Chapter 23

This remark, Zhu Yijun can be said to be sincere; since ascending the throne, incompetence is a kind of original sin.

Gao Yi hurriedly avoided the seat and stood up: "This official……"

Zhu Yijun interrupted Gao Yi: "Mr., please sit down; this is my heartfelt words."

"Today's daily lecture on 'Zicai', what the lecturers said, I deeply agree with."

Zhu Yijun picked up a chopstick and knocked on the edge of the bowl regardless of etiquette.

Ding…… ding……

He slowly chanted in his mouth: "Do not harm each other, do not abuse each other; respect the widow, respect the wife, and let them be accommodated."

"The King should imitate the lords and officials; what is the order? Lead them to raise them, lead them to peace."

After chanting these two sentences, Zhu Yijun put down the chopsticks, not waiting for Gao Yi to speak.

He continued: "The explanation of the top three is the best; the so-called 'lead to raise, lead to peace' means to make the people grow and make the people live in peace."

"Since I am the monarch and father, how can I not keep the people in my heart?"

"Mr., I do not want to be Emperor Hui of Jin who said 'Why not eat meat porridge'."

Gao Yi was silent, his thoughts scattered and lost.

He stared blankly at the Crown Prince, and a poem suddenly appeared in his mind—I was born when you were not, and when you were born, I was already old.

At this moment, Gao Yi seemed to have returned to the age of twenty, seeing the simple school in Qiantang County when he was studying, seeing himself who was pointing out the country at that time.

At that time, he was thinking, one day when he became an official, what must he do.

At that time, he was thinking, entering the hall and the room, what he could definitely do.

A mere student, dissecting the court gazette with classmates all day, planning the world.

At that most ridiculous and most hot-blooded age, he was also high-spirited.

Looking back, in a blink of an eye, he was over fifty, old and frail.

He almost forgot when his hot blood cooled down, and why it cooled.

Oh…… it was the officialdom where corruption was rampant and cliques were formed, it was Emperor Shizong who supported Yan Song to collect money and ignored the people, it was the late Emperor who curled up in the harem all day drinking tiger and wolf medicine and taking beauties.

Today, it is truly like a dream.

At this time, looking at the Crown Prince, it was like seeing himself back then—heart full of the world, young and hot-blooded.

Gao Yi suddenly understood why his teacher, who resigned and returned home to lecture, would show that kind of look when watching them discuss state affairs outside the window.

He quietly looked at Zhu Yijun, his heart churning, and his nose began to sour.

Who is the parent of the grieving, making our people suffer to the extreme without appeal……

Gao Yi repeated this sentence in his heart again, and Gao Yi almost couldn't help but burst into tears.

What is a monarch and father? What is a parent official? Who is called a child of the people?

This question, which didn't need much to say, had become a castle in the air and a mirage in the sea in today's world.

So much so that the people were also confused; where is the monarch and father? Where is the parent official? To whom can their suffering appeal?

It is said that children's words have no taboos, and the heart of a child; the Crown Prince's disclosure of his heart is more benevolent and honest than he imagined, like a piece of unpolished jade, containing divine brilliance, shining and moving.

Being a monarch and father, thinking of the people, he, Gao Yi, has served two dynasties, and finally sees a wise monarch?

Gao Yi couldn't stop choking and bowed sincerely: "Your Highness's benevolence is truly the fortune of the country."

"I only hope Your Highness will not forget what you have gained today, and in the future, relieve and raise the people, and rest with the people."

This remark was somewhat regardless of etiquette; how could one say to the monarch "do not forget today's words"?

But Gao Yi considered himself a scholar and couldn't suppress this impulse.

This is not a minister's admonition to the monarch, nor is it a teacher's requirement for a student; this is just a scholar, hearing words of like-mindedness, encouraging a confidant.

Zhu Yijun hurriedly reached out to support Gao Yi, feeling quite emotional.

The lethality of the ritual system, for these rigid scholars, is really too strong.

Even if he just pretended to be a competent emperor, it moved the old man.

Thousands of years of cultural inertia, rooted in people's hearts, truly has an unstoppable force.

It's a pity that things are two-sided; now he is using it handily, but when he pushes new policies later, the ritual system will also become a stumbling block, smelly and hard.

Zhu Yijun shook his head and threw his wild thoughts out of his mind.

Continuing to guide: "The monarch has no jokes; I may not dare to forget, and in the future, I will definitely lead to raise and lead to peace."

"But now, I am young and have shallow knowledge; this matter of preaching and governing, and supporting the people, still needs to rely on you, Mr."

Gao Yi faced the Crown Prince's expectant gaze, only feeling that his gaze had the weight of a thousand catties: "This official has meager knowledge, and his talent is not as good as the average person; it is just that I, with a humble body, have stolen a high position."

"Your Highness is naturally wise and bright; in time, your talent will definitely far exceed this humble official."

Gao Yi was both humble and self-deprecating.

He is now in the Cabinet, entering the hall and the room, which can be said to be above ten thousand people, with major policies in his hands.

But what did he do?

He did nothing.

He neither practiced the aspirations of his youth nor followed the integrity of a scholar to help the world.

This second half of his life can truly be called eating and doing nothing.

Zhu Yijun shook his head with a trace of sorrow: "That day, before the late Emperor passed away, he entrusted the orphan and assisted the government to you three; please, Mr., don't be humble."

"The Chief Zhang Gelao is my late Emperor's teacher; at that time, my late Emperor once held his hand with tears and said to the Chief Zhang Gelao, 'I burden you with the world'."

"Now, I am young and have shallow knowledge; is my teacher unwilling to be burdened by me?"

Zhu Yijun, with the people of the world in his left hand and the late Emperor's last will in his right, shook Gao Yi's mind again and again with the posture of a wise monarch.

Gao Yi twitched his lips, clearly unable to bear it.

He was moved and emotional: "The grace of heaven is vast; this official will definitely not dare to fail."

Zhu Yijun then smiled.

He sat down gracefully: "Mr., sit down quickly; the lunch is almost cold; don't waste the heaven's things; every grain is hard-earned."

Gao Yi's emotions were difficult to restrain for a while, so he had to sit down without saying a word.

During the meal, Zhu Yijun asked about some academic questions again, with a posture of eager learning.

Several times he scratched Gao Yi's itch, causing him to ignore etiquette and spit everywhere.

Zhu Yijun saw that the heat was almost there, and said inadvertently: "Mr., this word 'filial piety', you explained it well; I should practice it well."

After saying that, he sighed faintly.

Gao Yi asked in confusion: "Why does Your Highness sigh?"

Zhu Yijun explained: "Mr., you don't know; the late Emperor instructed me to be filial to the two palaces, but I often don't do it well."

"Recently, I have seen my mother feeling irritable; there must be some worries. But when I ask, my mother uses political affairs as an excuse, fearing to disturb my studies, and doesn't let me know."

"Mother has worries, and I cannot resolve them; Mr., can I still be called filial like this?"

When the Crown Prince mentioned this, Gao Yi immediately understood what was going on.

Recently, there have been two major difficulties in the court debates: one is the Examination Method, and the other is the inner treasury; both have been quite unpleasant with Imperial Consort Li, and there is a meaning of stalemate.

But now that the Crown Prince mentioned it, Gao Yi felt somewhat embarrassed.

The so-called avoiding the taboo for the honorable, and involving the insidious things of fighting for power inside and outside, it is not good to tell a child.

Seeing him hesitate, Zhu Yijun asked innocently: "Mr., what exactly angered my mother in the court? Can you tell me privately here, Mr., to fulfill my filial piety?"

Gao Yi didn't know how to answer for a while.

Zhu Yijun hurriedly persuaded: "Mr., my mother has been deeply bewitched by Feng Bao; I am afraid that she has been deceived by those above and below, which is why she is unhappy with the court officials."

"If you tell me, Mr., I can still mediate from it; isn't that satisfying both sides?"

Gao Yi paused for a moment, feeling that it made some sense; not to mention the Crown Prince's filial piety, it was just this Li clan, living in the deep palace, outside officials could only speak through memorials, but his student, serving by her side, if he had this heart, could really mediate inside and outside.

He thought about it and soon convinced himself.

"Your Highness doesn't know; currently, the inside and outside are being disturbed by two things……"

Gao Yi told the story one by one; he still thought Zhu Yijun knew nothing and said it in great detail.

After listening, Zhu Yijun frowned and asked: "Is the Chief Zhang Gelao not preparing to move these 100,000 taels into the inner treasury?"

He asked knowingly.

Gao Yi hurriedly explained: "Naturally not; currently, the Ministry of Rites' ceremony, the Ministry of Works' mausoleum, and the Yellow River's summer flood season have all urgently taken away a batch of silver, and the Ministry of Revenue is stretched."

"The Cabinet's meaning is to wait until the summer tax is collected before moving the silver into the inner treasury."

Zhu Yijun said "Oh".

Very reasonable: "Since there is a reason, I can persuade my mother well; now is the time to endure for the country and overcome difficulties together."

Gao Yi was moved again by the new monarch's benevolence.

Just as he saw the Crown Prince finish saying this, he hesitated again: "It's just this Examination Method, it's a bit difficult…… it seems, it hurts holy virtue quite a bit."

Hurting holy virtue means offending people.

Gao Yi's eyes flashed with surprise, and he couldn't help but admire his student's keen political sense and insight into people's hearts.

Just after hearing him briefly explain it once, he immediately noticed the resistance.

He hesitated for a while, and finally didn't cover it up, only nodding helplessly: "There are indeed some difficulties."

This is the disadvantage of the harem supervising the country; there is no such responsibility.

Lao Tzu said, bearing the country's disgrace is called the master of the state, bearing the country's misfortune is called the king of the world.

Where in the world is there a ruler who doesn't offend people.

Emperor Guangwu of Han didn't offend people, and in the history books, he looked brilliant; this just shows that he had things that should have offended people but didn't do them.

Zigong asked Confucius: Everyone in the village likes him, how is it?

Confucius said: Not yet. It's not as good as the good people in the village liking him, and the bad people hating him.

Everyone says he is a good person, which is not as good as good people saying he is good and bad people saying he is bad.

Unfortunately, Imperial Consort Li doesn't understand this truth.

This led to the Examination Method never being pushed; unless someone can take this bad name for her—Gao Gong is preparing to be duty-bound.

Unfortunately, for the sake of the honorable, Gao Yi cannot tell these words to the Crown Prince.

Zhu Yijun pondered for a moment, looking at Gao Yi with pure and flawless eyes: "Mr., is the Examination Method a good policy for governing the country, right?"

Gao Yi nodded without hesitation: "Your Highness, currently the administration is perfunctory, sluggish, and corruption is rampant; it must be governed!"

Zhang Juzheng's Examination Method, he had carefully studied it; once implemented, it would definitely be able to effectively clarify the administration.

As for how effective it is, it depends on whether all parties can work together.

After listening to Gao Yi's words, Zhu Yijun nodded forcefully, firmly: "Since Mr. said so, then it must be right; for the sake of the Great Ming, I will definitely persuade my mother!"

Saying that, he smiled shyly: "It's just that this Examination Method is too radical; if I can let the Chief Zhang Gelao and my mother take a step back, then I will be more confident."

Gao Yi was greatly moved, and felt a little ashamed that he had unintentionally used the Crown Prince to influence the harem.

He took a deep breath and said confidently: "If Your Highness can know the thoughts of the Imperial Consort, I will definitely be able to persuade the Chief Zhang Gelao."

As an assisting minister, his weight doesn't need to be said.

Gao Gong is tough again, Zhang Juzheng is persistent again, that is not knowing the general situation; he, Gao Yi, is not without edge!

Zhu Yijun was overjoyed.

He said: "Since this is the case, I will go and persuade my mother after lunch, and when there is a result, I will send someone to inform you, Mr."

"To persuade my mother, there may be some changes."

"At that time, you will have to bear more for the Chief Zhang Gelao and Zhang Gelao Zhang, Mr."

Gao Yi held his head high and nodded.

……

Until Gao Yi finished his duty today, he was still savoring the meal with the Crown Prince and the discussion.

Just after arriving home, he couldn't wait to enter the study, sat at the desk, and picked up a pen to record today's events.

He recalled or worded.

"Expressing the red heart with great righteousness……"

Just like this, he wrote quickly, as if he had divine help.

It was done in one go; until the end, Gao Yi paused, thinking about how to write the ending.

For a moment, he couldn't think of how to end it most appropriately.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Gao Yi was deep in thought when he was suddenly startled by the knock on the door.

"Master, someone from the palace is here." The old servant outside the door said.

Gao Yi hurriedly stood up and went out to meet him.

When he reached the door, he saw that it was the Crown Prince's Great Eunuch, Zhang Hong, who had come in person.

Behind him followed a small eunuch, holding something.

Gao Yi hurriedly said: "Great Eunuch Zhang, please come in."

Zhang Hong walked in two steps and stopped in the courtyard, smiling all over his face: "Greetings, Zhang Gelao."

"Litchi was sent from Yunnan recently; this afternoon, the Crown Prince also asked for grace from the Imperial Consort to distribute them to officials of the third rank and above in various departments."

"I have other places to go, so I won't disturb you, Zhang Gelao."

After saying that, he made a gesture, and the small eunuch handed over the tray.

Gao Yi hurriedly thanked him.

He watched the old servant take it, only to see ice cubes on the tray, revealing cold air.

Plump and round litchis were placed in a golden cup.

Gao Yi ordered the old servant to change the container and take them out.

Zhang Hong hurriedly stopped him: "Zhang Gelao, this cup is the Crown Prince's item; yesterday, when the Ciqing Palace was cleared, the Crown Prince said it was too extravagant, so he wanted to seal it up."

"Today, he changed his mind and said that hiding wealth in the palace is a waste of heaven's things."

"The Crown Prince is benevolent, so he asked the Imperial Consort to nod and bestow this item on you, Zhang Gelao, to subsidize your household."

Gao Yi was stunned, just about to speak.

Zhang Hong had already smiled and saluted, leading the small eunuch out.

Gao Yi watched Zhang Hong's departing figure, raised his hand, and stopped talking.

After a while, he still didn't speak.

It was as if he was frozen in the courtyard.

The old servant didn't dare to disturb him and was about to put the tray away and put it in the study.

Gao Yi finally spoke.

He put down his raised hand and sighed: "Let me do it."

The old servant knew that his master was like this when he was thinking, so he responded and retreated.

Gao Yi silently carried the tray into the room and placed it on the desk.

He felt the tray holding the litchis slightly, and took out a short note from under the cloth.

On it were written words like "piloting" and "performance" from Imperial Consort Li.

But he didn't look at it carefully, just glanced at it and put it aside.

Instead, he looked at the golden cup with burning eyes and fell into a long silence.

In a trance, he seemed to see the Crown Prince's face.

His student was seriously inviting him to drink with a cup.

"Mr., let's drink from the golden cup together." The Crown Prince seemed to say so.

The Crown Prince…… is he taking the first half of the Founding Emperor's story to show his heart to him?

Can he, Gao Yi, truly have a good relationship between monarch and minister in this life?

After a long silence, he looked at the note that hadn't been finished yet, and the ink that hadn't dried yet.

It seemed that his heart moved, and Gao Yi finally had action.

He slowly picked up the pen and stared at the end of the note just now.

He rolled up his sleeves and wrote down the last sentence slowly and carefully: "……Therefore, the heart of heaven only hangs on the saint, and the famous minister must wait for the true master."