shanhai Pass.

Qi Jiguang led the three major battalions of the Capital Battalion to Yipianshi.

Li Zicheng was backstabbed by Wu Sangui at Yipianshi and lost everything. Since then, Yipianshi became famous throughout the world. Before Li Zicheng's defeat, every time Qi Jiguang exited Shanhai Pass to Liaodong to support Li Chengliang, he would station his troops there. It was a place where one could advance or retreat with confidence.

Zhu Yijun waited and waited, but he didn't wait for any memorial impeaching Liang Menglong. There was only a memorial from a secretary in the Ministry of Rites saying that since the mourning period was revoked, the honors should be generous, requesting the Emperor to send officials to bestow funeral gifts and burial honors to fulfill Liang Menglong's dilemma of loyalty and filial piety.

Zhu Yijun found this extremely strange!

Where were those Confucian scholars who would risk their lives to uphold filial piety? According to the historical script, once the Emperor revoked the mourning period for a subject, shouldn't the censor officials run to the Huangji Gate and, even if they were to be punished by the court, uphold the rites and ancestral laws of governing the world with filial piety?

Zhu Yijun's response strategy was already prepared, the bullets were in the chamber, the Embroidered Uniform Guards had drawn their swords and were waiting, and the eunuchs of the Directorate of Ceremonial had rolled up their sleeves and were ready. But the censor officials crying to the heavens never happened.

Mourning and revoking the mourning period were a contradiction between the theory and practice of filial piety.

Governing with filial piety was the ethical code of the world, and it also changed with the development of the times. For example, during the Hongwu era, civil officials returned home to observe mourning, while military officials could not.

During the Yongle era, the Ming Chengzu Emperor Zhu Di had many affairs of state, such as the northern expedition to Mongolia, moving the capital to Beijing, and compiling the Yongle Encyclopedia. Zhu Di didn't care about any rites and laws, and he set a precedent by revoking the mourning period for many Grand Secretaries and ministers, such as Yang Rong, Jian Yi, and Xia Yuanji.

On February 12th of the second year of the Chenghua era, the father of Li Xian, a five-dynasty veteran who served through the Xuande, Zhengtong, Jingtai, Tianshun, and Chenghua eras, passed away. Li Xian applied for mourning leave according to custom, but the Xianzong Emperor firmly refused. Li Xian submitted six memorials before the Xianzong Emperor reluctantly granted him three months of leave to handle the funeral, with the condition that he must return to the capital after three months.

Until Li Xian, since the Yongle era, the system of civil officials observing mourning was mostly three months of leave for the funeral. For example, in the sixth year of the Zhengtong era, Yang Pu, one of the "Three Yangs," returned home for the funeral of his father and returned to the capital after three months.

Zhang Juzheng repeatedly emphasized to the young Emperor that when reading history, especially the Veritable Records of the Dynasty, one must view the period from Hongwu to Chenghua as one time segment, which was a time of "family affairs," and the period after the Xiaozong Emperor as another time segment, which was a time of "national change."

This was based on the theory of contradictions, viewing the Great Ming in two periods under the basis of primary and secondary contradictions.

The primary contradiction was changing, and the court's system was also changing.

Zhu Yijun deeply agreed.

After the lecture, the young Emperor was bored and went to shoot fish in Taiye Pond. The slingshot snapped, and the arrow with a rope whistled out, piercing the water and hitting a koi carp. Zhang Hong pulled the thin rope and dragged the fish up.

It was another day of eating fish.

Ten muskets, one hundred crossbows, one thousand bows, ten thousand slingshots—this was a sentence the Embroidered Uniform Guard Commander Zhu Xixiao told Zhu Yijun. It referred to long-range weapons. Muskets required ten practices to enter, crossbows one hundred, bows one thousand, and slingshots required ten thousand practices to be considered entry-level.

Practicing with a slingshot was extremely difficult because at the moment of firing, the hand holding the bow needed to dodge the projectile, and the slingshot's projectiles—porcelain balls, lead pellets, steel balls, and arrows—were even harder to master than feathered arrows.

But Zhu Yijun's slingshot skills had reached the point where he never missed. The koi in Taiye Pond were proof. Whenever Zhu Yijun came to Taiye Pond, the lake surface was extremely calm; there wasn't a single fish.

"These fish, each one is incredibly cunning!" Zhu Yijun watched for a long time without firing a single shot, feeling only boredom.

Feng Bao ran over from the direction of the Ban Jian Fang, his trousers rolled up, shouting as he ran: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty! Someone is impeaching Minister Liang for revoking the mourning period!"

"Oh?! Present it quickly." Zhu Yijun was overjoyed. He snatched the memorial from Feng Bao's hand and opened it. It was the new top scholar, Sun Jigao, impeaching Liang Menglong for revoking the mourning period!

Zhu Yijun closed the memorial, threw the slingshot to Zhang Hong, and laughed loudly: "Good! Good! Good! Just in time! Let's go, let's go, go to the Wenhua Hall, proclaim Sun Jigao to come for an audience! Call Grand Secretary Zhang to come and observe the ceremony."

Zhang Hong reminded him in a hurry: "Your Majesty, it's almost time for lunch. The Grand Secretary has a stomach ailment. Didn't Your Majesty specifically instruct that the Grand Secretary should not be disturbed during his meal at noon?"

"Ah, yes, yes, yes, then after lunch." Zhu Yijun held the memorial, full of smiles, and said: "Then proclaim him after lunch."

On May 8th of the second year of the Wanli era, the Grand Secretary Zhang Juzheng's old stomach ailment flared up. When Zhu Yijun found out, he went to the kitchen himself to cook a bowl of spicy noodles for Zhang Juzheng. Chen Shigong heard about this and disobeyed the imperial order, saying that the Grand Secretary's old stomach ailment could not tolerate spicy food, and the young Emperor couldn't cook, so hand-pulled noodles were his limit.

The young Emperor had no choice but to let the small kitchen of the Qianqing Palace make a bowl of lighter noodles, paired with a set of ivory chopsticks, and sent them to Zhang Juzheng's Quanchu Guild Hall.

Zhang Juzheng even submitted a memorial, expressing his gratitude.

Zhu Yijun issued a decree specifically instructing Zhang Juzheng to eat breakfast and eat on time; no matter how busy work was, he could not delay eating. If one was not proactive about eating, there was a problem with their thinking. He even scolded You Qi, saying that if the Grand Secretary couldn't eat well, it was all You Qi's fault for not taking care of things.

After finishing his lunch, Zhu Yijun ran toward the Wenhua Hall in a hurry.

Empress Dowager Li looked at Zhu Yijun, who was eating with his face full of oil, and then at the young Emperor Zhu Yijun, who was running away. She smiled and shook her head, saying to herself: "This child, full of life."

"Proclaim Hanlin Academy Compiler Sun Jigao to enter the hall!" Zhao Mengyou flicked his whip and proclaimed Sun Jigao to enter the hall.

Sun Jigao was the top scholar. According to custom, he should have been selected as a Shujishi, but Sun Jigao was not a Shujishi; he was just a Hanlin Academy Compiler.

This was an ancestral law. The system of selection was established in the thirteenth year of the Jiajing era. Since the thirteenth year of the Jiajing era, selection was held in the years of Chou and Wei, and suspended in the years of Chen and Xu. The second year of the Wanli era was the Jia-Xu year, so no selection was held.

But some censor officials who didn't understand the rites said that Zhang Juzheng didn't hold the selection because his two sons didn't pass the imperial examination, which was an usurpation of the Emperor's authority.

Wan Shihe even specifically explained to these censor officials what was called ancestral law.

So Sun Jigao was just a Hanlin Academy Compiler, not a Shujishi.

Sun Jigao, known as one of the Nine Elders of Donglin, was one of the nine founders of the Donglin Academy. The Donglin Party, which derived from the Donglin Academy, was a political group of the bureaucratic class mainly composed of scholars and officials from Jiangnan. They were spokesmen for landlords and wealthy merchants and ignored the rights of farmers and small people.

The Donglin Party, the Donglin Academy, Donglin Party members, and their supporters resisted any reform views on basic systems, especially finance. They had never proposed any political platform for saving the nation, were good at internal strife, short at governing the nation and the military, and preferred the fantasy of administrative reform. They were a continuation of the Taizhou School, a typical representative of only knowing conscience, being grand but not firm, and engaging in empty talk without practical implementation. They had no scruples in the court and blindly squeezed out and attacked the opposition, while outside the court, they acted as academic warlords.

Donglin Party members always stayed in an idealized world of fantasy, living in dreams. In practice, they showed the deep-rooted incompetence, weakness, retreat, and numbness of corrupt scholars.

Sun Jigao, one of the Nine Elders of Donglin.

Zhang Juzheng had also read the impeachment memorial, but he just shook his head. If the nation were handed over to these people, the Great Ming would truly be at its end.

"Your subject pays respects to Your Majesty. Long live Your Majesty, long live Your Majesty, long live Your Majesty." Sun Jigao never expected that he would be named. On the way here, he had some thoughts: was it because his essay was the best that he was named? Little did he know, he was the only one among the capital officials who had submitted this memorial.

This was an information gap; information is power.

Zhang Juzheng had been governing for three years. The capital officials serving in the court had some idea. It was best not to oppose the court's decisions. If they were scolded by the young Emperor, no official would stand up to speak. The young Emperor's scolding was extremely harsh. Being unable to talk back to an eleven-year-old young Emperor didn't increase one's reputation and was also embarrassing.

If one couldn't even talk back to the young Emperor, what use were these censor officials?

Sun Jigao had not been selected as a Shujishi and did not understand the public opinion in the court. He didn't know that there was no public opinion in the court impeaching the revocation of the mourning period.

"You submitted a memorial saying that Liang Menglong revoking the mourning period was wrong." Zhu Yijun's small hand touched the memorial and asked.

Sun Jigao knelt on the ground and said with a resounding voice: "Mencius, Li Lou I, says: 'To demand difficulty from the ruler is called respect; to state goodness and close off evil is called reverence.' Your subject, as a Hanlin Academy Compiler, should demand difficulty from the ruler and state goodness to close off evil, to rectify our ruler. This is your subject's respectful heart."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yijun sneered and said: "Did you only read half of this book? There is another sentence: 'To say the ruler cannot is called a thief.' Why didn't you say that? Do you think I haven't read books? Feng, teach him!"

Feng Bao bowed his head and said: "Your subject obeys the decree."

"Mencius, Li Lou I, says: 'Xie Xie is like Ta Ta.' To serve the ruler without righteousness, to advance or retreat without rites, and to speak without the way of the former kings is Ta Ta. What does the sage Mencius mean? It means that a subject serving the ruler should be righteous and have rites."

"What is righteousness? To flatter for pleasure without remonstrance is to be without righteousness."

"What is having rites? To be unable to rectify the ruler when advancing, and to be unable to keep oneself clean when retreating, is to be without rites."

"Compiler Sun, is what I said reasonable or not?"

Sun Jigao frowned, realizing that things were not looking good. How could the eunuch beside the Emperor understand the sage's teachings so thoroughly and interpret them so deeply? He pondered for a long time before saying: "What the Great Eunuch said is reasonable."

Feng Bao was naturally reasonable because he had learned these words secretly during the Emperor's lectures!

The theory of contradictions and the theory of public and private were too complex, so the Confucian classics seemed simple in comparison.

Feng Bao continued: "Today's subjects, all their plans, come from the selfishness of worldly utility. Therefore, the laws of the former kings are constantly being ruined. They feel it is difficult, so they don't speak of the former kings' ways, only following the passage of time, worrying about their own family's selfishness, without any sincerity for the nation or urgency for the ruler. This is Ta Ta, which is babbling without making sense."

"Compiler Sun, is what I said reasonable or not?"

Sun Jigao gritted his teeth and said: "What the Great Eunuch said is extremely reasonable."

Feng Bao took a step forward and said: "That's it. The allusion you just cited about demanding difficulty and stating goodness, clearly you read little, read poorly, and read without precision, yet you still took it out of context. You are the top scholar; how can you be biased and take the sage's words out of context?"

"You cited the sage Mencius's words, a total of three sentences, but you only remembered two. The third sentence, 'To say the ruler cannot is called a thief,' feels that the way of the former kings is not something our ruler can practice. To speak and talk like this is babbling. This is the act of a national thief!"

Sun Jigao finally couldn't bear it anymore and said: "Your Majesty, the eunuch insults your subject too much! I beg Your Majesty to have pity and not treat your subject poorly."

Zhu Yijun then said: "Did Feng scold you? Where did he scold you? He just stated what you did; is that scolding you?"

"From the Yongle to the Chenghua era, ten Grand Secretaries returned home to observe mourning, including Yang Rong, Hu Guang, Huang Huai, Jin Youzi, Yang Pu, Jiang Yuan, Wang Wen, Lü Yuan, Li Xian, and Liu Ji. All of them had their mourning periods revoked and were recalled to service, with the longest being only six months of mourning before returning to the capital."

"After the abolition of the chancellery, the Six Ministries shared the power of the chancellery, and the Six Ministries managed the affairs of the world. Fifteen Ministers of the Six Ministries had their mourning periods revoked, including Wu Zhong, Zhao Yugong, Jian Yi, Jin Lian, Shi Pu, Nian Fu, Bai Gui (twice), and Ma Wensheng. From the Yongle to the Chenghua era, all the Ministers of the Six Ministries had their mourning periods revoked."

"The Vice Ministers of each ministry, as assistant officials, also had their mourning periods revoked."

"Every morning when I wake up, I see four words: 'Revere Heaven and Follow Ancestors.' Compiler Sun, is this not the ancestral law of our Great Ming? Or are you saying that from the Chengzu to the Xianzong Emperor, they are not my ancestors? If they are not, shall we go to the Imperial Ancestral Temple and take a look?"

Sun Jigao bowed his head and said: "But since the Xiaozong Emperor, the revocation of the mourning period has ceased. For a son to serve his parents, the funeral is the most important; to be an unfilial son is wrong."

Zhu Yijun had been waiting for Sun Jigao to mention this and immediately said: "You are talking nonsense! In November of the fifteenth year of the Jiajing era, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, Xu Zan, returned home to observe mourning. My grandfather issued an edict to revoke the mourning period and ordered him to return to the capital in three months. Feng said you read books poorly, and you weren't happy. What are you unhappy about? Have you read history?"

Feng Bao had been holding back his laughter. The Emperor's mouth was truly a master of being annoying.

"Is there such a thing..." Sun Jigao said uncertainly.

"It is indeed true." The chief editor of the *Veritable Records of the Shizong Emperor*, Zhang Juzheng, looked at Sun Jigao and said: "If you don't believe me, go ask the Minister of Rites, Wan Shihe. He has been annotating the *Veritable Records of the Shizong Emperor* recently; you will know as soon as you ask. At that time, the Censor Xie Tingjie submitted a memorial about this matter and was scolded by the Shizong Emperor."

Zhu Yijun saw that Sun Jigao finally stopped arguing and said earnestly: "Compiler Sun, you are the top scholar!"

"The Red-Haired Barbarian envoy Li Yashi is in the capital. If he sees that the top scholar of our Great Ming has such learning, unable to even read a book properly, what do you think that says? It shocks the friendly nations and damages the dignity of the nation!"

"If a subject only follows and obeys, appearing respectful on the outside, that is only a small matter. A subject should wholeheartedly assist, propose difficult and achievable tasks, and demand that the ruler must carry them out, so that the ruler's heart and government will be like Yao and Shun."

"To say that the way of the former kings is not something our ruler can practice is not the act of a subject; isn't this the act of a thief harming the nation?"

"The affairs of the world have constants and changes; a gentleman's handling of affairs has principles and expediency. One must weigh the light and heavy, the urgent and the slow, to seek what is in accordance with the principles of heaven and the hearts of the people. If one only knows the rites and not the expediency, what is achieved will be small, and what is lost will be great. Today's revocation of the mourning period is knowing the times and adapting to changes."

"This is the principle that Hence Hai Rui, the Censor-in-Chief, taught me. You can't say that Hence Hai Rui is not upright, can you?"

"As for revoking the mourning period, I also don't want Minister Liang to damage the path of loyalty and filial piety. To forget one's parents for the sake of position is to be a slanderer, and not to bury one's parents is to be an unfilial son. But now, there is the urgency of the state, and I am suffering from a lack of people to use. If there were a way, how could I have the heart to do this? Is this not knowing the times and adapting to changes?"

"After the Liaodong matter is settled, let Minister Liang return home to observe the mourning period. Compiler Sun, what do you think?"

Sun Jigao knelt on the ground, trembling, and said: "Your subject's investigation was unclear, and my remonstrance was sinful. Your Majesty is wise."

"Then go back." Zhu Yijun gave the memorial to Zhang Hong and said: "In the future, read more books, do you understand? You are a top scholar, and you couldn't even talk back to a eunuch. What kind of thing is that?"

"Go, go."

"Your subject withdraws." Sun Jigao left the Wenhua Hall holding the memorial. After leaving the Wenhua Hall, he looked back at it. This place was like a blood-red mouth waiting to devour people, as strange as could be, as terrifying as could be. What kind of monster had the Grand Secretary taught?!

Sun Jigao shivered violently and hurried away.

The young Emperor's reading was truly powerful. Sun Jigao had no room to argue. There were ancestral laws, the rites of the former kings, practical implementation, principles and expediency, and the way of knowing the times and adapting to changes. How could Sun Jigao argue?

Since he couldn't argue, he naturally had to take back the memorial.

Zhu Yijun looked at Zhang Juzheng and said: "Sir, the state's affairs are busy. Now that the Northeast is in a state of military danger, I rely on you to devise strategies."

"This is your subject's duty to repay the late Emperor and be loyal to Your Majesty." Zhang Juzheng bowed and left the Wenhua Hall.

When walking out of the Wenhua Hall, Zhang Juzheng realized in a daze that the young Emperor had specifically called him over not to support him, but to watch the fun together! To have a good time.

As the saying goes, the young Emperor angrily rebukes the Donglin elders, and the Grand Secretary watches the fun without thinking it's a big deal. To know what happens next, listen to the next installment! *Slap! * Requesting monthly tickets, *Awoo*!!!!!!

This chapter is finished. ===== CHAPTER 114 =====

It is said that the young Emperor angrily rebuked the Donglin elders, and the Grand Secretary watched the excitement without thinking it was a big deal. To know what happens next, listen to the next chapter! Slap! Please vote for the monthly ticket, Awoo!!!!!

End of chapter