Chapter 26

Why didn't Zhu Yijun suspect that Ge Shouli was acting for the Jin Party?

Because Ge Shouli was charging into battle. The most reasonable process for attacking the Senior Grand Secretary was to let the censors of the Censorate charge into battle, not Ge Shouli, the Censor-in-Chief himself, charging up to give himself away.

Ge Shouli's doubts, Ge Shouli's inquiries, and Ge Shouli's questioning were all based on a basic point of suspicion.

That was that Zhang Juzheng was pointing at a deer and calling it a horse.

Zhu Yijun had asked the old farmers about the yield per mu.

Ge Shouli had once been the Minister of Revenue of the Great Ming and should have had some understanding of the yield per mu. Therefore, as soon as he heard that the yield per mu was over a thousand catties, his thinking jumped to Zhang Juzheng manipulating power and humiliating imperial power.

This Senior Grand Secretary Zhang was indeed a bit overbearing.

The yield per mu in the north of the Great Ming was about two shi of wheat in summer and millet in autumn, totaling about three hundred catties;

While the yield per mu in the south was about four shi of grain a year, which was about five hundred and seventy catties.

What did Luo Gongchen say? He said the yield per mu was dozens of shi. Even if it was fifteen shi per mu, what kind of concept was that? Even if potatoes and sweet potatoes didn't taste good, they were still grain. When hungry, who cared if they tasted good or not?

In Ge Shouli's view, if this wasn't Zhang Juzheng pointing at a deer and calling it a horse, what was it?

Not to mention Ge Shouli, among the court officials, there were few who believed it.

If Zhu Yijun hadn't known that these yellow lumps could really produce dozens of shi, he would also have thought that Zhang Juzheng was exaggerating and deceiving the monarch together with Luo Gongchen.

Zhu Yijun said with a smile: "Censor-in-Chief Ge, Assistant Prefect Luo presented this auspicious sign for the sake of the Great Ming empire. Isn't it already being planted? Why not wait for the results to come out and then see?"

"Your Majesty, your ministers are terrified." Ge Shouli flicked his sleeves, knelt on the ground, kowtowed five times and bowed three times, and cried bitterly.

Zhu Yijun thought for a moment and asked: "Does Censor-in-Chief Ge farm? I have some doubts and would like to ask for advice."

Ge Shouli was a bit confused. He said blankly: "Your minister... does not engage in farming."

"Then forget it. You can continue the court debate." Zhu Yijun waved his hand indifferently, signaling for Ge Shouli to stand up and take his seat.

Ge Shouli stood up in a daze, sat in his seat in a daze, and only then realized that he seemed to have been set up.

This attack and impeachment of the Senior Grand Secretary of the Wenyuan Pavilion by the Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate ended up being nothing under the Emperor's partiality.

Ge Shouli came back to his senses and knew where his problem lay.

He was talking about rules, while the Emperor was talking about facts with him. He kept saying "With me here, I will support the great difficulties," but he couldn't even answer the ten-year-old little Emperor's doubts. Then what was the point of talking about assisting the country?

The court debate was still continuing. The matter of Qi Jiguang sending the nephew of Dong Huli back to the capital was put on the agenda.

Zhang Juzheng's meaning was to open the Desheng Gate to the Ministry of War and reward his achievements in the Fengtian Hall, while Yang Bo proposed to have Qi Jiguang transfer the prisoner at the Northern Tucheng and reward his achievements at the Northern Tucheng, then hurry back to Jizhou. The reason was that he feared the Northern Barbarians would invade the border again, and as a Regional Commander, Qi Jiguang should hurry back.

And the Minister of Rites, Lu Shusheng, also expressed opposition to Qi Jiguang entering the city, saying that border generals entering the city without cause was not in accordance with ritual.

Zhu Yijun felt it was extremely fun. Tan Lun of the Jin Party jumped to the other side and was of the same mind as Zhang Juzheng, while the Minister of Rites, Lu Shusheng, who was promoted by Zhang Juzheng, stabbed Zhang Juzheng in the back and played "you and me" with the Jin Party.

Lu Shusheng was a native of Huating, Songjiang Prefecture, the same Huating, Songjiang Prefecture as the Great Ming Senior Grand Secretary Xu Jie. Lu Shusheng was a fellow villager of Xu Jie. When Xu Jie was in charge of the Hanlin Academy, he was the teacher of Zhang Juzheng and Lu Shusheng.

After more than ten years of wind and rain, the Xu Party that had defeated Yan Song had long since changed, and most of those who remained in the court had joined the Jin Party or the Zhang Dang.

Zhang Juzheng and Lu Shusheng had a friendship as fellow students, so after the Longqing Emperor passed away and the position of Minister of Rites became vacant, Lu Shusheng became the Minister of Rites under Zhang Juzheng's recommendation.

Then, in the matter of Luo Gongchen wanting to collect foreign ship taxes, in the matter of Qi Jiguang returning to the court to receive rewards, and in the matter of the Emperor personally engaging in farming, Lu Shusheng gave Zhang Juzheng three fierce backstabs.

Zhang Juzheng was not too persistent and continued to chair the court debate until it ended.

"Your Majesty's holy body is at peace, your ministers withdraw." The group of officials paid their respects and began to withdraw from the Wenhua Hall, and the readers, lecturers, and book-exhibiting officials began to enter.

Zhang Juzheng bowed his head and said: "Your Majesty, I have a person to recommend. This person was originally a farmer, is familiar with agricultural affairs, and has extraordinary insights into agricultural affairs. He is a native of Guixi, Jiangxi, and a presented scholar of the fifth year of the Longqing reign."

"Has the Senior Grand Secretary farmed?" Zhu Yijun asked without much concern.

Zhang Juzheng shook his head and said: "I farmed when I was very young, but after I became a child scholar, I never went down to the fields again. Your Majesty has doubts, and I cannot solve them, so I recommend someone else."

"Oh? Since it is recommended by the Senior Grand Secretary, where is this person now?" Zhu Yijun asked with a smile.

Zhang Juzheng bowed his head and said: "He is running around in the capital."

Zhang Juzheng was a military household. The Great Ming military colony guards combined farming and military service, so Zhang Juzheng did farm when he was young, but it was just for play. After reading books, he didn't engage in farming anymore and focused on reading to obtain an official position. He became a scholar at twelve, a Juren at sixteen, and a presented scholar at twenty-three, so he farmed even less.

The Xu Zhenming he recommended had no relationship with the Jin Party in the court, and didn't have much relationship with him, Zhang Juzheng. He was a newly presented scholar, and his ranking was not high.

The "teacher-student" relationship in the Great Ming court was a clique relationship, but if one ranked low in the examination, one didn't have the qualifications to make the chief examiner one's teacher.

For example, the chief examiner of the fifth year of the Longqing reign was Zhang Siwen, but Zhang Siwen was not Xu Zhenming's teacher. Xu Zhenming just wanted to worship under Zhang Siwen's name, but whether Zhang Siwen was willing to accept him was another matter.

Xu Zhenming would never know anything else; he only knew how to reclaim land and manage water.

This person went to Shanyin, Zhejiang, to be a county magistrate and reclaimed 39,000 mu of land in one year. Just when Xu Zhenming intended to make persistent efforts to promote land reclamation and water conservancy, he touched the interests of the local powerful families, was obstructed, and could not continue. Coupled with the impeachment of censorate officials in the court, the matter of land reclamation and seed breeding stopped completely.

Zhang Juzheng had read Xu Zhenming's memorial. Not to mention anything else, he was an expert at farming.

After being impeached by the censorate officials, Xu Zhenming lived in idleness and ran around in the capital, hoping to find someone to recommend him, but he never found a way. Whether it was the Jin Party or the Zhang Dang in the court, it wasn't a place where a third-class presented scholar who had been a county magistrate in Shanyin could throw his lot in.

Wanting to worship under Zhang Juzheng or Yang Bo's door—how could it be that simple?

Xu Zhenming only knew how to reclaim land and manage water.

Zhang Juzheng began the lecture. For an hour, half an hour was the Analects, and half an hour was the "Mirror for Emperors." Every time there were doubts, Zhang Juzheng answered them extremely carefully, but the Emperor's inquiries were sometimes sharp and tricky, making even Zhang Juzheng, the Senior Grand Secretary, a bit difficult to answer.

Zhang Juzheng sat upright and opened his mouth: "The Master said: 'Do not worry that others do not know you; worry that you do not know others.'"

"The Master said: 'Do not worry that others do not know you; worry that you do not know others.'"

"The superior man acts sincerely, and doing things is not for others to know."

"Doing good deeds and fearing that the Emperor doesn't know, fearing that one won't get a title or an official position; having insights and not sharing them with others, worrying that others will steal one's reputation and fame—these are all things that people seeking fame will worry about."

"And the superior man's virtue, conduct, and learning are all in himself. Whether others know or approve doesn't matter; it won't affect the superior man's behavior."

"Your Majesty dwells above the nine-fold palace. If you cannot distinguish who has virtue and who is mediocre, and cannot distinguish whether a political decree is beneficial or harmful, you are easily deceived and should be vigilant."

"My interpretation: The Dao of the superior man is to have no shame in his heart; acting independently and keeping a clear heart as the foundation."

Zhu Yijun thought for a moment and asked: "Xu Zhenming reclaimed 39,000 mu of land. If a family of four has twenty mu of land, they can support two Battalion Commander, ten thousand people. With neither seeking merit nor seeking fame, can he be called a superior man?"

"He is a superior man," Zhang Juzheng replied quite solemnly. If Xu Zhenming weren't a superior man, Zhang Juzheng wouldn't have recommended him.

"Qi Jiguang trained hard for three years with six thousand troops, fought for more than ten years to pacify the Japanese pirates, fought thousands of miles, did not disturb a single family, had strict military discipline, and was famous inside and outside. Arriving in Jizhou, he repelled the Northern Barbarians outside the Great Wall. His title is not prominent. Can he be called a superior man?"

"He is a superior man," Zhang Juzheng noticed something bad, but he still answered this question head-on. According to military merit, Qi Jiguang should have been enfeoffed long ago, but where was his title? And what did Qi Jiguang say?

Qi Jiguang said: "Enfeoffment as a marquis is not my intention; I only hope the sea waves will be calm."

Zhu Yijun wrote down the names of Xu Zhenming and Qi Jiguang and looked at them for a while: "Xu Zhenming supported ten thousand people, neither seeking merit nor fame, and is now living in idleness; Qi Jiguang fought north and south, pacified the Japanese pirates, and repelled the Northern Barbarians, yet has no title or edict."

"Senior Grand Secretary, teach me, why does Xu Zhenming have no way to seek help? Why can Qi Jiguang not enter the capital to receive rewards after sending Dong Huli's nephew to the capital? He can only stop at the Northern Tucheng, receive rewards, and hurry back, not allowed to stay?"

Sure enough!

Zhang Juzheng knew that giving lectures to the little Emperor could absolutely not be so smooth!

Zhang Juzheng thought for a moment and said: "Xu Zhenming doesn't need to seek help; he has already been recommended by me. And Qi Jiguang won't just stay at the Northern Tucheng."

Xu Zhenming didn't have a way to seek help from Zhang Juzheng. Zhang Juzheng was thinking that the Emperor wanted to ask about farming, so he had to find a professional person. As for the border generals entering the city, Zhang Juzheng also had plans early on.

Zhang Juzheng took a shortcut here. The Emperor used facts to ask about rules, while Zhang Juzheng avoided the rules and talked about facts. This was sophistry, but from the perspective of the rules, Zhang Juzheng couldn't answer and could only try to be vague.

Zhu Yijun's mouth hooked into a smile. He heard Zhang Juzheng being vague.

Qi Jiguang was still considered good; he had thrown his lot in with Zhang Juzheng.

Yu Long and Qi Hu—Yu Dayou was also a famous general who pacified the Japanese pirates and was famous for his dragon-like generalship. Until now, he was only a fourth-rank Commandery Assistant, unable to do anything. A slight action would lead to impeachment by censorate officials. Yu Dayou was only two ranks higher than the fifth-rank Assistant Prefect of Coastal Defense, Luo Gongchen.

Zhu Yijun picked up the brush on the table, thought for a moment, and said: "Not forgetting the original intention when doing things, having a heart like a rock, doing things steadily, and having achievements—this is a true superior man. Using glib tongue, creating trouble out of nothing, deliberately creating contradictions—this is a true inferior man. Who is a virtuous official, who is a treacherous official, whose actions are beneficial to the Great Ming, and whose actions are harmful to the Great Ming—knowing others and knowing oneself can be used as a standard to judge."

"It is said: An original intention like a rock, acting sincerely to reach far—this is a true superior man; glib tongue, creating trouble out of nothing—this is a true inferior man. Who can advance, who can retreat, who is harmful, who is beneficial—knowing oneself and knowing others, take this as a rule and act accordingly."

Zhang Juzheng read it carefully and said solemnly: "Your Majesty is wise."

Zhang Juzheng was a bit suspicious. Feng Bao couldn't teach such principles, and Empress Dowager Li couldn't teach such principles. Who taught these principles?

These principles were exactly what he, Zhang Juzheng, and the Emperor had discussed word by word!

Zhang Juzheng looked around and discovered that these principles were all taught by him!