In February of the first year of Zhengde.
In the cabinet, Xie Qian was "preparing lessons."
The daily lecture was about to begin, and he was the lecturer this time.
He attached great importance to this Japanese lecture.
Last winter, the Sutra Feast had actually started at the request of the ministers, but Zhu Houzhao was very cold about it. After listening to it for a month, he couldn't stand it any more, so he stopped it because of the cold weather. Not long ago, they had just brought up old matters.
As the saying goes, "The emperor is above to show his care and support, and below is to comfort the people's respect." The ministers in the cabinet also knew that the Zhengde Emperor did not want to see this sutra banquet, but with such pressure, Zhu Houzhao had to comply even though he wanted to do so. The feast resumes.
The Confucian banquet is divided into Hui Lecture and Ri Lecture. All the court officials must attend the Hui Lecture, which is more like a performance and shows the emperor's importance to Confucianism. What was held yesterday was just a meeting. It was more of a formality. It talked about general principles and the teachings of ancient sages without any substantive content. Daily lectures were the focus of instilling Confucianism and governance concepts into the emperor.
Especially recently, Emperor Zhengde's behavior seems to have deviated more and more from the "Way of the Holy King". Not only does he like riding and shooting, but he also often hangs out in the garden and often leaves the palace incognito. He is very interested in studying and handling government affairs and other things. It's a neglect.
This is a dangerous signal. Just take advantage of this opportunity to turn the young emperor around.
Xie Qian thought like this and prepared his lessons more seriously.
However, at this moment, the door to the room was pushed open, and Liu Jian walked in angrily. Seeing Xie Qian who was preparing for the course, he immediately spoke, his tone full of resentment:
"Yu Qiao (Xie Qian's nickname is Yu Qiao), there is no need to prepare. Your Majesty wants to hear about the past events of the Spring and Autumn Period this time. He has already invited Chen Guogong as a lecturer. He just ordered someone to inform us that there is no need to go!"
Xie Qian and Li Dongyang on the side were stunned when they heard this sentence.
"But isn't it the usual practice for the Jingyan Banquet to talk about a subset of Jingshi, a Confucian classic?" Xie Qian said with doubts.
"Yes! Your Majesty said that he wanted to listen to "Spring and Autumn", and he asked me, "Isn't "Spring and Autumn" considered classics and history? What can I say, what can I say???"
Liu Jian was so angry that even when facing two colleagues, he spoke very irritably. He had a strong character to begin with, but now the emperor's behavior made him extremely angry.
"If we really talk about "Spring and Autumn", that's it. There is also a way to govern the country in it. But let Chen Guogong speak, let him speak... What does this mean? Can't we speak? Your Majesty's heart is clear! He I just want to hear about the conquests of other countries in the Spring and Autumn Period, instead of learning my thoughts on Confucian etiquette and the teachings of Confucius and Saints!"
"Talking about it this day, talking about it this day...it's just nonsense, nonsense!"
Li Dongyang and Xie Qian stayed where they were, unable to react for a moment. Such a situation had never happened before. Their heads fell into chaos for a moment, and their hearts were filled with disbelief.
After a while, Xie Qian finally reacted and shouted angrily:
"It's absolutely ridiculous!"
"Who came up with the idea?"
"Who else could it be? The 'Eight Dogs' beside His Majesty, headed by Liu Jin, the internal officer and supervisor!"
…
Yan Yuan was actually very confused. When he was summoned to the palace by the emperor, he didn't know what he was going to do. He just thought that His Majesty had something to discuss with him.
As a result, when I arrived at the end of the field, I looked up and saw that the emperor was sitting at his desk, with several eunuchs serving him. They were the "Eight Tigers" under Emperor Zhengde.
But it was Zhu Houzhao who couldn't stand the Sutra banquet, so he made this move.
Yesterday it was a lecture, just like a ceremony. He didn't dare to escape, so he listened obediently.
But as he listened, the emperor almost fell asleep on that serious occasion. He really couldn't stand today's day lecture, so Liu Jin and others came up with this bad idea for him.
The lecture will be held on a daily basis, and there is no stipulation on who will speak.
After Yan Yuan heard their request, his first reaction was to refuse:
"Your Majesty, I am a military official who is not good at speaking. It is better for you to leave such matters to civil servants. What Mr. Xie said is definitely better than what I said. If you ask me to say this, I can't explain it. ! If I mislead Your Majesty, I will never redeem myself."
He had a wry smile on his face, looking embarrassed.
"Those civil servants are always talkative. They always want to teach me how to do things. If I don't like to listen, I just want to listen to you."
Zhu Houzhao said with a smile, his face full of expectations.
He is actually very interested in history. Of course, he has no interest at all in the allusions full of great truths spoken by civil servants.
But Yan Yuan still had no intention of agreeing.
He could already predict how Zhu Houzhao would be criticized by civil servants in the future. Although they probably wouldn't dare to involve him, why would he provoke others when he had nothing to do.
Just when he was about to continue to refuse, he looked up and saw the eyes of Emperor Zhengde.
Although there was a smile on his face, his eyes were twinkling, and Yan Yuan did not feel the slightest hint of smile in them. They were full of solemn expressions.
The sixteen-year-old emperor seemed not as simple as he seemed.
Yan Yuan silently repeated in his heart what Emperor Zhengde had just said, and suddenly felt that there seemed to be a different charm in it.
Many emperors of the Zhu family came to the throne when they were teenagers, but none of them were fuel-efficient... He sighed softly in his heart and had already made a decision.
When he looked up again, Yan Yuan had a faint smile on his face:
"In that case, I will accept my order."
Although he is a military official, Yan Yuan's tutoring is absolutely no problem. If you want him to talk about Confucian classics and some teachings of saints, then he will definitely not be able to do it. But just explaining "Spring and Autumn" and mixing in some of his own understanding will not be a problem for him.
In front of Zhu Houzhao, next to the "Spring and Autumn" was a copy of "The Biography of the Zuo Family in the Spring and Autumn Period". After all, the "Spring and Autumn" itself only has some very brief records. You can't tell anything just by looking at this. You have to help Zuo Qiuming do it. annotation.
Yan Yuan just thought about it in his mind and blurted out:
"Your Majesty, I will tell you a story about "Cao Gui's Debate" today!"
Hearing this name, Zhu Houzhao suddenly became excited. He was very interested in war matters, but his lecturers never refused to talk about it. Now he finally met one who was willing, and he immediately pricked up his ears. Listened with rapt attention.
However, after Yan Yuan finished speaking, he seemed to think of some bad memories again, and the expression on his face gradually became a little strange. He slowly opened his mouth, and Zhu Houzhao suddenly felt a chill on his back, as if something bad was about to happen.
However, it was already too late. Yan Yuan's faint voice seemed to come from the underworld:
"Your Majesty, you have to carry this."
(End of chapter)
