Regardless of its original function and significance, "self-declaration of incompetence" is nothing more than a face-saving project for court ministers today. If you don't do your job properly, you will really be deposed.
In this case, "self-declaration of incompetence" will naturally form a certain practice. For example, when you express your inadequacy, you only talk about your own shortcomings and never mention others. This is one of them.
Gao Pragmatic's self-declaration of negligence caused an uproar in the foreign court, and violating this unspoken rule was one of the reasons. Although he did not directly say that those colleagues who could not "forgive" him were wrong, he blatantly expressed contradictions in his self-declaration of negligence. It is self-evident what his intention was.
When he got the news, Wang Xijue was on duty in the cabinet.
Unlike other Xin School officials who became furious upon hearing this, Wang Xijue did not show any anger, but was just surprised at first, then frowned and thought hard.
Wang Xijue had long heard about the power of Gao pragmatism. At that time, Gao was only in his teens, so Wang Xijue did not think those rumors about Gao pragmatism were true. In particular, Gao Jingshi's works at that time, such as "Longwen Whip Shadow" and "Xinzheng Duiyun", etc., although they are only Mongolian books, Wang Xijue also believes that most of them were ghostwritten by others, and Gao Jingshi himself was just in name.
Later, there was a rumor in Shilin official circles that everything including Guo Pu's restoration and Zhang Juzheng's downfall were planned by Gao Pragmatic. Wang Xijue did not believe this at all. He believed that this was either someone's random conjecture, or that Gao Gong and others were deliberately building momentum for Gao Pragmatic and had no other agenda. What's the point?
Wang Xijue's attitude changed slightly when Gao pragmatic won six top prizes. At that time, Gao Pingshi's reputation was of great importance, and since the examination papers of the Ming Dynasty were to be "publicized to the world" to show fairness, Wang Xijue read Gao Pragmatic's articles from previous examinations.
He feels that there are indeed no obvious flaws in Gao Pragmatic's article, and its high argumentation and correct intention are beyond criticism. It is indeed understandable that it will do well in the exam. However, Wang Xijue was somewhat disdainful of Gao Xijue's victory in the imperial examination.
This is not only because Wang Xijue opposed Gao Pragmatic's policy of collecting commercial taxes from his point of view, but also because that article caused huge controversy between the government and the opposition. In Wang Xijue's view, the reason why he became the leader of the imperial examination was entirely the result of the emperor's sole decision, so this was an unfair result.
It's just that...the court examination is originally a matter of the emperor's words. Even if everyone (Xinxue School officials) objects, it can't change the result.
Wang Xijue really began to think that Gao Pragmatism was "really remarkable" after Annan was attached. As a top student, Wang Xijue knows very well how difficult Annan is.
During the period when the Ming Dynasty's national power was at its peak, it was exhausted by the mere Annan. It was a huge loss-making business no matter how you looked at it, so it had to give up. But it was such a powder keg, and Gao Pragmatic easily recovered it without spending a single soldier, a grain of rice and half a copper from the imperial court.
This... is indeed a bit powerful. Of course, at this time Wang Xijue still believed that of course he had high practical ability, but the reason why he was able to accomplish this feat was really due to his own wealth - his servants and fleet. In Wang Xijue's view, this is like Li Chengliang's power in Liaodong relying on his 40,000 servants.
It wasn't until Gao Jingshi won the Battle of Monan that Wang Xijue truly regarded Gao Jingshi as a "big problem" for the Xin School. After all, in this war, Gao Pragmatic did not use many of his servants. He purely relied on various means to control Tumut's elite forces, set traps in many ways, and laid out a series of schemes to defeat Xin Ai and Tumen successively.
Wang Xijue asked himself, even if he replaced Gao pragmatism, he would not be able to do better than Gao pragmatism.
Therefore, since then, Wang Xijue has never underestimated Gao Xijue. The subsequent Battle of Liaonan seemed to Wang Xijue to be just a high-pragmatic and normal level - the results were indeed good, but in fact there were no surprises.
The next step is to use the Yunnan war treasure money to solve the cost of the Yunnan and Burma war. This method really amazed Wang Xijue, thinking that it was as wonderful as a white wolf with nothing.
As for the recent battle to pacify the northwest, Wang Xijue didn't think it was that powerful - probably because Gao Jingshi's previous military exploits were too impressive, and Wang Xijue himself was not specialized in military affairs, so he didn't notice Gao Jingshi's key points in this battle. Highlights.
However, it doesn't matter anymore. Wang Xijue has already regarded Gao Pragmatic as a strong opponent. So what if the opponent just performs normally? His normal level is already very high!
It was precisely because of this extremely serious mentality that Gao Pragmatic's original plan for him to "take the initiative to jump into the trap of the slander case" did not happen. Wang Xijue remained unmoved and launched a "zhengguoben" war.
Unexpectedly, Gao Pragmatic did not accept the move. Instead, he encouraged the emperor to respond with Ding Hai's imperial inspection through some means that Wang Xijue could not fully understand but could guess, diverting the attention of the officials.
At this point, Wang Xijue had the most direct understanding of Gao Pragmatic's abilities.
In Wang Xijue's view, Gao Pragmatism was not like his uncle who was straight and straight, hard to hide his sharpness, and was easily broken; nor was he like his teacher Guo Pu, who was upright and magnanimous and could be bullied by gentlemen.
High pragmatism is like a poisonous snake. It usually lurks in dark places and is difficult for people to detect. However, if it doesn't move, it will bite people. It is most difficult to deal with.
Since he is a "venomous snake", it is surprising that he openly appeared in the "Qi Yong Shu" before, and now he openly stirs up disputes in the "Report of Disrespect". Why? Could it be that this poisonous snake suddenly doesn't want to rely on its poison, thinking that it has transformed into a giant python, and instead wants to use its strength to convince others?
Wang Xijue always felt that it was not that simple.
After thinking about it, Wang Xijue got up and went to Shen Shixing's room.
Shen Yuanfu was also thinking hard about the motive of Gao Xijue's move at this time. When he saw Wang Xijue's arrival, he understood it and sent away Yuan Zongdao, the Jinshi Guanzheng, and others. He invited Wang Xijue to sit aside, and with a sincere attitude, he took the initiative to ask : "Yuan Yu is here, but for the sake of seeking truth, why should he tell himself today?"
Yuan Yu is Wang Xijue's surname, and Shen Shixing and Wang Xijue were born in the same year. Although it is more respectful to use his nickname, it still seems unfamiliar. However, it is much more intimate to use his nickname, which is more in line with the fact that they are of the same year, fellow villagers, comrades, and party members. close relationship.
Wang Xijue frowned and nodded slightly, and said thoughtfully: "Yuan Fu must have noticed that there is something wrong with Gao Qiuzhen's move, right?"
"Not only is something wrong, it's simply unbelievable." Shen Shixing sighed, shook his head and said distressedly: "It's not because this omission is really due to the pursuit of truth. I thought it was Haigangfeng's self-reported negligence."
Wang Xijue nodded and said: "Yes, disregarding the rules and criticizing colleagues in essays is indeed something that only Haigangfeng can do. Judging from Gao Qiuzhen's past performance, his move is indeed a bit strange."
Shen Shixing followed the old style and climbed up the pole, and immediately asked: "Yuan Yu, what's your opinion on this?"
"Good opinion, I really don't have any at the moment, but I have some doubts and want to make a plan with Yuan Fu."
"It doesn't matter what Yuan Yu said, Shi Xing is all ears."
Wang Xijue frowned deeply and said thoughtfully: "The thing that I can't understand the most at the moment is that there are obviously different opinions within the Shi School. Gao Qiuzhen didn't quickly find a way to unify his views, persuade Xu Guo, and pull Shen Li back, but Instead, you are provoking trouble at this time, pretending to wait with me until death...Yuansuke, do you think this is reasonable?"
Of course Shen Shixing also felt it was unreasonable, very unreasonable. However, he couldn't say it so straightforwardly, so he twisted his beard and said: "When things go wrong, there must be a monster. Although Gao Qiuzhen is young, he never does unnecessary things. However, judging from the recent situation, his purpose is nothing more than convenience. It is to collect Jiangnan commercial tax..."
Wang Xijue's brows moved slightly.
There were no other problems with Shen Shixing's sentence. Wang Xijue was dissatisfied with the use of "no more than".
Nothing more than that? Do you, Shen Rumo, think that such a big thing as levying commercial taxes in Jiangnan is nothing more than this?
Shen Shixing is such a smooth person, Wang Xijue's expression naturally fell in his eyes, he stopped talking, smiled and said: "Yuan Yu, please be patient, this matter is certainly not a trivial matter, but it also depends on how it compares. The Pragmatic School regards itself as a reformist, and promoting reform is certainly its 'Yuanzhi', but you also understand, Yuan Yu, that if the near-term worries cannot be solved, there is no way to talk about the Yuanzhi."
Wang Xijue was silent for a moment and asked: "Even so, it cannot explain the purpose of Gao Qiuzhen. Although collecting Jiangnan commercial tax has been his long-cherished wish for many years, for this reason, he talked to me on the premise that there were still hidden worries internally. When it is clear that the war will start, Gao Qiuzhen is not afraid that he will fight with us in Dinghai's capital inspection, but the result will be for Xu Guo and other fishermen to benefit?"
Shen Shixing did not object to his words, but said: "Yes, this is exactly what is strange, so I think there must be other reasons why Gao Qiuzhen has to fight."
"Have we had to fight?" Wang Xijue narrowed his eyes slightly and said thoughtfully: "Just to divert the attention of the officials from 'Zheng Guoben'?"
Shen Shixing was also not very confident, frowning and said: "I also know that this reason does not seem to be very sufficient. After all, even if the national issue is completely completed according to Yuan Yuzhi's vision, but... how to put it, at least in the near future? Look, it didn’t have a big impact on Gao Qiuzhen, so there seems to be no need for him to react so violently.”
Of course Wang Xijue knew what Shen Shixing meant when he said, "At least in the near future, it will not have a big impact on Gao Qiuzhen." It's just that Jinshang is still very young, only twenty-five years old, and his health seems to be in good health. Even if the emperor's eldest son is given the title of prince, it will not affect the overall situation of Gao pragmatism. Under such circumstances, it is certainly unjustifiable for Gao Pragmatic to react so violently.
Wang Xijue thought thoughtfully and asked, "Gao Qiuzhen still advocates waiting for the queen's legitimate son?"
Shen Shixing nodded and replied: "Based on the information we have received so far, it is indeed the case."
Wang Xijue said with some annoyance: "I didn't understand this matter either. Even if the Queen had some 'friendship' with him when he was released earlier, so what? The Queen has been infertile for several years. Now the imperial concubine is favored in the palace. Even if Gao Qiuzhen is determined not to stand with us, he should choose to support the third son of the emperor.
If he supports the third son of the emperor, the imperial concubine will definitely be happy and excited in the palace, blowing her pillow in front of the emperor. Wouldn't such high demands for truth strengthen the holy family? But he chose to go far away, and wanted to burn the queen's cold stove, but he didn't know whether the stove was broken long ago. I'm surprised, between the Queen and him..."
"Yuan Yu!" Shen Shixing stopped him in time and glared at him slightly: "Be careful, this is not something we can comment on at will? Besides, the queen lives in the middle palace, is cautious and upright, and there is nothing suspicious about it. , I, as a subject..."
"Okay, okay, brother Rumo, there's no need to say anything more. It was just a slip of the tongue by Xijue and he overstepped his bounds." Wang Xijue changed the subject and said, "What I mean is that if we can't understand the true meaning of Gao Qiuzhen's heart, we will have many things to do. It’s like a blind man touching an elephant, seemingly understanding something, but actually never getting in.”
Shen Shixing was thoughtful and said: "Yuan Yu, look... Gao Qiu is really unwilling to help the imperial concubine. Is it because he is worried that the imperial concubine will be the only one to inherit the favor?"
Wang Xijue was startled for a moment, then understood what Shen Shixing meant, and his eyes lit up: "Yuan Fu is saying that Gao Qiuzhen is worried that once the third son of the emperor is established as the prince, the power of the imperial concubine in the future will be unstoppable?"
Shen Shixing was not very sure, but said: "This is one point, and another point: the imperial concubine seems to be far more keen on power than the empress. What if - I am just hypothesizing: if the emperor has an unbearable change in the future, the imperial concubine will Will..."
Wang Xijue took a deep breath and blurted out: "The regent has the power?"
Shen Shixing said nothing, but Wang Xijue quickly regained his composure, shook his head and said, "No, no."
"What's wrong?" Shen Shixing asked.
Wang Xijue thought thoughtfully and said: "There is no precedent for a queen mother to come to the court in this dynasty, but the regulations of this dynasty are different from those of Liu Han and Li Tang. Firstly, as long as the emperor comes of age, the queen mother must return the great power; secondly, if the late emperor is about to die, she must also entrust her to the throne. In the world, the assistant ministers take care of their lives. If... I also assume that if the emperor has a change that he cannot bear to say, judging from the current situation, I am afraid that he will immediately summon Gao Qiuzhen to the cabinet with the imperial edict, and then entrust him to take care of his lives.
In this way, even if the imperial concubine becomes the queen mother, if her wishes are to be implemented in the world, she must seek the true approval. What does he have to worry about? "
Wang Xijue had this idea because he didn't know that in the original history, Gao Gong, Gu Ming's chief assistant, was directly dismissed from office and sent back by the decree of the empress dowager of the two palaces and the young emperor.
In Wang Xijue's eyes, the authority of Gu Ming's chief minister was unshakable - theoretically, he was the person "entrusted with the country" by the late emperor. Just like Yang Tinghe, he was also the powerful chief minister of Gu Ming who could refute Emperor Shizong's imperial decree several times.
Queen Mother? At least before that, the Ming Dynasty did not have such a strong queen mother who could control the affairs of the chief minister. This kind of psychological stereotype caused Wang Xijue's thinking to be shackles.
----------
Thanks to the book friends "Nn in Disrepair", "Reading Books, Drinking Tea and Listening to Music", "Dongguan Bald King", "Ride Alone to Shine the Blue Heart", and "Sprite Infinite" for their monthly ticket support. Thank you!
