Chapter 22

Zhu Yijun looked at the words on the table. Above was his summary of the Analects. He said earnestly and summarily: "It is said: If poverty and humbleness are not shifted, one will inevitably be flattering; if wealth and nobility are not limited, one will inevitably be arrogant; ritual will inevitably collapse, and music will inevitably be ruined."

Zhang Juzheng had been thinking about how to refute His Majesty. Before refuting, he needed to find the answers to two questions.

He could not know how one could not kneel in the situation of being unable to fill one's stomach, unable to cover one's body, and having gravel hurt one's feet.

He also could not know how a wealthy person, after seeing people as objects, could not even follow the law, let alone pursue morality, because the law was only the bottom line of morality.

He could not know the answers to these two questions, so he could not refute the Emperor's questions. Could he just dryly answer the Emperor, "Dwell in poverty and face the Dao, be rich and love ritual"?

Wouldn't that be fooling a child?

After thinking back and forth, four big characters suddenly flashed before his eyes: "Kill the rich to help the poor!"

Confucianism was a theory that emphasized the order of superior and inferior. As soon as these four characters appeared, Zhang Juzheng broke into a cold sweat on his back. He hurriedly smashed these four characters to pieces, telling himself: The sage must be right!

Soon, another question emerged in Zhang Juzheng's mind: Must the sage be right?

Zhang Juzheng, who had been reading books for forty-eight years, felt a trace of a crack in his rock-solid ideological steel seal.

Once a seed was planted, it would take root and sprout, and then bloom and bear fruit.

"Your Majesty, why not look at the 'Mirror for Emperors'?" Zhang Juzheng decided to change the subject, saying quite sincerely. These stories were all compiled by him, and he was very confident that he could answer the Emperor's doubts, rather than letting the Emperor continue to be so unorthodox!

Protecting the Three Bonds and Five Constants in the Emperor's heart was Zhang Juzheng's duty!

"Good." Zhu Yijun picked up the "Mirror for Emperors," flipped through it, and said: "Then let's talk about the story of the Renzong Emperor of the Song valuing the five grains and despising pearls and jade."

Zhang Juzheng felt a little regretful upon hearing this. This was not as good as talking about the Analects; the Analects were just principles.

Once this story of valuing the five grains and despising pearls and jade was told, the Emperor would definitely mention personally engaging in farming. This was practice.

Zhang Juzheng said quite solemnly: "During the time of the Renzong Emperor of the Northern Song, the palace was fond of pearls, taking large and round ones as beautiful. There were many buyers in the palace, which caused the price of pearls in the capital, Bianliang, to soar at that time. Consort Zhang wore pearl ornaments, and the Renzong Emperor covered his face and refused to look, saying: 'Pearls and jade covering the head are white and messy, which is close to an inauspicious sign. Why have such a lack of taboo?' Consort Zhang hurriedly took off the ornaments upon hearing this, and only then was the Renzong Emperor happy."

"The Emperor did not like pearls and jade, so the palace stopped buying them, and the price of pearls and jade fell accordingly."

The reason why the Renzong Emperor of the Song was the Renzong Emperor was not only because he was not extravagant, but also because he would not make things difficult for the palace people with the nobility of the Son of Heaven. The Renzong Emperor was an out-and-out good person. He also wanted to do things, but unfortunately, he had no son, and everything was constrained. No matter what he did, he could not achieve complete success.

"Then what about the Renzong Emperor of the Song valuing the five grains?" Zhu Yijun sat upright and inquired about another allusion to the Renzong Emperor.

Zhang Juzheng bowed his head and said: "During the reign of the Renzong Emperor of the Song, he paid attention to farming. When he arrived at the rear garden, he discovered a piece of vacant land and had wheat planted there. He built a small pavilion named the Baoqi Hall. One stalk of wheat had double ears, which was called 'Qi.' Every harvest season, the Renzong Emperor would personally go to the Baoqi Hall to inspect it, and he would personally cut the first bundle of wheat and shell it."

Zhu Yijun asked with a smile: "Then may I ask, Senior Grand Secretary, can the Renzong Emperor of the Song be worthy of the word 'Ren' (Benevolence)?"

Zhang Juzheng replied: "The Renzong Emperor of the Song said: 'Treasures like pearls and jade cannot be eaten when hungry, and cannot be worn when cold, but a tiny piece is worth several strings of cash. Wasting the support of ten thousand people just for a moment of playing with them is not desirable.'"

"The Renzong Emperor of the Song, with the nobility of the Son of Heaven, personally attended to agricultural affairs, knowing the bitterness of farming. He often said to people: 'Among the scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants, the farmers are the most hardworking. Spring plowing and summer weeding, working from dawn to dusk, yet in the end, the court's grain taxes, the gentry's grain rent, and the local rulers' private demands result in them rarely even having a full meal.'"

"The Renzong Emperor of the Song, respectful, frugal, benevolent, and forgiving, outstanding in modern times, naturally deserves to be called 'Ren.'"

Zhu Yijun then said: "I heard that the Assistant Prefect of Coastal Defense, Luo Gongchen, presented an auspicious object called the potato, with a yield of over a thousand catties per mu. Although I am young, I have never dared to forget the late Emperor's entrustment. I wish to imitate the old ways, lighten pearls and jade, value the five grains, reduce the expenses of the Qianqing Palace, build a Baoqi Hall in Jingshan, and personally engage in farming, in the hope of solidifying the foundation and stabilizing the country, so that the Great Ming may rise again."

"What does the Senior Grand Secretary think?"

Your Majesty Mountain and Jingshan were both the Emperor's imperial gardens, royal parks. In the early Ming dynasty, they were mainly used for piling coal to prevent the remnants of the Yuan dynasty from besieging the capital and leaving them without firewood, so they were also called Coal Mountain.

Inside Jingshan, there was the Shouhuang Hall, where one could climb high, enjoy flowers, feast, and shoot arrows. There was also the Guande Hall, the Great Ming Emperor's drill ground, specifically for testing the archery of the imperial heirs.

Zhang Juzheng originally wanted to protect Feng Bao's position as the Grand Eunuch in the palace, and he also intended to agree. Now that the Emperor was using the two stories in the "Mirror for Emperors" to talk about this matter, he said quite respectfully: "I think it is good. I once heard: 'A moment of hunger triggers endless killing. Ancient sage kings all took encouraging farming as their primary task. However, eulogies are flourishing, and agricultural affairs are largely abandoned. Your Majesty is wise.'"

Zhang Juzheng agreed. The matter of the Founding Emperor farming in the "Ancestral Injunctions of the Imperial Ming" was spare ammunition. If anyone opposed it, he could use the ancestral laws to suppress others.

"A moment of hunger triggers endless killing"—Zhang Juzheng had specifically told the little Emperor what this meant.

If the common people could not even eat a meal, they would gather and cause civil unrest, and endless killing would start from there. Therefore, the sage kings of the past all took encouraging farming as their primary task. It was just that too many exaggerated eulogies were sung, and agricultural affairs were gradually abandoned.

Zhu Yijun asked with some curiosity: "I heard from my mother that the sage Mencius once severely criticized the agricultural school disciples for 'monarch and people farming together.' Senior Grand Secretary, why do you not give good advice to dissuade me?"

Zhang Juzheng said quite definitely: "Mencius criticized the agricultural school's 'monarch and people farming together' because he was worried that the monarch would accept the agricultural school's teachings and become too obsessed with agricultural affairs, thereby neglecting government affairs."

"Mencius said: 'The hundred crafts of the world cannot be farmed and done at the same time.' This means that the hundred crafts of the world all have their own things to do, and of course, they cannot abandon their own work because of farming."

"The superior man has the work of governing, and the common people have the work of making a living—some labor with their hearts, some labor with their strength. This is the common principle of the world."

"Mencius refuted the agricultural school and refuted 'monarch and people farming together,' not refuting personally engaging in farming, and even less refuting the emphasis on agriculture, and even less refuting benevolence and forgiveness."

"Like this." Zhu Yijun understood Zhang Juzheng's rhetoric. Zhang Juzheng was not the kind of person who held onto the books of sages and followed them word for word as a code of conduct. He had his own views and understanding of the books of sages, or rather, the logic of how this world operated.

In Zhang Juzheng's view, the little Emperor wanting to plant potatoes and sweet potatoes was not a bad thing. Great Ming emperors all had their own little hobbies. Farming was at least better than fighting crickets or practicing immortality and refining alchemy.

Even the Founding Emperor personally farmed. If anyone had the ability, they could run in front of the Founding Emperor and say: "Founding Emperor, you are doing it wrong!"

Zhang Juzheng's meaning was: Anyway, the little Emperor was not personally in charge of the government, so he might as well be idle. Keeping his heart on farming would allow him to see the suffering of the ten thousand people, and it would be better than being deceived when he took charge of the government in the future.

"Then I will have to trouble the Senior Grand Secretary to appease the criticism from the Outer Court. Feng, my attendant, can you clear a few mu of land on Your Majesty Mountain today to build the Baoqi Hall?" Zhu Yijun looked at Feng Bao.

Feng Bao's heart, which had been hanging in his throat, finally fell back into his stomach. He hurriedly knelt on the ground and said quite sincerely: "Your Majesty, please rest assured. It will be finished by tomorrow."

Jingshan was planted with orchards everywhere, called the Hundred Fruit Garden. Feng Bao had sent people to investigate, and the land was fertile. Moving the fruit trees of the Hundred Fruit Garden elsewhere would suffice. Jingshan was very large and could accommodate the Great Ming Emperor farming a few mu of thin land to promote his benevolent government.

Zhu Yijun and Zhang Juzheng continued to talk about the various things in the "Mirror for Emperors." The scroll of books in his hand had full-color illustrations for every story, and the production was extremely exquisite.

The lecture ended, and the book-exhibiting officials, readers, and lecturers began to withdraw. After they had completely withdrawn, Zhu Yijun did not stand up to pay respects to end the lecture, but took out a memorial—it was Tan Lun's memorial for retirement.

"Senior Grand Secretary, let's temporarily not approve Minister Tan's memorial for retirement." Zhu Yijun spoke about the affairs in the court. Tan Lun had blocked Wang Chonggu's recommendation list and refused to approve it even when retiring, and Zhu Yijun's attitude was not to allow Tan Lun to retire.

The reason?

The reason was that he didn't want to wake up one day and find his head gone.

Zhang Juzheng hesitated for a moment and said: "This is a matter of appointment and transfer of capital officials, all of which are monarch's orders. I originally should not have said much, but Your Majesty is young, and I have overstepped. To say Tan Lun is occupying a position without doing his job, I think it is somewhat ridiculous."

The appointment and removal of capital officials was the core part of imperial power. Even during the time when Crown Prince Zhu Biao supervised the state in the Hongwu reign, Crown Prince Zhu Gaochi supervised the state in the Yongle reign, and Prince of Xiang Zhu Zhanji supervised the state in the Xuande reign, the appointment and removal of capital officials required the Emperor's vermilion approval.

Zhang Juzheng originally should not have spoken about Tan Lun's work in front of the Emperor, but since the Emperor asked for his opinion, as the Imperial Tutor and the only remaining minister assisting the country, Zhang Juzheng still expressed his attitude.

Even if the Emperor hadn't asked, Zhang Juzheng would have explained the reason why the Cabinet disagreed with Tan Lun's retirement in the drafted ticket, leaving it to the Empress Dowager Li to decide.

However, in the drafted ticket, Zhang Juzheng would not just say that Tan Lun was not occupying a position without doing his job, but would write clearly about the pros and cons of Wang Chonggu's recommendation list and the interest exchange involved. If he didn't write it clearly, he was afraid the Empress Dowager Li wouldn't understand the key to it.

Zhang Juzheng was unwilling to explain the filth in the adult world in detail to the ten-year-old Zhu Yijun.

It was just that no matter how Zhang Juzheng looked at it, he felt that the little Emperor seemed to have understood what was going on.

Zhu Yijun really understood. The matter was not complicated: Tan Lun jumped to the Jin Party, the Jin Party settled scores with Tan Lun, and Zhang Juzheng wanted to protect Tan Lun.

Standing from the Jin Party's position, Tan Lun was treacherous and had indeed lost personal integrity. The reason they didn't arrange for Tan Lun to commit suicide by shooting himself eighteen times in the back was because Tan Lun was in the capital.

But Zhu Yijun stood from the position of imperial power and the Great Ming. If the military talents from top to bottom in the Capital Battalion were all people of the Jin Party, he might as well not be the Emperor. Tomorrow, he might as well twist his head off and let the Jin Party kick it around for fun.

The Jin Party—an unbreakable political alliance? It was just self-defeating.

Tan Lun was recommended by Yang Bo, yet Tan Lun did not act in step with the Jin Party on such a critical matter as recommending military talents for the Capital Battalion.

"Thank you, Senior Grand Secretary." Zhu Yijun stood up and bowed slightly, ending today's lecture.

"Your minister withdraws." Zhang Juzheng hurriedly bowed his head to return the salute. According to the ritual system, he should kneel to answer, but the Emperor had spoken to exempt him from the cumbersome etiquette when answering. He slowly retreated to the door of the Zhao Wenhua Hall before turning to leave. When walking towards the Wenyuan Pavilion opposite the Zhao Wenhua Hall, Zhang Juzheng always felt that something was wrong.

This little Emperor seemed to be truly clear-sighted about things like interest exchange.

After lunch, Zhu Yijun began to practice martial arts again. He was still that stubborn little Emperor. Zhu Xixiao, who was responsible for teaching the little Emperor martial arts, discovered that the Great Ming Emperor's martial arts practice was for real, and it wasn't that he would become lazy after a few days of enthusiasm.

Because the Emperor was serious, Zhu Xixiao's attitude became exceptionally serious.

According to the Great Ming ancestral system, Great Ming imperial heirs should be able to hit the target with all three arrows when they reached adulthood, which was fifteen years old. Because of various complex reasons, this assessment was finally abolished in the first year of the Zhengtong reign after the Yingzong Emperor Zhu Qizhen ascended the throne.

At that time, Empress Dowager Zhang and Empress Dowager Sun did not want the nine-year-old Zhu Qizhen to suffer too much.

Now, Empress Dowager Li also did not want the little Emperor to suffer too much, but the little Emperor had his own ideas and seemed to have persuaded Empress Dowager Li.

Zhu Xixiao was quite grateful to the little Emperor. In the case of Wang Zhanglong, if the Emperor hadn't appeared at the Northern Town Fusi, it would have been difficult for the Northern Town Fusi to stay out of it. But with the Emperor there, personally supervising the trial, it saved the Northern Town Fusi a lot of trouble in this case.

If the Emperor hadn't gone, no matter how he tried the case, he would have offended either the Jin Party or Feng Bao.

For Zhu Xixiao, these were all figures he couldn't afford to offend. The Embroidered Uniform Guard was no longer what it was during the Jiajing reign when Lu Bing was in charge and had overwhelming power.

The Emperor went to the Northern Town Fusi, imperial power was above, and the sun was shining brightly. This case was under the eyes of everyone, so Zhu Xixiao didn't have to be forced to take a side.

"Commander, in the court's recommendation of military talents for the Capital Battalion, these people accompanying me in martial arts practice are all eunuchs. Are there no military guards or sword-bearers to accompany me?" Zhu Yijun slowly finished his movements and spoke only after calming his heart and breath.

Military guards and sword-bearers were the official titles of the Great Ming's hereditary military nobility before they inherited their titles, such as Battalion Commander, Company Commander, Earl, Marquis, or Duke.

Zhu Xixiao's expression changed and he said: "There are!"

Why were the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the Northern Town Fusi, and the scouts responsible for investigation and arrest embarrassed?

Because from the beginning of its establishment, this office was the only legal department of the Outer Court in the Great Ming dynasty, and this legal department of the Outer Court dealt with Outer Court officials. To deal with high officials, it needed the Emperor's trust.

The main reason for the decline of the scouts was that the Director of the Eastern Depot, who was also responsible for investigation and arrest, was closer to the Emperor and was more trusted by the Emperor.

The Northern Town Fusi led by Lu Bing had overwhelming power precisely because of the Emperor's trust. Since the Emperor spoke of practicing martial arts, Lu Bing wanted to select a few sparring partners to follow the Emperor and practice martial arts with him, accompanying the Emperor left and right. This was the first step of trust.

But if the Emperor didn't speak, the Commander Zhu Xixiao couldn't just open his mouth. Otherwise, this matter of the Emperor practicing martial arts might not even last long.

Feng Bao, as the Director of the Eastern Depot, would naturally oppose it strongly. If he united with Outer Court officials to impeach him, the Duke of Cheng's mansion would also be implicated. The military nobility and the scouts were already declining, and Zhu Xixiao didn't want to look for trouble.

But now that the Emperor had spoken, Zhu Xixiao sensed an opportunity.

"Then find ten sword-bearers and military guards to enter the palace and accompany me in practice." Zhu Yijun issued the order. As for Empress Dowager Li's side, he would naturally go and explain it himself.

Zhu Xixiao was silent for a moment. He had to consider whether this was the only opportunity in his life to offend Feng Bao and restore the glory of the Northern Town Fusi. He was silent for a moment, bowed his head, and said: "I obey the decree."

When the little Emperor shouted that he wanted to learn martial arts, he had already tied him to the pirate ship. When the Qianqing Palace eunuch Zhang Hong brought the scouts to purge the palace, the Northern Town Fusi had already offended the "Old Ancestor" Feng Bao in the palace.

Zhu Yijun said with a smile: "Entering the palace is not difficult, but these sword-bearers and military guards have always been lazy. Don't let them enter the palace and be unable to even compare to a small eunuch. If they can't endure hardship and can't bear the suffering, won't the small eunuchs sneer, saying that those with 'things' are not as good as those without, and those with 'seed' are not as good as those without?"

Zhu Xixiao bit his lip tightly upon hearing this. He was angry!

The anger in his heart was immediately hooked out, and his fists hardened!

What kind of words were these! He must let the little Emperor open his eyes—not all Great Ming military nobles were cowards!

"Mother." Zhu Yijun, who was good at fanning the flames, walked towards the Empress Dowager.

When Zhu Yijun practiced martial arts, Empress Dowager Li watched every moment, fearing that the little Emperor would stumble or get hurt. Feng Bao was at his side, explaining the morning's events in the Zhao Wenhua Hall very clearly, especially how the Jin Party was lawless and even attempted to completely control the Capital Battalion through recommending military talents.

In Feng Bao's words, the Jin Party had become an existence that should be cut into a thousand pieces.

People all speak from their own positions.