Chapter 23

Zhu Zhu Yijun looked at the words on the table. Above them was a summary he had made of the *Analects*. He earnestly and summarily said, "It is said: 'If poverty and lowliness are not moved, one will inevitably be obsequious; if wealth and nobility are not limited, one will inevitably be arrogant. Rites will surely collapse, and music will surely be destroyed.'"

Zhang 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 a situation of being unable to fill one's stomach, unable to cover one's body, and having gravel grind through one's feet.

He also could not know how a rich and noble person, after seeing people as objects, could not even follow the law, let alone pursue morality, because the law is 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 His Majesty, "Pursue the Dao in poverty, love the rites when rich"?

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 is a theory that emphasizes order and hierarchy. As soon as these four characters appeared, Zhang Zhang Juzheng broke into a cold sweat on his back. He hurriedly smashed these four characters to pieces and told himself: "The Sage must be right!"

Soon, another question emerged in Zhang Zhang Juzheng's mind: "Is the Sage necessarily right?"

Zhang Zhang Juzheng, who had been reading books for forty-eight years, felt a tiny crack in his ideological steel seal, which had been as firm as a rock.

Once a seed is planted, it will take root, sprout, and eventually blossom and bear fruit.

"Your Majesty, why not look at the *Illustrated Mirror for Emperors*?" Zhang Zhang Juzheng decided to change the subject and said quite earnestly. He had compiled these stories himself, and he was very confident that he could answer His Majesty's doubts, rather than letting His Majesty continue to be so heterodox!

Zhang Zhang Juzheng was duty-bound to protect the Three Bonds and Five Constants in the Emperor's heart!

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

When Zhang Zhang Juzheng heard this, he felt a little regretful. This was even worse than talking about the *Analects*; the *Analects* were just principles.

Once the story of valuing the five grains and despising pearls and jade was told, His Majesty would definitely mention farming personally. This was practice.

Zhang Juzheng said quite solemnly, "During the reign of Emperor Renzong of Northern Song, the palace was fond of pearls, considering large and round ones as beautiful. Many palace purchasers bought them, causing the price of pearls in the capital, Bianliang, to soar. Consort Zhang wore pearl ornaments, and Renzong covered his face and refused to look, saying: 'Pearls and jade cover the head, white and scattered; this is close to an inauspicious sign. Why be so lacking in taboos?' Consort Zhang took off the ornaments upon hearing this, and only then was Renzong happy."

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

The reason why Emperor Renzong was "Renzong" (Benevolent Ancestor) was not only because he was not extravagant, but also because he would not make things difficult for palace servants with the nobility of the Son of Heaven. Emperor Renzong was an out-and-out good person. He also wanted to get things done, but unfortunately, he had no son, and everything was constrained. No matter what he did, he could not achieve full success.

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

Zhang Juzheng bowed his head and replied, "During the reign of Emperor Renzong of Song, he paid attention to farming. He discovered a vacant lot behind the garden and had wheat planted there. He built a small pavilion named the Baoqi Hall. The wheat had double ears on one stalk, called 'Qi.' Every harvest season, Renzong would personally go to the Baoqi Hall to check, and he would personally cut the first bundle of wheat and thresh it."

Zhu Zhu Yijun asked with a smile, "Then may I ask, Senior Grand Secretary, is Emperor Renzong of Song worthy of the title 'Benevolent'?"

Zhang Zhang Juzheng replied, "Emperor Renzong said: 'Treasures like pearls and jade cannot be eaten when hungry, and cannot be worn when cold, but a small piece is worth several strings of cash. Wasting the support of the people just for a moment of play is not acceptable.'"

"Emperor Renzong of Song, with the supreme nobility of the Son of Heaven, personally attended to farming. He knew the bitterness of the hard work of farming and often said to people: 'Among the scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants, the farmers are the most hardworking. They plow in spring and weed in summer, working from dawn to dusk, but in the end, the court's grain tax, the gentry's grain rent, and the private demands of local governors mean they rarely have a full meal.'"

"Emperor Renzong of Song was respectful, frugal, benevolent, and forgiving, surpassing those of recent times. Naturally, he is worthy of the title 'Benevolent.'"

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 instructions. I wish to imitate the old ways, despise pearls and jade, value the five grains, reduce the expenses of the Qianqing Palace, build a Baoqi Hall in Jingshan, and personally attend to farming, in the hope that the foundation will be solid, the country will be peaceful, and the Great Ming will rise again."

"What does the Senior Grand Secretary think?"

Your Majesty Mountain and Jingshan are the Emperor's imperial gardens. 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 is the Shouhuang Hall, where one can climb high, enjoy flowers, drink, and shoot arrows. There is also the Guande Hall, the drill ground for the Great Ming Emperors, specifically for testing the archery of the imperial heirs.

Zhang Zhang Juzheng originally wanted to protect Feng Bao's position as the Great Eunuch in the palace, and he also intended to agree. Now that His Majesty is using the two stories from the *Illustrated Mirror for Emperors* to talk about this matter, he said quite respectfully, "I think it is good. I once heard: 'A moment of hunger can trigger endless slaughter. Ancient sage kings all took encouraging farming as their primary task. However, flowery odes are numerous, and farming is often abandoned. Your Majesty is sagely.'"

Zhang Zhang Juzheng agreed. The matter of the Founding Emperor farming in the *Ancestral Injunctions of the Imperial Ming* is spare ammunition. If someone objects, he can use the ancestral laws to suppress them.

"A moment of hunger can trigger endless slaughter"—Zhang Zhang Juzheng had specifically explained the meaning to the little Emperor.

If the common people cannot even eat a meal, they will gather and cause civil unrest, and endless slaughter will arise from this. Therefore, the sage kings of the past all took encouraging farming as their primary task. It is just that flowery odes are sung too much, and farming is slowly abandoned.

Zhu Zhu Yijun asked curiously, "I heard from my mother that the Sage Mencius once denounced the 'joint farming by monarch and people' of the agricultural school disciples. Why did the Senior Grand Secretary not give good advice?"

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

"Mencius said: 'The hundred crafts of the world cannot be done while farming.' That is to say, the hundred crafts of the world all have their own things to do, and naturally, they cannot stop doing their own things because of farming."

"The gentleman has the business of governing, and the common people have the business of making a living. Some labor with their minds, some labor with their strength. This is the common principle of the world."

"Mencius refuted the agricultural school and refuted 'joint farming by monarch and people,' not refuting personally attending to farming, and even less refuting the importance of agriculture or benevolence and forgiveness."

"Like this." Zhu Zhu Yijun understood Zhang Zhang Juzheng's rhetoric. Zhang Zhang Juzheng is not the kind of person who holds the books of the Sages and treats every word as a code of conduct to follow in everything. He has his own views and understanding of the logic of this world.

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

Even the Founding Emperor farmed personally. If you have the ability, go to the Founding Emperor and say: "Founding Emperor, you are doing it wrong!"

Zhang Zhang Juzheng's meaning is: anyway, the little Emperor is not in charge of the government, so he is idle anyway. If he cares about farming, he can see the suffering of the people, and when he governs in the future, he will be less likely to be deceived.

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

Feng Bao's heart, which was hanging in his throat, completely fell back into his stomach. He hurriedly knelt on the ground and said quite earnestly, "Your Majesty, please rest assured, it will be finished by tomorrow."

There are orchards planted all over the foot of Jingshan, called the Hundred Fruit Garden. Feng Bao had people investigate it; the soil is fertile. Moving the fruit trees of the Hundred Fruit Garden elsewhere is fine. Jingshan is very large and can accommodate the Great Ming Emperor planting a few mu of thin fields to promote his benevolent government.

Zhu Zhu Yijun and Zhang Zhang Juzheng continued to talk about the various stories in the *Illustrated Mirror for Emperors*. The book in his hand has full-color illustrations for every story, and the production is extremely exquisite.

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

"Senior Grand Secretary, let's temporarily not approve Minister Tan's resignation memorial," Zhu Zhu Yijun said, bringing up the matter of the court. Tan Lun blocked Wang Wang Chonggu's recommendation list and refused to approve it even when resigning. And Zhu Zhu Yijun's attitude is not to allow Tan Lun to resign.

The reason?

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

Zhang Zhang Juzheng hesitated for a moment and said, "This is a matter of appointment and transfer of officials in the capital, all of which are imperial orders. I should not have said much, but Your Majesty is young, and I am overstepping. To say Tan Lun is occupying a position without doing his job, I think it is a bit ridiculous."

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

Zhang Zhang Juzheng 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 Zhang Juzheng still expressed his attitude.

Even if the Emperor didn't ask, Zhang Zhang Juzheng would have explained the reasons why the Cabinet disagreed with Tan Lun's resignation in the drafted ticket, for the Empress Dowager Li to decide.

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

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

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

Zhu Zhu Yijun really understood. The matter is not complicated: Tan Lun jumped to the Jin Party, the Jin Party is liquidating Tan Lun, and Zhang Zhang Juzheng wants to protect Tan Lun.

Standing from the Jin Party's position, Tan Lun is treacherous, indeed has a flaw in his personal character. The reason they didn't arrange for Tan Lun to commit suicide by shooting himself eighteen times in the back is because Tan Lun is in the capital.

But Zhu Zhu Yijun, standing from the position of imperial power and the Great Ming, if all the military talent from top to bottom in the Capital Battalion are people of the Jin Party, he might as well not be the Emperor, and tomorrow he might as well cut off his head and give it to the Jin Party to kick around for fun.

The Jin Party, an unbreakable political alliance? It's just self-defeating.

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

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

"I withdraw." Zhang Zhang Juzheng hurriedly bowed his head to return the salute. According to the rites, he should kneel to answer, but the Emperor had said 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 toward the Wenyuange opposite the Zhao Wenhua Hall, Zhang Zhang Juzheng always felt that something was wrong.

This little Emperor really seems to see through things like interest exchange.

After lunch, Zhu Zhu Yijun began to practice martial arts again. He was still that stubborn little Emperor. Zhu 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 just a few days of enthusiasm before becoming lazy.

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

According to the ancestral system of the Great Ming, the imperial heirs of the Great Ming should hit the target with three arrows when they come of age, that is, at the age of fifteen. Because of various complex reasons, this assessment was eventually abolished after the Ming Yingzong Emperor Zhu Zhu Qizhen ascended the throne in the first year of the During Zhengtong era.

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

Now, the Empress Dowager Li also does not want the little Emperor to suffer too much, but the little Emperor has his own ideas and seems to have persuaded the Empress Dowager Li.

Zhu Zhu Xixiao is quite grateful to the little Emperor. In the case of Wang Wang Zhanglong, if the Emperor had not appeared at the Northern Town Guard, it would have been difficult for the Northern Town Guard to stay out of it. But with the Emperor there, personally supervising the trial, it saved the Northern Town Guard 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 Zhu Xixiao, these are figures he cannot afford to offend. The Embroidered Uniform Guard is no longer what it was during the Emperor Jiajing era when Lu Bing was in charge and had monstrous power.

The Emperor went to the Northern Town Guard, imperial power was above, the sun and moon were bright, and the case was under the eyes of everyone. Zhu Zhu Xixiao didn't have to be forced to take sides.

"Commander, in the court's recommendation of military talent for the Capital Battalion, these people accompanying me in martial arts practice are all eunuchs. Are there no noble guards or sword-carrying attendants to accompany me in martial arts practice?" Zhu Zhu Yijun slowly finished his practice, calmed his heart, and then spoke.

Noble guards and sword-carrying attendants are the official titles of the hereditary military nobility of the Great Ming before they inherit their titles and become battalion commanders, regimental commanders, earls, marquises, or dukes.

Zhu Zhu Xixiao's expression changed and he said, "Yes!"

Why were the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the Northern Town Guard, the scouts with investigative authority, and the Commander awkward?

Because from the beginning of its establishment, this office was the only legal department of the Outer Court of the Great Ming, and this legal department of the Outer Court dealt with Outer Court officials. To deal with ministers, one needs the Emperor's trust.

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

The Northern Town Guard office led by Lu Bing had monstrous power precisely because of the Emperor's trust. Lu Bing had wanted to select a few sparring partners to follow the Emperor in martial arts practice and accompany the Emperor since the Emperor spoke of practicing martial arts. This is the first step of trust.

But if the Emperor doesn't speak, Commander Zhu Zhu Xixiao cannot 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 be implicated. The military nobility and the scouts were already declining, and Zhu Zhu Xixiao didn't want to look for trouble.