Zhu Youtang summoned the three cabinet members and the newly appointed Hanlin bachelor Wang Hao in the Palace of Qianqing.
Just ask one thing.
It is about the progress of compiling the "Da Ming Huidian".
Liu Jian, as the chief assistant, reported back on behalf of the Hanlin Academy: "..."The Ancestors of the Emperor Ming" has been compiled and needs to be proofread; the "Ming Law" is more than halfway completed, and the "Zhu Si Zhi Zhang" is less than 30% completed …”
He said a lot, mainly mentioning the difficulties in compilation, and Liu Jian also specifically mentioned that one person is indispensable, "...Former Hanlin Yang Tinghe did his duty in compiling "Zhu Si Zhi Zhang", and consulted and proofread many times. Since he has done all the work personally, after he left Beijing and returned to Shu, he has many irreplaceable errands. I hope your Majesty will recall him as soon as possible."
"Um."
Zhu Youtang just nodded, looked at Xiao Jing and said, "Is there any news from Xindu County?"
Xiao Jing said: "Not yet."
Zhu Youtang said: "I have returned to the capital. I promised to come back in four months and give him the position of Hanlin bachelor. Will I break my promise? Is there any progress in compiling "Ming Ji Li"?"
"this……"
Liu Jian was also in a dilemma.
When I mentioned the revision of such a legal work before, I mentioned that I should also revise the "Da Ming Ji Li" written in the early years of Hongwu. However, because it was too time-consuming and laborious, other basic contents were not completed, so naturally I did not have the energy to do it. Fix this.
Xie Qian came forward and added: "Currently the Hanlin Academy is short of manpower."
He wanted to remind the emperor.
After the prince left the court to study, the tasks of the Hanlin system increased. In addition, this term did not even select common people. Although there were only twenty or thirty common people, they could often get twice the result with half the effort by letting them take the lead in repairing books.
In fact, Xie Qian cannot say that the slow progress in compilation is mainly due to the fact that Cheng Minzheng, who was previously the "Deputy Chief Editor", was convicted and dismissed from his post. If it were all up to these politicians and cabinet ministers to compile the book... then he probably wouldn't be able to do it in the next life. What's going on?
As for Wang Hao, although he is now a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy, he puts more energy into teaching the prince.
"Then there is no progress. Alas!"
Zhu Youtang sighed and said, "There is a person who seems to have a lot of experience in compiling the "Huidian". He also compiled part of the classics in private. I am going to find someone to verify and inspect."
When the three cabinet ministers and Wang Hao heard this, they instinctively thought that the person the emperor was talking about was Cheng Minzheng.
If someone from the current Hanlin Academy system is doing this, the emperor does not need to come and tell them alone, unless this person is not currently in the Hanlin Academy.
Besides Cheng Minzheng, who else in the Hanlin Academy could get the emperor's favor in compiling the "Da Ming Huidian"?
"Your Majesty, all ministers in the DPRK should perform their respective duties, and there should be no arrogance in their positions." Li Dongyang reminded.
This is to prevent Cheng Minzheng from returning prematurely.
Although to a certain extent, the three cabinet ministers did not show open hostility towards Cheng Minzheng, they were actually the instigators of the Cheng Minzheng incident, and others also looked at their faces when doing things.
Zhu Youtang said: "Is it trespassing? It's not like that. He usually has very complicated thoughts. However, the book is still being handed over for preliminary investigation. After a few days, when the time is right, it will be sent to the Hanlin Academy for verification. "
The three cabinet members were a little confused.
From what I hear, the book is almost finished?
So which one is included in "Da Ming Huidian"?
"Your Majesty, I don't know who he is and what book he has compiled?" Wang Hao asked on behalf of the three cabinet members.
Zhu Youtang sighed: "To put it bluntly, it's Bingkuan..."
It's him again.
This was the most intuitive idea of the four people. Even Wang Hao felt that the candidate he had selected in the Jiangnan Provincial Examination and was now the number one scholar in the Ming Dynasty was a bit too eye-catching.
"It's not any one, but the whole book of "Huidian". As for the specific compilation, I don't know. I'll look at it later." Zhu Youtang looked nonchalant.
It's not that he looked down on Zhang Zhou. If he really felt that Zhang Zhou was beyond his capabilities, he wouldn't have mentioned the matter to these four people in advance.
He thinks so.
No matter how good Zhang Zhou's writing is, others will not treat him well because it touches the most basic interests of the Hanlin system. Before the book is written, he will be criticized in various ways, and his good work will also be criticized as bad.
It is reasonable to say hello to the minister in advance.
Remind these four people that no matter whether Zhang Zhou is good at cultivation or not, don’t dampen his enthusiasm.
Xie Qian said: "Your Majesty, with the power of one person, it is difficult to write a book, right? Is there someone behind him to help?"
"I don't know either." Zhu Youtang said, "But according to the report from Dongchang, yesterday Li Bingkuan handed this book to Lin Qing's family, the Imperial Academy's priest, for reading. Lin Qing's family didn't raise any questions about it. Come."
"He...Shilang Lin seems not to have participated in the revision of the book." Xie Qian reminded again.
Just say, what the hell does Lin Han know?
However, Liu Jian heard a different meaning from it.
It seems that Zhang Zhou's book is almost finished, but he actually dares to take it out for others to read?
Even if Lin Han did not participate in the compilation of "Da Ming Huidian", Lin Han can be said to be the current leader in the academic world. Even he can't find fault with the book. It seems that the degree of completion is very high, and it should be also good in textual research. Very strict, otherwise with Lin Han's temper, would he see the problem and not say anything in order to cater to the emperor and Zhang Zhou?
Zhu Youtang continued: "I am not saying that I will publish it based on Bingkuan's manuscript, but I will use his manuscript as a reference. I hope it will be helpful in revising the "Huidian". Do you guys have any opinions?"
Liu Jiandao: "Your Majesty, I have never seen this manuscript. I wonder if... I can also proofread it first?"
Liu Jian was a little impatient this time.
No matter what Zhang Zhou did before, he did not make a fuss about their civil servant base. Even if he taught the prince a lesson, it would be an eccentric approach.
But if Zhang Zhou himself compiled the "Da Ming Huidian", their civil servants had gathered so many manpower and material resources and worked hard for two years, but they could not even reach one-third of the progress of this person's compilation. Then what would happen in the future? How dare you question Zhang Zhou's ability?
Zhu Youtang directly rejected Liu Jian's request: "Mr. Liu Ge, I have told him to find someone to investigate first. The person he is looking for is not currently in the Hanlin Academy and will not affect the current Hanlin Academy." The progress of the school’s book revision.”
Liu Jian looked a little gloomy, but he couldn't say anything else.
…
…
After the inner court meeting.
The three people in the cabinet were on different paths from Wang Hao. When the three returned to the cabinet to check in, Xie Qian immediately made it clear: "How can we let him get involved in repairing books?"
Li Dongyang said: "Huidian involves major political events of the Ming Dynasty. Its contribution is not to promote the rule of one dynasty, but may benefit the future. He originally participated in it as a Hanlin lecturer, but it doesn't matter. If he presided over the compilation, future history books will It’s hard not to remember him.”
Xie Qian asked: "Do you think Binzhi is trying to gain fame for himself? Is His Majesty secretly helping him?"
"I don't know." Li Dongyang shook his head.
Liu Jiandao: "Logically speaking, it is difficult for one person to repair a book. How can such a huge masterpiece be completed by one person? But I have not heard that your Majesty has allocated people from Hanyuan to help him!"
"Will there be Cheng Keqin?" Xie Qian asked.
Liu Jian and Li Dongyang looked at each other.
Although the two are not sure whether Cheng Minzheng is involved, it seems likely at present.
Xie Qian said: "The previous questions said that there is no connection between Cheng Keqin and Zhang Bingkuan. Isn't this a big connection?"
Li Dongyang shook his head: "It's too early to say. Could it be that Yu Qiao thinks that Zhang Bingkuan was thinking about "Huidian" before he won the first prize in the examination?"
"That...isn't possible?" Xie Qian also felt that what he said was untenable, "Then is it possible that it is Wang Jizhi?"
Li Dongyang continued to shake his head: "Looking at Jizhi's performance in the court today, he didn't know about it either."
"Then who else? It can't be Lin Hengda, right? The Zhang and Lin families may be getting married, but Lin Hengda is quite a noble person. Would he like Zhang Bingkuan? Why should Zhang Bingkuan be responsible for repairing books?" Xie Qian was also anxious. It was neither this nor that. It couldn't have appeared out of thin air, right?
Liu Jiandao: "Yu Qiao, you have been focusing in the wrong direction from the beginning."
"What's the explanation?" Xie Qian said.
Li Dongyang smiled and said: "If Zhang Bingkuan really wants to repair books, it must be done by him alone. Otherwise, how can he show his ability? If this is the case, we don't need to worry at all, because..."
Xie Qian suddenly said: "Because it can't be done! This is just someone releasing smoke!"
"Yeah." Li Dongyang nodded, and at the same time looked at Liu Jian, wanting to ask for Liu Jian's opinion.
Liu Jian did not draw the same conclusion as Li Dongyang.
Obviously, the emperor's attitude today made Liu Jian see many problems.
Xie Qian smiled and said: "If it weren't for the smoke, then Your Majesty could have let people from the Hanlin Academy participate in it. But if you don't show it to these people first, doesn't that mean there is a problem? But what will it do to Your Majesty and Zhang Bingkuan? What’s the benefit?”
The outspoken Xie Qian made another very unreasonable suspicion.
Since Zhang Zhou had not made any progress in revising the book, the emperor told him in advance and vowed to show it to others soon...
Xie Qian added: "It only takes three to five or seven years to compile the "Huidian". Is it difficult to make progress? I was involved in a section at the beginning. Just researching this article took a lot of time. I heard that Yang Jiefu had previously compiled the book. He often forgets sleep and food, and often stays awake for several days in a row. Since everyone knows that the book repair is not successful, then His Majesty deliberately said this, isn't he afraid of being suspected later?"
Li Dongyang said: "Then there is only one explanation. Zhang Bingkuan is deceiving the saint."
Xie Qian directly questioned: "Then why did Lin Hengda have no opinions after reading this script?"
Li Dongyang shook his head and said: "Maybe it's just a simple part, and it doesn't involve detailed rules and regulations such as the "Da Ming Code"."
Talk and talk.
Even the three cabinet ministers couldn't figure out Zhang Zhou's pulse.
"Stop making unreasonable guesses." Liu Jian said, "Just go back and find someone to inquire. See who else is involved now, and you will probably understand something."
"Yeah." Li Dongyang and Xie Qian both nodded.
After guessing, it is better to find someone to find out. As long as someone can see the so-called "Da Ming Huidian", the truth can basically be revealed.
"Who are you looking for? You can't ask Lin Hengda, right?" Xie Qian asked with a smile.
Coming full circle, we come back to the original question.
Information asymmetry.
And it seemed that he couldn't get the most direct contact with Zhang Zhou.
…
…
Regarding the first draft of the "Da Ming Huidian", Zhang Zhou had someone make a simple engraving.
Zhang Zhou selected some potentially controversial parts, transcribed them separately, and found someone to send them to Cheng Minzheng, who then provided reference opinions.
Cheng Minzheng was sitting at home... In his mansion in the capital, he only kept one old servant, who worked as both a doorman and a yard cleaner. This old servant usually made the fire and cooked... Cheng Minzheng probably felt that he had been cheated by his subordinates. I'm afraid, but anything I can do by myself will never be done by others again.
""Huidian"? Zhang Bingkuan?"
Cheng Minzheng thought, is this so ridiculous?
Obviously he couldn't connect these two keywords together in his mind.
"Yes, sir." said the old servant.
"Go and bring the books in... I'll go there myself."
Cheng Minzheng thought that since it was the "Da Ming Huidian", it must be a thick stack, at least seventy or eighty books. But when he arrived at the door, he saw the Jin Yiwei sent by Zhang Zhou to deliver the book. He saw only two thin He immediately frowned at the ten-page pamphlet.
But he still didn't say anything in front of Jin Yiwei.
After taking back the book and closing the door, he sighed: "Even if he has a sharp tongue for secrets, I still can't believe everything about him. Are you kidding me?"
Cheng Minzheng held two books and had the idea of throwing them on the ground and ignoring them.
It seems that Zhang Zhou helped him, but he also felt that Zhang Zhou harmed him.
From Cheng Minzheng's perspective, he would think, if Zhang Zhou hadn't been so popular before, would others have misunderstood Zhang Zhou asking him for questions?
No matter whose fault it is...
It’s all Zhang Bingkuan’s fault!
"Master, the Jinyiwei Baihu who came earlier seemed to say that Zhang Zhuangyuan mentioned that whether the master can return to the court in the future depends on this opportunity." There is some piety in the old servant's duty, what should be said Still said it.
"That's all? Alas!"
Cheng Minzheng sighed.
"At least he can figure things out. Does he really think that I am unwilling to do anything? It's better to let me go back to my hometown early and let me live a quiet life for a few days."
Cheng Minzheng doesn't have much nostalgia for officialdom.
Just as he took the initiative to resign and return to his hometown after being impeached by people in the early years of Hongzhi, being an official was really not a life pursuit for him.
At most it's embellishment.
It's good to have it, but it won't affect your life if you don't have it.
"Master, our family is afraid that we will soon run out of rice to cook..."
"What?"
"I spent a lot of money to redeem your sentence. I still owe you the money you spent on books on credit. When people heard that you were in trouble, they went to our ancestral home to beg for help. My family had no choice but to pay. I also received many letters from home. , saying that I hope I can find a way to help you..."
"Ahem!"
Only then did Cheng Minzheng realize that if he was not an official, he would not be able to support his family!
"Bai Wuyi is a scholar!" Cheng Minzheng sighed there.
"Master, even if it is to give face to Zhang Zhuangyuan, he also said that as long as you can change a few more words on this, each word can give a lot of polish, you can just accept it." Old servant Ku With a straight face.
His thoughts are.
If you and your family are hungry, shouldn’t my family be hungry?
As an old servant of the Cheng family, who wouldn't be different?
"The most annoying thing is to give books, calligraphy and paintings to some unlearned people who don't even know what they are... Well, Zhang Bingkuan shouldn't be considered unlearned, right?"
"Yes, sir, he is the number one scholar and will not do anything without aim."
"Then let's take a look?"
"have a look."
…
…
Cheng Minzheng saw that it didn't matter. When eating in the evening, the old servant went to deliver the food, but Cheng Minzheng didn't even bother to eat.
"No time, no orders from me, don't bother me!"
"Master, can I still watch?"
"go out!"
After a while, the old servant was getting ready to go to bed when he saw Cheng Minzheng running to the kitchen.
"Sir, you?"
"I'm looking for some water. How can I do this? You said you won't eat, and you didn't even give me tea?"
The old servant thought for a while, you said don't let me disturb you, but now you say it's because I'm not doing my job well?
Sure enough, any master is difficult to serve.
…
…
Cheng Guogongfu.
When Zhu Fu returned home, he first went to see his mother, and then called his eldest son to scold him. After holding back his anger, he went to the main hall to wait for his second son to return.
However, it was not until the second watch that the servants reported that Zhu Feng came home smelling of alcohol.
Then people were called to him.
"Father?"
Zhu Feng was still surprised.
Originally, Zhu Fu said he would come back the first day, but Zhu Feng went out of the city to wait, but it turned out that Zhu Fu came back a day late. Zhu Feng could not go out of the city every day to wait and go out to find someone to drink with.
Zhu Fu said: "You have some military merit, but you don't know why you got so bad, right? Look what you are like? If your Majesty finds out later that you are not doing your job properly, wouldn't he take away the Marquis you got?"
"I... my child was just upset about personal matters, so I asked Brother Zhang to go drinking with me."
Zhu Feng is also very innocent.
Recently, there was a divorce, and there were a lot of people asking for help. I couldn't deal with so many messy things in Yanwu Hall, and I wanted to give up... It was just a drink, and I didn't delay my work. Aren't they all drank after part-time work?
Not to mention me as a lecturer, but those who are students, should they drink, shouldn’t they drink the same?
Do you expect these big bosses to talk about romance?
"Is the Brother Zhang you are talking about the scheming Mr. Zhang next to His Majesty?"
"yes."
"Oh, then it's okay." Zhu Fu lost all his anger in an instant, and instead asked eagerly, "Apart from drinking, you didn't do anything else?"
"What is the matter that my father is asking about?" Zhu Feng was half drunk and half awake. He had no political awareness and could not understand the hidden meaning of the words.
Zhu Fu said: "Where did you drink? You didn't go to the Jiaofang Division, how about finding some girls?"
"Just in an ordinary restaurant." Zhu Feng shook his head.
"I don't know how to do things! Have you asked him, what plans does His Majesty have for... being a father?" Zhu Fu wanted to keep a straight face in front of his son and pretend to be a strict father, but he also seemed to have something to ask for. .
Half seriousness, half flattery.
Then he became neither angry nor happy nor sad, and even he felt awkward.
I couldn't hold my head up in front of my son.
Zhu Feng said: "Didn't Your Majesty ask my father to go to Yanwu Hall?"
"Hmph! Let my father go to a place like that and listen to a group of young people like you talking about how to fire cannons? What's there to listen to?" Zhu Fu felt that the emperor was making fun of him.
I just wanted to learn, and I actually learned from my son and my son’s friends.
Shame on Dafa.
"Father, not only you, but also Duke Baoguo and Marquis Shouning are here. Recently, many Dukes and Marquises have sent people to ask me if they have a chance to come in and learn... I told them all, You must obey His Majesty’s orders…Father, there is no shame in that.”
(End of chapter)
