Chapter 136

136. Chapter 135: Pulling Silk from a Cocoon, Pigs are Humble and Dogs are Dangerous

There are three levels of importance for being an official in the Great Ming Dynasty.

The third level is having the status of a Jinshi; one studies to become an official, and while being a Jinshi is naturally very important, it is ranked third precisely because it is not that important.

For example, Yan Shifan, who was merely a student of the Imperial Academy, was still able to become a Vice Minister in the Six Ministries.

Or take the current Luo Fengxiang, who was only a Juren; by relying on Yang Bo's connections, he could also serve as a Junior Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review alongside Chen Dong, a top-ranked Tanhualang.

Therefore, this second level of importance is the support of party cliques.

Of course, having a noble patron to support one's official career is a matter of luck, not something one can seek out; most people do not have connections like Yan Song or Yang Bo, as those men naturally have their own sons, nephews, and sons-in-law to look after.

One's background is not something that can be achieved through effort.

Therefore, there is also the so-called first level of importance, which one can rely on oneself for.

That is, reputation!

Although the Great Ming Dynasty no longer has the practice of recommending the filial and the talented, the role of reputation today has taken on new forms.

It is precisely because Wang Shizhen has such great prestige in the literary world that the late Emperor gave face to Wang Shizhen, who had already been a commoner for seven years, and pardoned his father's crimes.

Similarly, Lu Shusheng repeatedly resigned from office, and his pure reputation grew ever greater, which is why he can now occupy the position of Minister of Personnel, and even though he never came to take up the post, no court official said a word against him.

Historically, he was also highly regarded by scholars because "in the sixty-four years since passing the examinations, his time in office did not even total a decade."

Of course, there are also positive examples, such as Hai Rui.

He would offend his superiors at the slightest provocation and remonstrate with the Emperor, almost becoming the embodiment of morality, and no one in the court could withstand his edge.

These people all accumulated significant reputations through different methods and paths, whether intentionally or unintentionally, and subsequently gained influence in the officialdom far exceeding their official ranks.

These reputable people, even if they disappear for a time, will always be remembered by court officials, and when recommending worthy men, their names will appear on the Emperor's desk.

Therefore, this is also the direction in which most officials seeking further advancement are now working.

For example, Wang Daokun, the Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Entertainments, who also hosts literary gatherings and loves to form societies.

Or Tu Xiying, the Chief Minister of the Court of Ceremonial, who says, "An official post can be discarded in a day, but learning cannot be neglected for a day."

Of course, these are too intense; ordinary people cannot play this game.

Therefore, a more common method is to cater to colleagues and use the Emperor and ministers to build reputation.

When Wang Shizhen mocked Yan Song, or Hai Rui spoke bluntly to the Emperor, they were able to gain reputation because the soil for it naturally existed.

Being punished with the rod and stripped of one's rank, shaking the world with one's name, is almost a standard assembly line for court officials of this era.

Only those who can offend the Emperor are true heroes!

Those with minor abilities offend court ministers, like Tan Lun, Wang Chonggu, and Zhao Zhenji.

If the Emperor is sick and dares to eat a feast, or if someone dares to cough due to lung disease during a court deliberation, or dozes off while on duty—never mind how small the matter is, scold them first.

Those with great abilities offend the Cabinet, like Yan Song, Gao Gong, and Zhang Juzheng.

Corruption, power-grabbing, acting arbitrarily—never mind whether these things actually happened, just report what you hear! Regardless of whether the concentration of power was intentionally granted by the Emperor, just look for faults!

The ones being sprayed are the Cabinet! List seven crimes, ten crimes, and you have a reputation.

And the best of the best, those with heaven-defying abilities, naturally offend the Emperor.

Then there is much that can be said.

Emperor Shizong was a ruthless one; to avoid such things, he would simply beat people to death, and his ears would be much cleaner.

The late Emperor was different; his nature was soft.

Therefore, when court officials wanted to receive a beating from Emperor Muzong, they scolded him in extremely ugly terms, almost saying, "You brat, be careful not to die on a woman's belly."

Path dependency cannot be changed overnight.

As long as one can receive affirmation and recognition from colleagues after offending the Emperor, there will always be people who keep doing this.

The Wanli reign naturally cannot avoid people coming to test the waters.

Zhao Yongxian and Wu Zhongxing, who are kneeling outside the Wenhua Hall today, have reached the time to strive for their reputation.

It is precisely because Zhu Yijun is very clear about the twists and turns involved.

Therefore, he did not use his imperial power to order a beating, but instead very thoughtfully added a garment for them.

Not only that, when Zhu Yijun appeared outside the Wenhua Hall, he entered the role faster than those outside the hall.

More than ten junior compilers were lined up, with Zhao Yongxian and Wu Zhongxing leading in front, kneeling under the steps of the Wenhua Hall, bowing their heads to submit a petition.

Finally hearing that the Emperor had come forward, they were all restless, with a posture of wanting to clamor.

Zhu Yijun descended the steps.

"Your Majesty."

"Your Majesty."

There was grief, choking, and sincerity as they bowed one after another.

Zhu Yijun scanned the group of junior compilers.

He could not help but sigh, "The court is full of upright men, the court is full of upright men!"

Zhao Yongxian and Wu Zhongxing need not be mentioned; historically, they were characters who used their own teacher, Zhang Juzheng, to build their reputation.

As students, they directly accused Zhang Juzheng of violating ethical norms—not observing mourning is a violation of ethical norms, and students scolding their teacher is naturally an act of expediency.

The two were also known as "men who dare to remonstrate by criticizing the scales."

Just now at the Classics Mat, he was also giving Zhang Juzheng a preventive warning.

Even the Emperor is not easy to deal with; do not place too much importance on the status of a teacher, lest you get angry and ruin your health.

Huang Hongxian, who was behind them, was also an old acquaintance, but his methods of building reputation were much more classic than the first two.

Last year, when a comet streaked across the sky, this fellow submitted a memorial titled "Reflecting on Cultivation to Respond to Heaven's Will," asking for self-reflection and warning, and to repent for past mistakes.

Although he did not know what past mistakes he had at the age of eleven, he still gained a huge amount of reputation from this fellow.

I heard that he even had the memorial printed and distributed everywhere a while ago.

Besides this one, Li Shengchun, who was kneeling next to Huang Hongxian, was also a hero.

Although there are no signs of it now, it is a pity he did not pass the test of history.

Historically, when Wanli wanted to collect commercial taxes, Li Shengchun, then the Grand Coordinator of Baoding, submitted a memorial asking the Emperor not to compete with the people for profit.

Later, it was discovered by a censor that this fellow was setting up checkpoints himself to intercept and secretly collect commercial taxes in the local area.

Seeing these people kneeling outside the Wenhua Hall now, Zhu Yijun found it more and more amusing.

I am afraid they hit it off immediately and came here to build their reputation.

Zhu Yijun scanned them roughly, looking straight ahead, and sighed sincerely: "Upright and righteous, in all matters concerning the Emperor and the state, their arguments are always based on righteousness. If they disagree, even if the person is noble and prominent, they will argue with all their might without avoiding it."

"This is the backbone that a Jinshi of our dynasty should have."

Everyone repeatedly said they did not dare.

Shen Shixing glanced at the Emperor; he wouldn't let them impeach him, would he?

After Zhu Yijun finished this sentence, he stretched out his hands, one left and one right, and personally helped Zhao Yongxian and Wu Zhongxing up.

"Minister Zhao, Minister Wu, get up quickly. Regarding Xiong Dunpu's matter, I will certainly give him justice later."

"You two ministers dared to remonstrate, with iron bones; I am very comforted."

"Come to the West Garden tomorrow and be appointed as Secretaries of the Secretariat."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone showed joy, and the two, Zhao and Wu, looked at each other, their eyes full of excitement.

This result is also not bad; speaking bluntly to offend the Emperor, and the Emperor humbly accepting the instruction, can also gain reputation.

Moreover, the current Secretary of the Secretariat is different from before.

Previously, they were all filled by Imperial Academy students, officials by grace, or Juren, doing boring clerical work with low status, which did not fit the status of a Jinshi at all.

But since the current Emperor moved to the West Garden, with the Secretaries of the Secretariat serving in the Wan Shou Palace and Wenhua Hall, their status is completely different!

Regardless of anything else, just the treatment of "being treated the same as those studying in the Hanlin Academy" immediately made the position of Secretary of the Secretariat rise in value.

Being able to serve by the Emperor's side, mastering a certain amount of power, and not delaying the accumulation of qualifications in the Hanlin Academy—where else can one find such a good thing?

And the speed of promotion has clearly accelerated.

Deng Yizan, the third in the first rank, has already been promoted to Left Junior Chancellor of the Left Spring Office after serving for one year.

Zheng Zongxue, the 105th in the third rank, has now been appointed as a Reviewer in the Hanlin Academy.

The position of Secretary of the Secretariat has inexplicably risen in value.

Now it has actually been bestowed upon me!

I bet correctly!

Zhao and Wu were overjoyed and hurriedly thanked the Emperor, about to say something.

Only to see that the Emperor had already let go of them and was walking toward Li Shengchun and Huang Hongxian.

When he walked in front of Li and Huang, the expression on Zhu Yijun's face, which had been smiling just a moment ago, suddenly dropped, looking extremely ugly.

"Minister Zhao and Minister Wu, as Hanlin compilers, have a heart of pure loyalty, and having no way to submit their petition, I can still understand their intentions."

"You, Li Shengchun and Huang Hongxian, were appointed as Supervising Secretaries of the Personnel and Justice departments respectively, and yet you are also kneeling here!"

"What, did the Office of Transmission close its doors, and the memorial could not be submitted?"

Young Jinshi, generally in their twenties or thirties, are carefully selected as junior compilers.

And then they study in the Hanlin Academy for two to three years.

Those who perform best remain in the Hanlin Academy to continue their training; those in the second rank are appointed as compilers, and those in the third rank as reviewers.

Those who perform slightly better become Supervising Secretaries or Censors.

Only very ordinary junior compilers are sent out to be local officials.

Therefore, Li Shengchun and Huang Hongxian, as Supervising Secretaries, are different from Wu and Zhao.

However, these words were truly too harsh; calling them by their names to their faces was no different from scolding them.

The Emperor had just treated Zhao and Wu with courtesy and appointed them as Secretaries of the Secretariat, and now he suddenly turned his face.

Li Shengchun and Huang Hongxian were stunned on the spot by this differential treatment.

Huang Hongxian subconsciously defended himself: "Your Majesty, please examine! My previous memorials were ignored by the two palaces and rejected by the Cabinet; I had no choice but to use this inferior strategy!"

This is also nonsense.

No one stopped him from simply seeking justice for Xiong Dunpu.

But this fellow took the opportunity to say that the Ministry of Personnel was unfair in its handling of affairs, impeached Shen Shixing and the Ministry of Personnel, and wanted to delay the implementation of the Examination Law; it would be a strange thing if the Cabinet did not reject it.

Huang Hongxian's move was to deliberately use Shen Shixing to build his reputation, while catering to court officials dissatisfied with the Examination Law.

Zhu Yijun pulled a long face and said coldly: "Then you should have gone to the West Garden, to the Gan Guang Hall, or outside the Yuan Xi Yan Nian Hall, to kneel before the two palaces."

Setting aside the facts, he hasn't taken personal charge of the government yet.

When submitting memorials, they look for the two palaces, so when kneeling, they should also look for the two palaces.

Why make noise outside the Wenhua Hall?

After saying this, he looked at Li Shengchun again, his expression disgusted: "Minister Wu and Minister Zhao seeking justice for Xiong Dunpu is one thing, but you, Li Shengchun, as a Supervising Secretary of the Ministry of Personnel, where do you get the face?"

"There was a dispute over the promotion and demotion of the Ministry of Personnel; you did not look for faults to correct at the time of the incident, but remained silent, and now you have the thick skin to come and kneel!"

"And you even impeach Minister Shen of the Ministry of Personnel!"

"If you, Li Shengchun, knew even a shred of shame, you should have first resigned from your position as Supervising Secretary of the Ministry of Personnel!"

"How can I allow you to use the sincere hearts of Minister Wu and Minister Zhao to fish for fame and buy a reputation!?"

The more Zhu Yijun spoke, the more intense his words became, and his expression became more agitated.

By the end, without waiting for Li Shengchun to defend himself, he snorted coldly, flicked his sleeves, and turned away.

Li Shengchun and Huang Hongxian received this lesson.

Their faces were filled with panic and fear.

No, we came to kneel together; why is the leader praised for his sincere heart and promoted to Secretary of the Secretariat, while we are accused of fishing for fame and scolded!?

And the words were so harsh; there is no hope of keeping our official positions!

If the position is gone, so be it; the problem is that we didn't build our reputation!

The basic condition for building a reputation by offending the Emperor is having a villain.

Whether it is an authoritarian Chief Minister or a mediocre Emperor, either can be this villain.

What is going on with them right now?

It is that the Emperor listened to the remonstrance, rewarded Wu and Zhao, and after a scene of harmony between monarch and minister, he turned around and scolded the two of them!

This is completely different from the Emperor not listening to remonstrance and ordering a beating and dismissal!

Only by being beaten by an obstinate Emperor can one have a reputation for integrity.

Being scolded by an Emperor who humbly accepts remonstrance only brings a bad name.

If someone says the Emperor is obstinate? Wu Zhongxing and Zhao Yongxian would probably be the first to disagree!

Speaking bluntly to offend the Emperor and still having a harmonious monarch-minister relationship—the reputation is no worse than receiving a beating!

All the good reputation went to Wu Zhongxing and Zhao Yongxian, while we became the villains who used them!

Zhu Yijun did not care what these people thought.

This is the effect he wanted.

When he walked in front of Wu Zhongxing and Zhao Yongxian, who were looking unnatural, he seemed to have calmed down.

He said warmly: "Minister Wu, Minister Zhao, gentlemen of the Hanlin Academy, regarding Xiong Dunpu's matter, follow me into the hall and we shall speak."

"You gentlemen first confront the Confucian scholars, let me distinguish right from wrong, and then we shall discuss the rest."

After speaking, he gave a light gesture to help everyone up.

His expression was kind, making people feel like they were bathed in a spring breeze.

Shen Shixing watched the Emperor's actions from the side, his expression strange.

Taking advantage of the moment he turned to follow the Emperor, when no one was looking, he looked at the Emperor's back and curled his lips.

Eliminating and striking at the same time; the little Emperor has learned to be bad.

Then Shen Shixing followed the Emperor quickly.

Zhao Yongxian and Wu Zhongxing were at least in their thirties, so their depth of character was not bad.

Although the Emperor's actions were somewhat unexpected, the two naturally would not show it immediately.

Wu Zhongxing's thoughts were deeper; he even walked up to Li and Huang to offer a little comfort before following Zhao Yongxian behind the Emperor.

Li Shengchun and Huang Hongxian watched the junior compilers who came with them pass them by one after another and enter the Wenhua Hall.

Their faces were ashen.

It was impossible to have the thick skin to follow them in; the Emperor's intention to demote them was already very clear.

This trip was truly a case of trying to steal a chicken and losing the rice.

Thinking of this, Huang Hongxian suddenly felt his waist go soft and lay directly on the ground.

Li Shengchun watched the Emperor lead the group of junior compilers into the Wenhua Hall, their backs disappearing completely, muttering something unclear.

"Your Majesty questioning the two Supervising Secretaries, Li and Huang, is truly appropriate, but although the two have selfish motives, their situation is also pitiable."

Zhao Yongxian followed behind the Emperor and spoke to plead for the two.

Fishing for fame, it is best not to step on one's peers to get ahead; otherwise, it is easy to be accused of having too much scheming, which hinders a good reputation.

Zhu Yijun turned his head and glanced at Zhao Yongxian.

This fellow truly has no self-awareness.

Why were you and Wu Zhongxing pushed to the leading position? Isn't it because Zhang Juzheng is your teacher, and it is more powerful for students to attack their teacher!?

If it weren't for fear of affecting Zhang Juzheng, even if Zhu Yijun were to divide and conquer, it wouldn't be their turn to get the benefits.

After this matter passes, I will have to find an excuse to send them to Fujian to go fishing.

I am already thinking about settling scores after the autumn, and Zhao Yongxian is still here pleading for others.

His heart is truly big.

Thinking of this, Zhu Yijun could not help but shake his head.

The advantage of knowing history lies here.

Who is superior and who is inferior is clear at a glance.

Who to promote, who to demote, who to beat, and even how to divide and conquer—everything can be targeted.

Emperor Shizong just lacked this golden finger, so he could only beat them to death in one go, losing the subtlety.

I didn't have this ability in my previous life, so I was also calculated by those above and below.

Now that I have this advantage, I naturally have to use a scalpel to pull the silk from the cocoon.

He ignored Zhao Yongxian and instead looked at Shen Shixing, ordering: "Transfer Huang Hongxian and Li Shengchun to local posts, and then recommend replacements from the junior compilers who knelt this time."

Shen Shixing wanted to speak but stopped, and in the end, he bowed and responded.

The Emperor said transfer, not promotion, so it must be a lateral transfer.

Demoting a seventh-rank local official is not a light punishment.

Old Shen was still lamenting, while the several junior compilers behind him exchanged glances and smiled.

On the contrary, Wu Zhongxing looked at the Emperor frequently.

They were originally using Xiong Dunpu's matter to impeach Shen Shixing.

Now the Emperor is bestowing grace on one hand and demoting on the other, and even in front of everyone, he is asking Shen Shixing to recommend Supervising Secretaries later.

Isn't this clearly saying that Shen Shixing might be the patron of everyone present?

It is impossible for all the junior compilers present to be indifferent—there are not enough people like him, Wu Zhongxing, who can treat their teacher and patron as a ladder for promotion.

After this combination of punches from the little Emperor, this kneeling petition that united to pressure the Emperor suddenly became obedient.

What a scheming Emperor!

Wu Zhongxing was pondering the Emperor's thoughts along the way.

Unknowingly, everyone arrived at the side hall.

Only one person was bowing and waiting quietly in the hall.

Seeing the Emperor lead a large group of people in from outside the hall, the person in the hall hurriedly stepped forward to pay respects: "Your subject, Song Ru, Director of the Fine Food Office of the Ministry of Rites, pays respects to Your Majesty."

Eh?

Seeing Song Ru's face, Zhu Yijun was stunned on the spot.

No...

He looked at this junior compiler and hesitated: "You are Song Ru, Song Chunfu? A junior compiler?"

Song Ru was paying respects, and hearing the little Emperor's question, he could not help but feel it was inexplicable.

After thinking about it, he bowed and replied: "Your Majesty, I am indeed Song Ru, 212th in the third rank of the fifth year of Longqing, a Jinshi, and was selected as a junior compiler on the 24th day of the sixth month of the fifth year of Longqing."

Zhu Yijun nodded and suddenly looked at Shen Shixing: "Minister Shen, you were the Left Junior Chancellor of the Left Spring Office and concurrently a Reader of the Hanlin Academy, in charge of Hanlin Academy affairs at that time, right?"

Shen Shixing did not understand the reason and replied: "Your Majesty, I was in charge of the Hanlin Academy at that time."

As soon as the words fell, Zhu Yijun suddenly flew into a rage.

He disregarded his demeanor and cursed at Shen Shixing: "Shen Shixing! Open your eyes wide and look, you tell me, how old is this fellow!?"

"Which son of a bitch gave him the path!?"

"Third rank, over two hundred! At an age to be buried! Why was he selected as a junior compiler!?"

"How much did Song Ru bribe you to get selected!"

Zhu Yijun pointed his trembling finger at the thin, short old man who looked nearly seventy but was in high spirits, his face flushed red, spitting everywhere, clearly furious.

This was the first time he had seen a seventy-year-old third-rank junior compiler!

Can bribery be so blatant!?