The koi in the pond are still the same as before. The koi in the pond are big and fat. If the big cats put their tails in the water, they will bite their tails and be fished to the shore.
The big cat was so kind to him. It even knew that he was hungry and gave him fish to eat.
Jia Cong hugged Brother Bao's big-faced koi and was so moved that tears flowed from the corner of his mouth...
The saint finally got over the grief of his old friend's death and seemed to be in much better spirits. At this time, he was sitting in the shade of a tree, sipping tea, and there was a fishing rod beside him, but it was not used.
The "grandson" sprinkled cumin on the koi carps that he selflessly served on the grill, which made the princes and grandsons next door cry with envy.
Looking at the busy Jia Cong, the saint asked leisurely about recent events, and occasionally talked about the gossip in the capital, and criticized the story between the young master and the pretty maid together with Jia Cong.
Of course, Jia Cong would never admit these things. He knew it from a certain second brother named Bao. Every story happened to one of his friends.
When the saint listened to the music, he felt much younger. The grandfather and grandson put aside the annoying government affairs of the previous dynasty and chatted about everything for nearly an hour and a half.
After lunch, Dai Quan had two deck chairs brought in, and the two took a nap by the Taiye Pool in the refreshing autumn breeze.
It wasn't until the big cat came and shouted Jia Cong that the old man paused his rest time and talked about business with Jia Cong.
"Now that you have the reputation of being a civil servant, you can't stay at home all the time. Recently, there have been many literary competitions in the same year as the provincial examination for your subject. Have you participated in it?"
Jia Cong shook his head: "We don't agree with each other, so I'm too lazy to go."
"Confused!"
The old man cursed angrily: "What do you mean? Do you think you are Wei Qinghe? Or do you think you are more powerful than your teacher Xu Qingteng?"
"But didn't you also say that empty talk will harm the country, but hard work will make it prosperous? I would rather stay at home, study and practice calligraphy than go out and make excuses with those people."
Jia Cong did not hide his true thoughts. After the provincial examination, many people sent messages inviting him to participate in various poetry and cultural gatherings.
At the beginning, he also went to two, but the current atmosphere of the officials was really problematic. It seemed that they could not show their superiority and their literati character without criticizing the court's policies.
Ordinarily, Daxia would not be punished for words, and it was a good phenomenon for officials to discuss politics. After all, there were only so many people in the court, and even the officials and officials could not fully monitor them. It is a rare good thing to have someone to help the court supervise officials.
But Jia Cong soon discovered that this group of people were not trolling for the sake of publicity, but trolling for the sake of trolling. Their trolling was worthless and even hindered the smooth implementation of the court's policies.
The purpose of purging the land is to persecute the gentry, to reform the tax system is to plunder people's wealth, to rectify the government is to suppress dissidents...
Some people even thought that the imperial court was spending more and more on military affairs and did not know the lesson that belligerence would lead to death. Jia Cong was almost angry and rolled up his sleeves to beat him.
Let’s not talk about whether there are real problems in these aspects. Even if there are problems, if he can provide insights and reasonable and appropriate solutions, Jia Cong will look up to him.
But in fact, these people probably don't even know whether potatoes are round or square, and they don't even know who the enemy Jiubian is facing, so how can they really have any reasonable advice.
It really echoed what Brother Bao said at the gate of Gongyuan. As long as these people really care about the country's major policies, they will not know about the promotion of potatoes and corn during the provincial examination, and they will not know about the pressure that Jiubian Town has to face.
Jia Cong told these one by one, and the Emperor smiled instead of getting angry.
"You, you, are still a child at heart."
The old man raised his hand and rubbed Jia Cong's head, and sighed: "Actually, I know very well what happened among the literati. When I was not in charge of the government, the court was controlled by the so-called 'gentlemen'. How could the public be so powerful in the court?" Gentlemen and friends..."
Jia Cong's ears twitched slightly when he heard the old man talking about the past. Except for daily notes, these things will not be leaked out, Dagua!
I saw the saint recalling the past and talking to Jia Cong about the secrets before and after taking office: "The cabinet at that time was controlled by the so-called 'gentleman' party. Even if I wanted to leave the palace to inspect the three imperial guards, I couldn't. Later, I still couldn't. Mr. Chongyang, Mr. Chongyang, Old Man Wei's teacher, broke the 'Junzi' Party's control over the government and gave me a chance to breathe."
"Mr. Chongyang?"
The name Jia Cong feels very strange, as if it has never been mentioned in court.
The old man nodded: "Mr. Chongyang's teachings are taboo for officials. It's normal that you haven't heard of them. When the time is right, I will let you see his works."
Oops, I ate half-cooked melon, so uncomfortable!
Jia Cong scratched his head and scratched his head, but the old man refused to let go. He ignored Mr. Chongyang and continued: "Later, your grandfather and I launched a coup to return to power and regained power. We hired a large number of pragmatic people and demoted a number of Jiangnan officials. Officials with a Lin background have temporarily curbed the empty talk that permeated the DPRK..."
"Are you talking about those Xilin Party members?"
The old man nodded first, then shook his head: "Yes or no, compared to the Xilin Party members, the 'Junzi' Party is slightly better. This is a problem left over from the previous dynasty. Do you know Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism?"
"Of course, Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism is one of the most important schools of Confucianism at present, and it can be said to be the leader of Confucianism."
Not only did Jia Cong's answer fail to win the approval of the old man, he instead sneered and said: "Today's Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism is no longer the real Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism. In the fifth year of Zhengzheng in the previous dynasty, the Yuan court issued an edict that Cheng Zhuzhi had learned from Confucius and Mencius. If you follow it, you will be a gentleman, if you follow it, you will be a villain; if you follow it, you will be a villain; if you follow it, you will be in order; if you fail to follow it, you will be in chaos. It is really helpful to transform the people into customs, cultivate yourself and govern others. Do you know this What is the purpose of the edict?”
"If you follow it, you will be a gentleman; if you disobey it, you will be a villain..."
Jia Cong recited silently several times and said in horror: "This is to suppress the people's thinking! If you are not a disciple of Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism, you will be called a villain. Aren't the scholars in that world going to be imprisoned in a narrow theoretical thought? In this way, it is impossible to carry forward the way of the saints.”
Neither Confucius nor Mencius would have thought that Confucian disciples would distort their thoughts like this a thousand years later.
The old man nodded happily and sighed: "This is a good thing for the emperor, but for the Han Dynasty, it is a shackle that is difficult to break. I prefer human desires to preserve the laws of nature and destroy human desires. It can be bigger, so that the blood of my son of the Han family will be stronger!"
When he talked about this, the emperor who had spent his life fighting against humans and heaven became excited.
He stood up, waved his sleeves and sighed: "In the pre-Qin period, hundreds of schools of thought contended, including Confucianism, Taoism, Legalism, Mohism... Every theory is a rare treasure. I don't want the people of our dynasty to be trapped by one theory. 'Gentleman' Party" Regardless of whether they are the Xilin Party or not, they all inherited the mantle of Neo-Confucianism from the previous dynasty and practiced academic affairs in the name of gentlemen. Jia Cong, do you want to defeat them and promote the true way of a saint to the world's scholars?"
ah?
I don't want to, not at all!
Jia Cong's head was shaking like a rattle. The pot was too big for him to carry!
The old man slapped Jia Cong on the head and said angrily: "No, you think so!"
Jia Cong squatted down with his head in his hands, still shaking his head: "I don't want to, really, Master Saint, I don't want to at all. This task is too difficult, I can't do it, I am still just a child!"
This is different from going into battle to kill the enemy. The invisible enemy is the most terrifying.
The old man grabbed Jia Cong's neck and encouraged him "kindly".
"Jia Cong, you can't escape. Your teacher Xu Qingteng has taken over the mantle of Old Man Wei. You are his disciple and you are destined to fight with them. It will determine the outcome and life and death."
ah? teacher?
Jia Cong could imagine that Mr. Wei was opposed to Neo-Confucianism, but his teacher Xu Jin was a serious disciple of Neo-Confucianism.
How can this be?
The saint sneered: "So, what you have to do now is to understand them, blend in with them, and finally defeat them! Hiding at home is not enough, you have to learn from your teacher. Who would have thought of the pride of Neo-Confucianism, Liuyuan Wengui Xu Qingteng will be their gravedigger."
Jia Cong was dumbfounded because Master Sage exploded another big melon.
The king-beating mace that had accompanied Mr. Wei for thirty years had been given to Xu Jin and Xu Qingteng by the sage.
"Back then, I secretly trained two people. One was your teacher Xu Jin, and the other was your father-in-law Lin Ruhai."
ah?
Jia Cong felt like his head was buzzing and he couldn't close his open mouth.
The saint continued: "It's a pity that Lin Ruhai is born with pride. His temperament is too upright and upright, and he can't tolerate a little sand in his eyes. From the incident of Jiangnan Salt Class, we can see that he can be a good prime minister, but not a prime minister."
Jia Cong nodded like a chicken pecking rice. The old man's evaluation of his father-in-law and father-in-law was very accurate.
If only my father-in-law and father-in-law had been able to deal with the people in Jiangnan, the Lin family would not be so miserable.
The old man sighed with emotion: "Old Wei has been called He Xini all his life, but in the ten years he has been in power, he has not only built up a fortune for the court to solve the troubles in the feudal town, but also suppressed the Xilin Party members so that they did not dare to take the lead. This He is the real Prime Minister, Lin Ruhai can’t do it, now it’s up to Xu Jin to see if he can do it.”
ah?
Jia Cong could no longer keep up with the old man's thinking and left the Dragon Head Palace with his head buzzing.
What the old man told him today was beyond his imagination. These were secrets among secrets, the kind that could shake things up.
Chao Zheng is completely childish in front of Dao Zheng. Chao Zheng can still survive, but Dao Zheng is the real fight to the death.
No wonder the Xilin Party gradually lost its central voice in the middle and late Zhaowu period. It turned out to be the method of the Supreme Emperor and Mr. Wei.
So looking back, I sent my uncle south to take charge of the salt class, and used the salt class corruption case to clean up Jiangnan officialdom.
Then he asked his second uncle to supervise schools in Zhejiang, and then the Zhejiang imperial examination fraud case occurred, thereby weakening the reputation and strength of major academies in Jiangnan...
After Mr. Wei left, the two most powerful cabinet ministers in the Central Committee, Qi Bohan, the leader of the Shu Party, and Chu Bangzheng, the leader of the Liangzhe Party, were immediately demoted from Beijing, pushing Xia Lingxing to the high position of the second minister in the cabinet.
Now that they are sparing no effort to train Xu Jin, the Liuyuan Wenkui, and even giving him the golden mace, the Second Saint's thoughts have been made clear.
Whether it is Zhou Jiong, the first assistant of the cabinet, or Xia Lingxing, the second assistant, they are just transitional. Xu Jin and Xu Qingteng are the two sages' internal candidates.
Therefore, when the saint told me these secrets today, I am afraid that he was not just reminding me...
"Brother Cong, the saint and your majesty will not let a person who is born with wisdom wander outside their plans. Mr. Qingteng accepted you as his disciple because it was the saint who appointed you. Therefore, Mr. Qingteng took over Wei Wenzheng You are the only disciple of Mr. Qingteng, your fate has been determined."
Jia Shiyi personally led people to guard the outside of the study, so not even a fly could fly in.
Daiyu quickly connected all the things. With her delicate mind, she dug deeper than Jia Cong and revealed the Emperor's intention in saying these words today.
With Jia Cong's victory in the rural examination, he already had enough status and strength to stir up troubles in the literary world.
The Supreme Emperor pointed out the secret, and Jia Cong had to make a choice now. Because the dispute over Taoism was related to the rise and fall of the dynasty, the two saints did not dare to relax in the slightest.
During the Zhaowu period, the Supreme Emperor personally selected Lin Ruhai and Xu Jin to train them carefully. Today's emperor will also select suitable candidates, and Jia Cong is one of them.
Of course, if Jia Cong cannot grow into a qualified successor, the Second Saint will not abandon him.
After all, he is his "son and grandson" and will definitely be Liu Hong's right-hand man in the future.
But it is impossible to be like Mr. Wei, a prime minister who rules the world with a golden mace to beat the king.
Daiyu's eyes were sparkling. Unlike Jia Cong, she was very happy in her heart.
It wasn't that she was thinking about her status under one person, but that she saw the opportunity to realize the ambitions of Brother Cong and herself.
"Brother Cong, do you still remember the scrawny, sallow-faced kid from Grandma Liu's house?"
Daiyu felt a pang in her heart when she thought of those children with sallow faces and thin muscles, distended bellies but hungry stomachs.
She squeezed Jia Cong's hand tightly and said sincerely: "You once said that you should establish a heart for the world, establish a destiny for the people, carry on the unique knowledge for the past saints, and create peace for all generations. I know why you hesitate, no matter what happens in the future No matter what monsters you face, I will always be by your side. All you need to remember is that you are never alone because you have me!"
…
Jia Cong made a decision in his heart, but he still did not change his original life pattern easily.
The dispute over Taoism is actually not just a dispute over doctrine, but mostly a struggle over interests. The most obvious ones are the land clearing and tax reform. Even the emperor's golden words failed to suppress the political debate between the government and the public.
Xu Jing was blocked by powerful officials several times just when he was promoting the clearing of land in the capital. He was even assassinated several times when he went south to inspect the clearing work in Nanzhili.
The dignitaries in Gyeonggi may have just been deceived, but the investigation in South Zhili has really touched the fundamental interests of the Xilin Party members.
The power of Xilin Party members in the south of the Yangtze River was so shocking that they even mobilized farmers and tenants to gather in crowds to attack the Imperial Envoy's headquarters, almost causing a civil commotion.
Tens of thousands of people gathered at one time, so Xu Jin had to suspend the Qing Dynasty in Jinling and stationed the imperial envoys in a separate courtyard of Prince Wu's Mansion to temporarily avoid the spotlight.
Jia Cong saw from the teacher's letter how difficult it was for the Qing Dynasty to advance in Jiangnan, and he had no good solution for this matter.
To put it bluntly, this is no longer an ordinary court struggle. If you want to bring down the Xilin Party members who are behind the scenes, you must first defeat the "gentleman" Neo-Confucianism they uphold and strip off their "gentleman" identity. The bewitched people know their true colors.
Daiyu took the letter from Jia Cong and was filled with emotion after reading it carefully.
"In fact, during the reign of Emperor Taizong, most of the land in the Jiangnan prefectures had been occupied by the powerful gentry. Those people who lost their land either became tenant servants of the powerful families, or worked in workshops to make a living. They relied on the powerful to make a living. Naturally, Don’t dare to resist the orders of the powerful.”
The Lin family's ancestral home is in Suzhou. Daiyu has helped manage the family's property in the past two years and knows a lot about the situation in Jiangnan.
She frowned and told Jia Cong her guess: "Mr. Qingteng will not only face the powerful gentry during this trip, but also hundreds of thousands and millions of common people. These common people will not care about the imperial envoys." Minister, they were bewitched by the Xilin Party and thought that the imperial court sent people to destroy their chances of survival, so one mistake would put Jiangnan in danger of a civil commotion."
Daiyu's analysis was correct, and Jia Cong finally understood why the teacher holding the golden mace showed weakness to Jiangnan and avoided entering Prince Wu's Mansion.
"That's why the teacher stopped clearing his father-in-law's land and temporarily stayed in the annex of Prince Wu's Mansion to wait for the opportunity."
Daiyu nodded: "There is nothing we can do about it. Hundreds of thousands of people rioting is too scary. Maybe those people are waiting for Mr. Qingteng to force the people to revolt, so that they have the opportunity to impeach Mr. Qingteng. It’s time to oppose the reform of the tax system to clear the land of the father-in-law.”
Jia Cong smiled bitterly and said: "I understand, I understand, but now I can't advance or retreat. This is too frustrating!"
"unless……"
Daiyu's eyes suddenly lit up, and she smiled at Jia Cong and said, "What the people want is just food and clothing, and there is no shortage of money in the court now. You asked Mr. Qingteng to take care of the landless people. Why?" How about the imperial court taking the initiative to move the people to Jiaozhi?"
Um?
Jia Cong didn't quite agree with Daiyu's approach, because Jiangnan was already rich, and Jiaozhi was considered a barbarian land in the hearts of the people, and only ghosts were willing to go there.
"No, no, last time I was almost tricked by Wen Lao Pixiu in order to steal someone for Jiaozhi. It shows that there are really few people who are willing to go to sea to survive..."
But Daiyu smiled slightly: "Brother Cong, you have thought about something wrong. It's not that the people don't want to go, it's that some people don't want to let the people go. If the court moves those landless people away, who will give them Farming and working? If you think about the Japanese riots in the past few years, and then think about the smuggling into the sea privately, is it true that no one wants to go to sea to survive? "
…
"Is this what that girl Yu'er thought of?"
After listening to Jia Cong's narration, the emperor looked at the secret memorial just before sending the defense. He couldn't help but said in shock: "Jia Xiaosan, there is smoke coming out of your ancestral grave, so that your son can make a marriage arrangement with Yu'er!"
ah? I want to complain to the sage, the emperor is cursing!
The emperor handed the secret memorial to Jia Cong. Jia Cong took it and opened it doubtfully. It read: "The Imperial Envoy to the North and South Zhili Military and Political Affairs, the right deputy imperial envoy of the Metropolitan Procuratorate Xu Jin Qi memorial, South Zhili There are many obstacles to clearing the father-in-law's land, and the Xilin Party members are deceiving the people... I want to move the landless people south of the Yangtze River to Jiaozhi..."
Jia Cong held his forehead and sighed: "Sister Lin actually thought of going together with the teacher. Since the Xilin Party members are using those landless people as knives, let's give them a blow..."
The emperor laughed heartily and felt very happy.
"Xu Qing's plan is indeed to draw money from the bottom of the cauldron. Without those tenant farmers to farm for them, the Xilin Party members will be more anxious than us. When the time comes, the farmers will be divided into acres, and the taxes will be divided equally according to the acres. I want to see what they will do?"
Monthly ticket recommendation ticket
Sorry for the late update tonight.
Recently, I have been writing big chapters of 5,000 words, so I am slowly making up for what I owe in the past.
At this point in this book, Cong Geer and Daiyu have passed the growth stage, and the two are about to start a new journey. The two of them will fight hand in hand!
(End of chapter)
