Chapter 127: Reinstating old regulations to rectify academic administration and revitalize talent

Zhu Yijun finished reading the memorial from the Southern Yamen. Luo Bingliang's description of the debate at the Chongzheng Academy gathering was very detailed, vividly portraying the appearance of those rotten Confucian scholars. Luo Bingliang had no opinions of his own; he just reported the truth of the facts.

Public opinion is really important because public opinion can really change some values and worldviews. Gu Xiancheng's learning was not inferior to Jiao Hong's, but the education he received from childhood was just like that: small people are grass, and the lives of the powerful and wealthy gentry are the only lives that matter.

This is the collapse of rites and ruin of music that the Master always mentioned, or rather, the corruption of social customs.

Rotten Confucian scholars, rotten Confucian scholars—rolling in the manure pit, yet insisting on dragging others into the manure pit with them.

Or, in the words of Xunzi, they are "base Confucian scholars."

As a Confucian Sage who was expelled from the Confucian register, Xunzi liked to scold stubborn, mechanically applying Confucian scholars as base Confucian scholars.

Lu Guangzu was reinstated. This was the little Emperor pushing his luck. Sun Piyang's "Examination Method" had flaws, and the court discussion allowed him to leave the capital to take office, which vacated a position, and Zhang Juzheng recommended Lu Guangzu.

Zhang Juzheng followed the little Emperor in pushing his luck. Once the imperial censors were afraid, he directly doubled down.

Reinstating Liang Menglong, the imperial censors comforted themselves by saying "no avoidance in times of war." Reinstating Zhao Mengyou, the imperial censors could say they were afraid Zhao Mengyou would really beat someone to death with the court staff. Then, reinstating Lu Guangzu—would these imperial censors give a round of remonstrance?

Zhu Yijun had prepared the ammunition and was just waiting for the imperial censors to deliver themselves to his door! Things that were not even followed in the era of Confucius and Mencius had to be followed in the Wanli era. Such stubborn and unchangeable people naturally had to have this public opinion corrected.

The little Emperor circled the trimaran hydrofoil sailboat lifted to the Imperial City, looking at it again and again, and said with some doubt: "Such a big ship, how was it sent into the palace gate? Can it pass through the city gate?"

The longest part of the hydrofoil sailboat in front of him was 28 feet 3 inches (8.91 meters), and the widest was 19 feet 4 inches (6.1 meters). The reason for this length-to-width ratio was that the two horizontal balance wings were relatively long. The mast was about the same length as the sailboat, made of all steel, brushed with a layer of dense tung oil on both sides, reflecting the sunlight.

"The mast can be dismantled and sent in separately." Chen Lin explained the little Emperor's doubt. Naturally, it wouldn't work to lift it in whole, but it could enter the city gate by dismantling the mast, and if that didn't work, it could be lifted.

As long as one wants the Emperor to see it, and the Emperor wants to see it, there are always more ways than problems.

What is feared is not wanting the Emperor to see it, or the Emperor himself not wanting to see it—that would be bad.

Zhu Yijun nodded repeatedly, looking at this and that, and said with great satisfaction: "Good, good, good! Very good!"

Chen Lin took out a "Songjiang Shipyard Gazetteer" and handed it to Zhang Hong. It contained detailed data on various hydrofoil sailboats, with different shapes: single-person sampans with short horizontal wings, twin-hull sampans with one mast and two sails, high-speed sailboats with two masts and two sails, and so on.

Recording detailed data was specifically requested by the little Emperor. Every ship that set sail from Songjiang Prefecture—ship length, width, length-to-width ratio, mast height, draft, waterline, personnel configuration, cargo, amount of materials used, cost, sail area, watertight bulkhead design, etc. —had to be recorded with detailed data to facilitate management.

This method of detailed recording had to be mentioned in the "Wanli Accounting Record" compiled by Wang Guoguang, which recorded the state tax data of the Great Ming Dynasty in detail.

Wang Guoguang had always advocated "connecting through degrees and numbers," which meant using concrete numbers to measure the infinite things in the world, so that one could draw inferences about other cases and make the Great Ming better.

In the early years of Wanli, with the goal of saving the Great Ming's increasingly decadent national strength and the lofty ambition of the Great Ming's resurgence, the officials who united around Zhang Juzheng used their own methods to solve various problems.

In administration, there was the Examination Method; in national tax, there was connecting through degrees and numbers; in military affairs, there was the recruitment system for training troops; in construction, there was the improvement of firearms by removing the dross; in public opinion, there was risking death to remonstrate and speak directly about the ruler's faults, and so on.

What Zhu Yijun wanted to do was to protect these officials who were doing things, protect their political legacy, select more loyal and capable officials, and unswervingly lead the Great Ming to resurgence.

"Regional Commander Yu requests to establish a Maritime Inspection Division, specifically for maritime defense inspection and the management of orders and intelligence." Chen Lin saw the little Emperor was happy and immediately bowed and said.

The Great Ming's Inspection Divisions were all established at passes and key points. The duties of the Inspection Division were to check people traveling without road permits, arrest spies, intercept escaped soldiers and prisoners, crack down on smuggling, and maintain normal merchant travel, etc.

The Inspection Division was under the Ministry of War. The inspector of the Inspection Division was of the ninth rank, mostly served by military degree holders or junior officers. Each division raised a number of archers. These archers did not receive salaries from the imperial court; they only received rewards, divided into levels of capturing 200, 100, 30, etc. Local prefectures and counties added promotions or punishments based on whether there were any faults.

The establishment of the Inspection Division depended entirely on the local security situation. If security deteriorated, it would be established. For example, in June of the 26th year of Jiajing, five Inspection Divisions were added in Sichuan, such as Zhuqing Mountain, Shazi Pass, Jinzi Mountain, Tongluo Pass, and Yangquan Mountain, specifically for arresting thieves.

The archers of the Inspection Division were actually recruited by the inspector after taking office from local "heroes and knights." They were not given money but only rewards, which was an important supplement for the imperial court to exercise violence.

The first large-scale abolition of the Inspection Division was in the 13th year of Hongwu. The world was stable, and 354 Inspection Divisions responsible for security were abolished. The second large-scale abolition was during the Hongzhi era, because Emperor Xiaozong practiced benevolence and the country was peaceful, so Inspection Divisions were successively abolished. Then, during the Jiajing era, a large number were restored.

The tax-auditing battalion commanders, company commanders, and Embroidered Uniform Guards that Zhu Yijun wanted to engage, recruiting heroes and knights to do things—this was the ancestral system since the Hongwu era!

"How much money is needed?" Zhu Yijun asked about the specific establishment.

"Regional Commander Yu's memorial." Chen Lin took out the memorial and handed it to Zhang Hong, looking at the little Emperor with strong anticipation, hoping that this memorial could be approved.

Yu Dayou only wanted a few ninth-rank official positions, selecting ten "white strips in the waves" to serve as maritime defense inspectors. Each inspector would be equipped with a hydrofoil sailboat, and while reporting urgent news to various coastal prefectures and counties, they would also investigate the movements of Japanese pirates, transmit news, and investigate smuggling, etc.

Zhu Yijun finished reading the memorial and said with great surprise: "No money needed?"

Yu Dayou knew that the imperial court's expenses were tight and the state treasury was empty, so he didn't cause trouble for the imperial court. Each division of the Inspection Division was responsible for its own profits and losses, mainly relying on the extraction of smuggling fines. If merchant ships went to sea without ship permits, they would be fined six percent of the value of the smuggled goods, and the confiscated goods would be sent to the Maritime Trade Office.

But at the same time, what is free is the most expensive.

This kind of Inspection Division depended entirely on the inspector himself. If the smuggler bribed the inspector and was released privately, wouldn't that mean every Inspection Division had become a tax barrier? With financial autonomy, in a few years, they would all become Japanese pirates, running rampant across the four seas.

Antonio came all the way from the West, bribing colonial governors and tax officials along the way. Zhu Yijun was very clear about this.

If this free method were used, there would probably be a large number of Japanese pirates on the Great Ming's long coastline.

Yu Dayou meant that they would deal with it for the next two years, and wait until a few years later, when the imperial court's finances were not so tight, before making plans and arrangements.

Zhu Yijun handed the memorial to Zhang Hong and said: "The Inspection Division's anti-smuggling is an urgent task that must be done, and it is also a matter of course for preventing Japanese pirates. Recruiting so-called heroes and knights for the Inspection Division will not work. The imperial court raises guest soldiers; after the rebellion is pacified, the guest soldiers have nowhere to be placed. How about placing them in the Inspection Division? Confiscating smuggled goods, rewarding them according to the value of the confiscated goods, is appropriate."

In the method Zhu Yijun mentioned, there were two points different from Regional Commander Yu.

One: Do not recruit drifters, but use recruited soldiers.

Anti-smuggling is a very professional matter. Drifters and heroes and knights may not be competent, but the Great Ming's guest soldiers are different. Most of the southern guest soldiers are professional soldiers and have been trained for a long time. Facing the rampant smuggling of maritime trade, they can effectively perform their anti-smuggling duties. Pacifying Japanese pirates is a war, and anti-smuggling is also a war—it is a tax-protection war.

The Great Ming's guest soldiers are also used to being paid, pacifying Japanese pirates and sweeping away thieves, and the imperial court's rewards. This can be considered the imperial court's benevolence in placing old soldiers. Guest soldiers are the imperial court's people, and the imperial court still pays them salaries. This is an anti-smuggling brigade with an establishment, which is essentially different from recruiting heroes and knights.

Two: Do not rely on extraction rewards as the main source. This is to prevent the Inspection Division from having financial autonomy, so that the Inspection Division will not become bandits collecting road money.

"His Majesty is wise. Regional Commander Yu certainly hopes to use guest soldiers; it's just that he is worried that the imperial court's finances are already in a huge deficit." Chen Lin heard the little Emperor's idea and was also quite in agreement. Yu Dayou certainly wanted to do this. A regular anti-smuggling brigade—isn't it better than a nest of rats?

The problem is money. The imperial court was already poor, and Yu Dayou was afraid that if he asked the imperial court for money, it would be difficult to handle. The reason why he lifted the hydrofoil sailboat into the Imperial Palace was to let the imperial court see that their Songjiang Garrison had a submissive heart, and that they had done the things the Emperor had entrusted to them extremely well, so as to seek some imperial favor and display their full ambitions?

It is so difficult for the Great Ming's warriors to do something.

"There is still some silver. There are ten inspectors of the ninth rank in total, each with one hundred guest soldiers. It won't cost more than 20,000 taels of silver a year. Maybe one ship's confiscation will be enough." Zhu Yijun said with a smile: "Then issue a decree to the Ministry of War, let the Ministry of War discuss it, and then bring it to the court for discussion."

"For meritorious service in construction, the Songjiang Shipyard will be rewarded together, two taels of silver per person."

Chen Lin knelt on the ground and bowed his head very sincerely: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your great kindness."

This was an agreement. Chen Lin let out a long sigh of relief. It was not in vain. The Emperor saw their merits and was willing to give money as a reward. Although it was not much, two taels of silver was already exceptionally generous.

Zhu Yijun also wanted to give ten taels per person, but the key was that the inner treasury was also poor, so he couldn't give rewards, right?

Tan Lun looked at the hydrofoil sailboat in front of him, fascinated. If they had this thing when pacifying the Japanese pirates back then, would they have needed to spend so much effort?

The most important thing in pacifying Japanese pirates was finding the pirate nests. If they couldn't find the nests, the Japanese pirates could land and harass from any point on the Great Ming's long coastline. There was only defense and no offense, which meant being passively beaten, exhausted, and running around. At the same time, there were powerful gentry secretly passing news to the Japanese pirates. Pacifying Japanese pirates was by no means as light as a scholar's sentence: "Just fighting a group of bandits."

Finding a nest in the vast ocean was like looking for a needle in a haystack. Having this fast-running hydrofoil sailboat could greatly increase the speed of scouts searching. Sufficient intelligence could provide more military redundancy.

Tan Lun's face was full of smiles. The Great Ming was flourishing, and everything was thriving.

"Regional Commander Qi, if we had this divine object back then, why worry about Japanese pirates harassing our Great Ming's maritime territory?" Tan Lun looked at the hydrofoil sailboat, full of emotion.

Qi Jiguang calculated carefully and said: "If we had this thing back then, we would have already attacked the Japanese country. How could we let the Japanese pirates be rampant?"

This thing was not expensive to build. Starting from Shandong to Korea, and then attacking the Japanese country along the way, it would only take a few days. Supporting war with war would basically be able to quell most of the Japanese pirate disaster.

"This thing only costs forty taels of silver per ship? A four-hundred-load three-masted clipper only costs two thousand taels?" Wang Guoguang looked at the majestic ship in front of him, flipping through the "Songjiang Shipyard Gazetteer." Including labor costs, it only cost forty taels of silver, far cheaper than he had imagined. One had to know that a four-hundred-load cargo ship of the red-haired barbarians cost 30,000 silver coins. This thing only cost forty taels.

And a thousand-load giant ship, a five-masted clipper improved from a seal ship, only cost 30,000 taels per ship, and this was the price with gunpowder and cannons.

Wang Guoguang called it cheap. Wang Guoguang, the Minister of Revenue, had originally prepared to go bankrupt. Under the policy of opening the sea, it was inevitable to rebuild the navy, but today he saw the shipyard gazetteer, and after calculating, it was really not expensive.

Building ten ships would only cost 300,000 taels of silver. Compared to the losses caused by the Japanese pirate disaster in the southeast, this was simply a drop in the bucket.

The navy, or the army, is expensive because of people.

Chen Lin was also full of emotion: "This thing is not as expensive as I thought."

Before building it, Chen Lin thought it was very expensive, but after he started building it, he realized that it was the red-haired barbarians who sold it expensively.

Zhu Yijun asked about the Ge clan in Jiangsu. When Ge Cheng killed the tax-auditing accountant, Zhu Yijun was full of anger.

Chen Lin was in the Southern Yamen, and he really knew the ins and outs of this matter. He hesitated before saying: "The Ge clan in Jiangsu was raided because the Ge clan colluded with Japanese pirates, not because the servant Ge Cheng killed someone."

Ge Cheng killing someone was Ge Cheng's responsibility, and there was a fixed text for the instigation, but at most, the head of the Ge clan would be brought to be beheaded and displayed to the public. This was completely far from the point of raiding the home, and this kind of instigation charge was very difficult to convict, because evidence was difficult to collect. Ge Cheng, a weaver, could not see the head of the Ge clan; it was all conveyed by the Ge clan's "family members."

So this kind of case was the most difficult to trace to the source.

But the charge for the Ge clan being raided was colluding with Japanese pirates. This was the fundamental reason why Luo Bingliang immediately went to raid the home.

Because Ge Cheng swore that he saw Japanese pirates buying silk and cotton cloth produced by the Ge clan. Japanese pirates were very easy to confirm; their hairstyle was shaved clean in the middle and left a small tuft, which could be recognized wherever they went.

Ge Cheng swore that he saw Japanese pirates, and there were others who testified together. A little bit of visiting and asking confirmed the charge of colluding with Japanese pirates.

This was also the reason why Yu Dayou hoped to establish an Inspection Division: to investigate smuggling and prevent Japanese pirates.

Zhu Yijun frowned and asked: "If it was just doing business, Luo Bingliang wouldn't raid the home. There is a state of abusing power and acting as a pet based on influence."

The establishment of the tax-auditing room and the Embroidered Uniform Guards responsible for supervising taxes were not as simple as imagined. Luo Bingliang would not do things without rules, otherwise, public opinion could eat Luo Bingliang clean.

Colluding with Japanese pirates is a serious crime in the Great Ming, but it doesn't mean that no matter what happens, as long as it touches the Japanese pirates, it counts as colluding.

The Muromachi Shogunate was still the Japanese King enfeoffed by the Great Ming. During the Jiajing era, the Japanese pirates fought for tribute, and then the decree was issued to stop the Japanese from paying tribute. Before that, the Japanese country paid tribute every ten years. If it counted just by touching it, then the Great Ming imperial court would be the biggest colluder with Japanese pirates.

The Great Ming's order at Yuegang was to prohibit merchant ships from going to the Japanese country for trade, but in fact, a large amount of Japanese silver flowed into the Great Ming from Yuegang every year. Japanese silver was something the Great Ming urgently needed. Just doing business was generally not dealt with.

Chen Lin deliberated and said: "The imperial court ordered the powerful gentry families to hand over armor and crossbows. The Ge clan in Suzhou secretly hid them and sold these armor and crossbows to the Japanese pirates."

"Damn it." Zhu Yijun sneered when he heard this. Sure enough, otherwise the Embroidered Uniform Guards would not have made such a big move and insisted on raiding the home.

This was not strange. Zhao Wanze, the Vice Regional Commander of Liaodong, supervised the armor and military equipment. The Northern Tatars and Jianzhou Jurchens in Liaodong had the Great Ming's cloth-faced armor, and there were even the inscriptions of Great Ming craftsmen on them. It could only be said that it was the most damned of the damned.

Zhu Yijun and Chen Lin chatted for a long time about the Southern Yamen before signaling the guards to lift the ship out, transport it to Tianjin Wei, and let Chen Lin return to Songjiang Garrison.

Because he had to meet foreign officials, today's court discussion was postponed for one day. The Emperor did not have an audience today, only a lecture.

"How does the Master view the sentence 'Those skilled in war should be given the highest punishment' by Mencius?" Zhu Yijun asked, sitting up straight.

"At that time, the various states were at war, rites were collapsing, and music was ruined. There was no benevolence or righteousness to speak of in the world, so he said it." Zhang Juzheng still had the same attitude as when he was lecturing.

Discussing words and deeds away from any historical background is not the reality of practice, but a forced attachment. At that time, Mencius was trying to persuade benevolence and righteousness. As for hegemony, the world was full of hegemony everywhere at that time. Did Mencius need to discuss it in detail?

Zhang Juzheng deliberated for a moment and said: "Your Majesty, I have a submission."

"Master, please speak." Zhu Yijun nodded and said.

Zhang Juzheng bowed and said: "The 'Book of Rites' says: 'Only when the teacher is strict can the Way be respected; only when the Way is respected can the people know to respect learning.'"

"I am the chief editor of the 'Veritable Records of Emperor Shizong.' I found that in the early years of the Jiajing era, Emperor Shizong once issued an edict to the Ministry of Personnel, saying: 'Academic administration is decadent and rotten.' He ordered the Ministry of Personnel to conduct a thorough examination of the academic officials of the world and dismiss them, so that only those who remain are left. He also issued an edict to the Ministry of Rites to purge the students of the world, not allowing the number of students to exceed the number of government-supported students."

"Emperor Shizong's old regulations have been abolished, the customs of scholars are becoming increasingly decadent, and the hypocrisy of the people is increasing daily. Since Your Majesty ascended the throne, it has been three years, and the Ministry of Personnel has not seen a single academic official dismissed. In fact, the accumulated habits have been long, and it is difficult to revitalize them. The current customs of scholars are extremely decadent. Even if we follow the stories of the former dynasty and wash them thoroughly, is it too much?"

"I request to reinstate the old regulations of the early Jiajing era and rectify academic administration to revitalize talent."

Rectifying academic administration was also part of the Jiajing New Deal. In the early years of Jiajing, Emperor Jiajing, who entered the main line from a side branch, also wanted to be a good emperor and a wise monarch. With the help of Zhang Cong and Gui E, he did a solid job as a wise monarch for twenty years. Later, Jiajing neglected government and focused on Taoist cultivation, and these new policies were slowly abandoned.

Since Zhu Yijun ascended the throne three years ago, the Great Ming Ministry of Personnel had not dismissed a single academic official, and there had been no clearing of students in the world. This academic administration was decadent, and the accumulated abuses had been long.

"Master, do you have any good plans?" The little Emperor asked the Grand Secretary.

"I have a memorial on 'Rectifying Academic Administration'." Zhang Juzheng flipped through his sleeves and took out a memorial. Even without the Chongzheng Academy incident, Zhang Juzheng would have submitted a memorial about this academic administration. Especially this so-called "Right Learning of Conscience"—even if it was just engaging in a little bit of the Way of Confucius and Mencius, it would be better than engaging in conscience. If the Chongzheng learning engaged in the unity of knowledge and action, Zhang Juzheng would agree ten thousand times, but the key was that there was only knowledge and no action.

Zhu Yijun finished reading the memorial seriously. This memorial was really long, very long.

Zhang Juzheng first expounded the significance of academic administration for the country, as the foundation for raising scholars for the country; clearly pointed out the evil consequences of the decadence of academic administration: gaining fame for a moment, resisting the imperial court's bright edicts, and not daring to violate the requests of private gates; severely criticized the current decadence of academic administration, as it was openly opening the door to favor and clearly inviting requests; cited the clauses of rectifying academic administration in the early Jiajing era, approved the precedents, and listed and analyzed the pros and cons one by one;

Combined with the Examination Method, he proposed eighteen new policies for rectifying academic administration, such as the current examination and dismissal of academic officials, school preparation, talent selection, and clearing of students.

These eighteen items were all Zhang Juzheng's painstaking efforts to rectify academic administration.

"Master is a great talent. This memorial also has the name of Minister Yang?" Zhu Yijun finished reading the memorial and could only admire Zhang Juzheng's planning. It was truly seamless. He had already stated that the promotion should be gradual and absolutely not hasty.

Yang Bo had been gone for half a year. Zhang Juzheng took out this memorial at this time, obviously not to steal Yang Bo's credit, but because the timing was not ripe at that time.

Zhang Juzheng bowed and said: "I have communicated with Minister Yang many times about rectifying academic administration. Thanks to Minister Yang not abandoning me, I have achieved some success, but at that time, government orders were blocked and could not be carried out."

Whether Yang Bo was a gentleman or a villain, just like whether Emperor Jiajing was a wise monarch or a muddled monarch, they were all opposite and unified existences.

"Master, do you want to add mathematics?" Zhu Yijun noticed the blind spot in the eighteen items and asked with great surprise.

Zhang Juzheng nodded and said: "Your Majesty wants the tax-auditing room and tax-auditing bureau to check accounts and audit taxes, the Ministry of Revenue to balance accounts and organize national tax expenditures, and the Southern Yamen, Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi, and Liangguang to clear land. All of this requires mathematical talent. It is barely enough now, but it is unclear in the future, so naturally, it needs to be cultivated."

"Connecting through degrees and numbers is a major plan for the country, so naturally, a subject of mathematics must be added."

"The spring examinations in the fifth year of Wanli will not be tested, but by the eighth year of Wanli, mathematics must be tested."

Zhu Yijun was extremely in favor of adding mathematics, but said with some worry: "Good, good, good, adding a subject of mathematics is good. I'm just afraid that the imperial censors will chatter endlessly again, saying that the Master is paving the way for his own children's imperial examinations by specifically setting up mathematics."

"Then let the two children pass the examinations in the fifth year of Wanli." Zhang Juzheng said quite sincerely.

Zhu Yijun frowned and said: "The imperial examination is to select scholars for the country, but it is under the eyes of everyone. Manipulating the imperial examination is something the Master cannot do."

"They can pass if they study well." Zhang Juzheng was full of confidence. He knew his children very well; their studies were excellent. Last time, it was Zhang Juzheng who specifically instructed them not to pass in order to push through policies, which wronged the two children.

Zhang Juzheng started from the perspective of strength. He didn't need to manipulate the imperial examination; his two children could also pass.

Zhu Yijun picked up the vermilion brush and wrote vigorously, then said: "What the Master submitted is deeply cutting into the current abuses and is very penetrating. The clauses opened are all practical and feasible. Let all ministries follow them. If there are still those who are negligent or derelict in their duties, the Ministry of Personnel and the Censorate must investigate and dismiss them, and they are not allowed to favor anyone. If there is indulgence or favoritism, they will be dealt with together."

"Issue a decree to the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Personnel for discussion."

Zhang Juzheng bowed and said: "I thank Your Majesty for your great kindness."

Lu Guangzu returned to the capital, and it was a chorus of scolding. Everyone said that Lu Guangzu was a traitor to the gentry, and his wolfish ambition was for reinstatement. If it weren't for his shouting at the Chongzheng Academy gathering, and the excitement of the crowd, the Ge clan would not have been the first to stick their necks out.

Now it was good. Luo Bingliang's reputation in the Southern Yamen could no longer be described as foul. Raiding homes and exterminating families at every turn was truly hateful to the extreme, but there was no way to deal with it. Whether it was the Kunshan Gu clan or the Jiangsu Ge clan, they were all well-documented. The cases handled were all ironclad cases, not slander, so they could only shout a few times about "fish and meat gentry" and let it go.

During the Longqing era, "fish and meat gentry" was still a crime. By the Wanli era, because of land clearing, clearing up hidden occupations, returning land, and other matters, "fish and meat gentry" was no longer a crime.

If you don't fish and meat the gentry, the gentry will fish and meat the imperial court.

Lu Guangzu had just returned to the capital, and the memorials impeaching him were drifting into the Wenyuan Pavilion like snowflakes. These impeachment memorials were uniformly pasted with blank floating tickets by Lu Diaoyang, and Zhu Yijun drew a cross on all of them, letting the imperial censors create public opinion, but he didn't say a word.

Zhu Yijun was waiting, waiting for the imperial censors to run to the Chengtian Gate and kowtow. At that time, facing the Heavenly Palace, Zhu Yijun explained patiently. If they were going to make trouble this time, then the Embroidered Uniform Guards' boards would not be so easy to eat.

Zhu Yijun could explain patiently when submitting memorials at ordinary times, but facing the Heavenly Palace was breaking the rules and forcing the palace.

When the sun was high, the Censorate's Left and Right Censors Ge Shouli and Hai Rui, the Minister of the Hanlin Academy Wang Xijue, the Minister of the Imperial Academy Wang Jiaping, Fan Yingqi, and others gathered in the Quanchu Guild Hall.

Ge Shouli said calmly: "I will watch the censors of the Censorate well. Minister Wang must watch the Hanlin Academy well. Wang Jiaping and Fan Yingqi, you two watch the Imperial Academy well. If even one person runs to the Huangji Gate to kowtow, let us all resign in apology."

Wang Jiaping thought Ge Shouli called them here to discuss going to the Heavenly Palace together, but upon hearing that he wanted to watch everyone well and not let them move arbitrarily, he asked with doubt: "This is reinstatement after mourning, slandering the minister who forgets his relatives and is greedy for position, offending the wrath of Heaven, and all receiving heavy punishment."

"Nonsense, which reinstatement after mourning has been punished by Heaven? What are you talking about?" Ge Shouli immediately scolded: "You calculate, from the cabinet ministers to the court officials in the early years of the dynasty, all were reinstated after mourning. The longest was only given a six-month vacation to handle funeral affairs. Which public official was punished by Heaven for reinstatement after mourning?"

Fan Yingqi really calculated carefully and shook his head: "That's true, but it concerns the great human relations and the great integrity of a gentleman, so how can one be careless!"

"If you insist on seeking death, then go, go! Go quickly." Ge Shouli stopped talking nonsense and waved his hand, letting Fan Yingqi go to the Heavenly Palace, go to the Huangji Gate and kowtow!

Fan Yingqi hurriedly said: "Master Ge, teach me, why can't I go for this matter?"

Ge Shouli leaned back in his chair and shook his head helplessly: "Alas, this Majesty of ours is good in every way, looking like a model of a bright monarch, it's just that this mind... is too heavy."

Fortunately, Ge Shouli had a gate on his mouth and didn't say his inner thoughts. He had never seen such an insidious emperor!

"Why doesn't Master Ge speak clearly?" Fan Yingqi was full of doubt.

Thanks to "Southwest First Mountain" for the 1000-point reward, thanks for the support and recognition, requesting monthly tickets, Aowu!!!!!!!!!!!

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 128 =====