"Master Wan," the prefect said in embarrassment, "In order to carry out some reforms, Wei Huai actually incited the unruly people to make trouble. Is that okay? However, since I read that he was from a well-known family, he did not dare to take action, so he came to ask the prince for instructions. the meaning of."
Wan Heshun took a sip of tea and remained silent. When he was young, his lower lip trembled slightly and he said: "As a scholar, he naturally has a somewhat shallow view. It's not his fault..."
"Can……"
"Listen to me," Wan Heshun squinted his eyes and smiled, "but those unruly people are really hateful because they take advantage of others' power. I heard that they gathered in that... Sihe Academy, right?"
"This was founded by Wei Huai."
"We can't say that. Wei Huai paid for it, but he only wanted to teach and educate people. He didn't expect it to end up like this. He must be sad. Therefore, that academy should be closed down."
"How should Wei Huai deal with it?"
"There is no need to deal with it. Why deal with it? This is our big shot in Nanjing."
"This..." Seeing that Wan Heshun was partial to Wei Huai, the prefect felt that things were a bit tricky.
"Really? Wei Huai will never disobey the government's orders, right?" Wan Heshun seemed to have read through his mind. Although he was still smiling, there was a hint of murderous intent.
After hearing this, the prefect suddenly woke up. He quickly got down from his armchair, knelt on the ground and said, "Thank you, Prince Jun!" He kowtowed a few times and said goodbye to Wan He in a hurry.
When the prefect returned to the Yamen, he dispatched a group of men and ordered them to come to Sihe Academy with weapons and seals in hand.
At that time, Xia Yuanlong was teaching a book when he suddenly heard the sound of uniform footsteps outside the wall, gradually approaching here. Fearing that something might happen, he quickly put down his books and said to the students, "I'll go out and take a look first."
When he came down from Sihe Hall, he heard the footsteps of the sergeant and the sound of a sharp knife being unsheathed from the south courtyard wall. Immediately afterwards, this sound came from the east courtyard wall and the north courtyard wall at the same time. Xia Yuanlong hurriedly set up a wooden ladder from the main entrance, that is, the south courtyard wall, and climbed up with difficulty. When he looked outside, he saw all black armor and white blades, staring fiercely at the gate of the academy; he tilted his neck and looked at the other few The wall was also firmly guarded by soldiers, completely surrounding the academy. Government flags were planted both inside and outside the wall.
"What do you want to do?"
A general on horseback looked up and saw Xia Yuanlong standing on the wall shouting.
"I came here to inspect the academy on the orders of the prefect. You and those students get out!"
"I want to ask clearly. Did the prefect give an order?"
The general took out a document from his arms: "Is this enough evidence?"
"Then I would like to ask: We have no grievances or enmities with the prefect, so why should we seal down the academy?"
"Can you see it with your own eyes when your people go to cause trouble in the streets?"
Xia Yuanlong was speechless. He knew that he was irrefutable, and if he continued to hold on like this, there would be no remedy for the current situation. So he said: "I admit it, you just seal it up, and I will ask the students to come out."
"I see you are also a scholar, so don't be ignorant!"
"Natural, natural." He said, holding on to the ladder and going down.
Xia Yuanlong went straight back to Sihe Hall and saw all the students looking at his face with worry.
"There's no need to panic for now, it's just that the government has come to seal down our academy; you guys just stay calm and come out with me." He said seriously.
"Why do they have it?" A man with a Suzhou accent suddenly jumped out, "This Sihe Academy provides lectures for the common people. How can it be sealed by the imperial court? What about Mr. Wei? They asked Mr. Wei to come over and explain. !”
"Yeah yeah!"
Everyone was furious, and their emotions were obviously aroused.
"I just asked you to calm down, and something went wrong. I think this situation is very complicated. Why don't we surrender first, and then go see Mr. Wei immediately to find out the whole story, and then discuss anything else. Otherwise, we won't know anything. Someone took advantage of me, but I ended up being dumb!" Xia Yuanlongshi said calmly, unmoved.
"Then...well, you have to listen to Mr. Xia." Everyone settled down.
Xia Yuanlong led the students to the door, opened the door, and said to the general, "Just seal it, and we'll come out."
"That's easy to talk about. Go ahead!"
The general called for the soldiers to swarm into Sihe Academy, while Xia Yuanlong led the students to avoid the procession and went out through the side door.
The general locked the door tightly with his hand, broke the seal, and stuck it to the door.
"The prefect said he was going to dismiss me from office, so why did he attack the academy?" Wei Huai looked at Xia Yuanlong in shock.
"This is a clever plan from the prefect." Xia Yuanlong sat as calm as a bell, but Wei Huai couldn't help but stand up and pace slowly.
"What kind of trick is this?" Yang Huaisheng asked from the side.
"Of course, the prefect thought that Min's brother was a famous Confucian scholar in Nanjing, and if he was dismissed from his official position for no reason, he was afraid that it would cause quite a stir; and since the academy was actually trying to trick the people, it was better to do it, so he used the name of inspection to eradicate it. We preached the basics of reform, but at the same time, we lost the face of the people."
"Wouldn't that mean we are helpless?" Yang Huaishen said again.
Xia Yuanlong looked at Wei Huai deeply: "I can only...please Ji Min that you dedicate yourself to the cause of justice, break up with the government, and start a tit-for-tat confrontation."
Both of them remained silent, silently looking into Wei Huai's eyes.
"good!"
Wei Huai gave a loud shout, his eyes were like fire, and even the flames on the candlestick were startled and trembled slightly.
"Renying is right. I can't abandon the people because of this. I'm not afraid of losing my official position. I have to stand with them!" He walked to the table. "Get a pen and grind the ink. I want to write a letter to defend my injustice!"
"Wei Huai of the Imperial College of Nanjing submitted a letter to the magistrate: Huai Jiu takes responsibility for innovation and is concerned with important matters for the livelihood of the people. He will never fail to be loyal to his duties and will not go beyond his duties." With the help of two friends, he established an academy and only preached virtue and integrity, with no other plans. Respecting the meaning of allusions and rejecting erroneous principles can be said to be adhering to the rules of the sages. However, the official of the government strictly adhered to the old laws and banned new theories. He even went so angry that he went to the academy and closed it down at every turn. Under the thunder, everything was reduced to scorched earth. Let me ask you, Mr. Fu, what is wrong for me, the people of Nanjing, to fight against my own disadvantages and to strive for good governance? What is the crime of blocking the thoroughfare and drinking from the rude officials? They hope that the Duke of Fu can help the people's embarrassment, but the Duke of Fu hopes that I can keep my mouth shut. I would like to say this to the official of the government: I wish to give up the false reputation of sacrificing wine and fulfill my responsibilities as an academy. The decision is yours, whether to advance or retreat, don’t worry! '
"Bold!" When the prefect saw the ending, his face turned red. In anger, he crumpled the letter into a ball and threw it into the basket.
"Come here! Go and remove Wei Huai's official position, tell him to get out, and ask those unruly people to pay him a salary!"
After he finished speaking, his chest was still tight. When he walked to the door, he was still out of breath and yelled like a thunderbolt:
"Convict Wei Huai and escort him to the cell!"
"yes!"
