"... I am a humble, foolish and self-reliant person who is quite capable of keeping things clean. He has been an official since the Gengchen period and has paid selfless visits to every house. He has not let a single piece of paper enter. This move is well known to the Jin gentry and everyone in the world. Ma Dong was born in a well-known family, and he followed the army since he was a child. After dozens of battles, he was known as Guoyi. He was recommended by the minister as the general of Liaonan. The others, Ma Cheng'en and others, were all the commanders he commanded during the Monan War. They fought bravely and loyally, and their merits are recorded. Therefore, I have traveled thousands of miles. And call.
Now the imperial censor Li Minzhi and others accused the officials of taking bribes for private actions, saying that Ma Dong bribed the officials with three thousand taels and white jade horses and other things. What have you seen and heard without explicitly stating the evidence? Kuang Chen's family was already wealthy. Since the fourth year of Longqing reign of the late emperor, he had accumulated millions of dollars due to his outstanding family members, which was known to the whole world. Can the three thousand taels of fruit be bribed? What is the basis for sincerity? These are all under the name of Xiaguan, and I would like to state that this is the case. "
"... Your Majesty knew me well, so I didn't do anything for him. He then gave me gentle words of comfort and reassured me. Don't you feel grateful for the divine grace? However, as far as I know, Li Minzhi and other four people all came out of Guiwei (Wanli 11th 2007), I thought that they were relatively new to the officialdom, young and inexperienced, and they were only high-ranking officials, so they were not deeply to blame."
"...Now Your Majesty is making a big move. Of the four people, two have been sent to the town and Fusi, one has been dismissed and sent back, and one has been demoted and transferred to a foreign service. This is your majesty's right principle of rewarding merit and punishing demerits. However, when the world sees it, I will rely on you." Respect one's kindness and take revenge for personal gain."
"...their actions were either done out of ignorance or out of instigation. No matter what, this is a wake-up call for me to reflect on myself without having to waste ten years of hard study. Besides, this not only shows your majesty's kindness, but also serves as a warning." The world cherishes talents. If this is the case, even though I hesitate at home, I will shed tears of gratitude."
The above is the main content of Gao Jingshi's memorial the next day. Obviously, this was an essay to save people, and the people he rescued were none other than the censor Li Minzhi and four other people who were severely punished by the emperor for impeaching him.
Gao Jingshi did not explain much about "slandering the emperor" in his essay. After all, the chief minister said it would not be accepted, and the emperor himself expressed his position. Neither of them recognized this statement, so Gao Jingshi naturally did not need to argue anymore.
His essay mainly explained some of the charges involved, such as the matter of sending Ma Dong and others to Liaodong. Li Minzhi and others said that he had accepted bribes of three thousand taels and white jade horses. Gao Pragmatic said very domineeringly: It's just a mere bribe. Three thousand taels can't even get into my eyes.
Officials all over the world like to show off their poverty, but Gao Pragmatic is an exception. He often says that his family fortune is millions, but he is really the only one who has it.
But this move is indeed suitable for him. After all, Jinghua is there. Everyone knows how huge this business is, and they can't hide it anyway. So they just show it clearly and say that I am rich. I earned my money openly and honestly, which is proof of practicing the teachings of the Wo Shi School. Are you jealous? Then why don't you start a family? I'm not jealous!
However, these explanations are all trivial matters. The greatest role of this essay is to persuade the emperor to take back his orders and not to deal too hard with Li Minzhi and the other four people. The reason was also stated by Gao Pragmatic, "They are still relatively new to the officialdom. They are young and inexperienced. They are also public officials, so they are not deeply to blame."
Moreover, although this is the emperor's legitimate reward and punishment, if he continues to do so, people in the world will say that this is his pragmatic "relying on kindness and self-respect, and taking revenge for personal gain." Then, he raised the bar again and brought the matter to the point where "it not only shows your majesty's kindness, but also cherishes the talents of the world."
As he said to Liu Xin yesterday, this sparse essay is to "show my magnanimity and broad-mindedness of repaying evil with kindness" - anyway, the emperor will have his own understanding, and it doesn't matter how pragmatic he is.
Hypocritical? Of course it's hypocritical, but this is officialdom.
An official like Hai Rui is said to be a role model for all generations, but in fact, that is mostly just used as a reference by future generations, because if we really look at the great things that Hai Rui has done, this... is very embarrassing. .
Some of his memorials are indeed very famous, and they have created conditions for others to do great things, but if you really want to count how many great things he has accomplished, these are really only a handful, and their timeliness is very short - Ren Zhongcha Just cool.
A truly "useful" "good official" is one who can make correct decisions worthy of his position while in office, and ensure that they are carried forward smoothly, thereby producing good social benefits. Like Hai Rui, it is good to stay in history for a long time, but how much did the people really benefit at that time? Even if a small number of people benefited at that time, after Hai Rui left, did they spit out their capital and profits?
Therefore, the hypocrisy of officials is just a means. Just as shooting with a gun is killing people, killing with a stick is also killing people. In fact, there is no need to distinguish so carefully. The key lies in why the people are killed, whether they are good people or bad people, and what kind of results are caused after the killing - —This is what it means.
When this memorial was presented, Gao Pragmatic still stayed at home and refused to receive visitors.
There are actually a lot of people visiting, but when they come, they know that Gao Pragmatic will not open the door, but... whether to open the door or not is Gao Pragmatic's business, and whether they come or not is their business. This is a matter of attitude, or even stance. question.
For example, among the ministers of the Pragmatic School, those with higher official positions than Gao Pragmatism all sent people to visit; those at the same level not only sent people but also brought their own handwritten letters to console them; those with lower grades than Gao Pragmatism all visited in person. Come to the door and be politely sent away by the doorman.
The situation with the large number of nobles and even Qi Jiguang and others is different. Even if the rank is lower than Gao Shijing, they can only send people to come, but they cannot come - there are internal conflicts among the civil servants, and you, a military minister, come to comfort them? What do you want to do?
But there are also special people for whom Gao Pragmatic can "reluctantly" open the door. These people are not particularly distinguished, but simply "special": Gao Pragmatic's disciples.
Li Tingji, Ye Xianggao, and Fang Congzhe were allowed in by their mentor. Of course, Gao Pragmatic would not talk about this matter with them. He only talked about some academic things and then paid attention to their respective work status.
In fact, there is nothing to ask about the current work situation. Chen Yubi is currently in charge of the Hanlin Academy, and the "Chen Party" left by Chen Yiqin was not large. After the Burma War, Chen Yubi has turned to Gao Gao. Pragmatism is now considered a branch of the Practical School. In this way, Li Tingji and three others would not have a bad life in the Hanlin Academy.
In an aristocratic yamen like the Hanlin Academy, there is nothing important to do at ordinary times. It is just compiling history and so on. Occasionally, I go to the cabinet to serve as a political scholar. Of course, Li Tingji will not go. He is one of the Three Tripods and stays in the hospital. You can mix your seniority.
Gao Pragmatic was not in a hurry to appoint the three of them. He still planned to follow the most "popular" method at the time and put them in the Hanlin Academy for a while. When they became more qualified, he would directly entrust them with important tasks - but he would not give them to the master. Gao Pragmatic doesn't trust this kind of appointment and removal system for officials with "no work experience". He still trusts his own method of training cadres through the former Red Dynasty.
The rule of "starting from the grassroots" must not be learned in the Ming Dynasty. After all, he was already a high-ranking official in the Han Dynasty and was the "prime minister". However, Gao Pragmatic still values the experience of "training in multiple positions" and "presiding over comprehensive work in multiple locations and departments."
As for how long they will be allowed to stay in the Hanlin Academy, this is not certain. There is only a rough timetable: wait until Gao is pragmatic and join the cabinet. Before joining the cabinet, Gao Pragmatic had no intention of using the three of them.
Well, anyway, the current Practical School is not short of three useful people. The only shortcomings are only really useful high-ranking officials.
Li Tingji and the three of them knew the importance. Although they stayed in the Hanlin Academy for three or four years, the experiences of the Hanlin seniors were all there, and they were not in a hurry - after all, not everyone can experience the experience of their mentor. Yes, he is so special.
The three masters and apprentices chatted in Shangshu Mansion for nearly half a day. They talked about scriptures and Taoism in the morning, and after lunch they talked for a few games. Li Tingji was older and was born in Sandingjia, so he played chess with Gao pragmatically, while Ye Xianggao played against Fang Congzhe.
Although Gao Tingji's chess skills were commonplace, Li Tingji seemed to be good at it. Li Tingji won three consecutive games, but the result made him break out in a sweat.
However, Gao Pragmatic's "magnanimity" is large enough. No matter how ugly the loss is, he is extremely leisurely and doesn't care at all. This actually made Li Tingji suspicious, and he thought to himself: Did my mentor use the opportunity of the conversation to hint at something?
Are you blaming me for not knowing how to restrain my sharpness? Or are you teaching me to bet on victory or defeat? Or...
His distraction was unexpectedly brought back by Gao Pragmatic. Li Tingji quickly admitted defeat, Gao Pingshi smiled and shook his head, saying: "You think too much."
Li Tingji immediately admitted his mistake, but he couldn't help but sneered in his heart: I remember Mr. Guo had said that Teacher, you were "too calculating", but now he said that I was overthinking.
Unexpectedly, Gao Pangshi seemed to have learned his mind. While reaching out to mess up the chess game, he said calmly: "Calculating too much and thinking too much are not the same thing."
Li Tingji was quite upright, and his face immediately turned red after hearing this, but he didn't know how to answer. Ye Xianggao and Fang Congzhe next to him glanced this way at the same time, but immediately looked away at the same time.
Gao Pragmatic smiled again: "I'm not blaming you, I just hope you know that 'over-calculating' does not mean that you have calculated things that should not be calculated, but 'over-thinking' means doing useless work. You can go back and think about this sentence carefully. .”
Li Tingji had no choice but to agree. At the same time, Ye Xianggao and Fang Congzhe also pushed the chess game in a tacit understanding and said it was a draw.
Gao pragmatic asked them: "How have Ruan Fuyuan and Erdemutu learned recently?"
The three of them looked at each other, and Li Tingji came forward to answer: "Ruan Fuyuan is smart, but he is clever, his writing is gorgeous, but his foundation is not solid. Erdemutu's talent is limited, but he is sincere and generous, and he is also very good at reading. He works hard, and all three students like him."
The reason why Gao pragmatic asked this was because he was busy with work, so he became a hands-off shopkeeper and handed these two disciples over to his three disciples, asking them to teach them knowledge and "teach skills on behalf of their teachers" .
After listening to Li Tingji's words, Gao Jingshi nodded slightly and asked: "Regardless of their identities, they are just students of my Ming Dynasty, and assuming that their knowledge is also passable... Do you think these two sons can do anything in the future? What official?"
This question was obviously a question for a school exam, and neither Li Tingji nor the other three people spoke immediately.
After a while, Li Tingji was the first to speak up, saying: "Students think that Erdemutu can be used as a border seal, and Ruan Fuyuan...may be a ci minister."
Fengjiang means governor; Ci ministers can be big or small. "Prime Minister Qingci" is also a Ci minister, and Hanlin editors are also Ci ministers. However, Li Tingji's word minister here may have something to do with it. It probably means that Ruan Fuyuan is better at flattering others and is suitable to be a "close minister".
Gao pragmatic smiled, did not comment, and asked Ye Xianggao and Fang Congzhe: "What do you two think?"
Ye Xianggao said: "Students think that Erdemutu can command the army and Ruan Fuyuan can join the cabinet."
His words were very different from Li Tingji's views, but Gao Pragmatic remained noncommittal and looked at Fang Congzhe again.
Fang Congzhe shook his head and said: "Students are stupid and have no knowledge of others, so they dare not speak nonsense."
Good guy, it’s okay that the three students have different standards for looking at people, and even their personalities are so different.
However, Gao Pragmatic didn't make any comments. He just smiled and said, "Okay, I understand what you mean." Then he stood up and said, "I'll go change my clothes and you can do it yourself."
The three people stood up quickly and each made excuses to leave. Gao Pragmatic didn't do much to persuade them to stay, and let them go with a few polite words.
It was a good time to leave. Although Gao Pingshi's "changing clothes" was just an excuse, he was just about to go back to the backyard to take a nap when he was informed that the Holy Will had come down.
Gao pragmatically asked, and found out that the emperor really refused to agree and "insisted on the original judgment." However, because he wanted to give Gao pragmatically face, he issued another imperial edict to explain the reason.
The reason is of course nothing more than the laws and regulations. Of course, although this imperial edict was very long, it was probably not dictated by the emperor in its entirety, but only a brief summary of its meaning, which was then drafted by the Zhongshu. The whole article is written in five and six sentences, and there are a lot of arguments, but the meaning is just one: If you cannot comply with your request, those four people who deserve to be jailed will be jailed, those who deserve to be beaten will be beaten, those who deserve to be dismissed will be punished, and those who deserve to be punished will be punished. Those who surrender must surrender, otherwise it will open a bad door to slander important ministers.
Gao was pragmatic and did nothing. He just ordered people to pay attention to the direction of public opinion in the capital.
After such a delay, Liu Xin came out again after taking a nap. Knowing the result, she couldn't help laughing and said: "Now you have done everything you should do, your reputation has been saved, and the unlucky guy will continue to be unlucky. Is it going to happen?" Did you listen to the emperor’s advice and ‘come out and take matters into consideration’?”
Unexpectedly, Gao Pragmatic still shook his head: "There's no rush."
"Aren't you in a hurry?" Liu Xin said in surprise: "If we wait any longer, Wang Xijue will arrive in Beijing, and Shen Shixing will have a powerful helper by then. This matter may cause trouble again."
Gao pragmatic thought that he couldn't take a nap this afternoon, so he simply sat down on the Taishi chair, leaned back, crossed his legs without the style of a minister, tilted his head and said, "It would be great if Wang Xijue is here, let's get back to him together." As a pavilion elder, I don’t have any good gifts to give him... wouldn’t it be appropriate to let him feel depressed?”
Liu Xin was even more surprised: "Can you involve Wang Xijue in this matter?"
"It's not that I got involved with him, but he will definitely jump in." Gao pragmatically smiled: "Just wait and see."
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