Chapter 262: Scholars naturally have factions

The Grand Tutor was kidnapped, his life or death unknown.

Zhao Mingqiao was filled with worry and indignation, so anxious that the corners of his mouth were inflamed with blisters, and he asked Chen Guanlou for the latest news every day.

"No news."

Zhao Mingqiao was so angry that his cheeks had thinned down.

"What are you worrying about? The Eastern Palace isn't even worried. Besides, you know the Grand Tutor, but the Grand Tutor doesn't know you." Chen Guanlou couldn't help but complain a few words.

Zhao Mingqiao didn't want to explain, only saying, "You don't understand."

"I don't understand your righteousness, or the 'big picture' you speak of. But I know that without the Grand Tutor, the sky hasn't collapsed."

"But without the Grand Tutor, the Crown Prince's sky has collapsed."

"The Crown Prince is still the Crown Prince."

"Everything is only temporary." Zhao Mingqiao was angry, walking back and forth in the cell. "Without the Grand Tutor's support, the Crown Prince is finding it increasingly difficult to move; I really don't know what the situation will be in the future."

"At worst, at worst, it's just a deposed Crown Prince. What's there to be afraid of?" Chen Guanlou said lightly, saying the three words "deposed Crown Prince." Zhao Mingqiao widened his eyes, staring at him fixedly, his eyes filled with towering anger.

Chen Guanlou blamed himself for having a cheap mouth, knowing it would stimulate the other party yet saying it anyway.

"If you're unhappy, just curse it out."

Zhao Mingqiao suddenly deflated, sitting down dejectedly. "You're right, at worst, at worst, it's just a deposed Crown Prince. A year ago, when I first stepped into the officialdom, I absolutely didn't believe that the Crown Prince would one day be deposed. But now, it seems we are getting closer and closer to a deposed Crown Prince. The Grand Tutor can be imprisoned, kidnapped, and his life or death unknown—what else is impossible? Now I feel that anything can happen."

Chen Guanlou felt deeply gratified; the stubborn mind had finally opened up.

He continued to persuade, "You're right to think that way. Actually, you should learn from Yu Zhaoan—I mean the Yu Zhaoan after he was released from prison. He studied in the Heavenly Prison for a few years and had a great awakening. Fighting against the old Emperor is useless, and impeaching this or that every day is useless. If you want to get things done, first please the old Emperor.

Look at Yu Zhaoan; he has only been out of prison for half a year, and now he is already the Governor of the Northwest Province, in charge of civil administration. From a prisoner to a frontier official, it's just a matter of a thought.

You are so smart; if you appropriately change your concepts and learn to accept the rules of officialdom and learn to use the rules, I believe your future will not be worse than Yu Zhaoan's, and perhaps even stronger."

Zhao Mingqiao smiled self-deprecatingly. "How is that possible? I don't have the family background that Master Yu has."

"You're wrong! Precisely because you don't have Yu Zhaoan's family background, you are even more likely to be valued by the old Emperor." Chen Guanlou analyzed solemnly, "Why does the old Emperor value Jiang Tu? Is it just because Jiang Tu knows how to make money and flatter?

There are as many people in the court who know how to manage money and flatter as there are crucian carp crossing the river; why didn't those people catch the old Emperor's eye? It's only because Jiang Tu is a commoner with no family background, having no ties to any official faction in the court, and his life and death are in the old Emperor's single thought. With your intelligence, you have every opportunity to replace Jiang Tu."

"You want me to be a sycophant?" Zhao Mingqiao laughed in anger. "You really dare to think."

"Do you want to get things done?" Chen Guanlou ignored the other party's sarcasm and asked back, "Do you want to hold power? Do you want to do some practical things for the common people? If you want, then please put down your meaningless self-esteem and integrity. Instead of letting villains like Jiang Tu jump around in the court, why not do it yourself? At least you have the common people in your heart, at least you aren't that greedy."

Zhao Mingqiao was speechless, taking a long while to find his train of thought, not being led by the nose. "According to your statement, I have a faction; scholars naturally have factions."

Chen Guanlou:...

Now it was his turn to be a mute.

He scratched his head and asked in a low voice, "What faction is your teacher? Is he in the Crown Prince's party?"

"Although he is not in the Crown Prince's party, he will definitely continue to firmly support the Crown Prince's legitimate status."

The implication was that whoever is legitimate, he supports. Whether it's the Crown Prince or not is not important; what's important is the status of the eldest legitimate son. Further, it doesn't matter who is the Emperor; whoever is the Emperor, he supports. Rather than saying he supports a person, it's better to say he supports the legitimacy of that chair, the legitimacy of the status.

Even if a cat or a dog were sitting on the chair, he would firmly support it.

Chen Guanlou pondered for a moment. "Actually, your teacher's position is very easy to operate! You just wholeheartedly support the old Emperor, flatter the old Emperor, and don't fight against him—you can't win anyway."

Zhao Mingqiao sneered disdainfully. "After studying for many years, just to flatter without integrity, saying words against one's heart, being a hypocritical person, and doing a bunch of rotten things—forgive me, I can't do it!"

Fine!

The pretentious affectation of the literary youth had flared up again.

Chen Guanlou sighed. "Actually, I admire you, especially your persistence. If it were me, I might not be able to do it. I am like cotton; if you press me, I shrink back, preferring to hide rather than stick my neck out and be the first bird."

"In this world, there must always be someone to be the first bird." Zhao Mingqiao said loudly; regarding his own encounter, he had never regretted it from beginning to end.

Chen Guanlou couldn't help but ask him, "Then does the Great Ming Prince count as the first bird, and does Guo Dachun count as the first bird?"

"Don't mention those two rebellious subjects. They are rebels; how can they be mentioned in the same breath as us court officials?"

"At the beginning, they also just wanted fairness and justice, and wanted a peaceful and prosperous world."

"If there is injustice, one should report to the official."

"Are you saying 'who is the person below the stage accusing this official'?"

"You?" Zhao Mingqiao was so angry his eyes turned red.

"You are an official; you can come into contact with a lot of real information. You should know very well that in Jinzhou, the officials and the people are in collusion. The common people reporting to the official—are you joking? 'No money, don't enter' has never been a joke, but a realistic description."

Zhao Mingqiao closed his mouth; he couldn't argue with Chen Guanlou, and he even felt a sense of guilt. But in his heart, he absolutely refused to admit it, absolutely refused to agree with the other party's statement. Once he agreed, it meant the collapse of the three views he had insisted on for twenty or thirty years. He couldn't bear it, and he didn't dare to face the cruel consequences.

Seeing this, Chen Guanlou sighed secretly. "The world is like this; even if someone else sits on that chair, the big environment won't change much. It's not your fault, just the fault of the era."

"The era is made up of people. Since the problem has been discovered, my generation is duty-bound to swear to change all of this." These words were both for the other party and for himself. Zhao Mingqiao clenched his fists, his heart becoming more and more firm.

Chen Guanlou laughed lightly and said, "Your method is top-down; it's difficult, too difficult, basically impossible to achieve. Guo Dachun and the others are bottom-up; it cannot be denied that their destructiveness is extremely strong. But compared to policy-based evil, their bit of destructiveness counts for what? At least the people of Jinzhou still have a way to live; the people of Dongzhou don't even have a way to live." ===== CHAPTER 263 =====