Chapter 271: Putting Aside, Only Then Can It Be Eternal

How can you enlighten me?

This is a typical rhetorical question; it's not asking what should be done in this situation, but rather, since things have reached this point, what else do you have to teach me?

Of course, the rhetorical question here is not just aimed at the Xuzhou gentry and worthies.

It is also a direct and positive response to the dissatisfaction within the Confucian circle under high-pressure conditions over the years.

Every meeting naturally carries the connotation of a political statement; the Supervising Secretary Sun Jigao buried his head in writing, precisely so that every word spoken at today's meeting could be published after the meeting and spread throughout the world.

Don't look at the basketful of quotes from the sages—"water can carry a boat, and it can also overturn it," "the people are the foundation of the state, the state is secondary."

However, in a feudal dynasty, the guiding ideology for distribution and the governing principles of the bureaucratic group have always been based on the bottom line that the common people do not revolt.

As for terms that sound like they carry great weight—such as "public opinion," "the masses," and "the world"—they are, to a large extent, represented by the scholar-officials.

It can be said that before the New Learning, the suffering of the common people could at most serve as a matter of moral pity for individual officials or as bargaining chips in factional strife; in any case, they have never had a seat at the table of national policy.

Even after the emergence of Neo-Confucianism, it remained confined to academic theories and the general direction of the New Policies, unable to influence the daily operations of the entire bureaucratic system. Since the high-pressure anti-corruption stance of the first year of Wanli, there have been numerous bizarre theories within the Confucian circles, yet no one has ever looked at how the living, breathing "base people" are faring, nor has anyone asked: what is in the hearts of the base people?

At this very moment, the Emperor's approach is highly debatable; he actually has the audacity to question the self-proclaimed representatives of public opinion: in the current situation, who exactly represents the public opinion?

This is the second time since the founding Emperor Taizu that imperial power has attempted to converge with public opinion—Xuzhou, as a directly administered prefecture, is neither too large nor too small, making it the perfect place to borrow the topic to establish an argument.

Sun Ke-shou was clearly unable to respond to the Emperor's question, which was fraught with hidden malice; he and the accompanying gentry lowered their heads one after another, stammering and daring not to speak.

On this issue, local officials are actually the most qualified to share their daily experiences and insights, and to seize a portion of the power of interpretation.

Yet, now that they are the fish and the meat on the chopping block, and even they themselves have become the stepping stones for the Emperor's argument, feeling inferior, they can only turn these truths over in their minds, unable to speak them aloud.

Some did not want to speak, others could not speak; the hall fell into a sudden silence.

Just at this moment.

*Cough, cough! *

A burst of violent coughing sounded, and Wang covered his mouth and nose, struggling to take half a step forward.

"Your Majesty, this subject dares to speak plainly on right and wrong."

The eyes of everyone in the hall converged on Wang, their expressions varied.

Seeing the Emperor nod in approval, Zhongshu Sheren Sun Jigao felt a surge of spirit and raised his brush to write.

Accompanied by the rattling in his lungs, Wang gasped for air and bowed respectfully: "The Master said: When the world follows the Dao, the common people do not debate."

"Lord Shang also said: The people can be made to enjoy the fruits of success, but they cannot be made to deliberate on the beginnings."

"This is the great debate between the Dao and the Art."

"The ignorant masses in their humble dwellings see no further than their own lanes and wells, and their ears hear no refined music; their anger and arrogance ignore the instability of the times, let alone the intricacies of statecraft."

"What they call for now is like a thirsty man seeking poison or a freezing man demanding aconite; though their cries are earnest, they are truly contrary to reality, and when they stumble, they blame the North Star for shifting."

"Why is this?"

"When emotions are inflamed, wisdom is clouded; when desires burn, reason is scorched!"

"When they curse the corrupt, they rise in a swarm to tear them apart, but when an honest official is slandered, the commoners clap their thighs in celebration, filling the streets with their clamor."

"The common people are short-sighted; their talk is not of the Dao—how can it be called public opinion!?"

Scholar-gentry, of course, are only called scholars if they have merit; this is fundamentally different from the lowly commoners.

Compared to the far-sighted gentry, the commoners are ignorant, do not consider the objective situation, and only know how to vent their instincts, which may not be reasonable.

Just because they encountered a little setback, they shout for fighting and killing the officials; how is this different from blaming the position of a comet when life doesn't go well?

Too ignorant.

They didn't think that if the Xuzhou officialdom was shaken, it would affect the economy, and more people would have a hard time.

These people even shout for fighting and killing corrupt officials today, and tomorrow they will eat the blood-soaked buns of honest officials who are executed; in the end, it's just to vent their emotions.

What is the significance of these thoughts, grievances, and demands of the lowly commoners?

On the other hand, we gentry and worthies are born from the lowly commoners but transcend them; rooted in instinctive demands, but transcending the prejudices of the commoners.

With such dissent, who is right and who is wrong, who represents the will of the people, does it still need to be said?

Wang had completely read the books of the sages into his bones, and facing the will of the people thrown out by the Emperor, he immediately took out a set of grand rhetoric.

Wu Zhipeng, Li Minqing, and others, who were still sweating, almost slapped the table and praised him.

Listen, this is what our representatives of the will of the people should say!

Not to mention the Xuzhou officials, even Chen Xingjian, a confidant of the imperial tour and a Supervising Secretary in the Ministry of Revenue, couldn't help but show amazement, looking up and down at the candle-in-the-wind Wang.

The Ministry of Revenue actually had such a figure before; it's truly a case of meeting too late—if he had been thrown out to debate the scholars when asking for money from the national treasury, who knows how much money could have been saved.

As for Wang's fallacies, naturally, the Emperor wouldn't lower himself to deal with them personally.

Luo Zun, who had just finished a round with Li Shidi, perhaps had already rested well.

He bypassed Li Shidi, stepped forward, and mocked Wang: "The common people in Mr. Wang's mouth are so unable to distinguish right from wrong; outsiders who don't know would think you are talking about beasts."

Wang's expression remained unchanged: "Hai Yushi Luo, let's just discuss the matter as it is."

"It's hard for Mr. Wang to still know how to discuss the matter as it is." Luo Zun retorted, "Good, then let's discuss the matter."

"Since Mr. Wang claims that they are ignorant and cannot distinguish between good and bad officials, then I would like to ask, does Mr. Wang know Zhang Zhan?"

As soon as this familiar name was spoken, the Xuzhou officials all turned their attention.

Li Minqing and Wu Zhipeng looked at each other and looked at Chang Sansheng at the same time.

Not to mention how uncomfortable Vice Commissioner of the Military Defense Circuit Chang Sansheng looked.

Wang was not afraid of ghosts knocking on his door and nodded calmly: "Former Prefect Zhang Zhan, he had a good reputation, so I naturally know him."

"It's a pity he passed away unfortunately last month. When I sent someone to pay respects, he had already been carried back to his hometown in Henan."

Hearing this, Luo Zun sneered incessantly.

He turned and walked two steps towards Sun Keshou, snatching the dossier from the latter's hand.

"Let me tell Mr. Wang, the trip that you worthies couldn't catch up with, the people of Xuzhou traveled hundreds of miles to catch up with, and they actually flocked to Henan to erect a monument for Prefect Zhang."

"This is a copy of the attachment from the vanguard's visit to the people's feelings in Pei County; I will read it to Mr. Wang."

Luo Zun stopped the dossier at the page where the vanguard visited the people's feelings in Pei County and read without any emotion: "Old Prefect Zhang Zhan, this name is deeply engraved in my heart, never to be forgotten."

"—My father passed away unfortunately."

"On the fifth-seventh day of mourning, my little sister was born. All five sisters relied on my mother alone, and the youngest was still in swaddling clothes."

"The little sister was born weak and sick, the family was penniless, had no food for the next day, no money for medical treatment, no clothes to keep warm. When the little sister was on the verge of death, my mother also fell seriously ill."

"My uncle took the basket to the bedside, preparing to carry the sister who was about to stop breathing out to bury her."

"At this time, the old Prefect pushed the door and came to our house. He first uncovered the pot, there was no grain; then he looked at the two patients, the little sister was in critical condition, and my mother was in a high fever and unconscious."

"His eyes filled with tears, and he took copper coins from his sleeve to buy us cloth and cotton to keep warm, and sent my little sister and mother to the Huimin Pharmacy for treatment."

"My little sister and mother both survived. We always miss the old Prefect Zhang Zhan and never forget the life-saving grace in times of danger."

Luo Zun spoke the official language very well, his voice clear and elegant, and as he read it, it made people feel as if they were on the scene.

Unfortunately, Wang had lived to this age and had long been as firm as a rock, unmoved.

On the contrary, Pan Jixun was full of emotion.

On the contrary, Pan Jixun looked full of emotion.

Luo Zun was expressionless and walked closer to Wang: "There are dozens of inscriptions here, including those from your Wang family's tenant farmers. I will read them to Mr. Wang."

"Old Prefect, you might not remember me."

"During the time you passed away, I felt as if my heart was being cut by a knife every day, blaming the heavens for not letting me die in your place."

"I still haven't forgotten that a few years ago, you came to the countryside, and I and other neighbors heard the news and rushed to see you. In the mutual greetings, you learned that my husband was wrongly accused and arrested, and my five children were young, and my youngest daughter, not even a year old, had an ear infection with maggots crawling out, and I had no money for treatment, so you rushed to my house to visit."

"You took out a few coins and said, 'You are now committing a mistake of excessive firmness, you are no longer a Prefect, just write me a note, go to the market and buy some small sesame oil, pour a little into the child's ear, and it will be fine. I don't have much money, take it all; if the oil seller doesn't want money, use this money to buy the child something to eat.'"

"My daughter and I still tear up when we mention this—"

Luo Zun walked to Wang, took out the few pages of attachments, and showed them to Wang.

The former's sharp, biting gaze carved into the gullies on the latter's face, and he said in a deep voice: "These are the 'ignorant commoners' in Mr. Wang's mouth who cannot distinguish right from wrong!"

Whether a group is ignorant or not, for a long time, it has been a matter of two sides.

Even the officials in the Wenhua Hall had mixed reputations; in the mouths of the people suffering from personal pain, they were "despicable meat-eaters"; in the mouths of the people who received favors, they were naturally "wise and far-sighted."

Needless to say about the common people.

When they need to bear the cost, they generally have to believe in the wisdom of the people, that they will find their own way; while when expressing dissent, they are ignorant and not worth consulting.

Fortunately, the court officials have finally learned to analyze specific problems specifically and have no right to speak without investigation.

On the matter of whether the people of Xuzhou can distinguish between clear and turbid, clarify right and wrong, and thus represent the will of the people, Luo Zun's investigation from the vanguard is clearly more convincing than Wang's empty words.

The gentry on the left and right had already lost the person, but didn't want to lose the formation, so they could only look at Wang again after looking at each other.

Fortunately, Wang lived up to expectations; although his expression was difficult, he still enjoyed great prestige and forcibly argued: "This just shows that the common people are short-sighted and easily deceived by small favors—"

As soon as these words of reversing black and white came out, Luo Zun was suddenly anxious.

With black lines on his forehead, by some strange coincidence, he actually took the attachment he showed Wang and printed it on the latter's chest!

Cough, cough!

Wang had a lung disease, and being suddenly attacked, his words stopped abruptly, replaced by a violent cough.

The officials in the hall looked sideways.

Jiang Keqian stepped forward calmly, ready to pull apart the hall-front fight that was common in this dynasty.

Seeing this, Zhu Yijun supported his forehead helplessly, signaling Jiang Keqian to press Luo Zun into his seat.

The latter understood and hurriedly invited the stifled Luo Zun down.

Just as Luo Zun left the field and Wang could not speak, Li Shidi, who was standing by, could no longer hold back and seized the opportunity to interject: "Your Majesty just said to reconcile the various opinions."

"Now the will of the people in Xuzhou is divided, isn't it just the right time?"

After all, he was an Investigating Hai Yushi and knew something about the Emperor.

He clearly had to vent his anger at the corrupt officials. Since that was the case, besides seeking justice for the people, could he at least respect the opinions of the gentry and control the scope and intensity of the crackdown?

Even if there is fighting and killing, can it be killed less, and killed without shaking the official order?

It seems that hard work pays off.

Hearing this steady and prudent suggestion, the Emperor finally stopped refuting and nodded in deep agreement: "Very well, very well."

"Minister Li, you asked me to decide, and then you satirized me for disregarding the will of the people. Now that we are consulting the will of the people, you are still sticking to your own opinions, and it is difficult to distinguish right from wrong."

"There is no point in arguing anymore; it is indeed time to reconcile the various opinions."

Speaking of this, Zhu Yijun paused and looked around the hall.

Seeing the Xuzhou officials hear these words, as if hearing heavenly music, they returned to their souls one after another and looked eagerly.

Wu Zhipeng and Li Minqing looked at each other and silently clenched their collars.

Wang also let out a long sigh of relief, and the gentry on the left and right were overjoyed, and words of praise began to hover in their mouths.

Only Li Shidi was from the Hanlin Academy and was too familiar with the Emperor's opening style.

Hearing this tone, he felt something was wrong and was about to kneel and plead on the spot!

Unfortunately, it was too late.

"Minister Chen, since you worthies keep saying 'will of the people,' the Censorate should stop working behind closed doors."

Zhu Yijun looked at Chen Wude and ordered seriously: "After the meeting, you will occupy the public hall of the Prefecture Yamen, remove the threshold, and post a notice, saying:"

"A nest case has arisen in the Xuzhou officialdom, involving many people, each with different opinions; right and wrong are difficult to discuss."

"The Censorate, in order to distinguish reason, divide weight, and participate in the will of the people, invites the military and civilians—"

"Publicly try this case throughout the whole process!"

As the words fell, the officials in the hall were hit as if by a heavy blow, dumbfounded.

"Ah?"

"Public—public trial?"

Everyone opened their mouths wide, looking as if they hadn't reacted.

Zhu Yijun thought they didn't understand, so he raised his hand and gestured in the air, explaining intimately: "It means wearing a tall hat, writing down who is who, what crime the suspect has, and trying it for the people to see."

"The law, in the end, does not tolerate feelings, exterminating families and slaughtering; or it does not go beyond human feelings, stopping at a certain point—it depends on whether the people clap or spit."

"In this way, isn't it reconciling the various opinions?"

Everyone watched the Emperor lightly gesturing the shape of the tall hat, and in a trance, they only felt that Mount Tai was hanging over their heads, pressing them so they couldn't lift their heads.

How can the affairs of the officialdom be pointed at by the lowly commoners!?

Being an official locally, who can resist not harming a few lowly commoners?

According to the nature of those mobs inciting each other, I'm afraid they would be smashed to death by vegetable leaves!

It's even worse than dying directly; it's enough to be humiliated, and once the matter spreads, even the wives and children will be poked in the spine by these lowly commoners when they go out in the future!

Li Shidi looked at the Emperor in a daze, his eyes full of disappointment.

He was wholeheartedly for the country, wanting to preserve the vitality of the locality and cultivate the vitality, why did the Emperor go further and further on the road of excessive firmness?

And he kept talking about reconciling the various opinions; being so cruel to officials, what is the difference from Emperor Taizu?

Coincidentally, it was clear that Li Shidi was not the only one with this thought.

"Your Majesty's such absurd talk, have you forgotten the old events of the Hongwu years!?"

A hoarse voice full of anger sounded, a direct reprimand that startled everyone.

Looking in the direction of the sound.

Wang actually picked up the cane on the ground, pointing tremblingly at the Emperor, his whole body trembling with excitement.

Li Shidi was the closest and was terrified, hurriedly reaching out to grab Wang's disrespectful cane, blocking it between Wang and the Emperor: "Come quickly, Mr. Wang's lung disease has attacked his heart, he has lost his mind!"

Wang ignored Li Shidi's good intentions and raised his cane a few inches higher, pointing to the sky.

"In the eighteenth year of Hongwu, Chen Shouliu, a farmer in Changshu County, could not bear the oppression of the county clerk Gu Ying, so he conspired with his younger brother and nephew to capture the county clerk privately and carry the 'Great Proclamation' to the capital to report."

"With such overstepping behavior, Taizu not only did not severely punish the county people, but actually imprisoned and punished the county clerk."

"Subsequently, he rewarded the county people with twenty taels of silver and announced to the world that mobilizing the people to supervise corruption was the right path, and the world followed."

"The commoners clapped and cheered, but how could they know that the officials in the court were terrified! The scholars were alienated!"

Wang wailed with grief: "With the ancestors above, does Your Majesty really want to be like Taizu, making the scholars alienated?"

Such overstepping words were rare in the dynasty, but many officials deeply agreed.

There is no such thing as reconciling the various opinions, it's just choosing one to follow; in the end, whether to follow the scholar-officials or the lowly commoners, shouldn't the Emperor think about who he shares the world with!?

Back then, Taizu also followed the lowly commoners and treated the court officials harshly; now two hundred years have passed, hasn't the Zhu family descendant figured it out yet!?

Thinking of this, the Xuzhou officials were even more moved, feeling sorrow from their hearts.

Li Shidi also couldn't help but turn his head away and sigh mournfully.

From the petitions read by Sun Keshou just now, it could be seen that Wang, whether in his conduct or family management, had almost no flaws in his private morality.

Unlike Wu Zhipeng and his group, he truly believed in what he said.

And precisely because of this, when he spoke now, Li Shidi felt the heartfelt sorrow in his words.

Isn't the lesson of Taizu mobilizing the people enough!?

The opening of the Great Ming Dynasty was a difficult process, and after success, it was even more afraid of repeating the same mistakes.

At the beginning of the establishment, out of concern for the future of the country, and also because of the simple emotions unique to the commoner origin, Emperor Taizu did not get carried away by "expelling the barbarians and restoring China," mistakenly thinking that the Great Ming could be spotless.

Instead, after peace, he immediately realized that the new dynasty also had the possibility of "later generations mourning it," and adjusted the political system in time.

He created the grain-chief system to use the people to supervise officials, perfected the system of reporting to the capital to allow the people to sue officials, and forbade officials from going to the countryside to harass the people.

Initiating the Grain-Chief System to let the people supervise officials, perfecting the system of petitioning the capital to allow the people to sue officials, and forbidding authorities from sending men to the countryside to harass the people.

But, doing extraordinary things, the result is self-evident—can such "non-preferential treatment of scholar-officials" last long?

The heavy punishments born of Emperor Taizu's personal will, disregarding the overall situation, were immediately corrected after Taizu passed away.

The grain-chief system, the system of reporting to the capital, the extermination of families, and the cruel punishments were all stopped.

As for the characterization, because Emperor Chengzu turned the world around, he had to avoid Taizu's actions and speak vaguely, but the civil officials had long been holding back their anger and would not indulge him.

In official and unofficial histories, they were all written straight.

They called Taizu's extraordinary actions, although they did suppress corrupt officials to a relatively low level for a certain period.

However, this achievement was obtained under the circumstances where many people in power at that time were treated unfairly, repeatedly implicated for no reason in unconventional forms, and even officials who were lucky enough to escape were terrified and unable to handle daily affairs normally.

The heavy punishments of chaotic times that allowed lowly commoners to humiliate superiors and fabricate major cases caused the Great Ming Dynasty to lose a long period of recuperation, bringing heavy disasters to the stable operation of the country, which later generations need to be mainly vigilant about.

Has the Emperor forgotten all these warnings?

After Taizu, even if the cruel punishments still existed in the folk as ignorant supporters—the prejudices of the lowly commoners are not enough to be called the will of the people.

But the prominent high-ranking officials had long since held high the banners of righteousness, order, ritual, and emotion, remonstrating with successive emperors to be vigilant against heavy punishments, oppose cruel torture, and quickly establish a new policy of spreading virtue and stopping killing, emphasizing the legitimacy of punishment and preserving the dignity of criminal officials.

Otherwise, it would be contrary to righteousness, contrary to emotion, losing order, and violating ritual; it would be treating scholar-officials harshly, and the court would be without the Way.

Such gradual progress.

Unless it involved political events such as power struggles and national security, if it was just a corruption case involving silver, the act of killing would have long been swept into the gutter.

Until around Emperor Xiaozong, the unreasonable sentencing of corrupt officials had long been factually abolished at the level of precedent, at most fining three cups of wine and not punishing for a first offense.

The court up and down took this as a tacit understanding.

Even Yan Song, such a giant corrupt official, didn't Emperor Shizong spare his life?

Unexpectedly, in the new dynasty's elegant governance, the current Emperor is prepared to pick up the style of the Hongwu years, shouting for fighting and killing, and gathering the people for public trials, wanting the court officials to suffer a second time.

Reversing the car of our Great Ming Dynasty like this, if this continues, aren't you afraid that the country will not be a country!

Li Shidi sank deeper and deeper as he thought, forgetting to dissuade Wang.

Zhu Yijun didn't disturb them, signaling the left and right not to intervene, then crossed his hands, supported his chin, and waited patiently for Wang to put away his ugly appearance, while quietly observing the reactions of the officials.

For a time, only the sound of Wang muttering "Emperor Xiaozong, where are you" echoed in the hall.

Zhu Yijun remained unmoved, glancing at Li Shidi, looking at the two people who were empathizing, and couldn't help but shake his head in his heart.

Sure enough, the new learning cannot save the old stubborns.

Wang goes without saying; historically, Li Shidi was promoted to Vice Commissioner of Jinhua and Quzhou in Zhejiang, put on the scarlet robe of a fourth-rank official, but was immediately impeached and dismissed by the Investigating Hai Yushi, for two words, which were extremely humiliating—"lazy and weak."

Now given another chance, he still couldn't be a political strongman, full of fallacies, truly hateful and pitiful.

Thinking of this, the playful look in Zhu Yijun's eyes vanished, turning into a condescending scrutiny.

His gaze took in all the expressions of fear, resentment, embarrassment, and incomprehension in the hall, and finally fell on the sorrowful Wang and Li Shidi.

After Wang finally quieted down.

Zhu Yijun spoke slowly, spreading the topic irrelevantly: "When my ancestors started the uprising, they shouted the slogan of expelling the barbarians and restoring China, restoring clothing for the people house by house."

"But you and I both know that the people who were proud of shaving their hair and changing their clothes were not happy; as soon as the heavenly soldiers left, they immediately took out the clothes from the bottom of the box, and the left-lapel clothing immediately revived."

"The heavenly soldiers heard the news and rushed back, and the people put on Confucian clothing again, back and forth, pulling and pulling."

"What to do in the end?"

Speaking of this, the officials in the hall subconsciously shivered.

Seeing this, Zhu Yijun shook his head and laughed: "That is to discover the progressive people among the people, and after enlightenment, let these progressive people cultivate Confucianism and spread the Way."

"The progressive people restored their own small China in the struggle, and at the same time consolidated the results, enlightened the ignorant people around them, and thus restored the great China."

"Back then, the people were used to govern affairs; I just let the people watch affairs and distinguish right from wrong, which is already extremely gentle."

The people in the hall were silent.

The Emperor's words were very far-fetched; who in the room was not a smart person, the overtones were too obvious.

Wang opened his mouth to speak, but was confiscated his cane by the correction officer on the grounds of losing etiquette, and was blocked to the side, glaring with his eyes.

Zhu Yijun ignored the eyes exchanged by everyone and continued to speak to himself: "As the saying goes, things don't happen three times; regarding the Xuzhou case, I have made a decision with my golden mouth, and I will not allow you to speak."

"Whether people are killed or not, it's not up to me; it's determined by the Great Ming Code."

"This public trial, it's not up to you either; I say it must be tried, and it must be tried!"

"In addition, since Wang Hanqing brought up my ancestors, I won't hesitate to argue a few words outside the matter."

Zhu Yijun looked at the Supervising Secretary who recorded the diary of activity and reminded: "Minister Sun, you record it, I will make the following statement."

Sun Jigao had already dipped his pen and ink, ready to go.

"Taizu's actions back then have their own historical evaluation, and I have never had any dissent."

"But the gains and losses of my High Emperor are not for you, Wang Hanqing, to pick and choose, and it is not your turn, Wang Hanqing, to bring up Emperor Xiaozong to favor one over the other."

Zhu Yijun slowly stood up from the throne, standing under the Buddha statue, looking at Wang behind the correction officer: "Since the founding of my Ming Dynasty, Taizu often reflected on the change of dynasties, and later generations took it as ancestral instruction."

"Back then, Taizu gave the first answer for the sake of restoring China."

"Regrettably, it was not satisfactory, and you have a lot of resentment."

To quote the words of later scholars, Ming Taizu not only launched a "people's movement" to strike at corrupt officials, but also launched a "people's movement" to clear out local bullies and ruffians. (Quoted from Journal of Ningxia University, Vol. 33, No. 1, "Construction of the Grain-Chief Power System and Its Power Conflict with Local Officials," original text, not fabricated, do not associate, do not comment)

But this attempt was declared a failure in a regrettable form.

That is, corrupt officials actually turned around and held high Taizu's "Great Proclamation," repeatedly slandering the people as bullies and ruffians, threatening to tie good families to the capital, and thereby collecting money and even retaliating against good families. (All historical facts, wording quoted from the paper)

"But since the High Emperor has taken the first step, my Zhu descendants will never stop exploring."

"Taizu lost in firmness, Chengzu took it as a warning; Xiaomiao lost in gentleness, Wumiao took it as a warning; Shimiao lost in not distinguishing between the Yangtze and the Yellow River, I take it as a warning."

"You, Wang Hanqing, say that the warning is not far? It's simply ridiculous!"

"I have seen everything the ancestors did! I keep it in my heart! I swear to step out a new path on the road the ancestors have walked!"

"My country has been fierce for twelve generations, lasting two hundred years; I have given the world the second answer for the ancestors."

"New policies! My new policies! Continuous new policies! Continuing the new policies with the first answer of Taizu High Emperor!"

The Wanli Emperor stood with his hands behind his back in the center of the hall, backed by the huge golden body of the Buddha statue: "Wang Hanqing, don't use your petty morality to guess Taizu's original intention, and don't use your short-sightedness to measure my actions."

"What alienation! I dare to say now, offend a thousand or a hundred people, do not fail ten thousand ten thousand!"

"I have said everything I have to say; what else do you worthies have to say?"

Wang's emotions rose and fell, and he was scolded by the Emperor to the point of being devastated. At this moment, he held his chest tightly, his breathing was rapid, and he could not speak.

Seeing that the overall situation was set, Chang Sansheng, in a scarlet robe, tried to save the dead horse, and stood up with difficulty: "Your Majesty, Mr. Wang's corruption efficiency theory is not entirely unreasonable."

Zhu Yijun's expression was calm, and he asked back: "Minister Chang studied Zuo Zhuan, and five years ago, your memorial wrote, 'The defeat of the country is due to official evil,' have you forgotten?"

Chang Sansheng was suddenly speechless.

Seeing that the fourth-rank official couldn't finish a complete sentence, Wu Zhipeng had to bite the bullet and take over: "Your Majesty, I have crimes, I am only afraid of the turmoil in the people's livelihood."

Zhu Yijun dismissed it: "So we must remove the rot and grow muscles, scrape the bone to heal the poison!"

Wu Zhipeng sat down in despair.

Li Shidi was the most sincere and pleaded earnestly: "Your Majesty, anti-corruption will destroy the country—"

Zhu Yijun waved his hand: "I say it is 'completing one's body and the world is completed, governing one's body and the world is governed'!"

Li Shidi retreated helplessly.

At this time, Wang's breathing finally calmed down, and he stepped forward again.

He was no longer as excited as before, but with a trace of melancholy, he said sorrowfully: "Your Majesty has great ambitions for humanity, but what about the Way of Heaven?"

This is the expression of a Confucian who takes the overall situation seriously.

No matter how high your ambition is, doing this, aren't you afraid that something will happen to the canal transport?

It had evolved from a theoretical dispute to a trend of realistic coercion.

Logically speaking, if the Emperor heard such words, he would inevitably glare and be anxious.

But the Emperor was unexpectedly calm, and in his eyes, there was even a trace of disappointment that was as expected.

Wang met this gaze and felt inexplicably panicked, and the feeling of shortness of breath attacked his heart again.

Zhu Yijun ignored Wang's political blackmail, but turned to look at former Canal Administrator Fu Xizhi, his tone slightly tired: "Minister Fu, the affairs before the meeting are finished, you report on the engineering affairs discussed today."

Pan Jixun and Wan Gong glanced at Fu Xizhi and curled their lips at the same time.

Fu Xizhi was still dismissed and waiting for appointment.

As an official who came to discuss the project, he didn't participate in the disputes before the meeting. Only when he was pointed out did he slowly stand up: "This subject dares to report."

"Since the Jingtai years, the Yellow River has entered the canal, seizing the canal as the river; because of this, the river body has become wide, silt has accumulated over the years, and it has to rely on the Yellow River to travel. Now the canal in Xu and Pi is the Yellow River."

"Recently, I saw that in the Xu and Pi area, the river body is silted, and the trouble of blocking, breaking, and changing paths will not be this autumn, then it will be next year."

"I am worried day and night, carefully seeking, Yu's water control is just following the nature of water. Now using the river as a canal, it is forcing the nature of water to suit me, even the divine Yu is difficult to achieve."

Fu Xizhi paused and said loudly: "I only suggest, completely abandon the Xuzhou river section, and open a new Yi River! Put the Yellow River aside, and it will be an eternal plan!" ===== CHAPTER 272 =====

Fu Xizhi paused, then spoke in a clear voice: "This subject believes we should completely abandon the Xuzhou section of the river and open the Yi River instead! To put the Yellow River out of consideration is the only way to ensure a permanent solution!"