The tenth day of September in the tenth year of Wanli.
The golden crow shines high, and the hibiscus flowers in the Imperial College compete for beauty.
Zhu Yijun came here with a group of civil and military ministers and prisoner Xu Jie.
Just among the ranks of emperors and ministers in python robes and red robes, followed by a prisoner, Xu Jie, made Xu Jie look particularly awkward.
So much so that all the ministers in his entourage couldn't help but look at Xu Jie.
But what Zhu Yijun wanted was this effect.
He wanted these bureaucrats to see that the outcome of someone like Xu Jie being an official would not be better than that of Zhang Juzheng.
As the emperor, he needs to give good guidance to the officials.
Moisturizes things silently.
The ministers who can come to the imperial court, both civil and military, are already as good as human beings. They don't need the emperor to say anything, they also know why the emperor asked Xu Jie to come to the Imperial College with him.
When the officials such as Luo Wanhua, Siye Zhao Zhigao and other officials of the Imperial Academy and the supervisors of the Imperial Academy were waiting for the Holy Emperor, they all noticed Xu Jie, who was particularly conspicuous among the emperors and generals, and their eyes showed surprise.
However, when Zhu Yijun appeared, the officials and supervisors of the Imperial College gradually turned from surprise to excitement.
Especially the young supervisors couldn't help but straighten their chests.
After all, the Holy Spirit is here in person.
In this era of supreme monarchy, the emperor's position in the hearts of scholars is still very important.
And Zhu Yijun's personal visit to the Imperial College undoubtedly sent a signal that he valued civil servants, so they could not hide their excitement.
The Imperial College is now the highest institution of learning in the Ming Dynasty and a reserve institution for imperial bureaucrats.
Zhu Yijun came here naturally to send a signal to the current and future bureaucrats of the empire, a signal of what they need to do to get his attention.
And Xu Jie, a living textbook, had already had some impact on their hearts.
After Luo Wanhua and others paid their respects to Zhu Yijun, Zhu Yijun went directly to the classroom of the Imperial College and sat in the seat where the former Imperial College doctor sat. age."
Xu Jie naturally thanked him.
It's just that all the officials and scholars were standing around at this time, and only the emperor was sitting across from him, a prisoner, which made Xu Jie even more conspicuous.
At this time, Zhu Yijun asked Zhang Hong to take over the suicide note on state governance left by Zhang Juzheng. He held up the suicide note and said: "This is a book that Mr. Wang wrote just before his death. It is about continuing the learning of the saints." I have temporarily called this study of the Confucian classics, and asked the Printing Bureau of the Si Li Supervisor to print a hundred copies. I will distribute these copies today. Officials such as Gongqing, Hanlin Ci ministers, and Guozijian will all have one copy. Let’s send a representative to pick up a copy and pass it around to read.”
"Since I came to the throne, I have had the opportunity of my husband to serve as the prime minister for ten years, and I have been able to excel in my studies. Now I can manage the affairs of the country personally, and I have to be cautious. And my husband once said that the first step in running a country is to outline the outline. When the outline is collected, the eyes will be followed, and when the outline is raised, the eyes will be focused. Zhang, how should I outline the principles for governing the country? This is a big question, and it is also the question that needs to be determined most at the moment."
"My husband has passed away and I have completed my studies. Therefore, the system of lectures and readings has been cancelled. However, this does not mean that I do not need to pay attention to my studies. The world is free to do whatever I want. As the saying goes, running a big country is like cooking small delicacies. Don't rush to stir-fry. There are rules and regulations, and what needs to be determined now is this rules and regulations.”
"So, even if the teaching of reading is over, it doesn't mean that I can no longer discuss academic studies with you. In addition to Sutra banquets, I should always discuss the world's knowledge with you. Today I came to Guozijian to discuss this as the outline of the world. I want to study and discuss my knowledge with you, and if we want to make it the guideline for the world, let’s start from Sir’s suicide note.”
Zhu Yijun started talking.
After Zhu Yijun said this, the ministers and supervisors present had to read Zhang Juzheng's suicide note seriously.
Even Xu Jie was handed a copy of Zhang Juzheng's original suicide note by Zhu Yijun.
When all these people had seen it roughly, Zhu Yijun asked Zhang Siwei: "What did Cifu think after seeing it?"
Zhang Siwei was actually quite unhappy that the emperor did this.
But he did not expect that the emperor really wanted to govern the country seriously. He was really taught by Zhang Juzheng that he should take the world's people into consideration, discuss the affairs of the country with the ministers and even the scholars of the world, and even come to the Imperial College to discuss the affairs of the country. Zhang Juzheng's philosophy of governing the country should be learned as the precepts of his ancestors.
The key point is that the "Huang Ming Ancestor Instructions" was not studied so seriously that it required scholar-bureaucrats at all levels to participate, and even military officials also participated.
Zhang Siwei and many civil servants actually advocated returning the power to the Lord and advocating that the emperor should be a holy master and a benevolent king. They did not really want the emperor to govern the country seriously, but just wanted the emperor to act like he was governing the country seriously.
After all, if the emperor is really serious, in many cases it will not be the common people who will suffer, but the bureaucrats and scholar-bureaucrats.
But Zhang Siwei naturally did not dare to tell the truth now, and could only say against his will: "Returning to your majesty, in my opinion, Yuan Fu is Yuan Fu after all, and his views can be regarded as political mottos!"
Zhu Yijun nodded, and did not comment on whether what Zhang Siwei said was right. Instead, he looked at the others: "What do you think."
"Your Majesty, in accordance with Yuan Fu's opinion, government should be pragmatic. Scholar-officials should have the ambition to innovate and eliminate shortcomings, and should learn from the strengths of others, because people are not born to know them. What he said clearly puts more emphasis on practical application, and makes scholar-officials pay more attention to meritorious service. In this world, morality is looked down upon a lot."
Wang Jiaping started talking at this time.
"Virtue is not unimportant, but the first priority in governing the country should be to pay more attention to whether it can benefit the country and the people, that is, whether it can truly strengthen the country and stabilize the people."
Shen Yiguan defended Wang Jiaping at this time, and then cupped his hands to Zhu Yijun and said:
"Your Majesty, I think what Yuan Fu saw is a very wise idea, and it can be said to be an inspiration to me."
"From the minister's point of view, the auxiliary ministers should not only be close ministers who only follow the rules and follow the political opinions of the six ministries and departments, but should also have specific opinions, opinions, and principles for governing, so as to make the emperor and father's ancestral temple and country To achieve long-term peace and stability is the true way to repay your kindness."
Zhu Yijun looked at Xu Jie: "Xu Jie, what about you, tell me what you think."
Xu Jie laughed and said, "Your Majesty, the criminals once gathered learned people to give lectures in Lingji Palace. But at that time, the criminals hosted the lectures, which was different from your majesty's purpose."
"Tell me what your purpose is."
Zhu Yijun said.
Xu Jie bowed and said: "The criminals are practicing their own philosophy of 'rewarding justice at the expense of punishment', and hope to use this method to make the scholar-bureaucrats all over the world willing to call ministers virtuous, knowing that ministers will not impose authority on others." They will even advise the superiors on their behalf, giving them the power to discuss government affairs, allowing them to control the government;"
"In this way, even if I am unwilling to solve the world's ills, I can still get a word of virtue."
"Even if the emperor works hard to govern, he will only feel that the minister is just talking more than practical, and is just following the past without any opinions. He will not be dissatisfied with the minister because he is good at power;"
"Because I have no opinions, there is no source of hatred for me."
"I am only responsible for conveying Gong Lun's views to His Majesty. If His Majesty hates Gong Lun, he only hates Gong Lun and not me."
"The criminal wanted to keep himself safe, so he used the name of giving lectures to cover up his peace of mind."
"But His Majesty is different now. He is using the name of lecturing to discuss the ways of governing the country. He really hopes to strengthen the country and enrich the people."
"Master Zhang, who is your Majesty's mentor, also agrees that he has good intentions and really has the people of the country at heart."
"Your Majesty will indeed be more suitable to use assistant ministers who have their own opinions in the future."
"Such an assistant minister does not 'sacrifice punishment for public opinion', but governs on behalf of His Majesty, outlines his own rules and regulations according to the outline set by His Majesty, and practices his own governing philosophy. He is a truly ambitious person. Only those who truly care about the country can do this."
"The criminal is not such a wise minister."
"Although the criminal is obviously not good at power and values harmony, and he has gained a reputation as a virtuous person, but in fact, he gave up long ago when he realized that being a truly virtuous minister would rarely lead to a virtuous name."
When Xu Jie said this, he smiled bitterly: "Besides, it's not up to the ministers to be virtuous or unvirtuous!"
"As your Majesty asked before, what made me choose to be a traitor who is both a traitor and a loyal traitor? On the surface, I do good to everyone in the world, but secretly, I take advantage of the people's property and invade the country."
“The fundamental reason is not the supremacy of imperial power;”
"After all, although the imperial power is supreme, it cannot stop the pursuit of profit;"
"It's not Wang Xue who harmed anyone:"
"Although Wang Xue talks about having a conscience, the choice of what is a conscience is still up to us. It is the subject who has chosen to be selfish as his own conscience."
"The reason is that after the boom of commerce, the desire for profit has greatly increased. More and more people are just for profit, while fewer and fewer people are for benevolence, justice and morality;"
"When I first entered the official position, I had not yet become rich through business, so my desire for profit was not serious. However, after I entered the official position for a long time, and my relatives and friends became rich through my business, my desire for profit became more serious."
"But the boom in commerce is inevitable. If agriculture and mulberry trees are prosperous, there will be surplus wealth, and if there is surplus wealth, there will be transactions. Therefore, everyone is more profit-seeking, and ministers are increasingly forgetting etiquette, justice and integrity."
"His Majesty!"
Xu Jie looked at Zhu Yijun as he spoke and said: "Because of this, people like Chen are actually the majority. For example, Zhang Ge, the second assistant, once told Chen when he was in Hanlin that he supported the return of matters to the six departments and the return of words. Ke Dao, but was dissatisfied with the fact that Gaoxin Zheng, as a cabinet minister at that time, was good at the administration of the six ministries, and believed that this would inevitably abolish the Qing Dynasty and enrich the powerful ministers; "
"In fact, he is unwilling to reform the system, and hopes that everyone in Shilin will be harmonious and not fight against each other because of their different opinions;"
"It can be said that Mr. Zhang Ge, the second assistant, still has the heart of peace, rather than the heart of strengthening the country and reassuring the people."
Zhang Siwei couldn't help but glance at Xu Jie when he heard this.
